They changed back the Field Gens to +35% (temporarily) but now you can only use one.
That's not entirely accurate. They did change them and they do produce almost the same result as they did before. However, the implementation is still different. Just goes to show how little thought they put into changing things, which leads to them completely arsing things up on epic scales regularly. CaptainGeko, you should be forced to revisit your grade 1 math class for the year.
Definitely lots more annoying bugs but I honestly expect that. Ever since Stephen took over, quality control left. Although this isn't a fix, it works.
/defaultautoattack 1
You have to do it every single time you log but still. It's better than mashing the spacebar to death.
I said this in another thread. I hate to defend Stephen, but IMHO part of the issue is the brain drain that happened last year with the Atari sale and PWE purchase. Many times we've heard that PWE supports the game and is putting more reasources into it than Atari did. But under Atari we had a dedicated EP.
So Stephen may be trying as hard as he can with what he has. It still makes it hard to enjoy a game and a franchise that I really want to enjoy.
WOW I have to say, after the latest rounds of NERF's my Defiant-R build has to completely change. Well the defense part of it at least.
I used to run a regen build with a full borg set plus the 35% shield cons and a 13% shield cons.
I made the bio-function monitor a key part of my build a while back. Because with small crews like on the defiant, It rocks.
So now I'm looking for how to make best use of that I have. I had to move my Borg cons to engineering.
I added a armor cons and a emergency force fields console for +35 able and alive crew.
Does any one think the emergency force fields console is a suitable replacement for the bio-function monitor?
+35% crew recovery vs + 35 able and alive crew. essentially, recovery vs. resistance. It has always seamed better to recover then to resist.
If it does a good job of keeping me alive longer I can replace my bio-function with the other shield console the cap one and have my build back. Reason for using the regen rate console over the cap is with tac team it get's the shields where you need them quicker.
Does any one think the emergency force fields console is a suitable replacement for the bio-function monitor?
+35% crew recovery vs + 35 able and alive crew. essentially, recovery vs. resistance. It has always seamed better to recover then to resist.
Both are competing for the title "Worst Sci Console to Take". Crew is absolutely unimportant since it does not improve resistance, it only affects your hull repair rate. Your hull repair rate is only a fraction of your regular rate when your are under red alert or in other words totaly neglectable. In STFs you don't regenerate your hull, you heal it with Engineering Team, Aux2Sif, Hazard Emitter or Miracle Worker. And every second you don't engage the enemy is a second lost for the team so running away to regenerate is not a viable option at all.
Count the seconds I'm not under red alert and think about why no one in the team equipped a biofunction monitor or why there is no reference to that piece of rubbish in any serious PvP build. Not for escorts, not for scis and not for cruisers.
Both are competing for the title "Worst Sci Console to Take". Crew is absolutely unimportant since it does not improve resistance, it only affects your hull repair rate. Your hull repair rate is only a fraction of your regular rate when your are under red alert or in other words totaly neglectable. In STFs you don't regenerate your hull, you heal it with Engineering Team, Aux2Sif, Hazard Emitter or Miracle Worker. And every second you don't engage the enemy is a second lost for the team so running away to regenerate is not a viable option at all.
Count the seconds I'm not under red alert and think about why no one in the team equipped a biofunction monitor or why there is no reference to that piece of rubbish in any serious PvP build. Not for escorts, not for scis and not for cruisers.
I have noticed a significant difference in survivability after I removed the bio-function monitor, meaning I'm popping more.
My old build. defiant-r
all Purple mkXI weap, damage x2, Crit
1 rear harping 360 turrets same specs as front weapons(the kinglon torpedo from doom's day mission)
borg set
35% shield boost, 13% regen, plasma armor resist.
borg univ, bio-function mon.
3x +26 energy type damage boost, 1 automated defense console for plasma torpedoes(it does make a difference!)
my new build defiant-r
maco set mkX
Borg univ, emergency force fields console for +35 able and alive crew, plasma armor.
+35 shield cap, +13% shield cons.
I've run a dozen or so Elite Cures the last couple days and haven't won one yet. Too many people who treat them like Normal cures. They refuse to not kill the cubes or their damage is so low that they probably couldn't help much in a normal cue. The pet peive I'm starting to develope is the people with a different beam type in every slot. How they survive even a space encounter baffles me. And the Odesseys??? An explosion looking for a place to happen.
Of the dozen or so Elites I've been on only one was close, only one had a team which would listen. We still lost. They got it down to one cube but there were 9 big ugly klink ships baring down on the Kang and nobody came to help.
