Good --> skill point cost same no matter what energy weapon flavor you use
Debatable --> relative effectiveness of different procs
Bad --> inferiority (procs aside) of Plasma weapons (because all of the new STF shields give 10% protection, so if you choose to shoot plasma, you're choosing 10% less DPS in PVP) and Antiproton weapons (because you MUST use flavor-specific type tac consoles to get the full boost - 26% vs 18% for the general, non-specific console) and Antiproton-boosting tac consoles are still not available from the emblem/dilithium store or crafting, so if you choose to shoot Antiproton, you're choosing 8% * however many tac console slots you have less DPS.
TL;DR: Phasers are still the best, disruptor/tetryon/polaron OK, plasma and AP weapons should be recycled for EC
Antiproton weapons (because you MUST use flavor-specific type tac consoles to get the full boost - 26% vs 18% for the general, non-specific console) and Antiproton-boosting tac consoles are still not available from the emblem/dilithium store or crafting, so if you choose to shoot Antiproton, you're choosing 8% * however many tac console slots you have less DPS.
Or you just do what everyone else does and buy the aniproton mag regulartor's (tac ap consoles) from the exchange (search for white and green X/XI/XII mag regulator consoles).
The white XII mag regulators are on par with the blue XI ones of other weapon types, so if you go with 8% * however many tac console slots you have less DPS then your just not equipping your ship right. Now before you make an argument about the cost of the consoles.. the mk X white ones are at 21% and are rather cheap compared to the blue 18% general ones, jfyi
I expect AP to become a lot more popular with those changes, afterall it doesn't cost more skill points and AP is still probably the best proc out there.. limiting factor may be the supply of consoles tho.. which can be seen positive as well as it may keep some diversity on weapons maybe.
True... but would you rather run AP with a set of 21% or phasers with a set of 26% consoles?
If you have 3 tac console slots, then the difference of 100+21%^3 and 100+26%^3 is an effective multiplier of 1.77 and 2.00... with a 20% crit D boost for the AP, then the Crit H rate you'd need to break even (ie identical effective DPS) would be 1.77*1.20*X=2.00... You'd need a crit rate of right around 94% to break even. But then consider that phasers have a proc of their own to offline stuff... AP is a poor choice as long as you can't get their tac consoles as easily and as cheaply as the other damage types...
Good --> skill point cost same no matter what energy weapon flavor you use
Debatable --> relative effectiveness of different procs
Bad --> inferiority (procs aside) of Plasma weapons (because all of the new STF shields give 10% protection, so if you choose to shoot plasma, you're choosing 10% less DPS in PVP) and Antiproton weapons (because you MUST use flavor-specific type tac consoles to get the full boost - 26% vs 18% for the general, non-specific console) and Antiproton-boosting tac consoles are still not available from the emblem/dilithium store or crafting, so if you choose to shoot Antiproton, you're choosing 8% * however many tac console slots you have less DPS.
TL;DR: Phasers are still the best, disruptor/tetryon/polaron OK, plasma and AP weapons should be recycled for EC
The STFs have plasma defense because they are designed to be acquired and then used to run through STFs. Borg use a lot of Plasma evidently.
Also the AP consoles can be found as drops in several areas through the game and even the white MK12s have the +26% bonus. If one grinds Ker'rat and other zones you can usaully acquire them rather easiyl.
Unless you're running a Tyken's 3 drain build or a pure DPS Tac/Escort, there is quite literally NO reason to run anything Phaser/Disruptors.
Tetryon: You'll need Cannons/Turrets to even get a decent proc rate, and even then, Phasers do a better job of bringing shields down. Plasma: If you want to do extra damage, Disruptors are a better option since they'll boost everyone's damage and can't have their proc easily removed. Plus a significant number of people run with the Borg shields, which have an innate -20% Plasma damage modifier. Polarons: They're called lollarons for a reason. And again, unless it's Tyken's 3, you're better off elsewhere. Antiproton: It's for pure DPS and pure DPS only. Meaning that unless you're a Tac, you're missing out on a lot of it's bonuses/will be served better by other procs.
The only reason some skilled PvPers use Polarons on their Escorts is because of the cheap and readily available [CrtH]x2[Acc] and [Accx2][CrtH] modifiers.
hehe I have a toon that is at RA with level XI VERY RARE in all slots. I've tried (just for fun) Tetron and Antiproton (and respeced accordingly) ... might as well been shooting blanks ! I'm going back to phasers and Q-torps.
