First, I'd like to start off with pointing out that this post could be interpreted as me "complaining about other complainers". However, I think it is important for me to do this because my complaining actually has one important goal and that is to make certain players understand that the Bird of Prey is NOT over powered.
I love pvping, I love pvping with my Klingon because I'm an idiot anti-conformist who always goes for the under dog and even though we wipe the floor with you Feds during PvP, over all this is YOUR game. You have more content, costumes, ships, etc. After levels of grinding (not sure if it's much grinding anymore, haven't leveled any toons since they levels for the kdf were cut) we develop some sort of hatred for Feds out of jealousy. It's kind of cool in a way, because as weird as it might sound it makes for great immersion being a Klingon - It's almost like we're being trained like soldiers to hate Feds and learn how to blow them up in the most effective way possible.
So when I PvP I like to have my black cat, Binx, lying on my lap while I stroke his black fur and grin as I take out Feds in one clean sweep with very little struggle. But sometimes, once in a while, and I'll use tonight as an example - I try to attack a player that I stand NO chance against.
I was playing Capture and Hold, taking out your escorts, cruisers, and even carriers with complete ease. I spotted a Caitian carrier making a cap, I began stroking Binx firmly as I powered up, decloaked and... got completely owned. I brought his shield facing down to little less than half, it powered right back up, I was caught in a mess of tractors beams, I spammed my eng batteries and evasive manuevers and he followed me just like Ricky, the kid that used to chase me and beat me up after school everyday and laugh with his demonic freckled face while he pounded me into submission. I cloaked thinking "okay, NOW I'm safe" I decloaked right away and Ricky... I mean the player of this carrier continued pounding on me and killed me. All of that happened in less than 30 seconds...
I tried convincing myself "Oh he was just lucky" I waited for all my cooldowns to finish and found him alone again, seeking revenge and gave it everything I got and... got completely owned again. I threw my head set on the ground, reached under Binx' belly and chucked him across my bedroom at a wall. I marched up to him and began pointing in his face, yelling and screaming all sorts of curses. I wasn't screaming because I lost though, I was screaming because even though I can usually blow up a Fed ship with ease there's some Feds who are just as capable, or even more capable at PvP than a Klingon. Feds have majority of the voice in the STO community so when they something in the other faction needs to be nerfed I get terrified that it might actually happen.
See, if my first run of attack doesn't blow you up quickly, I'm pretty much doomed. Sure, there might be some players that can survive and do fantastic dps in a BoP, but there's a lot of Defiant players who are the same way - In fact, I have a Fed tac in a defiant that I think could take out my BoP.
I can't speak for all BoP players when I say this - But even though we can take you out in one run doesn't mean it doesn't take a substantial amount of effort. Not only does your loadout has to be right, but the timing, the maneuvering - These are hit and run ships and if we can't run and don't get you on that initial alpha, we're screwed.
Correct.. The Bird of Prey, as a ship, by it's self, is absolutely not Overpowered.
The Hegh'ta has less Hull then an Escort, even though it can fly like an Escort.. Why? Because it's a RAIDER class ship. Raiders should be played with a typical hit and run style vs any opponent that can do any good DPS against you. Meaning Escorts (mostly) and probobly Tac/?. Because Tacs in most ships, if done right, can eaisly be just a much a threat to a lone Hegh'ta.
B'rel-R has even less hull then the Hegh'ta. Again, this is a Raider class ship. And it has an advantage of being able to stay cloaked while fireing Torps, or some BO Powers revealing your self for a short time (Unless used on your self) with Mines being deployed and not revealing you. Again, as a Raider, you should be hiding and hitting and running. Attacking ONLY when you know you have a kill condition, and a way to survive any alphas that come your way the moment If/when you Decloak. Escorts are again the bane to the B'rel. Even more so then the other ships. Especially if flown by a Tac. And again Tacs and especially Sci's are a threat to the B'rel. Because of it's squishyness.
So what if both ships get Universal BO slots and an Escort's Firepower and Turn rate? It has less BO powers then any other ship in the game of the tier 5 range. It's Consoles are divied by 3 amongst the 3 areas. And it's Weapons set up is the SAME as a Tier 4 Defiant class Escort.
Best Classes for the Raider class? Tac or Sci. Engi shouldn't fly this ship unless it has a build that works with it. Despite an Engi being able to increase the Survivability of the Raider class ship, it's powers are better used else where.
