It now includes all facets of the characters setup from skill p[oints, to reputation bonuses, to ground/space boff layouts, ground setup, space setup. I have updated my build linked in the original post to include these changes.
I have included to the original post, a grounhd and space build for people just reaching VA and starting with STF. This doesn't include the reputation gear. All of the equipment can be gotten from missions or via the exchange inexpensively. This will allow people to start STF's with a build that will keep them alive until they get their MACO/assimilated gear.
A quick question, does anyone know what weapon type it is that the gates use on STFs that cut right through my shields and hull, I don't even quite know what is happening but suddenly my shield will go down and my hull just gets eaten up by some beam or similar leaving me to either run away or get destroyed pretty quickly.
It doesn't happen that often as I try to stay away from gates when on my own or fire from long range, but when it does it really throws me off.
Okie dokie, so seeing as I haven't put the time into getting high end plasma weapons it might be worth just getting the Romulan weapons. I played a bit before the season 7 update, my god does everything cost a lot of dilithium now, lol.
It now includes all facets of the characters setup from skill p[oints, to reputation bonuses, to ground/space boff layouts, ground setup, space setup. I have updated my build linked in the original post to include these changes.
I have included to the original post, a grounhd and space build for people just reaching VA and starting with STF. This doesn't include the reputation gear. All of the equipment can be gotten from missions or via the exchange inexpensively. This will allow people to start STF's with a build that will keep them alive until they get their MACO/assimilated gear.
A good idea, but for some reason that build isn't loading for me at all, your original one works fine but this new one just gets stuck on the "loading" bit on my pc or phone and never actually loads anything.
Because it's the gate it may be something other than plasma which is their standard weapon and used 99% of the time.
I believe the cube's use an antiproton cannon and it could possibly be one of those? They tend to be amped up quite a bit as well.
Next time, try to pay attention to the damage info on your screen and it will tell you what energy type it is.
You do have an option here.
In the past, I have recommended Monotanium/electroceramic combo for +35plasma/+35 kinetic resistance (for MK XI Rare) because they are extremely cheap.
However, It is preferred to go with two neutronium consoles (which when combined will give 35 resistance to ALL energy types and 35 kinetic resistance. This can also be used against all enemies rather than having to switch out your consoles based on who you're fighting.
This should help, if you find it to be a big issue.
I also see what you're saying with the loading issue. I just checked and it was doing it to me too. I left it up for troubleshooting purpopses for the stoacademy guys, but I just uploaded my file copy and renamed it and I can connect to it just fine again.
Because it's the gate it may be something other than plasma which is their standard weapon and used 99% of the time.
I believe the cube's use an antiproton cannon and it could possibly be one of those? They tend to be amped up quite a bit as well.
Next time, try to pay attention to the damage info on your screen and it will tell you what energy type it is.
You do have an option here.
In the past, I have recommended Monotanium/electroceramic combo for +35plasma/+35 kinetic resistance (for MK XI Rare) because they are extremely cheap.
However, It is preferred to go with two neutronium consoles (which when combined will give 35 resistance to ALL energy types and 35 kinetic resistance. This can also be used against all enemies rather than having to switch out your consoles based on who you're fighting.
This should help, if you find it to be a big issue.
I also see what you're saying with the loading issue. I just checked and it was doing it to me too. I left it up for troubleshooting purpopses for the stoacademy guys, but I just uploaded my file copy and renamed it and I can connect to it just fine again.
And I jumped into an elite STF to find out and went near a gate, it was a Plasma torpedo after all but again I didn't see it coming so I don't know if it my computer being an TRIBBLE and not showing it for some reason or it is blind-siding me. The combat log was a pain to go through mid battle as it kept moving, but this is what it displayed:
[5:08] [Combat (Self)] Gateway's Plasma Torpedo dealt 3598 (11300) Shield Damage to you.
[5:08] [Combat (Self)] Gateway deals 31840 (70431) Kinect Damage(Critical) to you with Plasma Torpedo.
That's what I managed to get before it jumped up and then I blew up, seems I must just be missing where these torpedoes are coming from as it really only happens when I get too close, but that 31840 damage coming straight after my shields go knocks most of my hull out which in my Mirror Patrol Escort is around 41k iirc.
OK yeah, I thought you might have been referring to the cannons it fires that cut through your shields whenever you pass by it during infected.
The invisible torpedo of doom has been an ongoing issue. There have been numerous theories as to what causes this damage.
1 - The Borg have developed a cloaked High Yield 5 plasma/tricobalt hybrid torpedo.
2 - The Borg use transporter technology when a shield is down to transport said plasma/ tricobalt hybrid inside your warp core containment field...and detonate it.
3 - The have a borg drone that only has legs and a plasma/tricobalt device that is transported to your bridge, After taking the time to moon everyone, he detonates himself.
4 - LaQutus gave the Borg the secret masterkey self-destruct codes for all federation ships.
