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Pve DPS build help
ussprometheus79
Member Posts: 727 Arc User
Hello there fellow STO forum people. 
This toon I have been working on is one that I've started since Dilithium Rising launched. I've never really had a toon specced for high DPS in PvE before, but this is what I started working towards with this one. It's one of the few things left in the game I've tried to do, so I thought it might be fun to see what I could do.
http://skillplanner.stoacademy.com/?build=pvefleetdefiantphasers_8891
On setting up the academy link above, I realised my skills are badly in need of a reset, but thankfully I've got 15 tokens to do this with. So in respect to this, I'm looking for something that would favour Escort style of gameplay as that is what I am enjoying at the moment.
I think I could do with a better warp core, but on an escort build, not sure if switching to a spire core would be a better idea or not. Obviously one with AMP for the damage boosts based in power.
Power levels is where I struggle sometimes to keep things about 75 unless I pop the RMC. Also, I believe my doffs could do with a passover to improve skill uptime and damage output at the same time. Perhaps adding Zemok or a leech console (but by removing what?) would be a good idea.
If there's a specific item, tool or otherwise that'd help, resources aren't a problem. I'm just looking to improve my DPS more and understand more about each change that helps towards this.
As a yardstick I use ISA as an idea to see how I'm doing. On my old toons I might hit around 10k or so. Now with this toon I'm hitting just under 26K on average. I see this as a challenge and I'm looking for help to push this above 30k perhaps if not higher eventually.
It's the Fleet Defiant T5U I'm flying, but I've got access to all the Fed ships. Some not yet at T5U, but that's easily sorted.
Hopefully there is some good folk out there who'll be willing to help.
This toon I have been working on is one that I've started since Dilithium Rising launched. I've never really had a toon specced for high DPS in PvE before, but this is what I started working towards with this one. It's one of the few things left in the game I've tried to do, so I thought it might be fun to see what I could do.
http://skillplanner.stoacademy.com/?build=pvefleetdefiantphasers_8891
On setting up the academy link above, I realised my skills are badly in need of a reset, but thankfully I've got 15 tokens to do this with. So in respect to this, I'm looking for something that would favour Escort style of gameplay as that is what I am enjoying at the moment.
I think I could do with a better warp core, but on an escort build, not sure if switching to a spire core would be a better idea or not. Obviously one with AMP for the damage boosts based in power.
Power levels is where I struggle sometimes to keep things about 75 unless I pop the RMC. Also, I believe my doffs could do with a passover to improve skill uptime and damage output at the same time. Perhaps adding Zemok or a leech console (but by removing what?) would be a good idea.
If there's a specific item, tool or otherwise that'd help, resources aren't a problem. I'm just looking to improve my DPS more and understand more about each change that helps towards this.
As a yardstick I use ISA as an idea to see how I'm doing. On my old toons I might hit around 10k or so. Now with this toon I'm hitting just under 26K on average. I see this as a challenge and I'm looking for help to push this above 30k perhaps if not higher eventually.
It's the Fleet Defiant T5U I'm flying, but I've got access to all the Fed ships. Some not yet at T5U, but that's easily sorted.
Hopefully there is some good folk out there who'll be willing to help.
If you've come to the forums to complain about the AFK system, it's known to be bugged at the moment.
Post edited by ussprometheus79 on
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I would swap out the DBB for a torp of some variety (if you can find some way to incorporate the dyson rep console and weapon set 2 piece bonus you can get more damage out of that torp) and then trade both beam overloads for torp spreads as it will complement your CSVs better, additionally it will reduce the amount of power being used by weapons potentially increasing the amount of power available at any given time thus increasing energy damage output by a few points per shot giving you slightly more dps.
I'm not sure why people like the 2 piece from the Nukara set but I know that the Rommie engines give a nice buff to attack patterns and I would pair those with elite fleet (Resilient) shields while keeping your existing deflector.
I would use 2 Vrare TT doffs, 2 Vrare DCEs and swap EPtW1 for EptS1 to boost your defences, then use the rare WCE cleanse doff.
Beyond that I can't think of anything.
I've got the Rommie Engines and tried them using the CC deflector and the Res B fleet shields, but found I was doing more damage this way. Although one thing I haven't tried is Nukara Deflector and Shields for the 2pc and the Rommie Engines...hmmm.
Edit: I've never got on with torps, I've always found that for pure overall damage output, they just don't work for me. I do have Keel'el, I could swap that out for the WCE I have at the minute.
