No one, but my APB increases everyone's damage. Yes even mine and yours typically by more than even APO does in STFs.
But it adds nothing to your durability. Since I slant my cruiser towards DPS I find the extra protection afforded by cycling APO and APD makes a huge difference... while simultaneously adding to my damage potential. The rest of the team will have to learn to live with providing their own attack pattern bonuses lol.
APD is great, you just have to have aggro so you debuff the enemy for the team. That is, if there actually was a PvE content, where you could really need tanks.
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But it adds nothing to your durability. Since I slant my cruiser towards DPS I find the extra protection afforded by cycling APO and APD makes a huge difference... while simultaneously adding to my damage potential. The rest of the team will have to learn to live with providing their own attack pattern bonuses lol.
This amuses me.
I, the escort pilot packs APB because I don't need the defensive benefits of APO or APD typically.
You, the cruiser pilot finds the extra protection from them to make a huge difference I'm assuming in the defensive department.
Delta is overall better. In PVE, escort outdps everything, thus tanks anyway (because majority of "cruiser-tanks" cannot hold agro), debuffin all targets that shoot on it. In PvP everyone does spam TT and clears the debuff, so at least the defensive portion remain.
"Cryptic Studio’s Jack Emmert (2010): Microtransactions are the biggest bunch of nonsense. I like paying one fee and not worrying about it – like my cellphone. The world’s biggest MMO isn’t item based, even though the black market item GDP is bigger than Russia … microtransactions make me want to die.”
I, the escort pilot packs APB because I don't need the defensive benefits of APO or APD typically.
You, the cruiser pilot finds the extra protection from them to make a huge difference I'm assuming in the defensive department.
That makes perfect sense to me!
It's kind of a paradox. With the speed bonuses and possible resistance capabilities out there, there are several escort players I know there that out resist damage more than a well built cruiser and have no need to boost their defense, namely the Fleet Defiant.
Accounting from personal experience,I know that my Fleet Excel can barely scratch some of the escorts I spar with and I'm not exactly using bottom of the shelf weapons and consoles and builds out there, I'm sure that others can speak the same as well. The HEC is so much easier to damage stuff and almost as able to soak damage as my Fleet Excel'. The 10k or so hull difference and the extra crew don't seem to make as much of a difference as speed does in PvP. The idiom "speed is life" is a good idiom, but it seems to make more of a difference than other factors in STO space combat.
The idiom "speed is life" is a good idiom, but it seems to make more of a difference than other factors in STO space combat.
I often find that cruiser pilots have a BAD tendency to sit still.... my Regent never stops moving.... EVER. I always have it moving as fast as its turning will allow. Escorts get a free 10%, but cruisers can also get some defense from movement.
I often find that cruiser pilots have a BAD tendency to sit still.... my Regent never stops moving.... EVER. I always have it moving as fast as its turning will allow. Escorts get a free 10%, but cruisers can also get some defense from movement.
I'd just like to point out that the slower the turn rate, the greater the radius you must maintain in order to broadside a target, which directly translates into less damage dealt.
My fleet corsair (base turn 8) runs beams, but thanks to the plasmonic leech I'm also running somewhere around 60 power to engines with only 25 invested, so it moves fast and turns easily. Good luck with that on Fed side.
What's wrong with sitting still? I'd rather be jamming the innate/boff/console activation buttons than lazily holding down the W/A/S/D keys and hoping the enemy fires on the shield facing I want them to.
Not gonna happen. Although some crafty piloting is needed, it shouldn't be the primary concern when flying a cruiser. Your primary concerns should be healing teammates, and reallocating the shields to the correct facing (Tactical Team helps with this).
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What's wrong with sitting still? I'd rather be jamming the innate/boff/console activation buttons than lazily holding down the W/A/S/D keys and hoping the enemy fires on the shield facing I want them to.
Not gonna happen. Although some crafty piloting is needed, it shouldn't be the primary concern when flying a cruiser. Your primary concerns should be healing teammates, and reallocating the shields to the correct facing (Tactical Team helps with this).
