Ok that title may seem a little bit elitist. So bare with me on this one. As a few other postings have pointed out there really are only a handful of dedicated PvP players right now. We all know who the best are... if you do any PvP you are going to run into them.
We have all read the great defense posts from Faithborn... and I have really not seen any good offense guides here.
So I say we all put up a few lessons in killen Lets all be un-modest in this thread and give people a real guide to some technique we use that helps us do away with opponents in an efficient manner.
Plenty of newer PvP players seem to have no idea how to make things blow up with a thunder instead of going pew pew before we pop them.
I know we all like to guard our best tricks... really though giving them the information at this point is only likely to give us some proper prey.
So please Masters take a few minutes and put something together; a real lesson, something that isn't a simple 2 or 3 line work together answer.
So here you go I will post the first one to give everyone the idea... I am not the master of many things... but I know how to use speed to kill.....
Lesson: Speed = Defense via Offense.
These lessons are transferable to any ship.. the most benefit will be on a tier 4 or 5 Escort class ship. Keep in mind speed on a cruiser is beneficial for both defense ratings as well as being able to turn from focus fire. On a sci ship being able to use the firing arcs on the sci powers more effectively is also a key to victory. (being able to sub nuke someone 3 or 4 seconds faster is very beneficial)
Objective:
Learn to use speed and turn to increase damage potential.
Eg.
1)Use speed to engage more weapons, in an accurate manner.
2)Time weapon cool downs to your piloting.
3)Stay out of arcs... there by living longer... there by dishing out more damage.
Credentials:
As always take what you read, and apply it to your own build and style. However I am qualified to give you this lesson for this reason. I consistently top damage and kill charts... I do this without a tactical officer (on my bop). My klink does not use rapid fire/scatter/beam overload/high yield or any other ability. (well sensor scan sometimes) I use these techniques to rack up very high damage numbers without tac ability's. (This sounds cocky however... When I leveled through Captain with my latest toon I used white MK VI weapons as I was too lazy to change them and racked up multiple 1 million point cap games)
Setup Theory:
I run the following setup on both my fed and Klingon ships.
Front:
1 Dual beam 3 Dual heavy cannons
Rear:
2 Arrays (3 on my Tier 5 Fed)
The point here is for the techniques in this lesson you need rear arrays.
The higher you have your turn rate for these maneuvers the better. I always run engines with a min 1 Turn modifier. I would also suggest Hyper-Impulse engines. I also spend skill points in pilot skills. I max Tier 2 as it transfers... spend points at tier 5 and I even have some points spent in 3 and 4 even though they don't transfer 100%. On my fed setup I run 1 RCS unit... I would suggest trying one if you haven't.
Technique 1 (Full Frontal Broadside)
This piloting technique allows me to Broadside an opponent in an escort style ship.
The key to this technique is the cool down time in firing weapons and the follow through of the beam arrays.
1 Angle your ship just inside the firing arc of the rear arrays and engage them.
2 Sweep your ship to the other side... first engaging the Dual beam Array.
3 Now you are into the 45 degree arc for the cannons to fire (At this point you will see ALL your weapons firing at your target, the power from the rear arrays will probably have been returned before the final cannon goes off)
4 Now at the Far end of the arc pull your rear arrays back into arc... and Repeat.
Technique 2 (The Top Punch)
This is a harder maneuver and requires a higher turn rate to perform properly... it is however very effective.
This technique will require you to use evasive maneuvers in an offensive manner. You will circle a target literally flying a circle around them on an angle (around 75 degrees).
1 Use evasive maneuvers and fly in a circle around your target. (A high turn rate is essential)
[NOTE: turn rate goes up with your engine power setting]
2 Engage your beams (as you circle you will come into arc on both rear and front beam)
3 At the top (or bottom) of each circle top punch the target with the cannon.
This takes practice to time properly, an it is hard to focus one shield facing. I have practiced this maneuver 100s of times and it works very well and will have people very annoyed with you... counters to worry about are shock wave and tractor.
Notes on Surviving
One thing people forget is attacking with intelligence. Understanding the mentality of your opponent is very important. (information is key in war)
When choosing a target I prefer the following attacks vectors (unless I have other information) Higher speed will allow you to choose your angle of attack more often.
