Hi everyone,
today we would like to discuss cannon ships and how to build them in a more generalized approach. We hope this could help you to choose the gear for your ship 🙂
This guide could be used for any ship, for cannons ships with more front weapons are usualy better, like 5 front / 3 aft weapons or 5 front /2 aft /1 experimental weapon layouts, but it will work with 5/1/1, 4/3/1, 4/3, 4/2/1, 4/2 and even 4/4 layouts too.
Skilltree:
Unlocks: all CrtH, Battery Expertise, Max Hull, Threat Control and full Focused Frenzy.
Boffs:
Fed/KDF/Jem:
- Tac Slots: Rare Male Tacticals with Superior Romulan Operativ (Fleet Embassy, required)
- Eng Slots: Jem’hadar Vanguard (big Vanguard Pack) or Nausicaan (Diplomatic Commendation Rank 4 or Exchange for KDF) and Kentari (Fleet Colony, if you have 2 Eng slots)
- Sci Slots: Jem’hadar Vanguard (big vanguard pack) or Hierachy Boff (Episode “Alliances”) and Kentari (Fleet Colony, if you have 2 Sci slots)
Romulan:
- 4-5x Boffs with Superior Romulan Operative (exchange rare/very rare usualy cheap, if you own the Delta Operations Pack, use the Eng Boff from that Pack)
- 1x Reman with Superior Infiltrator (if your flying a ship with Battlecloak, if you own the Delta Operations Pack, use the Tac Boff from that Pack)
- Kentari (Fleet Colony, if you have one already otherwise not really needed)
Tactical Boff Abilities:
- Cannon Scatter Volley (you want ALWAYS the highest version possible on your ship, required. Highest priority for your ship)
- Cannon Rapid Fire (highest version possible if you’re going for a Rapid fire build, otherwise usualy 1 rank below scatter volley for mixed builds)
- Attack Pattern Beta (I or II depends a bit on the ship layout, required)
- Kemocite Laced Weaponary (I or II, depends a bit on the ship layout, required)
- Torpedo Spread (usualy used as a trigger ability for competitive engines and inspirational leader, choose the highest version possible when utilizing a torpedo for a Polaron or Plasma Build)
- Tactical Team (I, defensive cooldown with small damage boost, could help a lot to survive. just unslot if you know what you’re doing
- Beam Overload (I, usualy used as a trigger ability for the competitive engines and inspirational leader
- Distributed Targeting (if you dont know what to slot)
- Best Served Cold (if you dont know what to slot)
EngineeringBoff Abilities:
- Emergency Power to Weapons (required, usualy the highest version possible slotted)
- Emergency Power to Engines I (required, usualy as Ensign ability)
- Auxiliary to Battery I (for cooldown reduction management with boffs, usualy the lowest possible)
- Directed Energy Modulation (the version you have room for, lower priority than Emergency Power to Weapons)
- Reverse Shield Polarity (if you have problems with surviving, could replace Directed Energy Modulation)
- Engineering Team (Heal, usualy a filler ability if you have room for it as Ensign ability)
Science Boff Abilities:
- Hazard Emitter I (heal and cleanse, usualy used as ensign ability)
- Science Team I (shieldheal and cleanse, usualy used as ensign ability)
- Photonic Officer (for Cooldown Management, in case you dont want to use Aux2Bat)
- Subspace Vortex (additional EPG AoE Damage, for high end runs or if you dont know what to slot)
- Very Cold in Space (additional EPG Aoe Damage, for high end runs or if you dont know what to slot)
- Tractor Beam (trigger ability for Unconventional Tactics personal trait, highly situational choice)
Specialist Boff Abilities:
- Narrow Sensor Bands (using a ship with Miracle Worker Boff? slot the highest possible, usualy III)
- Mixed Armaments Synergies (using a ship with Miracle Worker Boff? slot I or III depending on the ship and if it does not interfere with your Firemode as example)
- Override Subsystem Safeties (got an intel slot? use this, prefereable the highest version if it does not interfere with other abilities with higher priority like firemodes)
- Recursive Shearing (got a temporal officer seat? always a good choice, as I or III depending on the ship, lower priority than firemode)
- Pilot Team (Pilot ship, if you dont have something better to slot)
- Intel Team (Intel Ship, if you dont have something better to slot)
Example Layouts:
those are to give you an idea how it could look like.
Doffs:
- 3x Technician: Auxiliary to Battery CD Reduction (required for A2B builds, discount, could be obtained via B’tran Cluster chain for free or via commendation ranks store)
- Energy Weapon Officer: Chance for CRTH (expensive, rare is usually good enough)
- Energy Weapon Officer: Chance for CRTD (expensive, rare is usually good enough)
- Emergency Conn Hologram: CD Reduction for Evasive Maneuvers (phoenix store, just get one!) and/or
- Shield Distribution Officer (Agent Nerul): Attack Pattern Beta restores hull when firing (delta operations pack, 12k zen pack. just use him when you have him) and/or
- Space Warfare Specialist: When activating Eng or Tac Boff Abilities, 20% Chance to get 10% of your outgoing damage as heal for the next 10 hits (if you don’t own Agent Nerul)
- Fabrication Engineer: Increase Duration of Reverse Shield Polarity (Only useful when using Reverse Shield Polarity!)