Your taking nearly double the damage that someone with a positive defense score takes on average over time.
I often find that cruiser pilots have a BAD tendency to sit still.... my Regent never stops moving.... EVER. I always have it moving as fast as its turning will allow. Escorts get a free 10%, but cruisers can also get some defense from movement.
I agree with you. My Fleet Excel' doesn't stop moving. I do an imitation of erratic maneuvering , using both forward and reverse directions. But even with that, and a fully loaded Starship Maneuvers skill, the speeds that the cruisers move doesn't grant them too defensive bonus. Cruisers still take a ton more damage per hit than their escort counterparts, more than the 10k-ish hull points can provide for.
What's wrong with sitting still? I'd rather be jamming the innate/boff/console activation buttons than lazily holding down the W/A/S/D keys and hoping the enemy fires on the shield facing I want them to.
Not gonna happen. Although some crafty piloting is needed, it shouldn't be the primary concern when flying a cruiser. Your primary concerns should be healing teammates, and reallocating the shields to the correct facing (Tactical Team helps with this).
There's a phrase that comes to mind when I read this post, "sitting duck".
BTW, you can still hold down the "W/A/S/D" buttons and still use console abilities and the like.
I'd just like to point out that the slower the turn rate, the greater the radius you must maintain in order to broadside a target, which directly translates into less damage dealt.
Good point.
I usually need to slow down in a cruiser so I can make tighter turns and have more time on target. Stopping is probably a bad idea, but so is running full speed.
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I usually need to slow down in a cruiser so I can make tighter turns and have more time on target. Stopping is probably a bad idea, but so is running full speed.
That's why I tend to throw my ships in reverse from time to time, it can change the degree of turn needed to stay in arc, especially the front mounted weapons.
With the world of escort dominated PvP, you almost need to be able to run at full speed for a certain amount of time otherwise when you slow down its all to predictable. I'd love to be able to bring my Excel' back to an overall turn rate of more than 20 degrees per second at 100% throttle.
My fleet corsair (base turn 8) runs beams, but thanks to the plasmonic leech I'm also running somewhere around 60 power to engines with only 25 invested, so it moves fast and turns easily. Good luck with that on Fed side.
Unfortunately, our Cryptic overlords refuse to give us feddies the lolnergy console, so we do our turning the hard way, RCS consoles.
As far having a wide turning radius goes, I don't feel it. But then I do run an Aux2B build, 2 RCS consoles, and lots of APO, so my turning is definitely not indicative of most pilot's personal experience
There's a phrase that comes to mind when I read this post, "sitting duck".
BTW, you can still hold down the "W/A/S/D" buttons and still use console abilities and the like.
I didn't say stopping the engines 100% of the time. I stop the ship when I need to focus on other aspects of the PVP match.
Also, in support of the later comments, reversing the engines is a tactic I use as well. Many an escort pilot are befuddled by the sudden "disappearance" of my cruiser.
My point was, flying the ship shouldn't be the main concern, it should be managing your own shield/hull and your teammates shields/hull. If you have such a focus on steering, there's a couple other games that focus just on piloting skill which might appeal to you.
And no, I can't hold down the WASD keys and use console/boff/tray abilities. My keyboard only allows three to be held down. So if I'm heading, for example, 045 mark 45 (right and up), that only leaves me one button. In most cases, I need more (such as Alt+# for tray abilities).
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I didn't say stopping the engines 100% of the time. I stop the ship when I need to focus on other aspects of the PVP match.
Also, in support of the later comments, reversing the engines is a tactic I use as well. Many an escort pilot are befuddled by the sudden "disappearance" of my cruiser.
My point was, flying the ship shouldn't be the main concern, it should be managing your own shield/hull and your teammates shields/hull. If you have such a focus on steering, there's a couple other games that focus just on piloting skill which might appeal to you.
And no, I can't hold down the WASD keys and use console/boff/tray abilities. My keyboard only allows three to be held down. So if I'm heading, for example, 045 mark 45 (right and up), that only leaves me one button. In most cases, I need more (such as Alt+# for tray abilities).
