Overview
Consists of three capacitors that provide energy to Systems, Engines, and Weapons.
Putting pips in each capacitor allows the available energy to replenish at a rate proportional to the number of pips.
The SYS capacitor powers shields and utility mount modules. The number of pips in SYS determines the recovery rate of downed shields and also adds bonus damage resistance to the shields.
The ENG capacitor powers the thrusters and their ability to boost. The number of pips in ENG determines
thruster performance of the ship, both straight ahead speed and the ability to maneuver. There must be a specific amount of ENG energy available to boost, so undersized distributors may lose the ability to boost.
The WEP capacitor powers a closed loop cooling system for the weapons. The number of pips determines the speed at which WEP replenishes, and therefore how effectively the ship vents heat from weapon use. Running out of WEP energy results in “thermal overload” whereby the weapons refuse to fire to avoid turning themselves to molten slag.
Pips can either be set at specific levels or can be adjusted on the fly. The latter is an advanced combat technique that can result in better performance, so don’t ignore your pips!
Ships without weapons do not need pips in WEP. You can balance your SYS and ENG capacitors as you please.
Ships without a shield rarely need pips in SYS. You can balance your ENG and WEP capacitors as you like.
Ships without the ability to boost may not need the power distributor at all. You can turn it off in the module list to save power.
You can undersize a power distributor to save mass, but it will negatively impact your ability to use weapons that require a lot of WEP energy and/or generate a lot of heat.
Special
Guardian Hybrid Power Distributor
| Besides the benefits to capacitor capacity and regen, also increases the available power from any power plant to 104%. |
| Cost credits, not engineering mats, but has to be unlocked. |
| Cannot be engineered. |
| A fully engineered power plant is superior to this. |
Engineering
| Charge Enhanced | You will pick this one 99% of the time. You want your PD energy to replenish as fast as possible, so this is almost always the best way. |
| Engine Focused | Explorer ships with undersized power distributors (to save mass) can use this to regain the ability to boost. |
| High Charge Capacity | This one is fool’s gold! All that extra distributor energy is only good for your first volley. It’s useless once it’s drained, and then it won’t be able to replenish fast enough to be useful. |
| Shielded | The purpose of the PD is to generate energy, not to be tough. |
| System Focused | There’s no situation where giving more distributor energy to your shields and utilities at the expense of all other systems is useful. |
| Weapon Focused | There are niche combat builds that need this extra WEP energy to prevent heat buildup from reaching dangerous levels. This is useful for mining builds to sustain longer volleys of mining lasers. |
Experimental Effects
| Cluster Capacitors | Fool’s Gold! You want your distributor to refill faster, and this ain’t it, chief. |
| Double Braced | Making your power distributor thicker is a thing that never ever helps you. |
| Flow Control | Lowering the power plant usage of your power distributor is a thing that never ever helps you. |
| Stripped Down | If you’re really mass sensitive. |
| Super Conduits | You will pick this one 99.999% of the time. It’s the best one for replenishing your capacitors as fast as possible. |