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Narrowing down T6 choices
pavel
Member Posts: 42 Arc User
in The Shipyard
Hello. New player. Picked up the game over a year ago, played for a while, then real life got in the way, but now getting back into gaming again. I already have the Battle Cruiser bundle (Arbiter, Morrigu, etc.). I have three toons well into finishing off their reps and two toons that I'm levelling. Perhaps that's more than I should try to chew at once.
Anyway, I'd like each character to have their own signature ship and am hoping to grab a couple in the C-Store - one with that awesome voucher we just received and one just to treat myself.
I've narrowed down some choices based partially on fun Trekkie immersion and partially on reviews I've found on the internet, but many of the latter are years old and likely out of date. I hoped someone might peruse my finalists and let me know if there are any I should prioritize or avoid (avoid because of power creep obsolescence or steep, difficult learning curve, or whatnot), I know a ship list is too vague to expect the golden keys to meta. Just hoping for some general wisdom. I'm still at the stage of just wanting to feel confident in normal TFOs after all.
1. Klingon Battle Cruiser (Gorkon, Kahless, or Martok, is one easier or have a distinct advantage)
2. Pilot Warbird (Khaiell, Jaeih, or Okhala, once again, is one easier or have a distinct advantage)
3. Science Pilot Raptor - Klavek
4. Naj'Sav Research Vessel
5. Vastam Tactical Command Warbird
6. Jhu'ael
7. Alita
8. Sutherland
9. Gagerin
LOL I'm a kid in a candy store. I know that's an eclectic mix. Curious about different play styles that some of them lend themselves to, I guess.
Anyway, I'd like each character to have their own signature ship and am hoping to grab a couple in the C-Store - one with that awesome voucher we just received and one just to treat myself.
I've narrowed down some choices based partially on fun Trekkie immersion and partially on reviews I've found on the internet, but many of the latter are years old and likely out of date. I hoped someone might peruse my finalists and let me know if there are any I should prioritize or avoid (avoid because of power creep obsolescence or steep, difficult learning curve, or whatnot), I know a ship list is too vague to expect the golden keys to meta. Just hoping for some general wisdom. I'm still at the stage of just wanting to feel confident in normal TFOs after all.
1. Klingon Battle Cruiser (Gorkon, Kahless, or Martok, is one easier or have a distinct advantage)
2. Pilot Warbird (Khaiell, Jaeih, or Okhala, once again, is one easier or have a distinct advantage)
3. Science Pilot Raptor - Klavek
4. Naj'Sav Research Vessel
5. Vastam Tactical Command Warbird
6. Jhu'ael
7. Alita
8. Sutherland
9. Gagerin
LOL I'm a kid in a candy store. I know that's an eclectic mix. Curious about different play styles that some of them lend themselves to, I guess.
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And if it's relevant, I'm on Xbox, not PC
The Sutherland is meh.
Gagarin is a good strong ship with a "meta" trait, though I disagree on the trait myself. I'd much rather the stronger version of the ability be available rather than spamming weaker versions.
All Warbirds suffer from one problem, singularity cores. Which is fine if you buy it for one toon who will be flying just them, if not then you'll have to buy separate cores and upgrade them separately too. Gets expensive.
Pilot ships are always fun to fly, again if one has to be chosen, pick the tactical one.
Can't remember much about the others but gun to head, Gagarin.
Not sure if I follow about the singularity cores. I do like to my characters to stick to their faction ships for immersion's sake. I have two Romulan captains. Singularity cores cost more in EC or dilithium to acquire and improve? Do they have gameplay disadvantages?
Bummer to hear about the Sutherland since it's the Nebula LOL, but good to know. I hadn't seen a lot of hyped builds on the internet for it, so it was a curious thing.
The Warbird thing is if you plan on cross pollinating, every other ship uses matter/anti-matter cores. Warbirds don't. So say you buy a Scimitar but you have mostly non-warbird ships. You now have to purchase a singularity core and upgrade it separately. Singularity cores have worse power levels than M/AM cores but that's largely unimportant if you're keeping things on brand.
In other words, don't worry about it. Just you'll be spending more dil per toon if you want the ships on other toons that use mainly M/AM cores.
Now to clarify my Sutherland statement, any ship can be made to work as well as any other when it comes to T6 (even T5Us are fine) ships. So if you really want it, then feel free. Just from my perspective it's mediocre.
