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shuvool
Member Posts: 8 Arc User
I'm really enjoying STO, and I'm at level 54 on my Federation Tactical character. I've followed the breadcrumb missions here and there, and found myself in the Delta Quadrant, but the missions seem to be tuned for characters above my level or maybe just better geared than me. I slowly complete them, but I die a lot. Is there a better place for me to be leveling out the last 6 levels, and getting more equipment as I go along?
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I'm scratching my head a bit here. You say you're at level 3... then you ask about the last 6 levels?
I assume you mean you're at level 53 working your way to 60?
So I'll assume you're in the post-50 grind, since that's the only way I know of to find yourself in the Delta Quadrant.
The enemies in the DQ are a bit harder than in previous content and some of them use abilities that you probably aren't used to seeing NPC's use. That could account for the difficulty. The Vaadwaur are especially difficult compared to others.
You should probably be using at least Mk XII common gear and above, or the equivalent Mk XI with rarity mods. If you're doing the DQ missions you're getting Delta Marks which you can use toward the Delta Alliance reputation. This will also provide you with Delta reputation (space) gear.
You could also backtrack and play/replay some missions prior to the Delta Rising episodes which reward gear. This will also increase your experience.
You will have a somewhat easier time if you're flying a T5-U or T6 ship, because you can earn Starship Mastery on that ship which provides increases to hull points and passive bonuses at each level. I should stress that the game is supposed to be playable with only T5 ships, so this is not a requirement.
For experience, you can replay any patrol mission especially in the Delta Quadrant. Argala is commonly recommended because it has a lot of enemies, not sure if you've gotten to that one yet. You should also be doing high-XP duty officer assignments in the Delta Quadrant.
Getting extra experience is important because there are level requirements for some of the missions, especially on the Kobali homeworld. You will also want to avoid replaying missions where the objective is to disable the NPC's; you need kills to advance Starship Mastery on your T5-U or T6 ship (if you have one).
I have had a pretty good experience with getting my characters to level 55 before I even set foot on the Kobali homeworld. Levelling after that was slow, but smooth.
It would help other players to give you recommendations if you post your build on the STO skillplanner here: http://www.stoacademy.com/tools/skillplanner/ You can then post a link to your build here. You'll get more visibility if you post your build in the "Builds, Powers, and Game Mechanics" forum.
Fair warning: Be prepared for build help that may or may not come with brutal criticism.
Link: How to PM - Twitter @STOMod_Bluegeek
So here's my take.. .Bluegeek covered quite a bit on it... fantastically I may add... but here it goes...
First Delta is a long, long grind. It's not a smooth progression... you'll need to go back and go other content just to get to the next level and be able to do one mission... then to start the grind again.
As for dying alot... that would depend mostly on what gear you're using and your build. Basically Delta enemies... actually all enemies at your level regardless of where you go... are hit point buffed to silly high levels of stupidity. We're talking millions and millions of hit points... literally.
And with STO the basic premise isn't to try and soak damage... the devs don't have that kind of talent to balance properly... so it's a dps rush... kill them with massive dps before they kill you.
So you can get away in PvE with mediocre shields and hull buffs if you have really good weapons and a good build to complement those weapons. Anything else is just shooting yourself in your foot.
As to where to get gear at your level... well you can start doing reputation queues... at least at normal level. But if you're dying that much I wouldn't go any higher. Problem is you won't get the best gear in the reputation (stuff you need the super marks better known as BNPs for)... but you'll gain access to the stores... many of which have really good gear.
Other option is... get yourself a fleet and start contributing. If it's a good enough fleet with pretty much maxed out bases... you'll gain access to fleet gear... which is some of the best in the game.
The other option is crafting. If you can get to level 15 in crafting you gain access to really good gear as well.
Nothing I can suggest will make this come quick or easy though unless you get yourself a sugarmomma willing and able to twink you out. Everything else is simply grind, grind, grind.
Oh one other option here... start using the replay function in the quests. You can get some really good gear sets that way.
Okay so if you want a pathway... without knowing your build or intended weapons, ships... etc etc...
Get a good set... like the breen or Jem'hadar set for your space gear. That'll start you out.
For weapons there are missions (like refracting tets) that will give you access to weapons of similiar types. They're not the best weapons... but will help you with normal queues.
Breen torps aren't bad either.
Finally get into normal queues and gain access to their store tabs... which will give you access to better gear then what you can get in missions.
Finally start working with a good size, player friendly fleet that's not all interested in just taking your fleet marks and leaving you high and dry. Get a good friendly fleet and gain access to fleet gear... as well as people that can help you and drag your through some advanced queues (not pugs) that'll assist you with even better gear.
