It's been a minute since I've wasted your time... BUT!
TMV finally arrives at half-shield meta and notices that tier 1 is finally using it. I've been using it for I think two years at this point.
Quick overview, the half shield buy gives you the ability to absorb three body shots (120 and 117 respectively for Vandal and Phantom) However, if you consistently buy half-shield, you will have more chances to buy a rifle over the course of a game. If you play Valorant like a slot machine and are all about the probabilities then a Vandal or a Phantom will produce more kills over the course of a game or a series. Despite what the hive mind wants you to think about eliminations, they win games and make it infinitely easier to win rounds with every person you eliminate.
BUT! There is a world beyond half-shield meta. The truth of the matter is that you can play the exact same way without shields all together. I've been playing with this concept for two seasons now and there is no difference in results for me:
What's going on here:
Both the half-shield and no-shield approach are based off the fact that the rifles have a 3 bullet low variation spread. For Vandal it's .25->.35 and for Phantom it is .2->.35. What this means in layman terms is that a fight usually (depending on distance with the Phantom but not with the Vandal) results in either 1 bullet win or a 4 bullet win. The one bullet case is easy, it's a headshot which is 160 damage or 156 damage.
For body shots, both rifles have a 3 bullet skill check, where if you do not pull down or attempt to control it, you will miss. This results in usually two bullets hitting and produces 80ish damage which is survivable with a starting hp of 100. Thus a duel comes down to whether or not you can hit a headshot consistently vs. your opponent. Since a lot of duels end in a headshot, the no shield strategy has some footing.
For half-shield it's even more dramatic because regardless if you have have full shields, you can still survive 4 bullets. For Vandal, the first 3 bullets are 120 (half-shield is 125) and the fourth bullet is not survivable, which will be 160 damage. The same for the Phantom, 39 damage, hit four times is 156.
One thing TMV got incorrect or missed the reasoning:
Outside of the Outlaw, there are only two real reason to buy full shields if you're going up against a SMG because you are absorbing more bullets over a shorter period of time or you are on a map that has many walls with easy penetration. So the higher the overall hp, the longer you will be able to survive the TTK and give yourself a higher probability of winning the fight.
Next stop:
Teams hopefully having a better understanding between gun-play and distance. Where they start capitalizing on cheaper guns but using utility to create high probabilities wins by (i.e. smokes) closing the distance gaps.
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