With that in mind, swapping your BOs for FAWs would draw a lot of unwanted attention but it would help on dps, it would be interesting to test out he effects of the nuke def+shield with the Rom engines but I think it might be more effective to carry on using the current combo however it's not something I've yet tested so...
Yep, this is why I use it on my intel ships. The offline fix helps counter the downside of OSS which is a handy feature.
The Nukara shields are garbage. I would stick with what you have. The only thing I like about the Nukara shields are the visual effects. Anytime I try to actually fly into battle with them, they're depleted before I can get off a shot. The Nukara Shields represent 32k Dil that I just threw in the trash.
I agree completely. I tired both on my Escort and found that DBB with Overload was far more effective then Torps. After testing both for an extended period of time, I no longer run Torps on anything.
As for your build, it looks pretty good. What you might want to consider though is to swap one of your turrets for the Heavy Bio Molecular Phaser Turret from the Counter Command Ordnance Set. I would add that, then remove Bio Neural Gel Pack and replace it with one of the consoles from the CC Ordnance Set to get an additional +7.5% Phaser Damage.
Since you have Reciprocity, the Bridge Officer cooldown isn't doing anything for you, you would basically be trading +2 Power to subsystems and a small amount of shield for a 7.5% damage boost.
Currently the Nukara shields are one of the best in the game. High cap, high regen resilient shields with good resists that can't be debuffed.
BO hits a single target for a big crit, but right now the Nuetronic torp is hitting for ~90k crit hits to multiple targets with TS3.
Also, the Particle emission torpedo is capable of pulling off 10k+ DPS on its own with with debuffs.
Get the neutronic torp with TS3 and TS1.
Another possibility: Just use DHC in the front. Maybe it is a waste of boff slots but it will increase your dps. Go for 2x TT1, 2x APB1, 2x CRF2 and APO3.
Ah forums.. where people can't express their views without attacking another poster. :rolleyes:
Sorry you don't share my view, but I have used these shields and they flat out suck. Most people in my fleet have shared the same opinion. They are not 'high cap,' they are infact the second lowest cap shields from Rep second only to the Borg shields. Nukara shields have the same capacity and same 10% resist as the Solane Shields that you get free from the 'Step Between Stars' mission. The only thing they have is the 1% chance to reflect which is pretty weak considering the trade off. You're the first person I have talked to that found the Nukara Shields useful. The 1% reflect chance and resistance to Tetryon are both very sub standard traits.
If you believe they're one of the best shields in the game, then I respect your opinion but I disagree. If they work for you then by all means use them, I'm simply giving my opinion based on my experience with them.
With a slightly modded build from what I posted, I've managed to breach 30k now. So onwards and upwards.
Jem'hadar Shields have the same cap and resist as Solanae, but with Kinetic resist which is only mildly useful.
MACO shields have more cap, but can't be used with Plasmonic Leach so that shield is only good for non-PL builds (If you aren't using PL with energy weapon builds, you are gonna be in for some hurt).
Elite Fleet Resilient shields have the same cap as Solanae, but rely on swapping your shields to the correct version and relying on a ROT (resit-over-time) ability that only works when you are being fired on continuously and doesn't work so well against the big single hits/spike damage that some NPC's (and players) use.
And yes, Resilient shields on an Escort are a must. The lower hulls and few hull heals available means keeping your hull from being hit as much as possible. In practice, you can tank anything in an Escort with Resilient shields and the right build. Plus, the math for the "bleed-through" has been broken since day one, a lot more than 5% of the damage is being blocked from hitting your hull.
So in regards to this thread, he doesn't need to waste time finding a new shield... LOL
Yeah, the Solene shield has 384 less shields, the same 10% resist. It lacks one completely useless stat (Tetryon Resist) and one that is mildly useful in certain situations. The OP didn't have the Nukara Shield at first and was considering a change to the Nukara. The Nukara Shields cost Nukara Marks as well as 32k Dilithium. The Solane Shields are free. They're both TRIBBLE, but one costs a lot less. Unless you're running an all Tetryon Build and really want the Nukara 3 piece bonus (The Tetryon Lance) Nukara shields are a waste of money. Actually, even if you want the Lance it's still a waste since that ability is also terrible.
Well, we can agree to disagree there since it's simply a difference in preference. I don't personally believe that the bleed through from Resilient shields are worth the tradeoff in capacity with a Covariant Shield. I'm not saying I'm right and you're wrong, I'm saying I have a different preference here. For me, when playing softer ships I get far more benifit from the capacity of Elite Fleet for Adapted M.A.C.O. Covariants then I do from the bleed through resist of Resilient Shields.