Best Power on a BoP? Photonic Shockwave 1 or higher. Because this power can give you a way to stun your foe while providing an Alpha strike to the target and prevent the target from having enough time to deploy defenses if used wisely.
So, what have we learned from this rambling rant on the BoP?
The BoP is squishy and gives up alot for it's ability to strike a foe in the way that it can. The BoP's Fire power is no better then a Tier 4 Fed Escort. The BoP has the Least amount of BO Powers avaliable despite it's Universal Slots. And a good Escort or Sci can be deadly to a BoP.
Thank you for reading this post, and enjoy the massively repeated information.
Thank you OP this was the most entertaining thread ive read in along time. Bird of Preys are in a league of their own and by far the best ship ive flown in this game. Alot of good players out there are very hard to take down and are vigilant when playing against a team with BoPs. We shine when they are caught with their pants down. Its all about the timing. The hardest ones to kill are usually the best target practice for me
I agree BOPs are still pretty much best ship in game (although carrier with elite pets are pretty much op just now)
BOPS have been causing balance problems since launch due to the universal BOFF slots and for most of the time due to this have been the most powerful ship in through out the games history.
For most of the games history they have had best tanking to DPS ratio , amusing for a ship meant to be hit and run.
They have often indirectly been the cause of many science nerfs due to being able to use the better sci skills with high fire power.
The Universal Boff slots lent them selves to the Voldermort bug, so for quite long periods we had Volderbops flying about spaming ALL the powers on ALL your bridge officers, not just the ones you had equipped,
It's just been poor design we should never have had universal BOFF slots, they just cause problems.
The Bop or not the Bop, that is the question!:D
Seriously, a single Bop isn't a real problem...very fast and with the battle cloak, it's perfect for a surprise devastating alpha strike, but if the target isn't alone and survives the Bop can be in real trouble and the attack can become a suicide mission.
But the real strength of these wonderful killing machines is the Universal Boff...
Imagine a pair of Bops, a Tac and a Sci Captains, the first strikes with all his powers, the second stuns and paralyzes the victim...and since there are also 3 or 4 of them fighting together at Ker'rat, well...the conclusion is that the targ packs are really OP...at least until our beautiful and powerful Atrox hasn't entered into the battlefield!:cool:
And anyway I want to admit that if you aren't an exceptional and skilled pilot, you can't fight effectively in a Bop, so congratulations to all the best Bops of the game!:)
First, I'd like to start off with pointing out that this post could be interpreted as me "complaining about other complainers". However, I think it is important for me to do this because my complaining actually has one important goal and that is to make certain players understand that the Bird of Prey is NOT over powered.
I love pvping, I love pvping with my Klingon because I'm an idiot anti-conformist who always goes for the under dog and even though we wipe the floor with you Feds during PvP, over all this is YOUR game. You have more content, costumes, ships, etc. After levels of grinding (not sure if it's much grinding anymore, haven't leveled any toons since they levels for the kdf were cut) we develop some sort of hatred for Feds out of jealousy. It's kind of cool in a way, because as weird as it might sound it makes for great immersion being a Klingon - It's almost like we're being trained like soldiers to hate Feds and learn how to blow them up in the most effective way possible.
So when I PvP I like to have my black cat, Binx, lying on my lap while I stroke his black fur and grin as I take out Feds in one clean sweep with very little struggle. But sometimes, once in a while, and I'll use tonight as an example - I try to attack a player that I stand NO chance against.
I was playing Capture and Hold, taking out your escorts, cruisers, and even carriers with complete ease. I spotted a Caitian carrier making a cap, I began stroking Binx firmly as I powered up, decloaked and... got completely owned. I brought his shield facing down to little less than half, it powered right back up, I was caught in a mess of tractors beams, I spammed my eng batteries and evasive manuevers and he followed me just like Ricky, the kid that used to chase me and beat me up after school everyday and laugh with his demonic freckled face while he pounded me into submission. I cloaked thinking "okay, NOW I'm safe" I decloaked right away and Ricky... I mean the player of this carrier continued pounding on me and killed me. All of that happened in less than 30 seconds...
