I am talking mainly about pve (from what I have read so far, pvp ain't much better, with Klingons coming out of stealth with alpha strike).
There is simply no (need for) healing in the game ?! 95% of deaths is either insta kill with bs like 300,000 damage, or it's comp ganking with like 20 torps coming in within 3 seconds. Either way, unavoidable death. And those explosions, those insane warp core explosions. Full speed ahead with evasive maneuvers and still blowing up every other time, even with full health and shields.
And ground combat is the same, focused death in one second. Even if I let my pets do the first strike, the whole npc group will on my rear end within 5 seconds. And don't get me started on one or -heaven forbid- more melee (on the plus side, player melee seems op in the same way, crits for 800 I was told).
The remaining 5%, well. Noone is speccing healer to probably save 2 ships during a 20 minutes Borg invasion.
I think it's time to go tac escort; at least I can do some serious damage and take a couple of those ... with me.
Some of the bridge officer skills will heal another ship. Tactical Team, Engineering Team, Hazard Emitters, ... anything that says "target friend" can be used to heal a non-hostile.
I've flown all of the ship types in this game over the years. Not all non-escort-dps builds are meant for healing. My main an engineer flies a Vesta atm, its got several different Boffs ready to go. I change stations depending on the situation. I'm not spec'd to heal others, I'm spec'd to cripple the enemy. It may not be healing like you might be used to "support" types doing. But, I've never had a complain when my grav well procs for an aftershock. Nor, when my scramble sensors has the enemy killing each other instead of my teammates.
When I fly cruisers (rare, but I have in the past) I spec for tanking. I put my threat control at nine and now can slot some romulan +threat consoles. Take a couple FAW and have the enemy shoot at me instead of my teammates.
The game is more than "heal the escort", not to sound sarcastic, not my intention. But, I've dealt with so many gun ho DPS toons who believe I'm there as their pocket healer. I didn't pay my LTS and all the goodies between then and now for their pleasure.
Fastest I've ever seen a team of 5 take out a tactical cube was with 5 science ships.
95% of deaths isn't insta kill torps, I grind out STFs daily and the instakill stuff has been toned down. Those deaths are just bad builds and ships who shouldn't be in ESTFs. For one example, ran a KASE, guy kept dying. He claimed it was the instakills, guy had MK VIII common consoles at level 50. (we checked his gateway info... that's another bug report tho)
Tact/Escort is fun granted, I personally feel limited when flying something that can only go pew pew.
95% of deaths isn't insta kill torps, I grind out STFs daily and the instakill stuff has been toned down. Those deaths are just bad builds and ships who shouldn't be in ESTFs. For one example, ran a KASE, guy kept dying. He claimed it was the instakills, guy had MK VIII common consoles at level 50. (we checked his gateway info... that's another bug report tho)
It sounds like there is some frustration here. What level is your character?
I would suggest making sure that your skills points are distributed properly within your character - you may need to Respec to properly target the skills that your character may to bolster.
A good ship build is also important - highest Mark level Shields, Deflector and Engines, chose the same type of weapons for all guns/beams (phaser, disrupter, etc.) and chose the Tactical consoles that specifically boost that type of weapons. That's just a start...
Look to the "Sticky" links in this forum for help in your character and ship builds. Also look at the PvP build forums. Even though your may not want to play PvP there are some great ship builds there for all types of ships.
Star Trek Battles Channel - Play Star Trek like they did in the series!Avatar: pinterest-com/pin/14003448816884219Are you sure it isn't time for a "colorful metaphor"? --Spock in 'The Voyage Home' SCE ADVISORY NOTICE: Improper Impulse Engine maintenance can result in REAR THRUSTER LEAKAGE. ALWAYS have your work inspected by another qualified officer.
The Academy, # 1 Skill Planner... character skill planner, what people should know when leveling up.
PvE Gameplay, # 1 Weapon information and some mechanics... General info about ship, weapon, console types, etc.
PvP Gameplay, # 1 The new PVP help and ship build thread... look for your character and ship type, then build from the guide.
