Been playing STO for a few months now and I almost have enough for a Tal Shiar Adapted Destroyer. I like the look of it, and after experimenting with mirror ships off the exchange I decided I liked flying escorts and dps science vessels, and the cloak is a nice bonus. So this one looks like a good fit, but there seems to be almost no feedback on this ship aside from "The shrapnel torpedo console is garbage".
What do people think of this ship?
Have you flown it?
Have you fought one in PVP?
Is it worth it?
What is the best part about it?
The worst part?
Any other thoughts?
Really any feedback would be helpful. And we are talking about the Tal Shiar Adapted Destroyer, NOT! the Tal Shiar Adapted Battlecruiser, just in case you are as confused as the forum search engine.:)
(this would be for my fed science toon)
So basically, the Federation is an organization that exists to protect and preserve peace. I guess we do an awful lot of killing though. Oh well, that isn't important, for now let's roll up our sleeves and get to work.
I do not own it. I want one for my Rom sci to use as a weapons-heavy destroyer/cruiser but its a low priority item for me personally. I also want the adapted battlecruiser for that toon to use as a battleship, and to get the 2-pc set, but its also low-priority.
The reason I want it: its basically a destroyer with a bit of a science flavor. 39k base hit-points, 11 turn-rate, cmdr tac, puts it in the same handling class as Chel Grett and JHEC. Give it a forward-firing profile with DBBs and a spread, should integrate with the forward-arc sci capabilities very well. On-board LtC sci gives you a choice between 1 group support ability (offensive or defensive), and you have 2 uni Lt to play with--use them both for engi and make it very very tanky, or slot one for sci and give yourself a couple more control abilities. Really nice profile for a weapon-heavy sci ship, not a good healer or support ship but very good for second-line offensive support.
I have fought against the ship in PVP several times and it appears to be very capable, some captains are able to milk the sci potential with very good results. Have fought a couple of guys that ran very strong kinetic builds while also dumping on you with weapons damage. I suspect they were tac captains buffing the damage that way, I dont recall.
I really dislike the visuals of the two adapted ships. They are low-priority purchases so I kind of half hope they will be replaced by something else before I get to them. Due to the pending T6 flush it seems like I will probably never buy one.
Looks like a decent tactical-science ship based on the Boff station layout.
The hull strength is basically equal to that of most T5 cruiser which is a good thing.
The turn rate of 11 is a bit low for a ship that is considered to be "escort-like", but that can be improved upon with an RCS accelerate and points allocated to maneuvering thruster captain skill.
Based on my experience flying the Ha'nom science ship, the singularity core does not provide much engine power which makes the Ha'nom feel very sluggish to fly and vulnerable to be in. So it's a good thing you get +5 to engine power. More would be better.
The shrapnel torpedo launcher looks good on paper, but so does the Ha'nom...
The one thing I do not see about this ship is the Inertia Rating. Generally speaking, the higher the inertia rating, the more nimble the ship should be. The Dhelan's inertia rating is 60. The TSAD is basically a Borg adapted Dhelan and it seem to be a bit larger, so maybe it's inertia rating is 50 or at worse 40.
I suppose what will ultimately help you decide is the asking price on the Exchange. I would not bother trying to get on opening lock boxes due to low chances of getting one.
*** EDIT ***
Disregard my comment about concerns regarding engine power from the singularity core for this ship. The ship does not use a singularity core (even though it's design is based on a Romulan ship), it uses a Borg adapted warp core since Borg tech does not work with singularity cores.
Its turn rate is bad, the weird placing of the weapons on the model is annoying if you try to use narrow-arc weapons like D(H)Cs. If have two of them and i use both only as supplier of the shrapnel torp console for the adapted battlecruisers, which themselves can be fit for very nasty science stuff.
I feel it worth mentioning in 2 months we get T6 ships.
We are told that T6 ships are better than T5 ships. We are told T5 ships will be competitive at end game with T6 ships.
We do not know what Competitive means. With the severe lack of details I feel it hard to suggest you get a ship without knowing what will become of it in such a short time period. Now when you buy a Refit ship you know from the get go that your only getting 10 levels out of it, the Universal Console and an extra ship skin may mean it has something you want at end game.
