test content
Logo
What is the Arc Client?
Install Arc
An Engineer Build - Confused!
raschen1
Member Posts: 17 Arc User
Hello all,
I have played the game for a month or so now, and may have dedicated a number of hours to it. In any event, I have reached Rear Ad. LH, and, as such, am able to begin to build an "end-game" character.
Now, as it stands, this is my build:
http://www.stoacademy.com/tools/skillplanner/index.php?build=BuildEngMSC_0
Yes, somethings may be in the wrong place (looking at you Driver Coil) - but this is down to naivety when playing from the start.
Anyhow, I have a token available for a Rear. Ad ship - an am undecided what to get - Assault or Star cruiser? I have bought a Mirror universe star cruiser, which I am currently building up whilst I decide.
Moving onto the issue at hand, I'm somewhat lost and confused as to the BoFF skills to take. Tactical:
Tac. Team provides a nice bonus, and Attack. Beta provides a nice debuff - useful for solo play and also grouping
Science:
Hazard emitters seem essential, especially for the Borg and so forth - plasma fires
Science Team/ TSS seem great for shield durability and repair.
Engineering.
Here is where I'm certainly lost. There's a lot to repair hull strength (great, because that's the bottom line), and also shield repair.
I currently stand on
2 x Eng Team (1 + 2)
2 x EPTS (1 + 2)
Aux to Struct.
Reverse Shield Polarity (why not receive free heals?)
Aceton Beam 2.
Now I understand some addition skills can be learnt. But the main issue is getting into the knowledge of what's where, what to pop when etc. (As I used to know by muscle memory whilst playing another MMO where my tank was a tank/healer.. no specifics mentioned).
I have everything lined up on the bar in sections (hull heal, damage resist, weapons buff), but for playing well as a tank with some (albeit limited)DPS, I'm completely lost as to what to focus on and the skills to take with my BoFFs (Doffs is another issue entirely!).
Would any able minded eng/cruiser/player full stop be able to provide some direction as to the minefield and vast amount of skills that it would be preferential to take?
P.S. I've done calculations, but well, they descended into madness
P.P.S. I have utilised the search function - that has got me THIS far
P.P.P.S. Thankyou in advance
On a final note, why when levelling skills and so on/ so forth, does the tool tip not seem to update in the ship view screen?
I have played the game for a month or so now, and may have dedicated a number of hours to it. In any event, I have reached Rear Ad. LH, and, as such, am able to begin to build an "end-game" character.
Now, as it stands, this is my build:
http://www.stoacademy.com/tools/skillplanner/index.php?build=BuildEngMSC_0
Yes, somethings may be in the wrong place (looking at you Driver Coil) - but this is down to naivety when playing from the start.
Anyhow, I have a token available for a Rear. Ad ship - an am undecided what to get - Assault or Star cruiser? I have bought a Mirror universe star cruiser, which I am currently building up whilst I decide.
Moving onto the issue at hand, I'm somewhat lost and confused as to the BoFF skills to take. Tactical:
Tac. Team provides a nice bonus, and Attack. Beta provides a nice debuff - useful for solo play and also grouping
Science:
Hazard emitters seem essential, especially for the Borg and so forth - plasma fires
Science Team/ TSS seem great for shield durability and repair.
Engineering.
Here is where I'm certainly lost. There's a lot to repair hull strength (great, because that's the bottom line), and also shield repair.
I currently stand on
2 x Eng Team (1 + 2)
2 x EPTS (1 + 2)
Aux to Struct.
Reverse Shield Polarity (why not receive free heals?)
Aceton Beam 2.
Now I understand some addition skills can be learnt. But the main issue is getting into the knowledge of what's where, what to pop when etc. (As I used to know by muscle memory whilst playing another MMO where my tank was a tank/healer.. no specifics mentioned).
I have everything lined up on the bar in sections (hull heal, damage resist, weapons buff), but for playing well as a tank with some (albeit limited)DPS, I'm completely lost as to what to focus on and the skills to take with my BoFFs (Doffs is another issue entirely!).
Would any able minded eng/cruiser/player full stop be able to provide some direction as to the minefield and vast amount of skills that it would be preferential to take?
P.S. I've done calculations, but well, they descended into madness
P.P.S. I have utilised the search function - that has got me THIS far
P.P.P.S. Thankyou in advance
On a final note, why when levelling skills and so on/ so forth, does the tool tip not seem to update in the ship view screen?
