test content
Logo
What is the Arc Client?
Install Arc
Torpedo and survivability
shinku
Member Posts: 164 Arc User
I am looking to make a torpedo boat with the best DPS, with good survivability. What do you suggest?
I'm avoiding energy weapons because I don't want a flying disco ball in space.
I'm avoiding energy weapons because I don't want a flying disco ball in space.
0
Comments
I have had a good experience using the NX-Refit as my Torpedo Boat. In addition to its maneuverability, it's Special Console gives +25% Projectile Damage.
The Presidio's console gives that bonus, too, but it is a big and slow ship. It does have access to the Command Specialization, which is not for Torpedo Boats. If you go this route, I suggest picking up the Anchored Trait from the Exchange. It will increase your damage while immobile, and the Presidio is a Park-And-Shoot type ship.
Weapon-wise, I have found that Torpedo Boats do well not specializing in a particular damage type, unless Energy Weapons. Some of my favorites are:
Particle Emission Plasma Torpedo: A Crafted Weapon. A Plasma that leaves behind a cloud of movement-impairing DoT.
Temporal Disruption Device: A Lobi Weapon. It is a Chroniton with a 100% Proc Rate, and the damage value of a Tricobalt. When using the High Yield, it applies the Chroniton Proc to every enemy it passes on the way to the target.
Wide Angle Quantum Torpedo: From any C-Store Sovereign. It is just a Quantum but with a 180 Firing Arc, which means that it can still work while you are lining up a shot.
Gravimetric Photon Torpedo: A Dyson Rep Weapon. It is a Photon that can create Gravity Wells.
Quantum Phase Torpedo: From the mission "Sunrise". It is a Quantum Torpedo with an AoE Shield Drain.
Terran Task Force Photon Torpedo: Terran Rep Weapon. It is a Photon that has a chance to apply Radiation Damage. Moreover, it doubles its base damage when the enemy is under 25% Hull. Set it as your last-firing weapon to get the most out of it.
Tricobalt Torpedo: Heavy AoE Damage with with Rift Generation and Disable.
For Skills, in addition to the obvious:
Gravity Well or something similar: With a Torpedo Boat, stacking AoE damage is quite easy.
Distributed Targeting: Lockbox Skill. Gives your weapons an additional AoE with 50% Shield Penetration.
Kemocite-Laced Weaponry: Lockbox Skill. Adds a Radiation AoE.
"Command Specialization, which is not for Torpedo Boats." Supposed to be "Great For".
"unless Energy Weapons" to "Unlike Energy Weapons"
1. If you have enough energy weapons to proc the Expose/Exploit mechanic to boost torp damage.
2. If someone else is also running Command Spec, and are firing a lot of energy weapons to proc Expose/Exploit attacks for you. (Anyone w/ Command Spec as a Primary/Secondary will cause/benefit from Expose/Exploit attacks).
@jslyn has a few good ideas, but I will respectfully disagree with this line: My apologies. After I re-read what you wrote, I think I misunderstood what you were talking about. Types as in 'photons', 'quantums', 'plasma', etc.
"Weapon-wise, I have found that Torpedo Boats do well not specializing in a particular damage type, unless Energy Weapons."
There are torps that would benefit from EPG (PEP & Grav), DrainX (Quantum Phase, Neutronic, Pizeo), ControlX (Grav), or cause stacking debuffs (Delphic, Resonant Transphasic, Corrosive Plasma, Naussican, Disrupting Photon, etc). It would be good to know what torps do what, and when best to use them.
Aponte has some pure kinetic builds with cruisers/dreadnoughts, and I tend to focus on smaller ships (escort/destroyer range). @e30ernest does Sci-Torp very well. @jayiin covers the mathematics on our behalf. Between all of us, we can answer whatever questions you may have.
In my signature file, you will find my torpedo tutorials and various builds on different ships.
We in the Kinetic Kommunity (a torpedo channel in STO), eagerly await for when the second Balance Pass comes and fixes issues that affect torps... whenever that comes.
Fleet Defiant Kinetic Heavy Fire Support | Fleet Manticore Kinetic Strike Ship | Tactical Command Kinetic Siege Refit | Fleet Defiant Quantum Phase Escort | Fleet Valiant Kinetic Heavy Fire Support
Turning the Galaxy-X into a Torpedo Dreadnought & torpedo tutorial, with written torpedo guide.
"A good weapon and a great strategy will win you many battles." - Marshall
I knew using Kinetics would be playing the game on hard mode, but what I didn't realize was how bad the deck is stacked against Kinetics.
Who's the prettiest of them all?
Ferrofluid Hydraulic Assembly: Terran Reputation Console. 0.5 seconds off the the Global Cooldown for Torpedoes. This does not sound like much, but it actually is. This is about around 25% more DPS.
Indeed, @darkknightucf. I was speaking of those types (Photon, Plasma, etc).
Using all Plasma or all Transphasic is fine for a starter build; they work. In my experience, however (and I have been maining Torp Boats since the game started so I do have a bit of knowledge in this department) Torpedoes are best mixed and matched in a way that will maximize the overall effect. +Torpedo Consoles and a variety are better than +Photon and only Photons.
