Questions from a returning player!

evilmarscapone

Hey STO! I just returned last month, trying out Romulus, and all the new rep systems. Pretty fun so far! That being said, there's a lot of new stuff that's left me baffled. There's very obviously been a power creep in my absence (since Nukara launched I believe) and, at least on my tactical character I've been left in the dust. So, hopefully I can get some things cleared up!

#1 - What is with these scimitars and other beam boats pulling huge DPS? Knocking out gates in STFs in less than a minute is absolutely insane!

#2 - I still pull decent DPS (I think), where can I find a DPS log?

#3 - Is it possible for someone with a fleet escort carrier to pull huge DPS like the scimitars? If so, is a beam build required or can I stick with cannons? I love cannons, and enjoy my MKXII Borg Anti-proton ones, especially since it seems like I can't get them anymore (Can I get more?)

#4 - I remember Peregrines (pets), while being squishy being good for bust DPS with some micromanagement. It seems like this is no longer the case. What would have the best utility along with pulling decent DPS?

#5 - Torps - still worthwhile in regards to DPS or is it better off to go all beams (or cannons) and put those skill points in other areas?

Anyways, thanks for helping me out!

mustrumridcully0

I am only recently returning, too, so I haven't figured it all out.

But yes, there has been some noticeable power creep thanks to DOFFs and reputations and new fleet gear.

If you want to pull DPS as a Tact in an Escort, you will probably want Dual Heavy Cannons plus a DBB with Beam Overoad 3. Though I've heard that with the current state of BFAW, people in general can also be pretty devestating with beams - but that might mean that Escorts are not ideal for it, since Cruisers have more weapon slots. (You might just want a cruiser that has a Lt.Cmdr Universal or Tactical slot.)

I am not sure about torpedoes. I think around the time I left, torps were not much en vogue, and I think newer enemies (like the Voth) tend to distribute shields more often and better than before, so your window of opportunity got smaller. If anything, torps would probably the alternative to ta DBB with BO.

bendalek

1) Scimitar's are just the latest in a long line of Power Creep Incarnate ships that Crypttc has introduced ...
To be sure you can fly or equip a Scimitar badly, but anyone with half decent knowledge can turn it into a "killing machine".

However most of the insane DPS, comes down to a couple of things, but mainly - Fleet Damage Consoles, DoFF's (Duty Officers), Reputation Consoles, and Romulan Racial + BoFF (Bridge Officer) bonuses - All of which adds up to ridiculously high Critical chance and severity.

2) There are several programs that can "parse" the Combat Log for you (it's part of the "chat" window, but it lists a TRIBBLE load of information) A quick web search (or a search on the Forums) will offer you several.

3) Maybe, maybe not ... In some ways, DPS is 20% ship, 20% gear and 60% Player skill and setup ... So yes you could conceivably pull more DPS than a Scimitar, but you wont be able to necessarily out DPS all Scimitar's.

Not sure about the Borg Anti-Proton cannons ... These days, it's all about DHC's (Dual Heavy Cannons) of various types.

I don't think the Borg ones are still available, but there are Elite Fleet Anti-Proton Dual Heavy Cannons. Of course you'll need to be in a fleet to by them, and you'll need a horrendous amount of Dilithium and Fleet Credits to pay for them.

4)The latest 'must have" pet, I believe, is the one available through the Romulan Reputation system.

5)Torps are still viable, and once again DoFF's come into play here, as there are certain ones that give a 'passive' cooldown reduction on the firing rate of Torpedo's. Plus you have several BoFF abilities and Captain Skills to improve them, so 'Torp Boats" and Torpedo's in general are still popular.

There sis also several new "specialty" Torpedo Launchers that offer vaarious bonuses.

lan451

evilmarscapone wrote: »

Hey STO! I just returned last month, trying out Romulus, and all the new rep systems. Pretty fun so far! That being said, there's a lot of new stuff that's left me baffled. There's very obviously been a power creep in my absence (since Nukara launched I believe) and, at least on my tactical character I've been left in the dust. So, hopefully I can get some things cleared up!

#1 - What is with these scimitars and other beam boats pulling huge DPS? Knocking out gates in STFs in less than a minute is absolutely insane!

Romulans are OP. Scimitar is the top ship in the game right now. That's normal for them.

#2 - I still pull decent DPS (I think), where can I find a DPS log?

You're going to need a parser for that. I don't haven any links off hand for that though, sorry.

#3 - Is it possible for someone with a fleet escort carrier to pull huge DPS like the scimitars? If so, is a beam build required or can I stick with cannons? I love cannons, and enjoy my MKXII Borg Anti-proton ones, especially since it seems like I can't get them anymore (Can I get more?)

No. You can still do fantastic DPS in your HEC, just not on the Scimitar level. Those ships are in a class of their own. You can stick with cannons if you like, they still do fine, just not on the level of beams anymore. As for AP weapons, you can get better ones from the fleet system. Those old [Borg] weapons never really worked properly, so they were removed from the game.

#4 - I remember Peregrines (pets), while being squishy being good for bust DPS with some micromanagement. It seems like this is no longer the case. What would have the best utility along with pulling decent DPS?

For DPS you can use elite scorpions from the Romulan rep system. For support/control I rather like elite Yellowstones. Can get those from the fleet system.

#5 - Torps - still worthwhile in regards to DPS or is it better off to go all beams (or cannons) and put those skill points in other areas?