Outside the forums:
STOWiki.org is the Google of STO.
hilbertguide.com more STO information.
Hope this helps.
Star Trek Battles Channel - Play Star Trek like they did in the series!Avatar: pinterest-com/pin/14003448816884219Are you sure it isn't time for a "colorful metaphor"? --Spock in 'The Voyage Home' SCE ADVISORY NOTICE: Improper Impulse Engine maintenance can result in REAR THRUSTER LEAKAGE. ALWAYS have your work inspected by another qualified officer.
To clarify things: I am a 50 scientist with a Deep Space Science Vessel. And I do know and I do have BO with skills like TSS, HE and the like.
Gear is surely not everything purple, so I don't even bother with 3 star STF. Skills should be somewhat ok, I do have beta experience and remembered a few things how the system works.
But my point is: in most of the cases, death comes so quickly there is nothing to heal. In the air and land and - no, wait, no sea in this game. Plus in STF, I am needed as DD anyway, which reduces heals to a drop in the ocean; I reckon Vesta ships with aux weapons would help on that front.
And to add insult to injury, sometimes I don't even know wtf hit me. I am minding my own damage business some 8k away from the boss, and the next second, I have the respawn timer.
In single player PVE missions, I can wrestle down most ships, simply by outhealing the incoming damage and then slowly tearing them apart. Which somewhat feels good. But then again, I have to think of those escorts that would have done the same in 10% of the time, eliminating the need for heals completely. Dead enemies do no damage.
Even my humble Blockade escort has uses for heals to keep itself alive long enough to get out of range and recuperate from injuries so if you are never able to use yours are you only playing on Elite, or in PVP?
Main thing with this game is to never be afraid to preemptively heal as many skills provide benefits when applied beyond just normal 'heal hull' so maybe if you are dying a lot that is the reason. The other reason is not having the skills to get out out trouble such as Attack pattern omega to slip tractor beams and so you keep allowing the enemy to focus fire you in which case death will come quickly.
I appreciate healers ALOT I have had my butt saved a few times on my Klingon tac when I got to much attention from the tac cube so I have learned that if I have an heal available and I see a teammate hurting to always throw it to them ( yes even on my Klingon hehe)
There is simply no (need for) healing in the game ?! 95% of deaths is either insta kill with bs like 300,000 damage, or it's comp ganking with like 20 torps coming in within 3 seconds. Either way, unavoidable death. And those explosions, those insane warp core explosions. Full speed ahead with evasive maneuvers and still blowing up every other time, even with full health and shields.
This biggest BS to this entire game is "heal". About 5% of players actually build their ships for this alone, and only do do mainly in STF situations. The real issue to expose is how many ships have been rendered USELESS because of this "healing concept". It's simply BS. This game is DPS-ONLINE, Not Star Trek Online, and that will never change with the current Devs running the show.
The Borg Insta-Torps have not been toned down. I have all very rare Mark XII gear on my ship and they still one-shot me when I'm at full hull and shields. If those things hit you, you're going to die. The only exceptions are cruisers and dreadnoughts that are built to have fantastic amounts of hull and shields and even then, you better hope nothing else attacks you because your ship will be crippled from it.
So yeah, I kind of have to agree with the OP. Game difficulty operates in two modes - cakewalk (normal) and suicide (elite). Cryptic needs to figure out how to make enemies more difficult without giving them one-shot kills.
And not to mention the rediculously stupid and fast levelling curve, so everybody reaches max rank in a few days of power gaming and don't even bother to learn their classes properly anymore.
I was in an elite infected ground and 4 of us were wiped by rebecca in no-time and our sci finished the battle solo, healing herself and managing to reduce rebecca from the 85% of health she had left - true story, also ive been in cure ground with a fantastic healer and the most armek reduced any of us to was 90% hp.
