Thank you for so comprehensively explaining why I suck at the game. Really appreciate that.
See, you can look at it in different ways. Sure, it's easy to read my post and think "oh well, I suck at this game" (which you already had insinuated yourself, mind you), open up a beer and cry. But you can also look at it "oh well, I do this and this and this wrong according to *this guy*. I wonder if there's some truth to it" and then continue to perhaps make some changes. Or at least *think* about how one minor change might totally change your performance. And then why not test it out.
Look at how I didn't say that you're doing something wrong in sense of gameplay (you might, but that's a different discussion altogether), it's rather your mindset that's wrong. So, to reiterate, to change your mindset, one must do it themselves. I, and others, can only nudge you a bit, but you yourself have to discover that "aha" moment where you start thinking that hey, maybe I should quit with this defeatist attitude and actually try to better myself.
(Am I starting to sound like a New Age motivational speaker already?)
Thank you for so comprehensively explaining why I suck at the game. Really appreciate that.
See, you can look at it in different ways. Sure, it's easy to read my post and think "oh well, I suck at this game" (which you already had insinuated yourself, mind you), open up a beer and cry. But you can also look at it "oh well, I do this and this and this wrong according to *this guy*. I wonder if there's some truth to it" and then continue to perhaps make some changes. Or at least *think* about how one minor change might totally change your performance. And then why not test it out.
Look at how I didn't say that you're doing something wrong in sense of gameplay (you might, but that's a different discussion altogether), it's rather your mindset that's wrong. So, to reiterate, to change your mindset, one must do it themselves. I, and others, can only nudge you a bit, but you yourself have to discover that "aha" moment where you start thinking that hey, maybe I should quit with this defeatist attitude and actually try to better myself.
(Am I starting to sound like a New Age motivational speaker already?)
I did not read that post leading me to think you suck at STO to the slightest. I just read it as a hint that you just most likely use suboptimal tools for a task at hand and thereby put unnecessary limits to your potential and chance of practice. Happens to me all the time.
Now if you tell me that you have a great time in PvP with your build I gladly shut up forever about this but you simply keep on bringing ISA.
Yeah. That's because I miss the days when I was useful in ISA. The days when I was mediocre but useful.
Here is the best example I have from a few years ago:
ISA as a pug is just unplayable for me now, which is a huge shame, yes I could probably steamroll it with my 2 mains but on my alts I try to be good with whatever... Usually...
Just after the advance queue nerf, One memorable one went like this, bad but with a silver lining:-
Me in a tac oddy on a fresh L50 toon and 4 other unknowns, first cube went in about 2 mins, I take all the aggro and die in the first min, wonderful, left transformer, I take all aggro and die twice before its gone, check my parser, 15k to me, everyone else under 5k, 1 left due to snr or quitting, no idea, don't care, we still hadn't lost the objective, its no biggie, I stocked up on components, Start transition over to the other side, chat now has a new team message... "This is usually quicker"... Look at the name, look at the parser, 2k... Hmm, I die again, I make a fatal mistake and type in chat, " sorry, this is a fresh alt, I'm taking too much aggro off over everything so keep dying" get some kind of insulting response from him as I'm making my way back about me not having the DPS to do the queue, noticing a nanite spheres a little to close to the 2nd trans I'm contemplating taking a penalty as I can't be bothered to deal with this guy, when the sphere gets dragged about 10km back to the gate entrance by a grav well of immense power, we now have a new drop in, in a tiny little Nova class, a new name appears on the parser, after following the forums for a bit, the names familiar to me, and I now know this isn't going to be so horrendous as initially thought. Abusive chat guy is now going off on one as I'm the only one with chat open, when new science guy tells him to shush and get on with things, I die a couple more times from pulling aggro, so does science guy, but we make it through without it failing anything
Science guy pms me later asking what the abusive guy was on about, I explain and thank him for coming in when he did, if it wasn't for his well built ship and crowd control we would have had lots more problems, yes we could have just let the optionals go, but if we did, what's the point of doing advanced when a normal would have taken less than half the time.
Anyway, I know you're out there science guy so thanks again, in fact I now roll that toon in a science ship because of you, lots of fun has been had
'Science guy' = me.
And I can still pull that sort of thing off - but what is the point? Granted, it assists the occasional PuG that lacks that DPS to clear the transformers/generator promptly, but if I team with friends or fleetmates they don't need my GWIII - it serves no purpose when the reason for the nanite spheres to be on the map at that particular time no longer exists (and the spheres themselves don't last a whole lot longer either).
And to be honest whilst I haven't parsed my Tac characters, my Romulan in my Miradon, and my KDF Orion in her Tactical Pilot Raptor do sufficent single-target burst damage that I generally kill things (NOT just ISA) quickly enough in those ships.
Seems that I just suck at Science. And that's a pity because, as per the above recount, I didn't used to.
So, you've stuck in the past and are trying to desperately still cling to it. Both your friends and many of the pugs have evolved, gotten better players and are quite possibly enjoying the game more because they feel stronger. But you, instead of celebrating their success, have gotten grumpier and grumpier, to the point where you feel the world is unfair. Of course, you simply can't slot your friends into your ignore list and never run with them anymore, cause they're still your friends, so instead you are constantly petitioning Cryptic in what seems to be an attempt to make your friends weaker again. Just because you want to feel relevant again. In essence, you're the old guy who visits parliament regularly to propose a legislation against cars, because you're missing the days when your horse carriage was the best there was.
It doesn't feel like too healthy mindset, does it?
Think back in S12 all advice towards a Rhode Island build would have ended you up playing something you would not like @reyan01 but game changed a great deal. I’m really curious:
Would you consider opening a thread in the build section and show it with a sto academy link for example?
Would you consider making adjustments to your build although some of your ideals how it is supposed to look like would change?
Would you bring in the effort to get the missing/new parts?
Would you like to practice to use them in ISA then?
I play ISA every day and can assure you an impacting role in there. I also know that you don’t hesitate to get expensive and epic stuff.
Like tune said, the only obstacle is within you.
Looking for a fun PvE fleet? Join us at Omega Combat Division today.
I, and others, can only nudge you a bit, but you yourself have to discover that "aha" moment where you start thinking that hey, maybe I should quit with this defeatist attitude and actually try to better myself.
You and certain other posters™ have been doing a very good job at this lately. It's appreciated, it's positive, and when combined with all the practical tips right down to build details, is very effective and is most encouraging to see on such a regular basis. It's helped me bring my own gameplay up a notch and I'm sure many others as well. Not entirely sure what it has to do with the OP's topic, but what the heck it may open up a few more queues people never thought of participating in before and the more you're able to participate in the more options you have so not far off.
