It's been bothering me a lot over the last couple of years, but with the recent changes to the Undine, I've become very frustrated with the TACTICS of the NPCs. Virtually every enemy we face is just an endless spam of tractors, immobilizes and science skills. It shouldn't be that way. I mean, look at all the tractor beams - Federation, Terran Empire, Romulans, Breen, Undine, Borg, Hirogen, Dominion... It goes on and on, yet in the actual Star Trek shows, only the Borg used tractors in combat with any regularity. They were never meant as weapons, yet in STO they're everywhere. It shouldn't be that way. Each race should be defined by particular tactics. Look at the Romulans. They were defined by one piece of equipment, the CLOAK, yet they NEVER USE IT.
What's needed is to revamp the NPC factions to reflect the way they were depicted in the shows.
I'll start with the Romulans. First thing, NO MORE TRACTORS. They NEVER used them on the shows. Romulans should be using hit and run tactics. Uncloak, fire, recloak. Fighting a Romulan ship should be like fighting a submarine in WW2. The difficulty is in FINDING them. It should be strategic, tactical combat. Maybe give them something like the Cloaked Decoy from Starfleet Battles. It would certainly be more interesting than just another tractor beam spammer.
Klingons have a different battle style. They are about speed and forward firepower. They're JOUSTERS. Klingon ships have the cloak for first striking, but their real strength is manueverability and speed. Most of their firepower should be forward facing. Again, NO MORE TRACTORS. Klingons also like personal combat, so more use of Boarding Parties is warranted.
Federation (and Terran Empire) ships are defined by resiliency. They can take a massive pounding. Most of Starfleet's ships use beam weapons, giving them a wide range of fire and fierce broadsides. In general, the depiction of Starfleet ships is fine, with the exception of excessive tractor beams. Starfleet also relies more on science tricks, so they should be one of the races doing this. NOT ALL SHOULD though.
The Tholians are known for their WEB. Thus, they are the only race noted for immobilizing their enemy. This makes them the only ones that should be using tractors and other immobilizing tech.
The Breen were noted for having weapons that disabled systems, so their weapons should be doing that.
The Dominion was noted for having weapons that ignored shields, so they should have some kind of sheild penetrating attacks (like Transphasic weapons). Also, they have two distinct design styles. The big ships are BIG and slow. They tend to be carriers (insofar as they carry bug ships). The small ships tend to be fragile, but fast and numerous. Once more, NO MORE TRACTORS.
The only time we saw an Orion ship in Star Trek was in Journey to Babel. In that episode, they were able to boost their power output at the cost of damaging themselves. This should be a defining attribute for them, that they can become immensely powerful for short periods, at the cost of damaging themselves. Otherwise, they seem fine.
We did see plenty of the Cardassians, but I'm not sure there was anything that defined their combat style. We never did see them use torpedoes to my recollection, so perhaps they shouldn't here either. Other than that, not sure what else to say.
We saw the Hirogen on Voyager, but I never watch that for fear of lowering my IQ. Someone else will have to explain what Hirogen tech and tactics were like.
We never did see a Gorn ship, though there was a reference to one in Arena. As for their tactics, the field is open. I could be open to the Gorn using tractors, as a reference to an old Star Fleet Battles tactic called the GORN ANCHOR. This was a tactic where you would grab an enemy with a tractor to prevent them using a wild weasel to distract plasma torpedoes, then firing plasma torps at close range. Of course, in STO the Gorn don't use plasma torpedoes, but I'd still be ok with them using tractors as a kind of homage.
The Borg are more or less fine, but very squishy. They should have a very high regeneration rate and their shields should become stronger as the battle proceeds. They should have "Adaptive" shields that will become immune to bleedthrough damage from any given weapon over time (eg. they might become more and more resistant to phasers until they become immune to phaser bleedthrough, but disruptors would still work - until they too were adapted to). Note that they would take damage normally if the shield is DOWN. They are the only other race that should be using tractor beams in combat.
The Undine... well, they're another Voyager creation, so I can't say much about them. However, they're from a universe filled with fluid, so I'm thinking they would use weapons and tactics that would take advantage of the fluid. I'm thinking of things like depth charges, that would detonate at proximity, and mines. Again though, this is an area others will have to tell me about.
So what's the point of all this? Just that all the enemies seem much the same now. It's just an endless deluge of tractors and science abilities (usually Gravity Well). Giving them all different tactical profiles makes each race different to fight, which makes them more interesting.
