I've been following your channel for a while now, and I do love the "in depth" analysis that you're doing. Your channel is fantastic for those who are new to STO and this is very helpful information. So ... Thanks for your dedication and hard work, because I'm pretty sure that those slides are taking quite some time ! I've been playing SRO since the beta and I'm enjoying every single of your videos :) P.S. : The only thing I would add, would be some in game footage (with or without commentary) of you tanking. I'm a tank myself (eng and sci) and I would love to see you flying those ships :)
Both of these ships have been averaging about 5 mil lately (on PC). Cryptic has flooded the market with lockbox events so get them while they are cheap if you plan to play budget. Also sort of surprised to not see the Particle Emission Plasma Torpedo Launcher. Craft-able yourself, works with High Yield and Spread. Love it. Would work on the front with the romulan on the back. Nailed it on the head with the Tetryon. Currently I have a sci that runs a full Refracting array for Tetryon, combined with 3 pieces from the Incontrovertible Defenses set (Shield, Engine, Deflector), and two from the Krenim Temporal (Disentanglement and Warp Core. Can go three with Omni but I'd rather have Kinetic Cutting Beam).
Wow, I can't believe I forgot about the Particle Emission Plasma Torpedo for this! Yes, that definitely should go in the front for the budget plasma build!
Fantastic video. I learned a couple of things and that is excellent. For Tetryon, one Beam option besides Refracting is the Resonating Tetryon from New Link. They cap at Mk XI Rare, but they have double (5%) the Proc chance. Just an alternative option. Both the Omega Plasma and Romulan Hyper-Plasma are affected by Torp Spread. The Omega can be upgraded by High Yield but it becomes destructible in that mode. I am not sure if the Romulan torp can be upgraded by High Yield.
I use an RPG build with the Hirogen Apex Cruiser and the dif. Tetrions works great in Advanced and i use the powercost reduction because the ship got no aggro Option but it still works even in dps intensive isa grps:)
I love the videos, I've successfully built a MW scott tank with only mission and rep items. One thing I would hope to see in any upcoming build vids, is a layout of what these would look like on the ship. Universal console placement for me has been tricky and hoping to see how you'd lay it out on a ship you recommend.
I Really appreciate the time and work going into your videos they are very informative and easy to understand for a beginner to the game keep up the good work you are doing.
U got amazing videos and a nice voice and you explain everything in details. The only thing I would like to see at least once is that you show all the setups ingame. would be way easier and quicker for me to copy it ;) Thanks Also I dont know and I maybe missed it and I am sorry for that, but it would be nice to have one sheet listing all things you need to buy from the C-Store. So you know, just go there and then start adjusting it.
Thanks to this video now i can finally start to tank some normal difficulty content. Hur'q swarms are still dangerous and if a Borg farts i'm dead but no problem with all the other enemies. I feel that my shields are quite fragile, hard to heal, that's basically the only issue stat-wise. I'm on an Exploration Cruiser Retrofit (T5), phaser build. Kobali 3-set+preeminent warp core. EngCon: Trellium-D, Neutronium, Martok, Reinforced Armament (2-set bonus with Omni). TatCon:Phaser Relay and Quantum Set Console. SciCon: 2 Pax Field Gen and 1 Bellum Field Gen (to be replaced by universal consoles). I'm also using a rather heavely dps focused skill tree, need to bulk up a lot the next time i can retrain. Eng Captain MiracleWorker/Command. I have in program to get the Assimilated Module with Cutting Beam and the Gamma rep. Torpedo+Console. Probably i have to put some gear for shield heal and drain to capitalize the quantum set. Any suggestion guys?
I understand the Voth/Hirogen not getting T6-ified because maybe their best ships are just literally not as strong as others. However, the Undine I don't get because their ships are very powerful. They're literally from Fluidic Space. :think_thonk: moment
The Disruptors are topping the performance ladder at both budget and top dps builds. Phasers are decent, but really shine only at top end dps builds due to marginal bonuses over the disruptor.
I'll be doing a "cookie cutter" tanking video in a few weeks. Several different starships will be mentioned in it, including KDF options. The Fleet Vor'ral is fine to tank with, as long as you weren't planning on using Command: Attract Fire as your cruiser command (if so, the Fleet Orion Blackguard FDAC would be a better choice).
Living Hull is fine as a trait, we just have the endeavor system now that just adds a LOT of base survival stats to starships. Included in that is a good amount of hull regeneration. For a T5U/T5X or T6/T6X starship that actually has scaling HP, the trait is fine. If you are only using a T5 starship (without a T5U or T5X upgrade), you shouldn't consider the trait.
@@CounterYoloGaming I'm currently using a T6-X Eclipse Intelligence Battlecruiser and I'm wondering if the Scott-class MW Cruiser is worth it. I know it's number 7??? on your tanking list but I'm still unsure. Is there any easily accessible ship (money or gameplay accessed) that's also a good carrier as well? I've been considering a Herald Vonph Dreadnought Carrier Antiproton Tank build. How do you feel about the HVDC?
You can tank in the Vonph, but there are better options for the price tag. For the MW cruisers in the C-Store, you want the Tucker-class, not the Scott class (or just get a Fleet MW Battlecruiser if you aren't interested in Command: Attract Fire). sto.gamepedia.com/Fleet_Shepard_Miracle_Worker_Battlecruiser For a tanking carrier, almost any of the flight-deck carriers are good options (8 wpns + 2 hanger bays). In any case, please wait 2 weeks before buying anything, as black friday approaching means everything in the game will be at least 25% off at some point during it. Of those FDC's, there are a few that initially come to mind that are easier to access than an exchange starship: (1) Cardassian Intel Flight-Deck Carrier -- 3k zen from the C-Store (less during the inevitable black friday sale in 2 weeks). It's bridge officer seating is virtually identical to your current starship, with the tradeoff of losing 1 tactical console to get 2 hanger bays. No fleet version, so that means it comes with full stats and consoles. sto.gamepedia.com/Cardassian_Ghemor_Intel_Flight_Deck_Carrier (2) Fleet Suliban Silik Flight-Deck Assault Carrier -- 5 fleet modules from your fleet, if you are in a fleet with T4 military unlocked (so depends on if you are in a bigger fleet as to if this is easily accessible or not). Honestly probably the best tank available from the fleet, and has 2 hanger bays, but has a much different bridge officer layout than your current starship (still 4 base tac consoles though). It's c-store trait/console aren't as great anymore for current STO, which is why I suggest just getting the fleet version. sto.gamepedia.com/Fleet_Suliban_Silik_Flight_Deck_Assault_Carrier
@@CounterYoloGaming thanks so much for the help, bro!!! Love your videos, keep up the great work!! A live gameplay of you tanking and showing how to best use abilities would be a great video in the future. I don't just randomly click on my abilities but I definitely don't know the best ways to use them so any help on actual PvE tanking (or PvP if it doesnt differ much) would be great!!!
