Star Trek Online: Here We Go Again!

[01101010]

Because they are satisfying to fire and do good damage.  Also, miniguns were just added with the changes, so they have the new shiny effect going for them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mu1s2kI6vsY

What is it you are trying to understand?  I play way too much of this game, so I should be able to answer whatever questions you have.

I take it that is the new ground combat? Fuck you for teasing me and considering a month's sub. Now I have to go sit in the dark for a bit. 

[Rishathra]

Yeah, that's the new ground combat, though I only chose that particular video because it has a dude with a minigun in it.  Personally, I'm not too fond of the shooter mode they added, but it doesn't matter because the changes are completely independent of it, and the regular combat mode is still waaay more fun than it used to be.  It wasn't just the gameplay that was tweaked, either, they also tightened up a lot of the visual and sound effects.  So really, good job all around and not at all a NGE-like disaster that a lot of people were worried would happen.

[Mrbloodworth]

Was that aiming necessary? ( Real question BTW, im not aware on this new combat or what it really is )

[Rishathra]

Was that aiming necessary? ( Real question BTW, im not aware on this new combat or what it really is )

Yes.  In shooter mode you have to aim to hit the target.  Pointing at a wall and clicking will cause you to fire at the wall.  There's no body part targeting or anything like that, though.

[Der Helm]

I don't understand ground combat at all. Thats my problem.  I have no idea how to setup equipment, skills and BO skills. Or how to utilize them properly. Or which one to pick.

So far, I just zerg the enemies if neccesary, winning a ground mission is easy, but not very satisfying. The few times I joined a PvE fleet I noticed I must be doing something wrong, because I got my ass handed to me all the time (I also suppose that my fellow players way outleveled me).

Also, "crafting"... wtf... or better how the f... ? At least I found the quest that gets you started. Is there anything else to it but gathering resources in exploration space and then using them to craft random stuff ?

[Rishathra]

Low level ground combat can be unsatisfying, because of the limited number of abilities you and your BOs have, but as you advance in rank, things get much more interesting.  But for now, zerg2win is pretty much how it goes.

Setting up BO equipment is easy.  Just give them whatever you pick up as you go along, and hand-me-downs from when you get better stuff for yourself.  They don't need top end equipment to be effective.  They do have a quirk where they perform an action - whether that be firing a weapon or using an ability - exactly once every three seconds.  Weapon fire rates have no effect on this three second cycle.  So high damage per shot weapons are good choices for them.

For BO skills, give Tac officers grenades, Engineers turrets and Reroute Power to Shields, and Science officers Sensor Scan, at least one heal, and whatever else looks interesting.  They have a pretty big toolbox to choose from so pick what you like.

For player skills, Tactical officers use grenades well, so grenade kits are good choices, and when you reach a high enough level that they start to appear, Squad Leader kits.  Engineers have a pretty wide variety of kits to choose from, but for just day to day use, turret kits are best.  Eventually, Bunker Fabrication or Fabrication Specialist.  Science officers are like BOs in that they have a big toolbox, so whatever kit strikes your fancy will do well for you.  At higher levels though, when you can get Geophysicist kits, switch to those.  They have an aoe root and two targeted aoe damage abilities.  If you get a good grouping you can wipe out an entire squad of enemies just using those abilities.

When you say PvE fleet, do you mean Fleet Actions?  Some of them can be tricky to complete even for people who know what they are doing, so that might be your problem.  Crystalline Entity is particularly brutal to those who don't know exactly what to do.  Enemies will spawn at the highest player level in the instance, so that was probably working against you, as you said.

Crafting.  Scan anomalies to get resources.  Go to Memory Alpha.  It's in the Alpha Centauri sector block, 'north' of Earth Spacedock.  Look for the crowd of people standing next to some consoles in the center of the room.  Click button to get prizes.  That's pretty much it.  Your crafting materials don't have to be in your inventory to make stuff, so you can leave it all in your bank.  There are bank, mail, and exchange consoles there as well so the process is smooth.  The more stuff you craft, the more your 'skill' goes up, which unlocks new recipes.  The amount of skill points you get for crafting something is dependent entirely on the quality, not the level, of the item.  So, crafting a blue (rare) Mark II item will advance your skill just as much as a blue Mark X item.  Most recipes require schematics, which you can craft, or just buy from a vendor nearby.

[Der Helm]

I can only craft in Memory Alpha, right ? Also, would be justgrinding out schematics a viable (read efficent) way to "level" crafting ?

edit: And thanks for all the help.

[Rishathra]

Yes, only in Memory Alpha.  The plan is to eventually be able to craft on your ship, but who knows when they'll get to that.

