Exploring Atrox Builds

alpharaider47 · July 2013

Hi there, I'm considering purchasing an Atrox carrier and have been perusing several builds on the interwebz. I was hoping that I could get some feedback on a build that I'm considering, as well as some feedback on the ship itself- I understand it has a reputation for being a brick; I'm interested in what other benefits it has, and if the carrier function overcomes some of it's weaker points. As an Engineering captain, I am somewhat accustomed to flying large cruisers with lackluster turn rates.

So to start, le build:

Weapons:

Fore:
Experimental Romulan Plasma Beam Array (substituted for Mk XII Romulan plasma beam array until I get the experimental)
Romulan Plasma Beam Array Mk XII (I am considering replacing this with a dual beam bank)
Romulan Hyper-Plasma Torpedo

Aft:
I am considering running either 2 Romulan plasma beam arrays or a pair of matching turrets. Third weapon will be the Borg Kinetic Cutting Beam.

Shields/Deflector/Engines: MACO Mk X, will be upgraded to Mk XII. I am also considering going further and exploring Adapted MACO, but I'm not sure whether or not this would help this particular build at all.

Consoles:

Tactical:
Plasma Infuser Mk XI (x2) I am also considering dropping one of these for an Ambiplasma Envelope to up the torpedo damage, but I'm not sure whether or not I want to sacrifice the boost to the beam damage to compensate for the turn rate.

Engineering:
Neutronium Alloy Mk XII (x2) , RCS Accelerator Mk XI

Science:
Assimilated Console, Zero Point Energy Conduit, I am open to suggestions for the other 2 consoles. I have a couple shield cap consoles that I could put here, but input would be great.

Hangers:

I've been running the Scorpion fighters from the Romulan Rep system, and I really like them. I'd like to run two sets of them, but until I can get a pair of the top tier ones, I would run:

Scorpion Fighters, Peregrine Fighters

I'm also interested in running a wing of runabouts, I hear that they can produce some interesting results and have a little more life in them.

Bridge Officers:

Tactical:

Tactical Team I, Beam Fire at Will (I'm also considering the benefits of Fire at Will I and Tactical Team II, or throwing Beam Overload in the mix somewhere)

Engineering:

Engineering Team I, Emergency Power to Weapons II, Emergency Power to Shields III
(This is one of the staples of my cruiser builds)

Science:
I'm open to suggestions for both science sets. Regardless, I would like to run Science Team I and Hazard Emitters II. I also would like to play with Gravity Well, and I hear Tyken's Rift can be interesting.

That's about all that I have at the moment. Comments, suggestions, etc, would be greatly appreciated, and again I would love some feedback from Atrox captains regarding the strengths and weaknesses of the ship.

pwstolemyname · July 2013

Some words to prepare you for the Atrox:

The Atrox can be fun. You can do a fair amount to compensate for a bad group in it, but be warned, in a good group you will often feel like the least useful contributor. You simply cant go from one target to the next fast enough to keep up with other builds for other ships.

Also you may wish to take something else into PvP. You can do well enough against an average player but the more experienced ones are likely to fly rings around you.

Warnings aside lets look at your build ideas.

Firstly you should be aware that you can fit dual heavy cannons on the Atrox. If your going to run with full weapons power you may wish to do so. Yes the turning on the Atrox is horrible, but your choice is to take a long time killing the enemy because it takes you time to line up, or take a long time killing the enemy because your using beams.

Now you seem to be keen on plasma and that is not a bad thing. The romulan experimental beam array, hyper plasma torpedo launcher (with 3 VR projectile duty officers, which aren't so difficult to obtain) and zero point console open up the possibility of a minimum weapon power build. Which I highly recommend.

The atrox can become one of the greatest plasma spammers in the game once you add two bays of elite scorpion fighters. Remember these fighters launch high yield plasma torpedoes and pet damage is enhanced by your damage consoles. So go ahead and use plasma projectile damage consoles, and add a couple of plasma mines and a tractor beam mine launcher to your rear slots. Front slots should use romulan hyper plasma, experimental beam array and a regular plasma torpedo launcher.

So you have a lot of plasma fire, which will burn through your enemies hull with or without shields, but your also going to have full aux power as you don't need it in weapons. So add a tractor beam duty officer for shield drain with tractor beams. load up on flow capacitor science consoles and use two tractor beam abilities along with two tachyon beams to drain your enemies shields. The tractor beam duty officer will also add shield drain to your tractor mines.

