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Temporal Destroyer Aux2Bat PvE build: The ISS Supplemental.

thecipherthecipher Member Posts: 0 Arc User
edited March 2013 in Federation Discussion

INTRODUCTION

So, a friend of mine sent me a tell with an idea he had for an Aux 2 Bat escort. In order to make an Aux2Bat build that is survivable enough, you need to be able to get 3 skills: 2 copies of Auxiliary to Battery, and Reverse Shield Polarity. You might be able to survive without RSP, but it's safer to get it.

This means that there are only two escorts in the federation that can pull this off: The Mobius Temporal Destroyer and the Chimera Heavy Destroyer. Since I don't have a lifetime sub, I went with the Mobius.

The objective of this build is to expand on the versatility of the escort. Since running an Aux2Bat build means you only need one copy of each skill to run a full rotation, you're left with extra tactical slots. These extra slots are used to give you access to both single target and area of effect abilities at the same time, letting you switch between them as the situation requires.

At the same time, you get a ridiculous amount of added survival, letting you survive things that most escorts wouldn't be able to - and this all without the use of active hull heals, or science abilities for that matter. I'm not sure how I could improve this further (other than very expensive console upgrades), but I would love to hear some suggestions!

RESULTS

So far, this ship has been glorious. It doesn't do much more dps than normal optimized escorts, but you gain a TON of survivability. So far, I've successfully soloed the right side of CSE, several cubes and a bunch of other stuff. This ship is hard to kill. Go ahead, get up super close and personal with your enemies, it won't harm you much. The only things that can really threaten you are the instakill torpedoes from gateways, and concentrated fire from a tac cube. Other than that, you're good.

After fairly extensive testing, I consistently parse between 10-12k dps in Infected: The Conduit Elite (which is what we use for testing builds), and about the same in other STFs. The ship is able to tank most things, including a Tac cube for a limited amount of time.

ISE Parse 1
ISE Parse 2

I.S.S. SUPPLEMENTAL - MOBIUS TEMPORAL DESTROYER
LOADOUT

Fore Weapons:
- Romulan Hyper-Plasma Torpedo Launcher
- Romulan Plasma Dual Heavy Cannons Mk XII [Acc]x2
- Romulan Plasma Dual Heavy Cannons Mk XII [Acc]x2
- Romulan Plasma Dual Heavy Cannons Mk XII [Acc]x2


Aft Weapons:
- Kinetic Cutting Beam Mk XII [Dmg]x3
- Romulan Plasma Turret Mk XII [Acc]x2
- Romulan Plasma Turret Mk XII [Acc]x2


In my experience so far, the Romulan Plasma weapons outperform most other weapons, including my fleet disruptors. I already had a set, so this is what I put on the ship.

Deflector:
- Assimilated Deflector Array Mk XI

Impulse Engines:
- Assimilated Subtranswarp Engines Mk XI

Shields:
- Adapted MACO Covariant Shield Array Mk XII

Using the Borg parts is an integral part of your build, as that is where most of your healing will come from. Don't worry, it should be enough, but you do need these components. I highly suggest going with borg deflector/engines, and a high-capacity shield. In my case, I chose the Adapted MACO for the placate proc on it, which is very good for escorts.

Devices:
- Red Matter Capacitor
- Engine Battery

Engine Battery is for switching sides fast (and it will be very fast), while the RMC is for general utility. You could also use the Subspace Field Modulator (episode mission reward) for more resistance.

Engineering Consoles:
- Neutronium Alloy Mk XI
- Assimilated Module

Science Consoles:
- Zero-Point Energy Conduit
- Tachyokinetic Converter
- Rule 62 Multipurpose Combat Console
- Fleet Embassy Emitter Array Mk XI [-Th][Pla]

I already had the two lobi consoles, so that's what I used. You could replace them with more embassy consoles for an additional boost to plasma damage instead.

Tactical Consoles:
- Plasma Infuser Mk XI
- Plasma Infuser Mk XI
- Plasma Infuser Mk XI
- Plasma Infuser Mk XI


Infusers affect both the energy damage of the cannons/turrets, and also the proc damage of both the torpedo and cannons. This makes them the best choice for a ship like this.

POWER SETTINGS

- Weapons: 100
- Shields: 50
- Engines: 25
- Auxiliary: 25

Due to the aux to bat, you'll actually be getting 100+ in the first three, and close to zero in Aux power at all times.