Romulan Hyper Torp is enhanced by TS, but it simply splashes to multiple targets a stray of destructible torpedoes, which isn't stellar and some say that it's underperforming the normal torpedo attack of this torpedo.
Thanks for this! Adapting the Disruptor build for my APU Cruiser. Question: Why take the Preeminent Warp Core over Kobali Field Stabilizing Warp Core? Kobali Shield Capacitor seems like a really strong self-heal and team support ability and getting Reactive Nanite Screen from having the 4th Kobali piece seems like a really strong tanking ability since we'll be taking all the hits. Essentially a 20% heal. The only downside I can see is losing the 10% resist from Tzenkethi and the bonus power perks, but it seems well worth it for the strong abilities. Wondering if I'm missing something (I'm new to the game). Thanks again!
Though the rest of the Kobali set is earnable from the "Dust to Dust" mission, the Kobali warp core is only available from the Kobali Samsar Cruiser -- which is only available via Phoenix Prize Packs (epic token, aka 1 in 500 odds from that system) at the current time [previously earned via anniversary tokens like the recent Vulcan Scout Ship]. The 4-piece set is great if you have access to it all, but the Tzenkethi warp core is the best replacement that is available from missions if you can't access the Kobali one (which was in my criteria in this video). The point of this video was to give a decent option for people joining the game at *any* *point* to have a decent workable build anyone can work towards without any limited rewards restrictions needed to make the build work.
My budget science tank build would work better on the breen sarr theln, though the original 2-hanger carriers in the game are honestly in a tough spot right now. If you want to use these suggestions for a breen tank, I would suggest using the Breen Rezreth instead if you have that ship available. The Sarr Theln has science-heavy bridge officer abilities, only 6 weapons, and no cruiser commands (nor access to a secondary deflector) -- which is really unfortunate and really can't make pure energy builds as effective.
@@CounterYoloGaming I do have access to the other breen ship, it's what I was initially using as an anti proton build I cobbled together. Im in the process of acquiring the polar polaron stuff when I get on. I just wasnt sure if the shield modifier on the sarr would be better and potentially pairing it with the shield heal pets. I'll check out your science vid too
My general rule-of-thumb for base stats with tanking in a cruiser: does the starship have at least 1.25+ hull ratio and 1.10+ shield ratio? Then it is easily doable. A lower shield ratio means you will need extra abilities/pets to supplement it, and a lower hull ratio means you will probably need some extra built-in survivability, gimmick invulnerabilities or battle cloaking on the ship to make it work. Many of the "modern" discovery stated starships are ridiculously over-stated frankly, which is why some of these older ships look so weak in comparison. Science tanks can get away with a lower hull ratio (as few science starships can get that high), but have some extra science-y defense traits available to them that both improve survivability AND increases DPS.
actualy as for uniform on jemhadar and vanguard there is another opthion align with Starfleet and u unlock a uniform for ur jemhadar not sure if same if u go with kdf but im sure there is that is if your into all that
True, though Romulan-faction captains have a similar thing going for them with their aligned-faction outfits. I didn't include Jem'hadar faction captains in this video as, outside of cosmetics, they are literally just a federation or klingon faction captain in the game in terms of starships they can access, just starting at level 60 instead of level 1 (with the exception of the veteran destroyer -- JH captains should "eventually" get their own exclusive one).
Could you please address battle cloaks in terms of tanking? I'm piloting a Silik atm and would love to add a new dimension to my tanking abilities. Thanks in advance and love the channel.
Battle Cloak tanking is definitely in my "to-do" list of things to cover on the channel (and my favorite playstyle, so it will be covered at some point). Right now I plan on covering in later February or March, but things could change.
Are you absolutely sure outgoing healing doesn't apply to outgoing heals you apply to yourself? Pretty sure hazard emitters is buffed from sustained radiant field no matter who the target is. Could be wrong, but I noticed a difference.
I didn't talk about the console much in the video, so I understand the confusion (and I may have said it wrong as well, it has been a while since I recorded this). Outgoing heals means that *you* are doing the healing, so if your heal is going to your own ship you will still get the healing enhancement. What the console is really saying is that it doesn't also buff incoming healing from sources other than yourself (so like another ship is sending healing your way, this console doesn't also amplify that healing even further). When you see something that buffs healing and it doesn't specify outgoing (your ship is the source of the healing) vs incoming (a ship that isn't yours is healing), it will buff both types if it isn't specified.
@@CounterYoloGaming So in that respect, I would assume that console also improves pure self heals as well right? That's how I understood it. I been sneaking it into any of my tank builds. Haven't done extensive testing but I remember taking it off and seeing a difference on at least hazard emitters.
Though I am not exactly a hanger person, I appreciate the buff to my favorite starship subclass; I am more concerned about if the pricing will increase on the exchange for them (making them no longer budget for tanking), and concerns of how Cryptic will address the 2-hanger subclasses going forward. There are a lot of 6-weapon ones that need some sort of buff in the future with this change.
@@CounterYoloGaming All depends if Cryptic wants to break from every game they've made recently and actually make all classes except DPS actually matter. That's the only way you'll see some of those significant changes. Until then, I'm glad to see this one working out.
1) Why do you dislike Aux to SIF? It's a spamable hull heal with a sizable damage resistance buff that, with just one copy, is up 2/3rds of the time. 2) The assimilated Module only requires tier 1 Omega rep to claim.
Aux to SIF It's a strong ability, but I personally like abilities that take more thought and strategy to use properly -- that's it. If I ever get to play on console, it's an ability I would probably use and have defaulted to constantly have used for simplicity. Thanks for the correction on the assimilated module!
A2Sif is a key component for Miracle Worker oriented builds. It's not such a stellar skill since heals attract NPCs and spamming them is not the best idea every 18-22 seconds.
