Mines, make them ALL cloak

marcase2

I know there already have been several posts regarding mines, but just to keep the discussion/interest going, these suggestions to make mines more tactically useful are all mine (...) and are based on already available game-mechanics.

Overall considered the stepchild in STO, I firmly believe there is enough life left in mines to make them viable, and more importantly, fun.

The main problem with mines is their long deployment times and vulnerability. I'd like to suggest to make ALL available mines cloak, the same way the Romulan tractor beam mines already do. These are arguably the most (only?) effective mines in the game, and their cloaking tech is already available in-game.

Currently mines can be wiped by AOE effects like BFAW and CSV and are targetable by NPCs and their pets upon release. Taking that part away through cloak also makes mines 'true' mines - you can now deploy/lay them at strategic points without fearing they will be one-shotted when in range of a hapless NPC. You can plan a strategy around them and lure them or delay an enemy approach.

Mines should have their deployment times increased (halved would be ideal) and ideally Mine Dispersal Patterns should be instantenous as well - eg you don't activate a mine pattern and then launch mines, it should instead be a single (button) action.
This is also already part of the game via the Gamma Reputation Advanced Inhibiting Chroniton Rapid Mine Launcher which launch a tad faster.

Faster laying, more effective all-cloaking mines would introduce a new role in the game - the dedicated minelayer.

With many maps having enemies vectoring in certain lanes a minelayer-player could be as useful as a Grav Well spammer. It will be something new, and could revitalize certain (older) ships that players would consider 'outdated' or less than stellar for the usual DPS chasing or Delta prime tanking.
It would also improve the previous mine-friendly reputation and weapon sets.

As a limiting factor (so to not make mines OP) there could be a limit to the maximum of deployable cloaked mine pattern "nets" one could lay, say three, after which the first net is replaced by a fresh one.
Mines would still be destroyed by wide AOE effects like Gravity Well, Tykens Rift, Eject Warp plasma or similar. They could also still be targetable by NPCs/players with innate higher perception to detect cloaked ships - this again would revitalize another mostly ignored ability, stealth detection/perception.

For your consideration

Greetings from The Netherlands,
Marcase
44th Fleet

pottsey5g

Mines are more than viable and in some situations are the most powerful weapon in game. I have been using mines as my primary weapon for a long time now to the point where my rear and front weapons all produce mines. I can kill many ships with mines faster than even the top end beam or cannons boats.

marcase2 wrote: »

“These are arguably the most (only?) effective mines in the game, and their cloaking tech is already available in-game.”

For a mine focused player I rate them as one of the worst mines in game. I don’t see how anyone can argue they are the only effective mines in game. Though there is a good argument they are some of the least effective when talking about someone fully buffed into mines.

marcase2 wrote: »

“Currently mines can be wiped by AOE effects like BFAW and CSV and are targetable by NPCs and their pets upon release”

Only if you don’t buff them. My mines survive perfectly ok against AOE effects, BFAW and CSV. There is no fear they will be 1 shotted some NPC.

marcase2 wrote: »

“Faster laying, more effective all-cloaking mines would introduce a new role in the game - the dedicated minelayer.”

That’s not a new role, dedicated minelayers have been really good ever since the last mine buff a few year(s) back. I already put out something like 5 to 10 mine per second every second. There is no need for faster laying.

Mines are already viable and fun they don’t need buffing. A few bug fixes perhaps but not buffing in power.

marcase2

Interesting, I'm curious for your mine builds then.

Granted I'm still leaning back to a sci-ish builds, so I might be missing some exotic mine traits/buffs, but most of my mines are just too slow to keep up with adv/elite TFOs (even with the recent buff/speed-ups - I had mine builds in mined for Khitomer space etc - but everytime mines starts tracking a target they get wiped by AOE. The only exception are the tractor beam mines because they cloak (tbh that's also because I use(d) them a lot in pvp) so that's where my musings come from.

Thanks for your input.

pottsey5g

marcase2 wrote: »

Interesting, I'm curious for your mine builds then.

Granted I'm still leaning back to a sci-ish builds, so I might be missing some exotic mine traits/buffs, but most of my mines are just too slow to keep up with adv/elite TFOs (even with the recent buff/speed-ups - I had mine builds in mined for Khitomer space etc - but everytime mines starts tracking a target they get wiped by AOE. The only exception are the tractor beam mines because they cloak (tbh that's also because I use(d) them a lot in pvp) so that's where my musings come from.

Thanks for your input.

Quantum mines have an inbuilt speed increase due to the Quantum bonus so I use them as you need that speed. The 3 console set bonus Destructive Velocity gives a further 20+ flight speed when in Vorgon ships and this combined with the Quantum speed boost makes a massive difference. A base Photon mine has a speed of 25 while a Quantum with the set speed bonus is 65 more than double the speed.

Hot pursuit gives 100% tracking range. Phasic Artillery gives 11,873.6 extra hitpoints to mines. Ordnance Accelerator gives -1.5 shared cooldown and +20% recharge speed. Master of the Mined gives 33% all damage resistance to mines and Seeking Mine Subroutine instructs all active mines to track select target. Lastly 3 doffs all with chance to knock recharge of mines.

The devs have done a really good job with the mines. There are a few bugs I would like to see fixed but I do not see why mines need buffing anymore. Perhaps some more variation in say cluster mines types.

EDIT: https://www.arcgames.com/en/forums/startrekonline#/discussion/1241632/minelayer-boat-guide/p1
This mine layer guide might be useful for you. Its a little outdated now and I have partly changed my mind on the Vorgon ships. I still have the same criticism's about them but the extra mine speed is useful.

borg0vermind

I would definitely make them last longer once deployed.

darkbladejk

/necro