Have you tested this in any of the "Gold standard" missions like ISA or a solo run of Starbase 24? How about PVP?
No on the standardized benchmarking of ISA or Starbase 24, which are more about DPS checking, which this build doesn't play to (specifically). I have, however, seen good success with it in Na'Kul Red Alerts and Delta Patrols (for whatever that's worth).
As far as PvP goes, a friend of mine in my Fleet wanted a demonstration, so we did a 1v1 PvP friendly match. He had me completely outclassed with a Battlecruiser kitted out with Mk XIV Epic everything, so I was already -2 Mks and -2 Rarities behind him in the competition. But once we engaged, I was putting too much pressure on him and he wasn't getting enough pressure on me ... to the point where he started needing to pull out all the stops a maximally work his build just to maintain parity with me. He was dropping consumables and all kinds of stuff just trying to keep up, while I just kept flying lazily in circles around him, only using my healing skills. Eventually, he got me, because I wasn't making use of everything I could, but I was holding my own against him for a good long time.
I did it that way the first time so he'd be able to appreciate what the weapons alone were doing and get a feel for the effects. Then in the second round, I started using my offensive skills too, and just pressured him to destruction, even as he (once again) had to pull out all the stops just to try and keep up with what I was doing to him. I wasn't using any of my devices, however, or even really my Captain skills, just my Bridge Officers. They key, of course, was maintaining fire on his ship to just keep the damage flowing (and the drain going). He tried getting on my tail, and that proved to be a mistake (Eject Warp Plasma).
At this point, I've only had the build for almost 2 weeks and haven't had gobs of time to play. But what I have done with it has been remarkably successful ... so much so I felt like I needed to share, hence this thread.
First, it is always nice to be referred to as a friend - thanks! My ship is a Tactical Command Battlecruiser T6 with Epic XIV everything (EVERYTHING) including full Aegis Kit - stacked infusers and all plasma. It was honestly a frustrating battle as I felt quite stripped of any advantages; the harder I hit, the more he drained... It's certainly made me reconsider a few choices. The only thing left was to call in Nimbus Pirates - or use other non-build devices. Even though I typically cut through opponents like butter, however the drain was too intense.
Honestly, the most annoying thing you were doing in that battle was using Jam Sensors on me! Yes, I could clear it, but using it allowed you to take the pressure off and recover, and I had to go to the trouble of reacquiring you to resume fire and put the pressure back onto you. All the deployables you were dropping were really distracting! I kept worrying about taking fire from places that shouldn't have been shooting at me. Still, it was an interesting little demonstration match (on both sides) which allowed me to refine a few things into the build I posted in this thread (what you fought, my friend, turned out to be inferior!).
Also, as a side note ... I don't know what's going on, but I've started winning 3rd place damage in Crystaline Cataclysm Advanced with this build. Not every time mind you, but it's happened more than once ... which makes me wonder how a build which isn't oriented around producing Max DEEPS is managing to yield "respectable" DPS throughput from what amounts to essentially a Turret Boat.
Also, as a side note ... I don't know what's going on, but I've started winning 3rd place damage in Crystaline Cataclysm Advanced with this build. Not every time mind you, but it's happened more than once ... which makes me wonder how a build which isn't oriented around producing Max DEEPS is managing to yield "respectable" DPS throughput from what amounts to essentially a Turret Boat.
CE calculates heals towards winning as well as damage output. Plus, lots of the people playing CE are using alts so they might not have good gear/layouts, so the likelihood of winning 1-3 during the CE event is higher.
Can't wait to get my first character up enough to be able to make a second that I can build gear for... I think I will have to try both, I think it might be cheaper in the short run, to try the Burn Baby build, I am still not sure the best way to get the Drain Console. I am thinking of buying the Klingon ship I was told has it, might be easier, if my wife doesn't kill me for spending more money! Either way these builds sound fun cause they are different. I must admit I am going in circles 100% of the time trying to get my full broad side working is getting old. Plus my addiction to Beam Fire at Will generates so much attention...lol. These incites are a great help to someone who is really new to the game and learning more each day!! Thanks!
I have been following this thread with great interest. I, too, like thinking outside the box. As soon as I can collect all the proper bits, I intend to try this build idea out.
A six year old boy and his starship. Living the dream.
CE calculates heals towards winning as well as damage output. Plus, lots of the people playing CE are using alts so they might not have good gear/layouts, so the likelihood of winning 1-3 during the CE event is higher.
Interesting. If that's true, then all the Hull Leeching and passive regeneration (both hull and shields) I've got going for me must be contributing pretty well to my totals then. In the "test match" I had with pepperhawk above, the ratio was about 4 damage per 1 healing over the matches, which is a pretty decent spread, and I was doing that with an "inferior" build that lead me to the final design you see posted at the beginning of this thread (complete with links to screencaps for lots of stuff).
Can't wait to get my first character up enough to be able to make a second that I can build gear for... I think I will have to try both, I think it might be cheaper in the short run, to try the Burn Baby build, I am still not sure the best way to get the Drain Console. I am thinking of buying the Klingon ship I was told has it, might be easier, if my wife doesn't kill me for spending more money! Either way these builds sound fun cause they are different. I must admit I am going in circles 100% of the time trying to get my full broad side working is getting old. Plus my addiction to Beam Fire at Will generates so much attention...lol. These incites are a great help to someone who is really new to the game and learning more each day!! Thanks!
On Redside, it basically costs 1000 Zen for the Vandal Destroyer (Tier 3) to get the ship with the Plasmonic Leech console.
On Blueside, you have to open Tal Shiar Lockboxes to score one ... or shell out 80 million(ish) EC on the Exchange for one.
Either way, unless you're building a Torpedo Boat, it's well worth the investment.
I have been following this thread with great interest. I, too, like thinking outside the box. As soon as I can collect all the proper bits, I intend to try this build idea out.
Glad to hear that this thread has inspired someone/anyone (at all)! Granted, I've gotten myself a niche build here, but it's one that "works according to its own beliefs" and runs quite counter to the currently popular meta-builds (Iconian sets, Antiproton everything, Max DPS Or Logout, etc.). I'd like to think that this build might open the door to a Return Of The Cannon Drain Builds (not "canon" ... cannon(s)) and give some pushback to the Beams Fire At Everything Forever builds that are predominantly popular right now to the point of being overdone.
The real test of any build is Combat ... and so far, in PvE, this Down The Drain Cruiser outfitted with "trashy" Protonic Polaron Turrets is far outperforming my original expectations. To even "get here" in terms of thinking this might be viable, I had do "drink some Kool-Aid" and discard bits and pieces of the currently prevailing Conventional Wisdom ... which I'm happy to report isn't always right (Beams vs Turrets in this case). And rather than keeping everything I've learned and discovered all to myself, I figured I ought to share ... and see if anyone else can make yet more discoveries based off the direction I've pioneered here. After all, Drain Builds are supposed to be "dead" and worthless at this point ... especially in PvE ... and yet ...
Well, in case anyone is wondering ... <.< ... >.> ... I tried seeing if a Withering variant of the Down The Drain Cruiser would be "worthwhile" or not. Tested it in Crystaline Cataclysm Advanced (naturally) and in the Badlands Battlezone. I was using:
Terran 2-piece weapon set (Torpedo and Console)
Gravimetric 3-piece weapon set (Torpedo, Experimental Cannon, Console)
5x Withering Disruptor Turrets
3x Vulnerability Locators [Disruptor]
It didn't work out all that well.
I tried it out with 4x Embassy Plasma Science Consoles, but that just made the Drain effectively ho-hum. Unlike the Polarons, combined with the Neutronic Torpedo, I just wasn't making enough of a dent in shields to effectively bypass them and go straight to dealing hull damage. The Polarons would at least cause a "lights out" to take effect, and even if the lights stayed on, I'd still be draining scads of Power which would weaken my $Target(s). Those I could "notice" taking effect. The Withering Radiation procs? I simply couldn't see (or feel) them taking any toll or effect.
The thing that REALLY ticked me off though, and soured me on the whole Withering variant, was that when I'd activate Cannon Rapid Fire or Cannon Scatter Volley, sometimes my Turrets would just STOP FIRING and put themselves on cooldown WITHOUT SHOOTING until the skill buff wore off. What made it extra weird was seeing the Experimental Proton Weapon keep firing, while all the Withering Turrets would just quit shooting and not actually resume firing on command. THAT behavior may have been unintentional (probably some weird confluence of conflicting code), but ultimately, for me, it doesn't really matter. What it comes down to, for me, is that Withering Turrets are not reliable weapons in that they won't always keep shooting ... especially when I need them to.