But really, thanks for the vids. They helped me see a few things.
Edit---> We won! We completed the main objective today on a cure elite dispite kiling a cube way too early. Yippee!!!
Made some console revisions based off of the current changes. I left the Biofunction on the Advanced/MVAM because well, I prefer it over the other options since the field generator doesn't stack. I also removed the EPS console in favor of more resists, let me know what you think.
FYI, if you can get your team to focus fire on just one side of the tac cube, it will go even faster.
Sure, normally we take out the gate first and move on towards the cube from that direction. But when someone dies, he respawns on the opposite side and flying around to catch up with the rest takes too much time. I'd rather engage head on and have it in my front arc than flying another 10 klicks with full impulse and drain my power. Having Target Shields 3 or a Guramba with Theta Vent would help a lot, too.
I think both missions can still be done faster with an all Tac Escort team that coordinates their Tac Fleets and FOMMs via Teamspeak or Vent. Cure in less than 6 and Infected in less than 7 minutes should be possible.
I've got a FRAPS recording of the final phase of a quite fast KA run, just have to check the time on that one.
Tac: 2 Phaser emmiters MK XI , 2 Prefire chambers MK X
You might want to concider dropping the 2 prefire chambers and replace them with 2 more Phaser Relays. You are loosing DPS. If the Prefire chambers did something like gave you additional speed between cooldowns, Extended the durration of a CSV or CRF, or something along those lines then they might be worth keeping. But you are loosing about 60 DPS with the Prefires.
Sure, normally we take out the gate first and move on towards the cube from that direction. But when someone dies, he respawns on the opposite side and flying around to catch up with the rest takes too much time. I'd rather engage head on and have it in my front arc than flying another 10 klicks with full impulse and drain my power. Having Target Shields 3 or a Guramba with Theta Vent would help a lot, too.
I was on a team with 4 escorts and a carrier. The carrier totally locked down the tac cube, and the 4 of us focus-fired on one side, the tac cube was dead in about 30 seconds at most, probably closer to 20, and zero deaths.
I recall there being 5 minutes left on the clock, so it wasn't as fast as your run of course since it was a PUG group, but it still went better than expected.
Now that you have everything to need, the important thing to know is how to use your skills in an STF. Since damage is your priority, lets discuss how to use your damage enhancing skills to maximum effect.
In PVP threads here on the STO forums, you will hear a lot about Alpha Strikes in Escorts. Alpha strikes are great at burst damage which is very effective at clearing smaller targets like Spheres and Probes. But for the larger targets, your focus becomes on constantly using your damage abilities and keeping them up as long as possible.
What does this mean? This means you need to have TWO of several key abilities in order to keep up your effectiveness as an Escort. Specifically, Canon Scatter Volley, Torpedo Spread and Tactical team. With two of each of these, it allows for you to keep your damage levels up over long periods of time, even with say running just one torpedo.
The hard part about this is using your Hotbar effectively. Most newcomers like to just use their mouse and click away, but this is actually the least efficient way to use your UI. The most effective and quickes that I've found, is to keybind your NUMPAD to be able to use all three Hotbar layers quickly and easily via using Alt and Shift. Your left hand will be running WASD plus alt and shift and of course the spacebar for firing and Tab for selecting new targets, while your right hand will be dedicated to using the NUMPAD hotbar skills. Yes, sometimes you will have to leave the NUMPAD to re-target with the mouse or use it to move the camera around, but as an escort you should just be parking facing towards your target and firing away pounding on the NUMPAD instead of constantly re-adjusting your camera.
Leave the clicking to the Cruiser and Sci ship captains!
As for Defensive skills, your aim is to stay alive as long as possible. To this end, DON'T use your shield heals (minus tactical team, constantly use Tac Team while in combat!) until you start to take damage. However, its good to note that if you use them right away as a defensive stat buff instead of a shield heal, you will be able to re-use them by the time your shields will start to drop significantly. Save the reverse shield Polarity for emergencies as stated before, and use your Brace for Impact for when your shields start to drop. Hazard Emitters is for when you are taking hull damage of course, but its also a defensive resist buff so use it accordingly.
Evasive Maneuvers is also quite Important in STF's. My best recommendation is to use to travel quickly and effectively AWAY from exploding Cubes (especially in Cure) and also for getting from one location to another quickly in an Emergency. Be wary though, if you are hit with a Borg Tractor Beam your Evasive Maneuvers will be useless! So don't waste it. Save it for when the tractor beam drops or if you have a way of getting out of the tractor beam (Attack Pattern Omega).
