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Phasers worth it?

are Phasers worth having? i like the ... only? set for phasers torpedos, they seem to really have an impact in general, is there anything that would compliment this?
on that note, I also have a question, whats the difference between the two retro style phaser beam arrays? there is the .... double? phaser thats in K13 and the standard one. is there a difference between them?
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  • davefenestratordavefenestrator Member Posts: 10,865 Arc User
    People will tell you that you need to use Antiproton beams, or for teams maybe disruptors. That is true if you are trying to get that last tiny bit of extra damage.

    If you just want to have fun, Mark XIV phasers will do more damage than Mark XIII anything else. Phasers are "good enough" for all of the content in the game. If you like phasers, it is OK to use phasers.
  • seriousdaveseriousdave Member Posts: 2,777 Arc User
    edited November 2016
    Phasers are "ok". Their proc is kinda subpar but there's a bunch of sets and consoles that are pretty fun to have. Running an agony phaser build + the quantum phase set on my endeavor and enemies melt as fast as with any other energy type.
    Just keep in mind that the standard phaser proc is absoluetly pointless in pve due it's randomness and the npcs high subsystem disable resistances which results in a duration of only 1-2 seconds of effect + 30 secs of immunity afterwards. :/

    As for all the all blue retro stuff, it's just visuals. Mechanic and effect wise it's the standard flavour.
  • peterconnorfirstpeterconnorfirst Member Posts: 6,225 Arc User
    edited November 2016
    If you like phaser I see no reason not to use them. Even from a DPS perspective the difference between the energy types feels minor at best.

    What I would do though is integrate the terran weapon and go with energy neutral tac consoles then. The terran weapon is roughly 50% stronger than everything else around and makes easily up for any possible damage losses when going in with neutral tac consoles.
    Post edited by peterconnorfirst on
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  • scrooge69scrooge69 Member Posts: 1,108 Arc User
    @spy8446 I dislike the passive phasers have...shutting down a random subsystem is kinda useless in my opinion
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  • e30erneste30ernest Member Posts: 1,794 Arc User
    I enjoy creating canon builds so phasers are my go-to energy weapons. They are fine from a damage standpoint for all of the game's content. It's only when you are trying to top DPS charts where it matters.

    That said, a friend of mine runs only phasers on his ships too, and he's doing 200k+ in CCA, ISA and HSE.
  • shpoksshpoks Member Posts: 6,967 Arc User
    I've run with phasers exclusively on my Starfleet ships since day 1, cause that's what a Starfleet ship is supposed to use.
    Never encountered a single problem with it.
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  • protoneousprotoneous Member Posts: 3,298 Arc User
    Phasers are just fine, as are any other energy type you like when used correctly. Minor edge for CrtD in Antiproton if you have the CrtH to take advantage of it. You can use retro phasers but will get better modifiers on crafted phasers plus they're account bound.

    Add the quantum phase console and beam array from the mission and you should do quite nicely. Grab the torpedo as well, even if you save it for missions or the Crytalline event / queue. It adds a nice death ray as the 3rd piece of the quantum phase set.

    My tac AoY toon is in the 50- 60K dps range in an Arbiter battle cruiser using crafted phasers, the quantum phase console & beam array, 2 pc borg deflector and engines with fleet resilient ResB shields, a leech, and a couple embassy consoles (all Mk 14). This with a generic spec, and gravity well and FPB thrown in for giggles.

    For me this answered the question "are phasers worth it" quite nicely. :)

  • meimeitoomeimeitoo Member Posts: 12,594 Arc User
    edited November 2016
    Been experimenting a lot of late, just for diversity; but the full Quantum set + [CrtD]x3 Pen Mk XIV Phasers, along with the synergy of the 3-piece Terran set (all for wicked drainage: Leech required, of course) is just unbeatable for me.
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  • asuran14asuran14 Member Posts: 2,335 Arc User
    I like phasers largely, though I use the Phased Biomatter phaser type alot of the time. I like the proc of additional phaser damage that is split between the primary an four nearby targets, which when used on a single target can give you a good punch for using phasers with the full amount of extra damage hitting the main target, while also being quite nice as additional damage while aoeing too.
  • sauragnmonsauragnmon Member Posts: 7 Arc User
    If you like Phasers, there are also Console sets that boost them. Consider, as well, the 8472 Counter-Command set at least Partially, because there's a Turret and two Consoles, so you can Skip the Torpedo if you want to use, say, the Quantum Phase Set. The other Consoles of note, that the wiki doesn't mention, are if you pick up the two Kelvin consoles - the Proton Charge Launcher and the Mining Laser, the two-piece set of the four consoles gives you a boost to Phaser and Photon damage.

