test content
What is the Arc Client?
Install Arc
Options

Pathfinder - Exotic Damage + Torpedo Build

2»

Comments

  • Options
    e30erneste30ernest Member Posts: 1,794 Arc User
    edited May 2015
    I'm trying to figure out which would be better for this particular build, a Tachyokinetic Converter or the Zero Point Energy Conduit.

    The Zero Point Conduit provides a nice boost to Critical Chance (2%) and allows me to run 2/4 of my subsystems above 75 all the time for the AMP boost. With OSS, I get all 4 subsystems above 75 for some additional burst damage.

    The Tachyokinetic Converter gives me a nice turn bonus (while not the worst, the Pathfinder isn't the most agile ship either) to let me bear down my torpedoes to my targets easier. It also adds Grav Gens that would be useful for my GW, Grav Torps and TBRs. However, it lowers my Critical Chance while boosting severity by quite a bit.

    Now what I am trying to figure out now is if the Severity boost from the Tachyokinetic console works with criticals from Particle Manipulator. If it does, then this would be a worthwhile trade for the 1% Critical chance I am losing and the 2% always-on damage boost from AMP. With OSS, I can still get all 4 subsystems to boost AMP.

    There's also the 1:10 ratio for CritH and CritD that I've been reading about these past few days. Most posts here say to boost my CritH (hence the use of Locators instead of Exploiters). The in-game attack stats of my ship shows I have an 18.1% critical chance to my 76% severity. My parses show a critical chance of mid 20's to mid 30's (probably boosted by my close to 100% crit stats on my exotic abilities). Does this add a reason to go for the Tachyokinetic Converter?

    I think it may be worth a shot, but before I spend my hard-earned Lobi for it, I figured I should ask here first. Many thanks for your responses!
  • Options
    darkknightucfdarkknightucf Member Posts: 1,546 Media Corps
    edited May 2015
    e30ernest wrote: »
    I'm trying to figure out which would be better for this particular build, a Tachyokinetic Converter or the Zero Point Energy Conduit.

    The Zero Point Conduit provides a nice boost to Critical Chance (2%) and allows me to run 2/4 of my subsystems above 75 all the time for the AMP boost. With OSS, I get all 4 subsystems above 75 for some additional burst damage.

    The Tachyokinetic Converter gives me a nice turn bonus (while not the worst, the Pathfinder isn't the most agile ship either) to let me bear down my torpedoes to my targets easier. It also adds Grav Gens that would be useful for my GW, Grav Torps and TBRs. However, it lowers my Critical Chance while boosting severity by quite a bit.

    Now what I am trying to figure out now is if the Severity boost from the Tachyokinetic console works with criticals from Particle Manipulator. If it does, then this would be a worthwhile trade for the 1% Critical chance I am losing and the 2% always-on damage boost from AMP. With OSS, I can still get all 4 subsystems to boost AMP.

    There's also the 1:10 ratio for CritH and CritD that I've been reading about these past few days. Most posts here say to boost my CritH (hence the use of Locators instead of Exploiters). The in-game attack stats of my ship shows I have an 18.1% critical chance to my 76% severity. My parses show a critical chance of mid 20's to mid 30's (probably boosted by my close to 100% crit stats on my exotic abilities). Does this add a reason to go for the Tachyokinetic Converter?

    I think it may be worth a shot, but before I spend my hard-earned Lobi for it, I figured I should ask here first. Many thanks for your responses!

    Take the general rulebook that is usually given for STO ship building, tear it in half, and throw half of it away. The trick is, to know which half to toss ;).

    What works on paper doesn't properly translate to actual results, because not every circumstance is scripted to run the exact same way 100% of the time in this game.

    Keeping it short and simple, go w/ Tachyo. You'll gain more as a QoL, and can adjust powerLvls afterwards for AMP. Yes, the crit gained is calculated for your Sci abilities.
    @Odenknight | U.S.S. Challenger | "Remember The Seven"
    Fleet Defiant Kinetic Heavy Fire Support | Fleet Manticore Kinetic Strike Ship | Tactical Command Kinetic Siege Refit | Fleet Defiant Quantum Phase Escort | Fleet Valiant Kinetic Heavy Fire Support
    Turning the Galaxy-X into a Torpedo Dreadnought & torpedo tutorial, with written torpedo guide.
    "A good weapon and a great strategy will win you many battles." - Marshall
    I knew using Kinetics would be playing the game on hard mode, but what I didn't realize was how bad the deck is stacked against Kinetics.
  • Options
    e30erneste30ernest Member Posts: 1,794 Arc User
    edited May 2015
    Haha yes I am beginning to realize that. Too bad the lag isn't making it easy for me to make new good parses to test out my changes properly.

