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Plasmonic Leech does.... Nothing?

snowwolf#0563 snowwolf Member Posts: 1,018 Arc User
So I've had an Engineering build for a while on my Engineering character. The ship in question is an Exploration Cruiser T6 Fleet Variant with a powerful fleet warp core. I also have a Plasmonic Leech on the build. And yes I've made sure my EPS power transfer rate is very high and yes my flow caps are very high.

Still it does not seem to... Do anything. When I attack an enemy they get the icon that the Plasmonic Leech is active but it does not seem to do anything, I've tried playing without it and my power level still stays 125 across the board pretty much.

Could it be because of my other powers and warp core? Am I producing so much power as an engineer I don't need the Plasmonic Leech?

The only times I can notice it's working a little is if I am bombarded with thingies that are made to drain power directly. Like those small probes etc I don't remember the name off..

Other than that it seems.. Unnecessary on my build. I am producing enough power without it.
So do I need it? Everyone I asked just say "YES YOU MUST HAVE IT OR ELSE UR STOOPID"

Comments

  • rattler2rattler2 Member, Star Trek Online Moderator Posts: 58,596 Community Moderator
    125 is the the default subsystem power cap. There are ways to go over the cap, but if you aren't using those ways, 125 is as high as it will go.
    db80k0m-89201ed8-eadb-45d3-830f-bb2f0d4c0fe7.png?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7InBhdGgiOiJcL2ZcL2ExOGQ4ZWM2LTUyZjQtNDdiMS05YTI1LTVlYmZkYmJkOGM3N1wvZGI4MGswbS04OTIwMWVkOC1lYWRiLTQ1ZDMtODMwZi1iYjJmMGQ0YzBmZTcucG5nIn1dXSwiYXVkIjpbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmZpbGUuZG93bmxvYWQiXX0.8G-Pg35Qi8qxiKLjAofaKRH6fmNH3qAAEI628gW0eXc
    I can't take it anymore! Could everyone just chill out for two seconds before something CRAZY happens again?!
    The nut who actually ground out many packs. The resident forum voice of reason (I HAZ FORUM REP! YAY!)
  • snowwolf#0563 snowwolf Member Posts: 1,018 Arc User
    What are those ways? lol
  • dracounguisdracounguis Member Posts: 5,358 Arc User
    edited January 2016
    some warp engines let the cap go to 130 for a subsystem. Might be some consoles too.
    I think there's a set bonus on the Terran set that will let all your subsystems creep up to 130 over time.
    But I think Cryptic has made it to where you can only have 1 buffing item active at a time so you can't stack then to get over 130.

    Set all your power levels to 50 then go shoot something. that should give the room for leech power to show on the totals.
    Sometimes I think I play STO just to have something to complain about on the forums.
  • meimeitoomeimeitoo Member Posts: 12,594 Arc User
    Yep, you must be doing it wrong. :) No, seriously. Having a Leech makes an incredible difference to your power levels (especially with Supremacy on top).
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  • snowwolf#0563 snowwolf Member Posts: 1,018 Arc User
    I just noticed it's no difference for me in a short combat but a longer one it's needed. lol.
  • sennahcheribsennahcherib Member Posts: 2,823 Arc User
    the leech is an awesome console. I can reach at least 100 for all the subsystems for my roms (weapon maxed at 125), + like I use the nandi trait, I'm always full of power for all the subsystems.

    btw, do you have gears to improve your drain capacity? (embassy console, deflector with drain etc). My main rom uses only 1 embassy console + the leech (flow cap maxed), and the drain for my weapons is +2.3
  • cbrjwrrcbrjwrr Member Posts: 2,782 Arc User
    edited January 2016
    The whole point of why the leech is used in DPS builds is to ensure high power levels across all 4 systems.

    Assuming a beam boat - which is logical, given your choice of ship - if you've managed to get to ~170 odd weapon power* and ~125 (or whatever your cap is) in the other subsystems then a leech is unnecessary.