Just a quick comment. I have gottne so much out of these videos so thanks for that. Superior Romulan Operative is a highly desirable trait now. BOFFs with this trait are averaging 500K for blue and 5M for purple and time I check they are going up in price. Not really budget.
I’m sorry that was confusing for you. Here’s my main reasons I recommend Aliens for most players: (1) Availability. In this video, I was trying to make it as general as possible for the playerbase, and aliens is the most available race for players - able to be used for all factions except for Dominion & TOS captains. (2) Versatility. Alongside its availability, aliens have an additional trait slot on ground & space instead of a forced racial trait like every other race in the game. This allows aliens to choose what playstyle you want to be instead of the other races that do have a more optimal playstyle based on their traits. Additionally, aliens have access to most of the other “free” traits in the game for space/ground, while some of the other ones have trait restrictions as well based on the race selection. (3) Appearance. Some people choose their race for the looks available to them. Aliens have access to a vast majority of the looks in the game - allowing people to create a species in Star Trek that isn’t currently available in-game, or to have the alien trait versatility but the looks of a current race in the game. (*) All in all, it takes a thought-out situational playstyle or an exclusive trait to another race is why strategically you would choose a race that isn’t an alien (e.g. melee-specific combat). I might cover an in-depth race breakdown later on the channel (for both captain & bridge officers in space & ground combat).
This video is for budget-end tanking, and is relatively up-to-date at the moment considering my limitations I set at 1:43 If you are interested in a super high-end tank build, I would look at Florian's current builds on reddit. He often considered the best tank player in the game, and explains every little choice he makes there -- www.reddit.com/r/stobuilds/comments/9vl12e/florians_nautilus_a_t6_yorktown_heavy_tank_aod/
I would say superior techie, accurate, beam training and elusive which are fleet upgrades at k-13. Techie goes from +20 to +30 for example. sto.gamepedia.com/Trait_Enhancements Star ship traits I use is honored dead(federation), highly specialized, all decks on hand, weapon system synergy. For personnal I also use positive feedback loop. Enlightened, reflective armor plating, repair crew(which is a must have for me), hive defense, and nanite repair matrix. For torpedo builds I would say using resonating payload modification is a must have.
The trait enhancements (and other traits you mentioned) are good. They however don't fall in the criteria for this video (no fleet elements in the builds nor things from the exchange & C-Store, and no upgrading), but the link is good to know for those that aren't aware of it in-game.
So, this video is SUPER useful, since i want to learn how to use a cruiser/tank well, but i have a couple questions. How important are things like Gravity well, and Attract fire? For instance, i love the t6 galaxy/galaxy-x, but it does not seem to be able to slot any stuff like gravity well. Also, with the hints of an upcoming new faction, maybe disco Klingon, how are battlecruisers like the t6 Mogh at tanking since they do not have attract fire, or are they better off with DPS builds? finally, I have the ability to run Aux2bat, if i, lets say, take this or similar build, and want to aux2bat it, what could/should i change about it? sorry if these are obnoxious questions, but thanks for an help.
Great questions, but my answers aren't going to be very concise sadly... (1a) Gravity well isn't necessary for a tank build, but it is definitely NICE to have on the build to both keep enemies in your broadsiding arcs and keep them away from allies that you are protecting (I have a video on weapon arcs for tanking if you don't know what I mean here). It's nice to have for sure, but it's not a dealbreaker on a starship if you don't have it there. (1b) Command: Attract Fire is a bit more problematic if you don't have it. It not only enhances your personal threat generation, but decreases the threat of allies in your 5km radius. Without this cruiser ability, you have to rely on just your DPS & threatening stance to keep the heat off of your allies. It's definitely doable, but is basically turning on HARD MODE for tanking. Even most of the high-DPS tanks on STO Reddit use cruisers with Command: Attract Fire, so it's not to be undervalued at all. **Many in the DPS crowd hate this cruiser command because it gives tanks an excuse to have low DPS on their ships, while many of them want us to still be in the same relative ballpark as they are. Unlike DPS, there isn't really one best way to tank, but many are super opinionated (and toxic) in their circles about it. Are you taking a lot of attacks instead of your allies? Are you surviving through it? Then you are performing well. The balance of DPS & durability is up to you, though you get less agency on it without that cruiser command. **When I can, I will talk about how to work around not having this crucial cruiser command for tanking (especially KDF, who only have few KDF-specific tanking options available to them). The original plan was for me to talk about this in tomorrow's video actually, but other things came up I have to address first... (2) They are definitely better at DPS-type builds, but you can modify them with some extra survivability options to make them passable for tanking. As mentioned in point 1b, I will cover this in greater detail when I can. **The KDF faction were designed originally as DPS & PvP faction, not a PvE faction -- so their ships and bridge officers that affected space reflected this heavily originally. With the majority of the community FED or FED-aligned wanting KDF stuff for them, Cryptic gave in and they have most of what KDF originally had to themselves. Hence in the current climate (KDF without anything unique for themselves in their faction), the KDF are hurting in starships & the playerbase in general and pushes profitability toward making more FED starships and such -- a fun cycle... **I've heard rumors they might try a DISCO KDF faction, but it isn't likely as they need to make a profit (and it will be costly in the long run). There needs to be enough KDF-exclusive stuff from the get-go with a new KDF faction that DPS-chasers want to go there, or I don't see it taking off and being profitable for Cryptic. You also have to take into consideration that missions take 2x as long to beta test as we have 6 factions (+ allegiances) now the testers have to use (FED, KDF, RRWx2, TOS FED, DSC FED, & DOMx2) not to mention they have to do it for male & female -- so that makes at least 14 tests per mission assuming that everything goes well for them. A new KDF faction would increase that process even further. **It's more likely that they would just add the DSC Klingon cosmetic aspects to the game for now in 4-6 months, and leaving it open for a DSC Klingon faction in the future. (3) With Aux-to-Batt builds (2 AtB abilities & 3 duty officers to lower cooldowns), you are capitalizing on having as low of cooldowns on everything as much as possible so you can just spam everything (ok, a little simplistic vs reality, but close enough). No need to have multiple copies of abilities in those builds, as the cooldowns should be low enough to not need any extra (besides 2 AtB). Use the Cold Hearted trait if you have that older winter ship + controlled countermeasures space rep trait (cold hearted procs counts for it). Also with AtB builds, you won't use any of the conflicting Aux-to-something else abilities. My rule-of-thumb is that you ideally want at least 6 engineering bridge officer abilities available to do an AtB build, though 5 can work if you are careful. Have the AtB abilities on the lowest engineering slots possible, as you are just using them for the cooldown stuff from the duty officers instead of its other power benefits. **AtB has a bit too much spam for me (I like more thought in the battle of what to do), so I don't like using it, and don't plan on covering it on the channel in the near future. I might cover it eventually, but it isn't a priority for me.