And now, for actual builds...
Note: Quad cannons can replace a Dual Heavy Cannon as long as you run all Phasers
STF Escort Builds
And now, here are some examples of actual STF Escort builds for reference...
Advanced Escort or MVAM Escort
Forward Weapons: 3x Dual Heavy Cannons (same type), 1x Quantum Torpedo
Rear Weapons: 3x Turrets (same type as front cannons)
Engineering Consoles: Electroceramic Hull Plating (+plasma resist, good for Borg) , Neutronium Alloy (For general damage resist)
Science Consoles: Assimilated Module (Borg Console), Biofunction Monitor (Crew Regen), Field Generator (Or Grappler OR Impulse Capacitance Cell OR MVAM Console)
Tactical Consoles: 3x of the Energy Weapon type you are using (Ex. Phaser Relay, Plasma Infuser, etc.), 1x Zero Point Quantum Chamber (for Quantum Torpedoes)
Devices: Subspace Field Modulator (defensive buff, similar to Brace for Impact) plus one of the Following - Red Matter Capacitor, Rechargeable Shield Battery, Scorpion Fighters, or Shield batteries
Commander Tactical: Tactical Team 1, Torpedo Spread 2, Canon Scatter Volley 2, Attack pattern Omega 3 (Or Beta 3)
Lt. Tactical: Tactical Team 1, Canon Scatter Volley 1
Lt. Commander Science: Transfer Shield Strength 1, Hazard Emitters 2, Gravity Well 1
Lt. Engineering: Emergency Power to Shields 1, Reverse Shield Polarity 1 (OR Emergency Power to Shields 2)
Ensign Tactical: Torpedo Spread 1
Retrofit Defiant
Forward Weapons: 3x Dual Heavy Cannons (same type), 1x Quantum Torpedo
Rear Weapons: 3x Turrets (same type as front cannons)
Engineering Consoles: EPS Console (Or Grappler OR Impulse Capacitance Cell OR Cloaking Device), Neutronium Console, Electroceramic Hull Plating
Science Consoles: Field Generator, Assimilated Module
Tactical Consoles: 3x of the Energy Weapon type you are using (Ex. Phaser Relay, Plasma Infuser, etc.), 1x Zero Point Quantum Chamber
Devices: Subspace Field Modulator (defensive buff, similar to Brace for Impact) plus one of the Following - Red Matter Capacitor, Rechargeable Shield Battery, Scorpion Fighters, or Shield batteries
Bridge Officer Skills-
Commander Tactical: Tactical Team 1, Torpedo Spread 2, Canon Scatter Volley 2, Attack pattern Beta 3 (or Omega/Delta 3)
Lt. Commander Tactical: Tactical Team 1, Cannon Scatter Volley 1, Attack Pattern Omega 1 (Or Beta 2/Delta 2)
Lt. Science: Transfer Shield Strength 1, Hazard Emitters 2
Lt. Engineering: Emergency Power to Shields 1, Reverse Shield Polarity 1 (OR Emergency Power to Shields 2)
Ensign Tactical: Torpedo Spread 1
Fleet Escort
Forward Weapons: 3x Dual Heavy Cannons (same type), 1x Quantum Torpedo
Rear Weapons: 3x Turrets (same type as front cannons)
Engineering Consoles: EPS Console (Or Grappler OR Impulse Capacitance Cell), Neutronium Console, Electroceramic Hull Plating
Science Consoles: Science Consoles: Field Generator, Assimilated Module
Tactical Consoles: 3x of the Energy Weapon type you are using (Ex. Phaser Relay, Plasma Infuser, etc.), 1x Zero Point Quantum Chamber
Devices: Subspace Field Modulator (defensive buff, similar to Brace for Impact) plus one of the Following - Red Matter Capacitor, Rechargeable Shield Battery, Scorpion Fighters, or Shield batteries
Bridge Officer Skills -
Commander Tactical: Tactical Team 1, Torpedo Spread 2, Canon Scatter Volley 2, Attack pattern Omega 3 (Or Beta 3)
Lt. Commander Tactical: Tactical Team 1, Torpedo Spread 2, Cannon Scatter Volley 2
Lt. Science: Transfer Shield Strength 1, Hazard Emitters 2
Lt. Engineering: Emergency Power to Shields 1, Reverse Shield Polarity 1
Ensign Engineering: Emergency Power to Shields 1 (OR Emergency Power to Weapons 1)
Regen-Shield Build
This only takes minor modification from the other builds, and is being included based off of testing and other players recommendations...
