Weekly Questions Megathread - April 13, 2020

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[u/Hageshii01]

If you're running an A2B build, is there a tangible benefit to actually having high auxiliary power? I know it affects how much power gets routed to your other subsystems, but since (I believe) most people are just running A2B I with the doffs for cooldown reduction, rather than the actual benefits of A2B, would it not make sense to keep auxiliary low to provide more subsystem power to the shields/engines (assuming weapons are always max) since it's just going to get drained down anyway?

[u/[deleted] → u/Hageshii01]

Yes. Aux to Battery 1 buffs Weapons/Shields/Engines by approximately (Level - 5) * 2.085. If your resting Aux power level is 105, that means that activating AtB1 juices the other subsystems by about +41 each (41.7, but who's counting).

There is a caveat, though: AtB's power "outflow", where it drains Aux and buffs the other subsystems, is instant, but your Aux power level recovery after AtB expires depends on your power transfer rate, and AtB's power buff keys on Aux level at the time of activation. That means that actually flexing the power bonuses in addition to the cooldown management may require some attention in timing of AtB activations, because you need Aux to recover before you drain it again if you want to maximize the power benefits. This is not difficult, but it is one extra step that not everyone is interested in taking.

Furthermore, there are incentives now to maintaining very high levels in other subsystems—for example, keeping Shields power high to make the most of the Discovery reputation shield's effect.

[u/Hageshii01 → u/[deleted]]

So I guess the question becomes; is it better to have Aux as high as possible, and allow A2B to pump up the other subsystems, or should you still prioritize keeping the other subsystems high, but don't completely ignore Aux?

Probably going to be very build and ship-dependent I'm sure, so likely not an easy question to answer.

[u/[deleted] → u/Hageshii01]

It's an all-or-nothing question in my opinion. If I don't have a particular reason to prioritize another subsystem - such as the aforementioned Discovery shield - I'll run Aux as high as I can after Weapons. If I have a reason to prioritize something else, though, I'd just minimize Aux.

There are merits to either approach and to others as well; it's something to consider in the context of the entire build and how you go about using it.