Yeah, Cardassians are nothing compared to Romulans. The worst things the Cardassians have is the Galor's feedback pulse and the Keldon's photonic fleet. One of the Jem'hadar ships has a tractor beam/boarding party combo, but that's nothing compared to boarding party/photonic shockwave/heavy torpedo volley.
Yeah, Cardassians are nothing compared to Romulans. The worst things the Cardassians have is the Galor's feedback pulse and the Keldon's photonic fleet. One of the Jem'hadar ships has a tractor beam/boarding party combo, but that's nothing compared to boarding party/photonic shockwave/heavy torpedo volley.
I suspect I benefit from the Point Defense Turret, which largely resolved my heavy torpedo problems for Romulans. Mind you, I haven't had much trouble with the Galors, but the photonic fleet from the Keldons is beginning to get on my nerves. I suspect i just need to rebuild my armament slightly, get out of Mk IX and into Mk XI+ gear, try and standardise my beam loadout a bit (as it's currently an odd phaser/disruptor/anti-proton combo, based on whatever i picked up).
I also need some decent ground armor/weapons - tempted to go re-run the Devidian arc for the personal shield and an upgraded Type 3 phaser.
At any rate, if you need still need a hand with Romulans, I'll be kicking around in an hour or so.
So I've been playing this for a bit. Just hit 50 and looking for some others to do group stuff. Maybe even see what the starbases are about when that comes out. If I could get an invite to the fleet it would be appreciated. I have two fed characters @offsetend
Bri, if you see me online ill do the romulan section with you, I skipped it with one of my characters.
Just_Bri_ThanksSeething with ragefrom a handbasket.Registered User, ClubPAregular
I also have the point defense stuff, but it is still no joke when they fire three heavy torps at you and you don't manage to target them with your main batteries.
...and when you are done with that; take a folding
chair to Creation and then suplex the Void.
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Librarian's ghostLibrarian, Ghostbuster, and TimSporkRegistered Userregular
Man I never had trouble, but then I have that pre-order autofire turret that just kills heavy torps for me.
Don't know what to tell you mate, honestly. Never had any trouble with it, and I eventually gave up targeting the torps at all, and relied on the point defence. Maybe it helped I'm in a cruiser, so tended just to shrug off the odd hitand EPtS my way through any hairy bits.
Still, I'm usually on as Croaker@CroakerBC , if you happen to be around and need a hand - Steam ID is in sig, so hit me up.
If you're on normal, brace for impact+polarize hull+EPTS will get you through a torpedo volley. On Elite... I've taken two of them, but three is too close.
Fair point, as I'm on Normal, not Elite. I'm intrigued to try Elite, but want to give it a go with a team, rather than jsut cranking my difficulty up solo - if I'm playing on my own, I'm really only doing it for the story, so prefer to amble through.
Semi-idle curiosity: I know the reward drop chances increase, but what's the other side of that? Exactly how 'Elite' are we talking?
Health isn't as ridiculous as it used to be, but it's high enough that I can't take out anything above a frigate in a an alpha strike. Damage is up, especially on torpedoes - if you let a shield facing down, you're probably about to die. In my cruiser, I can trade blows with anything, but in my escort, I can't take prolonged heavy fire.
As for groups, at least in space elite gets nasty fast as groups expand. Around 3 people, dreadnoughts start showing up in battleship groups, and by 5 they can start showing up in anything above a frigate group. Some dreadnoughts are just terrifying on elite.
Hevach on
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Great ScottKing of Wishful ThinkingParagon City, RIRegistered Userregular
I also have the point defense stuff, but it is still no joke when they fire three heavy torps at you and you don't manage to target them with your main batteries.
That comment just makes me miss SFC even more
If anyone knows how to run the STFs, I could use some know-how
Also, I'd like an invite to the PA Fleet (if possible). got a 28 Eng, 46 Sci, 50 Tac on @Vhalidictes.
I picked up a (Purple) Alien Tac BOff the other day. The abilities aren't anything much to write home about, and their space traits don't look great. The ground traits look...OK, I guess? But for some reason they appear to go for some ludicrous sum on the exchange, including an identicla build to the one I acquired, at ~250k+ . Is there a reason for this that I'm missing?
