I was looking at them now that I have them unlocked, and I'm wondering.. just how Viable are these weapons?
The good side of them:
Proc for Plasma Dot
Proc for Damage Resist Debuff proc (Plasma/Disruptor Hybrids basically)
Down side:
Plasma Damage
EXPENSIVE dilithium cost at 28,540 EACH
Bind to character on pick up
Also, the [Dmg] Effect on them appears to increase both their Dot Proc damage and Debuff. Granted not by a lot. Looking at [Dmg]x2 it shows only a 1 point increase on both the Dot and the Debuff.. But could that be worth it?
This is something I am curious about for the PVP side of the game because of how Useless Plasma Energy weapons have been in the past.. Wondering if these might be worth it?
You think that your beta test was bad?
Think about this: American Football has been in open beta for 144 years. ~Kotaku
Plasma weapons are only viable on ships with lots of sci consoles... and for builds where you are willing to NOT run field gens or shield regen units.
As I see it you need to have at least 2 romulan embassy sci consoles for the extra plasma energy dmg. Better 3 or so to equal out the shield resists. However at that point base dmgs on say things like a Dual beam bank go up as well for nice juicy overloads.
Still I would say don't bother with the Romulan DHC... run good normal Plasma DHC... and Romulan Turrets to land the disruptor procs.
Even though it's plasma damage, having 2 embassy sci consoles with +plasma (on a tactical escort retrofit) and the zero-point energy conduit (it adds plasma damage too, I thought?) should help negate the plasma resistance on the STF sets.
Also, the Romulan prototype plasma array doesn't drain any power from weapons.
On my tactical officer, I use all cannons.
For my new science officer, I'm thinking I'll go with plasma cannons and turrets with the prototype plasma array. Though, I probably would just go with regular plasma weapons with [crtd]x3 or [crth]x3.
I have been tinkering with an all plasma build and so far its working fine in STF's and with minor changes to BOFF and DOFF layouts works pretty well in PVP as well....
but then I'm using the Full Hyper-plasma torp, experimental beam array and zero point console, as well as the Omega Torp, Cutting beam, and Assimilated Console....2 of the Embassy consoles +Plasma, a Plasma console for energy weapons and a plasma console for torps, oh and the Full Mk XII Adapted M.A.C.O. space set.... the build is solid... still needs a bit of focus but its getting there,
2x Romulan Plasma DHC's forward with the omega torp, and the Experimental Beam, Cutting Beam and Hyper Plasma Torp Aft... it works but Im still not sure what I wanna do with BOFFS for PVP I mean so much to work with there... Viral Matrix, Grav Well, Energy Siphon, Tyken's Rift I suppose I COULD replace the DHC's with DBB's and replace CRF II with BO III but that's just crazy talk man
Major Xi'Zzin I.R.W. Raptor's Claw Storm Eagle Class WarbirdFleet Ha'feh I have never trusted humans, and I never will
When does the plasma resist kick in on the set shields. Is it before any other resist is applied thereby skipping the cap, or is it in addition to any other resist and counts towards the cap, or is it in combination and skips the cap anyway?
That would be something you would want to know really, before you decided (without playtesting) what to do.
In some shape or form, fleet shields are on the way. And I bet they will be able to give comparable resists even when nerfed to what set shields give now.
But I guess what I'm saying is that if option 2 is what's happening you just may be looking at a target that's capped on res. Just like the rest of us. I doubt that anyone manages thier shield power settings based on all thier foes using plasma.
Shield damage May or May not be a bit worse. All the other nifty things about these weps can be joyful and fun and boosted as all the actual smart people pointed out.
Cheers and happy flying!
As an afterthought, the value of damage directly to the hull is grievously overlooked in this game by all but a few. It really is. That is the primary damage method of engineering and destroying the hull is how you win the game. Keep in mind that tac defeats the shields and THEN the hull. Science subverts the shields and THEN the hull. Engineers go right for the money shot! So maybe this may not be good for a Tac that was striving to chew past everyones shields, but could be neato for Eng that was looking to cook someone inside thier shields.
And I'm saying this because although not EVERY weapon or build is good for all playstyles, there are far more EFFECTIVE playstyles out there than are acutally utilized by players.
When does the plasma resist kick in on the set shields. Is it before any other resist is applied thereby skipping the cap, or is it in addition to any other resist and counts towards the cap, or is it in combination and skips the cap anyway?
That would be something you would want to know really, before you decided (without playtesting) what to do.
In some shape or form, fleet shields are on the way. And I bet they will be able to give comparable resists even when nerfed to what set shields give now.
But I guess what I'm saying is that if option 2 is what's happening you just may be looking at a target that's capped on res. Just like the rest of us. I doubt that anyone manages thier shield power settings based on all thier foes using plasma.
Shield damage May or May not be a bit worse. All the other nifty things about these weps can be joyful and fun and boosted as all the actual smart people pointed out.
