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The Beam Boat
flash525
Member Posts: 5,441 Arc User
I've got a Star Cruiser (of the Assault Cruiser type) that I'm thinking of turning into a pure Beam Boat. My normal Assault Cruiser has three Tactical slots, so I'm able to use Fire at Will, Tactical Team and High Yield Torpedo. With the Star Cruiser, I'm a tactical slot short, and I feel Beam: Fire at Will and Tactical Team are more desired than High Yield Torpedo.
What I wish to know is whether this is a good idea. I'd imagine having a ship with eight beam arrays would significantly drain power reserves ~ is there any way to compensate for that? In addition, someone mentioned it in game chat earlier about mixing up beams (having two different weapon types). Would this be considered a good or bad idea? I always figured having the same weapon type gave you more of a punch if you had the consoles to back up your weapon energy type?
What I wish to know is whether this is a good idea. I'd imagine having a ship with eight beam arrays would significantly drain power reserves ~ is there any way to compensate for that? In addition, someone mentioned it in game chat earlier about mixing up beams (having two different weapon types). Would this be considered a good or bad idea? I always figured having the same weapon type gave you more of a punch if you had the consoles to back up your weapon energy type?
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I'd go with a beam overload and slap one or two EPS Flow Regulators on there so that your weapons power level will recover faster. And I'd stick with one weapon type. Although, some different weapons use the same console to boost them like Polarized Disruptors and regular Disruptors. You could mix and match those if you felt like it. For instance, I run Phased Tetryon DHC's and turrets but run a regular Tetryon Dual Beam Bank because I want Accx3 on the DBB for better overload accuracy and Phased Tets only go up to Accx2.
edit: oh, are you saying you only have two tac slots? Then maybe forgo the beam overload and stick with FAW and TT. If you have 3 slots then add in a beam overload.
@DevolvedOne
As mentioned above, more EPS Flow Regulators.
If you are an Engineer, you got EPS and Nadion Abilities that helps with power drain.
Then there is Batteries + Aux to Battery (to recharge the battery).
If you're an Engineer it can be done. Set up an EPTS3+EPTW1+Aux2Bat always-on cycle, plus alternating between EPS Power Transfer and Nadeon Inversion (and Red Matter Capacitor, if you have it). Between all of that, you can juuuust manage the huge power drain. It also turns NI into your Big Punch skill, as 8 beams at full 125 power (even after the drain) packs a surprisingly powerful hit. And an 8-beam FAW plus APB or APD is just pretty.
All that said, during the times when NI and EPS are on cooldown, the drain makes your 8 beams do only a little more than 6 beams (10% at best?) despite carrying 1/3 more weaponry. Also it requires you use up 3 of your active doff slots with some pricey purple technicians. And you have to pay closer attention to your timers to make sure things don't get out of synch. So while 8-beam doable, a normal 6-beam setup has 95% the ability and is cheaper and easier to use, you don't have to be an Engineer to do it, and you can spend the other two weapon slots on stuff like torpedoes or tractor mines or the Omega Set.
As for mixing energy types, thats a big no no. Your tactical consoles will boost one type but not the other. Pick one energy type, any type, and put your focus there.
2. Overcap your weapon power.
2a. Reduce weapon power drain: Nadion Inversion (Eng only), DEM doff (8 sec only), Omega Weapon Amplifier (proc)
2b. Weapons battery, MACO, EPTW, Aux2Batt*, EPS Power Transfer (Eng only), Red Matter Capacitor, etc....
*Aux2Batt note: If you run this, you run 2 copies with 2 or 3 purple Tech doffs. Or you don't run it. On a Star Cruiser you have the ability to throw down some serious heals, most of which are Aux based. This is going to kill your Aux, which you can get around by running EPTA so you'll usually have some Aux left, Aux batteries or the Oberth console, and your heals will all come up twice as fast. This is not the best fit for a healer.
CommanderDonatra@Capt.Sisko: ahhh is it supposed to do that?
Norvo Tigan@dontdrunkimshoot: hell ya, maybe
Or for regaining power faster after it has been drained.
@DevolvedOne
It doesn't work for power drained by weapons fire. That power is regained immediately after the weapon stops firing, and is unaffected by EPS Flow Regulators.
I use a power optimized version of this build:
http://www.stoacademy.com/tools/skillplanner/?build=DaiSho_0
I definitely wouldn't try this in a PvP environment but it's quite effective in STO's PvE world.
