Alright Mavairo has been kind enough too post good standard starter cruiser builds.
I think its time we start an escort thread.
One complaint I hear from many cruiser captains is I tried an escort my damage wasn't any better and I died all the time. The escort is a different ship it plays differently, personally I find them much more fun to play. I see many new players doing silly things in them.
For the first few posts I am going to detail escort basics... then I will get into some specific standard builds.
With that in mind here are a few good standard builds and rules of thumb when building your escort. (I know there are many other effective ways too do it, I just want to cover good standard new player stuff)
Weapons -
Dual Heavy Cannons.... Period. Escorts are the only ships in the game that have access too them(the cruisers that can don't do it well and don't count) it is the perk they get for being escorts. Running other weapons is a bad idea. (I won't get into dual cannon and other odd theories for a new player stick with dual heavy and profit)
Dual Beam Bank... ONE per ship only ever.
Beam Array... One per ship only EVER, Rear facing ONLY.
(Never BOTH you do not need 2 beams and having 2 will eat your dps if you sit them out waiting for a BOL shot)
Quantum / Photon / Chroniton Torps ONLY.
Weapon Damage Type makes no difference, Plasma is the ONLY bad option. However one weapon type ONLY per build.
Captain Types -
Tactical... the most natural class too fly an escort. There captain skills will ramp up the damage of the commander and lt. Commander skills the most. They will be in the most need of defense skills in there engi and sci slots, so things like tractor beams jam sensors ect are 100% out of the question. Highest dmg potential by far, however they MUST stay mobile too survive. (I will detail speed tanking shortly)
Sci... a good option for an escort ship. SNB and sensor scan timed properly can make up for the slightly lower burst potential. The also have a couple nice tanking skills. Sci fleet will give them a great shield bump, Damp field is a nice bonus dmg resist if needed.
Engi... also a good option for an escort ship. The most defensive skills mean they can afford too use toy skills more then the other 2 classes. By that I mean loading a tractor beam on an engi is possible. The key to engi escorts is playing too the engi strength... power. I would NOT load an engi escort with torps, I would however load one with 2 copies of Beam Overload 3, and play to the strengths of the class.
Power settings
On all ships in this game it is a good idea too have multiple power layouts ready too go. The game allows you to store 4 settings and I would suggest using all of them... however as a new player focus on 2 and have them bound too a key so you can switch back and forth quickly. As a new escort player I would suggest you have a weapon power setting and a Aux power setting ready too go. Aux power will allow you too significantly boost the 2 or 3 skills you will be using for heals. By keeping your EPS power transfer high (SPEC the eps skill and always run 1 EPS unit) you will be able to switch power when you use them and switch back.
Standard Attack Setting
100 25 50 25
Standard Heal Setting
25 25 50 100
(Again I will go over speed tanking and the importance of engine power in a follow up post)
Key Binds... THIS IS THE MOST IMPORATANT THING TOO KNOW ABOUT ESCORTS.
Sorry for the caps, but this is needed info. You can NOT fly an escort with auto fire on EVER. You can not fly and escort using the games Fire all Weapons command EVER. You should avoid using the games Fire all Phasers... and Fire all torpedo commands. They will not deliver damage properly... you must be able to time your burst... which is torpedos or Beam Overloads. You can not control those things if you do not bind your weapons properly.
There are other forum posts that go into detail in regards to the games key binding system... I will simplify this too the absolute basic for our new players.
First Place your weapons on an empty slot... I would suggest doing the same thing I do... Flip one of your tray bars too tray 4 (the little arrow beside the tray). Now line up all your weapons on that tray... in this order Torpedo / Beam... your 3-4 Dual Heavy Cannons... and at the end of the line your turrets.
Now we will bind them too key(s)... you MUST have at least 2 fire keys. One key will fire your Torp or beam... the other will fire your cannons. I personly use 2 cannon keys so I can choose to fire turrets ect. One trick is too always fire your Dual cannons first... meaning they will get the benefit of your full power pool first.
You will also hold your Beam Overload beams until your Power is at 125... meaning fire your cannons only while your Beam Overload is loaded. But wait 2 seconds or so after your cannons stop firing so your power fully returns. (full power BOL shots are MUCH better then half power)
Now the binds, I use the F key for my Torp / Beam... and Space for my Duals and E for my turrets but you are free to change the keys of course. (I will provide a binds for 2 keys and 3 keys)
1) Shield Resist Stacking... This is simiply applying skills that boost dmg restence on your shield... shield resists have dimminishing returns when stacked to a max of 75%.
2) Hull Resist Stacking... same theory as the shield resist stacking only this is direct on hull.
3) Defense boosting... defense is a number goes against your attackers Accuracy numbers. By increasing defense too a high number you are negating the effectivness of attacks against you.
My suggestion for a newer player is too use a little bit of all 3 of these skills. It is very important too understand how all 3 work on a basic level... that alone will save you in pvp.
Escort Tanking... escorts rely on all 3 forms of tanking... they excel at defense boost tanking... but all ships in the game require all 3 too survive. In the builds I have following I have skills that will help with all 3 types of tank. First Speed is very important. (while in a space dock open your ships defense window under your character screen and observe the defense number as you start too move forward and backwards ect... if you have not seen how that works) You MUST keep your engine power at a MIN setting of 50 at all times in an escort. This will give your ship a high base defense number. The key with defense numbers is too understand when it is going to be degraded... people using Target Engines on you is bad... tractor beams are bad... gravity wells are bad... as they will bleed your speed and kill your defense numbers. When that happens use Attack pattern Omega. This will break most holds and give you a defense and speed boost. Evasive Maneuvers is also very important too your survival, when you are in speed trouble use Evasive even if you are just circling the fight. Attack Pattern Delta is another very good skill that will provide you with a defense boost... in my basic setups I have included delta for tac and sci captains for this reason... when in trouble it is a good way to shore up your defense number. (Another thing I hear from new escort pilots... the escort is too weak one shot and I am dead... if you always keep your defense number up your targets will NOT hit you with large crits)
Shield tanking on an escort... Tac team is a must on all escorts... this will redistribute your shields and allow you too effectively use all your shield facings... I have put 2 copies on every escort build I will detail with NO other team skills to interfere with the cool down. Emergency Power to shields is a required skill on all ships... one copy of version 1 on an escort should be sufficient. (DO not wait too use this skill you are using it for the resist numbers NOT the heal) Transfer shield strength is also a required skill for my standard escort builds. Understand that again the resist is the thing the hot heal is also very effective, combined with tac team it will keep your shield up under even good focus fire.
Finally Hull tank... in the standard builds I have included aux to Structural as a new player USE this skill... there are other things people will put there RSP is NOT a good idea.. Engi Team is a larger heal but offers no resist, it will also mess up your tactical team timing. Hazard Emitters will also provide you with a hull resist as well as a hot heal... this is your main heal on the escort. When your Hazards are about too come up... with say 5 seconds left on the cool down, Switch too your aux power setting... use your hazards, then switch back too pew pew mode.
New Player Defiant Build
I choose too start with the defiant.. I will post an advanced escort build shortly.
