test content
Logo
What is the Arc Client?
Install Arc
DPS on a *very* tight budget.
topset
Member Posts: 0 Arc User
OK, I saw another thread around here somewhere about building a cheap escort. Personally I am a firm believer that piloting and boff ability matter more than weapons and equipment, and that to set up a high DPS ship capable of all PvE content in this game can be done on a small amount of money with relatively "bad" gear. Everything here was bought off the exchange, I set myself a limit of 1m EC. Anyone can grind pretty quickly.
So I decided to try, and was happy with the result on my first build. It does high DPS, it tanks well, and it performed admirably in a pug ISE (0 deaths, highest DPS and HPS (weirdly). So, here's the build and cost breakdown.
http://skillplanner.stoacademy.com/?build=budgetescort9_0
Ship and Equipment:
Ship - Mirror Patrol Escort (85k)
3x Plasma Turret Mk XI blue (120k total)
4x plasma DHCs Mk XI blue - (180k total)
Resilient Shield Array Mk XII blue cap/pla - (65k)
Positron Deflector - flowcaps, shield emitters, gravitons (70k)
Combat Engines (Aux, full, turn) - (65k)
Warp Core - W->S, Coil - (50k)
2x Neutronium XI green (20k total)
1x Monotanium XI blue - (10k)
2x Emitter Array XI blue - (20k total)
4x Plasma Infuser Mk X blue (120k total)
Total Cost: 805,000 EC. All in.
Build:
Commander Tactical: Tactical Team 1, AP Beta 1, Cannon Rapid Fire 2, AP Omega 3
Lt.Com Tactical: Tactical Team 1, AP Beta 1, Cannon Rapid Fire 2
Lt. Engineer: EPt Weapons 1, Aux 2 SIF 1
Ens. Engineer: EPt Shields 1
Lt. Science: TSS 1, Hazard Emitters 1
Doffs:
No special doffs were used in the making of this build. I have 5 on active ability, all green or blue that I had laying around:
2x Conn Officer (reduce evasive cooldown)
1x Warp Core Engineer (Chance of +power on EPt)
2x Shield Distro Officer (chance for +shields on BFI)
Notes:
So after I set this up, I took it into a public ISE to see how it would handle. I was actually expecting failed optionals and AFKers from all the crying I hear on the forum, but this was my first public STF in 6+ months. It was fine, everyone knew (roughly) what they were doing, got the optional, and the run time was 9 minutes 20 seconds. Did a repeat one hour later to find similar numbers.
[P]TopSet: 7056 DPS, [P]lcdrspocki: 4851 DPS, [P]Himura: 4660 DPS, [P]Kallel: 3640 DPS, [P]Romadais: 2764 DPS
7k DPS. For 800k. That's a bargain, and it just goes to show that you don't need to cry about P2W in PvE, you don't need to buy whatever is the hot flavor of the month, you don't *need* a fleetship or a lockbox ship.
All of the modifiers on the stuff I used can be seen on the stoacademy build page.
I can easily get more deeps out of this, scrapping EPTS and/or Aux2SIF.
DISCLAIMER: This toon has T2 nukara, T2 romulan and T3 omega reputation. All of my alts I play on have this (minus Nukara, don't bother with most). T2 reps are quick and easy, and T3 omega is essential for ground STFs if you don't have a maco set. I doubt the couple of space passives will make much of a difference bar the +3% crit chance from Romulan. Either way, it's tiny.
So I decided to try, and was happy with the result on my first build. It does high DPS, it tanks well, and it performed admirably in a pug ISE (0 deaths, highest DPS and HPS (weirdly). So, here's the build and cost breakdown.
http://skillplanner.stoacademy.com/?build=budgetescort9_0
Ship and Equipment:
Ship - Mirror Patrol Escort (85k)
3x Plasma Turret Mk XI blue (120k total)
4x plasma DHCs Mk XI blue - (180k total)
Resilient Shield Array Mk XII blue cap/pla - (65k)
Positron Deflector - flowcaps, shield emitters, gravitons (70k)
Combat Engines (Aux, full, turn) - (65k)
Warp Core - W->S, Coil - (50k)
2x Neutronium XI green (20k total)
1x Monotanium XI blue - (10k)
2x Emitter Array XI blue - (20k total)
4x Plasma Infuser Mk X blue (120k total)
Total Cost: 805,000 EC. All in.