Post edited by raschen1 on
0
Comments
Then, I'd suggest something along the lines of this:
http://www.stoacademy.com/tools/skillplanner/index.php?build=raschen1suggestion_0
If you want to tank for your team, in pve, I'd say you'll do your team a favour by speccing in Threat Control, taking the points from the weapon specialisations (I'd suggest).
Note: I'm not a cruiser player by nature, but I dabble. There will be people out there who are better at this style than me.
Now, this also depends on whether you want to go full support or whether you want to max your own damage too.
For more damage, replace extend shields by a second eptw (maybe shuffling that one to an ensign slot, so you'll have 2 times eptw1 + epts2 + epts3.
Key thing to remember is that you can cycle those powers: eptw1 (1) -> epts2 (1) -> eptw1 (2) -> epts3 (2) -> eptw1 (1) -> epts2 (1), etc. That way you'll have both powers up 100% of the time.
For more healing, replace DEM by EngTeam3 (now trainable because of the 6 points in the ground skill Repairs), and remember that Extend Shields will make it's target very happy, because of the large buff it gives to resistances, in addition to the shield heals.
Why polarise hull over science team, you may ask. Well, sci team shares a cooldown with tac team and eng team: you can only effectively combine two. I even run high-quality conn (duty) officers reducing tac team cooldown, so I can cycle a single tac team. Polarise hull, on the other hand, grants you immunity from movement impairing abilities and a very hefty hull resist buff.
Edit: Reverse shield polarity 2 is only marginally better than 1, so better to free up the higher-level slot. Also: Aux2Struc3 is awesome. It grants a very large hull heal and resists, on a tiny cooldown. It will be your main hull heal, most likely.
Overall your speccs are fine. There are areas where it really isn't worth maxing in, for example the difference between a 6 in starship shield performance and a 9 is +2 power (not really worth it for 7500 skill points), but overall very good. And Driver Coil actually isn't a bad still to have. It provides a significant boost to your warp and impulse turn rate. As a cruiser, turn rate is a bit of a problem at times. For a healing cruiser, you need to primarily focus on two power levels, Auxiliary and Shields. Shield Power boosts your shield regeneration rate and shield resistance to incoming damage. Auxiliary boosts most of your engineering and science abilities. In this case the auxiliary power boosts Auxiliary to Structural Integrity Field III (Hull heal and damage resistance boost), Auxiliary to Inertial Dampers I (Turn rate booster, kinetic damage resist, and crew death resistance), Hazard Emitters I (Hull heal and damage resistance boost), Transfer Shield Strength II (Shield Heal and shield resistance boost), and Polarize Hull (major damage resistance boost and immunity to tractor beams). Using the ability Emergency Power to Auxiliary I will significantly boost the effectiveness of all five of the abilities mentioned above.
The key to this build is the timing of your heals. Emergency Power to shields can have a 100% uptime. The ability remains active for 30 seconds and the global cooldown on the ability is 30 seconds. It should also be possible to use Emergency Power to Auxiliary 60% of the time. Tactical Team and Emergency Power to Shields will be your first line of defense in most group missions. If there is one ability you want to keep up full time it's tactical team (you will have 10 seconds uptime and 12 seconds downtime). The instant shield redistribution is invaluable. I cannot stress it enough, tactical team needs to be activated every time it becomes available. Upon taking minor to moderate shield/hull damage you should use Emergency Power to Shields and Auxiliary to Structure (if the hull has sustained minor damage or if it may in the next 15 seconds). Tactical team will have cycled the shields, thus repairing most, if not all, of the shield damage taken.
If the enemy continues to damage the shields, then use your engineering captain power Rotate Shield Frequency. At times this ability may not be enough (i.e. when tanking a tactical cube). Using Rotate Shield Frequency and Transfer Shield Strength II at the same time (with tactical team) will make your shields almost impervious to damage. Remember that Auxiliary to Structural only has a 15 second cooldown, yet is provides about a 1/5 hull repair and a major energy weapon damage resistance. It is safe to use this ability often. Engineering team III should be reserved for when your hull is around or below 75%. While it only has a 22 second cooldown with the duty officer reduction, it places a 15 second global cooldown on tactical team. Hazard emitters is best used for clearing plasma fires, though it may be used as an effective heal over time.
