At the request of the CoS, I've put together this little guide to Escorts.
ESCORT ADVICE(keyword) GUIDE
First thing to remember about STO, DO WHAT WORKS FOR YOU. That's why I'm going list your options(the best options really) you have with an escort. I've spent a lot of forum browsing and tweaking so I got a good bit to share. Another thing to remember with escorts is they are meant to destroy the other ship before they can destroy you. Hopefully this guide will provide you with insight on how to better survive. I however will not hand you "DO this, DO that" answers. For one I believe someone should play how they want, and second I like to leave people to learn on their own.
1.)Ship Load Outs
2.)Officer Abilities
3.)Duty Officers
4.)Power Lvls
5.)Specs
6.)Remarks
1.)Ship Setup:
Heavy Alpha Strike(best used with defiant/cloak):
Fore: x2 Dual Heavy Cannons(DHC), x1 Dual beam bank(DBB), and a Torp
Rear: x2 turrents, x1 Beam array(BA)
For this setup it works good to have Beam Overload III (BO III), Torpedo High Yield III (THY III).
Most popular:
Fore: x3 DHC, x1 Torp; Rear: x3 Turrets(My current build)
Fore: x3 DHC, x1 DBB; Rear:x3 Turrets (lacks torps, but some swear by it)
Other Options:
Fore: x3 DHC, x1 Torp ; Rear: x2 Turrets, x1 torp(usually a Harh'peng or Tricobolt)
Fore x3 DHC, x1 DBB; Rear:x2 Turrets, x1 Beam Array
Don't be dumb and put a lot of beams on this, it's a waste of the escort. Go get a cruiser if you want beam arrays.
--For devices I suggest the Subspace Field Modulator. The modulator can be obtain from DEVIDIAN FE "Skirmish". So if you don't have it, go to your ready room and replay the mission for the reward. This will give your defense a boost in time of need.
Good thing now is that with all the lock boxes their are combo batteries. I would suggest in the other slots either a Shield/Engine combo or Deuterium (found in Alhena, Eta Eridani). However a simple engine battery will do. That in combo with Evasive will get you away from battle if you need to run.
--You can go different routes with your ship gear. Myself I like to run the MACO shield and deflector with the Adapted MACO engine. It gives me great survivability. I choose this setup because the MACO shield has a high cap and has 5% bleedthrough instead of 10% like most. The MACO deflector has great boost to shield heal abilities and the Adapted engine has an awesome engine disable cleaner and boost power lvls.
The MACO shield with x2 piece Borg combo are considered the best for surviving right now by most. As of Season 7 you get all this from reputation system. Borg ship gear now ranges from Mk X to Mk XII
MACO of course is built for defense. Using all 3 gives your the Graviton beam which hits decently hard.
Omega set is built for dishing out more damage with its bonuses. It's a good set but without a good team member to heal you, you won't be able to stay in a fight as long compared to other sets. People usually throw the engine and deflector with the MACO shield.
The Aegis set(crafted or bought off exchange) is still a good set to use even though you don't see it much. It has a great high cap shield and it gives your some really nice bonuses to boost defense.
The Adapted MACO (aka Honor Guard set) is really neat. The covariant shield has a nice cap to it, the engine is great for an escort. The deflector though is gear a little more toward a Science ship. The x2 piece bonus gives a little of a nasty boost to your torps, a nice boost to Aux power, and a solid crew resist. I suggest the Engine and Shield with the standard MACO Deflector. Works wonders.
Fleet gear is still new. The Elite Fleet Shields with ResA and ResB are becoming really popular in the world of PvP. I've not tried it yet, but a lot of people are making the switch to this with a x2 piece bonus from other sets.
The reason I've not mentioned the Jemmy set or Breen set is because I don't use them and never have. The only thing I can say on those is Jimmy boost polaron damage if you have those for weapons. The Breen set is good to get every time you rank up till you can get your end game gear.
--For weapons, go with what you want. Whether it be because of the procs they give, or you like the color. Keep in mind that most endgame gear has a resist against plasma(for borg), so if you plan on PvP any you'd be gimping yourself. Also for PvP it's best to go with weapons with more [Acc] mods. Because if you ain't hitting them, then it don't matter what your weapons can do. The Fleet weapons are nice, but outside of the Antiprotons with built in CrtD I find that non fleet Mk XII weapons are still better for me. My personal favorite to go to is [Acc]x3 or [Acc]x2[CrtD].
--Consoles the key to remember is stack up your Tac slots with weapons specific consoles(i.e. if you run phasers, then use phaser relays) that boost your % damage. You can run all to support your cannon types, or you can throw in one to support your torps too. Avoid prefire chambers, they don't give you as much a boost as you can get.
Most people still consider the Borg console a must due to the properties it has. Another console also worth looking at is the Zero-point console from Romulan reputation. It gives you some Crit chance %.
For Engineer you can use what you think would suite you best. I use Nuetronium due to the fact it covers all weapon types and kinetic damage. Some even throw in RCS to get some more turn, but I dont see the need in it unless you PvP a lot and want more a turn edge with a good team to heal you.
EPS console, you really need it if you pack a BO attack. Outside of using Beam Overload though you won't need it.
I also throw in my Cloak for Defiant in the Eng section.
For Sci console on escort, well Field Generators (% boost to shield cap) is really the best way to go. That's what I do. You can stack them if you have room. I run my Borg console here. