OK, so i recently bought a Catian Carrier and just got enough Zen to get another T5 ship. this time i decided on an escourt since both my Sci and Engineer can roll the catian and to quite well(so can my tactical capitan, but thats a WHOLE different story).
i cant seem to decide between the Defiant, the MVAE, and the Armitage. a friend of mine has the armitage and when we do a pvp match against each other i can never beat him in my T4 escourt or any of my ships for that metter. and when we STF together he seems to put out alot more DPS than i do and i even have better Tactical Consoles than him.
im not really looking at Fleet versions right now since im in a smaller fleet that is currently pushing T2 military and i need at least T4 to get the fleet versions.
overall i like the stealth of the Defiant, the Hanger of the Armitage, and the multi-Vector of the MVAE. but every MVAE i see in STFs dies WAY too fast when it goes MV, i havent seen much of the Defiant, and the armitage seems like a nice mix of hull, DPS and the versatlilty of the hanger bay.
from what ive read the MVAE and the Defiant should be better DPS wise than the Armitage The Defiant can do crazy burst with the alpha strikes from stealth and the MVAE can pop multi-vector and kill stuff fast.
i guess i just need some opinions from people that have one or all of these escourts that can compare them to the "patrol" escourt from T4. thanks in advance guys.
Heres the thing, all three C-store T5 escorts rock way more than a patrol escort, their fleet counterparts look to do even more so. Each one is different, and each one is for you, depending on what you like. Trust me, it makes no difference which one you go with, you will most certainly get excellent bang for your buck.
So, which one is for you? Here's the low down on each of them.
MVAM: In my opinion, this is the least powerful of the three. But, in all T5 ships, thats like saying "Oh good, I've got a maserati, the slowest of the supercars." It's still going too be really bloddy fast, in the same way the MVAM will still deal a bunch of bloody damage too bloody your opponents with. It works well as a swarm style starship, especially with the lt. commander science Boff slot, there is a lot of potential for TRIBBLE with your enemy. IT more works best as a multitarget interceptor. Also, all those MVAM's that you see dying in STF's? Yeah, those are probably the pieces NOT captained by the player. They can be potentially frustrating, as they can easily wander off in wild directions, and die very quickly. The split is mostly used for the boost too manuverablity and weapons power levels.
The defiant, as you assumed, is the alpha volley ship. I fly this one almost exclusively, and it very rarely fails me. The cloak isn't important in STF's, but works wonders in PvP. You'd be surprised how much more damage you can get out of this than out of the others. As far as bang for your buck, it goes about midrange.
The Armitage right now, is the king, debateably (Some will say the Jem Hadar Attack ship). It's one of the few ships too make the klingons cry "OVERPOWERED!" because it is just that. It has a lt. commander engineering slot, for added survivability, and the hanger bay can wreck havoc on enemies(If you go with this one, try advanced runabouts). Some will say the photon point defense system isn't worht it, butI loaded mine up with photons just so I could boost the firepower of the console. If you have the console, and Torp Spread III the result is around 72+ photon torpedoes launched at once. This kind of firepower, properly buffed, can destroy an entire group of transformers and generators in one attack run.
Thats about it. Choose which sounds best too you, and go nuts. The only thing I can say is, these ships really depend on the pilot. That armitage can be incredibly powerful, but in realistic terms, it's only slightly more powerful than the defiant, a theory I've proven time and again.
I AM THE HARBINGER OF HOPE!
I AM THE SWORD OF THE RIGHTOUS!
well i prefer quantums to photons. but i think i have decided against the MVAE simply because i dont like trusting 2/3rds of my ship to an AI that is as crazy as that coco puff bird.
honestly i really enjoy the Carrier deal. the ability to change pets out and be versatile is REALLY nice. and since i dont PVP much im thinking the Armitage is going to be earning a slot on my roster. my only real concern is if i decide to drop torps and run a DBB for a BO2 will the damage be above my current ship the patrol escort. currently im running 2AP heavy cannons and 2 Quantum torps with turrets in rear with CSV 2 and 3 and TSpread 2 and 3 and i can eat things alive in STFs. and i can tank the Tactical cube with some efffort and only die when bad luck strikes me. i want this ship to outperform my current escort and im debating if the versatlilty of the hanger will make up for the lost "tactical" bridge station since i wont be able to run the same rank skills.
overall i think im going to play my friends armitage in a few STFs and see how much face i can ****. and if i like it ill buy it! otherwise its the defiant all the way.
oh, and thank you for putting the eplanations in simple terms. the "slowest of the supercars" comment made me literally lol
Pick the BOFF layout you most prefer or if you want PVP the Defiant is great.
I'd personally go with the Armitage because I can run a T5 Akira which is a favorite ship of mine.