- Elder Malik’itan (Warfare Master, Gamma Recruit, ground slot): Increase damage vs All (if you have him, slot him!)
- Neal Falconer (Ground Warfare Specialist, Phoenix store, ground slot): Increase damage vs Borg (just get one, it’s not a mistake 😉 )
- Assimilated DOFFs like 20/22/25/27 of 47
Personal Space Traits
Here’s a list with some useful traits. Which one you use depends a bit on the mission.
Recommended
- Fleet Coordinator (free)
- Intelligence Agent Attaché (exchange or Lockbox)
- Superior Beam/Cannon Training – Basis version for free, superior version obtainable at K-13
- Inspirational Leader (exchange or Infinity Lockbox)
- Duelist’s Favor (exchange or Infinity Lockbox) – more interesting for cannon builds
- Into the Breach (exchange or Infinity Lockbox)
- Point Blank Shot (Episode: House Pegh)
- Terran Targeting Systems (exchange or Infinity Lockbox)
- Context is for Kings (exchange or Infinity Lockbox)
- Adaptive Offense (exchange or Infinity Lockbox)
- Intelligence Agent Attaché (Lockbox)
- Fragment of AI Tech (Exchange or Angel’s Wake Lock Box) – add 2 skillpoints to Control Expertise (move from Shield Hardness & Regeneration)
- Unconventional Systems (Lockbox)
Recommended race/profession-specific
- A good day to die (Exchange or Infinity Lockbox) – Great for Tacs
- EPS Overload (Exchange or Infinity Lockbox) – Kinda must-have for Engs
- EPS Manifold Efficiency (free) – Very useful for Engs
- Photonic Reinforcement (exchange or Infinity Lockbox) – Great for Sci Captains
- Romulan Operative (free) – Only for Romulans
- Infiltrator – mandatory for Remans on Warbirds
Other helpful traits
- Fluidic Cocoon (Exchange or Infinity Lockbox) – Only if you got hit by torpedos
- Give Your All (Lvl 15 Engineering R&D School) – for fluffy captains
- Repair Crews (Exchange or Infinity Lockbox) – another anti-fluffy trait
- Unconcentional Tactics (Exchange or Infinity Lockbox) – CD reduction for universal consoles, useful in combination with Tractor Beam 1
Space Reputation
- Advanced Targeting Systems (Dyson T2) +16% CrtD on Rank I or +20% CrtD on Rank II
- Precision (Romulan T2) +4% CrtH (I) or +5% CrtH (II)
- Tyler’s Duality (Discovery T4) +CrtH depending on your hull capacity
- Energy Refrequencer (Iconian T2) – more heals, awesome and i would highly suggest to use this one.
- Controlled Countermeasures (Temporal T4) +addtional DMG against controlled targets => Only for A2B Builds
- Tactical Advantage (Dyson T2) – more Armor Pen
- Magnified Firepower (Gamma T4) +5% DMG (I) or +6,3% DMG (II)
- Enhanced Armor Penetration (Delta T2) +5 Armor Pen (I) or + 6.3 Armor Pen (II)
Starship Traits
Highly recommended
- Emergency Weapon Cycle (Arbiter/Morrigu(crossfaction)/Kurak)
- Withering Barrage for Cannons Scatter Volley (Valiant/Malem(crossfaction)/Kor)
OR - Go for the Kill for Cannon Rapid Fire (Jem’hadar Strikeship T6)
and then choose 4 of them:
- Weapon Emitter Overdrive (Vaadwaur Juggernaut)
- Calm Before the Storm (Cardassian Intel Flight-Deck Cruiser)
- Terran Goodbye (Mirror Warship)
- The Ruin of Our Enemies (Miracle Worker D7)
- Universal Designs (Crossfield Science Spearhead Refit), especially in combination with Immolating Phaser Lance from the Deimos, that’s just > 3b ECsfor two promo ships…
- Cold-Hearted – Must have for A2B (Breen Plesh Tral Heavy Raider Winter 2017/18)
- Superior Area Denial – If you don’t have A2B or the raider or as an addition (Mirror Universe Engle-class Strike Wing Escort/Infinity Pack: Starship Trait)
- Vaulting Ambition (Styx Terran Dreadnought Cruiser)
- Strike from Shadows (Shran Escort)
- Heart of Sol / Persistence Of The Founders / Pride Of Mol’rihan (Haste and faction specific bonus damage)
- Super Charged Weapons – if you’re using a torpedo (Kopesh Tactical Dreadnought Warbird, crossfaction or one of the other Tactical Flagships)