I think this thread is getting a bit off topic now and it’s clear there’s a divide amongst players. There’s those who are happy having a fun but adequate build but feel that they are seen as useless and a leech in queues due to no real means to measure or reward such tactics and builds. And there are those who have elevated themselves to the top level and never have issues with low dps output or finding people to play with in a similar frame of mind.
I’m not sure anyone here will ever agree on things. I’ve no issue with the elite players existing but they need to realise not everyone has the gaming ability to be as good as them, not everyone has the resources to commit to a build that they do. But people still want to enjoy the game so they try as hard as they can to find a middle ground, something sadly lacking in the game when things like ISA take mere minutes to run and 90% of other content is dead. Plus a lot of people don’t have a big circle of friends to run with, a lot of channels are deserted these days and unless you know people around to form premades with you’re stuck in pug limbo.
Fully appreciate people like @peterconnorfirst are able to understand the finer points too really push the game, and guys like @tunebreaker have been able to improve and take on all the advice. But some of us can only push so far, and we’d just like to be able to enjoy the game as much as the rest without feeling like we must be railroaded down some forced-meta just to feel like we’re useful now.
I, and others, can only nudge you a bit, but you yourself have to discover that "aha" moment where you start thinking that hey, maybe I should quit with this defeatist attitude and actually try to better myself.
There is a catch to this: Unlike some defeatists, I'm entirely willing to better myself. On paper. In practice, such an effort would cost a ludicrous amount. A ludicrous, ludicrous amount of money. No problem, I'm determined, I'm a go-getter. ADDITIONAL PYLONS, HO!
And as you pursue this, you realize you've now discovered answers that entirely invalidated the previous goals in the first place. Sure, I COULD build a better ship. But at what COST, and WHY? This is the point at which you've discovered that winning the economic game invalidated any need for the thing which was driving you towards the economic game in the first place.
You can't simply bring everything down to pure economics. I mean, *you* apparently can, but I'm absolutely sure you're in a very tiny minority. It's game, and most players take it as a game, not a stock exchange or anything. Unless you're willing to breach game ToS, nothing you do in game will give you profit in terms of real life assets. So I don't see any need to approach the game with a mentality like you have.
But some of us can only push so far, and we’d just like to be able to enjoy the game as much as the rest without feeling like we must be railroaded down some forced-meta just to feel like we’re useful now.
"I want to enjoy Tetris, but dammit, the game ends when the blocks reach the top. I *want* to do colorful patterns, not simply make the rows go away".
"Super Mario - such an amazing game, but man, I want to be friends with those turtles."
Simple fact is not all of us are great at games, and we just want a bit of casual fun to enjoy after a long working day.
I personally don’t have the time or ability to push my builds to 100k and I certainly don’t have the resources to afford to change every few moths to follow any meta just to be competitive. All I want is a casual Trek flavoured game where I can fly my favourite ship and pretend to be Picard or whoever to relax. Sadly now with dead queues or the few that do pop becoming vape-fests, and lack of people actually “playing” the game (as in not just doffing etc) that is becoming difficult. Hence the frustration from people like myself and the seeming “unwillingness” to change.
Simple fact is not all of us are great at games, and we just want a bit of casual fun to enjoy after a long working day.
I personally don’t have the time or ability to push my builds to 100k and I certainly don’t have the resources to afford to change every few moths to follow any meta just to be competitive. All I want is a casual Trek flavoured game where I can fly my favourite ship and pretend to be Picard or whoever to relax.
Sadly now with dead queues or the few that do pop becoming vape-fears, and lack of people actually “playing” the game (as in not just doffing etc) that is becoming difficult. Hence the frustration from people like myself and the seeming “unwillingness” to change.
Agreed.
@peterconnorfirst asked if I'd be willing to post my build details and provide an STO Academy link etc. I would - but I can't see myself having the time for it. Lame excuse perhaps, but when online time is limited because of working full time (and then some!) and family commitments I'm not sure I want to spend time doing something like that.
Honestly, I wouldn't bother with ISA at all if not for the fact that more often than not, thanks the the way the queues are, the choice is ISA, Borg/Tholian RA's, mess about in a battlezone (not my favourite activity) or stand around doing nothing.
If you don’t have much time on your hands I understand and wont fool you because high impacting PvE builds cost tons of time and resources. Much can be bought as shortcut but all must be learned (but I doubt there is too much to learn for you as you stick to the same ship for long).
If you ever like to get into it again I’m confident that the Rhode Island can do up to 100k on an exotic/torpedo heavy build on a sci toon in halfway good L->R ISA pugs and up to 200k with dedicated team support.
If you ever want to give it a try I’ll be here and in game to help. You can also always get the stuff you’d need in the fleet I’m in. We run pve a lot and don't care about if you have less DPS or more DPS than the others.
Looking for a fun PvE fleet? Join us at Omega Combat Division today.
Have to say, am getting a little tried of the insulting tone of your replies. Yeah, I guess I am. Some people are like that. I mean, I stick religously to flying an old, outdated, Starship with a inaccurate and poor-quality model simply because it's my favourite class of starship. There are god knows how many ships that can do the same thing better, but I have my preference and until they produce a T6 variant I'm sticking with it. I guess THAT is wrong too though?
I'm sorry; I'll acknowledge that you're awesome at STO - but you're letting the praise go your head a little. Being great at the game, and how you travelled the road to get there, doesn't mean you get to talk down to those of us who are not at your level.
T5U Fleet Nova is perfectly capable of doing 100k, just like Pete said, and more or less comparable to some of the best T6 sci vessels in game. Sure, you are missing out on temporal abilities, but those are not that amazing these days anyway.
Why I'm bringing up myself in those examples (some would say boastingly, but w/e) is because that's the best example I know. After all, that's the story I'm the most familiar with. I could use someone else, but I don't know how they started out, how much time they exactly put into the game, what thoughts crossed their minds at various steps etc.
And about "talking down to others" - I never do that to people who show actual willingness to improve from the beginning. But with people who don't show any willingness whatsoever, but constantly complain nevertheless, yeah, I don't frankly see any reason why should I show any respect towards them. Plus, it's not preferable, but it's another tactic that *can* work and make those people to get their act finally together.
Simple fact is not all of us are great at games, and we just want a bit of casual fun to enjoy after a long working day.
I personally don’t have the time or ability to push my builds to 100k and I certainly don’t have the resources to afford to change every few moths to follow any meta just to be competitive. All I want is a casual Trek flavoured game where I can fly my favourite ship and pretend to be Picard or whoever to relax.