Want to give the Romulans science abilities? Stick to their tactical style. Give them Mask Energy Signature or Jam Sensors. Anything to let them hide as part of their hit and run tactic.
I think you see my point by now. Just some thoughts. I don't expect they'll change anything at this point, but hope springs eternal, and they DO seem to be making a genuine effort lately.
I didn't see much of Voyager but i think the Hirogen are pretty much accurate to the show.
In the few missions ( only 2 or 3 if I remember correctly) they are part of they use traps, stealth and ambushes both on ground and in space, where they work with decoys and minefields, jamming sensors and stuff like that.
As for the Undine, they were just overpowering everything. On TV they only appeared in a handfull of episodes and the only thing their ships did was blasting whole borgfleets to pieces. So that means their current in-game "tactics" are already an improvement form the base material, kinda.
Unfortunately, the only way Cryptic found to make NPCs appear difficult is to make them frustrating. A lot of CC to hide their extremely limited AI. They are just space zombies with a lot of CC. All they do is spam their skills randomly, and try to hug us.
Look at the Bio cruiser, using his teleport right away when first hit, and land 15-20km away from us. Unable to shoot, or do anything, and without the need to heal because I barely scratched him.
Or the spheres, before nerf, using EPtE at first damage, to run around the map and get stuck somewhere. What's the strategy here ? Are the Borg being scared ?
To make them threatening, sometimes they have an instakill weapons, like the Borg torp, the Voths torp or the planet killer weapon (which is more a 2hit to kill).
They can't make an AI that's more than "ram the player and shoot all the way, while spamming all the abilities", and you ask for more differences between enemies ? It's not going to happen, sadly.
If the NPCs did something along these lines it would vary the combat experience AND it would demonstrate the variety in powers and combos available ingame.
Yeah the Orions are almost entirely based on the show Enterprise, with very little to no influence from TOS or the animated series where they also appeared.
Orion inceptors were broken in two and became to seperate fighters, Orion Inceptor Fighters, and Orion Slavers.
The Orion Maurader was mention, but never show in the last Orion Enterprise episode, but clearly Harad's Barge wasthe major influence on its design.
Many people did not like the design, calling it the space pig, or space hippo, so the next Orion ships had a very different, almost naval ship shape, bug still incorperated many of the visual ques such as cannons and Orion Material, and Orion austetics, like the patterns on the hull (which if one gets a close look at an Orion Slaver they also have that detailing, making them one of the most beautiful fighters in the game).
I completely agree with the changes proposed by the OP here!
I think STO could benefit a lot from variety and difference in the gameplay mechanics of different NPC species. Currently is has turned into a boring zerging, I just blaze through any NPCs without any variaton, they all behave more or less the same. I just waltz in guns blazing without the necessity of any intelligent thought or change in my tactical aproach that is basically - go in, shoot, kill, rinse, repeat.
I would love some of these proposed changes to be implemented. I also find it very weird that Romulan and Klingon (to a lesser extent) ships just sit there not cloaked, waiting to be target practice.
I believe the engine just isn't designed to facilitate certain type of tactics. For example, for ambush cloak, you need some kind of NPC logic that could do a "fly-by" maneuver - approaching the target, firing a burst, and then moving away.
The first problem is - the NPC cannot really launch surprise attacks, because you can only draw aggro if you get close enough to them. But if they were to be cloaked in the vastness of space, it would be not unlikely you could just miss them entirely and never know that there was something waiting in ambush.
Then, NPCs don't seem to perform the kind of movement they'd need - approach and retreat. They seem to be good at keeping a stable distance, but if you want a "fly-by", the player seems to need to do it himself.
Maybe it's actually possible to add such behaviour to NPCs, but considering that neither Champions nor Startrek Online seems to contain NPCs that act like this, I have my doubts.
I think this ultimately stands in the way of Romulan and Klingon appropriate fightnig tactics.
The Borg -the thing I would change to make them "tougher" would just be changing the ship models. Where you see a Cube now, you should only have a Sphere. A Sphere would be replaced by a Probe, and for the Probe, you would have a tiny shuttle-sized craft. They would suddenly appear much more powerful.
A Cube would be equivalent to a Tactical Cube, and a Tactical Cube would replace the "B'Ger" models or the Diamond.
