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Beam Overload is fun! Now: Target Subsystems needs work.

pulserazorpulserazor Member Posts: 590 Arc User
If there is one phrase you will hear in virtually every Star Trek episode and movie its: Target their Engines! or Target their Weapons! etc. Targetting a subsystem seemed to be at the core of starship combat, and I think it might enhance and authenticate our the Star Trek experience to put more focus on it in our video game combat.

As it is now, there is a 20% chance that this skill will acually work on a 45 second cooldown, while triggering a global cooldown on the awesome Beam Overload and any other subsystem targetting skill. Not Good Enough.

Also not good enough is the idea that only a Science ship can do this without acually slotting a boff power for it. Every single ship in Star Trek has targetted subsystems, it wasnt just a 'science ship', and come to think about it, No One has ever said Beam Overload!!.

Consider these ideas to enhance and authenticate the Star Trek Experience.


- Allow every single ship in the game access to these subsystem targetting abillities that only a 'sci ship' has, while removing the boff powers. (or leaving the boff powers in to provide players with the option to more frequently attack a particular subsystem)

- Allow the skill to work more reliably then on a 1 in 5 chance, and or more frequently then once every 45 seconds.

- Allow a continuous assault on a subsystem based on firing arcs, using the same mechanics as you have used in the new BOP flanking damage bonus, maybe a toggle like the cruiser commands.



NPC's already have access to their own 'immune to weapons offline' buff which can be explained by the ship responding to the focused assault by modulating their shields or some other 'Mcguffin' plot device so it wouldnt have to break the game, though some balance might have to be done on disable durations. It could still run on the existing captain traits and skills, and allow for more ingenious doff powers, consoles, etc.


I like what you are doing to Beam Overload and Bop Flanking, now lets see what you can do with Target subsystems.
Post edited by pulserazor on

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    mustrumridcully0mustrumridcully0 Member Posts: 12,963 Arc User
    edited July 2014
    I think Beam Target Subsystem could use some tweaks, but I don't think every ship needs innate subsystem targeting.

    Many powers in STO are based on stuff ships in Starfleet do, and it rarely seems that any of these powers are ship-specific. Auxiliary to Structural Integrity Field? Emergency Power to Shields? Fire At Will? Torpedo Spread?

    They would all need to be innate abilities by your logic.

    I would even go further and get rid of the innate subsystem targeting on Science Vessels and give them something more generally useful instead. Maybe an extra forward weapon slot or something like that.
    Star Trek Online Advancement: You start with lowbie gear, you end with Lobi gear.
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    mithrosnomoremithrosnomore Member Posts: 390 Arc User
    edited July 2014
    If targeting a subsystem was more reliable, then the effect would be less useful.

    And as far as it's use in the television show, it can't have been that great. I mean, if it was such a reliable option, why was there ever a space battle?

    The same magic pixie dust that keeps the transporters or whatever else from working so often also prevents the ships from being able to target weapons except for certain times and situations, it seems.
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    ledgend1221ledgend1221 Member Posts: 54 Arc User
    edited July 2014
    That's why Phasers have that proc to disable a subsystem.

    Science ships should remain the only ones with that permanent ability. It adds more to what little choice we have now. What's the point in making all ships the same?

    However, I'm all for buffing the ability. Just not giving it to everyone permanently.
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    policestate76policestate76 Member Posts: 1,424 Arc User
    edited July 2014
    pulserazor wrote: »

    Consider these ideas to enhance and authenticate the Star Trek Experience.


    - Allow every single ship in the game access to these subsystem targetting abillities that only a 'sci ship' has, while removing the boff powers. (or leaving the boff powers in to provide players with the option to more frequently attack a particular subsystem)


    Do you realize that this is far from star trek since ages ago, right? that nobody cares if they are playing a star trek based game or not??