I was once DKnight1000, apparently I had taken my own name so now I'm DKnight0001. If I ask you a question it is not an insult but a genuine attempt to understand why. When I insult you I won't be discreet about it, I will be precise and to the point stupid.
I think it is one of the best ships in the game. It is durable, has solid turn rate, and solid dps. It lacks a tac console of being a serious contender for top dps, if that is your thing, but it does "enough".
Yes, I have flown it and am actively earning a second one for another character.
I do not do "serious" pvp so any insight I could offer here would be moronic. But still, its a durable ship with a solid turn rate and solid dps, I see no reason it could not be strong in pvp.
worth it? Well, we are about to enter an upgrade on level cap and ship tiers. NOTHING is worth any zen/dil/lobi right now until we know more. But it is a very good ship and if you had asked me that a year ago the answer would be "absolutely".
best part about it is the overall layout. Good weapon setup, good console layout, and amazing officer layout.
worst part? Would rather have 4 tac consoles.
thoughts? -- This is possibly the BEST all around sci ship in the game. Load up a cmdr and ltcmdr sci with 8 weapons... and win. You have tons of firepower and full sci abilities. You lose a little from not having your 5 sci consoles for a pure sci build, but the tradeoff to get weapon firepower is very worth it.
the OP is talking about the Tal Shiar Adapted Destroyer ( that one, which looks like a crossbreed between a toilet brush and barbed wire) - not the Battlecruiser.
So the price did drop on the exchange and I bought one, and yes I am aware of the new tier of ships, but if I waited for the new content to come out every time I wanted to buy something I would never have any fun. Also Cryptic has alot invested in Tier 5-6 ships, I would wager that tier 5-6 ships are the most sought after thing in all of STO. Somehow I don't think they intend to destroy their largest market. Also it would significantly devalue their most ingenious dilithium sink ever, right now Lockbox/Lobi ships are competitive with the highest tier of playable starship, (they have to be since they cost over twice as much) if they weren't why, would anyone ever open a lockbox? And if no one opens a lockbox, who is spending the zen to buy keys?
Besides, if I'm wrong, I still lived my dream for one brief moment.:D
I will add my own feedback as I experiment with it, but for now just keep adding thoughts on this ship for the benefit of anyone else who is considering getting this ship.
So basically, the Federation is an organization that exists to protect and preserve peace. I guess we do an awful lot of killing though. Oh well, that isn't important, for now let's roll up our sleeves and get to work.
I don't actually like the destroyer. There is nothing "wrong" with it, but there is nothing special about it either. Its just a standard escort/destroyer ship with two things going for it... cloak, and the officer seating. Apart from cloak, it probably is going to perform like the vet ship, if you have that one.
So the price did drop on the exchange and I bought one, and yes I am aware of the new tier of ships, but if I waited for the new content to come out every time I wanted to buy something I would never have any fun.
As long as your aware of the risk than I hope you enjoy it.
I was once DKnight1000, apparently I had taken my own name so now I'm DKnight0001. If I ask you a question it is not an insult but a genuine attempt to understand why. When I insult you I won't be discreet about it, I will be precise and to the point stupid.
As I predicted tier 5 ships will not become obsolete as they phase in tier 6 ships, since they will be allowing you to upgrade tier 5 ships to tier 6 for a fee of Zen, and in a few instances , like lobi/lockbox ships, the upgrade is free.
As for the Tal Shiar Adapted Destroyer, I love this ship, It's an escort with a cruisers health, crew complement and shield modifier, yet it doesn't suffer nearly as much from the terrible turn rate that cruisers have (single cannon builds or beam builds are suggested, but dhc's could also work).
It also gets sensor analysis which is great for escorts, (30% extra damage and 50% reduction to incoming heals is awesome for an escort, especially if you are a sci toon and have access to SS and SN plus attack patterns delta or beta on your boffs).
With a LTCommander Sci slot you have access to Grav Well, Sensor Jamming III, or Viral Matrix, which are great in conjunction with an escort.
And let's not ignore the Cloak, the extra damage and getting the first shot is also a great bonus.
