KDF BC build

noucantcme

Hey, so I'm trying to figure out how to gear up, and while the Mogh might be overshadowed by t6s coming out soon(sh), I thought it would be a good placeholder to help me figure out how to gear up so I can start buying and upgrading top gear without wasting time and money on pieces of gear that are sub-par, either by themselves or as part of a build. Here is a link to a rough outline of my build, any feedback and suggestions are much appreciated, as are comments letting me know where I got it right, so at least I can know what is a good foundation, even if the setup as a whole needs a little work: http://skillplanner.stoacademy.com/?build=terrikstheorycrafting20_0

ryakidrys

Since you have 2 Aux to Battery skills, I'll focus toward A2B at first...

LT Uni (ENG) ET1, A2B1
LCDR Tac TT1, APB1, CRF2
Ens Tac THY1
CDR Eng EPTS1, A2B1, EPTW3, RSP3/ DEM3
LT Sci HE1, ST2

Use DEM over RSP if you don't need that help to keep shields up

You need
2-3 Purple technicians that reduce cooldowns with aux to bettery skill
1 conn officer that reduced tac team recharge


Since I don't know if you even have the technicians for A2B, which are really expensive, you can also try...

LT Uni (TAC) TT1, APB1
LCDR Tac THY1, APB1, CRF2
ENS Tac TT1
CDR Eng ET1, EPTS2, EPTW3, RSP3/ DEM3
LT Sci HE1, HE1

You'll need the following DOFFs.....
2-3 Energy Weapon Officers that reduce cannon special ability cooldowns
2 Maintenance Engineers to reduce Eng. Team cooldown


That should give you some good ideas and something to start with.

***edited, I had 2 HE with an A2B build. Oops. Added ST2 instead.

noucantcme

Well I prefer sci team over HE as it seems once my shield facings go down I'm dead real soon, so shield heals are more important, however flying the Chell Grett atm and having only one hull heal can make it hard to stay alive too. Don't all eptX share a CD? 'Cause again, I'd take eptS over eptW to stay alive first. Is tac team really necessary? What makes it better than spamming the shunt shields to forward facing button? I have torps, so instead of going through shields and not helping those out I think I'd prefer Aceton Beam over DEM, looks like dmg and CD are similar, but Aceton Beam also would help keep me alive(or an ally) against a boss or borg cube. It also seems like CRF would boost dmg more than an attack pattern, except maybe the Omega one. Is all the extra things because having 3 technicians gets all CDs down to half, eliminating the need for multiples of anything besides AtB itself? Forgive my ignorance, I'm just trying to understand the game better, and the reasoning behind everything. So is the gear loadout really good, just might have to mess with the boff abilities and active doffs a bit to really max it out?

toiva

noucantcme wrote: »

Well I prefer sci team over HE as it seems once my shield facings go down I'm dead real soon, so shield heals are more important, however flying the Chell Grett atm and having only one hull heal can make it hard to stay alive too. Don't all eptX share a CD? 'Cause again, I'd take eptS over eptW to stay alive first. Is tac team really necessary? What makes it better than spamming the shunt shields to forward facing button? I have torps, so instead of going through shields and not helping those out I think I'd prefer Aceton Beam over DEM, looks like dmg and CD are similar, but Aceton Beam also would help keep me alive(or an ally) against a boss or borg cube. It also seems like CRF would boost dmg more than an attack pattern, except maybe the Omega one. Is all the extra things because having 3 technicians gets all CDs down to half, eliminating the need for multiples of anything besides AtB itself? Forgive my ignorance, I'm just trying to understand the game better, and the reasoning behind everything. So is the gear loadout really good, just might have to mess with the boff abilities and active doffs a bit to really max it out?

If you do have Technician doffs, then yes, Aux2Batt will keep your CDs very short, typically close or at global CD. That means that other abilities need not be duplicated. (Use with Technician doffs is basically the only reason to run Aux2Batt at all, btw.) There's no Aux2Batt 3, btw. Best to use the lowest Aux2Batt available, since the whole point of it is to reduce CDs, and that is achieved regardless of rank.
At worst, you could duplicate tac team for 'what if' scenarios where you either forget to activate Aux2Batt in time or are prevented from it. Saying that, Tac team is much faster and more efficient at rebalancing shields than manual redistribution (it also clears some debuffs).

EPtX abilities do share a CD. With Aux2Batt, you can use to different ones that will remain constantly up.
Even if you weren't using Aux2Batt, you could keep using only two different EPtX abilities continuously with at least 2 purple Damage control engineers that have a (good - probability above 90%) chance at reducing their CD.