I own the MVAE and with it's Lt.Com Sci slot I can run a Grav Well which is awesome for STF's as you can hold back things for a bit.
It can also carry a lot of healing which is useful for the Fleet events.
Edit: Just a note I got the MVAE long before the Armitage came out.
I was once DKnight1000, apparently I had taken my own name so now I'm DKnight0001. If I ask you a question it is not an insult but a genuine attempt to understand why. When I insult you I won't be discreet about it, I will be precise and to the point stupid.
As a Defiant Retrofit Captain, I can tell you buying the Defiant would be a wonderful idea.
With the right equipment, she can take a few hits and keep on swinging.
I upgraded to the Fleet version, and it is fantastic. The Armitage is not as strong. The MVAE yes, as you said dies fast when you split up, but then again what doesn't?
Dreadnought class. Two times the size, three times the speed. Advanced weaponry. Modified for a minimal crew. Unlike most Federation vessels, it's built solely for combat.
im not really looking at Fleet versions right now since im in a smaller fleet that is currently pushing T2 military and i need at least T4 to get the fleet versions.
The fleet Defiant is almost as good as the Jem'Hadar Attack Ship.
Since you're fleet already has Military Tier 1, I'd strongly urge you to reconsider and get the Fleet Patrol Escort. Which is almost as good as the Fleet Defiant. For a shipyard Tier 1 ship it really stands out miles above the rest.
Armitage is good; it tanks like a TRIBBLE and has quite a punch too. Its Point Defense System is cute, but comes with a long cooldown. I wouldn't qualify it as an 'alpha-strike' ship, really.
Defiant is meh. Considerably suckier than the Fleet Defiant, and bested by the Fleet Patrol Escort too. Cloak is cute, though, and gives extra dmg on decloak (so, I'd say, buy this for spare parts, strip the cloak, and put it on the Fleet Defiant).
And the least of all is the Multi-Vector Advanced Escort. Cutesey on paper, but the 'multi' part is kinda useless.
Jem'Hadar Attack Ship - Best escort in the game, no doubt. Great at both tanking and DPS.
Fleet Tactical Escort Retrofit - Probably the best escort that isn't from a lockbox. Great turnrate, great firepower and if you can fly it well pretty survivable.
Fleet Advanced Escort - With three science console slots enabling it to take 3x field generators, this escort has more shields than a cruiser.
Tactical Escort Retrofit - Same as the fleet tactical escort retrofit, but with slightly less DPS. Comes with the cloak.
Armitage - A good ship but it's turnrate and lack of lt cmdr tactical station is an annoyance, limiting it's options. Peregrines are only really useful against unshielded targets but the danubes are very useful (overpowered in fact). Without the danubes it's a middling ship, better than the non-Z-store escorts but worse than the fleet and other z-store escorts. Torpedo defense turret is worthless due to it's long cooldown and the damage being pretty poor vs shields.
Well, finally obtained the Fleet Defiant - and wow!
I thought the C-store retro was great, but fitted my new fleet version (wearing the superb Sao Paulo skin) with the quad cannon* and two MKXII dual-heavy phaser cannons (the STF Borg ones) and what a beast of a ship!
One query though - is it worth swapping the MKXII [Borg] dual-heavies out for a pair of the MKXII fleet versions?
* Okay - I know phasers are, arguably, less effective/offer weaker DPS than Antiproton cannons, but I simply love the look and sound of the phaser quad cannon, the phaser proc can be pretty useful, and am therefore sticking with it.
Don't listen too the effectiveness thing. Really, theres no evidence that has been making me wonder. Personally, I've had excellent results from antiproton, but thats just me.
I AM THE HARBINGER OF HOPE!
I AM THE SWORD OF THE RIGHTOUS!
Well, after reading all written till now, i agree with meimeitoo.
First, I consider MVAE a waste of time. I don't see anywhere an advantage of splitting the ship in three parts. But it's only my opinion. The fleet version is way better, with possibility of higher shields, but in my opinion others are better than this.
On the other hand, if you don't have the option to get a bug ship because they are pretty expensive right now, and even more with time, I recommend the fleet defiant or fleet patrol.
As you are in a small fleet (as my spanish fleet is), i highly recommend you the fleet patrol right now. I have it and it's wonderful those firepower with a very, very high survivability for an escort, even in pve or pvp (trying to tank a tac cube in a stf with an escort is not easy, and resist the firepower of some escorts at once it's very difficult even with great skill).
Later on, when your starbase grows up, you can decide if you buy the fleet defiant or not, and you will choose one or another depending on how you play. If you want even more firepower, you'll probably choose the fleet defiant, and if you prefer staying in the fight for longer, you'll choose the fleet patrol as your ultimate escort. In any case, the fleet patrol is the best you can afford right now (if we don't consider the bug ship for it's astronomic price), and it won't disappoint you. I had the lvl 40 patrol before, and it's impressive how the fleet version improves the chances of survival even more. In my personal case, i will stand with my fleet patrol when my shipyard reaches tier 3.