So, on balance, I'd say that trying to switch the damage type from Polaron to Withering has been something of a bust (or should I say, "a red herring"?) in terms of performance. Yeah, the Withering may actually parse as doing more damage (no, I didn't parse anything, I'm just speculating) over the long haul ... but the Polarons effectively "avoid" needing to do as much damage. This results in a somewhat perverse situation in which the lower DPS weapon yields the fastest "time to die" for $Targets, meaning that Polarons don't "need" to do as much damage in order to finish a foe because they weaken the foe in a way that makes a portion of the damage that needs to be dealt "skippable" (in effect).
I was thinking of trying out a Romulan Plasma variant too, using the Romulan Hyper-Plasma, the Neutronic Torpedo and either 5 or 6 Romulan Plasma Turrets (5 if adding in the Experimental Romulan Plasma Beam Array). Yeah, that might work better ... because the Hyper-Plasma Torpedo gets 3 chances to proc the 3x PWO every time it fires, which would then make the Neutronic + Console fire MUCH faster, meaning more Neutronic Torpedoes flying, meaning more chances to drop shields (with Plasma Torpedoes en route to Ruin Your Day).
Hmmm. Maybe that means it was a mistake to remove the Neutronic Torpedo from the Withering build variant ...
I find this thread fascinating because it describes an alternate methodology to builds (read: bringing back a pressure build) and it also confirms the "fun"concept.
I have a Catian toon that runs a rainbolaron build (read - using multiple types of polarons for the lulz) and I am saddened that protonic polarons suck so much. I liked the term you used "abandonware" because it is so apt. Also, I think youre right about the "hook in" not being there for the proton proc - that should be addressed, but no dev will ever see this thread a they pretty much ignore the forums and go straight to Reddit.
Let me take a sec to suggest some simple ideas to make Protonic Polarons worth a TRIBBLE.
1. If you MUST do the "chance of proc on proc", make it at least possible. 25% on a Proc is dogshit. It needs a buff.
2. Just skip the "proc on proc" nonsense and make it 5% ffs
3. On the Dyson consoles that booth both a damage type and protonic damage, boost the protonic damage buff. It is absurdly low and does nothing to encourage usage of this damage type. This is particularly pronounced as there are only 3 ways of making this damage: Through the proc, through the protonic weapon and the built in cannon on the Dyson Destroyer.
4. Make the Protonic cannon weapon-thingy buffed by both the generic Beam AND Cannon consoles. The weapon itself is neither fish nor fowl, so it makes sense. One takes a dps hit when they mount this,so it deserves at least some alternate ways to buff the damage output.
I find this thread fascinating because it describes an alternate methodology to builds (read: bringing back a pressure build) and it also confirms the "fun" concept.
I know, right? In a game overrun by BFAW and "vaper" builds, here comes a "you're doing it wrong!" build that somehow manages to "work" in spite of everything. It really does feel like finding a different meta-game to live by.
I am saddened that protonic polarons suck so much.
It's not so much that they "suck" as that they are not working as advertised. The tooltip says things which don't match actual in-game performance or mathematical spreadsheet modeling of expected performance for the Proton burn proc. As Polarons they work just fine, since they drain power as advertised. It's just the proc that's failing to work as advertised.
Also, I think you're right about the "hook in" not being there for the proton proc - that should be addressed, but no dev will ever see this thread a they pretty much ignore the forums and go straight to Reddit.
Best we can hope for is to draw the attention of a Bug Hunter (or few) with the resources to do a statistical analysis that can take a stab at explaining what the programming is ACTUALLY doing under the hood, and then cross-compare that with what the tooltip purports should be happening and bring the whole thing to the attention of @borticuscryptic (and friends?) for an in-house look at the underlying legacy coding.
2. Just skip the "proc on proc" nonsense and make it 5%
It was a gimmick then and it's still a gimmick now. Back when the gimmick was first introduced and designed, it was really hard to get a Critical Hit of 10% or more (and 1/4 of 10% is 2.5%, which would be in line with the proc rates on other energy weapons). I'd be happy with having the Protonic proc just revert to being a "stock 'n' standard" 2.5% chance for Proton burn as a sort of Radiation Damage bonus and have done with the issue.
3. On the Dyson consoles that booth both a damage type and protonic damage, boost the protonic damage buff. It is absurdly low and does nothing to encourage usage of this damage type. This is particularly pronounced as there are only 3 ways of making this damage: Through the proc, through the protonic weapon and the built in cannon on the Dyson Destroyer.
There's also the "Protonic Shotgun" on the Dyson Joint Command Technologies 3 of 4 pieces set which does Proton Damage. But yeah, there is a severe lack of opportunities to inflict Proton Damage, meaning that the "weighting" of Proton buffing as being "equal" to other damage types is completely out of whack from the get go.
I am saddened that protonic polarons suck so much.
It's not so much that they "suck" as that they are not working as advertised. The tooltip says things which don't match actual in-game performance or mathematical spreadsheet modeling of expected performance for the Proton burn proc. As Polarons they work just fine, since they drain power as advertised. It's just the proc that's failing to work as advertised.
I don't have a reddit account (sad, I know), nor am I about to create one. I've already got too many things to track as it is (heck, I can barely find time to listen to THE SHOW on youtube, sometimes DAYS later, every week).
Also, it's not like I've got exclusive "rights" to this particular issue. Please feel free to request assistance from Bug Hunters in r/sto and/or r/stobuilds as appropriate so as to give the Proton burn proc problem(s) visibility. I won't begrudge the effort to "get the word out" to where it needs to go in order to be seen, since presumably everyone would profit (including Cryptic?) from weapons that work as advertised.
Interesting footnote, for anyone still following this thread ...
I've been grinding out Terran Gravimetric Modules in the Badlands to try and test out a Terran 4-piece ship set (deflector, engines, shield) and see if it will make for a better balance than using the Solanae set. The Solanae set has a hull heal proc, while the Terran set has a shield heal proc.
Anyway ... I tried out the Withering Disruptors, was disappointed with their performance, and went back to the Polarons (the [Rapid] ones, in this case, not Protonic, I've got two captains running this build, basically) and decided to try swapping something else out. I switched the Quantum Phase Torpedo for the Romulan Hyper-Plasma Torpedo. The main idea was to try and get more procs out of the Projectile Weapon Officers so as to throw more Neutronic Torpedoes at stuff. In the Badlands, this has been working out remarkably well, primarily because the place isn't overrun with Beams Fire At Everything Forever on the Terran ships, and also because the destructible plasma torpedoes it fires will retarget in the event that their main target is destroyed while they're en route. That means less "wasted" torpedo shots during massed fire combat, and a slightly faster rate of fire for Neutronics, which in turn yields more "No Power For You" opportunities to burn down targets to core breach.
I figure that sometime today or tomorrow I should be able to secure the remaining Terran Marks I need to complete the Terran Space Set and then give the Romulan Plasma Turrets variant a whirl to see how it performs as a DPS focused alternative.
I don't have a damage parser, I'm going more by the "feel" of how quickly things take to reach destruction. By that metric, the Withering Disruptors were just "taking too long" compared to my experience with the Polarons. Thus, even though the Withering Disruptors may have been doing more damage in absolute terms, the Polarons (thanks to drain) need to DO less damage to inspire warp core breaches. So it became a 1 step forward, 2 steps back kind of trade in the context of the rest of my build.
The real kicker was the fact that the Polarons can effectively "disable" hostiles, while the Withering Disruptors can't, which is a pretty big difference. I might give the Withering Disruptors another try in a more "apples to apples" comparison (with similar torpedo arrangements) later on though, just to reverify my findings.
I am trying a variant with the Dyson weapon set instead of the Neut and Phase, mostly because protons. I'm actually trying two ships for it: one that's closer to your build on a Mirror Guardian Cruiser and another more protony on a lobi Dyson. Both on a Fed sci Joined Trill. Will post impressions and a more complete build list.
I am doing def/wc Terran and eng/shield Jem though. The Solonae set seems to get me killed a lot on my KDF sci when I try to use it on a Klingon lobi Dyson, so I tend to avoid the full set and just use the deflector on select ships.
I am going to try this build out this weekend because I found a ship I had forgotten I purchased. Fleet Kamarag for my KDF Science char. The BOff seating matches what you've posted. The Console slots do not. One less Sci slot. One more Tac slot. I am missing the Solanae Warp Core as well. I am going try and match your build as closely as possible otherwise. The T3 Science abilities of my char may make up for some of the bits I don't have. It may not be successful, but I intend to have fun trying it out.
If it is a success, I'll post the build and the results here. Thank you, OP. For giving this jaded long time player something new to tinker with.
A six year old boy and his starship. Living the dream.
