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malarks
Member Posts: 35 Arc User
in The Academy
Greetings,
I am endeavoring to create an Agent Of Yesterday Engineer Escort character. I will lay out my current skills build and ship equipment. Groundwork holds minimal interest for me, so do not concern yourself with such stats. This is intended as a pure space character.
I have attained lv60 and have been focusing on developing an array of Phaser and Photon weaponry, having sold off the majority (all) of other damage types.
I am finding I am having difficulty holding my own when I join STF's and am having trouble soloing Delta Quadrant content and am unable to run Episodic content solo. I am hoping to be able to at least contribute in an STF and at least be able to get through Episodic content solo. I am not interested in what the apex of potential is, I just want to be able to play the game.
I am unable to spend money on the game, so suggestions of purchasing content will be summarily ignored. I 'wasted' my respec because of the bug that prevents you from spending skill points without respeccing and I cannot afford to buy another.
Captain skills:
Lieutenant; Hull Restoration I/II ~ Hull Capacity I/II ~ Shield Restoration I/II ~ Shield Capacity I/II ~ Energy Weapons Training I/II/III ~ Projectile Weapons Training I/II/III
Lt. Commander; Electro-Plasma Flow ~ Improved EPS Flow ~ Full Impulse Energy Shunt ~ Impulse Expertise I/II/III ~ Targeting Expertise I/II/III ~ Defensive Maneuvering I/II/III
Commander; Hull Plating ~ Energized Hull Plating ~ Damage Control I ~ Shield Regeneration I ~ Shield Hardness I/II ~ Weapon Amplification I/II ~ Weapon Specialization I/II/III
Captain; Offensive Subsystem Tuning ~ Weapon Subsystem Performance ~ Engine Subsystem Performance ~ Long-Range Targeting Sensors I/II/III
Admiral; Warp Core Potential ~ Improved Warp Core Potential ~ Warp Core Efficiency
Perks; Battery Expertise ~ Sector Space Travel Speed ~ Threat Control ~ Subsystem Repair ~ Maximum Shield Capacity ~ Projectile Critical Chance ~ Engine Subsystem Power ~ Energy Critical Chance
Specializations:
Pilot; Primary ~ Maneuvering Thrusters ~ Attack Pattern Expertise I/II ~ Eat My Dust ~ Desperate Flight ~ Reckless Abandon ~ Rock and Roll ~ Magic Carpet Ride ~ All Shook Up I/II ~ Turn the Other Cheek ~ Danger Zone ~ Wingman
Intelligence Officer; Secondary ~ Hide Weakness I/II
Personal Space Traits:
Accurate ~ Elusive ~ EPS Manifold Efficiency ~ Grace under Fire ~ Techie ~ Operative ~ Shield Frequency Analyst ~ Shield Technician ~ Warp Theorist
Starship Traits
Critical Systems
Space Reputation
Enhanced Armour Penetration ~ Energy Refrequencer ~ Precision ~ Chrono-Capacitor Array
STARSHIP BUILD
Escort Retrofit http://sto.gamepedia.com/Escort_Retrofit (Alternatively, I also have the Patrol Escort, which is of an almost identical design)
All gear is of Purple (very rare) quality, unless otherwise stated. All set pieces are mission rewards.
Dual Phaser Beam bank MkXII [Acc] [CrtH] [CrtD]
Dual Phaser Beam bank MkXII [Acc] [CrtH] [Over]
Phaser Beam Array MkXII [Acc] [CrtD] [DMG]
Quantum Phase Torpedo MkXII
Solanae Deflector Array MkXII
Solanae Hyper-Efficient Impulse Engines MkXII
Field Stablizing Warp Core MkIX [ECap] [S>W] [SecSpd]
Solanae Resillient Shield Array MkXII
Ultra-rare Omni-Directional Phaser Beam Array MkXII [Acc] [Arc] [CrtD] [Dmg]
Rare Phaser Beam Array MkXII [Acc] [Dmg]
Quantum Phase Beam Array MkXII
Console - Engineering - Energy Signature Dampener MkXII [WepPwr]
Rare Console - Engineering - Neutronium Alloy MkXII
Rare Console - Engineering - Energy Signature Dampener MkXII [HullHeal]
Console - Science - Shield Refrequencer MkXII [HullReg]
Console - Universal - Quantum Phase Converter MkXII
Console - Tactical - Phaser Relay MkX
Console - Tactical - Phaser Relay MkX
Console - Tactical - Phaser Relay MkX
Rare Console - Tactical - Phaser Relay MkXI
I will not be listing Bridge Officer skills, but am open to suggestion. Please keep in mind the restrictions of the ship, available via the link at the top of the Ship Stats section, here.
