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Karfi Build Assistance
reginamala78
Member Posts: 4,593 Arc User
Pulling an old engineering character out of semi-retirement for S8 (and PVE stuff in general). My first KDF character and never respeced in 20 months of play, so her old layout is quite newbie and she's getting a full clean-slate rebuild. I was looking at doing a Kar'fi, tinkering with a few ideas and I ended up with kind of an odd hybrid of FAW-boat plus Support Cruiser plus Frigates. It looks interesting to me, but I've never been able to get my Kar'fi attempts to work quite right, always adequate but never 'this rocks!' Therefore thought I'd get some additional opinions.
IKS Gorrath
Notes and Questions:
Doffs would be 2 damage control, gravimetric sci, and tractor beam. Not sure what to put in the 5th, maybe another damage control or a blue warp-core-cleanse (purple out of my price range).
Anything with Fleet or Nukara in the name I don't actually own yet, this is all hypothetical so haven't dropped any dil just yet (and grinding out 1000 nukara marks isn't my idea of fun unless I'm certain).
Never really tried playing with any kind of mines in any significant capacity before, but the more I tinkered the more the Nukara Web Mines just seemed to 'fit.' I know they're much-hated in PVP, but can something as slow as a Karfi get much use out of them in PVE, or does that require nimbler maneuvering?
I went with tetryon as I started tinkering with Nukara stuff figuring 'why not?' and with how unpopular they are I can buy a higher grade of tac console for the same price, giving me more bang for my buck. Plus with the extra flow capacitors, the tetryon glider, and the doffed tractor beam, it might turn into a real shield-eater for my pets to exploit. Thats the theory anyways.
The Omega set is for the accuracy, the glider, the speed, and honestly because the Karfi's exhaust trail bugs me. I could alternate with Borg 11 deflector/engine for extra durability, or KHG 12 for extra aux energy and sci boosts, but I think that with my eng captain abilities and running high aux, I should be okay emphasizing offense. Maybe.
The Field Generator in the sci consoles is kind of a placeholder, a spot saved for mission specific gear like if I want to swap in an Aceton Assimilator or a Graviton Pulse Generator or whatever, and otherwise just fill the slot with extra shield capacity when nothing else is needed. So its out-of-place on purpose.
For the Fer'jai frigates, I'm just using the stock ones right now. Looking at the STO Wiki, it looks like the only difference between the Advanced and Elite is the rating of the CRF/THY? There anything else different between the two?
And one last one for people to chuckle at my indecisiveness. On my Omega rep I just can't decide what T4 passive to pick, the boosted shield regen or the hull damage proc, for a PVE carrier specialist.
This is all still in the planning stages. It looks okay to me, but I also have this feeling I'm missing something. Thoughts?
IKS Gorrath
Notes and Questions:
Doffs would be 2 damage control, gravimetric sci, and tractor beam. Not sure what to put in the 5th, maybe another damage control or a blue warp-core-cleanse (purple out of my price range).
Anything with Fleet or Nukara in the name I don't actually own yet, this is all hypothetical so haven't dropped any dil just yet (and grinding out 1000 nukara marks isn't my idea of fun unless I'm certain).
Never really tried playing with any kind of mines in any significant capacity before, but the more I tinkered the more the Nukara Web Mines just seemed to 'fit.' I know they're much-hated in PVP, but can something as slow as a Karfi get much use out of them in PVE, or does that require nimbler maneuvering?
I went with tetryon as I started tinkering with Nukara stuff figuring 'why not?' and with how unpopular they are I can buy a higher grade of tac console for the same price, giving me more bang for my buck. Plus with the extra flow capacitors, the tetryon glider, and the doffed tractor beam, it might turn into a real shield-eater for my pets to exploit. Thats the theory anyways.
The Omega set is for the accuracy, the glider, the speed, and honestly because the Karfi's exhaust trail bugs me. I could alternate with Borg 11 deflector/engine for extra durability, or KHG 12 for extra aux energy and sci boosts, but I think that with my eng captain abilities and running high aux, I should be okay emphasizing offense. Maybe.
The Field Generator in the sci consoles is kind of a placeholder, a spot saved for mission specific gear like if I want to swap in an Aceton Assimilator or a Graviton Pulse Generator or whatever, and otherwise just fill the slot with extra shield capacity when nothing else is needed. So its out-of-place on purpose.