I really want to try this build so bad...I did get my Leech Console other day and it was so lucky! It cost me 4 keys, and 5 boxes (yes still have a unopened box), I should have played the lotto that day! Now I have to build up my first character so he can get the rest of the toys so can start a new captain. My point of consternation has been over ship type. I can see and understand why Autumnturning has chosen the ship type they have and I can't argue it being the best min/max pick; but I really like the looks of the Fleet Intel Cruiser. I am also hoping that the debuff that it gives will further complement the destruction speed of my enemies; there is also a very small window of damage buff as I come out of cloak. My only concern not having flown one is will it compare to my Arbiter toughness wise. So far I am not impressed by the intel officer skills, but that might be cause I don't utilize the correct ones for me on my Arbiter but still like the flexibility this both ships offer ability wise. Other then the Fleet Intel Cruiser not being the best min/max anyone see any glaring holes in my logic/research?
I am hoping this ship can function as interdiction ships, we move in pick the biggest badest target, drop cloak, start rolling the dice and we shut it down; then other higher DPS ships blow the hulls after we take all the power/shields/systems.
I don't have to kill the fastest but I want to help my fleet kill faster and safer!
Last night I earned enough Terran Marks to finish building out the rest of the Terran Task Force Starship Technologies set on my Alien Engineer Starfleet Admiral and ... it's better ... o.O;
I've taken a bunch of screenshots (that I need to crop) and post up to give the details. Bottom line, it looks like the Terran Set 3 piece does for Shields what the Solanae Set 3 piece does for Hull ... except that the Terran Set does a better job of it (i.e. more return per proc in my build).
The biggest difference is that since this particular Captain is an Alien, I can squeeze the Efficient personal trait into the mix, which then let me drop the Zero-Point Module in favor of a Conductive RCS with [DrainX] on it (bought off the exchange for 900k EC). That then gives me a baseline Turn Rate of 15.2, which is really good for a Cruiser(!), before stacking on the buffs which can push it up towards 20 just by cycling BOff Skills.
I also dropped the Eject Warp Plasma III in favor of Auxiliary Power to Structural Integrity III, which then gives me an almost perma-uptime Hull Heal which procs the [DrainX]x2 Research Lab Consoles every 13 seconds or so, and in so doing gives me a +All Damage modifier for my weapons.
I also went back to Neutronic Forward and Quantum Phase Aft, with 3x Protonic Polaron Turrets [Acc]x2 Forward and Aft and went ahead and dropped the 3x Projectile Weapon Officers. In their place I added the (Space) Entertainer, who has a 1% chance to drop the target's Perception to 20% of normal when firing energy weapons (parses out to about a 1 on 1d20 roll for every salvo from 6 Turrets combined), which effectively functions as a "Jam Sensors beyond 2 km" for 6 seconds when it procs. I also threw in a Warp Core Engineer for a proc to get more power on use of EPtS II and EPtW III so I can be cycling those almost constantly (yay EPS Manifold personal trait for Engineers!) and I also threw in the Gravimetric Scientist who procs extra Tyken's Rifts. Why? Because my Tyken's Rift I drains -10.8 Power per second for 10 seconds, and there isn't mention of the drain falling off over distance from center like with Gravity Well ... and with Drain Infection in the mix, I'm actually getting more raw damage out of Tyken's Rift than I am out of Gravity Well (although Gravity Well puts Control Amplification into play in my build, so six of one, half a dozen of the other on that score).
The BIG change though was that by changing out the Solanae Set for the Terran Task Force, my Drain Expertise went up ... by like about +40ish. I lost some Critical Hit Chance in the exchange, but considering the gain, I figure the tradeoff is worth it. I'm now doing -4.9/+4.9 Power per Turret ... which with 6 Turrets computes to -29.4/+29.4 after a single salvo cycle (which takes 3 seconds) and lasts for 15 seconds(!). And the Polaron drain proc? -81.8 Power for 5 seconds ... no lockout. That means my $Target is at either -29.4 Power (Leech Only) or -111.2 Power (Leech plus Polaron proc) ... which is often enough for a Shield Drop ... and that's not even including the smackdown from a Neutronic Torpdeo, now at -49.1 Power on every hit. Just the Leech plus Neutronic drain alone is -78.5 Power to my $Target.
I'll do another WALL OF TEXT CRITS YOU!!! posting with the Terran Task Force arrangement later, when/if I have time, so people can appreciate the details. Unfortunately, there is SO MUCH variability in the amount of Power the build can have available, that there's really not much point in trying to simulate the top end of performance for it while parked in Earth Orbit (I know, oh gee bum...).
I also dropped the Eject Warp Plasma III in favor of Auxiliary Power to Structural Integrity III, which then gives me an almost perma-uptime Hull Heal which procs the [DrainX]x2 Research Lab Consoles every 13 seconds or so, and in so doing gives me a +All Damage modifier for my weapons.
My point of consternation has been over ship type. I can see and understand why Autumnturning has chosen the ship type they have and I can't argue it being the best min/max pick; but I really like the looks of the Fleet Intel Cruiser. I am also hoping that the debuff that it gives will further complement the destruction speed of my enemies; there is also a very small window of damage buff as I come out of cloak.
I can tell you, just by looking at the ship specs that a Fleet Eclipse Intel Cruiser is likely to disappoint you as a potential drain boat platform. Why? 2 Science Consoles. When you're building for [DrainX], you need every Science Console slot you can get. The more Drain Expertise you can stack, the more successful your drain focus is going to be (which is kinda the point of the build I've been laying out here). For this reason, I personally think you'd be happier with a Geneva Command Battlecruiser than you would be adapting (more like "pruning" really) my build into an Eclipse.
As for the cloak bonus ... you'd basically have to load up on Romulans as Bridge Officers to get the most out of it. That'll get expensive in a hurry. Can't say it would be worth the expense given the tradeoffs involved.
Just got done driving my Fleet Kamarag with a close approximation of this build thru a CCA and a Na'Kuhl Red Alert. As usual when I try out a new build or idea, the ship does not perform up to expectations. The CCA went badly. Although as usual, this is more due to the Captain than the ship or crew.
The Na'Kuhl Red Alert went very well. I don't parse things but man did I ever get Crits! They were not spectacular Crits, but there were so many of them, I did not really care. Fleet Kamarag with this build is very satisfying to play this game with. I've got some tweaking to do and some gear to acquire to make her better. However, it surely was fun to fly something so different and do so well at the same time.
Might be worth it to try this with Vaadwaur Polaron in the mix. Although this choice is more because I think the Vaadwaur Polaron weapons look and sound really good more than anything else. As soon as I get a build I like, I'll post it here. I will try to limit myself to things which can still be acquired ingame by anyone. But I like my Red Matter Capacitor too much to not use it somewhere on this build.
A six year old boy and his starship. Living the dream.
Well I'm no big time damage dealer, but I do parse a lot (mostly to compare the effectiveness of my BOFF power choices and to see which consoles have a better effect overall).
My Vo'Quv (which still needs a bit of other stuff, such as a neutronic torp, and is still running the Aegis set) parsed 19.5k the other day in ISA going drain happy.
I'm still very much learning to fly this thing. It's very different. But the drain definitely works and it's a lot of fun.
So it's 19.5k in a T5, 9 console ship with no exotic seating ... a KDF character that doesn't have any space traits, is still level 51, and has MK XII rare [rapid] polarons since I don't have the dilithium or the rep levels for protonic yet.
For added context, in terms of how this stacks up against my other alts in other ships, this is actually right there in the middle of the mix. For a ship running 5 turrets and a transphasic torpedo, that's pretty good.
**Engineering Consoles**
Conductive RCS Accelerator [DrainX] | (UR)
Plasmonic Leech | -5.1/+5.1 to all Power settings for 15 seconds
Quantum Phase Converter Mk XII | (VR) Quantum Phase Catalysts (2 of 2)
Zero-Point Energy Conduit Mk XII | (VR)
**DUTY OFFICERS** Energy Weapon Officer (VR): On activation of beams or cannons, provides a 1% chance to remove 3 random currently applied buffs from your target. Targets hit with this effect become immune to it for 15 seconds. Energy Weapon Officer (VR): On activation of beams or cannons, provides a 1% chance to remove 3 random currently applied buffs from your target. Targets hit with this effect become immune to it for 15 seconds. Energy Weapon Officer (VR): On activation of beams or cannons, provides a 1% chance to remove 3 random currently applied buffs from your target. Targets hit with this effect become immune to it for 15 seconds. Warp Core Engineer (VR): 20% chance of +25 all Power Levels on use of any Emergency Power ability. Gravimetric Scientist (VR): Generates a chance to create up to four aftershock Tyken's Rifts. Entertainer (VR): On activation of beams or cannons, provides a 1% chance to reduce targets Perception distance to 20% of current for 6 seconds.
