But if that was your problem wouldn't it be more logical to take a look at your defense instead of reducing your potential damage output and splitting it over non-overlapping firing arcs? It's usually not a problem to keep NPC ships in your front 45 with an escort.
I'll just end the debate by saying that this is what works for me. I experimented with several builds along the way, and this is the one that does the most damage, while being suited to my playstyle.
STO isn't being friendly right now so I'm pulling this from memory but here is my build. It basically hasn't changed in almost 2 years. It is a Maelstrom Fleet Escort.
Fore: Dual Beam, 2 DHC, 1 Quad (I've heard overpower/underpowered but it looks nice and I only swapped out a DHC)
Aft: 3 Beam Arrays (Connie Blues)
Omega Set, prior to that was AEGIS. Before that was Covariant x3 cap shields with combat impulse engines and a gravition deflector.
Consoles: 4x phasor relays in Tac, with +35% shields with neutronium plating and I think an EPS flow regulator in Eng, Borg Universal and Thunderchild defense system in Sci. Red matter bat and whatever the name of the thing is that gives you 400% defense with a penalty to polaron is. Borg Uni and Thunderchild defense replaced biofunction monitors.
BOFFs: 2x Beam Overload 1 to make up for lack of torps, 2x cannon rapid 2, Tac team, Omega 3, Beta 1, Hazard emitters, EPtS 1, Sci team 2, Eng team 2, Reverse Shields 1. Only changes since game launch, Beam Fire at Will for Beta 1, and Jamming 1 for Hazards.
The build is meant to be more overall DPS in a 360 coverage as I treat my Fleet Escort like a spitfire airplane, while having more tanking power. Thoughts?
I'll just end the debate by saying that this is what works for me. I experimented with several builds along the way, and this is the one that does the most damage, while being suited to my playstyle.
I had no intend to talk your build down, I was seriously interested to hear why you went this way since I lately did same comparison between ships with Beam Arrays and DBB/Turrets. While for example 2xDBB + 2 Turrets technically don't deal more damage than 4xBeam Arrays it showed as much better cause you don't have to circle back and forth to use torpedoes. Granted my testing was with a Recon and an escort turns much faster, but you'll still lose some damage while turning.
As long as this build suits your playstyle and the rest of the team is able to compensate for the reduced damage it's all fine and good. Sorry for asking
I had no intend to talk your build down, I was seriously interested to hear why you went this way since I lately did same comparison between ships with Beam Arrays and DBB/Turrets. While for example 2xDBB + 2 Turrets technically don't deal more damage than 4xBeam Arrays it showed as much better cause you don't have to circle back and forth to use torpedoes. Granted my testing was with a Recon and an escort turns much faster, but you'll still lose some damage while turning.
As long as this build suits your playstyle and the rest of the team is able to compensate for the reduced damage it's all fine and good. Sorry for asking
Using this build, I (and my team today) got through Cure Space (Normal). 7 minutes on the three bays, and 3 minutes on the carrier. Done in 10 minutes flat. I was impressed. lol
Using this build, I (and my team today) got through Cure Space (Normal). 7 minutes on the three bays, and 3 minutes on the carrier. Done in 10 minutes flat. I was impressed. lol
A good cure normal run is 5-6 minutes on the cubes (9-10 minutes on the timer) and the Carrier dead in 30 seconds or less.
My fleet does this regularly with just two or three escorts using the builds listed at the beginning of this thread.
Engineering team instead of Emergency Power to Shields?
Everything else is almost identical to how I run a Defiant (I usually just use all spreads now instead of the rapid fire/high yield, but that doesn't really matter).
I still need 3 more prototype borg salvage and that mk xII shield drop to match yours though
A good cure normal run is 5-6 minutes on the cubes (9-10 minutes on the timer) and the Carrier dead in 30 seconds or less.
My fleet does this regularly with just two or three escorts using the builds listed at the beginning of this thread.
First time running with that group. I normally run PUGs, and still get done in an average of about 17 minutes, total.
And if I may ask you a question, why do you keep bashing me on what I continue to say is a good fit for me? Is that what it takes to make yourself feel good?
And if I may ask you a question, why do you keep bashing me on what I continue to say is a good fit for me? Is that what it takes to make yourself feel good?
I didn't say anything about your build.
You first implied 700-1000 damage per hit is a lot when it isn't, and they implied a 10 minute flat cure run was really fast, which it isn't.