I picked up a (Purple) Alien Tac BOff the other day. The abilities aren't anything much to write home about, and their space traits don't look great. The ground traits look...OK, I guess? But for some reason they appear to go for some ludicrous sum on the exchange, including an identicla build to the one I acquired, at ~250k+ . Is there a reason for this that I'm missing?
I picked up a (Purple) Alien Tac BOff the other day. The abilities aren't anything much to write home about, and their space traits don't look great. The ground traits look...OK, I guess? But for some reason they appear to go for some ludicrous sum on the exchange, including an identicla build to the one I acquired, at ~250k+ . Is there a reason for this that I'm missing?
What's it got on it?
I'll check when I get home ; I'm not massively motivated to sell mine, as I'm not especially hard up for EC - but all the [Purple] Alien Tacs seem to go for some ludicrous sum, so I'm assuming that there is something about that Very Rare class that I'm missing when looking the BOff over. Since they all have different space abilities, I'm guessing something in the traits....
Great ScottKing of Wishful ThinkingParagon City, RIRegistered Userregular
My understanding is that some Alien Boffs can (extremely rarely) have Efficient. I've noticed that some Doffs do too, not sure what that stat is used for, although I've been hanging onto them.
I've also seen that even White-quality Delta Quadrant Doffs have the "Resolve" trait - I don't know what it's good for either...
Aliens can't have efficient, unless it's a recent thing. Saurians and Letheans have that. As for what it does, it gives a sliding power boost that gets better as your settings get lower - it peaks at 25, and hits 0 at 75. The level 3 powers can make it, though - beam overload, torpedo spread, transfer shield strength, and the extra rare boffs that have powers normally only available from captains (the attack patterns not so much, for some reason they're really common on boffs) are a lot more expensive.
Resolve is used in the DS9 expansion missions. Most missions with a gold bar require it or at least benefit from it.
Interestingly, it appears that the BOff was put into my inventory because my candidate roster was full. Another BOff was then put in there after an assignment completed - and overwrote the original, Alien BOff.That's irritating. Still intrigued as to why they are so expensive for outright purchase though.
I also have the point defense stuff, but it is still no joke when they fire three heavy torps at you and you don't manage to target them with your main batteries.
That comment just makes me miss SFC even more
If anyone knows how to run the STFs, I could use some know-how
Also, I'd like an invite to the PA Fleet (if possible). got a 28 Eng, 46 Sci, 50 Tac on @Vhalidictes.
For STFs, as much as I hate to say it, the official STO forums have some threads with good write ups. Mind you, they tend to list one strategy and there are variations of them, but they are a good start. Avoid most other posts on the forums like the plague.
In general it's about DPS, being prepared to not get support for teammates (esp if you PUG), and speaking up in team chat if you don't understand something. I highly recommend you make a chat tab that has just party chat (and whatever else chat you want), but make it specifically those chats, as there's a lot of useless info in the chat tabs.
Good point re: the ability to change appearance. I never would have thought of that.
Had a dig around, and turned up the dratted BOff in Mail, of all places. Apparently I mailed it to myself to prevent accidental deletion, and then promptly forgot, and assumed I'd somehow accidentally deleted it. Good work there. ;-)
Looks like FAW I/Target Weapons II/Cannon: Rapid Fire III/Dispersal Pattern Beta III ; Acute Senses/Telepathic/Superior Aggression/Superior Cold Blooded as Ground Traits and Sweeping Strikes I/Smoke Grenade I/Draw Fire III and Motion Accelerator I as ground abilities.
The other builds on the Exchange are similar (one is nigh identical), I just can't see anything that justifies the cost compared against other BOff's - I tend to assume price is based on space abilities, but they don't seem too great.
Oh, and thanks to @Heroth for pointing out I ust be being dumb. I was, in fact, being dumb.
My guess would be that it's because Rapid Fire 3 is a Commander rank ability and that boff has it in the Lt Commander slot instead. Assuming that's correct it's quite rare as it would allow you to run 2 copies of Rapid Fire 3.
No doubt it's just me misreading again, or similar. It's been one of those days, I'm afraid.