Active Personal Traits
1 Accurate: +10% Accuracy
2 Astrophysicist: +10 Drain Expertise, +10 Exotic Particle Generation, +10 Sensors
3 Cannon Training: +5% Cannon Weapon Damage
4 Deft Cannoneer: to self: +0.1 Flight Friction for 30 sec, to self: +0.1 Inertia for 30 sec, to self: +1 Flight Turn Rate for 30 sec
5 Efficient Captain: +30 Starship Warp Core Efficiency
6 EPS Manifold Efficiency: +10 all Power on use of Emergency Power to subsystem abilities
7 Fleet Coordinator: +2% All Damage per Team member (Self included), up to 10%
8 Give Your All: On activation of Engineering Bridge Officer ability: Reduce incoming damage by 20% for 3 sec
9 Grace Under Fire: If you take more than 20% of your hitpoints in damage within a 5 second period, the cooldown on Miracle Worker is reset. This trait will only trigger when Miracle Worker is already on cooldown, and can only trigger once every 90 seconds.
10 Invasive Control Programming: When you use certain Control powers, also cause a random Subsystem Disable for 12.1 sec
Reputation Space Passives
1 Energy Refrequencer: Receive 2.5% of your outgoing damage as a Hull heal to you (Triggers up to 10 times per second)
2 Radiant Detonation Matrix: Directed energy weapons have a chance to deal additional radiation damage and remove buffs in a small area around the target.
3 Torpedo Astrometric Synergy: Using a Torpedo Bridge Officer ability reduces remaining recharge of Science Bridge Officer abilities by 15%
4 Auxiliary Power Configuration - Defense: In space combat you gain a bonus to Maximum Hull HP, Maximum Shield HP, Kinetic and Energy Damage Resistance Rating that scales based on your Auxiliary Power Level.
5 Auxiliary Power Configuration - Offense: In space combat you gain a damage and accuracy boost based on your Auxiliary Power Level.
Active Space Reputation Traits
1 Quantum Singularity Manipulation: +100 to Science Stats for 8 sec. After 3 seconds, cloaks your ship for 5 sec. During this time, you may fire your weapons normally.
2 Deploy Sensor Interference Platform: Creates a level 60 Sensor Interference Platform for 45 sec
Starship Traits Notes Acquisition and Alternatives
1 Improved Command Frequency: Improves the cooldown of "Fleet Support" abilities and removes the "Low Health" restriction. Cooldown reduction is -10 minutes for Improved Command Frequency.
2 Improved Pedal to the Metal: +2% All Damage Bonus per 2 seconds spent at Full Throttle (max 10 stacks). All stacks immediately lost if your throttle is dropped.
3 Weapon System Synergy: Each time a directed energy weapon is activated on your ship, you will shunt a small amount of power to your projectile emitters. This is represented by building up stacks of Weapon System Synergy. Upon reaching 10 stacks, your projectile weapons will become primed and deal additional damage and shield bleedthrough for several seconds. After this expires there is a short lockout window before you can begin building up Weapon System Synergy stacks again.
4 Withering Barrage: While this trait is equipped, the duration of your Cannon: Scatter Volley is increased by 4 seconds.
Stealth Detection Rating: 74.85
Power Transfer Rate: 195% 9.8/sec
Bonus Defense: 52.5%
Hull: 85,425 @ 89 Aux Power
Hull Repair Rate: 164.0%/min
Shield Regeneration Rate: 851.4 shield/6 sec @ 75 Shield Power
Shields: 11,424 @ 75 Shield Power and 89 Aux Power
Kinetic Resists: 36.7% @ 89 Aux Power
Energy Resists: 36.7% @ 89 Aux Power
For anyone who is following this thread (is anyone following my blatherings here?) ... I did a couple more updates to the Terran Task Force build variant since my last posting. The big thing to note is that I went ahead and dropped the Bio-Neural Gel Pack because I didn't "need" the extra cooldown reduction and Radiation damage (Neutronic only) as much as I needed the Critical Hit Chance and Drain Expertise found in the Zero-Point Module. That essentially means that I'm using a Conductive RCS instead of the Bio-Neural Gel Pack found in the first build I posted at the beginning of this thread. What do I get for that? More Drain Powah!
How much Drain?
Well, just sitting in orbit around Earth with no buffs running, I'm up to -5.1/+5.1 All Power just from the Plasmonic Leech Console alone. With 6 Protonic Polarons, that's -30.6/+30.6 All Power per volley (which takes 3ish seconds to complete) and which lasts for 15 seconds. The drain proc on my Protonic Polarons is now up to -84.3 All Power for 5 seconds, and combined with the Leech makes for a grand total of -114.9 All Power ... just from the Turrets alone when they proc their drain. And that's not including what the Neutronic Torpedo is bringing to the party (-50.6 All Power on hit).
But seriously ... look at all the STUFF that can proc on my Turrets ... that are firing every 3 seconds. That's a LOT of "dice chuckin'" at whatever I'm shooting at, and if any ONE of those things proc, my Target is going to be having a really bad day. Heck, with all the stuff I've got going, I'd actually argue that the Proton burn is the LEAST harmful thing that could result!
One thing which I can confirm is that Plasmonic Leech isn't offsetting the cost of Weapon Power when firing "instantly" like was once supposed. Instead, the Plasmonic Leech simply raises the amount of power generated for your ship, but then that additional amount has to be shunted to subsystems via your Power Transfer Rate. That means that I'm typically looking at being at "full power" from Leech transfer during/after the second volley of Turret fire. Because of this, I've gotten in the habit of waiting for the second volley from my Turrets before engaging any Bridge Officer Skills that are augmented by Power Levels ... such as Tyken's Rift and Gravity Well and Auxiliary to Structural Integrity Field ... rather than using them "immediately" upon entering with 10 km on an attack run.
Switching the Quantum Phase Torpedo back to the Aft slot has ironically made the ship one where the preference is to have enemies either fore or aft of my cruiser, instead of the more routine broadsides only. This then gives me more flexibility when engaging since it means that I only need to turn in order to bring a new torpedo to bear, which given the long cooldown times actually synchronizes fairly well. It also means that "overrun" situations when doing a flyby keep the torpedoes firing (both fore and aft), giving me another engagement tactic to use to my advantage.
Dropping Eject Warp Plasma III for Auxiliary to Structural Integrity Field III essentially "makes up" for the loss of Hull healing as a result of switching from the Solanae Set to the Terran Task Force Space Set, but at the same time it gives me a rapid cooldown Hull heal which can then proc my Science Consoles. Being able to trigger all those proc chances every 14-15 seconds then makes it a lot easier to stack up all of those +All Damage modifiers that much faster.
And just in case anyone is wondering, I tested (while "parked" in Earth orbit) what happens to my resistances when Auxiliary to Structural Integrity Field III is engaged. My Resist All goes from 36.7% to just over 50% ... while sitting at "baseline" Power Levels. Yeeeaah ...
Anyway, with the Solanae Set I was sitting on 407 Drain Expertise.
Now with the Terran Task Force Space Set I'm up to 474 Drain Expertise ... and sittin' pretty.
Not bad for a "Horrifically Off-Meta Pressure Drain Build" ... even if I do say so myself.
As promised earlier in this thread, here is the loadout I am currently using on the Fleet Kamarag Battle Cruiser(FT5U). It is probably a little more DPS focused than the equivalent Ambassador class. It is a tiny bit squishy if I get target fixated or too caught up in a fight. But it is still a lot of fun to fly. I normally upgrade all the Consoles first to MkXIV, then the weapons later on. My KDF Sci char is the only one I have with this cruiser. Which I bought on a whim and played for about a week before docking it last year. Thanks again to autumnturning for giving me a reason to use something different. Different is ALWAYS good in my book.
Ship Information
Name: I.K.S. HeghnIS wa'SanID nav pe'(Death of a Thousand Paper Cuts)
Class: Fleet Kamarag Battle Cruiser Retrofit (FT5U)
Intended Role: Thinking outside the box when it comes to ship loadouts and capabilities. Inspired by autumnturning.
Commanding Officer: Dahar Master Cha Herom
Career: Science
Faction: Klingon Defense Force
Species: Lethean
Primary Specialization: Intelligence
Secondary Specialization: Pilot
Ship Loadout
Fore Weapons
Neutronic Torpedo Launcher Mk XIV(VR)
Protonic Polaron Turret Mk XIII [Acc]x2[Dmg](VR)
Protonic Polaron Turret Mk XIII [Acc]x2[Dmg](VR)
Protonic Polaron Turret Mk XIII [Acc]x2[Dmg](VR)
Aft Weapons
Quantum Phase Torpedo Launcher Mk XIV(VR)
Protonic Polaron Turret Mk XIII [Acc]x2[Dmg](VR)
Protonic Polaron Turret Mk XIII [Acc]x2[Dmg](VR)
Protonic Polaron Turret Mk XIII [Acc]x2[Dmg](VR)
Devices
Subspace Field Modulator
Temporal Negotiator
Red Matter Capacitor
NOTE: Batteries work well here as well. Tested this build with them with only some loss of capability.
