This a just sillyness... install some anti cloak skills on your ships... instead of trying to bend the new meta of the game to your old builds.
That's your answer to everything everytime.
Do you not think here that not everybody has the room?
Or the skillset for that matter.
I don't hear you offering all of us a free respec to fall inline with you.
how about removing damage buff on decloak? that's just an invitation to alpha
How about removing the Warp Core Efficiency bonus from Liberated Borg?
Sorry, I do get what you mean, but removing it entirely would just leave the devs with a whole bunch of Romulan captains that just had their species trait removed. I wholeheartedly believe that the current stacking version makes the mechanic a bit much, but removing it is a bad plan.
First: how many KDF captains saved up Fleet Credits and Dilithium for a Fleet Romulan Tactical Officer... much less the Defiant and Dreadnought Cruiser folks on the Federation end? Next: how many tickets do you think those players would submit if their rather expensive bridge officer loses half of its species trait?
With each passing day I wonder if I stepped into an alternate reality. The Cubs win the world series. Donald Trump is President. Britain leaves the EU. STO gets a dedicated PvP season. Engineers are "out of control" in STO.
how about removing damage buff on decloak? that's just an invitation to alpha
That's a little complicated. One can see what they were trying to do with giving the damage boost - decloak attacks in the shows/movies did more damage. BUT - it was because they were usually surprise attacks on unprepared targets. What we tend to see in various video highlights offered on YouTube...is that buffed damage on an unprepared target - so it's a double whammy of sorts.
They couldn't simply drop it though - they'd have to replace it or buff the cloaks in some other fashion. Which in turn...could actually end up making things worse. C'mon, lol - it's so easy to imagine how things could be made worse...meh.
That being said, let's look at some of their recent actions:
Nerf/Fix of GDF. Personally, I think it would have been better if they'd given a little more with what they took away. They have a tendency to try to compensate in some manner - I'm not sure it was an equitable compensation for a Captain ability. Were it a BOFF, sure - but Captain? Hrmmm, that's a rough one.
They're going to be fixing the Disruptor procs. It's not a nerf...it's a fix.
There's also been the acknowledgment that a big part of the problem is how damage abilities/buffs can stack. There are no plans to make any sweeping changes to address that...but...they've nerfed GDF and they're fixing Disruptor procs.
So there's no sweeping changes, but one can see where gradual changes are being made, eh?
The question that arises though - is - for any additional non-sweeping changes, what kind of compensatory action (not financial - just the give and take thing, they tone something down and tone something up or add in a little something sort of thing) will be taken if such actions continue...
...a further question that arises is what this will mean in regard to folks ability to deal sufficient damage to take out a target.
Oh, so much fun - so complicated...so many variables...it's like going wheeeeeee with a spreadsheet!
Again, the key to getting them to change things if you want them to change anything...is to "exploit" the Hell out of it in PvE and share that with folks. Not real exploits - c'mon, don't use real exploits or share them (except with Cryptic so they can fix them)...but just abuse the Hell out of stuff and share that.
Cryptic has a simple formula (okay, complex - but simple) for what kind of reward is given for a certain amount of effort. It's usually X for 15 minutes of play.
If there's something that you feel is off - and you can really TRIBBLE with that X for 15 minutes...there's a good chance of getting it changed. Otherwise, well...just add it to the long list of things that will never get addressed...
With each passing day I wonder if I stepped into an alternate reality. The Cubs win the world series. Donald Trump is President. Britain leaves the EU. STO gets a dedicated PvP season. Engineers are "out of control" in STO.
I actually think the biggest issue is the stacking effects, rather than the decloaking bonus itself. The stacking boff traits are what end up spiking the bonus so high; likewise the criticals. Limit all Space boff traits to a single stack, and you'd see less in the way of massive decloak spike as a result.
Sensor Analysis on everything that doesn't cloak... just seems like a penalty to Science Ships. It might help in PvE, or for two non-cloaking ships slugging it out, but it really wouldn't have a big impact against or defending from a decloak alpha strike.
As a side note... Jam Sensors = Placate, yes? So if your sensors are jammed, how are you maintaining an active Sensor Analysis?
the problem is roms arent going to get nerfed. so its time to buff everything else.
the 2 proc placates would not make you lose SA like they do now, jam sensors tends to last longer then 4 seconds though and would not be nerfed as a result
the problem is roms arent going to get nerfed. so its time to buff everything else.
the 2 proc placates would not make you lose SA like they do now, jam sensors tends to last longer then 4 seconds though and would not be nerfed as a result
I'm not saying nerf the Romulans... I'm saying nerf the bridge officer trait stacking regardless of faction. Of course, that would also affect anyone that invested heavily in a single species of boff, so Fed and KDF players using Fleet Romulan boffs, Human boffs, Efficient boffs, etc. would take a hit as well. Seriously, though, the stacking crit and decloak are a bit much and I play a Romulan mostly :P
My point with limiting Placate is that Placate is meant to interrupt sensor and targeting systems. Really, beyond disrupting a lock for certain powers, Placate for a couple seconds max doesn't accomplish much, and Sensor Targeting Assault would still likely cause issues with Sensor Analysis thematically.