What about with the new Andorian Escorts?
4 DHC, 1 Torp up front (or 3x DHC, 1 Omega Torp, 1 Hyper-Plasma Torp)
1 Turret, 1 Borg Cutting Beam
I know the Console layout isn't ideal, but the Kumari has 5x Tactical Consoles... wouldn't this give a significant damage boost?
Either way, using either the Fleet Patrol Escort, Kumari Andorian Escort, Armitage (non-Fleet), or anything else available with only a Tier 3 Starbase, (and No Red-Matter Capacitor) what would your *IDEAL* setup be? I have full Tier-5 Omega Rep, nearly Tier-5 Romulan, Tier 3 Starbase (sigh), and want a good template to shoot for. (PvE Only)
(Note: I haven't done Ground Gear, and the Planner won't let me select an Ensign Skill for the Lt. Tactical Station, but it would be another Tactical Team 1; and I can't decide on another Device yet).
Please, any thoughts, comments, suggestions (constructive, please) would be appreciated. I am trying to map out what I will be working on collecting, and yes I am aiming for a lot of expensive gear.
I cannot tell you what is ideal. All we can do is advise based on best practice. Even though I don't like telling what to do I can tell you what I have done and what works best for myself and playstyle. I do that when I show people one of my builds and I explain why I choose one thing over another and how it interacts with another aspect of my ship. All those ships you mentioned are good ships, they just don't match my playstyle.
Example: In the device slots you mentioned no red matter capacitor. Since you can only have 2 device slots and most of them are batteries, Have you looked at which subsystems you need to boost. For myself I like engine batteries and use it with evasive maneuvers to get away from exploding cubes. I also do the same thing to get to the next mob if I'm still buffed and still in red alert. Since I use a lot of Aux abilities like Hazard emitters, transfer shield strength and Aux to sif I may want and aux battery over a shield battery since I use Emergency power to shields.
If you use emergency power to engines and Aux to dampners then you might want a shield battery.
xgorillapx has a guide at the beginning of this thread that you might want to look that (he keeps it up to date). this will help you with principles of building an escort. Which escort you use does not matter if you follows the basics like keep the same energy type.
It all takes a lot of time and a lot of trial and error and a lot of gear. if you are looking at a specific aspect I will try to answer but for a whole build it is up to you.
Example: In the device slots you mentioned no red matter capacitor. Since you can only have 2 device slots and most of them are batteries, Have you looked at which subsystems you need to boost.
Good point. I hadn't thought that part through very well. I have typically carried a Shield Battery as an "oh TRIBBLE" button, but using it to buff the other abilities... that makes more sense.
I think my fleet has a Tier 1 Embassy completed, and getting near to Tier 2, so some.
I am trying to get build ideas and goals to work for. I know playstyle has a bit to do with it, and I guess I am going for the max DPS, given that I am mostly running Elite STF's and other farming for Romulan Marks and other gear I currently need. I am not interested in PvP, and really am unimpressed with Ground combat, so I guess being a "Damage Cannon", but still having some survivability. I have learned a lot from this guide, especially things like chaining Tactical Team I, BoFF layouts, and design principals.
I guess I am trying to figure out what is the highest sustainable DPS build I can come up with, using the current end-game quests as the current target.
How much aggro do you find yourself pulling? The Embassy consoles can be plasma infused with -threat. I know that with 2 negative threat console I still tend to draw aggro and if you are pulling that much then I can understand why you are staying with you field generator.
I was also wondering if you have tested other weapon configurations on the front like 4 dhcs and 1 torp as well. Another option I have seen people do is do all dhcs. (Might be challenging to fill boffs at that point)
The link below includes the build I created for the Kumari. It's definitely challenging because of all the tactical slots. There are only so many useful ensign/lt tactical slots to be used. Especially the third one, when it is taking the place of potentially useful science or engineering ensign/lt slots.
I looked at your build and I had a similar idea. There are only a couple changes but fairly significant.
You had two assimilated consoles listed, but I'm pretty sure they're unique and only one can be used. I would also use this in the science slot.
You will have to sacrifice "Polarize Huill". It's a useful skill, but you don't come across tractor beams as much as before, and with having so few engineering.science consoles, you have to get shield heals in somehow and this will be done via EPS, Sci Team and Lg. Shield Battery.
With quantum torpedoes, I usually include a zero point quantum console for improved damage, however with plasma torpedoes, the plasma infusers increase the damage for the plasma torp as well. Not via the direct kinetic damage, but by increasing the damage that the Plasma DoT does, so it's really a double win.
In regards to the deflector, I would recommend the MACO deflector because of the additional defensive bonuses you get on top of the SIF, Shds and EM. However if you don't have the mk XI MACO or better deflector, definitely go with the Positron MK XII [SIF] [Shds] as they will be your next best option. It's also pretty hard not to go with
I haven't flown the Kumari sop I don't know how effective the wing cannons are, so if they are effective, then I would recommend using the wing cannon console. If not, then I would swap that out with a science "Emitter" console for improved shield heals.