    I am going to experiment using Pilot as my primary and Command as secondary. Since I fly pretty close to stuff anyway the bonuses from Pilot might make up for my Intel's Flanking (which I am doing a poor job of using against the Borg due to their ship designs). Command's torpedo boosts, defensive stuff along with Pilot's damage boosts and defensive stuff might be a good fit.

    I just need 5 more spec points to make it happen.
  • Options
    simeion1simeion1 Member Posts: 898 Arc User
    edited May 2015
    Well the "Particle Manipulation" nerf that is inbound will make it even less effective.

    Check "Tribble patch notes for May 1st!
    320x240.jpg
  • Options
    e30erneste30ernest Member Posts: 1,794 Arc User
    edited May 2015
    simeion1 wrote: »
    Well the "Particle Manipulation" nerf that is inbound will make it even less effective.

    Check "Tribble patch notes for May 1st!

    Thanks! Had to check that.

    That'll hurt. However, the buff to severity might make up for the lower crit chance. 50% is still a lot. In my case, it'll add up about 37.2% critical severity for 50% crits. We'll see...

    Still, I'll miss the almost sure crit for Isokinetic Cannon...

    Edit: Thanks to Virusdancer, I did some math to see how it'll affect me based on my in-game ship stats of 17.3% CrtH and 87.3 Critical Severity:

    Before
    CrtH: 17.3 + (372 * 0.25) = 17.3 + 93 = 110.3 (reduced to 100)
    CrtD: 87.3
    Average Damage: 1 + (1 * .873) = 1.873

    After
    CrtH: 17.3 + (372 * 0.20) = 17.3 + 50 = 67.3
    CrtD: 87.3 + (372 * 0.10) = 87.3 + 37.2 = 124.4
    Average damage: 1 + (0.673 * 1.244) = 1.837

    So overall, about a 2% decrease on average (discounting all external factors). 2% is a pretty small amount since parses can swing much more than that.

    But I'll also get a huge amount of variability in actual damage dealt. So it can still go either way (really awesome or meh).
  • Options
    simeion1simeion1 Member Posts: 898 Arc User
    edited May 2015
    e30ernest wrote: »
    Thanks! Had to check that.

    That'll hurt. However, the buff to severity might make up for the lower crit chance. 50% is still a lot. In my case, it'll add up about 37.2% critical severity for 50% crits. We'll see...

    Still, I'll miss the almost sure crit for Isokinetic Cannon...

    Edit: Thanks to Virusdancer, I did some math to see how it'll affect me based on my in-game ship stats of 17.3% CrtH and 87.3 Critical Severity:

    Before
    CrtH: 17.3 + (372 * 0.25) = 17.3 + 93 = 110.3 (reduced to 100)
    CrtD: 87.3
    Average Damage: 1 + (1 * .873) = 1.873

    After
    CrtH: 17.3 + (372 * 0.20) = 17.3 + 50 = 67.3
    CrtD: 87.3 + (372 * 0.10) = 87.3 + 37.2 = 124.4
    Average damage: 1 + (0.673 * 1.244) = 1.837

    So overall, about a 2% decrease on average (discounting all external factors). 2% is a pretty small amount since parses can swing much more than that.

    But I'll also get a huge amount of variability in actual damage dealt. So it can still go either way (really awesome or meh).

    While virusdancer knows his stuff, his numbers only include the times it skills crit. What about the times they don't.
    320x240.jpg
  • Options
    e30erneste30ernest Member Posts: 1,794 Arc User
    edited May 2015
    The formula equation includes both, so it's an average of both Crits and Normal hits. Or did I miss something?
  • Options
    simeion1simeion1 Member Posts: 898 Arc User
    edited May 2015
    e30ernest wrote: »
    The formula equation includes both, so it's an average of both Crits and Normal hits. Or did I miss something?