- Promise of Ferocity (Thozyn/Vandros/Xechas)
- Improved Critical Systems (AoY Event)
- History Will Remember (Support Cruiser T6)
- Improved Unconventional Tactics (Strategist Spec, Discount version if you don’t have anything else to use)
- Superior Command Frequency (Command Spec, Discount version if you don’t have anything else to use)
Gear:
And finaly all the gear choices you could make. Choose the stuff you have or you could effort 🙂
Deflector:
- Elite Fleet Intervention Protomatter Deflector Array [EPS] [ColCrit] [DrainX]x2 (Fleet Colony Holding, Reeng DrainX to something more valuable like HullCap, low priority)
Engine:
- Prevailing Innervated Impulse Engines (Competitive Reputation) OR
- Combat Impulse Engines [Spd]x4 (Discount Version, Crafted via RnD)
Warpcore / Singularity Core:
- Mycelial Harmonic Matter-Antimatter Core (Discovery Reputation) OR
- Mycelial Harmonic Singularity Core (Discovery Reputation) OR
- Elite Fleet Plasma-Integrated Warp Core [AMP] [ECap] [Eff] [SSS] [W->A] (Fleet Spire Holding) OR
- Elite Fleet Thoron-Infused Singularity Core [AMP] [Res or OLoad] (Fleet Spire Holding) OR
- Deuterium-Stabilized Warp Core [Bat] [W->A or E] (Discount Version, Crafted via RnD) OR
- Thoron-Infused Singularity Core (Discount Version, Crafted via RnD)
Shield:
- Tilly’s Review-Pending Modified Shield (Discovery Reputation) OR
- Hyper Capacitor Shield Array [Cap]x5 (Crafted Via RnD, as much cap as possible, min 3) OR
- Prevailing Innervated Resilient Shield Array (Competitive Reputation) OR
- Regenerative Crystal Shield Matrix (Discount Version, Episode “Para Pacem”)
Weapons:
And here we have the different weapon types you might wanna use. Choose the one you prefere the most 🙂
All weapons should have [CRTD] or [DMG] and [Crtd/Dm] mods. You could always choose between Dual Cannons and Dual Heavy Cannons or a mix of those.
Phaser:
Front:
- Terran Task Force Dual Heavy Cannon (Terran Reputation T6)
- Prolonged Engagement Phaser Dual Cannons (Phoenix Store)
- Phaser Quad Cannon (Sao Paulo Tactical Escort Refit)
- Targeting-Linked Phaser Dual Heavy Cannons (Lockbox/Exchange) OR
- Targeting-Linked Phaser Dual Cannons (Lockbox/Exchange) OR
- Sensor-Linked Phaser Dual Heavy Cannons (Lockbox/Exchange) OR
- Sensor-Linked Phaser Dual Cannons (Lockbox/Exchange) OR
- Phaser Dual Heavy Cannons [PEN] (Discount, Crafted via RnD)
- Quantum Phase Dual Heavy Cannon (Discount, Episode “Sunrise”)
Aft:
- Trilithium Omni Beam (Episode Reward “Beyond the Nexus”, use on a Miracle Worker Ship) OR
- Trilithium Turret (Episode Reward “Beyond the Nexus”)
- Gamma Reputation Turret or Omnibeam (Gamma Reputation)
- Targeting-Linked Phaser Turret (Lockbox/Exchange)
- Heavy Bio-Molecular Phaser Turret (Undine Reputation)
Disruptor:
Front:
- Terran Task Force Dual Heavy Cannons (Terran Reputation)
- Spiral Wave Disruptor Dual Heavy Cannons (Dilithium Store, Cardassian Ship required. Choose the Cardassian Flight Deck Carrier if you buy one) OR
- Spiral Wave Disruptor Dual Cannons (Dilithium Store, Cardassian Ship required. Choose the Cardassian Flight Deck Carrier if you buy one) OR
- Targeting-Linked Disruptor Dual Heavy Cannons (Lockbox/Exchange) OR
- Targeting-Linked Disruptor Dual Cannons (Lockbox/Exchange) OR
- Sensor-Linked Disruptor Dual Heavy Cannons (Lockbox/Exchange) OR
- Sensor-Linked Disruptor Dual Cannons (Lockbox/Exchange) OR
- Disruptor Dual Heavy Cannons [PEN] (Discount, Crafted via RnD)
Aft:
- Targeting-Linked Disruptor Omni Beam (Lockbox/Exchange, use on a Miracle Worker Ship) OR
- Martok Omni Beam (Discount, Episode “Brushfire”, use on a Miracle Worker Ship)
- Targeting-Linked Disruptor Turrets (Lockbox/Exchange) OR
- Sensor-Linked Disruptor Turrets (Lockbox/Exchange) OR
- Spiral Wave Disruptor Turrets (Dilithium Store, Cardassian Ship required. Choose the Cardassian Flight Deck Carrier if you buy one) or