See stats below. FOr further clarification
SIF - directly improves your hull strength
Shds - directly improves your shield cap
Em - improves the regen rate of your shield regen abilities. (EP2S, Rotate shield freq, science team,
Don't forget the bugged [Stl] mod. Positron Deflector Mk XII [ShdS] [Stl] gives +35 shield system, instead of +26.5.
[ShdS] [SIF] [Stl] is probably the best set of mods, but will probably cost more than the [ShdS] [Em] [SIF] combination I overpaid for.
Though there's no telling at what point they'll get around to actually fixing that [Stl] mod, or how any fix would be applied.
"Tolerance and apathy are the last virtues of a dying society." - Aristotle
Don't forget the bugged [Stl] mod. Positron Deflector Mk XII [ShdS] [Stl] gives +35 shield system, instead of +26.5.
[ShdS] [SIF] [Stl] is probably the best set of mods, but will probably cost more than the [ShdS] [Em] [SIF] combination I overpaid for.
Though there's no telling at what point they'll get around to actually fixing that [Stl] mod, or how any fix would be applied.
Yeah, I decided not to post it because it would be something I'd have to edit once someone complains that it doesnt work when the bug is fixed. In regards to overpaying for the [SIF] [Shds] [EM] positron deflector, that is why I've been recommending the Rare mk XII Positron [SIF] [Shds]. Those can typically be found cheap. If you dont see any, check the exchange for a few days and you'll likely find one under 100K. Obviously one would prefer the SIF/Shds/Em combination, but there's much lower bang vs buck which is a significant factor to some.
I have a couple of them at the MKXII level I collect them for fleeties as I seem to get them a lot in drops - odd I know.... If someone needs one message me in game (@.Spartan). For what it is worth, I use one as well. I have yet to find another deflector set or drop that is so "escort focused" as that bad boy.
If you are looking for an excellent PvE fleet consider: Omega Combat Division today.
Former member of the Cryptic Family & FriendsTesting Team. Sadly, one day, it simply vanished - without a word or trace...
For my build I chose the Positron Deflector Array Mk XII [ShdS] [Stl] because of tac team, Covariant shield (Capacity based) and the higher shield modifier of the Fleet Advanced Escort. I also use tss3 and ep2s1 as my shield heals.
While [Sif] boosts my hull by 904 hp the [Stl] gives me 222 per facing or 888 across all four facings to redistribute when using tac team. I felt this is more important since I have an easier time shield tanking the borg then hull tanking.
I can't understand why you feel that way. it is the only modifier that is duplicated and on the stowiki they still have it listed as a stealth modifier. But this modifier has been like this since the launch of season 5 when the new skill tree and modifiers went live. That was 17 months ago and I have a feeling at this point if they were to change it they would have a lot of back lash. I would still list it just because this is a some-what permanent bug with the notation that it can change. Or add it once the may update comes out because if it is not fixed by then it will be even longer with a new set of bugs to backlog burring it further to never gonna get fixed.
Edit: At the time of my previous post I was thinking it was working correctly. Stl for stealth seems to make more sense after I looked into it further. My bad.
It looks as if a bug report has been filed about it and I know I'm not the fist to notice. I did a search for "Star Trek Online STL" and the first result was this thread
Considering the huge variety of power combinations and ways to make a synergy come about, I tend to advise people through a philosophy rather than a build...
To that end the philosophy in an STF is simple. Use abilities that support or enhance the entire team whenever possible. Everything else is, really, up to personal taste. The dps changes from specifics tend to amount to drops in the bucket, which, while indispensible for power gamers is really neither here nor there for the average player. Especially considering that even an elite stf can be completed with mark Xi whites and still have the player giving valuable contribution.
The single largest damage multiplier in any PVE mission lies in attack pattern beta. Especially because it is a relatively inexpensive power toa cess and any ship currently available has the ability to run at least one copy. Very few races, as NPC's, run tac team to counter and no borg at all have that ability. The damage resistance debuff stacks, can reduce an enemies resistances to below 0%. and makes that increased damage available to your entire team. Also, it affects any enemy hit by your weapons while it is active meaning multiple targets are affected when combined with any weapon based AOE. Fire at will and cannon spread when combined with Beta become extremely useful when used across a five man team.
for escorts I reccommend having two copies of cannon spread 1 so it can be run constantly, beta 3 and 2, two tac teams to keep shields balanced and fight off borg boarding parties, then two copies of emerg to shields, one haz(to clear the shield-sucker) and one tss of choice.
For sci ships, one tac team, one AP beta, and if there are additional tac slots faw or a second copy of beta, or torp spread depending on the player's choice of weapon layout. The rest being the usual two copies of emerg to shields, a sci or engineering team (depending on boff layout), gravity well (exceptionally useful in delaying probes in KA and infected), tss, and hazard emitters.