Seeing you use AP, I wonder if the Obelisk set (warp core and omni-beam array) from one of the story missions wouldn't be better than a Fleet warp core. The set bonus is 10% more AP damage, as a final modifier (unlike most dmg buffs).

ryakidrys

noucantcme wrote: »

Well I prefer sci team over HE as it seems once my shield facings go down I'm dead real soon, so shield heals are more important, however flying the Chell Grett atm and having only one hull heal can make it hard to stay alive too. Don't all eptX share a CD? 'Cause again, I'd take eptS over eptW to stay alive first. Is tac team really necessary? What makes it better than spamming the shunt shields to forward facing button? I have torps, so instead of going through shields and not helping those out I think I'd prefer Aceton Beam over DEM, looks like dmg and CD are similar, but Aceton Beam also would help keep me alive(or an ally) against a boss or borg cube. It also seems like CRF would boost dmg more than an attack pattern, except maybe the Omega one. Is all the extra things because having 3 technicians gets all CDs down to half, eliminating the need for multiples of anything besides AtB itself? Forgive my ignorance, I'm just trying to understand the game better, and the reasoning behind everything. So is the gear loadout really good, just might have to mess with the boff abilities and active doffs a bit to really max it out?

I originally had 2 HE's with an A2B build. It's been corrected. HE1 and ST2.
HE stops the plasma burn if the baddies use plasma. With A2B, you may not get good heals with HE, but it does stop the burn. Sci team isn't adversely affected by a lack of aux power, so if you feel you have enough hull heals, use Sci team instead.
EPTx kind of shares cooldowns, but the devil is in the details. If you run them EPTW then EPTS, you can make each run their full 30 seconds of boost before you can run each again, 1 every 15 seconds if you have A2B cycling with 3 purple technicians.
Tac team cycling re-orients your shields for 10 seconds. If you use a purple conn officer, it will only be off for 5 seconds after the 10 seconds of re-orienting shields before you can use it again. 2/3 of the time it is drawing power from shield facings to boost the one getting hit.
Yes, cycling TT and EPTS can be a big survival boost if you manage it correctly.
DEM gives a damage boost without needing aux power to help, aceton beam needs aux power which you are often starved on in a A2B setup. If you still need shield heals, RSP3 might be better for your use instead of aceton beam or DEM3.

As far as gear goes, I think there are better shield, warp core, engines, deflector combos, for some play styles, but that's not anything I think I'm learned enough of to give out advice yet. The BO setups usually make a big enough difference.
Just remember, it's only suggestions. Your playstyle might not fit a particular BO setup as well as another. Give things a try and see what works and what doesn't work. You might be surprised sometimes with the change. At least, giving some ideas get's the noodle working.

noucantcme

Well I don't like the +aux and [A->S] boosts from the obelisk core as I'll be draining my aux power and not really using it, I'd prefer to have [W->S] for more boost and +power in something I'll be using. If the +10% AP dmg mod is worth losing all that and a turret for I'd be very happy to switch to it, as I already have the core and a quick playthrough for the array would be a lot cheaper than buying a fleet core.

Didn't realize Aceton Beam needed aux power, the wiki didn't state that. As for the gear, deflector I just threw on, I always use positron deflectors but didn't see one I particularly wanted, but if I can get a good set bonus w/o losing good bonuses on deflector I'd be happy to add a set one. Shield and engine is for the +torp damage, and I've heard the shield is one of the best and engine has some of the best base turn rate(as a BC with DHC I'll need as much as I can get). Warp core is just for all the good mods, but as I stated above, if it's worth it to trade in some of those mods for +10% dmg, I'd be more than happy to switch that up as well.

One thing brought to my attention is while KCB is a staple of many builds, that's due to the lack of a torp. . .seeing as I have a torp, would it be ok to drop that for another turret(or the AP 360 array from the obelisk set), or would that still be good to have?

Thanks for all the help so far, guys, I really appreciate it.

ryakidrys

noucantcme wrote: »

One thing brought to my attention is while KCB is a staple of many builds, that's due to the lack of a torp. . .seeing as I have a torp, would it be ok to drop that for another turret(or the AP 360 array from the obelisk set), or would that still be good to have?

Thanks for all the help so far, guys, I really appreciate it.

KCB plus the assimilated module gives a weapon power boost/ drain resistance that works well. There is a decent reason that combo is found in a lot of builds.

icsairguns

also KCB in combo with the Borg engine set makes the borg tractor beam in the set bonus like having a extra console weapon for free. plus the tractor beam to hold onto some of those speedy little ships while you pound it

thissler

Would you consider a DCE/Aux2ID/Conn build or are you married to the Aux2Bat?

toiva

noucantcme wrote: »

Well I don't like the +aux and [A->S] boosts from the obelisk core as I'll be draining my aux power and not really using it, I'd prefer to have [W->S] for more boost and +power in something I'll be using. If the +10% AP dmg mod is worth losing all that and a turret for I'd be very happy to switch to it, as I already have the core and a quick playthrough for the array would be a lot cheaper than buying a fleet core.