Shield - Borg Regen Shield
Science Consoles - Field Generator (+35% Shield Strength), Shield Emitter Amplifier (+ shield regen)
BO changes: Lt. Engineering - Emergency Power to Shields 1, Emergency Power to Shields 2
These changes give you a very effective shield layout allowing you to keep your shields recharging quickly for longer periods of time at the expense of higher shield capacity.
Engineering Consoles: EPS Console (Or Grappler OR Impulse Capacitance Cell), Neutronium Console, Electroceramic Hull Plating
Science Consoles: Science Consoles: Field Generator, Assimilated Module
Tactical Consoles: 4x of the Energy Weapon type you are using (Ex. Phaser Relay, Plasma Infuser, etc.)
Devices: Subspace Field Modulator (defensive buff, similar to Brace for Impact) plus one of the Following - Red Matter Capacitor, Rechargeable Shield Battery, Scorpion Fighters, or Shield batteries
Bridge Officer Skills -
Commander Tactical: Tactical Team 1, Target Shield Subsystems 2, Attack Pattern Beta 2 (Or Omega 1), Attack Pattern Beta 3 (Or Omega 3)
Lt. Commander Tactical: Beam Overload 1, Tactical Team 2, Fire at Will 3
Lt. Science: Transfer Shield Strength 1, Hazard Emitters 2
Lt. Engineering: Emergency Power to Shields 1, Reverse Shield Polarity 1 (Or Directed Energy Modulation 1)
Ensign Engineering: Emergency Power to Weapons 1 (Or Shields)
Run FULL power to Weapons for your power levels.
This build works well while constantly at maximum speed while doing a BROADSIDE. Its more of a damage-over-time build and also good at stripping shields from targets and applying Attack Pattern Beta to multiple targets at a time. Its an unorthodox layout for an Escort, and works best in a good team to supplement other escorts.
May I inquire as to what other equipment you'd recommend: Shield Array, Deflector, Engines?
I've still had a lot of problems getting melted by the tact cubes in 15-30 seconds or so even following this build. Is it just lacking sci vessel debuffs in pubs?
Made some console revisions based off of the current changes. I left the Biofunction on the Advanced/MVAM because well, I prefer it over the other options since the field generator doesn't stack. I also removed the EPS console in favor of more resists, let me know what you think.
2 questions for you:
1) i run the eps console currently in the defiant, but i dont switch power settings much (save from going from full impulse to normal attack speed). have you noticed any difference with restoring power after a volley? i know this has been discussed at length, but ive yet to find a true, definitive answer- does it help with restoring power after a volley, or only when changing power settings?
2) how do YOU think the biofunction monitor is working? im sure youve seen the split opinion in this thread- what do you think? i personally have no qualms saying its worked wonders- i took it off in favor of a +26 shield emitter console (i think its shield emitter- whatever one gives you +26 shield performance) and during battle i could not heal as fast as i used to which caused me to go boom faster. then, i put it back on and presto, i was back to being strong again.
I've still had a lot of problems getting melted by the tact cubes in 15-30 seconds or so even following this build. Is it just lacking sci vessel debuffs in pubs?
Everyone gets killed by the Elite tac cube in a few seconds without help.
1) i run the eps console currently in the defiant, but i dont switch power settings much (save from going from full impulse to normal attack speed). have you noticed any difference with restoring power after a volley? i know this has been discussed at length, but ive yet to find a true, definitive answer- does it help with restoring power after a volley, or only when changing power settings?
2) how do YOU think the biofunction monitor is working? im sure you've seen the split opinion in this thread- what do you think? i personally have no qualms saying its worked wonders- i took it off in favor of a +26 shield emitter console (i think its shield emitter- whatever one gives you +26 shield performance) and during battle i could not heal as fast as i used to which caused me to go boom faster. then, i put it back on and presto, i was back to being strong again.
1) I honestly don't know. I do use full impulse enough to where I find it useful.
2) I would use the emitter over the Biofunction for sure, and I've swapped back and forth between having it and not having it on ships and I find there is a survivability difference. I'm not a math guy as I've said before, but there is something going on. We would need to see the actual Dev information about what having and not having Crew actually does to a ship to know for sure.