My point being if people actually took the time to learn the strengths of their classes and their skills, we wouldn't have dps-fests all over. IMHO classes need rethinking and a major overhaul and the levelling curve needs sorting out - the reason given was lack of content, but we have had a lot of content since then and more coming in S8, its about time little things like this were sorted out
I always have my ships spec'd for healing when I'm doing team combat. Even my Armitage has at least E-team and HE to throw around. I always end up using them. (Facing elite Borg without Hazard Emitters is tantamount to suicide, yet a suprising number of tacscorts in eSTF PUGs do exactly that.)
...Oh, baby, you know, I've really got to leave you / Oh, I can hear it callin 'me / I said don't you hear it callin' me the way it used to do?...
- Anne Bredon
I always have my ships spec'd for healing when I'm doing team combat. Even my Armitage has at least E-team and HE to throw around. I always end up using them. (Facing elite Borg without Hazard Emitters is tantamount to suicide, yet a suprising number of tacscorts in eSTF PUGs do exactly that.)
I run haz emitters and the one I have never feels like enough in eSTF. People not running at least 1 is def suicide.
The game is definitely DPS centric, there is no doubt on that. My main gripe, DPS, gets crits, Heals do not. Not only that, why is is I'm "engaging the enemy" when I heal? Seriously? I do heal, but it hardly ever gets commented on, by anyone anymore. Honestly, I've contemplated just not playing that character anymore.
I've thought about what could improve things with STO in regards to end game PVE, STFs and the like. As others have said this game "suggests" DPS builds because in order to gain the optional rewards there is a time constraint. The content is telling players you have x amount of time to complete a mission to gain rewards, that leads to people using escorts which can produce greater numbers in terms of DPS.
I haven't played every MMO ever made, but in the handful I have I don't recall them being timed as they are in this game. In those cases healers are paramount because the content is more complex then in this game. I get that everyone is going to be able to point to a run they did where science and cruiser vessels crushed everything and made all the difference but the reality of end game content on the PVE side is that it is focused around doing damage, players aren't "locked out" of a boss battle when they die they simply re-spawn after some time, so there is little incentive to stay alive. A rehash of the content I think will make a greater difference then trying to "nerf this and buff that."
Additionally if I'm flying a science vessel I don't want to be focused on DPS, I want to focus on being effective in my abilities, debuffing, healing and crowd control, it's what I want to actually do, but I also want it to feel as though I need to be doing those things for the run to be successful. It doesn't feel that way most of the time with end game content as it currently is.
I also get needing to strike a balance between making the content difficult and making it accessible to more people.
Speaking as someone who likes piloting cruisers as a tank/healer, for any escort pilots when you DO get a decent healer on your pug/semi-pug team, for Kirk's sake stay in range. You are much faster than the healer and when you take a big hit, panic, and evasive to 15km away, I can't do a damn thing to help you and I'm way too slow to chase after you. Watch the Extend Shield trails and figure out who your benefactor is and make sure you're within 7km when you start pulling the big aggro, and know who to run towards if you need a breather to heal up. You make my job easier, I will make your job easier. If you think I'm gonna try chasing you around the map because you have zero situational awareness though, then yeah you aren't going to get a lot of help.
I am full tactical, but the healing arts are a close second for me...a major necessity for the ship used, and battles involved. I don't mind repairing others, as long it helps the group and weakens the opposite opponent being dealt with.
But yet, there are some who has not learnt the full value of this needed skill set. It is greatly appreciated for having my ship still longer in the fight. In turn, teammates get the same benefit as well.
IN the last several PvE missions being playe of late, I have noted closely, that many folks just go out of their way to heal me right away. Maybe it is because of the high numbers of damage coming from my attacks they witness or something else.
Actually my specs are specifically built for PvE encounters, especially for the Borg in mind, but anyone else will get a licking too. But to stay long in those single encounters, you got to have skills that help repair with great speed, following by Boff support with combined passive skills as well.
My advice, never skimp on those healing arts, they make a difference on the outcome for that moment.
Everyone seems to be missing the OP's point. His point is not that all healing is useless in STO, it is that we don't need dedicated healers the same as most other MMOs. It is the same issue we have with not needing dedicated tanks. It's DPS Escorts Online.