Cruiser Frontal or Rear Attack (Cruisers will normally broadside)
Sci Ships Rear Attack (Sci powers have arcs as well... and again you avoid a broadside)
Escorts Side Attack (Staying out of their frontal arc... and possible rear mounted toys like Cobalts)
Homework
Here is the homework assignment. Run any 3 PvP matches... and jack your engine power for the whole match. I would suggest running it a 70... to exaggerate the effect. This will help you feel the difference a high setting will give you.
You will find it much easier to keep arc... and much easier to avoid your opponents arc as well.
182 keeps its offensive secrets in house; so I can't actually give anything more than extremely cryptic hints (no pun intended). I would have given them out, but Keldor went off the deep end trying to figure out our secrets - and I don't wanna have to face our offense turned against us, 182 needs to keep its advantages. Sorry if it sounds rude.
The mouse matters as much as the elephant.
Healers hit harder?
Consitensy unlocks the door.
the mad hatter spoketh "CHANGE!"
edit, I'm not going to be posting in this thread again.
HAHA faith, I think you need to have insight into 182nd to really understand those hints....
I'll add that surviving longer than your opponent can be as effective as pumping out massive amounts of damage, that's why I advocate a full beam build on an escort, keep turning on your opponent while putting the hurt on them, and even with weaker heals an escort can outlast a cruiser.
Your group can determine your build as much as your play style, I have two BOff builds, one that puts out tons and tons of damage but dosen't last long without a healer, and one that keeps me alive forever with slightly less damage. When I can get heals I go balls to the wall on my damage, when I can't I focus more on staying alive.
PvP isn't really that complicated. Just invest some time on the expense of getting beat to a pulp and adjust your Skills, BOs and Weapon layout to the point where it makes sense to you, and where they fit your personal play style.
Also, study your opponents. If you know their tactics you can fight them accordingly.
I have my specific tricks but I can think of a few general ideas.
1. For the love of god, use hotkeys! Individually clicking powers with your mouse is a colossal waste of time. Ideally, you should be able to pop any and every power you have without clicking your mouse at all.
2. You gain more defense at higher speeds (you're harder to hit) but it caps at 50% without modifiers. Experiment with engine power to get better defense - it makes a difference.
3. I'm sure many have figured this out already - tab target is no good. Try to use it as little as possible.
4. I get called a chicken/wimp/etc at least once a day because I *run* when outnumbered. Swallow your pride and don't get vaporized in two seconds. Look around for teammates, then pop evasive maneuvers to speed toward them and try to regroup.
5. Use batteries! Doesn't matter what kind - whatever fits your play style. They're dirt cheap and you can buy them in stacks of 20. They don't just give you a boost to that subsystem - they repair the subsystem. So...if you get a Beam Target Subsystem on something you may consider important (like shields), pop the appropriate battery.
I wasn't planing on posting another one right away... but the talk of battaries has made me whip this one up quick.... I feel like the magician in the mask (I hope I don't get focused now everytime I que up) lol
Lesson: Power Optimization
Objective:
Learn to optimize power to minimize power switching... and gain max effectivness to the system most advantages to your setup
Credentials:
I am not going to bother this time. lol
I won't post any screen shoots... put I have had people tell me the numbers they see are not possible.
Technique 1 (Emergency Power Rocking)
Choose the system you are going to max... weapons make sense for half of us... Aux makes sense for Sci players.
Now pick the third most importent system and put all your other power into that one... run the other 2 at 25, the second most importent system two you we are going to goose... like this...
1 - Run 2 copies of Emergency power to of the same type... this is possible on every ship in the game at tier 5.
If you want shields run 2 copies, this will allow you to have 3 systems with lots of power.
2 - Keybind the 2 powers to a key you can use easily to keep the power in constant use.
3 - The system you are running EPT on.... run it at the lowest setting you can. You are always going to have the power inflated anyway.
4 - Max skill points in 2 areas to maximize the rocking technique, they are System Maintence (this will increase the power EPT gives you) as well as Efficency as you are going to run this system low on purpose.
I use a keybind like this one to make sure I am always running a EPT when the global cooldown hits... you could bind this with your weapons too if you want to make sure your running them.
[ /bind q "+TrayExecByTray 3 0 $$ +TrayExecByTray 3 1" ]
Now on Tray 4 in the first 2 slots put your 2 EPT powers... preferable the better 1 in slot 1 if you have versions 2 and 1.
Part 2 (Batts)
Now on an escort type ship you have 2 device slots... more on the other types. 2 is all you need, load battaries for the systems you have not maxed or are goosing with EPT. This will allow you to for 10 seconds max out a third system.
