If I remember correctly Romulan Plasma has the procs of plasma and disruptors, that's a pretty good combo. Plus, if you use cannons, Roms get the plasma quad cannons on one of their C-store ships. And they get a [dmg]x4 at epic, so probably the most pure pew-pew you can get.
I use plasma on my Rom, mainly to stay in 'canon' (Well, STO canon.) I believe in the shows they used disruptor based weapons.
This statement is very confusing and should be clarified.
Yes, Romulan Plasma (The weapons available from the New Romulus Reputation system) do have the plasma as well as disruptor proc. However, and this is a BIG however.. they get this at the expense of one modifier. So instead of having 3 modifiers at Very Rare (Example CrtDx2 and DmG) it only has two modifiers. That extra proc which is of questionable value to begin with, costs you one modifier.
The dmgx4 cannons are obtainable from the T4 Ar'Kala Tactical Warbird, and they're great.. but have nothing to do with Romulan Plasma. They're just standard Plasma Cannons with that nice dmgx4 mod. They're great, don't get me wrong, but they are not in anyway tied to the Romulan Reputation weapons.
Truth be told, if you're going to go Plasma then crafted or Fleet Plasma weapons are all superior to Romulan Plasma. Romulan Plama are seldom used because to be honest, they're flat out inferior to any other type of weapon. They come at Very Rare Mark XII, missing a modifer and cost a fortune to upgrade. You could pick up a set of Mark II crafted plasma beams and upgrade them much cheaper, or you could save even more money and just get the Fleet Plasma Beams with DmGx3 and CrtD at Mark XII Ultra Rare. Spend a few kits to take them to Mark XIV Ultra Rare and you're set.
Honestly, Romulan Plasma is awful. I'm not sure exactly what problem you're having with Antiproton, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with AP. While it's taken a backseat to Disruptor as the 'top dog,' it's still probably the 2nd best overall energy type. Though that is admittedly subjective.
They aren't awful if you're willing to spend tons of dilithium and tech upgrading them.
The key being;
-Getting the right 3rd mod (DMGx3 or CrtDx3);
This requires buying and upgrading many VR dmgx2 or CrtD x2's to Ultra Rare and getting the "right" 3rd mod to pop (DMG or CrtD).
This will take many attempts though, so you'll probably need at least 30 or 40 attempts to get 8 perfect beams.
So like you say its extremely expensive. (And then you still have to bring them to EPIC on top of this - so even more dil and tech once you acquire the 8 weapons).
I don't even want to imagine the final cost to achieve something like this... but if there's a will, there's a way. (Got people who think solo fleets are a good idea in this game - so anything is possible).
If someone has the patience or resources, they aren't awful at all. They're actually really very good, right up there with any other fully upgraded vanilla energy weapon type. Possibly even a touch better.
They're just a major, major PITA, and extremely inconvenient to achieve a full set of "perfect" Rom plasma weapons.
You'd need to have a very special situation to make the effort worth the payoff. Like.... "extreme RP/Canon needs".
Otherwise yeah, Fleet ADV DMGx3 CrtD are the way to go for most anybody else. So much easier.
There's also Corrosive Plasma weapons... (If someone has more resources then brains). Because again, with this type it's extremely expensive to acquire 8 "perfect" weapons.
Once again like with Rom Plasma they don't have the possibility to get [Pen], but they do come with 3 mods at VR and a 4th at UR.
And they're very similar to Romulan Plasma in there effects.
Probably would be cheaper and less of a headache to buy 8 corrosives beams with perfect mods for like 40 mil a piece... then struggling with Rom Plasmas, upgrading and hoping for perfect mods on UR. Then having to take those to EPIC.
Anyway just wanted to say Rom Plasma aren't awful on their own merits. The upgrading process is, but not the weapons themselves.
And if someone's not super picky about perfect mods, they could work with any DMGx2 CrtD / or CrtDx2 DMG's they get (to cut costs). They don't have to have perfect mods to be effective.