1) i run the eps console currently in the defiant, but i dont switch power settings much (save from going from full impulse to normal attack speed). have you noticed any difference with restoring power after a volley? i know this has been discussed at length, but ive yet to find a true, definitive answer- does it help with restoring power after a volley, or only when changing power settings?
2) how do YOU think the biofunction monitor is working? im sure youve seen the split opinion in this thread- what do you think? i personally have no qualms saying its worked wonders- i took it off in favor of a +26 shield emitter console (i think its shield emitter- whatever one gives you +26 shield performance) and during battle i could not heal as fast as i used to which caused me to go boom faster. then, i put it back on and presto, i was back to being strong again.
1. Yes. The EPS, if you are not an engineer will help you recover your power back quicker when using heavy power drain abilities like CSV and CRF. This includes if you swap your power around from a full Weapon power, to another setting. It also will help you recover power from any full impulse, stacking with the player skill.
2. stick with the Shield Emitter, you will thank us later. For escorts the math does not remove crew as fast as it does for a big cruiser. The "reasoning" being a ship of war, its config of a warship helps in reducing this by shielding the crew more. So in the MATH they get a reduced reduction of crew injury, where a big cruiser has more targetable space and more people to be injured, showing it being not as nimble as a escort is. Its just how the game setup is.
I've still had a lot of problems getting melted by the tact cubes in 15-30 seconds or so even following this build. Is it just lacking sci vessel debuffs in pubs?
I like your handle. Cool.
You're probably going to die quick if your attacking a tac cube by yourself anyhow. Try getting in, do your damage and get out. Escorts are fragile no matter how you buff them. DPS is what they're for.
The way stfs (Elite) are going you're lucky to win one. I played one Cure Elite today. Four players were doing it properly, One was insisting on blowing up the cube. EVERYBODY was trying to get him to stop. No luck and we lost.
You might want to concider dropping the 2 prefire chambers and replace them with 2 more Phaser Relays. You are loosing DPS. If the Prefire chambers did something like gave you additional speed between cooldowns, Extended the durration of a CSV or CRF, or something along those lines then they might be worth keeping. But you are loosing about 60 DPS with the Prefires.
The Phaser emitter is better than the prefire chamber, but is the third phaser emitter better than a first prefire chamer? Book is three Phaser Relays and 1x Zero Point Quantum Chamber, but would two phaser relays, one prefire and a zero point quantum be better for dps? If you went to four phaser boosts (dropping the Quantum chamber) would three relays and one prefire be better than four relays?
"Note: Quad cannons can replace a Dual Heavy Cannon as long as you run all Phasers"
Is there any advantage to running with Antiprotons vs Phasers in space combat against the Borg? (other than the obvious critical hit bonus vs random disable). People in my guild claim the Borg have some sort of damage resistance vs Phasers that doesn't apply to the Antiprotons. But the pros here seem to be ok with using the Phaser quad cannon. So is the Borg Phaser defense BS and it's ok to go all Phasers or is there some hidden reason why I should be using Antiprotons instead of phasers against the Borg (all other things being equal).
"Note: Quad cannons can replace a Dual Heavy Cannon as long as you run all Phasers"
Is there any advantage to running with Antiprotons vs Phasers in space combat against the Borg? (other than the obvious critical hit bonus vs random disable). People in my guild claim the Borg have some sort of damage resistance vs Phasers that doesn't apply to the Antiprotons. But the pros here seem to be ok with using the Phaser quad cannon. So is the Borg Phaser defense BS and it's ok to go all Phasers or is there some hidden reason why I should be using Antiprotons instead of phasers against the Borg (all other things being equal).
I am not aware of any specific phaser resistance that the borg have. But the reason he said to go with phasers when using quad cannons is because the quad cannons are phaser. It is best to match all your energy types so you can use the specific energy consoles (in this case, the phaser relays). If you go with a different energy type, like antiproton, and also use the quad cannon (which is phaser), you will have to go with Prefire chambers instead of the antiproton mag regulator consoles.
However unless there was some ninja patch I'm totally unaware of cannon scatter volley does a lot less damage single target or otherwise than rapid fire.
In normal mode "non elite" you might be able to get away with using scatter volley.
But in elite where single target focus fire is key scatter volley is pretty much worthless.
You'll just end up getting agro from loads of npc's while doing very little damage to them. And getting loads of agro in an escort from elites is not a good idea lol...
Not to mention most of the people I see using scatter volley are using it from 8km - 9km away. Which basically turns your dual heavy cannon damage into not much more than turret damage.