Sadly now with dead queues or the few that do pop becoming vape-fests, and lack of people actually “playing” the game (as in not just doffing etc) that is becoming difficult. Hence the frustration from people like myself and the seeming “unwillingness” to change.
No one has ever said you *need* to have a 100k build to enjoy STO. Heck, if you're fine flying an aux2bat jam sensors skittles turretboat, more power to you. It's the constant complaining of seeming unfairness, and the apparent need to constantly show the world that "evil DPSers" are the very worst thing that has happened to game and they should burn in hell for their sins, that irks me, and quite possibly several others in this thread. My friend Choro made a build to his Miranda where main source of damage came from doffed Boarding Parties (laughably ridiculous idea, right? no way it's ever going to perform well). And guess what, after many pretty crappy runs, constant piloting errors and subsequent build/flying pattern corrections, he did 50k DPS with it.
You want your builds to be relevant, in essence perform better (I guess?) - absolutely a noble goal. And when you finally reach the ceiling of your buildstyle (hint: you guys haven't), go and complain as much as you want that Cryptic should do some changes. I support it wholeheartedly, and in case you haven't noticed, are constantly doing the same thing for very many buildstyles that need more love. But don't come over here with "I'm doing nothing wrong, it's those evil DPS folks that are the culprit" mentality. That will get us on defensive, and you all surely know the old DPSer adage that "the best defence is attack".
See a lot of my gear is probably identical to reyans but I can’t afford to make it all epic, not by a long way. I simply don’t have the resources to do that.
I can manage pretty well in most content but it’s getting more and more difficult to feel useful in the top end content without going into copy&paste builds of the latest meta.
They should do what LOTRO did a few years ago. Have a list of Queues and each week have one become the Featured Instance of that week. Complete it successfully and get a Featured Instance Reward box (not Endeavor, something better).
'But to be logical is not to be right', and 'nothing' on God's earth could ever 'make it' right!'
Judge Dan Haywood
'As l speak now, the words are forming in my head.
l don't know.
l really don't know what l'm about to say, except l have a feeling about it.
That l must repeat the words that come without my knowledge.'
I have no idea why you’re getting so up tight about this discussion @tunebreaker , nobody here is saying DPS’ers are evil or any such nonsense. If anything both myself and Reyan have freely admitted we’re not the best players but we do “ok” in most content. What we’re really taking issue with is that surely in a game were IDIC is one of the core ideas, you should at endgame be able to feel useful with any sensible and well thought out build. You shouldn’t need to chase a meta just to be appreciated or be useful. The game is heavily skewed in terms of content that relies heavily on pure damage output and doesn’t acknowledge or really appreciate alternative builds. In fact the majority of players don’t even bother trying anything more than simple offensive builds I’d guess because anything else isn’t rewarded. There’s no reason to try anything else and it leaves the game lacking for those trying to give something different a go in a casual setting.
I personally dont care what DPS is possible with x build or how far someone we can complete Y map, not so I really care who has what dps records. It’s impressive sure, pushing the game that hard but it’s mostly meaningless for us casual players who can’t get to that level. All I’m really moaning about is is like the game to have more to it that wiuld allow alt-build to really be appreciated. I’d like missions where people really think “lucky that guy had a drain build to keep the boss ship off our backs” or similar. Sure that does happen at elite level but how often does it really happen for most of us casuals. More often than not we’re just the bottom rung in the parse at the end of the run, and nobody really appreciates why we’re thee or what we’ve achieved.
I have no idea why you’re getting so up tight about this discussion @tunebreaker , nobody here is saying DPS’ers are evil or any such nonsense.
If anything both myself and Reyan have freely admitted we’re not the best players but we do “ok” in most content. What we’re really taking issue with is that surely in a game were IDIC is one of the core ideas, you should at endgame be able to feel useful with any sensible and well thought out build. You shouldn’t need to chase a meta just to be appreciated or be useful.
The game is heavily skewed in terms of content that relies heavily on pure damage output and doesn’t acknowledge or really appreciate alternative builds. In fact the majority of players don’t even bother trying anything more than simple offensive builds I’d guess because anything else isn’t rewarded. There’s no reason to try anything else and it leaves the game lacking for those trying to give something different a go in a casual setting.
I personally dont care what DPS is possible with x build or how far someone we can complete Y map, not so I really care who has what dps records. It’s impressive sure, pushing the game that hard but it’s mostly meaningless for us casual players who can’t get to that level.
All I’m really moaning about is is like the game to have more to it that wiuld allow alt-build to really be appreciated. I’d like missions where people really think “lucky that guy had a drain build to keep the boss ship off our backs” or similar. Sure that does happen at elite level but how often does it really happen for most of us casuals. More often than not we’re just the bottom rung in the parse at the end of the run, and nobody really appreciates why we’re thee or what we’ve achieved.
I apologize, but that's what I'm getting from those posts. The vibe of "why are you people with high DPS killing everything so fast and thus ruining my fun in ISA". They come mostly from Reyan than you though, that's correct.
And elite content in this game has always meant "only for specific builds and specific people, those who are willing to put extra care into their gaming process". It's not oriented towards casual players that you both admit being, but it definitely feels like you're trying to push yourself into it nevertheless.
And yes, I fully admit that I don't believe either that all sorts of support builds are in excellent place. But they *can* work. The fact that Cryptic hasn't shown much love towards them shouldn't discourage you too much from building and flying them. There are healers and tanks in game who are loved among many communities, and invited into many runs. I know personally several of them, and can tell you they are extremely welcome in my runs. I don't really know full-time drainers that well, but those of my friends who have them and take them in some runs, no one ever has any problems with them.
But in the same time, it's also true (and I keep repeating myself), you *need* to do damage in order for enemies to die. And unless there's a timegate, when enemies die faster = mission ends faster = you get your reward faster. This is simply how STO's content works.
And really, in your average ISA or so, do you really think anyone is even looking at parse? I seriously doubt it. And even if there is, I seriously doubt they are thinking "oh what noobs I had in my run". I bet it might be quite the opposite: "thank goodness those pugs didn't kill those spheres too fast, I got another personal record - yay!". They might not be impressed with your numbers, but do you really think that many ppl actually care how others perform in their pugs?
Simple fact is not all of us are great at games, and we just want a bit of casual fun to enjoy after a long working day.
I personally don’t have the time or ability to push my builds to 100k and I certainly don’t have the resources to afford to change every few moths to follow any meta just to be competitive. All I want is a casual Trek flavoured game where I can fly my favourite ship and pretend to be Picard or whoever to relax.
Sadly now with dead queues or the few that do pop becoming vape-fears, and lack of people actually “playing” the game (as in not just doffing etc) that is becoming difficult. Hence the frustration from people like myself and the seeming “unwillingness” to change.
