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Recomendations for Best T5 Escort
samb0wski
Member Posts: 39 Arc User
I have pretty much read everything there is to read about the various kinds of T5 Escorts available on stowiki. And also the very helpful comparison by ooiue http://sto-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?t=503471
I have narrowed down my options to one of two ships. Bare in mind, my fleet still only operates a Tire 2 Shipyard so some of the Fleet ships are off the radar for the time being. So just based on ships I can buy with Zen or direct from the shipyard.
Based on experience I would greatly appreciate any advice I can get to select the better of the ships. Bare in mind that I currently fly the Captain level Tactical Escort Refit. The options are:
1)Tactical Escort Retrofit
2)Blockade Runner Escort Retrofit
3)Heavy Escort Carrier
Till date I have't played PvP and I have no plans to do so in the next few months. Just playing storyline missions and other stuff. Looking forward to your thoughts!
I have narrowed down my options to one of two ships. Bare in mind, my fleet still only operates a Tire 2 Shipyard so some of the Fleet ships are off the radar for the time being. So just based on ships I can buy with Zen or direct from the shipyard.
Based on experience I would greatly appreciate any advice I can get to select the better of the ships. Bare in mind that I currently fly the Captain level Tactical Escort Refit. The options are:
1)Tactical Escort Retrofit
2)Blockade Runner Escort Retrofit
3)Heavy Escort Carrier
Till date I have't played PvP and I have no plans to do so in the next few months. Just playing storyline missions and other stuff. Looking forward to your thoughts!
13th Autonomous Battle Group
USS Crimson Sunrise / USS Midian Breach
USS Crimson Sunrise / USS Midian Breach
Post edited by samb0wski on
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At this point it more or less depends on your chosen style of play. Statistically speaking the Blockade Runner Retrofit (i.e. Steamrunner) outclasses practically everything on your list, including the Fleet variants. It is a Fleet/Lockbox ship in all but acquisition method (i.e. Steam). The only thing that beats it is arguably the Jem'Hadar bug, but that's not on your list.
HOWEVER, the Steamrunner doesn't have 5 tactical console slots, like the Fleet Defiant does. That ship has greater potential damage, but is less survivable, a true "glass cannon". If you choose the Defiant-R (i.e. Tac Escort Retrofit), you also gain a non-battle cloak and the ability to use quad cannons (though those aren't ideal in the most optimized builds) and your pretty Sao Paolo skin. On sheer value-for-money, the Defiant-R wins out. And with a Tier 3 shipyard it's already available to you once you scrounge up the Fleet Modules. Sadly you can't avail of the discount. Only owners of the Defiant Retrofit from the C-store (and not the Veteran VA ship bonus token) qualify.
HOWEVER again, the Armitage (and its Fleet version) has two things neither the Steamrunner nor the Defiant-R have: A hangar, and a lieutenant commander Engineer slot. It'll do slightly less damage overall due to a lack of a Lt. Commander Tactical post, but has access to higher-level engineering powers, and is very survivable. The Fleet Armitage can give even the Bug and Steamrunner, which have higher base shield and hull, a run for their money because of this slot, as well as its ability to deploy fighters, shuttles, repair drones and runabouts to augment its damage, powers or survivability. Lastly, the Fleet Armitage is available with just a Tier 1 shipyard, so if you own it you can already access it.
So, the big question here is how you want to play. If you just want purely higher stats, the Steamrunner is yours. If you want to hit hard, health be damned, pick up the Retrofit, and later the Fleet version. And if you want to survive a lot of what the enemy can throw at you, plus have a few little friends to help, the Armitage is what you want.
It wasn't on his list, but yes, I'd second this. It's basically an Armitage with slightly worse hull, better Tac (LtC Tac slot and no wasted Ensign), slightly worse Eng (no LtC Eng), and no hangar. Basically fewer frills, but just as reliable.
Also its Maelstrom Skin looks really boss. If you didn't own it already you can get it on the Fleet version.
Leaning towards the Armitage carrier just to try something different.
