I haven't been playing STO that long and am trying to figure out these two ships. The Excelsior has 4 tac consoles vs the Galaxy's 3. Yet, with the same weapons and consoles the two ships are neck and neck in DPS. I'm consistently doing anywhere from 10k to 11k.
The only difference I can think of is the 3-piece set the Galaxy has that raises its weapon power max to 130. Could that be what's keeping the the Galaxy comparable to the Excelsior, in spite of the one less tac console?
Other than the 3-piece set, everything else is basically the same:
5 MK XIII Phasers
1 Borg Cutting Beam
2 MK XIII Quantum Torpedos
Zero-Point Console
Assimilated Module
2 Fleet RCS ResAll Consoles on the Galaxy
2 Fleet Neutronium +Turn on the Excelsior
If you put identical builds on both ships (as identical as you can make them) the Excel should pull slightly ahead, although 5 weapon power equates to 10% (final mod) damage so there's that and the 3 piece gives the saucer section grav well for what that's worth, I don't know without running the numbers although on an optimised build I think the Excel should come out slightly better.
That's what I would have thought too. But they're neck and neck. If one has the advantage, it's the Galaxy by a couple hundred DPS. This is without separating the saucer. All my logs have included the console but not separating.
The only difference I can think of is the 3-piece set the Galaxy has that raises its weapon power max to 130. Could that be what's keeping the the Galaxy comparable to the Excelsior, in spite of the one less tac console?
It's not the 3 pc it's just the console, Molecular Cohesion Nullifier, that gives the 130 cap, so you can go with just that console and drop the rest if you want.
If you put identical builds on both ships (as identical as you can make them) the Excel should pull slightly ahead, although 5 weapon power equates to 10% (final mod) damage so there's that and the 3 piece gives the saucer section grav well for what that's worth, I don't know without running the numbers although on an optimised build I think the Excel should come out slightly better.
The galaxy saucer does not ever get gravity well, the chevron on the odyssey gets it with it's 3 pc set.
It's not the 3 pc it's just the console, Molecular Cohesion Nullifier, that gives the 130 cap, so you can go with just that console and drop the rest if you want.
You're absolutely right. Having at least two of the three-piece set greatly improves maneuverability though.
If you put identical builds on both ships (as identical as you can make them) the Excel should pull slightly ahead, although 5 weapon power equates to 10% (final mod) damage so there's that and the 3 piece gives the saucer section grav well for what that's worth, I don't know without running the numbers although on an optimised build I think the Excel should come out slightly better.
As a captain of both ship I can confirm this.
"I rather believe that time is a companion who goes with us on the journey, and reminds us to cherish every moment... because they'll never come again. What we leave behind is not as important as how we lived" Picard to Riker
Because you didn't build it right. Builds and optimizing them is far more than "slap the same ****" from one ship to another.
The trick is making that ultra heavy Cmdr & LtCdr Eng work for you. This is the T6 Galaxy that has LtCdr TAC on it, not the poorly armed Lt TAC only T5 version.
Because you didn't build it right. Builds and optimizing them is far more than "slap the same ****" from one ship to another.
The trick is making that ultra heavy Cmdr & LtCdr Eng work for you. This is the T6 Galaxy that has LtCdr TAC on it, not the poorly armed Lt TAC only T5 version.
I'm not sure what you are suggesting tbh.
The T5 GCS already had a Cmdr and Lt.Cmdr. Engineer, i don't see how to make this a advantage for the T6 GCS now (compared to the T5 version).
Sure you can use some "commander" abilities at the Lt.Cmdr station. But the only one worth of using (imo) is Concentrate Firepower III. The rest is nice, if you prefer to serve the team as a healboat... (just as cryptics devs want the GCS to be, a immobile hospital for their beloved escorts, lol)
Seriously a intel spec for the GCS would have been much more fitting (Overload subsys., Surgical Strikes), that's what we have SEEN the Galaxy actually do, but i can't remember the Galaxy ever do:
- Overwhelm Emitters: Mark foe for extra shield drain and attackers shield regeneration
- Reroute Power from Life Support: Gain extra power by sacrificing crew and recharge speed (wth?!?)
- Ambush Marker: Mark area for stealth buff. If foe: Summons attack vessels. Damage buff.
