First off, I'd like to salute all you cruiser captains out there that are using Extend shields. Every time you use Extend shields to save a buddy, you make a conscious decision to save a buddy at great risk to yourself. No other ship class has to make that kind of decision.
Lets face it, ES is the same as painting a huge target on your ship, with an arrow pointing from the guy you just saved straight to you. Smart escorts know this, and make good use of that knowledge. No RSP for 15 seconds.
With that in mind, I was hoping we could discuss strategy and builds. And maybe share some useful knowledge on surviving in pvp.
I changed my setup a bit to try and adjust to the recent changes and smarter players I keep running into. I've been using full power to shields a lot, especially after popping ES. Since I don't have as much power going to weapons, I went from 6 turrets to 4, and turned my ship into a torpedo boat. This, surprisingly, led to higher damage and more kills, despite flying around half the battles at full shields. Granted, I always focus fire with an escort if possible, but the extra torps flying made quite a difference. Burst damage is the big killer in fleet battles.
My only problem is surviving focus fire. I'm a tac in a cruiser, which equals weaker shields and no RSF. I'd kill for RSF, might end up making an engineer, but dread the grind.
I'm hoping you guys can give me some tips, because I can't think of anything else I can do. Here's what I do. If I pop ES on someone, and then become the target. I'll usually switch to full power to shields, hit EPtS 1, then hit ST2, then spam balance shields. If I'm lucky I'll have a hull heal available and I'll use that too. I currently stack 3 resist consoles and one EPS (more than enough with 4 turrets). This combo buys me several seconds, but I'm wondering if there's something else I can do.
Feel free to give tips on this, or on builds that work for you.
First off, I'd like to salute all you cruiser captains out there that are using Extend shields. Every time you use Extend shields to save a buddy, you make a conscious decision to save a buddy at great risk to yourself. No other ship class has to make that kind of decision.
I echo this appreciation of captains who use team-oriented skills like Extend Shields. People who use ES know that teamwork is what wins matches. However, I disagree with the last statement specifically. Any ship can use ES, not just cruisers; in fact, science ships and escorts who run ES are making an even bigger sacrifice than cruisers, as they won't EVER be able to RSP (unless they swap BOs, but that's another issue).
I'm hoping you guys can give me some tips, because I can't think of anything else I can do...
To begin with that is probably your main issue. For your play style (low weapons power, lots of turrets, heavy team healing, etc) that's the wrong Captain for that ship. With an Engineer Captain in a Cruiser you get Rotate Shield Frequency, Miracle Worker, and Nadion Inversion for yourself and EPS Transfer, Engineering Team III, and Extend Shields III for your team.
So you're giving up the two best heals in the game (ET III and ES III) plus the ability to assist teammates hit by TSS thru EPS Transfer for what? Attack Pattern Alpha? Go Down Fighting? Simply not worth the trade-off. The Engineer Captain can Extend Shields to a teammate and fall back on his Captain-specific powers to heal himself. Getting back near 100% of your hull from MW is a literal life-saver. It also gives you a nice back-up when RSP is stripped by all the Sci Captains in Escorts running around (the new min/max combo).
When the modified BO trading system is in place then this self-gimping is reduced somewhat because someone can train ET III and ES III on a BO and trade them to you. Until then I'd seriously consider leveling your Engineer.
If you absolutely have to play the Tactical Captain in a Cruiser I'd suggest using ES II as a preemptive power versus a reactive one. Hit your lead escort or Alpha Strike ship with it just out of enemy range so they have the extra shield regeneration and damage resistance effects in place while heading in for the first kill. This will help buff him from the focused enemy fire and give you a couple seconds head start on the RSP cooldown. Depending on which version of the T5 cruiser's you're running you should have two E-Teams, two Hazard Emitters, or an HE and a Polarize Hull. This will allow you to generate so much hull resistance that you can stave off concentrated fire while using ES II until teammates can support you or your RSP is available.