Making only schematics is efficient in that you then have a bunch of them to use to craft other things, but inefficient in that it would take a large amount of low level resources to make.  1650, to be exact.

[Strazos]

I maxed out crafting while a LtCdr without too much effort beyond clearing every map of anomalies. Just try to liberally craft things for yourself and you should be fine, perhaps building some extras to sell.

[Mrbloodworth]

Initial impressions:

This game has way to much crap on the screen when you first start. Also, player movement, kinda... not smooth. I do like shooter mode, however he wips out his gun after every conversation or it seems even opening of a window. Somewhat annoying.

Other than what feels like some performance lag when there should not be. Rather fun so far.

EDIT: How do I go about having a friend play on my ship with me?

[Strazos]

You can't, really....you can go to your bridge and then invite them, but it'd be RP-only - no functionality.

[01101010]

You all should be burned at the stake... if I wasn't so fucking bored I might avoid reading this thread and getting the itch again. 

[Mrbloodworth]

This is more fun then eve.

[Ingmar]

You all should be burned at the stake... if I wasn't so fucking bored I might avoid reading this thread and getting the itch again. 

Don't look at me, I'm playing DDO this week. 

[Modern Angel]

This is more fun then eve.

Sticking fiber cable into my urethra is more fun than EVE.

[Mrbloodworth]

This match level thing, is that a mentor like system?

Also, SOL needs better parking.

[MisterNoisy]

This match level thing, is that a mentor like system?

Also, SOL needs better parking.

Pretty much - you keep all your abilities, etc, but everything gets scaled down to the lower level.  That said, last time I did it I was helping my brother as a capped VA downleveled to LtCdr, and all of the encounters were hilariously trivial anyway.

[01101010]

-.-

Vice Admiral now and traded my fucking awesome attack cruiser for a retrofit escort. Gotta fuck around with it to get my rotation, but it is damn maneuverable and the cloak is just 

Gotta start on those group missions in borg country at some point... anything I should be on the look out for? 

[Ghambit]

Borg?

[Rishathra]

Gotta start on those group missions in borg country at some point... anything I should be on the look out for? 

Don't forget to go to your replicator and get some remodulators for you and your BOs.  I've done a few STFs where half my teammates didn't realize that they needed them, and were wondering why they were doing NO damage.    They are tradeable as well, so if you run into that situation yourself, you can just strip one off of a BO to give to your teammate.

Have a stack of Large Hypos and Large Shield Charges.

Use high damage-per-shot weapons.  Borg adapt on a per hit basis, so stuff like miniguns or dual pistols are a bad idea.  Sniper rifles, blast assaults, and pulsewaves are best.

[01101010]

Gotta start on those group missions in borg country at some point... anything I should be on the look out for? 

Don't forget to go to your replicator and get some remodulators for you and your BOs.  I've done a few STFs where half my teammates didn't realize that they needed them, and were wondering why they were doing NO damage.    They are tradeable as well, so if you run into that situation yourself, you can just strip one off of a BO to give to your teammate.

Have a stack of Large Hypos and Large Shield Charges.

Use high damage-per-shot weapons.  Borg adapt on a per hit basis, so stuff like miniguns or dual pistols are a bad idea.  Sniper rifles, blast assaults, and pulsewaves are best.

Yeah, I got through the first PvE trail around Borg country. Quickly realized the freq modulator was there in the replicator (after peeking back at this thread) and then figured out, minigun was not a great choice. Oh yeah, and Borg are very much a pain in the ass. Every 3rd shot, stop and play angry birds on you weapon then shoot again. I'll have to start keeping those Hypos and Charges... I am a Tactical Captain btw... which is why I am flying around in the stupid defiant retrofit. I hate that look... but it does seem to pack a punch, espec with a full tact BOff plus two more rather than a full engy BOff slot in my Assault Cruiser.

I am also alting an Engy Captain to explore the crafting universe. I have never been one to gather and craft, but figure I have a month to burn. Now I just need that asshat Q to show up and give me a few free ranks with his XP goodness.

[Rishathra]

The Borg can be a pain until you *ahem* adapt to them, then they become the easiest of all.  Yeah, that angry birds dance can be frustrating, but you have other tools at your disposal.  Their slow walk makes them susceptible to several tactics that don't work as well on other enemies who can actually get out of the way.  For a tactical officer like yourself, grenades are deadly against them.

[01101010]

The Borg can be a pain until you *ahem* adapt to them, then they become the easiest of all.  Yeah, that angry birds dance can be frustrating, but you have other tools at your disposal.  Their slow walk makes them susceptible to several tactics that don't work as well on other enemies who can actually get out of the way.  For a tactical officer like yourself, grenades are deadly against them.