For the Fer'jai frigates, I'm just using the stock ones right now. Looking at the STO Wiki, it looks like the only difference between the Advanced and Elite is the rating of the CRF/THY? There anything else different between the two?
And one last one for people to chuckle at my indecisiveness. On my Omega rep I just can't decide what T4 passive to pick, the boosted shield regen or the hull damage proc, for a PVE carrier specialist.
This is all still in the planning stages. It looks okay to me, but I also have this feeling I'm missing something. Thoughts?
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Comments
R.I.P
Gen
I'm sure your DPS is great, but as Kahless said, "a petaQ with high system mastery is still a petaQ." (Well, he should have said it...!)
I use 4x DBBs/3xTurrets... this allows me to keep some damage on my target all the time (which you should do as a carrier pilot, as your pets will attack near all the time as well). With Fire At Will, your DBBs can focus down on a target quite nicely.
I use Tac Team (with 2xTac Team accelerator DOFFs for near-100% uptime of my Tac Team). This is probably the most important thing for KarFi pilots, as you have really good shields but weak hull and few engineering slots. For the rest of my Tac I use BFAW3/BFAW1, and 2xAPB/D (tbh i think that my engineer uses one of each and my sci uses 2 deltas).
For ENG skills, you only have 2. I strongly recommend EP2Shields and AUX2SIF.
Sci you have some flexibility. IIRC I use 2x Tractor Beams, TSS2, HE3, and GW3
DOFFs: as above, 2x Tac Team DOFFs is manditory. Beyond that... I think I have a tractor doff to add a bit of shield drain to the 2 tractor beams. Not sure what the last 2 are... next time I'm IG I'll check and post here.
Equipment? 3x 30% damage consoles (I use plasma here and Rom Plasma weapons from the Rep store... carrier pilots really benefit from a disruptor proc to eliminate 10% resistance for your pets. Karfi doubly so, as you want really big number from your pet's tricobalts)
For sci consoles I think I have the usual: borg/rom/leech/rom +damage +flow cap console.
Eng? I think 1x nanodium and 1x TCC from the lobi store.
For equipment I use the MACO (err... adapted KHG) shields and omega engines/deflector for tetryon glider.
I have elite Frigs and they are really good. I mean really good. Lots of BIG numbers in elite STFs... which this ship does fantastic in. Also 4x aceton beams from the frigs shut down the borg bosses easily and help your team's survivability.
Oh and of course your antimatter warp core should add +5 weapon energy and stuff. For more DPS.
I use Antiproton beams (4 x [CrtH] [Dmg]x2] + 1 x [CrtD]x2[Dmg] + 1 x [Acc][CrtH][Dmg]) and fill the tactical consoles with Antiproton Mags (to boost the beam damage).
The advanced Fer?Jai Frigate adds to the damage with and comes with a nice set of abilities and weapons: Dual antiproton cannons + antiproton turret, Chroniton & Tricobalt Torpedos Tricobalt Mines. For the abilities Cannon: Rapid Fire II, Torpedo: High Yield II and Aceton Beam I.
The Quantum torpedo is not used as much, as I am spending most of the time broadsiding, so it is a bit of an effect to face nearly forward to launch it ? to me it does not feel very Star Trek without firing a few off (with high yield)!
I use the Honor Guard set to give me a nice boost (to name a few):
+18 Starship Structural Integrity (helps with the low hull)
+18 Starship Graviton Generators and +18 Starship Particle Generator (helps with the gravity well)
+3.8 Weapon, Shield and Auxiliary power (nice bonus to the power systems)
+7 additional Auxiliary power (this further helps with the science abilities ? we are +10.8 Aux)
+25% Bonus to Torpedo Damage (give my torpedo 25% additional damage, like having a tactical console)
With my current layout (and the honor guard shield) I have managed to achieve ~10,000 capacity.
The Graviton & Particle Generator science consoles add additional boosts to my gravity well, this goes nicely with the above (honor guard set)
The Assimilated Module (console) gives me the following:
+0.92% Critical Chance and +9.2% Critical Severity (helps with the Antiproton weapons)
+5 Weapon Power Setting (another boost to weapon power)
+5.1 Starship Hull Repair (helps with the low hull)
+23 Starship Graviton Generators (helps with the gravity well)
The Zero-Point Energy Conduit (console) gives me the following (key ones for me):
+1.8 Power to all subsystems (more power to all subsystems!)