This leaves you with three science ability slots for hazard emitters, polarize hull and transfer shield strength. Add emergency power to engines 1, emergency power to shields 2, and auxiliary power to structural integrity field 3 and you will have a very nice tank (boosted nicely by that full aux power), all that's left is the standard two tactical teams to keep your shields rotated. (don't use one tactical team, you need two, you cant rotate that fat hull, you need to rotate the shields).

alpharaider47 · July 2013

Sounds like solid advise, and I agree with you on changing ships for PVP (granted, I don't do a whole lot in that realm, but I do enjoy taking the Excelsior for a spin

)

First off, thank you for your feedback, that's given me a much clearer idea of how the Atrox will perform than I've been able to piece together so far. I am definitely liking what I'm seeing. Now to questions!

Would you recommend dropping the Assimilated console in favor of flow cap science consoles, or should I sacrifice the RCS instead? I would prefer to hold onto that two piece bonus with the cutting beam if possible. Actually, to follow that up, is the RCS even worth using on the Atrox if I'm not pursuing a cannon build? Also, I tend to manually reinforce my shields, is this an acceptable substitute for say Tac team I, or would I get more out of the additional buffs as opposed to a beam related Tac skill?

guili1 · July 2013

Before you follow some Canons are better then Beam posts... and go for DHC`s. You should check the DPS vs. Distance threads. Then you will see that DHC are easily outperformed over 6,5km from DBB`s.

http://www.freemmoguides.com/star-trek-online/star-trek-online-ship-weapons-guide/#dps-comparison-over-range

Now ask yourself what is your preferred Distance to the Target? Close with a ARC of 45?
I am flying carriers since the Atrox and if you want to be a good DPS dealer even with low Weapon Energy levels, use FAW1 and use 2 Ultra Rare Torp Doffs for cutting down the Rom Torpedo CD.
I am running all the time a Combat Log Tracker and mostly I am DPS outperforming everyone who is using DHC`s even Tac`s in escorts with my Tac in a Jem Dread with Beams...
We are Carrier heavy fleet and have a lot of experience with that type of ships.
We also tried to have 5 SCI`s with carriers against Hive Space Elite and it was just fun and we easily killed everything...

alpharaider47 · August 2013

I picked up the Atrox today and am currently running the above build with some modifications based on what information and advice I have gathered. I've noticed that with two blue mk xii RCS accelerators, the turn rate is much better than I was expecting and the ship is performing on par with my other cruiser builds. I'm also stuck with Advanced Scorps and a set of blue peregrines for the moment, but I'm thinking about swapping the peregrines out for runabouts until I can get another set of scorps. I must say that I am really enjoying the ship so far, but I'm not confident enough to take it into STFs, at least not elites.

guili1 wrote: »

Before you follow some Canons are better then Beam posts... and go for DHC`s. You should check the DPS vs. Distance threads. Then you will see that DHC are easily outperformed over 6,5km from DBB`s.

http://www.freemmoguides.com/star-trek-online/star-trek-online-ship-weapons-guide/#dps-comparison-over-range

Now ask yourself what is your preferred Distance to the Target? Close with a ARC of 45?
I am flying carriers since the Atrox and if you want to be a good DPS dealer even with low Weapon Energy levels, use FAW1 and use 2 Ultra Rare Torp Doffs for cutting down the Rom Torpedo CD.
I am running all the time a Combat Log Tracker and mostly I am DPS outperforming everyone who is using DHC`s even Tac`s in escorts with my Tac in a Jem Dread with Beams...
We are Carrier heavy fleet and have a lot of experience with that type of ships.
We also tried to have 5 SCI`s with carriers against Hive Space Elite and it was just fun and we easily killed everything...

Thanks for posting that. So far I'm using a Romulan Plasma beam array and a matching dual beam bank up front. I don't have the Hyper Plasma Torp yet (somewhere around 200 Rom marks short right now), so I'm using a Photon torp mk xii. I've noticed that I'm getting right up on my targets with the ship, so I'm considering the merits of DHC's now that I've seen your chart. I'm contemplating leaving beam arrays in the rear to compensate for the turn rate and to catch enemies that get behind me.

Thank you both for the feedback so far.