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Community Question/Discussion: Creating a Balanced Away Team
divitus
Member Posts: 17 Arc User
in The Academy
Okay, boys, I've got an interesting question for you all: what do you believe is the most balanced Away Team in terms of builds and fulfilling roles within a group? How do you build you're team around your character? Finally, for any advanced players who want to explain their tactics, what equipment, weapons, and abilities does your primary Away Team use, as well as race, rarity, and/or other special additions to make the build that much more effective?
As for me, my current Starfleet Away team is built around a Research Science Officer. I have a rouge-type tactical officer, using Exploits as part of her rotation. I have a defense-based tactical officer, who is meant to take the brunt of the damage the party takes. I have a medical science officer, who has abilities centered around healing and maintaining the crew. And, finally, I have an Engineering Officer, focused around utility and creating temporary defenses and utility stations, sort of a wild card to add to the team.
NOTE: A Balanced Away Team is not the Away Team with the highest DPS. A Balanced Away Team is a Team that covers for each member's weakness, i.e. a medical officer compliments a defensive tactical/engineering officer in that the defensive officer can last a little while longer. Wild Cards, however, don't have to follow this rule. CC-based officers, or those who focus on providing utility and/or providing buffs/debuffs to the rotation, are considered Wild Cards in my book.
As for me, my current Starfleet Away team is built around a Research Science Officer. I have a rouge-type tactical officer, using Exploits as part of her rotation. I have a defense-based tactical officer, who is meant to take the brunt of the damage the party takes. I have a medical science officer, who has abilities centered around healing and maintaining the crew. And, finally, I have an Engineering Officer, focused around utility and creating temporary defenses and utility stations, sort of a wild card to add to the team.
NOTE: A Balanced Away Team is not the Away Team with the highest DPS. A Balanced Away Team is a Team that covers for each member's weakness, i.e. a medical officer compliments a defensive tactical/engineering officer in that the defensive officer can last a little while longer. Wild Cards, however, don't have to follow this rule. CC-based officers, or those who focus on providing utility and/or providing buffs/debuffs to the rotation, are considered Wild Cards in my book.
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Anyhow, it's an interesting question that falls into the RP/headcanon department for me as, if we're honest, away teams don't matter, at all. All they need is a weapon of adequate mark and some armour so they don't drop like redshirts and they're good. There are some combinations that make you run missions faster but ultimately you'll succeed using the default layouts.
First things first, I separate my BOFFs into senior bridge crew (space and limited ground use, they use the deault duty uniforms I chose for my crew), Hazard/Excursion team (they use a ground uniform like Oddyssey Excursion or Honour Guard) and some junior officer "wildcards" (mostly specialists).
Of the away teams/honour guards I try to keep a theme to each of my characters. My Klingon Tac uses a straight forward assault/invasion force team. The character itself uses team buffs like rally cry and damage boosting abilities in addition to boff-enhanced security escorts while two engineers with turrets and drones see that there's basically an "army" available at any time. Having 8 or so turrets, 4 drones and six security escorts plus four jackal mastiffs or hortas in addition to the char and the boffs on the field pretty much guarantees a sweeping victory. In situations a whole five headed team is used a healer and a exploit tac help to balance things out, though sometimes I go for four engineers. The combined firepower of everything leaves virtually no opposition standing.
My starfleet sci on the other hand is themed around using non-lethal means to overcome enemies. She usus debuffs/scanning to analyze the enemy, the risian micro-quake or tripwire drones to immobilize, anasthezine gas to slow and tactical team members use stun grenades and melee. She and a medic provide healing and a engineer boosts the teams defensive capabilities. My Garidian (Romulan, KDF) Sci on the other hand uses the science-magic-box to most effectively dispose of everything. Subspace rifts, fire, ice, radiation, everything to quickly melt away goons. Tacs provide a expose and exploit combo. My Deferi (KDF) Eng and her team are based on disable tactics. Weapon malfunction, phased polaron weapons, slows and holds to keep the enemy at a distance and a mortar to deal with the situation without gettng to physical.