I heal teammates when I can, especially if they're taking heavy damage. Hell I even throw some heals when I'm flying my Tac Escort. (Unless I need it myself of course.)
But if you have a TRIBBLE PUG, don't expect any support. Nothing new here.
The game is definitely DPS centric, there is no doubt on that. My main gripe, DPS, gets crits, Heals do not. Not only that, why is is I'm "engaging the enemy" when I heal? Seriously? I do heal, but it hardly ever gets commented on, by anyone anymore. Honestly, I've contemplated just not playing that character anymore.
That's a great point. Heals vs Crits/DPS
There's really no comparison. My Engineer toon is useless and I only play the toon to grind stuff. Unless you have a tac toon or LIVE TO HEAL (IN TEAMS and STF ALL DAY) the game as it currently composed is very dull and boring...unless you have a Tac toon.
Comments
Humbly speaking, its no wonder people aren't "speccing healer" because players want to out-DPS the game.
When I fly cruisers (rare, but I have in the past) I spec for tanking. I put my threat control at nine and now can slot some romulan +threat consoles. Take a couple FAW and have the enemy shoot at me instead of my teammates.
The game is more than "heal the escort", not to sound sarcastic, not my intention. But, I've dealt with so many gun ho DPS toons who believe I'm there as their pocket healer. I didn't pay my LTS and all the goodies between then and now for their pleasure.
Fastest I've ever seen a team of 5 take out a tactical cube was with 5 science ships.
95% of deaths isn't insta kill torps, I grind out STFs daily and the instakill stuff has been toned down. Those deaths are just bad builds and ships who shouldn't be in ESTFs. For one example, ran a KASE, guy kept dying. He claimed it was the instakills, guy had MK VIII common consoles at level 50. (we checked his gateway info... that's another bug report tho)
Tact/Escort is fun granted, I personally feel limited when flying something that can only go pew pew.
Exactly...
I would suggest making sure that your skills points are distributed properly within your character - you may need to Respec to properly target the skills that your character may to bolster.
A good ship build is also important - highest Mark level Shields, Deflector and Engines, chose the same type of weapons for all guns/beams (phaser, disrupter, etc.) and chose the Tactical consoles that specifically boost that type of weapons. That's just a start...
Look to the "Sticky" links in this forum for help in your character and ship builds. Also look at the PvP build forums. Even though your may not want to play PvP there are some great ship builds there for all types of ships.
SCE ADVISORY NOTICE: Improper Impulse Engine maintenance can result in REAR THRUSTER LEAKAGE. ALWAYS have your work inspected by another qualified officer.
The Academy, # 1 Skill Planner... character skill planner, what people should know when leveling up.
PvE Gameplay, # 1 Weapon information and some mechanics... General info about ship, weapon, console types, etc.
PvP Gameplay, # 1 The new PVP help and ship build thread... look for your character and ship type, then build from the guide.
Outside the forums:
STOWiki.org is the Google of STO.
hilbertguide.com more STO information.
Hope this helps.
SCE ADVISORY NOTICE: Improper Impulse Engine maintenance can result in REAR THRUSTER LEAKAGE. ALWAYS have your work inspected by another qualified officer.
Gear is surely not everything purple, so I don't even bother with 3 star STF. Skills should be somewhat ok, I do have beta experience and remembered a few things how the system works.
But my point is: in most of the cases, death comes so quickly there is nothing to heal. In the air and land and - no, wait, no sea in this game. Plus in STF, I am needed as DD anyway, which reduces heals to a drop in the ocean; I reckon Vesta ships with aux weapons would help on that front.
And to add insult to injury, sometimes I don't even know wtf hit me. I am minding my own damage business some 8k away from the boss, and the next second, I have the respawn timer.
In single player PVE missions, I can wrestle down most ships, simply by outhealing the incoming damage and then slowly tearing them apart. Which somewhat feels good. But then again, I have to think of those escorts that would have done the same in 10% of the time, eliminating the need for heals completely. Dead enemies do no damage.