Cheers and happy flying!
As an afterthought, the value of damage directly to the hull is grievously overlooked in this game by all but a few. It really is. That is the primary damage method of engineering and destroying the hull is how you win the game. Keep in mind that tac defeats the shields and THEN the hull. Science subverts the shields and THEN the hull. Engineers go right for the money shot! So maybe this may not be good for a Tac that was striving to chew past everyones shields, but could be neato for Eng that was looking to cook someone inside thier shields.
And I'm saying this because although not EVERY weapon or build is good for all playstyles, there are far more EFFECTIVE playstyles out there than are acutally utilized by players.
Actually, an Eng would likely never cook anyone inside their shields as they wouldn't be able to drive the burn damage high enough to overcome even moderate amounts of healing, say on the order of a periodic Hazard Emitters 1. In my experience, Plasma energy weapons are at their strongest when min/maxed around warp plasma that can kill a person before their counters for escaping it become available. Usually Hazard Emitters+Evasives as if you're in the EWP for more than about 2-3 ticks of HazEm it'll stop clearing, preventing you from inching your way out, AP: Omega due to the movement debuff immunity, and Ramming Speed though you'll want to be ready to spike your DR up to offset your flatlined defense score. YMMV, though.
If you feel Keel'el's effect is well designed, please, for your own safety, be very careful around shallow pools of water.
You can debate plasma resists until you're blue in the face but any good PVPer is going to have resists for all energy types. A plasma dot and disruptor proc, a set bonus to boost damage, sci consoles to boost damage, and it's not too hard to start favoring romulan plasma for your weaponry.
I know it's a popular belief that plasma sucks because of MACO shields, but if someone is wearing MACO shields full time in PVP, they are the least of your worries. Unless plasma becomes REALLY popular, in which case MACO will be smart... til your foe nullifies your resistance by changing their weapons. Defeating dedicated opponents is where the the glory is at, not players who just want to shoot at each other all day in kerrat so they can spew bullcrap at each other in chat.
Did you see it resisting the hull damage in the combat log, or just stacking the plasma icon on the shield res? Or did it stack a DIFFERENT icon on the shield res. I've seen a radiation icon up there. This is why I ask.
That would be some good info to have maybe you could post back later.
heres the thing about plasma weapons, their tac console buff the damage of an EWP dot, the energy weapon DOT of course, and also the projectile DOT of plasma torps and mines.
so for a DOT build, plasma weapons are just a natural fit. a tranny build will be more painful, but theres no supplemental energy weapon to go with them. thanks to season 7, there are several band aides to plasma weapon's stf shield problem. first the fleet advanced shields being about as good, or even better with the elites, making stf shields drop from 100% use to... lower then that. the embassy consoles acting like mini tac consoles for you, the romulan set 2 part giving a tac console like bonus, and the introduction of the groovy romulan plasma weapons, that make every dot hurt more because they have a disruptor proc too. slightly more to plasma damage skill from these items does not amount to a 20% damage buff at all though.
i focus mainly on EWP damage for my plasma builds, that can deal the highest % of my damage if i fly well, wile the energy weapon dot tends to be approximately 1% of my damage dealing. unfortunately, it seems to pathetic to mater at all. its hard to tell whats what in the log, but the DOT from rapidly fired plasma torps seems to be between 5 and 10% usually.
i do notice my energy weapons doing next to nothing sometimes, i know STF shields when i see them. but employing holds and plasma DOT makes them vulnerable enough to hit their shields enough to have an effect, or it ends up not mattering and they simply burn to death from 1.5-2k criting dot EWP they cant escape.
romulan plasma over normal plasma are a toss up with me. i like 3 crit mods, but the disruptor proc makes all dot's hurt that much more. they cost to much dil compared to what you can get off the exchange, its the cheapest energy type you can get there by far. i do like the slightly more green color it has. hopefully romulan npcs will get these weapons, like the cardied getting spiral wave.
With regards to the fleet elite shields, my fleet mate and I noticed that the shield resists the plasma DOT. We saw 5 stacks of the damage resistance.
I thought it was supposed to bypass shields and act directly on the hull?
the elite shield guards against all energy damage to shields, not hull. the aegis is what guards hull, 3 part aegis would be a good defense against dot actually.
I guess it also becomes debatable as to if [Dmg] is the best effect for Plasma, or Romulan Plasma Weapons because of the small increase to the Plasma Dot?
And if [Dmg] is a good effect, would that also make the Fleet Plasma Weapons with their [dmg]x3 Effect better?
You think that your beta test was bad?
Think about this: American Football has been in open beta for 144 years. ~Kotaku
I guess it also becomes debatable as to if [Dmg] is the best effect for Plasma, or Romulan Plasma Weapons because of the small increase to the Plasma Dot?