Your last line of defense is Reverse Shield Polarity paired with polarize hull and brace for impact. This should be used when all of your other heals are on cooldown and you are under heavy fire. Reverse Shield Polarity offers 10 seconds of almost perfect energy damage immunity (3% bleedthrough) and polarize hull covers the bleedthrough. By the time those 10 seconds are up, most of your other heals are off cooldown or very close to it. If your defenses fail, you still have one more card to play, the engineering ability miracle worker. (you may also wish to use evasive maneuvers to retreat) It completely repairs all shields and about 2/5 of your hull. Although rare, when your defenses have failed and you are 25% or lower, this ability can be quite invaluable.
Now you may be questioning your two other engineering captain abilities. EPS Power transfer provided ~30+ power to all subsystems for 30 seconds. Essentially it is an emergency power to everything ability. The ability's usefulness ranges from lessening weapons power drain to healing. And the most valuable thing about the ability is the fact that it can be given to a teammate if they are in range. Your other ability, Nadeon Inversion, makes your ship almost completely immune to energy weapon drain. (When solo, cycling these two abilities will completely solve any weapon power problems you may have from attacking broadside.) One last note, when in Special Task Force missions (endgame missions unlocked at level 44) you may notice that some escorts will draw the fire from NPCs. This is often due to a number of factors (speccing in threat control, dealing the most damage to the enemy, etc.) In this case your role usually shifts from tanking to team healing.
Now for weapons I see you have plasma listed down on the skill planner. If you like those weapons I would suggest working on your romulan reputation system (available at level 50) to obtain the Romulan Singularity Harness Set (stowiki) and the Mk XII Romulan Plasma Beam Arrays. I would also suggest working on the Omega Force Reputation system for the MACO Set (stowiki i)as it is ideal for cruisers and the Universal - Assimilated Module console (stowiki).
For a specific layout, I would suggest
Deflector: M.A.C.O. Graviton Deflector Array Mk XII
Engine: M.A.C.O. Impulse Engines Mk XII
Shield: M.A.C.O. Resilient Shield Array Mk XII (The best shield in the game)
Ideally you want all Mk XII blue or purple quality consoles, but most of them are very expensive on the exchange and the small performance boost usually isn't worth it. I have listed consoles currently cheap on the exchange/easily obtained.
Engineering Consoles:
2x Console - Engineering - Neutronium Alloy Mk XI (obtainable from the last Undine episode in your mission journal "episodes" tab)
1x Console - Engineering - SIF Generator Mk XII(fairly cheap on the exchange)
1x Console - Universal - Assimilated Module (Tier I Omega Force Reputation System)
Science Consoles:
2x Console - Science - Emitter Array Mk XI (usually cheap on the exchange)
1x Console - Zero-Point Energy Conduit (Tier II Romulan Reputation System)
Tactical Consoles
2x Console - Tactical - Plasma Infuser Mk XI
Duty officers (space):
1x Maintenance Engineer (8 second cooldown reduction on Engineering Team III and +10 to Hull Repair for 10 seconds)
2x Damage Control Engineer (35% chance to reduce the cooldown on all Emergency Power to _____ abilities by 30%)
1x Warp Core Engineer (20% chance to boost all power levels by +25 when any Emergency Power to _____ is used)
1x Conn Officer (8 second cooldown reduction on Tactical Team I and +10 to Starship Attack Patterns for 10 seconds) (Note: Not all Conn officers have this power)
Weapons Fore:
3x Romulan Plasma Beam Array Mk XII (Tier V Romulan Reputation System)
1x Romulan Hyper-Plasma Torpedo Launcher (Tier IV Romulan Reputation System)
Weapons Aft:
2x Romulan Plasma Beam Array Mk XII (same as above)
1x Experimental Romulan Plasma Beam Array (No weapons power drain!)(Tier V Romulan Reputation System)
1x Transphasic Mine Launcher Mk XII [CritH] [CritD]x2 (or similar, usually very cheap on the exchange)
Romulan Reputation Passives:
Tier I: Enhanced Personal Shields
Tier II: Enhanced Shield Systems
Tier III: Reactive Shielding
Tier IV: Emergency Secondary Shielding
Omega Reputation System Passives:
Tier I: Omega Weapon Proficiency
Tier II: Hull-Repairing Nanites
Tier III: Regenerative Shield Augmentation
Tier IV: Superior Shield Repair
I sincerely hope this advice helps you. If you want more of a damage dealing role for the assault cruiser I would be happy to write up the speccs for you.
