crystalline entity – Jupiter Broadcasting

Equipped to Kill: Crystalline Entity | STOked 59

chris — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 06:48:08 +0000

The finale of the Devidian series is upon us, and the boys of STOked are NOT HAPPY. Find out why during our in-depth review and analysis, then find out what IS making us happy about the upcoming content set to arrive with Season 3 (most of which is already on Tribble).

After that, it’s time for a rematch (or re-MATH?) as Jeremy takes on the Crystalline Entity and tells YOU the best ways to equip your ship and boffs to take out this cosmozoan cornholer.

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This Week’s Show Notes:

NEWS

Series 2 FINALE – Night of the Comet
* Slingshot = WIN!!!
* Grouping fell apart (dialogues, drinks, combat scaling)
* Ground combat felt dogpiley
* Section 31 did NOT do their homework (attacked by Feds and KDF)
* Puzzles — Cryptic hasn’t found the sweet spot
* Final Combat mini-rant
* Every new episode is still a big win

Season 3 lands on Tribble! Patch notes

KDF crafting… the only way to start it right now is if you’re low level. The new “Sorties” are the only way to currently get harvestables, and they scale with your level. (So LtGs are getting top-level harvestables, even though they can’t use ‘em)
Sector Space upgrade… more than we’d seen previously. And options! So many options!
Mission Replay available via your Captain’s Ready Room.
- Engine reward added to “S’harien’s Swords” but patch notes say they’re not working.
- Type 1 hand phaser added to “Past Imperfect”
Complete FONT overhaul. Comments? (Testing only, not included in S3)
Contact UI Upgraded – THANK GOD (and no more blinking!)
ESD/Qonos vendor updates (huge list, might wanna keep it handy)

Missing:
No Foundry =(
No click to aim?
No sitting in chairs?
No naussican ship?
No new Gorn customization?

Preview Video for upcoming C-Store items: https://www.startrekonline.com/videos
KDF ships in motion
Enterprise NX in motion
NX is “intended to be a starter Escort”
* Can equip cannons
* Has an extra Tac console (like how the Connie has +eng console)
* Grappler Hook ability (like a tractor beam, kinda)
First Look at the All Good Things “Future” uniform
(the rest we’ve seen, some is already available)

COMING SOON:
November Engineering Report on Monday 11/15
“The Next Enterprise” contest ramping up in December
More Fed ships: Oberth, Ambassador, Vesta, Andorian

MATH:

Today we will once more confront the Silicon Avatar itself. Friend of Lore, and foe of all other life – the sinister snowflake, the carbon crusher, the devouring diamond – Crystalline Entity.

I will not be discussing tactics. Except in specific cases where your equipment and abilities are dictated by them. Because THAT is what I will be covering – how to equip your ship, and which boffs to bring to the fight.

CRYSTALLINE ABILITIES:

1) RATE OF REGENERATION
At VA, it has 2.5million hitpoints and regenerates 1% hitpoints per second.
In order to overcome this, you will need a total of 25,000 sustained DPS, AFTER factoring in the Entity’s significant damage resistance.

2) SHARD SPAWNING
Fragments (no size indicator) deal damage directly to your hull. Shields are irrelevant.
Large Fragments will busticate into 3 Small Fragments upon impact with ANYTHING. (phase 3 only)
Small Fragments will rush back to daddy and heal him for 1% of his hitpoints EACH.
** This means that a single collision with a Large Fragment can heal the entity for more than 75,000 damage.

RE-EQUIP

1) NO KINETICS

This isn’t 100% confirmed, but common knowledge indicates that kinetic weaponry of any type appears to cause the spawning of additional shards. So don’t use ‘em.

This is especially important in the case of MINES, HY Plasma and TRICOBALTS because they can and WILL be targeted by Large Fragments in Phase 3, causing widespread panic and pandemonium in the form of a swarm of Small Fragments that will pop the Entity’s hitpoints back to max in no time flat.

