Star Trek Online Volunteer Community Moderator and Resident She-Wolf
Community Moderators are Unpaid Volunteers and NOT Employees of Gearbox/Cryptic
Views and Opinions May Not Reflect the Views and Opinions of Gearbox/Cryptic
Run into the trenches armed with TR-116Bs, and you're respawning quickly
erm, nope. TR-116B is a perfectly fine weapon there. For questing and general fooling around bring 2 sci pocket healer boffs.
For the last 2 daily quests bring a sci and a dps boff.
Use the highest tier and highest rarity armor available for you.
Do you think it's worth reposting under Player Guides? The impression I got, was that I don't know what I'm talking about, that my gear is apparently junk, and that what was written was 'not very useful or insightful'... I'm pleased to hear you picked up some tips, may I ask what they were?
Personally, yes you should re-post this in Player Guides. Your gear aside, there are some a few good suggestions in here for players totally new to the zone and Vaadwaur.
I wouldn't worry so much about including your gear in this. Armor/shields do help but IMO weapons, kits, tactics and positioning are more important.
Thanks, I'll re-post it there as well, but as others mentioned, there's some good information here as well, which I wouldn't want to see lost
The irony being, I never actually specified what my gear was at all, beyond the dual pistols I just wanted to show new players, that when it comes to gear, the carpet doesn't always have to match the drapes to be effective
"I fight for the Users!" - Tron
"I was here before you, I will be here after you are gone. I am here, regardless of your acknowledgement or acceptance..." - The Truth
I'd say put it back up and don't let others inability to give a decent critique stop you. Things like the AoY mk13 simply doesn't work for a new player as that was a short run promo from a year or more ago. Good info, but not in context of a newbie stepping foot on prime for the first time as to unlock you'd have to have run enough content to grind out 9 reps including delta and beyond.
Your gear might have been "junk" from one perspective but if looked at from the perspective of someone levelling through the content as a relative newbie or player who hasn't focussed on grinding ec & dil it will be something they can look at to fill holes in their loadout.
I've been playing off and on since launch and try to avoid buying off the exchange as much as possible. Partly because there are those who focus on buying to resell leading to a ton of gouging and partly because I always try and be self sufficient in mmo's.
Maybe consider this thread as a dry run and tweak info as you feel like it based on what was put down in replies.
Don't close this down, please. Nice to see useful information for newer players. And for older players as well. The Internet is what it is. Always gonna be someone who has something smartass to say about whatever it is you write. Because on the Internet none of us are really people and there are no consequences for actions which most people would never dare take in a face to face situation. So buck up, thicken that skin and ignore the trolls. Giving them attention is feeding them. Keep rolling on and don't bother to reply to them.
Don't close this down. Just because a few arrogant fools think that because the map is no difficulty for them your guide is wrong or worthless.
You clearly stated that this was for people coming to Kobali for the first time whilst leveling so any help there is worth it. A lot of new players won't have decent expensive gear, nor will they understand tactics or exactly how the enemy behaves.
Plus this thread has brought a fair few other decent bits of advice from other people too, all worth it if you ask me. This sort of discussion is what the forum should be used for.
Thank you all for the feedback and encouragement The support is much appreciated, amigos, so I have indeed, re-posted the guide It's a good job iPads store deleted notes for 30 days
Yeah, Lobes. No reason to be sore about our exchange yesterday. Or retract your thread.
Admittedly, I went a little over the top with my criticism yesterday (welcome to the internet and STO forums where nitpicking happens quite frequently). My bad, I apologize if I was out of line.
I've got nothing against ya. Just had some issues with some of the theory in your guide. But hey, you tagged me back on several points in your responses. So whatever, no big deal.
If you had fun making this, well, great. I'll leave it at that.
And not that you need to hear it, or that I feel I have to say it; but after being overtly negative yesterday, I'd like to leave you with a positive note if you don't mind.. You're a good writer/with nice style. (High praise coming from me)
The OP was written in such a way that makes it apparent you really get a kick out of this game, and one could see that through the text. Glad you put it back up, even though we didn't see eye to eye. Cheers.
Run into the trenches armed with TR-116Bs, and you're respawning quickly
erm, nope. TR-116B is a perfectly fine weapon there. For questing and general fooling around bring 2 sci pocket healer boffs.
For the last 2 daily quests bring a sci and a dps boff.
Use the highest tier and highest rarity armor available for you.
Happy to give things another try with three TR-116Bs, but I suspect that the tactics and distances involved, will be very different to the up close and personal of the trenches
"I fight for the Users!" - Tron
"I was here before you, I will be here after you are gone. I am here, regardless of your acknowledgement or acceptance..." - The Truth
@silverlobes I moved it to the Players Guides section.
Star Trek Online Volunteer Community Moderator and Resident She-Wolf
Community Moderators are Unpaid Volunteers and NOT Employees of Gearbox/Cryptic
Views and Opinions May Not Reflect the Views and Opinions of Gearbox/Cryptic
I'd say put it back up and don't let others inability to give a decent critique stop you. Things like the AoY mk13 simply doesn't work for a new player as that was a short run promo from a year or more ago. Good info, but not in context of a newbie stepping foot on prime for the first time as to unlock you'd have to have run enough content to grind out 9 reps including delta and beyond.
Your gear might have been "junk" from one perspective but if looked at from the perspective of someone levelling through the content as a relative newbie or player who hasn't focussed on grinding ec & dil it will be something they can look at to fill holes in their loadout.
I've been playing off and on since launch and try to avoid buying off the exchange as much as possible. Partly because there are those who focus on buying to resell leading to a ton of gouging and partly because I always try and be self sufficient in mmo's.
Maybe consider this thread as a dry run and tweak info as you feel like it based on what was put down in replies.
Don't close this down, please. Nice to see useful information for newer players. And for older players as well. The Internet is what it is. Always gonna be someone who has something smartass to say about whatever it is you write. Because on the Internet none of us are really people and there are no consequences for actions which most people would never dare take in a face to face situation. So buck up, thicken that skin and ignore the trolls. Giving them attention is feeding them. Keep rolling on and don't bother to reply to them.