- Needs of the Many: Remove shields to provide temporary hull to the team
- Rally Point Marker: Mark area for shield, hull regeneration, debuff removal.
- Subspace Interception: Teleport to ally <50% health, defense buff, make ally immune
- Call Emergency Artillery: Summons other ships to bomb current location of target
- Phalanx Formation: Mark area for accuracy and defense buff
- Suppression Barrage: Modify weapons to reduce target damage, flight speed, turn rate, accuracy
Idk what the devs where thinking when assigning the Galaxy to "command" ships, lol.
"...'With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured...the first thought forbidden...the first freedom denied--chains us all irrevocably.' ... The first time any man's freedom is trodden on, we're all damaged. I fear that today--"
- (TNG) Picard, quoting Judge Aaron Satie
Idk what the devs where thinking when assigning the Galaxy to "command" ships, lol.
To be fair, the Galaxy is a prime example for a command ship. Placing it under "intelligence" would make absolutely no sense. Mind you, the skills "Intelligence" uses are far from being intelligence based but are mostly engineering based - that's another issue. But in terms of classification a Galaxy is a class A command ship.
@ topic: I don't even use command skills on my Galaxy. Since the T5 retrofit version I found that having emergency power to weapons III and emergency power to shields III in the engineering slots is a very powerful combination. Cocnentrate firepower III is arguably a very good candidate for the LTC slot as well, I sometimes experiment with the level II variant (because the III is not avialable to me) but all in all having all four emergency powers, RSP and ET I and/or II are very handy and powerful skills. I haven't made a academy link for my T6 galaxy yet but I like her very much.
Ironically, I don't even know what I am supposed to do with the tac LTC people cried for for years. I don't use BFAW - I originally have, suing it as aggro generator and point defense as it was supposed to be, but with the current meta it bores me and I try to build all my chars and ships without using BFAW. So I'm currently alternating between attack patterns (omega, beta II) or Beam overload 3. I'm using the wide angle quantum, so a high level torpedo skill is a bit of a waste butmaybe high yield 3 would be worth a try.
Kemocite weapons would also be worthwhile, but that's a trend like BFAW at the moment and the lvl I ability costs more than a lockbox ship on the exchange, so good luck with that XD
^ Memory Alpha.org is not canon. It's a open wiki with arbitrary rules. Only what can be cited from an episode is. ^
"No. Men do not roar. Women roar. Then they hurl heavy objects... and claw at you." -Worf, son of Mogh
"A filthy, mangy beast, but in its bony breast beat the heart of a warrior" - "faithful" (...) "but ever-ready to follow the call of the wild." - Martok, about a Targ
"That pig smelled horrid. A sweet-sour, extremely pungent odor. I showered and showered, and it took me a week to get rid of it!" - Robert Justman, appreciating Emmy-Lou
To be fair, the Galaxy is a prime example for a command ship. Placing it under "intelligence" would make absolutely no sense. Mind you, the skills "Intelligence" uses are far from being intelligence based but are mostly engineering based - that's another issue. But in terms of classification a Galaxy is a class A command ship.
In theory, yes the GCS is a prime command ship. No doubt.
But the availlable command abilities are totally uncharacteristic for a GCS. Those abilities suit for healer and support ships, which is almost the complete opposite to command, lol.
To be honest everything i would give a Command specialisation is already distributed to other branches.
Tac and science first of all.
I know this isn't a GCS thread, so sorry to the OP.
@ topic: I don't even use command skills on my Galaxy. Since the T5 retrofit version I found that having emergency power to weapons III and emergency power to shields III in the engineering slots is a very powerful combination. Cocnentrate firepower III is arguably a very good candidate for the LTC slot as well, I sometimes experiment with the level II variant (because the III is not avialable to me) but all in all having all four emergency powers, RSP and ET I and/or II are very handy and powerful skills. I haven't made a academy link for my T6 galaxy yet but I like her very much.
Ironically, I don't even know what I am supposed to do with the tac LTC people cried for for years. I don't use BFAW - I originally have, suing it as aggro generator and point defense as it was supposed to be, but with the current meta it bores me and I try to build all my chars and ships without using BFAW. So I'm currently alternating between attack patterns (omega, beta II) or Beam overload 3. I'm using the wide angle quantum, so a high level torpedo skill is a bit of a waste butmaybe high yield 3 would be worth a try.