    And no, i dont want target subsystems to be available in all ships. That was another thing that was intended to make some ships different than others, and it has nothing to do with star trek. This is not star trek anymore, so there is no reason anyways to put that skill in every ship.
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    lucho80lucho80 Member Posts: 6,600 Bug Hunter
    edited July 2014
    Unfortunately, all system disables in this game are junk thanks to how strong the subsystem repair skill is versus how weak subspace decompiler is.

    Same relationship as power insulators and flow caps, except that flow caps you can actually push high enough to affect the target. Unfortunately, SubD is a tier 5 skill with very little that pushes it up and sub repair isa tier 2 I think, and on top it's innate in human boffs and captains.
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    adamkafeiadamkafei Member Posts: 6,539 Arc User
    edited July 2014
    I would even go further and get rid of the innate subsystem targeting on Science Vessels and give them something more generally useful instead. Maybe an extra forward weapon slot or something like that.

    Hang on a sec! I like my sci ship's innate system targeting, I find it very useful, much more so than having to power a 7th weapon! Leave my sci ship alone.

    Unless of course you want to make my science boff powers more effective to my science captain, THEN I might let you play with my sci ship...
    ZiOfChe.png?1
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    mustrumridcully0mustrumridcully0 Member Posts: 12,963 Arc User
    edited July 2014
    adamkafei wrote: »
    Hang on a sec! I like my sci ship's innate system targeting, I find it very useful, much more so than having to power a 7th weapon! Leave my sci ship alone.

    No.

    Muhahaha.

    :P
    Star Trek Online Advancement: You start with lowbie gear, you end with Lobi gear.
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    mreeves7amreeves7a Member Posts: 499 Arc User
    edited July 2014
    What Target: Subsystem X needs is to have a major effect not based on the attemp to disable the system. Lookat the Beam Target: Subsystem Sheilds: -X shield power, -X shield, chance to disable sheild facing. It's the only one of the four with a 3rd effect (-X sheild). Add a extra effect to the others; -accuracy to target weapons, -inertia to target engines, etc.
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    rodentmasterrodentmaster Member Posts: 1 Arc User
    edited July 2014
    I would like to see "Target subsystem X" commands tied to the science character, NOT the ship. I don't run science ships much if ever because they frankly suck. I can get far better option in non-sci ships. Even some sci-ships don't HAVE subsystem targetting (*cough*OddySci*cough*).

    When I run my sci in a sci-loadout Hegh'Ta I don't get my sci Target: subsystem skills. Why not? Have it follow the toon around, and have it apply to beams OR cannons -- any weapon type. You can target stuff with warheads as well. Give us that chance of disable. The sci character is so horrifically hobbled as it is by Cryptic, they need to make it more worthwhile. This would be a way to do that. It might lead to more interesting builds, as well.

    I'm okay with making it an always-on preset like cruiser commands, but I'd also be okay with having 1-time firing triggers (like now) but with MUCH shorter cooldowns. I almost never use them on the few ships that have them because they take too long to cooldown AND they interfere with my other boff skills.
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    lucho80lucho80 Member Posts: 6,600 Bug Hunter
    edited July 2014
    I don't run science ships much if ever because they frankly suck.

    That's exactly what they do, suck... power very efficiently.
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    arilouskiffarilouskiff Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited July 2014
    I barely use the Target X subsystem on my science ships because... They're still stuck at Target Subsystem I, with no way of improving it. (save spending a tac slot that could be used for something better)

    I would love it if the Target Subsystem abilities would improve with the tier of the ship somehow.
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    arilouskiffarilouskiff Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited July 2014
    I would like to see "Target subsystem X" commands tied to the science character, NOT the ship. I don't run science ships much if ever because they frankly suck. I can get far better option in non-sci ships. Even some sci-ships don't HAVE subsystem targetting (*cough*OddySci*cough*).

    When I run my sci in a sci-loadout Hegh'Ta I don't get my sci Target: subsystem skills. Why not? Have it follow the toon around, and have it apply to beams OR cannons -- any weapon type. You can target stuff with warheads as well. Give us that chance of disable. The sci character is so horrifically hobbled as it is by Cryptic, they need to make it more worthwhile. This would be a way to do that. It might lead to more interesting builds, as well.