--->Ground Combat General Bugs Directory
Real join date: March 2012 / PvP Veteran since May 2012 (Ground and Space)
As a side point, I encourage anyone to read majortiraomega's post well, it is essential reading
Ok, so to work into key binds (only just figured them out - having fire all/some + distribute shields is a godsend)
1. EPTS 1 + Tactical Team
2. EPTS 2 + Tactical Team
(Those two giving 100% uptime of it)
3. EPTS 1/2 + Tactical Team + Aux to SIF (For when damage is harder)
4. RSF (+ Tactical Team + EPTS 1/2 + Aux to SIF) (For when damage is even worse)
5. Eng Team 3 providing a good heal to pop off when essential (though hurts CD of TT)
6. Haz Emitters for fires etc
7. Polarize Hull - For when bound/ tractor etc
8. For Last line: Rev.S.Polarity/ Polarize Hull/ Brace for Impact (For those Oh **** moments)
9. Miracle Worker
As I understand it, this will essentially provide a heal/ tanking from 1 being less serious to 9 being serious. I'm sure other powers will be used in tandem, but from the looks of the above advice, and as I understand heals to be, it will provide uptime and rotation for all the above powers as and when stated.
Edit: I notice TSS isn't included in that, and also, EPTA I'm unsure where to fit into the rotation, likewise with ST. It's going to take some planning to work on the rotation to use
Every single heal in the game heals on a "per facing" basis. Most cruisers have about 10,000 Shields per facing (fore, aft, port, and starboard). Now, when a heal, for example emergency power to shields is used, it heals X amount of shields per facing. However, say one shield takes 4000 damage. You use emergency power to shields to repair 3000 shield health to each facing. The heal repairs the damaged facing, but the other 9000 healing is wasted because the other three facings are full health. If tactical team had rerouted the shields, the 4000 damage would have been evenly distributed around all four facings (each shield now has 1000 damage) and the heal would have been able to completely repair the damage.
Now I will try to explain how tactical team works. Say you are taking fire in the aft section and your aft shields become damaged. To strengthen your aft shields manually, you could use the down arrow key to route shield points from fore, port, and starboard to the aft shield. Thus the game subtracts shield health from the three facings and adds health to the aft shields. You can never get the aft shield above maximum capacity, but it will keep the aft shield from failing (in which case you would take hull damage). In this case you are essentially sacrificing the health of three facings to save one failing shield facing. The way tactical team works is it levels out all shield health instantly. A facing doesn't fail until there is no shield health remaining while under tactical team.
--->Ground Combat General Bugs Directory
Real join date: March 2012 / PvP Veteran since May 2012 (Ground and Space)
Correct, though there are a few things I should have mentioned above. The thing about EPTS is that it only applies the heal once at first use. It still provides a boost to shield power and shield damage resistance (which is invaluable), but you aren't receiving heals anymore. RSF is an ability that provides continuous heals for 30 seconds and it is usually enough to stop most attacks. TSS (transfer shield strength) is a weaker version of RSF with a shorter cooldown. It can be used for engagements where RSF isn't needed/on cooldown or it can be used with RSF for an effect similar to Reverse Shield Polarity. And the last thing I forgot to elaborate on was brace for impact and auxiliary to interital dampers. Both of these are exploding ship/torpedo/kinetic damage resistance boosts. When fighting e.x. the borg, you will frequently encounter heavy plasma torpedoes. It is often difficult to stop in the middle of a fight to shoot them down. Cycling these abilities (polarize hull works as well) should provide a strong defense against them. I also forgot to explain that Auxiliary to Intertial Dampers can also be used as a speed/turn buff for quick direction changes or broadside attacks. A cruiser is at it's strongest for attacks when it can bring all 6 beam arrays to bear.
--->Ground Combat General Bugs Directory
Real join date: March 2012 / PvP Veteran since May 2012 (Ground and Space)
My build needs work and on skills I am realtively pleased. Working on rommie rep (into tier 4).