Work on crafting... taking each one to 15.. .starting with whatever your ship focus is.
Finally by the time you do ALL of that you'll be like... level 55 with the way Cryptic caused the progression (I kind but you'll be close to 60) and go back and do the delta stuff... and start upgrading your gear.
Also... big suggestion... post your build and what your intended end game is so people can help you out... or simply use your google-foo.
Also could you post your build/boff abilities? (boff abilities properly slotted for the ship/playstyle you have make the difference)
Here's my current build
http://skillplanner.stoacademy.com/?build=kantacurrent_0
Hi there, I just looked at your build and to be honoust there is a lot of things you need to adjust... unfortunatly I'm at work at the moment but I highly recommend you to find a fleet to join with people that can help you out with your build.
people can throw numbers and consoles and what not to get and use but it's more about understanding why you need to change stuff that will be far more helpfull than giving you a blue print with no explenation.
but for starters.. Tac abilities
Tac commander: Tactical team 1, Cannon scatter volley 1, Cannon Scattervolley 2, Attack pattern Omega 3
Tac lt. Tactical Team, Torpedo spread 2
Tac Ensign, Torpedo spread 1
Lt. Engineering: Engineering team 1, Auxiliary power to structural integrity, reverse shield polarity
Lt. Science: Hazard Emitters, lt... skill hmm could go anyway you want .. tyken's rift is good for "power drain on enemy ship" same goes for energy siphon.. tractor beam repulsor is a good crowd control aswell as a kind of point defense against targetable torpedo's ... bunch of stuff...
anywho this is just a basic adjustment on your current build concerning boff abilities. others will dissaggree depending on their point of view.. mine is just to slightly improve on what you have. but Gear is definatly something you'll need to work on.
Also for Tactical consoles. I can not urge you enough to get Anti proton tac consoles that give a bonus to anti protons.. I think those are mag regulators iirc. torpedo's hit hard enough with no need to "tac console boost". ... for more survivability neutronium alloy in engineering console slots.
but putting everything aside best thing to do is to join a good fleet with players willing to help you out not only with a build but the info on how stuff works.
Good luck.
Torph HY, Torp spread, CRF, attack pattern
Tactical team, CRF
BO
EPtW,ET,RSP
JS, ST or HE
If you can, bump the ship equipment up as high as you can afford. and look for bonuses to increase shields and weapon power and probably turn rate for the carrier.
I'd find a neutronimum eng console and probably consoles to boost weapon power.
science console to resist shield drain are good ideas
tactical consoles, I'd replace the cannon and torp consoles with antiproton mag regulators to boot damage from the cannons
devices, if you've run doffs to purchase the turrets, a turret device is handy as a distraction and another source of fire. the other device might be a weapon battery.
Of course, all this depends on what you have lying around and / or can purchase.
At a quick glance your ship definitely looks sub par for a level 54 toon. Especially since you are attempting to play Crystal Catastrophe Advanced. Generally speaking, for advanced queues you need at least very rare Mk XII gear and even then it can be a bit difficult. The other 9 players are basically carrying you though the end of the mission.
I am going to assume that you have skipped some of the main story missions to get to the Delta Rising missions because you do not have any gear from the Solanae or the Breen sets which are better than the generic deflector, shield and impulse engines that you have. I suggest you play those missions or you purchase better gear from the Exchange.
Get rid of everything in your tactical console slots. Put Antiproton Mag Regulators in there instead. They should be relatively inexpensive especially since the value of very rare Mk XII tactical consoles have dropped in the past 2 weeks because more people are crafting I suppose. That means you should be able to purchase rare Antiproton Mag Regulator Mk XII for a fairly low price if you cannot afford the very rare versions.
The universal console should be placed in one of the engineering slots. I would slot in the best Neutronium Alloy console you can afford. I suppose you can keep the SIF generator if you feel you need it.
Basically, your ship needs a lot of improvement especially if you want to perform decently in advanced queue missions. And keep in mind that as your level approaches 60 enemies will become more potent in story missions.
No, not anymore. Tachyon beams (they drain shields) can easily overcome any resistance to shield drain. That's why when people play the Borg STFs they are basically hull tanking to stay alive.
This is false. Even Mk XI blues are sufficient for Advanced.
Build and Piloting are multipliers for Gear, but those multipliers can be less than 1.
Increasing gear quality won't make much difference if Build and Piloting are very low.
OP will see the biggest - and it will be huge - increase in performance from correcting his build (some decent suggestions were offered already) and using it correctly.
