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Favorite Captain path to take: Science? Tactical? Engineering?

sindjin7sindjin7 Member Posts: 29 Arc User
edited October 2014 in The Academy
i just wanted to find out what some of your favorite paths to take and why. It seems to me that a Tactical build would be best considering the majority of things to do Require a more tactical approach. There doesn't seem to be a lot of exploration for a Science based Captain.

Thanks for the input!!
Post edited by sindjin7 on
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  • lordmalak1lordmalak1 Member Posts: 4,681 Arc User
    edited October 2014
    Personal favorite has absolutely nothing to do with survival in the game. There's only one path to survival and everyone knows it.
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  • organicmanfredorganicmanfred Member Posts: 3,236 Arc User
    edited October 2014
    Exploration in STO isnt about being a Science Captain.

    It is how you deal in combat, or some missions give profession specific tasks that give you different accolades.

    Tac: The DPS dealer. PewPewPew. High DPS
    Sci: Healing and fighting with Exotic Particles. Lower DPS
    Eng: Tanking, supporting, can deal very much damage too. Medium-High DPS (depending on abilities and skills)

    It always depends on your own playstyle. Let's say you want to be a Tac Captain. You can suck with this role if you dont know how to handle him.
  • centaurianalphacentaurianalpha Member Posts: 1,150 Arc User
    edited October 2014
    Can't really say what's best; I run mostly Engineers since I am one in RL. I'm not too impressed tho with the skill options available to tac BOffs, and these are pretty much the same ones for captains, no? Besides, an alien captain choice gets at least one more active trait, and engy's have more fun toys to play with. :P My sci captain is noticeably weaker in most ground missions, but pretty effective in a sci ship. I'm not sure if that's because I build my ships pretty much the same way, or because I trained my captains pretty much the same way, but at least I don't suck in most STF's... :cool:
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  • jaguarskxjaguarskx Member Posts: 5,945 Arc User
    edited October 2014
    I play all three captain careers among my 5 toons that are spread across the three faction. Two of each with the exception of 1 Tactical. The original idea was to create a KDF Aligned Reman Tactical toon so that I would have 6 toons in total that would basically be split between Fed and KDF (including aligned Romulan/Reman) and two captains for each career. Unfortunately, I do not really like the -40 power penalty for the singularity abilities... so I am leaning towards another KDF Tactical toon.

    Anywaste, I don't think I have a particular preference. However, I do tend to select ships that allows for at least a Lt Cmdr Science station so that I can at least use a weak GW1 for quick crowd control.

    Sometimes it is also fun to just mix and match. For example, my Fed Science toon is currently flying the Mirror Escort Retrofit because it has a Lt Cmdr Science station. But that toon normally flies the Mirror Science Vessel Retrofit. I still have not selected the free level 40 T5 ship yet.
  • dragonsbrethrendragonsbrethren Member Posts: 1,854 Arc User
    edited October 2014
    My main is tactical and I love it, but my favorite might actually be science. I'm not sure, I prefer tactical captain abilities in space, but science gets really good ones too, and on the ground science is the game's true tank with an amazing combination of low cooldown heals and damage dealing abilities. (But I must confess, Engineer is a better damage dealer on ground...to the point I find it boring sometimes.)
  • farseeridranelfarseeridranel Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited October 2014
    If you like to play wizard/sorcerer/mage in other games, then I can recommend Scientist :)

    Nice space magic:

    Gravity Well/Tykens Rift --> Black holes!!! Magic!

    Nice ground magic:

    Electrogravitic field buffed with geologist doffs --> Ground gravity well ! Magic!
    Exothermic field buffed with Voth doff --> Volcano! Fireballs! Magic!
    Tachyon harmonics doffed with Hirogen doff --> lightning strikes! (kind of)! Magic!

    plus lots of healing, control and debuffing!

    I find Scientist Captain the most enjoyable type. Tacs do lots of damage for sure, but thats kinda boring. Engineer is fun on ground, because he uses lots of "magic" there too.
    But you will need to do some research to get your Sci powerful, i.e. find the right skills and equipment. Especially Doffs are important here as they greatly improve some of the skills.
  • khan5000khan5000 Member Posts: 3,008 Arc User
    edited October 2014
    Tactical...I love TOS and I imagine that if Kirk was in this game he'd a Tactical captain
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  • gavinrunebladegavinruneblade Member Posts: 3,894 Arc User
    edited October 2014
    Seems like everyone is mistaking the captain and the ship.