But this idea is probably as old as the appearance of the Borg in the game. It can't be new to the devs, so if they have not done it so far, they will probably never do it, either.
Star Trek Online Advancement: You start with lowbie gear, you end with Lobi gear.
Comments
In the few missions ( only 2 or 3 if I remember correctly) they are part of they use traps, stealth and ambushes both on ground and in space, where they work with decoys and minefields, jamming sensors and stuff like that.
As for the Undine, they were just overpowering everything. On TV they only appeared in a handfull of episodes and the only thing their ships did was blasting whole borgfleets to pieces. So that means their current in-game "tactics" are already an improvement form the base material, kinda.
As for the rest:
truer words were never spoken
Excellent post. +1 here.
Best regards,
T9
P.S. I sent you a friend request via the STO Forums.
Look at the Bio cruiser, using his teleport right away when first hit, and land 15-20km away from us. Unable to shoot, or do anything, and without the need to heal because I barely scratched him.
Or the spheres, before nerf, using EPtE at first damage, to run around the map and get stuck somewhere. What's the strategy here ? Are the Borg being scared ?
To make them threatening, sometimes they have an instakill weapons, like the Borg torp, the Voths torp or the planet killer weapon (which is more a 2hit to kill).
They can't make an AI that's more than "ram the player and shoot all the way, while spamming all the abilities", and you ask for more differences between enemies ? It's not going to happen, sadly.
If the NPCs did something along these lines it would vary the combat experience AND it would demonstrate the variety in powers and combos available ingame.
http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Harrad-Sar%27s_barge
http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Orion_interceptor
http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Orion_vessel
http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Wanderer_class
Otherwise, I agree with most of the OP.
Give the Romulan frigates Cloaked Fire.
Give the Borg the Regeneration that Borg Set has --I mean it tells you right there in the Set's name that the Borg should have it.
Give the Cardassians that super beam from their Deflector.
Give the Dominion Bug a Shield-Ignoring Ramming Speed.
Orion inceptors were broken in two and became to seperate fighters, Orion Inceptor Fighters, and Orion Slavers.
The Orion Maurader was mention, but never show in the last Orion Enterprise episode, but clearly Harad's Barge wasthe major influence on its design.
Many people did not like the design, calling it the space pig, or space hippo, so the next Orion ships had a very different, almost naval ship shape, bug still incorperated many of the visual ques such as cannons and Orion Material, and Orion austetics, like the patterns on the hull (which if one gets a close look at an Orion Slaver they also have that detailing, making them one of the most beautiful fighters in the game).
This is I believe the ship the OP is refering too. Sadly there is no Orion Ship like this in STO, but it would make an interesting addition.
8
I think STO could benefit a lot from variety and difference in the gameplay mechanics of different NPC species. Currently is has turned into a boring zerging, I just blaze through any NPCs without any variaton, they all behave more or less the same. I just waltz in guns blazing without the necessity of any intelligent thought or change in my tactical aproach that is basically - go in, shoot, kill, rinse, repeat.
I would love some of these proposed changes to be implemented. I also find it very weird that Romulan and Klingon (to a lesser extent) ships just sit there not cloaked, waiting to be target practice.
The first problem is - the NPC cannot really launch surprise attacks, because you can only draw aggro if you get close enough to them. But if they were to be cloaked in the vastness of space, it would be not unlikely you could just miss them entirely and never know that there was something waiting in ambush.
Then, NPCs don't seem to perform the kind of movement they'd need - approach and retreat. They seem to be good at keeping a stable distance, but if you want a "fly-by", the player seems to need to do it himself.
Maybe it's actually possible to add such behaviour to NPCs, but considering that neither Champions nor Startrek Online seems to contain NPCs that act like this, I have my doubts.
I think this ultimately stands in the way of Romulan and Klingon appropriate fightnig tactics.
The Borg -the thing I would change to make them "tougher" would just be changing the ship models. Where you see a Cube now, you should only have a Sphere. A Sphere would be replaced by a Probe, and for the Probe, you would have a tiny shuttle-sized craft. They would suddenly appear much more powerful.
A Cube would be equivalent to a Tactical Cube, and a Tactical Cube would replace the "B'Ger" models or the Diamond.
But this idea is probably as old as the appearance of the Borg in the game. It can't be new to the devs, so if they have not done it so far, they will probably never do it, either.