Don't close this down. Just because a few arrogant fools think that because the map is no difficulty for them your guide is wrong or worthless.
You clearly stated that this was for people coming to Kobali for the first time whilst leveling so any help there is worth it. A lot of new players won't have decent expensive gear, nor will they understand tactics or exactly how the enemy behaves.
Plus this thread has brought a fair few other decent bits of advice from other people too, all worth it if you ask me. This sort of discussion is what the forum should be used for.
Thank you all for the feedback and encouragement The support is much appreciated, amigos, so I have indeed, re-posted the guide It's a good job iPads store deleted notes for 30 days
Yeah, Lobes. No reason to be sore about our exchange yesterday. Or retract your thread.
Admittedly, I went a little over the top with my criticism yesterday (welcome to the internet and STO forums where nitpicking happens quite frequently). My bad, I apologize if I was out of line.
I've got nothing against ya. Just had some issues with some of the theory in your guide. But hey, you tagged me back on several points in your responses. So whatever, no big deal.
If you had fun making this, well, great. I'll leave it at that.
And not that you need to hear it, or that I feel I have to say it; but after being overtly negative yesterday, I'd like to leave you with a positive note if you don't mind.. You're a good writer/with nice style. (High praise coming from me)
The OP was written in such a way that makes it apparent you really get a kick out of this game, and one could see that through the text. Glad you put it back up, even though we didn't see eye to eye. Cheers.
I just saw your post, and thanks, it's much appreciated I would have acknowledged it earlier, I wasn't blanking you, but the iPad doesn't always show me a fully refreshed page... >_< Thanks also for the compliment on my writing, that's always nice to be told
"I fight for the Users!" - Tron
"I was here before you, I will be here after you are gone. I am here, regardless of your acknowledgement or acceptance..." - The Truth
Interesting tactics, but way to tank oriented for me.
Plasma Feedback is (almost) a must on Kobali Prime. It can be done without, but it is way easier with that module on the kit.
Personally i prefer split beam rifles over dual pistols.
This program, though reasonably normal at times, seems to have a strong affinity to classes belonging to the Cat 2.0 program. Questerius 2.7 will break down on occasion, resulting in garbage and nonsense messages whenever it occurs. Usually a hard reboot or pulling the plug solves the problem when that happens.
Interesting tactics, but way to tank oriented for me.
Plasma Feedback is (almost) a must on Kobali Prime. It can be done without, but it is way easier with that module on the kit.
Personally i prefer split beam rifles over dual pistols.
Thanks for the suggestion, I'll look into it Are you playing as an engineer as well, or tactical or science? My entire gameplay (ground or space) is based on the premise of being able to tank, so I don't get blown up/incapacitated, while charging in to blow stuff up
Under other circumstances, I prefer split beams as well, either rifles, or Herald staffs, but in this specific environment, I'm trying to go with the equivalent of a Kool-Aid build: Lots of polaron hits in rapid succession, having a cummulative effect
*Extratextbecause
"I fight for the Users!" - Tron
"I was here before you, I will be here after you are gone. I am here, regardless of your acknowledgement or acceptance..." - The Truth
Glad you did not close this down. Useful stuff in here. Even for irritable crusty old relics like myself. The day I stop learning something new about this game is the day it will no longer keep my interest.
A few things I forgot about until now
- Science is still waaay OP on the ground. Despite the, ahem, 'S13 Balance Pass'. Take a Science BOff if you have one. If his/her Secondary Specialization is Temporal, so much the better.
- My Eng BOff is Turret and Exocomp happy. 'Nuff said.
- I forget which Ability it is but one of the Secondary Specialization ones adds Holographic Armor to your Char. Looks ugly as sin. Performs as an excellent addon to whatever ground gear you happen to have.
- On the KDF side, The KHG disruptor/grenade launcher is a viable AoE weapon. I never, ever get tired of hearing three grenade launchers cough at the same time. Allows me to use a BOff Ability Slot for something other than Grenades, too.
- Romulan Imperial Navy Ground Set is free from the Uneasy Allies mission(I think that's the mission for it) and is good enough to use all the time. Goes great with Plasma weapons, too.
- Iconian Kit Modules were not too terribly expensive on the Exchange at the time I refitted all my Away Teams on all five chars. So all five of my chars are using them. The Overcharged Turret fires really slowly. But whatever it hits, it kills. Gravimetric Traps make sure your targets stay where you put them. CD on these is pretty good as well. Added Bonus: it does not cost you your firstborn child to Upgrade them, either.
That takes care of gear for this post. On to tactical considerations.
- Accept the fact you're going to get slapped around sometimes and live with it. You'll not be successful the first time all the time. "He who fights and runs away lives to fight another day." No shame at all in using the better part of valor sometimes. By withdrawing, you can string the Vaadwaur out and get them out of the synergy their systems set up. One Vaadwaur way out in front of the others all by himself is an easy kill.
- Form up on another player and communicate with them if you are moving towards the same area. Forming up with ten or so other players into a group means you will hit the Vaadwaur like a hot knife going into butter. You'll be unstoppable and you'll like it that way.
- Use the "wingman concept" when in a group of players. Pair up before moving out. Move when your wingman moves. Shoot at whatever your wingman is shooting at. This requires minimal communication between players. Having the element lead designate targets and using the wingman to cover the lead defensively makes a pair of average players with average gear much more effective. STO is fun solo. It is even more fun when it gets treated like the MMO it aspires to be.
Hmmm. When I get home from the business trip I am on, I may just have to go spend some quality time in Kobalistan this weekend. I'll be easy to find. Look for the Lethean SciGuy all kitted out in Iconian gear. Or the Andorian SciGuy who looks like he's just escaped from JJTrek, lol.
A six year old boy and his starship. Living the dream.
A normie goes "Oh, what's this?"
