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Zen...which ship to buy ?
amahood
Member Posts: 0 Arc User
Alrighty, well, Greetings all,
I'm still fairly new to star trek online. I have 4 characters, 3 are level 50, so I do know some things, yet not as much as the experienced ones here, and it is your advice I am seeking:
I've got some zen, and yet I don't have money to get zen, so this is why I am asking this question:
Which Federation Ship is the Best ship to buy with zen, in your opinion and why?
I've been looking at the Dreadnought Cruiser for some time now, that looks to me like a tough ship, it seems it can load heavy dual cannons, I like that idea, to be able to use a cruiser which also fires cannons, would be an asset indeed.
It seems to have a cloak as well, though I do not think it has "battle cloak". It has a "spinal" thingy too, I'm not sure what that is for, unless more powerful phaser fire?
So that's the one ship I'm thinking of getting, yet there's also the Exploration Cruiser Retrofit, I like the idea that it can seperate the saucer section , yet I don't think it would be as powerful as the Dreadnought.
Anyhow yea, please, if anyone can give me their thoughts, I'd appreciate it, which "zen" federation ship? and why?
Even if the ship you suggest is not the dreadnought or exploration retrofit, thats cool too, I'd like to hear all ideas.
(oh and just to confirm , when you buy a ship with zen its unlocked for all current and future fed characters correct?)
Thanks, live long and Prosper!
I'm still fairly new to star trek online. I have 4 characters, 3 are level 50, so I do know some things, yet not as much as the experienced ones here, and it is your advice I am seeking:
I've got some zen, and yet I don't have money to get zen, so this is why I am asking this question:
Which Federation Ship is the Best ship to buy with zen, in your opinion and why?
I've been looking at the Dreadnought Cruiser for some time now, that looks to me like a tough ship, it seems it can load heavy dual cannons, I like that idea, to be able to use a cruiser which also fires cannons, would be an asset indeed.
It seems to have a cloak as well, though I do not think it has "battle cloak". It has a "spinal" thingy too, I'm not sure what that is for, unless more powerful phaser fire?
So that's the one ship I'm thinking of getting, yet there's also the Exploration Cruiser Retrofit, I like the idea that it can seperate the saucer section , yet I don't think it would be as powerful as the Dreadnought.
Anyhow yea, please, if anyone can give me their thoughts, I'd appreciate it, which "zen" federation ship? and why?
Even if the ship you suggest is not the dreadnought or exploration retrofit, thats cool too, I'd like to hear all ideas.
(oh and just to confirm , when you buy a ship with zen its unlocked for all current and future fed characters correct?)
Thanks, live long and Prosper!
Post edited by amahood on
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It really depends on what you want to do, but word to the wise if you want the Gal-X to use dual cannons...don't purchase it...its way to slow turning to use dual cannons to any real affect. The Exploration cruiser is kinda a bad choice...because the ship has a really lousy Boff layout with to many engineering slots.
If your looking for a good cruiser to do some damage with I would say go with the assault cruiser refit.
cause This is why I'm asking, all you whom answer, I'm certain have more experience than I, so thank you for that thought, yea mainly the reason for my wanting that ship was the cannons.... yet now.... well, you bring up a good point.
as for what i want in a ship, i dont really know now so I'm hoping for opinions and ideas.
The spinal phaser lance is a burst weapon directly built into your ship meaning it's not a console. You can fire it once every 3 min so it's nice to have but not very effective. If you buy a dreadnought you should equip it with phaser weapons and then get some phaser relays equiped. They increase you phaser lance's damage as well.
The saucer separation of the exploration cruiser retrofit is nice to have. Once separated your ship gets a higher turnrate. But you should know that the saucer section, as well as all separateable sections of any ship act quite dumb and they're usually not a very big help.
Personally I prefer to fly escorts. They deal high damage and are very maneuverable. My favourite ship is the defiant class due to its BOFF configuration and cloaking device. The Armitage class is nice as well and very versatile depending on the class of fighters you equip.
Yes that's correct.
With 4 dual heavy cannons fore, and 4 turrets aft it can be a beast. I can keep up dps wise with most escorts.
Either that's worth $20 or a couple weeks of grinding, or it's not, because the free ships you get are just as capable if not more so (as others have pointed out, while the Dreadnought CAN equip dual heavies, it's not necessarily a good idea to do so given its turn rate).
Any of the Odyssey variants are also good, but they're only real good if you get the 3 pack for the console set bonus as that helps to offset the slow turn rate.