But for anyone who replies in this thread especially with their own builds and other comments, expect criticism. Such is the way of things.
I just installed the Enhanced Plasma Manifols in my Fleet Escort. It made a pretty fair difference in shield and hull healing in a Cure and an Infected. So now I have the Borg Console and the Enhanced Plasma in the Science Consoles. I hated to spend 400 CP's to get it but so far in those two missions it worked. I did die once though when i was too close to an exploding cube. LOL
You first implied 700-1000 damage per hit is a lot when it isn't, and they implied a 10 minute flat cure run was really fast, which it isn't.
But for anyone who replies in this thread especially with their own builds and other comments, expect criticism. Such is the way of things.
10 minutes for a PuG Cure run is fast. It's rare to see a decent group that has more than a couple of Escorts in there and even when there are a few escorts there's no guarantee they're any good.
It may not be fast when compared to a fleet team but PuGs rarely work as a team, they're just in the same instance.
I hate to break the news, but if you are running a Defiant, you are there to do DPS. Biofunction monitors ONLY help with hull repair rate, something that a) your science officer/engineer officer teammates should be watching over and b) should never ever ever take a slot over your cloak/assimilated console.
50 crew, or 0 crew, your hull repair rate is negligible, and really if you are losing hull, toss yourself a HE.
Biofunction = the worse console for defiant. Period.
Replace Biofunction with your cloak and you have a DPS ship. Why run a tac retrofit and not use 5% damage bonus out of cloak?
well agree to disagree. in an STF the cloak is only good once or twice, maybe 3 or 4 times in KA space. ive ran them with/without cloak, hazard emitter console instead of biofunction monitor, and the biofunction monitor is the only other science console useful. if you fly with a different setup, and it works, good for you. i fly with a biofunction monitor and rarely blow up, and in all honesty, rarely drop below 50% hull unless i get 1 shot. i see many an escort throw less dps and last much shorter times than i. so id suggest not trying to talk down on it and tell me subtly that "my build isnt right". maybe not for PvP, but for STF its a great build and im pretty sure since you dont use it, you wouldnt recognize it over the long run. maybe try it for 10-15 STFs before you make a judgement. ive changed mine around a number of times, including switching from ST 2 to TSS 2 after playing with it for a number of STF, not just 1 or 2.
if youre still going to think that having crew doesnt matter in a defiant, well thats your loss. the longer and more crew you have up the faster your hull regens. to help get max effect from any hull heals, your crew needs to be full on a defiant- biofunction helps the crew lost regen faster, meaning your hull can repair quicker. its really not that hard of a concept to understand.
well agree to disagree. in an STF the cloak is only good once or twice, maybe 3 or 4 times in KA space. ive ran them with/without cloak, hazard emitter console instead of biofunction monitor, and the biofunction monitor is the only other science console useful. if you fly with a different setup, and it works, good for you. i fly with a biofunction monitor and rarely blow up, and in all honesty, rarely drop below 50% hull unless i get 1 shot. i see many an escort throw less dps and last much shorter times than i. so id suggest not trying to talk down on it and tell me subtly that "my build isnt right". maybe not for PvP, but for STF its a great build and im pretty sure since you dont use it, you wouldnt recognize it over the long run. maybe try it for 10-15 STFs before you make a judgement. ive changed mine around a number of times, including switching from ST 2 to TSS 2 after playing with it for a number of STF, not just 1 or 2.
if youre still going to think that having crew doesnt matter in a defiant, well thats your loss. the longer and more crew you have up the faster your hull regens. to help get max effect from any hull heals, your crew needs to be full on a defiant- biofunction helps the crew lost regen faster, meaning your hull can repair quicker. its really not that hard of a concept to understand.
Here are the better setups:
Sci slot- Borg Console + Point Defense Turret // Borg Console + Cloak // Borg Console + Anything else, If you aren't a tac, then throw a sensor + console in to make your sensor scan drop their DR further. Biofunction monitor is useless for a defiant. Even if you only use the cloak once, that's more DPS than you would be doing with a biofunction monitor in place of it. I also don't need to swap out science team 2 to realize TSS 2 is better, because you should have tac team 1 up 24/7, which leaves no room for science team.
This isn't opinion, this isn't based off of anecdotal evidence, it is a fact. Crew + Defiant = who cares. You perform as well doing your job (DPS) with zero crew as with 50. Your crew has zero zero ZERO to do with hull heals, ONLY natural repair rate. A hazard emitter will heal you for 500 with 0 crew or with 50, that depends on your emitters, not your crew.
