What's a good set/gear for a melee Captain?

thfinalnightmare

Just what is says on the Tin, looking to make a melee build, not sure how. Suggestions?

schloopdoo

Defintely have Sweeping Strikes in you kit, for its raw damage. It's also an Expose, and Lunge is a decent melee Exploit, but that base damage is what makes Sweeping Strikes shine.

The Gorn Bite racial and Caitian/Ferasan Pounce racial traits hit like a truck, too, if you're building from the ground up.

A lot of the ground combat traits, like Soldier and Covert, boost both melee and ranged damage.

I've noticed that with species who have improved chance of knockdown among their mandatory traits, it gets difficult to complete a melee weapon strike combo because the enemy gets knocked out of range. That's good because it keeps the enemy from hitting back, but it gets a little comical when you're chasing the poor guy across the floor like a hockey puck in order to finish him off.

kjwashington

If I recall correctly (it's been quite a few years since I've heard information about this), you'll want a tactical officer, with the lunge and sweeping strikes kit modules. I think if you have a Caitian/Ferasan that you can use their race specific version of lunge (I think it's called pounce?) instead of lunge. Sweeping strikes should still provide more DPS than mele weapons, and it can be spammed.

theirresponsible

There is the Klingon Honor Guard / Adaptied Maco set that come from the borg rep, it has hypo clicky that restors health, breaks roots, and gives melee damage boost. Just put the weapon on your back and run with perfered melee weapon out.

With season 11 comeing on the 27th will have a ground set that will have a bat'leth weapon option.

Otherwise there is a melee set from the Tholian rep. I have no experience with it.

If you have one of the Plasma bladed Bat'Leths from past winter events you could equip the Romulan kit that gives 20% plasma damage.

azurianstar

Also the new Mirror Universe has melee abilities as well.

But for a melee build, unless you're a Tactical there isn't much to boost unless you can find set pieces or traits that boost physical damage.

johnsteward

Counter command set gogo

shadowfirefly00

Setting aside racial traits, theirresponsible's suggestions are all good ones (while, like him/her, I do not have any experience with the Shattering Harmonics set, it can be argued that its sword is a worthy stand-alone purchase to go with the MACO/KHG set); before those become available, though, one can always buy/craft physical augmentation armor. Also, I seem to recall TFO's weapon proficiency trait including a melee boost, but I'm not sure if the cryo immobilizer module from NSF can be triggered by melee attacks.

And yes, the tactical track has sweeping strikes, lunge, and motion accelerator... but it's not like the others are completely bare of relevant options; it's just that these are with one exception more about making the enemy more vulnerable than directly increasing your damage...

• engineering: weapon malfunction, fuse armor
• science: electro-gravitic field, tricorder scan, dylovene (may stack with the MACO/KHG adrenal booster), sonic pulse

Operators with access to a fleet research lab can requisition kits with an 'off-track' inherent ability (i.e. you can get weapon malfunction on a tac or science kit).

theirresponsible wrote: »

With season 11 comeing on the 27th will have a ground set that will have a bat'leth weapon option.

While the particular weapon is fitting given the kit's origin, it would be just as lore-compliant - what with the kit being made available outside of House Pegh - to have a choice of melee weapons (bat'leth, sword - preferably modeled after the Nausicaan tegolar sword than the falchion) offered. Still going to check it out anyway; I was amused to see that its charge mechanic bears a coincidental resemblance to the class ability of Torchlight 2 engineers.

If you have one of the Plasma bladed Bat'Leths from past winter events you could equip the Romulan kit that gives 20% plasma damage.

Caution: Borg adapt to these. That important point aside, it's also surprising that there isn't a nanopulse sword to round out the set.

binkley#1015 wrote: »

A Worn Bat'leth and the old tactical kit with motion accel and lunge3. Because only a petaQ would buy his way to victory with a shiny new blade he has not mastered.

I understand your sentiment, and offer that there is much to be said for taking that new blade and properly mastering it, making it an extension of your arm, et cetera (as very distinct from expecting victory to come merely from possessing said shiny new blade). Such a pity that actual blade crafting is so far relegated to a doff assignment that becomes available after completing the 'Catian Diaspora' chain; why it wasn't included in the crafting system puzzles me.

thfinalnightmare

Thanks all, one last bit though, what about survivablity? Sweeping Strikes/Lunge are so great I can pretty much just put a weapon on my back for the stats, but During Elite Missions I tend to get chewed up (currently using the Iconian set). How can I keep myself in the fight longer?

architect13

Did we already mention the melee/crit doffs?

shadowwraith77

architect13 wrote: »

Did we already mention the melee/crit doffs?

No, but you just did!

thfinalnightmare

binkley#1015 wrote: »

but considering some people in PVP can 1shot kick you in the face for over 2k, I don't see a need for changes.

So, just to be clear, some one pulled a Sweeping Strikes for 2000 damage. How is that possible , the highest I've been able to get my Kick is 355(before crits), not saying that's the best, or even close (just started this after all), but what was she/he using?

shadowwraith77 wrote: »

architect13 wrote: »

Did we already mention the ?

No, but you just did!

K, I'll bite, what are the melee/crit doffs?

happyhappyj0yj0y

Topics about melee make me a sad camper that the shard sword of Kahless STILL can't be upgraded.

markhawkman

The undine rep gear also has a boost to melee on the armor.

warmaker001b

There's a bunch of Melee oriented DOFFs but the best IMO is:

Security Officer: Increased melee Critical chance and Critical severity - Have up to 3 active

Duty Officer List at STOWiki. Security Officer and Assault Squad Officer are the main DOFF types that have melee oriented stats.

It's been a while since I checked but Very Rare of the melee crit DOFFs are very pricey on the exchange. Take a look at the DOFF acquisition NPC as well as Tier 4 rewards in a certain DOFF area. There may possibly one you can get off there for free when you hit Tier 4.

If you're a TAC doing the Sweeping Strikes / Lunge Combo, I highly suggest taking a Compression Pistol as a sidearm. When you're spamming Sweeping Strikes to land Expose, the preferred next move is a powerful Lunge to Exploit. Then go back to Sweeping Strikes spam. But if you land another expose and Lunge is on CD, with a Compression Pistol, you have a very quick firing, single target Exploit shot. Secondary attacks with Compression Pistols have very short CDs so these pistols are typically more available to use as an Exploit tool than Lunge is.