Gameplay wise, though, the Placate procs from Romulan Reputation and the Honor Guard/Adapted MACO Shield do pose issues for Sensor Analysis. Maybe something along the lines of decaying one stack per second of Placate would be a better system? That I would favor, for Science Ships.
Of course I still favor a bit of mitigation from uberfocus rather than adding new mechanics that then also need re-balancing.
With each passing day I wonder if I stepped into an alternate reality. The Cubs win the world series. Donald Trump is President. Britain leaves the EU. STO gets a dedicated PvP season. Engineers are "out of control" in STO.
That's your answer to everything everytime.
Do you not think here that not everybody has the room?
Or the skillset for that matter.
I don't hear you offering all of us a free respec to fall inline with you.
This happens every time something major changes in the game.
Accept this time... its not like cloak is new... you are just being forced to deal with it instead of hiding in FvF... now The roms get to FvF with you so adapt.
Seriously its not hard to combat cloakers... we have a ton of tools.
Anytime there is a major patch skill trees and builds get upset... its the nature of any MMO.
Adjust, PvE or play something else... its not really a hard choice.
Instead people would rather try to bend game mechanics to suit there current playstyle and build. We see it in people that try to start turnys too... making rules to perserve the builds they already have for just a little longer.
The other thing honestly you don't need to respec to battle cloakers... ok perhaps if you where stupid enough to have zero points in sensors that may be slightly untrue. Honestly though tractor beams dont need to be speced... Gravity wells don't need to be speced... Mines... ditto... warp plasma doesn't need to be speced. About the only major decloak skill I can think of that really needs specing to be useful is CPB... but really it wouldn't be my first anti cloak skill choice anyway.
Cloak detection is a joke without the use of the Nebula console.
I run low aux (max aux only makes around 0.9km difference in detection) on my T'varo, and my fully specced full console buddy can't detect me until I'm at around 4-5km with Sensor Scan + EPTA.
He needs the console + the above to even have a chance to react to me. Of course, I can just wait out his console and Sensor Scan. Without any of those things I can literally hug him with my ship even at low aux.
I'm only fully specced into Stealth, with 4 Roms, and a Reman.
Cloak detection is a joke without the use of the Nebula console.
I run low aux (max aux only makes around 0.9km difference in detection) on my T'varo, and my fully specced full console buddy can't detect me until I'm at around 4-5km with Sensor Scan + EPTA.
He needs the console + the above to even have a chance to react to me. Of course, I can just wait out his console and Sensor Scan. Without any of those things I can literally hug him with my ship even at low aux.
I'm only fully specced into Stealth, with 4 Roms, and a Reman.
That's fine.
Fighting cloak doesn't mean finding someone all the time.
Cloak more often then not will give that person first strike... so what... after they decloak to attack or reveal to drop a torp... or even give away there location by dumping off a mine or deployable. They have give you a chance to remove there cloak.
Detection should be low and not all that great just as it is right now.
So your friend gets the first strike... so what... we all know how to survive an alpha. Once they are out of cloaked its not hard to make them pay.
Good players chase down and uncloak cloakers all the time. People simply need to adjust and understand how to best catch them.
For the people that wine about cloak that don't have a single toon with a cloak... they are at a major disadvantage. The best way to combat something is to understand how it works. To many people in this game that haven't taken the time to understand cloak is a major issue imo... All the good cloak players I know... are anti cloak terrors in there Fed sci ships.
Cloak detection is a joke without the use of the Nebula console.
I run low aux (max aux only makes around 0.9km difference in detection) on my T'varo, and my fully specced full console buddy can't detect me until I'm at around 4-5km with Sensor Scan + EPTA.
He needs the console + the above to even have a chance to react to me. Of course, I can just wait out his console and Sensor Scan. Without any of those things I can literally hug him with my ship even at low aux.
I'm only fully specced into Stealth, with 4 Roms, and a Reman.
I posted this in another thread recently (didn't feel like doing the recalc)...it was in reply to somebody mentioning not being able to see somebody at 2.5km.
"Now as for sensors, I'd like to say that I have tested an over 99 sensors (was it 119 maybe?) vs a cloaked ship with a Subterfuge BoFF and guess what? I didn't see him even at 2.5km [-_-]. Now I know sensors have other uses but far as I am concerned tac has an "I win" button vs Sensors so they are now added to my list of useless sci TRIBBLE."
Base Perception: 5325.38
(w/o 4825.38+ Stealth, I'll see them at 10km)
(they'd need >5200.38 Stealth for me not to see them at 2.5km)
EPtA1 Perception (30s): 5475.38
(w/o 4975.38+ Stealth, I'll see them at 10km)
(they'd need >5350.38 Stealth for me not to see them at 2.5km)
Sensor Scan Perception (20s): 5736.63
(w/o 5236.63+ Stealth, I'll see them at 10km)
(they'd need >5611.63 Stealth for me not to see them at 2.5km)
EPtA1 + Sensor Scan Perception (20s): 5886.63
(w/o 5386.63+ Stealth, I'll see them at 10km)
(they'd need >5761.63 Stealth for me not to see them at 2.5km)
...that's just a MU Deep Space w/ 4x Sensor Probes Mk XI and a Jem Deflector. No Nebby console, etc, etc, etc.