Have you tried using the mouse for console/boff/tray abilities while steering? Thats what I tend to do.
On top of this you gain resistance to holds such as Tractor Beams.
Pop Emergency Power to Auxiliary beforehand, and you won't have to worry about turning.
Odyssey with 3-console, turning at 9.7 degree/sec. X2Damp at 58 Aux power jumped it to 12 degree/sec.
At 91 Aux, it jumped to 15.4.
Without the Chevron it should be at 23.4. That is extremely acceptable for a Cruiser.
I have space for at least 1 X2Damp on all of my Cruisers, and I tank exceedingly well, barring dying from lag or lucky torp crits, as is known to happen at times.
Have you tried using the mouse for console/boff/tray abilities while steering? Thats what I tend to do.
I do that, when there's not enough room in the 10-button row for my 11th ability, and so on. However, my mouse-hand isn't that fast. :P
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I do that, when there's not enough room in the 10-button row for my 11th ability, and so on. However, my mouse-hand isn't that fast. :P
Use the keypad.
Strangely it seem the new arrival (Ambassador) has made this topic largely obsolete.
This program, though reasonably normal at times, seems to have a strong affinity to classes belonging to the Cat 2.0 program. Questerius 2.7 will break down on occasion, resulting in garbage and nonsense messages whenever it occurs. Usually a hard reboot or pulling the plug solves the problem when that happens.
I do that, when there's not enough room in the 10-button row for my 11th ability, and so on. However, my mouse-hand isn't that fast. :P
Tell me about it, 10 slots per row, 3 visible rows, and i game with a 17 button mouse (12 of which are on the thumb) so I have 2 that I don't use..would be nice to have an extra 2 slots per row..
Strangely it seem the new arrival (Ambassador) has made this topic largely obsolete.
no it has not.
All the other cruisers still suffer badly, Beam arrays still remains horrible weapons, nothign has changed about the validity of our complains.
If anything, cryptic is trolling even more by essentially saying: look, the excel and amabassador are dirt old ships, but we will have them outperform galaxys, sovereigns and star cruisers anyway.
All the other cruisers still suffer badly, Beam arrays still remains horrible weapons, nothign has changed about the validity of our complains.
If anything, cryptic is trolling even more by essentially saying: look, the excel and amabassador are dirt old ships, but we will have them outperform galaxys, sovereigns and star cruisers anyway.
I concur. Galaxy-class ships should outperform the Excelsiors and Ambassadors - after all, the Galaxy-class was designed to replace them.
stardestroyer001, Admiral, Explorers Fury PvE/PvP Fleet | Retired PvP Player
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All the other cruisers still suffer badly, Beam arrays still remains horrible weapons, nothign has changed about the validity of our complains.
If anything, cryptic is trolling even more by essentially saying: look, the excel and ambassador are dirt old ships, but we will have them outperform Galaxys, sovereigns and star cruisers anyway.
Actually it has. The arrival of the Ambassador has changed the very core of the statement.
Now it is no longer "Compilation of why cruisers are UP", but "Compilation of why all cruisers except the Ambassador are UP".
The Ambassador has given players decent fire power and good survivability. Perhaps the DPS from beams are not on par with DHC yet, but with a good build they're not bad either.
I run beam sets on my Ambassador, Oddessy and Intrepid and beams are not bad at all.
The only thing which would be welcome is a somewhat lesser power drain.
As for the last statement about cryptic trolling that is incorrect as well. In fact it is the natural development of ships in games. Newly added ships will in general outperform older design ships.
This program, though reasonably normal at times, seems to have a strong affinity to classes belonging to the Cat 2.0 program. Questerius 2.7 will break down on occasion, resulting in garbage and nonsense messages whenever it occurs. Usually a hard reboot or pulling the plug solves the problem when that happens.
Strangely it seem the new arrival (Ambassador) has made this topic largely obsolete.