I just installed the Enhanced Plasma Manifols in my Fleet Escort. It made a pretty fair difference in shield and hull healing in a Cure and an Infected. So now I have the Borg Console and the Enhanced Plasma in the Science Consoles. I hated to spend 400 CP's to get it but so far in those two missions it worked. I did die once though when i was too close to an exploding cube. LOL
The Enhanced Plasma Manifold can be really useful, but it will put every battery on cooldown, so you have to time it or use Deuterium Surplus as a consumable. If you're looking for more consoles to happily spend even more C-Points take a look at the Point Defense System from the Thunderchild. With full tac buffs and APBeta this baby is a real killer not only against Probes but also Spheres and Transformers
The Enhanced Plasma Manifold can be really useful, but it will put every battery on cooldown, so you have to time it or use Deuterium Surplus as a consumable. If you're looking for more consoles to happily spend even more C-Points take a look at the Point Defense System from the Thunderchild. With full tac buffs and APBeta this baby is a real killer not only against Probes but also Spheres and Transformers
Yes I agree, I've always been a big fan of using the batteries, especially the weapons batteries. With the Escort setup I've built by mixing and matching the information in the thread I reallized i was hardly ever using the batteries. With the standard108/100 55/50 25/25 25/25 power settings my weapons, shields and so on just don't fall off enough to justify using the batteries Weapons alone almost never drops into the red while weapons damage sets at 1619 with a dps of 1079 on the heavy cannons. I even dropped EPtW and still pack a killer of a punch.
In PvP and Karrat the ship holds it's own VERY well against the klinks, I don't worry about the shiellds going down so much like I would have in my Advanced cruiser. My only deaths as I have said before seem to be from me not paying attention or having a klink sneek up from behind while I'm in a pack of spheres like the klinks are so well know to do.
I'm pleasently pleased.
And yes, I'm looking at the Point Defence. I want to give this setup a couple days before spending more CP.
And since in your case you're talking about tactical consoles for boosting your damage, two of the same +15 consoles (as an example) will give +30. Four of the same will give +60.
Sci slot- Borg Console + Point Defense Turret // Borg Console + Cloak // Borg Console + Anything else, If you aren't a tac, then throw a sensor + console in to make your sensor scan drop their DR further. Biofunction monitor is useless for a defiant. Even if you only use the cloak once, that's more DPS than you would be doing with a biofunction monitor in place of it. I also don't need to swap out science team 2 to realize TSS 2 is better, because you should have tac team 1 up 24/7, which leaves no room for science team.
This isn't opinion, this isn't based off of anecdotal evidence, it is a fact. Crew + Defiant = who cares. You perform as well doing your job (DPS) with zero crew as with 50. Your crew has zero zero ZERO to do with hull heals, ONLY natural repair rate. A hazard emitter will heal you for 500 with 0 crew or with 50, that depends on your emitters, not your crew.
Crew
Is
Useless
For
Defiants
again, say what you will- the TSS change i still dont get the chunk shield repair that i like, however, using aux batteries and TSS 2 when i need it has become ok for me- my shields still go down far less with ST 2, but i do like the damage reduction that TSS 2 gives enough to keep it there and let me run TT 1 on a constant basis.
is point defense a universal console? i thought it was only a tactical console. if its universal, it could be worth a look. if not, then your argument has been rendered invalid.
"The Biofunction Monitor is a Ship Science Console that improves the recovery rate of the ship's crew, thus indirectly improving the ship's hull repair rate."
so yeah, crew does have a factor in hull repair. i didnt say HEAL like you are, i said REPAIR. meaning out of combat with a full crew your hull repairs faster than with no crew. so, keep trying to twist the meaning of my reason to keep the biofunction monitor on my ship to help with hull repairs. if i mistakenly said healing, then my bad. im talking about repair rate. which biofunction monitor DOES help with.
edit: you mean point defense system that comes with thunderchild and not the tac console from pre-orders im assuming. in that case, i would look into that. but not everyone is willing to drop x amount of cpoints on a thunderchild just to get a console for an STF. hence why i dont use it.
And since in your case you're talking about tactical consoles for boosting your damage, two of the same +15 consoles (as an example) will give +30. Four of the same will give +60.
That's some excellent info. Thank you for posting that.
I originally ran into what I thought at the time was diminishing returns when I was attempting to stack 4x copies of overwatch on a ground BOffs layout I was toying with, and not getting what I thought were the correct numbers.