Hopefully I have provided enough information to generate some thoughts.
I am endeavoring to create an Agent Of Yesterday Engineer Escort character. I will lay out my current skills build and ship equipment. Groundwork holds minimal interest for me, so do not concern yourself with such stats. This is intended as a pure space character.
I have attained lv60 and have been focusing on developing an array of Phaser and Photon weaponry, having sold off the majority (all) of other damage types.
I am finding I am having difficulty holding my own when I join STF's and am having trouble soloing Delta Quadrant content and am unable to run Episodic content solo. I am hoping to be able to at least contribute in an STF and at least be able to get through Episodic content solo. I am not interested in what the apex of potential is, I just want to be able to play the game.
I am unable to spend money on the game, so suggestions of purchasing content will be summarily ignored. I 'wasted' my respec because of the bug that prevents you from spending skill points without respeccing and I cannot afford to buy another.
Captain skills:
Lieutenant; Hull Restoration I/II ~ Hull Capacity I/II ~ Shield Restoration I/II ~ Shield Capacity I/II ~ Energy Weapons Training I/II/III ~ Projectile Weapons Training I/II/III
Lt. Commander; Electro-Plasma Flow ~ Improved EPS Flow ~ Full Impulse Energy Shunt ~ Impulse Expertise I/II/III ~ Targeting Expertise I/II/III ~ Defensive Maneuvering I/II/III
Commander; Hull Plating ~ Energized Hull Plating ~ Damage Control I ~ Shield Regeneration I ~ Shield Hardness I/II ~ Weapon Amplification I/II ~ Weapon Specialization I/II/III
Captain; Offensive Subsystem Tuning ~ Weapon Subsystem Performance ~ Engine Subsystem Performance ~ Long-Range Targeting Sensors I/II/III
Admiral; Warp Core Potential ~ Improved Warp Core Potential ~ Warp Core Efficiency
Perks; Battery Expertise ~ Sector Space Travel Speed ~ Threat Control ~ Subsystem Repair ~ Maximum Shield Capacity ~ Projectile Critical Chance ~ Engine Subsystem Power ~ Energy Critical Chance
Specializations:
Pilot; Primary ~ Maneuvering Thrusters ~ Attack Pattern Expertise I/II ~ Eat My Dust ~ Desperate Flight ~ Reckless Abandon ~ Rock and Roll ~ Magic Carpet Ride ~ All Shook Up I/II ~ Turn the Other Cheek ~ Danger Zone ~ Wingman
Intelligence Officer; Secondary ~ Hide Weakness I/II
Personal Space Traits:
Accurate ~ Elusive ~ EPS Manifold Efficiency ~ Grace under Fire ~ Techie ~ Operative ~ Shield Frequency Analyst ~ Shield Technician ~ Warp Theorist
Starship Traits
Critical Systems
Space Reputation
Enhanced Armour Penetration ~ Energy Refrequencer ~ Precision ~ Chrono-Capacitor Array
STARSHIP BUILD
Escort Retrofit http://sto.gamepedia.com/Escort_Retrofit (Alternatively, I also have the Patrol Escort, which is of an almost identical design)
All gear is of Purple (very rare) quality, unless otherwise stated. All set pieces are mission rewards.