My Sci Hegh'ta (@104 Aux) has 5038.4 Stealth and can be seen by my unbuffed Snooper at 5.7km.
My Sci Fleet T'varo (@105 Aux, Infiltrator Captain, Subterfuge BOFF) has 5319.7 Stealth (@0 SC) and can be seen by my unbuffed Snooper at 0.1km (but hey, at least he's not raiding the fridge, right?). Notice I said @0 SC...0 Singularity Charge. @100 SC (5 Pips), he's got 4919.7 Stealth. The unbuffed Snooper can see him at 8.1km. Yep, for those that didn't know - building Singularity Charge debuffs Stealth (-400 Stealth @5 Pips).
But yeah, that's a guy with 4x Mk XI Sensor Probes - the Jem Deflector - Astrophysicist trait - 9 in Sensors...I had a delusional dream of dropping him in a Fleet DSSV w/ 5x Rom Sensors Mk XII - dropping in the Nebby-Lite console - checking out a possibly better Deflector (even if it was just the Jem Mk XII instead of Mk XI)...etc, etc, etc...
...but then I realized, while he might be nifty for spotting things - he would be good for FA otherwise, lol.
Maybe if there were 10 man teams instead of a 10 man actually being 2x5...there might be room for that kind of specialization - but outside of trolling Ker'rat by GPGing cloaked targets and dropping a Grav on them...yeah, he's good for FA. As soon as anybody realizes what he can do, it's just a case of waiting for the buff cycles and then swooping in to obliterate him.
You know, if any new players looking to see what the pvp waters in this game are like decide to check the boards I can see them being completely turned off. Every single thread is some whiny little ***** fest. I've never seen such a massive collection of prima donnas in one place.
Constructive discussion is great. Tips, tricks and strat discussion is great. There is none of that on the front page. It's just players ******** about this weapon, that doff, that boff, that ship in an endless self pity party. Get over it or move on. You're toxic.
You know, if any new players looking to see what the pvp waters in this game are like decide to check the boards I can see them being completely turned off. Every single thread is some whiny little ***** fest. I've never seen such a massive collection of prima donnas in one place.
Constructive discussion is great. Tips, tricks and strat discussion is great. There is none of that on the front page. It's just players ******** about this weapon, that doff, that boff, that ship in an endless self pity party. Get over it or move on. You're toxic.
Something that needs to be considered in regard to the Romulan Cloaks is how they are affected by Singularity Charge. They can take up to a -400 Stealth debuff...it's -400 Stealth @ 100 Singularity Charge or 5 pips (whichever way you prefer to look at it).
So yes, they can cloak faster and they're all Battle Cloaks instead of Standard Cloaks. So if one were to change the Standard Cloaks or non-Romulan Battle Cloaks in any fashion, in what fashion would you address that attempt to balance that the Romulan Cloaks (both BC and EBC) receive from the -Stealth for Singularity Charge since neither Fed nor KDF ships have Singularity Charge?
New energy weapons DOFFs will keep me away from PvP
Disruptors are broke
Is PvP fixed
Are non-romulan escorts becoming obsolete?
State of the g ... PvP
That one. That's just today. Going through a few pages, there are far more deconstructive whining posts. If that's the way you fellas like it here then that's fine. Just an observation.
New energy weapons DOFFs will keep me away from PvP
Disruptors are broke
Is PvP fixed
Are non-romulan escorts becoming obsolete?
State of the g ... PvP
That one. That's just today. Going through a few pages, there are far more deconstructive whining posts. If that's the way you fellas like it here then that's fine. Just an observation.
My bad, my bad...thought you meant the front page of this thread. I so seriously need more caffeine...meh.
Still, hrmm...Disruptors are broken. There's a partial fix already on Tribble. The Web Mines are broken...the devs have identified an issue and are working on it. There are also several threads on the front page you did not include...
...even with some of the threads you did include, there are still folks that are trying to offer help, suggestions, etc, etc, etc within those threads.
Fair enough. There are some constructive posters who offer correct and experienced posts that break down abilities and builds and provide valuable information (ricky and ddis come to mind). Unfortunately, it has been my experience I have to sort through 10 misinformed malcontents just to find those diamonds in the rough.
For example, do we really need 3 separate threads detailing how bad nukara mines are? They could be toned down some sure but they are far from the "i win" that it seems some posters would like to paint them as. Even so, if they would like to paint them as that and voice frustrations, there was already a thread started for it.
As someone who has only been around for a few months and trying to glean some bits of information from more experienced players by checking these boards, it's just an observation that the piles of "nerf this" and "everything is overpowered and I refuse to adapt my playstyle" posts are likely turning away players who might otherwise would have bolstered the numbers of the pvp community.
Well, i think some Raptors need a extra tac slot being offensively underpowered compare to their Fed/Rom counterparts and would make sense since the Fed/Rom have a total of 7 ships (3 feds/ 4 Roms) having 5 tactical console slots while the KDF having only 1 ship with that... the tactical Bortasqu' (a Cruiser).