Well, this video could be a bit dated. As far as beam weapons, I would say 5-6 but no more than six. Why? the enemy forces should be in front of you. Yes they some could move behind. So, it depends on what you have ship wise. If 4/4 then I would use 6 beam weapons as you said with a torp in the front and mines in the back. If 5/3 then I would just have beams in the back, 2 in the front, 1 torp and 2 cannons; 90 or 180 degrees. It's also possible to use 3 beam in the rear, 2 in the front with two torps and one cannon 45. But that could make it hard to hold them unless you are doing massive damage. The 3/5 I don't consider great tanking ships. So, am not sure what do about that one. The debate is on with myself. As far as energy types? As far as the numbers I have seen with beam or cannon its coming out to be the same. Unless you have a number of consoles that makes one more out of it. It really doesn't matter. But I will say then need to be the same type all the way around. Rainbow builds some to be problematic.
For beam array builds (the generally best strategy for most tank builds in this game, so you can focus on threat and survival instead of optimal dps positioning), the strategy is to keep enemies to the left & right side of your starship -- also known as "broadsiding" in this game -- as beam arrays have a 70 degree arc that is shared between beam arrays on the front of your ship & beam arrays on the back of your ship. Feel free to watch my video on the viability of Single Cannons on the channel, where I talk about the 6 options for energy builds in the game. th-cam.com/video/SeOgmZ6A894/w-d-xo.html
Temporal chroniton is an antiproton variant -- if you have antiproton consoles they will enhance chroniton weaponry as well. It is really weird how Cryptic worded it, but it is more clear in the description if you read it -- sto.gamepedia.com/Temporal_Defense_Chroniton_weapons_(space)
40 mil EC isn't that much honestly. Save and save, do all the doff missions you can, trade in 99% of your rep boxes, and you can get there. As for the 15 mil ceiling, trade dilithium for zen then pay to have the ceiling removed.
A few things to keep in mind with this video: (1) I do mention that I have the Voth Bastion just as an example **placeholder** **starship** for easiness (as I didn't want to show 3 different starships in the video, just one cross-faction one). Everything on the starship itself in my build here (traits & consoles) are all available from either missions, reputation, or inherent with your captains (like basic space/ground traits), so it shouldn't be that hard to transfer the items & weapons of this starship to whatever T5 you have chosen to get with your faction. (2) At the time of recording this video -- 11 months ago -- it happened to be the cheapest cruiser on the exchange with a built-in T5U upgrade on it; combine this with the fact that most players have around 1-2M ec when they get to level 65, it **used** to be a solid budget starship to get. None of the starships you get with leveling have a free T5U upgrade, so having one built into a starship was a huge value savings that most of the community doesn't see. Also factors into point #1. (3) With the release of the T6 Voth Rampart, Cryptic Studios discontinued the availabiliy of the T5 Voth Bastion from the infinity prize pack's T5 starship choice requisition list -- making the starship a much rarer starship in the game. www.arcgames.com/en/games/star-trek-online/news/detail/11225813-the-voth-evolve-in-the-infinity-lock-box%21 (4) The Voth Rampart also came with the changes to flight-deck cruisers, having them become flight-deck carriers instead. This gave them access to dual cannons (that they couldn't use previously) alongside having 2 total hanger bays instead of the original one -- which reinvigorated the desire for carrier in general in this game. Those changes additionally made people finally realize how good the Voth Bastion used to be, so people that wanted the Rampart but couldn't afford it started buying out the Bastions on the exchange. (5) If you know some basic economics, you can probably understand what quickly happened here. Demand skyrocketed for both starships just as the supply of the cheaper T5 version was discontinued permanently, leading to the Bastion of a 1-2M EC price originally skyrocketing into the 40-50M EC in the first week of release of the Rampart -- then after the excitement left, people realized it was just the true budget players that actually wanted the starship. This lead the price to fall and stabilize right around 15M EC -- which is the energy cap for players that don't buy the energy cap increase from the Zen Store in-game. (C) In conclusion, I honestly didn't know what was going to happen in the player economy -- nor Cryptic's plans -- 7 months out from making this video when the changes happened to this starship, nor 11 months out when you happened to watch the video. The player market changes and fluctuates constantly, which is why the entire build of this video doesn't rely on the player economy at all. The starship chosen here is just there as convenience and to help point out to shrewd players at the time what I felt was the best deal on the exchange. The last I checked, the generally cheapest T5 starships at the moment with a built-in T5U upgrade on the PC exchange were the Hirogon Hunter Heavy Escort & Ferengi D'Kora Marauder -- though they did sit around 8-9M EC the last I checked, so some of the retiring of T5 starships does seem to have a general inflation of pricing of starships on the exchange.
I really enjoy the fact you use items that can be found and used by a newbie as I am
I've been following your channel for a while now, and I do love the "in depth" analysis that you're doing. Your channel is fantastic for those who are new to STO and this is very helpful information. So ... Thanks for your dedication and hard work, because I'm pretty sure that those slides are taking quite some time ! I've been playing SRO since the beta and I'm enjoying every single of your videos :)
P.S. : The only thing I would add, would be some in game footage (with or without commentary) of you tanking. I'm a tank myself (eng and sci) and I would love to see you flying those ships :)
Both of these ships have been averaging about 5 mil lately (on PC). Cryptic has flooded the market with lockbox events so get them while they are cheap if you plan to play budget. Also sort of surprised to not see the Particle Emission Plasma Torpedo Launcher. Craft-able yourself, works with High Yield and Spread. Love it. Would work on the front with the romulan on the back.
Nailed it on the head with the Tetryon. Currently I have a sci that runs a full Refracting array for Tetryon, combined with 3 pieces from the Incontrovertible Defenses set (Shield, Engine, Deflector), and two from the Krenim Temporal (Disentanglement and Warp Core. Can go three with Omni but I'd rather have Kinetic Cutting Beam).
Wow, I can't believe I forgot about the Particle Emission Plasma Torpedo for this! Yes, that definitely should go in the front for the budget plasma build!