Engineering Consoles
Plasmonic Leech
Quantum Phase Converter Mk XIV(VR)
Zero-Point Energy Conduit Mk XIV(VR)
Conductive RCS Accelerator Mk XIV [DrainX](VR)
Science Consoles
Restorative Particle Focuser Mk XIV [DrainX]x2(UR)
Restorative Particle Focuser Mk XIV [DrainX]x2(UR)
Restorative Particle Focuser Mk XIV [DrainX]x2(UR)
Restorative Particle Focuser Mk XIV [DrainX]x2(UR)
Bridge Officers
Universal/Tactical (VR Lethean): Torpedo: High Yield I | Cannon: Rapid Fire I
Tactical (VR Lethean): Torpedo: Spread I | Cannon: Scatter Volley I
Tactical (VR Lethean): Tactical Team I
Engineering (VR Lethean): Engineering Team I | Emergency Power to Shields II | Emergency Power to Weapons III | Auxiliary Power to the Structural Integrity Field
Science (VR Lethean): Science Team I | Tyken's Rift I | Gravity Well I
Duty Officers
(VR) Energy Weapons Officer - Chance to reduce the recharge time when using cannon special attacks
(VR) Projectile Weapons Officer - Chance to reduce the reload time when using torpedoes (Law from Nimbus III)
(VR) Warp Core Engineer - Chance of temporarily improving your ship power on the use of any Emergency Power ability
(VR) Development Lab Scientist - Recharge time reduced for Science Team and Buff
(VR) Gravimetric Scientist - Chance to create an aftershock Tyken's Rift
A six year old boy and his starship. Living the dream.
Comments
First, it is always nice to be referred to as a friend - thanks! My ship is a Tactical Command Battlecruiser T6 with Epic XIV everything (EVERYTHING) including full Aegis Kit - stacked infusers and all plasma. It was honestly a frustrating battle as I felt quite stripped of any advantages; the harder I hit, the more he drained... It's certainly made me reconsider a few choices. The only thing left was to call in Nimbus Pirates - or use other non-build devices. Even though I typically cut through opponents like butter, however the drain was too intense.
Also, as a side note ... I don't know what's going on, but I've started winning 3rd place damage in Crystaline Cataclysm Advanced with this build. Not every time mind you, but it's happened more than once ... which makes me wonder how a build which isn't oriented around producing Max DEEPS is managing to yield "respectable" DPS throughput from what amounts to essentially a Turret Boat.
Protonic Kool-Aid Down The Drain Cruiser
Immortal BOff Skills combo for Ground
Interesting. If that's true, then all the Hull Leeching and passive regeneration (both hull and shields) I've got going for me must be contributing pretty well to my totals then. In the "test match" I had with pepperhawk above, the ratio was about 4 damage per 1 healing over the matches, which is a pretty decent spread, and I was doing that with an "inferior" build that lead me to the final design you see posted at the beginning of this thread (complete with links to screencaps for lots of stuff).
On Redside, it basically costs 1000 Zen for the Vandal Destroyer (Tier 3) to get the ship with the Plasmonic Leech console.
On Blueside, you have to open Tal Shiar Lockboxes to score one ... or shell out 80 million(ish) EC on the Exchange for one.
Either way, unless you're building a Torpedo Boat, it's well worth the investment.
Glad to hear that this thread has inspired someone/anyone (at all)! Granted, I've gotten myself a niche build here, but it's one that "works according to its own beliefs" and runs quite counter to the currently popular meta-builds (Iconian sets, Antiproton everything, Max DPS Or Logout, etc.). I'd like to think that this build might open the door to a Return Of The Cannon Drain Builds (not "canon" ... cannon(s)) and give some pushback to the Beams Fire At Everything Forever builds that are predominantly popular right now to the point of being overdone.
The real test of any build is Combat ... and so far, in PvE, this Down The Drain Cruiser outfitted with "trashy" Protonic Polaron Turrets is far outperforming my original expectations. To even "get here" in terms of thinking this might be viable, I had do "drink some Kool-Aid" and discard bits and pieces of the currently prevailing Conventional Wisdom ... which I'm happy to report isn't always right (Beams vs Turrets in this case). And rather than keeping everything I've learned and discovered all to myself, I figured I ought to share ... and see if anyone else can make yet more discoveries based off the direction I've pioneered here. After all, Drain Builds are supposed to be "dead" and worthless at this point ... especially in PvE ... and yet ...
Protonic Kool-Aid Down The Drain Cruiser
Immortal BOff Skills combo for Ground
Terran 2-piece weapon set (Torpedo and Console)
Gravimetric 3-piece weapon set (Torpedo, Experimental Cannon, Console)
5x Withering Disruptor Turrets
3x Vulnerability Locators [Disruptor]
It didn't work out all that well.
I tried it out with 4x Embassy Plasma Science Consoles, but that just made the Drain effectively ho-hum. Unlike the Polarons, combined with the Neutronic Torpedo, I just wasn't making enough of a dent in shields to effectively bypass them and go straight to dealing hull damage. The Polarons would at least cause a "lights out" to take effect, and even if the lights stayed on, I'd still be draining scads of Power which would weaken my $Target(s). Those I could "notice" taking effect. The Withering Radiation procs? I simply couldn't see (or feel) them taking any toll or effect.
The thing that REALLY ticked me off though, and soured me on the whole Withering variant, was that when I'd activate Cannon Rapid Fire or Cannon Scatter Volley, sometimes my Turrets would just STOP FIRING and put themselves on cooldown WITHOUT SHOOTING until the skill buff wore off. What made it extra weird was seeing the Experimental Proton Weapon keep firing, while all the Withering Turrets would just quit shooting and not actually resume firing on command. THAT behavior may have been unintentional (probably some weird confluence of conflicting code), but ultimately, for me, it doesn't really matter. What it comes down to, for me, is that Withering Turrets are not reliable weapons in that they won't always keep shooting ... especially when I need them to.
So, on balance, I'd say that trying to switch the damage type from Polaron to Withering has been something of a bust (or should I say, "a red herring"?) in terms of performance. Yeah, the Withering may actually parse as doing more damage (no, I didn't parse anything, I'm just speculating) over the long haul ... but the Polarons effectively "avoid" needing to do as much damage. This results in a somewhat perverse situation in which the lower DPS weapon yields the fastest "time to die" for $Targets, meaning that Polarons don't "need" to do as much damage in order to finish a foe because they weaken the foe in a way that makes a portion of the damage that needs to be dealt "skippable" (in effect).
I was thinking of trying out a Romulan Plasma variant too, using the Romulan Hyper-Plasma, the Neutronic Torpedo and either 5 or 6 Romulan Plasma Turrets (5 if adding in the Experimental Romulan Plasma Beam Array). Yeah, that might work better ... because the Hyper-Plasma Torpedo gets 3 chances to proc the 3x PWO every time it fires, which would then make the Neutronic + Console fire MUCH faster, meaning more Neutronic Torpedoes flying, meaning more chances to drop shields (with Plasma Torpedoes en route to Ruin Your Day).
Hmmm. Maybe that means it was a mistake to remove the Neutronic Torpedo from the Withering build variant ...
Protonic Kool-Aid Down The Drain Cruiser
Immortal BOff Skills combo for Ground
I have a Catian toon that runs a rainbolaron build (read - using multiple types of polarons for the lulz) and I am saddened that protonic polarons suck so much. I liked the term you used "abandonware" because it is so apt. Also, I think youre right about the "hook in" not being there for the proton proc - that should be addressed, but no dev will ever see this thread a they pretty much ignore the forums and go straight to Reddit.
Let me take a sec to suggest some simple ideas to make Protonic Polarons worth a TRIBBLE.
1. If you MUST do the "chance of proc on proc", make it at least possible. 25% on a Proc is dogshit. It needs a buff.
2. Just skip the "proc on proc" nonsense and make it 5% ffs
3. On the Dyson consoles that booth both a damage type and protonic damage, boost the protonic damage buff. It is absurdly low and does nothing to encourage usage of this damage type. This is particularly pronounced as there are only 3 ways of making this damage: Through the proc, through the protonic weapon and the built in cannon on the Dyson Destroyer.
4. Make the Protonic cannon weapon-thingy buffed by both the generic Beam AND Cannon consoles. The weapon itself is neither fish nor fowl, so it makes sense. One takes a dps hit when they mount this,so it deserves at least some alternate ways to buff the damage output.
Rouge Sto Wiki Editor.
I know, right? In a game overrun by BFAW and "vaper" builds, here comes a "you're doing it wrong!" build that somehow manages to "work" in spite of everything. It really does feel like finding a different meta-game to live by.