When factions go out to build a tactical ship, they build different ships. Raptors are not the main attack ships of the KDF, they are scouts. I agree that KDF can do with more 5 Tac console ships, but they should be battlecruisers.
Also, I only count 3 for Romulans. And why are you combining Rom and Fed? Just to make the KDF seem even more beleagered?
When factions go out to build a tactical ship, they build different ships. Raptors are not the main attack ships of the KDF, they are scouts. I agree that KDF can do with more 5 Tac console ships, but they should be battlecruisers.
Also, I only count 3 for Romulans. And why are you combining Rom and Fed? Just to make the KDF seem even more beleagered?
Wrong... BoP's are scouts and also act as hit and run raiders in this game, thats why they have a Battle Cloak and 4x all universal boff's slots.
Cryptic when they made this game choose to make the Raptors similar to Fed Escorts in terms of firepower, and when this game first came out the Raptors were the primary offensive KDF ships that did not have a Battle Cloak while the BoP's were mutipurpose ships with 1 less tac console while the Battle Cruisers were the Tanks of the KDF.
For awhile Raptors are totally neglected by Cryptic and already obsolete since the release arrival of the Fleet starbase system as they can't compete on the offensive end to their Fleet Fed and now Fleet Rom ships counterparts. reasons why most players that play KDF ships uses either Battle Cruisers and BoP's in PvP while a hand full of people uses Raptors.
Right now, Raptors needs new life with new ships that have increase firepower to match ships like the Kumari, Defiant, Dhelan, He'feh, etc. on equal terms, but offense is not the only problem on the Raptors, compare Fed and Rom ship stats to the Raptors and u truly see how inferior Raptors are to their tier 5 counterparts.
I don't think at this moment the KDF needs another Tier 5 Battle Cruisers since they have more ships in that class that outnumbered the tier 5 BoP's and Raptors classes combine.
New energy weapons DOFFs will keep me away from PvP
Disruptors are broke
Is PvP fixed
Are non-romulan escorts becoming obsolete?
State of the g ... PvP
That one. That's just today. Going through a few pages, there are far more deconstructive whining posts. If that's the way you fellas like it here then that's fine. Just an observation.
It wouldn't be that way if Cryptic actually gave a damn about pvp
As long as they let pvp languor, all we can do is make posts with the hope that eventually they'll direct five minutes of attention onto a subject that needs addressing.
EDIT: And where do I get that 'five minutes' number from?
JHenig occasionally pops up in the pvp channel. In FIVE MINUTES he fixed an issue with Kerrat that had been there since the battle zone opened at the launch of STO (over 3 years ago), and one that had been reported on and requested to be fixed the entire length of that time.
It took five minutes- and then he stayed on that and other issues for some spare time over the next week and fixed a lot of issues we'd had since the zone opened.
If he can do such a major fix with just a bit of his spare time, think what Cryptic could do if they actually had real time allotted to fixing PVP issues, balancing gear for pvp, and actually listening to the community with an eye towards hot topics.
Seriously someone make a 'how to survive decloak ambushes' PLEASE
APO3, APO1, EM, PH, SFM, QSM, Eng Batt, JS, SS, BtW, Jump, Sing Jump, 9 Maneuvers, Elusive Trait, Aegis Engines, Escort +Def Bonus, 24+ Impulse Speed, Sub BOFFs, etc, etc, etc...you don't have to survive the damage if it doesn't hit you.
"But wait," says Joe Random, "I'm in a Fed Cruiser!"
"Uh huh," I reply, "so you don't have the Escort +Def Bonus and may not have APO3 or even APO1."
Joe Random gives me a quizzical look, and I let out a heavy sigh.
"Oh FFS, you noob...learn to play."
As Joe heads to the forums to post about decloak ambushes being OP, unfair, and a scourge to mankind...as he makes sure to post that some PvPers are total douches because they told him the truth...and he possibly never takes his head out of his butt to learn to play...I return to space, flying around with a smile on my face, while screaming "Wheeeeeee!" like a little girl on a roller coaster.
Da End!
Available in both trade paperback and e-book formats from Amazon.com - don't forget to pre-order your audio book copy in time for the holidays - special guest reader: Samuel L. Jackson.
APO3, APO1, EM, PH, SFM, QSM, Eng Batt, JS, SS, BtW, Jump, Sing Jump, 9 Maneuvers, Elusive Trait, Aegis Engines, Escort +Def Bonus, 24+ Impulse Speed, Sub BOFFs, etc, etc, etc...you don't have to survive the damage if it doesn't hit you.
Add AMS and Impulse Cap Cell consoles to that list.
Add AMS and Impulse Cap Cell consoles to that list.
I thought about Imp Cap earlier today. Heck, the Corvette also adds Wake.
People don't pay attention and get caught with their pants down. Yes, even if they pay attention - they might still get caught with their pants down. Somebody's got to die, and it's not always going to be the other guy.
Heck, somebody could be sitting their pretty - not a care in the world - a Phaser proc drops shields just as a couple of spreads of Torps hit and they decide to crit.