There are some really good torpedoes out there. Some favorites are the Romulan Hyper-Plasma from the Romulan rep system, and the Gravimetric Photon torp from the Dyson rep system. I rather like using the grav torp with torpedo spread 3. It makes gravimetric rifts all over the place. It's very nice. In the end it all depends on your build though.

Anyways, thanks for helping me out!

Answers in red. Hope that helps a bit.

fatman592

1, 2, 3) Okay, so unless you are a Romulan Tactical captain, you will never be as powerful as they are. You are handicapped by not being able to slot all those Superior Op boffs and have innate critical boosting. Those Scimitars have about 31% base critical chance, a fed/klink can never achieve that. Short story, give up now on trying to keep up with the dps race.

2) I use this parser, suggested by one of my fleetmates.

3) If you're a Tactical captain in the FHEC, with the loadout you suggested (cannons, as long as they're DHCs), you're probably doing fine. And no, weapons with the [borg] proc are not available, and that's fine considering the proc never really worked. If you wish, you could use this tool and post your build for review. If you had top end non-fleet gear before, it has all been made obsolete by fleet gear.

4) For DPS, Elite Scorpions (obtained through romulan reputation) are the best available. They are pretty much better Peregrines. They are nice for augmenting dps since they fire high-yield plasma torps. Otherwise, Yellowstones (obtained only from fleets) are the only other good pet for the FHEC. They have tractor beams and eject warp plasma, which makes up for a lack of a Lt.Cmdr. sci boff slot on the FHEC. But Yellowstone AI is really dumb, they never use their abilities when you need them to. So it's kind of a TRIBBLE shoot, if you have advanced/elite peregrines, I'd just stick with those.

5) In PvE torps are useful. The only two worth having right now are the Romulan Hyper-Plasma launcher (Rom rep) and the Graviton Torp (Dyson Rep). It's pretty much a choice between wanting to do a little more dps with the hyper-torp or wanting crowd control with the grav-torp.

I went with this build on one of my alts, it works pretty well in ESTFs even if it is pretty basic. I bought the FHEC for my main along with those shiny Yellowstones and they're gathering dust at the moment.

Edit: I just I could have waited a few minutes and just said "what lan451 said". Oh well, at least you have the same advice from multiple sources.

noroblad

You can do the first episode in the dyson sphere chain twice to get the obleisk carrier antiproton 360 degree weapon and the warp core. The beam is one of the hardest hitting 360 weapons, the core is weak, but the 2 provide a 10% postmultiplier antiproton set bonus that, for 15 min of work, is not bad until you can do better.

Fleet weapons are cheap. They take about 20k fleet credits and 10k dil each. Most ships can get by with only 3 of these. Add one neat launcher up front, the beam I listed above, the omega rep cutting beam for a second "turret" (may take time to get this one), and later you can add a fleet turret but for now just use something from the exchange as turret dps isnt worth the currency until you have "extra". I do not know of these old weapons but probably their dps is good enough until you can upgrade? Get someone to link a fleet weapon of the same damage type and do a mouse-over compare of the dps value to see if yours are on-par.

Scimitars are strong. But feds have a choice of several 5 front weapon ships that should be able to get "very close" to scimitar dps using heavy cannon. Lacking good space officer traits, feds will lag behind the others a bit for damage. The health and general difficulty of PVE has not changed though, so you too can disintegrate a gate in seconds with a good ship and setup. The scim can do it a bit faster --- its hard to compete with the officers and general dps focus of the rom faction, but its not a doom and gloom why bother type scenario, you just won't be able to beat the top 5% of scim pilots. The rest, if you are a top pilot, you can meet or beat in dps.

Also you want to earn your rep, as you get passive bonuses from it, and access to gear. From your fleet, weapons and a shield are good purchases early on.

comtedeloach2

evilmarscapone wrote: »

Hey STO! I just returned last month, trying out Romulus, and all the new rep systems. Pretty fun so far! That being said, there's a lot of new stuff that's left me baffled. There's very obviously been a power creep in my absence (since Nukara launched I believe) and, at least on my tactical character I've been left in the dust. So, hopefully I can get some things cleared up!

#1 - What is with these scimitars and other beam boats pulling huge DPS? Knocking out gates in STFs in less than a minute is absolutely insane!

#2 - I still pull decent DPS (I think), where can I find a DPS log?

#3 - Is it possible for someone with a fleet escort carrier to pull huge DPS like the scimitars? If so, is a beam build required or can I stick with cannons? I love cannons, and enjoy my MKXII Borg Anti-proton ones, especially since it seems like I can't get them anymore (Can I get more?)

#4 - I remember Peregrines (pets), while being squishy being good for bust DPS with some micromanagement. It seems like this is no longer the case. What would have the best utility along with pulling decent DPS?

#5 - Torps - still worthwhile in regards to DPS or is it better off to go all beams (or cannons) and put those skill points in other areas?

Anyways, thanks for helping me out!

Power creep doesnt exist, a fleet would evolve to more power full ships. So, ships are more powerful now, and new ships have come out that are more powerful. its to be expected.

evilmarscapone

Thanks for all the responses everyone! I think I have an idea what I'm gonna do to fiddle with my gear/skills. Any other help is always welcome though.

Also, for some clarification, Here's my current build...which does have DHCs. I'm just derpy.