Mk XI Blues are sufficient.. if you know what you're doing and how to use your build. Otherwise the MK XII very rares will help while he's learning his new build and such. But yes I totally agree correcting his build... and learning how to use it... will be the biggest boost.
To the OP... first thing... stay out of Advanced for now. No offense but you're not ready.
I'm not really a tac captain so I'm not going to be much of a help... and others much more experienced have chimed in with what seems to me really good.
Also cannon are good... but in my opinion beams are better currently in game... but the choice is yours... it's really more of a min/max thing then a you'll be subpar thing.
1. Trade in that Chroniton for a photon or quantum. If one of the "mission" torps, like Hargh'peng, suits your fancy, replay to nab that.
2. Console work - as others have said, the antiproton mag regluators are best, however, barring that, a couple of generic cannon consoles would work. Engineering should be 2 neutronium armors and the point defense console. Science should have shield consoles of your choice...
3. BOff abilities. You have 3x ensign level tactical. May I recommend 2x Tactical Team I and High Yield Torp in those 3 slots. To fill out the rest, Cannon Rapid Fire I and Torpedo Spread II in the Lt. slots, then for the Lt Cmdr and Cmdr tacticals you could go Cannon Scatter Volley II and Attack Pattern Omega III, or AP-O I and CSV III... For the science BOff, run a hull heal (Hazard Emitters is practically mandated in anti-plasma situations, of which Borg, Undine and Romulans use a lot) and a shield heal, you could mix/match your heals under engineering (say 2 shield heals and a hull heal, or if you tend to die with mostly intact shields go 2 hulls and a shield, if your survivability shoots up enough you could go say shield heal, hull heal, and emergency power to weapons...
The logic behind this lineup (which is practically what I run on my Armitage):
The 2x Tac Team Is are more for shield balancing than significantly boosting your weapons.
High Yield and Cannon Rapid fire are your "single target beatdowns" - as such, having them at a relatively low level isn't going to hurt. Attack Pattern Omega is a combination damage dealer and "get out of jail free" card - fighting guys with tractor beams? AP-O = escape button. Fighting a big boss? AP-O = more damage. CSV II(I) and Torp Spread II are your "group damage attacks" - of which you will face many. I think I went CSV II and Omega III, but your mileage may vary.
I also went with a stretch where I gave up CRF for AP-B and "cut down" the Torp Spread to take the high yield slot to fit AP-D in. Little less damage but a few more tricks up the sleeve, as it were...
Longer term, the doors are wider open, pick what you want to do and focus on grabbing that...
To rob a line: [quote: Mariemaia Kushrenada] Forum Posting is much like an endless waltz. The three beats of war, peace and revolution continue on forever. However, opinions will change upon the reading of my post.[/quote]
Yeah, +antiproton consoles, I meant that. My R&D is cannons level 8, and beams level 4, then everything else is untouched. I beleive that the consoles that can be made in the cannons menu are all the damage types right? Since I have all AP heavy cannons and turrets with the exception of that chroniton torpedo (that will get replaced with photon or quantum at the next opportunity) I was planning on going wtih antiproton
I will also say there is a pretty steep learning curve in this game, guides are scarce and generally not geared for the novice. You may want to look at space traits for your BOFF's and at what DOFF's you are using. These won't make or break a quest, but every little helps.
Looking at what you wrote, you've tried to follow the breadcrumb quests like you do in most MMOs. ST:O is a little different compared to others.
Given that you can collect items sets (space, ground etc) you are actively encouraged to re-run missions - so theres the first suggestion. Find a set you like and go get the 3 piece set. Theres a very good thread in the Academy sticky on where to get "free gear".
You should also be able to start the reputation quests for the various factions. Some of the dailies to get marks are ridiculously easy - for example the daily to destroy Borg. Each of the 20hour quests rewards a lock box with very good gear in it.
I'm going to agree with the other posters on this OP, but your BOFF set up is not really benefiting your weapon set up.
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
leveling up is a chore for the last few no matter where you go.
My advice is to focus on gearing out rather than leveling up. A well geared and well built 50 can kill anything in the delta quadrant, but here is the thing: the mobs are tuned for a character that has stuff. Delta difficulty seems to be designed around players that totally completed the previous content --- that is, the player has reputation and fleet gear and a decent ship and build capable of dealing 10k or so dps. It is doable with very low dps but its like trying to dig a well with a teaspoon ... it takes longer to kill which means it takes longer to level up and get spec points and everything else.
Personally I would at least have decent upgraded weapons (XIV) before bothering with delta.