test content
Logo
What is the Arc Client?
Install Arc
Advice needed for a Engineering tanking ship
crazygunnerrr
Member Posts: 0 Arc User
For my engineer I want a fun ship to tank with, I've done some research and most people advice the Star 'shovel' cruiser or a Odyssey. The shovel is just so ugly that I don't want to be seen in it and while the Odyssey is not bad in looks, I'm not sold on it, also the fact that you see it a lot, doesn't really help me to fall in love with it.
There are some other options named, but from what I've read they are more like, well if you play well enough then almost any ship can function for a certain role.
I've looked myself at both the Galor and Advanced Heavy Cruiser Retrofit, from what I can see they are a lot more offensive then 'normal' tanks, the question is, are these 2 and others actually viable, or is that just kidding yourself?
So which ships can properly function as tanks (even if they are not the best around) and what consoles etc will I need to balance out any disadvantages?
PS. I can of course get a Star Cruiser for those extreme cases where every little bit is needed, they are cheap enough, for now I'm just looking for a nice ship that I can use most of the time.
There are some other options named, but from what I've read they are more like, well if you play well enough then almost any ship can function for a certain role.
I've looked myself at both the Galor and Advanced Heavy Cruiser Retrofit, from what I can see they are a lot more offensive then 'normal' tanks, the question is, are these 2 and others actually viable, or is that just kidding yourself?
So which ships can properly function as tanks (even if they are not the best around) and what consoles etc will I need to balance out any disadvantages?
PS. I can of course get a Star Cruiser for those extreme cases where every little bit is needed, they are cheap enough, for now I'm just looking for a nice ship that I can use most of the time.
Post edited by crazygunnerrr on
0
Comments
For pure tanking, the Odyssey is pretty much where it's at with it's large hull and 1.1 shield mod. Go with the Science version for the extra Sci console for another shield console if going pure tank.
Since you're considering the Galor and Advanced Heavy Cruiser Retrofit, I'm taking that you want a bit more punch than a pure tank build. If the Galor is on the table as an option, I'd recommend the D'Kora instead as it can mount DHCs and still tank decently. I'd go with a Assualt Cruiser Refit (Regent) over the Advanced Heavy Cruiser Retrofit (Excelsior) personally, since it has 5 more weapon power and has a ensign Tac instead of ensign Eng for a little bit more Tactical abilities. That and the Excel looks out-of-place with other end-game ships (23rd century versus 24th or 25th).
The Galor is a nicely balanced ship and is better than the excelsior for damage capability, I also think it has more science capability aswell however as a result the Excelsior holds better tanking capability over the Galor (I fly the excelsior and i can go for hours in PvP with his Galor) although the excelsiors slightly lower turn rate gives it an edge for broadsides on cruisers but is outmatched by the Galor when it comes to escorts, although when it comes down to it you have to choose from damage and a little less tank or tank and a little less damage
Just use these Bridge Officer Abilities:
Tactical:
TT-I | APD
Engineering:
EPTE | RSP-I | EPTS-III |AUX SIF III
EPTE | ES-I | EPTS-III
Science:
HE-I | TSS-II
ST-I
Use 3 purple BFI doffs and two purple tac conn doffs for TT recharge
3 piece borg and MACO shield
You can use APD, AUX-SIF, TT, ST, HE, TSS and ES on team mates or yourself. Keep shields at 125 and your aux power up. leave weapons and engine power low. This build will not help you at all in dealing DPS. If you want to deal damage, just use six beams and a torp on each end and swtich from defense mode with high shields to offense mod with high weapon power.
The above build is decent at tanking and healing your team mates!
Tactical:
Torpedo: High Yield I | Beam Array: Fire at Will II
Engineering:
Emergency Power to Shields I | Reverse Shield Polarity I | Engineering Team III | Auxiliary Power to the Structural Integrity Field
Emergency Power to Shields I | Engineering Team II | Auxiliary Power to the Inertial Dampers II
Science:
Science Team I | Hazard Emitters II
Transfer Shield Strengh I
My Deflector, Impulse, and Shields are Aegis
However, due to the nature of borg shields, it goes squish pretty quick when focused XD. So in that case, you're better off getting a shovel for survivability, since let's face it, ST is EVIL when it comes to you wanting to bring a targets shields down so you can hammer on their hull. They go "Oh no, my shields. ST GO!!!" and suddenly their shields are at full again.
So I would recommend a shovel, since it's cheap and easy to get, and has great stats overall, in fact the fleet shovel is also pretty good if you are in one and you're allowed to get it.
Doing all of this right, you'll have 58,000 Hull, 12,977 Shields each facing, and the ability to regenerate almost indefinitely. It also has a good bit of damage.
Try this model to start
:
Epts/rsp/extend/aux sif3
Epts/et2/et3
Tac team/apd
Tss/he2
Forward: 1x Dual Phaser Array, 2x Phaser Array, Photon Torpedo
Aft: 2x Phaser Array, Photon Mines, Photon Torpedo
Sci Con: Emitter Array, Assimilated Module
Eng Con: 2x Neutronium Alloy, Field Emitter, Saucer Separation
Tac Con: Phaser Relay, Photon Detonation Assembly
Tac BOff: Fire at Will I, Torpedo Spread II
Eng BOff: EP to Shields I, Engineering Team I, EP to Aux I, EP to Shields II, Engineering Team II, 2x Reverse Shield Polarity II, Auxiliary to Structural III
Sci BOff: Polarize Hull I, Hazard Emitters II
He is talking about the Star Cruiser.
That's not a tank, that's a healer. Healers are nice to have in (organized) PvP (and a pain to even try in a PuG), but in PvE they're a liability to the extent of "useless"!
A Cruiser dealing 1k dps is not going to tank anything in PvE, all you do is heal the occasional AoE or random hit shot at you. And at the same time you're failing your group's optional objectives, or even the whole STF while you can't even kill a probe ...
To actually tank, you have to make things shoot at you first. And keep them shooting at you. That means even with maxed out Thread Control, you still have to deal at least half the damage that the Tac flying next to you in his Escort can deal. A bit more is usually not wrong either!
And to deal damage: You need at least one FAW (for AoE aggro), a second FAW or TS is nice, too. Dual copies of EptW and weapon power setting at max is mandatory!
Mandatory! Must-have!
After that, you can start thinking about how to survive the hatred - that's where constant TT, dual EPtS, HE, TSS, RSP, Aux2SIF, etc come in. Never, ever use an Engineering Team on a tank!
As for ships - pretty much every cruiser can do this. Well, except the Shovel (Star Cruiser), that one lacks the tactical options to deal enough damage, it's a pure support ship. If you'd wanted the shovel-look, a Mirror Universe Assault Cruiser does well enough.
Best suited: (Mirror) Assault for free or nearly free ship, Excelsior-R, Regent and Tac- or Sci-Ody w/ Ops console for Saucer Seperation for C-Store. Spent more, get more dps potential, and have more options for defense.
D'Kora is actually a Battle Cruiser already, and can outperform the Ody on dps easily, it's just a bit less tanky - but more than adequate.
Galor is probably the best tanking ship there is, if you can get one - you'll have to fly it as a shield tank though, with dual EPtS and TSS, which can be a bit close if you get hit by too many Shield Neutralizers in a row and your single HE is on cooldown and the Borg cleanse doesn't trigger, otherwise though you can't do better than that.
Sorted from worst to best, but all of the ships in the list are fine.