I tried convincing myself "Oh he was just lucky" I waited for all my cooldowns to finish and found him alone again, seeking revenge and gave it everything I got and... got completely owned again. I threw my head set on the ground, reached under Binx' belly and chucked him across my bedroom at a wall. I marched up to him and began pointing in his face, yelling and screaming all sorts of curses. I wasn't screaming because I lost though, I was screaming because even though I can usually blow up a Fed ship with ease there's some Feds who are just as capable, or even more capable at PvP than a Klingon. Feds have majority of the voice in the STO community so when they something in the other faction needs to be nerfed I get terrified that it might actually happen.
See, if my first run of attack doesn't blow you up quickly, I'm pretty much doomed. Sure, there might be some players that can survive and do fantastic dps in a BoP, but there's a lot of Defiant players who are the same way - In fact, I have a Fed tac in a defiant that I think could take out my BoP.
I can't speak for all BoP players when I say this - But even though we can take you out in one run doesn't mean it doesn't take a substantial amount of effort. Not only does your loadout has to be right, but the timing, the maneuvering - These are hit and run ships and if we can't run and don't get you on that initial alpha, we're screwed.
As primarily a Federation Player, Ill attest to everything you stated. Im one of those Dreadnaught Cruisers youre, if alone, better off leaving alone or else. Two or three of you... well... I can run for a little while.
Yeah I never understood why people are like "omg bop is op op op!"
Frankly, if the bop doesn't kill me on his initial run, he's toast.
I fly Cruisers, Escorts and sci ships. Each of which is more than capable of withstanding bop fire.
Sure the BOP can take a hit or maybe two. But it's not going to take 3, or 4 hard smacks to the face. The Bop is a raider craft, however Escorts, and Cruisers in particular are full on Battleships.
Personally I prefer my Vorcha on the klink side of things. It's very robust, has a good turn rate, and can still do a pretty good clip for an alpha strike. And as I'm finishing my run I can set the stage with warp plas, for the bops or raptors to come in and get all rapey.
Personally I'd prefer the Defiant-R over a BoP. BoPs are lots of fun and offer a number of different game play opportunities but I'm not convinced they are over powered. Their bursty and slippery nature is made more frustrating by the sheer amount of ******** consoles and mechanics. From a PuG stand point, the most significant cause for trouble that I have with a group of BoPs is the **** poor damage that your average Fed PuG brings with them.
If Feds brought more damage, especially burst damage, instead of flooding the queues with DoT, BoPs might not be such a scary monster.
That being said, I'm convinced that there are a few players out there who are themselves overpowered. They skew any argument about the effectiveness of whatever ship they fly.
IF ur bad and you know it, Fly a Bop! - IF ur bad and you know it, Fly a Bop!
IF ur bad and you know it, And ya Really wanna Show it!;
IF ur bad and you know it, Fly a Bop!
Yeah, the B'rel and Hegh'ta have 21k and 24k base hull respectively IIRC. That's at least 6k less than an escort as far as I know. And you've got less boff slots. You've also got less firepower.
Part of the "it's OP!!!" is probably just down to the pilots. Having that kind of fragility forces you to get good, there's also a lot of help on hand between pilots sharing tricks in places like Ker'rat etc, so it's often well flown or abandoned in favour of another ship.
I also think BoPs have a sort of synergy with eachother, they can remain primarily tactical while having secondary skills that compliment eachother, so two BoPs can often be more than twice as dangerous as one if they're working together properly. This is all offset by the fragility and fewer boff skills, and if it goes wrong, you're gonna go up in smoke. Immobilization or a phaser proc on your shields and it's respawn time for you.
First, I'd like to start off with pointing out that this post could be interpreted as me "complaining about other complainers". However, I think it is important for me to do this because my complaining actually has one important goal and that is to make certain players understand that the Bird of Prey is NOT over powered.
I love pvping, I love pvping with my Klingon because I'm an idiot anti-conformist who always goes for the under dog and even though we wipe the floor with you Feds during PvP, over all this is YOUR game. You have more content, costumes, ships, etc. After levels of grinding (not sure if it's much grinding anymore, haven't leveled any toons since they levels for the kdf were cut) we develop some sort of hatred for Feds out of jealousy. It's kind of cool in a way, because as weird as it might sound it makes for great immersion being a Klingon - It's almost like we're being trained like soldiers to hate Feds and learn how to blow them up in the most effective way possible.
