As much as I wanted, and tried to like the Kor, it's disappointing on every level except the artwork.
What is this ship for?
Is it PvP? If so, why the trait that boosts CSV? That makes no sense.
Is it a glass cannon? It has 1 less weapon, and only 4 tac consoles. All glass, no cannon.
Is it for the new (post DR) content? Too little hull, not enough oomph for the hp sponges, no Intel.
I can't understand why I would want this, other than "It's a Bird of Prey." Which is almost enough, but not quite.
It sucks, because I'm pretty sure this is the last one they're going to make, regardless of how well it sells. The Bird of Prey line in this game (at least post-DR) is an oudated Cryptic concept, and they really have no desire to rectify that. Slap a new (very nice!) skin on it, a few minor tweaks, and say they gave us what we wanted. Um, no.
Cryptic was at "take my money, as long as it doesn't suck." Well, they didn't take my money.
Basically all of this.
The Birds of Prey are an All-Universal BOFF station ship. The Kor/B'Rel has Enhanced Battle Cloak. It has Raider Flanking. The only ship in the entire game that has this total package. What can YOU do with that? That is something the current KDF playerbase as a whole no longer knows what to do with, it seems.
What can YOU do with that? That is something the current KDF playerbase as a whole no longer knows what to do with, it seems.
Except a few of us that have been around long enough to have fallen for the BoP playstyle and have experimented heavily to find out exactly what we can do with it.
Funny.. y'all are complaining... so far, the Kor is the only bird I've ever hit 10k DPS in ISA with. Not even my Mat'ha, as much as I love that ship, has done that for me.
As much as I wanted, and tried to like the Kor, it's disappointing on every level except the artwork.
What is this ship for?
Is it PvP? If so, why the trait that boosts CSV? That makes no sense.
Is it a glass cannon? It has 1 less weapon, and only 4 tac consoles. All glass, no cannon.
Is it for the new (post DR) content? Too little hull, not enough oomph for the hp sponges, no Intel.
I can't understand why I would want this, other than "It's a Bird of Prey." Which is almost enough, but not quite.
It sucks, because I'm pretty sure this is the last one they're going to make, regardless of how well it sells. The Bird of Prey line in this game (at least post-DR) is an oudated Cryptic concept, and they really have no desire to rectify that. Slap a new (very nice!) skin on it, a few minor tweaks, and say they gave us what we wanted. Um, no.
Cryptic was at "take my money, as long as it doesn't suck." Well, they didn't take my money.
Basically all of this.
The Birds of Prey are an All-Universal BOFF station ship. The Kor/B'Rel has Enhanced Battle Cloak. It has Raider Flanking. The only ship in the entire game that has this total package. What can YOU do with that? That is something the current KDF playerbase as a whole no longer knows what to do with, it seems.
I think the advantage/disadvantage of the BoP classes is that it's designed with gimmicky versatility in mind. You can't play it like any other ship where you just min-max certain DPS builds. It has universal stations everywhere. Which means you can build it up exactly how you want.
You want to hit up ISA with some friends and are missing a sci ship for control? No problem, you can load it up with nothing but sci abilities if you'd like (assuming you have boffs for it). Hell, sci ships can't equip this many sci abilities. You also have enhanced battle cloak, so you can heal up while cloaked if you'd like. Or shoot torps and lay mines.
It'll never top the DPS charts. It's not meant to. This is a ship to keep the enemy guessing. I very gladly got my Orion girl one and I look forward to playing with it. Honestly, my only beef is that it requires a Tier 5 starbase to get the fleet version
What can YOU do with that? That is something the current KDF playerbase as a whole no longer knows what to do with, it seems.
Except a few of us that have been around long enough to have fallen for the BoP playstyle and have experimented heavily to find out exactly what we can do with it.
Versatility and Enhanced Battle Cloak is the name of the game for the B'Rel/Kor. Haven't you had a ship before where you thought, "Man, if only this one station was at least this rank" or "If only this had a ___ LtCmdr for here."? The price of the versatility is -1 total BOFF skill count for the Non-Norgh BOPs but the Norgh pays for the full BOFF skill count with -1 total Consoles.
