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.

Series 2 Launches!

• Head over to Eta Eradani (Drozana/K7 area) to get it started.

OUR THOUGHTS:

Proton Beam in Voyager

Nebula available on the C Store

Gozer talks about secondary/elite rewards in certain missions (as separate sub-missions)
To first be implemented in the new KDF “patrols”

MATH

Welcome back to MATH!  Did you miss me?  Because I missed you, and your beautiful curious face holes.

Today I’ll be attempting to list out some major tips for assembling a KILLER away team, capable of conquering even the most fearsome of odds.  I wanna clarify we’re talkin’ Ground Combat only, without teammates.  That’s right, ladies & germs – we’re flyin’ solo!

Before I get into the guts of who to bring and how to train ‘em, I wanna make a point that I see frequently overlooked by my fellow players.  Your boffs are YOU.  They are your equipment, they are your talent spec, they are your success or failure, wrapped up in an AI package.  Neglecting them, and expecting success, do not go hand-in-hand.

The first tip I have for you may sound like simple common sense but is nonetheless extremely important:  ALWAYS BRING A MEDIC.  I’m not talking about a wimpy science officer that happens to have one or two heals trained.  I mean a DOCTOR, Jim, not a school nurse.

The ideal setup for your Away Team doctor, should include AT LEAST two version of Medical Tricorder.  These heals fire instantly, and can frequently mean the difference between life and respawn.  Just below these in order of importance should be abilities like Vascular Regenerator and Nanite Health Monitor.  In addition to having the right abilities, traits make a huge difference.  Specifically “Creative” which can boost the amount of healing done to all allies.  Might want to also look into threat reducing abilities, so that your doctor does not become the center of attention (Empathic for Betazoids, e.g.)

In addition to keeping the health of your team topped off, your shields should be a high priority.  A second slot on your away team should be assigned to an Engineer that specializes in recharging your shields, and reducing incoming damage.  At least one Shield Recharge ability is an absolute must.  I also recommend buffs like Quick Fix and Equipment Diagnostics.  Many like to load up on turrets and medical generators, but it’s my personal recommendation to avoid stationary buffs like these as they inhibit your freedom of movement for enemy flanking, or hazard avoidance.  While we’re talking Engineers, I want to caution you to never ever ever give them the ability “Cover Shield.”  Due to them being honorless p’tagh that will hide behind the shield, not returning fire, doing nothing.

Once you have these necessities covered, the remaining makeup of your team is kind of up to you.  One possibility is to invest in an additional support character, such a Science boff that specializes in curing ailments and doling out buffage (using abilities like Dylovene and Melorazine).  A personal favorite of mine, is to train up a sturdy Tactical officer (one with good defensive innate traits like Sturdy, Peak Health, or Aggressive) with abilities that turn him into a walking target dummy — Draw Fire, Overwatch, and Motion Accelerator, with a touch of Lunge or Leg Sweep to force him into close contact with the enemy.

What it all comes down to is this:  Each of your Away Team Officers needs a specialty.  They can never good at everything, so instead make certain that they are good at ONE THING.  VERY GOOD AT IT.  If you try to get your boffs to have a wide variety of skills, they’ll never be good at any particular role.  It’s wiser to focus, and allow each officer to excel in their niche.

Now, that’s not to say that this is the ONLY way to build a team.  I’ve heard success stories of Tactical captains rolling around with teams of nothing but medics.  Or Fabrication Engineers using a squad of engineer boffs to beam down entire armadas of phaser turrets and support drones to mow down oncoming enemies.  While each of these has their own merits, they don’t offer much in the way of variety.  And as they say, Variety is the Spice of life.  And the spice must flow.  Wait, wrong franchise.