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Tactical Cap + Star Cruiser = ?
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Member, NoReporting Posts: 178,019 Arc User
Love or hate ? 
So i decided to play my old abandoned Fed Tac with all space traits and change defiant to Cruiser and not to Assault but to STAR O_O ( Main is KDF tac in lovely BoP )
Why Star Cruiser ? Beacause it looks awesome and futuristic :cool:
My setup:
1x Tricoblat Torp 1x Dual phaser beamzor 2x Phaser arrays
4x Phaser arrays
All epix XI
Borg set x3 + Aegis Shield
Consoles are
2x Phaser relays
2x Halon science consoles ( Polarise+hazard )
1x EPS, 1x 35% Shield, 2x +7 to shield
All Blue XI
+Field modulator device
Powers are (with skills and consoles):
119\100
89\50
53\25
63\25
BO Abilities:
Tac: FAW I and BO II
Com Eng: EPtAux I, EPtS II, RSP II, Aux to Struct III
Lt.Com Eng : Eng team I, Eng team II, Aux to Damp II
Lt.Sci: PH I, TSS II
En.Sci: Hazard I
Main focus is PvP Tank (kinda lol), any advices ?
So i decided to play my old abandoned Fed Tac with all space traits and change defiant to Cruiser and not to Assault but to STAR O_O ( Main is KDF tac in lovely BoP )
Why Star Cruiser ? Beacause it looks awesome and futuristic :cool:
My setup:
1x Tricoblat Torp 1x Dual phaser beamzor 2x Phaser arrays
4x Phaser arrays
All epix XI
Borg set x3 + Aegis Shield
Consoles are
2x Phaser relays
2x Halon science consoles ( Polarise+hazard )
1x EPS, 1x 35% Shield, 2x +7 to shield
All Blue XI
+Field modulator device
Powers are (with skills and consoles):
119\100
89\50
53\25
63\25
BO Abilities:
Tac: FAW I and BO II
Com Eng: EPtAux I, EPtS II, RSP II, Aux to Struct III
Lt.Com Eng : Eng team I, Eng team II, Aux to Damp II
Lt.Sci: PH I, TSS II
En.Sci: Hazard I
Main focus is PvP Tank (kinda lol), any advices ?
Post edited by Unknown User on
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But that said, I would add another copy of EptS so you can keep shield power up near continuously.
My build:
Fore: Disruptor Beam Arrays x 3, Quantum Torpedo or Hargh'Peng Torpedo
Aft: Disruptor beam arrays x3, Quantum torpedo
Engines, Shields, Deflector: Aegis
Consoles:
Engineering: Plasma Distribution Manifold, RCS Accelerator, Shield Emitter, Field Emitter (+35)
Science: Halon System x2
Tac: Warhead Yield Chamber, Directed Energy Distribution Manifold
Skills:
Tac: Tac Team 1, HYT2
Science: Science Team 1, Hazard Emitters 2, Polarize Hull 1
Engineering: Aux to Battery 1, EPtS 2, RSP, AtSIF, Engineering Team 1, EWP3.
(Forget what versions of RSP and AtSIF I have and I can't get in-game atm)
I am in the middle of going through an overhaul a little bit with the addition to Aux to Battery, which I really like. Going to switch to phasers and thinking of getting rid of a torpedo launcher.
The Drift is built for tanking and healing, mainly and does quite well in PVP. I'm always fiddling with the build, though to make sure it stays on top of its game.
I just got Aux to batteries, i use it when TSS & HE are in cooldown - or when needed, also changed to the full borg set when the reduced the cap on the Aegis shields only 2k between them now. Specd out of torps altogether and run plasma with 2 dual beam banks and an array in the front
I am loving Aux to Battery. When I need to broadside, and tank for a little bit after firing off team heals, I'll pop an Aux battery and then hit Aux to Battery and go to work. It also works pretty nicely for a little boost when I am making an EWP bombing run.
Well, that's like your opinion, man.
I don't think there is a worst ship for a tac to have. There are ships that don't work for some players based on play style. It all depends on what you want to do. Before this, my main ran a Luna class, and it was such a fun build, but I needed a bit more tanking so that's why I switched to a star cruiser.
Again, I do fine in it in PVP and PVE. I usually play a support role, but that's my comfort zone. Yeah, a tac in a support ship. Weee! It's a lot of fun.
I didn't like the assault cruiser for the particular character that uses a star cruiser. I specced into it fully, ran a few trials with it, and it just didn't fit my play style or what I wanted to do with the ship nor did it fit how I wrote her.
I can do ok DPS, but that isn't the point of my build. I like playing tank/healers, so ships like the Star Cruiser and DSSV work for me.
I mean by slots, consoles, and other factors.
While you certainly can work a Tac/SC, the AC is a far, far better choice due to not only the extra Tac Ensign BO, but the extra Tac console.
A Star Cruiser has nothing going for that that meshes with Tac. Not to say it won't work, though. Just that there are better options out there. Even a DSSV would be better, since Sci abilities get boosted by Tac Captain buffs.
(My Tac is in an RSV as well - it's probably the most fun combo I've tried around
^^ QFT! Absolutely this.
Why have all the tactical captain abilities when you use a ship that dishes out subpar damage compared to other cruisers (assault, excel) available.
While all is possible in PvE and surely works like charm it is wasted potenital in a PvP match.
The only place, either where science powers seem to get a buff is in offensive science abilities, which you can have on a Star Cruiser, but you do sacrifice tanking ability, which you would lose anyway in another cruiser or a DSSV. The other thing is, the subpar damage part also holds to other character classes, so I would still be in trouble damage-wise if I stuck a science officer or an engineer in the same ship.