We can only do what we can do. Even then, what we can do might not be enough. Dookie happens. But if we don't think about what we can do, don't bother to do what we can do, etc, etc, etc - we've only got ourselves to blame.
Do bear in mind that by most MMO standards STO's stealth is fairly weak and that Cryptic gives you a range of tools for appropriately handling cloaked enemies.
I would agree that Rommies are just overall a mess from a balance POV though.
Do bear in mind that by most MMO standards STO's stealth is fairly weak and that Cryptic gives you a range of tools for appropriately handling cloaked enemies.
I would agree that Rommies are just overall a mess from a balance POV though.
its like ive said, its the decloaking thats the problem, not the cloaking. also, good luck hitting a warbird with BO, with that 90% to 100% defense score they cant help but have.
its the doffs. the doffs ruined everything. the romulan ships with the battle cloaks and singularity powers and having 40 less power didn't put them in the truly overpowered realm, that alone makes them far from unbeatable. but the doffs make them crit far to much, dodge to well, cloak to often and have a longer and more buffed decloak alpha for an entire 15 seconds. the rom doffs available to the other factions are a joke in comparison, romulan flunkies that dont ALL have both space traits.
rom/rem boffs need a hard nerf, or every race of doff needs as good space traits
rom/rem boffs need a hard nerf, or every race of doff needs as good space traits
This. I reiterate my vote for the next patch including the following: "Bridge Officer traits no longer stack. If multiple ranks (Basic, "Standard", Superior) of a given Bridge Officer trait are present, only a single application of the highest quality trait will apply; this is in addition to relevant Captain traits, if any."
No more ridiculous 5x Superior Subterfuge/Romulan Operative/Infiltrator for Fed Roms/KDF Roms.
No more Federation players stacking Leadership, where the KDF only has one (from Marauder Rank 4) Bridge Officer with this trait.
No more stacking Efficient for anyone.
No complaints from Romulan players that they've been singled out because all Bridge Officer traits receive this adjustment.
There is a valid reason you are only allowed to equip one Assimilated Module, Zero Point Energy Conduit, etc... why not apply the same logic to boff trait stacking?
As far as doffs... most of those items you listed were the result of the boff traits Subterfuge, Romulan Operative (boff version of the Captain trait Covert Operative) and Infiltrator. In a way, this is far worse than their being linked to doffs, as they allow those bonuses to be applied in addition to some of the modifiers allowed by the doffs that we all know and love... and some of the new doffs, but that's a different subject.
With each passing day I wonder if I stepped into an alternate reality. The Cubs win the world series. Donald Trump is President. Britain leaves the EU. STO gets a dedicated PvP season. Engineers are "out of control" in STO.
opps, i switched the b and d, i was only talking about boffs in that post
Then I stand corrected, and in agreement. Every species, and by extension faction, really should have interesting and equivalent traits. While the Romulan Space traits were originally available to the Federation and Klingon Empire through the Embassy at a very high investment cost, having those same traits becoming part and parcel of the Romulan faction has thrown off the balance in this.
If folks are against making boff traits non-stacking, maybe restrict boffs from having more than one Space trait in order to match the Embassy boffs?
Or visa versa, and make 4 boffs of each quality available through the Embassy: one of each gender, with each having either 2 Space/2 Ground or 4 Ground traits. This would allow folks to specialize their boffs for Space combat if they so desired, as many PvPers do... and maybe help the company sell a few boff slots in the C-Store?
Again, I am not in favor of nerfing one faction, but rather the underlying mechanic that causes the imbalance. Sure, one faction would get hit harder than the others, but at least we would all be playing by the same rules that way. Looking at it another way, if the underlying mechanic is retained while only Romulan and Reman boffs are nerfed, doesn't this just leave the issue likely to recur next time a fancy new boff Space trait is introduced?
With each passing day I wonder if I stepped into an alternate reality. The Cubs win the world series. Donald Trump is President. Britain leaves the EU. STO gets a dedicated PvP season. Engineers are "out of control" in STO.
Comments
That's your answer to everything everytime.
Do you not think here that not everybody has the room?
Or the skillset for that matter.
I don't hear you offering all of us a free respec to fall inline with you.
How about removing the Warp Core Efficiency bonus from Liberated Borg?
Sorry, I do get what you mean, but removing it entirely would just leave the devs with a whole bunch of Romulan captains that just had their species trait removed. I wholeheartedly believe that the current stacking version makes the mechanic a bit much, but removing it is a bad plan.
First: how many KDF captains saved up Fleet Credits and Dilithium for a Fleet Romulan Tactical Officer... much less the Defiant and Dreadnought Cruiser folks on the Federation end? Next: how many tickets do you think those players would submit if their rather expensive bridge officer loses half of its species trait?
That's a little complicated. One can see what they were trying to do with giving the damage boost - decloak attacks in the shows/movies did more damage. BUT - it was because they were usually surprise attacks on unprepared targets. What we tend to see in various video highlights offered on YouTube...is that buffed damage on an unprepared target - so it's a double whammy of sorts.
