For any item to work with the upgrade or re-engineering systems, the designers have to decide they want the item to work with those systems, and then they have to do the data set up. There are 10s of thousands of items in the game. They haven't gotten around to some items yet, some items might've slipped under the radar, other items might be intentionally the way they are.
I can't disagree: There are thousands of items....most orderly fashion would be to convert things as a grouping. as time permits. And would be difficult at best to keep it organized (so many places those kit modules show up), so something will get missed when going back and forth between other (new or ongoing) projects.
So much new stuff being added all the time....I am not sure there are very many players capable of keeping track, either. I think most of us use "our favorites" or what we heard "word of mouth".
Also, understand some decisions were made to keep things one way or another...would have liked to be a fly on the wall in that meeting. But those decisions make it more difficult for players to keep track of because the Kit Modules are following different rules. (See below).
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I was hoping this could be looked at by someone to simplify it??? See, different rules for different kinds of kit modules. I am not even sure if this is all the rules that apply to kit modules. I am not sure who would know?
Quote from STO Wiki:
Kits and Kit Modules can be upgraded using the Gear Upgrade System; however there are several differences.
Normal kit modules can only be upgraded to ultra rare quality.
Lockbox modules come as epic quality by default.
Special modules such as mission rewards differ depending on the module - they come as epic quality, but some cannot be upgraded in rank.
Specialization modules are available separately as common, uncommon, rare and very rare quality. They cannot be upgraded.
Thank you for sharing and taking your time to respond to us.
****Removed my response to the second part of the Devs statement, since it really did not add anything to the kit module convo we are having.
Post edited by where2r1 on
"Spend your life doing strange things with weird people." -- UNK
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” -- Benjamin Franklin
For any item to work with the upgrade or re-engineering systems, the designers have to decide they want the item to work with those systems, and then they have to do the data set up. There are 10s of thousands of items in the game. They haven't gotten around to some items yet, some items might've slipped under the radar, other items might be intentionally the way they are.
There are also other items that are difficult to add to the upgrade or reengineering systems because of the way they were designed. When I first built re-engineering there were problems with Warp Cores, Deflectors, Kits and Modules.
Interesting. Are there really still tens of thousands of items in the game? I thought the change made by Flyingtarg in 2015 was supposed to fix that. Why are there so many even after the change to parameterized "dynamic items"?
For any item to work with the upgrade or re-engineering systems, the designers have to decide they want the item to work with those systems, and then they have to do the data set up. There are 10s of thousands of items in the game. They haven't gotten around to some items yet, some items might've slipped under the radar, other items might be intentionally the way they are.
There are also other items that are difficult to add to the upgrade or reengineering systems because of the way they were designed. When I first built re-engineering there were problems with Warp Cores, Deflectors, Kits and Modules.
Interesting. Are there really still tens of thousands of items in the game? I thought the change made by Flyingtarg in 2015 was supposed to fix that. Why are there so many even after the change to parameterized "dynamic items"?
I think the key to the answer is already in this line in his statement: They have not got around to some items, yet.
I know it is three years later, but look at our kit modules upgrade rules. Those rules are going on two years. The Devs are, likely, concentrating on converting Space gear to that dynamic format. After all, it is their "bread and butter".
But, with Random TFOs and no backing off of requirement for players to play through Ground, I think the delays for conversions is about to come "home to roost". There is nothing that can be done about it, now....except start plugging away at that chore on their side.
I should know: one can only avoid the washer/dryer for so long...before all that is left is dirty laundry.
So, enough of this....nice distraction, but not really necessary, and not really helping, unless those upgrading rules can be streamlined for kit modules. Nothing players can do about it other than ask.
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Let's get back to kit modules we use and reviews of such. How and why we use them. Where they are useful. And what's your favorite kit module????
Sorry, I have not spent much time keeping this on track, but I have the car back, and finished looking at my Characters Mission Journal....So I will have more time to concentrate on this.
Please wake me up when the original STO Pre-Order items can be Upgraded!
I especially like my Chromodynamic Armor, still keeping in my Inventory (albeit greatly outclassed by Mark XIV items).
Still like it very much!
Go back to sleep, w00q.
Unless you want to tell us about your favorite kit modules and why that is.....or leave a tip for ground queues.
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Wiki says it is a special armor only available for Feds at Mark 2 and does not scale and not reclaimable. In other words, it was a one off promo item the Devs put together to have something different for the prize.
Chit chatting with @ichaerus1, shortly after taking some screenshots with him...
He was showing me a trophy for finishing the Breen Story Arc.
Then, he started to showed me some Kit Modules....just before he and I signed out.
[Tactical Kit Module - Repulsor Burst Mk XII]
[Tactical Kit Module - Cryotronic Modulation Mk XII]
[Universal Kit Module - Phasic Shroud Mk XII]
[Universal Kit Module - Stabilized Folded-Space Transporter Mk XII]
And Motion Accelerator.
A lot of his stuff is very visual. He does role playing and visual is good to set the vibe for a scene or personality. And these Kit Modules serve double duty. Because he sets up his characters for a role...and that role INCLUDES a style of play.
I don't do that with characters at all. I just go with whatever falls into my lap. I do not set up a character to BE anything. It is just a frame and a picture.
I will go look them up later.
I wanna go look at my screen shot folder...and I got tons of dishes to finish in the sink....
Edit: THEMED...that is the word I was searching for last night. His characters follow a theme.
