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Question Regarding Captains

helixsunbringerhelixsunbringer Member Posts: 249 Arc User
in The Academy
I was wondering if I could get some help answering a few questions:
  • If I wanted to play as an Engineering Captain, which faction would be the best faction to play that role? I currently have a level 56 Orion Engineering Captain as my highest level captain across all factions, would that be an effective Engineering Captain?
  • Second, if I wanted to play a Science Captain, which faction would be the best? I know that technically the Federation has the highest number of Science Ship options, but is that necessarily the best faction for that type of Captain? Additionally, if I were to run a Federation Science Captain, and I ran the Vesta [T5-U] ship, would it be best to use the Aux Cannons with Mines in the Aft Weapons slots?
  • I am assuming that for Tactical Captains that Romulan Faction and Romulan Race is ideal, and that flying the Scimitar Class Dreadnought is the ideal ship?

Comments

  • neomodiousneomodious Member Posts: 428 Arc User
    Any of those are viable options. I'd recommend playing around and seeing what you enjoy and what frustrates you, and work out play styles from that.​​
  • gradiigradii Member Posts: 2,824 Arc User
    You can do any career and any faction you want.

    Tactical Romulans are best for DPS and DPS ONLY. which some people mistakenly think brings instant success.
    "He shall be my finest warrior, this generic man who was forced upon me.
    Like a badass I shall make him look, and in the furnace of war I shall forge him.
    he shall be of iron will and steely sinew.
    In great armour I shall clad him and with the mightiest weapons he shall be armed.
    He will be untouched by plague or disease; no sickness shall blight him.
    He shall have such tactics, strategies and machines that no foe will best him in battle.
    He is my answer to cryptic logic, he is the Defender of my Romulan Crew.
    He is Tovan Khev... and he shall know no fear."
  • helixsunbringerhelixsunbringer Member Posts: 249 Arc User
    gradii wrote: »
    You can do any career and any faction you want.

    Tactical Romulans are best for DPS and DPS ONLY. which some people mistakenly think brings instant success.

    Yeah, I have found that I am not really a DPS player in this game, which is why I have been trying to decide whether I would be better as a Science or Engineering Captain.

    I mean I enjoy my Tactical Romulan from a story-line perspective, but the class just isn't really my play-style...
  • theillusivenmantheillusivenman Member Posts: 438 Arc User
    helixsunbringer wrote: »
    I was wondering if I could get some help answering a few questions:
    • If I wanted to play as an Engineering Captain, which faction would be the best faction to play that role? I currently have a level 56 Orion Engineering Captain as my highest level captain across all factions, would that be an effective Engineering Captain?
    • Second, if I wanted to play a Science Captain, which faction would be the best? I know that technically the Federation has the highest number of Science Ship options, but is that necessarily the best faction for that type of Captain? Additionally, if I were to run a Federation Science Captain, and I ran the Vesta [T5-U] ship, would it be best to use the Aux Cannons with Mines in the Aft Weapons slots?
    • I am assuming that for Tactical Captains that Romulan Faction and Romulan Race is ideal, and that flying the Scimitar Class Dreadnought is the ideal ship?

    Hi,
    • Engineering wise both FED and KDF got a nice collection, Feds get higher selection of ships, Klinks get a bit more tactically richer engineering ships so many consider them "more fun".
    • Personally, KDF and Roms got a pretty wane selection of science ships, so sadly I'd say definitely FED here, except if you're okay getting an expensive lockbox/lobi/promotion ships, in which case it doesn't really matter.
    • Depends, if you want highest possible damage, it's all romulan crew, DBB and Scimitar, yes. ROMs got a lovely selection of other tact-centric ships as well, so it's not like you can go wrong picking them even if you aren't planing on going Scimitar. That's not to say KDF is gimped in any way, with the likes of Mat'Ha, T6 Guramba and similar. FEDs also have a nice selection of tactical ships, although aside the Defiant, I'd say KDFs and ROMs are more fun (personal taste) and more iconic as nimbler and higher damage dealers. All three factions have pilot ships which are excellent for any Captain, regardless of profession, looking to make a lot of damage, you simply cannot go wrong picking them.