So when I PvP I like to have my black cat, Binx, lying on my lap while I stroke his black fur and grin as I take out Feds in one clean sweep with very little struggle. But sometimes, once in a while, and I'll use tonight as an example - I try to attack a player that I stand NO chance against.
I was playing Capture and Hold, taking out your escorts, cruisers, and even carriers with complete ease. I spotted a Caitian carrier making a cap, I began stroking Binx firmly as I powered up, decloaked and... got completely owned. I brought his shield facing down to little less than half, it powered right back up, I was caught in a mess of tractors beams, I spammed my eng batteries and evasive manuevers and he followed me just like Ricky, the kid that used to chase me and beat me up after school everyday and laugh with his demonic freckled face while he pounded me into submission. I cloaked thinking "okay, NOW I'm safe" I decloaked right away and Ricky... I mean the player of this carrier continued pounding on me and killed me. All of that happened in less than 30 seconds...
I tried convincing myself "Oh he was just lucky" I waited for all my cooldowns to finish and found him alone again, seeking revenge and gave it everything I got and... got completely owned again. I threw my head set on the ground, reached under Binx' belly and chucked him across my bedroom at a wall. I marched up to him and began pointing in his face, yelling and screaming all sorts of curses. I wasn't screaming because I lost though, I was screaming because even though I can usually blow up a Fed ship with ease there's some Feds who are just as capable, or even more capable at PvP than a Klingon. Feds have majority of the voice in the STO community so when they something in the other faction needs to be nerfed I get terrified that it might actually happen.
See, if my first run of attack doesn't blow you up quickly, I'm pretty much doomed. Sure, there might be some players that can survive and do fantastic dps in a BoP, but there's a lot of Defiant players who are the same way - In fact, I have a Fed tac in a defiant that I think could take out my BoP.
I can't speak for all BoP players when I say this - But even though we can take you out in one run doesn't mean it doesn't take a substantial amount of effort. Not only does your loadout has to be right, but the timing, the maneuvering - These are hit and run ships and if we can't run and don't get you on that initial alpha, we're screwed.
1 tiny TT+EPTS or RSP will counter the best Alpha anyway... its the players incompetence to not being able to block such an attack anyway.
I've never really had trouble with a lone BoP (maybe once when I was really green to the game?). In fact I had one BoP in Ker'rat who just would not give up the ghost and still failed to kill me (while dying in the process) after my shields had dropped and I'd drawn Tac Cube aggro.
The only time BoPs give me pause is if they're in packs. Even then it's usually just a lame back-and-forth where they'll spam cloak/EM until they're on their third or fourth pass or whatever. It's a strong ship to be sure (I still don't understand why it has universal BOff stations) but people don't seem to realize how easy it is to soak damage in this game (EPtS, RSP, AP: D, the various resist buffs...). Just remember that you're not dead until your hull's at zero: it sounds obvious but it's the difference between someone panicking and someone still dumping damage up to their last keystroke.
Well I feel less guilty for [DEFINITELY NOT - Ebeneezergoode's lawyer] taking it into the Vault event now.
I've heard rumors that they're going to patch this out in the next few weeks. Long live the days of popping Romulan fighters like a schizo dog on a roll of bubble wrap
Just run a Flyer or Fighter with Bo1. You're poppin days will return to full glory then. (heck you can even pop some of the well shall I put this delicately, less than skilled Galaxy players with a shuttle if you do it right)
Just run a Flyer or Fighter with Bo1. You're poppin days will return to full glory then. (heck you can even pop some of the well shall I put this delicately, less than skilled Galaxy players with a shuttle if you do it right)
Are the shuttle-specific levelling items still useless? Before I figured out the Vault trick I was toying with a shuttle set-up to see how I could maximize its potential, really push its limits, and I found the shuttle items were very... meh. Even with the drop in item effectiveness, your regular stuff pretty much dumps on it.
Are the shuttle-specific levelling items still useless? Before I figured out the Vault trick I was toying with a shuttle set-up to see how I could maximize its potential, really push its limits, and I found the shuttle items were very... meh. Even with the drop in item effectiveness, your regular stuff pretty much dumps on it.
Yep they are still Trash, all of my shuttles get a Beam Array and a Dual beam upfront. I put the DBB on a # key so I can lay off the space bar and get max damage with Overload 1.
For other gear I slap the borg gear on, and maco/khg for real hilarity.