Main thing with this game is to never be afraid to preemptively heal as many skills provide benefits when applied beyond just normal 'heal hull' so maybe if you are dying a lot that is the reason. The other reason is not having the skills to get out out trouble such as Attack pattern omega to slip tractor beams and so you keep allowing the enemy to focus fire you in which case death will come quickly.
Still waiting to be able to use forum titles
I think the prior poster is referring to places like Ker'rat and PvP zones as insta-kill (at least that's how I took it).
This biggest BS to this entire game is "heal". About 5% of players actually build their ships for this alone, and only do do mainly in STF situations. The real issue to expose is how many ships have been rendered USELESS because of this "healing concept". It's simply BS. This game is DPS-ONLINE, Not Star Trek Online, and that will never change with the current Devs running the show.
So yeah, I kind of have to agree with the OP. Game difficulty operates in two modes - cakewalk (normal) and suicide (elite). Cryptic needs to figure out how to make enemies more difficult without giving them one-shot kills.
I was in an elite infected ground and 4 of us were wiped by rebecca in no-time and our sci finished the battle solo, healing herself and managing to reduce rebecca from the 85% of health she had left - true story, also ive been in cure ground with a fantastic healer and the most armek reduced any of us to was 90% hp.
My point being if people actually took the time to learn the strengths of their classes and their skills, we wouldn't have dps-fests all over. IMHO classes need rethinking and a major overhaul and the levelling curve needs sorting out - the reason given was lack of content, but we have had a lot of content since then and more coming in S8, its about time little things like this were sorted out
Just my two cents
...Oh, baby, you know, I've really got to leave you / Oh, I can hear it callin 'me / I said don't you hear it callin' me the way it used to do?...
- Anne Bredon
I run haz emitters and the one I have never feels like enough in eSTF. People not running at least 1 is def suicide.
I haven't played every MMO ever made, but in the handful I have I don't recall them being timed as they are in this game. In those cases healers are paramount because the content is more complex then in this game. I get that everyone is going to be able to point to a run they did where science and cruiser vessels crushed everything and made all the difference but the reality of end game content on the PVE side is that it is focused around doing damage, players aren't "locked out" of a boss battle when they die they simply re-spawn after some time, so there is little incentive to stay alive. A rehash of the content I think will make a greater difference then trying to "nerf this and buff that."
Additionally if I'm flying a science vessel I don't want to be focused on DPS, I want to focus on being effective in my abilities, debuffing, healing and crowd control, it's what I want to actually do, but I also want it to feel as though I need to be doing those things for the run to be successful. It doesn't feel that way most of the time with end game content as it currently is.
I also get needing to strike a balance between making the content difficult and making it accessible to more people.
But yet, there are some who has not learnt the full value of this needed skill set. It is greatly appreciated for having my ship still longer in the fight. In turn, teammates get the same benefit as well.
IN the last several PvE missions being playe of late, I have noted closely, that many folks just go out of their way to heal me right away. Maybe it is because of the high numbers of damage coming from my attacks they witness or something else.
Actually my specs are specifically built for PvE encounters, especially for the Borg in mind, but anyone else will get a licking too. But to stay long in those single encounters, you got to have skills that help repair with great speed, following by Boff support with combined passive skills as well.
My advice, never skimp on those healing arts, they make a difference on the outcome for that moment.
But if you have a TRIBBLE PUG, don't expect any support. Nothing new here.
Not doing enough damage, basically useless when it comes to damage.
GW3 = does not enough dps, to be any of an use except a good slow skill.
I feel sad cause im powerless, in some situation. Tact = STO now basically..
or i have to switch ships to an Sci-cort then maybe i can do some what damage. And Sci Boff skills have a horrible cool down....
That's a great point. Heals vs Crits/DPS
There's really no comparison. My Engineer toon is useless and I only play the toon to grind stuff. Unless you have a tac toon or LIVE TO HEAL (IN TEAMS and STF ALL DAY) the game as it currently composed is very dull and boring...unless you have a Tac toon.