    I'm okay with making it an always-on preset like cruiser commands, but I'd also be okay with having 1-time firing triggers (like now) but with MUCH shorter cooldowns. I almost never use them on the few ships that have them because they take too long to cooldown AND they interfere with my other boff skills.


    Eh, Sci characters are far from hobbled. (although many sci ships are) Subnuke, Photonic Fleet, and Sensor Scan are all very good powers. (the ground powers are weaker, though)
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    jockey1979jockey1979 Member Posts: 1,005 Arc User
    edited July 2014
    pulserazor wrote: »
    If there is one phrase you will hear in virtually every Star Trek episode and movie its: Target their Engines! or Target their Weapons! etc. Targetting a subsystem seemed to be at the core of starship combat, and I think it might enhance and authenticate our the Star Trek experience to put more focus on it in our video game combat.

    As it is now, there is a 20% chance that this skill will acually work on a 45 second cooldown, while triggering a global cooldown on the awesome Beam Overload and any other subsystem targetting skill. Not Good Enough.

    Also not good enough is the idea that only a Science ship can do this without acually slotting a boff power for it. Every single ship in Star Trek has targetted subsystems, it wasnt just a 'science ship', and come to think about it, No One has ever said Beam Overload!!.

    Consider these ideas to enhance and authenticate the Star Trek Experience.


    - Allow every single ship in the game access to these subsystem targetting abillities that only a 'sci ship' has, while removing the boff powers. (or leaving the boff powers in to provide players with the option to more frequently attack a particular subsystem)

    - Allow the skill to work more reliably then on a 1 in 5 chance, and or more frequently then once every 45 seconds.

    - Allow a continuous assault on a subsystem based on firing arcs, using the same mechanics as you have used in the new BOP flanking damage bonus, maybe a toggle like the cruiser commands.



    NPC's already have access to their own 'immune to weapons offline' buff which can be explained by the ship responding to the focused assault by modulating their shields or some other 'Mcguffin' plot device so it wouldnt have to break the game, though some balance might have to be done on disable durations. It could still run on the existing captain traits and skills, and allow for more ingenious doff powers, consoles, etc.


    I like what you are doing to Beam Overload and Bop Flanking, now lets see what you can do with Target subsystems.

    Wrong, go watch ST:E (where they install the ships phaser weapons) and get back to me :p
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    lucho80lucho80 Member Posts: 6,600 Bug Hunter
    edited July 2014
    Eh, Sci characters are far from hobbled. (although many sci ships are) Subnuke, Photonic Fleet, and Sensor Scan are all very good powers. (the ground powers are weaker, though)

    Subnuke became less effective the moment the team abilities shared cooldown was removed.

    As for the innate subsystem targeting abilities, I'm sure they were very useful once, but just like other abilities like Tachyon Beam, all the power creep has rendered them less useful.

    What I don't understand is why the devs decide to keep boosting tac abilities higher and higher, but are so cautious with science ones.
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    welcome2earfwelcome2earf Member Posts: 1,746 Arc User
    edited July 2014
    I think Beam Target Subsystem could use some tweaks, but I don't think every ship needs innate subsystem targeting.

    Many powers in STO are based on stuff ships in Starfleet do, and it rarely seems that any of these powers are ship-specific. Auxiliary to Structural Integrity Field? Emergency Power to Shields? Fire At Will? Torpedo Spread?

    They would all need to be innate abilities by your logic.

    I would even go further and get rid of the innate subsystem targeting on Science Vessels and give them something more generally useful instead. Maybe an extra forward weapon slot or something like that.

    In my opinion, the ONE thing that would make Sci Ships more viable would be to give them the option to have the ability to slot special consoles in their device slots OR to give them slots for "Special Consoles" as a bonus - this would be more in line with Sci ships having a variety of occasionally useful situational powers.

    But yes, I agree with you. Totes! :P
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