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Escorts.. Why buy them?

rossclansforce1rossclansforce1 Member Posts: 400 Arc User
edited February 2015 in Federation Discussion
I have seen escorts get punished harshly with the new content. You can set them up for increased survival but your dps drops. The most I have seen "recently" is 32K. The torpedo build is about to get nerfed though. So we are left with a cruiser build on a ship that has less survival..

Why T6 escorts? They come with less survival than a T5, have increased dps agro, and have a passive trait unlock.

If any of you disagree on what I have said, please let me know. I have people lined up for build advice on an escort doing over 30K dps using escort cannons not beams, and being able to survive longer than a cruiser.

Escorts.. remove them from the game to keep up? Put them in the shuttle area? Where are we headed on this?
[img]>:)[/img]

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Post edited by rossclansforce1 on

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    adamkafeiadamkafei Member Posts: 6,539 Arc User
    edited February 2015
    Escorts are still competitive, it's just a bit harder to get the silly dps numbers, this is why I build my escorts for time to kill rather than dps. For the T6 escort you can put together an APB, SS, OSS (optional, recommend keeping ET handy for it) build for silly single target damage.

    On the other hand you could try pointing them here, I haven't covered all the escorts but most builds are portable with the minimum of thought.
    ZiOfChe.png?1
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    jarvisandalfredjarvisandalfred Member Posts: 1,549 Bug Hunter
    edited February 2015
    I have seen escorts get punished harshly with the new content. You can set them up for increased survival but your dps drops. The most I have seen "recently" is 32K. The torpedo build is about to get nerfed though. So we are left with a cruiser build on a ship that has less survival..

    Why T6 escorts? They come with less survival than a T5, have increased dps agro, and have a passive trait unlock.

    If any of you disagree on what I have said, please let me know. I have people lined up for build advice on an escort doing over 30K dps using escort cannons not beams, and being able to survive longer than a cruiser.

    Escorts.. remove them from the game to keep up? Put them in the shuttle area? Where are we headed on this?

    Escorts? Still king of dps. Though you see some of the fed's top dps'ers as cruiser pilots, that's because Bagel and Sarcasm just happen to generally like cruisers. RyanSTO and the FPER of doom alone speak to this. Cruisers are more survivable, but won't hit the numbers of an escort. That's true at the top-dps levels and for casual players alike. That's kind of innate to the ship design, how it used to be, and how it still is.
    SCM - Crystal C. (S) - [00:12] DMG(DPS) - @jarvisandalfred: 8.63M(713.16K) - Fed Sci

    SCM - Hive (S) - [02:31] DMG(DPS) - @jarvisandalfred: 30.62M(204.66K) - Fed Sci

    Tacs are overrated.

    Game's best wiki

    Build questions? Look here!
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    warmaker001bwarmaker001b Member Posts: 9,205 Arc User
    edited February 2015
    OP, I'd like to know this official source stating Torpedo Boats are getting nerfed. They have always been very niche because of the extra care one must do to make them perform compared to the average Energy Weapons build.
    XzRTofz.gif
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    ddesjardinsddesjardins Member Posts: 3,056 Media Corps
    edited February 2015
    It boils down to piloting skills. Good pilots make escorts work. Great pilots makes them an force for evil in the galaxy.

    But I digress.

    Playing styles, higher hit points, and the ease of use mean cruiser types are more prevalent.
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    bunansabunansa Member Posts: 928 Arc User
    edited February 2015
    You buy them if you like them?


    Not everyone is a fan of cruisers, science, or escorts, hence the ability to not only mix match captains on ships regardless of class skills, but the choice of deciding what to fly that fancies your style?


    I think people get so worked up over the FOTM stuff they forget to just have fun regardless if its what everyone else is doing.
    tumblr_ndmkqm59J31r5ynioo2_r2_500.gif

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    bravecatherinebravecatherine Member Posts: 142 Arc User
    edited February 2015
    I have seen escorts get punished harshly with the new content. You can set them up for increased survival but your dps drops. The most I have seen "recently" is 32K. The torpedo build is about to get nerfed though. So we are left with a cruiser build on a ship that has less survival..