An otaku goes "UwU, what's this?"
A furry goes "OwO, what's this?"
A werewolf goes "Awoo, what's this?"
"It's nothing personal, I just don't feel like I've gotten to know a person until I've sniffed their crotch." "We said 'no' to Mr. Curiosity. We're not home. Curiosity is not welcome, it is not to be invited in. Curiosity...is bad. It gets you in trouble, it gets you killed, and more importantly...it makes you poor!"
Passion and Serenity are one.
I gain power by understanding both.
In the chaos of their battle, I bring order.
I am a shadow, darkness born from light.
The Force is united within me.
Actually, there is, if you are an engi, you can use your energy dome, that keeps the enemy away, i used it every time on Sompek, so i know it works, thou i havent tested it in the Delta missions..
Are you talking about the Force Field Dome??? Is that working, again?
Oh...wiki says it is a kit module, now. I will go look for one. Thanks.
Not sure when I am going to get to Delta Quad to test kick those Overseers, though...I started a new Lethean character, tonight. I been wanting make one since...well, a long time....Delta Recruit Event.
"Spend your life doing strange things with weird people." -- UNK
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” -- Benjamin Franklin
When it comes to doing the Voth Ground Battlezone / Kobali Prime which only allows 2 Boffs, I always have 1 science and 1 engineer regardless of the character's career.
It's best to be mobile when fighting the Vaadwaur
I like your suggestions on boffs and usually use the same combination, 1 science and 1 engineer, sometimes even bringing 2 science boffs if not on a sci toon works well as they just melt things on the ground (or hold, freeze, irradiate, debuff) with good AoE's. One would lean one towards heals with the other more offensive, and they are very mobile which you've emphasized.
When bringing a engineer boff usually give him or her nothing fancy, a copy of shield recharge, 2 copies of weapons malfunction, and a turret or mortar. An enemy that can't shoot isn't very effective and again most abilities are mobile.
I see a lot of people not setting waypoints for boffs when replaying the 3rd chapter episodes and would recommend this for the "hold the area" parts, as your boffs aren't doing much for you when setting things up beside you in the marked areas instead of TRIBBLE up the bad guys right where they spawn (which also results in you getting more flanking shots as they turn to face your boffs).
I do like the OP's suggestion of dual pistols (or full auto rifles). Good burst damage on multiple targets. I use 1 disruptor and 1 plasma (debuff and burn) on each boff. Your suggestion of using polaron right back at them works good as well. If you happen to come across one the Vaadwaur dual pistols or full autos that reduce shield hardness they are also great.
If playing an engineer don't discount good old fashioned things like doffed weapons malfunction and fuse armor. I'm not so much for static items like shield or medical generators or force field domes as the key is usually to keep moving.
Thanks OP, any post that gets people discussing various ways of doing better is a good thing.
When bringing a engineer boff usually give him or her nothing fancy, a copy of shield recharge, 2 copies of weapons malfunction, and a turret or mortar. An enemy that can't shoot isn't very effective and again most abilities are mobile.
For engineer characters and Boffs I recommend Sabotage. It is an AOE effect that disables weapons and also damages or destroys mechanical enemies / devices like Voth Battlesuits, turrets, and Iconian Constructs.
Your suggestion of using polaron right back at them works good as well. If you happen to come across one the Vaadwaur dual pistols or full autos that reduce shield hardness they are also great.
That was someone else's suggestion. An ultra rare / epic Plasma Wide Beam Rifle is basically standard issue for my characters and Boffs. The secondary attack is capable of damaging up to 5 enemies.
Interesting tactics, but way to tank oriented for me.
Plasma Feedback is (almost) a must on Kobali Prime. It can be done without, but it is way easier with that module on the kit.
Personally i prefer split beam rifles over dual pistols.
Thanks for the suggestion, I'll look into it Are you playing as an engineer as well, or tactical or science? My entire gameplay (ground or space) is based on the premise of being able to tank, so I don't get blown up/incapacitated, while charging in to blow stuff up
Under other circumstances, I prefer split beams as well, either rifles, or Herald staffs, but in this specific environment, I'm trying to go with the equivalent of a Kool-Aid build: Lots of polaron hits in rapid succession, having a cummulative effect
*Extratextbecause
I use all my characters from time to time on Kobali Prime so Engineer, Science and Tactical all get their share.
Different sets, gear and modules. E.g. i use the https://sto.gamepedia.com/Romulan_Imperial_Navy with a plasma split beam rifle and repeater pistol on my KDF aligned Romulan Tac. Modules vary, but graviton spike is a constant.
Picking up the trait to allow your security detail to use grenades is also useful.
Science varies with some going on a freeze rampage, while other sets focus on knocking over opponents and slicing them into pieces.
Engineer also varies with some bulky (though never the defensive focus you displayed), sometimes fabrications (engineers are usually tank enough to set them up and watch the fun without problems).
This program, though reasonably normal at times, seems to have a strong affinity to classes belonging to the Cat 2.0 program. Questerius 2.7 will break down on occasion, resulting in garbage and nonsense messages whenever it occurs. Usually a hard reboot or pulling the plug solves the problem when that happens.
Glad you did not close this down. Useful stuff in here. Even for irritable crusty old relics like myself. The day I stop learning something new about this game is the day it will no longer keep my interest.
A few things I forgot about until now
- Science is still waaay OP on the ground. Despite the, ahem, 'S13 Balance Pass'. Take a Science BOff if you have one. If his/her Secondary Specialization is Temporal, so much the better.
- My Eng BOff is Turret and Exocomp happy. 'Nuff said.
- I forget which Ability it is but one of the Secondary Specialization ones adds Holographic Armor to your Char. Looks ugly as sin. Performs as an excellent addon to whatever ground gear you happen to have.
- On the KDF side, The KHG disruptor/grenade launcher is a viable AoE weapon. I never, ever get tired of hearing three grenade launchers cough at the same time. Allows me to use a BOff Ability Slot for something other than Grenades, too.