Post edited by where2r1 on
"Spend your life doing strange things with weird people." -- UNK
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” -- Benjamin Franklin
For Xbox One
- Terran kit to boost kit performance
- Johnny Cochrane's shotgun (Borg doesn't adapt to shotguns)
- a few ground kits from Q's Winter Wonderland fit for tactical, engineering and science (cryo grenade, freeze armor etc)
- Solar Gateway
- Patience
- ask questions or find a fast video of said map
Personally I like the STO ground battles, I don't understand why folks brag about Halo, Destiny and CoD but when it comes to Star Trek ground battles the same tough gamers just sit there like a turtle at times or rage quit 😒
LOL! Sit there like a turtle! That's a funny picture!! LOL!
Terran kit to boost kit performance....Why Terran Empire Kits on XBox??? It comes with Control Duration...not Kit Performance x2 like some of the other ones. Are you using a lot of placates on Ground??? And how????
Note: Tzenkethi....they don't like cold. So, lucky me....because I am lazy and these WW abilities take little effort to acquire....some of my BOFFs have ice related Training Manuals on them when I hit that Mission Event with Tzenkethi. And, of course, the Captains have access to those various "Cryo" Kit Modules.
I can not figure out Science Seismic Agitation Field but it seems to be helping, somewhat? There is a huge animation, though.
I love that Engineering Hurricane Turret, fun to watch on top of that. And the Universal Cryo Visor. Maybe the Cryo Visor was the one I was using on the Tzenkethi. I should start writing this stuff down so I can remember it.
OOPs...forgot my most favorite: Sonic Disruption. Watch that NPC get shoved out of my way. LOL!
These Kit Modules are so new, they have not made it to the Wiki....so I copy and paste to save you scrolling through the Dev Blog.....
Torment of the Underworld
Torment the primary target with torturous visions of the darkest underworlds. The illusions and psionic impressions of this are strong enough to also affect allies of the foe unfortunate to be caught in its area of influence. All affected enemies will suffer periodic psionic damage while also having their damage output reduced.
Collective Nightmares
Enemies affected by the device will be confused, vulnerable and unable to differentiate friend from foe due to cerebral sensory interception. Adding to the sensorial confusion, some humanoid enemies will appear as Fek’Ihri by way of psionic perception inhibitors. This ability only affects living foes, and cannot interfere with electronics or other forms of artificial life.
Ravaging Barrage
Harass foes in a forward cone with periodic pulses of psionic energy. The strength of these pulses is enough to force foes off their feet, and those knocked prone may find themselves unable to stand for a short period of time.
All of these new Fek'Ihri related ones sound very funny. But looking forward to watching Collective Nightmare in action.
"Spend your life doing strange things with weird people." -- UNK
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” -- Benjamin Franklin
You want to master the arcane art of producing physics-defying anomalies by waving your tricorder? You want to tell the laws of creation to "sit down and shut up" as you quote eldritch tomes and forbidden tech manuals? You want to harness VAST COSMIC POWER, drive your foes before you and hear the lamentations of rando's on the forums screaming "nerf pls"?
Listen closer. We shall delve into the hidden art of "space magic".
In STO, AoE powers are king. The science character has access to several powers that do not share cooldowns, and those cooldowns are fairly reasonable to build around. The build principle is simple: blast the s*&t out of everything. Let's look at our options:
Exothermic Induction Field: A standard kit module, the humble fireball has been a staple of space magic since the reign of the warlord Gygax. The ExIF has synergy with several DOffs and has a very short cooldown. Thoroughly recommend you scribe it to your tricorder.
Endothermic Induction Field: Found in the Winter Event Store tab, this is the cold version of ExIF. It deals less damage, but has a slow effect. It shares a cooldown with ExIF, so you probably want one or the other. I prefer ExIF since it deals fire damage and the Borg do not adapt to fire.
Cold Fusion Flash: Currently found in the Infinity Box, it is a Kelvin Timeline kit module. Yes, your space magic jumps dimensions. You should get used to breaking reality if you want to be a Space Wizard. CFF deals less damage than ExIF, but has a slow effect AND a chance to immobilize your foes briefly. It does have a slightly longer cooldown than ExIF.
Seismic Agitation Field: Found in the Summer Event Store tab, this AoE power deals less damage than ExIF or CFF. However, the damage it deals is Kinetic, ignores 50% of your foe's shields, and boasts a chance to knockdown or slow your foes. It has a remarkably low cooldown, making it available more often than CFF. Also benefits from the Bombardier trait.
Sompek Lightning: While not a Science power, it is an extremely potent AoE. It is found in the Weekend Event Store tab. It deals more damage than the other AoE's previously mentioned, but has a much, much longer cooldown. This is what some in the wizarding profession call a "nuke".
Honorable mentions:
Paradox Bomb: Unlocked by spending points in the Temporal Specialization, it can be found in the Dilithium Store tab. It creates an anomaly that pulls foe's to it's center. Best utilized by time lords and temporal focused magi.
Hyperonic Radiation; Neutronic Radiation: Hyperonic is a standard kit, while Neutronic is found in the Delta Reputation projects tab. These powers slowly melt your foes. While I can conceptually acknowledge the enjoyment of making your foes feel every ounce of pain and suffering before they die, it seems... inefficient. I prefer to blow them up now rather than listening to them scream for a few moments.
Author's Note: There are those who would argue that space magic is more than breaking physical laws to crush those who oppose you. This "white magic" is used to heal wounds, guard against damage, and even raise the dead. While I can see the use of such things to prolong the magician's life, I cannot see the benefit in guarding your allies against harm. In truth; if your opponents lie broken and shattered, who is left to hurt your allies? Let us continue.
