STO: are starship phasers worth a darn?

[intrinsical]

J. Allen wrote:

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Awesome!

As for Boff arrangements, it's a little bit of work, but you can do it. My Boffs are general purpose, which means their abilities won't do amazing things, but they're very cross compatible. I switch between my Excelsior Retrofit (which I love dearly), my escort retrofit, and my shuttlecraft, which I like to take into sector battles and confuse the hell out of new players as they watch me take on 5 ships at once and survive.

Oh I know, I equipped my Type 8 Shuttle Hawking with Mk X stuff, including an Aegis Shield just for kicks. I have been itching to take it out for a spin.

[J. Allen]

intrinsical wrote:

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Oh I know, I equipped my Type 8 Shuttle Hawking with Mk X stuff, including an Aegis Shield just for kicks. I have been itching to take it out for a spin.

Change the description in your title to read "Lieutenant" and go into one of the Sirius sector enemy contacts, start blowing away everything. I mean, sure, if they click your ship it will read "+40" or something, but they won't really know what that means yet.

[Rocketeer]

If you have the space for additional BOFFs, you can have some configured for the bridge (or different ships) and some for the away team. So BOFFs with the space skills Efficient or Leadership go on the bridge. Those skills are useless on the ground, so I use a different set of BOFFs. I tend to max all my BOFFs out also and rotate them as necessary. For example, If I have CMDR, LT and ENS Sci slots on a ship, all my Sci DOFFs would be CMDR and could be rotated between those positions to make available whatever powers were necessary for the mission.

.

[intrinsical]

Well I ended up spending more than a few hours last night planning my BOFF's skillset. I quickly realized that I actually had to plan for FOUR ships, and they each had special requirements.

1) USS Ganymede (Non-MAVM Advanced Escort)
2) USS Deimos (MAVM Advanced Escort)
3) USS Magellan (Odyssey class)
4) USS ?? (Unbought Sovereign class)

Thankfully, the science and engineering officers can be easily shared among all my ships as all their skills revolve around shield/hull heal/regen/resistance.

Science Officer
Hazard Emitters I (All ships)
Transfer Shield Strength II (All ships)
Photonic Officer II (Prometheus only)

Assistant Science Officer
Science Team I (All ships)

Chief Engineer
Engineering Team I (All ships)
Emergency Power to Shields II (All ships)
Auxiliary to Battery II (Odyssey/Sovereign only)
Aceton Beam III (Odyssey/Sovereign only)

Engineering Assistant (Odyssey/Sovereign only)
Emergency Power To Weapons I
Reverse Shield Polarity I
Directed Energy Modulation II

Tactical officer that give me a headache as the Prometheus requires and primarily uses cannons while Odyssey/Sovereign primarily uses beams. I ended up customizing my current 3 tactical officers for the Prometheus and commissioned a 4th tactical officer just for the Sovereign.

1st Tactical Officer (Prometheus Only)
Tactical Team I
Cannon: Rapid Fire I
Cannon: Rapid Fire II
Attack Pattern Omega III

2nd Tactical Officer (Prometheus)
Tactical Team I
Torpedo: High Yield II
Cannon: Scatter Volley II

3rd Tactical Officer (Prometheus)
Torpedo: Spread I

Beam Array Specialist (Odyssey/Sovereign Only)
Beam Overload I
Torpedo: High Yield II

So finally, here's the BOFF skill accessible for each ship.

USS Ganymede (Phoenix Class Advanced Escort)
Tactical Team I
Cannon: Rapid Fire I
Cannon: Rapid Fire II
Attack Pattern Omega II
Tactical Team I
Torpedo: HIgh Yield II
Cannon: Scatter Volley II
Engineering Team I
Emergency Power to Shields II
Hazard Emitters II
Transfer Shield Strength II
Science Team I

USS Deimos (Prometheus Class MAVM Advanced Escort)
Tactical Team I
Cannon: Rapid Fire I
Cannon: Rapid Fire II
Attack Pattern Omega II
Tactical Team I
Torpedo: HIgh Yield II
Torpedo: Spread I
Engineering Team I
Emergency Power to Shields II
Hazard Emitters II
Transfer Shield Strength II
Photonic Officer II

USS Magellan (Odyssey Class)
Beam Overload II
Torpedo: High Yield II
Engineering Team I
Emergency Power to Shields II
Auxiliary to Battery II
Aceton Beam II
Emergency Power To Weapons
Reverse Shield Polarity I
Directed Energy Modulation II
Hazard Emitters II
Transfer Shield Strength II
Science Team I

USS Unnamed (Sovereign Class)
Beam Overload I
Torpedo: High Yield II
Tactical Team I
Engineering Team I
Emergency Power to Shields II
Auxiliary to Battery II
Aceton Beam II
Emergency Power To Weapons
Reverse Shield Polarity I
Directed Energy Modulation II
Hazard Emitters II
Transfer Shield Strength II

[Rocketeer]

Wow, you've been busy.