So if you have your weapons at 125 your shields at 51 and engines at 51 with aux say at 75... now with EPT on shields you can jump that into the 70-90 range constantly depending on the EPT level and skill point spend.... and for 10 seconds you can slam an engine battary and your power would look something like this
125 / 83 / 125 / 75.
One other note... rocking 2 Emergency power to powers is going to have some overlap... for a short window my power looks something like this 125 / 109 / 52 / 83... with no battaries in play... and when I don't have my siphon running... I can remember looking down and seeing this once or twice 125 / 121 / 64 / 125.... and this 125 / 121 / 125 / 95.
Hope this helps... bottom line plan your build to play into your system power.
My best advice is to scour the forums and read there are great ppl on here
with lots of good advice if you take the time to find them.
Play lots of PVP and learn who those ppl are and look them up in the forums
and not just in your class but the cross classes also.
And the best thing you can do to be a better PVPer is to remember one word
"TEAMWORK", I know it gets used a lot on these forums but its for good
reason because at the end of the day no matter what your build or class
your still only one person and "ONE" wil never beat a "TEAM"
Ok, I know that I said I wouldn't be posting here but wow, Those tips are getting interpretted in quite a few different ways. It's interesting to see how people chose to interpret them, and alot of them were solid guesses. But the "healers hurt more?" has gotten the most incorrect guesses. And no one has actually gotten them correct, which lets me know that there are still some secrets out there.
Ok, I know that I said I wouldn't be posting here but wow, Those tips are getting interpretted in quite a few different ways. It's interesting to see how people chose to interpret them, and alot of them were solid guesses. But the "healers hurt more?" has gotten the most incorrect guesses. And no one has actually gotten them correct, which lets me know that there are still some secrets out there.
If you forward 1 million credits to Bounty@BountyXP I'll give you all of 182nd/GoD's offensive strategies and loadouts after having played countless matches against and with some of their members. Well, not really...I want to keep the defense to their offense as much a secret as they do their offense!
Best advice I could give to those looking for offense-minded guides or suggestions is ask. Ask those team members who beat you. Ask fleet members from DOB, Section 31, 182nd, 12th Fleet, and 7th Core on the Fed side and GoD and Sto'Vo'Kor on the Klingon side. They make excellent use of their builds and strategies and have a world of advice to offer.
Guides like this one are a good start. Be flexible. A lot of builds used by the top fleets incorporate one assumption...they'll be flying with fleetmates. A team-oriented build may or may not be as effective in a PUG as it is for them in their fleet Premades. Experiment. Try out different things. Find what works best for you and use it often. As always, my fleet and I remain open to answer any and all questions new players might have.
well.. i'm in a fleet that doesn't do much pvp at the hours i'm on, so i've adapted to do as well as possible on my own. I fly a sci ship. Here are some of my experiences.:
When PUGing it:
- if someone/all other players fly off without forming team, this usually means the game is already lost
- I always try to collect all players in a team, and type in teamchat whos target we all should focus on.
As mentioned above, i fly a sci ship. This does NOT mean i'm a healer! I focus on debuffs/holds/dps! Here are some pointers... like many others, i refuse to give it all up
- tractorbeam
- TEAMWORK AND POWERSETTING!!! If this is no good, nothing else will save you!!
- powersetting approx 80/40/40/80 +EPtoW1 x1
- if you discover you're hitting a tank; switch target....
My defensive skills may shock you (the lack of them that is), but i find them to be enough for me (though i wish i could fit in an ET...)
TSS2-ST1-HE2-HE1-RSP
If i find myself in a dysfuncional team facing a premade group, i try getting the highest damage stat on my team, not sharing any heals with the others If you won't play with me, i won't play with you...
What makes me sad, is when I out-damage escorts on my team... and that happens not infrequently...
We don't have to give away team secrets... to help folks out with their offense. I know those of us who do this everyday are very competitive.
I will not be talking about anything we are working on in DBD either. Yes with 3 ships we can remove a fed ball in under 10 seconds with 3 combos each... and I won't be talking about that. Team builds are the ultimate weapon and the combo options are plentiful.
It is possible however to give people a good guide as to how to build their ships to do some more dmg. Helping them with things like powers settings and general flying skills, As I have tried to do here.
If nothing else perhaps we can get a handful of players to think outside their box a bit more and become better players... or even possibley respect those of us who work this hard more.
I would love to see some more general guides of how too from some of the best.