Unless something changed these were the +damage percentages I remember.
Rapid fire 1 = +30% damage
Rapid fire 2 = +40% damage
Rapid fire 3 = +50% damage
As I said I agree with almost everything else, but imo @ elite -> ditch scatter volley - get 2 rapid fire's and stay close to the target, 2km - 3.5km if possible.
Anyway, that's just my take on it. I tried scatter volley several times and was never impressed.
I suppose if you had a pre-made team of all tactical captains, all using dhc's and all with scatter volley it would work better. But in pugs imo its pretty meh.
I am not aware of any specific phaser resistance that the borg have. But the reason he said to go with phasers when using quad cannons is because the quad cannons are phaser. It is best to match all your energy types so you can use the specific energy consoles (in this case, the phaser relays). If you go with a different energy type, like antiproton, and also use the quad cannon (which is phaser), you will have to go with Prefire chambers instead of the antiproton mag regulator consoles.
Right, I know better than to mix weapon types. I'm just a bit puzzled why some people keep insisting that antiproton is the only way to go vs the Borg when there are some key weapon technologies (i.e. the quad cannon and the Galaxy X spinal lance) that are Phaser only.
"Note: Quad cannons can replace a Dual Heavy Cannon as long as you run all Phasers"
Is there any advantage to running with Antiprotons vs Phasers in space combat against the Borg? (other than the obvious critical hit bonus vs random disable). People in my guild claim the Borg have some sort of damage resistance vs Phasers that doesn't apply to the Antiprotons. But the pros here seem to be ok with using the Phaser quad cannon. So is the Borg Phaser defense BS and it's ok to go all Phasers or is there some hidden reason why I should be using Antiprotons instead of phasers against the Borg (all other things being equal).
The only reason to choose any specific energy type over another is for the Proc and every one has their opinion. The reason for closing antiprotons is for the higher crits and in a mission where damage is king, the faster you take down a foe the better. It's just that most feel the difference that antiprotons have because of the higher crits, they just seam to take out foe's faster.
Comments
That's not entirely accurate. They did change them and they do produce almost the same result as they did before. However, the implementation is still different. Just goes to show how little thought they put into changing things, which leads to them completely arsing things up on epic scales regularly. CaptainGeko, you should be forced to revisit your grade 1 math class for the year.
I said this in another thread. I hate to defend Stephen, but IMHO part of the issue is the brain drain that happened last year with the Atari sale and PWE purchase. Many times we've heard that PWE supports the game and is putting more reasources into it than Atari did. But under Atari we had a dedicated EP.
So Stephen may be trying as hard as he can with what he has. It still makes it hard to enjoy a game and a franchise that I really want to enjoy.
I used to run a regen build with a full borg set plus the 35% shield cons and a 13% shield cons.
I made the bio-function monitor a key part of my build a while back. Because with small crews like on the defiant, It rocks.
So now I'm looking for how to make best use of that I have. I had to move my Borg cons to engineering.
I added a armor cons and a emergency force fields console for +35 able and alive crew.
Does any one think the emergency force fields console is a suitable replacement for the bio-function monitor?
+35% crew recovery vs + 35 able and alive crew. essentially, recovery vs. resistance. It has always seamed better to recover then to resist.
If it does a good job of keeping me alive longer I can replace my bio-function with the other shield console the cap one and have my build back. Reason for using the regen rate console over the cap is with tac team it get's the shields where you need them quicker.
Both are competing for the title "Worst Sci Console to Take". Crew is absolutely unimportant since it does not improve resistance, it only affects your hull repair rate. Your hull repair rate is only a fraction of your regular rate when your are under red alert or in other words totaly neglectable. In STFs you don't regenerate your hull, you heal it with Engineering Team, Aux2Sif, Hazard Emitter or Miracle Worker. And every second you don't engage the enemy is a second lost for the team so running away to regenerate is not a viable option at all.
Here are two videos:
How to beat The Cure Elite in 6:20 mins: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XepIaxA-5u8
How to beat Infected Elite in 7:20 mins: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIFcewnYX8o
Count the seconds I'm not under red alert and think about why no one in the team equipped a biofunction monitor or why there is no reference to that piece of rubbish in any serious PvP build. Not for escorts, not for scis and not for cruisers.
I have noticed a significant difference in survivability after I removed the bio-function monitor, meaning I'm popping more.
My old build. defiant-r
all Purple mkXI weap, damage x2, Crit
1 rear harping 360 turrets same specs as front weapons(the kinglon torpedo from doom's day mission)
borg set
35% shield boost, 13% regen, plasma armor resist.
borg univ, bio-function mon.
