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How do I learn about ships and weapons?
phil3822
Member Posts: 81 Arc User
Hi all, I am new to the game and am currently level 8. I have not had the pleasure of choosing a new ship yet but I am wondering how do I learn about the ships available for each rank etc? Also what best weapons and powers to use etc.
I have already started to develop a play style which is keep my distance and firing.
I would struggle to choose between cruiser and escort hence one of my reasons for asking. How do I decide? Also any help you can offer with layouts would be great.
Great community here. Thanks all.
I have already started to develop a play style which is keep my distance and firing.
I would struggle to choose between cruiser and escort hence one of my reasons for asking. How do I decide? Also any help you can offer with layouts would be great.
Great community here. Thanks all.
Post edited by phil3822 on
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STO Forum member since before February 2010.
STO Academy's excellent skill planner here: Link
I actually avoid success entirely. It doesn't get me what I want, and the consequences for failure are slim. -- markhawman
However, based on the style you're already starting to develop, I'd propose cruisers will be better for you than escorts.
Escorts are fast, and built for dumping damage from narrow arc weapons that would be hard for a slower ship to keep on target, i.e. dual/heavy cannons. Those weapons have two disadvantages that will hurt your style: All energy weapons have a damage drop off with distance, but cannons start to drop off at closer range and drop off faster, meaning they're best when you shove them right down or up a convenient enemy TRIBBLE. They also make you point yourself at your opponent, meaning even if you slow down you're going to be closing distance with them.
Cruisers, however, can load up on wide-arc weapons like beam arrays and circle at long range, relying mostly on their engineering bulk to outlast rather than outgun.
That's not to say that's the perfect answer, of course. There's nothing stopping you from loading up an escort with beam arrays and the 180 degree quantum torpedo launcher that comes with the Regent class and making a fast long range circle strafing ship. It'd be higher damage than a cruiser thanks to the extra tactical powers, and might have tactical options a traditional head-on escort wouldn't. I don't think it would hold up, but I've been proven wrong saying something like that before.
Equip you ship with DOFFs (space) that aid your primary weapons, and after setting up your ship ENSURE you put into your tray the powers granted you by your BOFF's (bridge crew).
Theres SO much more, but thats the cliff notes version. More info can be found on the stowiki site.
Awoken Dead
Now shaddup about the queues, it's a BUG
Currently I have the Miranda class as my first ship and I have dual cannon type things on it plus photon launchers front and rear. I am certain this is not a good set up! I only selected the dual cannons because of the damage.
I will be hitting Lt Cmdr tomorrow I expect hence why I am asking about the ship choice. I know I dont want a science vessel but thats about it. Again, thanks.
Cannons are for more maneuverable ships as most have a narrower firing arc of 360/180/45 for Turrets, Single and Dual Cannons. Science ships between cruisers and escorts in manuverability. But have less weapon slots. And the desirable Cannon abilities are usually not usable on them. Cannons are the preferred weapon for Escorts. They have the manuverabilith to keep the high damage Dual (Heavy) Cannons lined up, and can use the higher tier Cannon skills. Usually Escorts will use Dual Heavy Cannons up front and Turrets at the back. Depending on builds you might have a Dual Beam Array for Target Subystems skills, or perhaps Torpedo's front or aft to delivery a High yield Torpedo volley when you down the shield facing.
I think good way explain ships combat styles if a couple of heavy weight boxers. Cruisers are like Rocky Balboa from the Rocky movies. Rocky basically takes massive amounts of punishment while delivering crushing damage himself. Basically he just out lasts his opponents. While Escorts are more like Mohammad Aly in his prime. "Float like a butterfly. And sting like a bee." Except these bees stings are packs with anti-matter warheads. Cannons has faster damage drop off over distance then beam weapons. So Escorts will do best damage by getting in close and unleashing the punishing volleys. And then pulling out fast before the heat gets too much.
Or think of it as Warrior vs Thief.
It's best not to make your sole rear weapon a torpedo or mine--you want to have at least one beam array or turret in back to keep enemies from chasing your tail, unless you are trying for a total torpedo boat. Photon or Quantum torpedoes deal only 10% damage against shields, and only deal full damage when they strike an unshielded quadrant of an enemy target, so you will need to use energy weapons to take down their shields before firing the torpedoes.
Nearly all content scales to your level. So as soon as you get promoted, missions and the enemies in them will move up with you and you'll start seeing better rewards and drops.
You can also replay episodes through the journal for higher versions of their rewards. Coverage can be spotty, but checking the rewards on all your replayable missions can be a good shopping cart to at least upgrade some key weapons.
You can check out the different kinds of ships available by going to http://www.stoacademy.com/datacore/ships.php
I also have a guide on how to choose a ship in STO, which basically gives details about all three types.
Finally, my sto skill planner is usually a big help in planning out your skills. You can also go to the build sharing page and find builds that other people have made.
You can swap about without too much hassle until you hit endgame.
Once you hit "Vice Admiral" and start thinking of doing things like Fleet Raids and Borg Special Task Forces, it's time to optimise your build. You'll get respecs as you rank up (which let you change your character's skill choices around) and it's a good idea to save some for endgame.
The "expectation" from most of the established playerbase is that Escorts will run Dual Heavy Cannons and Rear Turrets (using their high turn rate to keep things in their narrow forward weapon arcs), Cruisers run Beam Arrays front and rear (keeping things to the side where their front and rear weapons overlap - "Broadsiding") and Science Ships run 'odd' setups - sometimes broadsiding, sometimes narrow-forward-arc-DPS (using mixtures of Torpedos, Dual Beam Banks and Turrets) and sometimes not bothering much about weapons at all. You'll find both Cruiser and Escort pilots disagree with each other on the optimum weapon setup, but generally you'll see that most ships will run at least one forward Torpedo (usually Quantum).
There're also a few Bridge Officer (BOFF) powers which are seen as "must-haves" on every decent build. These include Emergency Power to Shields, Hazard Emitters, and Tactical Team (usually most will strive for the equivalent of two copies of EPTS and TT, using extra copies of powers or Duty Officer buffs to get there). There are a few other powers like Transfer Shield Strength (TSS) and Auxiliary to Structural Integrity (Aux2SIF) which also enhance survivability a lot... as well as optimum Tactical Power setups... but the exact layouts will differ depending on your ship and the type of gameplay you prefer - PVE or PVP, STFs or general Missions, Tank or Damage Dealer, etc... so feel free to ask on the forums when you decide on a particular role/ship!
Some of it is trial and error. Most of it is knowing what you want to do and building that way. Stop by our website we have a lot of guides for our newer members. Though in truth as I said before, nothing you can't Google yourself.
Good luck, if you want pm me or hit my up in game. never mind helping out another player