I know we all help when asked... I have asked and gotten it myself.
I don't hold much back if anyone asks me what I do to achieve X or Y.
I have went as far as sending people new gear in the mail. lol HINT it is always good form to KILL the combat medic.... STUN STUN STUN kill. lol
ok, i DO know a 'secret' that would allow 3 escorts to wipe any size of fedball in one strike. A tactic made possible by cryptics... ehmm...shortcomings in balancing a certain higher rank ability in 1.2
But i won't tell! I'm not using it, and if too many people start using it it will take 'all' fun out of PvP for non-escorts...
ok, i DO know a 'secret' that would allow 3 escorts to wipe any size of fedball in one strike. A tactic made possible by cryptics... ehmm...shortcomings in balancing a certain higher rank ability in 1.2
But i won't tell! I'm not using it, and if too many people start using it it will take 'all' fun out of PvP for non-escorts...
ummm not scatter volley if thats what you mean. ... as I have stated I don't run a tac officer at all... that should give too much away. lol
Honestly builds and knowledge only goes so far. You still have to use it right, time it right, and all that jazz. Having all the same powers, skill points and build as someone else only goes so far.
Firing off a beam overload, then launching high yield, for example, is usually not the best way to do a burst, unless you're right on top of them. If you want a BO to burn through shields right as a HY hits, then you have to realize that timing and procedure works very differently at different ranges.
However if you want to know what you are getting slaughtered with, target your killer and see what buffs they have running. Learn what weapons they are using by paying attention to the colors and types of shot coming at you. How they use that to great effect is another matter, but you can very easily learn what they are using by just paying attention, and figure out how to use it yourself.
I watched Blackjack decloak and wipe out 3 Feds last night before the rest of us could even decloak. What did I learn? I saw him using scatter volley, anti-proton dual cannons, no torpedoes that I saw, go down fighting, and I'd guess attack pattern alpha as well. I'd have to see that all again to be sure, but it certainly looked like a deadly combo to me (and people say tactical captains and damage was nerfed).
It looks like it is designed to maximize crit chance and exploit a high level of crit damage with anti protons and APA, by firing the most amount of shots against the most targets, probably with 125 weapon power and any other damage buff he can muster.
Of course he wasn't teamed with us, why I don't know, but it made it infinitely harder to heal him and keep him alive, meaning he died more than he should have, and a dead raptor does zero DPS.
So if you want to learn offense, watch it or suffer it and pay attention. And in a team situation, heal your damage dealers and keep them alive. If they don't have to bug out and save themselves, they can do more damage. Secrets don't mean much when pretty much everything is publicly available and discernable.
I would have given them out, but Keldor went off the deep end trying to figure out our secrets - and I don't wanna have to face our offense turned against us,.
Keldor is a the Trix bunny and you're the Lucky Charms dude running away from him with the goodies.
The one tip i can give that will say all there is to say. You can have the best build, best ship and so on....BUT! the build and ship do not make the pilot.... the pilot makes the build and ship. If you do not understand what i mean by this you should not pvp.
The one tip i can give that will say all there is to say. You can have the best build, best ship and so on....BUT! the build and ship do not make the pilot.... the pilot makes the build and ship
I gave general tips rather than build advice for this reason. I hope people continue to do so. Any piloting tricks rather than build/strategy tricks that you guys can think of?
Oh I thought of one. This kind of refers to the original speed-related post. Get familiar with varying your speed to get the most efficient attack/defense angles.
Hotkeys are great for this. @Zorena knows how to bind your mouse scroll wheel to increase/decrease speed but I haven't hopped on that wagon yet. I have my own special hotkeys for it.
- Its ok to run we may hate it but its a life saver.
- Don't chase they always want you to.
- Damage is not everything.
- RSP is not the end all to win a battle
- Tractor beams and repulsors beams are rampant and will hurt anyone best advice is either run or start up R&D to defeat it
- There is no "best" damage type
- Balling up is not always the best strategy, nor is soloing it.
- That lonely bird of prey that looks so weak sitting on point is normally not. (normally)
- Teamwork is the key
- Escorts are for damage and damage only don't try and create a tank in them.
- There are many children playing (not in every sense of the word) who will try and get a response from you just ignore and move on otherwise it will put your whole game off.
- If your their for dailies then don't bother nobody likes you for doing that.
I know nothing new here for awhile... but I think I'll share some more.