    Why T6 escorts? They come with less survival than a T5, have increased dps agro, and have a passive trait unlock.

    If any of you disagree on what I have said, please let me know. I have people lined up for build advice on an escort doing over 30K dps using escort cannons not beams, and being able to survive longer than a cruiser.

    Escorts.. remove them from the game to keep up? Put them in the shuttle area? Where are we headed on this?

    Is all about the intel skills Rossclan.:D
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAy4RimcNfw
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    rossclansforce1rossclansforce1 Member Posts: 400 Arc User
    edited February 2015
    In the past I had a defiant that could take a borg high yield 250k hit with little to no damage. Granted I had to load up on rep resistance to get it there, but still. My ship would not die. I would use a high yield graviton torpedo and watch the infected tac cube boss go 90,60,10. It seems those days are over. Cruisers are way more resilient. Going in with an escort you will get instant agro. My average currently is around 20K. I gave my build to somebody that could upgrade everything. He is at 30K top end with cannons. Maybe there is some kind of voodoo or special team that can get him past that mark?


    warmaker001b
    My comment about the torp nerf was in regards to torp spread 3. I don't have a link to the post and wish I did or I would post it. The new delta neutronic torpedo was also mentioned. The problem is.. an escort with both the torp and ability gain major spike damage.

    adamkafei..
    that is about the best collection of build information I have seen. Thank you very much for sharing it. I will go through it and send them the link. :)

    ddesjardins
    exactly how I feel. cruisers are easier making pilot error difficult. they last longer in game. they can with the right build do more dps than an escort. I would love to see Ryansto run a cannon intel escort and get 100k dps. That would make my day.

    bunansa
    That is exactly why my tactical officer still has an escort. I can pilot one and have fun with it. Cruisers just seem better built to take the current punishment of the game. It is why I asked for ideas here. I still have yet to see a current cannon escort do above 30k. :(

    bravecatherine
    do you have a dps tracker? If you dont.. click on my signature image. It will take you to my fleets website. On the front page there is a link to the download site. My post isn't about spike damage on a single target. It is about overall dps. Nice video by the way. Looks like fun. :)

    adamkafei
    I have used OSS and Engi team before. I didn't like it because shields like to drop once in a while. Is there a way to setup a keybind for this? Do you have a link to making keybinds? It might make this a better option.
    [img]>:)[/img]

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    adamkafeiadamkafei Member Posts: 6,539 Arc User
    edited February 2015
    adamkafei
    I have used OSS and Engi team before. I didn't like it because shields like to drop once in a while. Is there a way to setup a keybind for this? Do you have a link to making keybinds? It might make this a better option.

    I do, there's one at the bottom of the majority of my build pages however unless you have eng team on global I don't recommend keybinding the combination, better to watch the active timer on the OSS tooltip and use eng team as it reaches 3 seconds as the system shutdown from OSS is an instant thing as soon as the active timer reaches zero meaning the eng team overlap protects you.
    ZiOfChe.png?1
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    rossclansforce1rossclansforce1 Member Posts: 400 Arc User
    edited February 2015
    Thank you I will give it another try. I did like the DPS spike with OSS. The ship seamed a lot stronger as well.
    [img]>:)[/img]

    Click to Join armadafleet.org/
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    catliketypingcatliketyping Member Posts: 611
    edited February 2015
    warmaker001b
    My comment about the torp nerf was in regards to torp spread 3. I don't have a link to the post and wish I did or I would post it. The new delta neutronic torpedo was also mentioned. The problem is.. an escort with both the torp and ability gain major spike damage.

    The new torps always seem to have some sort of issue, whatever the new torp is. The Enhanced Bio-Molecular was ridiculously OP before they fixed how it interacted with TS1-3, and it's still a great weapon (a big booma THY that is untargetable?).

    I took a long break & haven't gotten the Delta torp yet, but I can say that my B'rel torpedo boat can handle all sorts of stuff that would likely melt my Mat'Ha.