Edit: I tried using the Armitage as a torpedo boat but found that, at least for my playing style, it just didn't turn fast enough to bring them to bear.
Ah but which of those three would vets say is the best one ? Given the fact the 3-pack costs 5k Zen and not all folks are willing to spend that amount of cash .....
Personally if you're only going to get one I'd suggest the Operations because chevron separation is the most useful of the 3 consoles individually.
However cruiser wise. I would say one of odysseys. My bro bought the pack and he enjoys it but is favorite is the tactical. Has more of a punch.
But for all toons i would avoid the dreadnaught it isnt for every captain. Ive flown the regent(i think its called that) its the one that comes with the torp that has a 180 degree firing arc.
Good luck
which one is best science vessel in C-store ( in your opinion) ? Seems to me the Atrox carrier looks nicest in terms of utility. I'm also not convinced about the usefulness of the workbees console on the odyssey , but maybe someone who has it can set me straight on that....
i bought the oddy pack and i am a big fan of the oddys. i especailly like the tac and sci oddy. i highly recommend oddys.
if you like carriers you may want to check out the atrox. i hated this ship at first, but now really like it, especially after buying the more advanced danube runabouts.
the armitage is a great ship if you like escorts and can be upgraded to a fleet ship at tier 5.
if you had to have a science ship i would again recommend the sci oddy.
There aren't any real good science ships in the cstore unless you like the look of the D'kyr, to be perfectly honest you'd do just fine with the standard Recon or Long Range sci ships you can get for free in game. If you only care about having a sci ship on one character and don't mind having to buy another to replace it if you accidentally delete it you can buy a Temporal Science ship off the exchange. The Orb Weaver is cheaper on the exchange but it's got the turn rate of a Cruiser which hurts it's usefulness.
Work bees is actually decent, it's a hull heal buff that stays with you until it triggers and usually the cooldown has reset by then (unless you're already taking hull damage when it's used) so you can use it again right away.
Aside from that, my short list for Fed ships in no particular order is...
Armitage
Regent
Defiant Retrofit
I'd get a D'Kora if it were possible to buy one for a semi-unreasonable price.
Link: How to PM - Twitter @STOMod_Bluegeek
Downside is the same as any other lockbox ship, you get one of them for one character and if for some reason you ever accidentally delete it or decide you want it on a different character you have to buy a new one.
Multi-vector advanced escort.
Tactical Escort Retrofit
Atrox Carrier
Long Range Science Vessel Retrofit
Exploration Cruiser Retrofit
Assault Cruiser Refit
Advanced Research Vessel Retrofit
Of those ships I would recommend the MVAE over any other.
Many people love their Tactical Escort Retrofits, and will harp on about it being the superior ship. It is a fantastic ship, and it probably has the better value to Zen spent ratio. But if you know how to equip your ship, and If you know how to train your doffs to make the most of your ability slots, 9 fits out of 10, you will get exactly the same amount of damage from both, while the MVAE will allow you to stay alive and inflict that damage for longer. (Due to being able to use polarize hull 1, hazard emitters 2 and transfer shield strength 3)
My main reason for using it is the simple fact that it has 3 tactical boff ability slots (1 ensign tac, and one lt tac), along with 7 science boff slots (1 lt commander and 1 commander). It also has a much larger crew which helps in the rare event that something gets through your shields. Even the Z-Store Caitian and Advanced Research Vessel Refit (Nebula class) only have 2 tactical boff ability slots (1 lt tac).
For Cruisers I would get the Odyssey pack. 'nuff said.
For Tactical It's really what you would prefer between the Multi-Vector Advanced Escort, or the Tactical Escort Refit (Defiant). The MVAE gives you a Commander Science Boff slot in exchange for an ensign, lt, and lt commander tactical slots. The Defiant gives you a lt Science Boff slot in exhange for an ensign, lt commander, and commander tactical boff slots. Then there's the choice between cloaking and Multi-Vector Assault mode.
Peronally I would take the MVAE for 2 extra science tanking abilities and Multi-Vector Assault mode. For tanking, get a polarize, a hazard emitters, and two transfer shield strengths. Or if you want to get creative (for PvE only), you could spec into flow capacitors, buy a science boff with Tyken's 3 on the Commander ability slot and make NPC borg ships cry. Also, the cloaking on the Defiant isn't really that useful once you are in combat.
ugly as sin, but a great ship indeed.