Run wild with it. You can go traditional with Cmdr TAC, 2 ENG stations, 1 SCI station if you're very concerned with heals or survivability. Or hell, slot A2D with the proper Matter-Antimatter Specialist DOFF and the BOP can scream along very well while having good resists while A2D is running. Or go Cmdr TAC with at least a LtCmdr SCI station or more for the SCI-Scort style. Or go with a SCI-heavy layout with Cmdr SCI. Another route is Cmdr TAC with one other TAC station, minimal ENG/SCI, to support a TAC heavy build with CSV, BO, Torpedo ability, Attack Pattern due to a mixed weapons loadout. There is also the Torpedo Boat route, something the B'Rel was the original innovator for due to the Enhanced Battle Cloak.
Anyways, the BOPs can be setup to do practically anything. It may not be as good as a fixed BOFF station ship for a specific purpose, i.e. a 5/2 Escort for Tactical capability. But unlike the fixed BOFF station ships, you can setup to do anything. Go as far or as little into TAC, ENG, or SCI as your playstyle prefers. It's a platform to experiment because no other ship has the Full Universal layout. Just remember, the EBC gives you options that Standard and even Battle Cloak doesn't offer. And again, remember that all BOPs are thinly hulled.
Birds of Prey require a more experienced hand to succeed. You never turret with her like I see many players do with their TAC Cruisers, Escorts. Your flying style, whatever bad flying habits you learned before, do not apply on a more fragile BOP. Speed, bonus defense if you intend to linger in a fight is very important for survival. The BOP user must know when the time is right to slow down and throw in a barrage of attacks, and know when to break off to keep the ship in one piece.
You have in any typical BOP Battle Cloaks. For the B'Rel/Kor, Enhanced Battle Cloaks. You also have FULL UNIVERSAL stations, something Feds have long been jealous about. No other ship in any faction, even in the KDF itself, has this total package. Not even the Roms' T'Varo, Faeht have this level of stealth and customization room. The trick is coming up with a build to make the BOP work. Whether you try to make her a SCI Boat or a more typical TAC oriented ship, or even a support Heal Boat, or whatever sort of crazy mix... You must always take into account your lighter hull.
Another rule to remember is not to engage battle cloaks while under heavy fire. Recall that the moment you hit the cloak button, shields drop and it takes several seconds for cloaks to fully engage. Do that while under heavy fire, you're going to get slammed. Only the Roms can get away with cloaking under heavy fire because practically all their RRW-specific BOFF & Captain traits bring a stupid amount of extra +Defense. Feds & KDF don't get that magnitude of defense.
I never thought I'd see the day the KDF doesn't know how to use the Bird of Prey.
What this player said nails it on the head. The bird of prey is not a federation ship, nor is it a Romulan ship. I used the Hegh'ta bird of prey when it was the best ship you had for elite stfs against Borg. I was quite good at using it in elites stfs. If you got this ship and assumed, the one you the posters are talking about, that it was going to be able to take loads of damage. I suggest you read the quote above. A couple last things to add as the person I quoted covered what needed to be covered. The quick turn rate on the Bird of Prey allows you to change shield arcs rapidly after each attack. Switching from one shield arc to the next for each volley of incoming fire. Tact teams are your friends, along with structural integrety, and hazzard emitters. One last note, though I was never this good. The KDF faction has the distinction of once putting out the best pilots in star trek online. Back then it was not uncommon to see a KDF pilot in a Hegh'ta heavy Bird of prey kicking the living daylights out of federation players in pvp. The ship is quick and fast, and requires quick thinking, and even faster reflexes at times. In the end I say this view the new tier six bird of prey as a challange to be conquered. Ask around if your having issues with it. I know I did when I first started using Birds of Prey as my main ship.