+1.8% Critical Chance (helps with the Antiproton weapons)
I use the overcharged warp to put (yet) more power into the auxiliary system (which helps with the science abilities in general)
I have +100 weapon, +50 shields and 25 to engine/aux, my weapon reaches ~125+ and with the above power bonus have ~65+ shield power and ~40+ engine/aux (can?t remember the exact figures).
Have a look at the following link for the above details and bridge officer abilities ? I think they are logical. ? Most are to keep me or my allies alive, hit multiple targets, and focus damage on a single target and crowd control.
(Sorry about the long wall text ... take what is useful and remember to have fun it your build and do what you like!)
Edited: Was in a rush, updated with a full description in case anyone looks at this post for ideas
Shields:
I highly recommend Resilient Shields for the Kar'fi. The Kar'fi's low hull (escort class nowadays) needs the protection of only 5% bleedthrough, but the 1.2 shield mod allows for enough capacity and regen on Resilient Shields that the lower capacity of them isn't a big hindrance. I'm using Elite Fleet Resilient Shields on mine to great effect, and the Adapted KHG I was using before that did much better than standard KHG Mk XII on the Kar'fi. Note: If you use the Adapted KHG shields along with Plasmonic Leech, there is sometimes weird bouncing between power levels as you get hit and are shooting at the same time, thanks to the two procs replacing each other instead of stacking.
Deflector/engines:
I usually go with KHG on it, which has a nice blend of Science stuff and a bit of Structural Integrity for more hull HP on the Deflector, then a bunch of Efficient power bonuses on the engines, with +8.8 Aux and 25% torp damage on top for a two-piece. I don't think any set will really save you from having to hit Miracle Worker if you draw a large amount of aggro, though.
Consoles:
I'd move the Plasmonic Leech down to Sci, and then either add an RCS with [ResAll] for more speed, or a Neutronium with [HullHP] for more survivability. You might consider [HuH] or [SuH] on one or both of your Embassy Flow Caps, as a hull heal proc would be good since you have a general lack of hull heal on your BOffs, and I've found the Shield Heal proc nice to plug holes in Sci ship shields when stuff is on cooldown (though, shield heals should be less of an issue on your EPtW/S cycle build and you being an engineer RSF.)
BOff and DOff layout:
As I mentioned above, you have a lack of hull heals beyond a single HE and your MW as a Eng captain. Going with another HE somewhere would be a very good idea to heal up non-critical hull damage or if MW is on cooldown.
The EPtW and EPtS with DCEs is an idea I was considering myself as you can get very high up-times on both with 3x purple DCEs, and with EPS Manifold Efficiency (Engineering Trait) your power levels should be pretty nice.
Right now, I'm using one EPtS with 3x purple DCEs, and one Aux2SIF for the resists and hull heal at a nice fast pace, since I'm using it on a Tac and don't have MW to back me up. The main problem is that EPtS cooldown via the DCEs can fail at bad times. With 2x different EPt abilities the chance of proc'ing the DCEs is double, and even the 2x blue DCEs on my Avenger Fed side proc decently reliably.
For the suggestion of running Conn Officers for the Tac Team cooldown and Attack Patterns buff, I'd consider it critical for Tac captains as it means a large buff for APA and any patterns in BOffs, but I'm not sure it'd be that worthwhile for an Eng with only one APB. It does give the option of loading up another Ensign Tac power in a platform low on those, and I use my spare spot for a torp spread.
Pets:
Fer'jai hangars are very nice, particularly with the star ranking system giving advantages to higher HP pets. I'm not sure if there is any difference between the Advanced and Elite other than ability ranks, but rank 3 abilities should be able to fire off faster which would give an advantage worthwhile for just that, with extra damage being icing on the cake. I have a wing of Advanced Fer'jai on mine , quite nice, particularly if you can pick up the Wing Commander Trait off the Exchange, I need to upgrade them to Elite at some point, and pick up something better than Advanced Slavers for the other side.
Passives:
Grab boosted shield regen on Omega as shields are life for the Kar'fi.
