Post by torsten1009 on Jan 23, 2013 0:58:50 GMT -5
Know your attack-patterns - an overview of tactical bridge officer abilities
This overview does not provide a full setup for every class/shipclass. You will have to choose your abilities according to your ships setup and your personal skills. It doesn't make sence for you to have all cannon abilities, if you don't use cannons. Having the correct abilities doesn't make you a great damage-dealer, you actually have to use the correct ability - or combination of abilities - at the correct time.
1.) Beam-Abilities
1.1) Beam-Array Overload
Be carefull with this ability, you'll shoot one high-damage beam, but if you don't compensate the powerdrain, your other energy-weapons won't have enough power to light-up a match.
You can compensate the powerdrain by using a weapons-battery, (as an engineering officer) using EPS-Powertransfer or with the bridgeofficer-ability Emergency-Power to Weapons. Also your skills in Starship Electro-Plasma Systems, console modifications (EPS-Flow Regulator) will improve the passive regeneration of the powerdrain.
1.2) Beam-Array Fire-at-Will
This ability shoots all your beam-arrays and dual-beam-banks at random targets with an increased rate of fire. It is usefull for drawing aggro or to take out shields on a small group of enemies.
1.3) Subsystem Targeting
These abilities are target shields, target engines, target auxilary and target weapons. The effect of disabling one of these systems is usually very nice, but you won't take out the targeted system on every try.
2.) Cannon-Abilities
2.1) Cannon Rapid-Fire
This is an ability that increases the rate-of-fire on Cannons (Turrets are also Cannons) to deal more damage to a single target.
2.2) Cannon Scatter-Volley
This is a multi-target attack that deals damage to all enemies in a cone around your target. It is very usefull when combined with attack-patterns.
3.) Torpedo-Abilities
3.1) High-Yield Torpedoes
This ability upgrades your torpedoes, it is a single target upgrade.
3.2) Torpedo-Spread
This ability shoots a few torpedoes at random targets in the arc of your torpedo-launcher. Most important: Rank 1 (Ensign) does only shoot at 3 targets, Rank 2 (Lieutenant) shoots at 4 targets and Rank 3 (Lt. Commander) shoots at 5 targets.
4.) Mine-Abilities
4.1) Dispersal-Pattern Beta
This ability creates a mine-net (Rank 3 - Commander creates up to 16 normal mines, depending on the mine-type). It is useful as insurence for the Kang-Guard on CSE - enemies that are not destroyed by the first attack will still have to face the mines.
4.2) Dispersal-Pattern Alpha
This ability lays a mine-trail behind your ship. This is a tactical-character ability, not a bridge-officer Ability.
5.) Attack-Patterns
Attack Patterns are very useful, depending on the type you'll get different effects.
5.1) Attack-Pattern Alpha
Attack-Pattern Alpha (or sometimes Alpha-Strike) increases your all damage. This is a captain-ability (tactical officers).
5.2) Attack-Pattern Beta
Attack-Pattern Beta lowers the damage resistance on every target that you hit for 5 seconds. It is the most important for PvE, since you increase the damage delt by your whole team on the marked targets. On CSE you can simply combine this Attack-Pattern with Cannon Scatter-Volley or Beam Fire-at-Will to mark a group of attacking BoPs/Raptors/Negh'Vars and finish them using a torpedo-spread.
This Attack-Pattern has the shortest cooldown, so you can use it often.
5.3) Attack-Pattern Delta
Attack-Pattern Delta debuffs the targets (can be used on yourself or an ally) attackers damage resistance and improves the targets damage resistance.
5.4) Attack-Pattern Omega
Attack-Pattern Omega isn't so important for STFs - or PvE in general. It is important for PvP, since it makes you immune to the movement-debuff from "Eject Warp-Plasma". It also provides a damage- and damage-resistance-buff, as well as a short burst to speed and turn-rate.
A cooldown of 1 minute makes this ability less usefull.
6.) Tactical Team
Tactical Team automates your shield-distribution to shields that actually take damage. It can interfere with a keybind that distributes your shield-power. It also improves your outgoing damage - the buff depends on the rank of the tactical-team used and your remaining crew.
How should a tactical bridge-officer setup look like?
This depends on your ship-setup, for standard-setups you could use:
a) The classic cannon setup on Escorts:
You should have got your commander having the following abilities: Tactical Team 1, Cannon Scatter-Volley 1, Torpedo-Spread 3, Attack Pattern Omega 3. Additional Bridge-Officers should have High-Yield Torpedoes, Cannon Rapid-Fire and so on. Use keybinds on these shipclasses to automate usefull combinations.
b) Minimum setup (for an Atrox with 2 beam-arrays/Torpedoes in front and 1 beam-array/Torpedoes/Mines in back):
Beam Array Fire-at-Will 1 and Torpedo Spread 2.
c) Minimum setup (for an Atrox with 2 Single Cannons/Torpedoes in front and 2 Turrets/Mines in back):
Torpedo-Spread 1 and Cannon Scatter-Volley 1. Please note that the built-in subsystem targeting doesn't work on use of Cannons.