They couldn't simply drop it though - they'd have to replace it or buff the cloaks in some other fashion. Which in turn...could actually end up making things worse. C'mon, lol - it's so easy to imagine how things could be made worse...meh.
That being said, let's look at some of their recent actions:
Nerf/Fix of GDF. Personally, I think it would have been better if they'd given a little more with what they took away. They have a tendency to try to compensate in some manner - I'm not sure it was an equitable compensation for a Captain ability. Were it a BOFF, sure - but Captain? Hrmmm, that's a rough one.
They're going to be fixing the Disruptor procs. It's not a nerf...it's a fix.
There's also been the acknowledgment that a big part of the problem is how damage abilities/buffs can stack. There are no plans to make any sweeping changes to address that...but...they've nerfed GDF and they're fixing Disruptor procs.
So there's no sweeping changes, but one can see where gradual changes are being made, eh?
The question that arises though - is - for any additional non-sweeping changes, what kind of compensatory action (not financial - just the give and take thing, they tone something down and tone something up or add in a little something sort of thing) will be taken if such actions continue...
...a further question that arises is what this will mean in regard to folks ability to deal sufficient damage to take out a target.
Oh, so much fun - so complicated...so many variables...it's like going wheeeeeee with a spreadsheet!
Again, the key to getting them to change things if you want them to change anything...is to "exploit" the Hell out of it in PvE and share that with folks. Not real exploits - c'mon, don't use real exploits or share them (except with Cryptic so they can fix them)...but just abuse the Hell out of stuff and share that.
Cryptic has a simple formula (okay, complex - but simple) for what kind of reward is given for a certain amount of effort. It's usually X for 15 minutes of play.
If there's something that you feel is off - and you can really TRIBBLE with that X for 15 minutes...there's a good chance of getting it changed. Otherwise, well...just add it to the long list of things that will never get addressed...
Hey, I've seen and appreciated some of your wall-of-data postings... you could easily go "wheeeeeee" if you wanted to :P
your right, i'll go delete my fed right now :rolleyes:
the problem is roms arent going to get nerfed. so its time to buff everything else.
the 2 proc placates would not make you lose SA like they do now, jam sensors tends to last longer then 4 seconds though and would not be nerfed as a result
I'm not saying nerf the Romulans... I'm saying nerf the bridge officer trait stacking regardless of faction. Of course, that would also affect anyone that invested heavily in a single species of boff, so Fed and KDF players using Fleet Romulan boffs, Human boffs, Efficient boffs, etc. would take a hit as well. Seriously, though, the stacking crit and decloak are a bit much and I play a Romulan mostly :P
My point with limiting Placate is that Placate is meant to interrupt sensor and targeting systems. Really, beyond disrupting a lock for certain powers, Placate for a couple seconds max doesn't accomplish much, and Sensor Targeting Assault would still likely cause issues with Sensor Analysis thematically.
Gameplay wise, though, the Placate procs from Romulan Reputation and the Honor Guard/Adapted MACO Shield do pose issues for Sensor Analysis. Maybe something along the lines of decaying one stack per second of Placate would be a better system? That I would favor, for Science Ships.
Of course I still favor a bit of mitigation from uberfocus rather than adding new mechanics that then also need re-balancing.
This happens every time something major changes in the game.
Accept this time... its not like cloak is new... you are just being forced to deal with it instead of hiding in FvF... now The roms get to FvF with you so adapt.
Seriously its not hard to combat cloakers... we have a ton of tools.
Anytime there is a major patch skill trees and builds get upset... its the nature of any MMO.
Adjust, PvE or play something else... its not really a hard choice.
Instead people would rather try to bend game mechanics to suit there current playstyle and build. We see it in people that try to start turnys too... making rules to perserve the builds they already have for just a little longer.
The other thing honestly you don't need to respec to battle cloakers... ok perhaps if you where stupid enough to have zero points in sensors that may be slightly untrue. Honestly though tractor beams dont need to be speced... Gravity wells don't need to be speced... Mines... ditto... warp plasma doesn't need to be speced. About the only major decloak skill I can think of that really needs specing to be useful is CPB... but really it wouldn't be my first anti cloak skill choice anyway.
I run low aux (max aux only makes around 0.9km difference in detection) on my T'varo, and my fully specced full console buddy can't detect me until I'm at around 4-5km with Sensor Scan + EPTA.
He needs the console + the above to even have a chance to react to me. Of course, I can just wait out his console and Sensor Scan. Without any of those things I can literally hug him with my ship even at low aux.
I'm only fully specced into Stealth, with 4 Roms, and a Reman.
That's fine.
Fighting cloak doesn't mean finding someone all the time.
Cloak more often then not will give that person first strike... so what... after they decloak to attack or reveal to drop a torp... or even give away there location by dumping off a mine or deployable. They have give you a chance to remove there cloak.
Detection should be low and not all that great just as it is right now.
So your friend gets the first strike... so what... we all know how to survive an alpha. Once they are out of cloaked its not hard to make them pay.
Good players chase down and uncloak cloakers all the time. People simply need to adjust and understand how to best catch them.