I get what you're saying here... but I just don't want an MVAE. I like the look of the Defiant. I like the fact that it's an iconic ship and it reminds me of DS9.
Is there a good video of someone flying an MVAE? That might convince me.
Link: How to PM - Twitter @STOMod_Bluegeek
If you have 70-80 million EC there are good ships on the Exchange.
As for the Z-store ships, and you want a cruiser, I'd vote for the T5 Excelsior. Good turn rate for a cruiser, good boff layout. All round good ship. Plus it costs 500 less than the dreadnaught, assault cruiser refit or the explore refit.
Obviously, the 'best' cruiser is the Odyssey. But get the 3pack if you get it for all the consoles. That's what I run for my engineer/cruiser driver.
The MVAM can separate to give you three ships rather than a single one. When separating, you can choose which section you want to command: top, middle, or bottom sections, each piece representing a ship type: Cruiser, Escort and Science respectively. The other two sections become NPCs with their own weapons and abilities to help you.
Also, you can pop the Console out and stick it in to the normal Advanced Escort or the Fleet Advanced Escort. That way you can have a choice of Bridge Officer layouts to fit your personal play style while still allowing for the separation ability.
As for the Galaxy-X, I have that ship. I use it on my Borg Captain (with the Borg Set, and a No Organics Allowed crew). I use nine Turrets on it: one in each Weapon Slot plus one in a Console (although you get ten Turrets if you use both Console types). This way Turn Rate is irrelevant since it does full damage 360 degrees. Then there is the Spinal Lance for anyone who flies in front of the vessel (if you have seen the last episode of TNG, the Spinal Lance is that large cannon mounted under the saucer section of the Future Enterprise).
I find that build of the Gal-X to be fun to play with. Granted, she is only a PvE ship. She would bite if I tried to use her in PvP. Not only because the weaker output of turrets, but also because since I built it as a Borg version it uses only Plasma type weapons. And that is really the trick: if you do not play PvP, you can fly whatever you want with whatever loadout you want. Pick what looks cool to you and go for it.
For starters you have to be specific in what exactly is your play style, or for that matter what role do you wish to take. Remember to spec according to the TYPE of ship. Eng, Tact, & Sci
Obviously if you desire to TANK, then go cruiser - BUT keep in mind that the Tank role in a PvP scenerio is obsolete, because of the nature of PVP.
I did PvP in my Dreadnaught in the past - pre-nerf - and met with success due to my team. However; Post Nerf - the Tanker days were numbered.
PvP Cruiser vs Escort - with new consoles etc.. Cruisers tend to get shredded in sec now
Science vessels are your middle of the road vessels with various sci abilities. Its the "Mage" of the bunch, sorta speak.
If you're a Tact, stay away from cruisers - Though you can make a moderate good build with Tact/Cruiser - Thing is, you tend to lose potential. This is very very true in PvP scenerios, which portray the Tact profession as ruthless killing machines.
Again - all this depends on spec, player knowledge, and skills. However; Keep in mind that +1 Consoles or special consoles tip the scale of balance - Things like Point defense system etc... can tip the scale to the one possessing it.
In a NUTSHELL if you are a tact profession and want to use a cruiser or science vessel, then spec for the vessel and not the profession. This is determined by number of profession specific BO slots and console slots.
RULE of thumb - spec according to the ship. However; Your profession may lose some potential.
IMHO - My choice for Cruisers are the following:
#1 - Excelsior Refit - still one of the best in the game
#2 - Oddy 3 Pack - The ship is Ugly as Hell, but if looks don't matter to you, go for it.
#3 - Regent Class
My Choice for Escorts:
#1 - If you are RICH - Jem'Hadar Attack Fighter - Considered the BEST Escort in the game
#2 - Defiant Refit - Though I wish the cloak was a Battle cloak
#3 - MVA - Nice vessel to have / nicely balanced
My Choice for Science:
#1 - Luna Class / will be replaced by the Vesta (need to see specs)
#2 - Deep science vessel
#3 - Intrepid
My Choice of Science Carriers:
#1 - The Best Carrier in the game - Tholian Recluse
#2 - The KDF Carrier
#3 - (While not a True Carrier per se / The Artimage, which serves as a Flight Deck Carrier, is a fun ship to experiment with)
(Stay away from the Atrox - worst carrier of the three)
You do not know just How Much I appreciate them all and indeed the time you all took to do so!!
God if I could only reply to every single one LOL, yet I have read them all and am grateful to all of you dear fellow star trek fans for your replies.