Agreed.
@peterconnorfirst asked if I'd be willing to post my build details and provide an STO Academy link etc. I would - but I can't see myself having the time for it. Lame excuse perhaps, but when online time is limited because of working full time (and then some!) and family commitments I'm not sure I want to spend time doing something like that.
Honestly, I wouldn't bother with ISA at all if not for the fact that more often than not, thanks the the way the queues are, the choice is ISA, Borg/Tholian RA's, mess about in a battlezone (not my favourite activity) or stand around doing nothing.
If you don’t have much time on your hands I understand and wont fool you because high impacting PvE builds cost tons of time and resources. Much can be bought as shortcut but all must be learned (but I doubt there is too much to learn for you as you stick to the same ship for long).
If you ever like to get into it again I’m confident that the Rhode Island can do up to 100k on an exotic/torpedo heavy build on a sci toon in halfway good L->R ISA pugs and up to 200k with dedicated team support.
If you ever want to give it a try I’ll be here and in game to help. You can also always get the stuff you’d need in the fleet I’m in. We run pve a lot and don't care about if you have less DPS or more DPS than the others.
Well, perhaps I should look out for you? I mean, one of my Rhode Island builds - probably my most effective one (which isn't saying much) - is a torpedo boat. Reduced weapon power to minimum, transferred that power to Auxillary and engines, and use Sci and torpedoes to do damage.
As for the torpedoes - well, I'm at work so can't recall exactly; but off the top of my head I have the (fore): Delphic Quantum, Neutronic Quantum and Quantum Phase (all either XV or XIV Epic)
And (aft) Enhanced Bio-Molecular photon, Advanced Piezo-Photon, and the Terran Task force Photon equipped aft (all XIV Epic).
Well yea under current conditions and due to the fact that this sci ships has 6 gun ports I‘d set up the T5 Nova heavy on EPG with as much Control X secondary as the items permit. As weaponry armaments I’d aim for torpedos too as we have some synergies with EPG there while there is not much left doing this for energy weapons.
I took my time a bit to make an example build which consist mostly of the stuff the DPS league would recommend with some elements from tune.
Cornerstones would be “peak efficiency” starship trait taking care of all your cool down requirements, the fleet “Restorative particle focuser” with lots of EPG and a bit of Control X and of course a “Deteriorating Secondary Deflector” which can be triggered by a few key sci boff powers.
Now a lot on this build is open for discussion and optimization or idividualasation. Some elements depend on things you have but can be adjusted if you don’t. Since Tunebreaker knows a great deal more about playing as sci I’d take his recommendations over mine any day. Nevertheless I intend to make a similar build on my Discovery ship next upgrade weekend so all of it is working process for me as well.
If you need a fleet to get a stuff we can of course invite you, I can also give u an invite to our chats when im at home in the evening.
Looking for a fun PvE fleet? Join us at Omega Combat Division today.
Simple fact is not all of us are great at games, and we just want a bit of casual fun to enjoy after a long working day.
I personally don’t have the time or ability to push my builds to 100k and I certainly don’t have the resources to afford to change every few moths to follow any meta just to be competitive. All I want is a casual Trek flavoured game where I can fly my favourite ship and pretend to be Picard or whoever to relax.
Sadly now with dead queues or the few that do pop becoming vape-fears, and lack of people actually “playing” the game (as in not just doffing etc) that is becoming difficult. Hence the frustration from people like myself and the seeming “unwillingness” to change.
Agreed.
@peterconnorfirst asked if I'd be willing to post my build details and provide an STO Academy link etc. I would - but I can't see myself having the time for it. Lame excuse perhaps, but when online time is limited because of working full time (and then some!) and family commitments I'm not sure I want to spend time doing something like that.
Honestly, I wouldn't bother with ISA at all if not for the fact that more often than not, thanks the the way the queues are, the choice is ISA, Borg/Tholian RA's, mess about in a battlezone (not my favourite activity) or stand around doing nothing.
If you don’t have much time on your hands I understand and wont fool you because high impacting PvE builds cost tons of time and resources. Much can be bought as shortcut but all must be learned (but I doubt there is too much to learn for you as you stick to the same ship for long).
If you ever like to get into it again I’m confident that the Rhode Island can do up to 100k on an exotic/torpedo heavy build on a sci toon in halfway good L->R ISA pugs and up to 200k with dedicated team support.
If you ever want to give it a try I’ll be here and in game to help. You can also always get the stuff you’d need in the fleet I’m in. We run pve a lot and don't care about if you have less DPS or more DPS than the others.
Well, perhaps I should look out for you? I mean, one of my Rhode Island builds - probably my most effective one (which isn't saying much) - is a torpedo boat. Reduced weapon power to minimum, transferred that power to Auxillary and engines, and use Sci and torpedoes to do damage.
As for the torpedoes - well, I'm at work so can't recall exactly; but off the top of my head I have the (fore): Delphic Quantum, Neutronic Quantum and Quantum Phase (all either XV or XIV Epic)
And (aft) Enhanced Bio-Molecular photon, Advanced Piezo-Photon, and the Terran Task force Photon equipped aft (all XIV Epic).
Well yea under current conditions and due to the fact that this sci ships has 6 gun ports I‘d set up the T5 Nova heavy on EPG with as much Control X secondary as the items permit. As weaponry armaments I’d aim for torpedos too as we have some synergies with EPG there while there is not much left doing this for energy weapons.
I took my time a bit to make an example build which consist mostly of the stuff the DPS league would recommend with some elements from tune.
Cornerstones would be “peak efficiency” starship trait taking care of all your cool down requirements, the fleet “Restorative particle focuser” with lots of EPG and a bit of Control X and of course a “Deteriorating Secondary Deflector” which can be triggered by a few key sci boff powers.
Now a lot on this build is open for discussion and optimization or idividualasation. Some elements depend on things you have but can be adjusted if you don’t. Since Tunebreaker knows a great deal more about playing as sci I’d take his recommendations over mine any day. Nevertheless I intend to make a similar build on my Discovery ship next upgrade weekend so all of it is working process for me as well.
If you need a fleet to get a stuff we can of course invite you, I can also give u an invite to our chats when im at home in the evening.
Thanks for taking the time and it's a pretty solid one. There are 2 problems with this build though. First, a glaring one is that skilltree is oriented so much towards energy weapon performance. If Reyan doesn't really use them, several changes could be made. Second thing is cost, some of the consoles and traits can be very expensive. But it's definitely good to have as a baseline, so that Reyan can see what he has, maybe what he wants to get etc.