And if [Dmg] is a good effect, would that also make the Fleet Plasma Weapons with their [dmg]x3 Effect better?
since the energy weapon proc is like... 1% of your damage dealing, and the dam mod adds like an extra point or 2 of damage, no...
Did you see it resisting the hull damage in the combat log, or just stacking the plasma icon on the shield res? Or did it stack a DIFFERENT icon on the shield res. I've seen a radiation icon up there. This is why I ask.
That would be some good info to have maybe you could post back later.
If I recall, it said Plasma fire or something similar, indicating the DOT. I don't have plasma weapons, only the embassy sci consoles with +plasma. So, what we saw was 5 stacks of Phaser resistance and 5 stacks of Plasma fire.
Combat log did not differentiate. According to my fleet mate, in the span of two EPtS, there was phaser damage (my weapon type), 7k in kinetic damage (from the Omega T4 passive), and 2k in plasma damage (from the Embassy +plasma consoles). This was without buffs.
the elite shield guards against all energy damage to shields, not hull. the aegis is what guards hull, 3 part aegis would be a good defense against dot actually.
Right, but what I'm saying is that the plasma DOT from the +plasma embassy consoles, was being applied to the shields, hence the resistance stack.
I was under the impression that the plasma fire happens on the hull, not the shields. My fleet mate was not running the Aegis set.
Right, but what I'm saying is that the plasma DOT from the +plasma embassy consoles, was being applied to the shields, hence the resistance stack.
I was under the impression that the plasma fire happens on the hull, not the shields. My fleet mate was not running the Aegis set.
Was it a case that the DoT was actually being applied to the shields - or - that the DoT being applied to the hull was triggering resistance on the shields?
Shield X
Hull Y
Damage being done to Y, but stacking Resist on X.
That sort of thing...
So that not only was the damage from the weapon causing resists to stack, but the DoT that wasn't hitting the shields causing it stack faster...
Was it a case that the DoT was actually being applied to the shields - or - that the DoT being applied to the hull was triggering resistance on the shields?
Shield X
Hull Y
Damage being done to Y, but stacking Resist on X.
That sort of thing...
So that not only was the damage from the weapon causing resists to stack, but the DoT that wasn't hitting the shields causing it stack faster...
It's possible it was being applied to the hull and triggering the resistance on the shields. But, I don't see how....the shield resistance should be kicking in when there's damage to the shields, not the hull.
We didn't really check to see where the damage was being applied. It was more of a comparison on the differences between the Elite shields and the MACO shields were.
If the DOT is being applied to the hull and just triggering a resistance on the shields, then that I think that is great. It means it's stacking against something that it can't do anything about, and stacking less resistance to my phasers.
Comments
As I see it you need to have at least 2 romulan embassy sci consoles for the extra plasma energy dmg. Better 3 or so to equal out the shield resists. However at that point base dmgs on say things like a Dual beam bank go up as well for nice juicy overloads.
Still I would say don't bother with the Romulan DHC... run good normal Plasma DHC... and Romulan Turrets to land the disruptor procs.
Also, the Romulan prototype plasma array doesn't drain any power from weapons.
On my tactical officer, I use all cannons.
For my new science officer, I'm thinking I'll go with plasma cannons and turrets with the prototype plasma array. Though, I probably would just go with regular plasma weapons with [crtd]x3 or [crth]x3.
but then I'm using the Full Hyper-plasma torp, experimental beam array and zero point console, as well as the Omega Torp, Cutting beam, and Assimilated Console....2 of the Embassy consoles +Plasma, a Plasma console for energy weapons and a plasma console for torps, oh and the Full Mk XII Adapted M.A.C.O. space set.... the build is solid... still needs a bit of focus but its getting there,
2x Romulan Plasma DHC's forward with the omega torp, and the Experimental Beam, Cutting Beam and Hyper Plasma Torp Aft... it works but Im still not sure what I wanna do with BOFFS for PVP I mean so much to work with there... Viral Matrix, Grav Well, Energy Siphon, Tyken's Rift I suppose I COULD replace the DHC's with DBB's and replace CRF II with BO III but that's just crazy talk man
I.R.W. Raptor's Claw
Storm Eagle Class Warbird Fleet Ha'feh
I have never trusted humans, and I never will
That would be something you would want to know really, before you decided (without playtesting) what to do.
In some shape or form, fleet shields are on the way. And I bet they will be able to give comparable resists even when nerfed to what set shields give now.
But I guess what I'm saying is that if option 2 is what's happening you just may be looking at a target that's capped on res. Just like the rest of us. I doubt that anyone manages thier shield power settings based on all thier foes using plasma.
Shield damage May or May not be a bit worse. All the other nifty things about these weps can be joyful and fun and boosted as all the actual smart people pointed out.
Cheers and happy flying!