Oh from reading this thread, it seems that the Bird of Prey is a different class of ship than the typical podding starship. I'm new to the game (just started playing this year). This is my first Klingon player and have only used Bird of Prey ships. I am now a major general with a Hegh'ta and have really enjoyed playing it.
I have found that this is primarily a maneuver and position starship. The objective is to get on the flanks and rear of an enemy ship. The problem I am having right now is completing the daily satellite repair mission. At the end I have to defend a satellite against several true way ships. If I try and break off to get in position, the ships start targeting the satellite or I get tag teamed. One ship comes after me while the other goes after the satellite. Many times I don't have the time to cloak and get on their tail as it gives them time to attack the satellite.
Has anyone successfully completed this mission with a BoP?
Hitting them from behind is optimal but it is not required. You'll also find that the last group that warps in are comprised of very low level ships. Simply take them out first before focusing on the heavies.
Also, the Subspace Jump console from the Ch'Tang is very fun on a BoP.
As for surviving in a constantly cloaking BoP, it's always nice to pop an Aux2SIF, Brace for Impact, Hazard Emitters, or whatever hull strengthening ability right before cloaking. That or just get a BoP with enhanced battle cloaking so that you can use healing abilities even while cloaked.
Oh from reading this thread, it seems that the Bird of Prey is a different class of ship than the typical podding starship. I'm new to the game (just started playing this year). This is my first Klingon player and have only used Bird of Prey ships. I am now a major general with a Hegh'ta and have really enjoyed playing it.
I have found that this is primarily a maneuver and position starship. The objective is to get on the flanks and rear of an enemy ship. The problem I am having right now is completing the daily satellite repair mission. At the end I have to defend a satellite against several true way ships. If I try and break off to get in position, the ships start targeting the satellite or I get tag teamed. One ship comes after me while the other goes after the satellite. Many times I don't have the time to cloak and get on their tail as it gives them time to attack the satellite.
Has anyone successfully completed this mission with a BoP?
yes you can breeze through that mission with a BoP. it may be your weapons dragging you down, you should throw us a link or tell us what you got it outfitted with. being new and coming from fed side has probably taught you a few bad habits as well. that don't work well on the kdf side. rainbows and/or skittles usually not a good thing.
Trophies for killing FEDS ahh those were the days.
btw there is a lot of talk in here about single target and not keeping up with faw etc. You do NOT have to play your BOP with cannons. I do, but there is no reason you can't strap a set of DBBs up front and FAW spam just like any other ship. Beams flank groups just fine with faw. The ship *can* do it, and do it well. The player may not want to do that, but its perfectly capable. And even here, its not the best for that job either... for the same reasons...
I ended up doing this, cannons are, well cannon, but DBBs worked so much better for me. Helps that FAW3 is only LtC power too, freeing up boff slots for other things.
Is it me or is the OP complaining that he bought a ship that is best suited for PvP but sucks at PvE?
What did you expect? This is PvE-Online, you want a good ship for that buy a pilot ship (again a class that makes more sense in PvP, just like Intel, science and cruisers).
I've managed to do 35k in ISA in my Fleet Kor. I'm also a regular in Ker'rat and for the most part I can handle most things thrown at me. It's a very versatile ship, you just gotta practice if you're not familiar with how BoP's work
I just came back to the game, literally an hour or two before the maintenance. I've been away almost 2 years, and decided to dust off my KDF character. It was nice to return to 6000 zen, so I spent it on the 3 faction bundle that had the Kor, the Valiant, and the new Rom-scort. I quickly grabbed some Mark 13 ultra purple disruptor weaps and a quant launcher, and the rest of the ship I just hodge podged together a mix of purple mark 12 components and consoles. Right before the server dropped, I took her into a red alert and was smashing through Borgies like tissue. The Kor is absolutely fine, it's a beautiful hit and run machine. I find it really fun, and you can do great damage, even if you trade the occasional death. It's just all about the playstyle.
Lifetime subber and former STO player from when it didn't suck.