    Happy huntin'
    5980291nyfcc.png
    "Reality is a thing of the past."
    Proud supporter of equality for all human beings.
  • helixsunbringerhelixsunbringer Member Posts: 249 Arc User
    So I narrowed the list of races and factions down to the following:
    • Engineering Captain - Federation / Klingon - Liberated Borg, Joined Trill, Talaxian, Alien - I discovered that playing Orion Engineering Captains is counter productive due to the Racial Trait on the Orion lowering Threat by a bit...
    • Science Captain - Federation - Joined Trill
    • Tactical Captain - Romulan - Romulan, Alien

    Does that look about accurate?

    Also, if playing a Science Captain, is all that the Science Captain does healing? Or can they do DPS oriented stuff with their "spells"? I ask because I am not particularly fond of playing the healer role in games, but if they can do things like magic attacks similar to a Spellcasting DPS in other games, then that might not be so bad...
  • markhawkmanmarkhawkman Member Posts: 35,231 Arc User
    Sci is great for space magic. Grav wells are KILLER when used right. :D Sci on ground have some similarly painful stuff.

    They also have heals, but are best when they don't specialize in healing.
    -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
    My character Tsin'xing
    Costume_marhawkman_Tsin%27xing_CC_Comic_Page_Blue_488916968.jpg
  • szerontzurszerontzur Member Posts: 2,723 Arc User
    Tactical
    +Offensive powerhouse in space; career-specific abilities focus primarily on boosting your personal damage and making targets squishy for everyone
    +Offensive and defensive support on ground; powerful attacks, good buffs/debuffs; lacks the self-healing that other careers get

    Engineer
    +Self-focused in space; many self-only buffs the improve defenses and power levels
    +All-purpose on ground with more set-up time than other careers; primary shield healers for ground gameplay; very self-sufficient

    Science
    +Force-multiplying defensive and offensive support; can protect allies by reducing damage and creating decoys; can strip enemy buffs and soften their defenses
    +All-purpose utility on ground that rewards intelligent play(Electro-Gravity Field + Exothermic is a great combo); primary health healer; some (relatively useless) CC abilities, some powerful AoE damage over time abilities; minimal ability to actually reduce damage or heal shields.



    The actual ship you want to fly has relatively little to do with your captain and more what kind of playstyle you want. Most of your combat ability is determined by your bridge officers. Your Captain's career can either min-max your playstyle or compensate for a ship's short-comings.

    For example:
    A Tactical captain in an offensive ship will give that ship even more bite. However, an Engineer in the same ship will make it a bit more durable - ensuring it stays in the fight and continues to do damage. Lastly, a Science captain in the same ship will enable it to work better with teamates by making your targets extremely vulnerable and also being able to protect nearby friendlies with scattering field and photonic decoys. You'll still do lots of damage in an attack ship, regardless.


    If you want to play an offensive, tanky, and/or support role, all factions have options available. The Romulans and KDF are currently lacking end-game pure science and dedicated carrier options (they still have some mid-to-late game options, however).

    The Federation (Star)fleet is the most well-rounded. Romulans tend to focus on attack ships. KDF have a strange mix of aggressive battle cruisers and raptors, defensive support ships, and fragile multi-purpose raiders.
  • markhawkmanmarkhawkman Member Posts: 35,231 Arc User
    Ground:
    Tacs can do a weak heal with Rally Cry, it's also a decent buff.
    Sci actually do have a decent buff ability, Biofiltersweep, it's main use is toxic cleanse, but it also gives general resist.
    Eng have a few generally useless skills on ground... fuse armor and weapon malfunction... oh and the boff version of cover shield... DO NOT LET BOFFS USE COVER SHIELD!!!
    -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
    My character Tsin'xing
    Costume_marhawkman_Tsin%27xing_CC_Comic_Page_Blue_488916968.jpg
  • gradiigradii Member Posts: 2,824 Arc User
    markhawkman wrote: »
    Ground:
    Tacs can do a weak heal with Rally Cry, it's also a decent buff.
    Sci actually do have a decent buff ability, Biofiltersweep, it's main use is toxic cleanse, but it also gives general resist.
    Eng have a few generally useless skills on ground... fuse armor and weapon malfunction... oh and the boff version of cover shield... DO NOT LET BOFFS USE COVER SHIELD!!!