RCK
Hmmmm, besides the hangar the HEC isn't THAT different. You'll have pets to control and the brief novelty that is the photon point defense console, but you'll be doing pretty much the same things you do in your Patrol Escort, except with one less LtC tac power and one more LtC Eng power.
If want REALLY different I suggest plunking down for an Atrox or an Odyssey. If you want different, but also want the flexibility to use some standard Escort tactics, try one of the Vestas, either the Sci or Eng variants. The folks who want to tell you to get the 3-pack or nothing at all are nuts or rich. You'll do fine with just one. With universal LtC and En slots you'll get some great versatility, and those Aux cannons are an interesting take on your power settings.
If you absolutely insist that your next ship be an escort, try the MVAE. The sci skills and multi-vector skill can really change your tactics while still staying in the DPS-happy categories.
Of course, you could also plunk down for 24 Master Keys and either take your chances with lockboxes or sell the keys on the exchange. You'd go a long way towards buying a lockbox ship like the Wells, Orb Weaver, Recluse, or Mobius, though not the Dkora, Galor, or god forbid, the Bug.
Unfortunately its tier 5 shipyard;)
i would second the fleet patrol escort, love it. it's durable and versatile...you either take a 3rd sci ability or a engi ability, depending on the situation. i prefer TBR for stfs and other missions that require some sort of CC.
3rd of my choice would be the fleet defiant and the steamrunner...very different ships, so it is hard to tell for me.
4th the fleet armitage, and 5th the multivector...simply because the 3 tac ensigns are kind of hard to fill with specific, yet powerfull builds.
anything sub fleet level (except the bug ship) is not an option anymore in my opinion.
It has the Fleet Patrol Escorts Console and Boff Layout (save for a Lieutenant Sciene instead of universal), but the Defiants small size and manuverability. Sure it does have less hull than it's bigger ship, but it is loads of fun to fly around. Plus you don't see them around as much as the Patrol Escort, so you are flying something just a bit more unique.
Also, the Gladuis skin can be described in the same way as the Patrol Escort's Maelstrom Skin: Boss.
I currently only have the Saber Retrofit, but I plan to upgrade to Fleet. But even the regular retrofit is pretty badass.
Whoops!
Actually, it's the Fleet Patrol that's Tier I, which is almost as good, really. A universal En means it doesn't get wasted on a redundant tac ability, an extra Eng console's good for extra armor or space for gimmicks, and no one ever says no to 10% more hull and shields.
unangbangkay how much does the Fleet Patrol cost? I barely have 10k Fleet credits to my name. Wonder if I could afford one?!?
USS Crimson Sunrise / USS Midian Breach
Seriously, I like to engage the tac cubes in hive elite at point blank range, grab them with Tractor II and slam them with 3x AP DHCs (CRF1 or CSV1), 2x AP turrets, 1x Quantum (rotate HY1 and HY3) and the Borg Cutting Beam. I keep this up, mixing in GDF, APO3, APB2, etc., until my hull is at 50-60%, then pop JTS1 (to break any tractor hold), ET2 and evasive to get the hell out of dodge/regroup/heal.
So far, it's working...quite well, in fact. Putting out ~5K DPS consistently and I'm almost always top damage dealer in STFs (according the CombatLogParser). Which is why I'm torn as to what to spend my 3000 Zen on. None of the options are all that appealing.
RCK - Flying the Purple Avenger 1 (Patrol), 2 (Defiant R) or 3 (Fleet Patrol)
There are only three ships in this game that can out do the patrol escort
1) The Bug. Why? Faster, heartier, more agile and has the same potential outlay
2) The Fleet Patrol Escort. Self Explanatory.
3) The Chimera. Bigger, thicker, more crew = faster healing, The Phaser Lotus (BFaW activated with the more powerful phaser lotus? Talk about a beautiful death) And then the DTS Console? She is my answer to the question if the god like set up of the fleet patrol would work in a cruiser. Answer? Oh God yes.
I have been preaching this for years the Fleet patrol outclasses every escort in this game she has the perfect set up. If you want more dps EPtW if you want more heals EPtS, just that pivotal skill alone changes the balance of this ship.