I know it's a sad and old argument, but whether or not you PUG makes a difference. Coordinated teamplay can allow for more flexibility in Captain/ship combination as the team focuses on maximizing each other's abilities and exploiting enemy weaknesses (I know, I know "exploit" is a bad word around here).
Experiment with different setups to see what works best for you but I'd seriously consider moving to an Engineer Captain if healing is your main goal and focus...
ive had the same issues. im a tac and flown escorts most of the time. ive tried the sience ship once. but refrained myself from using snb and vm together, i found the ship nice but lacking for me. i tried the cruiser and found it to be just meh. the loss of damage output and the gain in healing power and survivability is not justifiable. its like u said, if u dare using ES in a lower version that is (and by the way i noticed u doing it wrong from what u typed, u need to be at max shield power when using, u get the most benefit out of it) u are very vulnerable to attack and most of the time u wont survive.
ive leveled an engineer on a cruiser, and i have no issues surviving. altough my survivability whent down each rank. the amount of self healing u get with the engi cruiser is amazing. granted, two escorts knowing what they are doing, will kill me prety fast but not all escorts know what they are doing
from my experience id say that tac is for escort, engi is for cruiser and if u are doing it any other way you are gimping yourself in some way. no big deal as you should just play the game as u whant to play it ofcourse.
didnt comment on the sci cause ive not have enough exp with it
from my experience id say that tac is for escort, engi is for cruiser and if u are doing it any other way you are gimping yourself in some way. no big deal as you should just play the game as u whant to play it ofcourse.
didnt comment on the sci cause ive not have enough exp with it
Engi/Escort can be a decent mix as well, your innate engi abilities add some survivability to it, without sacrificing a ton of damage. I've out-scored tac/escort combos with an engi/escort before, mainly because I stayed alive longer to keep dishing out damaging. This was pre-1.1 though so I may dist off the escort later to see how it is after 1.1 .
First off, I'd like to salute all you cruiser captains out there that are using Extend shields. Every time you use Extend shields to save a buddy, you make a conscious decision to save a buddy at great risk to yourself. No other ship class has to make that kind of decision.
it was a hard choice for me to give up rps3 over extend shields 3.
But it was so worth it.
Guys on your team tend to save you more when they know your support, and your out there saving everyone else.
I echo this appreciation of captains who use team-oriented skills like Extend Shields. People who use ES know that teamwork is what wins matches. However, I disagree with the last statement specifically. Any ship can use ES, not just cruisers; in fact, science ships and escorts who run ES are making an even bigger sacrifice than cruisers, as they won't EVER be able to RSP (unless they swap BOs, but that's another issue).
Though it's technically true that other ships can do this, in practice, I can honestly say, I've never seen this happen. However, what a great idea, the escort you keep alive with ES also keeping you alive with ES. Granted, it's a weaker version, but should be good enough with a cruiser.
And yes people, I know, I should've rolled an engineer. However, when I made my character, there was no sign that said "Warning, if you want to fly cruisers, you better pick Engineer". I've always hated the grind, so I have no desire to start over with an engineer. And I have no desire to fly an escort. So I'm back to square one, either accept that I nerfed myself and deal with it, or start over with an engineer.
Yes..if you hit ES -- you will certainly understand "focus fire" from the receiving end quickly. However, as I have pointed out in another thread, I tend to be targeted quite a bit less if I am in an orbit (and cruisers just generally orbit in a fight, we cannot do fancy escort turns, after all) HIGHER than the general plane of the fight.
Guess most are too lazy to look up for a target, when there are so many right in front of them.
Any rate - I have learned to at least Polarize hull and rotate shields right before I hit ExSh. Having a free Eng Team ready doesn't hurt either.
Several times in PvP PUGs, have found like minded cruisers we throw ES to each other. WONDERFUL !!
I can happily blast away for a time - almost as good as another RSP !
Comments
I echo this appreciation of captains who use team-oriented skills like Extend Shields. People who use ES know that teamwork is what wins matches. However, I disagree with the last statement specifically. Any ship can use ES, not just cruisers; in fact, science ships and escorts who run ES are making an even bigger sacrifice than cruisers, as they won't EVER be able to RSP (unless they swap BOs, but that's another issue).