And the best part, all of them are more or less compatible with Nova layout. Just blindly copying the build won't immediately increase your DPS 17x, that's true. But it gives you a frame of reference what others use. And no, you don't need to make all of your gear epic. Some of my items are still UR (and 1 piece even VR, in a matter of fact). Just upgrading your weapons to mk XV (that you already seemed to have done) will go a long way.
Thanks for taking the time and it's a pretty solid one. There are 2 problems with this build though. First, a glaring one is that skilltree is oriented so much towards energy weapon performance. If Reyan doesn't really use them, several changes could be made. Second thing is cost, some of the consoles and traits can be very expensive. But it's definitely good to have as a baseline, so that Reyan can see what he has, maybe what he wants to get etc.
Thanks a lot for the complement. Well yea again I used my build on "Imp" toon which is currently in the process of transferring from energy to torp for this sci build (I also have a full energy loadout with less sci stuff). As far as cost are concerned. Yea some stuff is really not cheap could be supplemented with other things and like you say itme upgrades to epic are not a terminal requirenment just a matter of time. I know from past discussions with Reyan that he had no issues to take stuff to epic.
Looking for a fun PvE fleet? Join us at Omega Combat Division today.
Thanks for taking the time and it's a pretty solid one. There are 2 problems with this build though. First, a glaring one is that skilltree is oriented so much towards energy weapon performance. If Reyan doesn't really use them, several changes could be made. Second thing is cost, some of the consoles and traits can be very expensive. But it's definitely good to have as a baseline, so that Reyan can see what he has, maybe what he wants to get etc.
Thanks a lot for the complement. Well yea again I used my build on "Imp" toon which is currently in the process of transferring from energy to torp for this sci build (I also have a full energy loadout with less sci stuff). As far as cost are concerned. Yea some stuff is really not cheap could be supplemented with other things and like you say itme upgrades to epic are not a terminal requirenment just a matter of time. I know from past discussions with Reyan that he had no issues to take stuff to epic.
It's not so much related to epic gear as it's to various consoles (like DPRM) and traits (Peak Efficiency) that would require one to make a very expensive purchase, EC wise.
Anyhow, I think we have overextended our visit here anyway, in terms of build discussion. If Reyan actually wants to know more, he's welcome to make a separate thread and you can bet we'll be posting there.
The thing with efficiency is... it means I "have" to use plasma torps or chroniton-polaron beams on my Nebula. And that's a no-go, I want my ships to look pretty while performing decently That is the main limiting factor in my builds.
^ Memory Alpha.org is not canon. It's a open wiki with arbitrary rules. Only what can be cited from an episode is. ^
"No. Men do not roar. Women roar. Then they hurl heavy objects... and claw at you." -Worf, son of Mogh
"A filthy, mangy beast, but in its bony breast beat the heart of a warrior" - "faithful" (...) "but ever-ready to follow the call of the wild." - Martok, about a Targ
"That pig smelled horrid. A sweet-sour, extremely pungent odor. I showered and showered, and it took me a week to get rid of it!" - Robert Justman, appreciating Emmy-Lou
Nice to see some theorycrafting going on so appreciate that people are still willing to help those whinging old gits like me that are as stubborn as an ox. Lol
Anyway it’s not gear that it the limiting factor I have personally. It’s actually flying the damned ship and getting stuff to go off at optimal times that’s the biggest issue. I can’t get keybinds to work for love nor money and I’m just not that good at coordinating cooldowns to the longest uptimes or shortest times between activations.
I know those would help me but I just cannot get past those issues.
What we’re really taking issue with is that surely in a game were IDIC is one of the core ideas, you should at endgame be able to feel useful with any sensible and well thought out build. You shouldn’t need to chase a meta just to be appreciated or be useful.
But a "sensible and well thought out build" and "chasing a meta" are the exact same thing. All the metagame is is the combined best thoughts of the players. A build is well thought out if it's effective and useful for the purpose it was designed. Just because you want build X to be all that, doesn't mean it actually is.
As for just how effective you need to be to satisfy your own feelings, that's entirely up to you.
The game is heavily skewed in terms of content that relies heavily on pure damage output and doesn’t acknowledge or really appreciate alternative builds. In fact the majority of players don’t even bother trying anything more than simple offensive builds I’d guess because anything else isn’t rewarded. There’s no reason to try anything else and it leaves the game lacking for those trying to give something different a go in a casual setting.
I personally dont care what DPS is possible with x build or how far someone we can complete Y map, not so I really care who has what dps records. It’s impressive sure, pushing the game that hard but it’s mostly meaningless for us casual players who can’t get to that level.
All I’m really moaning about is is like the game to have more to it that wiuld allow alt-build to really be appreciated. I’d like missions where people really think “lucky that guy had a drain build to keep the boss ship off our backs” or similar. Sure that does happen at elite level but how often does it really happen for most of us casuals. More often than not we’re just the bottom rung in the parse at the end of the run, and nobody really appreciates why we’re thee or what we’ve achieved.
Fact is the game is far too easy for "alternative builds." You don't need to keep boss ships off anyone's backs, because the boss ships are just as dumb HP sacks as everything else. All you need to drain is their HP.
And that's where the DPS comes in. DPS is the one thing that affects game performance indefinitely even beyond the point where it isn't at all necessary. There is a limit to how much useful tanking or healing or draining or whatever you can do, based on how much enemy damage potential there is to negate. And in STO that's not much. But you can always kill the enemy faster. If you're truly out to make support builds valuable, ask Cryptic to create content hard enough to require them. Complaining about DPS is beside the point.
But I’m not really complaining about DPS, I’m complaining about the lack of recognition and content focused around “non-DPS” tactics and builds. I’m not silly enough to not accept that the only real trick in STO is kill the bad guys, but I just wish there was more to it than that. Let us disable an npc and have the same outcome, or cause them to flee in panic to let us win a fight. Not just constant killing things as fast as possible. I guess it’s but a pipe dream really as there’s never going to be a serious attempt at that sort of content or mechanics, despite the fact a lot of missions have such things happening all the time. Perhaps some alternative means of winning queues would promote alternative ways of playing them and diversity gets a boost. A well built ship doesn’t need to match the meta, it just needs to be built so that it works together. Problem right now is that most content doesn’t allow such things to shine unless they are damage machines. Hence the feeling of myself in particular.
They should do what LOTRO did a few years ago. Have a list of Queues and each week have one become the Featured Instance of that week. Complete it successfully and get a Featured Instance Reward box (not Endeavor, something better).
Going back to the OP's question. Yes, this would help the queues get alive again. I remember for sometime they used to do this in STO for bonus marks but people were complaining of time gates so it was taken down. Fall/Spring are usually dead in STO but they do need to improve this system with a better bonus turnout or similar in the very least.