I just came back to the game, literally an hour or two before the maintenance. I've been away almost 2 years, and decided to dust off my KDF character. It was nice to return to 6000 zen, so I spent it on the 3 faction bundle that had the Kor, the Valiant, and the new Rom-scort. I quickly grabbed some Mark 13 ultra purple disruptor weaps and a quant launcher, and the rest of the ship I just hodge podged together a mix of purple mark 12 components and consoles. Right before the server dropped, I took her into a red alert and was smashing through Borgies like tissue. The Kor is absolutely fine, it's a beautiful hit and run machine. I find it really fun, and you can do great damage, even if you trade the occasional death. It's just all about the playstyle.
The Birds of Prey are the only ships in the game that have a compromise for the benefits they give you. In the hands of a savvy player, it can still do quite well.
They are not E-Z Mode ships. You don't have Pilot Maneuvers like the Pilot Ships to instantly save your butt every handful of seconds.
Is the BoP scale in game a bit off? When I look at the BoP and then see that the crew compliment is around 30 warriors, it seems a bit big compared with a K'tinga that has 700-800 crew or a Vor'cha that has 1500. Must simply be for playability purposes I'm guessing.
it's true that the BOP is more versatile as any other ship - but this comes at a cost. Other compareable ships have more weapons and BOff stations.
While the BOP CAN do well, it is situational. If you only fire torps and abuse enhanced battle cloak, you won't do damage in PvEs. On the other Hand flanking Bonus gives you an edge when it Comes to Peak damage. Again, this is situational.
The B'rel and T6 versions are ships I keep for fun and storyline missions and - very much like the fleet scourge - because I enjoy playing them.
But in PvE they are not high end ships. And in PvP I think the Rom Intel escort warbird is what the B'rel was suppose to be. This is also down to the fact they nerfed the flanking Bonus against other Players.
If B'rel had a Cmd universal Intel Station, Things would be very different methinks.
18 characters
KDF: 2 tacs, 2 engs, 3 scis
KDF Roms: 3 tacs, 1 eng, 1 scis
FED: 2 tacs, 1 eng, 2 scis
TOS: 1 tac
all on T5 rep (up to temporal)
all have mastered Intel tree (and some more specs Points)
highest DPS: 60.982
Is the BoP scale in game a bit off? When I look at the BoP and then see that the crew compliment is around 30 warriors, it seems a bit big compared with a K'tinga that has 700-800 crew or a Vor'cha that has 1500. Must simply be for playability purposes I'm guessing.
The game has always been awful in its ship scaling. For example, the JHDC should be monstrous (at roughly 1km+ in length) yet it's very average in size for the game. The Breen Sarr Theln's Plesh Brek Raider hangar units are almost as big as the carrier itself. Watching it launch those things is like watching a mouse give birth to a pair of adult elephants.
I fly my Kor as a pure torp spitter... no epts (epte and epta instead) only hull heals (he, the pilot one, a2sif and eng team) and sci magic with hyt spam and apo, lambada and such and shes a killer, hammering targets rear flanks with hyt buffed quantums and photons on varying flavours..
..Add on the warhead console, the terran secondary torp launchers and a few consoles and boy, shes like a buzz saw, carving through the hardest target
It might not win dps contests, but its satisfying turning a tough target to wreckage in a single strike
i had been playing around with this ship then went back to my old favorite the trokaht. and it didn't take long to start missing the Kor so i guess for now when im not playing in a T2ship the Kor is my new go to ship.
Trophies for killing FEDS ahh those were the days.
i had been playing around with this ship then went back to my old favorite the trokaht. and it didn't take long to start missing the Kor so i guess for now when im not playing in a T2ship the Kor is my new go to ship.
I keep trying to stay in the Fleet Tor'khat and outfit it as a Vor'cha, but there's something about the layout that keeps bothering me. I'd posted that, even though it has greater hull and only slightly less shields than my Fleet K'tinga, it seems less durable. That doesn't make sense to me at all. Combine that with a turn rate that isn't as good as the Fleet K'tinga and it isn't long before I'm mothballing it and returning to the K'tinga.