I haven't mentioned the armitage yet, and it's a very good ship, but the carrier style makes it lack in other ways, so it's only a matter of playstyle choosing it or not.
As a final note, i will say: after reading all opinons, choose the ship you like most and you think you will perform better, even if it's not considered the best of the best. Good ships are made by captains and crew, not by a bunch of metal and cannons.
There are a lot of good escorts out there, but you have to know their limitations to use them well.
The Tactical Retrofit is the alpha striking/burst damage king, its the most fragile of any escort though, so beware its a hit and run ship.
The Bug is hard to beat, its flexible, tough and can dish out almost as much damage as the Tactical Retrofit in a burst, but sustain more. Probably the best escort out there.
The Armitage is perhaps the lowest damage escort but is an incredible tank. Losing the Lt. Cmd Tact is painful for offense a few ways. This is an AoE ship, add point defense and torp defense with a full alpha strike and AoE abilities and it bursts up to 38k DPS with just moderate equipment. Its the only escort that you can actively choose to hamper some defense to trade up for offense though.
The Patrol escort is the poor man's bug, its less flexible, but decently durable, and a strong attack.
The MVAE has been kinda screwed with the science nerfs. The Lt. Cmd Science gave it flexibility no other escorts had with large damage potential and auxiliary functions. Right now its just less durable and no punch.
Advanced Escort has little reason to exist with the Patrol escort around.
Personally, and I have to stress that my opinion, as everyone else's here, is strictly opinion based on play-style preferences, I rank the escorts in the following:
1 - The Bug. If you can get one, it's a beast.
2 - (tie) Fleet Patrol Escort (my primary).
2 - (tie) Fleet Heavy Escort Carrier (Armitage). The added Eng abilities and PD console make this stand apart from the pack, if/when you can get one. However, this is not an alpha-strike.
3 - Fleet Tac Escort Refit (Defiant/Sao Paulo). Alpha strikes swear by this ship, and I've seen it do some amazing things. But it's too squishy in my opinion. I consider the cloak useless in a pvp battle situation, and the quad-cannon is an energy-draining novelty.
4 - Patrol Escort. I consider this probably the best free ship in the game, when you hit 40, and it only gets better when you move up to the Fleet version.
5 - Sticks, stones, foul language, Oddysey's, and just about anything else.
6 - MVE. This thing doesn't know what it wants to be, and fails at both. I'm sure it's practical for most PVE/Episode missions and fun for lower levels, but if you're primarily doing STF's and PVP, there are much better options out there.
But again, like others have said, it's an opinion. You need to go with the ship that best suits your style of play. Escorts require a different mind set in the game...you have to choose your fights and dictate the terms of the battle, not simply Tank through whatever comes your way. Go with your gut, even if it goes against everything other people say...you can always try something different later.
well id like to get a account unlock ship. and i dont think the Fleet ships are account unlocks. if they are then ill buy a Fleet patrol. i love my current ship but i wish it had a bit more punch in some situations. i like the survivability, and i like the steady damage, but it lacks a bit of burst IMO. i really dont like the look of the defiant(Sao palo is a diferent story) and i like the versatility the armitage offers with the hangers.
honestly i need to respec(again) so going with a fleet ship would allow me to do that, but if its only a character unlock, no dice.
i think im going to sit on the Zen and think about it. i might just buy the modules off the exchange and run the fleet patrol and use the zen to try and get a galor or something. you have all been helpful and i think i have narrowed it to the Fleet Patrol or the Armitage. i prefer sustained DPS over Burst. and since i tend to aggro everything, i need a ship that can take a beating.
* Okay - I know phasers are, arguably, less effective/offer weaker DPS than Antiproton cannons, but I simply love the look and sound of the phaser quad cannon, the phaser proc can be pretty useful, and am therefore sticking with it.
The quad cannon got a boost post-season six, so they rock now.
I fly the retro defiant with the sao paulo skin all the time now, and use quad cannons. It is so much fun, and I do plenty of DPS. The turn rate However, the armitage is worth looking at, but the turn rate is not as great.
actually i ended up deciding to get a regent with my Zen and get a Fleet Patrol escort with EC for my escort needs since it takes my already fun escort and turns it into a better escort. IF i decide to get another T5 ship im going to get the Armitage for its versatility due to the hanger bay. overall i am thankful for the information provided but i was playing my mirror assault today and realized that i would enjoy a 180 degree torp and upgraded output alot more than another carrier cannon(my atrox uses cannons and turrets, and yes that works quite well).