(as a note gravity well is the preferred sci crowd control. scramble does little to nothing, and few people have the technique to use repulsors properly- often knocking enemies away from the firing arcs of your allies and therefore making their lives more difficult.)
For cruisers and carriers, again the usual minimum copy of one tac team and an AP beta (sensing a trend?) and faw or spread by preference. The remainder being the usual survival powers (epts, haz, tss) and then supplementing with crowd control powers and additional team support as it fits with the available boff slots. Such as warp plasma, which is tricky to use but very effective in slowing probes, and additional shield transfer and aux2sif or engineering team abilities to heal/maintain team mates.
As you can see, the build choices are left very open for personal tastes, save for some basic tools to facilitate a philosophy of team damage multiplication, slows, roots, and cross team support. The rest really is just knowing what to do and (most importantly) NOT to do during an stf.
For example when fighting donatra do NOT go within 7 kilometers of her ship as that is what triggers her cloaking. Stay away and it happens much less often which leads to consistant DPS and a faster kill. Also do NOT use tractor beam repulsors (or gravimetric overload) as it knocks her out of the firing arc and range of your teammates- completely spoiling their ability to shoot (and thus dropping dps)
Similarly, there is never any need to fire on the gates in infected and KA from any closer than 9.5 k, at the equator or lower. you can fire with impunity with no return- no return fire means no dying. no dying means consistant damage that far outweighs dps loss while respawning and getting back into the fight.
We are many. We are legion. We are the proud, the bad, the infinitely expendable.
We! Are RED SHIRTS!
...Tremble in thy footwear.
...For example when fighting donatra do NOT go within 7 kilometers of her ship as that is what triggers her cloaking. Stay away and it happens much less often which leads to consistant DPS and a faster kill...
Cryptic recently "fixed" this bug (thought it 5k, not 7k, but anyway). Donatra cloaks at will, and quite often now. Further, for such a large ship she's extremely maneuverable as well, as she can cloak, and pop-up only a couple seconds with a new facing at over 10k+ away. She also spams her Uber death ray much more often (and that seems bugged to me now, as I've got insta-killed by it while outside 10k range, outside the targeting cone, and before the usual warm-up (ie she fires prematurely)).
Fighting Dontra has become a annoying game of whack-a-mole. As you have to keep chasing her down, it's especially frustrating if you're flying a big/slow moving/turning ship (like a carrier).
You can find/contact me in game as @PatricianVetinari. Playing STO since Feb 2010.
Considering the huge variety of power combinations and ways to make a synergy come about, I tend to advise people through a philosophy rather than a build...
To that end the philosophy in an STF is simple. Use abilities that support or enhance the entire team whenever possible. Everything else is, really, up to personal taste. The dps changes from specifics tend to amount to drops in the bucket, which, while indispensible for power gamers is really neither here nor there for the average player. Especially considering that even an elite stf can be completed with mark Xi whites and still have the player giving valuable contribution.
The single largest damage multiplier in any PVE mission lies in attack pattern beta. Especially because it is a relatively inexpensive power toa cess and any ship currently available has the ability to run at least one copy. Very few races, as NPC's, run tac team to counter and no borg at all have that ability. The damage resistance debuff stacks, can reduce an enemies resistances to below 0%. and makes that increased damage available to your entire team. Also, it affects any enemy hit by your weapons while it is active meaning multiple targets are affected when combined with any weapon based AOE. Fire at will and cannon spread when combined with Beta become extremely useful when used across a five man team.
for escorts I reccommend having two copies of cannon spread 1 so it can be run constantly, beta 3 and 2, two tac teams to keep shields balanced and fight off borg boarding parties, then two copies of emerg to shields, one haz(to clear the shield-sucker) and one tss of choice.
For sci ships, one tac team, one AP beta, and if there are additional tac slots faw or a second copy of beta, or torp spread depending on the player's choice of weapon layout. The rest being the usual two copies of emerg to shields, a sci or engineering team (depending on boff layout), gravity well (exceptionally useful in delaying probes in KA and infected), tss, and hazard emitters.
(as a note gravity well is the preferred sci crowd control. scramble does little to nothing, and few people have the technique to use repulsors properly- often knocking enemies away from the firing arcs of your allies and therefore making their lives more difficult.)
For cruisers and carriers, again the usual minimum copy of one tac team and an AP beta (sensing a trend?) and faw or spread by preference. The remainder being the usual survival powers (epts, haz, tss) and then supplementing with crowd control powers and additional team support as it fits with the available boff slots. Such as warp plasma, which is tricky to use but very effective in slowing probes, and additional shield transfer and aux2sif or engineering team abilities to heal/maintain team mates.
As you can see, the build choices are left very open for personal tastes, save for some basic tools to facilitate a philosophy of team damage multiplication, slows, roots, and cross team support. The rest really is just knowing what to do and (most importantly) NOT to do during an stf.