The Steam runner is fine and dandy but there is not much you can do Eng wise to really help your ship since eng basiclayy repairs your hull not so much your sheilds which is far more important. If the steam runner did not step down a peg in sci I would put her on this list but because she stepped down you lose pivotal skills like RSP ESS both which are pivotal skills to be repleaced be a debuffer and two EPt's. If they made one of the eng slots universal I would say it's a go.
The other escorts folishly give up that pivotal eng slot for a tac one slot, that tac one slot is just weird it's like the tail wagging th dog their is not any more potential damage in that so I'm not sure why people say their is if their is any it has to be Beam O one or something since EPtW far out classes it if it's anything other then that and even then over the length of the skill you will do more damage. So unless those other ships have some super nova console which most do I wouldn't bother with them... unless I was just buying the ship to move the console like if you get the temporal set... talk about worth the effort.
USS Crimson Sunrise / USS Midian Breach
I hear there's this kid that stars in (I think) Capital One commercials that tends to say no to many bonus things like 50% cash back or +10% hull... :P
To rob a line: [quote: Mariemaia Kushrenada] Forum Posting is much like an endless waltz. The three beats of war, peace and revolution continue on forever. However, opinions will change upon the reading of my post.[/quote]
Don't say 'It's the low Shield Modifier' because like other retrofitted tier 2 ships, it has some sort of hidden bonuses to it.
I love my Fleet Tac & Hec the most, look wise. The Hec with Thunderchild/Armitage/Akira skin combo looks amazing, although it's costly if you haven't bought the other Z store ships (It's in my sig). The Fleet Tac with the Sao Paulo skin is equally sexy.
The Bug wins out over everything simply because it has a good solid layout with solid stats & a crazy 20 turn rate that puts it ahead of the great majority of escorts in the game. While it's an amazing ship for PVP it's overkill for PVE & you might actually like something with a different layout for your day to day NPC slaughter.
So far my favourite layout on an Escort comes from the Temporal destroyer. Its flexible Lt Com is nice, and 4 science consoles gives you a lot of options. It's not the best looking ship, but it's not unpleasant either.
My opinion on STO escorts is if I can have 90% of the firepower of other people that go with highly offensive set ups, but at the end of it I can stay in the fight and not let the team down then I've done my job.
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I personally love my Fleet Patrol Escort.
If you look at it objectively, though, there isn't that much of a difference between Fed T5, 10-console escorts. When you take out the Aquarius, which is more of a vanity ship in my opinion (and still able to tank a Tac Cube on Elite), you'll end up with the following.
- all have ~32-34k Hull,
- all have a shield mod ~1.00
- bridge officer stations are going to be manned (except on the Prometheus) in a similar manner: TacCmdr, TacLtCmdr, mix of Tac/Sci/Eng Lts. and Ensigns.
- all have a impulse mod ~0.2
- all of them have +15 weapons power
- all of them have 4-5 tac console slots.
- same number of fwd and aft weapon slots
- all of them have a high turn-rate between 15 and 17
so in the end, the differences are minor and it's hard, if not impossible, to say which is the "best" of them. In a lab environment, where you have ships which are geared and played in the exact same way, one version might be slightly sturdier than the other, have a bit more utility or have a slightly better damage output, but in the game it won't make much of a difference.
So you might as well go with availability or whichever is aesthetically more pleasing to you...
Nothing else in the game really challenges this ship
Saphire.. Science ground......Ko'el Romulan space Tac
Leva........Tactical ground.....Koj Romulan space Eng
JJ-Verse will never be Canon or considered Lore...It will always be JJ-Verse
Because its worse than the fleet patrol in every single way except for 1 turn rating
Exactly right. The ensign tac slot is a killer for many escorts.
really depends on what you wanna do
making a tact mobi with all engi boffs is nice. :eek:
armitage has the aux to struct 2 and danubes going for it.
but in all honesty the fleet advanced excels at dps over the armitage due to grav well.
breen wins hands down with 4 dhcs and 4 turrets, no torps, all spreads and scatters.
i cant wait for the fleet armitage though.