Commander Science: Hazard Emitters I , Transfer Shield Strength II , Energy Siphon II , Energy Siphon III
Lt. Commander Tactical: Tactical Team I , Cannon Scatter Volley I , Torpedo Spread III
Lieutenant Tactical: Tactical Team I , Cannon Rapid Fire I
Lieutenant Engineer: Emergency Power to Shields I , Auxiliary to Structural Integrity I
Ensign Science: Polarized Hull I
Thanks to High Aux Power I had with help from a Warp Core that increased Aux Power based on my Weapons power and using 2 Energy Siphon powers I was able to have high Power levels constantly.
I used it in PvE and was doing fine but in Ker'rat I was having trouble staying alive from being attacked by multiple people. It requires a lot of expense for hangers and duty officers to get the Kar'Fi Battle Carrier to be great and I was not wanting to go to that expensive yet so I switched to Kamarag Battlecruiser Retrofit and have done a lot better with it using Aux to Battery (with free Technician Duty officers from B'Tran) build especially now with Cruiser Commanders.
My current setup, I run single cannons and turrets plus a torp, and it works fine on all the stationary and slow targets in ESTFs and the like, but on a ship that turns that slowly I just don't like how it feels, having to play the forward-reverse yoyo game because I can't turn quickly enough to make passes (maybe some people can pilot it that way, I can't). And thats with SINGLE cannons and their wide arc no less. Plus for slow, tough, and DHCs, I already have a separate tac in a Tor'kaht. So for those reasons, I'm definitely going to use 6 BAs as my primary offense, stay mobile and broadside like a tac-heavy cruiser (and definately not plasma- or disruptor-based; I've already done that several ways). Its just a matter of weapon #7 and setting my tac slots accordingly. I could go with mines like in my OP, nukara or tractor, but not sure how the speed would work out. I could use a KCB and add the Assimilated Module, then set my tac slots to APB2/APB1/FAW2/FAW1, but that seems kinda bland for a ship as unique as the Kar'fi. Could simply add a torpedo and add Spread 2, but with the broadsiding wouldn't see much use (wish there was a wide-angle torp KDF side). So yeah, following that logic is how I ended up with my posted potential setup, but I'm not dead-set on it so much as set on a couple things I'm trying to avoid because I've already done elsewhere.
Shields, I did think about the Covariant vs Resilient debate and the Kar'fi's thinner hull and my limited hull heals. I picked Covariant to get the most out of the shield modifier though, but that said I've been doing a couple runs with a Resilient and keeping an eye on my hull, seeing how noticeable a difference it makes.
The hull heal ability on fleet sci consoles is something I've never really looked at. What exactly does it do, just boost passive regeneration or a hull-heal proc like the Borg 2-piece. How much does it add?
The paired EPTx abilities with DCEs, its something already on my current build as well as several other ships, and something I know works. By having two abilities for the DCEs to check against, I get 4 (and potentially 6) proc chances per cycle, giving me two always-on abilities and a gap of only 1.5 seconds in my EPTS hardening. Much as I'd love to throw an Aux2SIF in there (particularly running decent aux), the extra 2(3) proc chances and 30 extra system energy is just too good to pass up. Not that I haven't thought about it.
Omega vs KHG vs Borg I think is largely gonna depend on the rest of my final setup. Fortunately I already have all 3 sets from pre-Reputation days, so I can swap at will. We'll just put the rest together then see what fits the best. Yay for hoarding.
As I said, thanks for the replies so far.
I wish Cryptic would come out with more heavy single cannons, as right now the only one is the Elachi Crescent Cannon, which you can only mount one of and costs 200 Lobi. It is nice, particularly with CSV.
The Heal on Embassy consoles is a proc like the Borg set. It's big enough that the proc is noticeable on a Fleet Tor'kaht. I haven't actually mounted a hull-heal one on a Kar'fi, as I was more worried about shields than anything. IIRC, it is a large heal-over-time with a red circle coming from your hull as its animation.
The Tachyokinetic Converter is great for more turnrate that can go in the Science spots, and it gives a small buff to Critical Hit and Critical Damage.
The Bioneural Infusion console helped my tanking a fair bit, as the Structural Integrity boosted my hull HP around 6-7%. On top of that, it has a large boost to Critical Damage (18%) and a boost to Subspace Decompiler. I bolted this console on at the same time as I ranked up Nukara for the 5% Hull bonus, so I can't isolate exactly how much this console helped on it's own, but I rather like the change. Though, I suppose if you're patient, you could just grab the Fleet Kar'fi from the Spire once S8 goes live and your fleet levels it.