On the other hand, if there's no innate abilities that make Alien BOff's worth keeping, which is where I was originally, then I suppose I'll shift it on the exchange - so net win.
Thanks for the help - appreciated, really.
Since I'm here - do you guys have any recommendations for 'must have' C-Store unlocks for Silver players? I've gathered that the one that increases the credit limit is a good buy, and I'm assuming I should avoid anything that is consumable (Commendation XP boosts, for example) ... are there any other unlocks which are worthwhile? Or am I better off saving up for the start of the next Season?
SnicketysnickThe Greatest Hype Man inWesterosRegistered Userregular
I bought a 100 expansion for my doff roster and I don't really regret it at all. Seems to be just about right to have a decent flexibility in the crew, without any going to waste. Before that I was running into the cap a bit too often. Next on the list is the credit expansion, but that can wait as I've never gone past 7million anyway :P
Just_Bri_ThanksSeething with ragefrom a handbasket.Registered User, ClubPAregular
I think I may get that myself shortly.
As an aside, what do you all feel are the best abilities for your bridge officers? I am a tac captain running with two science and two engineers on away missions, and I am not big on the Theory crafting. I am just brain-wired to best use the abilities I have, so shopping for new abilities don't come naturally.
The science officers are specialized medical for the one and everything else for the other, because I just gotta have my ships doctor along.
...and when you are done with that; take a folding
chair to Creation and then suplex the Void.
Since I'm here - do you guys have any recommendations for 'must have' C-Store unlocks for Silver players? I've gathered that the one that increases the credit limit is a good buy, and I'm assuming I should avoid anything that is consumable (Commendation XP boosts, for example) ... are there any other unlocks which are worthwhile? Or am I better off saving up for the start of the next Season?
If you're ever going to shop for some boosts, always check out the Exchange first.
If lockboxes can be blamed for one good thing, it's making commendation and xp boosts absolutely dirt cheap.
Otherwise, like others have said, Doff roster (100), EC Cap, and Boff expansion (I can't have enough boff variety) , are all pretty nice.
As an aside, what do you all feel are the best abilities for your bridge officers? I am a tac captain running with two science and two engineers on away missions, and I am not big on the Theory crafting. I am just brain-wired to best use the abilities I have, so shopping for new abilities don't come naturally.
The science officers are specialized medical for the one and everything else for the other, because I just gotta have my ships doctor along.
Engineers with turrets, drones, and if you're on normal mortars are pretty deadly (on elite, even the weak guys have shields and they'll just eat mortar fire all afternoon until they're down). They get around the big problem with boffs: they suck at effectively using their powers. Their powers just spawn another gun that mindlessly fires. It also distributes incoming damage (especially with mortars) onto disposable pets. For tough fights you can force them to drop all their turrets before you engage, the volume of fire is more than enough to handle harder enemies.
I usually run a medic, and either 3 pet spam engineers or two pet spam engineers and a tac. As for the tac, I have two I use: A) Grenade spam guy - like quantum mortars, grenades can be useful on normal, potentially oneshotting ensign enemies. Plasma grenades remain useful on elite, since the DOT goes through shields. Sacrificial lamb: Nothing but defensive stuff - draw fire, overwatch, etc. His job is to go first into a dangerous situation (like sadistic foundry authors who put two captain groups on top of each other) and take the huge initial wave of fire while the rest of the team gets set up. He usually dies, but done right he can save me from one of those horrible instant wipes.
Since the Duty Officer system was unveiled, we have experimented with a couple of different ways of expanding the system. Some of these ideas included new species, new active roster abilities, Ultra-Rare Duty Officers, new traits, mixtures of random and set Duty Officers, and Duty Officers bundled with bonus items. From that time, we have learned a lot, both about what works and what does not. The Reinforcements Duty Officer Pack is an effort to bring together some of these lessons and evolve them even further.
In particular, one idea we wanted to revive was the idea of including things other than Duty Officers in a pack. The Duty Officer system itself deals with a large number of items that act both as inputs and outputs, and we wanted to reflect that in this design. More info on that in a bit.