2) ENERGY TYPES

Bad = Phasers, Polarons and Tetryons
The CE has no subsystems and no shields. So the aforementioned energy types will render no benefit beyond their base damage.

Good = Disruptors and Plasma
The distruptor debuff will make the CE take additional damage from EVERYONE firing upon it.
Plasma will burn the sucker. Nuff said.

Neutral = Antiproton
No additional benefits, but usually have really nice innate bonuses. Plus they’re pretty.

3) BOFF ABILITY SELECTION

TACTICAL =
Nothing that relies upon torps or mines (see note about Kinetics).
No subsystem targeting.
Best to use buffs that increase DPS of you and your teammates.
Beam Overload, Tactical Team and Attack Patterns are your best bet

ENGINEERS =
No boarding parties! They can be targeted by fragments just like mines and such.
Shield heals will only be useful in Phase 1 so might not be best to bring along.
Focus on hull heals, and dps increases.
Eject Warp Plasma could come in handy if you are planning to kite fragments, but beware that if it manages to destroy a Fragment it may result in healing the Entity.

SCIENCE =
Nothing that deals AOE and/or Kinetic damage. This includes: Tyken’s Rift, Gravity Well, Repulsor Beams, Photonic Shockwave.
Charged Particle Burst only deals shield damage = worthless.
Shield Heals again are only useful in Phase 1, so concentrate on Hull heals.
Energy Siphon will not effect the Entity, but will result in a slight boost to your energy levels resulting in an increase in DPS output.
Scramble Sensors occasionally confuses fragments into not following nearby targets. It is unreliable however the 360-degree targetting arc allows you to fire it while circling the Entity.

CAPTAIN ABILITIES:
Science captains MUST spam the Sensor Scan button. The DPS increase an absolute necessity.
Tac captains MUST keep Fire on my Mark active on the CE at all times.
ALL Captains WILL NOT use the following abilities:
– Ramming Speed
– Self Destruct
– Photonic Fleet and/or Fleet Support
Reasons: Each of these run an extremely high risk of colliding with Large Fragments which will heal the entity, as mentioned previously.

SUMMARY:

Escorts and Cruisers far outstrip the capabilities of Science Vessels for this encounter, due to the limited number of science boff abilities that are actually beneficial against the Entity, and the lower overall DPS of Science Ships.

It’s IMPERATIVE that you DO NOT DIE. Every time you die, that big bad hunk of shiny benefits. It’s not just a matter of pride – he will heal himself and the rest of the team will lose out on your DPS.

Until we figure out a way to hook up Klingon Opera to our Deflector Dish to bust out a harmonic resonance, the best advice I can offer you all is to read, understand, and share your knowledge. There is no single encounter in STO that is more misunderstood or incorrectly referenced, than the fight against the Crystalline Entity. It is up to each of us to learn its tricks, and tell others how to learn them as well. Because knowing… is half the battle.

Download:

The post Equipped to Kill: Crystalline Entity | STOked 59 first appeared on Jupiter Broadcasting.

STOked s02e06: Crystalline Catastrophe

chris — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 10:43:55 +0000

STOked Season 2 Episode 6: We take it easy this week and invite you over to our STO party, we join up with Jupiter Force in our not-so-awesome attempt to take on the big bad Crystalline Entity. We discuss the new Engineering Reports, The Infected mission, some new tease screen shots of future ships, Cryptic’s new release calendar, and so much more!

PLUS – Our suggested DOs and DON’Ts for taking on Crystalline Entity!

Direct Download Links

Our STOked App:

Grab the STOked iPhone/iPod App and download STOked plus bonus content on the go!

