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Cptn powers and exotic dmg buffing

duaths1duaths1 Member Posts: 1,232 Arc User
So recently i've created myself two new toons - a tac and a sci, and i would love to play one of them correctly.
I've got enough of the lul weapon dmg boom boom tac, so been thinking about specialising my new tac in exotic dmg.

Now, a question occured:
I know the SCI Cptn abilities debuff most of the time, which is nice.
The TAC Cptn abilities description states they buff all dmg, but does this also apply for science exotic abilities like drain or gravity wells?

(i do not really know, as my main has always been sci, forums, reddit and sto wiki are giving disturbing informations, so i hope some pro will be able to help here)

ty for answers

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    tom61stotom61sto Member Posts: 3,636 Arc User
    Tac buffs apply to Exotic damage, yes. They don't apply to drains, though, as that isn't a damage type.

    To clarify, Tac captain buffs will do nothing to something like Energy Siphon, but will enhance the damage of Gravity Well, but not its pull, as well as enhancing the damage of Tyken's Rift, but not its drain or pull.

    There's been a fair amount of calls for this to be changed, as it tends to make Tac captains better than Sci for damage dealing Science abilities and no real draw-back in the other Sci capabilities.
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    duaths1duaths1 Member Posts: 1,232 Arc User
    thank you for clarifying.
    but, wiki states APA does not apply for this kind of dmg, only weapon dmg, so i am still unsure which toon i should invest in..
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    odinforever20000odinforever20000 Member Posts: 1,849 Arc User
    duaths1 wrote: »
    thank you for clarifying.
    but, wiki states APA does not apply for this kind of dmg, only weapon dmg, so i am still unsure which toon i should invest in..

    Hrmm..I will update that.

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    chastity1337chastity1337 Member Posts: 1,606 Arc User
    My thought tends to be that for a Sci build, you're better off with a Sci captain, but YMMV.
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    odinforever20000odinforever20000 Member Posts: 1,849 Arc User
    My thought tends to be that for a Sci build, you're better off with a Sci captain, but YMMV.

    Eh..Running a Tac in a sci ship aint bad either. :P

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    Rouge Sto Wiki Editor.


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    baudlbaudl Member Posts: 4,060 Arc User
    My thought tends to be that for a Sci build, you're better off with a Sci captain, but YMMV.

    actually, none of the sci skills significantly buff any of the sci captain powers. Take sensor scan for instance: it debuffs the resistance rating of the target and increases perception. Only the perception part can actually be buffed by sci skills, the important part is not affected by sci skills. High Aux energy helps though, and guess which class offers that easily.

    A sci captain in a Sci-vessel makes sense as a drain build and support...alone every other combo offers more synergies.
    Does it matter though? No, you just need longer to clear out the masses of NPC thrown at you when playing solo.
    Depending on team line-up this combo can be great though, but usually a carrier adds more to these line-ups anyway.
    Go pro or go home
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    e30erneste30ernest Member Posts: 1,794 Arc User
    Why does a Sci captain in a Sci vessel make more sense as a support?
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    baudlbaudl Member Posts: 4,060 Arc User
    e30ernest wrote: »
    Why does a Sci captain in a Sci vessel make more sense as a support?

    it ain't a DD, since tac and engi in sci vessels can do it better (dmg buffs, more energy in subsystems)...he ain't the tank either, since engi in sci vessel can do that better (extra heals, more energy).
    So it's not the most survivable combo and not the most damaging combo...it does however have access to a big number of croud control abilities, aka. support role.

    personaly I find sci captains in an escort or destroyer extremely enjoyable and a good synergy with cannons and grav well 1 for instance.
    Go pro or go home
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    e30erneste30ernest Member Posts: 1,794 Arc User
    baudl wrote: »
    So it's not the most survivable combo and not the most damaging combo...it does however have access to a big number of croud control abilities, aka. support role.

    Those are bridge officer abilities though and not captain abilities. In terms of damage, Science captains are right up there (or even above) Engineers. If anything, I really cannot see any of the current captains falling under a "support role".

    I think the idea of Science captains as support captains in space is a misconception. They are neither better healers nor better at crowd control than any of the other classes in space. In fact, one of the best healers in the game right now is a Tactical officer and I know of Engineers that excel in both space magic and crowd control.
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    thunderfoot#5163 thunderfoot Member Posts: 4,540 Arc User
    edited August 2016
    I have a KDF Sci in a T6 Tactical Carrier. He does well in STFs. Please go check out some of the builds in the Protonic Kool-Aid thread if you are looking for something different. My KDF Sci also does very well in the FT-5U Kamarag listed there. Got an invite to one of the DPS channels with him while using the Kamarag. So I can safely assume he is not limited only to a 'support' role. Lots of 'experts' around here will say different though, lol. As has been stated around here many times, the trinity idea of MMOs does not apply to STO.