    Tactical captains get attack pattern alpha (boosts all damage, even science powers if you fly a science ship), go down fighting (damage boost that's bigger as you lose hull), fire on my mark (-resist to your target), and tactical initiative (use boff powers faster)

    Engineers get miracle worker (huge self heal shield and hull), EPs somethingsomething ( huge boost to all power levels, nadion inversion (immune to power drain, includes firing weapons, enemy attacks and full impulse), and rotate shields (shield buff and heal)

    Science captains get photonic fleet (summon pets), subneucleonic beam (remove buffs), a big -resistance power, and a shield buff.

    Everything else comes from the ship and the boffs, NOT the captain.

    Notice that if you want to be a space wizard being a science captain is the WORST choice from a game mechanic standpoint. Engineers get bonus power so you can use both guns and aux at once, plus can leverage the high shield strength of science ships with their other two powers. Tactical captains can use powers faster and deal more science damage. Science captains get nothing, nada, zip, zilch, zero, squat, a great big check for nothing drawn on the first international bank of squidoo to help a science ship do its job.

    Also, yes I do love Mark Hammil's joker, if you didn't recognize where that quote was from (from memory, so it's probably off a bit). Also, it's a bit of an exagerration, sci caps are the second best shield tanks after engineers.


    Science captains work out great in escorts and other fast attack ships. Their powers are bursty with long cooldowns and escorts have the burst power to really spike damage when that -res is going. The shield buff and photonic fleet make great panic buttons to help overcome the squishyness of an escort. But my favorite ship for a science captain is a bird of prey. The all universal boff stations means you can have all the fun powers plus the guns to back up the captain. Combining subnuke, -res and flanking is awesome.

    Tacticals make any ship deal more damage. I like using a tactical captain whenever I want to fly many different ships and have them all work.

    Ground is a whole other story.
  • lucho80lucho80 Member Posts: 6,600 Bug Hunter
    edited October 2014
    Tac: The DPS dealer. PewPewPew. High DPS
    Sci: Healing and fighting with Exotic Particles. Lower DPS
    Eng: Tanking, supporting, can deal very much damage too. Medium-High DPS (depending on abilities and skills)

    Those exotic particles can deal a LOT of DPS if you know how to stack on that damage and dish it out.
  • farseeridranelfarseeridranel Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited October 2014
    Seems like everyone is mistaking the captain and the ship.

    Tactical captains get attack pattern alpha (boosts all damage, even science powers if you fly a science ship), go down fighting (damage boost that's bigger as you lose hull), fire on my mark (-resist to your target), and tactical initiative (use boff powers faster)

    Engineers get miracle worker (huge self heal shield and hull), EPs somethingsomething ( huge boost to all power levels, nadion inversion (immune to power drain, includes firing weapons, enemy attacks and full impulse), and rotate shields (shield buff and heal)

    Science captains get photonic fleet (summon pets), subneucleonic beam (remove buffs), a big -resistance power, and a shield buff.

    Everything else comes from the ship and the boffs, NOT the captain.

    Notice that if you want to be a space wizard being a science captain is the WORST choice from a game mechanic standpoint. Engineers get bonus power so you can use both guns and aux at once, plus can leverage the high shield strength of science ships with their other two powers. Tactical captains can use powers faster and deal more science damage. Science captains get nothing, nada, zip, zilch, zero, squat, a great big check for nothing drawn on the first international bank of squidoo to help a science ship do its job.

    Also, yes I do love Mark Hammil's joker, if you didn't recognize where that quote was from (from memory, so it's probably off a bit). Also, it's a bit of an exagerration, sci caps are the second best shield tanks after engineers.


    Science captains work out great in escorts and other fast attack ships. Their powers are bursty with long cooldowns and escorts have the burst power to really spike damage when that -res is going. The shield buff and photonic fleet make great panic buttons to help overcome the squishyness of an escort. But my favorite ship for a science captain is a bird of prey. The all universal boff stations means you can have all the fun powers plus the guns to back up the captain. Combining subnuke, -res and flanking is awesome.