I've noticed many threads talking about the lack of players playing PVE content (other than events, Red Alerts and Fleet Actions). I have some ideas for alieviating this problem.
1. Remove all reputation PVE content and revamp them as single-player missions integrating them into the appropriate campaign for example the Borg missions would go under the Borg campaign. I realize this would be a great deal of work but it would allow players to play this content solo and not have to completly throw them away.
2. Expand the red alert system. There are two options, either a generic Red Alert with a random enemy Fleet to destroy, or a red alert for every reputation enemy. (Romulan RA, Terran RA, Temporal RA etc.) With this option I would drop the choice of marks for the red alerts and confine rewards to the apropriate reputation. Use the Tholian red alert as a template with several groups of ships and a few dreadnoughts. Reputations with multiple main enemies could have one or a combination of those enemies. For example a Temporal Red Alert could have Na'kul, Krenim, Vorgon or Terran enemies or a combination of them.
3. Add advanced difficulty red alerts. For the Tholian Red alert you could double the number of fleets to be destroyed. For the Borg, add destorying the Tactical cube as an optional for additional marks. Adv red alerts would also grant one elite mark of whatever choice the player made.
4. Revamp all battle zones and rewards to Dyson sphere standards. I'm mainly thinking of Defera and Kobali prime. Battle zone are to me the more popular content. Revamping old zones to conform to Dyson sphere standards would get people playing older content again. The reason I choose the Dyson zone as a standard is because it is still very popular even though its several seasons old now. (If it ain't broke dont fix it).
5. Add new enemies to the Fleet Alert possibilities. Krenim, Vaadwar, Hirogen, Iconians etc.
Comments
See, you can look at it in different ways. Sure, it's easy to read my post and think "oh well, I suck at this game" (which you already had insinuated yourself, mind you), open up a beer and cry. But you can also look at it "oh well, I do this and this and this wrong according to *this guy*. I wonder if there's some truth to it" and then continue to perhaps make some changes. Or at least *think* about how one minor change might totally change your performance. And then why not test it out.
Look at how I didn't say that you're doing something wrong in sense of gameplay (you might, but that's a different discussion altogether), it's rather your mindset that's wrong. So, to reiterate, to change your mindset, one must do it themselves. I, and others, can only nudge you a bit, but you yourself have to discover that "aha" moment where you start thinking that hey, maybe I should quit with this defeatist attitude and actually try to better myself.
(Am I starting to sound like a New Age motivational speaker already?)
U.S.S. Buteo Regalis - Brigid Multi-Mission Surveillance Explorer build
R.R.W. Ri Maajon - Khopesh Tactical Dreadnought Warbird build
My Youtube channel containing STO videos.
So, you've stuck in the past and are trying to desperately still cling to it. Both your friends and many of the pugs have evolved, gotten better players and are quite possibly enjoying the game more because they feel stronger. But you, instead of celebrating their success, have gotten grumpier and grumpier, to the point where you feel the world is unfair. Of course, you simply can't slot your friends into your ignore list and never run with them anymore, cause they're still your friends, so instead you are constantly petitioning Cryptic in what seems to be an attempt to make your friends weaker again. Just because you want to feel relevant again. In essence, you're the old guy who visits parliament regularly to propose a legislation against cars, because you're missing the days when your horse carriage was the best there was.
It doesn't feel like too healthy mindset, does it?
U.S.S. Buteo Regalis - Brigid Multi-Mission Surveillance Explorer build
R.R.W. Ri Maajon - Khopesh Tactical Dreadnought Warbird build
My Youtube channel containing STO videos.
Would you consider opening a thread in the build section and show it with a sto academy link for example?
Would you consider making adjustments to your build although some of your ideals how it is supposed to look like would change?
Would you bring in the effort to get the missing/new parts?
Would you like to practice to use them in ISA then?
I play ISA every day and can assure you an impacting role in there. I also know that you don’t hesitate to get expensive and epic stuff.
Like tune said, the only obstacle is within you.
Looking for a fun PvE fleet? Join us at Omega Combat Division today.
There’s those who are happy having a fun but adequate build but feel that they are seen as useless and a leech in queues due to no real means to measure or reward such tactics and builds.
And there are those who have elevated themselves to the top level and never have issues with low dps output or finding people to play with in a similar frame of mind.
I’m not sure anyone here will ever agree on things. I’ve no issue with the elite players existing but they need to realise not everyone has the gaming ability to be as good as them, not everyone has the resources to commit to a build that they do.
But people still want to enjoy the game so they try as hard as they can to find a middle ground, something sadly lacking in the game when things like ISA take mere minutes to run and 90% of other content is dead. Plus a lot of people don’t have a big circle of friends to run with, a lot of channels are deserted these days and unless you know people around to form premades with you’re stuck in pug limbo.
Fully appreciate people like @peterconnorfirst are able to understand the finer points too really push the game, and guys like @tunebreaker have been able to improve and take on all the advice.
But some of us can only push so far, and we’d just like to be able to enjoy the game as much as the rest without feeling like we must be railroaded down some forced-meta just to feel like we’re useful now.
You can't simply bring everything down to pure economics. I mean, *you* apparently can, but I'm absolutely sure you're in a very tiny minority. It's game, and most players take it as a game, not a stock exchange or anything. Unless you're willing to breach game ToS, nothing you do in game will give you profit in terms of real life assets. So I don't see any need to approach the game with a mentality like you have.
U.S.S. Buteo Regalis - Brigid Multi-Mission Surveillance Explorer build
R.R.W. Ri Maajon - Khopesh Tactical Dreadnought Warbird build
My Youtube channel containing STO videos.
"I want to enjoy Tetris, but dammit, the game ends when the blocks reach the top. I *want* to do colorful patterns, not simply make the rows go away".
"Super Mario - such an amazing game, but man, I want to be friends with those turtles."
U.S.S. Buteo Regalis - Brigid Multi-Mission Surveillance Explorer build
R.R.W. Ri Maajon - Khopesh Tactical Dreadnought Warbird build
My Youtube channel containing STO videos.
I personally don’t have the time or ability to push my builds to 100k and I certainly don’t have the resources to afford to change every few moths to follow any meta just to be competitive. All I want is a casual Trek flavoured game where I can fly my favourite ship and pretend to be Picard or whoever to relax.
Sadly now with dead queues or the few that do pop becoming vape-fests, and lack of people actually “playing” the game (as in not just doffing etc) that is becoming difficult. Hence the frustration from people like myself and the seeming “unwillingness” to change.