And yet...I still feel as if there's just something I'm missing about this ship. I may try it again this evening. I love the Vor'cha look and feel as much as I do the K'tinga. And it may be that I'm doing more damage in the Tor'khat than I am in the K'tinga and pulling more aggro because of it that it feels less robust. That would make sense because I'm getting attacked more. Just not sure yet. I really have to give it a fair shakedown though. Stay in it for a few weeks rather than a few days. Maybe I can make the transition to the bigger battlecruiser.
The K'T'Inga inherently has superior survivability than the Vor'Cha. The K'T'Inga/D-7 has an old school STO, very high ENG BOFF layout. The ship's excellent handling lets her move better, either to get in proper combat position or to get out of trouble.
The 2 places where the Fleet Vor'Cha reign supreme over the Fleet K'T'Inga/D-7 is in:
2. Firepower. Vor'Cha's firepower exceeds the K'T'Inga/D-7 by leagues. The BOFF & Console layout are the reasons why, with excellent handling only exceeded by the D-7 and Qib. It still makes the Vor'Cha a great weapons platform still.
Even in today's game, the Vor'Cha is no slouch in the Battlecruiser department that can hit like a truck. She has a great combo of firepower, survivability, superior handling. When the Fleet Shipyard system came out years ago, the Fleet Vor'Cha was among that initial release. We were wrecking Feds with this ship. The stats still hold up today but the 4 FSM cost for a single character purchase and 1 Upgrade Token to take it to T5U is a lot to ask for these days.
The K'T'Inga inherently has superior survivability than the Vor'Cha. The K'T'Inga/D-7 has an old school STO, very high ENG BOFF layout. The ship's excellent handling lets her move better, either to get in proper combat position or to get out of trouble.
The 2 places where the Fleet Vor'Cha reign supreme over the Fleet K'T'Inga/D-7 is in:
2. Firepower. Vor'Cha's firepower exceeds the K'T'Inga/D-7 by leagues. The BOFF & Console layout are the reasons why, with excellent handling only exceeded by the D-7 and Qib. It still makes the Vor'Cha a great weapons platform still.
Even in today's game, the Vor'Cha is no slouch in the Battlecruiser department that can hit like a truck. She has a great combo of firepower, survivability, superior handling. When the Fleet Shipyard system came out years ago, the Fleet Vor'Cha was among that initial release. We were wrecking Feds with this ship. The stats still hold up today but the 4 FSM cost for a single character purchase and 1 Upgrade Token to take it to T5U is a lot to ask for these days.
So, I switched to the Fleet Tor'khat (Vor'cha). Not sure why, but it seems better now. I'm using the same exact everything that I was in the Fleet K'tinga. Shield strength is about 1k less, but hull is 16k more. Seems to be faring much better now than my first two attempts. I'm glad because now I can use the Vor'cha more often and enjoy it. But I'm still a bit perplexed. I wholeheartedly agree about the K'tinga being quicker and more maneuverable. That's an agile battlecruiser! The turn rate is so good it's hard to believe.
it is rather squidgey, was a little disapointed myself.
Birds of Prey have always been in the squishy side of the house, even during their big heyday in the first years of this game.
I guarantee you the first, biggest mistake a player hopping into serious playtime with a Bird of Prey is trying to treat it like a traditional Escort/Destroyer/Raptor/Whatever-the-hell-you-want-to-call-your-Cmdr-TAC-Ship.
Yeah, BoPs are a bit squishy compared to other starships, but they are pretty fun to fly because of their maneuverability (at the cost of hull strength). However, picking the right captain skills and gear can improve your chances of survival (in addition to combat tactics).
I installed an ultra rare Conductive RCS Console Mk XIV [Resall] on my T6 Kor. The [Resall] mod gives around a 23% resistance to energy and kinetic damage. It is not cheap though, I think it cost me 20m EC. On top of that, I also installed an ultra rare Exotic Particle Field Exciter Mk XIV [Grav]. It increases shield capacity by about 23% and increases exotic damage as well. The [Grav] mod increase the pull radius of Gravity Well and it is far less expensive than the [Prtg] mod that increases exotic damage. I think I paid at most 1.5m EC for this console. The [Prtg] version was selling for something like 40m EC if I am not mistaken. The [Resall] mod is also available for the Exotic Particle Field Exciter as well; the last time I check the price on the ultra rare Mk XIV version with [Resall] was around 27m EC.
