STO Question: Captain Builds & BO Builds

[Technobuilder]

Hello.

Recently a friend of mine who got into Star Trek Online, purchased a Lifetime Subscription for me and got me into the game as well.

So far I've created:
-Federation Commander Level 7 (Engineer Spec flying Escort Ships)
-Klingon Commander Level 3 (Tactical Spec flying Escort Ships)

I've looked online a bit, but haven't really stumbled upon a source of information for STO other that STOwiki.

The forums haven't proven themselves a wealth of information or even a basic roadmap to finding character and/or Bridge Officer builds and whatnot, so I figured I'd ask around here and see if anyone who plays knows of some decent builds and/or resources for other info.

I'm also looking for advice on Space Skills to look out for on BO's that would help in piloting a Tactical Craft as an Engineer Captain.

I've looking for PvE builds mainly.

Any other advice or information would be appreciated. I've been a member here for more than a decade, so feel free to ask me for more info or PM if that's easier.

Thanks in advance. Hope to see you all out there.

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

Well, for PvE it's mostly anything goes.
The eneny NPCs are nit so smart to require much tactics beyond sone good damage dealing. If you are flying Escorts, that is a good step in that direction already. An Engineer as Captain hasn't the most DPS but survives easier of course. Resistance and healing are his specialties in space.
With the right kit he can be a formidable tank on the ground or deal hideous damage with turrets and drones.
The key to success are your skill. Since the recent skill revamp it should be easier to handle your build, every skillbox does pretty much one thing and tells you exactly.
So you just need to know what your goal is and spent points accordingly.
In an Escort damage skills are king. The rest should go to resiatance and healing, even the few science skills you have.
Speccing into offensive sci powers will leave a hole in your defense that isn't easily compensated.

Next step would be to find some consoles that support what you skilled into.
Tactical is the easiest, as those consoles are all about damage.
Engineering has a wider variaty of possible consoles. Resitance, weapon, shield and engine (speed/defense) power are your friends in an escort.
Science just depends on what powers you are using there. There is a console for everything and then the deflector supports those as well. Finding the right deflector might be the hardest part.

On an escort don't bother with beams. You can have good DPS in a prolonged fight but you want high burst damage to finish the fight quickly, so go for Dual (Heavy) Cannons in the front and Turrets in the back. The turrets fire into all directions, so they help with a full frontal attack run.
I would alway go with a single Quantum torpedo in the front. Wait for the enemys shields to drop and then fire a highyield quantum burst. That is nearly an insta kill on every ship. Only tricobalts deal more damage but are slow and can be shot down.

This is not a ready made build but as a guid it should help a lot.

Also if you are still looking to join a fleet, we have our own TrekBBS fleet for casual game play and you are welcome to join.

 

[Rocketeer]

*Note - These are my opinions and may not work for all people. You're actual milage may vary...

The STOwiki is one of the best sources of skills and traits for your character and bridge officers. Some people recommend picking 2 space and 2 ground traits when creating a character or choosing bridge officers. I go with a mix for the BOs; however I favor all space traits for the character.

- All team have at least 1 Tac, Engr and Sci. The additional away team member selection depends on what my goals are for that character and team.

- I tweak a team until it can beat the enemy without my character. (Sometimes I sit on the sidelines and observe their performance.) Then I feel a lot more confident when taking on large or difficult opponents.

- I have several bonus bridge officers. So all away teams have a liberated borg engr. Most also have the photonic sci officer. Most also have the breen tac officer.

- When selecting a bridge officer, look at the traits or passive skills first. Pick the one you want then try to fix their skills if neccessary. Many nice purple (very rare) bridge officers are very affordable these days.

- If you see a Saurian bridge officer with the Efficient skill grab it if possible. Note that I've also received a couple of these from the DOFF assignments (Eval Fed Sci Bridge Officer, I think).

- On an escort ship, the only aft weapon I would use is a turret.

- For PvE, use a deployable satellite weapon to draw enemy fire. They will go after it every time giving you a chance to deal a lethal blow or escape if neccessary.

- Most escorts are highly manuverable, so it's okay to put weapons with small firing arcs on the front.

- If on a team, hang behind any cruisers until close enough to leap out and unleash on the enemy. When I play a tac, I hang near the science ship if there's one on the team. They help with my shields and I provide some cover for them against fast moving targets. If you play PvP, smart opponents will target the science ship. Provide them some cover.

- The vernable spot on most ships is the rear. However, be careful if you try that on engr. In fact, avoid attacking the cruisers until you've eliminated the sci and tac ships.

- Read the mission info. Tac officers in general just charge in. I was in the Gorn Minefield and these guys just keep blasting everying and couldn't understand why the mission didn't advance for them. I satisfied most of the mission objectives by myself but finally got so tired that I abandoned it after an hour.

Hope this helps.

 

[Technobuilder]

Thanks for your thoughts.

Currently I've got 4 characters going...

1.) Engineering Captain commanding an Escort (Read Admiral, Lower)
2.) Tactical Captain commanding a Cruiser (Lt. 8)
3.) Klingon Tactical Captain commanding a Raptor (Commander 4)
4.) Science Captain commanding a Science Vessel. (No clue how to play or spec this one yet) (Freshly Minted)

Any advice on playing Science would be helpful. (I think I've developed a nice hybrid-style for Tactical and Engineering thus far.)