Fantastic video. I learned a couple of things and that is excellent.
For Tetryon, one Beam option besides Refracting is the Resonating Tetryon from New Link. They cap at Mk XI Rare, but they have double (5%) the Proc chance. Just an alternative option.
Both the Omega Plasma and Romulan Hyper-Plasma are affected by Torp Spread. The Omega can be upgraded by High Yield but it becomes destructible in that mode. I am not sure if the Romulan torp can be upgraded by High Yield.
thank you very much for this and the other videos on your channel, i'm recently started with STO - these helped me al lot to get into the stuff
I use an RPG build with the Hirogen Apex Cruiser and the dif. Tetrions works great in Advanced and i use the powercost reduction because the ship got no aggro Option but it still works even in dps intensive isa grps:)
I love the videos, I've successfully built a MW scott tank with only mission and rep items. One thing I would hope to see in any upcoming build vids, is a layout of what these would look like on the ship. Universal console placement for me has been tricky and hoping to see how you'd lay it out on a ship you recommend.
I Really appreciate the time and work going into your videos they are very informative and easy to understand for a beginner to the game keep up the good work you are doing.
Just making my first tank now, engi, and I wish you put the Skills used. I can't find a recommendation for those anywhere.
I've been looking for a tank skill tree too. They're nowhere to be found.
@@Ken19700 Yeah! most channels don't mention that or the boff stations abilities
Tanking in the T6X era -- you will find your info there.
U got amazing videos and a nice voice and you explain everything in details. The only thing I would like to see at least once is that you show all the setups ingame. would be way easier and quicker for me to copy it ;) Thanks
Also I dont know and I maybe missed it and I am sorry for that, but it would be nice to have one sheet listing all things you need to buy from the C-Store. So you know, just go there and then start adjusting it.
Thanks to this video now i can finally start to tank some normal difficulty content. Hur'q swarms are still dangerous and if a Borg farts i'm dead but no problem with all the other enemies. I feel that my shields are quite fragile, hard to heal, that's basically the only issue stat-wise. I'm on an Exploration Cruiser Retrofit (T5), phaser build. Kobali 3-set+preeminent warp core. EngCon: Trellium-D, Neutronium, Martok, Reinforced Armament (2-set bonus with Omni). TatCon:Phaser Relay and Quantum Set Console. SciCon: 2 Pax Field Gen and 1 Bellum Field Gen (to be replaced by universal consoles). I'm also using a rather heavely dps focused skill tree, need to bulk up a lot the next time i can retrain. Eng Captain MiracleWorker/Command. I have in program to get the Assimilated Module with Cutting Beam and the Gamma rep. Torpedo+Console. Probably i have to put some gear for shield heal and drain to capitalize the quantum set. Any suggestion guys?
I wish the Voth/Undine/Hirogen ships got T6ified. Would love a proper T6 Bastion
I understand the Voth/Hirogen not getting T6-ified because maybe their best ships are just literally not as strong as others. However, the Undine I don't get because their ships are very powerful. They're literally from Fluidic Space. :think_thonk: moment
The Disruptors are topping the performance ladder at both budget and top dps builds. Phasers are decent, but really shine only at top end dps builds due to marginal bonuses over the disruptor.
as the Voth ship is harder to get, would you do a Tank build for a narendra and/or the KDF equivalent(If any)
I'll be doing a "cookie cutter" tanking video in a few weeks. Several different starships will be mentioned in it, including KDF options. The Fleet Vor'ral is fine to tank with, as long as you weren't planning on using Command: Attract Fire as your cruiser command (if so, the Fleet Orion Blackguard FDAC would be a better choice).
Looking for a temporal dreadnought cruiser tank/dps build. Any suggestions appreciated, everything I find seems outdated.
I might cover this eventually, with a slightly less budget build on the 31st dreadnought, 31st science vessel, and T6 flagship scimitar.
I know it's an old video but I really hope you see my question. Why is the Living Hull Trait not viable? Are the other options just better?
Living Hull is fine as a trait, we just have the endeavor system now that just adds a LOT of base survival stats to starships. Included in that is a good amount of hull regeneration. For a T5U/T5X or T6/T6X starship that actually has scaling HP, the trait is fine. If you are only using a T5 starship (without a T5U or T5X upgrade), you shouldn't consider the trait.
@@CounterYoloGaming I'm currently using a T6-X Eclipse Intelligence Battlecruiser and I'm wondering if the Scott-class MW Cruiser is worth it. I know it's number 7??? on your tanking list but I'm still unsure. Is there any easily accessible ship (money or gameplay accessed) that's also a good carrier as well?
I've been considering a Herald Vonph Dreadnought Carrier Antiproton Tank build. How do you feel about the HVDC?
You can tank in the Vonph, but there are better options for the price tag. For the MW cruisers in the C-Store, you want the Tucker-class, not the Scott class (or just get a Fleet MW Battlecruiser if you aren't interested in Command: Attract Fire). sto.gamepedia.com/Fleet_Shepard_Miracle_Worker_Battlecruiser
For a tanking carrier, almost any of the flight-deck carriers are good options (8 wpns + 2 hanger bays). In any case, please wait 2 weeks before buying anything, as black friday approaching means everything in the game will be at least 25% off at some point during it. Of those FDC's, there are a few that initially come to mind that are easier to access than an exchange starship:
(1) Cardassian Intel Flight-Deck Carrier -- 3k zen from the C-Store (less during the inevitable black friday sale in 2 weeks). It's bridge officer seating is virtually identical to your current starship, with the tradeoff of losing 1 tactical console to get 2 hanger bays. No fleet version, so that means it comes with full stats and consoles. sto.gamepedia.com/Cardassian_Ghemor_Intel_Flight_Deck_Carrier
(2) Fleet Suliban Silik Flight-Deck Assault Carrier -- 5 fleet modules from your fleet, if you are in a fleet with T4 military unlocked (so depends on if you are in a bigger fleet as to if this is easily accessible or not). Honestly probably the best tank available from the fleet, and has 2 hanger bays, but has a much different bridge officer layout than your current starship (still 4 base tac consoles though). It's c-store trait/console aren't as great anymore for current STO, which is why I suggest just getting the fleet version. sto.gamepedia.com/Fleet_Suliban_Silik_Flight_Deck_Assault_Carrier
@@CounterYoloGaming thanks so much for the help, bro!!! Love your videos, keep up the great work!! A live gameplay of you tanking and showing how to best use abilities would be a great video in the future. I don't just randomly click on my abilities but I definitely don't know the best ways to use them so any help on actual PvE tanking (or PvP if it doesnt differ much) would be great!!!