    * it has been quite some time since I checked, so this number might be off; the point is while only 125 weapons power is usable, the overcap fills in for the drained power, meaning more of your weapons fire at 125 weapon power. Assuming what I knew last year still stands...
  • scrooge69scrooge69 Member Posts: 1,108 Arc User
    dont forgert that you have mroe than 1 fireing cycle if your eapon power does not go under 125 AT ALL during a fight u are doing it right

    it means u always do max weapon dmg
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • theillusivenmantheillusivenman Member Posts: 438 Arc User
    edited January 2016
    Leech is twice as effective if you have skills in flow caps on your Captain, but it needs time to drain and give it to you. This is the reason I never used it for a vaper build before, targets die too quick - near useless console taking the spot of something else.
    Like Mei said, it gets to be kinda ridiculous with Supremacy on top of it. ^^
    5980291nyfcc.png
    "Reality is a thing of the past."
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  • eristhevortaeristhevorta Member Posts: 1,049 Bug Hunter
    I think for PVE (especially against Borg who are not demanding a high engine or aux power level) the leech is not "needed", butt it's a cute bonus. My main character (tactical with destroyer) is happy with maxed shield and weapon power level and about 70 in engines and meowxiliary. ;)
    "Everything about the Jham'Hadar is lethal!" - Eris
    Original Join Date: January 30th, 2010
  • ikonn#1068 ikonn Member Posts: 1,450 Arc User
    edited January 2016
    What is your shield? One of the MACO shields will cancel the effects of the Leech.
    -AoP- Warrior's Blood (KDF Armada) / -AoP- Qu' raD qulbo'Degh / -AoP- Project Phoenix
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  • tempusmagustempusmagus Member Posts: 107 Arc User
    kate370 wrote: »
    So I've had an Engineering build for a while on my Engineering character. The ship in question is an Exploration Cruiser T6 Fleet Variant with a powerful fleet warp core. I also have a Plasmonic Leech on the build. And yes I've made sure my EPS power transfer rate is very high and yes my flow caps are very high.

    Still it does not seem to... Do anything. When I attack an enemy they get the icon that the Plasmonic Leech is active but it does not seem to do anything, I've tried playing without it and my power level still stays 125 across the board pretty much.

    Could it be because of my other powers and warp core? Am I producing so much power as an engineer I don't need the Plasmonic Leech?"

    Are you also running Supremacy? As an Engineer you don't need both of those. The Leech is still very useful for "overcapping" and the secondary effect that it drains energy from your target's shields and cause a damage reduction debuff. Having "very high" Power Transfer Rate isn't all that important to Engineers as well as two of their captain abilities along with All Hands on Deck (assuming you have this) can mitigate power loss.
  • maerikcharonmaerikcharon Member Posts: 108 Arc User
    If you're using regular Maco Set, doesn't stack with that. So that may be your issue.
  • snowwolf#0563 snowwolf Member Posts: 1,018 Arc User
    For some reason even with the leech.. Weapons power SOMETIMES dip under 125.. Dunno why.
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  • maerikcharonmaerikcharon Member Posts: 108 Arc User
    You don't need 125 in all subsystems, you just need over 75, which is doable with energy siphon or stuff like that quite easily. The reason people use plasmonic leech is because no matter what you do, if you fire weapons while at max power it will drop. The power only drops on the first shot of the cycle though, not every shot. And weapons rarely fire perfectly simultaneously, So the second weapon drops the power by 10, then the third by another 10, but it also fills it back up by however much your leech does. The ONLY reason you need it is to basically nullify the weapon-power drain mechanic. The power in other subsystems is just cake frankly.
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  • nextloopnextloop Member Posts: 19 Arc User
    What is your shield? One of the MACO shields will cancel the effects of the Leech.

    That's not the case anymore. I run the MACO shield and the Plasmonic Leech. As of a few months ago, they no longer cancel each other out. Now, the PL simply negates the MACO's drain...but the PL works perfectly.
  • zombieman149zombieman149 Member Posts: 29 New User
    > @kate370 said:
    > For some reason even with the leech.. Weapons power SOMETIMES dip under 125.. Dunno why.

    dip under 125 or 120?
  • snowwolf#0563 snowwolf Member Posts: 1,018 Arc User
    120.
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  • snowwolf#0563 snowwolf Member Posts: 1,018 Arc User
    I also notice the small drop can be because my warp core is set to divert 7.5% Weapon to Shield. So it seems whenever my shields get a really good pounding my weapons power go down a tiny tiny tiny bit even though they are not being fired. But I'm good with that. I have a tank build not a DPS build.

    25 k shields and 102k hull, about 61% resistance to all type of damages.
    Good luck MOBS!!!!!
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  • seaofsorrowsseaofsorrows Member Posts: 10,919 Arc User
    edited February 2016
    kate370 wrote: »
    I also notice the small drop can be because my warp core is set to divert 7.5% Weapon to Shield.

    If you're talking about one of the Fleet Cores, those grant 7.5% of Weapon Power to shield as a bonus power. They do not take power away from weapons, they take whatever 7.5% of your total Weapon Power is and grant it as an extra 'bonus' to your shield. They do not decrease your weapon power to accomplish this.