- Disruptor Turrets [PEN] (Discount, Crafted via RnD)
Plasma:
Front:
- Plasma Quad Cannon (Ar’Kala Tactical Warbird)
- Advanced Piezo-Plasma Dual Cannons (Lukari Reputation)
- Altamid Modified Kelvin Torpedo (Lobi Store)
- Altamid Plasma Dual Cannons (Lockbox / Exchange) OR
- Altamid Plasma Dual Heavy Cannons (Lockbox / Exchange) OR
- Assimilated Plasma Dual Cannons (Lockbox / Exchange) OR
- Assimilated Plasma Dual Heavy Cannons (Lockbox / Exchange) OR
- Plasma Dual Heavy Cannons [PEN] (Discount, Crafted via RnD)
Aft:
- Altamid Modified Plasma Omni (Lobi Store)
- Plasmatic Biomatter Auto-Turret (Lobi Store)
- Altamid Plasma Turret (Lockbox / Exchange) OR
- Assimilated Plasma Turret (Lockbox / Exchange) OR
- Plasma Turret [PEN] (Discount, Crafted via RnD)
Polaron:
Front:
- Advanced Piezo-Polaron Dual Cannons (Lukari Reputation)
- Morphogenic Polaron Energy Torpedo Launcher (Episode “Home”)
- Dominion Polaron Dual Cannons (Discount and Best in slot, Old Episode Reward via Available, 2600er Arc, “Boldly They Rode”)
- Heavy Chronometric Dual Heavy Cannon (Episode “Time and Tide”)
Aft:
- Morphogenic Polaron Energy Weapon (Episode “Home”, required)
- Advanced Inhibiting Polaron Heavy Turret (Gamma Reputation, required)
- Heavy Chronometric Polaron Turret (Episode Reward “Time and Tide”) or
- Polaron Turret [Pen] (crafted via RnD)
Antiproton:
Front:
- Ba’ul Antiproton Dual Cannons (Lockbox/Exchange)
- Ba’ul Antiproton Dual Heavy Cannons (Lockbox/Exchange)
- Ba’ul Linked Sentry Anti-Proton Kinetic Torpedo (Lobistore)
- Dark Matter Quantum Torpedo (Discovery Reputation T1)
- Advanced Thoron Infused Antiproton Dual Heavy Cannons (Delta Reputation T6)
- Advanced Radiant Antiproton Dual Heavy Cannons (Iconian Reputation T4)
- Advanced Temporal Defense Chroniton Dual Heavy Cannons (Temporal Reputation T4)
- Antiproton Dual Cannons (Discount, Crafted via RnD)
- Antiproton Dual Dual Heavy Cannons (Discount, Crafted via RnD)
- Voth Antiproton Dual Cannons (Lockbox/Exchange)
- Voth Antiproton Dual Heavy Cannons (Lockbox(Exchange)
- Herald Antiproton Dual Cannons (Lockbox/Exchange)
- Herald Antiproton Dual Heavy Cannons (Lockbox/Exchange)
- Delphic Antiproton Dual Cannons (Lockbox/Exchange)
- Delphic Antiproton Dual Heavy Cannons (Lockbox/Exchange)
Aft:
- Ba’ul Antiproton Turret (Lockbox/Exchange)
- Ba’ul Linked Sentry Anti-Proton Omni (Lobistore)
- Ba’ul Linked Sentry Anti-Proton Kinetic Torpedo (Lobistore)
- Antiproton Turret (Discount, Crafted via RnD)
- Omni-Directional Antiproton Beam Array (Discount, Crafted via RnD)
- Ancient Omni-Directional Antiproton Beam Array (Episode:Sphere of Influence)
- Voth Antiproton Turret (Lockbox/Exchange)
- Omni-Directional Voth Antiproton Beam Array (Lockbox/Exchange)
- Herald Antiproton Turret (Lockbox/Exchange)
- Delphic Antiproton Turret (Lockbox/Exchange)
- Omni-Directional Delphic Antiproton Beam Array (Lockbox/Exchange)
Consoles:
For the Consoles, all tactical slots are reserved for the listed consoles. The Engineering and Science slots are usualy filled by Universal Consoles from our list or with Eng/Sci-Consoles to complete Sets.
Tactical Consoles:
- Lorca’s Custom Fire Controls (Discovery Reputation)
- Morphogenic Console (Episode “Home”, for polaron builds required)
- Vulnerability Locator [your damage type] (for the rest of the slots, Fleet Spire Holding) OR
- Energetic Protomatter Matrix Infuser [your damage type][Kinetic] (in case you need more survivability, Fleet Colony Holding)
- Chronometric Capacitor (Discount, Polaron, Episode “Time and Tide”, not great, only use if you cant effort more locator or protomatter consoles)
- Weapon Type Specific Console Mk Xi or XII (Placeholder ONLY!! use them till you can effort locator or protomatter consoles. DO NOT!!! upgrade, keep them at rare/very rare mk xi/xii as a placeholder. DO NOT WASTE RESOURCES BY UPGRADING THEM!!)
