Escort expectations to high?

mewmaster101 · October 2012

Hi, I am somewhat new to STO, though not to MMOs. Since I started i loked up several possible build and i found one here on the forum called The Hilbert guide. i have been using Eng/Cruiser build from that guide in PVE and have had good results, and have done pretty well leveling it up. a couple days ago i decided to play a tact/escort and have leveled it to the high 20's using the PVescort build from that guide. According to the forum threads that i have read, I should be killing things relativity easily in the Akira at this level, and in most cases seconds for each battle. i just played the "ground Zero" mission, and i had a hard time beating the warbirds and the birds of prey were circling around me, making them hard to hit with the DHCs. Am i just bad at this game, am i doing something wrong, is it just that romulans are annoying or is it that the build i am using is bad (all the posts on the thread about it were positive). i thought i was using the escorts correctly, but i do not know anymore. I have tried to keep myself pointing at the enemy ships and using all my weapons at it. Thanks for any input

EDIT: Also, i don't usually die, but i do get low hull, though that is not surprising considering it is an escort. Could it also be that i'm just near level 30 and near the end of the Akira's lifespan.

adamkafei · October 2012

My escort builds use a mix of single beams, torps, turret and DC/DHCs (only ever the one turret) and abilities to suit all, the ability I us for the Beams is FAW as it gives the best multi-target exp which for an escort is what you need

barber22 · October 2012

mewmaster101 wrote: »

Hi, I am somewhat new to STO, though not to MMOs. Since I started i loked up several possible build and i found one here on the forum called The Hilbert guide. i have been using Eng/Cruiser build from that guide in PVE and have had good results, and have done pretty well leveling it up. a couple days ago i decided to play a tact/escort and have leveled it to the high 20's using the PVescort build from that guide. According to the forum threads that i have read, I should be killing things relativity easily in the Akira at this level, and in most cases seconds for each battle. i just played the "ground Zero" mission, and i had a hard time beating the warbirds and the birds of prey were circling around me, making them hard to hit with the DHCs. Am i just bad at this game, am i doing something wrong, is it just that romulans are annoying or is it that the build i am using is bad (all the posts on the thread about it were positive). i thought i was using the escorts correctly, but i do not know anymore. I have tried to keep myself pointing at the enemy ships and using all my weapons at it. Thanks for any input

Depending how new to the game you are, all it will take is some practice flying your ship around and practice switching between power presets.

So... if you are having trouble keeping them in weapons arc... it is pilot error. Try flying slower and then faster and even in reverse when the situation calls for it in PVE.

mewmaster101 · October 2012

thanks for the help, i'll try the differents speeds to see what works. i actually have beam array in the aft for cover, because turrets did not seem to be of any help.

baudl · October 2012

barber22 wrote: »

Depending how new to the game you are, all it will take is some practice flying your ship around and practice switching between power presets.

So... if you are having trouble keeping them in weapons arc... it is pilot error. Try flying slower and then faster and even in reverse when the situation calls for it in PVE.

that! be creative in maneuvering. You won't die if you slow down or even stop for a while. never go in reverse more than 10 seconds. it will drain all powerlevels after 10 seconds.

and turrets are essencial for that build, since they add to forward dmg. atleast like 1 1/2 additional dual cannons.

hanover · October 2012

I never liked the Akira. Too slow to be a good escort, too squishy for a cruiser, in my humble opinion. I'd say just tough it out until you reach captain, then buy yourself a tactical escort refit with quad cannons and spend some time kitting it out with some goodness.

For a bonus, if you have/are willing to spend Zen on it, I HIGHLY recommend adding these two consoles to your defiant build: Impulse Capacitance Cell from the +1 Saber (I think they call it the Gladius or something), and the Transwarp Computer from the commander-level Excelsior. One will give you an "ESCAPE!" button, and one will keep your power levels from bottoming out in combat. Once I get that build optimized, I don't even bother acquiring any new ships until I hit Vice Admiral.

mewmaster101 · October 2012

thanks for all the replies, this is a very helpful community compared to some others. i have stared trying to fly better and it is helping a lot. i am going to put turrets on instead of arrays.:)

nicha0 · October 2012

Escorts are pretty simple, but they require some forward thinking to be effective.

Specialize in your skills, using a mix of beams, cannons, torps and turrets is an ineffective disaster. Use 2 at the most, cannons w/ turrets and a torp is common. Use cannon abilities like scatter volley or rapid fire to maximize cannons, dual cannons and turrets, torp abilities like high yield or spread and beam abilities like fire at will or beam overload for beam/dual beams. I'd recommend you stick with cannons unless you want to do PvP later on.

fakehilbert · October 2012

The regular Akira doesn't have a lot tactical stations yet, so it is necessary to restrict the PvEscort build to its essential abilites. Drop the APBs until you get a ship with more stations, the CSV and TS are the important parts.

My recommendation for the regular Akira:

TT1
TS1 / CSV1 / CSV2

Once you reach captain level and can get the Defiant, I recommend

TT1 / APB1 / CSV2 / CSV3
TS1 / TS2

corgatag · October 2012

As recommended earlier, I'd use beams at low levels. Cannons are only good when your turn rate is decent, so I wouldn't bother until you have Mk XI engines in a Tier 4 escort.

When you do reach RA and switch to cannons, I recommend keybinding your throttle controls:

- For dogfights with small nimble ships, you will spend most of your time at 1/4 impulse. You don't go at higher speeds because your turns get too wide to keep aim.

- If the enemy is totally out-maneuvering me, I like to go to 4/4 impulse, blow Evasive maneuvers to get 6 km behind the target, drop to 1/4 impulse, swoop around, and resume the fight from a more advantageous position.

- For fights against slow/stationary ships, you will take aim at 1/4 impulse, and then dance between 1/4 and -1/4 (reverse) impulse to stay facing the target at 2-5 km. The reason you don't just stay at 0 impulse is that you suffer a massive turn-rate and defensive penalty.

fakehilbert · October 2012

corgatag wrote: »

As recommended earlier, I'd use beams at low levels. Cannons are only good when your turn rate is decent, so I wouldn't bother until you have Mk XI engines in a Tier 4 escort.

Beams are probably the better choice at Lt and LtC because of bridge officer restrictions. At Cmdr I would rate both options as roughly equal. And starting with Cpt the cannon builds are superior.

The choice of engines is fairly irrelevant, the more important thing is the ability to spec into "Impulse Thrusters" at Cmdr levels which provides a significant boost to turnrate.

razellis · October 2012

Here's some game play tips that made my life easier long ago.

For PVE weapon power should be set to 100+, 90% of the time.
Change your throttle control to the scroll wheel on your mouse (if you have one).
Place zoom as "control + scroll wheel" so that you can still do it if required.
Get rid of the "r" key's default function of "full throttle/full stop" and replace it with the "balance shield" key.

Those things will help game play a lot till you master key binds and more advanced combat strategies.

Escort expectations to high?

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