As an accomplished space wizard, I prefer to use Exothermic Induction Field, Cold Fusion Flash, Seismic Agitation Field, Sompek Lightning and Vascular Regenerator in my personal tricorder. I thoroughly encourage you to experiment with any combination you desire. Blowing up things is effective, but I concede that blowing things up "in style" is also quite satisfying. Time lords in particular can be brutally devastating, but require timing (ha!) the use of Entropy and mixing Temporal magic with standard AoE invocations. Experimentation is required.
Now that you have a tricorder stuffed with mind warping knowledge, you need to increase it's potency. Simply invoking the rituals will have mixed results without preparation and foresight.
You should focus on Skills, Traits and gear that improve Kit Efficiency, Kit Performance, reduce kit module cooldowns, and grant a bonus to "All Damage". Traits like Aggressive, Soldier (bugged; grants All Damage instead of Energy Damage), Hivemind, Vicious, Adrenal Release, and Introspection.
A final note on gear. Having done some testing, wearing gear with a flat bonus to Kit Performance will give you significantly better damage than the set bonus on the Temporal Set. Probably because most of the Kit Performance boosting gear is in the Lobi Store.
I never use my equipped weapons in combat anymore. With enough cooldown reduction, you will always have something available to blast your enemies with. With enough All Damage boosts, they usually won't survive your initial blast. Hopefully, you too will find the joy and wonder of waving your tricorder in a general direction and see the messy vapor cloud that used to be a sentient being.
One thing I'd suggest is some kind of automatic abilities for some of the devices we carry. One thing that really turns me off of doing ground stuff is the amount of stuff I have to focus on in my key and hotkey options. Especially when it comes to really simple things, like weapon jams and stuff like that. Most of the time, it's easier to just wait stuff like that out, so that I don't even remember where the key binds are because I rarely get a chance to use them. That sort of stuff should be automatic just because you already have the item ready, but rarely the time or ability to even use it. There are a bunch of little things like that that really annoy me when I'm having to deal with ground combat. There's just too much happening to where I find myself having to micromanage if I want to do anything other than just point (with weapon) and click.
Fleet Admiral Duane Gundrum, U.S.S. Merrimack
Fleet Admiral Ventaxa Proxmire, U.S.S. Shaka Walls Fell
Blog: http://www.sarbonn.com/?page_id=1990
Foundry series: Bob From Accounting & For the Sake of the Empire
Torment of the Underworld
Torment the primary target with torturous visions of the darkest underworlds. The illusions and psionic impressions of this are strong enough to also affect allies of the foe unfortunate to be caught in its area of influence. All affected enemies will suffer periodic psionic damage while also having their damage output reduced.
This is easiest to use. Just target an enemy, any enemy and the AoE follows them around and will linger on their corpse when they die.
Collective Nightmares
Enemies affected by the device will be confused, vulnerable and unable to differentiate friend from foe due to cerebral sensory interception. Adding to the sensorial confusion, some humanoid enemies will appear as Fek’Ihri by way of psionic perception inhibitors. This ability only affects living foes, and cannot interfere with electronics or other forms of artificial life.
This is best used by targeting the most powerful enemy in a group. Sometimes it will make their minions attack them. At any rate the damage resist debuff is killer, but point target. So chose your target carefully.
Ravaging Barrage
Harass foes in a forward cone with periodic pulses of psionic energy. The strength of these pulses is enough to force foes off their feet, and those knocked prone may find themselves unable to stand for a short period of time.
This is a lot like firing a full-auto weapon in the general direction of your enemies.
All of these new Fek'Ihri related ones sound very funny. But looking forward to watching Collective Nightmare in action.
I used both Torment and nightmares on a Mini-Boss in the Dyson ground war zone. Enjoy... if you can.
Yes~I wanna pointy hat, too. Thank you very much for the beautifully written article.
And "never use equipped weapons any more"....that is an eye opener.
"Spend your life doing strange things with weird people." -- UNK
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” -- Benjamin Franklin
One thing I'd suggest is some kind of automatic abilities for some of the devices we carry. One thing that really turns me off of doing ground stuff is the amount of stuff I have to focus on in my key and hotkey options. Especially when it comes to really simple things, like weapon jams and stuff like that. Most of the time, it's easier to just wait stuff like that out, so that I don't even remember where the key binds are because I rarely get a chance to use them. That sort of stuff should be automatic just because you already have the item ready, but rarely the time or ability to even use it. There are a bunch of little things like that that really annoy me when I'm having to deal with ground combat. There's just too much happening to where I find myself having to micromanage if I want to do anything other than just point (with weapon) and click.
I am not sure this game ever had automatic things unless you have those special keyboards and keybinds and stuff like that. But you still have to push a button....this program needs everything acked...it needs to be told to do things. I don't know if newer games are different, I don't play any video games but this one.
Anyone know if there are any passive abilities like what littlesarbonn is looking for? Maybe in traits? Specialization?
Also, abilities (Captain or BOFF) which can be used to CLEAR DEBUFFS on Ground. Though that may take clicks, too.
Foundry missions, Battle Zones or other ground locations where everyone is practicing before hitting those RTFO's. But I am sure there are other locations for some focused, intense ground workouts.
I am still doing normal Episode stuff, that is more than enough for me to handle in a day.
Oh and WW...lets go kill some snowmen.