[intrinsical]

It wasn't so bad, I used google's spreadsheet and it allowed me to easily visualize how the skills were arranged and how I could share officers. Anyway, I've tested out the new arrangement for the Promethus and its a pretty good setup except for one flaw. As I am heavily using Tactical Team and Science Team, I quickly realized Engineering Team was never ready when I needed it most as these three skills share the same cooldown timer. So I think I need to replace Engineering Team with another hull repair skill.

Can I apply two Hazard Emitter skills at the same time?

[Scout101]

Hmm, I gotta spend more time thinking about my build at some point. I'm spec'ed out decent for my Fleet Escort, but don't have the right crew/skill mix to switch to a Cruiser if I wanted to. Given that right now there's not a ton of NEED for a cruiser, and Escorts are ideal for endgame, not too worried about it, but would like to be able to swap it out for the Gal-X on occasion.

[Rocketeer]

intrinsical wrote:

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It wasn't so bad, I used google's spreadsheet and it allowed me to easily visualize how the skills were arranged and how I could share officers. Anyway, I've tested out the new arrangement for the Promethus and its a pretty good setup except for one flaw. As I am heavily using Tactical Team and Science Team, I quickly realized Engineering Team was never ready when I needed it most as these three skills share the same cooldown timer. So I think I need to replace Engineering Team with another hull repair skill.

Can I apply two Hazard Emitter skills at the same time?

I sometime use Excel or just draw a matrix on index cards. Without actually spending time to analyze what you posted, I think you're on the right path. (Just looking at the skill titles.)

The thought process that I use when building is:

1) What do I want to accomplish with this ship?
Sounds like common sense but you see a lot of people that can't decide what they want so their ship is half-ass.

2) What BOFF skills are needed? Again it sounds like common sense but you see people with skills like Cannon Rapid Fire and they don't have any cannons.

3) On some skills, the effects between level I and II or III are negligible so grab it at Level I and use the LCDR/CMDR skill slot for something else.

4) Don't forget that you can train your BOFFs in some of the Level III skills by using the Rare and Very Rare BOFFs.

5) I might use a temp skill at Ensign level just to survive then change out to permanent skill later. Probably a bad example because it's a ground skill but I would have a tac photon grenade I starting out. Later, I'd give him some other Ensign skill and give him photon grenade II or III.

6) Don't forget your DOFFs! Find ones that boost the skills that you're using. If you use torps a lot, find a rare or very rare Projectile Weapons Officer. Don't forget that you can mail unbound DOFFs between your characters.

...

[Aeolusdallas]

Tribble puncher wrote:

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Ive been a casual player of sto for awhile, never really got hardcore into the game. so alot of the acronyms and such on various message boards, I have no Idea what they mean. So, with that said, I see alot of people talking about cannon weapons and how much "dps" they do, but what about us cruiser lovers? I have a level 22 engineer flying an excelsior, right now I have 4 mk 6 phaser arrays and 2 mk 5 photorp launchers equipped, I'm wanting to maximize this ships offensive capabilities and still be able to last in a fight. I like the turning radius of this ship but do not want to give up my 360 degree coverage. I want it all I guess, haha. Also, I'm at a loss as how to pick consoles that best complement each other...any help would be appreciated...

Beam arrays are tanking weapons (they are meant for cruisers which fill the tanking role) Their advantage is the wide firing arc. Cannons are DPS weapons which are meant for Escorts (who fill the DPS role)

[Rocketeer]

Tribble puncher wrote:

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Ive been a casual player of sto for awhile, never really got hardcore into the game. so alot of the acronyms and such on various message boards, I have no Idea what they mean. So, with that said, I see alot of people talking about cannon weapons and how much "dps" they do, but what about us cruiser lovers? I have a level 22 engineer flying an excelsior, right now I have 4 mk 6 phaser arrays and 2 mk 5 photorp launchers equipped, I'm wanting to maximize this ships offensive capabilities and still be able to last in a fight. I like the turning radius of this ship but do not want to give up my 360 degree coverage. I want it all I guess, haha. Also, I'm at a loss as how to pick consoles that best complement each other...any help would be appreciated...

You should read the STO Forum - Cruiser Builds for ideas.

My first character is an Engineer and did a lot of experimentation. It is impossible to build the ultimate tank and ultimate offensive ship at the same time. However, with a little compromise here and there, you can have a med tank/assault vehicle. There rest of this is just my opinions. I could talk all day about Engineers and Cruisers, but will try to keep it short.

Here's what I recommend you start with, then modify to suit your playing style. You started with a good platform, the Excelsior. Run the Defari FEs that give you the frosty set. The run the Romulan FE (Vault?) that gives you the Reman shield.

Front: Beam Array [Acc] [CrtH] x2, Photon or Quantum Torp [Acc] [Acc]
Rear: Front: Beam Array [Acc] [CrtH] x2, Photon or Quantum Mine Launcher [CrtH] [CrtD].
Get the Phaser Relay console for the beams and the appropiate console for the torps

Practice attacking broadside until you can target the enemies with all four beams. Once their shields are down, turn towards them enough to hit them with the torp, then go back to a broadside attack. The mines are necessary for spamming against birds-of-prey (and Tac chars in PvP).