Romulan Hyper Torp is enhanced by TS, but it simply splashes to multiple targets a stray of destructible torpedoes, which isn't stellar and some say that it's underperforming the normal torpedo attack of this torpedo.
Thanks for this! Adapting the Disruptor build for my APU Cruiser.
Question: Why take the Preeminent Warp Core over Kobali Field Stabilizing Warp Core? Kobali Shield Capacitor seems like a really strong self-heal and team support ability and getting Reactive Nanite Screen from having the 4th Kobali piece seems like a really strong tanking ability since we'll be taking all the hits. Essentially a 20% heal. The only downside I can see is losing the 10% resist from Tzenkethi and the bonus power perks, but it seems well worth it for the strong abilities. Wondering if I'm missing something (I'm new to the game). Thanks again!
Though the rest of the Kobali set is earnable from the "Dust to Dust" mission, the Kobali warp core is only available from the Kobali Samsar Cruiser -- which is only available via Phoenix Prize Packs (epic token, aka 1 in 500 odds from that system) at the current time [previously earned via anniversary tokens like the recent Vulcan Scout Ship]. The 4-piece set is great if you have access to it all, but the Tzenkethi warp core is the best replacement that is available from missions if you can't access the Kobali one (which was in my criteria in this video). The point of this video was to give a decent option for people joining the game at *any* *point* to have a decent workable build anyone can work towards without any limited rewards restrictions needed to make the build work.
@@CounterYoloGaming Ah that makes sense. I assumed you could get it from Dust without even looking.
Would this work ok with sarr theln?
My budget science tank build would work better on the breen sarr theln, though the original 2-hanger carriers in the game are honestly in a tough spot right now. If you want to use these suggestions for a breen tank, I would suggest using the Breen Rezreth instead if you have that ship available. The Sarr Theln has science-heavy bridge officer abilities, only 6 weapons, and no cruiser commands (nor access to a secondary deflector) -- which is really unfortunate and really can't make pure energy builds as effective.
@@CounterYoloGaming I do have access to the other breen ship, it's what I was initially using as an anti proton build I cobbled together. Im in the process of acquiring the polar polaron stuff when I get on. I just wasnt sure if the shield modifier on the sarr would be better and potentially pairing it with the shield heal pets. I'll check out your science vid too
My general rule-of-thumb for base stats with tanking in a cruiser: does the starship have at least 1.25+ hull ratio and 1.10+ shield ratio? Then it is easily doable. A lower shield ratio means you will need extra abilities/pets to supplement it, and a lower hull ratio means you will probably need some extra built-in survivability, gimmick invulnerabilities or battle cloaking on the ship to make it work. Many of the "modern" discovery stated starships are ridiculously over-stated frankly, which is why some of these older ships look so weak in comparison. Science tanks can get away with a lower hull ratio (as few science starships can get that high), but have some extra science-y defense traits available to them that both improve survivability AND increases DPS.
Just out of curiosity, how much DPS do you average with these builds?
actualy as for uniform on jemhadar and vanguard there is another opthion align with Starfleet and u unlock a uniform for ur jemhadar not sure if same if u go with kdf but im sure there is that is if your into all that
True, though Romulan-faction captains have a similar thing going for them with their aligned-faction outfits. I didn't include Jem'hadar faction captains in this video as, outside of cosmetics, they are literally just a federation or klingon faction captain in the game in terms of starships they can access, just starting at level 60 instead of level 1 (with the exception of the veteran destroyer -- JH captains should "eventually" get their own exclusive one).
Could you please address battle cloaks in terms of tanking? I'm piloting a Silik atm and would love to add a new dimension to my tanking abilities. Thanks in advance and love the channel.
Battle Cloak tanking is definitely in my "to-do" list of things to cover on the channel (and my favorite playstyle, so it will be covered at some point). Right now I plan on covering in later February or March, but things could change.
@@CounterYoloGaming Cheers mate, thank you so much for your reply, can't wait.
Are you absolutely sure outgoing healing doesn't apply to outgoing heals you apply to yourself? Pretty sure hazard emitters is buffed from sustained radiant field no matter who the target is. Could be wrong, but I noticed a difference.
I didn't talk about the console much in the video, so I understand the confusion (and I may have said it wrong as well, it has been a while since I recorded this). Outgoing heals means that *you* are doing the healing, so if your heal is going to your own ship you will still get the healing enhancement. What the console is really saying is that it doesn't also buff incoming healing from sources other than yourself (so like another ship is sending healing your way, this console doesn't also amplify that healing even further). When you see something that buffs healing and it doesn't specify outgoing (your ship is the source of the healing) vs incoming (a ship that isn't yours is healing), it will buff both types if it isn't specified.
@@CounterYoloGaming So in that respect, I would assume that console also improves pure self heals as well right? That's how I understood it. I been sneaking it into any of my tank builds. Haven't done extensive testing but I remember taking it off and seeing a difference on at least hazard emitters.
I don't know what to choose for space and ground skill
I talk about the skilltrees here: th-cam.com/video/4UoeDxY2C5k/w-d-xo.html
Hey Counter, Voth Bastion Flight Deck *Carrier* now... are you as excited as I am? Or do you hate the change up.
Though I am not exactly a hanger person, I appreciate the buff to my favorite starship subclass; I am more concerned about if the pricing will increase on the exchange for them (making them no longer budget for tanking), and concerns of how Cryptic will address the 2-hanger subclasses going forward. There are a lot of 6-weapon ones that need some sort of buff in the future with this change.
@@CounterYoloGaming All depends if Cryptic wants to break from every game they've made recently and actually make all classes except DPS actually matter. That's the only way you'll see some of those significant changes. Until then, I'm glad to see this one working out.
1) Why do you dislike Aux to SIF? It's a spamable hull heal with a sizable damage resistance buff that, with just one copy, is up 2/3rds of the time.
2) The assimilated Module only requires tier 1 Omega rep to claim.
Aux to SIF It's a strong ability, but I personally like abilities that take more thought and strategy to use properly -- that's it. If I ever get to play on console, it's an ability I would probably use and have defaulted to constantly have used for simplicity. Thanks for the correction on the assimilated module!