3x +26 energy type damage boost, 1 automated defense console for plasma torpedoes(it does make a difference!)
my new build defiant-r
maco set mkX
Borg univ, emergency force fields console for +35 able and alive crew, plasma armor.
+35 shield cap, +13% shield cons.
devices, redmatter, and subspace field
Tacteam 1, CRF1, CRF2, AP:O
BT:S, BO2, AP:B
tacteam 1
EMP:S1, EMP:S2
Polarize HULL, Hazzerd emitters 2
I'm able to chain Tac team and Emergency power to Shields constantly with key binds.
Here's a link to my skills
http://www.stoacademy.com/tools/skillplanner/index.php?build=Gurga1_0
I don't think we need talk offense here. I just want to live longer.
My Boffs
some suggestions are great.
How does that build work out for you?
And where in the heck is everyone finding the red matter capacitor???? (Never mind, found it on the wiki.)
Thanks
Eng- Neutronium Alloy, SIF Generator, Field Emmitter
Sci- Field Generator, Borg
What do guys think? It feels a litte squishy to me. Any suggestions on how I could tank a little better?
Thanks for the videos. Very helpful.
I've run a dozen or so Elite Cures the last couple days and haven't won one yet. Too many people who treat them like Normal cures. They refuse to not kill the cubes or their damage is so low that they probably couldn't help much in a normal cue. The pet peive I'm starting to develope is the people with a different beam type in every slot. How they survive even a space encounter baffles me. And the Odesseys??? An explosion looking for a place to happen.
Of the dozen or so Elites I've been on only one was close, only one had a team which would listen. We still lost. They got it down to one cube but there were 9 big ugly klink ships baring down on the Kang and nobody came to help.
But really, thanks for the vids. They helped me see a few things.
Edit---> We won! We completed the main objective today on a cure elite dispite kiling a cube way too early. Yippee!!!
Ship: Defiant Retrofit
Fore Weapons: Quad Cannon, Mk XI STF Phaser, Phaser Dual Heavy Cannon Mk XI STF
Aft Weapons: 2 Mk XI STF Phaser Turrets 1 Rapid fire Transphasic Torp
Consoles
Tac: 2 Phaser emmiters MK XI , 2 Prefire chambers MK X
Sci: Borg Universal, Power insulator Mk X
Eng, Cloak, Ablative Armour MK XI , Electroceramic armour mk XI
Shield: Borg Shield
Engine: Borg Engine
Deflector: Borg deflector
BOFF's
torp spread 1, Cannon Scatter 1, Cannon RF 2, AP Omega
Phaser Overload, Cannon RF 2, Target Shield Sub 2
Emergency P Shields 1, Eng Team 2
Hazzard Emitter 1, Sci team 2
Beam Array FAW 1
Sure, normally we take out the gate first and move on towards the cube from that direction. But when someone dies, he respawns on the opposite side and flying around to catch up with the rest takes too much time. I'd rather engage head on and have it in my front arc than flying another 10 klicks with full impulse and drain my power. Having Target Shields 3 or a Guramba with Theta Vent would help a lot, too.
I think both missions can still be done faster with an all Tac Escort team that coordinates their Tac Fleets and FOMMs via Teamspeak or Vent. Cure in less than 6 and Infected in less than 7 minutes should be possible.
I've got a FRAPS recording of the final phase of a quite fast KA run, just have to check the time on that one.
You might want to concider dropping the 2 prefire chambers and replace them with 2 more Phaser Relays. You are loosing DPS. If the Prefire chambers did something like gave you additional speed between cooldowns, Extended the durration of a CSV or CRF, or something along those lines then they might be worth keeping. But you are loosing about 60 DPS with the Prefires.
I recall there being 5 minutes left on the clock, so it wasn't as fast as your run of course since it was a PUG group, but it still went better than expected.
May I inquire as to what other equipment you'd recommend: Shield Array, Deflector, Engines?
Did you read the first post?
2 questions for you:
1) i run the eps console currently in the defiant, but i dont switch power settings much (save from going from full impulse to normal attack speed). have you noticed any difference with restoring power after a volley? i know this has been discussed at length, but ive yet to find a true, definitive answer- does it help with restoring power after a volley, or only when changing power settings?