    There's also some Special phasers out there, notably the Agony Phasers, which disable instead of offline a subsystem, and add a Phaser Damage DoT effect.

    There's Phased Biomatter, the proc on which is an area-effect blast of phaser damage... you could call them Michael Bay Phasers. Trust me, a bucketload of those puppies in Cannon Scatter Volley is just delicious, I used a full set on a Chimera a few years back and kept racking up first place on Crystalline Cataclysm because of all the Proc explosions when the crystal started fragmenting.

    Kelvin Phaser Emitter is a meh bonus, really.. the knock and hold is not bad on a beamspam boat, but they only come in beam arrays, so if you're on a heavy cannon build it can be a downshift on your payload.

    Bio-Phasers are nice, they can throw shield-penetrating damage over time, and slow the target down. If you get a few pieces of the set, you amplify the trigger chance for its proc, and of course being rep store, you can also get them with the mods you like, give or take.

    Retrofit Phasers in both forms really are just cosmetic. They're still Phasers at the end of the day, but being a fleet rep, you can find the mods you like.

    Of course, Crafted Phasers can also have other bonuses, like Over, Pen, Rapid, Snare, and others.
  • spy8446spy8446 Member Posts: 599 Arc User
    humm i see.
    a lot of info to take in, that said, was there a difference effect wise with the 2 different retro phaser types that you find on K13? ive looked them over and they just have added crit etc but is there anything else hidden under the hood sort to speak?
  • commanderkassycommanderkassy Member Posts: 1,005 Arc User
    If you like phaser I see no reason not to use them. Even from a DPS perspective the difference between the energy types feels minor at best.

    What I would do though is integrate the terran weapon and go with energy neutral tac consoles then. The terran weapon is roughly 50% stronger than everything else around and makes easily up for any possible damage losses when going in with neutral tac consoles.

    "Terran weapons"?
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  • peterconnorfirstpeterconnorfirst Member Posts: 6,225 Arc User
    If you like phaser I see no reason not to use them. Even from a DPS perspective the difference between the energy types feels minor at best.

    What I would do though is integrate the terran weapon and go with energy neutral tac consoles then. The terran weapon is roughly 50% stronger than everything else around and makes easily up for any possible damage losses when going in with neutral tac consoles.

    "Terran weapons"?

    We only talk about a one discrete disruptor weapon here (available as beam bank OR dual heavy cannon).

    http://sto.gamepedia.com/Terran_Task_Force_Munitions

    It’s a remarkable asset to all energy builds. I could imagine peeps use it for torpedo and sci builds as well.
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  • berginsbergins Member Posts: 3,454 Arc User
    edited November 2016
    If you like phaser I see no reason not to use them. Even from a DPS perspective the difference between the energy types feels minor at best.

    What I would do though is integrate the terran weapon and go with energy neutral tac consoles then. The terran weapon is roughly 50% stronger than everything else around and makes easily up for any possible damage losses when going in with neutral tac consoles.

    "Terran weapons"?

    We only talk about a one discrete disruptor weapon here (available as beam bank OR dual heavy cannon).

    http://sto.gamepedia.com/Terran_Task_Force_Munitions

    It’s a remarkable asset to all energy builds. I could imagine peeps use it for torpedo and sci builds as well.
    Non-DPS techie here, asking for all is unclean & illiterate button mashers out there:
    Is it the radiation stacking or the 3-piece bonus that is the real draw here? Or something else? Cuz "it's a remarkable asset" sounds like a Trumped Up campaign promise to me without details as to why.

    And who is "we"?
    "Logic is a little tweeting bird chirping in a meadow. Logic is a wreath of pretty flowers which smell BAD." - Spock
  • peterconnorfirstpeterconnorfirst Member Posts: 6,225 Arc User
    edited November 2016
    bergins wrote: »
    If you like phaser I see no reason not to use them. Even from a DPS perspective the difference between the energy types feels minor at best.

    What I would do though is integrate the terran weapon and go with energy neutral tac consoles then. The terran weapon is roughly 50% stronger than everything else around and makes easily up for any possible damage losses when going in with neutral tac consoles.

    "Terran weapons"?

