Everyone knows that the Galaxy line has had problems since it was launched. Looking over the available options however I have found a fairly simple solution that I would like to hear everyone's thoughts on.
What separates this line of ships from its brethren in the KDF, Rom and even Fed side is a lack of calmative effects that make it worth using, even at its highest end, the Galaxy X.
There is another ship very much like it however, a cousin from the KDF, the Bortasqu' in terms of what it can offer, just try to follow me for a sec.
The primary difference being the Galaxy X come with a weapon and equips a cloak while the Tactical Cruiser comes with a cloak and equips a weapon.
So, as a solution to fix the Galaxy line, what about making the Universal Consol's Antimatter Spread, Saucer Separation, and Cloak into a three part set?
The trick would be just what the bonuses would be, especially the two part bonus since both the Defiant and Avenger class ships can equip them.
Again borrowing from the Bortasqu I was thinking the two part console set bonus could be similar, but reflect Federation play style of balance that tips towards defense.
So what would you guys think of a two piece set bonus of something like this:
No turn or cool down bonus due to these three stats being boosted already having a decent impact.
For the three part set bonus however, to give the Galaxy X some teeth to actually bit with:
+2 Turn Rate
-30% cool down for Phaser Lance
part of me would LOVE to make the three part set bonus a battle cloak, but I know people would cry broken over the fear of the Galaxy X's prowess in PvP lol
So lets hear your thoughts.
"Why all the sales"?
And a merry freaking Christmas to you too, Ebenezer.
-jonsills, 'Cryptic Why the sales..instead of Fixing XP leveling and this game?'
I've seen some pretty crazy Gal-X pilots here recently, all she needs is a fleet version.
The problem with the Gal-R isn't the ship, its engineering powers. A Defiant rocks. An Intrepid is a little to specialized for my personal taste, but is still a fine ship. The problem with the Gal-R is it is built like the engineering version of that ship, but engineering powers need love.
Changing every ship in the game to revolve around poor skill selection is the wrong way to fix it. Make heavy engineering attractive and the Gal-R fixes itself.
I once again match my character. Behold the power of PINK!
I've seen some pretty crazy Gal-X pilots here recently, all she needs is a fleet version.
The problem with the Gal-R isn't the ship, its engineering powers. A Defiant rocks. An Intrepid is a little to specialized for my personal taste, but is still a fine ship. The problem with the Gal-R is it is built like the engineering version of that ship, but engineering powers need love.
Changing every ship in the game to revolve around poor skill selection is the wrong way to fix it. Make heavy engineering attractive and the Gal-R fixes itself.
Honestly this is just the 'easy' way I could think of to help the ship out (I.E. more likely to be done by cryptic). The Galaxy line follows the same standard as the bundle pack ships, it just lacks a bonus to help make it more viable. Boost its defense and turn rate and you have a very nice tank.
I cant for the life of me fathom why they made the Phaser Lance with a three minute cool down, that's not even close to how it was portrayed in the show (where I believe it fired four successive shots) so reducing that would go well.
The single biggest thing they could do to make this ship popular though? Switch the Lieutenant Commander Engineer and Lieutenant Tactical boff positions. That gives the ship some decent bite power.
"Why all the sales"?
And a merry freaking Christmas to you too, Ebenezer.
-jonsills, 'Cryptic Why the sales..instead of Fixing XP leveling and this game?'
The Galaxy does need some love, but at the same time we need to reflect at the advancements and age of the ship.
Firstly, an Excelsior should not be able to stand toe to toe with a Galaxy. The Galaxy should be able to win out. This currently seems questionable, in my opinion.
Secondly, the Galaxy X needs more tactical focus. It has a phaser lance. Why would Starfleet upgrade it with this if it was not supposed to be a warship, or dreadnought? Make the ship a bit more like the Avenger or Chimera. It needs more Bridge Officer focus on Tactical. At least swap the LT. Cmdr Engineering station with the Tacical LT. station.
Or offer more universal stations. It should keep it's Cmdr Engineering station but past that I think there should be more choice for Tactical focus - if desired.
The console layout could be similar to the Avenger too.
