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Generic rom ship?
noroblad
Member Posts: 2,624 Arc User
I want to buy one cstore ship that will perform decently, if not optimally, with focus on tac and sci captain, but would not mind if it could serve engineering as well. This may not be possible to do all 3, and if not, leave engineer out.
I am still fairly new and have only hit max level on tac so far, with "around" level 30s in sci and eng. So understand that there is a lot I do not know.
The 3 I am looking at most (if you know of something better that I did not list, say so) are, in random order:
T'varo Light Warbird Retrofit
Pros: universal BO, balanced consoles, good turn rate. Strong tactical ship.
Cons: Best it can do at science is the universal guy. It would be awful for engineers (??).
Haakona Advanced Warbird
-- Not sure. It supposedly splits into both tac and sci ships (?). It looks like it would make a beast of a tac beam boat with 8 beams broadside (?), but that means a lot of power problems (?). I could not make any sense of this ship from online sources, can anyone give me a simple answer as related to using it as a jack of all ship? It was unclear if the split ships had different stats, and if so, what they are (turn rate, hull, etc?). Probably the biggest question here is the rundown of this ship, please.
Ar'Kif Tactical Carrier Warbird Retrofit
This is my top pick so far for my tactical captain, but can it wing it as a science ship "well enough" until I can afford something else? It also looks like a loser for engineering (???).
Thanks for comments. Trying to stretch my zen as far as it will go...
I am still fairly new and have only hit max level on tac so far, with "around" level 30s in sci and eng. So understand that there is a lot I do not know.
The 3 I am looking at most (if you know of something better that I did not list, say so) are, in random order:
T'varo Light Warbird Retrofit
Pros: universal BO, balanced consoles, good turn rate. Strong tactical ship.
Cons: Best it can do at science is the universal guy. It would be awful for engineers (??).
Haakona Advanced Warbird
-- Not sure. It supposedly splits into both tac and sci ships (?). It looks like it would make a beast of a tac beam boat with 8 beams broadside (?), but that means a lot of power problems (?). I could not make any sense of this ship from online sources, can anyone give me a simple answer as related to using it as a jack of all ship? It was unclear if the split ships had different stats, and if so, what they are (turn rate, hull, etc?). Probably the biggest question here is the rundown of this ship, please.
Ar'Kif Tactical Carrier Warbird Retrofit
This is my top pick so far for my tactical captain, but can it wing it as a science ship "well enough" until I can afford something else? It also looks like a loser for engineering (???).
Thanks for comments. Trying to stretch my zen as far as it will go...
Post edited by Unknown User on
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Haakona: powerful battlecruiser, but difficult to configure/equip.
It can mount the DCs/DHCs, but it lacks the proper manoeuverability to use them effectively, while it is whole, so a broadside layout is a viable option.
But when splitted in Assault/Guardian Warbird the manoeuverability is sufficient, so the bradside layout is a sub-optimal configuration...
I've used with success a jack-of-all-trades build, useful when the ship is whole or splitted...
FRONT: Romulan Torpedo Launcher, Plasma Cannon, Plasma Cannon, Plasma Turret.
AFT: Plasma Turret, Plasma Turret, Plasma Turret, Plasma Array.
I use the LT. Commander Universal with a Tactical B.O.: with this configuration the cruiser is heavily Tac-Eng oriented, but for me it is fine.
Ar'Kif Retrofit: powerful escort on it's own right, not to mention if used in conjunction with the fighters!
I use the LT. Commander Universal with a Science B.O.: Gravity Well I + Cannon Scatter Volley III + Torpedo Spread II = Many many many unhappy Borg Spheres and Probes.
The Focused Singularity Beam, when it works fine (it is bugged...) can heavily damage cubes et al., while the the Annihilation Mode it is useful when you have to trade shield regeneration for energy damage.
Bye / Qapla' / Jolan tru
P.S.: I use my ships only for PvE, sorry
plays like an escort, can equip DHC's etc, has 5 tac consoles, 2 engineering, 3 sci. has a lt com sci boff station
For the VA sci rommy I got the 3pack of the scimitar type ships, and am still trying to figure out which one is best for a sci officer.
For my rommy tac, he's got the freebie assault warbird, the ar'kif, I think. And I like it a LOT.
Fits my play style very well.
It's tough, maneuverable, and deadly.
I don't know if there's a jack-of-all-trades type ship available for romulans.