For example when fighting donatra do NOT go within 7 kilometers of her ship as that is what triggers her cloaking. Stay away and it happens much less often which leads to consistant DPS and a faster kill. Also do NOT use tractor beam repulsors (or gravimetric overload) as it knocks her out of the firing arc and range of your teammates- completely spoiling their ability to shoot (and thus dropping dps)
Similarly, there is never any need to fire on the gates in infected and KA from any closer than 9.5 k, at the equator or lower. you can fire with impunity with no return- no return fire means no dying. no dying means consistant damage that far outweighs dps loss while respawning and getting back into the fight.
I had given a couple examples of builds similar to this as there was good evidence of getting more damage out of say CRF1 and APB3 rather than CRF3 and APB1. A lot of newer players however want to blast, and thats how most of these builds are setup for the most part. While playing in a team, APB can be great so long as the others can do some damage as well. The time in which this backfires a bit, is when you end up in an STF with a bunch of circling rainbow cruisers who can't take advantage of the debuff.
I also tend to prefer a higher CSV than RF with the exception of a couple ships. Builds such as the defiant don't have enough defense to deal with the aggro from CSV3 and TS3. They are one of the unfortunate few to end up with the dreaded 3rd tac ensign slot, which is not very useful, and much better served by a SciT1, EngT1, EPW1, EPS1, etc.
I find myself torn on the 3rd tac ensign slot. I use to hate it but now with the romulan boffs and with a wider variety of doffs I have kinda gotten use to it. The only time I can still see it being an issue with with a pure cannon build. Now one I am really not fond of is the Kumari. I think having the third Lt is a bit much and probably wouldn't advise it unless people know how to tank with few heals.
When it comes to ApB3, ApO3 or Crf3/csv3 I have see so much data pointing one way or another I really do think all that should be done is come up with a few proven setups that we know work and let them choose what works for them. I know I will always advise crf3 since it is safest.
I think they need to make more skills for the ensign tac slot that aren't beam related. I think nerfed versions or CRF, CSV, APB, APD, etc. would make sense.
When it comes to the extra ensign tac, I iften see people use that for a beam overload 1 to use as a supplement to a copy of bo 3, freeing the other lt. comm slot for a second attack pattern (omega 1 or beta).
Though lately with the advent of the 'clip' based omega plasma torp I have been seeing a little more use of torpedo spread 1 and 3 in its place because it gives a nice spam-killing spread, has a bit of direct to hull burn, and does not cut into your weapon power. so while the damage is slightly lowered by losing a cannon, it is not lowered further by also draining damage potential.
Also thanks for the Donatra update. Heh though the repulsors stuff still stands. :-P
Oh, and I understand what you mean with teammates not taking full advantage of a beta debuffed enemy through popping their alphas to maximise the damage. But as long as they are shooting, no matter what they are shooting with, they are still dealing more damage than without it. Funniest thing I ever see is a completely unbuffed sci ship doing 2k damage per hit with its beams because of beta stacks.
We are many. We are legion. We are the proud, the bad, the infinitely expendable.
We! Are RED SHIRTS!
...Tremble in thy footwear.
Yeah, for beam builds, most ensign slots will be useful, but for escorts, which should all be using cannons, beam overload as well as the subsystem targeting attacks do not do anything. Those are for beams only.
Comments
It now includes all facets of the characters setup from skill p[oints, to reputation bonuses, to ground/space boff layouts, ground setup, space setup. I have updated my build linked in the original post to include these changes.
I have included to the original post, a grounhd and space build for people just reaching VA and starting with STF. This doesn't include the reputation gear. All of the equipment can be gotten from missions or via the exchange inexpensively. This will allow people to start STF's with a build that will keep them alive until they get their MACO/assimilated gear.
It doesn't happen that often as I try to stay away from gates when on my own or fire from long range, but when it does it really throws me off.
Okie dokie, so seeing as I haven't put the time into getting high end plasma weapons it might be worth just getting the Romulan weapons. I played a bit before the season 7 update, my god does everything cost a lot of dilithium now, lol.
A good idea, but for some reason that build isn't loading for me at all, your original one works fine but this new one just gets stuck on the "loading" bit on my pc or phone and never actually loads anything.
I believe the cube's use an antiproton cannon and it could possibly be one of those? They tend to be amped up quite a bit as well.
Next time, try to pay attention to the damage info on your screen and it will tell you what energy type it is.
You do have an option here.
In the past, I have recommended Monotanium/electroceramic combo for +35plasma/+35 kinetic resistance (for MK XI Rare) because they are extremely cheap.
However, It is preferred to go with two neutronium consoles (which when combined will give 35 resistance to ALL energy types and 35 kinetic resistance. This can also be used against all enemies rather than having to switch out your consoles based on who you're fighting.