For those who go the assault cruiser route .. I would be interested to see that approach.
For an assault cruiser the actual gear is almost identical to what you would use on the star cruiser. The only difference is you need to drop 1x Console - Science - Emitter Array for an extra Console - Tactical - Plasma Infuser (the tradeoff between star and assault is 1 science console for 1 tactical). Also, considering the fact that you don't have an ensign science bridge officer slot, you can use Torpedo High Yield I/Beam Overload I. Fire at Will is bugged at the moment, otherwise I would suggest that. I would also suggest dropping Emergency Power to Auxiliary I for Emergency Power to Weapons I. That effectively routes your ship in the offensive direction, yet maintaining the healing/tanking aspects. If you want to go a bit more extreme (thus losing survivability) you could drop engineering team III for Auxiliary to Structural Integrity Field II and then you could drop Auxiliary to Structural Integrity Field III for Eject Warp Plasma III. (Boarding Party and Aceton Beam are terrible, Directed Energy Modulation doesn't work well with beams). The damage over time from eject warp plasma is fairly decent against most NPCs.
--->Ground Combat General Bugs Directory
Real join date: March 2012 / PvP Veteran since May 2012 (Ground and Space)
http://www.stoacademy.com/tools/skillplanner/index.php?build=Rebuild01_0
ASIDE from skills, which is purely theoretical.
Skills, I have tried to build between the key features of survivability and tanking, plus weapons for threat generation.
Let me start by explaining my understanding of tanking.
1. When an enemy shoots, they have a chance to either hit or miss - miss being affected by Defence, which in turn comes from speed/ maneuverability. Therefore, as a first line, this should be employed - however, in the grand scheme of things, this isn't a high negating factor - I'm unsure of the mechanics, but that's why the emphasis is on shield etc! Escorts, I believe, are more likely to employ this, but for a tank, it's helpful
2. When a weapon hits, it' first hits the shield before moving through to the hull. The shield reduces the incoming damage to the hull - as in, it "soaks it up". Nevertheless, the specific mechanics (whilst figures are unknown) are as such:
Say one has 1,000 shield (purely an example) and is struck by a 500 damage shot, this will first be mitigated by the shields, so say 50% is mitigated, then 250 will reach the hull. However, the shields, having absorbed 250 damage, are now at 750.
This can be affected by shield resist, say +10% (example figures), meaning that 55% is now mitigated, and 45% reaches the hull.
3. The hull is similar. It has a certain amount of hit points - say 5000. When 250 reaches it, that counts as damage, therefore the hull after damage is at 4750 (when the 250 gets through).
This is also affected by resist, again, say 10%, and so on.
4. Therefore, in order to stop damage, one must have strong shields to mitigate the incoming damage, and resist to help mitigate it further. This can be through armour plating, hull plating, skills etc etc.
Therefore, the first line of defence is resist and shield, the second is hull (why anyone would hull tank is beyond me!)
Therefore, one must continually seek to keep shields up, and provide the maximum resistance.
To do this, one must look towards one's own Bridge officers (BoFFs)/Duty officers (DoFFs - for reduced impact as in affecting BoFF and player skills)/ One's own skills.
So, the first point is one's own skills, not much choice here, but helpful nonetheless:
i. Rotate Shield Frequency (RSFrq) Provides a HoT/Regeneration (Heal over time) to the shield with a strong damage resist - very nice indeed! It is probably one of the foremost resists going, therefore provides a huge addition if the going gets tough, or used in between others.
It has a short-ish cooldown (90s)
Afftected by Shields Power Level
ii. Emergency Power Transfer (EPTr) - On the face of it, not a tanking ability, it certainly doesn't provide a HoT or Insta-Heal. However, as will be highlighted later, it affects Tanking in many ways.
Effectively it transfers power by a large boost to all power systems, plus massively increasing power transfer rate (both of which will come into play later). As such, it increases power to Aux, Engines, Shields and Weapons.