Tac Captain Build -
3 Dual Heavy Cannons. One Torpedo.
3 Turrets
Tactical Team 1 Attack Pattern Delta 1 High Yield 3 Cannon Rapid Fire 3
Tactical Team 1 Rapid Fire 1 Attack Pattern Omega 1
High Yield 1
Emergency Power to Shield 1 Aux to Structural 1
Hazard Emitters 1 Transfer Shield Strength 2
Cloak Unit Neutronium Armour EPS unit
Field Emitter (35% unit) Borg Consul
3 x Weapon dmg type units 1 Torpedo Dmg type unit
Engi Captain Build -
3 Dual Heavy Cannons. One Dual Beam bank
3 Turrets
Tactical Team 1 Rapid Fire 1 Beam Overload 3 Attack Pattern Omega 3
Tactical Team 1 Rapid Fire 1 Beam Overload 3
Target Aux 1 or Target engines 1
Emergency Power to Shield 1 Aux to Structural 1
Hazard Emitters 1 Transfer Shield Strength 2
Cloak Unit Neutronium Armour EPS unit
Field Emitter (35% unit) Borg Consul
4 x Weapon dmg type units
Suggested Doffs... Evasive Maneuvers Doff (Will Stack 3 times) / Brace for impact shield recharge
(Special note for the engi version... I know as a new player you may not have a copy of Beam Overload 3... or 2 copies. It would be acceptable to use Beam Overload 2 and Rapid Fire 2 reversed)
Here is my MVAM build (which I use with a tactical captain):
Tac
TT1 / CRF1 / APO1 / CRF3
TT1 / HYT2
HYT1
Eng
EPtS1 / EPtS2
Sci
ST1 / TSS2 / PSW1
Weapons:
3x DHC, 1x Quantum
2x Turret, 1x Quantum
Consoles:
Eng: Neutronium / Borg
Sci: MVAM / Field Generator / Emitter
Tac: 4x Energy Type
Devices:
Engine Battery
Shield Battery (or Red Matter Capacitor)
Gear:
Borg Deflector
Borg Engine
Covariant or MACO shield
How to play it:
Put all weapons except the front torpedo on autofire. Bind all copies of HYT, CRF, EPtS to spacebar.
Point your escort at other ships and shoot them. If you see a chance of their shield facing dropping, manually fire the front torpedo. Shockwave at will.
Good builds and in general good post, One thing I would like to add is I don't like when escorts use rapidfire 1 they sacrifice alot of potential dps, I think the best rapidfires should be used like two copys of rapid fire 2 or 1 rapidfire 2 and one rapidfire 3.
In general I think beam overload is abit more easy to use also you can basicly use it as a standard attack in a rotation but yes for the best effect you want to use it when he have low to no shields left, same goes for torpedoes but... Torpedoes does alot more damage if they just hit hull.
Escort tanking on the otherhand is easily achived with tactical team1 tss1-2 or science team or 3part borg with 3 shield distribution officers. Remember you can heal your hull with The borg proc "2part" or a copy of hazard emitter.
If you do use Torpedoes and use high yield witch I think is the best torpedo skill for potential burst please consider using highyield 2 and above.
This is just a personal preferance but I guess it might help someone.
Key Binds... THIS IS THE MOST IMPORATANT THING TOO KNOW ABOUT ESCORTS.
Sorry for the caps, but this is needed info. You can NOT fly an escort with auto fire on EVER. You can not fly and escort using the games Fire all Weapons command EVER.
Oops...
That grevious blunder aside... The build I am using on my defiant at the min is:
I like to have 2x APO for the ability to break holds/resists, which are so prevalent these days. I have toyed with the idea of dropping on of them in favour of a bit more damage potential, so i might have to try out some of these tips.
Please note Sci 'scorts are not the same as Sci BoPs. BoPs are their own animal of a wide variety. Not trying to derail thread, but need new KDF players to understand playing fed != KDF. They've got completely different playstyles. My suggestion would be to learn to run/escape as I see far too many people who don't seem to think this is needed when they start playing KDF.
as the only thing i do decent in the game, i guess i can chime in here.
but since almost everything has been covered so far, i will just say this....
piloting, timing, distance on target, situational awareness.
those things will make you a great escort pilot. practice a lot.
have fun kill bad guys.
horizon
Timing is absolutely everything. Especially for escorts with torps, it can be the difference between your HYT doing very little damage, and a shot hitting bare hull and taking out half their HP. Timing your heals, tac team, and offensive abilities is also crucial. I try to always be thinking at least 45 seconds ahead, planning out when my cooldowns will expire, what target i'm going for, and which abilities I can use when. Having enough tricks in your bag to keep the pressure on constantly is important; rather than using an alpha strike then escaping until the cooldown expires, you can follow the alpha strike with a less powerful but still formidible Omega strike, and the first CRF should be available again not long after that, so you can use that to keep the pressure on. Don't give them a achance to escape and recover.
You could have the most amazing build ever, but if your timing sucks you might as well be flying a Miranda.
Granted, i'm not a fantastic PVPer, but I'm decent and improving, and timing is a major part of that. Continuously experiment with new builds, practice in Ker'rat, and maybe PUG once in a while to get a feel for how other captains do it.
:Di run my engine power at 70 with hyper impulse engines and i scoot pretty well. With inherant traits and skill points on top of the Aegis set my defense stays at 90%. Come and get it
:Di run my engine power at 70 with hyper impulse engines and i scoot pretty well. With inherant traits and skill points on top of the Aegis set my defense stays at 90%. Come and get it
Just worth pointing out that the bonus defence maxxes out at an impulse factor of ~24
Typically I get max movement based defence from a base setting of 25 engine power (with bonuses on top of that). Any increase in engine power over that adds turn rate to make your turns tighter, and flight speed, to make your turns less tight
Though perhaps a higher engine power is more desirable to keep defence up when you decrease throttle, etc? Can someone clarify?
Though perhaps a higher engine power is more desirable to keep defence up when you decrease throttle, etc? Can someone clarify?
Exactly, defense come from speed more then the power setting. When I suggest new players set there engine power to 50, I don't mean with skills and traits... I mean 50... which if your actual engine power isn't at least at 70 you didn't spec properly. I guess I should go over what skill tree professions are most important for an escort. As well as basic piloting... (ie throttle control / looping / reverse thrust ect.)
Just worth pointing out that the bonus defence maxxes out at an impulse factor of ~24
Typically I get max movement based defence from a base setting of 25 engine power (with bonuses on top of that). Any increase in engine power over that adds turn rate to make your turns tighter, and flight speed, to make your turns less tight
Though perhaps a higher engine power is more desirable to keep defence up when you decrease throttle, etc? Can someone clarify?
I understand all the the above. While max speed for best possible defense is 24, i try to stay above 35 incase i need to scoot out fireing range without wasting a buff if at all possible. That and turn rate is nice. Im using hyper impulse engines so far i have found 70 is its sweet spot. after that its just diminishing returns If i brought it up to 80 id barely scratch 40 impulse. Pop an engine battery with hyper impulse and hold on to your seat!
When I set my engine power at 50 I end up with 66 final rating. This puts me at 80 defense. I have the elusive trait so I guess that is why it is so high. I don't think I missed anything when I skilled up so maybe it is because I fly the BOP.
Anyways just wanted to mention something about escorts and their movements in combat. Stop wasting it. If you're actually going to pop evasive or you are getting some sort of set bonus proc use it for something besides doing cartwheels in my firing arc.
At the very least if you're still feeling strong in the fight use it to gain a couple klicks of distance and be behind and off to one quarter of your enemy. If you're not feeling strong and you've been surprised use it to get behind something and stay behind something. Several somethings if at all possible. If you do need to scoot out of there and there are no handy objects to help break line of sight make your course 90 degrees off of your current heading when you use your speed boost.
If you don't currently have a speed boost to use and your offensives are down all you can do is move away and use any defenses you have. A ninety degree turn is still a good choice if you are unsure where your opponent is. Don't turn in a circle. There is no sadder sight than a fleeing escort turning a circle around an opponent that simply has a better turn rate. It means you're going to be punished at close range.
Whenever you are in get away mode, use it as get prepared mode. Look at whoever is attacking you. Look at the buffs they have up. Know when they will expire. When those buffs drop that will be your chance especially if your attacker was another escort. Escort attack buffs are also their strongest defense buffs. It's likely he just used his.