A2Sif is a key component for Miracle Worker oriented builds. It's not such a stellar skill since heals attract NPCs and spamming them is not the best idea every 18-22 seconds.
Just a quick comment. I have gottne so much out of these videos so thanks for that. Superior Romulan Operative is a highly desirable trait now. BOFFs with this trait are averaging 500K for blue and 5M for purple and time I check they are going up in price. Not really budget.
I went back a few times I couldn’t figure out why Alien captain?
I’m sorry that was confusing for you. Here’s my main reasons I recommend Aliens for most players:
(1) Availability. In this video, I was trying to make it as general as possible for the playerbase, and aliens is the most available race for players - able to be used for all factions except for Dominion & TOS captains.
(2) Versatility. Alongside its availability, aliens have an additional trait slot on ground & space instead of a forced racial trait like every other race in the game. This allows aliens to choose what playstyle you want to be instead of the other races that do have a more optimal playstyle based on their traits. Additionally, aliens have access to most of the other “free” traits in the game for space/ground, while some of the other ones have trait restrictions as well based on the race selection.
(3) Appearance. Some people choose their race for the looks available to them. Aliens have access to a vast majority of the looks in the game - allowing people to create a species in Star Trek that isn’t currently available in-game, or to have the alien trait versatility but the looks of a current race in the game.
(*) All in all, it takes a thought-out situational playstyle or an exclusive trait to another race is why strategically you would choose a race that isn’t an alien (e.g. melee-specific combat). I might cover an in-depth race breakdown later on the channel (for both captain & bridge officers in space & ground combat).
@@CounterYoloGaming thanks for the extra info.
Budget build could mean free to build, unlock and get for free inc random pickups but not inc dilithium upgrade equipment.
can you please make an updated video for 2019
This video is for budget-end tanking, and is relatively up-to-date at the moment considering my limitations I set at 1:43 If you are interested in a super high-end tank build, I would look at Florian's current builds on reddit. He often considered the best tank player in the game, and explains every little choice he makes there -- www.reddit.com/r/stobuilds/comments/9vl12e/florians_nautilus_a_t6_yorktown_heavy_tank_aod/
So, long story short, invest lots of time in Reputation quests? Got it, but some factions are better than others folks, so plan ahead. :D
I would say superior techie, accurate, beam training and elusive which are fleet upgrades at k-13. Techie goes from +20 to +30 for example.
sto.gamepedia.com/Trait_Enhancements
Star ship traits I use is honored dead(federation), highly specialized, all decks on hand, weapon system synergy.
For personnal I also use positive feedback loop. Enlightened, reflective armor plating, repair crew(which is a must have for me), hive defense, and nanite repair matrix. For torpedo builds I would say using resonating payload modification is a must have.
The trait enhancements (and other traits you mentioned) are good. They however don't fall in the criteria for this video (no fleet elements in the builds nor things from the exchange & C-Store, and no upgrading), but the link is good to know for those that aren't aware of it in-game.
So, this video is SUPER useful, since i want to learn how to use a cruiser/tank well, but i have a couple questions.
How important are things like Gravity well, and Attract fire? For instance, i love the t6 galaxy/galaxy-x, but it does not seem to be able to slot any stuff like gravity well.
Also, with the hints of an upcoming new faction, maybe disco Klingon, how are battlecruisers like the t6 Mogh at tanking since they do not have attract fire, or are they better off with DPS builds?
finally, I have the ability to run Aux2bat, if i, lets say, take this or similar build, and want to aux2bat it, what could/should i change about it?
sorry if these are obnoxious questions, but thanks for an help.
Great questions, but my answers aren't going to be very concise sadly...
(1a) Gravity well isn't necessary for a tank build, but it is definitely NICE to have on the build to both keep enemies in your broadsiding arcs and keep them away from allies that you are protecting (I have a video on weapon arcs for tanking if you don't know what I mean here). It's nice to have for sure, but it's not a dealbreaker on a starship if you don't have it there.
(1b) Command: Attract Fire is a bit more problematic if you don't have it. It not only enhances your personal threat generation, but decreases the threat of allies in your 5km radius. Without this cruiser ability, you have to rely on just your DPS & threatening stance to keep the heat off of your allies. It's definitely doable, but is basically turning on HARD MODE for tanking. Even most of the high-DPS tanks on STO Reddit use cruisers with Command: Attract Fire, so it's not to be undervalued at all.
**Many in the DPS crowd hate this cruiser command because it gives tanks an excuse to have low DPS on their ships, while many of them want us to still be in the same relative ballpark as they are. Unlike DPS, there isn't really one best way to tank, but many are super opinionated (and toxic) in their circles about it. Are you taking a lot of attacks instead of your allies? Are you surviving through it? Then you are performing well. The balance of DPS & durability is up to you, though you get less agency on it without that cruiser command.
**When I can, I will talk about how to work around not having this crucial cruiser command for tanking (especially KDF, who only have few KDF-specific tanking options available to them). The original plan was for me to talk about this in tomorrow's video actually, but other things came up I have to address first...
(2) They are definitely better at DPS-type builds, but you can modify them with some extra survivability options to make them passable for tanking. As mentioned in point 1b, I will cover this in greater detail when I can.
**The KDF faction were designed originally as DPS & PvP faction, not a PvE faction -- so their ships and bridge officers that affected space reflected this heavily originally. With the majority of the community FED or FED-aligned wanting KDF stuff for them, Cryptic gave in and they have most of what KDF originally had to themselves. Hence in the current climate (KDF without anything unique for themselves in their faction), the KDF are hurting in starships & the playerbase in general and pushes profitability toward making more FED starships and such -- a fun cycle...
**I've heard rumors they might try a DISCO KDF faction, but it isn't likely as they need to make a profit (and it will be costly in the long run). There needs to be enough KDF-exclusive stuff from the get-go with a new KDF faction that DPS-chasers want to go there, or I don't see it taking off and being profitable for Cryptic. You also have to take into consideration that missions take 2x as long to beta test as we have 6 factions (+ allegiances) now the testers have to use (FED, KDF, RRWx2, TOS FED, DSC FED, & DOMx2) not to mention they have to do it for male & female -- so that makes at least 14 tests per mission assuming that everything goes well for them. A new KDF faction would increase that process even further.
**It's more likely that they would just add the DSC Klingon cosmetic aspects to the game for now in 4-6 months, and leaving it open for a DSC Klingon faction in the future.