This should help, if you find it to be a big issue.
I also see what you're saying with the loading issue. I just checked and it was doing it to me too. I left it up for troubleshooting purpopses for the stoacademy guys, but I just uploaded my file copy and renamed it and I can connect to it just fine again.
http://www.stoacademy.com/tools/skillplanner/?build=gorillapbeginnerpatrolescortstf2_2596
Yup, its working again.
And I jumped into an elite STF to find out and went near a gate, it was a Plasma torpedo after all but again I didn't see it coming so I don't know if it my computer being an TRIBBLE and not showing it for some reason or it is blind-siding me. The combat log was a pain to go through mid battle as it kept moving, but this is what it displayed:
[5:08] [Combat (Self)] Gateway's Plasma Torpedo dealt 3598 (11300) Shield Damage to you.
[5:08] [Combat (Self)] Gateway deals 31840 (70431) Kinect Damage(Critical) to you with Plasma Torpedo.
That's what I managed to get before it jumped up and then I blew up, seems I must just be missing where these torpedoes are coming from as it really only happens when I get too close, but that 31840 damage coming straight after my shields go knocks most of my hull out which in my Mirror Patrol Escort is around 41k iirc.
The invisible torpedo of doom has been an ongoing issue. There have been numerous theories as to what causes this damage.
1 - The Borg have developed a cloaked High Yield 5 plasma/tricobalt hybrid torpedo.
2 - The Borg use transporter technology when a shield is down to transport said plasma/ tricobalt hybrid inside your warp core containment field...and detonate it.
3 - The have a borg drone that only has legs and a plasma/tricobalt device that is transported to your bridge, After taking the time to moon everyone, he detonates himself.
4 - LaQutus gave the Borg the secret masterkey self-destruct codes for all federation ships.
I just noticed to sent me a message in the Perfect world side of things and I have replied.
4 DHC, 1 Torp up front (or 3x DHC, 1 Omega Torp, 1 Hyper-Plasma Torp)
1 Turret, 1 Borg Cutting Beam
I know the Console layout isn't ideal, but the Kumari has 5x Tactical Consoles... wouldn't this give a significant damage boost?
Either way, using either the Fleet Patrol Escort, Kumari Andorian Escort, Armitage (non-Fleet), or anything else available with only a Tier 3 Starbase, (and No Red-Matter Capacitor) what would your *IDEAL* setup be? I have full Tier-5 Omega Rep, nearly Tier-5 Romulan, Tier 3 Starbase (sigh), and want a good template to shoot for. (PvE Only)
My thoughts, using a Kumari would be:
http://skillplanner.stoacademy.com/?build=tynien2_0
(Note: I haven't done Ground Gear, and the Planner won't let me select an Ensign Skill for the Lt. Tactical Station, but it would be another Tactical Team 1; and I can't decide on another Device yet).
Please, any thoughts, comments, suggestions (constructive, please) would be appreciated. I am trying to map out what I will be working on collecting, and yes I am aiming for a lot of expensive gear.
I cannot tell you what is ideal. All we can do is advise based on best practice. Even though I don't like telling what to do I can tell you what I have done and what works best for myself and playstyle. I do that when I show people one of my builds and I explain why I choose one thing over another and how it interacts with another aspect of my ship. All those ships you mentioned are good ships, they just don't match my playstyle.
Example: In the device slots you mentioned no red matter capacitor. Since you can only have 2 device slots and most of them are batteries, Have you looked at which subsystems you need to boost. For myself I like engine batteries and use it with evasive maneuvers to get away from exploding cubes. I also do the same thing to get to the next mob if I'm still buffed and still in red alert. Since I use a lot of Aux abilities like Hazard emitters, transfer shield strength and Aux to sif I may want and aux battery over a shield battery since I use Emergency power to shields.
If you use emergency power to engines and Aux to dampners then you might want a shield battery.
xgorillapx has a guide at the beginning of this thread that you might want to look that (he keeps it up to date). this will help you with principles of building an escort. Which escort you use does not matter if you follows the basics like keep the same energy type.
It all takes a lot of time and a lot of trial and error and a lot of gear. if you are looking at a specific aspect I will try to answer but for a whole build it is up to you.
I look at this I do have a couple of questions.
1) you have 2 borg consoles listed. can you clarify. (Was one suppose to be a zero point with 5 infusers in the tac slots?
2) Which doffs are you using?
3) Do you have access to embassy gear?
On the plus side your ship does look good
Good point. I hadn't thought that part through very well. I have typically carried a Shield Battery as an "oh TRIBBLE" button, but using it to buff the other abilities... that makes more sense.
Yes, once was supposed to be the Zero Point Energy Conduit with the 4 Plasma Infusers in the Tactical Console slots.
A complete mess, at the moment. I am working to collect some of the ones mentioned in the first couple of posts in this thread
I think my fleet has a Tier 1 Embassy completed, and getting near to Tier 2, so some.