    If you're noticing Weapon Power Drop with the Leech, the likely culprit is your Power Transfer Rate. You might have EPS maxed under your Captain Tree, but that often isn't enough. Your Power Transfer rate dictates how quickly you get power from your 'overcap' into the applicable subsystem. If you can't transfer power fast enough, you basically lose it.

    Try putting an EPS Flow Regulator in one of your Engineering slots. If possible, get it up to Epic Quality for the extra boost to your power transfer rate. Once you do that, you'll probably no longer see the Weapon Power drop. You can also mitigate it by running two copies of Emergency Power to Weapons instead of Alternating between EPTW and EPTS. This method is even more highly recommended if you're running the Arbiter trait which procs only off EPTW.
    Insert witty signature line here.
  • snowwolf#0563 snowwolf Member Posts: 1,018 Arc User
    edited February 2016
    My ship is already pretty useless as a tank / support build since you got the common DPS monster that lash out 90 k DPS and 1-shot stuff all the time.

    LOL. Sometimes in those Borg STF I heal them and stuff and they get pissed because they want to turn on the "go down fighting" and stuff, rofl. Sooo funny.

    I remember in the old days on STO where u needed support and engineers, that was like the HUGE main difference in Tactical, Engineering, Science.. You all helped one another.

    Now everything is just tactical and critical hits. Where is even the fun?

    What Star Trek would be like with DPS:

    Star Trek Nemesis:
    Scimitar, one phaser blast destroys the Enterprise E instantly. After Shinzon gives up on trying to get to Picard before destroying Earth. *Roll credits*

    Star Trek First Contact:
    Enterprise E arrives at Sector 001, one torpedo spread on the cube and it instantly blows up. *Roll credits*

    Star Trek The Next Generation "Q Who"
    Enterprise D gets slung infront of a Borg Cube by Q, one torpedo spread on the cube and it instantly blows up. *Roll credits*

    Star Trek The Next Generation "Best of Both Worlds, Part 1"
    One single Starfleet ship shows up at Wolf 359. one torpedo spread on the cube and it instantly blows up. *Roll credits*
  • snowwolf#0563 snowwolf Member Posts: 1,018 Arc User
    kate370 wrote: »
    I also notice the small drop can be because my warp core is set to divert 7.5% Weapon to Shield.
    Try putting an EPS Flow Regulator in one of your Engineering slots. If possible, get it up to Epic Quality for the extra boost to your power transfer rate. Once you do that, you'll probably no longer see the Weapon Power drop. You can also mitigate it by running two copies of Emergency Power to Weapons instead of Alternating between EPTW and EPTS. This method is even more highly recommended if you're running the Arbiter trait which procs only off EPTW.

    My power transfer rate is at about... 295% if memory serves me correct, that is not enough? :open_mouth:

  • seaofsorrowsseaofsorrows Member Posts: 10,919 Arc User
    edited February 2016
    kate370 wrote: »
    kate370 wrote: »
    I also notice the small drop can be because my warp core is set to divert 7.5% Weapon to Shield.
    Try putting an EPS Flow Regulator in one of your Engineering slots. If possible, get it up to Epic Quality for the extra boost to your power transfer rate. Once you do that, you'll probably no longer see the Weapon Power drop. You can also mitigate it by running two copies of Emergency Power to Weapons instead of Alternating between EPTW and EPTS. This method is even more highly recommended if you're running the Arbiter trait which procs only off EPTW.

    My power transfer rate is at about... 295% if memory serves me correct, that is not enough? :open_mouth:

    That should be more then enough. If you're transfer is that high and you have high flow caps, then I don't see any reason at all why your Weapon Power should ever drop.

    Are you running 8 beams? And do you use Emergency Power to Weapons?

    It seems like you're doing everything right, not sure why you're seeing the drop.
    Insert witty signature line here.
  • snowwolf#0563 snowwolf Member Posts: 1,018 Arc User
    edited February 2016
    I have a total of 6 phaser beam arrays and 2 Quantum Torpedo. Emergency Power to Weapons are used quite often, yes ^^ I also have batteries.

    The reason I suspect it is my shields is because each time I get really bombarded with something my weapons power drop. It's almost the more I get attacked, the more power my weapons use? if that makes sense.

    Here, you can take a closer look. Open the gif in a new tab if the text is too blurry.
    You get all the specs list in the end, power transfer rate etc.

    3qoWtqC.gif
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  • captainpugwash1captainpugwash1 Member Posts: 908 Arc User
    I get a problem like this using leach + 2 drain con with power transfer of 377% sometime the power levels drop, weapons down to 100 but it happens when i get delay between acitivating a boff ability & it working, just put it down to the servers playing up.
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