With all do respect, you would have to be nuts to go through all this with Romulan Plasma. Why would you do this? just for the disruptor proc? You really think it's worth that much?
You have to remember that you have to buy Romulan Plasma at Mark XII Very Rare. It will have 2 fixed mods at that point (instead of the normal 3) and upgrading will be very expensive. To keep pumping Dilithum into these things trying to get a good 3rd mod at Ultra Rare would be complete and utter madness. Getting a couple of descent Mark XIV Ulta Rare or Epic beams would cost more then just buying a full set of Mark II beams and upgrading them. Or you could just go to the Fleet Store and buy a Mark XII Ultra Rare with 4 good mods, no random chance involved.
No one thinks you need perfect mods to be effective, that was never what it was about. It's about the fact that by nature, Romulan Plasma is far more expensive then crafted or Fleet Beams and for that extra work and cost you get the worst of all the Plasma Weapons. Saying they aren't awful because you can make them descent if you're willing to pay a fortune just doesn't make much sense to me. That's exactly what makes them awful, you can get far better for far less.
In the end, if someone really wants the Romulan Plasma for some reason, then cool. It's not like you'll suck if you use them, they can tear through content just like any weapon, but rather you're looking to maximize performance or just get a good weapon at a fair cost.. they're the worst weapons in the game either way.
They have no upside and all downside, it just doesn't make sense to buy these weapons.
They are okay for budget builds actually because they are FREE as your progress the romulan rep. You just don't upgrade them is all...or upgrade them to mk XIV and stop (even that is iffy use of resources honestly). But yeah...really, the missing mod makes it a no go for first choice weapons.
It's been so long since I have gone through the story line, I wasn't even aware you could get them for free. Thanks for the info.
I still hate them, but as free weapons, you're right.. they're not bad at all.
In any event, there is currently no actual "best energy type for romulans". There was at one point, when Romulans had the potential for having much higher crit chance than non-romulans and there were only a small fraction of traits and others passive buffs we now have available, but times have a'changed.
And, pray-tell, when did this change? Roms still have the highest CrtH potential. Being able to slot 5x SRO's, for one, makes it so. And APA. CrtH hits on my Rom Tact are usually over 50%, easily (vs. ca. 40% on my Fed Engi).
So, yes, in that sense, AP is the ideal choice for Roms (CrtH x CrtD). The Disruptor proc is very good, however (as well as that of Coalition Disruptors).
My Romulan Tactical runs crafted AntiProton and puts out absolutely absurd damage. I went all out with him so they're Epic Mark XIV with the most desired mods, mostly CrtDx3 with Pen. A couple are Dmg and Pen.
He would put out absurd damage with any energy type, but the extra critical damage from the AP really benefits him as he has a very high critical chance.
I have a Romulan Engineer that runs Plasma. She uses the Fleet Plasma Beams and while she's not a pure DPS build she still obliterates anything on the map with ease. I didn't want to dump a bunch of money into her so I got her a set of Fleet Beams ([Dmgx3][CrtD]) and upgraded them to Mark XIV during an upgrade weekend. I wasn't worried about Epic I just left them at Ultra Rare. It was dirt cheap and the performance is fantastic.
The Fleet Beams are a great choice for someone that just wants good weapons and doesn't want to mess around with the upgrade system. As others said, Energy Type is for the most part, irrelevant. Pick the color you like and have at it.
I'm just gonna point out that there are plasma-disruptor beam arrays and dual cannons out there. I forget the specific mission, but they have both procs and disruptor damage. I'd recommend it if you've been considering Romulan plasma but don't want the ease of just slotting reputation projects or a chance at higher rarities than just rare.
But hey, I've heard disruptors are popular in the dps community. Maybe they're worth it.
I run the corrosive plasma on my Reman and I have a ton of fun with them. I am not a dpser and much of my builds are guess work but they seem to work well.