Build:
Commander Tactical: Tactical Team 1, AP Beta 1, Cannon Rapid Fire 2, AP Omega 3
Lt.Com Tactical: Tactical Team 1, AP Beta 1, Cannon Rapid Fire 2
Lt. Engineer: EPt Weapons 1, Aux 2 SIF 1
Ens. Engineer: EPt Shields 1
Lt. Science: TSS 1, Hazard Emitters 1
Doffs:
No special doffs were used in the making of this build. I have 5 on active ability, all green or blue that I had laying around:
2x Conn Officer (reduce evasive cooldown)
1x Warp Core Engineer (Chance of +power on EPt)
2x Shield Distro Officer (chance for +shields on BFI)
Notes:
So after I set this up, I took it into a public ISE to see how it would handle. I was actually expecting failed optionals and AFKers from all the crying I hear on the forum, but this was my first public STF in 6+ months. It was fine, everyone knew (roughly) what they were doing, got the optional, and the run time was 9 minutes 20 seconds. Did a repeat one hour later to find similar numbers.
[P]TopSet: 7056 DPS, [P]lcdrspocki: 4851 DPS, [P]Himura: 4660 DPS, [P]Kallel: 3640 DPS, [P]Romadais: 2764 DPS
7k DPS. For 800k. That's a bargain, and it just goes to show that you don't need to cry about P2W in PvE, you don't need to buy whatever is the hot flavor of the month, you don't *need* a fleetship or a lockbox ship.
All of the modifiers on the stuff I used can be seen on the stoacademy build page.
I can easily get more deeps out of this, scrapping EPTS and/or Aux2SIF.
DISCLAIMER: This toon has T2 nukara, T2 romulan and T3 omega reputation. All of my alts I play on have this (minus Nukara, don't bother with most). T2 reps are quick and easy, and T3 omega is essential for ground STFs if you don't have a maco set. I doubt the couple of space passives will make much of a difference bar the +3% crit chance from Romulan. Either way, it's tiny.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Kirk's Protege.
Kirk's Protege.
Post edited by topset on
0
Comments
Have had some good suggestions so far so I'll include them here.
Replace the exchange engines with the free Efficient engines from the mission "Can't Remember Which"
Replace the Shield/Deflector/Engine (2 or 3) with the JemHadar set from the 2800 series of missions. Good luck running operation gamma back to back without wanting to kill someone, though.
Replace the cannons with XI blue cannons from Project Nighingale, if you're really that cheap.
Kirk's Protege.
Also, you can save 300k by running Project Nightingale in the romulan series and get non-bound mk XI [Acc]x2 plasma weapons as an end reward. I was surprised to see they were unbound, so if you have some other characters, it makes it easier to farm or you can pass them to a KDF for romulan character.
http://sto-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?t=295581
Try a low-budget cruiser build.
I've noticed Plasma can be expensive now days.
If I ask you a question it is not an insult but a genuine attempt to understand why.
When I insult you I won't be discreet about it, I will be precise and to the point stupid.
just think ahead, and plan on what you wanna use for a while. obviously the devs have focused on boosting plasma for romulans, so plasma will be the flavor for a while.
also focused on boosting effectiveness of sci and eng ships, thus the warp cores, embassy consoles, and dilithium mine consoles.
assuming you make 8k dilithium a day, thats 240k a month...traded in at 112 dil/zen...over 2100 zen a month...u want a cool ship, spend 40 days grinding for it. not very long...want fleet weapons...spend the rest of the 2nd month...want rep sets...spend another 2 months for multiple sets...
in 4 months time, u can have a 2500 zen ship, full fleet weapons, and 3-4 rep sets across borg, romulan, and nukara to choose from. at that point, you are pretty much set to run with the "10k" crowd easily...and all it took was playing the game...
1) Some players have a limited time in game and need to be effective with very little resources. If they follow this kind of recommendation, they will be worthy partners in elite STF even if they are not looking for top gear for themselves. This can only be good for everybody !
