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Theoretical: %Defense oriented build
stardestroyer001
Member Posts: 2,615 Arc User
I've been giving some thought towards countering these new Starship Mastery and Intel abilities. And since the new disables lock out almost your entire bar, I've been giving some thought towards focusing on a build that survives on the defense mechanic.
Theoretical advantages:
Defense can't be locked out by disables.
Defense comes with speed, so if you're trying to maximize Defense, you'll be flying fast. Useful to avoid EMP disable probes and such.
Theoretical disadvantages:
Tractors or other gravgen related powers which kill your speed.
Subsystem targeting on engines (EngTeam DOES counter this, and EngTeam is one of the few powers not locked out. So it would be a momentary effect on your ship, depending on how fast you click the button)
[Acc] is running rampant nowadays.
Of course, I don't mean to say I won't be running defensive powers and equipment in conjunction. I intend to maximize my Defense value as much as possible.
Any thoughts?
Theoretical advantages:
Defense can't be locked out by disables.
Defense comes with speed, so if you're trying to maximize Defense, you'll be flying fast. Useful to avoid EMP disable probes and such.
Theoretical disadvantages:
Tractors or other gravgen related powers which kill your speed.
Subsystem targeting on engines (EngTeam DOES counter this, and EngTeam is one of the few powers not locked out. So it would be a momentary effect on your ship, depending on how fast you click the button)
[Acc] is running rampant nowadays.
Of course, I don't mean to say I won't be running defensive powers and equipment in conjunction. I intend to maximize my Defense value as much as possible.
Any thoughts?
stardestroyer001, Admiral, Explorers Fury PvE/PvP Fleet | Retired PvP Player
Missing the good ol' days of PvP: Legacy of Romulus to Season 9
My List of Useful Links, Recently Updated November 25 2017!
Missing the good ol' days of PvP: Legacy of Romulus to Season 9
My List of Useful Links, Recently Updated November 25 2017!
Post edited by stardestroyer001 on
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vids and guides and stuff
[9:52] [Zone #11] Neal@trapper1532: im a omega force shadow oprative and a maoc elite camander and here i am taking water samples
In the past, most of my PvP experience lies with teamhealers - which usually means slow, lumbering cruisers/carriers. I had this in mind when I wrote the post. Sorry, I should have been more clear
Awesome, thanks Drunk!
Missing the good ol' days of PvP: Legacy of Romulus to Season 9
My List of Useful Links, Recently Updated November 25 2017!
do you know if the flight deck officers work while the pets are docked? Last I checked you got the defense boost only when you have pets that are out and alive but that was a while ago.
never have used them, never really had any interest in hanger pet ships
There are a few other ways to add defense. Of course you know that APO give defense, and Evasives. The Subspace Field Modulator adds defense as well, and although some people consider it a waste of a slot with it being proton vulnerable, the added defense can help a lot, and sometimes even cause the proton to miss entirely. It has pros and cons, but from what I've personally experienced, more pros. Deuterium adds defense as well, only for about 8 seconds or so, but timed right at a crucial moment, that can add up. Aegis of course adds some defense, you can look into different sets. Impulse Burst adds the most, however. It's something like...+300% iirc. I use it rarely now, as there are other things that I use to gain more of a tactical advantage, but it has saved me in the past. Even if you run backwards on Impulse Burst, it's still a very significant increase for about 8 seconds.
There are also Energy Signature Dampener consoles. They are Engineering consoles under the Dyson Rep. They add +2.5% def each, and they stack additively.
Make sure you put skill points into Maneuvers, set a lot of your defense traits, too, like Elusive. And of course the Intel Specialization all spec'd out, All of these add up. Right now I'm running with about 105% base defense on my tac-Charal, and haven't completed my specializations yet, so there's room to grow. If you can keep your APO up, that gives a large boost, too.
Remember that pretty much everything defense-wise will stack, so in a pinch, hit APO, Evasive, and SFM (and Deuterium if you can).
Also...the defense is only part of the battle. Combine it with resists to make the most of it. Even if they only hit you 1/3 or 1/2 shots, they are still hitting you, and with Surgical Strikes, those hits could be devastating. Make sure you have the right resists on your consoles, mix and match if you can. Also, while APO is on cooldown, APD is the bees knees. It doesn't increase defense, but it increases your resistance by a lot, so it's still very useful. APO does both...so I will always suggest that. Aux2Damp with doff...just yes. SFM also gives resist with it's defense. Rock 'n Roll...yes. High turn rate and speed can of course help you stay out of line of fire/sight.
