Title says it. I can't afford cash to play games. I am on a very limited budget so I have to thank cryptic and perfectworld for letting me play this game free.
That said. What is my best option for lvl 50-60 ships? I have heard the mirror universe ships you can buy off the exchange are very good. I have sold some dilithium and will have enough for a shuttle soon too any of you give me advice on the best exchange ship I can buy and the best ZEN shuttle to buy.
I play tactical and love the cannons.
Thanks to anyone that takes the time to responde and help me out!
:D:D
Comments
Also some of the newer ones like the Kazon raider and APU cruiser are upgradeable to T5U (10 consoles) and slightly more hull shields. Both the 40 ships and the mirror ones are viable, seeing how its more about your gear than the ship itself.
Also Id use your dilith to get better gear, shuttles are kinda worthless imo
The mirror patrol escort and mirror advanced escorts are simply flipped versions of the Level 40 ship (opposite bridge officer layout).
The unique ones can be fun though, depending on how you build them out:
Mirror Escort Retrofit
Mirror Science Vessel Retrofit
Mirror Heavy Cruiser Retrofit
The heavy cruiser has a Lt Cdr Sci - it's essentially the same layout as the Support Cruiser retrofit that was given away in the summer. Can come in handy to have a beam boat with a grav well. I took 2nd place in a CCA last night with pre-DR Mk XI gear - literally hadn't touched the build in months.
Since you say you like cannons, I'd recomment the Mirror Escort Retrofit as a try out. They aren't terribly expensive in EC usually, and before the whole "mirror ships are not upgradeable to T5U" statement, I found it an interesting little ship.
The kazon raider is dirt cheap in the exchange and can be upgraded to T5-U for one ship upgrade token from the zen store or the exchange.
For earning credits, run the duty officer missions in science and exploration that return crafting mats, and also scan anomalies. The crafting mats (especially blue ones) fetch a good amount of credits on the exchange. Also sell your spare white doffs from the free recruitment missions.
Yea. I have been researching the consoles and Boff stations and really didn't see that much of a difference so that is what was confusing me. So it's really more about how you have trained your skills and your Boff space abilities more than which ship?
I completely understand the paying players do (and should) have better ships and equipment. As a free to play gamer at STO then I just need to choose one of the decent mirror universe ships that fit to my tactical and skills/abilities and then fine tune my play style?
As Fed/Tactical I think probably the mirror universe patrol escort?
Any input about what is the best small craft/shutte for 500 zen would be appreciated too.
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The differences in the ships are BO load outs and consoles - some have universal slots for instane. Some give bonuses to weapons or power. That's what you need to be looking at.
Many ships are more or less comparable when it comes to things like hull.
My KDF toon for instance flys a ship that has very slightly lower stats than a higher level ship but the BO load out gives me a universal slot that allows me to BO skills I cant get with the "better" ship.
Its really subjective to me. A Mirror ship could do you good or one of the stock ships from the ship vendors could work.
Some C-Store ships all you are really buying is a console
That said, while it is possible, it is not recommended. The new replacements for the mirror ships (kazon raider and apu cruiser) and the free winter ships are better choices. Earning the 8million ec for an upgrade token as a free player is not difficult via two or three weeks of the request rnd assistance doff mission at the academy and that bumps/the raider or apu to tier 5u.
All the event ships go to 5u for free or the breen carrier nd new kobali cruiser are already t6.
So, while the mirror ships do work, there are other better options.
other then that mirror ships can be some decent ships
However, in a T5-U / T6 universe you are better off with a free, 10-console ship like the Risian Cruiser, Breen Chell Grett, the T6 Breen Carrier, etc. Also the new Tier 6 Kobali cruiser that is part of the current event.
Those ships upgrade to T5-U for free (the T5 event ships I mean) or are already T6. You are better off with one of those at level 50 than spending money on a Mirror ship, however decent.
So what are a f2p gamers options at the lvl 60 limit for ships? We don't get a lvl 50 ship and unless we buy something off the exchange is there any other option?
Like has been said, Event ships. Winter Wonderland had the free T6 Breen carrier. Now with the anniversary, we're getting the free T6 Kobali command ship. Go for it!
Again, if you're wanting a Mirror ship, I can give you one. Save your EC.
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Since you are fed, top choice is the delta flyer as it is the only zen option with two bridge officers.
But also look for the lobi shuttles on the auctionhouse. All but the ferengi nafar have two boff slots and they show up reasonably cheap from time to time.
I used the Fed Mirror Heavy Cruiser Retrofit, Fed Mirror Science Vessel Retrofit, and KDF Mirror Negh'var Battle Cruiser on my toon up to level 60. Enemies do scale up past level 50 so playing missions at level 60 can be quite a bit of a challenge. Playing normal STFs with the free T5 ships or the Mirror T5 ships is doable.