2) "When you farm to acquire top gear, you don't have top gear yet" (Confucius). Before acquiring top gear, everyone needs a solid, temporary build to accumulate the resources. I share Arctwolf's approach, acquiring everything in game by saving dilithium and credits, and I can confirm the timetable (a bit more than 1 month for a carefully selected zen ship). This build is the right place to start and the open door to thousands of dilithium and millions of credits.
3) When you think about your cheap escort, you don't just pick any ship. You learn the relevant options, the best traits,... This is a precious skill to acquire before your choices can throw away the fruits of several weeks of farming. A mirror patrol escort ? Plasma weaponry ? Neutronium consoles ? It's important to understand the reasons behind these (excellent) recommendations.
The original post is a very important contribution for all kinds of players (even those who don't read it will benefit from having worthy partners in STF). We see periodical complaints about players, but too rarely do we see someone trying to do something constructive (like this) about it !
PS: I let you pick the gauntlet of a low-cost cruiser build
It is not necessarily cheap, but with 200 Lobi you can upgrade the Jem set to Mk XII. I run this setup for fun on my Chimera Vet ship and I was surprised on how well it actually held its own. I run Elite STFs easily and really stay right up with the top dps in the group I am in.
It is not the end all be all, but I think it is definitely a cheap alternative.
FA Dion - Romulan Engineer Officer
FA Zophie Delwynn - Fed Science Officer
The biggest problem I see with this build is you are missing 1 weapon!!!
Also rare mkxi tac consoles you must have made out like a bandit or got lucky, because they usually sell for way more than 30k each. I'm not really buying this build, but it's not saying you can't build a budget ship!!!
Praetor of the -RTS- Romulan Tal Shiar fleet!
One change I'd make: Switch the Combat Engines you got off the Exchange for the quest reward Efficient Impulse Engines. The power boost can be regarded as minor, but more power is always useful. It's also free, so a saving.
This set up is actually pretty low for dps, add a torp, throw in scatter volley.
Completed Starbase, Embassy, Mine, Spire and No Win Scenario
Nothing to do anymore.
http://dtfleet.com/
Visit our Youtube channel
Probably just a typo, as his skill planner shows 3 turrets.
Also, note that he said Mk X, not XI. Pretty big difference in price.
why?
Resale - Buy cheap common gear, use it, dump it back on the exchange for resale - common gear generally depreciates only slightly based on demand, so generally offers at least an 80% refund on the initial cost
the only things I -would- shell out for purple of is the shield/engine/deflector and a blue warp core as they really do make all the difference
Get the Forums Enhancement Extension!
Ah! That's the thread that gave me the inspiration for this one, so yes. Just thought I'd try it myself
Thank you very much for the kind words! I did consider making a cheap cruiser, but I know absolutely nothing about cruisers so I wouldn't know where to start. I might try it anyway, just to see how it works. I should make a tank cruiser on a budget and a crowd control science ship on a budget to complete the set.
I didn't chose the Jem set for a couple of reasons: 1stly - I hate running those missions. I've done them so many times, I'd rather mash my head into a brick wall than run operation gamma twice more for bits of the jem set. This is supposed to be a cheap and easy build.
RE: "stay right up with the top dps in the group" Haven't I just shown that anyone can do that with a decently thought-out and constructed build with terrible gear? Why waste the extra IMO.
D'oh! Yes, sorry, 3 turrets not 2. Prices are correct, my labling was not.
The consoles are mark TEN not mark 11. Mark tens are worthless on the exchange.
Good suggestion, for sure do this if you want to re-run missions. Personally I wanted to make this build using exchange gear only that most people would just vendor if they picked it up. This is a good suggestion though!
Kirk's Protege.