The Reinforcements Pack includes the same breakdown as previous packs: one Blue quality or better, two Green quality or better and four White quality or better. These new Duty Officers come from existing species. For Federation players, this means Human, Andorian, Vulcan, Tellarite, Caitian and Betazoid (the last was in order to put more Telepathic Duty Officers into the hands of Federation players to balance out the KDF Ferasan advantage). For Klingon players, this means Klingon, Orion, Gorn, Nausicaan, Lethean and Ferasan.
All of these Duty Officers are of existing specializations, but they all have alternate active roster abilities. In all, thirteen new active roster powers for eleven specializations have been created. In particular, we expect the new Energy Weapons Officer and new Flight Deck Officer active roster abilities to draw a lot of attention, as well as a non-career specific Security Officer variant active roster power and the return of the now-defunct EMH power, this time on Nurses and Medics.
Beyond these, we will also be introducing - separate from the Reinforcements Pack - standard active roster abilities for many non-Civilian duty officer specializations that never had active roster abilities. Existing Botanists, Biologists, Geologists and Research Lab Scientists will be gaining active roster abilities of their own when Season 6 launches. The new Duty Officers are only the beginning of the new Reinforcements Pack, however.
In addition to any Duty Officers you receive, you also will get one (1) of the following special bonus prizes:
-A stack of Gamma Quadrant commodities (which will be in high demand with the new Fleet Advancement and Starbase system)
-A stack of Gamma Quadrant consumable devices (new devices based on the Gamma Quadrant commodities)
-An Alien Artifact (available in both "Powered" and "Unpowered" versions)
-A random Mk XII Very Rare Console
-or the jackpot prize… a Tuffli Class Freighter Ship Pack
The new Freighter isn't intended for combat, though it actually is functional at that for the earliest part of your captain's career. It can be switched to from your regular ship like a shuttle and is crammed with every Duty Officer system special we could think of. You can buy commodities at merchant ship rates from the interior, it has a Bank, access to the Exchange, a Mail console, Crafting, a Trader with additional Trade Duty Officer assignments, and can even periodically call a Security Ship for Contraband, Tribble Bounty and Prisoner Exchange turn-ins. Here is some more detailed information about this freighter:
-Hull Strength: 17,500
-Shield Modifier: 0.7
-Crew: 100
-Weapons: 2 Fore, 1 Aft
-Device Slots: 5
-Bridge Officer Stations: 1 Ensign Universal, 1 Lieutenant Universal
-Console Modifications: 3 Engineering
-Base Turn Rate: 6 degrees per second
-Impulse Modifier: 0.12
-+5 Power to Engines
-Onboard access to the Bank, Exchange, Mail and Crafting.
-Trade Duty Officer Assignment contact
-Quartermaster Commodity Broker
-Energy Credit Discount
-Can call Security Transport
-Transwarp Drive
I wonder if that ship counts as a shuttle, since you can switch to it at will. Could be seriously OP in shuttle missions. It's slow, but more heavily armed with much better boff stations.
As for the account merging... the new forums suck, but the merging itself we were kind of told would happen. They said that eventually players would be "encouraged" to merge and they hadn't made a final decision about requiring it entirely. The reward isn't terrible for the 2 minutes of work it takes. People on the main forums are complaining about privacy, but forgetting that PWE already has all that information. You're not giving them anything new.
The reward isn't bad for the time it takes... as long as you get something good. I got a purple mk XI plasma single cannon, which goes for about 30 EC over its vendor payout on the exchange.
I like these doff ability changes and the pack seems pretty decent. The freighter is really cool too. Unique, but not super OP because hey, it's a shuttle.
What? heretic is leaving? that really is sad =/ he was always active in the doff in-game channel and all his work on the doff's (apprently even working no-pay over-time to get some finishing touches on shit done) was great.
Curse of the Detroit Lions. When the crappy team has a standout player, eventually they figure out they can get a better offer from a big team.
I hate to wish him bad luck, but the bright side is that crawling back to your old employer is pretty standard when you get eaten by the industry's ridiculous employee turnover. Look at Stahl. He was back at Cryptic about two weeks after Zynga started the big employee purge and benefits strip.
A new set of patch notes for Redshirt are up. Redshirt's taken over Tribble's place (for now) for pre-Season 6 stuff if I recall correctly. I highlighted the interesting bits.