Thirdly, any federation ship we have seen with a cloak should have this built in. Not require a console slot to equip it. A Battle Cloak is not necessary as Fed's don't commonly utilise cloaks, but a basic inbuilt cloak for the Defiant and Galaxy X would be
I think the turn rate is a problem for the ship but this is a side effect of it's size so need not be altered. Its weapons layout 4/4 reflects this with 360 degree fire required.
I do not think the Galaxy X should be a real match for the Avenger, much like the Galaxy
should overpower the Excelsior. But the field need much closing up as we have to remember the Galaxy X was a futuristic ship.
I can see it now. The original Dreadnought Cruiser brought up to spec with the other three current Dreadnoughts in the game (The Scimitar, Jem'Hadar and Bulwark, all classified as Dreadnoughts, one a Warbird, one a Carrier and the other a Cruiser)
Saucer separation
BOff seating closer to the Avenger or Regent
Working hangar, mirroring the other Dreadnoughts
+1 Tac Console
That should bring the old Gal (hah) into line with the more modern Dreadnoughts.
To begin, the Excelsior is a T3 ship, the Galaxy is T4 and the Galaxy not only have a extra 5k hull but also a extra tac console, a extra forward weapon and the ensign eng gets bumped to Lt.
Its not questionable, the Galaxy is without question overall more capable.
We arent having this conversation of the T5 versions because neither are "stock" but retrofits and also it would be absurd to have T5 ships were one is decisively inferior.
*sigh*
The Galaxy-X is the based on Admiral Riker Enterprise-D, he had her taken out of the mothball to be refitted and serve as his flagship.
So here is your answer why did Starfleet "upgraded it" ... Riker did it because he wanted to command the Enterprise, the upgrades were tacked on it and thats why its a Frankenstein ship.
Its not going to stop being a Galaxy because they added parts to it, back in WW II some cargo ships and tankers were refitted to be Escort Carriers (HMS Activity for example) but they werent as capable as ships designed to be carriers, the Galaxy-X is exactly the same ... they added those parts but its still a Galaxy under all that.
the "Galaxy Dreadnought" is a nod to the Enterprise-D of that episode, we know why did Starfleet "upgraded" it, Riker pulled rank to command his old ship.
This is a argument for another tread that is dedicated to it, let me just say this isnt something you can just wrap in up in a single sentence.
T5 and Fleet ships should be roughly equal in power, you cannot argue against thgat in the same of some kind of "canon" that itself you cannot even prove because you never seen a Galaxy and a Excelsior fighting, we have in relation to a Excelsior and a Defiant.
Its not, its a Galaxy with added bits added on top of it ... its not a "futuristic ship" because its a Galaxy class, with added bits added on to it.
Only problem with your counterpoints is the fact that it was done in the show on at least one occasion. I wasn't the biggest fan of DS9 so I never paid very close attention, but I do recall an episode where a very much refit Excelsior fought the Defiant to a draw. This is the reason for the Excelsior being in the game now, its a cheap and simple design that's easily updated with modern cutting edge technology.
A Galaxy class is much larger, so such updates would likely be comparably more expensive yet also extensive.
The primary complaint people have with the Galaxy class over all is its lack of power, which they point at being the fault of the bridge officer positions. I don't really think that's the problem though, it can after all be just as nasty and powerful as it was in the show, it just isn't very...shiny about it. Its a very basic tank, nothing flashy or shiny. The Galaxy X is a little different in that it CAN be 'shiny'.
The overall problem with the Galaxy X though is quite simply the existence of the Odyssey. Make the Galaxy X to good and people don't have a reason to spend more money on Cryptic's Federation Dreadnought.
Personally I don't see why both cant be equal, just different in function or purpose. Make the Galaxy X very powerful and plenty though, while the Odyssey might be a little weaker in base stats, but have a lot more flexibility and options for how to play.
I've given up on the argument of inherent cloaking as KDF will fight tooth claw and nail to keep that out of the game for Fed, despite the fact it wouldn't effect PvP in the least. But I stand by the Galaxy X needing a facelift.
"Why all the sales"?
And a merry freaking Christmas to you too, Ebenezer.
-jonsills, 'Cryptic Why the sales..instead of Fixing XP leveling and this game?'
Better question is why do we need new threads twice a week on the Galaxy? This is not TNG,,,its an mmo game....no you will not get your beloved Ent D.....get over it.....close this thread mods....too many are on this topic already.