Universal Consoles:
- Dynamic Power Redistributor (Fed-Fed/Jem: Atlas Class Prototype Dreadnought, KDF/KDF-Jem/ROM: Console Choice Pack, Lockbox/Exchange)
- D.O.M.I.N.O. (Bajoran Interceptor)
- Bioneural Infusion Circuit (Lobi Store)
- Altamid Modified Swarm Processor (Lobi Store)
- M6 Tactical Computer (Temporal Escort – Perseus Class T3)
- Approaching Agony (Phaser Build, Lockbox/Exchange)
- Weaponized Helical Torsion (Phaser Build, Legendary Discovery or Mirror Discovery)
- Ordnance Accelerator (Phaser and Polaron Builds, Gamma Reputation)
- Piezo-Electric Focuser (Polaron and Plasma Builds, Lukari Reputation)
- Assimilated Module (Omega Reputation, Discount)
- Zero Point Module (Romulan Reputation, Discount)
- Tachyokinetic Converter (Lobi Store)
- Point Defense Bombardement Warhead (NX Ship, Lobi-Store or Legendary Version)
- Hull Image Refractor (for survivability, Lockbox / Exchange)
- Reiterative Structural Capacitor (Phoenix Store)
- Regenerative Integrity Field (for survivability, Samsar Cruiser, Epic Phoenix Token)
- Protomatter Field Projector (for survivability, Lukari Science Ship, Ecpi Phoenix Token)
- Aligned Antiproton Shielding (Khitomer Alliance Battlecruiser)
- Temporal Anomaly Projector (AP Build, Lockbox/Exchange)
- Polymorphic Probe Array (AP Build, Lockbox/Exchange)
- Ba’ul Linked Sentry Coordination Matrix (AP Build, Lobi-Store)
Engineering Consoles:
- Reinforced Armaments (Phaser Builds, Episode “Beyond the Nexus”)
- House Martok Defensive Configuration (Disruptor Build, Discount version, Episode “Brushfire”)
- Bellum EPS Flow Regulator (Discount, free from boxes while leveling up Discovery reputation, only use those if you dont have something else. Choose these if you have the choice)
- Bellum RCS Accelerator (Discount, free from boxes while leveling up Discovery reputation, only those use if you dont have something else)
Science Consoles:
- Temporal Disentanglement Suit (Discount Version, Episode: “Butterfly”, for non Aux2Bat Builds)
- Nausicaan Siphon Capacitor (Disruptor Builds, Discount Version, Episode “Echoes of Light”)
- Quantum Phase Converter (Phaser Builds, Discount Version, Episode “Sunrise”)
- Bellum Field Generator (Discount, free from boxes while leveling up Discovery reputation, only use those if you dont have something else)
- Bellum Nanite-Reinforced Circuitry (Discount, free from boxes while leveling up Discovery reputation, only use those if you dont have something else)
Example Layouts, based on the Legendary Pilot Warship, in case you prefere a more visually approach 😉
Phaser:
Plasma:
Disruptor:
Polaron:
Antiproton:
The layout can be used for any faction and profession and any ship being able to use cannons.
Feel free to comment below or ask us directly via discord or in-game.
Thanks for this post. This answers a lot of questions I been having about builds in general. Is it safe to say that, if your using disruptors, that you dont need the projectile weapon points(because you dont have any torps) or do you keep those in case you fire off Point Defense Bombardement Warhead ?
It’s either projectile which adds to ceartain abilities, consoles and pets. Or a minor buff for ypur defence which is more or less worthless.
Why is Emergency Power to Engines I required?
for the speed boost, to get into position fast enough. you could replace it with epts tho, but i wouldnt recommend that. its by far not as noticable as an epte 😉
Ok Thx. I thought probably It triggers something. And why has one layout BO, CRF and CSV?
We have builds with an Omni beam, that’s why BO is a goot idea. CSV and CRF cover those situations where you either have multiple targets to shoot at or just a single target (i.e. bosstype enemy).
what is the 2nd eng and 1st sci console on the disruptor build ?
should be m6 computer and forgot what the sci console was. its defnitly not important and was more a filler when i took the screenshot i guess. just grab another good one from our list 🙂
Great write-up, thanks.
No quads for the disruptor build though?
they are like a spiral wave dual cannon, just with additional power drain for your engines. so in case you own spiral waves (the by far best choice for disruptors), no quad 😉
Ah I see!! Excellent work here I always keep this tab open when I play. Thanks again!
Where do you get to disruptor quad cannons?
https://sto.gamepedia.com/Ning%27tao_Bird-of-Prey
Any reason antiproton weapons aren’t listed as a possible build? Is there something about them that is not worth building towards?
ap weapons are weaker than the optiones showed. even tho they could work and items will be quite equal to the other setups listed with 1-3 different consoles and thats it 😉
How about the Trait: The Ruin of Our Enemies?