- Romulan Imperial Navy Ground Set is free from the Uneasy Allies mission(I think that's the mission for it) and is good enough to use all the time. Goes great with Plasma weapons, too.
- Iconian Kit Modules were not too terribly expensive on the Exchange at the time I refitted all my Away Teams on all five chars. So all five of my chars are using them. The Overcharged Turret fires really slowly. But whatever it hits, it kills. Gravimetric Traps make sure your targets stay where you put them. CD on these is pretty good as well. Added Bonus: it does not cost you your firstborn child to Upgrade them, either.
That takes care of gear for this post. On to tactical considerations.
- Accept the fact you're going to get slapped around sometimes and live with it. You'll not be successful the first time all the time. "He who fights and runs away lives to fight another day." No shame at all in using the better part of valor sometimes. By withdrawing, you can string the Vaadwaur out and get them out of the synergy their systems set up. One Vaadwaur way out in front of the others all by himself is an easy kill.
- Form up on another player and communicate with them if you are moving towards the same area. Forming up with ten or so other players into a group means you will hit the Vaadwaur like a hot knife going into butter. You'll be unstoppable and you'll like it that way.
- Use the "wingman concept" when in a group of players. Pair up before moving out. Move when your wingman moves. Shoot at whatever your wingman is shooting at. This requires minimal communication between players. Having the element lead designate targets and using the wingman to cover the lead defensively makes a pair of average players with average gear much more effective. STO is fun solo. It is even more fun when it gets treated like the MMO it aspires to be.
Hmmm. When I get home from the business trip I am on, I may just have to go spend some quality time in Kobalistan this weekend. I'll be easy to find. Look for the Lethean SciGuy all kitted out in Iconian gear. Or the Andorian SciGuy who looks like he's just escaped from JJTrek, lol.
Thanks, and thanks for the awesome suggestions
I have several science boffs. Up until the past 48 hours, said go to science boff was Eryn, a VR Trill with Intel specialization, who has been with Kek since completing the tutorial. But, pretty much since last Thursday's note-free 'maintenance', her ground performance has been abysmal. As mentioned, I'd compare it to a tac boff with Draw Fire slotted, and no shield All the main boffs are cross-qualified, specifically for the seating of a Konnie for when I get one (I should have had one before now, but Reasons...) I do, however, have two more science boffs:
A VR Betazoid with the following traits: Empathetic, Superior Peak Health, Superior Stubborn and Telepathic. Vascular regenerator III and Cold Fusion Flash I was purchased for her.
A R Andorian with the following traits: Acute Senses, Basic Creativity' Cold Dwelling and Superior Aggression. Vascular regenerator III and Cold Fusion Flash II was purchased for her.
I also tried some different weapons for the team: Kek had his split beam disruptor rifle (which has been upgraded to VR Mk XIV) the Andorian, has the Withering disruptor split beam rifle R MK XII from the Terran reputation, and the Betazoid has the C Plasma repeater pistol Mk IX. The results were interesting. The Plasma repeater pistol fires faster than the dual Polaron pistols, but the six Polaron pistols observably works faster to bring the Vaadwaur groups down.
I also tried things with everyone having a TR-116B. Keeping a very close eye on when the primary firing mode becomes accessible, it is possible to bring down the patrols without being incapacitated, but it takes way longer than with either of the previously mentioned weapons, and using these as an approach, is a totally different one to the idea of being able to dispatch the enemy quickly.
On the subject of the boffs themselves, the Betazoid took damage almost as quickly as the Trill, but didn't pass out quite as fast. The Andorian took damage better, but had a tendency to run beyond the range to feel the benefit of the shield pulse... Better than the Trill, but one to either keep and eye on, or leave to her own devices and be prepared to have to come along to wake up if overpowered. On a full away team, they'd be fine
"I fight for the Users!" - Tron
"I was here before you, I will be here after you are gone. I am here, regardless of your acknowledgement or acceptance..." - The Truth
Well...the guide could use some tweaks if one was to be optimal, but overall, it WILL get a new player through that area so mission complete. I thought it was sufficent...but I will admit that I care not one bit about ground so I went through that whole area with a sword pressing 1 and 2 while my sci boffs kept me healed with nothing but healing skills loaded up. Sompek actually made me up my ground game a bit. That was kinda fun and now I do have a bit more fun in ground.
I could tweak it, but I'm always mindful of the post-eater, so probably safest to leave it 'as is' for now, and have people keep putting their own suggestions and contributions in the thread, for folks to read through Did your sci boffs literally only have healing skills loaded?! Sompek is badass, hopefully the next time it rocks around, I'll be using a PC which doesn't crash to desktop whenever it feels like it
"I fight for the Users!" - Tron
"I was here before you, I will be here after you are gone. I am here, regardless of your acknowledgement or acceptance..." - The Truth
Interesting tactics, but way to tank oriented for me.
Plasma Feedback is (almost) a must on Kobali Prime. It can be done without, but it is way easier with that module on the kit.
Personally i prefer split beam rifles over dual pistols.
Thanks for the suggestion, I'll look into it Are you playing as an engineer as well, or tactical or science? My entire gameplay (ground or space) is based on the premise of being able to tank, so I don't get blown up/incapacitated, while charging in to blow stuff up
Under other circumstances, I prefer split beams as well, either rifles, or Herald staffs, but in this specific environment, I'm trying to go with the equivalent of a Kool-Aid build: Lots of polaron hits in rapid succession, having a cummulative effect
*Extratextbecause
I use all my characters from time to time on Kobali Prime so Engineer, Science and Tactical all get their share.
Different sets, gear and modules. E.g. i use the https://sto.gamepedia.com/Romulan_Imperial_Navy with a plasma split beam rifle and repeater pistol on my KDF aligned Romulan Tac. Modules vary, but graviton spike is a constant.
Picking up the trait to allow your security detail to use grenades is also useful.
Science varies with some going on a freeze rampage, while other sets focus on knocking over opponents and slicing them into pieces.