You have room for 3 Engr consoles and here's my recommendation: Victorium Alloy, Ablative Hull Armor, SIF Generator

[Tribble puncher]

Rocketeer wrote:

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You should read the STO Forum - Cruiser Builds for ideas.

My first character is an Engineer and did a lot of experimentation. It is impossible to build the ultimate tank and ultimate offensive ship at the same time. However, with a little compromise here and there, you can have a med tank/assault vehicle. There rest of this is just my opinions. I could talk all day about Engineers and Cruisers, but will try to keep it short.

Here's what I recommend you start with, then modify to suit your playing style. You started with a good platform, the Excelsior. Run the Defari FEs that give you the frosty set. The run the Romulan FE (Vault?) that gives you the Reman shield.

Front: Beam Array [Acc] [CrtH] x2, Photon or Quantum Torp [Acc] [Acc]
Rear: Front: Beam Array [Acc] [CrtH] x2, Photon or Quantum Mine Launcher [CrtH] [CrtD].
Get the Phaser Relay console for the beams and the appropiate console for the torps

Practice attacking broadside until you can target the enemies with all four beams. Once their shields are down, turn towards them enough to hit them with the torp, then go back to a broadside attack. The mines are necessary for spamming against birds-of-prey (and Tac chars in PvP).

You have room for 3 Engr consoles and here's my recommendation: Victorium Alloy, Ablative Hull Armor, SIF Generator

I've seen some weapons and sheilds with the [ACC], [CtrlH], X2 and such...what does all that mean. Alot of these Terms like FCC are lost on me, I am most definitely a "NoOb".

[intrinsical]

Most of this is described in the popup when you mouse-over the weapon. Here are the more common abbreviations.

[Dmg] - Short for Damage. As in the weapon does extra damage
[Acc] - Short for Accurate. The weapon is 10% more accurate than a typical weapon.
[CrtD] - Short for Critical Damage. When the weapon lands a rare critical hit, it does a lot more damage.
[CrtH] - Short for Critical Hit. The chances of landing a critical hit is increased.
[Borg] - Anti-Borg effect. Every time the weapon lands a hit, there's a small 7.5% chance it will cause 1000 extra damage against the Borg.

Tribble puncher wrote:

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Ive been a casual player of sto for awhile, never really got hardcore into the game. so alot of the acronyms and such on various message boards, I have no Idea what they mean. So, with that said, I see alot of people talking about cannon weapons and how much "dps" they do, but what about us cruiser lovers? I have a level 22 engineer flying an excelsior, right now I have 4 mk 6 phaser arrays and 2 mk 5 photorp launchers equipped, I'm wanting to maximize this ships offensive capabilities and still be able to last in a fight. I like the turning radius of this ship but do not want to give up my 360 degree coverage. I want it all I guess, haha. Also, I'm at a loss as how to pick consoles that best complement each other...any help would be appreciated...

For starters, make sure all your beam arrays are using the same energy type. I would say go with either all phasers, all tetryons or at higher levels, all anti-protons. They are equally good choices. Make sure all your beam weapons are using the same energy type. Using a mix of different energy types (what we call a rainbow) will cause your weapon damage to drop.

Once you have chosen a specific type of beam energy you'ld like to use, you will want to have at least one (or two) tactical console that boosts the damage of that specific energy type. You may also want a tactical console that boosts your torpedo's damage.

For Phasers, equip your ship with Phaser Relay consoles.
For Tetryons, equip your ship with Tetryon Pulse Generator consoles.
For Antiprotons, equip your ship with Antiproton Mag Regulator consoles.
For Photon Torpedoes, equip your ship with a Photon Detonation Assembly console.
For Quantum Torpedoes, equip your ship with a Zero Point Quantum Chamber console.

Bridge officers have a few skills that can also boost your weapon damage for short periods of time. Examples include Beam Overload, Beam Fire At Will, Torpedo: Rapid Fire, Torpedo: Scatter Volley. Attack Patterns Alpha, Beta, Delta and Omega. So be sure to train your tactical bridge officer with some of these skills.

Finally to really push your weapon damage to the maximum, make sure you divert a lot of your warp core's power to the weapons system. An easy way to do this is to use the ship's offensive mode.

[Rocketeer]

Right. So a Beam Array [Acc] [CrtH] would have +10% Accuracy and +2% Critical Hit chance. When you only have a small number of weapons, you want to make sure that every shot connects with the enemy. When you get a ship with more weapons, you can consider loading weapons with [Dmg] and [CrtD].

.

[apostle83]

J. Allen wrote:

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Phasers are good for causing subsystem damage (if critical), but otherwise offer generally decent DPS. I have a star cruiser (the new Odyssey), and use anti-proton beams myself, which are just a nice way to flay the crap out of whatever you're broadsiding.

Are those something you buy with energy credits? Something you craft?...

[Timelord_Victorious]

apostle83 wrote:

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Are those something you buy with energy credits? Something you craft?...

Energy Credits (exchange), Dilithium store, crafting and STF vendor.