"Spend your life doing strange things with weird people." -- UNK
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” -- Benjamin Franklin
Yes~I wanna pointy hat, too. Thank you very much for the beautifully written article.
And "never use equipped weapons any more"....that is an eye opener.
Also, abilities (Captain or BOFF) which can be used to CLEAR DEBUFFS on Ground. Though that may take clicks, too.
Some of the science buff/heal powers do that.
Yeah, I think he was complaining about having to click abilities all the time. So, I am thinking it is not a BOFF ability he's looking for...BOFF abilities which just goes off in some set pattern. I should spend some time just watching my BOFFs and see what that pattern is....but I have not.
So, I am thinking he wants Passive abilities along the lines of heals, buffs and debuffs. ?????
Most players take the passive traits and skill points to buff DPS...and don't look at other things. Or maybe he wants BOTH at the same time, but won't give up DPS for being tankier or more robust....for having stronger heals. etc...
Give and take, give and take.
This program does not work that way, anyways, everything on auto pilot. It doesn't actively keep track of everything other than listing it, calculating it. It does not analyze the numbers to the point it can decide for you "this is a good time to trigger this or that ability" or whatever, right?
Or does keybinds exist that triggers multiple functions with one click? See, that is still you clicking.
It is part of playing the game to watch for the "good time to activate this or that ability or power". The program does not play the game for you.
"Spend your life doing strange things with weird people." -- UNK
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” -- Benjamin Franklin
Captains may also find Emperor’s Kit Module packs. These Kit Modules are universal, and can be used by any class.
Emperor’s Execution Spinner
Most famously employed by Emperor Georgiou, this brutal metal disc deploys razor sharp blades, flying in an arc and slicing through all enemies inside it for heavy physical damage.
Deploy Agony Field
This ability places a small generator that deploys an enormous dome-shaped field of Agony, continuously damaging any enemy in contact with it. The dome shrinks slowly over the next 20 seconds.
Deploy Ambush Turrets
Suddenly deploys a pair of short-lived turrets which spray rapid fire phaser bolts in a narrow cone, mowing down any enemies unlucky enough to be caught in their field of fire.
I think I am going to try and get that "Execution Spinner" for my main characters.
OH I should definitely get one....for my Jem'Hadar....she is named "Queen of Hearts".
"OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!!!"
"Spend your life doing strange things with weird people." -- UNK
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” -- Benjamin Franklin
Eh... nothing really. Also you can just call me Rattler. Only reason I have the 2 is because it wouldn't let me have just Rattler when we moved forums.
Eh... nothing really. Also you can just call me Rattler. Only reason I have the 2 is because it wouldn't let me have just Rattler when we moved forums.
OK...you can DM it if you want.
"Spend your life doing strange things with weird people." -- UNK
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” -- Benjamin Franklin
I am always leery of anything with "field" in the name.
Deploy Agony Field
This ability places a small generator that deploys an enormous dome-shaped field of Agony, continuously damaging any enemy in contact with it. The dome shrinks slowly over the next 20 seconds.
NPCs do not stay in one spot (uh, except that Snowman Overlord of the Lake in WW)...and neither do players. So...something like this never really interests me.
I think it was the Na'khul mines that would chase people around...now that would be cool. Having an Agony Field chasing things around the battle field. It would be very funny, too.
"Spend your life doing strange things with weird people." -- UNK
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” -- Benjamin Franklin
Yeah, the agony field thingy is static, but it says "enormous" and existing shield gens have 10 meter+ radii. I'm guessing this has something like 20+ at first and slowly shrinks.
Using it is like using Transphasic bomb. You place it where you guess the enemy will be, not where they are now. OR, you place it where you're going to move the enemy to. Yes, really, certain kit modules an pull enemies towards a spot, and you can target empty ground if you use the module in shooter mode.
So, place, then yank the enemies to the location you placed it.
Taking a second to look up my Jem'Hadar Engineering BOFF (Metama'Kagal).....to see what those mines were.
Sure enough, those are the same everyone else is using: Chroniton Mine Barrier 1.
Hmmmm....one of Frtoaster's favorites.....until it got broken. Odd...it did not look broken when I was doing the Gamma Quad missions with my character.
Matter of fact, it looked immensely useful. That may just go back to fighting Hur'q on the ground though....
They are bugs, they are swarming toward you....and they run into the mine barriers on their own.
Could a 5% Critical Chance and Severity be the difference between a "broken" Chroniton Mine Barrier 1 on an Engineering character in a different faction??? I shall just have to find the time to do the Gamma Quad mission with my regular KDF.
"Spend your life doing strange things with weird people." -- UNK
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” -- Benjamin Franklin
Yeah, the agony field thingy is static, but it says "enormous" and existing shield gens have 10 meter+ radii. I'm guessing this has something like 20+ at first and slowly shrinks.
Using it is like using Transphasic bomb. You place it where you guess the enemy will be, not where they are now. OR, you place it where you're going to move the enemy to. Yes, really, certain kit modules an pull enemies towards a spot, and you can target empty ground if you use the module in shooter mode.
So, place, then yank the enemies to the location you placed it.
Ugh...I am really bad at that. The kiting the enemies around. I know that is a good thing to learn, though.
I am the type to go head long into the mob with guns blazing. Hence, I like my dual pistols...I am showering NPCs with Expose...one BOFF gets an Expose....and give everyone else Exploit weapons.
OR at least, once I figured out I bumbled into that configuration with Kyra's BOFFs (and why it works by reading this article on the STO Ground Wiki)....I am trying to get everyone else set up in a similar fashion.
