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Questions on Tier 2 Ship and STO in general
jestersage
Member Posts: 8 Arc User
Hi Everyone! While I am a new player in STO, I have been playing Champions Online for a while as a gold member. As of right now, I am havign trouble deciding on a Tier 2 ship.
My play style in PvE, thus far, is to hold out as long as possible while seeing if there are any debuff I can use to prolong my survival, and if not, attack the enemy before they finish my ship. I had been using the t1-escort with an engineer captain, and so far it's workable - but tier-1 in general does not provide much feel for any F2P games down the road.
I want to create one that is also good for PvP. However, while CO's customization seems to create only one type of PvP build (tank focus, with enough debuff, and then put DPS on), I realized that it is impossible in STO (due to lack of customizable or all-rounded class). As far as I am concern, I am mostly interested in either the cruiser or the science vessel, but I am still undecided which is my actual play style.
In addition, I would like to know if there are any point of going gold in STO. While CO's gold member allow freeform character, there doesn't seems to be much benefit to go gold in STO.
If both questions can be answered, that would be awesome.
My play style in PvE, thus far, is to hold out as long as possible while seeing if there are any debuff I can use to prolong my survival, and if not, attack the enemy before they finish my ship. I had been using the t1-escort with an engineer captain, and so far it's workable - but tier-1 in general does not provide much feel for any F2P games down the road.
I want to create one that is also good for PvP. However, while CO's customization seems to create only one type of PvP build (tank focus, with enough debuff, and then put DPS on), I realized that it is impossible in STO (due to lack of customizable or all-rounded class). As far as I am concern, I am mostly interested in either the cruiser or the science vessel, but I am still undecided which is my actual play style.
In addition, I would like to know if there are any point of going gold in STO. While CO's gold member allow freeform character, there doesn't seems to be much benefit to go gold in STO.
If both questions can be answered, that would be awesome.
Post edited by jestersage on
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Welcome!
I'm just gonna give a general advice and tell you how I use to do when starting out new.
Start with the damage or tank class (Tactical in this case) and don't try understand everything in the game on the first character. Just play and have fun, and by the time you are at top level many of the questions you had as a newb are already self answered.
At that point you probably also know if you enjoy the game and want to stay to make a more advanced class character.
As for the question about gold.
http://sto.perfectworld.com/about/freetoplay/features-matrix
Heres why.
In sto you the 1-49 levels go by so quickly most of the playerbase is at max level already so youd be well served to go through it as quickly as possible.
Start thinking about play style at lvl 40 which yll bewell served w a recon sci vessel for and offemsive edge, dssv for some healing potential.
From the cstore the vesta is in vogue rigjt now (whoch i own and love), but for tanking potential get a nebula,
For ultimate tank\dps... The sovereign! my fleet mate has a 60k+ hull and 50 perc resisy w the top end game gear.
Ultimate tank sci odduseu.
Interested in Role Playing? Join the 12th Fleet Science division!
You're pretty sucky until you hit Captain. And regardless, the game is very much based around the Tank/DPS/Status effect system. You'll get the most out of each role if you match careers and ships.
A lot of what you can and can't do will come down to the layout of the bridge officer slots on your ship. Since escorts are designed to put out damage, you won't be able to do much in regards to having some of the better science debuffs at your disposal since they usually come at ranks higher than what the science officer slot on an escort allows.
(To clarify: Cool Science Power X (CSPx) needs a science bridge officer to be at Lt. Commander. But Cool Escort Y only allows for a sole science station at one rank lower so you can't use CSPx on that ship.)
As stated above, you'll get it figured out pretty quick. But since the game's combat is all about DPS, sticking with an cannon escort all the way through won't hurt you. Then again, none of the roles will hurt you, fights will just take longer. The game is pretty friendly that way.
You know how in CO your hero that is so good at taking out Viper tends to get mushed in Hero Games? Same deal here. PvP requires a completely different ship build. However, if you build for PvP you will do fine in PvE.
Most of the builds you find on the forums are designed around PvP. It wouldn't hurt to copy them. But be warned: They all demand you have the best gear in the game, and that's gonna take a lot of grinding and exchange playing.
I've looked into it. The only benefit is that you get is the right to join the other Gold players in looking down your nose at Silver players for dirtying up the game with their unwashed selves.
At your current level, if choosing between a cruiser and science vessel, I would suggest a cruiser for tier 2, and at tier 3 or 4, try a science vessel, and then when you get to tier 5, you'll have a better idea which you prefer. The reason I suggest trying science vessels later is that you don't have access to the higher level science abilities until then, and a tier 2 science vessel plays pretty similarly to a cruiser.