So don't waste your movement on loopy loops. Use it to gain an advantage in position and planning. Know ahead of time what to do when you get bounced. This can save you.
i have gone back and forth on my engine power setting so much i cant really remember which i like best.
i will say this tho, if you are running 2 copies of APO:1, or even 1 copy with AUX2ID...leave the engines at 25...you will have these great little bursts of speed and defense almost every 15-20 seconds. and keeping your shield power higher means better regen, and better resist.
ive recently hopped in the mvae, so im running APO:1, and AUX2ID...engines at 25, and my defense is much more stout than in my defiant running 2 APO's and the AUX2ID....engines at 50.
keep playing with your build, we all have different playstyles and a slightly different mix may be better for one, but not the other.
and someone had mentioned it earlier....but THROTTLE CONTROL! i have keys set for +1/4, - 1/4 impulse, and full impulse. in 5 seconds i can go from full, to reverse, to 1/4 impulse and back to full...and out. you beam overload and torp running scorts need to get very good at this.
I bound my throttle control to my mouse scroll wheel a long time ago, it leaves my left hand completely free for wasd, space bar and other goodies like push to talk.
Cmdr
Torpedo High Yield 1, Torpedo High Yield 2, Cannon Rapid Fire 2, Cannon Rapid Fire 3 Variant, Torpedo Spread1, Torp High Yield 2, Cannon Scatter 2, Cannon Rapid Fire 3.
Lt Cmdr
Tactical Team1, Attack Pattern Delta 1, Attack Pattern Omega 1
Lt Engineering, Emergency Power to shields 1, Emergency to shields 2.
Variant, Emergency to engines 1, Emergency to shiels 2
Lt Sci, Transfer Shields 1, Transfer shields 2. Variant A, Sci Team 1, Transfer shields 2, Variant B Transfer Shields 1, Feedback Pulse1
Ensign sci, Tractor Beam. Variant B Transfer Shields 1
Devices... this thing goes through aux batteries and shield batteries like pez candy. Shield Battery, Aux battery.
Armament, 3 Dual Heavy Tetryon Cannons. Acc Crt HX2, 3 of them. 1 Quantum CrtDX2 Dmg (going to be upgraded to a CrtDX2, Crt H soon) 3 Emblem Tetryon Turrets.
Shields, Maco Shield Going to change this to Omega for a variant though I might keep Maco
Deflector Borg Deflector Going to upgrade this to Omega the reason for this one is simple. More accuracy and particle generator ranks
Engine Borg. possible variant is to get the Omega engine.
Consoles. Field Emitter and Borg.
MVAM console, Field Generator, Flow Capacitor
4 Tetryon Pulse Generators.
Duty Officers 2 brace for impact shield distribution officers, 1 blue tractor beam officer (the one that strips shields), Warpcore engineer and a Hazard System officer.
What really drives this build on though is Tac Initiative it lets you pretty much have double your best tac powers so you can afford abit of variety in your attack patterns this way. If you aren't a tac but wanted to run this ship I'd ditch APD1 for Hy2, and ditch HY1 for a second tac team. If you are an engineer wanting this setup I'd remove EPTS2 for Aux to Dampeners and just roll your rotate shield frequency during focus fire. Possibly also rotate out 1 to 2 doffs for the EPTX cool down reduction duty officers.
The Advanced Escort is the one escort that tractor beam is not only accessible without sacficing much needed shield tanking with, but also the one it excels with it. The reason why I don't have Acc2 Crths on my gear vs the Crth X2 accs, is my targets quite often have little to no defense score before tractor beam is done, (let alone any sci spam my buddies are slinging around) so the raw extra crit power really comes into it's own.
Special keybinds? Only the target caller. But again as I posted in my cruiser thread. I have a razer naga. I can cheat. That and 3 dhcs and a torp is really easy to work with for throwing down burst. just space bar, and holding the torp on it's own fire key.
For some reason it didn't save the commander skill... Rapid Fire 3.
Also
Wep Power setting Mode
100 Weapons
25 Shield
50 Engines
25 Aux
The way I speced that build you should have lots of power too all system.... load shield bats if you are feeling like you need too I spec some into the bat skill and your likely looking at 16 or so seconds of a boost...
Aux power setting
35 Weapons
25 Shield
40 Engines
100 Aux
Bind the 2 power modes, run one EPS unit in your engi slots... and switch too aux mode when you need a stronger heal. If you bind them you should be able to switch when you swing out of dual cannon arc heal and be back too weapon power when you get arc again... with practice.
Also note you where choosing tetryon weapons... people will like to spec flow capacitor too boost that... Too be honest being a newer escort pilot I would skip it... go phaser if you can the proc will help you much more. Tet proc is great if you are really good at keeping all 6 of your nrgy weapons on target at all times... honesty you likely won't be. Go phasers save the points for something that will help you right now (Batt +)... phasers are killer and reliable and even with 3 turrets on target you have a great chance to proc a system.
Alright I wanted too post some info in regards to piloting. One complaint escort pilots will hear is How are you tanking that much dmg when you are not moving / moving too slow / going backwards / ect ?
Well I am going to detail for you how too fly like a Dog Fighting combat craft... and still retain high defense numbers, allowing you too pull it off.
Needed tools for these lessons...
- An escort
- Attack Pattern Omega
- Evasive
- Throttle on a key bind... Mine is on my mouse wheel which I love... the default keys are q and e for throttle control and some people prefer that.
- *Not needed but fun if this ends up being your play style... Aux to Dampeners
As I go through a bunch of these piloting techniques I am going too use my own escort numbers as something for you to compare against... and get an idea before you try them out what you are shooting for.
First situational awareness is key... in order to preform some of these tricks you really have to understand where your opponent is... and having a good idea where he will be 10 seconds from now will help, and will come with practice.
Too test some of these tricks and too understand your own defense numbers... go and park yourself in Sol or DS9 or Qo'nos and practice them. There are always parked cruisers and such sitting there practice flying circles around them... running around them and keeping arc. Also as I go through these and you are trying them... open your character screen and open your defense tab. There you will see a bonus defense number at the top. I want you too note how it drops and how fast it drops when you complete some of these moves... then you should be able to understand when you can afford too drop X amount of Defense or what skills you need too use to get the numbers you want defense wise.
Standard Defense numbers...
First Set et your engine power too its standard setting 50 base is likely what you should have here if you are planning to do any fancy escort piloting. Mine sits just over 70 with skills... anything 65 and up should be good... the more the better.
1) Now looking at your defense tab note your number when stopped... (Mine is -5)
2) Now put your ship too full throttle and look at the defense number. (Mine is 80)... lesson two speed is very good.
3) Now put your ship too ¾ ½ and ¼ throttles and check defense. (Mine is 78.6% / 59.1% / 35%)... lesson 3 slowing down isn't killer if you can afford to bleed the defense for a few seconds... play with it and slide your throttle see how you can bump it up and bleed it too still retain most of it if you need too.
4) Now put your ship in reverse and look at that tab... (Mine is 32.5%). So lesson four... reverse is better then stopped.
5) Now while in reverse notice the drawback stop... put it in reverse.. and watch your power settings, count how long it takes too loose power. This is going to depend on a few skills you have speced (the recent skill changes have effected this) Mine is around 9 seconds. So lesson five... you have X amount of time in reverse before you loose power... your defense will be around 32.5% This is quickly fixed with a quick forward and reverse.
6) Use Evasive Maneuvers... check numbers at all throttle settings... understand that this is an option to boost your defense not just run away... too test that theory put your ship in reverse and hit evasive. Look at your defense number. (Mine is 95 in REVERSE with evasive running) Now go fly around some people in space dock and throw it in reverse and see how easy it is too keep your nose pointed at them... see where I am going... full reverse slow speed easy to aim... NO DRAW back too defense until evasive runs out. (if you have Aux to Damp run the same test my defense in reverse with AuxtoD is 45%) Run these same tests with Omega as well (Mine in reverse is 54%) Test out every speed setting and combo of skills you can... understand how you can boost your defense as high as you can while running at lower speeds... latter when you are pulling off some fancy flying you can time your defense boost skills for your crazy turns and reverse stops too keep the defense numbers up.