NEWS:
“The Infected” — released!! https://www.startrekonline.com/node/1239
Skipped the Test Server, and it shows (very glitchy)
Primary bugs include — untargetable borg, UI lock-out, movement control issues.
The STF instance is very, very difficult. Watch for a more thorough review, including Tips & Tricks, on next week’s STOked!
Also includes a cross-faction team mechanism for Borg DSE fights in Gamma Orionis. Feds can fight alongside KDF in a tentative alliance.
“Engineering Reports” — new feature on Cryptic’s Forums https://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?t=132122
Basically a status report on the Behind-the-Scenes work going on at Cryptic.
Separate into categories: In Development, In Testing, and Under Investigation
The most recent report includes features we didn’t know about!
Changing your @ name, “Romulan Temple” fleet action, Off-duty outfits, Neutral-faction social areas
Teaser screenshots from DStahl: https://forums.startrekonline.com/showpost.php?p=2290118&postcount=181
New PvP ground map, new Fed ship (science?), new Klingon cruiser
Billing Issues being addressed: https://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?p=2311163#post2311163
$30 charges have been refunded.
12-month charges are being fixed on a case-by-case basis.
Cryptic admits, billing server just couldn’t handle the Day 1 rush and these subs were the lucky ones that got screwed up.
Release Calendar Now Available: https://startrekonline.com/calendar
Tentative schedule — per Rekhan: https://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?p=2311880#post2311880
Ask Cryptic — MORE KLINGONS! https://www.startrekonline.com/node/1275
More customization of avatars and ships is on the way. (but no Gorn females)
Possibility of “High-End” (T5?) ships being based on Gorn/Orion/Naussican designs, but nothing in the low/mid range.
New Klingon computer voice & music coming soon.
More melee weapons in “an upcoming update”: More bat’leth variants, mek’leth, Andorian Ushaan, katana, and more. Also the “Nausiccan Energy Lance”
3-sided PvP maps! And another mention of neutral-faction social areas.
Confirmation of “Unique Episodes” … but timeline is “down the road” which is pretty distant. This is in addition to Fleet Actions, Star Clusters and STFs for Klingon players.

MATH / MEDIA – Combined!

Taking Down the Crystalline Entity — Tips, Tactics and a Walkthru

Preparation Suggestions:
Disruptors and Plasma are the best energy types (the CE and its shards have no shields and no subsystems)
Do not use Mines or Boarding Parties. Do not use Heavy Plasma/Tricobalt torpedoes once the entity is at 30% (explanation below)
Beam Weapons are superior to cannons due to the amount of maneuvering required for this fight.
Set your energy settings to: Weapon 50 / Shield 25 / Engine 100 / Aux 25
This will usually allow you to outrun the Fragments, in case they cannot be killed quickly enough. Always remain at full speed.
Shields are useless against the Fragments, and the CE’s beams do not hit hard enough to generally worry about.

Do NOT use the following abilities:
Any “Dispersal Patterns”
Mines are a very bad idea against the CE (explanation below)
Boarding Parties
For the same reasons as Mines (explanation below), in addition to the fact that the CE has no subsystems.
Any ability that provides buffs against incoming damage
The damage dealt by Fragments is huge, and should simply be outright avoided. Use these ability slots to better control the battle, and deal damage.
Any ability that targets/disables a subsystem, shield, or special ability on the enemy (e.g. Charged Particle Burst)
Holds — the CE seems to be immune to Viral Matrix, and there are too many targets for Tractor Beam or Viral to generally be useful vs. Fragments.
Ramming Speed
If you impact a Fragment on the way inbound, you will die and deal zero damage against the CE. The damage is very low even if you do manage to impact the CE itself.

DO use the following abilities:
Scramble Sensors
This causes all Fragments affected to hold still for the duration. They will not target eachother, but they will also not target YOU and not move.
Gravity Well, Tractor Repulsors, Photonic Shockwave
All of these abilities will slow or prevent the movement of Fragments toward your ship.

Battle Walkthrough

Upon entering a new instance, proceed forward AS A FLEET toward the Crystalline Entity.

Positioning is important!
Try to remain as close to 10km away from the CE at all times.
Agree upon a direction to circle the entity (clockwise or counter-clockwise)
Stay at the midpoint so you can see all incoming shards (not above or below the CE)

Situational Awareness is important!
If a fleetmate is being followed by a cluster of shards and gets killed, those will switch to the nearest target which COULD BE YOU. Stay alert!