As for gold membership, you can look at Features Matrix yourself, but a big reason you might be interested in at least a month of subscription is for all the respec tokens you'll get as you're levelling, and the inventory, bridge officer, and bank slots. Unlike CO, when you return to silver, you do not lose access to these benefits.
Here's the reason:
1) Nova class are balanced
2) The Tier 3 Science was ugly, while during Tier 4 I may go for Interprid/Defiant due to the horrid turn rate of Galaxy (but if there are nice thing about it, let me know).
Thanks for everyone's input. Also, if I go Gold, do I have to create a new character, or can i convert mine to gold?
Your account can be upgraded to gold if you so choose.
Also, your playstyle sounds similar to a Sci vessel but it also depends what what captain type you are. Sci/Sci in PvP tends to be the one with the 'control/debuff' abilities while cruisers are relegated to heal-bots and second rate damage dealers.
BTW, what's the purpose of crew number? If high crew number= hull repair rate, why is it that for example, the tier 3 science can't be a good tank? (and no, still won't pick it since it's ugly)
Crew number isn't really the key stat for tanking. What really matters is a) shield strength, b) total hull strength, or health points, and c) bridge officer or player active powers that do self-healing.
Like in Champions, the key thing is HP and power selection.
Science ships have very good shields, but weak hull. That is to say, the base hull health points are much lower than Cruisers. In some cases, in some encounters, a Science ship can tank. It's definitely possible. But not in all cases, because once your shields go down you'll crack like an egg.
The other thing is self-heals. Obviously a Science ship has more bridge officer slots for active Science powers. A Cruiser can slot more Engineering powers.
Science has a lot of heals, but these are designed as ally heals rather than dedicated self-heals. You CAN use those heals on yourself, of course...but the self-healing you get from Engineering powers is better, a Cruiser tank will almost certainly be carrying Auxillary to Structural Integrity Field III and two copies of Emergency Power to Shields. Possibly also Reverse Shield Polarity.
The comparable Science powers, Hazard Emitters and Transfer Shield Strength...don't really compare.
Finally, you really won't see many posts here discussing builds and such for the lower tiers. Generally speaking, most people focus on Tier 5 builds, because the PvE game is pretty easy here. Even for PvP, people look at Tier 5 for the most part.
Still, there's good advice and build threads out there, like this one for PvP, covering Science vessels and Cruisers. Given you're not Tier 5 yet, you'll have to modify those builds for your own use. But it should give you good starting points.
With all that said, do what you want to do. Do what you're comfortable with. If you want to build a really durable Science ship and are more comfortable with that than a Cruiser, go for it. There's certainly advantages to choosing Science over Cruiser in that role, for instance the greater turn rate of a Science vessel, the fact you can mix healing with useful debuffs, the free Target Subsystem powers, and so on.
The fact Science vessels can only carry six weapons at Tier 5 versus eight weapons for Cruisers does severely limit a Science vessel's damage output, though. This is not a huge issue in PvE, but I think it does matter in PvP.
I've downloaded stuff, took ages, and am trying to play the game but there is nothing on here tells you how. I just keep getting presented with a log in box. How do you actiually start playing?
I got my Lt. Commander now and I wondering what is the best ship...
The scort one seems to be the most resilient (best hull, strong fore attack and fast turn rate) but the design of these tier 2 scort ships are so starwars that gave me cancer, lol.. and the crew capacity worry me, only 50.
I am a Sci Officer, and i liked the Nova Class, but this ship is TOO weak =S ...
The Excalibur (cruiser) is pretty decent, and it have an overall balance, but the engineering thing only gives me a bit of shield, that actually I think its nearly USELESS compared with the sensor jamming (sci) and the toperdo yield (tac)...
What should i do?
Thanks
Crew is a non-stat that does nothing. In fact, a lower crew stat is better.
You should stop visiting Quinn's office next time and stop claiming those poison-pill promotion traps, unless you are a Gold member. For now, just pick one, they are all equally worthless. You simply don't have the resources or funding at this stage in the game to build a functioning ship, and you don't really need to since you will be out of that stage of the game within an hour or two.
At which point you will receive a free, no-trap Fisher-Price "My First Ambassador" from the Temporal Ambassador mission.
o.O... yep, Warzones in Ker'rat system is a pain in the TRIBBLE AND kligons can hide like cowards and strike when you are at low hull integrity figthing a borg cube =S
So I think I'll follow my heart ang get an Sci Nova class
(Why? Constitution class and others: DAFUQ 170 years old design???? - Sabre Class and others: Am I Playing a starwar game or something??)