+ Updated the Dilithium store:
.....o Added the Cardassian Spiral Wave Disruptor to Special Items.
..........- This item is only purchaseable by someone who owns a Galor.
.....o Added the EV suits to Special Items and also to the Armor category under Ground Equipment.
+ The Photonic Bridge Officer is now contained within a Requisition Pack when purchased, and can therefore be traded until unpacked.
+ The STF store has been updated to sell Split Beam Antiproton weapons in the rifle category at Mk XI and XII.
+ T'Pren on Memory Alpha can now remove any excess inventory that a player may have by dropping and re-adding the mission to acquire multiple non-discardable tutorial samples.
+ The entry to the Orias system is now only usable by Fed players on the mission "The New Link."
+ There is now an Info option when right-clicking on items in the Account Bank.
+ Removed the Discard option from item right-click menu when the item is in a guild bank.
+ The Armitage has been updated so that aft weapons now properly fire correctly when the Oslo struts are used.
Duty Officers:
+ Added a new Federation-only duty officer assignment chain "Caitian Diaspora".
.....o It rewards a purple Caitian Flight Deck Officer with a new active roster power.
.....o It also provides access to a repeatable assignment for additional flight deck officers and a repeatable assignment for higher-Mark melee weapons.
+ Added a new KDF-only duty officer assignment chain "Unforgiven of Ferasa".
.....o It rewards a purple Ferasan Flight Deck Officer with a new active roster power.
.....o It also provides access to a repeatable assignment for additional flight deck officers and a repeatable assignment for higher-Mark melee weapons.
+ Updated description text on original Flight Deck duty officer active roster power that suggested the reduction in cooldown for Boarding Parties and carrier relaunches was only a chance.
.....o This is only a text change.
+ Your Ferasan Duty Officers have all been to the groomers and they've all had their portraits re-taken to show off their new tattoos, jewelry, and fur colors.
+ Added active roster power to Research Lab Scientists.
.....o Reflective Particles has a chance to cause a Jam Sensors effect on anyone affected by your Charged Particle Burst.
+ Added Flight Deck Officers to Commendation Vendors for Starfleet players.
.....o They can be found under the Military commendation category.
.....o In an attempt to balance this new offering, KDF vendors have gained a few new commendation options in their Military category as well.
+ Resolved issue with magnitudes on the Nurse version of Shipboard Triage.
+ Industrial Energy Cell trade assignments now reward the correct, higher, number of commodities.
+ Updated text reference in Asylum on Andoria assignment to spell the name of the planet correctly.
+ Updated text reference in Attend Banking Conference on Bolarus to spell the name of the planet correctly.
+ Added a new KDF Prisoner assignment from KDF Security Officer contact on Qo'noS.
+ Added a new Holodeck Performance of Hamlet from your ship interior Operations officer.
.....o A critical success on the non-repeatable version of this will result in a handcrafted purple Photonic duty officer.
.....o Yes, the KDF one is in the original Klingon.
+ Removed Decipher assignment from Children's Toy assignment sequence.
.....o This means once you get the Strange Artifact - however you get it - you simply go to your Science Officer on your ship interior to infuse it.
.....o Added more explanatory text to Strange Artifact and Powered Alien Artifact items.
Systems:
+ Increased the stack size on all DS9 Device Consumables from 20 to 50.
+ Resolved a typo in the Aegis sets Reactive Shielding.
+ Resolved typos in the Borg Arm description.
+ All Mk IX Tricobalt Torpedoes will now display the correct rarity and color overlay for their quality.
+ Resolved a typo in Thoron Pulse and Jam Sensors tooltip and description.
+ Updated damage on Fek'ihri S'Kul Fighters ramming power for both NPC and player deployable versions.
.....o Only the warp core breach power was affecting the target.
.....o The damage float shown was actually the fighters own HP as it dies.
.....o This has all been resolved, and the Fek'ihri S'Kul Fighters will do much more damage now on impact.
+ All STF Ground 2-Piece Active Powers now share a 20-second Cooldown Category.