Um... what? Reynold and I disagree regularly on here, but for once I do agree with him. But in different ways. The Ambassador is a horrible ship, but nobody can seem to see it. It's almost an exact clone of the freebie sovereign, only with 500 more hp and the LtCmdr stations swapped.
The Ambassador is only better than the Sovereign for Tactical and Science captains. However for Engineering Captains, the Sovereign is still better. Reason being: Tactical and Science captains do not have access to EPtX3 abilities, and as such have less use for a LtCmdr Engineering slot than Engineering captains. Also a completely unnecessary and useless add-on: the Ambassador is fugly.
However, despite this ship's strengths (which I will admit it has a few), it's still horribly weak. If anything, it's just another demonstration of why cruisers are supposedly underpowered. Despite it's BOff change-up, it still can't even come close to other cruisers in damage output! (referencing the Tac Oddy, Regent (plus fleet variant) and... *throws up quietly in corner* the fleet excel)
So please, don't try to tell me this gimmick wannabe ship puts this thread to rest. It doesn't. In any way, shape, or form.
It is said the best weapon is one that is never fired. I disagree. The best weapon is one you only have to fire... once.
Um... what? The Ambassador is a horrible ship, but nobody can seem to see it. It's almost an exact clone of the freebie sovereign, only with 500 more hp and the LtCmdr stations swapped.
The Ambassador is only better than the Sovereign for Tactical and Science captains. However for Engineering Captains, the Sovereign is still better. Reason being: Tactical and Science captains do not have access to EPtX3 abilities, and as such have less use for a LtCmdr Engineering slot than Engineering captains.
Despite it's BOff change-up, it still can't even come close to other cruisers in damage output! (referencing the Tac Oddy, Regent (plus fleet variant) and... *throws up quietly in corner* the fleet excel)
So please, don't try to tell me this gimmick wannabe ship puts this thread to rest. It doesn't. In any way, shape, or form.
I totally agree. I was one of the biggest advocates of the Ambassador, but I fail to see why so many players are doing back flips over this ship. Is is NOT a good ship.
Now, Capt. Gecko "got his way" yet again. Think about it. The Galaxy bows to the Ambassador, yet the Ambassador bows to the Excelsior. Excelsior IS KING and it will ALWAYS BE KING, as long as Gecko has his way. I see absolutely no reason to believe the Fleet Ambassador will be on-par with the Fleet Excelsior. Call me pessimistic, but again, I don't see things changing.
I totally agree. I was one of the biggest advocates of the Ambassador, but I fail to see why so many players are doing back flips over this ship. Is is NOT a good ship.
Now, Capt. Gecko "got his way" yet again. Think about it. The Galaxy bows to the Ambassador, yet the Ambassador bows to the Excelsior. Excelsior IS KING and it will ALWAYS BE KING, as long as Gecko has his way. I see absolutely no reason to believe the Fleet Ambassador will be on-par with the Fleet Excelsior. Call me pessimistic, but again, I don't see things changing.
Fleet Excel is powerful, but it's not top dog in any given category. It can be out-tanked (Fleet Gal-R, Odyssey Ops Cruiser, etc), it can be out-damaged (Regent/Fleet Imperial, Odyssey Tactical Cruiser), and it can be out-sustained/out-healed (Odyssey Science Cruiser).
The negative: you have no ship that can surpass it on all 3 at the same time. It will always do better in at least one of the categories than any of the other cruiser class ships (usually damage output, despite it being horribly weak in science). It also is the most maneuverable fed tier 5 cruiser there is. Which I call BS on, but whatever... Which makes it the king of being great at everything, but not being amazing in anything.
And after giving the Fleet excel all this power, you know how they rationalized it? "It costs one more Fleet Ship Module than any other fleet ship." ... Seriously? Just... SERIOUSLY??? Here's the catch: If you have the VA version for 2500 zen, it still only costs 1. Argument NULL. -.-
You know what I just realized? The Fleet Excel and the Excel-R are both perfect Kirking ships. Their BOff layout and console layout are conducive to keeping yourself (and ONLY yourself) alive and doing damage. They have little to no room for support and team abilities. So if anything, those ships are promoting horrible cruiser captains who don't support their team-mates and heal them etc.
