Need cannon advise - Xbox

mkm1911

I only started sto about 3 mos ago and could use some advice.

I love my t6 defiant. On the forward weapons, I'm using single cannons on weapon slot 1 and 4, torpedo in slot 2, and quad phaser cannon on slot 3.

What I like about the single cannons is the 180 degree arc, which allows shooting while banking. I have read a lot of negative comments about the single cannons, citing the 180 degree arc doesn't compensate for the reduced dps. According to the weapon stats, the dps of duel (not heavy, I don't like the 2 sec recharge) is like 30 points more, not actually double damage. I have thought that approx 30 points more damage isn't much of an advantage vs 4 times the firing arch.

Now that we can make our own weapons, I've read it's possible to make dual cannons with better than 45 degree arc. I don't know how or if it's even possible on console.

What is the community's advice between dual vs single cannons and WHY? Please post the reasoning for your pov so I can understand better.

bubbybear

you need to get your cannon skill up to 15, then you can make dual heavy cannons with a 90 degree arc. just finished my first one a couple hours ago.

mkm1911

Thank you for the tip. I'm at 14 now. With the upgrade boost weekend coming up, that'll help as well

zerokillcf2011

DPS isn't the only metric, esp when comparing cannons. Damage per VOLLEY is also important, and can alter your total damage effectiveness. Check the section on weapon cycles on the wiki as it goes into it better than I can. Also that "30 points more damage" is before any modifiers. With the 4 tac consoles on your Defiant you could be looking at several HUNDRED dps difference after mods. But again, the comparison of higher damager per volley (i.e. harder single punch) vs less damage but more volleys per second (i.e. multiple weaker punches in the same weapon cycle, and thus more chances to roll your Procs as those are 2.5% whatever PER VOLLEY not per weapon cycle)

That's why some people prefer Dual Heavy Cannon (hit harder) and some prefer Dual Cannon (more hits, weaker, but higher chance to proc)

bergins

The other thing to know about the Wide Angle Cannons is that you can only equip one.

That and, not only do you need to be level 15 in Cannon School, but you have to have a DOff with the right "qualifications" in order to craft the silly things. You can get them from DOff missions at SFA or you can buy them on the exchange. Odds of getting the right DOff from the R&D mission right away are slim. Don't know about the console economies, but on PC, if all you are making is one for you to use, it's almost cheaper to just buy the darned thing on the exchange. Certainly easier.

mkm1911

Bergins: thanks for the info. I had no idea only one can be equipped nor that it mattered what "energy weapon specialist" was used. As far as how many I need, I'll admit, I'm a boring player. I have 7 characters but I still play them to MY play style, so they all use manuverable, cannon primary ships.

With the tip from Zerokillcf2011, I'm more of the multiple, less damaging hit player than the opposite. I do strafing runs with my cannons, that extra second of recharge with DHC makes me feel like I'm not maximizing the time I have before passing the target.

Since I now know I can only equip 1 dual with a 90 degree arc, and because I have A LOT of epic, ultra, and very rare mk14 single cannons among all characters, I've decided to go with the following:

Forward weapon slot 1: single cannon

Forward weapon slot 2: projectile weapon

Forward weapon slot 3: quad cannon

Forward weapon slot 4: dual 90 degree cannon

This not only completely lights up the front of the ship when all 3 cannons are activated (outside and center fire), but I get a weapon firing while banking (single), 2 weapons firing as half the turn to target approachs (single and dual), and finally when facing the target once the bank/turn is complete I have all 3 cannons firing.

I like this idea. I'm taking a HUGE power drain because all 3 cannons have a 1 sec recharge, but I want to try and give this a shot.

I just need to get my hands on a lot of superior upgrades by the time the double upgrade weekend comes along AND have at least 7 dual 90 degree cannons. I prefer 10 at very rare mk14 as I only have 10 character slots.

Thanks again for all the help and great info guys. There's a lot to know about this game and I'm glad this forum have so many experienced players.

Now... beam weapons. Lol. I mount 2 beams aft. Anyone know if the beam emitters from kelvin timeline benefit from beam modifiers and abilities? Beam weapons is a whole other mysterious topic.

bergins

Well, without touching too much on beam weapons themselves, I will say that they don't benefit from BOff abilities you'll want to be running: CSV, CRF, and CSV*. Turrets, however, do. And they have a 360° firing arc.

ETA: But to answer your question about KT beams: Yes, despite the fact that they look like cannons, they benefit from beam abilities.

*Worth saying twice.

zerokillcf2011

Concur. Kelvin Timeline Phaser Beam Array will benefit from console boosts the same as the cannons, but not your bridge officer abilities like cannon scatter volley or rapid fire. If you want to try fun game mechanics, put 1 turret aft, the Breen Transphasic Cluster torp you get as a reward from the Breen arc mission, and the romulan tractor cloaking mine you get as the mission reward from the Romulan arc. Having only one aft weapon helps with power consumption, and a turret will add to forward fire and help with you damage while turning. The tractor mine guarantees a grab on most NPC ships, and after your alpha strike the transphasic cluster will hit for 10-15k (crits will break 100k) and finish them off. Quite fun.

mkm1911

Wow. Damage in this game is way more complex than just point and shoot.

I've played simple rpg games (d&d paper and dice, skyrim, dragon age, etc) and mostly fps games, but this is my first mmorpg-like game.

I wish there was a way to see both offensive and defensive stats, after mods from console and captain buffs. Trying to figure out the end result of both damage and resistance after all console and chatacter mods/buffs isn't simple.

zerokillcf2011

If you aren't going for DPS min/max stuff....just do whatever is fun to you. I prefer "canon" ships, so my Galaxy has phaser beam arrays and photon torpedo bays fore and aft. A lot of trial and error though on loadouts. You can always buy common or rare versions on the exchange and sample a new loadout idea. If it works good for you, then upgrading to very rare and MKIV will make it even better, but if it sucks and you can't make it work, you don't lose much.

meimeitoo

mkm1911#2674 wrote: »

Wow. Damage in this game is way more complex than just point and shoot.

Hehe, you should have played EvE Online, like I did. Damage is endlessly more complex there, with different weps for different ship sizes, different lasers and crystals, different types against different factions (both offensive and defensive), tracking, etc. It was a nightmare, compared to the breeze weapons are in STO.

Naturally, when you start to factor in weapon volley speed per second, and stuff that procs on that, yeah, then things are getting harder. But still, enjoy the (relative) ease which is STO.