Now some fancy tricks., I promised. (some of these take lots of practice too pull off consistently... practice makes perfect) I will start with a couple... if I find some more time later I will post a few more that I use from time too time.
One more thing I didn't go over up till now I have said have 2 power profiles as a new pilot and that is perfect... if you can handle it it is also nice to have an engi setting... many of these skills will work with out evasive's and other buffs if you go too full engine power for a few sec.... I have my Attack and Aux on the last 2 buttons of my naga... I also have Attack and Engine power on 2 buttons beside my scroll wheel... so I have attack bound twice... cause I will have my engine attack quick flip and my heal attack quick flip... just at thought, not needed but nice to have.
The High Speed Yo Yo
This is a good trick to shake an annoying turn battle. There will be a point when you will be locked into a turning fight with another escort / bop. This technique is going to work best if you have an evasive up... omega or aux to damp can also do the trick. You can practice this one on a stationary target... circle them at full throttle, use evasive if you have it.. Pull UP as hard as you can and into the turn at the same time... when you get above your target . SLAM reverse and turn DOWN and into the turn. At this point you should have a nice defense bonus from your speed skill + reverse. Your target should
be right in your firing arc... Fry em.
I use this one lots when not in turn fights... too simply put myself in a better position where I will be taking less fire... or into a team mates heal zone ect.
Repositioning Turn (Modern ImmelmannTurn)
This one is easy to practice in space dock... I will use something like this too pull up too fight that has spiraled up on Z... basicly it is just a positioning turn... that keeps me from running around and circling when I get too the fight.
Might not be fair to call this an Immelmann... anyway. Evasive up too a target that is above you on Z... practice this one on the space dock sitters. Learn how far away you need too pull up hard and use evasive too get RIGHT on them... cause you are going to PARK on them when you get there. Practice stopping RIGHT on there nose... like 0.2K when you get there level out and reverse... and if it where a match Fry em.
When you can pull right up and stop right on some one... NOW this is the part that makes this more of an Immelmann turn... Practice getting the opposite side of there facing...
Evasive directly at them but overshoot them (ahead or behind them depending on ship type)... Turning toward them Hard when you get close... rolling your throttle into reverse. Even a ship like the defiant will have a bit of inertial that will turn your noose, you should be able to slide into any facing you want to shoot at. (the back side of where you where coming from is fairly easy to hit)
When you are in a match this is great for running toward a battle... and picking a weak shield facing too start on. It also confuses targets... and helps confuse the heck out of Tactical Team procs.
The Break
This one is a defensive move. This is one too use when you have another escort behind you. Basicly you want too make a hard turn into the direction of the attack. What I will often do is turn hard into my opponents arc... throttle back and then full throttle in a hard turn with my nose pointed either Hard Down or UP depending on the fight.
Roll away
This is a good offensive pattern too run on an escort or other fast ship that is locking you into a turning fight. (you being the attacker).
This skill is going to REQUIRE a speed boost preferably evasive... but omega or aux to damp can work as well. While you are turning behind your target... use evasive Pull UP hard and away from the turn. (If the turn is going left bank UP and too the right)..... Now watch your throttle... and Pull Down hard and into the original turn. If you do this quickly you should end up with the side of your target in your arc, sometimes right behind depending on the turn rate of your target. (if you time this for when you have some spike abilities up you may be able to kill them from the side... if not at least you broke the turn fight)
Consoles
~Engineering: 3x EPS Regulator (Three will keep your power levels from dropping below 100 for weapons with power to weapons selected).
~Science: 1x Shield "Regenerator"
1x Assimilated Module
~Tactical: 4x Anti-Proton "Energy" Modules (Adding 96%) to my damage per cannon
Look at it this way...
Base damage for Anti-Proton Dual Heavies varies from 357 to 369 damage each.
Double that for power levels with each doing 714 to 736 damage each.
Add 96% to that for 1,399 to 1,442 damage each cannon.
Base damage for Anti-Proton Turrets is 90 to 93 damage each.
Double that for power levels with each doing 180 to 186 damage each.
Add 96% to that for 352 to 364 damage each.
Total damage per volley is approximately 6,692 to 6,860 a volley.
Use the following buffs in order dependent on situation:
1st: All Power to Weapons
2nd: Tactical Team
3rd: Rapid Fire (OR) "Cannon Spread" (for multiple targets)
I CAN MOW THE LAWN ALL DAY DOING THIS!!!!
P.S., I don't worry about dying too quickly when my opponent goes down in ten secs! As well, I am not accounting for critical damage... imagine that carnage.
A borg cube is a ten second endeavour to solo out of existence. Smaller ships in the Undine campain are two volley losses with the "spray and pray". A klingon bird of prey, science vessel or raptor in pvp is dead weight.
Ap kind of sucks right now honestly. Defense scores are just too high for the modifiers AP provides without lots of sci spam to stop opponents for you.
Also, with Cannons you don't even need an EPS regulator, let alone three of them. My own weapon power without one rarely dips below 100. (maybe if I've been hit with a lolaron proc or something hehe) Better off changing one EPS for an RCS, or shield power console. (as shield power is something Escorts aren't especially good at providing naturally)
Great advice Husanak, especially about the flying and maneuvering itself.
This is a very important part with the escort. Not only outgun them, but outfly them. As an old flighsim jockey with a real world pilot license this came pretty easy to me. It was only hard to perfect flying in the curious 2d/3d STO envoriment.
But i would also like to add a few things:
Power Settings
For my fleet escort i found it handy to have a relative high shield power setting even in attack preset. Therefore for my attack preset i 1st set my WP so it reached 125 (if i remember right at setting of 90 or 95), than set engine power so i got max def bonus at full throttle (which if i remember right is at 35 or 40 setting), than set AUX to 25 and put everything left into shields. At VA level this gives me the following actual levels prior to buffs (written from memory so no 100% gurantee): 125/72/66/52
Keybinds]/i]:
I have played around alot with them and found that keybinds with 3-4 trays bound to them tend to act unpredictable. Because of this i usually have a max of 2 powers bound to one key (i.e. both copies of EPtS on one, both copies of TT I to one) and i do not have all energy weapons bound to one key.
I use a different approach. I also line up all energy weapons in one row (for me it also row 4) starting with DHCs 1-4, than turret 1-3. I than set all weapons to autofire, also starting from DHC 1-4 and then turret 1-3. After that i bind DHC #1 to SPACE. SPACE now works as an activate/deactivate buttom for all weapons on autofire. And because i bound DHC #1 to it, my fring cylce starts with DHC#1, runs through all DHCs and than turrets. This way i can use autofire and keep the ability to time my burst perfectly right with WP at full 125.
Shield tanking:
My shield tank is based on two copies of EPtS I and a pretty high shield power setting, supported by 2 good shield distribution DOFFs, shield batteries and Enhanced Plasma Manifold Console. I found that with this combination i do not need TSS. Positive side effect of EPM-Console is, that it also boosts AUX power and so my AtSIF and HE II benefit from it.
Dogfighting
One key to good maneuvering especially against other escorts is to try to stay behind the 3/9 line. This is an imaginary line that goes across a ship/plane from left to right (3 o'clock to 9 o'clock). Because if your are behind the opponents 3/9 line you will be in a position to attack his rear hemisphere and you stay out of his front arc. In STO this is a little bit different than in flightsims, cause planes cannot reverse as our ships can do. But once you are able to do it, you will have a decisive advantage.