A interesting away team is one almost exclusively deploying mortars and then marking a target from afar via tricorder scan or fire on my mark. When four or more mortar shells hit, enemy groups drop without another shot fired. But cooldowns make this tactic actually take longer than just plowing through the enemy.
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Should I care? Anyone's opinion is fair game!
Savik - Vulcan Fed Temporal Sci
Dahar Masters Fleet: Alphal'Fa - Alien KDF Engineer Qun'pau - Rom/KDF Engineer D'nesh - Orion KDF Scientist Ghen'khan - Liberated KDF Tac
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STO player since November 2013
I am thinking lately to add one of the krenim engies from the research lab. I use them on space, but one of them got 2 good ground traits too: sup creative and sup soldier. And just rank up command aoes on him, like hammer and anvil, devastating weaponry, take cover and strategic analisys. But thats just for future plans cuz it seems the special krenim ground trait doenst work atm.
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Years back, when I started playing I assumed so much control over my boffs, even positioned them, let them set up ambushes while I lure enemies towards their position and let them sweep areas on their own. Today I don't do that at all. I just run and let them run, doing their thing and it all works. If that's a sign of power creep or a sign that at this point I know the enemy AI and know exactly what will happen every time so there are no surprises I can't tell.
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Qapla'!
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Then there specific scenarios. The Rom rep T5 mission works best with a team of all Engineers.
Nimbus.... there is insane fun to be had there when you have a team of intel officers who use Photonic decoy. The decoys are kinda like security dudes, but will actively seek out enemies to aggro just because they're there. You can get the entire map after you sometimes.
My character Tsin'xing
But in any cause go for either debuffing or AOE abilities if possible go for both. My main tac has 4 engineer doffs accompany him on away missions. captain debuffs calls in reinforcements if needed.. engineers make the entire map a giant mine field with auto turrets, medical generators and shield generator thingies... and it's pritty much b00m b00m b00m.
My entineering captain has 4 other engineers accompany him.. because he's well biased and only cares about engineers.. even the SRO's on the bridge have to wear yellow uniforms lol (if only it was possible xD) one giant mine field with orbital strike turrents generators drones you name it... does about the same DPS a pug does in space with their ship. lol
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balancing is not really possible since the game doesn't force certain conditions on you as for having either damage or hit points and so on.. so you can overwhelm the enemy by focussing on either specific career.. and on ground for doffs that's engineers imho that rule all.
My character Tsin'xing
I tend to avoid the close range powers on Boffs so they don't charge into groups of enemies and get killed. Gear-wise, I tend to use a mix of Rep shields on them for various team buffs.
For the "short staff" away teams, I'll roll with an overall Sci / Tac / Eng team - using the medic sci if I'm not rolling as a medic...
And for those "bring a show-and-tell" BOff missions, I'll grab my XO Orion...
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]
In STO I've settled on (including myself as a sci captain) 2 engineers, 1 sci and 1 tactical. Engineers are really flexible in this game and can move from debuffing targets or AOE really well. I'm a sucker for hand phasers so I've built my team in a way to be able to take out most all targets using only federation hand phasers. Because of this I utilize debuffs that reduce shielding and movement and buffs which increase damage. My hand phasers are a mixture of stun and wide beam and all of them are set with knock back which results in enemies falling down all over the place and not causing that much damage.
Kind of the like TV bad guys.
My character Tsin'xing
I've never been able to figure out the individual specializations... maybe I just haven't experimented with them as of yet.
My character Tsin'xing
Aye, guess I should invest at the earliest opportunity, then...
If you don't need help...well whatever looks cool I guess.
All my boffs are geared with the toon's own spares. Meaning mostly old rep sets on my main and whatever extra freebies I got on alts. IMO boffs are more valuable as storage space than soldiers.