Now that the battle is joined, it’s a fairly straight-forward conflict until the CE reaches 30-32% hull. Up until that point, he will only employ two basic abilities:

1) Crystalline Beam — inflicts heavy beam-based damage on a random high-threat target, every few seconds.
2) Spawn Shards — spawns 3-5 “Crystalline Fragments” which will spread out from the CE and begin following nearby enemies. These follow basic threat principles, and will change targets if you shoot at them.

Upon reaching 30-32% hull, the Crystalline Entity goes into “Survival Mode” and stops spawning normal Fragments. In their place, it will begin spawning “Large Crystalline Fragments” which follow a few special rules.

They are faster than the previous basic fragments.
They deal much more damage than basic fragments.
…but most importantly!
If they impact any object (ship, mine, shuttle, heavy plasma, or tricobalt) they will destroy themselves and turn into 3 “Small Crystalline Fragments”

If these Small Crystalline Fragments spawn, they will immediately fly back toward the CE. Upon reaching it, they are devoured and heal the CE for 1% of its total hullpoints.

The ideal strategy is (roughly) as follows:

Split your team’s efforts between damaging the CE, and killing Fragments.
Most of your party should be focused on Fragments. There’s no rush to down the CE quickly.
It is acceptable to use Heavy Plasma and Tricobalt torpedoes against the CE until it reaches about 40% hullpoints, but Mines should always be avoided as they cannot be “undeployed” and are a very large hazard once the CE goes into Survival Mode, due to the risk of impact against rouge Large Crystalline Fragments.
Small Crystalline Fragments and Large Crystalline Fragments are always high priority targets, in that order of importance.
Though it IS possible to drag along a cloud of Fragments behind you and not kill them, this tactic generally results in an excessive number of uncontrolled Fragments.
Keep moving, but clean up your Fragments along the way.

Step 3) Profit!

The post STOked s02e06: Crystalline Catastrophe first appeared on Jupiter Broadcasting.

STOked S02E02: How Torpedoes Work & Taking on the Crystalline Entity

chris — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:23:39 +0000

STOked Season 2 Episode 2: We cover the STO attempt to set a Guinness World Record, go over the player bio contest, discuss the early reviews of Star Trek Online and give you the details on the “one million accounts” story that hit the web recently.

THEN in our MATH segment we boil down how Torpedoes work, and why something that gives you a +10 bonus might be a really big deal!

PLUS Chris shares the story of his battle with the Crystalline Entity, and gives a few tips on how to defeat it.

NEWS:
STO Guinness World Record Attempt in London
https://www.startrekonline.com/node/1007
Namco Bandai Partners, the European distributor of Star Trek Online, in association with Atari
Attempt to set a world record for the â€˜largest gathering of people dressed as Star Trek charactersâ€ on February 14th at 1.00pm on Londonâ€s Millenium Bridge.
Adjudicators from Guinness World Records will be present to log the record attempt and ensure that everyone present is dressed in full Star Trek attire.
The best dressed fans on the day will win exclusive Star Trek Online prizes including lifetime subscriptions worth over Â£150 and recently released digital version of the Star Trek movie.

STO Update: Servers Added This Weekend + Character Backstory Contest + Voice Command Demo Video
https://trekmovie.com/2010/02/03/sto-update-server-update-this-weekend-character-backstory-contest-voice-command-demo-video/
Hey folks,We just wanted to update you on our in-game server capacity status. Throughout Head Start we noticed the overwhelming response to the game and we are working on changes to further increase the number of people who can play Star Trek Online at any given time. Our current plan is to have these changes in place sometime this coming weekend. We will, of course, keep you updated on progress as it happens.Really, we just want to thank you all again for your continued support and patience. If it wasnâ€t for you, we wouldnâ€t be here.
-The Star Trek Online Team
Ultimate Character Contest:
Top prize is a collection of original Star Trek comics (more than 500 issues) ranging from 1967 â€“ 2002, valued at $4750.
10 runners up will get the GIT CD-ROM Star Trek Comic Book Collection.
Entries must be made by February 19th. Rules and more info on how to enter at atari.com/startrekcontest.