Dogfighting
One key to good maneuvering especially against other escorts is to try to stay behind the 3/9 line. This is an imaginary line that goes across a ship/plane from left to right (3 o'clock to 9 o'clock). Because if your are behind the opponents 3/9 line you will be in a position to attack his rear hemisphere and you stay out of his front arc. In STO this is a little bit different than in flightsims, cause planes cannot reverse as our ships can do. But once you are able to do it, you will have a decisive advantage.
Good advice. Ya I know getting used too the not quite true 3d is so odd... so many times I want to go come on come on Pull up you B... lol Of course I can stop and go backwards on a dime... its like a stalled out power slide on command.
Good advice. Ya I know getting used too the not quite true 3d is so odd... so many times I want to go come on come on Pull up you B... lol Of course I can stop and go backwards on a dime... its like a stalled out power slide on command.
LOL, never though of it that way. So you doing some kind of pseudo wing-over/hammerhead. I will have to see how my trusty fleet escort does at it.
Comments
Weapons -
Dual Heavy Cannons.... Period. Escorts are the only ships in the game that have access too them(the cruisers that can don't do it well and don't count) it is the perk they get for being escorts. Running other weapons is a bad idea. (I won't get into dual cannon and other odd theories for a new player stick with dual heavy and profit)
Dual Beam Bank... ONE per ship only ever.
Beam Array... One per ship only EVER, Rear facing ONLY.
(Never BOTH you do not need 2 beams and having 2 will eat your dps if you sit them out waiting for a BOL shot)
Quantum / Photon / Chroniton Torps ONLY.
Weapon Damage Type makes no difference, Plasma is the ONLY bad option. However one weapon type ONLY per build.
Tactical... the most natural class too fly an escort. There captain skills will ramp up the damage of the commander and lt. Commander skills the most. They will be in the most need of defense skills in there engi and sci slots, so things like tractor beams jam sensors ect are 100% out of the question. Highest dmg potential by far, however they MUST stay mobile too survive. (I will detail speed tanking shortly)
Sci... a good option for an escort ship. SNB and sensor scan timed properly can make up for the slightly lower burst potential. The also have a couple nice tanking skills. Sci fleet will give them a great shield bump, Damp field is a nice bonus dmg resist if needed.
Engi... also a good option for an escort ship. The most defensive skills mean they can afford too use toy skills more then the other 2 classes. By that I mean loading a tractor beam on an engi is possible. The key to engi escorts is playing too the engi strength... power. I would NOT load an engi escort with torps, I would however load one with 2 copies of Beam Overload 3, and play to the strengths of the class.
On all ships in this game it is a good idea too have multiple power layouts ready too go. The game allows you to store 4 settings and I would suggest using all of them... however as a new player focus on 2 and have them bound too a key so you can switch back and forth quickly. As a new escort player I would suggest you have a weapon power setting and a Aux power setting ready too go. Aux power will allow you too significantly boost the 2 or 3 skills you will be using for heals. By keeping your EPS power transfer high (SPEC the eps skill and always run 1 EPS unit) you will be able to switch power when you use them and switch back.
Standard Attack Setting
100 25 50 25
Standard Heal Setting
25 25 50 100
(Again I will go over speed tanking and the importance of engine power in a follow up post)
Sorry for the caps, but this is needed info. You can NOT fly an escort with auto fire on EVER. You can not fly and escort using the games Fire all Weapons command EVER. You should avoid using the games Fire all Phasers... and Fire all torpedo commands. They will not deliver damage properly... you must be able to time your burst... which is torpedos or Beam Overloads. You can not control those things if you do not bind your weapons properly.
There are other forum posts that go into detail in regards to the games key binding system... I will simplify this too the absolute basic for our new players.
First Place your weapons on an empty slot... I would suggest doing the same thing I do... Flip one of your tray bars too tray 4 (the little arrow beside the tray). Now line up all your weapons on that tray... in this order Torpedo / Beam... your 3-4 Dual Heavy Cannons... and at the end of the line your turrets.
Now we will bind them too key(s)... you MUST have at least 2 fire keys. One key will fire your Torp or beam... the other will fire your cannons. I personly use 2 cannon keys so I can choose to fire turrets ect. One trick is too always fire your Dual cannons first... meaning they will get the benefit of your full power pool first.
You will also hold your Beam Overload beams until your Power is at 125... meaning fire your cannons only while your Beam Overload is loaded. But wait 2 seconds or so after your cannons stop firing so your power fully returns. (full power BOL shots are MUCH better then half power)
Now the binds, I use the F key for my Torp / Beam... and Space for my Duals and E for my turrets but you are free to change the keys of course. (I will provide a binds for 2 keys and 3 keys)
2 Key bind
/bind F +trayexec 3 0
/bind space +trayexec 3 1 $$ +Trayexec 3 2 $$ +trayexec 3 3 $$ +Trayexec 3 4 $$ +trayexec 3 5 $$ +Trayexec 4 6
3 Key bind
/bind F +trayexec 3 0
/bind space +trayexec 3 1 $$ +Trayexec 3 2 $$ +trayexec 3 3
/bind E +Trayexec 3 4 $$ +trayexec 3 5 $$ +Trayexec 4 6
There are 3 ways too tank damage in this game.
1) Shield Resist Stacking... This is simiply applying skills that boost dmg restence on your shield... shield resists have dimminishing returns when stacked to a max of 75%.
2) Hull Resist Stacking... same theory as the shield resist stacking only this is direct on hull.
3) Defense boosting... defense is a number goes against your attackers Accuracy numbers. By increasing defense too a high number you are negating the effectivness of attacks against you.
My suggestion for a newer player is too use a little bit of all 3 of these skills. It is very important too understand how all 3 work on a basic level... that alone will save you in pvp.
Escort Tanking... escorts rely on all 3 forms of tanking... they excel at defense boost tanking... but all ships in the game require all 3 too survive. In the builds I have following I have skills that will help with all 3 types of tank. First Speed is very important. (while in a space dock open your ships defense window under your character screen and observe the defense number as you start too move forward and backwards ect... if you have not seen how that works) You MUST keep your engine power at a MIN setting of 50 at all times in an escort. This will give your ship a high base defense number. The key with defense numbers is too understand when it is going to be degraded... people using Target Engines on you is bad... tractor beams are bad... gravity wells are bad... as they will bleed your speed and kill your defense numbers. When that happens use Attack pattern Omega. This will break most holds and give you a defense and speed boost. Evasive Maneuvers is also very important too your survival, when you are in speed trouble use Evasive even if you are just circling the fight. Attack Pattern Delta is another very good skill that will provide you with a defense boost... in my basic setups I have included delta for tac and sci captains for this reason... when in trouble it is a good way to shore up your defense number. (Another thing I hear from new escort pilots... the escort is too weak one shot and I am dead... if you always keep your defense number up your targets will NOT hit you with large crits)
Shield tanking on an escort... Tac team is a must on all escorts... this will redistribute your shields and allow you too effectively use all your shield facings... I have put 2 copies on every escort build I will detail with NO other team skills to interfere with the cool down. Emergency Power to shields is a required skill on all ships... one copy of version 1 on an escort should be sufficient. (DO not wait too use this skill you are using it for the resist numbers NOT the heal) Transfer shield strength is also a required skill for my standard escort builds. Understand that again the resist is the thing the hot heal is also very effective, combined with tac team it will keep your shield up under even good focus fire.
Finally Hull tank... in the standard builds I have included aux to Structural as a new player USE this skill... there are other things people will put there RSP is NOT a good idea.. Engi Team is a larger heal but offers no resist, it will also mess up your tactical team timing. Hazard Emitters will also provide you with a hull resist as well as a hot heal... this is your main heal on the escort. When your Hazards are about too come up... with say 5 seconds left on the cool down, Switch too your aux power setting... use your hazards, then switch back too pew pew mode.