So you've just cleared up a burning question for me, thanks again.
again, say what you will- the TSS change i still dont get the chunk shield repair that i like, however, using aux batteries and TSS 2 when i need it has become ok for me- my shields still go down far less with ST 2, but i do like the damage reduction that TSS 2 gives enough to keep it there and let me run TT 1 on a constant basis.
is point defense a universal console? i thought it was only a tactical console. if its universal, it could be worth a look. if not, then your argument has been rendered invalid.
"The Biofunction Monitor is a Ship Science Console that improves the recovery rate of the ship's crew, thus indirectly improving the ship's hull repair rate."
so yeah, crew does have a factor in hull repair. i didnt say HEAL like you are, i said REPAIR. meaning out of combat with a full crew your hull repairs faster than with no crew. so, keep trying to twist the meaning of my reason to keep the biofunction monitor on my ship to help with hull repairs. if i mistakenly said healing, then my bad. im talking about repair rate. which biofunction monitor DOES help with.
edit: you mean point defense system that comes with thunderchild and not the tac console from pre-orders im assuming. in that case, i would look into that. but not everyone is willing to drop x amount of cpoints on a thunderchild just to get a console for an STF. hence why i dont use it.
If you have time to sit out of combat to repair your hull, you can cloak, which directly boosts your dps.
Point Defense is a universal console, as is the cloak, and both > a biofunction monitor.
That's my whole argument, I don't care if your syntax or word choice is poor, my message is pretty clear and concise, and you haven't brought forth any good evidence to the contrary.
Beta and launch player who dropped off since I can only afford one MMO at a time. I thoroughly enjoyed STO at launch and for a few months and am back now and loving the changes.
However, I am WAY out of the loop now and especially so since I have switched from a cruiser to an escort. I can't believe I never made the switch earlier. I bought the escort retro and love it.
I am a Lt. Commander (tactical) on the cusp of ranking up to Captain. I have read the tread and taken some of the advice and tested it out and had a few questions:
1. I did have phaser and disruptor cannons mixed at first, but remedied that with all phaser cannons (and a turret). I also got the appropriate phaser based consoles. While I like the bonus to taking out subsystems wouldn't our enemies (and correct me if I'm wrong) have builds specifically designed to diminish phaser damage? I would think most ships are designed to resist damage from their primary enemy, just as getting disruptor mitigation would make sense if I went up against Klingon ships a lot. Is there a benefit to me getting all disruptor cannons as my enemies might expect phaser damage from me? (a Fed player)
2. I removed "Target Subsystem Shields" on a BO to go with a second Tac Team ability (as suggested by the OP). If I do happen to go disruptors and loose my subsystem bonus from phasers, should I get "Target Subsystem Shields" again? I felt I was able to drop enemy shields MUCH faster before and while the other Tac Team is ok, I'm not sure I'm getting the full benefit I would as from a quick fight.
3. (stupid question #1) Are cannons considered beam weapons? I had a beam array skill and I wasn't sure if it was being used properly since I had all cannons and a turret.
4. (stupid question #2) Is "Mask Energy Signature ??" a cloak? I read replies on here stating that one of the defiant class ships is the only one to have a cloak, but I remember using MES on my cruiser and it seemed to act very much like a cloak.
Thanks, and I'll be keeping my eye on this thread for more great advice.
First of all, just need to remind you that this thread is for an STF build for fighting the borg in the STFs. It is not a PVP build, although it will certainly be ok for most other PVE missions. It applies to T5 ships and above. Answers below are in yellow.
Beta and launch player who dropped off since I can only afford one MMO at a time. I thoroughly enjoyed STO at launch and for a few months and am back now and loving the changes.
However, I am WAY out of the loop now and especially so since I have switched from a cruiser to an escort. I can't believe I never made the switch earlier. I bought the escort retro and love it.
I am a Lt. Commander (tactical) on the cusp of ranking up to Captain. I have read the tread and taken some of the advice and tested it out and had a few questions:
Are you LtCom going to Commander? Or are you Commander going to Captain?
1. I did have phaser and disruptor cannons mixed at first, but remedied that with all phaser cannons (and a turret). I also got the appropriate phaser based consoles. While I like the bonus to taking out subsystems wouldn't our enemies (and correct me if I'm wrong) have builds specifically designed to diminish phaser damage? I would think most ships are designed to resist damage from their primary enemy, just as getting disruptor mitigation would make sense if I went up against Klingon ships a lot. Is there a benefit to me getting all disruptor cannons as my enemies might expect phaser damage from me? (a Fed player)
The borg do not have phaser resists as far as I know. If you are talking PVP, then yes, you may run into players with Phaser resist armor.