    All I see is the info for a crith, I don't see any info averaging normal damage in.
    320x240.jpg
  • Options
    e30erneste30ernest Member Posts: 1,794 Arc User
    edited May 2015
    simeion1 wrote: »
    All I see is the info for a crith, I don't see any info averaging normal damage in.

    The "1" represents a standard (non-crit) normal. So the math shows the average damage if it includes y critical damage dealt x percent of the time. So the formula is:

    n = normal hit
    y = critical damage
    x = critical hit
    D = average damage

    D = n + (x*y)
  • Options
    daunknownadmindaunknownadmin Member Posts: 96 Arc User
    edited May 2015
    VirusDancer was kind enough to use my numbers in this example.
    Before

    CrtH: 3.5 + (449 * 0.25) = 3.5 + (112.25; reduced to 100) = 103.5; reduced to 100%
    CrtD: 60.4%
    Average Damage: 1 + (1.0 * 0.604) = 1 + 0.604 = 1.604

    After

    CrtH: 3.5 + (440 * 0.2) = 3.5 + (88; reduced 50) = 53.5%
    CrtD: 60.4 + (440 * 0.1) = 60.4 + 44 = 104.4%
    Average Damage: 1 + (0.535 * 1.044) = 1 + 0.55854 = 1.55854

    So from 1.604 to 1.55854...0.04546 difference or 4.546% less average damage. Keep in mind that's a theoretical average that might play out over who knows how many hits...
    I'm guessing I can make up the loss by adding Rom Bridge Officers, Uni Consoles, etc.
  • Options
    simeion1simeion1 Member Posts: 898 Arc User
    edited May 2015
    Ok I see what he is doing but the math looks little funny to me.
    320x240.jpg
  • Options
    e30erneste30ernest Member Posts: 1,794 Arc User
    edited May 2015
    After several days in the high 20k's, got into a laggy PUG run, but the stars aligned and I finally broke 30k! :D

    I did make some slight changes to my build:
    • Replaced Zero Point with Tachyokinetic Converter
    • Replaced Rule 62 with Bio Neural Circuitry
    • Moved Gravimetric aft and Enhanced Biomolecular fore
    • Moved Plasma Emissions to far left fore so it fires first, then Neutronic second.
    • Replaced Anchor trait with Elusive to proc Reciprocity more often

    I've been watching a few more videos as well (especially darkknightucf's) to gain some insight on what they were doing differently. I noticed that they were more aggressive in their flying, so I up'ed my aggression and flew less defensively.

    I will admit, my pets dealt a little higher damage in this run than they normally do. If they dealt the damage they normally do, I'd probably end up in the high 29k again. I still have a lot of work to do before I can be confident this wasn't a fluke.

    But for now this will remain as is, until the new Particle Manipulator changes come about and see how that changes things before I start tuning stuff again.
  • Options
    e30erneste30ernest Member Posts: 1,794 Arc User
    edited May 2015
    I think I can safely say that the changes to Particle Manipulator had little effect to effective DPS. Damage/Hit for my exotic abilities have remained around my normal range.

    I'm loving this build! Up to 35k now with 1 death (while trying to get Fleet Support out). Maybe I'll move this build over to one of those new Sci-Escorts and see how that does there.

    Time to save up my dil and gather Argonite. Maybe if I can get all my weapons to epic I can aim for 40k. :D It'll probably take months though given how slow I gather dill and Argonite for the upgrades.
  • Options
    e30erneste30ernest Member Posts: 1,794 Arc User
    edited May 2015
    Sorry to bump this up again, but I am looking into improving my power levels by replacing my core. Since I don't use energy weapons much, I think my A>W is being wasted. I think A>S is a better option for me. If I get the core to epic, it gains W>S right? If so, I can redirect some of my power to engines and get an extra AMP bonus (currently getting 2xAMP from Aux and Shields).

    That said, the only core with A>S with AMP seems to be the Plasma Integrated cores. Is it worth losing my base 5 aux? Just thought I'd ask before throwing more resources away. :D

    Thanks!
Sign In or Register to comment.