I choose too start with the defiant.. I will post an advanced escort build shortly.
Tac Captain Build -
3 Dual Heavy Cannons. One Torpedo.
3 Turrets
Tactical Team 1 Attack Pattern Delta 1 High Yield 3 Cannon Rapid Fire 3
Tactical Team 1 Rapid Fire 1 Attack Pattern Omega 1
High Yield 1
Emergency Power to Shield 1 Aux to Structural 1
Hazard Emitters 1 Transfer Shield Strength 2
Cloak Unit Neutronium Armour EPS unit
Field Emitter (35% unit) Borg Consul
3 x Weapon dmg type units 1 Torpedo Dmg type unit
Suggested Doffs... Evasive Maneuvers Doff (Will Stack 3 times) / Torpedo cool down Doff (will stack 3 times) / Brace for impact shield recharge
Sci Captain Build -
4 Dual Heavy Cannons
2 Turrets 1 Beam (rear facing of course)
Tac Team 1 Attack Pattern Delta 1 Rapid Fire 2 Rapid Fire 3
Tac Team 1 Attack Pattern Beta 1 Attack Pattern Omega 1
Target Aux 1 or Target engines 1
Emergency Power to Shield 1 Aux to Structural 1
Hazard Emitters 1 Transfer Shield Strength 2
Cloak Unit Neutronium Armour EPS unit
Field Emitter (35% unit) Borg Consul
4 x Weapon dmg type units
Suggested Doffs... Evasive Maneuvers Doff (Will Stack 3 times) / Brace for impact shield recharge / Sensor scan Debuff doff
Engi Captain Build -
3 Dual Heavy Cannons. One Dual Beam bank
3 Turrets
Tactical Team 1 Rapid Fire 1 Beam Overload 3 Attack Pattern Omega 3
Tactical Team 1 Rapid Fire 1 Beam Overload 3
Target Aux 1 or Target engines 1
Emergency Power to Shield 1 Aux to Structural 1
Hazard Emitters 1 Transfer Shield Strength 2
Cloak Unit Neutronium Armour EPS unit
Field Emitter (35% unit) Borg Consul
4 x Weapon dmg type units
Suggested Doffs... Evasive Maneuvers Doff (Will Stack 3 times) / Brace for impact shield recharge
(Special note for the engi version... I know as a new player you may not have a copy of Beam Overload 3... or 2 copies. It would be acceptable to use Beam Overload 2 and Rapid Fire 2 reversed)
Tac
TT1 / CRF1 / APO1 / CRF3
TT1 / HYT2
HYT1
Eng
EPtS1 / EPtS2
Sci
ST1 / TSS2 / PSW1
Weapons:
3x DHC, 1x Quantum
2x Turret, 1x Quantum
Consoles:
Eng: Neutronium / Borg
Sci: MVAM / Field Generator / Emitter
Tac: 4x Energy Type
Devices:
Engine Battery
Shield Battery (or Red Matter Capacitor)
Gear:
Borg Deflector
Borg Engine
Covariant or MACO shield
How to play it:
Put all weapons except the front torpedo on autofire. Bind all copies of HYT, CRF, EPtS to spacebar.
Point your escort at other ships and shoot them. If you see a chance of their shield facing dropping, manually fire the front torpedo. Shockwave at will.
In general I think beam overload is abit more easy to use also you can basicly use it as a standard attack in a rotation but yes for the best effect you want to use it when he have low to no shields left, same goes for torpedoes but... Torpedoes does alot more damage if they just hit hull.
Escort tanking on the otherhand is easily achived with tactical team1 tss1-2 or science team or 3part borg with 3 shield distribution officers. Remember you can heal your hull with The borg proc "2part" or a copy of hazard emitter.
If you do use Torpedoes and use high yield witch I think is the best torpedo skill for potential burst please consider using highyield 2 and above.
This is just a personal preferance but I guess it might help someone.
Oops...
That grevious blunder aside... The build I am using on my defiant at the min is:
TT1 CRF1 APO1 CRF3
TT1 THY2 APO1
THY1
EPtS 1 + 2
HE1 TSS2
I like to have 2x APO for the ability to break holds/resists, which are so prevalent these days. I have toyed with the idea of dropping on of them in favour of a bit more damage potential, so i might have to try out some of these tips.
Great thread, thanks for posting
but since almost everything has been covered so far, i will just say this....
piloting, timing, distance on target, situational awareness.
those things will make you a great escort pilot. practice a lot.
have fun kill bad guys.
horizon
Sorry for the slight derail.
Timing is absolutely everything. Especially for escorts with torps, it can be the difference between your HYT doing very little damage, and a shot hitting bare hull and taking out half their HP. Timing your heals, tac team, and offensive abilities is also crucial. I try to always be thinking at least 45 seconds ahead, planning out when my cooldowns will expire, what target i'm going for, and which abilities I can use when. Having enough tricks in your bag to keep the pressure on constantly is important; rather than using an alpha strike then escaping until the cooldown expires, you can follow the alpha strike with a less powerful but still formidible Omega strike, and the first CRF should be available again not long after that, so you can use that to keep the pressure on. Don't give them a achance to escape and recover.
You could have the most amazing build ever, but if your timing sucks you might as well be flying a Miranda.
Granted, i'm not a fantastic PVPer, but I'm decent and improving, and timing is a major part of that. Continuously experiment with new builds, practice in Ker'rat, and maybe PUG once in a while to get a feel for how other captains do it.
Just worth pointing out that the bonus defence maxxes out at an impulse factor of ~24
Typically I get max movement based defence from a base setting of 25 engine power (with bonuses on top of that). Any increase in engine power over that adds turn rate to make your turns tighter, and flight speed, to make your turns less tight
Though perhaps a higher engine power is more desirable to keep defence up when you decrease throttle, etc? Can someone clarify?
Exactly, defense come from speed more then the power setting. When I suggest new players set there engine power to 50, I don't mean with skills and traits... I mean 50... which if your actual engine power isn't at least at 70 you didn't spec properly. I guess I should go over what skill tree professions are most important for an escort. As well as basic piloting... (ie throttle control / looping / reverse thrust ect.)
I understand all the the above. While max speed for best possible defense is 24, i try to stay above 35 incase i need to scoot out fireing range without wasting a buff if at all possible. That and turn rate is nice. Im using hyper impulse engines so far i have found 70 is its sweet spot. after that its just diminishing returns If i brought it up to 80 id barely scratch 40 impulse. Pop an engine battery with hyper impulse and hold on to your seat!
Anyways just wanted to mention something about escorts and their movements in combat. Stop wasting it. If you're actually going to pop evasive or you are getting some sort of set bonus proc use it for something besides doing cartwheels in my firing arc.
At the very least if you're still feeling strong in the fight use it to gain a couple klicks of distance and be behind and off to one quarter of your enemy. If you're not feeling strong and you've been surprised use it to get behind something and stay behind something. Several somethings if at all possible. If you do need to scoot out of there and there are no handy objects to help break line of sight make your course 90 degrees off of your current heading when you use your speed boost.
If you don't currently have a speed boost to use and your offensives are down all you can do is move away and use any defenses you have. A ninety degree turn is still a good choice if you are unsure where your opponent is. Don't turn in a circle. There is no sadder sight than a fleeing escort turning a circle around an opponent that simply has a better turn rate. It means you're going to be punished at close range.
Whenever you are in get away mode, use it as get prepared mode. Look at whoever is attacking you. Look at the buffs they have up. Know when they will expire. When those buffs drop that will be your chance especially if your attacker was another escort. Escort attack buffs are also their strongest defense buffs. It's likely he just used his.