The first toon I created (Fed Engineer) is the first toon to reach level 60. That toon is also the last toon that finally started flying a T6 ship or T5U ship (B'rel Retrofit BoP).
Thanks everyone for your experience and information!
:)
you want a good ship for cannons and tactical, try the raider from the last lock box.
The free breen raider from the winter even is also very good.
The mirror ships can't be upgraded and are basically level 40 ships. They are good enough in the right hands to play at 50 and even at 60 you can probably manage it with top builds and gear and skill, but its still a level 40 ship.
The 2 raiders I mention are at least t5U possible and can handle level 60 content with ease.
There are other great ships on the exchange --- too many to list, but what about
-nicor bioship -- the ultimate cannon ship from pre DR? I love this ship, still.
Also, you can earn dil to buy zen ships, it takes a while, but you can do it. Consider working on that goal, even if you make-do with a mirror or other inexpensive ship for now.
But I highly recommend that box raider. You cannot beat the quality to price ratio of it, period. And you should highly consider the free ship from the upcoming event, even if its not a good cannon ship, you should earn it and at least get the ship trait from it as you will have a hard time getting 4 traits in the near future.
Without spending one cent, I have 4 t6 ships now. Took me a lot of work -- but I have them. Free carrier from winter festival, maha and faeht from farming dil over a long period of time, and benthan, from energy credits saved over time. I am poor now, lol, but that is why I farm currency -- to get more ships, I love to tinker with them and try various ones.
Yea I have my reputations up to tier 3 and working on those ship items. But the Dil to Zen really just takes so long and I don't get to play enough to make that viable.
Everyone has been super cool in my post and thanks so much for not bashing me for being a f2p here at sto. Some of us just don't have the cash to spare.
I think I will go with the delta for shuttle.
I will try to get that anniversary ship today too.
By no means is this thread dead, please if you have more advice I really want to hear it.
Most of us f2p gamers are working two jobs just to make ends meet. We don't have time to play 3 characters and do those dilithium missions for that kind of time investment. Just saying. Thanks for the Peregring fighter info!
The later MU ships (Escort Retrofit/Science Vessel Retrofit/Heavy Cruiser Retrofit) are much better balanced than their fleet versions.
Is a MU ship capable of endgame play with a proper build? Yes. Absolutely.
As for the best shuttle - Peregrine if you want cannons, Delta if not. The Danube is good enough for any shuttle content. Do not, under any circumstances, bring the Type-8 shuttle into combat.
Just take your time and have fun. Most players do reach the 8,000 daily refinement cap anyway.
However, I will make a quick suggestion. Play a Spotlight Foundry mission which generally reward 1,440 dilithium (20 hour cool down). Some of the longer ones reward more; up to 2,600 dilithium I think. "Unholy Alliance" is a relatively quick one which takes less than 10 minutes to complete once you get the hang of it. You should also accept the "Investigate Officer Report" mission which rewards you 960 dilithium for every Foundry mission you complete (30 minute cool down). Between the two missions you can get 2,400 dilithium each day in about 10 minutes. The first time I did "Unholy Alliance" it probably took me about 15 minutes because I was reading all the dialog and taking my time.
There are 3 daily missions on Nimbus III that you can do every day, or when you have the time. Two of the dailies have a fixed reward of 480 dilithium each. The reward for "Creatures of the Desert" depends on how many critters you kill. Most people should be able to get the 580 dilithium reward, but the max is 680 dilithium (pretty easy with an engineer). Once you get the hang of these three missions it should take you less than 10 minutes to complete all of them for a 1,540 / 1,640 dilithium reward.
Between a Spotlight Foundry mission, "Investigate Officer Report" mission, and the 3 dailies on Nimbus III, you can get roughly 4,000 dilithium in less than 20 minutes (excluding travel time) once you get the hang of 'em. At most it should only take about 30 minutes.
Of course that depends if you can squeeze this routine into your schedule.
At the current 160 dil per zen, that's over 6 zen per day = 147 zen per month if you can manage it 24 days a month. And that's 1764 zen a year.
If you can manage 3000 dil/day for 28 days a month you get 18.8 zen per day, 450 per month, 5,400 per year.
So even if you can't manage the full 8,000 dil per day on multiple characters just keep plugging away, it all adds up pretty quick.
The foundry advice above is really really good advice.
Yes, a shuttle / fighter with extra device slots and a bridge officer is nicer, but there are only 3(?) shuttle missions in all the story episodes.
"You don't have to do something again and again and again repetitive that doesn't have much challange, that's just a general good gameplay thing."
Vault, the elachi planetary assault one, the delta race, the shuttle/event where they make all queues shuttle only, the queued version of the elachi assault which just got its mark rewards trippled, and most importantly operation gamma (because it is the only source of two bits of the jemmy set).
Still, most people hate shuttle stuff so much that getting one to make it easier account wide is a good use of 500 zen. If they were actually expensive I'd agree with you.