Mortars seem useless

sierra078 · December 2016

I don't know about anyone else, but mortars seem pretty useless, usually the target or targets are dead well before the shell hits the ground. I think they should be changed to Heavy Grenade Launchers. Mortars are like miniature artillery, they are designed for combat at much longer ranges than what we get in STO. If the mortars in game worked as they should for example on Kobali prime I should be able to set up one or more quantum mortars in the city and have the shells hit at least the hillside area. I've seen some people who are engineers and use two other engineer BOF with the mortar DOFF and set up half a dozen such devices. Even with such firepower most targets are dead before the shells hit the ground. It seems that mortars should be more like the command power 'precision bombing strike' or a miniature version of orbital strike. Given a choice I'd take the heavy grenade launcher type.

risian4 · December 2016

I disagree.

They're one of the few things that you can put somewhere (around a corner for example) without having to worry about it continuously or having to replace it every few seconds... I usually consider most other turrets useless for these reasons and because you have to stop dealing damage while placing them, but the mortars are actually very useful as they tend to keep dealing shield ignoring damage for a while.

After the chroniton mines, and in some cases Sabotage, they're the most useful offensive engineer ability to me.

risian4 · December 2016

I think you need to know when and where to place them. And, a question: are you talking about normal or advanced difficulty?

I always make sure I'm ahead of the rest of the team so that my turrets are firing the moment the fight really begins. In missions like Khitomer ground, you can place them somewhere behind a pillar in the room with the six nodes and yet they'll keep targeting drones on ALL three floors, even when a player wouldn't be able to see the target.

Combined with a shield for luring, and mines for holding the enemy (and if necessary, a pulsewave to push them back into the mortar's targeting area) this thing can add a lot of extra damage.

But I guess it all depends on your play style. If 4 other people are shooting the same enemies around you, then most may be dead indeed. That's why I make sure my teammates aren't too close to me when I'm building a fort or anything.

duncanidaho11 · December 2016

The chances of an enemy dying to a specific ability is going to be reduced the more abilities you use. In a game like STO, seeing an enemy die of something is only really a useful criteria for large, one-hit, offensive abilities (ex. Chroniton mines, Boolean cannon+ambush). Even an orbital strike enhanced by orbital devastation isn't going to perform well with that criterion in mind. However, it (like mortars) can still be incredibly useful, especially for engineers who want more continuous firepower projected around them.

nephitis · December 2016

I think mortars and turrets are both very useful if you intend to hold a position like those in Battlezones. And if you are killing minor groups so fast that your abilities are rendered useless, then you have achieved another goal in high DPS. If you are moving across the battlefield at such a pace you should just fire away without inflicted yourself with the animations of spawning fabrications and using other abilities.

For BOFFs the use of fabrications and turrets can be a godsent gift. But if the situation forces me to use something else then I don't stop myself from doing that. I made my BOFFs very multirole by getting all abilities at all ranks for them. It allows me to slot their abilities in and out as needed.

davefenestrator · December 2016

They're quite useful on Kobali for the elite marks dailies. Also like risian4 says you can pre-place them before the fighting starts.

I'll sometimes place mortars and turrets then use a sniper rifle to draw enemies into the firing zone.

neomodious · December 2016

davefenestrator wrote: »

They're quite useful on Kobali for the elite marks dailies. Also like risian4 says you can pre-place them before the fighting starts.

I'll sometimes place mortars and turrets then use a sniper rifle to draw enemies into the firing zone.

This is what I do, except with 4 ENG BOFFs. It's fun.

rattler2 · December 2016

I've used Mortars pretty effectively in Kitomer Ground. Unlike turrets, I can just plant one behind a corner, and even after going down a level, its still shooting at targets.

ikonn · December 2016

I usually run an Eng character with 4 Eng Boffs on my away teams. What I do is usually assign 1 of them a mortar skill (some of my characters have it slotted themselves for better control and placement) and the others with turrets and drones. Yes, mortars take a long time to fire off, but once they do, death usually ensues.

The trick to use them is in manually ordering your boff (or slotting a mortar yourself if you are an Eng) to place the mortar at strategic locations. As others have said, they will continue to fire at targets even in a multi-level instance.

Slow-firing, yes! But still worth having at least one to pick off mobs and it performs particularly well when fighting bosses if you keep the mortar at a distance from the combat area.

captkelly31 · December 2016

Not that i want to change the subject, but what I'd like to see is an inspection of ENG away team mines, which half the time don't even go off, were they always like that or did they change at some point?

Unknown · December 2016

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nikephorus · December 2016

Depends how you use them. Defending a position with an away team of multiple engineers with turrets can be nasty. Definitely not suitable for all missions, but not to be disregarded or underestimated.

davefenestrator · December 2016

captkelly31#5645 wrote: »

Not that i want to change the subject, but what I'd like to see is an inspection of ENG away team mines, which half the time don't even go off, were they always like that or did they change at some point?

Huh. I was doing the Kobali dailies for a couple of weeks to get the elite marks for my AoY TOS captain and my mines seemed to blow up real good.

jade1280 · December 2016

More a situational weapon in my eyes not all tasks call for artilery.

jaguarskx · December 2016

My engineer captains do not use mortars. Instead they use mass gravimetric detonation. However some engineer Boffs do use mortars.

thunderfoot · December 2016

The only mandatory piece of gear any Away Team requires is a competent player. Which may be why your Away Teams are coming up short in combat effectiveness. Assuming mortars are useless indicates you have no idea how to use them. And you have no patience to take the time to learn how to use them correctly.

In short, this is your problem, not Cryptic's.

officerbatman81 · December 2016

The mortars are usless.

dracounguis · December 2016

I like mortars, but just wish that the npcs didn't seem to know when its gonna hit and move out of the area or maybe a bit less 'flight time' to compensate for their 'knowledge'. But honestly, when there are 3-4 mortars going off, they can get rid of some bad guys real fast.

potasssium · December 2016

I am really fond of having a pair of Eng Boffs, with my Eng Main, droping down turrets, mortars, and support drones, then running in with my Batleth, while I use protective abilities in Melee.

I actually do thiw with my Gorn Sci, Eng Boffs, and and a Vaudwaur shield drone, and run Melee too. As well as just using Boff cover fire for my Ferasan going Melee. Throw timely intervention on a Sci Boff, and give your Tact Boff a shotgun and a shield stealing ability, fun times.

I'll try the mortars with my Rom Tact, he uses a Sniper rifle, that sounds like a fun idea to draw enemies into range.

Mortars seem useless

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