I am trying to get build ideas and goals to work for. I know playstyle has a bit to do with it, and I guess I am going for the max DPS, given that I am mostly running Elite STF's and other farming for Romulan Marks and other gear I currently need. I am not interested in PvP, and really am unimpressed with Ground combat, so I guess being a "Damage Cannon", but still having some survivability. I have learned a lot from this guide, especially things like chaining Tactical Team I, BoFF layouts, and design principals.
I guess I am trying to figure out what is the highest sustainable DPS build I can come up with, using the current end-game quests as the current target.
-Tynien
I was also wondering if you have tested other weapon configurations on the front like 4 dhcs and 1 torp as well. Another option I have seen people do is do all dhcs. (Might be challenging to fill boffs at that point)
http://skillplanner.stoacademy.com/?build=gorillaptackumariescort_2596
I looked at your build and I had a similar idea. There are only a couple changes but fairly significant.
You had two assimilated consoles listed, but I'm pretty sure they're unique and only one can be used. I would also use this in the science slot.
You will have to sacrifice "Polarize Huill". It's a useful skill, but you don't come across tractor beams as much as before, and with having so few engineering.science consoles, you have to get shield heals in somehow and this will be done via EPS, Sci Team and Lg. Shield Battery.
With quantum torpedoes, I usually include a zero point quantum console for improved damage, however with plasma torpedoes, the plasma infusers increase the damage for the plasma torp as well. Not via the direct kinetic damage, but by increasing the damage that the Plasma DoT does, so it's really a double win.
In regards to the deflector, I would recommend the MACO deflector because of the additional defensive bonuses you get on top of the SIF, Shds and EM. However if you don't have the mk XI MACO or better deflector, definitely go with the Positron MK XII [SIF] [Shds] as they will be your next best option. It's also pretty hard not to go with
I haven't flown the Kumari sop I don't know how effective the wing cannons are, so if they are effective, then I would recommend using the wing cannon console. If not, then I would swap that out with a science "Emitter" console for improved shield heals.
[ShdS] [SIF] [Stl] is probably the best set of mods, but will probably cost more than the [ShdS] [Em] [SIF] combination I overpaid for.
Though there's no telling at what point they'll get around to actually fixing that [Stl] mod, or how any fix would be applied.
Yeah, I decided not to post it because it would be something I'd have to edit once someone complains that it doesnt work when the bug is fixed. In regards to overpaying for the [SIF] [Shds] [EM] positron deflector, that is why I've been recommending the Rare mk XII Positron [SIF] [Shds]. Those can typically be found cheap. If you dont see any, check the exchange for a few days and you'll likely find one under 100K. Obviously one would prefer the SIF/Shds/Em combination, but there's much lower bang vs buck which is a significant factor to some.
ingame: @.Spartan
Original Cryptic Forum Name: Spartan (member #124)
The Glorious, Kirk’s Protegè
The [Shds] and [Stl] both work correctly. They add directly to the skill tree.
No deflector
Skill tree
http://i.imgur.com/E7FducC.png
Shields and hull
http://i.imgur.com/xmMU3wS.png
With [Positron Deflector Array Mk XII [ShdS] [SIF]]
Skill tree points
http://i.imgur.com/ZnAuQfo.png
Effects on [Adapted M.A.C.O. Covariant Shield Array Mk XII]
http://i.imgur.com/BsBLQcc.png
With [Positron Deflector Array Mk XII [ShdS] [Stl]]
Skill tree points
http://i.imgur.com/JMiptDl.png
Effects on [Adapted M.A.C.O. Covariant Shield Array Mk XII]
http://i.imgur.com/rYKVb6r.png
For my build I chose the Positron Deflector Array Mk XII [ShdS] [Stl] because of tac team, Covariant shield (Capacity based) and the higher shield modifier of the Fleet Advanced Escort. I also use tss3 and ep2s1 as my shield heals.
While [Sif] boosts my hull by 904 hp the [Stl] gives me 222 per facing or 888 across all four facings to redistribute when using tac team. I felt this is more important since I have an easier time shield tanking the borg then hull tanking.
Edit: At the time of my previous post I was thinking it was working correctly. Stl for stealth seems to make more sense after I looked into it further. My bad.
http://sto-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?t=245206
Patrol Escort - Beginner Setup
Chel'Grett Tac STF Build
Defiant STF Build (Tactical Escort Retrofit)
Advanced Escort STF Buiid
Temporal Destroyer (Mobius) STF Build
Kumari Tactical Escort STF Build
To that end the philosophy in an STF is simple. Use abilities that support or enhance the entire team whenever possible. Everything else is, really, up to personal taste. The dps changes from specifics tend to amount to drops in the bucket, which, while indispensible for power gamers is really neither here nor there for the average player. Especially considering that even an elite stf can be completed with mark Xi whites and still have the player giving valuable contribution.