    Tacticals make any ship deal more damage. I like using a tactical captain whenever I want to fly many different ships and have them all work.

    Ground is a whole other story.


    I disagree. Scientist have conservation of energy and photonic capacitor. I agree that a Tac captain can buff grav well etc with attack pattern alpha, but thats about it. Tactical initiative works only on tac boff skills. On a sci ship you don't have many of these (mostly 2).
    For sure ground is very different, but as a whole sci captain has a strong touch of magic ;)
  • fatman592fatman592 Member Posts: 1,207 Arc User
    edited October 2014
    My main is a science captain, and this is still my favorite toon. Science has a few useful tricks and is utterly OP in PvP. My Tacs are solid, pretty much optimal for PvE content. Engineers, meh, never have been a fan.
  • gavinrunebladegavinruneblade Member Posts: 3,894 Arc User
    edited October 2014
    I disagree. Scientist have conservation of energy and photonic capacitor. I agree that a Tac captain can buff grav well etc with attack pattern alpha, but thats about it. Tactical initiative works only on tac boff skills. On a sci ship you don't have many of these (mostly 2).
    For sure ground is very different, but as a whole sci captain has a strong touch of magic ;)

    Im not saying the sci gets nothing. Just the tac does the sci job with bigger numbers.

    For example, one popular sci ship build is the torp. Hey look a TAC gets your spread/high yield back up faster. Plus -res matching the sci, and alpha for harder hitting torps and sci powers and go down fighting for harder hitting torps and sci powers. The sci gets -res. Even things like tachyon beam are shield damage so the tac gets boosts.

    Another build is the all particle gen. Scis get one trait (the one in crafting the TAC alsomhas access to, so its just the one class trait that's unique), tacs get 3 powers that all help damage, including particle damage, and initiative can pull an attack pattern (beta) in the lieut slot plus tactical team for survival plus damage. Again, TAC does the sci build better.

    Etc.

    The drainer is one where TAC and sci are on equal footing.

    Sci works fine. That's one thing that cryptic did an ok job of is being sure every captain brings fun toys to every class of ship. And really, in delta subnuke is bloody helpful vs those hierarchy punks. Plus photonic fleet is total magic I love it. Its just, I really wish sci caps got something to boost control or support. Their ground powers are sooo fun. Space they seem a little bit like they need a buff to match the love science ships and boffs have gotten recently.
  • sindjin7sindjin7 Member Posts: 29 Arc User
    edited October 2014
    Great Insight ! One thing is for sure... I have a lot to learn about this game
  • garakfan84garakfan84 Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited October 2014
    If you like to play wizard/sorcerer/mage in other games, then I can recommend Scientist :)

    Nice space magic:

    Gravity Well/Tykens Rift --> Black holes!!! Magic!

    Nice ground magic:

    Electrogravitic field buffed with geologist doffs --> Ground gravity well ! Magic!
    Exothermic field buffed with Voth doff --> Volcano! Fireballs! Magic!
    Tachyon harmonics doffed with Hirogen doff --> lightning strikes! (kind of)! Magic!

    plus lots of healing, control and debuffing!

    I find Scientist Captain the most enjoyable type. Tacs do lots of damage for sure, but thats kinda boring. Engineer is fun on ground, because he uses lots of "magic" there too.
    But you will need to do some research to get your Sci powerful, i.e. find the right skills and equipment. Especially Doffs are important here as they greatly improve some of the skills.

    YES! :D
    When I first started playing the game I chose Science but didn't really know what I'd get out of it and enjoyed it. I tried the other two just to see how they were but I love Science and it seems to suit me the best :) It's really fun too.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • organicmanfredorganicmanfred Member Posts: 3,236 Arc User
    edited October 2014
    sindjin7 wrote: »
    Great Insight ! One thing is for sure... I have a lot to learn about this game

    just take your time, learn all the basics, visit the sto wiki as much as you can, and don't be shy to ask questions here in the Academy section.