Engineer also varies with some bulky (though never the defensive focus you displayed), sometimes fabrications (engineers are usually tank enough to set them up and watch the fun without problems).
The only mandatory gear for any Away Team is a player who pays attention to details and executes all the fundamentals correctly in the correct order. All that fancy nancy top end MXX Epically Epic gear is nice to have. But only because it allows one to do something really stupid tactically and live to learn not to do that again. Exact same thing thing I used to tell my Lieutenants about the M1A1. A T55 at 800 meters or less firing APCBC at the flank of an Abrams will kill one just as dead as that Mi-24D firing an AT-6 Spiral ATGM from 5 klicks plus.
Haven't tried kitting out with all TR-116Bs in Kobalistan. Usually have just the one. And it is usually in the hands of my TAC BOff if I bring one. And that BOff is optimized as much as possible for long range attacks. I prefer AoE attacks on the ground when fighting mobs of Vaadwaur. Killing them in job lots is more efficient than doing them one at a time. I like the idea of reaching out to touch someone at the longest range possible, though. Worth checking out this weekend, I think.
Some other things I like to add to this guide.
-Sequencing and timing. Just as important in Ground combat as it is is Space combat. Check the order of your attacks. Launch the ones with the longest duration/range and/or the longest CD first. Buff up the attack before launching it. Don't just mash buttons to be mashing buttons. Think about what your best attack is and then all of the Abilities you have which can buff it. I set them up in my Tray from left to right. I use the Tray only for my char's Abilities. Because you can activate BOff Abilities from the Team template. I don't use macros or key bindings. But I clearly understand why someone would want to.
-Regenerators. Get some. Equip them. Don't be afraid to use them, either. Get the Large ones if possible.
-Batteries. Each of my BOffs has a full loadout of Weapon and Shield Batteries. And Hypos. In all three cases, I spend for the Large ones. Don't get cheap here, either. Make sure your have at least two full loadouts for each member of your Away Team. Sure, you can replicate the Small ones in a pinch. And the Small ones are better than nothing at all. But as with other things, size matters here as well.
A six year old boy and his starship. Living the dream.
The only mandatory gear for any Away Team is a player who pays attention to details and executes all the fundamentals correctly in the correct order. All that fancy nancy top end MXX Epically Epic gear is nice to have. But only because it allows one to do something really stupid tactically and live to learn not to do that again. Exact same thing thing I used to tell my Lieutenants about the M1A1. A T55 at 800 meters or less firing APCBC at the flank of an Abrams will kill one just as dead as that Mi-24D firing an AT-6 Spiral ATGM from 5 klicks plus.
Haven't tried kitting out with all TR-116Bs in Kobalistan. Usually have just the one. And it is usually in the hands of my TAC BOff if I bring one. And that BOff is optimized as much as possible for long range attacks. I prefer AoE attacks on the ground when fighting mobs of Vaadwaur. Killing them in job lots is more efficient than doing them one at a time. I like the idea of reaching out to touch someone at the longest range possible, though. Worth checking out this weekend, I think.
I like to have 5 TR's before hitting Where Angels Fear To Tread, as it makes for a nice turkey-shoot The difference between the Borg and Kobalistan, is that the Borg don't move anywhere near as quickly, and their weapons don't pack anywhere the same kind of punch, so when I stop Kek at the trigger range for the primary firing mode, Little Miss Andorian Guard keeps running into the mob. With a slow weapon. So she takes more hits than she need to Rally points solve this problem, but significantly slows things, and changes the action from 'blasting on fools', to definite 'considered sharpshooting'... Both can be fun, but with those mobs moving and trying to flank, IMO, it's definitely better to be mobile, than fixed in place (which the boffs need, to curb their instinct to get stuck in...)
As for reaching out to touch someone at a distance, Vaadwaur anchor drone and orbital strike does that rather nicely
Some other things I like to add to this guide.
-Sequencing and timing. Just as important in Ground combat as it is is Space combat. Check the order of your attacks. Launch the ones with the longest duration/range and/or the longest CD first. Buff up the attack before launching it. Don't just mash buttons to be mashing buttons. Think about what your best attack is and then all of the Abilities you have which can buff it. I set them up in my Tray from left to right. I use the Tray only for my char's Abilities. Because you can activate BOff Abilities from the Team template. I don't use macros or key bindings. But I clearly understand why someone would want to.
I have mine also set up left to right along the number keys, but I use both the number bar and the number pad by the cursor keys... On the ground, I use the cursor keys for movement, with the middle three fingers of my left hand on 1,2,3 keys, which are either primary and secondary fire and rifle butt to the face, or on ctrl, shield pulse, Scarab plating, and Reroute power to shields, so either fighting, or essential defensive actions are the easiest to use. That leaves my thumb near the f, the spacebar and the z, with my pinky finger on ctrl.
My right thumb will be on the right ctrl, so if I need to activate any of the number pad, it's an easy reach with my index finger for the 4 and 7. 5 is covershield, as it can be felt in an emergency, with the anchor drone assigned to 8, and either sabotage or mines on 0. Left hand is for essential actions, right hand is for direction and the less frequently used gear, and I'll use whichever ctrl key is easiest. I almost never use a mouse on the ground, except for if I want to designate a very specific target, say for the anchor drone to lock in on. I'm not sure if that's using keybinds or not, but I definitely know which key activates each function, and can use them without having to look at what I'm doing
-Regenerators. Get some. Equip them. Don't be afraid to use them, either. Get the Large ones if possible.
-Batteries. Each of my BOffs has a full loadout of Weapon and Shield Batteries. And Hypos. In all three cases, I spend for the Large ones. Don't get cheap here, either. Make sure your have at least two full loadouts for each member of your Away Team. Sure, you can replicate the Small ones in a pinch. And the Small ones are better than nothing at all. But as with other things, size matters here as well.