BRIDGE OFFICERS

(All humans)

Lieutenant Tactical
- Tactical Team 1
- Cannon Scatter Volley 1

Commander Tactical
- Torpedo High Yield 1
- Torpedo Spread 2
- Cannon Rapid Fire 2
- Attack Pattern Beta 3

Ensign Engineering
- Engineering Team 1

Lieutenant Universal (Engineer)
- Emergency Power to Auxiliary 1
- Auxiliary to Batteries 1

Lieutenant Commander Universal (Engineer)
- Emergency Power to Shields 1
- Auxiliary to Batteries 1
- Reverse Shield Polarity 2

Here's where it gets interesting. Running Aux2Bat means that I have consistently very high power levels, and that my skills cool down quite fast. I was only able to get blue technicians for this proof of concept build, but I imagine it'll be even better with purples. You'll notice there is no science officer here, and that's because I couldn't fit it. However the 2-piece set bonus from the Borg set takes care of all my healing needs, especially coupled with human bridge officers.

The idea here is that you cycle all your engineering abilities as often as you can, along with attack pattern beta and tactical team. The 4 weapon skills you only use in sets of two. Either single target or AoE, but never both at the same time. You will be able to "switch" every 10-15 seconds, so it's easy to adjust to the type of target you're fighting.

DUTY OFFICERS

- Technician (Cooldown on Aux2Bat)
- Technician (Cooldown on Aux2Bat)
- Technician (Cooldown on Aux2Bat)

- Projectile Weapons Officer (Torp Recharge)
- Warp Core Engineer (+power on EPtX)

The technicians are vital to Aux2Bat builds, as that's where the real magic comes in, and your cooldowns get reduced. The remaining two spots can be used for whatever, but I chose these two as they were readily available.

CAPTAIN SKILLS

I fly this ship with Karth, one of my federation tactical captains. His skill build can be found here.

As far as skill builds go, it's pretty standard. There's room to swap around a few points, as long as you keep the weapon related skills maxed out. All others can safely be left at 3 or 6 ranks.
Post edited by thecipher on

Comments

  • millimidgetmillimidget Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited March 2013
    I don't understand why RSP is deemed "necessary." I'm using it in my FTER (haven't been around long enough for any of these fancy ships), but I'm strongly considering swapping it for EPtW2, because RSP seems highly situational, and it would probably behoove me to find better ways to avoid the situations when I would use it.

    EDIT: Nevermind, I found the answer; your hull is paper thin, making it absolutely vital your shields never drop.
    "Tolerance and apathy are the last virtues of a dying society." - Aristotle
  • thecipherthecipher Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited March 2013
    RSP's cooldown also gets really short with the Aux2Bat build, being able to fire every 30 seconds or so, which means that it's the best way of restoring shields that you have available on a build like this. The EPtS (which counts as two copies of the skill, due to the Aux2Bat thing) are mainly there for the added resistance that you get from it.

    EDIT: It should also be noted that due to how the cooldowns on the EPtX powers work, you can only cycle two different ones and expect them to have close to 100% uptime. On this ship, EPtS and EPtA are more important than weapon power, which I get in spades from Aux2Bat anyways.
  • jadensecurajadensecura Member Posts: 660 Arc User
    edited March 2013
    You don't need two copies of EPtS with an AtB build, the AtB will push just one down to global cooldown. Ideally you'd like to switch that ensign to a Science officer with HE, but since a Mobius can't do that you'll probably want an Eng Team. It's not a great option since it conflicts with your TT, but it's certainly better than just not using the slot like you're doing now. Also note that you can get purple Technician doffs from the B'Tran Cluster Colonial Chain.
  • thecipherthecipher Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited March 2013
    I was considering switching one of the EPtS to an EPtW or possibly Engineering Team as you suggest, since as you say, it's not doing much good right now.

    As for HE, it would be nice, but my passive hull healing outheals any plasma damage I get by quite a lot (meaning I just ignore plasma fires).