For me, torp doffs, photon/shuttle beam, and spread 1 is where it's at. The ammount of photon spam you can put down with the torp doff makes it pretty brutal. Not "WOO B'REL CLASS SHUTTLE!!!" lethal, but lethal enough.
ehh... the statement that universal boffs make the BoP OP, means that on a BoP you can set up the boffs in some way that is superior to that on any fed ship. Can it?
The only thing I can see, is a sci commander that can make the BoP into some sort of sci-tac hybrid, but I've never managed to make this setup more successful than a regular commander tac build. (Ok, we have the whacky PSW3 build, but that's not really more efficient than a regular CRF3 build) All the good boff combinations can be replicated on a fed ship, + you gain one extra ensign slot!
So for boff slots, BoPs ar -1
Weapons, BoPs are -1
Hull, BoPs are -1
Console slots, 3 tac consoles means BoP is -1
That's the downside, so what is good about the BoP+
Turnrate, though outdone by the seperated MVAM, is still better than most ships. +1
Battle cloak, means you can re-cloak and turn around faster after fleeing the battle, +1
This seriously looks to me like BoPs are underpowered if anything...
One of my favourite chars is PvPing in a BoP, mostly because I PUG, and don't want to wait for red alert to clear before i can turn around and re-engage after fleeing. But if the raptor would turn in a not-so-wierd way, I think it would be my choise. (Heck, if I hadn't spent my dili on c-points and bought keys for it, I would have been able to afford a Raptor, and would most likely swap )
1 tiny TT+EPTS or RSP will counter the best Alpha anyway... its the players incompetence to not being able to block such an attack anyway.[/QUOTE
I've flown a BOP once or twice. And I can say that this is true. There are other combinations of it. Simply having shield power maxed if your not actually engaged in combat is pretty cool. Gives you time to hit that your choice of powers. But seeing as how its simple to just chain EPTS you could just do that and have your pick of abilities for extra buffering. Don't want to expose yourself to that subnuc now!!
But really. Teamwork aside there really is no ship out there that routinely dominates all other ships. BOP can just be so annoying, from what I'm told, because it can make your ship vanish in about a second if you make a mistake or if you get sci bombed. And then you can't kill the BOP. Well sometimes you can. If the BOP likes to duke it out like they're an escort sure they will have issues.
I will say that all else being equal, one on one its not that easy to kill a bop if the pilot knows what he's about. Even three or four on one, once that BOP decloaks there's usually one less Fed, and a bit of confusion. If that BOP wants to get away there really isn't much stopping it.
But again the dark one said it right on. BOP's are just there to keep the good players honest about keeping their defenses up, and to take advantage of any weakness they find in their opponents. If you don't run defenses or you mess up BOP is there to remind you.
EDIT: Forgot to say Thank you for reading and happy flying! And Nerf Hale! (Like it on Facebook)
I've said this before on the other page but I think it bears repeating: a lone BoP is not terribly powerful and relies far more on the element of surprise and the "wtf" factor to do its work for it. Most BoPs are neither Eng captains nor do they spec their BOffs that way; BoPs depend on team heals to keep them alive as well as team damage to keep up the pressure.
I am not saying it does not require any thought to run up a great cloaked alpha, I'm saying it does not require much skill.
To me skill depends on how you handle your ship compared to your foe, now if your foe does not know you are there and has (unless cruiser or already buffed himself with resists) under 2-3 secconds to respond in any way there is little margin for any of that, only that if you fail as a BoP you clearly suck and he does not.
Not only that but the gimick get me out of trouble button which does work against most fed players, I make a mission out of preventing it my self but most fed players can't do anything against it, your ''well thought out'' Alpha failed and you get away easily as well.
I don't think BoP is overpowered as if you know its there its pretty hard to lose against it.
I just don't like it because so many players play it because of the amazing cloak skill yet I can imagine a good few players I have some respect for, actually doing better in other ships- showing how they can utterly defeat you without the SUPRISE BUTSECKS Alpha or.... Die in a fire when it fails.
Comments
The Hegh'ta has less Hull then an Escort, even though it can fly like an Escort.. Why? Because it's a RAIDER class ship. Raiders should be played with a typical hit and run style vs any opponent that can do any good DPS against you. Meaning Escorts (mostly) and probobly Tac/?. Because Tacs in most ships, if done right, can eaisly be just a much a threat to a lone Hegh'ta.