For the people that wine about cloak that don't have a single toon with a cloak... they are at a major disadvantage. The best way to combat something is to understand how it works. To many people in this game that haven't taken the time to understand cloak is a major issue imo... All the good cloak players I know... are anti cloak terrors in there Fed sci ships.
I posted this in another thread recently (didn't feel like doing the recalc)...it was in reply to somebody mentioning not being able to see somebody at 2.5km.
"Now as for sensors, I'd like to say that I have tested an over 99 sensors (was it 119 maybe?) vs a cloaked ship with a Subterfuge BoFF and guess what? I didn't see him even at 2.5km [-_-]. Now I know sensors have other uses but far as I am concerned tac has an "I win" button vs Sensors so they are now added to my list of useless sci TRIBBLE."
But yeah, that's a guy with 4x Mk XI Sensor Probes - the Jem Deflector - Astrophysicist trait - 9 in Sensors...I had a delusional dream of dropping him in a Fleet DSSV w/ 5x Rom Sensors Mk XII - dropping in the Nebby-Lite console - checking out a possibly better Deflector (even if it was just the Jem Mk XII instead of Mk XI)...etc, etc, etc...
...but then I realized, while he might be nifty for spotting things - he would be good for FA otherwise, lol.
Maybe if there were 10 man teams instead of a 10 man actually being 2x5...there might be room for that kind of specialization - but outside of trolling Ker'rat by GPGing cloaked targets and dropping a Grav on them...yeah, he's good for FA. As soon as anybody realizes what he can do, it's just a case of waiting for the buff cycles and then swooping in to obliterate him.
Constructive discussion is great. Tips, tricks and strat discussion is great. There is none of that on the front page. It's just players ******** about this weapon, that doff, that boff, that ship in an endless self pity party. Get over it or move on. You're toxic.
This was Post #7 on the front page...
...so um - what front page were you reading?
That one. That's just today. Going through a few pages, there are far more deconstructive whining posts. If that's the way you fellas like it here then that's fine. Just an observation.
My bad, my bad...thought you meant the front page of this thread. I so seriously need more caffeine...meh.
Still, hrmm...Disruptors are broken. There's a partial fix already on Tribble. The Web Mines are broken...the devs have identified an issue and are working on it. There are also several threads on the front page you did not include...
...even with some of the threads you did include, there are still folks that are trying to offer help, suggestions, etc, etc, etc within those threads.
For example, do we really need 3 separate threads detailing how bad nukara mines are? They could be toned down some sure but they are far from the "i win" that it seems some posters would like to paint them as. Even so, if they would like to paint them as that and voice frustrations, there was already a thread started for it.
As someone who has only been around for a few months and trying to glean some bits of information from more experienced players by checking these boards, it's just an observation that the piles of "nerf this" and "everything is overpowered and I refuse to adapt my playstyle" posts are likely turning away players who might otherwise would have bolstered the numbers of the pvp community.
When factions go out to build a tactical ship, they build different ships. Raptors are not the main attack ships of the KDF, they are scouts. I agree that KDF can do with more 5 Tac console ships, but they should be battlecruisers.
Also, I only count 3 for Romulans. And why are you combining Rom and Fed? Just to make the KDF seem even more beleagered?
Wrong... BoP's are scouts and also act as hit and run raiders in this game, thats why they have a Battle Cloak and 4x all universal boff's slots.
Cryptic when they made this game choose to make the Raptors similar to Fed Escorts in terms of firepower, and when this game first came out the Raptors were the primary offensive KDF ships that did not have a Battle Cloak while the BoP's were mutipurpose ships with 1 less tac console while the Battle Cruisers were the Tanks of the KDF.
For awhile Raptors are totally neglected by Cryptic and already obsolete since the release arrival of the Fleet starbase system as they can't compete on the offensive end to their Fleet Fed and now Fleet Rom ships counterparts. reasons why most players that play KDF ships uses either Battle Cruisers and BoP's in PvP while a hand full of people uses Raptors.
Right now, Raptors needs new life with new ships that have increase firepower to match ships like the Kumari, Defiant, Dhelan, He'feh, etc. on equal terms, but offense is not the only problem on the Raptors, compare Fed and Rom ship stats to the Raptors and u truly see how inferior Raptors are to their tier 5 counterparts.
I don't think at this moment the KDF needs another Tier 5 Battle Cruisers since they have more ships in that class that outnumbered the tier 5 BoP's and Raptors classes combine.
It wouldn't be that way if Cryptic actually gave a damn about pvp
As long as they let pvp languor, all we can do is make posts with the hope that eventually they'll direct five minutes of attention onto a subject that needs addressing.
EDIT: And where do I get that 'five minutes' number from?
JHenig occasionally pops up in the pvp channel. In FIVE MINUTES he fixed an issue with Kerrat that had been there since the battle zone opened at the launch of STO (over 3 years ago), and one that had been reported on and requested to be fixed the entire length of that time.
It took five minutes- and then he stayed on that and other issues for some spare time over the next week and fixed a lot of issues we'd had since the zone opened.
If he can do such a major fix with just a bit of his spare time, think what Cryptic could do if they actually had real time allotted to fixing PVP issues, balancing gear for pvp, and actually listening to the community with an eye towards hot topics.
oh thats easy-
tac team, epts BOOM! i survived.