Yeah... I been toying with the idea of picking up that kit. All my Tact Boffs are skilled with nades. And is it me or do the Borg really come off as Day of the Dead zombie-ish? You have plenty of time to remodulate so that is fine against them, but still... its a good few seconds of picking your nose while the undead are coming towards you.

However... ground combat feels so much better. So so much better.

[Rishathra]

As to kits, Grenade Satchel is good enough for by yourself, but in groups, it's Squad Leader all the way.  Honestly, one could argue its better for solo play as well.

[Reg]

I've been playing a Science guy. I'm almost Commander level now and as I level up I just feel weaker and weaker. Either I've picked a non-soloing class or I'm doing something wrong. Anyone have any advice? There was one ground mission fighting some horrible Devidians that I just couldn't manage at all. I killed all but one of them but the last one just did his life sucking thing and brought himself up to full everytime I injured him. I must have spent half an hour banging my head against the wall on that one.

[01101010]

I like to carry two kits usually so that'll work. I think I actually might be wearing the SL kit but I'll have to check. I am straight up PvE in this game so anything quest-wise I need to do? Like I said, I just got done with the Borg chain quest for the purple ship attachment... which looks a bit silly, so I am thinking about clicking off the visual.

[MisterNoisy]

I've been playing a Science guy. I'm almost Commander level now and as I level up I just feel weaker and weaker. Either I've picked a non-soloing class or I'm doing something wrong. Anyone have any advice? There was one ground mission fighting some horrible Devidians that I just couldn't manage at all. I killed all but one of them but the last one just did his life sucking thing and brought himself up to full everytime I injured him. I must have spent half an hour banging my head against the wall on that one.

I like my current away team - me (sci), 2 science officers (both with healing/debuffs/CC) and 2 engineering officers (both with multiple turrets and mines), all armed with crafted sniper rifles.  A lot of encounters are pretty trivial with this group - the battlefield ends up being a complete mess because of all the crap the engis leave all over the place, but shit dies pretty fast and the Sci officers keep everyone kicking.

[Rishathra]

I've been playing a Science guy. I'm almost Commander level now and as I level up I just feel weaker and weaker. Either I've picked a non-soloing class or I'm doing something wrong. Anyone have any advice? There was one ground mission fighting some horrible Devidians that I just couldn't manage at all. I killed all but one of them but the last one just did his life sucking thing and brought himself up to full everytime I injured him. I must have spent half an hour banging my head against the wall on that one.

Science guys can actually put out a crazy amount of damage.  They have Sensor Scan, which can be up 12 out of every 15 seconds, and then there is the majesty of the Physicist Kit.  Before the combat changes, it was pretty bad for Science on the ground damage wise, but that is no longer the case.  The Devidians can be pretty nasty, so don't blame that so much on the Science.  Before I managed to deck out myself and my away team with shields that reduce psionic damage, I would regularly wipe at least once on the phantasm battles.  A trick to use if you are having trouble with that life sucking ability, is to keep a stack of hypos on you.  They can just be small ones, the heal doesn't matter.  If you use one while being drained, it cancels out the drain and you can move and fight again.

[01101010]

This retrofit escort defiant ship is fucking bonkers... that is all. 

[Surlyboi]

This retrofit escort defiant ship is fucking bonkers... that is all. 

This. Badass type XI gear plus a cloaking device? Pwnage on a goddamn stick.

[01101010]

I am skilled out in Tet weapons so I have the Mark X stuff since XI and XII is few and far between... and I haven't crafted, ever. Still fun though.

[Reg]

Oh wow. I'll try that hypo trick. I'm sure it would make all the difference.  And I'll try some of the other advice as well. I haven't come across a physicist kit yet though. Perhaps it's a higher level drop than what I'm seeing so far.

[Strazos]

I am skilled out in Tet weapons so I have the Mark X stuff since XI and XII is few and far between... and I haven't crafted, ever. Still fun though.

Wat? Crafting is not even hard in this game - just be sure to clear the anomalies from each map.

[01101010]

I am skilled out in Tet weapons so I have the Mark X stuff since XI and XII is few and far between... and I haven't crafted, ever. Still fun though.

Wat? Crafting is not even hard in this game - just be sure to clear the anomalies from each map.

Didn't say hard... I am just not into the time sink when I was only planning on a month. When that happens, the unfun (crafting/gathering) get the boot. Exchange worked out for me and to be fair, I didn't buy shit till Rear Admiral. I got the requisition weapons for my ship and quest rewards were plenty. PvE, so who gives a shit right? 

[Mrbloodworth]

You guys got a guild going?