6 - MVE. This thing doesn't know what it wants to be, and fails at both. I'm sure it's practical for most PVE/Episode missions and fun for lower levels, but if you're primarily doing STF's and PVP, there are much better options out there.
I am not sure about that... I flyied MVAE for a long time and I think it's a good ship. The tactical boff's layout is not good like the one on the AE but the lt cmd sci boff is a great advantage... you can use GW to group enemies and then fire with AoE attack, or you can use HE3 to fast recovery hull damage. It has 3 science consoles and this help having both shields capacity and shield regeneration rate. Moreover splitting using attack mode beta you gain a lot of manovrability ad +5 engine power level... This make the MVAE a very good ship for pve because you can have a lot of dps and great resistance and manovrability (more than tactcal escort retrofit).
However if you want more dps than you need a different tactical boffs layout, my favorite is the one used in AE... it is a good balance because I can use both CRF2 and CRF3 and still use also APO1... Finally AE+multivector console is better than MVAE (or AE).
notice that harmitage has the same tactical boffs layout of MVAE... and I do not think it's better or worst than MVAE... only different: harmitage has a hangar and a ensign eng slot, while MVAE has the console and a sci cmd ability.
If the fleet AE had the same boffs layout of MVAE I have no doubt about the final escort for my tactical toon.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Playing STO spamming FAW is like playing chess using always the computer's suggested moves
MVE is the best IMHO. The ability to gravity well and do crowd control easily offsets the advantages the other escorts have.
I can tank with it and deal a lot of DPS using phasers for the quad cannon, DHC, dbb, and quantum torpedo with three turrets on the back.
I use the same BOFF setup as the armitage and can do similar things with them. I don't like the armitage because the hangar refresh is twice as long as a two hangar carrier. Since you can't spam the pets when they die, the ability is kind of a waste since the only crowd control measure you have is eject warp plasma.
I like the standoff capability that GW provides and since the MVE and the HEC have the same boff layout..I prefer the MVE.
Defiant is good but doesn't have any special abilities. I would rather take the fleet patrol escort than a defiant...but if you want the fleet defiant...the reduced cost from getting the defiant z store variant may be enough to tip the scales in favor of the defiant.
Cheers
Edit: Is the fleet advanced escort a fleet version of the MVE?
I am not sure about that... I flyied MVAE for a long time and I think it's a good ship. The tactical boff's layout is not good like the one on the AE but the lt cmd sci boff is a great advantage... you can use GW to group enemies and then fire with AoE attack, or you can use HE3 to fast recovery hull damage. It has 3 science consoles and this help having both shields capacity and shield regeneration rate. Moreover splitting using attack mode beta you gain a lot of manovrability ad +5 engine power level... This make the MVAE a very good ship for pve because you can have a lot of dps and great resistance and manovrability (more than tactcal escort retrofit).
However if you want more dps than you need a different tactical boffs layout, my favorite is the one used in AE... it is a good balance because I can use both CRF2 and CRF3 and still use also APO1... Finally AE+multivector console is better than MVAE (or AE).
notice that harmitage has the same tactical boffs layout of MVAE... and I do not think it's better or worst than MVAE... only different: harmitage has a hangar and a ensign eng slot, while MVAE has the console and a sci cmd ability.
If the fleet AE had the same boffs layout of MVAE I have no doubt about the final escort for my tactical toon.
For PVE, I agree, the MVAE is fine. My opinion is simply that in terms of PvP and STF's, (and PvE) there are better escorts out there. I may have been a little hard on the thing in my post, but it's primarily from a PvP point of view...I giggle a little inside when I see one because they are not as nearly a challenge compared to the other escorts. Fun to fly? Sure. Flexible due to the BO/Consoles? Sure! But if you're looking for a high-DPS ship that also has good survivability, that is not the one I would personally recommend.
Don't entirely agree with point #3. I fly the Fleet Defiant, and with the 'classic' Borg Deflector/Engine/Console and MkXII Maco shield combo I can take a fair amount of punishment.
Yeah - only started using my Fleet Defiant yesterday, but very impressed with the DPS it can put out with quad cannon and two dual heavy phaser cannons. To be honest, IF Antiproton cannons are superior (which as I said, is arguable) I can't imagine that they are so overwhelmingly better that I should change to them - I prefer phasers, and the proc is great when it kicks in too especially when the system it hits on the enemy ship is the shields!