The console setup of 3eng 3sci 4tac is nice and balanced and can be out-fitted for survivability, DPS, or even a drain build if you throw in plasmonic leech and embassy flow caps consoles.
It also has great regeneration potential with the right traits, consoles, adapted warp core, and the set bonus.
Downsides are, as previously mentioned, poor turn rate (for an escort) but it is still better than most almost any non-escort.
(technically this one is more of a mixed blessing) The 5 extra engine power, I can think of 3 other subsystems that that 5 extra energy should have gone into and would have made sense, as it stands I really can't figure out how that fits with this ship, Aux would have made more sense with the layout of the ship.
The borg warp core should be [W>A] not [A>W], otherwise the I like it, but again there is a synergy conflict.
The Shrapnel torpedo console needs to be re-balanced, a 3 minute cooldown is too long given the damage it does, and the fact that it is destructible, plus it spreads out and loses effectiveness when there is a large group of enemies. I might actually write a thread on ways to rebalance this effectively, but that isn't for here.
Some might consider the lack of a singularity core and battle cloak disadvantages, but I consider them to be fair, in the spirit of game balance. (Though i'm not going to lie, I would enjoy it if the three piece set bonus included an upgrade to a battle cloak).
All in all this is a good example of a hybrid escort with excellent synergy (barring a few rough spots), survivability, damage potential and sciency goodness.
It certainly is worth the ec investment on the exchange, especially since exchange prices are dropping right now since everyone is trying to get a bug ship. Side note, now is the time to buy DOFF's (I'd be carefull about lockbox roulette, according to the actual odds it would cost on average 150% extra, give or take, assuming current key prices)
So basically, the Federation is an organization that exists to protect and preserve peace. I guess we do an awful lot of killing though. Oh well, that isn't important, for now let's roll up our sleeves and get to work.
As I predicted tier 5 ships will not become obsolete as they phase in tier 6 ships, since they will be allowing you to upgrade tier 5 ships to tier 6 for a fee of Zen, and in a few instances , like lobi/lockbox ships, the upgrade is free.
We don't know what Specialist BOffs do yet, it could be game-changing. Also, who knows where that 'extra' BOff ability is located, +1 Ensign ability isn't much, but adding it to what would've been a Lt. Comm making it a second full Commander is quite a bit of difference.
I have both adapted ships. They are good, but the consoles/warp core aren't the best, which is a shame. Someone with a more optimal build could probably do a lot better with it than I.
It lets you use the I.R.W. prefix on non-Romulan characters, which is nice though.
It's a good ship, even better with the upgrade. I took it into cap n' hold PvP before DR by accident with the aegis set with a DHC build and I held my own against a pair of A2B cheese build Ha'fehs that I suspect were using voice chat to coordinate their strikes (I say this because their timing, buffing and the way they assisted each other gave the impression that they must've been communicating). Needless to say they packed a punch each. I was in a ship I never really took into PvP before (in a serious way at least), and it was with the aegis set which I'm not used to. After a couple of respawns though I got into the swing of things and held my own to the point that I took one of them out with ramming speed after a good 15mins of combat before the other one ran away.
It's definitely a ship that needs lots of attention when flying it. Especially in PvP.
I use 2 (and a DHC) or 3 single cannons now with a torp. It's good for pressure damage with CRF2 and when using Aux2ID with EPtE you can easily overcome the lack of manoeuvrability. Alternating EPtS and TSS will turn it into a tank! A very fast and surprisingly agile tank!
Comments
I'm sorry to people who I, in the past, insulted, annoyed, etc.
The reason I want it: its basically a destroyer with a bit of a science flavor. 39k base hit-points, 11 turn-rate, cmdr tac, puts it in the same handling class as Chel Grett and JHEC. Give it a forward-firing profile with DBBs and a spread, should integrate with the forward-arc sci capabilities very well. On-board LtC sci gives you a choice between 1 group support ability (offensive or defensive), and you have 2 uni Lt to play with--use them both for engi and make it very very tanky, or slot one for sci and give yourself a couple more control abilities. Really nice profile for a weapon-heavy sci ship, not a good healer or support ship but very good for second-line offensive support.
