Feeling lots o' hate toward NPC Romulen ships

talonkuro1

As the title says, I hate them a lot. the NPC ships need to be nerfed, neutered and then beamed out to space minus life support with as much hate and malice that can be mustered.

janusforbeare

...because?

I love fighting Rommies. Their hilariously useless plasma pinballs always make my day. You have to love a civilization that designs a weapon that destroys their own ships 90% of the time.

westx211

There's already a thread about this.

thecosmic1

The thing about STO is that as you advance in level the foes get harder. The player needs to learn to use their Boff, ship, and Captain abilities rather then ignoring them. You can simply pew-pew your way through the KDF but once you get to the Roms you need to understand the ship you're using and the best ways to take-out your adversaries. The game because about tactics as much as simply auto-firing attacks.

talonkuro1

Hadn't seen that one yet. It's getting hit with a tractor beam and then swarmed by those plasma balls o hate that gets me. Hate the things with a passion. The big ones and the bosses cause me grief, I just don't have enough mits and not really any good interrupts to deal with that. do tanks in this game have anything like that?

talonkuro1

been doing tactics and using boff abilities and my own. If I could move some of the UI panels around, that would make life a little easier.

thecosmic1

The first thing is, don't get close. Their Tractor Beam only works within 5km. If you stay farther then that from them they can't Tractor you. IE, tactics.

thecosmic1

If you're using an Escort, you can use Cannon Scatter Volley to shootdown the High-Yield Plasmas. If you're using a Cruiser try Beam: Fire At Will. Torpedo Spread also works.

thecosmic1

If you get hit with their Viral Matrix use your Engineering Team to clear it. You can also avoid that by staying 7km away.

thecosmic1

All of the above is me just saying that it's about tactics. You can't just pew-pew and assume they won't kill you. In KDF space you can do that. Once you advance to Rom space you need to think about what you're doing.

mandoknight89

Or, alternatively, use the highest level of Emergency Power to Shields and Transfer Shield Strength possible, then get really close (within a kilometer or so). When it starts shooting plasma torpedoes, use Brace For Impact and Hazard Emitters. Let the torpedoes hit you, then fly away. The D'deridex has now taken the splash damage from all three of its torpedoes, while you turned your ship effectively invulnerable to them. As the Romulans wonder why their ship is melting and yours isn't, help the fire put them out.

lordagamemnonb5

I used to hate the tractor happy Romulans.

Polarize Hull works wonders.

Now they are just a minor inconvenience.

Seriously, the D'deridexs use the same tactic, tractor than plasma torp spam.

At some point people need to give their brains a chance before begging for nerfs.

daveyny

When up against the Romulans...

Hazard Emitters & Polarize Hull (any level) are your Friends.

thecosmic1

Hazard Emitters are good for anything. They're just handy to have.

khayuung

I just APO... Or destroy them before they even open fire.

ursusmorologus

do unto others before they do unto you

tractor beam is a lvl 1 sci skill

lonnehart

I suggest equipping engines with the [Aux] property on them. Just in case they attempt to try and shut down your engines.

a3001

use Hazard Emitters, Attack pattern Omega, and Polarize Hull and STOP BAWWWWING!!!!

rattler2

daveyny wrote: »

When up against the Romulans...

Hazard Emitters & Polarize Hull (any level) are your Friends.

I never leave home without Polarize Hull because of the Romulans. They snag you, pop that and RUN FOR YOUR LIFE! Throw in a Beam Fire at Will or even dump Warp Plasma if they are on your tail and the Torps aren't a problem. Anything that can shoot down heavies and get you out of Tractor Beams is your friend against Warbirds.

darkelfofficer

Don't get in front of them. That's all you really have to do to destroy them rather handily.

curs0r

lordagamemnonb5 wrote: »

At some point people need to give their brains a chance before begging for nerfs.

That's just not the world we live in anymore. In or out of mmo-land.

markhawkman

Mogais are particularly nasty as they love to use evasive maneuvers to line up for attack runs. The easiest solution is to do it after they do.

stirling191

markhawkman wrote: »

Mogais are particularly nasty as they love to use evasive maneuvers to line up for attack runs. The easiest solution is to do it after they do.

As annoying as Mogais and D'Deridexes can be, they're some of the few enemy types that you have to out-think (as opposed to out-cheese in the case of Borg and Tholians). As far as I'm concerned, they're the benchmark for what all NPC ships should be brought to.

skonn

I'm too lazy to learn how to play, so Cryptic should nerf tac cubes! They tractor and torp you, draining your shields and giving you a plasma proc!