    We only talk about a one discrete disruptor weapon here (available as beam bank OR dual heavy cannon).

    http://sto.gamepedia.com/Terran_Task_Force_Munitions

    It’s a remarkable asset to all energy builds. I could imagine peeps use it for torpedo and sci builds as well.
    Non-DPS techie here, asking for all is unclean & illiterate button mashers out there:
    Is it the radiation stacking or the 3-piece bonus that is the real draw here? Or something else? Cuz "it's a remarkable asset" sounds like a Trumped Up campaign promise to me without details as to why.

    I was referring to the native bonus of the beam array/dual heavy cannon of the linked set which makes it unique. Just the weapon, not the set. It roughly parses with 50% more damage on an avarage than all other beam arrays /dual heavy cannons in game. Or in short it’s so good that you have half a weapon more on your ship, independent from how strong you otherwise are.

    From the tooltip: Damage dealt increases as target's hull decreases, up to 200% damage at 25% hull
    bergins wrote: »
    And who is "we"?

    Us DPS techies; we all use it. ;)
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  • berginsbergins Member Posts: 3,454 Arc User
    Interesting. The "card" for the weapon says nothing about that.
    "Logic is a little tweeting bird chirping in a meadow. Logic is a wreath of pretty flowers which smell BAD." - Spock
  • zerokillcf2011zerokillcf2011 Member Posts: 545 Arc User
    Depends on what you want to accomplish OP. Generally, the answer is YES. Unless you are going for DPS high scores, most weapons end up in roughly the same camp in the end. Some are easier to bump for free (Tetryon has some nice universal console boosts available with Nukara Munitions, Sticky Web, and Krenim sci console and 3 piece bonus) but have inferior inherent procs nowadays. Seriously, just fly whatever you want. If you are going canon Star Trek, then Phasers are all you CAN put on Fed ships. The free retro phasers you get from the Devidian mission replay is physically the same as "traditional" phasers, Twin Phasers, Andorian Phasers, and I think even Kelvin Timeline Phasers......it's all just a visual/sound FX diff. So go with what makes you happy man!
  • jaguarskxjaguarskx Member Posts: 5,945 Arc User
    edited November 2016
    Phasers are pretty descent weapons. At the end of the day though energy weapon procs do not matter very much unless you like min/max builds. All my Fed captains started out using them before I decided to diversify. Every now and again I see the shields on my target get disabled, but is only a 1 in 4 chance assuming the 2.5% proc gets activated. I used them basically because they are the standard energy weapons for the Federation.

    Currently only one Fed captain uses Phasers (Agony to be exact), while the others use Coalition Disruptors, Tetyron and a pure torpedo ship.
  • goodscotchgoodscotch Member Posts: 1,680 Arc User
    If your goal is a canon Trek build then phasers on a Federation ship are a must. Good luck with your build!
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  • zerokillcf2011zerokillcf2011 Member Posts: 545 Arc User
    But you can always have fun and mix it up whilst remaining Canon. My Fed Andorian is equipped with Andorian Phasers on his Gal-X. My Temporal Agent has all Twin Phasers. I have a Fed captain Alien that I rolled as Cardassian and he uses Agony Phasers. So you can mix it up a bit since there are so many different "flavors" of phasers out there.
  • smokebaileysmokebailey Member Posts: 4,668 Arc User
    Phasers are just fine.
    The Tholian Meshweaver can be a real phaser beast if ya do it right.


    I also dig the Kelvin photons.
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  • spy8446spy8446 Member Posts: 599 Arc User
    I was just looking into the phaser types because of the only set for phasers, im really liking the torpedo it has ^_^
    on K13 there is 2 kinds of retro phasers, a standard phaser beam array, then i think its .... twin? phaser beam array. (would have thought it would have something special to it) thanks for the infor everyone.
  • zerokillcf2011zerokillcf2011 Member Posts: 545 Arc User
    Kelvin Phasers on a beam boat Gal-X (4 front, 4 rear just for S&G) looks EPIC broadsiding with BFAW III.....
  • warmaker001bwarmaker001b Member Posts: 9,205 Arc User
    edited November 2016
    spy8446 wrote: »
    are Phasers worth having? i like the ... only? set for phasers torpedos, they seem to really have an impact in general, is there anything that would compliment this?
    on that note, I also have a question, whats the difference between the two retro style phaser beam arrays? there is the .... double? phaser thats in K13 and the standard one. is there a difference between them?

    The only reason why you go for Phasers is for "looks" and being a stickler to canon Starfleet weapons on your Starfleet ship. Otherwise, anything is better than Phaser, even plain Tetryon. You can still face raep this PVE with cheap, common weapons mind you, but if you're looking for peak performance, there's better choices.