Dual Phaser Beam bank MkXII [Acc] [CrtH] [CrtD]
Dual Phaser Beam bank MkXII [Acc] [CrtH] [Over]
Phaser Beam Array MkXII [Acc] [CrtD] [DMG]
Quantum Phase Torpedo MkXII
Solanae Deflector Array MkXII
Solanae Hyper-Efficient Impulse Engines MkXII
Field Stablizing Warp Core MkIX [ECap] [S>W] [SecSpd]
Solanae Resillient Shield Array MkXII
Ultra-rare Omni-Directional Phaser Beam Array MkXII [Acc] [Arc] [CrtD] [Dmg]
Rare Phaser Beam Array MkXII [Acc] [Dmg]
Quantum Phase Beam Array MkXII
Console - Engineering - Energy Signature Dampener MkXII [WepPwr]
Rare Console - Engineering - Neutronium Alloy MkXII
Rare Console - Engineering - Energy Signature Dampener MkXII [HullHeal]
Console - Science - Shield Refrequencer MkXII [HullReg]
Console - Universal - Quantum Phase Converter MkXII
Console - Tactical - Phaser Relay MkX
Console - Tactical - Phaser Relay MkX
Console - Tactical - Phaser Relay MkX
Rare Console - Tactical - Phaser Relay MkXI
I will not be listing Bridge Officer skills, but am open to suggestion. Please keep in mind the restrictions of the ship, available via the link at the top of the Ship Stats section, here.
Hopefully I have provided enough information to generate some thoughts.
0
Comments
Going with phasers and the quantum phase set is pretty neat but why not the set's dhcs and go with a full cannon set up?
Something like:
front: 2x phaser dhcs, 1x quantum phase dhc, 1x quantum phase torp
rear: 3x phaser turrets
or alternaively put a 4th dhc in the front and shove the torp in the back for the set bonus and some stray hits when you turn around for a new attack run
The benefit of using weapons of the same category is that their boff powers affect them all, turrets are also in the "cannon" type so they are also affected by CSV & CRF.
With that said I'd go with:
tac team 1, rapid fire 1, scatter volley 2, omega 3
torp spread 1, scatter volley 1, beta 2
engineering team 1, aux to structural integrity 2
emergency power to weapons 1
hazard emitters 1, sci team 2
Alternatevely you could also go with a beam set up with dual banks in the front and omnis in the rear though the quantum phase set dosent really fit then sice there's neiher a DBB nor omni beam among the set pieces.
One of the gear things to address: Get your weapons and tactical consoles to Mark XIV. The damage bump from Mark XII to Mark XIV is higher than previous bumps have been. And enemies that die faster deal less damage to you.
Ensure you have maxed out weapon power. Emergency Power to Weapons can help with that, too.
If you stick to beams, Beam Fire At Will is your skill choice. Combine it with Attack Pattern Beta or Omega.
For your Quantum Phase torpedo, I highly recommend Torpedo Spread.
For survival, I would recommend Science Team, Hazard Emitters and Emergency Power to Shields and Tactical Team. This gives you a good cleanse with an instant shield heal, a good heal over time that also cleanses some debuffs and ongoing damage effects, and a power to harden your shields and make your ship tougher overall, and gives you an ability to automatically redistribute your shields depending on where you're taking damage. Engineering Team, Auxiliary to Structural Integrity Field and Transfer Shield Strength are also decent powers, but I generally find the other set of powers more effective initially. Only if you could field even more heals, the other powers become interesting. (But an Escort is usually not the ship for that.)
I would like to point out that you're flying a Tier 5 ship with that Escort, though. It might be a good idea to consider upgrading to a Tier 6 one, or at least ensuring that you apply a Starship Upgrade Token. Unfortunately, I think the regular Tier 5 Retrofit might not be upgradeable. You're losing out on hit points and shields without that. You might need to compensate with additional healing abilities, which are kinda difficult to integrate due to the bridge officer layout of the Escort. Attack Pattern Omega might turn more useful for you then Attack Pattern Beta, since APO also offers defensive buffs. That said, you're an Engineer - you have in-built survivability boosts, too.
Questions;
~ Do cannons not have an even more narrow firing arc than dual beams? Would this not limit my DPS output considerably?