"If everyone used Macs, we'd be working on how to get to Alpha Centauri rather than how to get to Mars."
The fleet galaxy as is has the potential to be unkillable by any 1 ship. As such, its role is set as a support tank. To be honest, I think every ship should have a set role like this. Cruisers are tanks, escorts are attack ships, and sci ships buff/debuff everyone. These 3 ships working together have the ptential to be a deadly fleet, but ony if everyone can work together and stick to their roles. Instead of buffing the galaxy, how about bringing the other ships around to better fit the roles they seem to be designed for?
The fleet galaxy as is has the potential to be unkillable by any 1 ship. As such, its role is set as a support tank. To be honest, I think every ship should have a set role like this. Cruisers are tanks, escorts are attack ships, and sci ships buff/debuff everyone. These 3 ships working together have the ptential to be a deadly fleet, but ony if everyone can work together and stick to their roles. Instead of buffing the galaxy, how about bringing the other ships around to better fit the roles they seem to be designed for?
The problem is, the content in this game has no need for a support tank. With the possible exception of the Voth, the enemies aren't damaging enough that a well-built escort can't soak up the damage on its own, so threat holding is superfluous. And because doing damage is the only way to defeat your enemy, offense powers are far more consistently useful than defense or heal powers.
Season 8's helped give other classes a chance to shine, but there's still no role support tanks can play that isn't already covered by intelligent construction of some other ship that can also fight back better.
"Great War! / And I cannot take more! / Great tour! / I keep on marching on / I play the great score / There will be no encore / Great War! / The War to End All Wars"
— Sabaton, "Great War"
Better question is why do we need new threads twice a week on the Galaxy? This is not TNG,,,its an mmo game....no you will not get your beloved Ent D.....get over it.....close this thread mods....too many are on this topic already.
The other thread you are thinking about is close to a month and a half old, and was focused on the Cloaking Console, my attempt at helping the Galaxy X through that particular console. I gave up on that thread because the KDF player base has such a deep rooted issue against the Defiant and Avanger, neither of which I care about in the least.
After five weeks I figured that if that console will never be fixed simply because the Defiant and Avenger can use it, then a direct thread focused on the Galaxy X itself would be the only chance.
Personally I wish the Galaxy X and Defiant had different cloaking consoles, in name if only because then giving the X an innate cloak wouldn't bother anyone on the KDF side, the Avenger and Defiant would still have the fail cloak console while X has innate fail cloak.
That aside, the X has other problems to deal with that make it less attractive in the eyes of other players. People complain about the lackluster Engineering abilities, well, its a tank, you cant expect it to be more than that, and it doesn't need more than that all around, just a few touch ups.
Cut the cooldown on the Lance to 60 seconds and it'd sell pretty well for PvE play alone.
"Why all the sales"?
And a merry freaking Christmas to you too, Ebenezer.
-jonsills, 'Cryptic Why the sales..instead of Fixing XP leveling and this game?'
I discount posters that give KDF a bad name, I mean if you read some posts apparent the Fed "uniqueness" amounts to be targets for the KDF Master Race and their OP ships because even the Science ships, the only thing the Federation have that is unique they want to poach and on the same breath complain about how the KDF uniqueness is being taken away.
The Defiant at one point was the best Escort in the game, however that changed with influx of certain ships, the Defiant have long lost their crown to the "OP Bug" (a ship the KDF have as theoretical access as Feds) that ... well do I really need to point out how the JHAS beats pretty much every Escort in the game? Anyway ... and its position been undermined by additions to the shipyard that at this point the Defiant is just a escort.
However some KDF players complain about it because their shipyards are in a worst state and they havent got any real good Raptors, still they choose to ignore things as the Guramba as it kinda makes then hard to play the victim.
The Avenger/Mogh is a situation caused by one ship being clearly a +1 since you cannot fool math and the flip-flop of "well Cloak is TRIBBLE but hey, we still charge 2000 Zen for Feds because +15 damage for 5 seconds is thematic" ... simply the Mogh is a shinny example of why people end up calling Cryptic "lazy" because its a copy/paste with a build-in cloak with no attempt at least hiding the fact its a copy.