Here is another offensive tip. I don't use this one as much anymore... I will probaly stop using at all post 2.0.
With extra skill points aux power will be more useful.
So I will share.
Battery Doubling Aux to Batt
This technique requires you to invest in a Min amount of Sci... so it is suited best to escort style ships.
I have used this on my Tac BOP as well as my fed escort. The method differs slightly, the results are similer.
This technique will allow you to double the effectiveness of a battary by using aux to batt.
On my BOP I Run Aux to Damp I and Aux to Batt 1
On my Escort I run Hazard Emitters and Aux to Batt 1
The key to this technique is to only use one power in your build that uses aux power at all...
You do not want to be dependent on aux power when you are constantly dumping it.
Spend skill points to increase aux power as your build allows and set you aux power to run at 50 power (With skill spend) DO NOT worry about getting it over 50... anything over 50 is a complete waste.
On my FED
I run
Emergency power to Weapons 1
Eng Team 1 - Aux to Bat 1
Sci Team 1 - Hazard Emitters 2
On my Klink I don't bother with any heals that require aux power.
I run
Emergency to Damp 1
Aux to Bat 1
On the fed I open my attack using Emergency power to Weapons 1.... Now I will most likely be taking damage after EPTW runs out (IF not wait till you need the following)
when I need it I use an AUX battary Which will set my aux power to 125 for 10 seconds... I now use my hazard emitters at max power.
I then use Aux to Bat 1.... which will give me 50 power to Weapons Shield and Engines.
Presto a 75 power aux battary just became a 150 power spike.
On my BOP I like to use the aux battary right before I de cloak running aux to damp at full power (This is a huge speed and turn increase as well as a nice kinetic resist and shockwave and repulsor nullifier, which seems to be a new favored defense)
I then use aux to battary for the same effect. Giving me all the power I need for my run.
Comments
Speed = Defense via Offense.
These lessons are transferable to any ship.. the most benefit will be on a tier 4 or 5 Escort class ship. Keep in mind speed on a cruiser is beneficial for both defense ratings as well as being able to turn from focus fire. On a sci ship being able to use the firing arcs on the sci powers more effectively is also a key to victory. (being able to sub nuke someone 3 or 4 seconds faster is very beneficial)
Objective:
Learn to use speed and turn to increase damage potential.
Eg.
1)Use speed to engage more weapons, in an accurate manner.
2)Time weapon cool downs to your piloting.
3)Stay out of arcs... there by living longer... there by dishing out more damage.
Credentials:
As always take what you read, and apply it to your own build and style. However I am qualified to give you this lesson for this reason. I consistently top damage and kill charts... I do this without a tactical officer (on my bop). My klink does not use rapid fire/scatter/beam overload/high yield or any other ability. (well sensor scan sometimes) I use these techniques to rack up very high damage numbers without tac ability's. (This sounds cocky however... When I leveled through Captain with my latest toon I used white MK VI weapons as I was too lazy to change them and racked up multiple 1 million point cap games)
Setup Theory:
I run the following setup on both my fed and Klingon ships.
Front:
1 Dual beam 3 Dual heavy cannons
Rear:
2 Arrays (3 on my Tier 5 Fed)
The point here is for the techniques in this lesson you need rear arrays.
The higher you have your turn rate for these maneuvers the better. I always run engines with a min 1 Turn modifier. I would also suggest Hyper-Impulse engines. I also spend skill points in pilot skills. I max Tier 2 as it transfers... spend points at tier 5 and I even have some points spent in 3 and 4 even though they don't transfer 100%. On my fed setup I run 1 RCS unit... I would suggest trying one if you haven't.
Technique 1 (Full Frontal Broadside)
This piloting technique allows me to Broadside an opponent in an escort style ship.
The key to this technique is the cool down time in firing weapons and the follow through of the beam arrays.
1 Angle your ship just inside the firing arc of the rear arrays and engage them.
2 Sweep your ship to the other side... first engaging the Dual beam Array.
3 Now you are into the 45 degree arc for the cannons to fire (At this point you will see ALL your weapons firing at your target, the power from the rear arrays will probably have been returned before the final cannon goes off)
4 Now at the Far end of the arc pull your rear arrays back into arc... and Repeat.
Technique 2 (The Top Punch)
This is a harder maneuver and requires a higher turn rate to perform properly... it is however very effective.
This technique will require you to use evasive maneuvers in an offensive manner. You will circle a target literally flying a circle around them on an angle (around 75 degrees).
