Gagarin MW Cruiser vs Styx Dreadnought

aveimperator

Hey folks,

Old player returning after a VERY long hiatus and wondering which of these two ships I should acquire.

I've read wonderful things about the Gagarin, but the Styx also appeals to me as one of the few Fed carriers capable of fielding frigates.

I'm intending to start a new character, since there has been SO much new stuff added and lots of changes since last I played, and will be bringing up an Engineering Captain. As such, I'd like to get feedback on which of these two ships people feel is better and why.

Bear in mind, I am predominantly a solo player (maybe someday I'll look into joining an RP fleet), I'll occasionally queue for Ops, and I have zero interest in PvP.

Thank you for your time!

seriousdave

The Gagarin (and it's fleet version) currently is one of the best DPS ships in the game thanks to it's full spec Miracle Worker features.
Most notably Mixed Armaments Synergy and Narrow Sensor Bands which both add a ridiculous amount of bonus damage. That and full spec MW ships have an extra console slot, so instead of the standard 10/11(fleet) the Gagarin and it's compatriots come with 11/12(fleet) console slots. Also the Gagarins's trait is really handy. Upon using any level of BFAW/CSV you get TS1 & upon using any level of TS you get BFWA1/CSV1.

The Styx is a good ship, very different from the Gagarin but not bad. But it's a lockbox ship which means a) expensive to get & b) a single character unlock. Heard the Styx is a popular tank in elite TFOs.

szerontzur

Going to echo that the Gagarin is an excellent ship/investment. The fleet version can match or surpass most escorts in firepower while being more sturdy and having an excellent trait that's useful in a wide variety of situations. It's also an account-unlock.

For carriers, it might be worth waiting. Cryptic teased 4 new carriers a bit ago during the Day of Honor livestream event. We don't have much info about them, but it's possible they may come with frigates. (I'd say it's quite likely, considering one of them is a T6 Vo'quv, and the Romulan concept art was shown with a pair of Malems seemingly exiting its hangar bays.)

aveimperator

I appreciate the input and have decided to go with the Gagarin MW Cruiser. I love the look of it (though it's not as large as I initially thought).

I just recently reached Captain rank and am now wondering how I should work toward building it. I've been away from the game for so long, a LOT has changed. The Skill system is completely different and several new BOFF abilities have been added, some of which I've acquired for my crew. I've heard many say that a well-built Gagarin is nearly impossible to take down and has amazing DPS. That's great to hear! ...how do I get there?

questerius

Step by step.

Are you interested in tanking and protecting others (Which relies on drawing a lot of aggro) or simply incorporating a lot of survivability?

@darkbladejk is one player which specializes in tanking so if you're interested in the former I am sure he can provide specific pointers.

seaofsorrows

If you just want a DPS focused build to take a look at, here is my Gagarin running Dual Heavy Cannons. Obviously, you might not have all of the traits or consoles, it's just an outline to give you an idea how a 'hard hitting' Gagarin is built. It's mostly offensive minded but it's also pretty tough. The 2pc bonus from the Warp Core and Shield give you a lot of durability, as do some of the traits like Repair Crews, Context is for Kings, and Give Your All, but it mostly defends itself by clearing the screen before anything can dish any serious damage. The build is complete with skill tree and traits, feel free to use as much or as little as you see fit.

Good luck with your new ship, you made a very good choice in ships.

aveimperator

Here's the build I currently have...hopefully it's not too much of a mess to read

https://skillplanner.stoacademy.com/7478f67d643a676a70e387c4b9da54bf

nightken

aveimperator wrote: »

Here's the build I currently have...hopefully it's not too much of a mess to read

https://skillplanner.stoacademy.com/7478f67d643a676a70e387c4b9da54bf

move any universal consoles you want to use to eng slots, fill tact and universal slots with phaser relays. replace the torpedo with the Agony Phaser Energy Torpedo from pheonix box, get the Quantum Phase console from sunrise and maybe the Quantum Phase torpedo from the same.

get the omni and maybe the console from Beyond the Nexus and a crafted or lockbox phaser onmi from the exchange/crafting.

get Mixed Armaments Synergy III and Narrow Sensor Bands III from exchange/crafting. move fare at will to the ltc slot and put attack pattern beta in it's place. move torpedo spread to the lt slot and put kemocite from the exchange in it's place. move eng team to eng slot replace with power to weapons.

this should at least get you started.

aveimperator

Thank you, @nightken I appreciate the help!

I also appreciate the input on BOFF abilities, and especially glad you didn't recommend the Aux2Batt build. I know it's very meta, but I've done it in the past and find it very boring.

Do you have any input on my Ground BOFF setup?

Furthermore, is there a particular TYPE of phaser beam you recommend? STO.gamepedia lists Agony, Bio-Molecular, Covert, Emitter-Linked, Focusing-Linked, Integrity-Linked, Kelvin Timeline, Phased Biomatter, Phasic Harmonic, Pulse, Resilience-Linked, Sensor-Linked, and Targeting-Linked Phasers.

nightken

aveimperator wrote: »

Thank you, @nightken I appreciate the help!

I also appreciate the input on BOFF abilities, and especially glad you didn't recommend the Aux2Batt build. I know it's very meta, but I've done it in the past and find it very boring.

Do you have any input on my Ground BOFF setup?

MW ships are kind of a different beast, I'm not sure you can do aux to bat right and still work as a MW ship.

as far as ground, two thing I always do is make a eng boff a drone bot and a science boff a heal bot.

give the drone bot: Support Drone, Explosive Drone from exchange, Hammer and Anvil.

give heal bot: Medical Tricorder, Strategic Analysis, Delegated Devastation, Nanite Health Monitor III.

the mix of drones distracting, team wide buffs, heal and the healer forced to focus on healing, greatly increases survivability with a pretty good boost to damage as will. also recently had good luck with throwing MW buffs and tact buffs on a tact boff with the biggest gun I can get my hands on.

aveimperator wrote: »

Thank you, @nightken I appreciate the help!

Furthermore, is there a particular TYPE of phaser beam you recommend? STO.gamepedia lists Agony, Bio-Molecular, Covert, Emitter-Linked, Focusing-Linked, Integrity-Linked, Kelvin Timeline, Phased Biomatter, Phasic Harmonic, Pulse, Resilience-Linked, Sensor-Linked, and Targeting-Linked Phasers.

personally I go for set bonuses over sticking with one proc, I think ether senor or emitter linked is meta but don't quote me on that.