~ How do you propose a new player manage to upgrade all their gear to XIV? You can refine only so much Dillithium a day, Dillithium that has many uses.
~ Considering I have no respec available, to retool my skills to what Boff abilities I will be using, what Boff abilities will work with what I have? (I have put in a ticket to support about this but I hold zero hope for a resolution)
~ Does Hazard Emitters act similar to Hull Polarize, in removing Tractor Beam locks on you?
~ I was told that using multiples of a skill will reduce the cooldown, is this true?
Statements;
~ I cannot stand the slow turn rate of cruisers. I have tried it, I was not impressed.
~ I stated that I will not be spending money on the game, so I will not be removing the 10mil EC cap, so I will never have anything better than what I have, unless it is a free ship from an event, or similar.
~ I am finding the leveling in this game greatly out-scales the equipment acquisition. With "specializations" it creates an additional level of leveling, which is poorly defined. I had a lot of fun while levelling up and getting through Episodic content. As soon as I hit 60, the "curve" became a vertical wall, all fun drained from the experience.
~ As an Engineer character, I do have some abilities to enhance my tanking capacity. I had not considered, before, that the flip-side of this is that I am lacking the DPS-oriented abilities that a Tactical Pilot might have.
2.) Take your time..Do Admiralities that reward upgrades that dont use dil. Wait for special episode that reward no dil upgrades or make them when seasonally appropriate..But its gonna take time...Some Rep gear will start at Mk 13 UR if your at all 9 in your AOY toons rep progress..
3.) --Pass--
4.) Hazard emitters do not work on Tractor-beams..
5.)Multiples work for ability reduction because there is a seconds copy ready..However you can not reduce cooldowns (Krenim and other cooldown reduction stuff) below Global (usually that the minimum time your second copy starts at.
Rouge Sto Wiki Editor.
Response to Statements:
~ That's fine, I often place my Engineers in more offensively oriented ships. Their Captain Abilities are iffy compared to those of a Tactical, so using something with less seating for heals and more seating for offense makes sense to me. EPS Manifold Efficiency received a nerf in the Skill Revamp, having its max duration limited to 15 secs, so you need two different Emergency Power abilities cycling to maintain it properly... but slotting Regroup or flying an Engineering-focused Escort can do this as well as a Cruiser.
~ You can unlock the EC Cap by trading in dilithium, and can work around it in the mean time by doing direct trade in Keys (buy Keys off the Exchange when you can and use them solely as a currency; be certain you agree to the terms of a Trade as shown in the window before clicking Accept with direct trading). Ultimately, the cost for being purely F2P is that you need to be willing to trade away your dilithium (thereby allowing the company to sell currency indirectly) or rely on the occasional Giveaway (which are at the company's discretion).
~ Yeah, Specialization progress amounts to an effective level cap of 60(+35), and each Specialization Point "Over Level" takes a significant amout of XP. Using the Admiralty System can help mitigate this, but this really applies to folks that already had a stable of Event and C-Store Ships (or will acquire them). If you're new to the game, I'd suggest picking up faction-appropriate Mirror/"Blue Box" ships off the Exchange, as these are quite a bit less espensive than the dilithium cost of filling your Roster with Shipyard versions. The Duty Officer System has been bugged and "rebalanced" enough times that I wouldn't suggest investing in the system itself, but (if you have the Duty Officers available to run the assignments available) you should send them out before logging at the end of a session.
~ That's right, an Engineer cannot match the damage output of a Tactical... it's just not what they were made for. The one thing you should be doing, however, is making use of your EPS Power Transfer and Nadion Inversion to counter Energy Weapon drain; you still won't see the big shiny numbers a Tactical can achieve, but they can help make your numbers more consistent overall. At the very least it's better than not using them at all...
Though some of your skills do effect their abilities. I think you don't need to respec your skills.you just need to train your bridge officers with manuals.these can be bought at ESD under Admril Quins office.
As for ship selection, The mirror escorts are a little tougher then the standard escorts.So one of those might suit you better.Or get one of the raiders like the Kazon Raider.These are excellent for rear attacks because of the flank bonus.