Kemocite weapons would also be worthwhile, but that's a trend like BFAW at the moment and the lvl I ability costs more than a lockbox ship on the exchange, so good luck with that XD
I fully agree with you.
I'd also recommend to use DEM if it would have such a rediculus high CD.
The wide angle quantum launchers are the only torpedoes i see worth using on a slow cruiser, it's a pity there are no other 180° torps in the game (except for those mysterious one which come with a lockbox ship). They should have made [arc] a Crafting mod imo.
I'm also not a huge fan of FAW. I'd rather have a Beam: Scatter Volley like power.
(must say i don't give much about DPS, i rather search for ways to make the ship fit for my playstyle.)
"...'With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured...the first thought forbidden...the first freedom denied--chains us all irrevocably.' ... The first time any man's freedom is trodden on, we're all damaged. I fear that today--"
- (TNG) Picard, quoting Judge Aaron Satie
In theory, yes the GCS is a prime command ship. No doubt.
But the availlable command abilities are totally uncharacteristic for a GCS. Those abilities suit for healer and support ships, which is almost the complete opposite to command, lol.
To be honest everything i would give a Command specialisation is already distributed to other branches.
Tac and science first of all.
I know this isn't a GCS thread, so sorry to the OP.
In theory the Command skills are very nice. They are themed around forming an anchorpoint for the task force like staying in formation (the "follow me" ability is fantastic in theory), pointing out weakpoints (concentrate firepower) and so on. I think it fits a Galaxy very well and when you are alone you swap the command skills for engineering ones. But the metagame once again sabotages a good conept since a BFAW boat dealing lots of damage doesn't need to stay in formation, doesn't need targets to be selected and everything dies before a feel of formation tactic can even be seen. So... yeah.
I fully agree with you.
I'd also recommend to use DEM if it would have such a rediculus high CD.
The wide angle quantum launchers are the only torpedoes i see worth using on a slow druiser, it's a pity there are no other 180° torps in the game (except for those mysterious one which come with a lockbox ship). They should have made [arc] a Crafting mod imo.
I'm also not a huge fan of FAW. I'd rather have a Beam: Scatter Volley like power.
(must say i don't give much about DPS, i rather search for ways to make the ship fit for my playstyle.)
I use DEM III on my Negh'Var, the galaxy has the Aux to SIF III at that position. I do wonder if EWP III or RSP III are worth considering, after all the T6 mastery for the Galaxy does boost RSP and even adds an offensive component to it.
^ Memory Alpha.org is not canon. It's a open wiki with arbitrary rules. Only what can be cited from an episode is. ^
"No. Men do not roar. Women roar. Then they hurl heavy objects... and claw at you." -Worf, son of Mogh
"A filthy, mangy beast, but in its bony breast beat the heart of a warrior" - "faithful" (...) "but ever-ready to follow the call of the wild." - Martok, about a Targ
"That pig smelled horrid. A sweet-sour, extremely pungent odor. I showered and showered, and it took me a week to get rid of it!" - Robert Justman, appreciating Emmy-Lou
I use DEM III on my Negh'Var, the galaxy has the Aux to SIF III at that position. I do wonder if EWP III or RSP III are worth considering, after all the T6 mastery for the Galaxy does boost RSP and even adds an offensive component to it.
Like DEM, RSP CD is way too long to be actually useful imo.
You could use A2B of course, but there are better alternatives people say.
I used EWP myself for a long time on cruiser ships, but as you said when doing STFs or other missions involving other players they just BFAW everthing into oblivion...
Or some annoying little Escort/Raider/pilot thingy comes across and kills everything anyways, lol.
"...'With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured...the first thought forbidden...the first freedom denied--chains us all irrevocably.' ... The first time any man's freedom is trodden on, we're all damaged. I fear that today--"
- (TNG) Picard, quoting Judge Aaron Satie
Like DEM, RSP CD is way too long to be actually useful imo.
You could use A2B of course, but there are better alternatives people say.
I used EWP myself for a long time on cruiser ships, but as you said when doing STFs or other missions involving other players they just BFAW everthing into oblivion...
Or some annoying little Escort/Raider/pilot thingy comes across and kills everything anyways, lol.