If you don’t have much time on your hands I understand and wont fool you because high impacting PvE builds cost tons of time and resources. Much can be bought as shortcut but all must be learned (but I doubt there is too much to learn for you as you stick to the same ship for long).
If you ever like to get into it again I’m confident that the Rhode Island can do up to 100k on an exotic/torpedo heavy build on a sci toon in halfway good L->R ISA pugs and up to 200k with dedicated team support.
If you ever want to give it a try I’ll be here and in game to help. You can also always get the stuff you’d need in the fleet I’m in. We run pve a lot and don't care about if you have less DPS or more DPS than the others.
Looking for a fun PvE fleet? Join us at Omega Combat Division today.
T5U Fleet Nova is perfectly capable of doing 100k, just like Pete said, and more or less comparable to some of the best T6 sci vessels in game. Sure, you are missing out on temporal abilities, but those are not that amazing these days anyway.
Why I'm bringing up myself in those examples (some would say boastingly, but w/e) is because that's the best example I know. After all, that's the story I'm the most familiar with. I could use someone else, but I don't know how they started out, how much time they exactly put into the game, what thoughts crossed their minds at various steps etc.
And about "talking down to others" - I never do that to people who show actual willingness to improve from the beginning. But with people who don't show any willingness whatsoever, but constantly complain nevertheless, yeah, I don't frankly see any reason why should I show any respect towards them. Plus, it's not preferable, but it's another tactic that *can* work and make those people to get their act finally together.
No one has ever said you *need* to have a 100k build to enjoy STO. Heck, if you're fine flying an aux2bat jam sensors skittles turretboat, more power to you. It's the constant complaining of seeming unfairness, and the apparent need to constantly show the world that "evil DPSers" are the very worst thing that has happened to game and they should burn in hell for their sins, that irks me, and quite possibly several others in this thread. My friend Choro made a build to his Miranda where main source of damage came from doffed Boarding Parties (laughably ridiculous idea, right? no way it's ever going to perform well). And guess what, after many pretty crappy runs, constant piloting errors and subsequent build/flying pattern corrections, he did 50k DPS with it.
You want your builds to be relevant, in essence perform better (I guess?) - absolutely a noble goal. And when you finally reach the ceiling of your buildstyle (hint: you guys haven't), go and complain as much as you want that Cryptic should do some changes. I support it wholeheartedly, and in case you haven't noticed, are constantly doing the same thing for very many buildstyles that need more love. But don't come over here with "I'm doing nothing wrong, it's those evil DPS folks that are the culprit" mentality. That will get us on defensive, and you all surely know the old DPSer adage that "the best defence is attack".
U.S.S. Buteo Regalis - Brigid Multi-Mission Surveillance Explorer build
R.R.W. Ri Maajon - Khopesh Tactical Dreadnought Warbird build
My Youtube channel containing STO videos.
I can manage pretty well in most content but it’s getting more and more difficult to feel useful in the top end content without going into copy&paste builds of the latest meta.
l don't know.
l really don't know what l'm about to say, except l have a feeling about it.
That l must repeat the words that come without my knowledge.'
If anything both myself and Reyan have freely admitted we’re not the best players but we do “ok” in most content. What we’re really taking issue with is that surely in a game were IDIC is one of the core ideas, you should at endgame be able to feel useful with any sensible and well thought out build. You shouldn’t need to chase a meta just to be appreciated or be useful.
The game is heavily skewed in terms of content that relies heavily on pure damage output and doesn’t acknowledge or really appreciate alternative builds. In fact the majority of players don’t even bother trying anything more than simple offensive builds I’d guess because anything else isn’t rewarded. There’s no reason to try anything else and it leaves the game lacking for those trying to give something different a go in a casual setting.
I personally dont care what DPS is possible with x build or how far someone we can complete Y map, not so I really care who has what dps records. It’s impressive sure, pushing the game that hard but it’s mostly meaningless for us casual players who can’t get to that level.
All I’m really moaning about is is like the game to have more to it that wiuld allow alt-build to really be appreciated. I’d like missions where people really think “lucky that guy had a drain build to keep the boss ship off our backs” or similar. Sure that does happen at elite level but how often does it really happen for most of us casuals. More often than not we’re just the bottom rung in the parse at the end of the run, and nobody really appreciates why we’re thee or what we’ve achieved.
I apologize, but that's what I'm getting from those posts. The vibe of "why are you people with high DPS killing everything so fast and thus ruining my fun in ISA". They come mostly from Reyan than you though, that's correct.
And elite content in this game has always meant "only for specific builds and specific people, those who are willing to put extra care into their gaming process". It's not oriented towards casual players that you both admit being, but it definitely feels like you're trying to push yourself into it nevertheless.
And yes, I fully admit that I don't believe either that all sorts of support builds are in excellent place. But they *can* work. The fact that Cryptic hasn't shown much love towards them shouldn't discourage you too much from building and flying them. There are healers and tanks in game who are loved among many communities, and invited into many runs. I know personally several of them, and can tell you they are extremely welcome in my runs. I don't really know full-time drainers that well, but those of my friends who have them and take them in some runs, no one ever has any problems with them.
But in the same time, it's also true (and I keep repeating myself), you *need* to do damage in order for enemies to die. And unless there's a timegate, when enemies die faster = mission ends faster = you get your reward faster. This is simply how STO's content works.
And really, in your average ISA or so, do you really think anyone is even looking at parse? I seriously doubt it. And even if there is, I seriously doubt they are thinking "oh what noobs I had in my run". I bet it might be quite the opposite: "thank goodness those pugs didn't kill those spheres too fast, I got another personal record - yay!". They might not be impressed with your numbers, but do you really think that many ppl actually care how others perform in their pugs?
U.S.S. Buteo Regalis - Brigid Multi-Mission Surveillance Explorer build
R.R.W. Ri Maajon - Khopesh Tactical Dreadnought Warbird build
My Youtube channel containing STO videos.
Well yea under current conditions and due to the fact that this sci ships has 6 gun ports I‘d set up the T5 Nova heavy on EPG with as much Control X secondary as the items permit. As weaponry armaments I’d aim for torpedos too as we have some synergies with EPG there while there is not much left doing this for energy weapons.
I took my time a bit to make an example build which consist mostly of the stuff the DPS league would recommend with some elements from tune.
Reyans T5 Nova Example Build
Cornerstones would be “peak efficiency” starship trait taking care of all your cool down requirements, the fleet “Restorative particle focuser” with lots of EPG and a bit of Control X and of course a “Deteriorating Secondary Deflector” which can be triggered by a few key sci boff powers.