I'm always at ends with things like this. I've got a fair amount of captains, and they all run some interesting weapons. Phasers and Disruptors are nice, but I can't discount the porc's you get from the other weapon types. If you do it right, and get weapons with accuracy on them (These typically come from emblem farming and getting them from the merchants) you can do well with any of them.
People laugh at the Lolerons, but I've honestly found them to be the most damaging weapon type. My Betazoid engineer uses the Star Cruiser and a Poloron / Quantum setup, and compared to the other cruisers I fly, it is by far the most dangerous on the battlefield. (Which is totally odd, because the Star Cruiser is really built for more healing than DPS.)
My other two Federation cruisers are a Galaxy-X running Phasers beams / Quantums and an Excelsior running Disruptor beams and Quantums. Not to say they get owned all the time, but compared to the Star Cruiser I typically always dish out more DPS with it than the other two. (Again really odd because the Galaxy-X and the Excelsior are both more tactically minded.)
Honestly I think a lot of people tend to have more resistance to Phasers and Disruptors because they are more common. Using the other types tends to work better for me in most situations.
With the new changes coming to the spec tree I can only see this working better to diversify the weapon types since it's no longer an issue of how many points you spec into a different weapon type, and using up points higher in the spec tree to use them effectively.
Comments
Or you just do what everyone else does and buy the aniproton mag regulartor's (tac ap consoles) from the exchange (search for white and green X/XI/XII mag regulator consoles).
The white XII mag regulators are on par with the blue XI ones of other weapon types, so if you go with 8% * however many tac console slots you have less DPS then your just not equipping your ship right. Now before you make an argument about the cost of the consoles.. the mk X white ones are at 21% and are rather cheap compared to the blue 18% general ones, jfyi
I expect AP to become a lot more popular with those changes, afterall it doesn't cost more skill points and AP is still probably the best proc out there.. limiting factor may be the supply of consoles tho.. which can be seen positive as well as it may keep some diversity on weapons maybe.
If you have 3 tac console slots, then the difference of 100+21%^3 and 100+26%^3 is an effective multiplier of 1.77 and 2.00... with a 20% crit D boost for the AP, then the Crit H rate you'd need to break even (ie identical effective DPS) would be 1.77*1.20*X=2.00... You'd need a crit rate of right around 94% to break even. But then consider that phasers have a proc of their own to offline stuff... AP is a poor choice as long as you can't get their tac consoles as easily and as cheaply as the other damage types...
yea but what happens if they do that and make em as easily avaiable.. would there be any reason left to not use AP ?
The STFs have plasma defense because they are designed to be acquired and then used to run through STFs. Borg use a lot of Plasma evidently.
Also the AP consoles can be found as drops in several areas through the game and even the white MK12s have the +26% bonus. If one grinds Ker'rat and other zones you can usaully acquire them rather easiyl.
I love my APs on tribble.
Tetryon: You'll need Cannons/Turrets to even get a decent proc rate, and even then, Phasers do a better job of bringing shields down.
Plasma: If you want to do extra damage, Disruptors are a better option since they'll boost everyone's damage and can't have their proc easily removed. Plus a significant number of people run with the Borg shields, which have an innate -20% Plasma damage modifier.
Polarons: They're called lollarons for a reason. And again, unless it's Tyken's 3, you're better off elsewhere.
Antiproton: It's for pure DPS and pure DPS only. Meaning that unless you're a Tac, you're missing out on a lot of it's bonuses/will be served better by other procs.
The only reason some skilled PvPers use Polarons on their Escorts is because of the cheap and readily available [CrtH]x2[Acc] and [Accx2][CrtH] modifiers.
(Actually the [Acc][CrtH] mods are nothing to laugh at, aside from the fact that if people run special 20% resists it will be for phasers.)
People laugh at the Lolerons, but I've honestly found them to be the most damaging weapon type. My Betazoid engineer uses the Star Cruiser and a Poloron / Quantum setup, and compared to the other cruisers I fly, it is by far the most dangerous on the battlefield. (Which is totally odd, because the Star Cruiser is really built for more healing than DPS.)
My other two Federation cruisers are a Galaxy-X running Phasers beams / Quantums and an Excelsior running Disruptor beams and Quantums. Not to say they get owned all the time, but compared to the Star Cruiser I typically always dish out more DPS with it than the other two. (Again really odd because the Galaxy-X and the Excelsior are both more tactically minded.)
Honestly I think a lot of people tend to have more resistance to Phasers and Disruptors because they are more common. Using the other types tends to work better for me in most situations.
With the new changes coming to the spec tree I can only see this working better to diversify the weapon types since it's no longer an issue of how many points you spec into a different weapon type, and using up points higher in the spec tree to use them effectively.