So don't waste your movement on loopy loops. Use it to gain an advantage in position and planning. Know ahead of time what to do when you get bounced. This can save you.
i will say this tho, if you are running 2 copies of APO:1, or even 1 copy with AUX2ID...leave the engines at 25...you will have these great little bursts of speed and defense almost every 15-20 seconds. and keeping your shield power higher means better regen, and better resist.
ive recently hopped in the mvae, so im running APO:1, and AUX2ID...engines at 25, and my defense is much more stout than in my defiant running 2 APO's and the AUX2ID....engines at 50.
keep playing with your build, we all have different playstyles and a slightly different mix may be better for one, but not the other.
and someone had mentioned it earlier....but THROTTLE CONTROL! i have keys set for +1/4, - 1/4 impulse, and full impulse. in 5 seconds i can go from full, to reverse, to 1/4 impulse and back to full...and out. you beam overload and torp running scorts need to get very good at this.
have fun kill bad guys
horizon
My Advanced Escort build.
Weapons 100, Shields 50, engines 25 aux 25.
Variant power 1, 95 weapons, 30 shields, 50 engines, 25 aux.
variant 2 95 weapons, 30 shields, 25 engines 50 aux.
Cmdr
Torpedo High Yield 1, Torpedo High Yield 2, Cannon Rapid Fire 2, Cannon Rapid Fire 3 Variant, Torpedo Spread1, Torp High Yield 2, Cannon Scatter 2, Cannon Rapid Fire 3.
Lt Cmdr
Tactical Team1, Attack Pattern Delta 1, Attack Pattern Omega 1
Lt Engineering, Emergency Power to shields 1, Emergency to shields 2.
Variant, Emergency to engines 1, Emergency to shiels 2
Lt Sci, Transfer Shields 1, Transfer shields 2. Variant A, Sci Team 1, Transfer shields 2, Variant B Transfer Shields 1, Feedback Pulse1
Ensign sci, Tractor Beam. Variant B Transfer Shields 1
Devices... this thing goes through aux batteries and shield batteries like pez candy. Shield Battery, Aux battery.
Armament, 3 Dual Heavy Tetryon Cannons. Acc Crt HX2, 3 of them. 1 Quantum CrtDX2 Dmg (going to be upgraded to a CrtDX2, Crt H soon) 3 Emblem Tetryon Turrets.
Shields, Maco Shield Going to change this to Omega for a variant though I might keep Maco
Deflector Borg Deflector Going to upgrade this to Omega the reason for this one is simple. More accuracy and particle generator ranks
Engine Borg. possible variant is to get the Omega engine.
Consoles. Field Emitter and Borg.
MVAM console, Field Generator, Flow Capacitor
4 Tetryon Pulse Generators.
Duty Officers 2 brace for impact shield distribution officers, 1 blue tractor beam officer (the one that strips shields), Warpcore engineer and a Hazard System officer.
What really drives this build on though is Tac Initiative it lets you pretty much have double your best tac powers so you can afford abit of variety in your attack patterns this way. If you aren't a tac but wanted to run this ship I'd ditch APD1 for Hy2, and ditch HY1 for a second tac team. If you are an engineer wanting this setup I'd remove EPTS2 for Aux to Dampeners and just roll your rotate shield frequency during focus fire. Possibly also rotate out 1 to 2 doffs for the EPTX cool down reduction duty officers.
The Advanced Escort is the one escort that tractor beam is not only accessible without sacficing much needed shield tanking with, but also the one it excels with it. The reason why I don't have Acc2 Crths on my gear vs the Crth X2 accs, is my targets quite often have little to no defense score before tractor beam is done, (let alone any sci spam my buddies are slinging around) so the raw extra crit power really comes into it's own.
Special keybinds? Only the target caller. But again as I posted in my cruiser thread. I have a razer naga. I can cheat. That and 3 dhcs and a torp is really easy to work with for throwing down burst. just space bar, and holding the torp on it's own fire key.
You created a new thread looking for escort advice...
Here is the way I would spec for what you where looking too do.
http://www.stoacademy.com/tools/skillplanner/index.php?build=TacEsc_0
For some reason it didn't save the commander skill... Rapid Fire 3.
Also
Wep Power setting Mode
100 Weapons
25 Shield
50 Engines
25 Aux
The way I speced that build you should have lots of power too all system.... load shield bats if you are feeling like you need too I spec some into the bat skill and your likely looking at 16 or so seconds of a boost...
Aux power setting
35 Weapons
25 Shield
40 Engines
100 Aux
Bind the 2 power modes, run one EPS unit in your engi slots... and switch too aux mode when you need a stronger heal. If you bind them you should be able to switch when you swing out of dual cannon arc heal and be back too weapon power when you get arc again... with practice.
Also note you where choosing tetryon weapons... people will like to spec flow capacitor too boost that... Too be honest being a newer escort pilot I would skip it... go phaser if you can the proc will help you much more. Tet proc is great if you are really good at keeping all 6 of your nrgy weapons on target at all times... honesty you likely won't be. Go phasers save the points for something that will help you right now (Batt +)... phasers are killer and reliable and even with 3 turrets on target you have a great chance to proc a system.
Alright I wanted too post some info in regards to piloting. One complaint escort pilots will hear is How are you tanking that much dmg when you are not moving / moving too slow / going backwards / ect ?
Well I am going to detail for you how too fly like a Dog Fighting combat craft... and still retain high defense numbers, allowing you too pull it off.
Needed tools for these lessons...
- An escort
- Attack Pattern Omega
- Evasive
- Throttle on a key bind... Mine is on my mouse wheel which I love... the default keys are q and e for throttle control and some people prefer that.
- *Not needed but fun if this ends up being your play style... Aux to Dampeners
As I go through a bunch of these piloting techniques I am going too use my own escort numbers as something for you to compare against... and get an idea before you try them out what you are shooting for.
Too test some of these tricks and too understand your own defense numbers... go and park yourself in Sol or DS9 or Qo'nos and practice them. There are always parked cruisers and such sitting there practice flying circles around them... running around them and keeping arc. Also as I go through these and you are trying them... open your character screen and open your defense tab. There you will see a bonus defense number at the top. I want you too note how it drops and how fast it drops when you complete some of these moves... then you should be able to understand when you can afford too drop X amount of Defense or what skills you need too use to get the numbers you want defense wise.
Standard Defense numbers...
First Set et your engine power too its standard setting 50 base is likely what you should have here if you are planning to do any fancy escort piloting. Mine sits just over 70 with skills... anything 65 and up should be good... the more the better.
1) Now looking at your defense tab note your number when stopped... (Mine is -5)
2) Now put your ship too full throttle and look at the defense number. (Mine is 80)... lesson two speed is very good.
3) Now put your ship too ¾ ½ and ¼ throttles and check defense. (Mine is 78.6% / 59.1% / 35%)... lesson 3 slowing down isn't killer if you can afford to bleed the defense for a few seconds... play with it and slide your throttle see how you can bump it up and bleed it too still retain most of it if you need too.
4) Now put your ship in reverse and look at that tab... (Mine is 32.5%). So lesson four... reverse is better then stopped.
5) Now while in reverse notice the drawback stop... put it in reverse.. and watch your power settings, count how long it takes too loose power. This is going to depend on a few skills you have speced (the recent skill changes have effected this) Mine is around 9 seconds. So lesson five... you have X amount of time in reverse before you loose power... your defense will be around 32.5% This is quickly fixed with a quick forward and reverse.
6) Use Evasive Maneuvers... check numbers at all throttle settings... understand that this is an option to boost your defense not just run away... too test that theory put your ship in reverse and hit evasive. Look at your defense number. (Mine is 95 in REVERSE with evasive running) Now go fly around some people in space dock and throw it in reverse and see how easy it is too keep your nose pointed at them... see where I am going... full reverse slow speed easy to aim... NO DRAW back too defense until evasive runs out. (if you have Aux to Damp run the same test my defense in reverse with AuxtoD is 45%) Run these same tests with Omega as well (Mine in reverse is 54%) Test out every speed setting and combo of skills you can... understand how you can boost your defense as high as you can while running at lower speeds... latter when you are pulling off some fancy flying you can time your defense boost skills for your crazy turns and reverse stops too keep the defense numbers up.
