Budget builds... You gotta start somewhere

lsloan31

So, as someone who is a little anal about getting the best possible spec I can for the level of player I am and my resources I've constantly upgraded since I first joined a week and a half or so ago. I'm mostly stuck to playing the missions with the odd PvE and took my first foray today into STF.

As a new player I understand that I'm not going to be cruising around in a super spec AP beam boat, which I guess is what I'll get to... eventually. In the meantime, I wonder if anyone has suggestions for some good budget builds or tips on getting better equipment on the cheap? I've already learned about replaying missions for level appropriate goods to bag myself some nice shields but I'd like to pack a little more punch with what I can afford.

I mostly use a star cruiser and a tactical escort refit so any suggestions to these would be welcomed!

(P.S. my jaw dropped a little at seeing prices on the exchange for things hence my starting this thread)

oldkirkfan

Do system patrols. Not only will this get you xp to level faster, but, you can get gear.

If you don't want the gear, sell it on the exchange and use the ec to get the gear you want.

duaths1

i think you should be able to get MKXI rare gear just by replaying FE missions.

look the ones with the equipment you need and replay till you have what you need.

xantris

http://www.stowiki.org/Episode_replay

Stay away from popular energy types if you want to save money. The difference in power is negligible anyway. Polaron, Plasma, and Tetryon are way cheaper to buy for. Plasma is my recommendation right now, as it leads directly into Romulan rep weapons and embassy consoles.

The Jem'hadar set is a good starting point for shield/deflector/engines. It synergies well with Polaron weapons.

latinumbar

Replay through the Dominion series. It's probably the best 'free' purple set gear available. Mark XI blue gear is good enough until you have enough dilithium to buy/craft the purple gear, or until you get through the rep system to buy Omega or Romulan gear.

olivia211

If you are big contributor to your fleet, it's not a bad idea to look at the fleet weapons. I know they still run about 10k dil per, but dil can often be easier to get and to hold onto than EC. I was reading over the previous posts and I think Tetryon is a good option. I have that on one of my ships and it does alright considering it's not a popular choice.

walshicus

Phased Tetryon weapons ended up being what I went with on my TAC alt. They're relatively cheap on the exchange for MK XII's and they use Tetryon consoles for stat boosts rather than Phaser consoles.

bohiap

I, wouldn't spend money on weapons on the exchange. Several of the storyline missions have weapons as rewards. There are also consoles and space sets available. You can also replay a mission to get the reward again, at a higher level, once you get promoted. I leveled up an alt and got her equipped this way and had no problem taking her into elite STFs.

If you're in a fleet, I'd suggest getting fleet weapons. My fleet has a tier 3 starbase and the fleet weapons we have are better than the Mk XII weapons I got from the old STF store.

If you're not in a fleet level up the reputation system. You'll be able to get some good weapons through there.

thratch1

bohiap wrote: »

If you're not in a fleet level up the reputation system. You'll be able to get some good weapons through there.

Not space weapons, sadly (unless you go for the Plasma weapons from the Romulan rep). Outside of a fleet, the best you'll probably be able to get are the Mk XI purples you get off the Dilithium store, until you either buy Mk XII's from the Exchange or get them as drops.