    There are a lot of very helpfull people here who never hesitate to help and answer questions.



    you shouldnt worry to much now about R&D, Crafting System, Delta Rising, Reputation, as long as you are on a lower level.

    Learn the basics of the game "no Rainbow Boat" for example, and the rest will come easy.
  • gavinrunebladegavinruneblade Member Posts: 3,894 Arc User
    edited October 2014
    just take your time, learn all the basics, visit the sto wiki as much as you can, and don't be shy to ask questions here in the Academy section.

    There are a lot of very helpfull people here who never hesitate to help and answer questions.



    you shouldnt worry to much now about R&D, Crafting System, Delta Rising, Reputation, as long as you are on a lower level.

    Learn the basics of the game "no Rainbow Boat" for example, and the rest will come easy.

    Best advice in this thread right here.
  • szerontzurszerontzur Member Posts: 2,724 Arc User
    edited October 2014
    I like them all for different reasons.

    Science is probably my favorite for its flexibility(space and ground) though. You can play them offensively, defensively, or as support and they can shine in any of those focuses - often in a variety of ways.

    Tactical is great for seeing those satisfying damage numbers, but you do need to be mindful about taking hits(a lot more dependent on your ship and boffs to keep you alive in a pinch).

    Engineers are great for K.eeping I.t S.imple, S.tupid. If you want powerful emergency buttons, they're the class to go with - just don't expect to get a lot out of focused builds from them.
  • aiurdaeaiurdae Member Posts: 64 Arc User
    edited October 2014
    I play a hybrid. I have a rommy Alien science captain, who is my main. I run him on a Ha'Apax (an engineering ship.) I love the combo of being able to tank like an engy ship can, as well as do all the cool stuff a science vessel is able to. The ability to tractor a ship, drop a grav well on it, and then shoot out boarding parties is quite neat.
  • sindjin7sindjin7 Member Posts: 29 Arc User
    edited October 2014
    I started with a science captain. But when I got to level ten and got promoted, I bought a ship with my token... But the ship never showed up in my roster. They can't fix it either.

    So I started a new captain, tactical, and just leveled up to ten again and bought the engineering ship. Not sure how this will pan out... But it could be a decent combo for my play style.

    Now I'll be studying builds... It's a cool game for sure. I played Eve Online for many years and this is a nice immersive change of pace.
  • mewmaster101mewmaster101 Member Posts: 1,239 Arc User
    edited October 2014
    sindjin7 wrote: »
    I started with a science captain. But when I got to level ten and got promoted, I bought a ship with my token... But the ship never showed up in my roster. They can't fix it either.

    So I started a new captain, tactical, and just leveled up to ten again and bought the engineering ship. Not sure how this will pan out... But it could be a decent combo for my play style.

    Now I'll be studying builds... It's a cool game for sure. I played Eve Online for many years and this is a nice immersive change of pace.

    would take a look at hilbert's guide, nice stuff for newer players.

    PErsonally, i see it as this:

    Tactical/Escorts = thief/rogue

    Science/science = Space Wizard/space Priest

    Engineer/cruiser = Tank/bulky warrior class.

    I am tied between sci and engi personally. the Warrior class has always been my favoirte class type in any RPG, but the combination of Crowd control and healing that sci is fun as well.
  • noucantcmenoucantcme Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited October 2014
    Personally, I prefer engineering, that miracle worker is one of the best powers you could have in space, and in ground I hate fiddling around with stuff that doesn't seem to make that much of a difference, but as an engineer you can lay mines and bombs for massive damage, as well as heal your shields to try and stay alive longer. The only good thing about tactical is attack pattern alpha to help out those slower turning battlecruisers.
  • gavinrunebladegavinruneblade Member Posts: 3,894 Arc User
    edited October 2014
    noucantcme wrote: »
    The only good thing about tactical is attack pattern alpha to help out those slower turning battlecruisers.

    Alpha only gives an accuracy and damage bonus. It is omega that gives the turn buff and that is a boff only power. Captains don't get it.
  • sindjin7sindjin7 Member Posts: 29 Arc User
    edited October 2014
    I may just start a third character... An Engineer and play that thru level 10. Then Hopefully I'll have an idea of what path Id prefer for the long haul.