.....o Activating any of the following will place all others from this list into a 20-second cooldown:
..........- Distortion Field (OMEGA)
..........- Adrenal Booster (KHG)
..........- Emergency Shield Capacitor (MACO)
+ The IDIC Tribble can now be used by Klingon Engineering Bridge Officers.
+ Corrected set descriptions for the Omega Force set.
+ STF BORG BALANCE:
.....o "The Cure" - Space
..........- All assimilated Klingon ships have been brought in-line with other STF Borg critters
..........- Reduced innate damage bonuses of Negh'var and Raptors.
..........- Removed Negh'Var's ability to Critically Hit.
..........- Reduced hit points of Raptors.
+ Updated the Bridge Officer Medical Tricorder ability.
.....o Ranks 2-8 were healing less than Rank 1.
.....o This affects only the Bridge Offcier version of Medical Tricorder, not the player version.
+ Updated the descriptions on "Directed Energy Distribution Manifold" and "Pre-Fire Chamber" tactical consoles to accurately reflect their true bonuses.
.....o Previous description for both read "+xx% Energy Damage"
.....o New descriptions will read "+xx% Beam Weapon Damage" and "+xx% Cannon Weapon Damage"
.....o NOTE: This is a display change only - the effects of these consoles already functioned in this manner.
+ Players are now able to discard the "Anti-Borg Unstable Matrix" if they so choose.
EDIT: Looks like once again the time on Redshirt's a quick turn-around as these changes are hitting live today. Sorry!
Tad late on that, those are also the holodeck patch notes from today. Though the stacking change on consumables seems to have not gone through, despite being in the list.
Ouch, even with the full cast, only a 20% chance of crit on the Hamlet performance. Not too sure just what they mean by the non-repeatable version though. Guess I'll find out in 20 hours!
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chair to Creation and then suplex the Void.
I suspect I benefit from the Point Defense Turret, which largely resolved my heavy torpedo problems for Romulans. Mind you, I haven't had much trouble with the Galors, but the photonic fleet from the Keldons is beginning to get on my nerves. I suspect i just need to rebuild my armament slightly, get out of Mk IX and into Mk XI+ gear, try and standardise my beam loadout a bit (as it's currently an odd phaser/disruptor/anti-proton combo, based on whatever i picked up).
I also need some decent ground armor/weapons - tempted to go re-run the Devidian arc for the personal shield and an upgraded Type 3 phaser.
At any rate, if you need still need a hand with Romulans, I'll be kicking around in an hour or so.
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Bri, if you see me online ill do the romulan section with you, I skipped it with one of my characters.
chair to Creation and then suplex the Void.
chair to Creation and then suplex the Void.
Still, I'm usually on as Croaker@CroakerBC , if you happen to be around and need a hand - Steam ID is in sig, so hit me up.
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Semi-idle curiosity: I know the reward drop chances increase, but what's the other side of that? Exactly how 'Elite' are we talking?
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As for groups, at least in space elite gets nasty fast as groups expand. Around 3 people, dreadnoughts start showing up in battleship groups, and by 5 they can start showing up in anything above a frigate group. Some dreadnoughts are just terrifying on elite.
That comment just makes me miss SFC even more
If anyone knows how to run the STFs, I could use some know-how
Also, I'd like an invite to the PA Fleet (if possible). got a 28 Eng, 46 Sci, 50 Tac on @Vhalidictes.
I picked up a (Purple) Alien Tac BOff the other day. The abilities aren't anything much to write home about, and their space traits don't look great. The ground traits look...OK, I guess? But for some reason they appear to go for some ludicrous sum on the exchange, including an identicla build to the one I acquired, at ~250k+ . Is there a reason for this that I'm missing?
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I'll check when I get home
Anyway, more to come.
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I've also seen that even White-quality Delta Quadrant Doffs have the "Resolve" trait - I don't know what it's good for either...
Resolve is used in the DS9 expansion missions. Most missions with a gold bar require it or at least benefit from it.
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One reason i can think of Purple Alien boff's going for so much is that you can make them into pretty much anything appearance wise.
For STFs, as much as I hate to say it, the official STO forums have some threads with good write ups. Mind you, they tend to list one strategy and there are variations of them, but they are a good start. Avoid most other posts on the forums like the plague.
