Quantum Phase Catalysts and Trilithium-Laced Weaponry, phaser build?

snowwolf

Hello,

I'm an Engineer with a Tier 6 Fleet Exploration Cruiser.

I have a phaser build and currently I am using the Quantum Phase Catalysts and Trilithium-Laced Weaponry sets, I use all 3 pieces of both and find them to be okay. But how good are they really? I can't say I notice that much of a difference, what are your thoughts on using these sets?

Are there any other sets or consoles you could recommend for a Engineer with a Phaser build?

Thanks.

tom61sto

I would certainly drop the Trilithium Tricobalt Torpedo Launcher, and add in another Phaser weapon of the type you use (beam, or cannon). That way you get more of a boost from the energy weapon Haste from the Trilithium-Laced Weaponry 2-set and the damage boost from Quantum Phase Converter console. By and large, I don't run entire sets, and just pick and choose what gets me the most benefit. On my FT6 Galaxy, I actually run only the Quantum Phase Converter console, since I like canon looks (I.E. how it appeared on screen) instead of the blue beam and Quantum torp, but I do see the appeal of the three-set death beam.

If you're willing plunk down some EC, the Synergistic Retrofitting Set (link) is pretty nice for it's two-set of 33% Phaser, Disruptor and Plasma Damage for Directed Energy Weapons (won't boost energy torpedoes.) The Secondary Shield Projector and Disruption Pulse Emitter are fairly cheap on the Exchange (under Reward Packs.) If you're very spendy, the Dynamic Power Redistributor Module from the 23rd Century TOS Dreadnought is very powerful, but you have to buy that entire ship to get it unlike the two consoles mentioned previously. Point Defense Bombardment Warhead is also nice, but not nearly as nice as the DPRM from the previous ship, and requires buying an entire T6 NX Escort refit Fed side.

Another EC set, the Alternate Timeline Set gives a +25% Phaser and Photon Damage boost, with the Mining Drill Laser Emitter and Proton Charge Launcher consoles being both mildly entertaining and pretty cheap in the packs Fed side.

If you've done the Maru Event enough times, the Prolonged Engagement Set is pretty nice for both parts of it, and the Bridge Officer cooldown reduction is helpful, pending you're not running an Aux2Bat build already (which would make the cooldown redunant, but still the two parts are nice).

Reputation wise, there's the the Counter-Command Ordnance (link) which has a very nice two-piece Bonus damage that turns out much larger than it looks due to how STO calculates (basically the 7.5% Bonus [often called Category 2 by players] is actually bigger than any of the above sets in most circumstances). I'm currently running the Console - Universal - Hydrodynamics Compensator up in Engineering and the Console - Tactical - Counter-Command Multi-Conduit Energy Relay, that way I don't have to have a green blob shooting on my fairly canon Galaxy, but get the two-set. With Spire Locator consoles from a Fleet, I'm not sure if the two-set bonus damage out-weighs what another Spire Locator's Critical Damage and larger Category 1 boost would give, particularly since the addition of Jem'Hadar Vanguards (which would raise the amount of Critical Damage, making Critical Chance more valuable).

snowwolf

@tom61sto

Thanks for your reply! I'll look into some of the sets.

I'd also like my ship to appear as it did on the TNG series, the torpedoes are OK since they are easily upgradeable. The U.S.S. Lakota was an Excelsior Class ship and she recieved Quantum Torpedoes during the Dominion War.

The blue phaser beam array is... Hmm, it's OK also I guess. I imagine it's operating at a different frequency or something like that, as it appears phaser weapons change color based on their frequency.

We see the Enterprise D use blue and even green phasers during the battle with a Borg Cube prior to Wolf 359.

Also the 3-piece "Super Phaser Weapon" is shot from the Deflector, it looks quite similar to the massive energy discharge the Enterprise D used on the Borg Cube later in the same battle, as it also came from the Deflector in the form of a large white beam.

Here you can see what I mean by phasers changing color based on frequency by the way!

https://youtu.be/gKBTDKNoMqI?t=2m54s

tom61sto

"Here you can see what I mean by phasers changing color based on frequency by the way!"

I don't think they changed color that much originally, so that effect might be a deinterlacing artifact where the green of the tractor beam is accidentally getting mixed into the orange Phaser effect in the deinterlaced DVD much more so than in the original analog interlaced signal.

Not a huge deal either way, as I tend to go more with what I remember over something that occasionally came up in the show, my D'Deridex only shoots green Disruptor single cannons and green torpedoes, even though the class occasionally fired a beam, one time in a single-emitter broadside in what amounts to Fire At Will in game.

I'm not an absolute stickler on canon even having said that, as my Jem'Hadar Dreadnought Carrier on my Jem'Hadar has mostly orange Cardassian Disruptors, then a red Terran Reputation Beam Array, then green Disruptor Omni. Though, that's driven far more by game mechanics than looks.