Increased power to shields immediately means more shield strength (to a point)
BIG cooldown though (2mins)
iii. Miracle Worker (MW/Haxx) - Exactly what it says on the tin. Akin to other MMOs full heal, it provides a huge Hull & Shield Repair
Big cooldown of 4minutes! but essential. However, as it is a long CD, it is to be used last - more on that later
iv. Engineering Fleet (EngF) - Huge cooldown of 5minutes, but provides you AND ALLIES a boost to Eng Training and Warp Core Training, providing a boost on both points. Both provide boosts to power transfers/ key skills. Also, comes with a nice Damage resistance buff. Nice to use for everyone!
v. Nadion Inversion - Not a damage reduction or heal, but infact a tanking ability for threat essentially. Therefore, it affects power drain by weapons. Weapons reduce power when fired, affected by skills, the weaker the power, the weaker the shot. This allows for higher power, higher damage, and therefore, more threat!!
Now, BoFF skills.
I could make this into a guide, and essentially, that's what I hope to have done so far, but for my purposes at the moment, I'm focusing on my build.
My current set up is as follows:
ENG
Lt.Cmdr - ET1, EPTS2, RSP 2
Cmdr - EPTS1,AuxtoSIF1,ET3,Aceton field 2 (3 when trained)
SCIENCE
Ensign - Hazard Emitters
Lt - Science Team 1, Transfer Shield Strength 2
TACT
Lt - Tact Team 1, Attack Pattern Beta 1
So, this allows for the following:
Shield Heals (Instant or HoT):
i. EPTS 1
ii. Science Team 1
iii. EPTS 2
iv. TSS
v. (in effect) Reverse Shield Polarity (inc damage -> shields)
Hull Heals (Instant or HoT):
i. Hazard Emitters 1
ii. Aux to Structural
Resists:
i. Tactical Team 1 - Redistributes Shield Strength based on damage
ii. Hazard Emitters 1
iii. Aux to Structural
iv. TSS
v. (in effect) Reverse Shield Polarity
vi. Aceton Field
vii. EPTS 1/2/3
Weapons:
i. Tactical Team 1
ii. Attack Pattern Beta - reduces their damages resistance
iii. Aceton Field - DoT
The Crux
So, in effect, I go into battle and do 2 things immediately once aggro begins - pop EPTS 1 and Tact Team 1. This provides a bonus to shield strength, and a heal.
When this comes off, I pop EPTS 2 (as the Global cooldown has finished), and we continue. Effectively, I'm riding on EPTS all the time.
Now, if it gets a little tougher, I will likely pop RSF - for the heal and the resist.
Tougher still, and I have Science Team, TSS and RSP.
Add the damage resists of Hazard emitters, Auxto SIF etc, and this provides additional bonuses.
However, my issue is this. My figures so far have proved fruitless. As for the skills in the right place, well, I don't know if I have (reminder: http://www.stoacademy.com/tools/skillplanner/index.php?build=Rebuild01_0).
Issues then:
I RARELY if ever use my second Eng. Team. But, do I drop 1 or 3 of this? Now, 3 is great to keep, but, is there something more worthwhile taking its place?
It's all very well listing the essentials, but what powers are must haves, then which fall into must have, but fit round the others?
AuxtoSIF is great, and as such, as with other heals, I need to keep Aux up by a lot. But it seems Aux affect predominantly HULL heals, is this correct?
Shield affects shield heals, therefore, I must also keep shield power up.
Also, I need weapons to do damage, provide threat, and well, do anything meaningful when soloing (though an escort could be used).
So - looking at the build of:
ENG Lt. Cmdr: ET1 --- EPTS 2 --- RSP 2
ENG Cmdr: EPTS 1--- AuxtoSIF 1 ---ET 2 --- Aceton Field 2
TAC Lt.: TT1 --- Att.Pattern Beta
SC Ensign: HE 1
SC Lt.: ST 1 --- TSS 2
Is anything worth moving up or down a slot? One of the ENG. teams is a sure to lose, but what to replace it with?
Thanks in advance,
SORRY FOR THE WALL OF TEXT!!!!
Your analysis on the game mechanics and the Engie role is absolutely spot on, however there are some small changes I'd make to the build which might see a drastic increase in performance:
Lt Com. Eng: EPtW1, RSP1, EPtS3
Com. Eng: EPtW1, Aux2SIF1, ET3, DEM3/Extends 3
Lt Tac: TT1, AP: D1
Lt Sci: HE1, TSS2
Ens. Sci: HE1 (more useful in PvE than TSS x 2)
The build lacks some spank, hence I would suggest going with DEM3 (and saving it until you have both Nadion and either EPS or a weaps battery on CD) over Extends, though Extends is much better for the role.