Do you even Science Bro?
hey!!! how did you learn that trick...
rly maicake'hen P
bu bu butt i hear ppl use the new OP beam overload doff which is vastly OP and vape even the big boys with 4x mk xii purple neuts!!!!
APO3, APO1, EM, PH, SFM, QSM, Eng Batt, JS, SS, BtW, Jump, Sing Jump, 9 Maneuvers, Elusive Trait, Aegis Engines, Escort +Def Bonus, 24+ Impulse Speed, Sub BOFFs, etc, etc, etc...you don't have to survive the damage if it doesn't hit you.
"But wait," says Joe Random, "I'm in a Fed Cruiser!"
"Uh huh," I reply, "so you don't have the Escort +Def Bonus and may not have APO3 or even APO1."
Joe Random gives me a quizzical look, and I let out a heavy sigh.
"Oh FFS, you noob...learn to play."
As Joe heads to the forums to post about decloak ambushes being OP, unfair, and a scourge to mankind...as he makes sure to post that some PvPers are total douches because they told him the truth...and he possibly never takes his head out of his butt to learn to play...I return to space, flying around with a smile on my face, while screaming "Wheeeeeee!" like a little girl on a roller coaster.
Da End!
Available in both trade paperback and e-book formats from Amazon.com - don't forget to pre-order your audio book copy in time for the holidays - special guest reader: Samuel L. Jackson.
The cloak serves a purpose of being easy for alpha strike, what's with all these extra modifiers?
Add AMS and Impulse Cap Cell consoles to that list.
I thought about Imp Cap earlier today. Heck, the Corvette also adds Wake.
People don't pay attention and get caught with their pants down. Yes, even if they pay attention - they might still get caught with their pants down. Somebody's got to die, and it's not always going to be the other guy.
Heck, somebody could be sitting their pretty - not a care in the world - a Phaser proc drops shields just as a couple of spreads of Torps hit and they decide to crit.
We can only do what we can do. Even then, what we can do might not be enough. Dookie happens. But if we don't think about what we can do, don't bother to do what we can do, etc, etc, etc - we've only got ourselves to blame.
I would agree that Rommies are just overall a mess from a balance POV though.
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
its like ive said, its the decloaking thats the problem, not the cloaking. also, good luck hitting a warbird with BO, with that 90% to 100% defense score they cant help but have.
its the doffs. the doffs ruined everything. the romulan ships with the battle cloaks and singularity powers and having 40 less power didn't put them in the truly overpowered realm, that alone makes them far from unbeatable. but the doffs make them crit far to much, dodge to well, cloak to often and have a longer and more buffed decloak alpha for an entire 15 seconds. the rom doffs available to the other factions are a joke in comparison, romulan flunkies that dont ALL have both space traits.
rom/rem boffs need a hard nerf, or every race of doff needs as good space traits
This. I reiterate my vote for the next patch including the following: "Bridge Officer traits no longer stack. If multiple ranks (Basic, "Standard", Superior) of a given Bridge Officer trait are present, only a single application of the highest quality trait will apply; this is in addition to relevant Captain traits, if any."
No more ridiculous 5x Superior Subterfuge/Romulan Operative/Infiltrator for Fed Roms/KDF Roms.
No more Federation players stacking Leadership, where the KDF only has one (from Marauder Rank 4) Bridge Officer with this trait.
No more stacking Efficient for anyone.
No complaints from Romulan players that they've been singled out because all Bridge Officer traits receive this adjustment.
There is a valid reason you are only allowed to equip one Assimilated Module, Zero Point Energy Conduit, etc... why not apply the same logic to boff trait stacking?
As far as doffs... most of those items you listed were the result of the boff traits Subterfuge, Romulan Operative (boff version of the Captain trait Covert Operative) and Infiltrator. In a way, this is far worse than their being linked to doffs, as they allow those bonuses to be applied in addition to some of the modifiers allowed by the doffs that we all know and love... and some of the new doffs, but that's a different subject.
Then I stand corrected, and in agreement. Every species, and by extension faction, really should have interesting and equivalent traits. While the Romulan Space traits were originally available to the Federation and Klingon Empire through the Embassy at a very high investment cost, having those same traits becoming part and parcel of the Romulan faction has thrown off the balance in this.
If folks are against making boff traits non-stacking, maybe restrict boffs from having more than one Space trait in order to match the Embassy boffs?
Or visa versa, and make 4 boffs of each quality available through the Embassy: one of each gender, with each having either 2 Space/2 Ground or 4 Ground traits. This would allow folks to specialize their boffs for Space combat if they so desired, as many PvPers do... and maybe help the company sell a few boff slots in the C-Store?
Again, I am not in favor of nerfing one faction, but rather the underlying mechanic that causes the imbalance. Sure, one faction would get hit harder than the others, but at least we would all be playing by the same rules that way. Looking at it another way, if the underlying mechanic is retained while only Romulan and Reman boffs are nerfed, doesn't this just leave the issue likely to recur next time a fancy new boff Space trait is introduced?