    Out of the Science or Tactical, so far I prefer the tactical. However I'm not sure level 10 is a long enough try out.
  • zaileizailei Member Posts: 13 Arc User
    edited October 2014
    Alpha only gives an accuracy and damage bonus. It is omega that gives the turn buff and that is a boff only power. Captains don't get it.

    Incorrect. Attack pattern alpha has a damage, crit chance, crit severity and turn rate buff.
  • gavinrunebladegavinruneblade Member Posts: 3,894 Arc User
    edited October 2014
    zailei wrote: »
    Incorrect. Attack pattern alpha has a damage, crit chance, crit severity and turn rate buff.

    *checks wiki* I sit corrected =)
  • gavinrunebladegavinruneblade Member Posts: 3,894 Arc User
    edited October 2014
    sindjin7 wrote: »
    I may just start a third character... An Engineer and play that thru level 10. Then Hopefully I'll have an idea of what path Id prefer for the long haul.

    Out of the Science or Tactical, so far I prefer the tactical. However I'm not sure level 10 is a long enough try out.

    Level ten really is too soon to know. Lots of the fun stuff doesn't appear until 30.

    If you are doing three characters, I recommend one each kdf, fed, ROM. You'll get to see the whole story that way.
  • cookiecrookcookiecrook Member Posts: 4,544 Arc User
    edited October 2014
    I'd say it's less about career and more of the career and ship class combo. Tactical Captain in a Vesta Science ship and Engineering Captain in a Advanced Escort are my two that I have really enjoyed.
    <
    > <
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    >
    Looking for a new fleet? Drop by the in-game chat channel, "tenforwardforum", and say hi to the members of A Fleet Called Ten Forward (Fed) and The Orion Pirates (KDF). If you already have a fleet you are happy with, please feel free to drop by our chat channel if you are looking for a friendly bunch of helpful people to socialize with.
  • tigerariestigeraries Member Posts: 3,492 Arc User
    edited October 2014
    this game is pure dps... if your not tactical your not at your full potential for dps.

    2nd best is engineer with the emergency power to x buffs.
  • tr1p3ktr1p3k Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited October 2014
    I am partial to Sci in a Tac ship for space. My tactical officer tends to kill things faster on ground, though. That said, my Science officer has heals on the ground that make it less tedious. On ground engineers bring the turrets, that is always fun.

    Pretty sure it comes down to what you feel like playing and then building it to work for you. I put more work into my Science char.....so she does better dps than my Tactical or Engineers. She has better ships, and better consoles, and better guns. Which is to say....yes, you can overcome a perceived weekness in specialization with gear.
  • jaguarskxjaguarskx Member Posts: 5,945 Arc User
    edited October 2014
    Level ten really is too soon to know. Lots of the fun stuff doesn't appear until 30.

    If you are doing three characters, I recommend one each kdf, fed, ROM. You'll get to see the whole story that way.

    I tend to agree. I play all 3 factions.

    A word of warning regarding the Romulan faction... Romulan ships use Singularity Cores not Warp Cores. The distinction is important because your Romulan starship will have 4 special singularity abilities, however in return you give up 40 points of power. The lack of power to your systems generally does not become noticeable (at least for me) until about level 40.


    People have found ways to cope with it, but I have not really found a solution that I am satisfied with. People will tell you to get something called a Plasmonic Leech which drains power from your target ship when firing energy weapons and adds that power to your own systems. There are two ways to get the Leech and it depends on if you side with the Federation or with the KDF.


    One way to get the Leech is to buy it from the Exchange. As of yesterday it costs about 48 million EC. This is the only way for Federation and Fed-aligned Romulans to get the Leech; it comes in a box that you must unpack. Just do a general search for "plasmonic" without the quotes. Once opened it is bound to that toon. The KDF and KDF-aligned Romulans cannot get the Leech from the Exchange. While you can purchase the box that rewards you the Leech when you open the box you get something totally different. You need to purchase the tier 3 KDF ship known as the Vandal Destroyer for 1,000 Zen. However, all your KDF and KDF-aligned Romulan toons can claim the Plasmonic Leech multiple times from the Vandal. But you are limited to only have one per ship.
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