You're right that many important heals scale on aux, and while most are hull heals not all are (TSS is a big example). In a PvP scenario you'd ideally be running with full shields and secondary aux, switching between the two as necessary. However, that level of tanking just isn't required in PvE, so you can get away with running full power to weaps instead and only switching to power up your Extends/aux heals for an ally.
I've noticed that some of your skill choices were suboptimal not through any fault of your own but because you seem to not have them trained. Feel free to PM me in-game (@shimmerless) any time if you'd like copies of EPtS3, ET3, etc.
vids and guides and stuff
[9:52] [Zone #11] Neal@trapper1532: im a omega force shadow oprative and a maoc elite camander and here i am taking water samples
Now, onto the suggested build. The two EPTW provide a huge boost in damage, however, it sacrifices 1 ETPS. As such, it is no longer possible to chain EPTS, which is effectively a big reduction in tanking ability/ shield strength.
I've heard outright tanking isn't required for STO - which is a shame, because it compromises the ship canon, the "feel" of the ships, and does away with any defined roles in favour of (what seems to be) a pew-pew match.
Now, I agree, having recently hit VA, that my gear isn't too great - but I'm beginning to work on this, starting with AEGIS. In the mean time, this makes abilities even more pressing.
In most fights, I can get by with almost full shield strength and 100-90% hull. This isn't bragging, it's simply fact of keeping EPTS up constantly, and binding fire to distribute shields also. However, when fighting the Borg (and others, I have yet to face them however) I can take very quick burst damage - very quick! Indeed, as I'm sure everyone is well away, the Borg can rip apart your shields, then pick off little bits of hull one at a time.
To lose EPTS (2nd) would reduce my ability to survive this. I am considering an EPTW, as it would nicely replace the (or one of the) ET, an increase damage. DEM is also a consideration, as it is a proc that I can use with my 6 (soon to be 7, if I do away with my fore torpedo) beam arrays.
So, the question is - is it really worth trading EPTS (lifeline) for EPTW x 2, with an EPTS as back up, or, are the current abilities strong enough in terms of Hull heal and shield heal to not have to worry about it in the first place?
As for the skills, then yes, I need them training up! I've been deliberating over my captains new skills build (see OP)for the last few days, and am not sure if it's dead on. It's back to min/maxing - but it's the first game I actually feel I can do it well!
http://www.stoacademy.com/tools/skillplanner/index.php?build=ModifiedCruiser_0
It has traded out one ET for one EPTW, and moved the AuxtoSIF to Cmdr slot, therefore ridding me of Aceton Field. This reduced the energy weapon buff and radiation proc, but I feel that's only useful when "Head on" - most of the time I'm broad-siding. So, the uptime and use I get on Aceton isn't as good as it should be.
Therefore, is it worth trading Aceton for ETPW considering I rarely get it in the 90deg firing range, and considering the buff to weapons? Will it result in more damage, therefore, providing a better build overall for the game in its current state?
Additionally, this keeps the chain as:
TT1
EPTS1
EPTW1
EPTS2
EPTW2
and so on and so forth.
Additionally, as this is not affected by any overarching power level, unlike say AuxtoSIF/ Science Team/ TSS (which are Aux/ Shield power), this provides a bonus.
Although this becomes something more of a pop, pop, pop, respond to higher damage by popping another ability, pop, pop- it does seem to provide a more rounded ship?
The final issue is though, are the powers in the right place?
As in, is it worth having EPTx as 2+3, rather than 1+2, and having a worse ET (per se). I suppose this comes down to power levels and abilities?
Edit: The more I read, the more it is apparent that Aux and Shields are the most important power levels, with weapons for general gameplay. Usually I run on weapons preference, with shields 2nd, and aux/ engines a bit further down. I realise this needs changing.
Shield resistance is the most important factor, I can essentially disregard polarize hull, as it provides a hull damage res. Which isn't that useful if the shields are doing their job? (the same applies across the board)
You're absolutely right that Aceton's usefulness is limited by the cruiser's low mobility. It's the same reason that just because many carriers can slot Viral Matrix, it isn't necessarily a good idea to do so; bringing the arc to bear can be too much of a chore in of itself to be practical. In a cruiser, especially if you're taking points out of thrusters to dump into tanking skills, I'd shy away from weapons or skills that demand a forward arc to be effective.