Your turn rate can be increased with consoles, but another method is to slow to half impulse. This greatly increases your turn rate.
Is anyone knowledgeable on this?
It is a time gate. Patience. Gain ec with drops, admiralty, etc and work on a rep each day. It can take a month of constant daily+3 hourly to get to t5 rep. Since you don't care about ground (how do you ever get through story...easy mode standard?), there are cheaper 3-sets for space, then the more dilithium-expensive space items that usually run 32-35k.
HE = DoT negator and hull heal/resist (read description)
As stated above, consoles for turn rate (polaric modulator is a mission reward), certain impulse drives, boff skills, and captain skills affect turn rate.
Most if not all the information here is applicable to the console version of STO. Many of the mentioned ship gear comes from later missions. I believe STO console is as of Season 11.5, therefore you should have access to mission through the Future Proof story arc. What is currently not implemented is the Agent of Yesterday (AoY) "expansion" which includes a 23rd century starting point specifically for the Fed faction, but after the 6 tutorial missions you will be thrusted into the 25th century and continue with the Klingon War story arc.
The link below provides you with all the of the story missions. Yestarday's War is part of AoY so those missions are not available to console players now. Also, the final two missions in Future Proof may not be available yet as well. They are not officially part of the AoY expansion, but they were release at the same time as AoY.
http://sto.gamepedia.com/List_of_missions
The above mentioned Solanae deflector, impulse engine, and shields are obtained from A Step Between Two Stars mission in the Solanae Dyson Sphere story arc and it is a level 50 mission. The Quantum Phase Torpedo is from the mission Sunrise which is the first mission in the last story arc, Future Proof which is a level 60 mission.
The Energy Signature Dampener and Shield Refrequencer consoles are from the Dyson reputation system which unlocks when you reach level 50. I assume reputation systems are currently part of the console release. There was one post which mentioned a "Mirror Escort", that refers to Mirror Universe Tier 5 starships that are random drops from old lock boxes for STO PC. These MIrror Universe ships are also available for STO console as well since they are rewarded as random drops from opening the Cardassian-Dominion Lock Boxes using Master Keys either purchased from the C-Store or from the Exchange assuming players have started to list them for sale. The ships are faction specific which means a Romulan captain cannot use a Federation (actually Terran Empire) or KDF (actually Klingon-Cardassian Alliance; KCA) Mirrior Universe starships.
Considering you have limited resources and cannot spend real money on the game, the answer is slowly because it takes EC and refined Dil to upgrade. The EC is used to purchase various Superior Upgrade Kits and Accelerators from the Exchange. There are Upgrade Kits types for Beam Weapons, Cannon Weapons, Engineering, Science, Projectile Weapons, Ground, and Shield. They generally range in price from 130k EC to 170k EC each on the Exchange. You purchase the type depending on what you want to upgrade. Superior offers the best bang for the buck in terms of EC cost, Technology Points given (12,400 Tech Points) and the amount of refined Dil cost (1,075 Dil) every time you apply a Superior Tech Upgrade. There are also Superior Experimental Upgrade Kits that provides 2x the Tech Points and 2x the chances (though still very small) to increase the rarity of gear, not sure how much refined Dil is required and they generally cost over 450k EC.
Accelerators comes in two types; Tech and Quality. Tech increases the amount of Tech Points provided by Upgrade Kits. Quality increases the chance (though still very small) to increase the quality of the gear. They come in two flavors; 1.5x (or +50%) and 2x (+100%). 1.5x Tech Accelerators sells for around 200k to 250k EC while the 2x version sells for around 1m EC. 1.5x Quality Accelerators typically sells for 300k to 350k EC while the 2x version sells for around 2m EC.
Update:
Since you do not have much resources, I recommend that you do not bother with attempting to improve the quality of your gear. Instead simply focus on increasing the mark level to Mk XIV. The biggest increase in weapon damage comes from increasing a Mk XIII weapon to MK XIV weapon. An epic Mk XIV weapon can do a little more base damage and more critical damage (depending on the modifier) than a very rare Mk XIV weapon. But pushing a very rare Mk XII weapon to an epic Mk XIV can cost you anywhere from 50m EC to "the sky is the limit".