Note: not sure where the "sweet spot" on this is, yet....if it is better to have the same amount of Expose to Exploit weapons...or have more of one type or the other.
ADD: And as a reminder...I am doing Solo play, mostly in missions at the normal level.
Post edited by where2r1 on
"Spend your life doing strange things with weird people." -- UNK
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” -- Benjamin Franklin
I use the Nomad Drone, Methuselah Drone, Echo Papa 607 Drone, Solar Gateway, and Protomatter Munition Deployment. These are just what I happen to be using at the moment. I'm not saying these are particularly good for dps, I just enjoy having a bunch of drones helping me out. I keep trying out different things in the Protomatter Munition slot.
Post edited by engineerb4#4806 on
STO Software Engineer
I build things. Things that make us go.
Cool... Engineer B4 left us a note. Thank you! He's uses Drones!
And another vote for Solar Gateway (I really need to get one of these for my Romulan and see what that is about...I assume, the Shaved Ice Gateway is the WW version of it.)
I had to go look this one up real quick, out of curiosity, before I go start dinner:
Call in a barrage of 5 Protomatter Strikes:
Each strike deals:
320.9 kinetic damage (50% Shield Penetration)
17.1 Radiation Damage every 0.75 sec for 10 sec
1 min recharge
"Spend your life doing strange things with weird people." -- UNK
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” -- Benjamin Franklin
Yeah, the agony field thingy is static, but it says "enormous" and existing shield gens have 10 meter+ radii. I'm guessing this has something like 20+ at first and slowly shrinks.
Using it is like using Transphasic bomb. You place it where you guess the enemy will be, not where they are now. OR, you place it where you're going to move the enemy to. Yes, really, certain kit modules an pull enemies towards a spot, and you can target empty ground if you use the module in shooter mode.
So, place, then yank the enemies to the location you placed it.
My usual field abuse tactic is to target a mob (not being shot at as its a wasted cast if they die before it activates) with gravitational juncture, wait a second then use the field of choice - the grav jucture yanks the mobs into the field. Generally speaking without a hold/root power on top the mobs should stay at least 3 to 4 ticks before escaping (as the grav jucture pulls them, knocks them down when they land the it takes time to escape its aoe/the fiels aoe)
If you really want to shut down mobs with that as an engie, I suggest the new Fel'khri module that is like tricorder scan, grav juncture and Sabotage - Disables the mob groups weapons, huge dam resist debuffs, slows and more - it makes dealing with large enemy groups a snap and leaves them prone for allies to aoe them to death (or a well timed explosive drone)
Comments
I build things. Things that make us go.
I can't disagree: There are thousands of items....most orderly fashion would be to convert things as a grouping. as time permits. And would be difficult at best to keep it organized (so many places those kit modules show up), so something will get missed when going back and forth between other (new or ongoing) projects.
So much new stuff being added all the time....I am not sure there are very many players capable of keeping track, either. I think most of us use "our favorites" or what we heard "word of mouth".
Also, understand some decisions were made to keep things one way or another...would have liked to be a fly on the wall in that meeting. But those decisions make it more difficult for players to keep track of because the Kit Modules are following different rules. (See below).
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I was hoping this could be looked at by someone to simplify it??? See, different rules for different kinds of kit modules. I am not even sure if this is all the rules that apply to kit modules. I am not sure who would know?
Thank you for sharing and taking your time to respond to us.
****Removed my response to the second part of the Devs statement, since it really did not add anything to the kit module convo we are having.
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” -- Benjamin Franklin
Interesting. Are there really still tens of thousands of items in the game? I thought the change made by Flyingtarg in 2015 was supposed to fix that. Why are there so many even after the change to parameterized "dynamic items"?
Upcoming Item Change for Season 10
I especially like my Chromodynamic Armor, still keeping in my Inventory (albeit greatly outclassed by Mark XIV items).
Still like it very much!
I know it is three years later, but look at our kit modules upgrade rules. Those rules are going on two years. The Devs are, likely, concentrating on converting Space gear to that dynamic format. After all, it is their "bread and butter".
But, with Random TFOs and no backing off of requirement for players to play through Ground, I think the delays for conversions is about to come "home to roost". There is nothing that can be done about it, now....except start plugging away at that chore on their side.
I should know: one can only avoid the washer/dryer for so long...before all that is left is dirty laundry.
So, enough of this....nice distraction, but not really necessary, and not really helping, unless those upgrading rules can be streamlined for kit modules. Nothing players can do about it other than ask.
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Let's get back to kit modules we use and reviews of such. How and why we use them. Where they are useful. And what's your favorite kit module????
Sorry, I have not spent much time keeping this on track, but I have the car back, and finished looking at my Characters Mission Journal....So I will have more time to concentrate on this.
So, @engineerb4#4806 What's your favorite kit module??
Oh, and Frtoaster, too....kit module???
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” -- Benjamin Franklin
Go back to sleep, w00q.
Unless you want to tell us about your favorite kit modules and why that is.....or leave a tip for ground queues.
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Wiki says it is a special armor only available for Feds at Mark 2 and does not scale and not reclaimable. In other words, it was a one off promo item the Devs put together to have something different for the prize.
https://sto.gamepedia.com/Chromodynamic_Armor
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” -- Benjamin Franklin
Chit chatting with @ichaerus1, shortly after taking some screenshots with him...
He was showing me a trophy for finishing the Breen Story Arc.
Then, he started to showed me some Kit Modules....just before he and I signed out.
