New to STO and having trouble with Briar Patch mission

elemberq333 · February 2013

It seems like my shields are down as they dissappear faster then any other mission I have been on before this, and I can only take on one ship at a time and even that is really difficult.

I took out two of the turretts pretty fast then when I head into the base area there are few more turretts and ships there so in about a minute, maybe less I am waiting for the respawn to be clickable.

I am only level 18, do I need to be higher level? What am I doing wrong?

altechachan · February 2013

Hey elem, what ship and career are you using? Weapons, equips, and BOffs would be helpful to know too.

psycoticvulcan · February 2013

Try to only engage one enemy (or three Birds-of-Prey) at a time. Also, you can ignite the metreon gas to damage anything within 4km of it.

elemberq333 · February 2013

altechachan wrote: »

Hey elem, what ship and career are you using? Weapons, equips, and BOffs would be helpful to know too.

Ok well I have not spent any money on the game so far, just trying it out because I was testing another Cryptic game and when I found out they also did STO I decided to try it in off times when testing was not taking place. Can't really say much else about that as I am under an NDA agreement.

So all I have is the free ship you get at level 10, its a science vessel and all I have for crew are the ones given to me for free. The ship itself is equipped with the best things I could find as I did the various missions, patrols, etc leading up to the Briar Patch mission.

I really like STO so far but this one mission seems a bit frustrationg when they take out my shields so fast there is no possible way to keep them up for more then a minute or two. In fact the only way I can destroy any ship in that nebulae is if I run away from it and launch mines as fast as I can and the enemy ship runs into them because they are chasing me. That way at least I only need to keep my rear shield up and it seems like that is somewhat manageable.

tenkari · February 2013

elemberq333 wrote: »

Ok well I have not spent any money on the game so far, just trying it out because I was testing another Cryptic game and when I found out they also did STO I decided to try it in off times when testing was not taking place. Can't really say much else about that as I am under an NDA agreement.

So all I have is the free ship you get at level 10, its a science vessel and all I have for crew are the ones given to me for free. The ship itself is equipped with the best things I could find as I did the various missions, patrols, etc leading up to the Briar Patch mission.

I really like STO so far but this one mission seems a bit frustrationg when they take out my shields so fast there is no possible way to keep them up for more then a minute or two. In fact the only way I can destroy any ship in that nebulae is if I run away from it and launch mines as fast as I can and the enemy ship runs into them because they are chasing me. That way at least I only need to keep my rear shield up and it seems like that is somewhat manageable.

so you play neverwinter. and wanted to try out Star trek stuff.

What Mark is your equipment? by level 10 you can equip upto upto Mk IV stuff. also, what other equipment (consoles) are you using and what power settings do you have?

different types of shields work better for different enemies. especially if they got energy damage mitigators on them. like klingons if i recall, thats mainly disruptor based energy. so try to find a mk IV shield with the [Dis] modifier on it. for a sci ship, i'd recommend a Covariant shield mainly since sciense ships have higher shield modifiers thus bigger numbers.

Also, another factor is your bridge officer poiwers. also you can find cheap rare bridge officers on the exchange which means if your ships missing spots you can easily and cheaply fill them.

having skills like hazard emitters, engineering team, emergency power to shields, trasfer shield strength and sci team all heal your hull or shields, which means you survive longer. polarize hulls pretty good too since it boosts your hull's resistance so when your shields are down you'll take a little less damage.

felixhex · February 2013

It sounds like its a strategy problem. Instead of mines, where the enemy has to get close change to photons or something like that. Use torpedo spread if you can. You will get lucky for sure and ignite the gas that will take them out. Also, try using consumbles that build up your shields or weapons faster. And you can also adjust your weapon/shield/engine/auxilery power levels to suit your play style. I play with my weapons at full power and the rest be dam*ed. Goodluck and don't give on this one mission. Once you get to higher levels you get to do all kinds of stuff.

elemberq333 · March 2013

I guess I am so new to the game I don't even know where I can purchase the consumables that replentish shields and what not, and I have been relying on finding them as I play the game. I found one vendor where I could buy the ground consumbables and I seem to do fine in the ground senarios now.

Now I need to find the ship consumable vendors...

latinumbar · March 2013

The ship consumables vendor is in the shipyard where you get new ships.

But you shouldn't need to rely on those. Your bridge officers should be able to heal your shields. At your level, you should have at least 3 officers. A tactical, an engineer, and a science officer. In a science ship, you should have 2 science abilities, 1 engineer, and 1 tactical. You should train them in some defensive skills. The skill trainer is found in earth space dock right outside sick bay in the NorthEast section of the ESD map.

I recommend:
Emergency power to Shields 1 for your engineer.
Hazard emiiters 1 for your science (ensign ability)
Transfer shield strength 2 (Lieutenant ability)

age03 · March 2013

elemberq333 wrote: »

Ok well I have not spent any money on the game so far, just trying it out because I was testing another Cryptic game and when I found out they also did STO I decided to try it in off times when testing was not taking place. Can't really say much else about that as I am under an NDA agreement.

You are not under an NDA agreement unles you played closed beta.You have agreed to the Eula or ToS.You can list your prof,rank and what ship you are using.Personally this mission is easy.

hereticknight085 · March 2013

Freebie level 10 science ship? That's a nova right?