Awoken Dead
Now shaddup about the queues, it's a BUG
I actually want to try this coupled with the Regent's 180-degree Quantum Torpedo launcher on my Oddysey.
(UFP) Ragnar
I'd just like to point out as a matter of interest that if you equip 2 purple quality maintenance engineers, your cooldown on Engineering Team is going to be 15 seconds regardless of anything else that's going on. And cruisers can carry Engineering Team 3, which heals over 10,000 hitpoints independently of your auxiliary power level.
Still though the 6 beam boats seem to work well with 1 front and 1 back torp.
tac team and FAW are staples the others are up to you. I found that venting warp plasma was extremely effective in PvP though completely useless in PvE. (seeing as machines typically always reside in your broadside zone there's almost no benefit to trying to slow them)
the epts, eptw, etc are likely more useful. I always ran at a full weapon power mode and didn't seem to have an issue unlike my current defiant with 4 dual heavies and 3 turrets (large weapon batteries are my precious in that build)
with an eng captain though the star cruiser is one of the best fed tanks. Sci captain as well. with a tac, you're much better off in your assault cruiser.
I use an EPS Flow Regulator when I use a DBB beam overload setup on my escort and it does help recover power faster. I'm not certain about recovery from regular weapons fire since I'm mainly a cannon/turret user, but I'd imagine it works on the same principle in that it would recover power faster between volleys. For my escort, it means I can shoot a beam overload shot and my follow up cannon fire will be at a higher power level when using an EPS Flow Regulator.
@DevolvedOne
All the EPS Flow skills (including the captain's Electro-Plasma Systems) increase the speed of recovery of the power level drain from BO skills. However, none of them recover power from normal weapons fire any faster than normal.
Please do not do the above...beam overload with arrays is a waste of wep power. even with the consoles, your power level is going to possibly tank so low that your weapons will stop firing. You are good with running the fire at will.
Torpedo launcher or some hull smasher is highly recommended at least on one end if not both, so run at least one torpedo launcher on the forward or aft or both front and rear or even a mine launcher front or rear or both your choice. This will not only be plenty effecient with weapon power level drain but also give you that hull destructiveness when those beams open their shields up like a sardine can.
Unless you prefer the star cruiser for it's looks or use of diff boff, the assault cruiser is a more prefered tac advantage being able to make use of the tac team, fire at will, and me personally torpedo spread as it only does 1x less dmg but hits multiple targets when using regular torpedo types like photon, quantum, transphasic, or chroniton.
There again these are just PO's, also if you can live with the looks of them the mirror cruisers offer a reversed concept of what their originals offer in a unique looking ship. Just some food for thought.
Also stick to one kinda of beam type like so many recommend, this way you get full advantage from your consoles if you so use them. Multi or rainbow boats are not highly as efficient as the could be. For any reason you want more from your beam types, look into using polarized disruptors, phased tetryon, or if you got the rep and dilithium to get them romulan plasma is also another good hybrid weapon.
Praetor of the -RTS- Romulan Tal Shiar fleet!
"Second star on the right, and straight on till morning."
U.S.S. Weatherlight
"Second star on the right, and straight on till morning."
U.S.S. Weatherlight
- Borg Kinetic cutting beam only drains 8 power and the proc is amazing for helping power drain.
- New Romulan Plasma beam drains no power. Thats right, no power.
- Add in 3 new reputation +plasma damage consoles and it just might work out pretty well.
- E-Power to Weapons I will be your best friend.
Edit: To clarify, if you are only interested in popping A2B for the cooldown reduction, then 2 copies will help, but if you want to use it to get power out of it, you need to wait for the aux power to come back from the first A2B before you can fire the second. By the time the power comes back there is only a couple seconds left on the cooldown for the first A2B. I found it to be a waste of a slot for a couple seconds of power. 1 copy of A2B works well enough for cooldown reduction as well. it gives 100% uptime on my EP2* skills (wihtout the random nature of EP2* doffs) and roughly 2/3rds uptime on skills with a lower cooldown. That is vs trying to run 2 copies, getting a little more uptime on the low-cooldown skills (but not a ton) and not really helping my power situation at all.
I actually gave up the build where I was relying on A2B for my power, but I still stick with one copy. I don't find the returns there for 2 copies. YMMV.
Fleet Admiral Space Orphidian Possiblities Wizard