Star Trek Online Discussion Thread (now free to play!)

[Vendikarr]

Leroy wrote:

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I'm new to the game just started a couple days ago and have a some questions. How long does it take to rank up to the next tier? How far can a free player get without spending any money? How does one go about obtaining enough currency (dilithium I think?) to buy the next tier of starship?

Spend your time doing missions, but you can also let your downtime work for you with Duty Officer Assignments. the DOff assignments give items, experience and dilithium while you are asleep or at work.

I set up the max assignments before I go to bed at night, and again before I go to work in the morning. I think about a third of my experience has come from doff assignments.

[SilentP]

Cyke101 wrote:

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No, my problem is (and apologies for not clarifying), is that I can assign officers to the other stations except for one. That last station is an Ensign Engineering station. I have a bridge officer candidate that is an Ensign Engineer, but I can't assign her despite the open spot. I have all other spots filled.

To note, it looks like this:

Ensign Tactical - filled
Lt. Engineering - filled
Ensign Science - filled
Ensign Engineering - open

Despite that I have two Ensign engineers ready. They say there are no bridge spots open, but as you can see from the list, I have a spot open.

When you say your ensign engineering officer is a candidate, do you mean he is on the list of officers on the left, along with your own self/captain and the ship, or is he on the list to the right?

If he's on the right list, you'll need to get that officer to join your crew before you can assign him. If he's on the left, sounds like a bug.

[Cyke101]

SilentP wrote:

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When you say your ensign engineering officer is a candidate, do you mean he is on the list of officers on the left, along with your own self/captain and the ship, or is he on the list to the right?

If he's on the right list, you'll need to get that officer to join your crew before you can assign him. If he's on the left, sounds like a bug.

He was on the left, but thanks for pointing that out, Xhiandra and SilentP. I've reported the issue.

That's one of the hard things about being a newbie in an MMO -- sometimes you can't tell if something's a bug or not

[SilentP]

It's always worth asking either way

[Ruaidhri]

I have a couple Elite requisitions burning a hole in my inventory, short only the shield requisition, and am curious as to whether the veteran players feel the MACO space set or Omega Force space set is the more effective? Tactical captain in a fleet escort.

I've been trying not to mix the equipment sets up, if for no other reason than you get some bonus effects by using multiple items.

I've flown both the Breen and Jem'Hadar sets, and found each useful in it's own way (though my tactical captain doesn't benefit too much by the abilities either of those sets provide) but have been using the Borg set for its defensive benefits. And the tractor beam comes in handy in STFs. Had to turn off the visuals, though. Made my fleet escort even uglier.

On a side note, I seem to be noticing a lot of really immature players lately. Lots of name calling and childish behavior, particularly around DS9. It's really annoying, and I felt bad for a player who was singled out in an STF by 2 others after he blew something up prematurely. They spent more time whining on the chat than they did trying to deal with the borg ships.

[intrinsical]

Picking the right equipment for your ship at level 50 is a huge topic, and often it doesn't just involve picking the equipment but also involves what bridge officer skills you use in space combat. Before I go into the deep end, lets start with something simple:

The Beginner's Set
The set consists of 4 items that are relatively easy to obtain and is one of the most defensive setup in the game:

• Assimilated Deflector Array
• Assimilated Subtranswarp Engine
• M.A.C.O. Resilient Shield Array
• Console - Universal - Assimilated Module

The MACO shield is one of the best in the game (and much, much, MUCH better than the Borg shield). The 3-piece Borg set unlocks the Borg set's additional powers. It grants a 2% chance to repair your hull and a 20% chance to restore your shields every time your ship is damaged.


Bridge Officer (BOff) Abilities
As you get more experienced with ship combat you should start relying more on your BOff abilities to keep your ship from exploding and rely less on your ship's gear. The good defensive BOff abilities include Emergency Power to Shields, Tactical/Engineering/Science Teams, Hazard Emitters, Transfer Shield Strength and Polarize Hull. Make sure you have at least 3 (I typically have 5-6) or more of these abilities and use them regularly to keep your ship in good condition.

Expert Players
When you have a good grasp of your BOff abilities and can reliably use them to keep your ship in good condition, that is when you can start weaning off from the Borg & MACO set.

The other equipment sets tend to offer less defense but in exchange gives your ship more offensive capabilities. For example my current favorite is the Omega Set. When used with high rate of fire weapons such as cannons and turrets, the Omega Set's Tetryon Glider and Gravitic Anchor powers allow you to quickly remove an opponent's shields and cause a lot more hull damage.

[Ruaidhri]

Thanks for the response, intrinsical.

I've been rejigging my bridge officer abilities a bit lately, and I just re-spec'd my toon to get rid of some point allocations that I didn't fully understand when I originally assigned them and place them in better areas. I really didn't need all those points in Flow Capacitors.