It's not so much that they "suck" as that they are not working as advertised. The tooltip says things which don't match actual in-game performance or mathematical spreadsheet modeling of expected performance for the Proton burn proc. As Polarons they work just fine, since they drain power as advertised. It's just the proc that's failing to work as advertised.
If the nacelle fits ...
Best we can hope for is to draw the attention of a Bug Hunter (or few) with the resources to do a statistical analysis that can take a stab at explaining what the programming is ACTUALLY doing under the hood, and then cross-compare that with what the tooltip purports should be happening and bring the whole thing to the attention of @borticuscryptic (and friends?) for an in-house look at the underlying legacy coding.
It was a gimmick then and it's still a gimmick now. Back when the gimmick was first introduced and designed, it was really hard to get a Critical Hit of 10% or more (and 1/4 of 10% is 2.5%, which would be in line with the proc rates on other energy weapons). I'd be happy with having the Protonic proc just revert to being a "stock 'n' standard" 2.5% chance for Proton burn as a sort of Radiation Damage bonus and have done with the issue.
There's also the "Protonic Shotgun" on the Dyson Joint Command Technologies 3 of 4 pieces set which does Proton Damage. But yeah, there is a severe lack of opportunities to inflict Proton Damage, meaning that the "weighting" of Proton buffing as being "equal" to other damage types is completely out of whack from the get go.
I'm in favor of this, so long as it doesn't make stuff break elsewhere ...
Protonic Kool-Aid Down The Drain Cruiser
Immortal BOff Skills combo for Ground
Well I'll tells ya what...If you make a Reddit thread about it, I'll pipe in. I'll give my $.02.
Also, it's not like I've got exclusive "rights" to this particular issue. Please feel free to request assistance from Bug Hunters in r/sto and/or r/stobuilds as appropriate so as to give the Proton burn proc problem(s) visibility. I won't begrudge the effort to "get the word out" to where it needs to go in order to be seen, since presumably everyone would profit (including Cryptic?) from weapons that work as advertised.
Protonic Kool-Aid Down The Drain Cruiser
Immortal BOff Skills combo for Ground
I've been grinding out Terran Gravimetric Modules in the Badlands to try and test out a Terran 4-piece ship set (deflector, engines, shield) and see if it will make for a better balance than using the Solanae set. The Solanae set has a hull heal proc, while the Terran set has a shield heal proc.
Anyway ... I tried out the Withering Disruptors, was disappointed with their performance, and went back to the Polarons (the [Rapid] ones, in this case, not Protonic, I've got two captains running this build, basically) and decided to try swapping something else out. I switched the Quantum Phase Torpedo for the Romulan Hyper-Plasma Torpedo. The main idea was to try and get more procs out of the Projectile Weapon Officers so as to throw more Neutronic Torpedoes at stuff. In the Badlands, this has been working out remarkably well, primarily because the place isn't overrun with Beams Fire At Everything Forever on the Terran ships, and also because the destructible plasma torpedoes it fires will retarget in the event that their main target is destroyed while they're en route. That means less "wasted" torpedo shots during massed fire combat, and a slightly faster rate of fire for Neutronics, which in turn yields more "No Power For You" opportunities to burn down targets to core breach.
I figure that sometime today or tomorrow I should be able to secure the remaining Terran Marks I need to complete the Terran Space Set and then give the Romulan Plasma Turrets variant a whirl to see how it performs as a DPS focused alternative.
Protonic Kool-Aid Down The Drain Cruiser
Immortal BOff Skills combo for Ground
The real kicker was the fact that the Polarons can effectively "disable" hostiles, while the Withering Disruptors can't, which is a pretty big difference. I might give the Withering Disruptors another try in a more "apples to apples" comparison (with similar torpedo arrangements) later on though, just to reverify my findings.
Protonic Kool-Aid Down The Drain Cruiser
Immortal BOff Skills combo for Ground
I am doing def/wc Terran and eng/shield Jem though. The Solonae set seems to get me killed a lot on my KDF sci when I try to use it on a Klingon lobi Dyson, so I tend to avoid the full set and just use the deflector on select ships.
If it is a success, I'll post the build and the results here. Thank you, OP. For giving this jaded long time player something new to tinker with.
I am hoping this ship can function as interdiction ships, we move in pick the biggest badest target, drop cloak, start rolling the dice and we shut it down; then other higher DPS ships blow the hulls after we take all the power/shields/systems.
I don't have to kill the fastest but I want to help my fleet kill faster and safer!
Last night I earned enough Terran Marks to finish building out the rest of the Terran Task Force Starship Technologies set on my Alien Engineer Starfleet Admiral and ... it's better ... o.O;
I've taken a bunch of screenshots (that I need to crop) and post up to give the details. Bottom line, it looks like the Terran Set 3 piece does for Shields what the Solanae Set 3 piece does for Hull ... except that the Terran Set does a better job of it (i.e. more return per proc in my build).
The biggest difference is that since this particular Captain is an Alien, I can squeeze the Efficient personal trait into the mix, which then let me drop the Zero-Point Module in favor of a Conductive RCS with [DrainX] on it (bought off the exchange for 900k EC). That then gives me a baseline Turn Rate of 15.2, which is really good for a Cruiser(!), before stacking on the buffs which can push it up towards 20 just by cycling BOff Skills.
I also dropped the Eject Warp Plasma III in favor of Auxiliary Power to Structural Integrity III, which then gives me an almost perma-uptime Hull Heal which procs the [DrainX]x2 Research Lab Consoles every 13 seconds or so, and in so doing gives me a +All Damage modifier for my weapons.
I also went back to Neutronic Forward and Quantum Phase Aft, with 3x Protonic Polaron Turrets [Acc]x2 Forward and Aft and went ahead and dropped the 3x Projectile Weapon Officers. In their place I added the (Space) Entertainer, who has a 1% chance to drop the target's Perception to 20% of normal when firing energy weapons (parses out to about a 1 on 1d20 roll for every salvo from 6 Turrets combined), which effectively functions as a "Jam Sensors beyond 2 km" for 6 seconds when it procs. I also threw in a Warp Core Engineer for a proc to get more power on use of EPtS II and EPtW III so I can be cycling those almost constantly (yay EPS Manifold personal trait for Engineers!) and I also threw in the Gravimetric Scientist who procs extra Tyken's Rifts. Why? Because my Tyken's Rift I drains -10.8 Power per second for 10 seconds, and there isn't mention of the drain falling off over distance from center like with Gravity Well ... and with Drain Infection in the mix, I'm actually getting more raw damage out of Tyken's Rift than I am out of Gravity Well (although Gravity Well puts Control Amplification into play in my build, so six of one, half a dozen of the other on that score).
The BIG change though was that by changing out the Solanae Set for the Terran Task Force, my Drain Expertise went up ... by like about +40ish. I lost some Critical Hit Chance in the exchange, but considering the gain, I figure the tradeoff is worth it. I'm now doing -4.9/+4.9 Power per Turret ... which with 6 Turrets computes to -29.4/+29.4 after a single salvo cycle (which takes 3 seconds) and lasts for 15 seconds(!). And the Polaron drain proc? -81.8 Power for 5 seconds ... no lockout. That means my $Target is at either -29.4 Power (Leech Only) or -111.2 Power (Leech plus Polaron proc) ... which is often enough for a Shield Drop ... and that's not even including the smackdown from a Neutronic Torpdeo, now at -49.1 Power on every hit. Just the Leech plus Neutronic drain alone is -78.5 Power to my $Target.
I'll do another WALL OF TEXT CRITS YOU!!! posting with the Terran Task Force arrangement later, when/if I have time, so people can appreciate the details. Unfortunately, there is SO MUCH variability in the amount of Power the build can have available, that there's really not much point in trying to simulate the top end of performance for it while parked in Earth Orbit (I know, oh gee bum...).
Protonic Kool-Aid Down The Drain Cruiser
Immortal BOff Skills combo for Ground
Wat?
I can tell you, just by looking at the ship specs that a Fleet Eclipse Intel Cruiser is likely to disappoint you as a potential drain boat platform. Why? 2 Science Consoles. When you're building for [DrainX], you need every Science Console slot you can get. The more Drain Expertise you can stack, the more successful your drain focus is going to be (which is kinda the point of the build I've been laying out here). For this reason, I personally think you'd be happier with a Geneva Command Battlecruiser than you would be adapting (more like "pruning" really) my build into an Eclipse.
As for the cloak bonus ... you'd basically have to load up on Romulans as Bridge Officers to get the most out of it. That'll get expensive in a hurry. Can't say it would be worth the expense given the tradeoffs involved.
Protonic Kool-Aid Down The Drain Cruiser
Immortal BOff Skills combo for Ground
The Na'Kuhl Red Alert went very well. I don't parse things but man did I ever get Crits! They were not spectacular Crits, but there were so many of them, I did not really care. Fleet Kamarag with this build is very satisfying to play this game with. I've got some tweaking to do and some gear to acquire to make her better. However, it surely was fun to fly something so different and do so well at the same time.