    Story Mode:
    When this game launched, Phasers were the best weapons in the game. Better than even Disruptor, Antiproton was a very uncommon weapon, not to mention we didn't have high crit hit rates to make it matter anyways. When this game first launched, there were no Subsystem Protection / Lockouts, i.e. if something shutdown a subsystem today, there is a lockout so that it cannot be chained back to back from multiple procs. Back then, there was no Subsystem Protection. In PVE, multiple users of Phasers caused tremendous havoc as subsystems were randomly shutting down for several seconds. When you consider that EVERY FED WAS USING PHASERS (and there were many) you can imagine the chaos that did on an NPC. In PVP, the same existed. Taking fire from multiple Fed players and surviving was an art form as random subsystems were shutting down from all the Phaser procs, back-to-back chaining. Very bad when your Engines and Shields got shutdown even briefly.

    Phasers were so good, that even I had outfitted one of my KDF in a B'Rel using Phaser weapons to use the Subsystem Disable mechanics that the proc was so good for.

    That all changed when Cryptic nerfed Science as a whole. Stuff that affected Disables / Subsystem Disables, i.e. Photonic Shockwave, Viral Matrix (can no longer affect Shield subsystem), etc., got hammered into the ground to the point of total irrelevance even for PVP. Phaser Proc suffered from this just as bad and overnight with one update, Phaser went from the most powerful energy weapon to use into the most useless, which it still is.
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  • rattler2rattler2 Member, Star Trek Online Moderator Posts: 59,174 Community Moderator
    spy8446 wrote: »
    I was just looking into the phaser types because of the only set for phasers, im really liking the torpedo it has ^_^
    on K13 there is 2 kinds of retro phasers, a standard phaser beam array, then i think its .... twin? phaser beam array. (would have thought it would have something special to it) thanks for the infor everyone.

    As far as I know... there really is no difference between the Twin beams and single beams. Could say that the twin beams are more of a saucer emitter setup while single beams are rear arc mounts or something. But its probably just cosmetic. And frankly the TOS phaser sound x6 or 8 on a cruiser is painful.
    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!)
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  • seriousdaveseriousdave Member Posts: 2,777 Arc User
    edited November 2016
    rattler2 wrote: »
    And frankly the TOS phaser sound x6 or 8 on a cruiser is painful.

    And that's why the federation reigns supreme, they managed to weaponize sound in space. Attack with such a beam boat and you win by your opponent fainting from severe blood loss through his/her ears. :D

  • rattler2rattler2 Member, Star Trek Online Moderator Posts: 59,174 Community Moderator
    LOL that made me laugh.
    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!)
    normal text = me speaking as fellow formite
    colored text = mod mode
  • spy8446spy8446 Member Posts: 599 Arc User
    lol
    yeah its not about being a fed char/ship, its just because of the one set that i like.
    trying to find the best for that build, so far i still like what im hearing ^_^
  • groomofweirdgroomofweird Member Posts: 1,045 Arc User
    edited November 2016
    There's also phased biomatter and agony phasers to consider if you're looking for something different in a phaser.
    Phased biomatter has an added explosion proc and agony phasers have a DoT proc.
    They are lockbox only but can be bought on the exchange and can also be used with regular phasers no problem, unless you dislike mismatched colors and effects.
    I am having great fun with these weapons, though desirable mods will cost you dearly.
    Nimoysig1_zpsr79joxz3.jpg
    "If this will be our end, then I will have them make SUCH an end as to be worthy of rememberance! Out of torpedos you say?! Find me the ferengi!".
  • peterconnorfirstpeterconnorfirst Member Posts: 6,225 Arc User
    edited November 2016
    bergins wrote: »
    Interesting. The "card" for the weapon says nothing about that.

    Try to look it up in game. The thing does what it promises. :)

    My main toon uses a phaser cannon build by the way. Since I have multiple disruptor builds on other toons already I did not want to change his energy type too just over the terran weapon.

    The energy neutral +cannon consoles from fleet spire were the perfect solution. They enable me to use the terran DHC which makes easily up for the minor damage loss between the new tac consoles compared to the old +phaser energy ones.

    Here is the build by the way: USS Astral Queen

    During a few test isa getting in the 120k DPS reach was not a thing. I don’t know how much I can ad to that with more practiced piloting or in the right team but also don’t really care that much as I use my main toon on ground for the most part anyway.
    Post edited by peterconnorfirst on
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    Looking for a fun PvE fleet? Join us at Omega Combat Division today.
    felisean wrote: »
    teamwork to reach a goal is awesome and highly appreciated
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