1 Use evasive maneuvers and fly in a circle around your target. (A high turn rate is essential)
[NOTE: turn rate goes up with your engine power setting]
2 Engage your beams (as you circle you will come into arc on both rear and front beam)
3 At the top (or bottom) of each circle top punch the target with the cannon.
This takes practice to time properly, an it is hard to focus one shield facing. I have practiced this maneuver 100s of times and it works very well and will have people very annoyed with you... counters to worry about are shock wave and tractor.
Notes on Surviving
One thing people forget is attacking with intelligence. Understanding the mentality of your opponent is very important. (information is key in war)
When choosing a target I prefer the following attacks vectors (unless I have other information) Higher speed will allow you to choose your angle of attack more often.
Cruiser Frontal or Rear Attack (Cruisers will normally broadside)
Sci Ships Rear Attack (Sci powers have arcs as well... and again you avoid a broadside)
Escorts Side Attack (Staying out of their frontal arc... and possible rear mounted toys like Cobalts)
Homework
Here is the homework assignment. Run any 3 PvP matches... and jack your engine power for the whole match. I would suggest running it a 70... to exaggerate the effect. This will help you feel the difference a high setting will give you.
You will find it much easier to keep arc... and much easier to avoid your opponents arc as well.
edit, I'm not going to be posting in this thread again.
I'll add that surviving longer than your opponent can be as effective as pumping out massive amounts of damage, that's why I advocate a full beam build on an escort, keep turning on your opponent while putting the hurt on them, and even with weaker heals an escort can outlast a cruiser.
Your group can determine your build as much as your play style, I have two BOff builds, one that puts out tons and tons of damage but dosen't last long without a healer, and one that keeps me alive forever with slightly less damage. When I can get heals I go balls to the wall on my damage, when I can't I focus more on staying alive.
hope that helps
Also, study your opponents. If you know their tactics you can fight them accordingly.
My adice to everyone is to blast stuff a lot. if it doesnt die quickly. sub noob it.
1. For the love of god, use hotkeys! Individually clicking powers with your mouse is a colossal waste of time. Ideally, you should be able to pop any and every power you have without clicking your mouse at all.
2. You gain more defense at higher speeds (you're harder to hit) but it caps at 50% without modifiers. Experiment with engine power to get better defense - it makes a difference.
3. I'm sure many have figured this out already - tab target is no good. Try to use it as little as possible.
4. I get called a chicken/wimp/etc at least once a day because I *run* when outnumbered. Swallow your pride and don't get vaporized in two seconds. Look around for teammates, then pop evasive maneuvers to speed toward them and try to regroup.
5. Use batteries! Doesn't matter what kind - whatever fits your play style. They're dirt cheap and you can buy them in stacks of 20. They don't just give you a boost to that subsystem - they repair the subsystem. So...if you get a Beam Target Subsystem on something you may consider important (like shields), pop the appropriate battery.
Lesson:
Power Optimization
Objective:
Learn to optimize power to minimize power switching... and gain max effectivness to the system most advantages to your setup
Credentials:
I am not going to bother this time. lol
I won't post any screen shoots... put I have had people tell me the numbers they see are not possible.
Technique 1 (Emergency Power Rocking)
Choose the system you are going to max... weapons make sense for half of us... Aux makes sense for Sci players.
Now pick the third most importent system and put all your other power into that one... run the other 2 at 25, the second most importent system two you we are going to goose... like this...
1 - Run 2 copies of Emergency power to of the same type... this is possible on every ship in the game at tier 5.
If you want shields run 2 copies, this will allow you to have 3 systems with lots of power.
2 - Keybind the 2 powers to a key you can use easily to keep the power in constant use.
3 - The system you are running EPT on.... run it at the lowest setting you can. You are always going to have the power inflated anyway.
4 - Max skill points in 2 areas to maximize the rocking technique, they are System Maintence (this will increase the power EPT gives you) as well as Efficency as you are going to run this system low on purpose.
I use a keybind like this one to make sure I am always running a EPT when the global cooldown hits... you could bind this with your weapons too if you want to make sure your running them.
[ /bind q "+TrayExecByTray 3 0 $$ +TrayExecByTray 3 1" ]
Now on Tray 4 in the first 2 slots put your 2 EPT powers... preferable the better 1 in slot 1 if you have versions 2 and 1.