Might be worth it to try this with Vaadwaur Polaron in the mix. Although this choice is more because I think the Vaadwaur Polaron weapons look and sound really good more than anything else. As soon as I get a build I like, I'll post it here. I will try to limit myself to things which can still be acquired ingame by anyone. But I like my Red Matter Capacitor too much to not use it somewhere on this build.
My Vo'Quv (which still needs a bit of other stuff, such as a neutronic torp, and is still running the Aegis set) parsed 19.5k the other day in ISA going drain happy.
I'm still very much learning to fly this thing. It's very different. But the drain definitely works and it's a lot of fun.
So it's 19.5k in a T5, 9 console ship with no exotic seating ... a KDF character that doesn't have any space traits, is still level 51, and has MK XII rare [rapid] polarons since I don't have the dilithium or the rep levels for protonic yet.
For added context, in terms of how this stacks up against my other alts in other ships, this is actually right there in the middle of the mix. For a ship running 5 turrets and a transphasic torpedo, that's pretty good.
*Ship Name* | U.S.S. Megumi
*Ship Class* | Fleet Support Cruiser Retrofit (T5-U)
*Beauty Shot 1* | Screenshot
*UI Shot* | Screenshot
*Captain Name* | Autumn Turning
*Captain Career* | Engineering
*Captain Faction* | Starfleet
*Captain Species* | Alien
*Primary Specialization* | Command
*Secondary Specialization* | Commando
*Intended Role* | PvE Power Drain/Buff Stripping For FUN!!
**Ship Loadout**
**Fore Weapons**
Neutronic Torpedo Launcher Mk XII | (VR)
Protonic Polaron Turret Mk XII [Acc]x2 | (VR)
Protonic Polaron Turret Mk XII [Acc]x2 | (VR)
Protonic Polaron Turret Mk XII [Acc]x2 | (VR)
**Aft Weapons**
Quantum Phase Torpedo Launcher Mk XII | (VR) Quantum Phase Catalysts (1 of 2)
Protonic Polaron Turret Mk XII [Acc]x2 | (VR)
Protonic Polaron Turret Mk XII [Acc]x2 | (VR)
Protonic Polaron Turret Mk XII [Acc]x2 | (VR)
**Deflector** | Terran Task Force Deflector Array Mk XII | (VR) Terran Task Force Starship Technologies (1 of 4)
**Impulse Engines** | Terran Task Force Impulse Engines Mk XII | (VR) Terran Task Force Starship Technologies (2 of 4)
**Warp Core** | Terran Task Force Quantum Capacitor Warp Core Mk XII | (VR) Terran Task Force Starship Technologies (3 of 4)
**Shields** | Terran Task Force Covariant Shield Array Mk XII | (VR) Terran Task Force Starship Technologies (4 of 4)
**Devices**
Weapons Battery
Shield Battery
Deuterium Surplus
Auxiliary Battery
**Engineering Consoles**
Conductive RCS Accelerator [DrainX] | (UR)
Plasmonic Leech | -5.1/+5.1 to all Power settings for 15 seconds
Quantum Phase Converter Mk XII | (VR) Quantum Phase Catalysts (2 of 2)
Zero-Point Energy Conduit Mk XII | (VR)
**Science Consoles**
Restorative Particle Focuser Mk XII [DrainX]x2 | (UR)
Restorative Particle Focuser Mk XII [DrainX]x2 | (UR)
Restorative Particle Focuser Mk XII [DrainX]x2 | (UR)
Restorative Particle Focuser Mk XII [DrainX]x2 | (UR)
**Tactical Consoles**
Chronometric Capacitor Mk XII | (VR)
Vulnerability Locator Mk XII [Polaron] | (UR)
Vulnerability Locator Mk XII [Polaron] | (UR)
**BRIDGE OFFICERS**
Universal/Tactical (VR Human): Torpedo: High Yield I | Cannon: Rapid Fire I
Tactical (VR Human): Torpedo: Spread I | Cannon: Scatter Volley I
Tactical (VR Human): Tactical Team I
Engineering (VR Human): Engineering Team I | Emergency Power to Shields II | Emergency Power to Weapons III | Auxiliary Power to the Structural Integrity Field III
Science (VR Human) | Science Team I | Tyken's Rift I | Gravity Well I
**DUTY OFFICERS**
Energy Weapon Officer (VR): On activation of beams or cannons, provides a 1% chance to remove 3 random currently applied buffs from your target. Targets hit with this effect become immune to it for 15 seconds.
Energy Weapon Officer (VR): On activation of beams or cannons, provides a 1% chance to remove 3 random currently applied buffs from your target. Targets hit with this effect become immune to it for 15 seconds.
Energy Weapon Officer (VR): On activation of beams or cannons, provides a 1% chance to remove 3 random currently applied buffs from your target. Targets hit with this effect become immune to it for 15 seconds.
Warp Core Engineer (VR): 20% chance of +25 all Power Levels on use of any Emergency Power ability.
Gravimetric Scientist (VR): Generates a chance to create up to four aftershock Tyken's Rifts.
Entertainer (VR): On activation of beams or cannons, provides a 1% chance to reduce targets Perception distance to 20% of current for 6 seconds.
Protonic Kool-Aid Down The Drain Cruiser
Immortal BOff Skills combo for Ground
Active Personal Traits
1 Accurate: +10% Accuracy
2 Astrophysicist: +10 Drain Expertise, +10 Exotic Particle Generation, +10 Sensors
3 Cannon Training: +5% Cannon Weapon Damage
4 Deft Cannoneer: to self: +0.1 Flight Friction for 30 sec, to self: +0.1 Inertia for 30 sec, to self: +1 Flight Turn Rate for 30 sec
5 Efficient Captain: +30 Starship Warp Core Efficiency
6 EPS Manifold Efficiency: +10 all Power on use of Emergency Power to subsystem abilities
7 Fleet Coordinator: +2% All Damage per Team member (Self included), up to 10%
8 Give Your All: On activation of Engineering Bridge Officer ability: Reduce incoming damage by 20% for 3 sec
9 Grace Under Fire: If you take more than 20% of your hitpoints in damage within a 5 second period, the cooldown on Miracle Worker is reset. This trait will only trigger when Miracle Worker is already on cooldown, and can only trigger once every 90 seconds.
10 Invasive Control Programming: When you use certain Control powers, also cause a random Subsystem Disable for 12.1 sec
Reputation Space Passives
1 Energy Refrequencer: Receive 2.5% of your outgoing damage as a Hull heal to you (Triggers up to 10 times per second)
2 Radiant Detonation Matrix: Directed energy weapons have a chance to deal additional radiation damage and remove buffs in a small area around the target.
3 Torpedo Astrometric Synergy: Using a Torpedo Bridge Officer ability reduces remaining recharge of Science Bridge Officer abilities by 15%
4 Auxiliary Power Configuration - Defense: In space combat you gain a bonus to Maximum Hull HP, Maximum Shield HP, Kinetic and Energy Damage Resistance Rating that scales based on your Auxiliary Power Level.
5 Auxiliary Power Configuration - Offense: In space combat you gain a damage and accuracy boost based on your Auxiliary Power Level.
Active Space Reputation Traits
1 Quantum Singularity Manipulation: +100 to Science Stats for 8 sec. After 3 seconds, cloaks your ship for 5 sec. During this time, you may fire your weapons normally.
2 Deploy Sensor Interference Platform: Creates a level 60 Sensor Interference Platform for 45 sec
Starship Traits Notes Acquisition and Alternatives
1 Improved Command Frequency: Improves the cooldown of "Fleet Support" abilities and removes the "Low Health" restriction. Cooldown reduction is -10 minutes for Improved Command Frequency.
2 Improved Pedal to the Metal: +2% All Damage Bonus per 2 seconds spent at Full Throttle (max 10 stacks). All stacks immediately lost if your throttle is dropped.
3 Weapon System Synergy: Each time a directed energy weapon is activated on your ship, you will shunt a small amount of power to your projectile emitters. This is represented by building up stacks of Weapon System Synergy. Upon reaching 10 stacks, your projectile weapons will become primed and deal additional damage and shield bleedthrough for several seconds. After this expires there is a short lockout window before you can begin building up Weapon System Synergy stacks again.
4 Withering Barrage: While this trait is equipped, the duration of your Cannon: Scatter Volley is increased by 4 seconds.