    TS3 seems a lot less useful to me these days, even when solo'ing Elite-level content. Now that I can train my own THY3 (off of my Tactical alt), I'm happier with the spike damage output.

    Anyway, if they nerf any one torpedo type, I've got a whole pile of other gear I can switch to. I'm all about collecting the torpedos :)
    Nessia (KDF Sci)
    IKS Korrasami (Fleet B'rel Bird of Prey Retrofit T5-U)
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    warmaker001bwarmaker001b Member Posts: 9,205 Arc User
    edited February 2015
    warmaker001b
    My comment about the torp nerf was in regards to torp spread 3. I don't have a link to the post and wish I did or I would post it. The new delta neutronic torpedo was also mentioned. The problem is.. an escort with both the torp and ability gain major spike damage.

    Well, if that's true, it's hilarious.

    Apparently nobody has a problem with beams firing all over the place and destroying everything (BFAW) with Faceroll Ease.

    But Torpedoes actually doing something other than getting negated? Despite that Torpedoes are the wrecking balls in Star Trek and the preferred means of destroying something? That shouldn't happen in STO?

    Bah... This game...
    XzRTofz.gif
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    adamkafeiadamkafei Member Posts: 6,539 Arc User
    edited February 2015
    Well, if that's true, it's hilarious.

    Apparently nobody has a problem with beams firing all over the place and destroying everything (BFAW) with Faceroll Ease.

    But Torpedoes actually doing something other than getting negated? Despite that Torpedoes are the wrecking balls in Star Trek and the preferred means of destroying something? That shouldn't happen in STO?

    Science has the same problem, people killing people in 5 seconds with energy weapons? No problem, people dying in 20 to science stuff? "Nerf sci!"
    ZiOfChe.png?1
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    tgo533tgo533 Member Posts: 192 Arc User
    edited February 2015
    If you are dying a lot with a Escort... you probably should be in a cruiser.

    Two entirely different play styles... much more than the sci/eng/tac difference.

    Cruisers are slower paced and give you more time to battle and much less getting in position. You can park and shoot... you can slowly circle and kill things with a million cuts all the while not stressing out over position or even worrying about that HY torp coming at you. (more health and bfaw)

    Escorts are fast and if your not going fast... stop flying them now. They have defence to spare... ONLY if your moving. Parking them is only recommended in very short bursts if at all. Speed tanking works... but its much more FPS like twitch gaming and most people cant do it well enough to say its better than a cruiser.

    I run both, and prefer escort because it feels like im playing the game not just circling something pressing space bar and seeing the pretty lights. But i love flight games that are forward firing guns and am used to the pace of the fights.
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    millimidgetmillimidget Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited February 2015
    using escort cannons not beams, and being able to survive longer than a cruiser.
    That's asking for alot.
    tgo533 wrote: »
    If you are dying a lot with a Escort... you probably should be in a cruiser.
    Something like this.
    Apparently nobody has a problem with beams firing all over the place and destroying everything (BFAW) with Faceroll Ease.
    I don't find that they do.

    Faceroll ease? Yes. Actually destroy anything? It always feels like nothing dies until I turn my cannons on it.

    But it's not like I'm queuing with some 100kers.
    "Tolerance and apathy are the last virtues of a dying society." - Aristotle
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    coldicephoenixcoldicephoenix Member Posts: 344 Arc User
    edited February 2015
    adamkafei wrote: »
    Science has the same problem, people killing people in 5 seconds with energy weapons? No problem, people dying in 20 to science stuff? "Nerf sci!"
    For some reason pew-pew'ers hate it when facing a good sci capn(similar to players who hate rogues in WoW)
    Sci cpns can totally make the pew-pew'er loose control of his ship with the debuffs and scrambles and wells and rifts etc etc.. Pew-pew'er gets mad he can smash his forehead on space bar and win as usual.. and so he goes to ***** to his mommy for nerfs :p

    We still live!!!!! Hahahahahahahahaa! We live and we will conquer!!!!! Hahahahahaaha!