I really wish Cryptic would pay some attenion to CMDR Engineer abilities, none of them are particularly exciting, or effective compared to what Tactical and Science offer.
I really wish Cryptic would pay some attenion to CMDR Engineer abilities, none of them are particularly exciting, or effective compared to what Tactical and Science offer.
DEM and Rotate shields are pretty effective. Aeton beam can be effective in a 1 on 1
DEM and Rotate shields are pretty effective. Aeton beam can be effective in a 1 on 1
In times of A2B builds they where first choice, but without that they have a CD of 1,5 and 2 mins.
"...'With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured...the first thought forbidden...the first freedom denied--chains us all irrevocably.' ... The first time any man's freedom is trodden on, we're all damaged. I fear that today--"
- (TNG) Picard, quoting Judge Aaron Satie
Ironically, I don't even know what I am supposed to do with the tac LTC people cried for for years
If you don't use auxtobat and bfaw, or don't use a reciprocity build with bfaw, you can use attack pattern delta in the lt slot or in the lt commander one.
It will debuf your npc and buf you up ( it a very good tanking skill )
Like DEM, RSP CD is way too long to be actually useful imo.
You could use A2B of course, but there are better alternatives people say.
I used EWP myself for a long time on cruiser ships, but as you said when doing STFs or other missions involving other players they just BFAW everthing into oblivion...
Or some annoying little Escort/Raider/pilot thingy comes across and kills everything anyways, lol.
Dem is only worth if you combine it with marion doff, rsp cooldown was not much a problem with auxtobat but especially with the doff that can extend it duration to 23sec, it is now of a little use thank to the new tackyon beam power that force you to hull tank.
I never really found the point of running a single DEM tbh, since its CD is 1.5 minutes. Sure you can run 2 copies of it but i find other powers (Especially Lt.Cmdr. level) more effective/useful than DEM.
Like neo1nx said, DEM has its use if you use marion doff. But without, it seems rather limited to me.
They should simply introduce some EptX 4 boff powers. *grin
"...'With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured...the first thought forbidden...the first freedom denied--chains us all irrevocably.' ... The first time any man's freedom is trodden on, we're all damaged. I fear that today--"
- (TNG) Picard, quoting Judge Aaron Satie
Comments
It's not the 3 pc it's just the console, Molecular Cohesion Nullifier, that gives the 130 cap, so you can go with just that console and drop the rest if you want.
The galaxy saucer does not ever get gravity well, the chevron on the odyssey gets it with it's 3 pc set.
You're absolutely right. Having at least two of the three-piece set greatly improves maneuverability though.
As a captain of both ship I can confirm this.
"I rather believe that time is a companion who goes with us on the journey, and reminds us to cherish every moment... because they'll never come again. What we leave behind is not as important as how we lived" Picard to Riker
Do you know roughly how much higher the Excel's DPS is?
Because you didn't build it right. Builds and optimizing them is far more than "slap the same ****" from one ship to another.
The trick is making that ultra heavy Cmdr & LtCdr Eng work for you. This is the T6 Galaxy that has LtCdr TAC on it, not the poorly armed Lt TAC only T5 version.
The T5 GCS already had a Cmdr and Lt.Cmdr. Engineer, i don't see how to make this a advantage for the T6 GCS now (compared to the T5 version).
Sure you can use some "commander" abilities at the Lt.Cmdr station. But the only one worth of using (imo) is Concentrate Firepower III. The rest is nice, if you prefer to serve the team as a healboat... (just as cryptics devs want the GCS to be, a immobile hospital for their beloved escorts, lol)
Seriously a intel spec for the GCS would have been much more fitting (Overload subsys., Surgical Strikes), that's what we have SEEN the Galaxy actually do, but i can't remember the Galaxy ever do:
- Overwhelm Emitters: Mark foe for extra shield drain and attackers shield regeneration
- Reroute Power from Life Support: Gain extra power by sacrificing crew and recharge speed (wth?!?)
- Ambush Marker: Mark area for stealth buff. If foe: Summons attack vessels. Damage buff.
- Needs of the Many: Remove shields to provide temporary hull to the team
- Rally Point Marker: Mark area for shield, hull regeneration, debuff removal.