Other Information
Weapons Power: 79/50
Shield Power: 75/50
Engine Power: 75/50
Auxiliary Power: 89/50
SET BONUSES
1 Quantum Phase Catalysts (2): +15% Accuracy, Doubles potency of Quantum Phase Weapons shield drain, Doubles potency of Quantum Phase High-Yield Torpedo shield heal
2 Terran Task Force Starship Technologies (4): +17.8 Starship Shield Capacity, +17.8 Drain Expertise, When firing Energy Weapons, 2.5% chance: 937.5 Shield Regeneration to All Shields to self, Disruptor Shell
SKILLS AND STATS
Stealth Detection Rating: 74.85
Power Transfer Rate: 195% 9.8/sec
Bonus Defense: 52.5%
Hull: 85,425 @ 89 Aux Power
Hull Repair Rate: 164.0%/min
Shield Regeneration Rate: 851.4 shield/6 sec @ 75 Shield Power
Shields: 11,424 @ 75 Shield Power and 89 Aux Power
Kinetic Resists: 36.7% @ 89 Aux Power
Energy Resists: 36.7% @ 89 Aux Power
Bonus Accuracy: 37.0%
Crit Chance: 7.4%
Crit Severity: 50.0%
Inertia: 40
Flight Speed: 28.11
Turn Rate: 15.2 deg./sec
Starship Energy Weapon Training: 50
Starship Projectile Weapon Training: 50
Starship Weapon Accuracy: 50
Starship Defense Maneuvering: 50
Starship Hull Penetration: 50
Starship Shield Weakening: 50
Starship Weapon Specialization: 50
Starship Weapon Amplification: 50
Starship Tactical Readiness: 50
Starship Shield Restoration: 50
Starship Shield Capacity: 94
Starship Shield Regeneration: 85
Starship Shield Hardness: 85
Starship Control Expertise: 126
Starship Drain Expertise: 474
Starship Exotic Particle Generator: 125
Starship Scientific Readiness: 50
Starship Hull Restoration: 50
Starship Hull Capacity: 60
Starship Energized Hull Plating: 60
Starship Ablative Hull Plating: 60
Starship Hull Regeneration: 50
Starship Electro-Plasma System Flow: 95
Starship Impulse Expertise: 50
Starship Engineering Readiness: 50
Protonic Kool-Aid Down The Drain Cruiser
Immortal BOff Skills combo for Ground
How much Drain?
Well, just sitting in orbit around Earth with no buffs running, I'm up to -5.1/+5.1 All Power just from the Plasmonic Leech Console alone. With 6 Protonic Polarons, that's -30.6/+30.6 All Power per volley (which takes 3ish seconds to complete) and which lasts for 15 seconds. The drain proc on my Protonic Polarons is now up to -84.3 All Power for 5 seconds, and combined with the Leech makes for a grand total of -114.9 All Power ... just from the Turrets alone when they proc their drain. And that's not including what the Neutronic Torpedo is bringing to the party (-50.6 All Power on hit).
But seriously ... look at all the STUFF that can proc on my Turrets ... that are firing every 3 seconds. That's a LOT of "dice chuckin'" at whatever I'm shooting at, and if any ONE of those things proc, my Target is going to be having a really bad day. Heck, with all the stuff I've got going, I'd actually argue that the Proton burn is the LEAST harmful thing that could result!
One thing which I can confirm is that Plasmonic Leech isn't offsetting the cost of Weapon Power when firing "instantly" like was once supposed. Instead, the Plasmonic Leech simply raises the amount of power generated for your ship, but then that additional amount has to be shunted to subsystems via your Power Transfer Rate. That means that I'm typically looking at being at "full power" from Leech transfer during/after the second volley of Turret fire. Because of this, I've gotten in the habit of waiting for the second volley from my Turrets before engaging any Bridge Officer Skills that are augmented by Power Levels ... such as Tyken's Rift and Gravity Well and Auxiliary to Structural Integrity Field ... rather than using them "immediately" upon entering with 10 km on an attack run.
Switching the Quantum Phase Torpedo back to the Aft slot has ironically made the ship one where the preference is to have enemies either fore or aft of my cruiser, instead of the more routine broadsides only. This then gives me more flexibility when engaging since it means that I only need to turn in order to bring a new torpedo to bear, which given the long cooldown times actually synchronizes fairly well. It also means that "overrun" situations when doing a flyby keep the torpedoes firing (both fore and aft), giving me another engagement tactic to use to my advantage.
Dropping Eject Warp Plasma III for Auxiliary to Structural Integrity Field III essentially "makes up" for the loss of Hull healing as a result of switching from the Solanae Set to the Terran Task Force Space Set, but at the same time it gives me a rapid cooldown Hull heal which can then proc my Science Consoles. Being able to trigger all those proc chances every 14-15 seconds then makes it a lot easier to stack up all of those +All Damage modifiers that much faster.
And just in case anyone is wondering, I tested (while "parked" in Earth orbit) what happens to my resistances when Auxiliary to Structural Integrity Field III is engaged. My Resist All goes from 36.7% to just over 50% ... while sitting at "baseline" Power Levels. Yeeeaah ...
Anyway, with the Solanae Set I was sitting on 407 Drain Expertise.
Now with the Terran Task Force Space Set I'm up to 474 Drain Expertise ... and sittin' pretty.
Not bad for a "Horrifically Off-Meta Pressure Drain Build" ... even if I do say so myself.
Protonic Kool-Aid Down The Drain Cruiser
Immortal BOff Skills combo for Ground
Ship Information
Name: I.K.S. HeghnIS wa'SanID nav pe'(Death of a Thousand Paper Cuts)
Class: Fleet Kamarag Battle Cruiser Retrofit (FT5U)
Intended Role: Thinking outside the box when it comes to ship loadouts and capabilities. Inspired by autumnturning.
Commanding Officer: Dahar Master Cha Herom
Career: Science
Faction: Klingon Defense Force
Species: Lethean
Primary Specialization: Intelligence
Secondary Specialization: Pilot
Ship Loadout
Fore Weapons
Neutronic Torpedo Launcher Mk XIV(VR)
Protonic Polaron Turret Mk XIII [Acc]x2[Dmg](VR)
Protonic Polaron Turret Mk XIII [Acc]x2[Dmg](VR)
Protonic Polaron Turret Mk XIII [Acc]x2[Dmg](VR)
Aft Weapons
Quantum Phase Torpedo Launcher Mk XIV(VR)
Protonic Polaron Turret Mk XIII [Acc]x2[Dmg](VR)
Protonic Polaron Turret Mk XIII [Acc]x2[Dmg](VR)
Protonic Polaron Turret Mk XIII [Acc]x2[Dmg](VR)
Deflector: Elite Fleet Axion Deflector Array Mk XIII [CrtlX]x2 [EPG] [SciCD]
Impulse: Elite Fleet Efficient Impulse Engines Mk XIII [Pow] [Spd] [Turn]x2
Warp Core: Elite Fleet Plasma-Integrated Warp Core MkXIII [ACap] [AMP] [Eff] [S->A] [Trans]
Shields: Elite Fleet Adaptive Resilient Shield Array Mk XIII [Adapt] [Cap]x2 [ResB]
Devices
Subspace Field Modulator
Temporal Negotiator
Red Matter Capacitor
NOTE: Batteries work well here as well. Tested this build with them with only some loss of capability.
Engineering Consoles
Plasmonic Leech
Quantum Phase Converter Mk XIV(VR)
Zero-Point Energy Conduit Mk XIV(VR)
Conductive RCS Accelerator Mk XIV [DrainX](VR)
Science Consoles
Restorative Particle Focuser Mk XIV [DrainX]x2(UR)
Restorative Particle Focuser Mk XIV [DrainX]x2(UR)
Restorative Particle Focuser Mk XIV [DrainX]x2(UR)
Restorative Particle Focuser Mk XIV [DrainX]x2(UR)
Tactical Consoles
Chronometric Capacitor Mk XIV(VR)
Vulnerabilty Exploiter MkXIV [Polaron](UR)
Vulnerabilty Exploiter MkXIV [Polaron](UR)
Bridge Officers
Universal/Tactical (VR Lethean): Torpedo: High Yield I | Cannon: Rapid Fire I
Tactical (VR Lethean): Torpedo: Spread I | Cannon: Scatter Volley I
Tactical (VR Lethean): Tactical Team I
Engineering (VR Lethean): Engineering Team I | Emergency Power to Shields II | Emergency Power to Weapons III | Auxiliary Power to the Structural Integrity Field
Science (VR Lethean): Science Team I | Tyken's Rift I | Gravity Well I
Duty Officers
(VR) Energy Weapons Officer - Chance to reduce the recharge time when using cannon special attacks
(VR) Projectile Weapons Officer - Chance to reduce the reload time when using torpedoes (Law from Nimbus III)
(VR) Warp Core Engineer - Chance of temporarily improving your ship power on the use of any Emergency Power ability
(VR) Development Lab Scientist - Recharge time reduced for Science Team and Buff
(VR) Gravimetric Scientist - Chance to create an aftershock Tyken's Rift