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What to optimize for with sci ship and sci toon?
ryakidrys
Member Posts: 830 Arc User
I decided to go with heavy sci abilities for a KDF sci toon. Its a departure from my natural tendency to run tanky ships, and Im having some trouble figuring if what Ive started working with is the right thing to do. Ive obtained a varanus. I already had the MK XI jem hadar set, so I figured that a drain build with tykens and energy siphon would seem to be the smart choice since the Jem deflector has high flow cap bonus. Im running TR3, ES2, HE2, and TSS1 in the CDR sci station. The LCDR station has GW1, ES1 and HE1. I dont have good deflector officers yet, a couple of blue ones, so Im not totally sure using something like tacyon beam to proc the deflector officers will be sufficient since I think it wouldnt do much more than proc them since it's damage isn't much at all. Im questioning whether I should continue trying to optimize that build concept or whether something else might be better, like a heavy graviton/ grav well build or maybe something else I havent thought of.
I can respec to something less flow cap centered or more decompiler centered, for example, if needed, so thats why Im rather open for suggestions.
What are your thoughts and thanks for your input.
I can respec to something less flow cap centered or more decompiler centered, for example, if needed, so thats why Im rather open for suggestions.
What are your thoughts and thanks for your input.
Post edited by ryakidrys on
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For me, I have my Fed sci focused on disables (subspace decompiler), because that was the main strength of fed, still is I guess if you use something with phaser proc, even though they the proc does not benefit from subd skillpoints, at least you get a shot at disabling multiple subsystems or resetting the timer on one of them. My Rom sci is focused in partgens, because they are cheapest, and she is most pressed on skill points due to the necessary subsystem power buffs. KDF is spec'd for confuse (jam, scramble, Fed AMS console) because the other two are already taken.
Just figure out where you want to end up and build towards it. Take your time surveying consoles and stuff. Exotic is cheapest and has the most tools that use it, even a lot of BOFF abilities, tractor beams, warp plasma, etc., and it gives you a way to offset poor weapon damage on most sci ships.
ps--Varanus is a good platform for basic sci and your current build sounds like its on track for that. The specialization factors only really matter when you get into other ships, esp since KDF doesnt have any other real science vessels. So for me, specing into things like Jam/Scramble/AMS are useful on the B'rel and the Vo'Quv because they let me exploit other factors and give me defensive mechanisms. I dont use any of them on my Varanus, just straight up holds and drains and shoot the target.
Unfortunately, the best drain builds almost always need plasmonic leech for full effect. As a KDF, you will need to buy it through the Cstore if you want to focus on that. Tykens Rift with the doff aftershock is a decent choice, especially if you can use subsystem targeting on their engines before firing it. Your Grav well will share a cooldown with Tykens and it is hard to spec for both types of anomalies (CC and drain).
But if you manage to do so, a decent attack pattern would be (seconds):
0: Lock on with sensor analysis - starts to get your damage/drain modifier up early
1: antiproton sweep - if you are fighting a cloaker this will keep them from cloaking (10s), otherwise gets shields down faster
2: target engines - limit their ability to escape your rift before you even fire it
3: Tykens Rift - begin your drain, should last 17seconds in total, not counting aftershocks
4: Subnucleanic beam - will keep them from firing escape powers and debuff anything they may have gotten off to defend themselves or fight back
5: energy syphon - While tykens is going off, you suck them for all you can get (5s)
6: sensor scan - debuff your target for grav well kinetic damage
~18: grav well (as soon as its shared 15s CD is up) - this starts you on some kinetic damage and will further hold them still, if they are even still alive.
Your tac powers should be Tac Team 1 and either Torp Spread or Beam Overload. Regardless of choice, right after your sensor scan (7s) would be a good time to fire it. Hopefully at this point there won't be much left of shields for your target and it will be dead. I know there are flaws and I am no great captain, but this should work decent against Fed PVP players and PVE bosses. For PVE mobs, maybe start with the Grav Well, then save Tykens for last.
I might suggest 2 conn officer DOFFs to get your Tac Team down to 15s cooldown. That will keep your shield redistribution going and save your other Tac BOFF slot for BO or torpedo spread. I know there are flaws and much better Sci pilots probably would have better suggestions, but this tactic will accommodate the build you already have.
With the leech, you can have near high aux AND weapon power while spewing out BoPs WHILE keeping target locked up with CC.
We still live!!!!! Hahahahahahahahaa! We live and we will conquer!!!!! Hahahahahaaha!
-Roach, when asked about Klingon extinction!
We still live!!!!! Hahahahahahahahaa! We live and we will conquer!!!!! Hahahahahaaha!