Definitely
"I fight for the Users!" - Tron
"I was here before you, I will be here after you are gone. I am here, regardless of your acknowledgement or acceptance..." - The Truth
i never had a single crash at all during sompek, and i'm fairly sure my hardware's a lot worse (the card definitely is, since i only have a GTX 650 - no idea how a ryzen core stacks up against an intel I7 6700K though)
so yeah, probably software
and in regards to the actual topic, going full science boffs loaded with heals on your away team doesn't just work on kobalistan - it works EVERYWHERE
A normie goes "Oh, what's this?"
An otaku goes "UwU, what's this?"
A furry goes "OwO, what's this?"
A werewolf goes "Awoo, what's this?"
"It's nothing personal, I just don't feel like I've gotten to know a person until I've sniffed their crotch." "We said 'no' to Mr. Curiosity. We're not home. Curiosity is not welcome, it is not to be invited in. Curiosity...is bad. It gets you in trouble, it gets you killed, and more importantly...it makes you poor!"
Passion and Serenity are one.
I gain power by understanding both.
In the chaos of their battle, I bring order.
I am a shadow, darkness born from light.
The Force is united within me.
Well...the guide could use some tweaks if one was to be optimal, but overall, it WILL get a new player through that area so mission complete. I thought it was sufficent...but I will admit that I care not one bit about ground so I went through that whole area with a sword pressing 1 and 2 while my sci boffs kept me healed with nothing but healing skills loaded up. Sompek actually made me up my ground game a bit. That was kinda fun and now I do have a bit more fun in ground.
I could tweak it, but I'm always mindful of the post-eater, so probably safest to leave it 'as is' for now, and have people keep putting their own suggestions and contributions in the thread, for folks to read through Did your sci boffs literally only have healing skills loaded?! Sompek is badass, hopefully the next time it rocks around, I'll be using a PC which doesn't crash to desktop whenever it feels like it
Yep. I loaded up ALL heals. Their job was to keep me alive damn it as I leeroy jenkins the hell out of that area with a sword. Not really optimal...but it worked for me.
Getting a better PC doesn't help with CTD during sompek. I have a ryzen core, nvidia 1070 video card computer and it STILL CTD during that event. It's a software issue really...not a hardware one.
i never had a single crash at all during sompek, and i'm fairly sure my hardware's a lot worse (the card definitely is, since i only have a GTX 650 - no idea how a ryzen core stacks up against an intel I7 6700K though)
so yeah, probably software
and in regards to the actual topic, going full science boffs loaded with heals on your away team doesn't just work on kobalistan - it works EVERYWHERE
Oh it's definitely software The PC spent ages in storage and missed a lot of updates. So much so, that when it starts up, it notifies me that I might not be running genuine windows! If I click the option to update, it just goes to a url showing a blank page which never fully loads. I'll run it into the shop for a new version of windows when I can (always something eating into that disposable, but hey, Family comes first ) I can live with the crashes as it's better than not playing at all
I'm not sure how I'd feel with an away team of all one career, as I almost think I'd feel like I'd be missing out on certain abilities, but on the other hand, an away team of all one career, with a variety of abilities from across that range, that could be interesting
"I fight for the Users!" - Tron
"I was here before you, I will be here after you are gone. I am here, regardless of your acknowledgement or acceptance..." - The Truth
Having the track Confusion [Pump Panel Reconstruction Mix] playing while running around Kobalistan definitely adds +100 Badassery... It was good enough for Blade
"I fight for the Users!" - Tron
"I was here before you, I will be here after you are gone. I am here, regardless of your acknowledgement or acceptance..." - The Truth
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erm, nope. TR-116B is a perfectly fine weapon there. For questing and general fooling around bring 2 sci pocket healer boffs.
For the last 2 daily quests bring a sci and a dps boff.
Use the highest tier and highest rarity armor available for you.
The irony being, I never actually specified what my gear was at all, beyond the dual pistols
"I was here before you, I will be here after you are gone. I am here, regardless of your acknowledgement or acceptance..." - The Truth
"I was here before you, I will be here after you are gone. I am here, regardless of your acknowledgement or acceptance..." - The Truth
Yeah, Lobes. No reason to be sore about our exchange yesterday. Or retract your thread.
Admittedly, I went a little over the top with my criticism yesterday (welcome to the internet and STO forums where nitpicking happens quite frequently). My bad, I apologize if I was out of line.
I've got nothing against ya. Just had some issues with some of the theory in your guide. But hey, you tagged me back on several points in your responses. So whatever, no big deal.
If you had fun making this, well, great. I'll leave it at that.
And not that you need to hear it, or that I feel I have to say it; but after being overtly negative yesterday, I'd like to leave you with a positive note if you don't mind.. You're a good writer/with nice style. (High praise coming from me)
The OP was written in such a way that makes it apparent you really get a kick out of this game, and one could see that through the text. Glad you put it back up, even though we didn't see eye to eye. Cheers.
"I was here before you, I will be here after you are gone. I am here, regardless of your acknowledgement or acceptance..." - The Truth
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@baddmoonrizin Cheers
"I was here before you, I will be here after you are gone. I am here, regardless of your acknowledgement or acceptance..." - The Truth
I just saw your post, and thanks, it's much appreciated
"I was here before you, I will be here after you are gone. I am here, regardless of your acknowledgement or acceptance..." - The Truth
Plasma Feedback is (almost) a must on Kobali Prime. It can be done without, but it is way easier with that module on the kit.
Personally i prefer split beam rifles over dual pistols.
Under other circumstances, I prefer split beams as well, either rifles, or Herald staffs, but in this specific environment, I'm trying to go with the equivalent of a Kool-Aid build: Lots of polaron hits in rapid succession, having a cummulative effect
*Extratextbecause
"I was here before you, I will be here after you are gone. I am here, regardless of your acknowledgement or acceptance..." - The Truth
A few things I forgot about until now
- Science is still waaay OP on the ground. Despite the, ahem, 'S13 Balance Pass'. Take a Science BOff if you have one. If his/her Secondary Specialization is Temporal, so much the better.