So here's what I'd do with it:

Ens Tac: Tactical Team 1
Ens Engi: Emergency Power to Shields 1
Ens Sci: Tractor Beam 1
Lt Sci: Transfer Shield Strength 1, Energy Siphon 1

Also I would recommend either beam arrays or dual beam banks. You can keep the mine on your rear, and can add on a turret. Also, you have subsystem targeting. If you're having trouble with the klingon ships, shoot their weapons offline. If you fail, you'll at least weaken them. Also keep using Energy siphon to lower their power levels. You can also disable their engines and shields, so do so. Makes that mission a LOT easier. Lastly, just fly carefully. Tractor beam will enable to you freeze ships in place for short periods of time, so use it.

Hopefully that helps.

farmallm · March 2013

Try to lure the BOPs out of the area. Take them out. You can then go in slowly. Target and shoot the mines. That is what I did on my escort I'm leveling on. Where if I just went it I would got chewed up.

See if you put skill points in your BOFFs and Captain. You gain in powers that way. And keep the icons/keys updated as you add new moves.

jonsills · March 2013

One other point which has gone unmentioned here: Those pockets of metreon gas? If you're within critical distance (seems to be a single-digit variable) when one goes up, it'll damage you too. Usually when I go down that fast, it's because I let myself get within 4 km of a pocket, and the enemy used a torpedo spread or something. The weapon hits me, and the splash damage sets off the metreon gas and finishes me off.

The technique I've developed for that is to go in slowly, target the metreon gas whenever I'm within 10 km, and hit it with the beam weapons. The only danger then is that I might have missed another pocket or two, and they might go up in a chain reaction...

stonefyre · March 2013

It hasn't been mentioned, but the OP sounds new enough to the game he may not be aware of power levels. In the bottom center portion of your HUD is a small display as part of your ship status that displays power levels. If you haven't modified them since you got your ship, your power levels will be 50 to all four system. There are four presets buttons above the power level, and the left most preset will put you in attack configuration.

The attack power level preset configuration will give you 100 power to weapons, 50 to shields and 25 to engines and auxiliary. At these levels your shields will be unaffected but your energy weapons will deal twice the damage. You may find that part of your problem is taking too long to destroy the NPCs, allowing them an opportunity to deal significant damage to you. By increasing your weapons power, you will shorten the duration of the engagement, reducing the amount of damage you'll take.

orondis · March 2013

Make sure not to shoot the metreon gas when you're in range of it's explosions.

You might also need a better shield. At level 11+ you should have access to the "skirmish" mission, which upon replay has a good covariant shield as a reward. It's not required but it'd make things easier.

Tactical team and emergency power to shields are very handy. I'd also recommend taking hazard emitters and transfer shield strength.

farmallm · March 2013

I agree going back to replay the missions. To upgrade your current gear. And at times, more stuff is added when you do replay missions. My self currently is going back on some of them for new gear on my new tactical ship and Captain.

elemberq333 · March 2013

Ok sorry for not responding for a while I have a newer ship now and I guess I never scrolled down far enough on skills for my ship, because I had zero points in "shield emitters" and now that I have a few more levels, almost to level 24 now, my shields are way better and the ship I chose at level 20, a cruiser instead of a Science vessel seems to be a lot more powerful.

Just wanted to thank everyone for all the posts, they all really helped me out.

The thing I am having trouble with now is I have one empty slot on my bridge crew and I can't seem to figure out how to get someone to fill that slot...hummn But hey thats why I like this game I have to figure a lot of stuff out and that can be fun too

Oh and I guess I need to go read up on duty officers because I have all these duty officers, and so far I have never done a thing with them at all...not really sure what all of that is about need to go do some reading and research I guess ...

farmallm · March 2013

elemberq333 wrote: »

Ok sorry for not responding for a while I have a newer ship now and I guess I never scrolled down far enough on skills for my ship, because I had zero points in "shield emitters" and now that I have a few more levels, almost to level 24 now, my shields are way better and the ship I chose at level 20, a cruiser instead of a Science vessel seems to be a lot more powerful.

Just wanted to thank everyone for all the posts, they all really helped me out.

The thing I am having trouble with now is I have one empty slot on my bridge crew and I can't seem to figure out how to get someone to fill that slot...hummn But hey thats why I like this game I have to figure a lot of stuff out and that can be fun too

Oh and I guess I need to go read up on duty officers because I have all these duty officers, and so far I have never done a thing with them at all...not really sure what all of that is about need to go do some reading and research I guess ...

As you level you gain new officers to choose from. If not hit the "Explore Clusters" for the dil reward for doing 3 systems. Then use that to buy one from the vendor at the ESD. Or use the Duty Officers to gather dil for you to do it. Sometimes you might find one on the exchange as well. At times a special Bridge Officer mission shows up in the Duty list. I have got a couple from that as well.

There is several ways to gain new Bridge Officers.

elemberq333 · March 2013

Well I just wanted to thank everyone for all the suggestions, I finally beat that Briar Patch mission!!! YAY! thanks again everyone all suggestions really really helped alot

vantheman77 · May 2013

Actually I enjoyed shooting those metreon gases from the distant just to take out several Klingon ships.

twg042370 · May 2013

farmallm wrote: »

There is several ways to gain new Bridge Officers.

I personally just go buy them off the exchange. The prices range from 1 EC to "A Lot of EC" depending on the quality, traits, and species desireability.

Female Trill go fast for reasons I really don't want to think about...

But the differences don't matter unless you're doing PvP or need a bigger e-peen, OP. Just go and get the class that you need. It won't cost much at all and this way you will have more dilithium to spend on more useful stuff instead of spending it at the Boff vendor.

New to STO and having trouble with Briar Patch mission

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