I have fought against the ship in PVP several times and it appears to be very capable, some captains are able to milk the sci potential with very good results. Have fought a couple of guys that ran very strong kinetic builds while also dumping on you with weapons damage. I suspect they were tac captains buffing the damage that way, I dont recall.
I really dislike the visuals of the two adapted ships. They are low-priority purchases so I kind of half hope they will be replaced by something else before I get to them. Due to the pending T6 flush it seems like I will probably never buy one.
Looks like a decent tactical-science ship based on the Boff station layout.
The hull strength is basically equal to that of most T5 cruiser which is a good thing.
The turn rate of 11 is a bit low for a ship that is considered to be "escort-like", but that can be improved upon with an RCS accelerate and points allocated to maneuvering thruster captain skill.
Based on my experience flying the Ha'nom science ship, the singularity core does not provide much engine power which makes the Ha'nom feel very sluggish to fly and vulnerable to be in. So it's a good thing you get +5 to engine power. More would be better.
The shrapnel torpedo launcher looks good on paper, but so does the Ha'nom...
The one thing I do not see about this ship is the Inertia Rating. Generally speaking, the higher the inertia rating, the more nimble the ship should be. The Dhelan's inertia rating is 60. The TSAD is basically a Borg adapted Dhelan and it seem to be a bit larger, so maybe it's inertia rating is 50 or at worse 40.
I suppose what will ultimately help you decide is the asking price on the Exchange. I would not bother trying to get on opening lock boxes due to low chances of getting one.
*** EDIT ***
Disregard my comment about concerns regarding engine power from the singularity core for this ship. The ship does not use a singularity core (even though it's design is based on a Romulan ship), it uses a Borg adapted warp core since Borg tech does not work with singularity cores.
We are told that T6 ships are better than T5 ships. We are told T5 ships will be competitive at end game with T6 ships.
We do not know what Competitive means. With the severe lack of details I feel it hard to suggest you get a ship without knowing what will become of it in such a short time period. Now when you buy a Refit ship you know from the get go that your only getting 10 levels out of it, the Universal Console and an extra ship skin may mean it has something you want at end game.
If I ask you a question it is not an insult but a genuine attempt to understand why.
When I insult you I won't be discreet about it, I will be precise and to the point stupid.
I think it is one of the best ships in the game. It is durable, has solid turn rate, and solid dps. It lacks a tac console of being a serious contender for top dps, if that is your thing, but it does "enough".
Yes, I have flown it and am actively earning a second one for another character.
I do not do "serious" pvp so any insight I could offer here would be moronic. But still, its a durable ship with a solid turn rate and solid dps, I see no reason it could not be strong in pvp.
worth it? Well, we are about to enter an upgrade on level cap and ship tiers. NOTHING is worth any zen/dil/lobi right now until we know more. But it is a very good ship and if you had asked me that a year ago the answer would be "absolutely".
best part about it is the overall layout. Good weapon setup, good console layout, and amazing officer layout.
worst part? Would rather have 4 tac consoles.
thoughts? -- This is possibly the BEST all around sci ship in the game. Load up a cmdr and ltcmdr sci with 8 weapons... and win. You have tons of firepower and full sci abilities. You lose a little from not having your 5 sci consoles for a pure sci build, but the tradeoff to get weapon firepower is very worth it.
So the price did drop on the exchange and I bought one, and yes I am aware of the new tier of ships, but if I waited for the new content to come out every time I wanted to buy something I would never have any fun. Also Cryptic has alot invested in Tier 5-6 ships, I would wager that tier 5-6 ships are the most sought after thing in all of STO. Somehow I don't think they intend to destroy their largest market. Also it would significantly devalue their most ingenious dilithium sink ever, right now Lockbox/Lobi ships are competitive with the highest tier of playable starship, (they have to be since they cost over twice as much) if they weren't why, would anyone ever open a lockbox? And if no one opens a lockbox, who is spending the zen to buy keys?
Besides, if I'm wrong, I still lived my dream for one brief moment.:D
I will add my own feedback as I experiment with it, but for now just keep adding thoughts on this ship for the benefit of anyone else who is considering getting this ship.