Plus, the Fleet Defiant only have +10% hull as the Fleet T'varo have +10% and 10% shields, the excuse was the Defiant gets 5 tactical consoles so its a balance but knowing Cryptic it will not be long they end up putting a 5 Tactical console Fleet ship.
No because the console functions in all 3 ships, they are not going to change because some people go their ships by the token or referral program (in the Galaxy-X case) and would end up with a worthless console if they did as they cannot dismiss and reclaim the ship.
Except that at one point both have the cloak as a innate ability, they also had 8 console slots.
However in December '11 most build-in abilities became consoles, the Galaxy-X gained a extra tactical console.
If you were in the Federation Cloak device you should know that my argument been the old balance pass from that patch no longer applies because of the new standard, we had 8 console ships (+ build in ability) and then we had 9 console ships and universal consoles, now we have 10 console ships and universal consoles.
Making Cloak build in would come with a price using the old balance, that is losing a tactical console.
When making arguments about things its good to know a bit about history, Cryptic can always fall back on the December '11 balance because few if any even bother to address the console slot number issue, to them its very easy to dismiss it as "they just want a free ability" because that point is rarely touched, in fact this is why I dont even like to discuss it because its flat out ignored and the discussion is veered into the usual course, derailment by factionalism.
No, the problem with the Galaxy-X is about the same as the Bortas ... people looking at "can mount dual cannons" and immediate try to fly the ship as a Defiant and since thats its not going to work we get the QQ ... this is what doomed the Bortas as the ship was villified because it wasnt a +10 turn rate battlecruiser.
The Galaxy-X have issues but its always going to be a niche ship, problem comes when people want easy mode on their favorite ships.
You cannot just give it the Javelin CO because they are diferent abilities, the Javelin can only be fired when in Siege Mode, the Quantum Field Focus Phaser also have a 3 minutes CO timer and requires a 45? targeting arc.
Its not by making a ship OP that you are helping it, the Galaxy-X problems are caused not only by design decisions beyond the ship but also by player bias.
I'm not labeling KDF players as a whole bad, just the PvP group, who happen to be the only ones vocal, or at least vocal and post more than once. No Fed player has ever complained about the idea of making the fail cloak inherent, which points back at that same rather vocal minority.
As for their shipyards being in worse shape. I offer this counterpoint. The Romulans have at top tier ten ships. But you only ever see two, the Scimitar and the Mogai. PvP players use the T'Liss Since launch I have yet to see a single person fly a Fleet D'deridex, and a very small number use the level 40 Warbird's you get (those who refuse to spend Zen)
That's three ships out of ten.
Now on the opposite side is the Federation, with the largest and most robust collection of ships in the game, yet out of thirty three tier five ships, 50% use the same two, the Odyssey and the Sovereign.
Having a huge selection isn't everything, as apparently Federation players have a very specific style of play they enjoy, one that thirty one of the thirty three ships in the game fail to deliver to half the players.
I still don't see why people complain about the Bortisqu, I have four DHC's and four turrets on mine, I just park at the start of a PvE mission and let the cannons rip. 10 minutes later I collect my money with the rest of my team and go about my merry way.
But this is all about balance and whatnot correct? Making things fair, understandable, though I fail to see how a 1 minute cool down for the Lance is OP, since I don't think people use that in PvP, same with the Vesta's deflector dish phaser, which takes 8 seconds to do its full damage.
"Why all the sales"?
And a merry freaking Christmas to you too, Ebenezer.
-jonsills, 'Cryptic Why the sales..instead of Fixing XP leveling and this game?'
Personally I don't get the 3 minute cool down, how that keeps things balanced. It restricts the use of the lance, that's not the same as balance, that limitation.
Balance would be giving it a negative side effect.
Say for example, giving it a 30 second cool down, but 100% power drain and a random ship injury for every use. That allows you to use the Lance while keeping it balanced, and likely a bit more realistic. Something like that has got to be murder on the EPS on a ship, not to mention its structural integrity. They could even introduce a temperature system to the game, overheat your relays and fry your systems for doing something dumb.
This could even be worked into the Fed cloak, as that's what happened to the first Fed ship with it, the Pegasus. It didn't blow up, just looked like it, the system overheated and plasma relays and blew the engines out.