An infinite stacking 2% cat2 damage bonus for every defeated enemy does not sound that bad to me
I like the trait but use it mainly in battlezones. In an average ISA/E you’ll get 7-10 kills which roughly gives you an average of 7-10% bonus damage in the TFO. That’s ok. The CD reduction is also useful, but not necessary for Aux2Bat or PO/Aux2Bat builds.
Anyway, it should be on the list.
thx for the quick answer 😉
On the disruptor build, why is there an Omni and if I wanted a torp up front what do you suggest. Flying a Khopesh as a Rom-KDF-Tac, so don’t have M6 Computer, what should I swap it for?, was thinking Point defense Bombardment Warhead.
an omni is there for mixed armaments synergies from miracle worker. if you’re not flying a mw ship, use another turret if you have one.
point defense bombardement warhead is a choice, but usualy you dont have enough room with a scimitar, since you wanna use the 3 piece set (tac console, eng console and timeline stabilizer from krenim sci ship would be the best choice), so you usualy have around 3 consoles left, domino, bioneural infusion and dynamic would be my choice than.
Thanks for all your time and help.
Didn’t find anything on Specialisations. In case that isn’t my fault, which would I use?
intel / strategist for cannon and beam ships usualy.
1. Would the Morphogenic Torpedo outparse another Dual Heavy Cannon for the polaron setup? Wouldn’t it be a better idea to slot that torpedo in the aft and sacrifice a turret vs sacrificing a DHC?
2. The Altamid torpedo – same question as above. Are these torpedoes worth replacing a DHC?
3. When you use a torpedo, an omni and dual cannons, how would your 10- slot keybind bar?
You need eptw3 and epte1 in the beginning of the bar, you need 2x aux to batt or a2b+po. That leaves you with 6 slots. You need HE for strategist, csv, apb, bo, ts, rright?
for 1)2)
i guess you get more dps from 1 turret + 1 torpedo vs 1 dhc alone.
thats a deeply personal thing, personally i dont use a keybind with 10 abilities myself.
1&2 That depends on if you run i.e. ETW and actually have to fire the torpedo. If not, it’s better to stuff it in one of the aft slots. That’s what I do on my Polaron and Plasma cannon builds.
More than 10 slots an a single keybind: That’s easy to do, but you’ll loose any control over you timings.
I’m not running ETW.
And I’m trying to add some excuse to make a torp worth more than a dhc in a dhc build. But my ship’s performance always proves me wrong. On phaser, disruptor, polaron , tetryon , plasma and antiproton.
I’ve noted that Torpedo+turret > one dhc (torpedo in the aft).
And tbh, I don’t know if even for polaron, the morphogenic stacking bonuses are better than the turret, the dhc and the vulnerability locator that they’re depriving you of…
Also, I’m curious on how you guys set your keybind bars for these cannon builds. Thanks in advance!
Where is the antiproton build?
wasnt worth it til yesterday. will be added soon.
What you wrote about “soon”seems incorrect.
It is now 11 days later and there is no cannon antiproton build listed.
we’ve added one to the beam builds 😉
He did not say ‘please’. Some people have bad manners.
@Hellspawny
Saying please does not mean some one has good manners. Seems you have a personality that demands to be pleased by others. Why do you need that so much?
I can tell you I am a very nice friendly person in real life.
Not nice from you to suggest I am bad mannered. Also not very constructive or helpful in my opinion. But if that makes you feel like you are in control that is fine by me.
@felisean: Thank you, I did see the beam antiproton build. Just wondering why there is no antiproton cannon one.
Thanks for the added proton builds. 🙂
Do you prefer slotting DCs or DHCs? The spiral mod is very nice so I was wondering if it matters overall. I have the dil to get them but I was curious of your opinions before I buy.
in theory dhc should be slightly better, but usualy i used a mix of both in the past. in some runs dc performed better, in others dhc so yea
I want to fly the Kor with the advise from this post. What are the best 3 experimental weapons? I’m bound to have one of them.
I prefer Graviton Implosion Charges. Nice pull effect and debuff. Damagewise Protomatter-Laced Sheller for single target and Voice of the Prophets for multi-target.
Why aren’t the disruptor/plasma quad cannons also included? Are they under-par in comparison with the phaser one? The tooltips in-game seem to show them as powerful as the phaser ones.
Plasma is included, Disruptor simply was forgotten.
Excellent Guide!!! Only one build missing – Tetryon.
Should the torpedoes not be autofire? :3
not sure what you mean, but both ways work when using one torpedo. usualy you want to enhance your torpedo with a fire mode tho
klingon goodbye?
no kdf 🙁
Set 2: War Discretion
Passive
On crit: +1% Critical Severity buff for 20s. Stacks up to 25
Can you get the effect of any weapon without firing a DBB or torpedo?
yes, but the dark matter torp or the dbb are both decent-good 😉
for a cannon build its usualy not worth it tho.
Why do the Antiproton build use D.O.M.I.N.O. in Sci slot? Wouldn’t one of the AP consoles be a better fit?
Domino is one of the best universal consoles in the game. Don’t judge it by it’s (weak) passive bonus.