As an aside, even though you're an Engie, Beta and Delta are strong team skills and good options for you. You might want to consider putting some points into Patterns to boost them up a little. (You can take three points from Armor Reinforcements, which in the red provides extremely negligible benefit, and fill out the entire of the Patterns skill with those three points alone).
RSP doesn't scale with rank terribly well; if RSP is going to fill your shields it'll do it at any rank. The thinking behind ET3 and EPtS3 as your Lt Com. slots is that ET3 provides a strong burst heal that you're specced into to take advantage of, and EPtS3 gives you an extremely high shield resistance that makes you nigh invulnerable for the duration.
The reason I recommended EPtW and some damage skills (like DEM) is that -- please take this as the compliment it's intended as -- you're immensely overprepared in the defense department for STO's endgame PvE. In all honesty, the way you think, write and the builds you post are far more reminiscent to me of what you'd see from a PvP Engie healer, where the litmus test is much more difficult to pass and the requirements are far, far greater. Your understanding of the Engie role has long surpassed STO's existing PvE to be honest.
vids and guides and stuff
[9:52] [Zone #11] Neal@trapper1532: im a omega force shadow oprative and a maoc elite camander and here i am taking water samples
I understand shields are the most important aspect. Thus far, having had some experience with the mechanics, I can survive a lot with simply TT1 and EPTS1/3 up. The only significant issues I've had are with high burst damage, large damage from multiple mobs, or the Borg (shield drain, plasma bolt etc).
I've found that the AEGIS set also significant helps with its set bonuses. Indeed, I will probably keep them until I can get the MACO (I think this is correct, with the +Shield aspects etc).
So, I'm thinking of a few changes, I will likely remove Aceton, and replace with something a little more applicable. Most likely, I will rid myself of ET and AB, and replace with 2x EPTW, which should significantly increase my damage output.
It strikes me that abilities will lend more damage and roundedness than changing deflector/shield/engine set up.
It is a shame however that full tankiness isn''t required, as this is where I like to play and spec. However, it appears that it's more necessary to build on a solid base of tanking, then spec "DPS" (so-to-speak) from there on. Nevertheless, it's good to have the understanding of how the game works, especially regarding builds.
Now, my next step is to work on weapons, duty officers, and power levels to compliment the build to the full.
EPtW I, RSP I, EPtS III, AtSI III
EPtW I, RSP I, EPtS III
TT I, FAW II
FAW I
HE I, TSS I
This is purely an ESTF build designed to tank.
Chain starts with EPtW, then EPtS. TT is used only for when I'm being Assimilated. FAW for tagging lots of targets.
You can use the arrow keys to move shields, though be sure it takes before the next ability. TT does it faster yes, but I would prefer to have multiple FAWs just in case. But do what you feel comfortable with.
IF YOU PLAN TO TANK: Pretty much max skills with Threat, Power Boosts and Efficiency (Except engines). Max Energy Weapons Damage and Shield Emitters and the shield healing skill. Take 6 points in something that is not as important but a good stat things like Power Insulators. I did Max Subsystem repair. Driver Coil is only really great for beginning levels, as you get faster it's less important
But these are all suggestions. Pick from the posts above what you like most.
PS - My only urgent thing to tell you is to get MACO Mk XII shields or Fleet Mk II Resilient shields. By math, they are definitely better than Covariant, since they resist 5% more bleedthrough it makes up for smaller cap. I highly recommend those. I get by ESTFs with Fleet Positron (Mk II) Deflector (Threat stat), Fleet Combat Impulse Engines (Turn)x3 (Spd), and the Fleet Resilient Shields (Cap)3 (Reg). If your not in a fleet that high in tier, settle for Borg or Maco unitl then.
Anyway, the point I'm on about is that now that I've finished my builds (Reps, etc.) on my Main Tac and Sci, my Engie is next, so it's time for a rebuild/shake down.
Thank you guys for this thread, as I think it'll come in handy!
/subscribed.
You can find/contact me in game as @PatricianVetinari. Playing STO since Feb 2010.
Don't grab an Assault Cruiser with your token, and only grab the Star Cruiser if you want different stations. I'd suggesting holding onto your token in case you want to try out an escort later.
would love to see your assault cruiser spec build.