The single largest damage multiplier in any PVE mission lies in attack pattern beta. Especially because it is a relatively inexpensive power toa cess and any ship currently available has the ability to run at least one copy. Very few races, as NPC's, run tac team to counter and no borg at all have that ability. The damage resistance debuff stacks, can reduce an enemies resistances to below 0%. and makes that increased damage available to your entire team. Also, it affects any enemy hit by your weapons while it is active meaning multiple targets are affected when combined with any weapon based AOE. Fire at will and cannon spread when combined with Beta become extremely useful when used across a five man team.
for escorts I reccommend having two copies of cannon spread 1 so it can be run constantly, beta 3 and 2, two tac teams to keep shields balanced and fight off borg boarding parties, then two copies of emerg to shields, one haz(to clear the shield-sucker) and one tss of choice.
For sci ships, one tac team, one AP beta, and if there are additional tac slots faw or a second copy of beta, or torp spread depending on the player's choice of weapon layout. The rest being the usual two copies of emerg to shields, a sci or engineering team (depending on boff layout), gravity well (exceptionally useful in delaying probes in KA and infected), tss, and hazard emitters.
(as a note gravity well is the preferred sci crowd control. scramble does little to nothing, and few people have the technique to use repulsors properly- often knocking enemies away from the firing arcs of your allies and therefore making their lives more difficult.)
For cruisers and carriers, again the usual minimum copy of one tac team and an AP beta (sensing a trend?) and faw or spread by preference. The remainder being the usual survival powers (epts, haz, tss) and then supplementing with crowd control powers and additional team support as it fits with the available boff slots. Such as warp plasma, which is tricky to use but very effective in slowing probes, and additional shield transfer and aux2sif or engineering team abilities to heal/maintain team mates.
As you can see, the build choices are left very open for personal tastes, save for some basic tools to facilitate a philosophy of team damage multiplication, slows, roots, and cross team support. The rest really is just knowing what to do and (most importantly) NOT to do during an stf.
For example when fighting donatra do NOT go within 7 kilometers of her ship as that is what triggers her cloaking. Stay away and it happens much less often which leads to consistant DPS and a faster kill. Also do NOT use tractor beam repulsors (or gravimetric overload) as it knocks her out of the firing arc and range of your teammates- completely spoiling their ability to shoot (and thus dropping dps)
Similarly, there is never any need to fire on the gates in infected and KA from any closer than 9.5 k, at the equator or lower. you can fire with impunity with no return- no return fire means no dying. no dying means consistant damage that far outweighs dps loss while respawning and getting back into the fight.
We are many. We are legion. We are the proud, the bad, the infinitely expendable.
We! Are RED SHIRTS!
...Tremble in thy footwear.
Fighting Dontra has become a annoying game of whack-a-mole. As you have to keep chasing her down, it's especially frustrating if you're flying a big/slow moving/turning ship (like a carrier).
You can find/contact me in game as @PatricianVetinari. Playing STO since Feb 2010.
I had given a couple examples of builds similar to this as there was good evidence of getting more damage out of say CRF1 and APB3 rather than CRF3 and APB1. A lot of newer players however want to blast, and thats how most of these builds are setup for the most part. While playing in a team, APB can be great so long as the others can do some damage as well. The time in which this backfires a bit, is when you end up in an STF with a bunch of circling rainbow cruisers who can't take advantage of the debuff.
I also tend to prefer a higher CSV than RF with the exception of a couple ships. Builds such as the defiant don't have enough defense to deal with the aggro from CSV3 and TS3. They are one of the unfortunate few to end up with the dreaded 3rd tac ensign slot, which is not very useful, and much better served by a SciT1, EngT1, EPW1, EPS1, etc.
When it comes to ApB3, ApO3 or Crf3/csv3 I have see so much data pointing one way or another I really do think all that should be done is come up with a few proven setups that we know work and let them choose what works for them. I know I will always advise crf3 since it is safest.
Though lately with the advent of the 'clip' based omega plasma torp I have been seeing a little more use of torpedo spread 1 and 3 in its place because it gives a nice spam-killing spread, has a bit of direct to hull burn, and does not cut into your weapon power. so while the damage is slightly lowered by losing a cannon, it is not lowered further by also draining damage potential.
Also thanks for the Donatra update. Heh though the repulsors stuff still stands. :-P
Oh, and I understand what you mean with teammates not taking full advantage of a beta debuffed enemy through popping their alphas to maximise the damage. But as long as they are shooting, no matter what they are shooting with, they are still dealing more damage than without it. Funniest thing I ever see is a completely unbuffed sci ship doing 2k damage per hit with its beams because of beta stacks.
We are many. We are legion. We are the proud, the bad, the infinitely expendable.
We! Are RED SHIRTS!
...Tremble in thy footwear.
Trust me, it will make the borg hurt badly. It may not be good for pvp, but against all those unshielded hulls its a real pain.