2. I removed "Target Subsystem Shields" on a BO to go with a second Tac Team ability (as suggested by the OP). If I do happen to go disruptors and loose my subsystem bonus from phasers, should I get "Target Subsystem Shields" again? I felt I was able to drop enemy shields MUCH faster before and while the other Tac Team is ok, I'm not sure I'm getting the full benefit I would as from a quick fight.
The tac team is for shield tanking the borg. You cannot target subsystems if you use cannons.
3. (stupid question #1) Are cannons considered beam weapons? I had a beam array skill and I wasn't sure if it was being used properly since I had all cannons and a turret.
Cannons are not beams. Turrets, however, are cannons.
4. (stupid question #2) Is "Mask Energy Signature ??" a cloak? I read replies on here stating that one of the defiant class ships is the only one to have a cloak, but I remember using MES on my cruiser and it seemed to act very much like a cloak.
The defiant-retrofit ship has a cloaking device (console). It does not use MES ability. If you have high aux power and MES 3, it is very close to the cloak you get from the cloaking device. But otherwise, I think MES is meh, and certainly not useful in borg STFs.
Thanks, and I'll be keeping my eye on this thread for more great advice.
Ahhh, awesome. The STFs are new to me so I think I was jumping the gun on builds for where I WILL be someday, not where I am (Lt. Commander about to go Commander, my bad).
I'll go back and do some more jiggering with the setup and see if I can incorporate some more suitable setups. Mostly solo and PVP player here so I'll look for more along that line in the threads.
I just know what Borg missions I have done recently (not STF I am assuming) have just kicked my butt.
Ahhh, awesome. The STFs are new to me so I think I was jumping the gun on builds for where I WILL be someday, not where I am (Lt. Commander about to go Commander, my bad).
I'll go back and do some more jiggering with the setup and see if I can incorporate some more suitable setups. Mostly solo and PVP player here so I'll look for more along that line in the threads.
I just know what Borg missions I have done recently (not STF I am assuming) have just kicked my butt.
FYI, this thread is for Admiral level builds in STF's.
Setting up Lt. Commander and Commander level ships for normal duty is a completely different topic.
My only suggestion is to not worry about your builds at lower levels and instead focus on leveling as quickly as possible via the Episode missions.
Yes, 4xAP mag regulators, Borg Console, Plasma Distro Concole combined give high DPS. Heavy cannons in front with one quantum in front. Turrets in back. Try to max your weapons skills and as much as you can in the Projectile skills. Use the Projectile Weapons DoFF for your topedos and BOs which have traits that will enhace your fighting and defencive skills.
Two good Doffs to have are the Hazard systems officer and Shield Distrobution officer.
The Space Warfare Veteran trait BO is very imprtant followed by the Leadership trait and the Efficient trait.
If you follow the first guide in this sig and build your ship around that you'll end up being pretty happy.
Yes, 4xAP mag regulators, Borg Console, Plasma Distro Concole combined give high DPS. Heavy cannons in front with one quantum in front. Turrets in back. Try to max your weapons skills and as much as you can in the Projectile skills. Use the Projectile Weapons DoFF for your topedos and BOs which have traits that will enhace your fighting and defencive skills.
Two good Doffs to have are the Hazard systems officer and Shield Distrobution officer.
The Space Warfare Veteran trait BO is very imprtant followed by the Leadership trait and the Efficient trait.
If you follow the first guide in this sig and build your ship around that you'll end up being pretty happy.
Most of that is very similar to what I'm running currently.
With Weapons set to max, they sit at 125 without a Plasma Distribution Manifold. I was under the assumption that adding more would not go beyond that.
However, not having experience with Elite runs, do people set their weapon power lower than max?
I'd love to get a Veteran BO, but unfortunately that is not an option.
I'm starting to come around on Attack Pattern Beta 3.
Its not actually JUST a 5 second debuff, its more like 10... Because what happens is that during the 5 seconds that BETA is active when you press the button, it KEEPS applying itself over and over with the 50% 5-second Debuff, so in total you get 10 seconds of -50% resist which is quite a lot.