MK XI Blue plasma consoles can be collected for free all day long by anyone with a L50 KDF toon from blood of the empire
http://sto.gamepedia.com/Mission:_Blood_of_the_Empire
And Since LOR you have two choices to get a mk XI uncommon field gen(one romulan one kdf)
http://sto.gamepedia.com/Mission:_Revelation
(looks like the wiki needs the kdf mission added still)
Agreed. I have 3-4 characters (third-string alts) that are at End Game and haven't the Fleet Resources and/or Rep Levels to get the Primo Gear, but rather than waste a ton of cash buying top gear from the Exchange, I settle for common/uncommon Mk X+ weapons, consoles, and warp cores (it's funny, often green components can be cheaper or as cheap as common). I'll usually spring for very rare Mk XI-XII shields, deflectors, and engines as the higher quality is noticeably better, and you can usually get purples Mk XI+ for only ~50-70k EC each.
And while I haven't parsed any of them, they do just fine in any Elite Space STF (we always get optionals, I rarely die, etc.).
Then, as I get appropriate drops, mission rewards, or rank up in fleet/reps, I swap out the lower gear for the better gear.
You can find/contact me in game as @PatricianVetinari. Playing STO since Feb 2010.
Thank you for your kind words, and this is spot on. Your piloting and your abilities count for so much of your overall DPS. Using engine batteries to get to the cube, minimise the time you're spent not shooting - getting as close to your target as you possibly can. These things matter so much more than XI purple consoles instead of XI blue, or getting fleet weapons instead of vendor trash.
I did some analysis of Cannon Damage v Range, and the results were pretty astounding. Did this in PvP with my good friend Hulk, I used a bare toon with no shield, no resistances of any kind - and he was firing unmodified mark 10 weapons bought from the exchange.
Damage reduction over range for CANNONS (not beams)
0-1km=0%
1-2km=3%
2-3km=10%
3-4km=18%
4-5km=25%
5-6km=35%
6-7km=40%
7-8km=45%
8-9km=55%
9-10km=60%
Just look at that. If you're used to flying at 8km away from your target, getting to 1km will DOUBLE your effective damage output.
Stop shooting gates from 9.5km away and doing 60% less damage than you should. Get up to 0km and hit that thing hard! (also as an interesting note, the distance located on your HUD is incorrect for the bottom of gates. It turns out that the 0km distance for shooting is located right at the top of the gate. So if you park yourself 1km away from the gate at the top you're doing 100% of your damge.
Park yourself at 1km underneath, and you're doing around 50-60% of your damage output, even though your hud says you are 1km away it treats you as if you were 8km away.
So remember that.
Piloting and abilities people, piloting and abilities!
Kirk's Protege.
I'm not saying it won't be viable, but I don't like a build like that and I don't think you'll get as much damage output. Torps (IMHO) are a waste of skill points, which can be better spent elsewhere. I also like using two copies of APB1 if I'm not running expensive AP doffs, because you can cycle through them all with no downtime, and always have an attack pattern up.
With AP doffs you just need one of each, but obviously that's not viable in a budget build like this as buying two doffs would set you back 40x the price of this whole ship lol.
If you want to use torps then I say go for it, if you want to scrap APB1 for TS2/HY2 then go for it, but I don't think it will be as effective in STFs. Still perfectly fine, though.
Kirk's Protege.
http://skillplanner.stoacademy.com/?build=rcktacfahcrevo_0
For the record, I haven't spent one red cent on this game - just careful planning and lots of hard work. It also helps to be part of a decent fleet that doesn't try to extort EC for every promotion (hint: I'm looking at you, Sol Vanguard!).
RCK
That's almost the same as mine. The *only* difference is the Lt. Science, the shield (I use Fleet RsB) and a few different consoles (1 more embassy).
It's a fine ship, it just doesn't suit my playstyle so it lives in the shipyard. Solid build though
Kirk's Protege.
Indeed. It's a great ship. I flew nothing but escorts for the first 2 years on this game. It was fun but got boring - point, pew-pew, point. Not much maneuvering, which is ironic since they're smaller ships (my fav is the Fleet Patrol).
I find cruisers more challenging - lots of "TRIBBLE to turn" and way more toys to play with in combat. Plus, it's fun smiling at all the NPCs and saying "is that all you've got?"
UPDATE: For example, tanking the CE at Elite level from 1-2K range. That was FUN!
RCK
The rewards for blood of the empire were nerfed in LoR, you can now only get a blue rcs console and a choice of 2 green ground disruptors.
NOOOO!
http://khaaan.com/