  We analyze the ability of the three different Liquid Drop Mass (LDM) formulas
to describe nuclear masses for nuclei in various deformation regions.
Separating the 2149 measured nuclear species in eight sets with similar
quadrupole deformations, we show that the masses of prolate deformed nuclei are
better described than those of spherical ones. In fact, the prolate deformed
nuclei are fitted with an RMS smaller than 750 keV, while for spherical and
semi-magic species the RMS is always larger than 2000 keV. These results are
found to be independent of pairing.
  The macroscopic sector of the Duflo-Zuker (DZ) mass model reproduces shell
effects, while most of the deformation dependence is lost and the RMS is larger
than in any LDM. Adding to the LDM the microscopically motivated DZ master
terms introduces the shell effects, allowing for a significant reduction in the
RMS of the fit but still exhibiting a better description of prolate deformed
nuclei. The inclusion of shell effects following the Interacting Boson Model's
ideas produces similar results.