After reading all the replies, you have definitly made me re-think what ship to buy. before-hand I had just had my eye on the two mentioned, yet Now, I actually am quite interested in practically all the ships now LOL.
Somone mentioned a "Vesta", I'm not too sure what that is or what it will look like, it sounds to me like an escort ship name..?
StarK2K, thank you also indeed, for all your advice as well, you are most correct when saying I was not precise enough with explaining what I'm looking for in a ship. (for that I am sorry folks), yet truth be-told, I was so uncertain of my decision that literally ANY ship is a welcome idea for me.
The kind of federation officer I like to create the most (at the moment), is science officers, mainly because at level 50 you can use what others don't get (as far as I know), which is the "photonic fleet" (--correct term?)) , basically , (as I'm sure your all aware no doubt), with all officers, at that level, once your ship is under 50% you can call upon a fleet, yet science admirals can call upon another fleet without waiting to be that percentage of ship health.
So that's why my preferred officer to use is a science one.
As for a ship, see, lately (since I have being doing alot of stf missions to get borg tech), I have been using my escorts. For one character I have one of the level 40 escorts (not the vector the other one) --(the one that doesn't split up----i'm assuming from what i've read, one of them can split to 3?).
Anyhow, that character, a science officer, as I said, level 40 escort, is what I been using alot , I do like the movement ability, yet I also like the canons I've equiped on it. I like to have 2 cannons, a dual phaser and torpedoe launcher on the Fore. Then I use the wide beam phasers in the back and
torpedoes.
I also have, with that character, the enterprise that you can get at level 30, (mainly because I'm a huge fan of the next gen series). I like the size of it, I wish I could load cannons, yet the movement, well, i'm gonna use it today to see if I like using such or not (it's been awhile since I used that ship).
So anyhow, I like the look of that particular cruiser, yet the movement, and the fact it can't have cannons, does bother me at times.
I also like , with cruisers, how there's a larger crew and hull (obviously), and that is why, (originally), I was liking the sound of the dreadnought, since it has both size and ability for cannons, and that lance seems powerfull from what it sounds like.
Yet the movement does bother me at times...... I don't like the small size of the escorts, but I luv their moving capabilities.
So that's where I'm at right now, I'm so undecided even still, after all the Great replies, that I even have another question posted about whether to use the zen for other things instead of a new ship LOL, that question is here if anyone wants to post their too:
http://sto-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?t=425041
Also, jslyn, thank you too, for your advice as well.
And dracounguis , you said "If you have 70-80 million EC there are good ships on the Exchange.", I was not aware that you could buy ships through the exchange... I always thought you could just trade zen for crystals and vis-versa...?
I'm also unsure as to what "EC" are, is it a fleet thing?
I must admit to not knowing much about fleets, for I am not in one. (For many personal reasons only). And I do not plan to join one any time soon. Though I can see the logic behind it.
Anyhow, I can not remember what more I was going to say LOL, yet thank you all for your replies! I am going to take into mind, all that has been said here, I appreciate the effort and time you all have
taken to reply.
And though I'm usally a "loner" in space, I no-doubt shall be fighting along side you all against the borg at times.
So until then,
Live long and Prosper.
-Aaron
EC is the acrynom for Energy Credits
It's the mainstream and original Star Trek online currency.
When you buy something from the exchange (access at ESD, SB 39, K7, donatsu system, and the S.S. Azura II console, you have to use Energy Credits (EC) to purchase from other players.
If you are a Gold member or Lifetime subscriber, the EC cap is set at a Billion
like I said though, there's another area for that discussion.
Click on the link to learn more about the Vesta
http://memory-gamma.wikia.com/wiki/Vesta_class
It's considered more of a science/Cruiser hybrid - will probably be sold on the CStore for about 2,000 Zen points. (Price may vary)
Glad I could help. Sci Captain's are recently blessed with two awesome Mirror Universe Science vessels that are currently affordable on the exchange.
The MU Deep science vessel & the MU science exploration vessel (Luna Class)
http://memory-gamma.wikia.com/wiki/Prometheus_class click on the link to learn more about the Multi Vector.
I forgot about the Prometheus Class and its 2 incarnation - That is the Free version and the Multi Vector Version MVA for short - The Prometheus is an excellent choice for Sci Captain's that prefer a bit more teeth.
Keep in mind that both the free version and the CStore version (MVA) can use the same console for the split effect - Here is the good part - both versions have different BO setup, so you actually have a bit of flexability in your builds.