I admit, this is the first I have heard of the math being broken. I'll take your word for it though and research that further.
Again, he originally had a different shield and was thinking of swaping to the Nukara to pick up the 2pc bonus. I aruged against changing the Shield to Nukara, but he has updated the build to reflect a change to the Nukara Shields. If he doesn't suffer any problem with Survivability as you apparently don't, then great. By all means keep them.
If you have them, might as well try them. If you haven't forked out for them yet, look into other shields before you do. I maintain my opinion that the Nukara Shields are among the worst Rep shields in the game. The only think I like about them is the cool visual effect.
I respect your opinion (I honestly do,) I just have a different one. Thank you for outlining your points, I'll take a look at the bleed through math as soon as I can.
High cap, 10% resist, 50% drain resistance, and a stacking Shield Hardness proc!
They do work quite well, better than some of the other high cap shields.
I thought about those, haven't tried them yet. The stacking resist is mighty tempting, I think I'll give em a try pretty soon. Thanks.
Admittedly, I switch out to the default Fed skin because ... EXCELSIOR!
And Execlsior....I need to upgrade that. Any donaters?
1) Energy types- Go with either antiproton, plasma, or disruptor. For overall damage output without worrying about set bonuses, antiproton is hands down the king because of being able to run CrtDx4 which results in 100% Crit Severity bonus. I would say between plasma and disruptor it's a toss up that's down more to personal preference, whether you can take more advantage of the plasma damage proc or the reduction to damage resistance proc.
2) Weapon types- For all PvE except No Win Scenario, no question beams are the hands down best choice for dealing the most damage the quickest. Even though yes cannons do more damage on paper, it has been shown I don't know how many times that beams win out in the long run due to their wider firing arcs and more consistent damage over distance. Also make sure to match your beam type to your ship. Cruisers really do best when they stick to all beam arrays and broadside. Escorts are best running dual beam banks fore and in the aft slots using weapons that will provide a set bonus with their matching consoles.
3) Crit chance and Crit Severity- Here's all you have to know: boost your crit chance with consoles, set bonuses, and bridge officers, and max your crit severity on all your weapons. If you do this you should have anywhere from 60 to 100% crit severity on each individual weapon plus your innate severity, which if you've done it right will be well over 100% anyway. If you don't have high (25% plus) crit chance, your crit severity is really immaterial. If you had somehow 1% crit chance and 1000% crit severity, you would never do more damage than someone with 20% and only 125% crit severity, which is easily doable. Long story short, run vulnerability locators, as many of them as you can, as well as all the consoles that boost crit chance.
4) Torpedoes- Unless you are slotting one for a set bonus, don't even bother. You may think your uber leet spike damage is doing a lot, but it's really not. Download CombatLogReader and look at DPS leaderboards for ISA. I can bet you not one of the guys in the top 10 is using a torpedo for anything besides a set bonus, if at all. If you have a torpedo in a forward weapon slot, you're handicapping yourself.
5)Skill points- If you don't have your skill points distributed very well, you're likely handicapping yourself even further. A good distribution of skill points to skills that boost damage and power levels will make a huge difference. Don't be afraid to respec, but look for some builds that will give you a good idea of what to do so you don't end up doing it 5 times trying to get it right.
6) Nukara set bonus- I wanted to address this specifically because a lot of people are complaining that they don't like the Nukara shield. I've used both it and the Elite Fleet Resilient shield with Adapt Capx2 ResB traits, which by many was considered to be one of the best shields in the game for a long time. I haven't really noticed any appreciable difference in survivability between one over the other. The reason you're better off using the Nukara shield and impulse engine rather than say, the Nukara deflector and engine, is that ideally you want to be using the Counter Command Deflector for the bonuses to damage it provides. That's it.
If you want to do high damage in the game, you have to trade some survivability. Now, this wouldn't be a problem if everyone were all building toward the same goal (survivability is moot when you kill things at a very fast rate), but when you have one ship built with high DPS in mind, and he teams up with 4 people that are trying to do a pointless "tanking" build, or worse just no idea what they're doing at all, that high DPS guy is probably going to die a lot. He's still doing way more damage than anyone else and drawing most/all the aggro, but since none of his teammates are dealing high damage also, enemies aren't dying faster than they're damaging him. Bear in mind too that high DPS isn't all about you either. You need the other people you're queued up with to be playing with the same goal in mind, because the faster you complete a run the higher your DPS is.
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