- My Eng BOff is Turret and Exocomp happy. 'Nuff said.
- I forget which Ability it is but one of the Secondary Specialization ones adds Holographic Armor to your Char. Looks ugly as sin. Performs as an excellent addon to whatever ground gear you happen to have.
- On the KDF side, The KHG disruptor/grenade launcher is a viable AoE weapon. I never, ever get tired of hearing three grenade launchers cough at the same time. Allows me to use a BOff Ability Slot for something other than Grenades, too.
- Romulan Imperial Navy Ground Set is free from the Uneasy Allies mission(I think that's the mission for it) and is good enough to use all the time. Goes great with Plasma weapons, too.
- Iconian Kit Modules were not too terribly expensive on the Exchange at the time I refitted all my Away Teams on all five chars. So all five of my chars are using them. The Overcharged Turret fires really slowly. But whatever it hits, it kills. Gravimetric Traps make sure your targets stay where you put them. CD on these is pretty good as well. Added Bonus: it does not cost you your firstborn child to Upgrade them, either.
That takes care of gear for this post. On to tactical considerations.
- Accept the fact you're going to get slapped around sometimes and live with it. You'll not be successful the first time all the time. "He who fights and runs away lives to fight another day." No shame at all in using the better part of valor sometimes. By withdrawing, you can string the Vaadwaur out and get them out of the synergy their systems set up. One Vaadwaur way out in front of the others all by himself is an easy kill.
- Form up on another player and communicate with them if you are moving towards the same area. Forming up with ten or so other players into a group means you will hit the Vaadwaur like a hot knife going into butter. You'll be unstoppable and you'll like it that way.
- Use the "wingman concept" when in a group of players. Pair up before moving out. Move when your wingman moves. Shoot at whatever your wingman is shooting at. This requires minimal communication between players. Having the element lead designate targets and using the wingman to cover the lead defensively makes a pair of average players with average gear much more effective. STO is fun solo. It is even more fun when it gets treated like the MMO it aspires to be.
Hmmm. When I get home from the business trip I am on, I may just have to go spend some quality time in Kobalistan this weekend. I'll be easy to find. Look for the Lethean SciGuy all kitted out in Iconian gear. Or the Andorian SciGuy who looks like he's just escaped from JJTrek, lol.
#LegalizeAwoo
A normie goes "Oh, what's this?"
An otaku goes "UwU, what's this?"
A furry goes "OwO, what's this?"
A werewolf goes "Awoo, what's this?"
"It's nothing personal, I just don't feel like I've gotten to know a person until I've sniffed their crotch."
"We said 'no' to Mr. Curiosity. We're not home. Curiosity is not welcome, it is not to be invited in. Curiosity...is bad. It gets you in trouble, it gets you killed, and more importantly...it makes you poor!"
Are you talking about the Force Field Dome??? Is that working, again?
Oh...wiki says it is a kit module, now. I will go look for one. Thanks.
Not sure when I am going to get to Delta Quad to test kick those Overseers, though...I started a new Lethean character, tonight. I been wanting make one since...well, a long time....Delta Recruit Event.
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” -- Benjamin Franklin
I like your suggestions on boffs and usually use the same combination, 1 science and 1 engineer, sometimes even bringing 2 science boffs if not on a sci toon works well as they just melt things on the ground (or hold, freeze, irradiate, debuff) with good AoE's. One would lean one towards heals with the other more offensive, and they are very mobile which you've emphasized.
When bringing a engineer boff usually give him or her nothing fancy, a copy of shield recharge, 2 copies of weapons malfunction, and a turret or mortar. An enemy that can't shoot isn't very effective and again most abilities are mobile.
I see a lot of people not setting waypoints for boffs when replaying the 3rd chapter episodes and would recommend this for the "hold the area" parts, as your boffs aren't doing much for you when setting things up beside you in the marked areas instead of TRIBBLE up the bad guys right where they spawn (which also results in you getting more flanking shots as they turn to face your boffs).
I do like the OP's suggestion of dual pistols (or full auto rifles). Good burst damage on multiple targets. I use 1 disruptor and 1 plasma (debuff and burn) on each boff. Your suggestion of using polaron right back at them works good as well. If you happen to come across one the Vaadwaur dual pistols or full autos that reduce shield hardness they are also great.
If playing an engineer don't discount good old fashioned things like doffed weapons malfunction and fuse armor. I'm not so much for static items like shield or medical generators or force field domes as the key is usually to keep moving.
Thanks OP, any post that gets people discussing various ways of doing better is a good thing.
For engineer characters and Boffs I recommend Sabotage. It is an AOE effect that disables weapons and also damages or destroys mechanical enemies / devices like Voth Battlesuits, turrets, and Iconian Constructs.
That was someone else's suggestion. An ultra rare / epic Plasma Wide Beam Rifle is basically standard issue for my characters and Boffs. The secondary attack is capable of damaging up to 5 enemies.
I use all my characters from time to time on Kobali Prime so Engineer, Science and Tactical all get their share.
Different sets, gear and modules. E.g. i use the https://sto.gamepedia.com/Romulan_Imperial_Navy with a plasma split beam rifle and repeater pistol on my KDF aligned Romulan Tac. Modules vary, but graviton spike is a constant.
Picking up the trait to allow your security detail to use grenades is also useful.
My tactical federation character focusses on cryo damage with the https://sto.gamepedia.com/Refractive_Bulwark and the cryo modules.
Science varies with some going on a freeze rampage, while other sets focus on knocking over opponents and slicing them into pieces.
Engineer also varies with some bulky (though never the defensive focus you displayed), sometimes fabrications (engineers are usually tank enough to set them up and watch the fun without problems).
https://sto.gamepedia.com/Omega_Force_(Ground) works well on my career, but especially on tactical. The dodge is just too good to pass up.
Using the 2-piece from https://sto.gamepedia.com/Na'kuhl_Temporal_Operative#Na.27kuhl_Temporal_Operative_Personal_Shield is also recommended.