On paper, it may seem that way. But the little escort can take nearly as good of a beating as the Patrol Escort. Sure, it has weaker hull, but if you think about it, these days, a few thousand extra hull is nothing when under fire by multiple ships.
Yes, she does have the layout but her hull and shield mods drops off not just a little but a whole hell of a lot this is not small this is around 5-6k and around 33% on the shields. Even with the correct lay out (The Invincible Escort layout) YOu can't actually be a tier five ship and be out down by the patrol escort itself and be considered equal, we want to step up in quality not step back
nearly as good is not as good as well as good and because of the rapid advancement of players forum hoping and getting their hands on end game builds without having the talent to back the builds then yes it diluted the game a bit... well a lot... it's like putting a sugar cube into a pitcher of sea water and wondering where the sweetness went.
Because of the affluence of the DHC's the player cure-all atm ships like the HEC and the Bug and the Defiant and such are getting these massive passes they don't really deserve. The Fleet defiant gets one shotted in Elite all the time when even in my measly little patrol escort, (I can't afford to get the Fleet patrol yet dam college and it's terrible ways) I have to be hit two-three times by her uber torps to be put down so that automatically pushes the defiant out of the race of sturdiest.
The Hec is not as good as players think it is. Because it can mount DJC's players can'd see it, and again it's a problem with the DHC's When you see players with what I like to all the active denial system (BFaW, wwhy do I call it this? It's actively denies plays to use stationable items on the field. IE Pet's Torps, mines, satellites) Because of the ability TO ME A PLAYER WITH BFaW is FAR more important then a player with rapid fire and DHC's (Is it true, not really, in one on ones DHC's will shred a soso player to a good player but to a player like me DHC's alone will not kill me but because they nerfed beams when befaw came out then my weapons will not actually kill you either so it will come to a draw if you are elite caliber in pvp. They are beginning to realize the mistakes they made with pvp and are releasing anti DHC weapons and items so keep that in mind.) But if they kill your pets you just saw them in half with your DHC's so you cant see how terrible and unbalanced it's layout is. The moment the pets ae gone the HEC try' to unsuccesfuly become a lowgrade escort.
But players take DHC's and let that be the be all cure and assume that blowing up is art of the territory, it shouldn't be. With my buld if i toss DHC's in her and remove my beams then i would be beyond uber.... I'd be like... what's a crazy cool word for my level....kittymomo? yeah, i'd be kittymomo level of awesome
but anywho, if you don't do pvp then i don't think you can call yourself elite because you don't know your weaknesses.. you have to est you weakness constantly and nothing quite scratches that itch gnawing at the back of your skull quite like pvp 1v1... am I bark or am I bite? Am I talented or am I a poser? Am I Me or am I you parading as me?
I'm not quite understanding what you are meaning sir, but I will simply say this about my choice of the Saber Retrofit over the Patrol Escort: I really don't like the look of the Patrol Escort, I think it looks quite ugly in my opinion, and I usually go for looks as well as function. And I like the boff layout of the Saber Retrofit and like the different skins it had (especially the Gladius one).
Now you might say, "You gimped yourself by going for looks too" but my philosophy is this: If you can make something you love work for you, then to hell what anybody else thinks. You may think my choice was subpar, but I am doing quite well in the little Saber, so more power to me.
This by far is the truest thing I have ever heard in this thread, this person, i like.
I don't know about the ugly part, because I do love me some patrol escort, but the rest is true. "To thine own self be true."
Make your ship work for you, weakness to another is strength to another.
so the fleet saber and advanced escort are not an option, and therfore can't be among the best escorts...both good ships no doubt, but just not among the top 4 or 5.
and a statements like "I'm doing fine in that ship" despite it having a few 1000 less hull and shields is a little empty. It's more a believe than a fact.
i rather go with numbers and statistics than with someones believes or feelings.
Also "nearly" is not "as good as" which only can mean that the ship is inferior.
and if you deside by looks, statistic do not matter...but if somebody asks me, i do not start with "ship A looks better, but is a little weaker than ship B and C...but take ship A anyway, it looks awesome"