B'rel-R has even less hull then the Hegh'ta. Again, this is a Raider class ship. And it has an advantage of being able to stay cloaked while fireing Torps, or some BO Powers revealing your self for a short time (Unless used on your self) with Mines being deployed and not revealing you. Again, as a Raider, you should be hiding and hitting and running. Attacking ONLY when you know you have a kill condition, and a way to survive any alphas that come your way the moment If/when you Decloak. Escorts are again the bane to the B'rel. Even more so then the other ships. Especially if flown by a Tac. And again Tacs and especially Sci's are a threat to the B'rel. Because of it's squishyness.
So what if both ships get Universal BO slots and an Escort's Firepower and Turn rate? It has less BO powers then any other ship in the game of the tier 5 range. It's Consoles are divied by 3 amongst the 3 areas. And it's Weapons set up is the SAME as a Tier 4 Defiant class Escort.
Best Classes for the Raider class? Tac or Sci. Engi shouldn't fly this ship unless it has a build that works with it. Despite an Engi being able to increase the Survivability of the Raider class ship, it's powers are better used else where.
Best Power on a BoP? Photonic Shockwave 1 or higher. Because this power can give you a way to stun your foe while providing an Alpha strike to the target and prevent the target from having enough time to deploy defenses if used wisely.
So, what have we learned from this rambling rant on the BoP?
The BoP is squishy and gives up alot for it's ability to strike a foe in the way that it can. The BoP's Fire power is no better then a Tier 4 Fed Escort. The BoP has the Least amount of BO Powers avaliable despite it's Universal Slots. And a good Escort or Sci can be deadly to a BoP.
Thank you for reading this post, and enjoy the massively repeated information.
BOPS have been causing balance problems since launch due to the universal BOFF slots and for most of the time due to this have been the most powerful ship in through out the games history.
For most of the games history they have had best tanking to DPS ratio , amusing for a ship meant to be hit and run.
They have often indirectly been the cause of many science nerfs
The Universal Boff slots lent them selves to the Voldermort bug, so for quite long periods we had Volderbops flying about spaming ALL the powers on ALL your bridge officers, not just the ones you had equipped,
It's just been poor design we should never have had universal BOFF slots, they just cause problems.
Bop'd
Seriously, a single Bop isn't a real problem...very fast and with the battle cloak, it's perfect for a surprise devastating alpha strike, but if the target isn't alone and survives the Bop can be in real trouble and the attack can become a suicide mission.
But the real strength of these wonderful killing machines is the Universal Boff...
Imagine a pair of Bops, a Tac and a Sci Captains, the first strikes with all his powers, the second stuns and paralyzes the victim...and since there are also 3 or 4 of them fighting together at Ker'rat, well...the conclusion is that the targ packs are really OP...at least until our beautiful and powerful Atrox hasn't entered into the battlefield!:cool:
As primarily a Federation Player, Ill attest to everything you stated. Im one of those Dreadnaught Cruisers youre, if alone, better off leaving alone or else. Two or three of you... well... I can run for a little while.
Frankly, if the bop doesn't kill me on his initial run, he's toast.
I fly Cruisers, Escorts and sci ships. Each of which is more than capable of withstanding bop fire.
Sure the BOP can take a hit or maybe two. But it's not going to take 3, or 4 hard smacks to the face. The Bop is a raider craft, however Escorts, and Cruisers in particular are full on Battleships.
Personally I prefer my Vorcha on the klink side of things. It's very robust, has a good turn rate, and can still do a pretty good clip for an alpha strike. And as I'm finishing my run I can set the stage with warp plas, for the bops or raptors to come in and get all rapey.
If Feds brought more damage, especially burst damage, instead of flooding the queues with DoT, BoPs might not be such a scary monster.
That being said, I'm convinced that there are a few players out there who are themselves overpowered. They skew any argument about the effectiveness of whatever ship they fly.
IF ur bad and you know it, Fly a Bop! - IF ur bad and you know it, Fly a Bop!
IF ur bad and you know it, And ya Really wanna Show it!;
IF ur bad and you know it, Fly a Bop!
Part of the "it's OP!!!" is probably just down to the pilots. Having that kind of fragility forces you to get good, there's also a lot of help on hand between pilots sharing tricks in places like Ker'rat etc, so it's often well flown or abandoned in favour of another ship.