The dominoes are not passive, the abilities are more important. 🙂
Hey! Thanks for this, I have been away since season 13 so this is a good refresh. I do have a question… i come from a time when FaW Beam Boats were king … imma switch to cannon boat but i would like any suggestion for the meta ships atm (Fed and Rom). Thanks again !
Any ship with a 5/3 or 5/2/1 layout will work. If you’re limited to the C-Store / cheap ships I’d suggest getting either the (Fleet) Gagarin or the Jem Vanguard Warship.
Is terran goodbye counted even if someone on the team defeats it?
Tests have shown that only your own kills count.
Right now, I’m using a Fleet Kholhr Temporal Warbird with AP build, using 4 heavy cannons at front with the crystalline torp, and 3×360 AP turrets at the back. I was told that the turrets are bad for this ship, and that turrets deal less overall dmg than beams, even tho what I saw in description, it always stated the turrets with higher dps compered to the beam counterpartner.
I’m aiming for pure dmg + crit build, and I know its still way far from the “perfect” build…. But the main question is: what is the deal with the beams vs turrets? How can I decide what should I use on which ship? How do I know which deals more damage or more beneficial on the ship?
I could not find an exact build for it, thats why I’m asking for a general guide or something, for deciding it on my own.
you will most likely see better results with turrets, since they get boosted by your scatter volley, beams do not get boosted by that ability and you would need to slot another one. in addition you can’t use 3 omnis, just 2, one set omni and one crafted/lockbox omni.
the basedmg from an crafted omni is equal to a normal beam array => its slightly higher than a turret. the set omni is equal to a turret.
=>
the only reason to use 1 omni in a cannon build is to trigger mixed armaments synergies when using a ship with miracle worker seats.
in addition, you should replace your crystalline torp with another dual heavy cannon or if you really want to stick with a torp, use the discovery rep torp + console.
Can you recommend the new Zhat Vash Disruptors, compared to the Spiral-Wave or Sensor-Linked Diruptors? Thanks.
No. The 2.5% chance per fire cycle is just too low to have a constant buff.
ok just saying wouldnt a omni ancient ap+crafted omni ap + omni borg beam count still for 3 beams in aft? (or two other omnis + borm kin beam for other type builds)??
The Kinetic Cutting Beam could be used, but even if named “Beam” its not a beam and dont get enhanced by fire modes like fire at will. its only useful to use that beam combined with the assimilated module to unlock the 2 piece bonus there.
for a cannon build in general you usualy want to use turrets not omni beams for your aft slots. in cae you’re going for spiral wave disruptor cannons, you want targeting-linked (or sensor linked) turrets for the aft slots. In case you’re using a miracle worker ship you want to replace one of those turrets with a omni beam of that kind to trigger mixed armaments synergies.
feel free to join our discord in case there are more questions 🙂
CptKing… you are correct that you can slot in such a manner. Think of it this way: there’s two categories for energy omni weapons… one for set pieces (such as episode or reputation rewards) and one for non-set-pieces (such as the crafted ones).
Although the tooltips say “may only use one”, you can in fact use one of each category.
The Omega rep kinetic omni is a third category by itself (with the caveats that felisean mentioned). If you want to do a 3-aft-weapons build you could slot all three together. (I used to do this on a Wells.) However in most cases you’re better off placing a regular beam array or a turret there that would benefit from your energy tac consoles, etc. (Turret as a trigger for Mixed Armaments if it’s a MW ship)
sadly no miracle worker ships, best i have is the steamrunner t5u, ap build using exchange ap’s dhc plus omega torp, 3 omni rear, experimental plus 3p borg/ 2p ancient omni. then regural fillers.
i wouldnt use omni beams on a cannon build, turrets are way better because they benefit from your scatter volley as example
what is the cause for cannon sputter? is something broken in the game to cause that,,Andorian ship cannons shoot great without sputter,,the rest of my cannon builds sputter all the time!!
sry i have no idea what you mean.
cannons and all weapons fire in cycles, the andorian wing cannon normal fire mode is slightly different since its just one or two shots per cycle.
all other dual cannons and turrets fire 6 shots per cycle, dual heavy cannons 4 shots, during scatter volley its the same amount but at a maximum of 3 targets + the additional visual, for rapid fire its 6 shots for dhc 9 for dc/turrets.
during fire modes, andorian wing cannons act like being dual cannons
Perhaps jewel is referring to the animation “sputtering” instead of a fluid flow from your ship to enemy ship. I get this sometimes and is likely a lag issue much like running on ground where you sometimes teleport back and forth.
Thx guys for your reply,,Yes Kenshin thats what im talking about,,I have a fast connection on cpu to game!! and all my kdf cannon ships shoot the correct way a cannon ship is suppose to work,,only one of my Fed ships with cannons shoot correct and the rest of them are awful with no dps,,been working on this a whole month, and thanks for the Techno info Felisean,i knew that about fire order 🙂
Is Weapon Emitter Overdrive really a solid choice on a cannon build? From what i’ve seen the weapon drain increase does not help cannons in any way and doesn’t seem to be a good trade off for the crit chance. Perhaps if you have a bunch of abilities that set your weapon drain to zero but other than that it seems detrimental.