What can YOU do with that? That is something the current KDF playerbase as a whole no longer knows what to do with, it seems.
Except a few of us that have been around long enough to have fallen for the BoP playstyle and have experimented heavily to find out exactly what we can do with it.
Haven't you had a ship before where you thought, "Man, if only this one station was at least this rank" or "If only this had a ___ LtCmdr for here."? The price of the versatility is -1 total BOFF skill count for the Non-Norgh BOPs but the Norgh pays for the full BOFF skill count with -1 total Consoles.
I would shout for joy if my T5-U Fleet K'tinga had just one more TAC power. Only has three total. That fourth one would be soooo nice!
Comments
The Birds of Prey are an All-Universal BOFF station ship. The Kor/B'Rel has Enhanced Battle Cloak. It has Raider Flanking. The only ship in the entire game that has this total package. What can YOU do with that? That is something the current KDF playerbase as a whole no longer knows what to do with, it seems.
Except a few of us that have been around long enough to have fallen for the BoP playstyle and have experimented heavily to find out exactly what we can do with it.
'IQ 'IQ jaj wo'. Hov yo' DIvI' yuQ 'ej pIch ghotvam'e'. tlhIngan 'Iw pujmoH chaH.
R.I.P
My character Tsin'xing
You want to hit up ISA with some friends and are missing a sci ship for control? No problem, you can load it up with nothing but sci abilities if you'd like (assuming you have boffs for it). Hell, sci ships can't equip this many sci abilities. You also have enhanced battle cloak, so you can heal up while cloaked if you'd like. Or shoot torps and lay mines.
It'll never top the DPS charts. It's not meant to. This is a ship to keep the enemy guessing. I very gladly got my Orion girl one and I look forward to playing with it. Honestly, my only beef is that it requires a Tier 5 starbase to get the fleet version
Dude, I haven't seen you in a long time. Hope you're doing okay
Versatility and Enhanced Battle Cloak is the name of the game for the B'Rel/Kor. Haven't you had a ship before where you thought, "Man, if only this one station was at least this rank" or "If only this had a ___ LtCmdr for here."? The price of the versatility is -1 total BOFF skill count for the Non-Norgh BOPs but the Norgh pays for the full BOFF skill count with -1 total Consoles.
Run wild with it. You can go traditional with Cmdr TAC, 2 ENG stations, 1 SCI station if you're very concerned with heals or survivability. Or hell, slot A2D with the proper Matter-Antimatter Specialist DOFF and the BOP can scream along very well while having good resists while A2D is running. Or go Cmdr TAC with at least a LtCmdr SCI station or more for the SCI-Scort style. Or go with a SCI-heavy layout with Cmdr SCI. Another route is Cmdr TAC with one other TAC station, minimal ENG/SCI, to support a TAC heavy build with CSV, BO, Torpedo ability, Attack Pattern due to a mixed weapons loadout. There is also the Torpedo Boat route, something the B'Rel was the original innovator for due to the Enhanced Battle Cloak.
Anyways, the BOPs can be setup to do practically anything. It may not be as good as a fixed BOFF station ship for a specific purpose, i.e. a 5/2 Escort for Tactical capability. But unlike the fixed BOFF station ships, you can setup to do anything. Go as far or as little into TAC, ENG, or SCI as your playstyle prefers. It's a platform to experiment because no other ship has the Full Universal layout. Just remember, the EBC gives you options that Standard and even Battle Cloak doesn't offer. And again, remember that all BOPs are thinly hulled.