The more efficient way of crafting epic Mk XIV gear is to actually start with very rare Mk II weapons with the modifiers that you want. However, it can still be a very expensive endeavor costing 10's of million of EC.
********************************
For console players....
You will not not see any upgrade kits listed on the Exchange because those are crafted items and the crafting system has not yet been implemented.I am used to purchase my upgrade kits or crafting my own, therefore I have forgotten than there are vendors which do sell the lesser upgrades kits in the game. I assume Superior and Superior Experimental can only be crafted
Tech and Quality Accelerators are random drops from opening R&D Packs purchased from the C-Store. Since the crafting system has not been implemented yet for consoles, I assume the R&D Packs are not available for sale yet. While crafting has not been implemented yet, it does seem the upgrade system is part of the game and when crafting is implemented, the upgrade scene for STO console will be better. The Research and Development Packs should be available in the C-Store in the "Items" tab since people can upgrade gear in STO console.
I will be testing out various things mentioned and will get back to you with the results. I did pick up a set of Mirror Universe ships and have been having some fun with the "Deep Space Science Vessel", which I have set up with the Breen set, as a foundation. I still intend to focus on an Escort build, though.
I may be talking about two separate things but bear with me. I've been able to upgrade a lot of my gear with tech upgrades that I've found. The things that add technology points to increase your gears mark level. On concsole the upgrading window has four slots. First for gear your upgrading, the second for the tp item (tech upgrade), the third for the accelerator and the last showing the result. I've been finding tons of the tp items, usually green with 2000 tech points but also some blues and rares, 5000 & 12000 tp, I believe. i've been upgrading the stuff I use consistently from ship to ship, mainly weapons and consoles, as far as I can. Mark 8 currently as I'm a romulan commander, level 30s. Haven't seen any accelerators anywhere yet.
My question is this. The r&d packs your talking about, are those the same thing as these tech upgrades or is it another totally separate item that's, as you've said currently unavailable until crafting is patched in? Also does anyone know for certain whether or not the accelerators are available on console yet? I've gotten lucky while upgrading a few times getting a few items up to very rare quality even with the low, like 10% chance, of it improving quality while I'm increasing the mark level. I assume that accelerators would increase the chance to improve quality but I could be wrong.
Can anyone help with some clarification on this. Its hard to know whether they changed the names of certain things from the PC version to console, ya know. From what I understand even the general appearance of certain things and the ui was totally redesigned when they created the console version. Thought this might be a similar situation. I hate how nothing is spelled out in-game, ya know? Been playing for 50+ hours and there are still an absurd amount of game aspects I know next to nothing about.
Much appreciated and awesome thread guys.
So..I dont think you can get the Very rare upgrades on the exchange yet as those are only available as craft-able..The basic ones should be available from vendors but I wouldn't touch those..
There are upgrades available for free on certain missions (usually 1 timers) or the admiralty system..(if you have that)?
Sorry that there is alot about this game that doesn't really tell you about itself...There is a Wiki dedicated to much of the aspects of the game.Granted its based on the PC primarily but most of the information should apply.
http://sto.gamepedia.com/Gear_Upgrade_System
Rouge Sto Wiki Editor.
The Research and Development Packs are basically packs that should be available in the C-Store right now since you can upgrade items in STO console. Not sure how to get to the C-Store on consoles, but the R&D Packs should be listed in the Items tab. They sell for 300 Zen each or a 4-pack for 1,000 Zen. You can then right click to see more info. You basically get various crafting materials from common to very rare crafting materials like Duranium, Hexaflourine Gas, Z-Particles and Trellium-K, plus various upgrade components like plasma compressors, micro power cells, isolinear circuitry and other "stuff" that are used to craft gear (when the crafting system is made available), each R&D pack also gives you 4 random Upgrade Accelerators which can increase the amount of Tech Points a piece of gear will get from Upgrade Kits, or Research Points the gear will get to improve chances of a quality upgrade.