[Tactical Kit Module - Repulsor Burst Mk XII]
[Tactical Kit Module - Cryotronic Modulation Mk XII]
[Universal Kit Module - Phasic Shroud Mk XII]
[Universal Kit Module - Stabilized Folded-Space Transporter Mk XII]
And Motion Accelerator.
A lot of his stuff is very visual. He does role playing and visual is good to set the vibe for a scene or personality. And these Kit Modules serve double duty. Because he sets up his characters for a role...and that role INCLUDES a style of play.
I don't do that with characters at all. I just go with whatever falls into my lap. I do not set up a character to BE anything. It is just a frame and a picture.
I will go look them up later.
I wanna go look at my screen shot folder...and I got tons of dishes to finish in the sink....
Edit: THEMED...that is the word I was searching for last night. His characters follow a theme.
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” -- Benjamin Franklin
LOL! Sit there like a turtle! That's a funny picture!! LOL!
Terran kit to boost kit performance....Why Terran Empire Kits on XBox??? It comes with Control Duration...not Kit Performance x2 like some of the other ones. Are you using a lot of placates on Ground??? And how????
Please check this list to make sure it is Terran Empire Kit: https://sto.gamepedia.com/Kit#Special_Kit_frames
https://sto.gamepedia.com/Special_Equipment_Pack_-_Terran_Empire_Kits (Infinity Lockbox, check Exchange) And it looks like take that roll in the slot machine to gain Kit Perf on that item. ????
How much Kit Perf does one need??? I should Google that......
https://sto.gamepedia.com/Zefram_Cochrane_Shotgun (Phoenix Prize Pack, VR)
It is fun killing Borg with Bat'leth, too. No energy goodies on the melee weapons, please.
The Borg adapt to zappings.
https://sto.gamepedia.com/Universal_Kit_Module_-_Solar_Gateway (Infinity Lockbox, check Exchange)
Another one for Solar Gateway. Hmmm...maybe I should try one on one of my characters. Sounds like something a Romulan may have picked up somewhere.
OOOO Summer and Winter Event Kit Modules...I have those. I hope the Wiki has it all on one page...
Or I will be hunting and pecking for a while....
https://sto.gamepedia.com/Engineering_Kit_Module_-_Flash_Freeze_Bomb
https://sto.gamepedia.com/Engineering_Kit_Module_-_Hurricane_Turret
https://sto.gamepedia.com/Engineering_Kit_Module_-_Cryo_Mine_Barrier
https://sto.gamepedia.com/Engineering_Kit_Module_-_Molten_Terrain
https://sto.gamepedia.com/Engineering_Kit_Module_-_Freeze_Armor
https://sto.gamepedia.com/Science_Kit_Module_-_Endothermic_Induction_Field
https://sto.gamepedia.com/Science_Kit_Module_-_Seismic_Agitation_Field
https://sto.gamepedia.com/Science_Kit_Module_-_Cryogenic_Stasis_Field
https://sto.gamepedia.com/Science_Kit_Module_-_Sonic_Disruption
https://sto.gamepedia.com/Science_Kit_Module_-_Cryonic_Pulse
https://sto.gamepedia.com/Tactical_Kit_Module_-_Cryo_Grenade
https://sto.gamepedia.com/Tactical_Kit_Module_-_Graviton_Spike
https://sto.gamepedia.com/Tactical_Kit_Module_-_Cryotronic_Modulation
https://sto.gamepedia.com/Tactical_Kit_Module_-_Corrosive_Grenade
https://sto.gamepedia.com/Tactical_Kit_Module_-_Micro_Cryonic_Warhead
https://sto.gamepedia.com/Universal_Kit_Module_-_Cryo_Visor_Blast
Note: Tzenkethi....they don't like cold. So, lucky me....because I am lazy and these WW abilities take little effort to acquire....some of my BOFFs have ice related Training Manuals on them when I hit that Mission Event with Tzenkethi. And, of course, the Captains have access to those various "Cryo" Kit Modules.
I can not figure out Science Seismic Agitation Field but it seems to be helping, somewhat? There is a huge animation, though.
I love that Engineering Hurricane Turret, fun to watch on top of that. And the Universal Cryo Visor. Maybe the Cryo Visor was the one I was using on the Tzenkethi. I should start writing this stuff down so I can remember it.
OOPs...forgot my most favorite: Sonic Disruption. Watch that NPC get shoved out of my way. LOL!
++++++++++++++++++++++++
Lastly....let's not forget the kit modules from Winter Wonderland this year:
https://www.arcgames.com/en/games/star-trek-online/news/detail/11014213-q's-winter-wonderland!
These Kit Modules are so new, they have not made it to the Wiki....so I copy and paste to save you scrolling through the Dev Blog.....
Torment of the Underworld
Torment the primary target with torturous visions of the darkest underworlds. The illusions and psionic impressions of this are strong enough to also affect allies of the foe unfortunate to be caught in its area of influence. All affected enemies will suffer periodic psionic damage while also having their damage output reduced.
Collective Nightmares
Enemies affected by the device will be confused, vulnerable and unable to differentiate friend from foe due to cerebral sensory interception. Adding to the sensorial confusion, some humanoid enemies will appear as Fek’Ihri by way of psionic perception inhibitors. This ability only affects living foes, and cannot interfere with electronics or other forms of artificial life.
Ravaging Barrage
Harass foes in a forward cone with periodic pulses of psionic energy. The strength of these pulses is enough to force foes off their feet, and those knocked prone may find themselves unable to stand for a short period of time.