    The rest of my advice to you about how you load out either or both of your characters is:

    - Try ALL the Things!
    You're not going to learn what works for you by reading someone's posts and then copy-catting their build.
    If something looks interesting or fun, use it ingame to find out about it.
    There is some good advice on the forums. There is also a large amount of bovine biological byproduct.
    Every time I read something which either states or implies "everyone knows...", I roll my eyes and then spend a few days proving how wrong they are to myself.

    - As long as you are having fun with these characters, you are "winning" STO.
    Far too many people take this game waay too seriously.
    STO should not be a lifestyle choice, unless you're on the Dev Team.
    A six year old boy and his starship. Living the dream.
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    baudlbaudl Member Posts: 4,060 Arc User
    edited August 2016
    e30ernest wrote: »
    baudl wrote: »
    So it's not the most survivable combo and not the most damaging combo...it does however have access to a big number of croud control abilities, aka. support role.

    Those are bridge officer abilities though and not captain abilities. In terms of damage, Science captains are right up there (or even above) Engineers. If anything, I really cannot see any of the current captains falling under a "support role".

    I think the idea of Science captains as support captains in space is a misconception. They are neither better healers nor better at crowd control than any of the other classes in space. In fact, one of the best healers in the game right now is a Tactical officer and I know of Engineers that excel in both space magic and crowd control.

    I was also strictly referring to sci-sci combo...which excludes most dmg abilities anyway. The sci captain by itself is definately not only playable as a support role. Sci captain in an escort is a pretty good DD actually, definately better than an engi in an escort.

    @ thunderfoot

    "doing well" is not a benchmark for anything really...
    you can do well with 30k DPS in all the content STO offers...what basically means autofire with no boff powers activating if your items are good enough and you have some decent passives.
    fact is, tac in sci ship will do more dmg with sci boff abilities, but less CC since he has no subnuc, or sensor scan. Engi in sci vessel will do probably more dmg, due to having more maxed out sub system powers and has definately more survivability. Exception here are probably the torp-drain builds for certain sci vessels, that need no weapon power.
    So if you are not outperforming the other 2 classes in their respective fields...you are a supporter, even if you don't feel like one.

    idealy no body is strictly support, tank or DD...this trinity doesn't exist in STO. Everybody should be able to pull their weigth in PVE. A DD should be able to survive on his own in normal situations, and a tank and support should be able to actually kill something within a reasonable time.

    "Far too many people take this game waay too seriously.
    STO should not be a lifestyle choice, unless you're on the Dev Team."

    Quite some condescending BS...sure you should have fun at the game, and play what ever you like. But you should also respect the fact that this is a multy player game, and if you and your "barbie beach van" isn't contributing towards the goal of a mission, you either actually try to play reasonably good, or get a grp of likeminded people together. Don't burden strangers with your "fun-builds" that can't pull their own weight.
    Post edited by baudl on
    Go pro or go home
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    dareaudareau Member Posts: 2,390 Arc User
    baudl wrote: »
    e30ernest wrote: »
    baudl wrote: »
    So it's not the most survivable combo and not the most damaging combo...it does however have access to a big number of croud control abilities, aka. support role.

    Those are bridge officer abilities though and not captain abilities. In terms of damage, Science captains are right up there (or even above) Engineers. If anything, I really cannot see any of the current captains falling under a "support role".

    I think the idea of Science captains as support captains in space is a misconception. They are neither better healers nor better at crowd control than any of the other classes in space. In fact, one of the best healers in the game right now is a Tactical officer and I know of Engineers that excel in both space magic and crowd control.

    I was also strictly referring to sci-sci combo...which excludes most dmg abilities anyway. The sci captain by itself is definately not only playable as a support role. Sci captain in an escort is a pretty good DD actually, definately better than an engi in an escort.

    Only things Sci-Sci really has (DPS-wise) that no one else possibly can is that "conservation of energy" trait that grants bonuses to exotic damage while being shot at - max 3 stacks, and Captain Ability Photonic Fleet.

    Everything else, humongous partigen stacks, exotic crits of death and desecration trait, etc. etc. can be had by anyone else who makes the suitable investments and flies a Sci boat...

    Going by Sci Captain powers, he's the "denier" amongst the three. Scattering field with it's "ranged damage reduction bonus", subnuc beam that strips a couple of active buffs (all, but show me non-boss NPCs that use more than 2 buffs), Doffed sensor scan that reduces enemy weapon output, shield resist boost from Sci Fleet.
    Detecting big-time "anti-old-school" bias here. NX? Lobi. TOS/TMP Connie? Super-promotion-box. (aka the two hardest ways to get ships) Excelsior & all 3 TNG "big hero" ships? C-Store. Please Equalize...

    To rob a line: [quote: Mariemaia Kushrenada] Forum Posting is much like an endless waltz. The three beats of war, peace and revolution continue on forever. However, opinions will change upon the reading of my post.[/quote]
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