In general it's about DPS, being prepared to not get support for teammates (esp if you PUG), and speaking up in team chat if you don't understand something. I highly recommend you make a chat tab that has just party chat (and whatever else chat you want), but make it specifically those chats, as there's a lot of useless info in the chat tabs.
Had a dig around, and turned up the dratted BOff in Mail, of all places. Apparently I mailed it to myself to prevent accidental deletion, and then promptly forgot, and assumed I'd somehow accidentally deleted it. Good work there. ;-)
Looks like FAW I/Target Weapons II/Cannon: Rapid Fire III/Dispersal Pattern Beta III ; Acute Senses/Telepathic/Superior Aggression/Superior Cold Blooded as Ground Traits and Sweeping Strikes I/Smoke Grenade I/Draw Fire III and Motion Accelerator I as ground abilities.
The other builds on the Exchange are similar (one is nigh identical), I just can't see anything that justifies the cost compared against other BOff's - I tend to assume price is based on space abilities, but they don't seem too great.
Oh, and thanks to @Heroth for pointing out I ust be being dumb. I was, in fact, being dumb.
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On the other hand, if there's no innate abilities that make Alien BOff's worth keeping, which is where I was originally, then I suppose I'll shift it on the exchange - so net win.
Thanks for the help - appreciated, really.
Since I'm here - do you guys have any recommendations for 'must have' C-Store unlocks for Silver players? I've gathered that the one that increases the credit limit is a good buy, and I'm assuming I should avoid anything that is consumable (Commendation XP boosts, for example) ... are there any other unlocks which are worthwhile? Or am I better off saving up for the start of the next Season?
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D3 Steam #TeamTangent STO
As an aside, what do you all feel are the best abilities for your bridge officers? I am a tac captain running with two science and two engineers on away missions, and I am not big on the Theory crafting. I am just brain-wired to best use the abilities I have, so shopping for new abilities don't come naturally.
The science officers are specialized medical for the one and everything else for the other, because I just gotta have my ships doctor along.
chair to Creation and then suplex the Void.
If you're ever going to shop for some boosts, always check out the Exchange first.
If lockboxes can be blamed for one good thing, it's making commendation and xp boosts absolutely dirt cheap.
Otherwise, like others have said, Doff roster (100), EC Cap, and Boff expansion (I can't have enough boff variety) , are all pretty nice.
Engineers with turrets, drones, and if you're on normal mortars are pretty deadly (on elite, even the weak guys have shields and they'll just eat mortar fire all afternoon until they're down). They get around the big problem with boffs: they suck at effectively using their powers. Their powers just spawn another gun that mindlessly fires. It also distributes incoming damage (especially with mortars) onto disposable pets. For tough fights you can force them to drop all their turrets before you engage, the volume of fire is more than enough to handle harder enemies.
I usually run a medic, and either 3 pet spam engineers or two pet spam engineers and a tac. As for the tac, I have two I use: A) Grenade spam guy - like quantum mortars, grenades can be useful on normal, potentially oneshotting ensign enemies. Plasma grenades remain useful on elite, since the DOT goes through shields.
Let's Play Final Fantasy 'II' (Ch10 - 5/17/10)
Q-Ship, here we ******* come.
As for the account merging... the new forums suck, but the merging itself we were kind of told would happen. They said that eventually players would be "encouraged" to merge and they hadn't made a final decision about requiring it entirely. The reward isn't terrible for the 2 minutes of work it takes. People on the main forums are complaining about privacy, but forgetting that PWE already has all that information. You're not giving them anything new.
The reward isn't bad for the time it takes... as long as you get something good. I got a purple mk XI plasma single cannon, which goes for about 30 EC over its vendor payout on the exchange.
Heretic was pretty much the only dev to consistently get shit done.
I hate to wish him bad luck, but the bright side is that crawling back to your old employer is pretty standard when you get eaten by the industry's ridiculous employee turnover. Look at Stahl. He was back at Cryptic about two weeks after Zynga started the big employee purge and benefits strip.
EDIT: Looks like once again the time on Redshirt's a quick turn-around as these changes are hitting live today. Sorry!
Let's Play Final Fantasy 'II' (Ch10 - 5/17/10)