Getting any weapon to Mk14 is relatively inexpensive. Grab some Phoenix Boxes now and all the lowest tokens you trade in for Phoenix Upgrades, then wait till upgrade weekend and they give alot of XP. You'll have your weapons to Mk14 in no time.
Sometimes I think I play STO just to have something to complain about on the forums.
Disruptor is best for most people: freebie Nausicaan and Markov sets to get you going; better chance future sets will be disruptor rather than plasma; basic version is green; lots of versions allowing for specialist builds whilst using existing gear like tac consoles; plamsa proc offers little damage.
Boils down to this basically. Do you roleplay or do you min-max?
Roleplay? Then grab some crafted +PEN plasma weapons, Rep romplasma weaps, fleet plasma or 23rd. cen retrofit plasma/disruptor weapons (23rd cen roms used to have disruptors and plasma torps). These will perform about 90-95% as good as if you minmaxed. There are nice sets available to boost plasma and disruptor damage, although disruptor isa bit more favoured here.
Minmax? Crafted +PEN antiprots, pulse phasers or coalition disruptors are a good pick. Can also try elachi weapons here, the proc is nice if it works, but generally I would rate it behind the previous 3. The son'aa isolytic plasma looks interesting with that proc, and so does the new tzeknh tetryons. But try to stick to either phasers/plasma/disruptors here as the Synegystic Retrofitting 2piece set bonus applies to only these 3 (if you use that ofc).
I recently changed my scimitar from ap to disruptors. I use the nausican and resonant disruptors and terran disruptors with resonant torpedo along with withering disruptors from teran reputation store. Throw on martok and crafted 360 and yur good to go.
I certainly prefrr them to the ap setup. It just seems to kill faster and better.
While all disruptor damage it varies colours too so looks interesting!! Lol
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It's been so long since I have gone through the story line, I wasn't even aware you could get them for free. Thanks for the info.
I still hate them, but as free weapons, you're right.. they're not bad at all.
And, pray-tell, when did this change?
So, yes, in that sense, AP is the ideal choice for Roms (CrtH x CrtD). The Disruptor proc is very good, however (as well as that of Coalition Disruptors).
He would put out absurd damage with any energy type, but the extra critical damage from the AP really benefits him as he has a very high critical chance.
I have a Romulan Engineer that runs Plasma. She uses the Fleet Plasma Beams and while she's not a pure DPS build she still obliterates anything on the map with ease. I didn't want to dump a bunch of money into her so I got her a set of Fleet Beams ([Dmgx3][CrtD]) and upgraded them to Mark XIV during an upgrade weekend. I wasn't worried about Epic I just left them at Ultra Rare. It was dirt cheap and the performance is fantastic.
The Fleet Beams are a great choice for someone that just wants good weapons and doesn't want to mess around with the upgrade system. As others said, Energy Type is for the most part, irrelevant. Pick the color you like and have at it.
But hey, I've heard disruptors are popular in the dps community. Maybe they're worth it.
Roleplay? Then grab some crafted +PEN plasma weapons, Rep romplasma weaps, fleet plasma or 23rd. cen retrofit plasma/disruptor weapons (23rd cen roms used to have disruptors and plasma torps). These will perform about 90-95% as good as if you minmaxed. There are nice sets available to boost plasma and disruptor damage, although disruptor isa bit more favoured here.
Minmax? Crafted +PEN antiprots, pulse phasers or coalition disruptors are a good pick. Can also try elachi weapons here, the proc is nice if it works, but generally I would rate it behind the previous 3. The son'aa isolytic plasma looks interesting with that proc, and so does the new tzeknh tetryons. But try to stick to either phasers/plasma/disruptors here as the Synegystic Retrofitting 2piece set bonus applies to only these 3 (if you use that ofc).
I certainly prefrr them to the ap setup. It just seems to kill faster and better.
While all disruptor damage it varies colours too so looks interesting!! Lol