Yes, you can take a fair amount of punishment in the Defiant, but you can take a bit more in an FPE, and still maintain a very good DPS. I have all the respect in the world for the Defiants, I flew one for a month myself. But I decided to play with the Patrol Escort a little, and found it was better, in my opinion, for a wider range of gameplay. The Fleet version improves it a little further. I guess I've always found it curious why the PE is so under-rated...maybe because it's free @40 and one of the earliest/cheapest ships in the Fleet store people assume it's junk? I've spent a fair amount of time in the different escorts, and as much as they all have great individual characteristics, I always come back to the FPE. But again, it's my opinion only, and the OP was asking for a high DPS ship that had some survivability, so I ranked that ship higher than others might...it gives/gets more bang for the buck.
And it's good to know that the Quad cannons were beefed up a little recently, there was quite a bit of disappointment with them. And I fully agree with your use of Phasers for that setup. I jumped off the AP bandwagon a while back....the energy types are equal in my mind, the problem is more with how players make use of them.
6 - MVE. This thing doesn't know what it wants to be, and fails at both. I'm sure it's practical for most PVE/Episode missions and fun for lower levels, but if you're primarily doing STF's and PVP, there are much better options out there.
I agree with u. The MV console is an autofail Infected stf. It also makes ka last forever.
If u only pvp fleet mvae is decent but a random viral matrix now and then doesn't compare to what fleet armitage and fleet defiant can do.
As scbypwr said AE+MV console makes fleet mvae a joke ship.
It was a good call getting the fleet patrol escort. It's a pretty solid ship
As scbypwr said AE+MV console makes fleet mvae a joke ship.
It was a good call getting the fleet patrol escort. It's a pretty solid ship
I don't think its a joke ship if flied right...;D
I take the MVAE console off...it is useless and replace it with a borg console. I use three shield percetage increases, the borg console and a neutronium alloy for the eng and four phaser consoles in the tac slots.
I like the fleet patrol escort slightly more in specific situations but i find the MVAE to be spectacular in STF play because I use the GW with full spec in particle and graviton skill.
It may not be the best setup...but I find it MUCH more useful than the heavy escort carrier.
As scbypwr said AE+MV console makes fleet mvae a joke ship.
It was a good call getting the fleet patrol escort. It's a pretty solid ship
My tactical toon on AE+MV console deals about 8000 dps (averrage dps) and it can tank borg cubes (even a tactical one for a while).
I am not a pvp-er so I do not know if it's good or not, but I do not think it's a joke ship!
p.s.
the fleet AE is the fleet version of MVAE: same boffs layout, +10% hull, +10% shield, 5 tactical consoles, 3 science consoles and 2 eng consoles. It can use the MV console, but you have to purchase the MVAE to have the console.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Playing STO spamming FAW is like playing chess using always the computer's suggested moves
I use the MVAE with the console. I just bought it the other day and I was skeptical at first. I am now a true believer. This is how escorts should be. The 2 pets are finicky at best but they do provide a pretty decent damage boost when they're on target. It seems negligible in game, but, I parse every STF I run, and it actually is about equal to another dual heavy cannon. The real benefit comes from the speed and maneuverability boost. It is the most agile ship in the game when split. My only compliant is that 3rd tac boff. It would be much more useful as sci or eng.
If you know basics of how to build a ship properly all the T5 Escorts are pretty equal with the exception of the the Armitage which needs a nerf to Runabout Tractor Beams. Obviously though, the Jem'hadar attack ship is the best ship in the game, it just has the perfect layout plus the best base stats.
Comments
So, which one is for you? Here's the low down on each of them.
MVAM: In my opinion, this is the least powerful of the three. But, in all T5 ships, thats like saying "Oh good, I've got a maserati, the slowest of the supercars." It's still going too be really bloddy fast, in the same way the MVAM will still deal a bunch of bloody damage too bloody your opponents with. It works well as a swarm style starship, especially with the lt. commander science Boff slot, there is a lot of potential for TRIBBLE with your enemy. IT more works best as a multitarget interceptor. Also, all those MVAM's that you see dying in STF's? Yeah, those are probably the pieces NOT captained by the player. They can be potentially frustrating, as they can easily wander off in wild directions, and die very quickly. The split is mostly used for the boost too manuverablity and weapons power levels.
The defiant, as you assumed, is the alpha volley ship. I fly this one almost exclusively, and it very rarely fails me. The cloak isn't important in STF's, but works wonders in PvP. You'd be surprised how much more damage you can get out of this than out of the others. As far as bang for your buck, it goes about midrange.
The Armitage right now, is the king, debateably (Some will say the Jem Hadar Attack ship). It's one of the few ships too make the klingons cry "OVERPOWERED!" because it is just that. It has a lt. commander engineering slot, for added survivability, and the hanger bay can wreck havoc on enemies(If you go with this one, try advanced runabouts). Some will say the photon point defense system isn't worht it, butI loaded mine up with photons just so I could boost the firepower of the console. If you have the console, and Torp Spread III the result is around 72+ photon torpedoes launched at once. This kind of firepower, properly buffed, can destroy an entire group of transformers and generators in one attack run.