Using some of my above suggests, for example:
Gravity Well will pull the enemy together. A Particle Emission Torpedo Spread drops the enemies' speed and turn rates, so they are not getting out of even a low powered Well. Plus, they are taking continuous shield-ignoring burn damage, not from one cloud, but from all of the torpedoes in the Spread. The Quantum Phase comes in and takes away any shields they have left. A High-Yield Temporal Disruption Device comes along, drops their maneuverability even further, preventing them escaping even once the Gravity Well ends. The Terran Torpedo comes along and does double damage because the enemy are already low on hull. Battle over.
But why is it better to have a mix of types of torpedoes?
cause overall most torps aren't very good so it's better to just use the few good ones and not worry about types. most of the really high dmg comes from epg procs not the weapon dmg anyway.
if I stop posting it doesn't make you right it. just means I don't have enough rum to continue interacting with you.
Excluding the Emission Plasma Torp the other time is when you build around the Plasma DoT, like mines most of the high DPS torpedo boats do not do this. If you are building around Plasma DoT you want Temporal Operative for 20% DoT Damage, -10 resistance and Plasma torp consoles. The Emissions torp falls outside this rule as it works well with grav torps with +Torpedo Consoles and stacked into PartG.
The 3rd exception to the +Torpedo Consoles is when you use the bug to get 5 Crystalline Energy Torpedos. Normally you can only own 1 but it you happen to get 4 or 5 you can fit them all at once.
Most high end builds mix and match unique types of torpedoes. As said earlier on the Plasma Emission Torpedo will go well with the Photon Gravity Torpedo. Personally I prefer matching unique torpedoes of the same type so 4 unique Quantum with 1 unique Quantum mine and Quantum damage consoles. Whichever way you choose normally you would want to move away from basic torpedoes and only fit the unique torpedoes.
I firmly agree with a fore given sage advice... I've been doing Tboats since before the start of STO.... Simply put it has been my considerable experience that counter to other platforms, mixing torps is a very effective and advanced strategy. Essentially, delivery is more important than packaging when you reach out and touch someone...
On a side note, consider some rapid reloads to serve as your base and build from there...
ingame: @.Spartan
Original Cryptic Forum Name: Spartan (member #124)
The Glorious, Kirk’s Protegè
A good question. In order to answer it, let us compare for a moment Torpedoes to Beams.
Beams are uniform. They do the same base damage regardless of type. A Tetryon has the same DPS Rating as Polaron. It is the Procs that set them apart. Using only one type makes sense: it is only the Proc that you are after. Find the one that you like and go with it.
Torpedoes are all different. A Tricobalt always hits far harder than a Photon. A Photon is always faster than a Tricobalt. A Transphasic is always weaker than a Photon, but it ignores a larger portion of Shields. Quantums, as @pottsey5g suggests, are very middle of the road; they have average firing speed and average damage.
So, unlike Beams, Torpedoes can be mixed and matched for combined effects. Their effects can compliment other, as the previously described Gravimetric and Plasma Emission combo. And then there is the Damage value difference. The Temporal Disruption Device is a Chroniton torpedo, but it is WAY more powerful than normal variants. The Plasma Emission is a Plasma Torpedo but it, too, is WAY more powerful than a regular one. Setting several powerful variants together will do more damage than having several weaker single-type Torpedoes, even with the benefit of the +Type Console.
To put in completely arbitrary math:
100 Damage x 4 Weapons with a +31.9% Console
is less than
150 Damage x 4 Weapons 27.9% Console
EDIT: Saying that Clusters are a little odd and most torpedo stuff does not work with them. The one bit I was unclear on was as the Recharge doffs work do the crit and serv doffs work?
I am admittedly not well versed in Mines. I mostly know about Torpedoes. Someone else will do better to answer your question. The last I checked, Torpedo-Only DOff effects they do not work on Clusters. There are ones that work on Projectiles in general, and ones that work on Mines that may do it.
On the other hand, Tac Torpers can be very deadly with the ability to slot multiple Torp Spreads and having the Tac console space to buff them. It's not my preferred playstyle, but a well timed HY3 into a down shield facing can mean dead whatever you were shooting. A sci boat can't do that.
The firing works using torpedo tubes, so yes the cooldown effect will work with them. That is where it ends, though. All they do is deploy the Mines at the target instead of behind your ship. Clusters do Mine Damage. Mine Consoles work on them. The Hot Pursuit Trait works on them. High Yield, Torpedo Spread, Concentrate Firepower, and the like do not have an effect on them.
Incidentally, Clusters share cooldown with Mine Launchers and not Torpedo Launchers, apart from the Global Cooldown.
EDIT: It looks like Tricobalts are broken again and the Tricobalts torpdeos/mines/clusters are cross sharing cooldowns.
And it's a shame that the cluster weapons are one of many types that aren't craftable (and have no excuse for remaining so).
I'm... asking for a friend. Yeah.
It would be nice to see a trico cluster torpedo which worked with a TS3.
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” -- Benjamin Franklin