(3) With Aux-to-Batt builds (2 AtB abilities & 3 duty officers to lower cooldowns), you are capitalizing on having as low of cooldowns on everything as much as possible so you can just spam everything (ok, a little simplistic vs reality, but close enough). No need to have multiple copies of abilities in those builds, as the cooldowns should be low enough to not need any extra (besides 2 AtB). Use the Cold Hearted trait if you have that older winter ship + controlled countermeasures space rep trait (cold hearted procs counts for it). Also with AtB builds, you won't use any of the conflicting Aux-to-something else abilities. My rule-of-thumb is that you ideally want at least 6 engineering bridge officer abilities available to do an AtB build, though 5 can work if you are careful. Have the AtB abilities on the lowest engineering slots possible, as you are just using them for the cooldown stuff from the duty officers instead of its other power benefits.
**AtB has a bit too much spam for me (I like more thought in the battle of what to do), so I don't like using it, and don't plan on covering it on the channel in the near future. I might cover it eventually, but it isn't a priority for me.
@@CounterYoloGaming thank you sooooo much, this is much, much more then i could have asked for.
Well, this video could be a bit dated. As far as beam weapons, I would say 5-6 but no more than six. Why? the enemy forces should be in front of you. Yes they some could move behind. So, it depends on what you have ship wise. If 4/4 then I would use 6 beam weapons as you said with a torp in the front and mines in the back. If 5/3 then I would just have beams in the back, 2 in the front, 1 torp and 2 cannons; 90 or 180 degrees. It's also possible to use 3 beam in the rear, 2 in the front with two torps and one cannon 45. But that could make it hard to hold them unless you are doing massive damage. The 3/5 I don't consider great tanking ships. So, am not sure what do about that one. The debate is on with myself.
As far as energy types? As far as the numbers I have seen with beam or cannon its coming out to be the same. Unless you have a number of consoles that makes one more out of it. It really doesn't matter. But I will say then need to be the same type all the way around. Rainbow builds some to be problematic.
For beam array builds (the generally best strategy for most tank builds in this game, so you can focus on threat and survival instead of optimal dps positioning), the strategy is to keep enemies to the left & right side of your starship -- also known as "broadsiding" in this game -- as beam arrays have a 70 degree arc that is shared between beam arrays on the front of your ship & beam arrays on the back of your ship. Feel free to watch my video on the viability of Single Cannons on the channel, where I talk about the 6 options for energy builds in the game. th-cam.com/video/SeOgmZ6A894/w-d-xo.html
the voth and tholen ship on xbox is normaly 5 mill ec
Same on ps4
Temporal antiproton? I see polaron and anti-chroniton..
Temporal chroniton is an antiproton variant -- if you have antiproton consoles they will enhance chroniton weaponry as well. It is really weird how Cryptic worded it, but it is more clear in the description if you read it -- sto.gamepedia.com/Temporal_Defense_Chroniton_weapons_(space)
@@CounterYoloGaming Did not know that. Very counterintuitive. Going to have to have a closer look again.
Thanks.
Awww , he says its a "Budget build" for free to play player, but the ship is 40 mil EC??????????????? Lier
40 mil EC isn't that much honestly. Save and save, do all the doff missions you can, trade in 99% of your rep boxes, and you can get there. As for the 15 mil ceiling, trade dilithium for zen then pay to have the ceiling removed.
I love how this is suppose to be a budget build, we have to buy a +$15mil. ship. "IT'S A COUPLE MILLON CREDITS!" He says it so nonchalantly. ... hmmm
A few things to keep in mind with this video:
(1) I do mention that I have the Voth Bastion just as an example **placeholder** **starship** for easiness (as I didn't want to show 3 different starships in the video, just one cross-faction one). Everything on the starship itself in my build here (traits & consoles) are all available from either missions, reputation, or inherent with your captains (like basic space/ground traits), so it shouldn't be that hard to transfer the items & weapons of this starship to whatever T5 you have chosen to get with your faction.
(2) At the time of recording this video -- 11 months ago -- it happened to be the cheapest cruiser on the exchange with a built-in T5U upgrade on it; combine this with the fact that most players have around 1-2M ec when they get to level 65, it **used** to be a solid budget starship to get. None of the starships you get with leveling have a free T5U upgrade, so having one built into a starship was a huge value savings that most of the community doesn't see. Also factors into point #1.
(3) With the release of the T6 Voth Rampart, Cryptic Studios discontinued the availabiliy of the T5 Voth Bastion from the infinity prize pack's T5 starship choice requisition list -- making the starship a much rarer starship in the game. www.arcgames.com/en/games/star-trek-online/news/detail/11225813-the-voth-evolve-in-the-infinity-lock-box%21
(4) The Voth Rampart also came with the changes to flight-deck cruisers, having them become flight-deck carriers instead. This gave them access to dual cannons (that they couldn't use previously) alongside having 2 total hanger bays instead of the original one -- which reinvigorated the desire for carrier in general in this game. Those changes additionally made people finally realize how good the Voth Bastion used to be, so people that wanted the Rampart but couldn't afford it started buying out the Bastions on the exchange.
(5) If you know some basic economics, you can probably understand what quickly happened here. Demand skyrocketed for both starships just as the supply of the cheaper T5 version was discontinued permanently, leading to the Bastion of a 1-2M EC price originally skyrocketing into the 40-50M EC in the first week of release of the Rampart -- then after the excitement left, people realized it was just the true budget players that actually wanted the starship. This lead the price to fall and stabilize right around 15M EC -- which is the energy cap for players that don't buy the energy cap increase from the Zen Store in-game.
(C) In conclusion, I honestly didn't know what was going to happen in the player economy -- nor Cryptic's plans -- 7 months out from making this video when the changes happened to this starship, nor 11 months out when you happened to watch the video. The player market changes and fluctuates constantly, which is why the entire build of this video doesn't rely on the player economy at all. The starship chosen here is just there as convenience and to help point out to shrewd players at the time what I felt was the best deal on the exchange. The last I checked, the generally cheapest T5 starships at the moment with a built-in T5U upgrade on the PC exchange were the Hirogon Hunter Heavy Escort & Ferengi D'Kora Marauder -- though they did sit around 8-9M EC the last I checked, so some of the retiring of T5 starships does seem to have a general inflation of pricing of starships on the exchange.