There are plenty of ways to make things balanced, but cool down timers are just annoying more than anything else.
"Why all the sales"?
And a merry freaking Christmas to you too, Ebenezer.
-jonsills, 'Cryptic Why the sales..instead of Fixing XP leveling and this game?'
Comments
The problem with the Gal-R isn't the ship, its engineering powers. A Defiant rocks. An Intrepid is a little to specialized for my personal taste, but is still a fine ship. The problem with the Gal-R is it is built like the engineering version of that ship, but engineering powers need love.
Changing every ship in the game to revolve around poor skill selection is the wrong way to fix it. Make heavy engineering attractive and the Gal-R fixes itself.
Fleet Admiral Space Orphidian Possiblities Wizard
Honestly this is just the 'easy' way I could think of to help the ship out (I.E. more likely to be done by cryptic). The Galaxy line follows the same standard as the bundle pack ships, it just lacks a bonus to help make it more viable. Boost its defense and turn rate and you have a very nice tank.
I cant for the life of me fathom why they made the Phaser Lance with a three minute cool down, that's not even close to how it was portrayed in the show (where I believe it fired four successive shots) so reducing that would go well.
The single biggest thing they could do to make this ship popular though? Switch the Lieutenant Commander Engineer and Lieutenant Tactical boff positions. That gives the ship some decent bite power.
And a merry freaking Christmas to you too, Ebenezer.
-jonsills, 'Cryptic Why the sales..instead of Fixing XP leveling and this game?'
Firstly, an Excelsior should not be able to stand toe to toe with a Galaxy. The Galaxy should be able to win out. This currently seems questionable, in my opinion.
Secondly, the Galaxy X needs more tactical focus. It has a phaser lance. Why would Starfleet upgrade it with this if it was not supposed to be a warship, or dreadnought? Make the ship a bit more like the Avenger or Chimera. It needs more Bridge Officer focus on Tactical. At least swap the LT. Cmdr Engineering station with the Tacical LT. station.
Or offer more universal stations. It should keep it's Cmdr Engineering station but past that I think there should be more choice for Tactical focus - if desired.
The console layout could be similar to the Avenger too.
Thirdly, any federation ship we have seen with a cloak should have this built in. Not require a console slot to equip it. A Battle Cloak is not necessary as Fed's don't commonly utilise cloaks, but a basic inbuilt cloak for the Defiant and Galaxy X would be
I think the turn rate is a problem for the ship but this is a side effect of it's size so need not be altered. Its weapons layout 4/4 reflects this with 360 degree fire required.
I do not think the Galaxy X should be a real match for the Avenger, much like the Galaxy
should overpower the Excelsior. But the field need much closing up as we have to remember the Galaxy X was a futuristic ship.
A fleet variant of the ship would also be welcome
Saucer separation
BOff seating closer to the Avenger or Regent
Working hangar, mirroring the other Dreadnoughts
+1 Tac Console
That should bring the old Gal (hah) into line with the more modern Dreadnoughts.
Only problem with your counterpoints is the fact that it was done in the show on at least one occasion. I wasn't the biggest fan of DS9 so I never paid very close attention, but I do recall an episode where a very much refit Excelsior fought the Defiant to a draw. This is the reason for the Excelsior being in the game now, its a cheap and simple design that's easily updated with modern cutting edge technology.
A Galaxy class is much larger, so such updates would likely be comparably more expensive yet also extensive.
The primary complaint people have with the Galaxy class over all is its lack of power, which they point at being the fault of the bridge officer positions. I don't really think that's the problem though, it can after all be just as nasty and powerful as it was in the show, it just isn't very...shiny about it. Its a very basic tank, nothing flashy or shiny. The Galaxy X is a little different in that it CAN be 'shiny'.
The overall problem with the Galaxy X though is quite simply the existence of the Odyssey. Make the Galaxy X to good and people don't have a reason to spend more money on Cryptic's Federation Dreadnought.
Personally I don't see why both cant be equal, just different in function or purpose. Make the Galaxy X very powerful and plenty though, while the Odyssey might be a little weaker in base stats, but have a lot more flexibility and options for how to play.