Didn't realize Aceton Beam needed aux power, the wiki didn't state that. As for the gear, deflector I just threw on, I always use positron deflectors but didn't see one I particularly wanted, but if I can get a good set bonus w/o losing good bonuses on deflector I'd be happy to add a set one. Shield and engine is for the +torp damage, and I've heard the shield is one of the best and engine has some of the best base turn rate(as a BC with DHC I'll need as much as I can get). Warp core is just for all the good mods, but as I stated above, if it's worth it to trade in some of those mods for +10% dmg, I'd be more than happy to switch that up as well.

One thing brought to my attention is while KCB is a staple of many builds, that's due to the lack of a torp. . .seeing as I have a torp, would it be ok to drop that for another turret(or the AP 360 array from the obelisk set), or would that still be good to have?

Thanks for all the help so far, guys, I really appreciate it.

I have the same reservations about the warp core itself, but at least in Aux2Batt builds, you don't starve for subsystem power (except Aux, logically), so you don't lose much over better cores.
I'm not entirely sure of it, but the Omni-beam itself should have a higher base damage than a turret of the same Mk (at least at some point, the Omni-beam actually kept the damage of a regular beam while gaining the advantage of 360 degree reach). That should offset what you lose by it not being buffed by Cannon abilities (rapid fire or scatter volley).
Combining those facts and the +10% bonus AP damage (as a final modifier), these two pieces should definitely be worth it.
As you say you have the core, I'd advise getting the beam from the mission as well and at the least try it. Unlike the other options, it's not much of an investment yet it could be more useful.

ryakidrys wrote: »

KCB plus the assimilated module gives a weapon power boost/ drain resistance that works well. There is a decent reason that combo is found in a lot of builds.

This. The set two part bonus is arguably better for beamboats (as it will be more likely for the proc to occur, even in several stacks, and as beams benefit from overcapping), but it's still very useful to have on almost any traditional ship build.

noucantcme

Won't the Omega plasma torp give me the 2-pc bonus?

I like AtB as even without doffs I like being able to drain a not-so useful power to power up the rest of my ship where I need the power more.

Awesome! Very well explained, that is most helpful. So the KHG 2pc set should stay? I'm also willing to look into getting a different deflector, or maybe if another engine has more +turn or another shield is better I could add the KHG deflector to keep the torp damage.

rodentmaster

That not-so-useful power actually is used in many places. Especially if you run the nukara traits which boost your damage AND your tanking based on current aux levels.

Aux boosts A2SIF, HE, TSS, A2D, any sci skill justabout. The only place it really doesn't shine is in TAC skills. On top of that, if you run an AMP core it boosts your damage output if you keep it over 75.


Never underestimate aux. You trade it for convenience in an A2Bat setup, but that isn't a free trade. You are actually losing quite a bit in the trade. In most cases it is WORTH the trade, but you must understand what you are giving up.

toiva

noucantcme wrote: »

Won't the Omega plasma torp give me the 2-pc bonus?

Yes it would. But afaik, the Omega torpedo isn't typically considered very useful. That's why the Kinetic cutting beam is used. And on a front heavy layout (DHCs, torps, ...) you don't need to sacrifice a front slot for it as it is a 360 degree weapon.

noucantcme

Well the setup I like has almost no skills that rely on aux, and if I use the Obelisk core +10% mod stacked on top of the tac consoles, that's a bigger modifier than less than 10% that doesn't stack on top of consoles. That's also why I took sci team over TSS or something else, so I can eliminate it in favor of something that's actually helpful, like more shields, more weapon power, and more turn, without really losing anything I see as invaluable like shield heals(sci team + epts), hull heals(eng team), and extra dmg(thy + crf).

How can it not be considered very useful? I've heard it has the best dps in-game. . .is the Romulan Hyper-Plasma torp considered better?

toiva

noucantcme wrote: »

Well the setup I like has almost no skills that rely on aux, and if I use the Obelisk core +10% mod stacked on top of the tac consoles, that's a bigger modifier than less than 10% that doesn't stack on top of consoles. That's also why I took sci team over TSS or something else, so I can eliminate it in favor of something that's actually helpful, like more shields, more weapon power, and more turn, without really losing anything I see as invaluable like shield heals(sci team + epts), hull heals(eng team), and extra dmg(thy + crf).

How can it not be considered very useful? I've heard it has the best dps in-game. . .is the Romulan Hyper-Plasma torp considered better?

The Hyper Plasma is definitely considered better. If using CD reducing Projectile doffs on it, you can pretty much spew a continuous line of torps.

If I remember right, the Omega torp has an insane DPS value on its tooltip, but that doesn't translate into practice because of the charge mechanic it uses.

If you're looking fot very good torps, use Gravimetric torp (preferably with the associated console - both from Dyson reputation). Has a nice damaging side-effevt in form of gravimetric rifts: mini gravity wells notably good against structures. Ot the latest Neutronic torpedo from Delta reputation: it's worse than others with TS1, but better than all with TS2 and crazy with Spread 3 (I wonder if it'll get tuned down at some point). I'm not sure how it behaves with High Yield, but it shoould still be deadly thanks to its high base damage.


Of course I'd recommend asking more specialised players about torps. I don't use them all that much.