I've got the Elachi Crescent Cannon too, which while I like it, I don't think would be worthwhile if you don't have Disruptors as your weapon type along with cannon abilities. The two-piece bonus to shield HP only came to about 400 per facing, which isn't very noticeable.
With the new set boosting Anti-Proton and the 360 degree beam array, Anti-Proton sounds like a solid type again that isn't plasma/disruptor. Which would make a build with a Chroniton Dual Beam Bank (Temporal Lobi set, buffed by Anti-Proton ) pretty interesting.
On the non-Lobi front, the forth-coming Voth rep has Proton/Polaron weaponary and consoles that add in a proc for Proton damage to offensive Sci powers, so you might consider Polaron to go with the new hybrid weapons to take advantage of the new proc easier.
The thought about Lobi has crossed my mind as well, but given the limited availability of lobi and that I don't think highly of lockboxes, and that running 10 total alts (with plus 2-3 more when the Cardi faction eventually launches), I think I'm gonna save those crystals for now. Much as I enjoy my engineers, I recognize where they stand in the grand metagame sadly.
Did look at the Obelisk as well, particularly since it comes with 2 of its 3 set pieces and Advanced pets, but ironically its so cruiser-like in the layout I specifically want to avoid it on this character. (Have a Fed eng where it'd just be more appropriate). Plus the thing just looks like Lego; sufficient for Starfleet, but wrong for the KDF, and I wanna stick to something sufficiently Klingon (and friends).
As for the protonic-polaron weaponry, bwuh? So its rep-based the way Rom Plasma / Refracting Tetryon is? And adds a proc to sci powers? And adds this new proc to a polaron base? Innnnnnnteresting. I guess I better copy someone to Tribble and take a look at this. Thanks for the heads up.
If you're confused now about the new proton stuff, wait until you see the Proton Experimental Weapon, which has set bonuses that let it use Beam Overload and Cannon Scatter Volley...
Heh they're just complicating the heck out of things aren't they? I just know I want to run beam arrays that aren't phaser/disruptor/plasma, and iffy on AP (console prices shooting up doesn't help). I know how I wanna set up my engineer, and after peeking on Tribble last night I know I want Gravity Well and to add Sci Team. So half of it is all pre-picked for me, now just to settle on other half.
Com.Sci: Sci Team I, Hazard Emit II, Grav Well I, Tyken's III
Lt.Com.Tact: Tac Team I, CSV I, CRF II
Lt.Tact: Tac Team I, CRF I
Lt.Eng: EmergPowerShield I, Eng Team II
Ens Sci: Polarize Hull I
Fore: Rapid Fire Missile Launcher, Three Polaron Turrets
Rear: Borg Cutting Beam, Two Polaron Turrets
Rule 64 Console, Tachyometric Console
Flow Capacitor, Borg Console, Plasmonic Leech, Phase Shift
Polaron boost, Cannon boost, Warhead boost
Red Matter Capacitor, Deuterium Charge, Subspace Modulator
Klingon Honor Guard Set XII
Elite Scorpion Fighters, Elite Ferjai Frigates
DOFFS: Hangar, Tyken's, Deflector, ...I forget
While it may not look like much, whenever we do group STFs, I end up number two for overall DPS. Every time. A small part of that is simply not dying. Losing that thirty seconds will kill your overall DPS listing, and an escort tends to die. Another part of this is consistent damage over time. An Escort will line up their ideal attack run, pop their buffs, and do hideous damage for that run. Then they circle back and about fifteen seconds later they do another nasty run. This means they usually get about two, maybe three good solid runs per minute. My carrier, however, is doing consistent damage the entire time. All weapons are firing all the time, since all but the rockets are 360, and the rockets are a full 180 and set to autofire. The always-cycling CRF on the turrets means that crits and procs are popping off the whole fight. The rockets may look like they do wimpy damage, but with consoles and set-piece buffs (and NO Boff skills!) they are doing over 1600 a pop, every two seconds for the entire engagement. Add in the damage from the elite pets, and things get messed up pretty badly. One more note about the rockets: Yes they are affected by the BOff skills, but don't do nearly the damage standard torps do. However, a Torpedo Spread III with the rockets looks like something out of Robotech! And yes, Elite frigates are noticeably better than Advanced frigates.