Omega however is still a life saver for an Escort by getting you away from those tractor beams, so what I'm doing right now is using Beta 3 and Omega 1 and it seems to have increased my DPS even further and of course helps with the whole team damage thing
As for the All-Beam versus the other builds I have listed, the normal Canon build is supperior in damage by far. HOWEVER the all-beam build is more resilient due to the fact you can constantly fly at X amount of distance from said target at full impulse while firing all 7 beams at the target. Its a more survivable build than the point-and-shoot Canon builds.
The trade off is pretty even though, so it might be just a play style decision.
The mixed-beam/canon builds are not as effective in STF's as either of those builds however, so I can't recommend them at this time.
Comments
I'll just end the debate by saying that this is what works for me. I experimented with several builds along the way, and this is the one that does the most damage, while being suited to my playstyle.
Fore: Dual Beam, 2 DHC, 1 Quad (I've heard overpower/underpowered but it looks nice and I only swapped out a DHC)
Aft: 3 Beam Arrays (Connie Blues)
Omega Set, prior to that was AEGIS. Before that was Covariant x3 cap shields with combat impulse engines and a gravition deflector.
Consoles: 4x phasor relays in Tac, with +35% shields with neutronium plating and I think an EPS flow regulator in Eng, Borg Universal and Thunderchild defense system in Sci. Red matter bat and whatever the name of the thing is that gives you 400% defense with a penalty to polaron is. Borg Uni and Thunderchild defense replaced biofunction monitors.
BOFFs: 2x Beam Overload 1 to make up for lack of torps, 2x cannon rapid 2, Tac team, Omega 3, Beta 1, Hazard emitters, EPtS 1, Sci team 2, Eng team 2, Reverse Shields 1. Only changes since game launch, Beam Fire at Will for Beta 1, and Jamming 1 for Hazards.
The build is meant to be more overall DPS in a 360 coverage as I treat my Fleet Escort like a spitfire airplane, while having more tanking power. Thoughts?
I had no intend to talk your build down, I was seriously interested to hear why you went this way since I lately did same comparison between ships with Beam Arrays and DBB/Turrets. While for example 2xDBB + 2 Turrets technically don't deal more damage than 4xBeam Arrays it showed as much better cause you don't have to circle back and forth to use torpedoes. Granted my testing was with a Recon and an escort turns much faster, but you'll still lose some damage while turning.
As long as this build suits your playstyle and the rest of the team is able to compensate for the reduced damage it's all fine and good. Sorry for asking
Using this build, I (and my team today) got through Cure Space (Normal). 7 minutes on the three bays, and 3 minutes on the carrier. Done in 10 minutes flat. I was impressed. lol
http://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?p=3436191
My fleet does this regularly with just two or three escorts using the builds listed at the beginning of this thread. Engineering team instead of Emergency Power to Shields?
Everything else is almost identical to how I run a Defiant (I usually just use all spreads now instead of the rapid fire/high yield, but that doesn't really matter).
I still need 3 more prototype borg salvage and that mk xII shield drop to match yours though
First time running with that group. I normally run PUGs, and still get done in an average of about 17 minutes, total.
And if I may ask you a question, why do you keep bashing me on what I continue to say is a good fit for me? Is that what it takes to make yourself feel good?
You first implied 700-1000 damage per hit is a lot when it isn't, and they implied a 10 minute flat cure run was really fast, which it isn't.
But for anyone who replies in this thread especially with their own builds and other comments, expect criticism. Such is the way of things.
10 minutes for a PuG Cure run is fast. It's rare to see a decent group that has more than a couple of Escorts in there and even when there are a few escorts there's no guarantee they're any good.
It may not be fast when compared to a fleet team but PuGs rarely work as a team, they're just in the same instance.
Replace Biofunction with your cloak and you have a DPS ship. Why run a tac retrofit and not use 5% damage bonus out of cloak?
well agree to disagree. in an STF the cloak is only good once or twice, maybe 3 or 4 times in KA space. ive ran them with/without cloak, hazard emitter console instead of biofunction monitor, and the biofunction monitor is the only other science console useful. if you fly with a different setup, and it works, good for you. i fly with a biofunction monitor and rarely blow up, and in all honesty, rarely drop below 50% hull unless i get 1 shot. i see many an escort throw less dps and last much shorter times than i. so id suggest not trying to talk down on it and tell me subtly that "my build isnt right". maybe not for PvP, but for STF its a great build and im pretty sure since you dont use it, you wouldnt recognize it over the long run. maybe try it for 10-15 STFs before you make a judgement. ive changed mine around a number of times, including switching from ST 2 to TSS 2 after playing with it for a number of STF, not just 1 or 2.
if youre still going to think that having crew doesnt matter in a defiant, well thats your loss. the longer and more crew you have up the faster your hull regens. to help get max effect from any hull heals, your crew needs to be full on a defiant- biofunction helps the crew lost regen faster, meaning your hull can repair quicker. its really not that hard of a concept to understand.