I don't use the trait from the Gagarin as I don't like it much, the DPS nuts love it though.
Thanks for the follow-up and tips, Orangenee. And yes, I took what you meant regarding general levels of T6 ships. So no worries, I promise not to look for someone to blame if I pick Ship A instead of Ship B lol.
Mostly, my concern is inadvertently getting a ship that only highly skilled players can make work. Will glass cannons be too frustrating? Are Sci builds difficult to understand? Do Carriers work? That sort of thing. I'm not worried about becoming an elite end game player, though I'm sure that eventually I'd like to try holding my own in the occasional Advanced TFO.
Thanks for the info about cores. Fortunately, I'm planning to keep the Warbirds just for my Rommies, but that's very helpful knowledge in case I started getting too unorthodox or experimental with builds.
Thanks for all the added insight, Westmetals. Really helpful since I know the more seasoned players have an analytical grasp at selecting ships for traits that can be used elsewhere; but I'm at a stage where it would be disappointing to get one of my first ships just for that reason. So great to hear from both you and Orange that it has other merits.
Added bonus that the character I want it for has an Eng boff with Miracel Worker, so it's fortuitous. For some reason, the game loves raining Eng Boffs on my new characters. That trait does sound interesting if one wants to try some alternatives setups work-arounds.
As for, Sci, thanks for the tip. I get the feeling it will be a lot of fun eventually, but wouldn't hurt if I got a little better at one style before dabbling with something radically different.
Yes, I have the Battle Cruisers and love the Morrigu in particular.
I made two characters to during the Recruit event. Even if one collects dust for a bit while I focus on the other, at least they'll both eventually have those advantages. I unlocked the ship and died very quickly LOL, but I'm looking forward to giving it another go. A cannon build definitely seems like a lot of fun once mastered. I'm just worried about the squishiness of the more nimble ships.
Thanks for the added suggestions. I always loved the style of the Nova, so it's good to hear about a canon ship served well. I just checked out the Mat'Ha, and yeah, that seems like a fun, fast, aggressive ship. Since I already have the Battle Cruiser bundle, I'm curious about trying other specialized Boffs besides Intelligence. Any suggestions for KDF faction sci ships? They seem less present than Fed sci options (I guess klingons are just dumb brutes
Edit: OMG, I never even noticed the Titan before and that is one beautiful looking ship. And you're right (not that I'm any expert) but the stats seem really well balanced. Decent health and maneuverability. I like the Boff seating. You're not helping me narrow down my choices; you're adding to them! LOL
Kinda wish they'd update the Dyson ships as they do a similar thing.
Yeah, it's definitely an impressive looking - and nice looking - ship that's on my radar now. I noticed that Tactical Mode and Sci Mode option. I don't have a ship yet with such a feature. I take it that these modes are not options you can toggle between in the middle of battle. Are they options you configure in the ship display screen like selected Boff skills?
Um, and apologies, but another nagging newb question related to ship purchasing. I still have the T5 Coupon we received recently. With the focus on T6 for end game ships, is it better to look at T5s that round out console ownership? I was thinking of grabbing the T5 Mogai just to get the console that's part of the Enhanced Weapon Systems Efficiency set for my T6 Morrigu. Or are there other ways of looking at T5 options one should consider? I certainly won't mind finding some whacky T5 ship that teaches me different mechanics.
Let me correct that, pick the one which suits your career and play style.
Case in point: https://sto.fandom.com/wiki/Jaeih_Science_Pilot_Warbird
For some time this ship was considered the most potent escort due to its synergy with the plasma exploder consoles.
But even after those consoles were adjusted (nerfed/fixed depending on whom you ask) it is still on par or better than the tactical version.
Best I just link this: https://sto.fandom.com/wiki/Titan_Science_Destroyer
It'll explain how it works better than I can, you can switch in battle just make sure you have it setup on both modes first.
I went with the Avenger for my T5 pick as it's console 2 piece (Arbiter as the second piece) goes with my plans to just fly dreadnoughts on my Disco toon (turn rate can be an issue), that set is similar to what you're looking. However there are many really good ships down there that are all capable of endgame content.
With regards to what questerius said prior, that's more an outlier really. From a console perspective you want more tactical than anything else. Then again the game isn't hardcore about builds performance in normal/advanced content, play around. Elite you have to get it down a lot more. If money is an issue, I'd always go tactical.