So basically, the Federation is an organization that exists to protect and preserve peace. I guess we do an awful lot of killing though. Oh well, that isn't important, for now let's roll up our sleeves and get to work.
I don't actually like the destroyer. There is nothing "wrong" with it, but there is nothing special about it either. Its just a standard escort/destroyer ship with two things going for it... cloak, and the officer seating. Apart from cloak, it probably is going to perform like the vet ship, if you have that one.
I would take the nicor over this thing any day.
As long as your aware of the risk than I hope you enjoy it.
If I ask you a question it is not an insult but a genuine attempt to understand why.
When I insult you I won't be discreet about it, I will be precise and to the point stupid.
As for the Tal Shiar Adapted Destroyer, I love this ship, It's an escort with a cruisers health, crew complement and shield modifier, yet it doesn't suffer nearly as much from the terrible turn rate that cruisers have (single cannon builds or beam builds are suggested, but dhc's could also work).
It also gets sensor analysis which is great for escorts, (30% extra damage and 50% reduction to incoming heals is awesome for an escort, especially if you are a sci toon and have access to SS and SN plus attack patterns delta or beta on your boffs).
With a LTCommander Sci slot you have access to Grav Well, Sensor Jamming III, or Viral Matrix, which are great in conjunction with an escort.
And let's not ignore the Cloak, the extra damage and getting the first shot is also a great bonus.
The console setup of 3eng 3sci 4tac is nice and balanced and can be out-fitted for survivability, DPS, or even a drain build if you throw in plasmonic leech and embassy flow caps consoles.
It also has great regeneration potential with the right traits, consoles, adapted warp core, and the set bonus.
Downsides are, as previously mentioned, poor turn rate (for an escort) but it is still better than most almost any non-escort.
(technically this one is more of a mixed blessing) The 5 extra engine power, I can think of 3 other subsystems that that 5 extra energy should have gone into and would have made sense, as it stands I really can't figure out how that fits with this ship, Aux would have made more sense with the layout of the ship.
The borg warp core should be [W>A] not [A>W], otherwise the I like it, but again there is a synergy conflict.
The Shrapnel torpedo console needs to be re-balanced, a 3 minute cooldown is too long given the damage it does, and the fact that it is destructible, plus it spreads out and loses effectiveness when there is a large group of enemies. I might actually write a thread on ways to rebalance this effectively, but that isn't for here.
Some might consider the lack of a singularity core and battle cloak disadvantages, but I consider them to be fair, in the spirit of game balance. (Though i'm not going to lie, I would enjoy it if the three piece set bonus included an upgrade to a battle cloak).
All in all this is a good example of a hybrid escort with excellent synergy (barring a few rough spots), survivability, damage potential and sciency goodness.
It certainly is worth the ec investment on the exchange, especially since exchange prices are dropping right now since everyone is trying to get a bug ship. Side note, now is the time to buy DOFF's (I'd be carefull about lockbox roulette, according to the actual odds it would cost on average 150% extra, give or take, assuming current key prices)
So basically, the Federation is an organization that exists to protect and preserve peace. I guess we do an awful lot of killing though. Oh well, that isn't important, for now let's roll up our sleeves and get to work.
Not Tier 6, Tier 5-U, you don't get all the shinies that a full Tier 6 gets, particularly the extra BOff abilities and the 5th Mastery level: http://images-cdn.perfectworld.com/arc/f1/92/f1923bd72957e73ecc51caed69f704171409083464.png
We don't know what Specialist BOffs do yet, it could be game-changing. Also, who knows where that 'extra' BOff ability is located, +1 Ensign ability isn't much, but adding it to what would've been a Lt. Comm making it a second full Commander is quite a bit of difference.
It lets you use the I.R.W. prefix on non-Romulan characters, which is nice though.
It's definitely a ship that needs lots of attention when flying it. Especially in PvP.
I use 2 (and a DHC) or 3 single cannons now with a torp. It's good for pressure damage with CRF2 and when using Aux2ID with EPtE you can easily overcome the lack of manoeuvrability. Alternating EPtS and TSS will turn it into a tank! A very fast and surprisingly agile tank!