I've given up on the argument of inherent cloaking as KDF will fight tooth claw and nail to keep that out of the game for Fed, despite the fact it wouldn't effect PvP in the least. But I stand by the Galaxy X needing a facelift.
And a merry freaking Christmas to you too, Ebenezer.
-jonsills, 'Cryptic Why the sales..instead of Fixing XP leveling and this game?'
The problem is, the content in this game has no need for a support tank. With the possible exception of the Voth, the enemies aren't damaging enough that a well-built escort can't soak up the damage on its own, so threat holding is superfluous. And because doing damage is the only way to defeat your enemy, offense powers are far more consistently useful than defense or heal powers.
Season 8's helped give other classes a chance to shine, but there's still no role support tanks can play that isn't already covered by intelligent construction of some other ship that can also fight back better.
— Sabaton, "Great War"
Check out https://unitedfederationofpla.net/s/
The other thread you are thinking about is close to a month and a half old, and was focused on the Cloaking Console, my attempt at helping the Galaxy X through that particular console. I gave up on that thread because the KDF player base has such a deep rooted issue against the Defiant and Avanger, neither of which I care about in the least.
After five weeks I figured that if that console will never be fixed simply because the Defiant and Avenger can use it, then a direct thread focused on the Galaxy X itself would be the only chance.
Personally I wish the Galaxy X and Defiant had different cloaking consoles, in name if only because then giving the X an innate cloak wouldn't bother anyone on the KDF side, the Avenger and Defiant would still have the fail cloak console while X has innate fail cloak.
That aside, the X has other problems to deal with that make it less attractive in the eyes of other players. People complain about the lackluster Engineering abilities, well, its a tank, you cant expect it to be more than that, and it doesn't need more than that all around, just a few touch ups.
Cut the cooldown on the Lance to 60 seconds and it'd sell pretty well for PvE play alone.
And a merry freaking Christmas to you too, Ebenezer.
-jonsills, 'Cryptic Why the sales..instead of Fixing XP leveling and this game?'
I'm not labeling KDF players as a whole bad, just the PvP group, who happen to be the only ones vocal, or at least vocal and post more than once. No Fed player has ever complained about the idea of making the fail cloak inherent, which points back at that same rather vocal minority.
As for their shipyards being in worse shape. I offer this counterpoint. The Romulans have at top tier ten ships. But you only ever see two, the Scimitar and the Mogai. PvP players use the T'Liss Since launch I have yet to see a single person fly a Fleet D'deridex, and a very small number use the level 40 Warbird's you get (those who refuse to spend Zen)
That's three ships out of ten.
Now on the opposite side is the Federation, with the largest and most robust collection of ships in the game, yet out of thirty three tier five ships, 50% use the same two, the Odyssey and the Sovereign.
Having a huge selection isn't everything, as apparently Federation players have a very specific style of play they enjoy, one that thirty one of the thirty three ships in the game fail to deliver to half the players.
I still don't see why people complain about the Bortisqu, I have four DHC's and four turrets on mine, I just park at the start of a PvE mission and let the cannons rip. 10 minutes later I collect my money with the rest of my team and go about my merry way.
But this is all about balance and whatnot correct? Making things fair, understandable, though I fail to see how a 1 minute cool down for the Lance is OP, since I don't think people use that in PvP, same with the Vesta's deflector dish phaser, which takes 8 seconds to do its full damage.
And a merry freaking Christmas to you too, Ebenezer.
-jonsills, 'Cryptic Why the sales..instead of Fixing XP leveling and this game?'
Balance would be giving it a negative side effect.
Say for example, giving it a 30 second cool down, but 100% power drain and a random ship injury for every use. That allows you to use the Lance while keeping it balanced, and likely a bit more realistic. Something like that has got to be murder on the EPS on a ship, not to mention its structural integrity. They could even introduce a temperature system to the game, overheat your relays and fry your systems for doing something dumb.
This could even be worked into the Fed cloak, as that's what happened to the first Fed ship with it, the Pegasus. It didn't blow up, just looked like it, the system overheated and plasma relays and blew the engines out.
There are plenty of ways to make things balanced, but cool down timers are just annoying more than anything else.
And a merry freaking Christmas to you too, Ebenezer.
-jonsills, 'Cryptic Why the sales..instead of Fixing XP leveling and this game?'