Now a lot on this build is open for discussion and optimization or idividualasation. Some elements depend on things you have but can be adjusted if you don’t. Since Tunebreaker knows a great deal more about playing as sci I’d take his recommendations over mine any day. Nevertheless I intend to make a similar build on my Discovery ship next upgrade weekend so all of it is working process for me as well.
If you need a fleet to get a stuff we can of course invite you, I can also give u an invite to our chats when im at home in the evening.
Looking for a fun PvE fleet? Join us at Omega Combat Division today.
Thanks for taking the time and it's a pretty solid one. There are 2 problems with this build though. First, a glaring one is that skilltree is oriented so much towards energy weapon performance. If Reyan doesn't really use them, several changes could be made. Second thing is cost, some of the consoles and traits can be very expensive. But it's definitely good to have as a baseline, so that Reyan can see what he has, maybe what he wants to get etc.
For additional reference, here is my build: https://old.reddit.com/r/stobuilds/comments/6dghbk/uss_buteo_regalis_grubers_scitorp_brigid_t6_vesta/
And here is what Jimbo uses: https://old.reddit.com/r/stobuilds/comments/6x64mf/uss_nemmerle_peak_efficiency_palatine_97k_isa_pug/
And here is Eli's build, with a lot more science focus though:
https://old.reddit.com/r/stobuilds/comments/6aywa2/elis_exoticheavy_scitorp_eternal_heavy_exotic/
You can see similarities, but also differences between personal approaches.
And for something different from torp-EPG, here's a drain build from Jay:
https://old.reddit.com/r/stobuilds/comments/6manqi/ayjeis_fleet_advanced_research_vessel_t6_purist/
And the best part, all of them are more or less compatible with Nova layout. Just blindly copying the build won't immediately increase your DPS 17x, that's true. But it gives you a frame of reference what others use. And no, you don't need to make all of your gear epic. Some of my items are still UR (and 1 piece even VR, in a matter of fact). Just upgrading your weapons to mk XV (that you already seemed to have done) will go a long way.
U.S.S. Buteo Regalis - Brigid Multi-Mission Surveillance Explorer build
R.R.W. Ri Maajon - Khopesh Tactical Dreadnought Warbird build
My Youtube channel containing STO videos.
Thanks a lot for the complement. Well yea again I used my build on "Imp" toon which is currently in the process of transferring from energy to torp for this sci build (I also have a full energy loadout with less sci stuff). As far as cost are concerned. Yea some stuff is really not cheap could be supplemented with other things and like you say itme upgrades to epic are not a terminal requirenment just a matter of time. I know from past discussions with Reyan that he had no issues to take stuff to epic.
Looking for a fun PvE fleet? Join us at Omega Combat Division today.
It's not so much related to epic gear as it's to various consoles (like DPRM) and traits (Peak Efficiency) that would require one to make a very expensive purchase, EC wise.
Anyhow, I think we have overextended our visit here anyway, in terms of build discussion. If Reyan actually wants to know more, he's welcome to make a separate thread and you can bet we'll be posting there.
U.S.S. Buteo Regalis - Brigid Multi-Mission Surveillance Explorer build
R.R.W. Ri Maajon - Khopesh Tactical Dreadnought Warbird build
My Youtube channel containing STO videos.
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Anyway it’s not gear that it the limiting factor I have personally. It’s actually flying the damned ship and getting stuff to go off at optimal times that’s the biggest issue.
I can’t get keybinds to work for love nor money and I’m just not that good at coordinating cooldowns to the longest uptimes or shortest times between activations.
I know those would help me but I just cannot get past those issues.
As for just how effective you need to be to satisfy your own feelings, that's entirely up to you.
Fact is the game is far too easy for "alternative builds." You don't need to keep boss ships off anyone's backs, because the boss ships are just as dumb HP sacks as everything else. All you need to drain is their HP.
And that's where the DPS comes in. DPS is the one thing that affects game performance indefinitely even beyond the point where it isn't at all necessary. There is a limit to how much useful tanking or healing or draining or whatever you can do, based on how much enemy damage potential there is to negate. And in STO that's not much. But you can always kill the enemy faster. If you're truly out to make support builds valuable, ask Cryptic to create content hard enough to require them. Complaining about DPS is beside the point.
FixedTagsEditMonsterBait™
I’m not silly enough to not accept that the only real trick in STO is kill the bad guys, but I just wish there was more to it than that.
Let us disable an npc and have the same outcome, or cause them to flee in panic to let us win a fight. Not just constant killing things as fast as possible.
I guess it’s but a pipe dream really as there’s never going to be a serious attempt at that sort of content or mechanics, despite the fact a lot of missions have such things happening all the time.
Perhaps some alternative means of winning queues would promote alternative ways of playing them and diversity gets a boost.
A well built ship doesn’t need to match the meta, it just needs to be built so that it works together. Problem right now is that most content doesn’t allow such things to shine unless they are damage machines. Hence the feeling of myself in particular.
Going back to the OP's question. Yes, this would help the queues get alive again. I remember for sometime they used to do this in STO for bonus marks but people were complaining of time gates so it was taken down. Fall/Spring are usually dead in STO but they do need to improve this system with a better bonus turnout or similar in the very least.
1. Remove all reputation PVE content and revamp them as single-player missions integrating them into the appropriate campaign for example the Borg missions would go under the Borg campaign. I realize this would be a great deal of work but it would allow players to play this content solo and not have to completly throw them away.
2. Expand the red alert system. There are two options, either a generic Red Alert with a random enemy Fleet to destroy, or a red alert for every reputation enemy. (Romulan RA, Terran RA, Temporal RA etc.) With this option I would drop the choice of marks for the red alerts and confine rewards to the apropriate reputation. Use the Tholian red alert as a template with several groups of ships and a few dreadnoughts. Reputations with multiple main enemies could have one or a combination of those enemies. For example a Temporal Red Alert could have Na'kul, Krenim, Vorgon or Terran enemies or a combination of them.
3. Add advanced difficulty red alerts. For the Tholian Red alert you could double the number of fleets to be destroyed. For the Borg, add destorying the Tactical cube as an optional for additional marks. Adv red alerts would also grant one elite mark of whatever choice the player made.
4. Revamp all battle zones and rewards to Dyson sphere standards. I'm mainly thinking of Defera and Kobali prime. Battle zone are to me the more popular content. Revamping old zones to conform to Dyson sphere standards would get people playing older content again. The reason I choose the Dyson zone as a standard is because it is still very popular even though its several seasons old now. (If it ain't broke dont fix it).
5. Add new enemies to the Fleet Alert possibilities. Krenim, Vaadwar, Hirogen, Iconians etc.