Here are the better setups:
Sci slot- Borg Console + Point Defense Turret // Borg Console + Cloak // Borg Console + Anything else, If you aren't a tac, then throw a sensor + console in to make your sensor scan drop their DR further. Biofunction monitor is useless for a defiant. Even if you only use the cloak once, that's more DPS than you would be doing with a biofunction monitor in place of it. I also don't need to swap out science team 2 to realize TSS 2 is better, because you should have tac team 1 up 24/7, which leaves no room for science team.
This isn't opinion, this isn't based off of anecdotal evidence, it is a fact. Crew + Defiant = who cares. You perform as well doing your job (DPS) with zero crew as with 50. Your crew has zero zero ZERO to do with hull heals, ONLY natural repair rate. A hazard emitter will heal you for 500 with 0 crew or with 50, that depends on your emitters, not your crew.
Crew
Is
Useless
For
Defiants
The Enhanced Plasma Manifold can be really useful, but it will put every battery on cooldown, so you have to time it or use Deuterium Surplus as a consumable. If you're looking for more consoles to happily spend even more C-Points
Yes I agree, I've always been a big fan of using the batteries, especially the weapons batteries. With the Escort setup I've built by mixing and matching the information in the thread I reallized i was hardly ever using the batteries. With the standard108/100 55/50 25/25 25/25 power settings my weapons, shields and so on just don't fall off enough to justify using the batteries Weapons alone almost never drops into the red while weapons damage sets at 1619 with a dps of 1079 on the heavy cannons. I even dropped EPtW and still pack a killer of a punch.
In PvP and Karrat the ship holds it's own VERY well against the klinks, I don't worry about the shiellds going down so much like I would have in my Advanced cruiser. My only deaths as I have said before seem to be from me not paying attention or having a klink sneek up from behind while I'm in a pack of spheres like the klinks are so well know to do.
I'm pleasently pleased.
And yes, I'm looking at the Point Defence. I want to give this setup a couple days before spending more CP.
Thanks
Just to clarify, there are no diminishing returns on consoles.
Not even resistance consoles.
And since in your case you're talking about tactical consoles for boosting your damage, two of the same +15 consoles (as an example) will give +30. Four of the same will give +60.
again, say what you will- the TSS change i still dont get the chunk shield repair that i like, however, using aux batteries and TSS 2 when i need it has become ok for me- my shields still go down far less with ST 2, but i do like the damage reduction that TSS 2 gives enough to keep it there and let me run TT 1 on a constant basis.
is point defense a universal console? i thought it was only a tactical console. if its universal, it could be worth a look. if not, then your argument has been rendered invalid.
"The Biofunction Monitor is a Ship Science Console that improves the recovery rate of the ship's crew, thus indirectly improving the ship's hull repair rate."
so yeah, crew does have a factor in hull repair. i didnt say HEAL like you are, i said REPAIR. meaning out of combat with a full crew your hull repairs faster than with no crew. so, keep trying to twist the meaning of my reason to keep the biofunction monitor on my ship to help with hull repairs. if i mistakenly said healing, then my bad. im talking about repair rate. which biofunction monitor DOES help with.
edit: you mean point defense system that comes with thunderchild and not the tac console from pre-orders im assuming. in that case, i would look into that. but not everyone is willing to drop x amount of cpoints on a thunderchild just to get a console for an STF. hence why i dont use it.
That's some excellent info. Thank you for posting that.
I originally ran into what I thought at the time was diminishing returns when I was attempting to stack 4x copies of overwatch on a ground BOffs layout I was toying with, and not getting what I thought were the correct numbers.
So you've just cleared up a burning question for me, thanks again.
So...maybe I want 4 x AP MAG Consoles.
If you have time to sit out of combat to repair your hull, you can cloak, which directly boosts your dps.
Point Defense is a universal console, as is the cloak, and both > a biofunction monitor.
That's my whole argument, I don't care if your syntax or word choice is poor, my message is pretty clear and concise, and you haven't brought forth any good evidence to the contrary.