-Roach, when asked about Klingon extinction!
We have as much information as we did a year ago: "Soon"
@OP
How would you like to specialize? Science builds are actually better than most people give them credit for these days, but performance is really dependent on building your ship with a specific focus.
The three main builds I can recommend from personal experience:
Drain-boats
Main goal is to stack Flow Capacitors, Plasmonic Leech, Polaron weapons, Tyken's Rift(3), Energy Siphon, and any other power-draining gadgets(such as Aceton Assimilator or Voth Aceton Mode) you come across. Run Tractor Beam/Tractor Mines to help hold stuff in the Rifts. Otherwise, usual Attack Pattern Beta to help soften targets up. (Currently running this build on my ADSD.)
Ranged Zone-Control
Usually synergizes best with torpedos, although beams still work as well(eats weapon power that could be used on Aux instead). Main goal is to spam Gravity Wells everywhere and run Tractor Repulsors to push ships into said wells(be careful not to troll your allies). Probably the better build to run if you want to have some defensive utility and heal/protect other players. Doesn't do a lot of damage on its own, but it's great for turning battlefields into shooting galleries for other players. (Currently running a heavy plasma torpedo build on my Vesta.)
Vacuum Zone-Control
High damage build focused around Inverted Tractor Repulsors(voth doff: Falla Okev), Eject Warp Plasma, and a lot of Particle Generation for exotic damage. Pretty self explanatory playstyle: fly into a pack of targets(<5 km), engage repulsors and Eject Warp Plasma, then slowly drag your foes through the plasma. Ideally, you'll want to run a science-heavy cruiser/FDC for this kind of build to be able to shrug off near-ship explosions. High exotic-damage abilities like Isometric Charge, Spacial Charge Launcher or Tetryon Cascade synergize very nicely with the build. If you run an Omni Array, slot it to the front to get more aft firepower. If you're working with a Ranged Zone-Control, try to coordinate with them(either dragging things into their Grav Wells or get them to Grav Well on top of you). (Currently running this build on my Risian Luxury Cruiser and a Drain-hybrid of it on my Bastion(+Palisade console).)
The Varanus doesn't have the engineering capacity for the Vacuum build(unless you run Vent Theta Radiation console), but it should be fine as a Drain or ZC-Torpboat(Plasma or Enhanced Bio-Photon for High Yield, Transphasic or Gravimetric Photon for Torp Spread). I'd recommend an RCS or two to help turn if going with the latter though.
I can drop a cube in Khitomer from 100% to 30% in 2-3 seconds when I hit it with everything and subsystem targeting, it's that last 30% that sometimes takes soooo looooong that tells me the drains did something for a few seconds.
When I say everything, I mean the following:
Sensor analysys, target subsystem auxillary, Sensor Scan, sub nuc, Tykens rift 3, energy siphon 2, the jem hadar antiproton sweep, and a mix of phased polaron, dominion polaron, protonic polaron beam arrays.
I have 9 points in flow cap skill, a plasmonic leech, 4 flow caps (Mix of Mk XI and XII now), and 3 mk XII blue Polaron tactical consoles.
The drains are sometimes very noticeable, but many times they aren't noticeable.
Is it better to activate TR3 and ES2 as quickly as possible, or wait several seconds to build the drain up more?
My fleet isn't at tier 5 shipyard yet, I'm working on it as best as I can, and I was running torp build BOPs as I leveled up and never got the Vo'Quv. When the shipyard is at tier 5, I'll have a tough decision. Sure, the Vo'Quv should have much better DPS, but I think that I might miss that LCDR science ability I have in the Varanus.
Well its a tradeoff as you do get pets as well
You could get the Orion pets as they can drain weapons/engines as well. Just don't use them in Voth/Undine queues..Even frigates have a tough time surviving in there.
We still live!!!!! Hahahahahahahahaa! We live and we will conquer!!!!! Hahahahahaaha!
-Roach, when asked about Klingon extinction!
http://sto.gamepedia.com/Korath_Temporal_Science_Vessel
http://sto.gamepedia.com/Voth_Palisade_Science_Vessel
Consider this as a long term goal - even though it my not be your playstyle:
http://sto.gamepedia.com/Fleet_Vo%27Quv_Carrier
The palisade does look very interresting. I think I need to settle on a good drain and disable ship and build before I can begin a grind for EC to get something like it. Once I steel on what I'm going to do and the ship to run it, I'll put the grinding wheels on and churn my way to it.
Supposed to be in Delta Rising, last I heard (All major changes are being saved for DR to reduce testing/QA duplication between the two code branches).