Add on to all that, it's a fugly ship design (IMO ONLY)...
*breathes deeply*
Ok, rant over. But in all honesty, I am still not entirely sure why the Excel was given all this power. It's an old ship design, and even though it can be retrofitted with newer tech, why? There are other designs that are better. That ship is supposed to really only be a test platform for newer cruiser tech. Not a a cruiser with the power level that it has.
It is said the best weapon is one that is never fired. I disagree. The best weapon is one you only have to fire... once.
You know what I just realized? The Fleet Excel and the Excel-R are both perfect Kirking ships. Their BOff layout and console layout are conducive to keeping yourself (and ONLY yourself) alive and doing damage. They have little to no room for support and team abilities. So if anything, those ships are promoting horrible cruiser captains who don't support their team-mates and heal them etc.
*Goes out to prove the Excelsior (Like the Sovi) can be a healboat*
Feel free to meet me in game if you need proof that it can be done
I usually need to slow down in a cruiser so I can make tighter turns and have more time on target. Stopping is probably a bad idea, but so is running full speed.
Its true of many ships, not just cruisers. Sudden decrease in throttle-hard turn-sudden increase in throttle makes a peghQu from a neghvar trn better.
Some have even made keybinds for the hard brake-pivot-acellerate manuever ease of use.
Its a good skill I need to pratice more.
Comments
No one, but my APB increases everyone's damage. Yes even mine and yours typically by more than even APO does in STFs.
But it adds nothing to your durability. Since I slant my cruiser towards DPS I find the extra protection afforded by cycling APO and APD makes a huge difference... while simultaneously adding to my damage potential. The rest of the team will have to learn to live with providing their own attack pattern bonuses lol.
This amuses me.
I, the escort pilot packs APB because I don't need the defensive benefits of APO or APD typically.
You, the cruiser pilot finds the extra protection from them to make a huge difference I'm assuming in the defensive department.
That makes perfect sense to me!
It's kind of a paradox. With the speed bonuses and possible resistance capabilities out there, there are several escort players I know there that out resist damage more than a well built cruiser and have no need to boost their defense, namely the Fleet Defiant.
Accounting from personal experience,I know that my Fleet Excel can barely scratch some of the escorts I spar with and I'm not exactly using bottom of the shelf weapons and consoles and builds out there, I'm sure that others can speak the same as well. The HEC is so much easier to damage stuff and almost as able to soak damage as my Fleet Excel'. The 10k or so hull difference and the extra crew don't seem to make as much of a difference as speed does in PvP. The idiom "speed is life" is a good idiom, but it seems to make more of a difference than other factors in STO space combat.
I often find that cruiser pilots have a BAD tendency to sit still.... my Regent never stops moving.... EVER. I always have it moving as fast as its turning will allow. Escorts get a free 10%, but cruisers can also get some defense from movement.
I'd just like to point out that the slower the turn rate, the greater the radius you must maintain in order to broadside a target, which directly translates into less damage dealt.
My fleet corsair (base turn 8) runs beams, but thanks to the plasmonic leech I'm also running somewhere around 60 power to engines with only 25 invested, so it moves fast and turns easily. Good luck with that on Fed side.
Not gonna happen. Although some crafty piloting is needed, it shouldn't be the primary concern when flying a cruiser. Your primary concerns should be healing teammates, and reallocating the shields to the correct facing (Tactical Team helps with this).
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Your taking nearly double the damage that someone with a positive defense score takes on average over time.
I agree with you. My Fleet Excel' doesn't stop moving. I do an imitation of erratic maneuvering , using both forward and reverse directions. But even with that, and a fully loaded Starship Maneuvers skill, the speeds that the cruisers move doesn't grant them too defensive bonus. Cruisers still take a ton more damage per hit than their escort counterparts, more than the 10k-ish hull points can provide for.