Which is the first Cannon on the Polaron ship layout?
It’s the Advanced Temporal Defense Dual Heavy Cannons from T6 Temporal reputation.
Are the equipments / traits listed in order of importance (eg listed from best -> worst)?
For example, in warp cores is Mycelial Harmonic Matter-Antimatter Core better than
Elite Fleet Plasma-Integrated Warp Core?
Not necessarily, we have just listed a selection of good choices. As you can see in the sample builds, we prefer combinations of Tilly shield and Mycel or Elite Plasma warpcore. As for the traits, it really depends on your playstyle and gear. Point-blank is a great trait if you prefer to fight targets head-on, not so much @ 8km distance. Unconventional systems is not very useful if you have just one universal console with an active ability, Heart of Sol is useless if you don’t use phasers etc.
In the disruptor example layout, the Aligned Antiproton Shielding console is in the science console slot. Since this is a disruptor build and this console gives additional antiproton damage, is it slotted more for the firing haste and shield benefits?
for the clicky. you could use any other console that suits you from the list tho too 😉
Got Tilly’s shield with [Cap]x4 [Cp/Rg]. Wondering if re-engineering to something else, particularly [Reg], is worth considering?
no cap is fine
What about specializations? Anything to recommend there? I’m using Intell Off and Temp Op.
Intel and Strategist.
Do Assimilated Plasma cannons/turrets actually exist?
According to the Wiki, they’re beams-only…
Special Equipment Pack – Assimilated Plasma Weapons
Coming back to the game after a hiatus, what are the slotted devices in the USS LegendoftheZenStore?
Kobayashi Maru Transponder (Event Reward), Battery Targeting Lock and Energy Amplifier (crafted)
Would you recommend combining Withering Barrage with the Supremacy to help it run continuously or use the starship trait slot for completely something else?
Supremacy isn’t a top tier trait. That slot is better used by something else.
in your pictures of the legendary pilot ship what is the 3 engineering console inside and the last one at the tak consoles
the first picture
Tac is Weaponized Helical Torsion. User another Locator unless you have a very high crit rate. Eng are Reinforced Armaments, D.O.M.I.N.O., DPRM and Tachyokinetic.
Does it make sense to run both Cannon Scatter Volley III AND Cannon Rapid Fire II at the same time? That’s what you appear to be recommending. Don’t they share a cooldown?
They share a cooldown. But one is used for multiple targets and the other one is for taking out bosses.
I really like to fly a Cannon Boat.. but I don’t like the look of the ships in your guide 😀
I love the Romulan Ship Design and as a Romulan Captain it is kind of a given that I need one of those.
So.. in short… is there a Romulan Ship you can recommend for/as Cannon Boat?
Oh.. I just saw the starship mastery traits… the Morrigu I guess, right?
https://sto.fandom.com/wiki/Legendary_Scimitar_Intel_Dreadnought_Warbird
Hey. Do you think, there is some top item worth thinking of in 12th anniversary bundle for cannon build? Probably not, otherwise you would update page.. buy you know jury can be still out. Thank you
There is nothing as a must-have for cannons in that bundle. It’s still a decent package and SAD also works extremely well on cannons (with or without a hangar). It’s a great debuff.
In the pictures of the Plasma and Disruptor builds. What is that console in the first Engineer console slots
https://sto.fandom.com/wiki/Altamid_Adaptation#Altamid_Modified_Swarm_Processor
kia ora, hello all. What Experimental Weapons would you recommend now? Looking at doing a Phaser Cannon Build on an Andorian Pilot Escort, many thanks
Reiterative Structural Capacitor (Phoenix Store)
Is not available in the Phoneix Store and has to be bought from Mudd’s market if not achieved in the event.
Is tetryon damage viable for cannon build
Yes. In fact, all six energy types use the same base damage scale for the standard / lootable / craftable weapons.
Glad to see you’re still around to answer questions…
So I like cannons in general and this build in particular.. but the ships you suggested are.. well.. I don’t like hangers (always forget those in fight) and the others.. meh… not very visual pleasing :3
So I checked my Shipyard and found the “Scryer Intel Science Vessel” in my possession
What is your opinion on this one? Would it make a decent cannon boat too?
I’d take a cruiser or escort with 5 front weapons. The scryer has just 3 and can’t even support Scatter Volley 3.
Thanks darling.
I guess I go to the spacedock and check there what ships I can get (worst case for zen)
Hi thank you for the build, could I ask for some more detailed view of the Jem Hadar vanguard picture pls. It is hard to check what is equiped only by picture. I tried the Discord but no one there. Thank you. I request names of the equipment.
Are tetryon weapons not worth using?
I see my question was answered above. I missed it the first time.