Escort Vs. Destroyer

duketenshi

I'm in a bit of a rush right now, so I apologize if I'm a bit short with this....

I'm a bit of a hobby-nut....I am writing up information on ships for STO for my own amusement (because 'game balance' is something I frequently ignore in favor of the character of the ship). I recently started a line of ships that got me thinking.

I need some way to differentiate "Escorts" from "Destroyers", in order to determine which ship gets which "Ship Mastery Package", but the STO Wiki is not really clear on the defining characteristics. I know that Destroyers & Escorts are ESSENTIALLY the same, but there must be some notable difference or another:

What exactly IS the (general) difference between an Escort & a Destroyer?

starkaos

Destroyers are supposed to be half way between a Cruiser and an Escort. So more durable than an Escort, but less dps.

leviathan99

duketenshi wrote: »

I'm in a bit of a rush right now, so I apologize if I'm a bit short with this....

I'm a bit of a hobby-nut....I am writing up information on ships for STO for my own amusement (because 'game balance' is something I frequently ignore in favor of the character of the ship). I recently started a line of ships that got me thinking.

I need some way to differentiate "Escorts" from "Destroyers", in order to determine which ship gets which "Ship Mastery Package", but the STO Wiki is not really clear on the defining characteristics. I know that Destroyers & Escorts are ESSENTIALLY the same, but there must be some notable difference or another:

What exactly IS the (general) difference between an Escort & a Destroyer?

Destroyers and Battlecruisers are halfway between Cruiser and Escort with some Science options in there.

The Battlecruiser loses two Cruiser "stances" and gains the ability to fire cannons.

The Destroyer is generally an escort with a build that is designed to accomodate playstyles other than straight damage, usually with universal BO stations, the same or higher hull, higher shield modifier, etc. Generally this versatility comes with the loss of +5 of the escort's weapons power bonus.

In the long run, I wouldn't be surprised to see Destroyers get some special love. Right now, they're basically just very well built escorts with builds that allow you to run science or cruiser builds.

Much of what made the ship classes different originally were the power bonuses and C-Store consoles were restricted by class. These differences have become trivial which is why, I think, you see Science Secondary deflectors, Raider flanking, and Cruiser stances. I think there has been some discussion about a special Escort mechanic and when and if that happens, we'll probably see Destroyers made different.

My GUESS would be if they did something like that, they would make all Destroyers get two "modes" each with a unique BO layout like the Science Destroyers and probably run a lifetime sub sale to push the Vet Rewards destroyers around the same time.

duketenshi

So atm, the only difference between Destroyer & Escort is slightly better diversity & survivability vs. straight-up DPS?

That's not really what I wanted to hear, it means I'm going to have to get creative, but at least now I have an idea what I'm doing. :rolleyes:

Thanks, guys....I appreciate the insight :cool:

(( & incidentally, I really like the idea of a unique Escort Mechanic to bring them in line with current Cruisers & Science Vessels, & I also like your suggestion of Destroyers all getting two configuration "modes" for diversity of playstyle ))

noroblad

avoiding fed terms would be good. Escort is a fed term. Neither kdf nor romulans have anything designated as an "escort".

The vast majority of "destroyers" have 2 things in common:
- different stats, slightly: lower turn rate than "escorts" with a buff to hull etc.
- a gimmick. The gurumba unfolds to do death star mode. The dyson flips officer seats. The chimera opens to expose a beam array attack. ETC. Not all have this but most DO.

--raiders are another class --- they flank.