I have several science boffs. Up until the past 48 hours, said go to science boff was Eryn, a VR Trill with Intel specialization, who has been with Kek since completing the tutorial. But, pretty much since last Thursday's note-free 'maintenance', her ground performance has been abysmal. As mentioned, I'd compare it to a tac boff with Draw Fire slotted, and no shield
A VR Betazoid with the following traits: Empathetic, Superior Peak Health, Superior Stubborn and Telepathic. Vascular regenerator III and Cold Fusion Flash I was purchased for her.
A R Andorian with the following traits: Acute Senses, Basic Creativity' Cold Dwelling and Superior Aggression. Vascular regenerator III and Cold Fusion Flash II was purchased for her.
I also tried some different weapons for the team: Kek had his split beam disruptor rifle (which has been upgraded to VR Mk XIV) the Andorian, has the Withering disruptor split beam rifle R MK XII from the Terran reputation, and the Betazoid has the C Plasma repeater pistol Mk IX. The results were interesting. The Plasma repeater pistol fires faster than the dual Polaron pistols, but the six Polaron pistols observably works faster to bring the Vaadwaur groups down.
I also tried things with everyone having a TR-116B. Keeping a very close eye on when the primary firing mode becomes accessible, it is possible to bring down the patrols without being incapacitated, but it takes way longer than with either of the previously mentioned weapons, and using these as an approach, is a totally different one to the idea of being able to dispatch the enemy quickly.
On the subject of the boffs themselves, the Betazoid took damage almost as quickly as the Trill, but didn't pass out quite as fast. The Andorian took damage better, but had a tendency to run beyond the range to feel the benefit of the shield pulse... Better than the Trill, but one to either keep and eye on, or leave to her own devices and be prepared to have to come along to wake up if overpowered. On a full away team, they'd be fine
"I was here before you, I will be here after you are gone. I am here, regardless of your acknowledgement or acceptance..." - The Truth
"I was here before you, I will be here after you are gone. I am here, regardless of your acknowledgement or acceptance..." - The Truth
And yes, after my initial experiences in the trenches, I decided to up the defensive focus to compensate
"I was here before you, I will be here after you are gone. I am here, regardless of your acknowledgement or acceptance..." - The Truth
Haven't tried kitting out with all TR-116Bs in Kobalistan. Usually have just the one. And it is usually in the hands of my TAC BOff if I bring one. And that BOff is optimized as much as possible for long range attacks. I prefer AoE attacks on the ground when fighting mobs of Vaadwaur. Killing them in job lots is more efficient than doing them one at a time. I like the idea of reaching out to touch someone at the longest range possible, though. Worth checking out this weekend, I think.
Some other things I like to add to this guide.
-Sequencing and timing. Just as important in Ground combat as it is is Space combat. Check the order of your attacks. Launch the ones with the longest duration/range and/or the longest CD first. Buff up the attack before launching it. Don't just mash buttons to be mashing buttons. Think about what your best attack is and then all of the Abilities you have which can buff it. I set them up in my Tray from left to right. I use the Tray only for my char's Abilities. Because you can activate BOff Abilities from the Team template. I don't use macros or key bindings. But I clearly understand why someone would want to.
-Regenerators. Get some. Equip them. Don't be afraid to use them, either. Get the Large ones if possible.
-Batteries. Each of my BOffs has a full loadout of Weapon and Shield Batteries. And Hypos. In all three cases, I spend for the Large ones. Don't get cheap here, either. Make sure your have at least two full loadouts for each member of your Away Team. Sure, you can replicate the Small ones in a pinch. And the Small ones are better than nothing at all. But as with other things, size matters here as well.
As for reaching out to touch someone at a distance, Vaadwaur anchor drone and orbital strike does that rather nicely
I have mine also set up left to right along the number keys, but I use both the number bar and the number pad by the cursor keys... On the ground, I use the cursor keys for movement, with the middle three fingers of my left hand on 1,2,3 keys, which are either primary and secondary fire and rifle butt to the face, or on ctrl, shield pulse, Scarab plating, and Reroute power to shields, so either fighting, or essential defensive actions are the easiest to use. That leaves my thumb near the f, the spacebar and the z, with my pinky finger on ctrl.
My right thumb will be on the right ctrl, so if I need to activate any of the number pad, it's an easy reach with my index finger for the 4 and 7. 5 is covershield, as it can be felt in an emergency, with the anchor drone assigned to 8, and either sabotage or mines on 0. Left hand is for essential actions, right hand is for direction and the less frequently used gear, and I'll use whichever ctrl key is easiest. I almost never use a mouse on the ground, except for if I want to designate a very specific target, say for the anchor drone to lock in on. I'm not sure if that's using keybinds or not, but I definitely know which key activates each function, and can use them without having to look at what I'm doing
Definitely
"I was here before you, I will be here after you are gone. I am here, regardless of your acknowledgement or acceptance..." - The Truth
so yeah, probably software
and in regards to the actual topic, going full science boffs loaded with heals on your away team doesn't just work on kobalistan - it works EVERYWHERE
#LegalizeAwoo
A normie goes "Oh, what's this?"
An otaku goes "UwU, what's this?"
A furry goes "OwO, what's this?"
A werewolf goes "Awoo, what's this?"
"It's nothing personal, I just don't feel like I've gotten to know a person until I've sniffed their crotch."
"We said 'no' to Mr. Curiosity. We're not home. Curiosity is not welcome, it is not to be invited in. Curiosity...is bad. It gets you in trouble, it gets you killed, and more importantly...it makes you poor!"
I'm not sure how I'd feel with an away team of all one career, as I almost think I'd feel like I'd be missing out on certain abilities, but on the other hand, an away team of all one career, with a variety of abilities from across that range, that could be interesting
"I was here before you, I will be here after you are gone. I am here, regardless of your acknowledgement or acceptance..." - The Truth
"I was here before you, I will be here after you are gone. I am here, regardless of your acknowledgement or acceptance..." - The Truth