Thats about it. Choose which sounds best too you, and go nuts. The only thing I can say is, these ships really depend on the pilot. That armitage can be incredibly powerful, but in realistic terms, it's only slightly more powerful than the defiant, a theory I've proven time and again.
I AM THE SWORD OF THE RIGHTOUS!
honestly i really enjoy the Carrier deal. the ability to change pets out and be versatile is REALLY nice. and since i dont PVP much im thinking the Armitage is going to be earning a slot on my roster. my only real concern is if i decide to drop torps and run a DBB for a BO2 will the damage be above my current ship the patrol escort. currently im running 2AP heavy cannons and 2 Quantum torps with turrets in rear with CSV 2 and 3 and TSpread 2 and 3 and i can eat things alive in STFs. and i can tank the Tactical cube with some efffort and only die when bad luck strikes me. i want this ship to outperform my current escort and im debating if the versatlilty of the hanger will make up for the lost "tactical" bridge station since i wont be able to run the same rank skills.
overall i think im going to play my friends armitage in a few STFs and see how much face i can ****. and if i like it ill buy it! otherwise its the defiant all the way.
oh, and thank you for putting the eplanations in simple terms. the "slowest of the supercars" comment made me literally lol
Matt
Pick the BOFF layout you most prefer or if you want PVP the Defiant is great.
I'd personally go with the Armitage because I can run a T5 Akira which is a favorite ship of mine.
I own the MVAE and with it's Lt.Com Sci slot I can run a Grav Well which is awesome for STF's as you can hold back things for a bit.
It can also carry a lot of healing which is useful for the Fleet events.
Edit: Just a note I got the MVAE long before the Armitage came out.
If I ask you a question it is not an insult but a genuine attempt to understand why.
When I insult you I won't be discreet about it, I will be precise and to the point stupid.
With the right equipment, she can take a few hits and keep on swinging.
I upgraded to the Fleet version, and it is fantastic. The Armitage is not as strong. The MVAE yes, as you said dies fast when you split up, but then again what doesn't?
Dreadnought class. Two times the size, three times the speed. Advanced weaponry. Modified for a minimal crew. Unlike most Federation vessels, it's built solely for combat.
Current escorts, in order of awesomeness:
1. Jem'Hadar Attack Ship
2. Fleet Tactical Escort Retrofit (aka Fleet Defiant)
3. Fleet Patrol Escort
4. Armitage (Heavy Escort Carrier)
5. Defiant
6. Multi-Vector Advanced Escort
The fleet Defiant is almost as good as the Jem'Hadar Attack Ship.
Since you're fleet already has Military Tier 1, I'd strongly urge you to reconsider and get the Fleet Patrol Escort. Which is almost as good as the Fleet Defiant. For a shipyard Tier 1 ship it really stands out miles above the rest.
Armitage is good; it tanks like a TRIBBLE and has quite a punch too. Its Point Defense System is cute, but comes with a long cooldown. I wouldn't qualify it as an 'alpha-strike' ship, really.
Defiant is meh. Considerably suckier than the Fleet Defiant, and bested by the Fleet Patrol Escort too. Cloak is cute, though, and gives extra dmg on decloak (so, I'd say, buy this for spare parts, strip the cloak, and put it on the Fleet Defiant).
And the least of all is the Multi-Vector Advanced Escort. Cutesey on paper, but the 'multi' part is kinda useless.
Fleet Tactical Escort Retrofit - Probably the best escort that isn't from a lockbox. Great turnrate, great firepower and if you can fly it well pretty survivable.
Fleet Advanced Escort - With three science console slots enabling it to take 3x field generators, this escort has more shields than a cruiser.
Tactical Escort Retrofit - Same as the fleet tactical escort retrofit, but with slightly less DPS. Comes with the cloak.
Armitage - A good ship but it's turnrate and lack of lt cmdr tactical station is an annoyance, limiting it's options. Peregrines are only really useful against unshielded targets but the danubes are very useful (overpowered in fact). Without the danubes it's a middling ship, better than the non-Z-store escorts but worse than the fleet and other z-store escorts. Torpedo defense turret is worthless due to it's long cooldown and the damage being pretty poor vs shields.
Daizen - Lvl 60 Tactical - Eclipse
Selia - Lvl 60 Tactical - Eclipse
Don't listen too the effectiveness thing. Really, theres no evidence that has been making me wonder. Personally, I've had excellent results from antiproton, but thats just me.
I AM THE SWORD OF THE RIGHTOUS!
First, I consider MVAE a waste of time. I don't see anywhere an advantage of splitting the ship in three parts. But it's only my opinion. The fleet version is way better, with possibility of higher shields, but in my opinion others are better than this.