2) how do YOU think the biofunction monitor is working? im sure youve seen the split opinion in this thread- what do you think? i personally have no qualms saying its worked wonders- i took it off in favor of a +26 shield emitter console (i think its shield emitter- whatever one gives you +26 shield performance) and during battle i could not heal as fast as i used to which caused me to go boom faster. then, i put it back on and presto, i was back to being strong again.
2) I would use the emitter over the Biofunction for sure, and I've swapped back and forth between having it and not having it on ships and I find there is a survivability difference. I'm not a math guy as I've said before, but there is something going on. We would need to see the actual Dev information about what having and not having Crew actually does to a ship to know for sure.
1. Yes. The EPS, if you are not an engineer will help you recover your power back quicker when using heavy power drain abilities like CSV and CRF. This includes if you swap your power around from a full Weapon power, to another setting. It also will help you recover power from any full impulse, stacking with the player skill.
2. stick with the Shield Emitter, you will thank us later. For escorts the math does not remove crew as fast as it does for a big cruiser. The "reasoning" being a ship of war, its config of a warship helps in reducing this by shielding the crew more. So in the MATH they get a reduced reduction of crew injury, where a big cruiser has more targetable space and more people to be injured, showing it being not as nimble as a escort is. Its just how the game setup is.
I like your handle. Cool.
You're probably going to die quick if your attacking a tac cube by yourself anyhow. Try getting in, do your damage and get out. Escorts are fragile no matter how you buff them. DPS is what they're for.
The way stfs (Elite) are going you're lucky to win one. I played one Cure Elite today. Four players were doing it properly, One was insisting on blowing up the cube. EVERYBODY was trying to get him to stop. No luck and we lost.
My weapons, I'm still working on.
But, eventually, I will have 4x +22-26% enhancements in the Tactical slots.
Engineering slots: EPS, RCS, Borg console
Science slots: Field Generator, Cloak
My biggest issue with this build, is the extra tactical slot. There are no Ensign level abilities that benefit cannons. Only beam and torpedoes.
Is there any advantage to running with Antiprotons vs Phasers in space combat against the Borg? (other than the obvious critical hit bonus vs random disable). People in my guild claim the Borg have some sort of damage resistance vs Phasers that doesn't apply to the Antiprotons. But the pros here seem to be ok with using the Phaser quad cannon. So is the Borg Phaser defense BS and it's ok to go all Phasers or is there some hidden reason why I should be using Antiprotons instead of phasers against the Borg (all other things being equal).
I am not aware of any specific phaser resistance that the borg have. But the reason he said to go with phasers when using quad cannons is because the quad cannons are phaser. It is best to match all your energy types so you can use the specific energy consoles (in this case, the phaser relays). If you go with a different energy type, like antiproton, and also use the quad cannon (which is phaser), you will have to go with Prefire chambers instead of the antiproton mag regulator consoles.
However unless there was some ninja patch I'm totally unaware of cannon scatter volley does a lot less damage single target or otherwise than rapid fire.
In normal mode "non elite" you might be able to get away with using scatter volley.
But in elite where single target focus fire is key scatter volley is pretty much worthless.
You'll just end up getting agro from loads of npc's while doing very little damage to them. And getting loads of agro in an escort from elites is not a good idea lol...
Not to mention most of the people I see using scatter volley are using it from 8km - 9km away. Which basically turns your dual heavy cannon damage into not much more than turret damage.
Unless something changed these were the +damage percentages I remember.
Rapid fire 1 = +30% damage
Rapid fire 2 = +40% damage
Rapid fire 3 = +50% damage
Scatter volley 1 = +15% damage
Scatter volley 2 = +20% damage
Scatter volley 3 = +25% damage
As I said I agree with almost everything else, but imo @ elite -> ditch scatter volley - get 2 rapid fire's and stay close to the target, 2km - 3.5km if possible.
Anyway, that's just my take on it. I tried scatter volley several times and was never impressed.
I suppose if you had a pre-made team of all tactical captains, all using dhc's and all with scatter volley it would work better. But in pugs imo its pretty meh.
Right, I know better than to mix weapon types. I'm just a bit puzzled why some people keep insisting that antiproton is the only way to go vs the Borg when there are some key weapon technologies (i.e. the quad cannon and the Galaxy X spinal lance) that are Phaser only.
The only reason to choose any specific energy type over another is for the Proc and every one has their opinion. The reason for closing antiprotons is for the higher crits and in a mission where damage is king, the faster you take down a foe the better. It's just that most feel the difference that antiprotons have because of the higher crits, they just seam to take out foe's faster.