My character Tsin'xing
What this player said nails it on the head. The bird of prey is not a federation ship, nor is it a Romulan ship. I used the Hegh'ta bird of prey when it was the best ship you had for elite stfs against Borg. I was quite good at using it in elites stfs. If you got this ship and assumed, the one you the posters are talking about, that it was going to be able to take loads of damage. I suggest you read the quote above. A couple last things to add as the person I quoted covered what needed to be covered. The quick turn rate on the Bird of Prey allows you to change shield arcs rapidly after each attack. Switching from one shield arc to the next for each volley of incoming fire. Tact teams are your friends, along with structural integrety, and hazzard emitters. One last note, though I was never this good. The KDF faction has the distinction of once putting out the best pilots in star trek online. Back then it was not uncommon to see a KDF pilot in a Hegh'ta heavy Bird of prey kicking the living daylights out of federation players in pvp. The ship is quick and fast, and requires quick thinking, and even faster reflexes at times. In the end I say this view the new tier six bird of prey as a challange to be conquered. Ask around if your having issues with it. I know I did when I first started using Birds of Prey as my main ship.
I have found that this is primarily a maneuver and position starship. The objective is to get on the flanks and rear of an enemy ship. The problem I am having right now is completing the daily satellite repair mission. At the end I have to defend a satellite against several true way ships. If I try and break off to get in position, the ships start targeting the satellite or I get tag teamed. One ship comes after me while the other goes after the satellite. Many times I don't have the time to cloak and get on their tail as it gives them time to attack the satellite.
Has anyone successfully completed this mission with a BoP?
Also, the Subspace Jump console from the Ch'Tang is very fun on a BoP.
As for surviving in a constantly cloaking BoP, it's always nice to pop an Aux2SIF, Brace for Impact, Hazard Emitters, or whatever hull strengthening ability right before cloaking. That or just get a BoP with enhanced battle cloaking so that you can use healing abilities even while cloaked.
yes you can breeze through that mission with a BoP. it may be your weapons dragging you down, you should throw us a link or tell us what you got it outfitted with. being new and coming from fed side has probably taught you a few bad habits as well. that don't work well on the kdf side. rainbows and/or skittles usually not a good thing.
I ended up doing this, cannons are, well cannon, but DBBs worked so much better for me. Helps that FAW3 is only LtC power too, freeing up boff slots for other things.
What did you expect? This is PvE-Online, you want a good ship for that buy a pilot ship (again a class that makes more sense in PvP, just like Intel, science and cruisers).
Fed: Astarsha, level 60 tactical officer
KDF: K'tana level 54 tactical officer
The Birds of Prey are the only ships in the game that have a compromise for the benefits they give you. In the hands of a savvy player, it can still do quite well.
They are not E-Z Mode ships. You don't have Pilot Maneuvers like the Pilot Ships to instantly save your butt every handful of seconds.
While the BOP CAN do well, it is situational. If you only fire torps and abuse enhanced battle cloak, you won't do damage in PvEs. On the other Hand flanking Bonus gives you an edge when it Comes to Peak damage. Again, this is situational.
The B'rel and T6 versions are ships I keep for fun and storyline missions and - very much like the fleet scourge - because I enjoy playing them.
But in PvE they are not high end ships. And in PvP I think the Rom Intel escort warbird is what the B'rel was suppose to be. This is also down to the fact they nerfed the flanking Bonus against other Players.
If B'rel had a Cmd universal Intel Station, Things would be very different methinks.
KDF: 2 tacs, 2 engs, 3 scis
KDF Roms: 3 tacs, 1 eng, 1 scis
FED: 2 tacs, 1 eng, 2 scis
TOS: 1 tac
all on T5 rep (up to temporal)
all have mastered Intel tree (and some more specs Points)
highest DPS: 60.982
The game has always been awful in its ship scaling. For example, the JHDC should be monstrous (at roughly 1km+ in length) yet it's very average in size for the game. The Breen Sarr Theln's Plesh Brek Raider hangar units are almost as big as the carrier itself. Watching it launch those things is like watching a mouse give birth to a pair of adult elephants.