    I'm working on the purple technicians, but critting B'tran 3 times takes a while =)
  • skyranger1414skyranger1414 Member Posts: 1,785 Arc User
    edited March 2013
    I hate to be the bearer of bad news, or maybe I misunderstood. You can't have 2 copies of Aux2Batt AND RSP in a Temporal Destroyer. RSP is a Lt. lvl and in a Temp. Dest. you'd be using the Lt. and Lt. CMDR slots for both copies of Aux2Batt.
  • millimidgetmillimidget Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited March 2013
    I hate to be the bearer of bad news, or maybe I misunderstood. You can't have 2 copies of Aux2Batt AND RSP in a Temporal Destroyer. RSP is a Lt. lvl and in a Temp. Dest. you'd be using the Lt. and Lt. CMDR slots for both copies of Aux2Batt.
    It has universal lieutenant and lieutenant commander slots.
    "Tolerance and apathy are the last virtues of a dying society." - Aristotle
  • doffingcomradedoffingcomrade Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited March 2013
    So what happens when you catch fire? Do you scream "ARGH, FIRE!" and hope someone on your team puts you out? You don't seem to have a fire extinguisher.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • bobsisko47bobsisko47 Member Posts: 67 Arc User
    edited March 2013
    Why not using the following?

    Lieutenant Tactical
    - Tactical Team 1
    - Cannon Scatter Volley 1

    Commander Tactical
    - Torpedo High Yield 1
    - Torpedo Spread 2
    - Cannon Rapid Fire 2
    - Attack Pattern Beta 3

    Ensign Engineering
    - Emergency Power to Shields 1

    Lieutenant Commander Universal (Engineer)
    - Emergency Power to Aux 1
    - Auxiliary to Batteries 1
    - Auxiliary to Batteries 2

    Lieutenant Universal (Science)
    - Transfer Shield Strength 1
    - Hazard Emitters 2


    That would add the missing fire extinguisher and has still some shield heal available. But you should cycle TSS together with EPtA, to get the most out of it.

    Edit: forgot to change EPtS -> EPtA^^
  • doffingcomradedoffingcomrade Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited March 2013
    Two of the same EPTX on an ATB boat is still completely unnecessary and thoroughly useless.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • mehenmehen Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited March 2013
    Two of the same EPTX on an ATB boat is still completely unnecessary and thoroughly useless.

    Aye; I'd toss in a ET1 instead of the second EPtS1 for a multipurpose heal that you can throw out when needed. Although I'm honestly not sure why you'd chose a vessel that isn't really like a cruiser to run an Aux2Bat build, more power to the OP if it works well. If you always run with a buddy or two that can put out those fires, I don't see anything inherently wrong with the build.

    Note: the Adapted shield has a much higher bleed-through rate than the regular Maco, so I think it might be better to run with the MkXII Maco which will also grant you bonus power when being hit (and bonuses to structural and shield skills to boot).
  • thecipherthecipher Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited March 2013
    So what happens when you catch fire? Do you scream "ARGH, FIRE!" and hope someone on your team puts you out? You don't seem to have a fire extinguisher.

    What happens? Nothing. My passive hull heal and borg proc far outheals any damage puny plasma fires can do. So I ignore it.
    bobsisko47 wrote: »
    That would add the missing fire extinguisher and has still some shield heal available. But you should cycle TSS together with EPtA, to get the most out of it

    This ship needs Reverse Shield Polarity far, far more than it needs Hazard Emitters. Without RSP, the ship would be too squishy. The Plasma Fire is taken care of by passive healing. Also, with no aux power, Transfer Shield Strength won't do much good at all.
    Two of the same EPTX on an ATB boat is still completely unnecessary and thoroughly useless.

    This has already been adressed further up. I'll likely try and change it to an Engineering Team for out of combat healing, although I suspect it will be just as unneccessary, except for maybe healing the base in Starbase Defense and such.
    mehen wrote: »
    Aye; I'd toss in a ET1 instead of the second EPtS1 for a multipurpose heal that you can throw out when needed. Although I'm honestly not sure why you'd chose a vessel that isn't really like a cruiser to run an Aux2Bat build, more power to the OP if it works well. If you always run with a buddy or two that can put out those fires, I don't see anything inherently wrong with the build.

    Note: the Adapted shield has a much higher bleed-through rate than the regular Maco, so I think it might be better to run with the MkXII Maco which will also grant you bonus power when being hit (and bonuses to structural and shield skills to boot).

    The ship as posted works extremely well so far, and is probably the most durable escort type build I've flown yet. As for MACO vs. Adapted MACO, I realize that there are better options in terms of bleedthrough. However, the placate proc on Adapted MACO is very powerful for escorts, as it'll drop you to the bottom of the threat list. Not being hit at all is preferable to having a little bit less bleedthrough.

    I haven't done it before, but I'll try messing around with fraps today, and see if I can get a video of the ship in action. It's hard to see exactly how it works, without actually seeing it fly.
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