Part 2 (Batts)
Now on an escort type ship you have 2 device slots... more on the other types. 2 is all you need, load battaries for the systems you have not maxed or are goosing with EPT. This will allow you to for 10 seconds max out a third system.
So if you have your weapons at 125 your shields at 51 and engines at 51 with aux say at 75... now with EPT on shields you can jump that into the 70-90 range constantly depending on the EPT level and skill point spend.... and for 10 seconds you can slam an engine battary and your power would look something like this
125 / 83 / 125 / 75.
One other note... rocking 2 Emergency power to powers is going to have some overlap... for a short window my power looks something like this 125 / 109 / 52 / 83... with no battaries in play... and when I don't have my siphon running... I can remember looking down and seeing this once or twice 125 / 121 / 64 / 125.... and this 125 / 121 / 125 / 95.
Hope this helps... bottom line plan your build to play into your system power.
I'll remember that next time I see you, hopefully it will be 182nd +me v more GOD next time.
with lots of good advice if you take the time to find them.
Play lots of PVP and learn who those ppl are and look them up in the forums
and not just in your class but the cross classes also.
And the best thing you can do to be a better PVPer is to remember one word
"TEAMWORK", I know it gets used a lot on these forums but its for good
reason because at the end of the day no matter what your build or class
your still only one person and "ONE" wil never beat a "TEAM"
And no one has actually gotten them correct, which lets me know that there are still some secrets out there.
If you forward 1 million credits to Bounty@BountyXP I'll give you all of 182nd/GoD's offensive strategies and loadouts after having played countless matches against and with some of their members. Well, not really...I want to keep the defense to their offense as much a secret as they do their offense!
Best advice I could give to those looking for offense-minded guides or suggestions is ask. Ask those team members who beat you. Ask fleet members from DOB, Section 31, 182nd, 12th Fleet, and 7th Core on the Fed side and GoD and Sto'Vo'Kor on the Klingon side. They make excellent use of their builds and strategies and have a world of advice to offer.
Guides like this one are a good start. Be flexible. A lot of builds used by the top fleets incorporate one assumption...they'll be flying with fleetmates. A team-oriented build may or may not be as effective in a PUG as it is for them in their fleet Premades. Experiment. Try out different things. Find what works best for you and use it often. As always, my fleet and I remain open to answer any and all questions new players might have.
When PUGing it:
- if someone/all other players fly off without forming team, this usually means the game is already lost
- I always try to collect all players in a team, and type in teamchat whos target we all should focus on.
As mentioned above, i fly a sci ship. This does NOT mean i'm a healer! I focus on debuffs/holds/dps! Here are some pointers... like many others, i refuse to give it all up
- tractorbeam
- TEAMWORK AND POWERSETTING!!! If this is no good, nothing else will save you!!
- powersetting approx 80/40/40/80 +EPtoW1 x1
- if you discover you're hitting a tank; switch target....
My defensive skills may shock you (the lack of them that is), but i find them to be enough for me (though i wish i could fit in an ET...)
TSS2-ST1-HE2-HE1-RSP
If i find myself in a dysfuncional team facing a premade group, i try getting the highest damage stat on my team, not sharing any heals with the others
What makes me sad, is when I out-damage escorts on my team... and that happens not infrequently...
I will not be talking about anything we are working on in DBD either. Yes with 3 ships we can remove a fed ball in under 10 seconds with 3 combos each... and I won't be talking about that. Team builds are the ultimate weapon and the combo options are plentiful.
It is possible however to give people a good guide as to how to build their ships to do some more dmg. Helping them with things like powers settings and general flying skills, As I have tried to do here.
If nothing else perhaps we can get a handful of players to think outside their box a bit more and become better players... or even possibley respect those of us who work this hard more.
I would love to see some more general guides of how too from some of the best.
I know we all help when asked... I have asked and gotten it myself.
I don't hold much back if anyone asks me what I do to achieve X or Y.
I have went as far as sending people new gear in the mail. lol
HINT it is always good form to KILL the combat medic.... STUN STUN STUN kill. lol
But i won't tell! I'm not using it, and if too many people start using it it will take 'all' fun out of PvP for non-escorts...
ummm not scatter volley if thats what you mean.
Fool! he's obviously talking about dispersal pattern beta 3!
Honestly builds and knowledge only goes so far. You still have to use it right, time it right, and all that jazz. Having all the same powers, skill points and build as someone else only goes so far.