..Add on the warhead console, the terran secondary torp launchers and a few consoles and boy, shes like a buzz saw, carving through the hardest target
It might not win dps contests, but its satisfying turning a tough target to wreckage in a single strike
Get the Forums Enhancement Extension!
I keep trying to stay in the Fleet Tor'khat and outfit it as a Vor'cha, but there's something about the layout that keeps bothering me. I'd posted that, even though it has greater hull and only slightly less shields than my Fleet K'tinga, it seems less durable. That doesn't make sense to me at all. Combine that with a turn rate that isn't as good as the Fleet K'tinga and it isn't long before I'm mothballing it and returning to the K'tinga.
And yet...I still feel as if there's just something I'm missing about this ship. I may try it again this evening. I love the Vor'cha look and feel as much as I do the K'tinga. And it may be that I'm doing more damage in the Tor'khat than I am in the K'tinga and pulling more aggro because of it that it feels less robust. That would make sense because I'm getting attacked more. Just not sure yet. I really have to give it a fair shakedown though. Stay in it for a few weeks rather than a few days. Maybe I can make the transition to the bigger battlecruiser.
The 2 places where the Fleet Vor'Cha reign supreme over the Fleet K'T'Inga/D-7 is in:
1. Hull. It's not close. For the sake of comparison, look at the hullpoints of the T5 Fleet K'T'Inga, T5 Fleet Qin, T5 Fleet Vor'Cha, T5 Fleet Negh'Var. The K'T'Inga/D-7 has the least hull of these sample ships, less than even a Raptor.
2. Firepower. Vor'Cha's firepower exceeds the K'T'Inga/D-7 by leagues. The BOFF & Console layout are the reasons why, with excellent handling only exceeded by the D-7 and Qib. It still makes the Vor'Cha a great weapons platform still.
Even in today's game, the Vor'Cha is no slouch in the Battlecruiser department that can hit like a truck. She has a great combo of firepower, survivability, superior handling. When the Fleet Shipyard system came out years ago, the Fleet Vor'Cha was among that initial release. We were wrecking Feds with this ship. The stats still hold up today but the 4 FSM cost for a single character purchase and 1 Upgrade Token to take it to T5U is a lot to ask for these days.
So, I switched to the Fleet Tor'khat (Vor'cha). Not sure why, but it seems better now. I'm using the same exact everything that I was in the Fleet K'tinga. Shield strength is about 1k less, but hull is 16k more. Seems to be faring much better now than my first two attempts. I'm glad because now I can use the Vor'cha more often and enjoy it. But I'm still a bit perplexed. I wholeheartedly agree about the K'tinga being quicker and more maneuverable. That's an agile battlecruiser! The turn rate is so good it's hard to believe.
Birds of Prey have always been in the squishy side of the house, even during their big heyday in the first years of this game.
I guarantee you the first, biggest mistake a player hopping into serious playtime with a Bird of Prey is trying to treat it like a traditional Escort/Destroyer/Raptor/Whatever-the-hell-you-want-to-call-your-Cmdr-TAC-Ship.
My points earlier in this thread still stand.
In short: You're BOP'ing wrong.
I installed an ultra rare Conductive RCS Console Mk XIV [Resall] on my T6 Kor. The [Resall] mod gives around a 23% resistance to energy and kinetic damage. It is not cheap though, I think it cost me 20m EC. On top of that, I also installed an ultra rare Exotic Particle Field Exciter Mk XIV [Grav]. It increases shield capacity by about 23% and increases exotic damage as well. The [Grav] mod increase the pull radius of Gravity Well and it is far less expensive than the [Prtg] mod that increases exotic damage. I think I paid at most 1.5m EC for this console. The [Prtg] version was selling for something like 40m EC if I am not mistaken. The [Resall] mod is also available for the Exotic Particle Field Exciter as well; the last time I check the price on the ultra rare Mk XIV version with [Resall] was around 27m EC.
I would shout for joy if my T5-U Fleet K'tinga had just one more TAC power. Only has three total. That fourth one would be soooo nice!