Orangenee -
Yeah, dang, that looks like such an awesome ship that you and Annemarie tipped me off to. And it's so versatile. If the Gagarin wasn't on sale right now... even still. Great to practice with Sci builds and if I struggle, flip over to Tac.
Questerius - It's so funny that you linked that specific ship because it's the exact one I was thinking about when inquiring about the the variants of a vessel. Says it's a sci ship, but with the heavy tac boff seating and the tac consoles that ship packs quite a lot of punch for an innocent research vessel.
Orangenee
Wow, that ship just keeps looking better. If it wasn't for the fact that the Gagarin is on sale right now... even still. Great thing about the Titan, it seems, is that I can practice Sci builds, and if I hit a wall, I can always switch over.
Questerius
It's so funny that you singled out that vessel because it's the exact one that had me thinking when inquiring about the distinction between some variants of a ship concept. It has such heavy boff seating and lots of Tac consoles. Looks like it packs a punch for a bunch of innocent researchers.
Well the pilot warbirds are good ships. The question which variant to choose should be based on your career and play style.
E.g. my main is an engineer and this allows me to get away with flying glass cannons like the above mentioned pilot warbird or the andorian escorts https://sto.fandom.com/wiki/Andorian_Kuthar_Pilot_Escort
IF you are an experienced escort/raider player and have the skills/resources to survive in advanced TFO/upgrade gear then you can give serious thought to one extra tactical console in exchange for an engineering/science console to squeeze out a bit more DPS.
However, if you find yourself struggling and dying multiple times during advanced TFO then a bit of extra bulk through an engineering console or crowd controle through an extra science console is worth consideration.
There is simply not a clear answer.
Most of the people who say that one should pick tactical consoles over others do TFO's with premade teams which usually include a dedicated tank which draws in aggro thus allowing more fragile builds to survive.
If you are playing PUG's/random battles then you should choose the variant on your play style/level of competence from a single player point of view.
If you like the speed demon kind of play style, then look at this console set from the summer event ships https://sto.fandom.com/wiki/Exotic_Particle_Generators_Set#Notes
It is a seriously fun build, but not an easy one to pull off with the amount of gravity wells, plasma storms etc encountered in TFO's these days.
LOL a Risian luxury liner. I'm tempted to track it down just for the novelty. Though not sure how I'd get it if it's from a past Event. Is it in the Lobi store? Don't think I want to gamble for ships, would prefer sticking to the C Store.
I'm testing the playstyle with theT6 Bird of Prey my Klingon recruit got. Was worried I'd find the glass cannon frustrating, but it's been fun so far. And looks like the escort pilots would be superior to the BoP anyway. Seems like the Fed, Klingon, and Rom escort pilots are more or less identical. Rommies get a Battle Cloak, but other than that, seems like one just picks based on your favorite looking group, unless I'm missing something.
The recruit one is terrible trash garbage really, good for reskinning the god awful M'chala BoP.
The Romulan and Klingon BoPs (including the recruit one) have an 'enhanced battle cloak' which enables you to use torps while cloaked, a very handy party trick.
They are squishy but can get out of trouble as fast as they can get into it.
The Jem'Hadar have a really good raider too, but it lacks cloak but gets the wingmen and a more powerful raider bonus.
I treated myself to the Gagarin yesterday and have been kicking the tires. Thanks everyone for your advice so far. I've been enjoying trying out a different Boff specialization besides Intelligence finally and I've been pleased with the ship. I worried that it was going to be lumbering, but its maneuverability and health feels comparable to the Arbiter. I need to get used to that special Miracle Worker ability that asks you to use certain Boff powers in a particular order. Don't want to scramble button hitting to trigger that effect only to find I used a bunch of abilities at the worst time.
A question about that Mixed Armaments skill that Miracle Workers get: would that create an exception to the rule about not mixing beams and cannons?
For even more ZING substitute an Assimilated Module for one of the two non-set engineering consoles. More CrtH is always good
One way to make even the lightest ships feel more stout is take advantage of the incredible regen of the 2 piece (usually shield + core) offered by the Discovery reputation space set.
The Gagarin (or KDF Qugh) seems to be one of the finest ships in the game. It might be worth trying with your cannons. They can be a lot of fun set up this way.
If you're referring to the Innovation Effects it seems simpler to not put much focus on that.