I also think BoPs have a sort of synergy with eachother, they can remain primarily tactical while having secondary skills that compliment eachother, so two BoPs can often be more than twice as dangerous as one if they're working together properly. This is all offset by the fragility and fewer boff skills, and if it goes wrong, you're gonna go up in smoke. Immobilization or a phaser proc on your shields and it's respawn time for you.
1 tiny TT+EPTS or RSP will counter the best Alpha anyway... its the players incompetence to not being able to block such an attack anyway.
The only time BoPs give me pause is if they're in packs. Even then it's usually just a lame back-and-forth where they'll spam cloak/EM until they're on their third or fourth pass or whatever. It's a strong ship to be sure (I still don't understand why it has universal BOff stations) but people don't seem to realize how easy it is to soak damage in this game (EPtS, RSP, AP: D, the various resist buffs...). Just remember that you're not dead until your hull's at zero: it sounds obvious but it's the difference between someone panicking and someone still dumping damage up to their last keystroke.
Well I feel less guilty for [DEFINITELY NOT - Ebeneezergoode's lawyer] taking it into the Vault event now.
I've heard rumors that they're going to patch this out in the next few weeks. Long live the days of popping Romulan fighters like a schizo dog on a roll of bubble wrap
Are the shuttle-specific levelling items still useless? Before I figured out the Vault trick I was toying with a shuttle set-up to see how I could maximize its potential, really push its limits, and I found the shuttle items were very... meh. Even with the drop in item effectiveness, your regular stuff pretty much dumps on it.
Yep they are still Trash, all of my shuttles get a Beam Array and a Dual beam upfront. I put the DBB on a # key so I can lay off the space bar and get max damage with Overload 1.
For other gear I slap the borg gear on, and maco/khg for real hilarity.
The only thing I can see, is a sci commander that can make the BoP into some sort of sci-tac hybrid, but I've never managed to make this setup more successful than a regular commander tac build. (Ok, we have the whacky PSW3 build, but that's not really more efficient than a regular CRF3 build) All the good boff combinations can be replicated on a fed ship, + you gain one extra ensign slot!
So for boff slots, BoPs ar -1
Weapons, BoPs are -1
Hull, BoPs are -1
Console slots, 3 tac consoles means BoP is -1
That's the downside, so what is good about the BoP+
Turnrate, though outdone by the seperated MVAM, is still better than most ships. +1
Battle cloak, means you can re-cloak and turn around faster after fleeing the battle, +1
This seriously looks to me like BoPs are underpowered if anything...
One of my favourite chars is PvPing in a BoP, mostly because I PUG, and don't want to wait for red alert to clear before i can turn around and re-engage after fleeing. But if the raptor would turn in a not-so-wierd way, I think it would be my choise. (Heck, if I hadn't spent my dili on c-points and bought keys for it, I would have been able to afford a Raptor, and would most likely swap
Not OP at all. Glass Cannon right? BoP's are like the wizards in RPG's.. great DPS, but if you catch em, they are dead.
Cruddy builds are just easy to .. PoP
Love to PoP Carriers.. usually a challenge with those stank pets.
trick is to decloak at 1km, and kill them before you get pet aggro!
(or plan B, run away if it doesn't die fast enough...)
I am not saying it does not require any thought to run up a great cloaked alpha, I'm saying it does not require much skill.
To me skill depends on how you handle your ship compared to your foe, now if your foe does not know you are there and has (unless cruiser or already buffed himself with resists) under 2-3 secconds to respond in any way there is little margin for any of that, only that if you fail as a BoP you clearly suck and he does not.
Not only that but the gimick get me out of trouble button which does work against most fed players, I make a mission out of preventing it my self but most fed players can't do anything against it, your ''well thought out'' Alpha failed and you get away easily as well.
I don't think BoP is overpowered as if you know its there its pretty hard to lose against it.
I just don't like it because so many players play it because of the amazing cloak skill yet I can imagine a good few players I have some respect for, actually doing better in other ships- showing how they can utterly defeat you without the SUPRISE BUTSECKS Alpha or.... Die in a fire when it fails.
so if not skill, then what? Permanent and consistent good luck?
How come most players will crash and burn 9 times out of 10 in a BoP strike, while others will score 9 times out of 10?
afaik, skill is the difference between the succesful and the unsuccessful BoP pilot.