I am going to assume accelerators are called the same in the PC and console versions of the game. You can simply go to the Exchange and just search for "1.5x" without the quotes. Do that in the All tab or the Upgrade Accelerator tab. If you see items called "Technology Boost (1.5x technology points)", then that means the accelerators are in the game. To find the accelerators that increases quality chances then do a search for "1.5x q" and it should give you something called "Research Boost (1.5x quality improvement chance)".
Doing a search on "2x" or "2x q" list the 2x versions Tech Boost or the Research Boost accelerators.
In any case thanks again for the clear explanations guys.
Yea...Thats why the wiki editors try to add information where possible. Or create very detailed pages (like that seen in Damage type..and to some extent Skills)...
Rouge Sto Wiki Editor.
I have been experiencing an increase in success and have managed to break the tank of ships that I had previously been unable to. The switch to Cannons/Turrets has been interesting. I am, of course, making use of the Rapid Fire BOff skill. Doubling up on it and Torpedo Spread.
Swapped out Engineer and Science consoles for +Shields and +Res equipment. Have not noticed a significant drop in how fast I pop, though I am flying a ship that is already low on tanky side.
My next challenge is going to be figuring out how to deal with some of the special abilities of foes in the Delta Quadrant.
Thanks again, for everyone's input.
Sorry, got a bit confused helping two relatively new players in separate thread. The other person was only level 19.
I would focus on developing your combat tactics (which takes time) and of course improving your ships over time. If you find DHC's firing arcs to be too restrictive (45 degrees), then you can consider DBB (Dual Beam Banks) in the future (90 degrees). But take your time with DHCs.
The important thing is you were able to complete the mission and progress forward. At this stage of the game you are still more or less at the beginning of the learning curve when it comes to combat skills and tactics. From time to time you should take the opportunity to replay missions for rewards that you like to have and that further gives you the opportunity to hone your skills. I would say that it probably took me several months of playing STO to really get a firm grasp of tactics and strategies to use playing all three captain classes and also flying various types of ships.
With regards to ships... Be aware that just because you have a tactical captain, that captain does not always have to fly an escort... unless you want to. The T6 Arbiter (Fed) / Kurak (KDF / Morrigu (Romulan) are probably the best battlecruisers for engineering and tactical captains because of handling characteristics (especially the Morrigu), Boff layout, the 5/3 weapon load out, and ship trait (Emergency Power Cycle). Not a particularly good ship for science captains since those
ships only have one science console slot... unless you do not mind having less effective science abilities in return for straight up firepower.
Sadly, those ships are not yet available for the consoles yet.
It seems we are both right and wrong at the same time. The Arbiter and the Kurak only has one science console. The Morrigu has two science consoles.
http://sto.gamepedia.com/Arbiter_Battlecruiser
http://sto.gamepedia.com/Kurak_Battlecruiser
http://sto.gamepedia.com/Morrigu_Heavy_Warbird
Rouge Sto Wiki Editor.
My character Tsin'xing
Take a moment and think about whether a new player may or may not know all the acronyms in the game. There have been a lot used in this thread and I am honestly tired of having to look them up.
Sorry, bad experience in game and just rage-quit a few minutes ago...
I am giving serious consideration to deleting my account, because I really do not want to have to work at a game for months before I am able to enjoy playing it. Do not get me wrong, there have been some things that have been fun, on the surface. A lot of the Episode missions are even quite interesting, in terms of story, at least. But once you get past that surface layer... I just do not know..
Is it too much for me to have these thoughts about a game? Wanting to be able to effectively play it in a reasonable amount of time?
Sorry, I am in a really bad mood, now...
CS = Structural Integrity Collapse... It took me some time to figure this one out 'cuz I am used to seeing it as CiS or CIS.
CS / CiS / CIS is a training manual from the Xindi lock box so the best way to get it is to purchase it from the Exchange.
Take a break and cool down. Do something different. Comeback later and let us know what you are having trouble with...