    -Roach, when asked about Klingon extinction!
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    ryakidrysryakidrys Member Posts: 830 Arc User
    edited February 2015
    DPS isn't everything. My Mat'ha raptor using DHCs/ turrets with nothing higher than MK XII purple/ VR gear (no embassy or spire consoles) was consistently ripping through Argala WAY faster and with far less DPS than my character running a beam boat scimitar (that has embassy and spire vuln loc consoles) during the bonus XP weekend some time ago.
    Don't get hung up on DPS as the only measuring stick for everything. It's a good metric when used in the right context, but not everything is the right context for DPS.
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    eurialoeurialo Member Posts: 667 Arc User
    edited February 2015
    I have seen escorts get punished harshly with the new content. You can set them up for increased survival but your dps drops. The most I have seen "recently" is 32K. The torpedo build is about to get nerfed though. So we are left with a cruiser build on a ship that has less survival..

    Why T6 escorts? They come with less survival than a T5, have increased dps agro, and have a passive trait unlock.

    If any of you disagree on what I have said, please let me know. I have people lined up for build advice on an escort doing over 30K dps using escort cannons not beams, and being able to survive longer than a cruiser.

    Escorts.. remove them from the game to keep up? Put them in the shuttle area? Where are we headed on this?


    my max is a little less then 37k on isa pug (flying a t5u contortrix)... I think it's possible dealing more dps, but you need assistance both to maximize your dps and to survive (it's not easy resisting to several borg spheres or a tactical cube).

    However it's true: escorts + cannons are nothing compared to a good cruiser with faw.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

    Playing STO spamming FAW is like playing chess using always the computer's suggested moves
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    birzarkbirzark Member Posts: 634 Arc User
    edited February 2015
    I guess i have an Atypical build running a beams escort T6 Phantom. I have 150% average defense depending on buffs. I rarely even get hit so survivability isn't an issue and I'm an engineer so even in dire hits I can still bring my ship back to full hp.
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    jarvisandalfredjarvisandalfred Member Posts: 1,549 Bug Hunter
    edited February 2015
    birzark wrote: »
    I guess i have an Atypical build running a beams escort T6 Phantom.

    The only thing atypical about that is that you're running an engineer. Beamscort phantoms are the way to go.
    SCM - Crystal C. (S) - [00:12] DMG(DPS) - @jarvisandalfred: 8.63M(713.16K) - Fed Sci

    SCM - Hive (S) - [02:31] DMG(DPS) - @jarvisandalfred: 30.62M(204.66K) - Fed Sci

    Tacs are overrated.

    Game's best wiki

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    rarebear1rarebear1 Member Posts: 118 Arc User
    You forget good sir. The Tier 6 Escort gets the PHASER SPIRAL LANCE! You want to trash something that will do it.
    Proud Trekkie Favorite episode from TOS is The Doomsday Machine TNG: Yesterday's Enterprise VOY: Endgame part 1 and 2 DS9: Emissary ENT: Assmilation
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    cmdrscarletcmdrscarlet Member Posts: 5,137 Arc User
    I learned A LOT for adamkafei's site (not meaning to ignore other contributions). His words I read intently.

    All classes are worthy to try, settling on the best to fit your preference. Playing escorts because they are escorts is not the best way to play the game. As suggested earlier, it's not about the gear, it's about the pilot and his skills.

    Having said that, when I see an escort in a PUG, I expect that ship to outgun my cruiser and live through it all. From a certain point of view, s/he supports me and my efforts.
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    mustrumridcully0mustrumridcully0 Member Posts: 12,963 Arc User
    Why buy them? Because you can!
    Star Trek Online Advancement: You start with lowbie gear, you end with Lobi gear.
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    vonednavonedna Member Posts: 61 Arc User
    lol because Geko needs money to buy food
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    lovemystartreklovemystartrek Member Posts: 4 Arc User
    Cruiser FAW is the easy button. That does not mean escorts are bad, it just takes more skill and resources to get a return on your investment.
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