TrekMovie.com reviews STO:
In general, gameplay in Star Trek Online is very intuitive.
Tutorial is good, but sometimes leaves you guessing on what to do.
Controls very intuitive.
In space battles, the controls are very different from flight in other games.
The graphics in this game are fantastic!
“Overall, I love this game! It is a chance to be immersed in the Star Trek world”

Stormshade steps away from Star Trek Online
https://www.massively.com/2010/02/03/community-manager-daeke-leaves-cryptic-stormshade-to-replace-him/
Becoming the new CM for Champions
David “Daeke” Bass Leaving Cryptic
Leaving comes amidst heavy fire from the community on Cryptic’s most recent endeavor, the addition of Vibora Bay in Champions Online.
Daeke took heat as he was the first member of the Cryptic staff to acknowledge that Vibora Bay would be a piece of paid content.
Phoxe will be stepping up as STO community lead. Fourm Post Here: https://forums.startrekonline.com/showpost.php?p=1901489&postcount=3.

Cryptic would ‘love’ to get Star Trek Online to consoles
https://www.joystiq.com/2010/02/01/cryptic-would-love-to-get-star-trek-online-to-consoles/
“But we’ll have to see how Star Trek does and then secondly we want to do it justice and not hurry something along just to get it on the console.” – Zinc
The engine (STO and CO) already runs on consoles, we are told by Cryptic.

One Million Already Playing Star Trek Online?
https://terminalgamer.com/2010/02/04/one-million-already-playing-star-trek-online/
One million registered accounts is a strong indicator of a vibrant online community and it should only grow given Star Trekâ€s massive fan base
Numbers reflect Web accounts, not subscribed game accounts.

MATH:

OMG TORPEDO MATH

Special thanks to Katavul and Aruji, and their team of guinea pigs.

+1 Skill = 1% bonus to base damage.

Anything above Standard Issue damage = Bonus, and is added AFTER the skill math.
Example:
Standard Issue Torpedo = 1383 damage ( < — BASE)
Mk VIII Quantum Torpedo = 2484 damage ( < — per unmodified tooltip)
difference = +1101 ( < — BONUS)

With a +100 skill bonus:
(1383 x 2.00) = 2766
+1101
3867 < — same as in-game tooltip!!

Max skill bonus = 100% (18 Lt, 30 LtC, 52 Comm = 100 total)

This SAME math works for Beams & Cannons, but is also affected by Weapon Energy Levels.

Consoles act as a Skill Bonus, for damage calculations.
Applying a +10 Torpedo console to the above calculations…. Base & Bonus remain the same, but
(1383 x 2.10) = 2904.3
+1101
4005.3 < — final modified damage (rounded off in-game)

So, a +10 console resulted in a damage bonus of 138!

Weapon Damage Calculators:
Standard Issue = 1.00
Mk 1 = 1.08 (1.082)
Mk 2 = 1.18 (1.184)
Mk 3 = 1.29 (1.286)
Mk 4 = 1.39 (1.388)
Mk 5 = 1.49 (1.490)
Mk 6 = 1.59 (1.592)
Mk 7 = 1.69 (1.694)
Mk 8 = 1.80 (1.796)
Mk 9 = 1.90 (1.898)
Mk 10 = 2.00

To find “Standard Issue” damage, find a Mk X item on the Exchange and cut the damage in half. Inspecting an item on the Exchange will NOT attribute your modifiers to its totals.

MEDIA:

Watch Star Trek Online Intro Video Voiced By Leonard Nimoy â€“ Ties STO to ST09
https://trekmovie.com/2010/01/28/watch-star-trek-online-intro-video-voiced-by-leonard-nimoy-ties-sto-to-st09/

Screen shots with a story, Chris’ week of STO shots:
https://picasaweb.google.com/tophfisher/STOShots?feat=directlink

The post STOked S02E02: How Torpedoes Work & Taking on the Crystalline Entity first appeared on Jupiter Broadcasting.