As an afterthought, the value of damage directly to the hull is grievously overlooked in this game by all but a few. It really is. That is the primary damage method of engineering and destroying the hull is how you win the game. Keep in mind that tac defeats the shields and THEN the hull. Science subverts the shields and THEN the hull. Engineers go right for the money shot! So maybe this may not be good for a Tac that was striving to chew past everyones shields, but could be neato for Eng that was looking to cook someone inside thier shields.
And I'm saying this because although not EVERY weapon or build is good for all playstyles, there are far more EFFECTIVE playstyles out there than are acutally utilized by players.
Actually, an Eng would likely never cook anyone inside their shields as they wouldn't be able to drive the burn damage high enough to overcome even moderate amounts of healing, say on the order of a periodic Hazard Emitters 1. In my experience, Plasma energy weapons are at their strongest when min/maxed around warp plasma that can kill a person before their counters for escaping it become available. Usually Hazard Emitters+Evasives as if you're in the EWP for more than about 2-3 ticks of HazEm it'll stop clearing, preventing you from inching your way out, AP: Omega due to the movement debuff immunity, and Ramming Speed though you'll want to be ready to spike your DR up to offset your flatlined defense score. YMMV, though.
I know it's a popular belief that plasma sucks because of MACO shields, but if someone is wearing MACO shields full time in PVP, they are the least of your worries. Unless plasma becomes REALLY popular, in which case MACO will be smart... til your foe nullifies your resistance by changing their weapons. Defeating dedicated opponents is where the the glory is at, not players who just want to shoot at each other all day in kerrat so they can spew bullcrap at each other in chat.
I thought it was supposed to bypass shields and act directly on the hull?
That would be some good info to have maybe you could post back later.
so for a DOT build, plasma weapons are just a natural fit. a tranny build will be more painful, but theres no supplemental energy weapon to go with them. thanks to season 7, there are several band aides to plasma weapon's stf shield problem. first the fleet advanced shields being about as good, or even better with the elites, making stf shields drop from 100% use to... lower then that. the embassy consoles acting like mini tac consoles for you, the romulan set 2 part giving a tac console like bonus, and the introduction of the groovy romulan plasma weapons, that make every dot hurt more because they have a disruptor proc too. slightly more to plasma damage skill from these items does not amount to a 20% damage buff at all though.
i focus mainly on EWP damage for my plasma builds, that can deal the highest % of my damage if i fly well, wile the energy weapon dot tends to be approximately 1% of my damage dealing. unfortunately, it seems to pathetic to mater at all. its hard to tell whats what in the log, but the DOT from rapidly fired plasma torps seems to be between 5 and 10% usually.
i do notice my energy weapons doing next to nothing sometimes, i know STF shields when i see them. but employing holds and plasma DOT makes them vulnerable enough to hit their shields enough to have an effect, or it ends up not mattering and they simply burn to death from 1.5-2k criting dot EWP they cant escape.
romulan plasma over normal plasma are a toss up with me. i like 3 crit mods, but the disruptor proc makes all dot's hurt that much more. they cost to much dil compared to what you can get off the exchange, its the cheapest energy type you can get there by far. i do like the slightly more green color it has. hopefully romulan npcs will get these weapons, like the cardied getting spiral wave.
the elite shield guards against all energy damage to shields, not hull. the aegis is what guards hull, 3 part aegis would be a good defense against dot actually.
And if [Dmg] is a good effect, would that also make the Fleet Plasma Weapons with their [dmg]x3 Effect better?
Think about this:
American Football has been in open beta for 144 years. ~Kotaku
since the energy weapon proc is like... 1% of your damage dealing, and the dam mod adds like an extra point or 2 of damage, no...
Combat log did not differentiate. According to my fleet mate, in the span of two EPtS, there was phaser damage (my weapon type), 7k in kinetic damage (from the Omega T4 passive), and 2k in plasma damage (from the Embassy +plasma consoles). This was without buffs.
Right, but what I'm saying is that the plasma DOT from the +plasma embassy consoles, was being applied to the shields, hence the resistance stack.
I was under the impression that the plasma fire happens on the hull, not the shields. My fleet mate was not running the Aegis set.
Was it a case that the DoT was actually being applied to the shields - or - that the DoT being applied to the hull was triggering resistance on the shields?
Shield X
Hull Y
Damage being done to Y, but stacking Resist on X.
That sort of thing...
So that not only was the damage from the weapon causing resists to stack, but the DoT that wasn't hitting the shields causing it stack faster...
We didn't really check to see where the damage was being applied. It was more of a comparison on the differences between the Elite shields and the MACO shields were.
If the DOT is being applied to the hull and just triggering a resistance on the shields, then that I think that is great. It means it's stacking against something that it can't do anything about, and stacking less resistance to my phasers.
no mater the context, that statement is true
please submit your complaint to OPVP as far as the shorthand for transphasics go.