- Subspace Interception: Teleport to ally <50% health, defense buff, make ally immune
- Call Emergency Artillery: Summons other ships to bomb current location of target
- Phalanx Formation: Mark area for accuracy and defense buff
- Suppression Barrage: Modify weapons to reduce target damage, flight speed, turn rate, accuracy
Idk what the devs where thinking when assigning the Galaxy to "command" ships, lol.
To be fair, the Galaxy is a prime example for a command ship. Placing it under "intelligence" would make absolutely no sense. Mind you, the skills "Intelligence" uses are far from being intelligence based but are mostly engineering based - that's another issue. But in terms of classification a Galaxy is a class A command ship.
@ topic: I don't even use command skills on my Galaxy. Since the T5 retrofit version I found that having emergency power to weapons III and emergency power to shields III in the engineering slots is a very powerful combination. Cocnentrate firepower III is arguably a very good candidate for the LTC slot as well, I sometimes experiment with the level II variant (because the III is not avialable to me) but all in all having all four emergency powers, RSP and ET I and/or II are very handy and powerful skills. I haven't made a academy link for my T6 galaxy yet but I like her very much.
Ironically, I don't even know what I am supposed to do with the tac LTC people cried for for years. I don't use BFAW - I originally have, suing it as aggro generator and point defense as it was supposed to be, but with the current meta it bores me and I try to build all my chars and ships without using BFAW. So I'm currently alternating between attack patterns (omega, beta II) or Beam overload 3. I'm using the wide angle quantum, so a high level torpedo skill is a bit of a waste butmaybe high yield 3 would be worth a try.
Kemocite weapons would also be worthwhile, but that's a trend like BFAW at the moment and the lvl I ability costs more than a lockbox ship on the exchange, so good luck with that XD
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But the availlable command abilities are totally uncharacteristic for a GCS. Those abilities suit for healer and support ships, which is almost the complete opposite to command, lol.
To be honest everything i would give a Command specialisation is already distributed to other branches.
Tac and science first of all.
I know this isn't a GCS thread, so sorry to the OP.
I fully agree with you.
I'd also recommend to use DEM if it would have such a rediculus high CD.
The wide angle quantum launchers are the only torpedoes i see worth using on a slow cruiser, it's a pity there are no other 180° torps in the game (except for those mysterious one which come with a lockbox ship). They should have made [arc] a Crafting mod imo.
I'm also not a huge fan of FAW. I'd rather have a Beam: Scatter Volley like power.
(must say i don't give much about DPS, i rather search for ways to make the ship fit for my playstyle.)
In theory the Command skills are very nice. They are themed around forming an anchorpoint for the task force like staying in formation (the "follow me" ability is fantastic in theory), pointing out weakpoints (concentrate firepower) and so on. I think it fits a Galaxy very well and when you are alone you swap the command skills for engineering ones. But the metagame once again sabotages a good conept since a BFAW boat dealing lots of damage doesn't need to stay in formation, doesn't need targets to be selected and everything dies before a feel of formation tactic can even be seen. So... yeah.
I use DEM III on my Negh'Var, the galaxy has the Aux to SIF III at that position. I do wonder if EWP III or RSP III are worth considering, after all the T6 mastery for the Galaxy does boost RSP and even adds an offensive component to it.
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You could use A2B of course, but there are better alternatives people say.
I used EWP myself for a long time on cruiser ships, but as you said when doing STFs or other missions involving other players they just BFAW everthing into oblivion...
Or some annoying little Escort/Raider/pilot thingy comes across and kills everything anyways, lol.
I really wish Cryptic would pay some attenion to CMDR Engineer abilities, none of them are particularly exciting, or effective compared to what Tactical and Science offer.
DEM and Rotate shields are pretty effective. Aeton beam can be effective in a 1 on 1
If you don't use auxtobat and bfaw, or don't use a reciprocity build with bfaw, you can use attack pattern delta in the lt slot or in the lt commander one.
It will debuf your npc and buf you up ( it a very good tanking skill )
http://sto-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?t=528931&page=271
Dem is only worth if you combine it with marion doff, rsp cooldown was not much a problem with auxtobat but especially with the doff that can extend it duration to 23sec, it is now of a little use thank to the new tackyon beam power that force you to hull tank.
http://sto-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?t=528931&page=271
Like neo1nx said, DEM has its use if you use marion doff. But without, it seems rather limited to me.
They should simply introduce some EptX 4 boff powers. *grin