 

[Rocketeer]

Well, Cpt Doc Lee is my Fed Science Officer (Doctor). BG Jamine is my KDF Science (Doctor).

Sci Officers are kind of like wizards in DnD. They get wiped out a lower level but are dangerous at higher levels. My away team builds for Sci chars is 1 Tac rambo, 1 Tac sharpshooter, 1 Engr, and 1 Sci (mix of offensive and healing). The Sci BO would have alternating offensive/healing skills like Tachyon Field/Med Tricorder/Tricorder/Nanite Health Monitor. I also try to pick BO skills that compliment the other away team member skills (that's with all my chars and BOs though).

Doc Lee's ship tactics are to drain the enemy's shield then fire two forward photon torps. Actually he fires torps right away as the enemy's shield are usually down by the time the torps arrive. He has a blue or purple DOFF that reduces cooldown time on the torps so they fire almost continuously. It's a devastating attack on ships with a slow turn rate. He starts firing at 10km and the enemy usually explodes by the time he closes to 5km. Doc Lee is my main character in the TrekBBS fleet. He likes the Nebula ship, but is currently in an Intrepid.

Jasmine until recently was flying in battle cruisers because there wasn't a science ship for the KDF. So Sci abilities were restricted. Her ship tactics involve using plasma or disruptors from a distance. Then using cloak to get in a position to hit the enemy in a vulnerable spot. Kind of sneak and strike tactics. She just picked up the Vo'Quv carrier but hasn't tested it yet. Because it is a Sci ship, she'll be using the upper sci skills like Photonic Shock Wave and Gravity Well. Jasmine is an Orion female so she puts the seduce skill to use on ground combat. Pick the boss and seduce him and he'll take out one or two of his followers. Then just have the team focus on the boss and in most situations when the boss dies the remaining followers vaporize. Originally KDF characters had to participate in a lot of PvP to advance. Jasmine did best when teamed with at least one Tac and Engr. She usually carries a split beam or wide beam weapon.

As far as a Tac char in a cruiser, I recommend the Excelsior Refit as it has a LCDR Tac slot. Make sure to download the latest Spidermitch ship charts. You'll find the link in the STO forums.

When making player characters try to avoid making a jack-of-all-trades (master of none) character. Decide what you want to accomplish with the character then focus on that. It's better to excel in a couple of things than to be so-so in everything.

 

[Technobuilder]

Nice. I fooled around with my Cardassian Science Captain a bit getting her up to DOFF entry level (must farm Colonists for the Colonial Chains... lol) and I have to say I've fallen in love with her already.

Tachyon Beam is a handy tool and a couple of High Yield Torps clear the fields quickly.

I'm digging the Wizard analogy, so I can't wait to see what these guys are like around Captain and Read Admiral Lvl.

 

[Rocketeer]

Nice. I fooled around with my Cardassian Science Captain a bit getting her up to DOFF entry level (must farm Colonists for the Colonial Chains... lol) and I have to say I've fallen in love with her already.

Tachyon Beam is a handy tool and a couple of High Yield Torps clear the fields quickly.

I'm digging the Wizard analogy, so I can't wait to see what these guys are like around Captain and Read Admiral Lvl.

You can acquire and use DOFFs at anytime. You just don't get your initial load until you reach the right level. Send mail to @Rocketeer with what you need. Specify if for KDF.

You should subscribe to the DOFFJOBS channel. My KDF characters are currently farming the Colonial Chain assignments in the Azlesa Expanse. (FED characters are farming Delta Volanis.)

Your ship can hold up to 20 colonists at a time. If you have more, just mail some to yourself (The mail system is my second bank.) Normally you would only use Colonists on assignments that have yellow text, which indicates that it opens up future assignments. Using Colonists in any other mission is just throwing them away.

My Science characters keep two kits, one for healing and one for offense. I can't remember the name of the offensive one, but it has 3 offensive powers plus Triage which is a group heal. This is the one the character uses day-to-day and especially solo play. When in a team, they switch to the healing kit to provide advanced team healing.

 

[Technobuilder]

Just hit Vice-Admiral on my main FED character Julie MacKay (aka Mac) (She's a sniper, and that might be funny if any one here has read the Ring of Fire/1632 series by Eric Flint.

I also just finished doing not one but 2 back-to-back Support missions in ROLOR which I Crit for 2 "Vog The Faithless" Shield Distribution Officers. lol (Talk about luck.)

Thanks for your insights and help Rocketeer

 

[Rocketeer]

I've seen the series but haven't had the time to read it (or anything lately).

Well, I hope I helped. I always like to pass info along.

I've stayed in the Delta Volanis and Azelas Expanse since they are close to home for the FEDs and KDF respectively. Once those are complete, I'll send the characters out further. Ironically, all characters started about the same time on the assignments; however, they are very staggered now. Don't know how that happened.

I try to do other little things in the game also. Really disappointed that the Defari Invasion is offline. In Q's Winter Wonderland, I managed to get the Federation Scarf for Jho'dig. Next is the Frosty Boots. Catherine got those for her Caitian. It's hilarious because Caitians have reduced traction on the ice already.

Drop me a note, @Rocketeer_7