And because I'm sick of them, the whole game should change! No more cubes in Elite STF! :rolleyes:

Notice how ludicrous that sounds?

thecosmic1

I don't think we need to bash the OP. For the most part I can understand his predicament. The game doesn't really prepare you for changing tactics. You spend 15 levels flying in circles with your auto-attack set pew-pewing KDF AIs who seldom even get your shield below 50% before you have them killed.

Then you come into Rom space and all of a sudden foes are popping Attack Pattern and using Evasives and Tractors and HY torps and you can easily wonder WTF? How did I go from taking no damage to being destroyed this easily? The first 15 levels don't really prepare you for the idea that you need to play and think differently for the next 15.

markhawkman

thecosmic1 wrote: »

I don't think we need to bash the OP. For the most part I can understand his predicament. The game doesn't really prepare you for changing tactics. You spend 15 levels flying in circles with your auto-attack set pew-pewing KDF AIs who seldom even get your shield below 50% before you have them killed.

Then you come into Rom space and all of a sudden foes are popping Attack Pattern and using Evasives and Tractors and HY torps and you can easily wonder WTF? How did I go from taking no damage to being destroyed this easily? The first 15 levels don't really prepare you for the idea that you need to play and think differently for the next 15.

Too true. I got OWNED by romulan ships before I figured out how to counter their tactics.

topset

thecosmic1 wrote: »

The first thing is, don't get close. Their Tractor Beam only works within 5km. If you stay farther then that from them they can't Tractor you. IE, tactics.

This, exactly this.

Also, cosmic, did you really need to make 5 short couple-of-line posts within the space of 5 minutes? Can't you just write one post and say everything you need to say in it?

thecosmic1

topset wrote: »

Also, cosmic, did you really need to make 5 short couple-of-line posts within the space of 5 minutes? Can't you just write one post and say everything you need to say in it?

No. Because people tend to skim over longer posts and I wanted the OP to read each tactic.

thunderfoot

I used to hate the Rommies as well. Seemed like they didn't have to put any effort at all into sending me to Respawnville. Then I started paying attention to how they fight. They are tractor beam happy. They spawn those giant green humming pinwheels because if two of them hit your ship, you're done. And their Torpedo Salvo is just as deadly when using the smaller torps.
Some things which can make them not so formidable.

- Stay outside 5 km. No tractor can reach you outside 5 km.

- Stay off to a flank. If you're outside the 90 degree firing arc, the torps can't fire at you and the Rommies rely on beams then.

- Don't expect to one shot them, especially the D'deridex and most especially the 'hero' ships. These are the ones which have names. It's a matter of chipping away while making sure you don't lose too much health before they lose all of theirs. Pull off target once in while and heal yourself.

- Best of all, make sure you're at a higher level than required for the mission. Go and grind out some patrols. Play some Random Encounters against Rommies and Remans in the Psi Velorum Sector to gain some XP and expertise using good tactics and timing. This way, when the mission requires Commander level, you're playing it as a Captain. S'Harien's Swords is a royal pain in the butt to play when you're flying an Akira and are just barely leveled up enough to play it. The same mission is remarkably enjoyable and challenging when your toon is Captain level or above and flying a Galaxy class. Not the Zen Store ones. The one you earn for leveling up. Sure, the enemy matches the player's level but in this case you have enough hull and shield points where if you do something wrong, you usually avoid that trip down Respawn Lane.

opheliadraegonne

I had a Fleetmate stuck on the Romulan missions because he couldn't beat Warbirds. I offered him a few tips and they have not been an issue since.

1) Tractor beams have a range of 5km, it is easy to stay outside of this. This also gives you more time to react to Plasma Torps. Stay somewhere between 7-10 km for best results.

2) Fire at Will is really good for sweeping away Torpedoes. Use it as a counter when you see a spread come out.

3) Brace for Impact is designed to counter torpedo salvos. Do not just spam it for a defense buff, save it for when you are about to be hit by Torps you missed.

There all sorts of other tricks to use as well, but these are the tools I had when I was doing these missions. I think the first trick is the most important. Stop crowding enemy ships, learn spacing and zoning. Something years of competitive Street Fighter play taught me is to learn your ideal attack ranges and your opponents ideal attack ranges and play to maximize this in your favour. Pick a range best for you that limits your opponents options and play in a way that keeps that distance. The Warbird wants you close enough that it can tractor you, and have no time to respond to a torpedo salvo.

moronwmachinegun

Really before entering Romulan space you should get a message from Starfleet, or possibly your head BOFF, that details this information - bring hazard emitters, bring repulsors or BFAW or CSV, stay away from their front.

It would be educational instead of an "exercise left to the player" to figure out how to defeat them.