Torpedo build questions

calfen · June 2018

Hello guys, I have a couple questions about torpedo build.
Background:
1) I am playing STO since the F2P transition. I sometimes leave for couple of months when this game feels more like work than fun.
2) I play PvE only.
3) Until now I had 4 characters, all tactical, flying destroyers (Breen Chel Boalg Warship at the moment). I never followed any build and I can play advanced borg queues and have 30-50k DPS and I am not squishi

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I have created a SCI Jemhadar. And since SCI character benefits from high AUX power, I thought it might be a good combination with torpedoes

I know there are builds out there and I will probably eventually google them, but I fear most of them will be really high end.
I am looking for advice on what to *really avoid* and what is *really good* or anything you think is important. I will get all reputations to max eventually, so rep gear is no problem, also any episode rewards are not a problem. I just don’t want to make expensive mistakes. I don’t open lockboxes.
Also which specialization would torp boat benefit from?

Thank you, and if this has been asked just point me in the right direction please.

EDIT1: I am KDF if that is relevant.
EDIT2: Any bridge officer or ship traits that are related to torpedoes?

tunebreaker · June 2018

Reading your post and mentions to aux power, it seems like you're more striving towards what is usually called a "sci-torp" build, and less towards a "pure torp" ship.

So here are couple of tips from me:

I strongly suggest outfitting a ship capable of equipping a Secondary Deflector. Deteriorating Secondary Deflector will be one of your strongest weapons. Abilities that proc (activate) Deteriorating secdef are Destabilizing Resonance Beam, Tachyon Beam, Tyken's Rift, Charged Particle Burst and Energy Siphon. You want to have at least 2 of those abilities on your ship.
Terran reputation offers an almost must-have console (Ferrofluid Hydraulic Assembly), as well as a really awesome torpedo.
Don't forget to level your Science R&D to 15 ASAP. Particle Manipulator trait is very potent.
Kinetic Precision from Projectiles R&D is also very good to have.
You probably want to complete Time and Tide (Future Proof arc) twice - to grab Chronometric Capacitor and either Omni-Beam or Turret.
Particle Focusers in Fleet Research Lab are both cheap and very good. Buy those that give +31.9 to EPG (higher number) and 21.2 to CtrlX or DrainX.
Adapted MACO (if you're fed-aligned) or Honor Guard (kdf) from Omega reputation give +25% torpedo damage as their 2pc set bonus. I personally run 8472 Deflector and Adapted MACO engines+shields.
Temporal Operative is the specialization to run as primary. For secondary, I personally usually use Strategist, but that's more of a personal preference.

And about expensive mistakes - currently upgrading torpedoes to mk XV doesn't give them damage bonus over epic mk XIV. Hopefully it'll get fixed soon.

harlequinpixie · June 2018

Most of it has been covered above, but a few differences I would do is this.

1. The dyson armaments set, the proton pop gun, console and gravimetric torpedo which has a very good set bonus to help a torpedo ship.

2. As for specializations I'd go for Temporal primary and command secondary for torpedo exploits.

3. Pick up kemocite laced weaponry if you can, as it always works with torpedo's.

4. Self modulating fire (Captain trait) is helpful as you can bypass most shields on occasion with it, it might be expensive, but it's worth having.

5. The neutronic torpedo with the gel pack from the delta rep has a nice radiation boost to damage, useful for kemocite weaponry and a inhibiting secondary deflector (I think).

6. If you use a science ship, it's worth having a beam of sorts with the dyson pop gun, for built in target subsystem. And you don't need power high for weapons, they aren't there for a damage source.

7. I'd favour spread over high yield, as it is helpful when you grav well groups of ships. Try and boost your CtrlX and PrtG as high as you can.

8. The console from surface tension, helps with radiation damage to, so enhances your secondary deflector damage and kemo damage, as well as neutronic torpedo damage.

As for ship traits it's hard to say without knowing what ships you have access to. Though for rep traits, you'd want nukara aux offense, terran torpedo syngery, there is two there worth using. One recharges science and the other torpedo spread/hy. And kinetic shearing from the omega rep.

That is about it, as far as I can think of at the moment. I'm sure others will offer some advice.

calfen · June 2018

Thank you guys!

darkknightucf · June 2018

[Disclaimer: I tend to favor 'pure kinetic' builds. For Sci-Torp builds, reference @e30ernest work on Sci-Torps. He's linked in my guide.]