    You've obviously never noticed weapon malfunction works on large enemies and bosses...
    "He shall be my finest warrior, this generic man who was forced upon me.
    Like a badass I shall make him look, and in the furnace of war I shall forge him.
    he shall be of iron will and steely sinew.
    In great armour I shall clad him and with the mightiest weapons he shall be armed.
    He will be untouched by plague or disease; no sickness shall blight him.
    He shall have such tactics, strategies and machines that no foe will best him in battle.
    He is my answer to cryptic logic, he is the Defender of my Romulan Crew.
    He is Tovan Khev... and he shall know no fear."
  • ultimatenewbieultimatenewbie Member Posts: 269 Arc User
    helixsunbringer wrote: »
    So I narrowed the list of races and factions down to the following:
    • Engineering Captain - Federation / Klingon - Liberated Borg, Joined Trill, Talaxian, Alien - I discovered that playing Orion Engineering Captains is counter productive due to the Racial Trait on the Orion lowering Threat by a bit...
    • Science Captain - Federation - Joined Trill
    • Tactical Captain - Romulan - Romulan, Alien

    Does that look about accurate?

    Those look like good choices

    However, the Liberated Borg [and Talaxian?] is only available if you've purchased a Lifetime Subscription - if you're going to do this, definitely wait for when they god for US$199 (ie, US$100 off) which usually happens about twice a year. Unfortunately, the last sale was only about 6 weeks ago.

    My guide for new players has a short discussion on races and professions/classes - in short, there are no bad (ie unplayable) races, and professions depends on what you want to play but the game is gradually building up a tactical bias (particularly in space combat). However, as others have noticed, race and profession are less important than the type of ship you're flying - and just because you're an engineer doesnt mean you need to fly a cruiser; in fact, mixing them up tends to work better (eg, tac in cruiser helps it peak more damage and thus attract more aggro, making use of your higher HP etc).

    Link to the guide here: http://www.arcgames.com/en/forums/startrekonline#/discussion/1175643/early-decisions-ultimate-newbies-new-players-guide/p1
  • helixsunbringerhelixsunbringer Member Posts: 249 Arc User
    I already have a Lifetime Sub from a few Christmases ago.
  • markhawkmanmarkhawkman Member Posts: 35,231 Arc User
    gradii wrote: »
    markhawkman wrote: »
    Ground:
    Tacs can do a weak heal with Rally Cry, it's also a decent buff.
    Sci actually do have a decent buff ability, Biofiltersweep, it's main use is toxic cleanse, but it also gives general resist.
    Eng have a few generally useless skills on ground... fuse armor and weapon malfunction... oh and the boff version of cover shield... DO NOT LET BOFFS USE COVER SHIELD!!!
    You've obviously never noticed weapon malfunction works on large enemies and bosses...
    This is true. Also there's a doff that can make it an AoE. Still not sure it's really worth using though.
    -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
    My character Tsin'xing
    Costume_marhawkman_Tsin%27xing_CC_Comic_Page_Blue_488916968.jpg
  • gradiigradii Member Posts: 2,824 Arc User
    markhawkman wrote: »
    gradii wrote: »
    markhawkman wrote: »
    Ground:
    Tacs can do a weak heal with Rally Cry, it's also a decent buff.
    Sci actually do have a decent buff ability, Biofiltersweep, it's main use is toxic cleanse, but it also gives general resist.
    Eng have a few generally useless skills on ground... fuse armor and weapon malfunction... oh and the boff version of cover shield... DO NOT LET BOFFS USE COVER SHIELD!!!
    You've obviously never noticed weapon malfunction works on large enemies and bosses...
    This is true. Also there's a doff that can make it an AoE. Still not sure it's really worth using though.

    Situational, worth having in some builds.
    "He shall be my finest warrior, this generic man who was forced upon me.
    Like a badass I shall make him look, and in the furnace of war I shall forge him.
    he shall be of iron will and steely sinew.
    In great armour I shall clad him and with the mightiest weapons he shall be armed.
    He will be untouched by plague or disease; no sickness shall blight him.
    He shall have such tactics, strategies and machines that no foe will best him in battle.
    He is my answer to cryptic logic, he is the Defender of my Romulan Crew.
    He is Tovan Khev... and he shall know no fear."
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