On the other hand, if you don't have the option to get a bug ship because they are pretty expensive right now, and even more with time, I recommend the fleet defiant or fleet patrol.
As you are in a small fleet (as my spanish fleet is), i highly recommend you the fleet patrol right now. I have it and it's wonderful those firepower with a very, very high survivability for an escort, even in pve or pvp (trying to tank a tac cube in a stf with an escort is not easy, and resist the firepower of some escorts at once it's very difficult even with great skill).
Later on, when your starbase grows up, you can decide if you buy the fleet defiant or not, and you will choose one or another depending on how you play. If you want even more firepower, you'll probably choose the fleet defiant, and if you prefer staying in the fight for longer, you'll choose the fleet patrol as your ultimate escort. In any case, the fleet patrol is the best you can afford right now (if we don't consider the bug ship for it's astronomic price), and it won't disappoint you. I had the lvl 40 patrol before, and it's impressive how the fleet version improves the chances of survival even more. In my personal case, i will stand with my fleet patrol when my shipyard reaches tier 3.
I haven't mentioned the armitage yet, and it's a very good ship, but the carrier style makes it lack in other ways, so it's only a matter of playstyle choosing it or not.
As a final note, i will say: after reading all opinons, choose the ship you like most and you think you will perform better, even if it's not considered the best of the best. Good ships are made by captains and crew, not by a bunch of metal and cannons.
The Tactical Retrofit is the alpha striking/burst damage king, its the most fragile of any escort though, so beware its a hit and run ship.
The Bug is hard to beat, its flexible, tough and can dish out almost as much damage as the Tactical Retrofit in a burst, but sustain more. Probably the best escort out there.
The Armitage is perhaps the lowest damage escort but is an incredible tank. Losing the Lt. Cmd Tact is painful for offense a few ways. This is an AoE ship, add point defense and torp defense with a full alpha strike and AoE abilities and it bursts up to 38k DPS with just moderate equipment. Its the only escort that you can actively choose to hamper some defense to trade up for offense though.
The Patrol escort is the poor man's bug, its less flexible, but decently durable, and a strong attack.
The MVAE has been kinda screwed with the science nerfs. The Lt. Cmd Science gave it flexibility no other escorts had with large damage potential and auxiliary functions. Right now its just less durable and no punch.
Advanced Escort has little reason to exist with the Patrol escort around.
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1 - The Bug. If you can get one, it's a beast.
2 - (tie) Fleet Patrol Escort (my primary).
2 - (tie) Fleet Heavy Escort Carrier (Armitage). The added Eng abilities and PD console make this stand apart from the pack, if/when you can get one. However, this is not an alpha-strike.
3 - Fleet Tac Escort Refit (Defiant/Sao Paulo). Alpha strikes swear by this ship, and I've seen it do some amazing things. But it's too squishy in my opinion. I consider the cloak useless in a pvp battle situation, and the quad-cannon is an energy-draining novelty.
4 - Patrol Escort. I consider this probably the best free ship in the game, when you hit 40, and it only gets better when you move up to the Fleet version.
5 - Sticks, stones, foul language, Oddysey's, and just about anything else.
6 - MVE. This thing doesn't know what it wants to be, and fails at both. I'm sure it's practical for most PVE/Episode missions and fun for lower levels, but if you're primarily doing STF's and PVP, there are much better options out there.
But again, like others have said, it's an opinion. You need to go with the ship that best suits your style of play. Escorts require a different mind set in the game...you have to choose your fights and dictate the terms of the battle, not simply Tank through whatever comes your way. Go with your gut, even if it goes against everything other people say...you can always try something different later.
honestly i need to respec(again) so going with a fleet ship would allow me to do that, but if its only a character unlock, no dice.
i think im going to sit on the Zen and think about it. i might just buy the modules off the exchange and run the fleet patrol and use the zen to try and get a galor or something. you have all been helpful and i think i have narrowed it to the Fleet Patrol or the Armitage. i prefer sustained DPS over Burst. and since i tend to aggro everything, i need a ship that can take a beating.
Matt
USS WARRIOR NCC 1720 Commanding Officer
Star Trek Gamers
The quad cannon got a boost post-season six, so they rock now.
I fly the retro defiant with the sao paulo skin all the time now, and use quad cannons. It is so much fun, and I do plenty of DPS. The turn rate However, the armitage is worth looking at, but the turn rate is not as great.
Matt
I am not sure about that... I flyied MVAE for a long time and I think it's a good ship. The tactical boff's layout is not good like the one on the AE but the lt cmd sci boff is a great advantage... you can use GW to group enemies and then fire with AoE attack, or you can use HE3 to fast recovery hull damage. It has 3 science consoles and this help having both shields capacity and shield regeneration rate. Moreover splitting using attack mode beta you gain a lot of manovrability ad +5 engine power level... This make the MVAE a very good ship for pve because you can have a lot of dps and great resistance and manovrability (more than tactcal escort retrofit).