All of these new Fek'Ihri related ones sound very funny. But looking forward to watching Collective Nightmare in action.
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” -- Benjamin Franklin
You want to master the arcane art of producing physics-defying anomalies by waving your tricorder? You want to tell the laws of creation to "sit down and shut up" as you quote eldritch tomes and forbidden tech manuals? You want to harness VAST COSMIC POWER, drive your foes before you and hear the lamentations of rando's on the forums screaming "nerf pls"?
Listen closer. We shall delve into the hidden art of "space magic".
In STO, AoE powers are king. The science character has access to several powers that do not share cooldowns, and those cooldowns are fairly reasonable to build around. The build principle is simple: blast the s*&t out of everything. Let's look at our options:
Exothermic Induction Field: A standard kit module, the humble fireball has been a staple of space magic since the reign of the warlord Gygax. The ExIF has synergy with several DOffs and has a very short cooldown. Thoroughly recommend you scribe it to your tricorder.
Endothermic Induction Field: Found in the Winter Event Store tab, this is the cold version of ExIF. It deals less damage, but has a slow effect. It shares a cooldown with ExIF, so you probably want one or the other. I prefer ExIF since it deals fire damage and the Borg do not adapt to fire.
Cold Fusion Flash: Currently found in the Infinity Box, it is a Kelvin Timeline kit module. Yes, your space magic jumps dimensions. You should get used to breaking reality if you want to be a Space Wizard. CFF deals less damage than ExIF, but has a slow effect AND a chance to immobilize your foes briefly. It does have a slightly longer cooldown than ExIF.
Seismic Agitation Field: Found in the Summer Event Store tab, this AoE power deals less damage than ExIF or CFF. However, the damage it deals is Kinetic, ignores 50% of your foe's shields, and boasts a chance to knockdown or slow your foes. It has a remarkably low cooldown, making it available more often than CFF. Also benefits from the Bombardier trait.
Sompek Lightning: While not a Science power, it is an extremely potent AoE. It is found in the Weekend Event Store tab. It deals more damage than the other AoE's previously mentioned, but has a much, much longer cooldown. This is what some in the wizarding profession call a "nuke".
Honorable mentions:
Paradox Bomb: Unlocked by spending points in the Temporal Specialization, it can be found in the Dilithium Store tab. It creates an anomaly that pulls foe's to it's center. Best utilized by time lords and temporal focused magi.
Hyperonic Radiation; Neutronic Radiation: Hyperonic is a standard kit, while Neutronic is found in the Delta Reputation projects tab. These powers slowly melt your foes. While I can conceptually acknowledge the enjoyment of making your foes feel every ounce of pain and suffering before they die, it seems... inefficient. I prefer to blow them up now rather than listening to them scream for a few moments.
Author's Note: There are those who would argue that space magic is more than breaking physical laws to crush those who oppose you. This "white magic" is used to heal wounds, guard against damage, and even raise the dead. While I can see the use of such things to prolong the magician's life, I cannot see the benefit in guarding your allies against harm. In truth; if your opponents lie broken and shattered, who is left to hurt your allies? Let us continue.
As an accomplished space wizard, I prefer to use Exothermic Induction Field, Cold Fusion Flash, Seismic Agitation Field, Sompek Lightning and Vascular Regenerator in my personal tricorder. I thoroughly encourage you to experiment with any combination you desire. Blowing up things is effective, but I concede that blowing things up "in style" is also quite satisfying. Time lords in particular can be brutally devastating, but require timing (ha!) the use of Entropy and mixing Temporal magic with standard AoE invocations. Experimentation is required.
Now that you have a tricorder stuffed with mind warping knowledge, you need to increase it's potency. Simply invoking the rituals will have mixed results without preparation and foresight.
You should focus on Skills, Traits and gear that improve Kit Efficiency, Kit Performance, reduce kit module cooldowns, and grant a bonus to "All Damage". Traits like Aggressive, Soldier (bugged; grants All Damage instead of Energy Damage), Hivemind, Vicious, Adrenal Release, and Introspection.
A final note on gear. Having done some testing, wearing gear with a flat bonus to Kit Performance will give you significantly better damage than the set bonus on the Temporal Set. Probably because most of the Kit Performance boosting gear is in the Lobi Store.
I never use my equipped weapons in combat anymore. With enough cooldown reduction, you will always have something available to blast your enemies with. With enough All Damage boosts, they usually won't survive your initial blast. Hopefully, you too will find the joy and wonder of waving your tricorder in a general direction and see the messy vapor cloud that used to be a sentient being.
Fleet Admiral Ventaxa Proxmire, U.S.S. Shaka Walls Fell
Blog: http://www.sarbonn.com/?page_id=1990
Foundry series: Bob From Accounting & For the Sake of the Empire
My character Tsin'xing
It turned the Dinosaur into a Ravager??? Haa, Haa, Haa!! LOL! Too funny!!!
I can't wait to play with this one.
Yes~I wanna pointy hat, too. Thank you very much for the beautifully written article.
And "never use equipped weapons any more"....that is an eye opener.
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” -- Benjamin Franklin
I am not sure this game ever had automatic things unless you have those special keyboards and keybinds and stuff like that. But you still have to push a button....this program needs everything acked...it needs to be told to do things. I don't know if newer games are different, I don't play any video games but this one.
Anyone know if there are any passive abilities like what littlesarbonn is looking for? Maybe in traits? Specialization?
Also, abilities (Captain or BOFF) which can be used to CLEAR DEBUFFS on Ground. Though that may take clicks, too.