There is also a such thing as offensive engineering abilities like EWP, Aceton Field, Directed Energy Modulation and so forth. Investing in something like Aux to Weapons, or Aux to Battery if you want that extra offensive boost is nice in a Star Cruiser. Again, though when you run offensive engineering abilities you lose heals, just like I would in another vessel.
When I look at all of the innate captain skills for tactical, the only place where I see a potential disadvantage is with Tactical Initiative, seeing as you don't have the same number of tactical slots as an escort, assault cruiser or RSV.
However, if your goal is say tanking like my build is, I don't see a whole lot of disadvantage, here. My tactical captain abilities come into play when I am going on the offensive like laying down an EWP hold, or drawing fire from a teammate while I fire off team heals.
This for example is a great thing when you are tanking, i.e. broadsiding:
Attack Pattern Alpha III
+30 (60%) Base Damage strength for 30 sec
+2% (4%) Critical Chance for 30 sec
+20% (40%) Critical Severity for 30 sec
+80% Flight Turn Rate strength for 30 sec
This is also really nice when you run beams with high crit.
This is good in a pinch:
Go down Fighting III
Hull must be below 50%
+40% All Damage strength for 60 secs
Tactical Fleet I
+22% All Damage strength for 30 secs
+12 Starship Attack Vectors for 30 secs
Again, I really don't think there is a "worst ship" for any character class, but there is a "worst ship" in terms of play style.
Even if your goal is to tank, the Assault Cruiser is a better choice. It loses a bit of tanking due to not having an extra Ensign Sci, yes, but it gains a significant amount of DPS via that extra console/Ensign Tac.
Also, GDF does not require your hull to be below 50%; you can activate it at any time to get a damage buff. At 100%, fully spec'd it gives a 50% damage boost. This damage boost increases as your hull HP decreases.
Mediocrity
Copied and pasted from STO Wiki, so blame the article. I can't be in game right now to look at the stats on it.
And I am going to disagree on the better choice, because I already tried an assault cruiser on the same character and it didn't fit my play style. It might be a better choice for your play style, but it isn't mine. See what I am getting at?
I also don't understand this part about the assault cruiser being a better tank, when it loses some tanking ability due to lack of sci slot
Having played this combination as long as I have I can hang just fine in a PVP match, but my goal with this particular ship isn't offense. It's a tank/heal/hold build. I won't out DPS an escort, but I don't die easily and yes, I can last through a good alpha strike.
Tac/Star Cruiser will certainly make a better "tank" than a Tac/AC, but the AC is a better choice overall since while you lose a slight amount of survivability, you gain a significant amount of DPS. Lose a little, gain a lot.
More power to you if you enjoy playing Tac/SC
My eng RA is currently in an AC, and I love the tanking ability. EPtS3, EPtS1, ET3, ET1, RSP1, TT1 & TSS2 are great. There's even room for AtSIF3 in that build. Some of those high end powers would be a little hard to attain as a non-eng, but you can get help from others, if you're trusting. I even named the ship the USS Resurrection. Plus, there's that third tac console to do more damage, as stated above. I'd consider moving one of my tac characters into an AC, but cruiser & sci vessels just move like bricks. I much prefer the quick maneuvering of an escort, and will put my eng alt in a def-R when he hits cap. I just can't stand how slow everything is when I'm not in an escort.
I understand what you are trying to say and numbers-wise yes, you will not put out the same amount of DPS in a Star Cruiser as an Assault Cruiser as a tactical officer.
However, to me, the loss in survivability versus the increase in DPS was not worth switching to the Assault Cruiser. Again, I know people who have made the Assault Cruiser work for them, and more power to them.
Personally, I don't agree that the existing weapons slots, tac slots, and any potential offensive science and engineering abilities make it a bad choice. If your goal is DPS, then yes, it is.
If your goal is tanking and support, then it should work fine, but you wil lhave to work with it. Believe me, I worked with my RSV and now my Star Cruiser for months to get it just right. My Sci/DSSV too, which right now is my favorite PVP ship to play--especially as the Drift is going through a refit.
Here is the caveat, to me the Star Cruiser is best designed for the support role. So, tanking/heals/holds. Just like with my DSSV, which is another support build (heals/holds/tanking), you will lose DPS. The strength of the Star Cruiser is its ability to tank and provide support to other players. So, healing those higher DPS escorts, assault cruisers, Excelsiors and so forth that can fly along side you and hit the targets that you have in holds. To me team PVP is not a single player game, and how you win in PVP has to do as much with your support players as it does with your offensive players. Back to my comfort zone of being the support player.
One of the toughest PVP matches I ever fought was someone in a Star Cruiser that was flying around healing these escorts and high DPS cruisers around it. Just...ow.
Your strength as a tac in a Star Cruiser will be using innate abilities in things like broadsiding, tanking and drawing fire from other teammates. And that's the role I typically play in mine. I will put my ship between a teammate and an enemy, laying down EWP, and taking hits while I put the heals on someone else, or sometimes I will start attacking another healer to keep them occupied and using team heals on themselves. So, you almost use your weapons arrays defensively. It's pretty fun.
It really depends on how you want to play, but I do believe that tacs are perfectly fine in this combination and it's possible to have fun with it.
The ships turn rate is slower than a garbage boat. It took a lot of skills to get my Star cruiser to turn like a 4 door BMW.
To counter that I would run Crono Torp. and have a tractor. For a time I use to use crono mines in the back. I keep a qauntum torp/crit. in the rear as a deturrent.
Thanks
zevermoon
Yes it a smooth ship I found it looks better with the warp nacells down below the hull gives it a sleeker look.
And RCS on a Star Cruiser is just silly, it's only a percentage increase of a very slow turn rate, which gives you a slightly faster slow turn rate. You're better off with more armor, shield regens, sif generators, plasma manifolds etc