One more thing I didn't go over up till now I have said have 2 power profiles as a new pilot and that is perfect... if you can handle it it is also nice to have an engi setting... many of these skills will work with out evasive's and other buffs if you go too full engine power for a few sec.... I have my Attack and Aux on the last 2 buttons of my naga... I also have Attack and Engine power on 2 buttons beside my scroll wheel... so I have attack bound twice... cause I will have my engine attack quick flip and my heal attack quick flip... just at thought, not needed but nice to have.
The High Speed Yo Yo
This is a good trick to shake an annoying turn battle. There will be a point when you will be locked into a turning fight with another escort / bop. This technique is going to work best if you have an evasive up... omega or aux to damp can also do the trick. You can practice this one on a stationary target... circle them at full throttle, use evasive if you have it.. Pull UP as hard as you can and into the turn at the same time... when you get above your target . SLAM reverse and turn DOWN and into the turn. At this point you should have a nice defense bonus from your speed skill + reverse. Your target should
be right in your firing arc... Fry em.
I use this one lots when not in turn fights... too simply put myself in a better position where I will be taking less fire... or into a team mates heal zone ect.
Repositioning Turn (Modern ImmelmannTurn)
This one is easy to practice in space dock... I will use something like this too pull up too fight that has spiraled up on Z... basicly it is just a positioning turn... that keeps me from running around and circling when I get too the fight.
Might not be fair to call this an Immelmann... anyway. Evasive up too a target that is above you on Z... practice this one on the space dock sitters. Learn how far away you need too pull up hard and use evasive too get RIGHT on them... cause you are going to PARK on them when you get there. Practice stopping RIGHT on there nose... like 0.2K when you get there level out and reverse... and if it where a match Fry em.
When you can pull right up and stop right on some one... NOW this is the part that makes this more of an Immelmann turn... Practice getting the opposite side of there facing...
Evasive directly at them but overshoot them (ahead or behind them depending on ship type)... Turning toward them Hard when you get close... rolling your throttle into reverse. Even a ship like the defiant will have a bit of inertial that will turn your noose, you should be able to slide into any facing you want to shoot at. (the back side of where you where coming from is fairly easy to hit)
When you are in a match this is great for running toward a battle... and picking a weak shield facing too start on. It also confuses targets... and helps confuse the heck out of Tactical Team procs.
The Break
This one is a defensive move. This is one too use when you have another escort behind you. Basicly you want too make a hard turn into the direction of the attack. What I will often do is turn hard into my opponents arc... throttle back and then full throttle in a hard turn with my nose pointed either Hard Down or UP depending on the fight.
Roll away
This is a good offensive pattern too run on an escort or other fast ship that is locking you into a turning fight. (you being the attacker).
This skill is going to REQUIRE a speed boost preferably evasive... but omega or aux to damp can work as well. While you are turning behind your target... use evasive Pull UP hard and away from the turn. (If the turn is going left bank UP and too the right)..... Now watch your throttle... and Pull Down hard and into the original turn. If you do this quickly you should end up with the side of your target in your arc, sometimes right behind depending on the turn rate of your target. (if you time this for when you have some spike abilities up you may be able to kill them from the side... if not at least you broke the turn fight)
Weapons
~Fore: 4x Anti-Proton Dual Heavy Cannons
~Aft: 3x Anti-Proton Turrets
Consoles
~Engineering: 3x EPS Regulator (Three will keep your power levels from dropping below 100 for weapons with power to weapons selected).
~Science: 1x Shield "Regenerator"
1x Assimilated Module
~Tactical: 4x Anti-Proton "Energy" Modules (Adding 96%) to my damage per cannon
Look at it this way...
Base damage for Anti-Proton Dual Heavies varies from 357 to 369 damage each.
Double that for power levels with each doing 714 to 736 damage each.
Add 96% to that for 1,399 to 1,442 damage each cannon.
Base damage for Anti-Proton Turrets is 90 to 93 damage each.
Double that for power levels with each doing 180 to 186 damage each.
Add 96% to that for 352 to 364 damage each.
Total damage per volley is approximately 6,692 to 6,860 a volley.
Use the following buffs in order dependent on situation:
1st: All Power to Weapons
2nd: Tactical Team
3rd: Rapid Fire (OR) "Cannon Spread" (for multiple targets)
I CAN MOW THE LAWN ALL DAY DOING THIS!!!!
P.S., I don't worry about dying too quickly when my opponent goes down in ten secs! As well, I am not accounting for critical damage... imagine that carnage.
A borg cube is a ten second endeavour to solo out of existence. Smaller ships in the Undine campain are two volley losses with the "spray and pray". A klingon bird of prey, science vessel or raptor in pvp is dead weight.
Also, with Cannons you don't even need an EPS regulator, let alone three of them. My own weapon power without one rarely dips below 100. (maybe if I've been hit with a lolaron proc or something hehe) Better off changing one EPS for an RCS, or shield power console. (as shield power is something Escorts aren't especially good at providing naturally)
This is a very important part with the escort. Not only outgun them, but outfly them. As an old flighsim jockey with a real world pilot license this came pretty easy to me. It was only hard to perfect flying in the curious 2d/3d STO envoriment.
But i would also like to add a few things:
Power Settings
For my fleet escort i found it handy to have a relative high shield power setting even in attack preset. Therefore for my attack preset i 1st set my WP so it reached 125 (if i remember right at setting of 90 or 95), than set engine power so i got max def bonus at full throttle (which if i remember right is at 35 or 40 setting), than set AUX to 25 and put everything left into shields. At VA level this gives me the following actual levels prior to buffs (written from memory so no 100% gurantee): 125/72/66/52
Keybinds]/i]:
I have played around alot with them and found that keybinds with 3-4 trays bound to them tend to act unpredictable. Because of this i usually have a max of 2 powers bound to one key (i.e. both copies of EPtS on one, both copies of TT I to one) and i do not have all energy weapons bound to one key.
I use a different approach. I also line up all energy weapons in one row (for me it also row 4) starting with DHCs 1-4, than turret 1-3. I than set all weapons to autofire, also starting from DHC 1-4 and then turret 1-3. After that i bind DHC #1 to SPACE. SPACE now works as an activate/deactivate buttom for all weapons on autofire. And because i bound DHC #1 to it, my fring cylce starts with DHC#1, runs through all DHCs and than turrets. This way i can use autofire and keep the ability to time my burst perfectly right with WP at full 125.
Shield tanking:
My shield tank is based on two copies of EPtS I and a pretty high shield power setting, supported by 2 good shield distribution DOFFs, shield batteries and Enhanced Plasma Manifold Console. I found that with this combination i do not need TSS. Positive side effect of EPM-Console is, that it also boosts AUX power and so my AtSIF and HE II benefit from it.
Dogfighting
One key to good maneuvering especially against other escorts is to try to stay behind the 3/9 line. This is an imaginary line that goes across a ship/plane from left to right (3 o'clock to 9 o'clock). Because if your are behind the opponents 3/9 line you will be in a position to attack his rear hemisphere and you stay out of his front arc. In STO this is a little bit different than in flightsims, cause planes cannot reverse as our ships can do. But once you are able to do it, you will have a decisive advantage.
Good advice. Ya I know getting used too the not quite true 3d is so odd... so many times I want to go come on come on Pull up you B... lol Of course I can stop and go backwards on a dime... its like a stalled out power slide on command.
LOL, never though of it that way. So you doing some kind of pseudo wing-over/hammerhead. I will have to see how my trusty fleet escort does at it.