Foundry missions, Battle Zones or other ground locations where everyone is practicing before hitting those RTFO's. But I am sure there are other locations for some focused, intense ground workouts.
I am still doing normal Episode stuff, that is more than enough for me to handle in a day.
Oh and WW...lets go kill some snowmen.
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” -- Benjamin Franklin
How's that for a space-wizard? Some of the science buff/heal powers do that.
My character Tsin'xing
Yeah, I think he was complaining about having to click abilities all the time. So, I am thinking it is not a BOFF ability he's looking for...BOFF abilities which just goes off in some set pattern. I should spend some time just watching my BOFFs and see what that pattern is....but I have not.
So, I am thinking he wants Passive abilities along the lines of heals, buffs and debuffs. ?????
Most players take the passive traits and skill points to buff DPS...and don't look at other things. Or maybe he wants BOTH at the same time, but won't give up DPS for being tankier or more robust....for having stronger heals. etc...
Give and take, give and take.
This program does not work that way, anyways, everything on auto pilot. It doesn't actively keep track of everything other than listing it, calculating it. It does not analyze the numbers to the point it can decide for you "this is a good time to trigger this or that ability" or whatever, right?
Or does keybinds exist that triggers multiple functions with one click? See, that is still you clicking.
It is part of playing the game to watch for the "good time to activate this or that ability or power". The program does not play the game for you.
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” -- Benjamin Franklin
According to my notes, I am up to Rattler2's post on page 1.
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” -- Benjamin Franklin
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” -- Benjamin Franklin
I think I am going to try and get that "Execution Spinner" for my main characters.
OH I should definitely get one....for my Jem'Hadar....she is named "Queen of Hearts".
"OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!!!"
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” -- Benjamin Franklin
Eh... nothing really. Also you can just call me Rattler. Only reason I have the 2 is because it wouldn't let me have just Rattler when we moved forums.
OK...you can DM it if you want.
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” -- Benjamin Franklin
Deploy Agony Field
This ability places a small generator that deploys an enormous dome-shaped field of Agony, continuously damaging any enemy in contact with it. The dome shrinks slowly over the next 20 seconds.
NPCs do not stay in one spot (uh, except that Snowman Overlord of the Lake in WW)...and neither do players. So...something like this never really interests me.
I think it was the Na'khul mines that would chase people around...now that would be cool. Having an Agony Field chasing things around the battle field. It would be very funny, too.
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” -- Benjamin Franklin
Using it is like using Transphasic bomb. You place it where you guess the enemy will be, not where they are now. OR, you place it where you're going to move the enemy to. Yes, really, certain kit modules an pull enemies towards a spot, and you can target empty ground if you use the module in shooter mode.
So, place, then yank the enemies to the location you placed it.
My character Tsin'xing
Sure enough, those are the same everyone else is using: Chroniton Mine Barrier 1.
Hmmmm....one of Frtoaster's favorites.....until it got broken. Odd...it did not look broken when I was doing the Gamma Quad missions with my character.
Matter of fact, it looked immensely useful. That may just go back to fighting Hur'q on the ground though....
They are bugs, they are swarming toward you....and they run into the mine barriers on their own.
I wonder if it has to do with the Jem'Hadar trait called "Engineered Soldier".
https://i.imgur.com/UkCyWmN.jpg
Could a 5% Critical Chance and Severity be the difference between a "broken" Chroniton Mine Barrier 1 on an Engineering character in a different faction??? I shall just have to find the time to do the Gamma Quad mission with my regular KDF.
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” -- Benjamin Franklin
Ugh...I am really bad at that. The kiting the enemies around. I know that is a good thing to learn, though.
I am the type to go head long into the mob with guns blazing. Hence, I like my dual pistols...I am showering NPCs with Expose...one BOFF gets an Expose....and give everyone else Exploit weapons.
OR at least, once I figured out I bumbled into that configuration with Kyra's BOFFs (and why it works by reading this article on the STO Ground Wiki)....I am trying to get everyone else set up in a similar fashion.
https://www.reddit.com/r/STOGround/wiki/exploit_expose
Note: not sure where the "sweet spot" on this is, yet....if it is better to have the same amount of Expose to Exploit weapons...or have more of one type or the other.
ADD: And as a reminder...I am doing Solo play, mostly in missions at the normal level.
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” -- Benjamin Franklin
I build things. Things that make us go.
And another vote for Solar Gateway (I really need to get one of these for my Romulan and see what that is about...I assume, the Shaved Ice Gateway is the WW version of it.)
I had to go look this one up real quick, out of curiosity, before I go start dinner:
https://sto.gamepedia.com/Universal_Kit_Module_-_Protomatter_Munition_Deployment (Tzenkethi Lockbox)
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” -- Benjamin Franklin
My usual field abuse tactic is to target a mob (not being shot at as its a wasted cast if they die before it activates) with gravitational juncture, wait a second then use the field of choice - the grav jucture yanks the mobs into the field. Generally speaking without a hold/root power on top the mobs should stay at least 3 to 4 ticks before escaping (as the grav jucture pulls them, knocks them down when they land the it takes time to escape its aoe/the fiels aoe)
If you really want to shut down mobs with that as an engie, I suggest the new Fel'khri module that is like tricorder scan, grav juncture and Sabotage - Disables the mob groups weapons, huge dam resist debuffs, slows and more - it makes dealing with large enemy groups a snap and leaves them prone for allies to aoe them to death (or a well timed explosive drone)
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