Here's my BOff layout:

Commander Tactical:
Tac Team 1 / Cannon Sc. Vol. 1 / Attack Pat. Beta 2 / Attack Pat.Omega 2

Lt. Commander Tactical:
Beam Overload 1 / Tac Team 2 / Torp. Spread 3

Lt. Engineering:
Emerg. Power to Shields 1 / Rev. Shield Polarity 1

Ens. Engineering:
Eng. Team 1

Lt. Science:
Sci Team 1 / Hazard Emitters 2

I've gone all Mark XI [Borg] Anti-Proton energy weapons and purple Mark XII [Borg] quantum torpedoes. Buffed up on my attack run to remove the shields with the AP weapons, then a torpedo spread to the hull. I've been thinking about getting rid of BO1 and replacing it with another CSV or maybe Cannon Rapid Fire. I feel like I have a decent assortment of healing abilities, and I tend to make looping hit and run attacks.

[SilentP]

Ruaidhri wrote:

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On a side note, I seem to be noticing a lot of really immature players lately. Lots of name calling and childish behavior, particularly around DS9. It's really annoying, and I felt bad for a player who was singled out in an STF by 2 others after he blew something up prematurely. They spent more time whining on the chat than they did trying to deal with the borg ships.

I've noticed that the main Federation hubs, DS9 in particular, seem to attract some rather...vocal individuals, especially in the Zone chat. I don't know if it's particularly worse than before though.

When it comes to the STFs there seems to be a snobbish expectation from some players for everyone to know everything, and whine when things don't go perfectly. I was playing KA Ground a couple of days ago where one player was spewing things on the Team speak like "LEARN PROCESS!!" and "ON ELITE, NO ONE WILL WAIT FOR YOU!!" I was very tempted to tell him to stow it.

ETA: Also, I've just tried using the standard Klingon carrier and it doesn't seem to give the kind of punch along with it's fighters when compared to my Vor'cha Retrofit. What kind of playstyle I should expect to adopt when using carriers when compared to cruisers and science vessels?

[intrinsical]

Its just a personal preference, but I prefer to use dual heavy cannons and turrets on my escort ships for that extra punch.

Note that Tactical Team, Engineering Team and Science Team all share the same cooldown timer. Which means if you use any one of the three abilities, the you can't use the others for quite some time. For that reason, I tend to stick with only 2 Tactical teams and no science/engineering teams. I also like to have two Emergency Power to Shields as they not only provide shield regeneration, but also reduces damage for 30 seconds.

As for KDF carriers, I have never played them so I can only provide general tips. Rare blue fighters from the dilithium store performs better than the uncommon green fighters. Also, not all fighters are designed for causing damage. Some are designed to drain energy, others disable subsystems so choose your fighters wisely.

[Ayelbourne]

SilentP wrote:

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ETA: Also, I've just tried using the standard Klingon carrier and it doesn't seem to give the kind of punch along with it's fighters when compared to my Vor'cha Retrofit. What kind of playstyle I should expect to adopt when using carriers when compared to cruisers and science vessels?

It's more of a support role. You could try going for a drain build. Use powerdraining Boff abilities and support with powerdraining drones.
I think it's the Dacoit Flight Deck cruiser that has the best powerdraining pets, but simple Power Siphon Drones work well too.

In an elite STF, a good drain carrier can leave an elite tac cube nothing more than a helpless heap of metal in space.

[Xhiandra]

Ruaidhri wrote:

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I have a couple Elite requisitions burning a hole in my inventory, short only the shield requisition, and am curious as to whether the veteran players feel the MACO space set or Omega Force space set is the more effective? Tactical captain in a fleet escort.

I've been trying not to mix the equipment sets up, if for no other reason than you get some bonus effects by using multiple items.

I've flown both the Breen and Jem'Hadar sets, and found each useful in it's own way (though my tactical captain doesn't benefit too much by the abilities either of those sets provide) but have been using the Borg set for its defensive benefits. And the tractor beam comes in handy in STFs. Had to turn off the visuals, though. Made my fleet escort even uglier.

On a side note, I seem to be noticing a lot of really immature players lately. Lots of name calling and childish behavior, particularly around DS9. It's really annoying, and I felt bad for a player who was singled out in an STF by 2 others after he blew something up prematurely. They spent more time whining on the chat than they did trying to deal with the borg ships.

Wow, coincidentally, I've been busy writing an Escort guide (not ready, need more concrete numbers), the short of it is:

First things first: the Fleet Escort isn't ugly!

- Breen set: just bad, for Tac/Escort at least; you'd do better with a Positron Deflector Mk XII [SIF] [Stl], Hyper-Impulse Engines Mk XII [Spd] [Turn] and Covariant Shields Mk XII [Cap]x2

- Reman set: underperforms compared to the above gear as well.

- Aegis set: some peope swear by it, but those people are probably the ones trying to sell it. Any survivability gained form the +10% Defense is lost in other areas, like the weak shield and total lack of Structural Integrity on the Deflector.