Seems to me, "well-rounded" ships in this game would be a liability. Unless you could stack 3 of each kind of boff in a ship, it would be kind neutered, IMHO.
*edit* I'm still a newb, so I could be completely wrong about everything.
No matter what mode you're in, the ship's officer, console, and weapon layout remains the same. Dual Vector Separation takes the Haakona/Ha'apax's stats and applies modifiers for the playable ship, and launches the counterpart as an NPC.
Assault Command gives you the Ha'feh section, greatly increasing your turn rate and slightly increasing your Weapon power at the cost of a lot of health, both to hull and shields. The Guardian section pet is equipped with support powers as well as beam arrays for some supporting fire.
Guardian Command gives you the Ha'nom section, sacrificing weapon and engine power (as well as some hull) for increased shields, Aux power, and moderately improved turn rate. The Assault section pet is heavily armed, so despite the loss of weapon power on your end, you should see an overall increase in damage.
The Fleet version needs a T5 starbase, though. The only Warbird with more potential Science seating is the Ha'nom (not counting the Temporal Science Ship, since it's not really a Warbird), though it's matched by several others (Scimitar, Haakona, T'varo, Deinos, Dhelan). The Ar'Kif is basically a mini-Scimitar, with fewer weapons, higher turn rate, and a slightly different officer layout.
Other ships for your consideration:
Scimitar: The undisputed king of DPS, and has rather flexible seating as well. More agile than the D'deridex or an unseparated Haakona, but much less so than the Mogai or Ar'Kif... but the 5/3 weapons, 5 Tac consoles, and Cdr Tac all combine to make it a potent war machine, and the 2-piece console set basically fixes its turning woes (you do have officers with Infiltrator and/or Subterfuge onboard, right?).
D'deridex: Extremely versatile, even with so many fixed seats. Its hull is (barely) superior to the Ha'apax/Haakona's, but its shields are (slightly) inferior. The Fleet version gains +.5 base turn rate over the standard Retrofit.
Freebie ships: Your only choice for a pure-Science Warbird... aside from the Mirror variants. The Ha'feh is a capable bird in its own right, and the Ha'apax is not terrible if one sticks to beam arrays. The fleet Ha'nom and Ha'feh require a T5 starbase and can't get a fleet module discount (no, the Haakona does not pull triple-duty for module discounts), however.
That said the fleet ship is a good choice as well, but my fleet (which I like, good people) is new and will be a bit before we have enough things built to get fleet ships. I looked at the 2k zen version of the dhelan and it would be an option.
nevemind answer came in as I asked...
Thank you everyone! That last post came in as I was asking for the details.
Now I just have to decide which, but from the sound of it, probably get the haakona for flexibility.
That's a one-character solution. Each fleet ship is a per-character purchase, to encourage continued sales of the C-Store versions.
I got the haakona, and it does indeed fit the bill pretty well, about as expected. Its not the ultimate ship, but for cheap folks that want to try a character of each faction and each class, a rom (who can pick either faction) and this ship are looking like a good bargain approach for sure.
The BO layout is a little weaker for tactical but good enough for a casual pve player. I lost my best mine pattern, not a huge loss. It makes up for it by being super tough when I need a tough ship, and being a decent escort when I need an escort. I took the guardian half a few times and intentionally picked some fights that I would not have been able to win in an escort, and those went well. The AI controlled half gets itself killed a lot, though. I think dual beams is a flexible option if you want to use all 3 configurations, while cannons would be for flying the escort half most of the time. Due to the oddball layout of the tactical BOs, you can actually swap officer stations efficiently. That is, a cannon guy and a beam guy can change out from the ensign to the universal station, with a generic ensign skill like tactical team 1.
I am looking forward to using it for the other classes, should have them to 50 in a month or so.
Biggest negatives about it
- BO layout, really should be 4 skill universal, 3 skill engineer (reverse those stations)
- the AI controlled half is at best meh. It follows me, and it fights, but its not exactly a top ace in the seat. It dies a lot, which works as a meat shield, and that is powerful when driving the escort part.
- the cooldown on configuration is so long I could finish a fight and be stuck in default mode for the next map. There will be times when you sit there waiting on it to cool before continuation of your mission.
But all in all I am more than satisfied with it for what I wanted to do. I am probably going to eventually earn a pure dps ship, but that is a long time away and this one will get me there.