For the boff ability Mixed Armaments Synergy an easy solution is to use a single rear omni if using cannons or a single rear turret if using beams. This seems to allow more focus on taking advantage of the bonus damage offered by MAS whenever you want to versus trying to time things by firing a torpedo, for example.
While mixed builds are possible it can be hard to find enough boff ability room to keep both beams and cannons buffed with a firing mode boff ability so the usual advice is to focus on one type of weapon only aside from a trigger weapon for MAS as mentioned above. No trigger boff ability is needed for MAS.
That pro tip is awesome news, if I don't have to fixate about hitting red-blue-yellow powers in a particular order.
Protoneous
Wow, that's a lot of information for me to unpack! Thank you for all the insights. You've brought up a few topics I've been curious about. With Ep2W you mentioned ordinarily having it twice for a continuous feed. I've been trying to research that with inconsistent information about whether it works or is from an older iteration of the game. One thing I've noticed is that any other Emergency Power skill seems to cut off using another, even though I'd read somewhere that Ep to Weapons and Ep to Shields can make a good rotation. So does something like Ep2W III then to Ep2W II keep a constant up time?
Regarding Mixed Armaments, thanks, that's what I was thinking and it's good to know it's the right direction. I don't want to use up all my Tac boffs on feeding both weapon types. It didn't occur to me to just slap on a single omni or turret for the proc. Awesome idea.
I might have done things backwards to confuse myself LOL. I have two characters at a stage of getting close to Tier 5 in their Reps. I'm holding off on buying Rep gear until I get the Tier 6 discount. I have one captain whose an Engineer Miracle Worker Primary with an Intelligence ship and a Tactical Intelligence Captain with a Miracle Worker ship
That's an awesome tip! Would be great to know if I don't haveto fixate about hitting red-blue-yellow powers in the correct order for a proc lol
Protoneous
Wow, that's a lot to consider, thank you! You've addressed and approached a few issues I've been wondering about. With Ep2W, I've read inconsistent information (likely due to other sites having builds for different iterations of the game). Some suggest having two Ep2W skills on Boffs to create a constant cycle. Others say that no longer works. Others suggest a rotation between Ep2W and any other Ep. The problem with the latter is that from my experimentation, using any single Emergency Power causes all of them to share a cool down, so Ep2 Shields is not helping me maintain a stronger up time on Ep2W. Or am I missing something? Does having Ep2W III and Ep2W II in rotation still work? One will kick in even while the other is on cool down?
Regarding Mixed Armaments, that's a great idea about just using a single omni / turret to proc the ability and keep all other weapons in form. I didn't think of that, even though, like you suggested, I didn't want to use up all my Tac Boffs on cannon and beam abilities.
If you're going to run one copy of two different emergency powers I'd recommend adding EPtE over EPtS for the maneuverability increase and that EPtE can reset evasive maneuvers when used with an Emergency Conn Hologram active duty officer available from a Phoenix token. The ability to maneuver around the field of play while still under red alert is super handy.
How do players use two copies of emergency powers? How do players ensure the rest of their boff abilities are available as often as possible? Cool down reduction:
1) Use two copies of the same boff ability, as above. This works fine.
2) Use 2-3 very rare Damage Control Engineers (EPtX cool down variant) doffs - this works but still leaves all sorts of other bridge officer abilities without any cool down reduction so is only a partial solution.
3) Photonic Officer - using Photonic Officer 2 will reduce the cool down of all your boff abilities. This works very well and unlike #4 below doesn't reduce your auxiliary power so is great for Science ships or whenever aux power is important.
4) Auxiliary to Battery - Using two copies of this boff ability, usually at the lowest rank possible, in combination with 3 very rare Technicians (recharge variant) will allow you to reach very close to global (minimum) cool down on all boff abilities. This works very well but not for anything that is auxiliary power dependent as with each use your aux power is being shunted to weapons, shields, and engines for a period of time.
5) Traits - one example would be the Gagarin's Starship mastery trait Entwined Tactical Matrices. Enter a mission or TFO an upon engaging the enemy activate BFAW3. This gives a free torpedo spread 1. Fire that torpedo! When your BFAW3 is done activate a TS 1 and get a free BFAW 1. This doesn't help with other boff abilities though.
What I've found is that paying good attention to cool down reduction in ships being captained pays off in big ways with respect to durability and damage dealt.