Firing off a beam overload, then launching high yield, for example, is usually not the best way to do a burst, unless you're right on top of them. If you want a BO to burn through shields right as a HY hits, then you have to realize that timing and procedure works very differently at different ranges.
However if you want to know what you are getting slaughtered with, target your killer and see what buffs they have running. Learn what weapons they are using by paying attention to the colors and types of shot coming at you. How they use that to great effect is another matter, but you can very easily learn what they are using by just paying attention, and figure out how to use it yourself.
I watched Blackjack decloak and wipe out 3 Feds last night before the rest of us could even decloak. What did I learn? I saw him using scatter volley, anti-proton dual cannons, no torpedoes that I saw, go down fighting, and I'd guess attack pattern alpha as well. I'd have to see that all again to be sure, but it certainly looked like a deadly combo to me (and people say tactical captains and damage was nerfed).
It looks like it is designed to maximize crit chance and exploit a high level of crit damage with anti protons and APA, by firing the most amount of shots against the most targets, probably with 125 weapon power and any other damage buff he can muster.
Of course he wasn't teamed with us, why I don't know, but it made it infinitely harder to heal him and keep him alive, meaning he died more than he should have, and a dead raptor does zero DPS.
So if you want to learn offense, watch it or suffer it and pay attention. And in a team situation, heal your damage dealers and keep them alive. If they don't have to bug out and save themselves, they can do more damage. Secrets don't mean much when pretty much everything is publicly available and discernable.
Keldor is a the Trix bunny and you're the Lucky Charms dude running away from him with the goodies.
hahaha
dammit, i was fine today
now i need a bowl of cereal
I gave general tips rather than build advice for this reason. I hope people continue to do so. Any piloting tricks rather than build/strategy tricks that you guys can think of?
Oh I thought of one. This kind of refers to the original speed-related post. Get familiar with varying your speed to get the most efficient attack/defense angles.
Hotkeys are great for this. @Zorena knows how to bind your mouse scroll wheel to increase/decrease speed but I haven't hopped on that wagon yet. I have my own special hotkeys for it.
- Don't chase they always want you to.
- Damage is not everything.
- RSP is not the end all to win a battle
- Tractor beams and repulsors beams are rampant and will hurt anyone best advice is either run or start up R&D to defeat it
- There is no "best" damage type
- Balling up is not always the best strategy, nor is soloing it.
- That lonely bird of prey that looks so weak sitting on point is normally not. (normally)
- Teamwork is the key
- Escorts are for damage and damage only don't try and create a tank in them.
- There are many children playing (not in every sense of the word) who will try and get a response from you just ignore and move on otherwise it will put your whole game off.
- If your their for dailies then don't bother nobody likes you for doing that.
Here is another offensive tip. I don't use this one as much anymore... I will probaly stop using at all post 2.0.
With extra skill points aux power will be more useful.
So I will share.
Battery Doubling
Aux to Batt
This technique requires you to invest in a Min amount of Sci... so it is suited best to escort style ships.
I have used this on my Tac BOP as well as my fed escort. The method differs slightly, the results are similer.
This technique will allow you to double the effectiveness of a battary by using aux to batt.
On my BOP I Run Aux to Damp I and Aux to Batt 1
On my Escort I run Hazard Emitters and Aux to Batt 1
The key to this technique is to only use one power in your build that uses aux power at all...
You do not want to be dependent on aux power when you are constantly dumping it.
Spend skill points to increase aux power as your build allows and set you aux power to run at 50 power (With skill spend) DO NOT worry about getting it over 50... anything over 50 is a complete waste.
On my FED
I run
Emergency power to Weapons 1
Eng Team 1 - Aux to Bat 1
Sci Team 1 - Hazard Emitters 2
On my Klink I don't bother with any heals that require aux power.
I run
Emergency to Damp 1
Aux to Bat 1
On the fed I open my attack using Emergency power to Weapons 1.... Now I will most likely be taking damage after EPTW runs out (IF not wait till you need the following)
when I need it I use an AUX battary Which will set my aux power to 125 for 10 seconds... I now use my hazard emitters at max power.
I then use Aux to Bat 1.... which will give me 50 power to Weapons Shield and Engines.
Presto a 75 power aux battary just became a 150 power spike.
On my BOP I like to use the aux battary right before I de cloak running aux to damp at full power (This is a huge speed and turn increase as well as a nice kinetic resist and shockwave and repulsor nullifier, which seems to be a new favored defense)
I then use aux to battary for the same effect. Giving me all the power I need for my run.