To begin with that is probably your main issue. For your play style (low weapons power, lots of turrets, heavy team healing, etc) that's the wrong Captain for that ship. With an Engineer Captain in a Cruiser you get Rotate Shield Frequency, Miracle Worker, and Nadion Inversion for yourself and EPS Transfer, Engineering Team III, and Extend Shields III for your team.
So you're giving up the two best heals in the game (ET III and ES III) plus the ability to assist teammates hit by TSS thru EPS Transfer for what? Attack Pattern Alpha? Go Down Fighting? Simply not worth the trade-off. The Engineer Captain can Extend Shields to a teammate and fall back on his Captain-specific powers to heal himself. Getting back near 100% of your hull from MW is a literal life-saver. It also gives you a nice back-up when RSP is stripped by all the Sci Captains in Escorts running around (the new min/max combo).
When the modified BO trading system is in place then this self-gimping is reduced somewhat because someone can train ET III and ES III on a BO and trade them to you. Until then I'd seriously consider leveling your Engineer.
If you absolutely have to play the Tactical Captain in a Cruiser I'd suggest using ES II as a preemptive power versus a reactive one. Hit your lead escort or Alpha Strike ship with it just out of enemy range so they have the extra shield regeneration and damage resistance effects in place while heading in for the first kill. This will help buff him from the focused enemy fire and give you a couple seconds head start on the RSP cooldown. Depending on which version of the T5 cruiser's you're running you should have two E-Teams, two Hazard Emitters, or an HE and a Polarize Hull. This will allow you to generate so much hull resistance that you can stave off concentrated fire while using ES II until teammates can support you or your RSP is available.
I know it's a sad and old argument, but whether or not you PUG makes a difference. Coordinated teamplay can allow for more flexibility in Captain/ship combination as the team focuses on maximizing each other's abilities and exploiting enemy weaknesses (I know, I know "exploit" is a bad word around here).
Experiment with different setups to see what works best for you but I'd seriously consider moving to an Engineer Captain if healing is your main goal and focus...
ive leveled an engineer on a cruiser, and i have no issues surviving. altough my survivability whent down each rank. the amount of self healing u get with the engi cruiser is amazing. granted, two escorts knowing what they are doing, will kill me prety fast but not all escorts know what they are doing
from my experience id say that tac is for escort, engi is for cruiser and if u are doing it any other way you are gimping yourself in some way. no big deal as you should just play the game as u whant to play it ofcourse.
didnt comment on the sci cause ive not have enough exp with it
Engi/Escort can be a decent mix as well, your innate engi abilities add some survivability to it, without sacrificing a ton of damage. I've out-scored tac/escort combos with an engi/escort before, mainly because I stayed alive longer to keep dishing out damaging. This was pre-1.1 though so I may dist off the escort later to see how it is after 1.1 .
it was a hard choice for me to give up rps3 over extend shields 3.
But it was so worth it.
Guys on your team tend to save you more when they know your support, and your out there saving everyone else.
someone has to make that first step, and for that, everyone with extend 3 has my respect. *raises a beer*
Though it's technically true that other ships can do this, in practice, I can honestly say, I've never seen this happen. However, what a great idea, the escort you keep alive with ES also keeping you alive with ES. Granted, it's a weaker version, but should be good enough with a cruiser.
And yes people, I know, I should've rolled an engineer. However, when I made my character, there was no sign that said "Warning, if you want to fly cruisers, you better pick Engineer". I've always hated the grind, so I have no desire to start over with an engineer. And I have no desire to fly an escort. So I'm back to square one, either accept that I nerfed myself and deal with it, or start over with an engineer.
Guess most are too lazy to look up for a target, when there are so many right in front of them.
Any rate - I have learned to at least Polarize hull and rotate shields right before I hit ExSh. Having a free Eng Team ready doesn't hurt either.
Several times in PvP PUGs, have found like minded cruisers we throw ES to each other. WONDERFUL !!
I can happily blast away for a time - almost as good as another RSP !