There's a phrase that comes to mind when I read this post, "sitting duck".
BTW, you can still hold down the "W/A/S/D" buttons and still use console abilities and the like.
Good point.
I usually need to slow down in a cruiser so I can make tighter turns and have more time on target. Stopping is probably a bad idea, but so is running full speed.
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That's why I tend to throw my ships in reverse from time to time, it can change the degree of turn needed to stay in arc, especially the front mounted weapons.
With the world of escort dominated PvP, you almost need to be able to run at full speed for a certain amount of time otherwise when you slow down its all to predictable. I'd love to be able to bring my Excel' back to an overall turn rate of more than 20 degrees per second at 100% throttle.
Unfortunately, our Cryptic overlords refuse to give us feddies the lolnergy console, so we do our turning the hard way, RCS consoles.
As far having a wide turning radius goes, I don't feel it. But then I do run an Aux2B build, 2 RCS consoles, and lots of APO, so my turning is definitely not indicative of most pilot's personal experience
I didn't say stopping the engines 100% of the time. I stop the ship when I need to focus on other aspects of the PVP match.
Also, in support of the later comments, reversing the engines is a tactic I use as well. Many an escort pilot are befuddled by the sudden "disappearance" of my cruiser.
My point was, flying the ship shouldn't be the main concern, it should be managing your own shield/hull and your teammates shields/hull. If you have such a focus on steering, there's a couple other games that focus just on piloting skill which might appeal to you.
And no, I can't hold down the WASD keys and use console/boff/tray abilities. My keyboard only allows three to be held down. So if I'm heading, for example, 045 mark 45 (right and up), that only leaves me one button. In most cases, I need more (such as Alt+# for tray abilities).
Missing the good ol' days of PvP: Legacy of Romulus to Season 9
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Have you tried using the mouse for console/boff/tray abilities while steering? Thats what I tend to do.
+Speed
+Turn Rate
+Kinetic Resist
+Crew Resist
+Crew Alive
Immunity to Disable.
On top of this you gain resistance to holds such as Tractor Beams.
Pop Emergency Power to Auxiliary beforehand, and you won't have to worry about turning.
Odyssey with 3-console, turning at 9.7 degree/sec. X2Damp at 58 Aux power jumped it to 12 degree/sec.
At 91 Aux, it jumped to 15.4.
Without the Chevron it should be at 23.4. That is extremely acceptable for a Cruiser.
I have space for at least 1 X2Damp on all of my Cruisers, and I tank exceedingly well, barring dying from lag or lucky torp crits, as is known to happen at times.
I do that, when there's not enough room in the 10-button row for my 11th ability, and so on. However, my mouse-hand isn't that fast. :P
Missing the good ol' days of PvP: Legacy of Romulus to Season 9
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Use the keypad.
Strangely it seem the new arrival (Ambassador) has made this topic largely obsolete.
Tell me about it, 10 slots per row, 3 visible rows, and i game with a 17 button mouse (12 of which are on the thumb) so I have 2 that I don't use..would be nice to have an extra 2 slots per row..
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no it has not.
All the other cruisers still suffer badly, Beam arrays still remains horrible weapons, nothign has changed about the validity of our complains.
If anything, cryptic is trolling even more by essentially saying: look, the excel and amabassador are dirt old ships, but we will have them outperform galaxys, sovereigns and star cruisers anyway.
I concur. Galaxy-class ships should outperform the Excelsiors and Ambassadors - after all, the Galaxy-class was designed to replace them.
Missing the good ol' days of PvP: Legacy of Romulus to Season 9
My List of Useful Links, Recently Updated November 25 2017!
Actually it has. The arrival of the Ambassador has changed the very core of the statement.
Now it is no longer "Compilation of why cruisers are UP", but "Compilation of why all cruisers except the Ambassador are UP".
The Ambassador has given players decent fire power and good survivability. Perhaps the DPS from beams are not on par with DHC yet, but with a good build they're not bad either.