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Authors: zunderdome (Alpha-Zero/Beta-Zero), @solcani (Starbase-Command), torsten1009 (Sauerland-Connection)
This overview does not provide a full setup for every class/shipclass. You will have to choose your abilities according to your ships setup and your personal skills. It doesn't make sence for you to have all cannon abilities, if you don't use cannons. Having the correct abilities doesn't make you a great damage-dealer, you actually have to use the correct ability - or combination of abilities - at the correct time.
1.) Beam-Abilities
1.1) Beam-Array Overload
Be carefull with this ability, you'll shoot one high-damage beam, but if you don't compensate the powerdrain, your other energy-weapons won't have enough power to light-up a match.
You can compensate the powerdrain by using a weapons-battery, (as an engineering officer) using EPS-Powertransfer or with the bridgeofficer-ability Emergency-Power to Weapons. Also your skills in Starship Electro-Plasma Systems, console modifications (EPS-Flow Regulator) will improve the passive regeneration of the powerdrain.
1.2) Beam-Array Fire-at-Will
This ability shoots all your beam-arrays and dual-beam-banks at random targets with an increased rate of fire. It is usefull for drawing aggro or to take out shields on a small group of enemies.
1.3) Subsystem Targeting
These abilities are target shields, target engines, target auxilary and target weapons. The effect of disabling one of these systems is usually very nice, but you won't take out the targeted system on every try.
2.) Cannon-Abilities
2.1) Cannon Rapid-Fire
This is an ability that increases the rate-of-fire on Cannons (Turrets are also Cannons) to deal more damage to a single target.
2.2) Cannon Scatter-Volley
This is a multi-target attack that deals damage to all enemies in a cone around your target. It is very usefull when combined with attack-patterns.
3.) Torpedo-Abilities
3.1) High-Yield Torpedoes
This ability upgrades your torpedoes, it is a single target upgrade.
3.2) Torpedo-Spread
This ability shoots a few torpedoes at random targets in the arc of your torpedo-launcher. Most important: Rank 1 (Ensign) does only shoot at 3 targets, Rank 2 (Lieutenant) shoots at 4 targets and Rank 3 (Lt. Commander) shoots at 5 targets.
4.) Mine-Abilities
4.1) Dispersal-Pattern Beta
This ability creates a mine-net (Rank 3 - Commander creates up to 16 normal mines, depending on the mine-type). It is useful as insurence for the Kang-Guard on CSE - enemies that are not destroyed by the first attack will still have to face the mines.
4.2) Dispersal-Pattern Alpha
This ability lays a mine-trail behind your ship. This is a tactical-character ability, not a bridge-officer Ability.
5.) Attack-Patterns
Attack Patterns are very useful, depending on the type you'll get different effects.
5.1) Attack-Pattern Alpha
Attack-Pattern Alpha (or sometimes Alpha-Strike) increases your all damage. This is a captain-ability (tactical officers).
5.2) Attack-Pattern Beta
Attack-Pattern Beta lowers the damage resistance on every target that you hit for 5 seconds. It is the most important for PvE, since you increase the damage delt by your whole team on the marked targets. On CSE you can simply combine this Attack-Pattern with Cannon Scatter-Volley or Beam Fire-at-Will to mark a group of attacking BoPs/Raptors/Negh'Vars and finish them using a torpedo-spread.
This Attack-Pattern has the shortest cooldown, so you can use it often.
5.3) Attack-Pattern Delta
Attack-Pattern Delta debuffs the targets (can be used on yourself or an ally) attackers damage resistance and improves the targets damage resistance.
5.4) Attack-Pattern Omega
Attack-Pattern Omega isn't so important for STFs - or PvE in general. It is important for PvP, since it makes you immune to the movement-debuff from "Eject Warp-Plasma". It also provides a damage- and damage-resistance-buff, as well as a short burst to speed and turn-rate.
A cooldown of 1 minute makes this ability less usefull.
6.) Tactical Team
Tactical Team automates your shield-distribution to shields that actually take damage. It can interfere with a keybind that distributes your shield-power. It also improves your outgoing damage - the buff depends on the rank of the tactical-team used and your remaining crew.
How should a tactical bridge-officer setup look like?
This depends on your ship-setup, for standard-setups you could use:
a) The classic cannon setup on Escorts:
You should have got your commander having the following abilities: Tactical Team 1, Cannon Scatter-Volley 1, Torpedo-Spread 3, Attack Pattern Omega 3. Additional Bridge-Officers should have High-Yield Torpedoes, Cannon Rapid-Fire and so on. Use keybinds on these shipclasses to automate usefull combinations.
b) Minimum setup (for an Atrox with 2 beam-arrays/Torpedoes in front and 1 beam-array/Torpedoes/Mines in back):
Beam Array Fire-at-Will 1 and Torpedo Spread 2.
c) Minimum setup (for an Atrox with 2 Single Cannons/Torpedoes in front and 2 Turrets/Mines in back):
Torpedo-Spread 1 and Cannon Scatter-Volley 1. Please note that the built-in subsystem targeting doesn't work on use of Cannons.
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Authors: zunderdome (Alpha-Zero/Beta-Zero), @solcani (Starbase-Command), torsten1009 (Sauerland-Connection)