- Jem'Hadar set: that +7.6% Polaron damage is really appealing (and depending on your Skill build, the +2.5 Weapon Power as well), but you lose out substantially on survivabilty and speed.

- Borg set: Always use the Console.
From there, the individual pieces aren't that good, but the 2/3 piece set bonuses are very very nice; especially the 2-piece bonus.

- Omega set: Provides the Tetryon Glider and some Accuracy (on the Deflector), both interesting offensive bonuses but is sorely lacking defensively.
Although its Engines are nothing special (exactly the same stats as the Hyper-Impulse Mk XIII I mentionned earlier - Slipstream enhancement aside), Hyper-Impulse will give you the best speed.
Overall, more of a PvP set.

- MACO set: Best Escort Deflector, best Escort Shields, a 2-piece bonus that can be extremely useful; pointless Engines&3-piece bonus.
Overall, more of a PvE set.


I only retain 3 options:

1. MACO Shields, Borg Engines, Borg Deflector.
You get the 2+3 piece Borg bonuses, very strong Shields, a decent Hull and decent engines.

2. MACO Shields, Borg Engines, MACO Deflector.
You trade the Borg 3-piece effect for: a bit more Hull, stronger Heals, faster power transfer and most importantly, 5% more frequent BOFF ability usage.
Well, in theory. In practice, it only reduces the ability's cooldown, not the global cooldown or system cooldown, doesn't stack with eventual DOFFs and has no effect on cooldown of 15s or less; in my case, that means the MACO bonus only reduces the cooldown of my Hazard Emitters (45->42.75) and Transfer Shield Strength (45->42.75).

I like it a bit better than option 1, but just a bit.


3. Omega Shields, Omega Engines, Borg Deflector.
In Elite STFs, I wouldn't recommend it.
The Borg are more hull-heavy than shield-heavy, so the Tetryon Glider isn't as valuable and the faster movement speed isn't worth losing significant survivability.

In PvP, it's a very good option: Hyper-Impulse Engines make chasing a fleeing BoP/Raptor much easier and the Tetryon Glider makes your Alpha that much more effective.

Note that to really take advantage of the Tetryon Glider, you need points in Flow Capacitors.



My current BOFF layout (PvE):
Cdr Tac: TT1, CRF1, APO1, CRF3
LCdr Tac: TT1, APB1, APO1
Lt Sci: TSS1, HE2
Lt Eng: EPtS1, Aux to SIF1
Ens Eng: EPtA1

Upsides: I almost always have an Attack Pattern up, almost always have automatic shield distribution, am immune to tractor beams most of the time and almost always have CRF up, I can cycle both Emergencies most of the time for good shields and good heals.

Downsides: Tactical Initiative doesn't help much with that setup, sometimes Damage Control Engineers refuse to proc, APB is useless in PvP.

DOFFs:
1x Warp Core Engineer
3x Damage Control Engineer
1x Shield Distribution Officer

[SilentP]

Ayelbourne wrote:

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It's more of a support role. You could try going for a drain build. Use powerdraining Boff abilities and support with powerdraining drones.
I think it's the Dacoit Flight Deck cruiser that has the best powerdraining pets, but simple Power Siphon Drones work well too.

In an elite STF, a good drain carrier can leave an elite tac cube nothing more than a helpless heap of metal in space.

I suppose then I should take away from that is that the ship is not so much a ship for solo play then? I'll experiment with Boff power layouts and carrier craft then.

[intrinsical]

My take is that when you are sufficiently experienced with the game's bridge officer abilities, these bridge officer abilities become the primary form of defense and item sets play a lesser role in your ship's defenses. As a result, I tend to prefer using item sets for offensive advantage rather than only considering defense when it comes to picking my item set.

Don't get me wrong, a strong shield is still important but there are other ways of getting a strong shield (eg, consoles).

[Freman]

Why can't I log in? When I bring the launcher up my user name is there, but it won't accept my password. So I reset my password. Still doesn't work. So I ask for it to send my username, and it sends me snkoury instead of Freman72 which is my online name. So I try snkoury with the new password and that doesn't work either.

WTH??? And what's this Cryptic/Perfect World option thing? Which one am I supposed to use?

(yeah, I haven't played for a few months, so I'm out of the loop)

[Hartzilla2007]

Freman wrote:

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Why can't I log in? When I bring the launcher up my user name is there, but it won't accept my password. So I reset my password. Still doesn't work. So I ask for it to send my username, and it sends me snkoury instead of Freman72 which is my online name. So I try snkoury with the new password and that doesn't work either.

WTH??? And what's this Cryptic/Perfect World option thing? Which one am I supposed to use?

(yeah, I haven't played for a few months, so I'm out of the loop)

If your account is with Cryptic use the Cryptic one, if its with Perfect World use the Perfect World one.