I run beam sets on my Ambassador, Oddessy and Intrepid and beams are not bad at all.
The only thing which would be welcome is a somewhat lesser power drain.
As for the last statement about cryptic trolling that is incorrect as well. In fact it is the natural development of ships in games. Newly added ships will in general outperform older design ships.
Um... what? Reynold and I disagree regularly on here, but for once I do agree with him. But in different ways. The Ambassador is a horrible ship, but nobody can seem to see it. It's almost an exact clone of the freebie sovereign, only with 500 more hp and the LtCmdr stations swapped.
The Ambassador is only better than the Sovereign for Tactical and Science captains. However for Engineering Captains, the Sovereign is still better. Reason being: Tactical and Science captains do not have access to EPtX3 abilities, and as such have less use for a LtCmdr Engineering slot than Engineering captains. Also a completely unnecessary and useless add-on: the Ambassador is fugly.
However, despite this ship's strengths (which I will admit it has a few), it's still horribly weak. If anything, it's just another demonstration of why cruisers are supposedly underpowered. Despite it's BOff change-up, it still can't even come close to other cruisers in damage output! (referencing the Tac Oddy, Regent (plus fleet variant) and... *throws up quietly in corner* the fleet excel)
So please, don't try to tell me this gimmick wannabe ship puts this thread to rest. It doesn't. In any way, shape, or form.
I totally agree. I was one of the biggest advocates of the Ambassador, but I fail to see why so many players are doing back flips over this ship. Is is NOT a good ship.
Now, Capt. Gecko "got his way" yet again. Think about it. The Galaxy bows to the Ambassador, yet the Ambassador bows to the Excelsior. Excelsior IS KING and it will ALWAYS BE KING, as long as Gecko has his way. I see absolutely no reason to believe the Fleet Ambassador will be on-par with the Fleet Excelsior. Call me pessimistic, but again, I don't see things changing.
Fleet Excel is powerful, but it's not top dog in any given category. It can be out-tanked (Fleet Gal-R, Odyssey Ops Cruiser, etc), it can be out-damaged (Regent/Fleet Imperial, Odyssey Tactical Cruiser), and it can be out-sustained/out-healed (Odyssey Science Cruiser).
The negative: you have no ship that can surpass it on all 3 at the same time. It will always do better in at least one of the categories than any of the other cruiser class ships (usually damage output, despite it being horribly weak in science). It also is the most maneuverable fed tier 5 cruiser there is. Which I call BS on, but whatever... Which makes it the king of being great at everything, but not being amazing in anything.
And after giving the Fleet excel all this power, you know how they rationalized it? "It costs one more Fleet Ship Module than any other fleet ship." ... Seriously? Just... SERIOUSLY??? Here's the catch: If you have the VA version for 2500 zen, it still only costs 1. Argument NULL. -.-
You know what I just realized? The Fleet Excel and the Excel-R are both perfect Kirking ships. Their BOff layout and console layout are conducive to keeping yourself (and ONLY yourself) alive and doing damage. They have little to no room for support and team abilities. So if anything, those ships are promoting horrible cruiser captains who don't support their team-mates and heal them etc.
Add on to all that, it's a fugly ship design (IMO ONLY)...
*breathes deeply*
Ok, rant over. But in all honesty, I am still not entirely sure why the Excel was given all this power. It's an old ship design, and even though it can be retrofitted with newer tech, why? There are other designs that are better. That ship is supposed to really only be a test platform for newer cruiser tech. Not a a cruiser with the power level that it has.
*Goes out to prove the Excelsior (Like the Sovi) can be a healboat*
Feel free to meet me in game if you need proof that it can be done
Actually I haven't had much trouble Kirking in my new Ambassador.
Its true of many ships, not just cruisers. Sudden decrease in throttle-hard turn-sudden increase in throttle makes a peghQu from a neghvar trn better.
Some have even made keybinds for the hard brake-pivot-acellerate manuever ease of use.
Its a good skill I need to pratice more.
R.I.P