Before you commit to any sets or anything like that on Holodeck, I'd honestly recommend trying them on Tribble first. Look at your defense and resist numbers, see which one works best, and why. Does Aegis or DR defense make up for Borg set heals? Would adding a certain console for defense hurt my damage too much? Should I respec my skill tree to min-max whatever I'm working for? That's up to you, personally, but things like that are what I like to test.
I'm sure I'm missing a lot here, but the point is: Defense and resists working together can do wonders. Then, of course, your personal pilot style
OOoooohhhh...THAT's an old one. A good one, but still old.
Hey no one mentioned that the returns on defense diminish! I'm shocked.
Anyway OP, if you're running a slow lumbering Cruiser/Carrier still and can squeeze in a DCE/Aux2ID build you'll go a long way towards keeping abilities up that will maintain good defense values as well as keeping you from losing defense. And of course resistances.
Then you get subnucced and go to your 'oh poopy' buttons. And they've been handing those out all over this thread.
Remember...EMP move away at a tangent as soon as possible. Ionic Turbulence let it hit before you trigger your evasive. If you don't, you'll be sitting there eating it.
Here...
That can show you how and why to make a little 'oh poopy' macro as well as a full time macro
and this...
And that can brush you up a bit on acc/def stuff, how important it is to have like five different 'I've been sub nucced' plans, as well as combining res and def and immunity.
The LAST video in the second blog post has most of that. The earlier ones are more of a trip down the evolution road. But seeing as how even that video is a year old just show's this has been around for quite a bit.
Peace.
I'm still in the process of reinstalling my rig...but mean ol' mods deleted the threads where I was talking to Horizon about that.
Because, I would have mentioned it! It's habitual for me to mention it...like it's OCD or something to break out the spreadsheet for it and babble away about it. Which I'd be doing now, but I haven't installed Excel yet. :P
09/02/2013 I TOLD you this stuff was old.
Still holds true from that thread...
Beam to my ready room you sweet talker....
Don't tell Hank...
Well, clearly I am interrupting something!! *closes door*
:P
What I mean muffin is that there's never really a ship where you don't want to max defense out to whatever's reasonable. That reasonable sweet spot is where the ships and roles differ for sure, and it's up to you to find out how much you can compromise in various places.
As for a ship where you're relying primarily on defense to survive, the rule of thumb for me is that it can slot APO. Some exceptions I suppose would be tactical snoozers which still rely on brute force resists and tanking over speed even with the APO station, but on the whole I think the rule is pretty sound.
On a related note I would give the Aegis set a try after its buff for any team healer, it also gives a defense bonus (which is quite rare on ship gear per se) and a ton of other survivability options besides.
vids and guides and stuff
[9:52] [Zone #11] Neal@trapper1532: im a omega force shadow oprative and a maoc elite camander and here i am taking water samples
Well that's your 'heads up' to wait it out and let it hit you. Then once that's done make your move and get down to the lobby.
I mean, hit evasive.
Back on topic, anyone else notice the ASTOUNDING number of abilities that have been introduced that do not engage the hit table in any way? I mean, if I was wondering what was going on with the game, I'd wonder about THAT first.
Oh and OP, if you're Fed, Battle Ready, Reciprocity, and Whatever You Call the Scryer Mastery, are like the Evil Trinity of Defensive Ship Mastery.
Repeat like a mantra
*Defense is life, without i'm dead*
*Defense is life, without i'm dead*
*Defense is life, without i'm dead*
...
:P
You know, if you HAVE access to intel abilities, or even better are using an Intel ship, Evade Target Lock and Intel Team absolutely work.
Just saying. Keep the thread ALIVE!:eek:
Yes, intel team add a good amount of discrete defense value (+10% with ensign one as i remember) when activated, also helps a lot. Of course, to the OP, EPtE and A2D "like there is no tomorrow"
Not only are you maxing out defense, but the stealth goes up to over 8000 and I don't care how much perception you think you have, you are not going to see me unless I am within 3km.
It's really more about stealth than defense, but they go hand in hand with the build. And it can be fun to be uncloaked in a T6 ship fully buffed closing quickly unseen on an unsuspecting target. On my T6 Raptor I prefer closing in cloaked, alpha strike the nasty, and fire off the stealth combo to disappear without cloaking as I turn for prep for the next pass.
Worth playing with if you haven't yet. True, the KDF/MACO Adapted 3 piece ain't all that, but it has new usefulness in DR with the changes to stealth and defense.
Rules of Acquisition at Priority One
The KDF 3 piece has been working for a looong time.
Honest.