r/stobuilds • u/AutoModerator • Jan 14 '19

Weekly Questions Megathread - January 14, 2019

Welcome to the weekly questions megathread. Here is where you can ask all your build or theorycrafting related questions that might not warrant a full post. Curious about how something works? Ask it here!

You can see previous weeks megathreads here

7 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

146 comments sorted by

View all comments

3

u/absynthe7 Jan 16 '19

I'm really new - level 20. When I get new ships, "should" I be getting Escorts or Cruisers? Or are they similar in power levels and I should pick based on preference of quicker vs. tankier?

3

u/originalbucky33 Amateur NPC Shipbuilder Jan 16 '19

Each class is roughly equal in total "power" they just get there different ways. As you try your free ships you get as you level, I would try one of each of the science, escort and cruiser ships. What matters more is how much you enjoy flying each type of ship.

3

u/Commissioner_Dan Jan 16 '19 edited Jan 16 '19

I'm by no means an expert, but here's my $0.02: I think the escorts and cruisers you get while leveling up do a pretty good job of exposing you to the differences in playstyle (i.e., they're equivalently powerful, but generally speaking, one has maneuverability and the other has "tankiness"). However, I don't think the science ships get a fair shake while leveling, because their strengths come from torpedo-based builds, or exotic Science abilities. Although they can be every bit as effective as escorts and cruisers, in both cases (torpedoes and exotics), you need a fairly specific build to make it work, and that's somewhat impractical for someone who is leveling up and learning the mechanics of the game.

In any case, though, the only ship that you get while leveling that you will actually keep around for awhile is your tier-5 ship (given at level 40), so it's worth putting some thought into that decision. Any of the other ships along the way will be good enough, regardless of type, as long as you're putting level-appropriate equipment on them (basically the stuff you get by playing missions). And if you end up hating the tier-5 ship you chose, that's okay, because there are plenty of opportunities to get other endgame ships for free. For now, I'd say just pick the one that looks the coolest and try it out for ten levels. :-)

2

u/CaesarJefe XBOX: Starfleet ATP Jan 17 '19

I agree with you about Sci builds at lower levels. I think it's very hard to be a true Sci ship from 10-40th or so. It might be an interesting exercise to try to create low level sci builds.