The advice given here is good, but requires some points to be explained further:

> Particle Focusers in Fleet Research Lab are both cheap and very good. Buy those that give +31.9 to EPG (higher number) and 21.2 to CtrlX or DrainX.

If you are running a Sci-Torp boat, you'll most likely want to focus on either EPG (doing direct damage to hull with Exotic abilities and procs), or DrainX (removing shields and subsystem power from your enemies). CtrlX isn't needed unless you're trying to play a pure support role and want to try to grab every small object in a 15-20k radius.

> Adapted MACO (if you're fed-aligned) or Honor Guard (kdf) from Omega reputation give +25% torpedo damage as their 2pc set bonus. I personally run 8472 Deflector and Adapted MACO engines+shields.

AMACO 2pc is a requirement for those who want to boost their kinetic damage. If you're using torps as a supplement to your main damage abilities (EPG, Drain, Energy Weapons), then you do not need the AMACO 2pc. The Colony Deflector is superior to the Counter-Command (8472 Rep) Deflector if your primary damage source is from your torpedoes. Otherwise, use more EPG (Solanae or any high EPG deflector) or more DrainX (Terran) to enhance those abilities that scale off of EPG or DrainX.

> Temporal Operative is the specialization to run as primary. For secondary, I personally usually use Strategist, but that's more of a personal preference.

Temporal Ops if you're an EPG, dot-heavy build. If you have energy weapons that you are auto-firing (which you typically should for various reasons), then Command's Scan For Weakness will be useful for you. Achilles' Heel & Superfluous Emitters are seen as underrated, but synergize well when on a team with a Tank (and especially if the Tank is running Command as well). If you want more burst (but on a 5min cd) and/or will be flanking targets constantly, Intel as a Primary is what you want. Strategist as a secondary is still the best (both offensively and defensively), but Constable is still being put through its paces. Hypothetically speaking, Constable will be good for a prolonged target engagement time, and Strategist is good for any engagement time.

> 1. The dyson armaments set, the proton pop gun, console and gravimetric torpedo which has a very good set bonus to help a torpedo ship.

1a. Good for Photon builds (as all of the bonuses will apply). In situations with mixed armaments, it may be beneficial to run the 3pc. For example, chain-firing Enhanced Bio-Molecular Photon torpedo (EBM) via HYx + Concentrate Firepower and filling the gaps with Quantum Phase/Neutronic/Gravimetric TSx would warrant the Protonic Arsenal 3pc because the bulk of your damage will come from EBM and it's AoE goodness.

> 7. I'd favour spread over high yield, as it is helpful when you grav well groups of ships. Try and boost your CtrlX and PrtG as high as you can.

7a. If you're going the Sci-Torp route and loading up on EPG, then the above would be ideal with the Particle Emission Plasma torpedo (PEP) and Gravimetric torpedo (Grav). There are conditions where a HYx EBM would be superior to the previous condition of utilizing TSx on targets, due to the blast radius and blast yield, especially if one is piloting a 'pure kinetic' build.
DrainX builds can still utilize a GWell to group up targets and drain their shields. Here, a combo of TSx Quantum Phase followed by a HYx EBM/Grav (or other heavy torp) would prove very destructive.

> 8. The console from surface tension, helps with radiation damage to, so enhances your secondary deflector damage and kemo damage, as well as neutronic torpedo damage.

8a. As of last testing, any +radiation boosts will only boost it at the Mk1 level, and not at the current level that the weapon/ability is operating at. This was done after the Kemocite Debacle to curtail Kemocite (and Neutronic) AoE radiation damage. This, combined with other changes, has weakened the effectiveness of Neutronic torpedo. Kemocite is typically used as a target debuff first, and radiation damage source second.

As far as Reputation Traits go, if torpedoes are your main source of damage, you will need the following traits:

Torpedo Pre-Fire Sequence
Omega Kinetic Shearing
Nukara Offensive

The other traits are based off of the use of Science abilities, Control abilities, adding critH/critD/ArP, or survivability. Sci-Torp builds may not need OKS and/or TPFS if they are not utilizing torpedoes frequently.

See my signature for more info that others and myself have collected concerning torps.

Torpedo build questions

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