I definitely need to upgrade to Elite pets if you're claiming second place in DPS with a turret build. It's been a while since I've seen an escort doing 'passes' against things, usually it's sit-and-spam in ESTFs.
My thoughts:
-Get a 3rd DCE. With 3 purple DCE ant 2 EPtX powers it works most of the time.
-I am guessing you want the mines for the set bonus. I have no idea how good that will work but I suppose you can try. You might want to consider getting the cutting beam and the borg console.
-If you are getting embassy consoles and are not using plasma weapons you should get the heal procs.
-I would switch engine and deflector to the borg set. The heal proc is just nice and you do not really need the shield dmg from tet glider in pve.
-I would change the dispersal pattern to another faw or another beta.
-I don't think you need a field gen. But you should go with regen in the borg rep. And I would use the resilient fleet shield, as someone already mentioned.
-I would probably drop tractor beam. I never found much use for it in pve. Getting another HE might not be a bad idea.
My stomach is clear and my mind is full of bacon!
Yeah, its wacky all right. A build from the Dawn of STO. The main reason I haven't replaced the Cannon console is that I haven't found a purple XII Polaron to replace it with! I mostly hold the Eng/Sci teams as cures for debuffs, and use the tac teams when on the offensive. Between those low-level Eng/Sci skills plus the Eng Captain abilities means that this is surprisingly durable. Plus, for a ship that is not supposed to have a cloak, I can "cloak" three times running, which really irritates the Feds and keeps my hull in shape. Best part: I can keep shooting them in the face while cloaked!
The first few times, I had assumed my friend was joking when they put me at the top of the DPS list, but its been a regular thing. But yeah, if its a group of four escorts and me, then I probably won't be at the top! There's enough power abilities going that outside of combat, power levels are starting at 120/73/71/72 and once combat begins, it jumps to 125/100/100/100 even before throwing in RedMatter, Eng buffs, etc.
I've been talking to some Escort pilots, and about half of them sit-and-spam, and half do attack runs. The Runners stack up the buffs and do absurd damage during the run. The Spammers I've talked to tend to run the buffs in sequence, doing not quite as much spike damage, but do elevated levels over time. I'll not debate which is more effective, since I'm a carrier pilot....
BOFF skills: PH was unneeded against the Voth. On the other hand, DEFINITELY want to carry a Science Team when playing around the Dyson Sphere, or else spend a lot of time on subnuc timers and chroniton slows. Also TBR was much more handy than an extra TSS just for making their smaller ships and aceton drones go away.
Tetryon Glider drain, even with 170 in flow caps, amounted to 45 per facing per weapon per salvo, minus whatever amounts Power Insulators the Voth have, so a nice little extra but not much. The extra shield drain is always nice but since nothing else in the set really adds to the rest of my ship, not a good use of the gear slots. Guess we're going Borg set after all.
Weapons, the Tetryon were fun and the extra damage from better consoles and the Nukara set was handy. With the extra flow caps, the drain from proccing was pretty significant as well and made things slightly more vulnerable for frigate torps. Didn't get to test the Proton-Polaron weapons in comparison though, as I couldn't find the vendor saying 'here, try this new stuff out for free!' so have to hold judgement there. I guess we'll see.
Nukara Web Mines were pretty entertaining to use, but not especially efficient. When I could mine a spawn point they were funny and pretty much one-shot the smaller ships (from the mine damage and making them an easy target for my Fer'jai), but in active combat they were of much less use. With the Voth carrying so many AOE abilities, it was either dive-bomb at point blank or watch the antispam render my mines useless, and the Kar'fi isn't much of a dive-bomber. I may have to load up a quicker ship with them now (they're definitely fun), but not this toon. Guess we have to find something else for weapon #7; probably end up back with the KCB.
So an educational test run, and at least saved me dil and marks. But the hunt goes on.
You say to use disruptors for the dmg rst debuff, but what about the new vaadwaur stuff? Even with my tactical character with all his dmg buffs tends to have hard time with endgame enemy shields, so would being able to just bypass the shields be good? And if I did use disruptors, what kind? There are quite a few types...Maybe nanites disruptors?
As for weapons, these days you usually go for antiproton and stack crit. But honestly you can do fine regardless of your energy choice. When in doubt you can aways just pick the color you like.
When you say you have trouble with shields which enemies are you talking about?
My stomach is clear and my mind is full of bacon!