Beta and launch player who dropped off since I can only afford one MMO at a time. I thoroughly enjoyed STO at launch and for a few months and am back now and loving the changes.
However, I am WAY out of the loop now and especially so since I have switched from a cruiser to an escort. I can't believe I never made the switch earlier. I bought the escort retro and love it.
I am a Lt. Commander (tactical) on the cusp of ranking up to Captain. I have read the tread and taken some of the advice and tested it out and had a few questions:
1. I did have phaser and disruptor cannons mixed at first, but remedied that with all phaser cannons (and a turret). I also got the appropriate phaser based consoles. While I like the bonus to taking out subsystems wouldn't our enemies (and correct me if I'm wrong) have builds specifically designed to diminish phaser damage? I would think most ships are designed to resist damage from their primary enemy, just as getting disruptor mitigation would make sense if I went up against Klingon ships a lot. Is there a benefit to me getting all disruptor cannons as my enemies might expect phaser damage from me? (a Fed player)
2. I removed "Target Subsystem Shields" on a BO to go with a second Tac Team ability (as suggested by the OP). If I do happen to go disruptors and loose my subsystem bonus from phasers, should I get "Target Subsystem Shields" again? I felt I was able to drop enemy shields MUCH faster before and while the other Tac Team is ok, I'm not sure I'm getting the full benefit I would as from a quick fight.
3. (stupid question #1) Are cannons considered beam weapons? I had a beam array skill and I wasn't sure if it was being used properly since I had all cannons and a turret.
4. (stupid question #2) Is "Mask Energy Signature ??" a cloak? I read replies on here stating that one of the defiant class ships is the only one to have a cloak, but I remember using MES on my cruiser and it seemed to act very much like a cloak.
Thanks, and I'll be keeping my eye on this thread for more great advice.
I'll go back and do some more jiggering with the setup and see if I can incorporate some more suitable setups. Mostly solo and PVP player here so I'll look for more along that line in the threads.
I just know what Borg missions I have done recently (not STF I am assuming) have just kicked my butt.
Setting up Lt. Commander and Commander level ships for normal duty is a completely different topic.
My only suggestion is to not worry about your builds at lower levels and instead focus on leveling as quickly as possible via the Episode missions.
Yes, 4xAP mag regulators, Borg Console, Plasma Distro Concole combined give high DPS. Heavy cannons in front with one quantum in front. Turrets in back. Try to max your weapons skills and as much as you can in the Projectile skills. Use the Projectile Weapons DoFF for your topedos and BOs which have traits that will enhace your fighting and defencive skills.
Two good Doffs to have are the Hazard systems officer and Shield Distrobution officer.
The Space Warfare Veteran trait BO is very imprtant followed by the Leadership trait and the Efficient trait.
If you follow the first guide in this sig and build your ship around that you'll end up being pretty happy.
Most of that is very similar to what I'm running currently.
With Weapons set to max, they sit at 125 without a Plasma Distribution Manifold. I was under the assumption that adding more would not go beyond that.
However, not having experience with Elite runs, do people set their weapon power lower than max?
I'd love to get a Veteran BO, but unfortunately that is not an option.
You are correct. It does not go beyond 125. It used to be a 'soft cap' many seasons ago, but now it is a 'hard cap'.
No you can't. It is now a 'hard cap'. There is no invisible power beyond 125 that you can draw from. This changed with season 2 or 3, I believe.
Hover your mouse over the weapons in the skill tray. Watch the DPS improve or reduce as you add or remove weapons buffs. Go for the max.
Its not actually JUST a 5 second debuff, its more like 10... Because what happens is that during the 5 seconds that BETA is active when you press the button, it KEEPS applying itself over and over with the 50% 5-second Debuff, so in total you get 10 seconds of -50% resist which is quite a lot.
Omega however is still a life saver for an Escort by getting you away from those tractor beams, so what I'm doing right now is using Beta 3 and Omega 1 and it seems to have increased my DPS even further and of course helps with the whole team damage thing
As for the All-Beam versus the other builds I have listed, the normal Canon build is supperior in damage by far. HOWEVER the all-beam build is more resilient due to the fact you can constantly fly at X amount of distance from said target at full impulse while firing all 7 beams at the target. Its a more survivable build than the point-and-shoot Canon builds.
The trade off is pretty even though, so it might be just a play style decision.
The mixed-beam/canon builds are not as effective in STF's as either of those builds however, so I can't recommend them at this time.