However if you want more dps than you need a different tactical boffs layout, my favorite is the one used in AE... it is a good balance because I can use both CRF2 and CRF3 and still use also APO1... Finally AE+multivector console is better than MVAE (or AE).
notice that harmitage has the same tactical boffs layout of MVAE... and I do not think it's better or worst than MVAE... only different: harmitage has a hangar and a ensign eng slot, while MVAE has the console and a sci cmd ability.
If the fleet AE had the same boffs layout of MVAE I have no doubt about the final escort for my tactical toon.
Playing STO spamming FAW is like playing chess using always the computer's suggested moves
MVE is the best IMHO. The ability to gravity well and do crowd control easily offsets the advantages the other escorts have.
I can tank with it and deal a lot of DPS using phasers for the quad cannon, DHC, dbb, and quantum torpedo with three turrets on the back.
I use the same BOFF setup as the armitage and can do similar things with them. I don't like the armitage because the hangar refresh is twice as long as a two hangar carrier. Since you can't spam the pets when they die, the ability is kind of a waste since the only crowd control measure you have is eject warp plasma.
I like the standoff capability that GW provides and since the MVE and the HEC have the same boff layout..I prefer the MVE.
Defiant is good but doesn't have any special abilities. I would rather take the fleet patrol escort than a defiant...but if you want the fleet defiant...the reduced cost from getting the defiant z store variant may be enough to tip the scales in favor of the defiant.
Cheers
Edit: Is the fleet advanced escort a fleet version of the MVE?
For PVE, I agree, the MVAE is fine. My opinion is simply that in terms of PvP and STF's, (and PvE) there are better escorts out there. I may have been a little hard on the thing in my post, but it's primarily from a PvP point of view...I giggle a little inside when I see one because they are not as nearly a challenge compared to the other escorts. Fun to fly? Sure. Flexible due to the BO/Consoles? Sure! But if you're looking for a high-DPS ship that also has good survivability, that is not the one I would personally recommend.
Yes, you can take a fair amount of punishment in the Defiant, but you can take a bit more in an FPE, and still maintain a very good DPS. I have all the respect in the world for the Defiants, I flew one for a month myself. But I decided to play with the Patrol Escort a little, and found it was better, in my opinion, for a wider range of gameplay. The Fleet version improves it a little further. I guess I've always found it curious why the PE is so under-rated...maybe because it's free @40 and one of the earliest/cheapest ships in the Fleet store people assume it's junk? I've spent a fair amount of time in the different escorts, and as much as they all have great individual characteristics, I always come back to the FPE. But again, it's my opinion only, and the OP was asking for a high DPS ship that had some survivability, so I ranked that ship higher than others might...it gives/gets more bang for the buck.
And it's good to know that the Quad cannons were beefed up a little recently, there was quite a bit of disappointment with them. And I fully agree with your use of Phasers for that setup. I jumped off the AP bandwagon a while back....the energy types are equal in my mind, the problem is more with how players make use of them.
If u only pvp fleet mvae is decent but a random viral matrix now and then doesn't compare to what fleet armitage and fleet defiant can do.
As scbypwr said AE+MV console makes fleet mvae a joke ship.
It was a good call getting the fleet patrol escort. It's a pretty solid ship
I don't think its a joke ship if flied right...;D
I take the MVAE console off...it is useless and replace it with a borg console. I use three shield percetage increases, the borg console and a neutronium alloy for the eng and four phaser consoles in the tac slots.
I like the fleet patrol escort slightly more in specific situations but i find the MVAE to be spectacular in STF play because I use the GW with full spec in particle and graviton skill.
It may not be the best setup...but I find it MUCH more useful than the heavy escort carrier.
Anyone know what it is?
My tactical toon on AE+MV console deals about 8000 dps (averrage dps) and it can tank borg cubes (even a tactical one for a while).
I am not a pvp-er so I do not know if it's good or not, but I do not think it's a joke ship!
p.s.
the fleet AE is the fleet version of MVAE: same boffs layout, +10% hull, +10% shield, 5 tactical consoles, 3 science consoles and 2 eng consoles. It can use the MV console, but you have to purchase the MVAE to have the console.
Playing STO spamming FAW is like playing chess using always the computer's suggested moves
If you know basics of how to build a ship properly all the T5 Escorts are pretty equal with the exception of the the Armitage which needs a nerf to Runabout Tractor Beams. Obviously though, the Jem'hadar attack ship is the best ship in the game, it just has the perfect layout plus the best base stats.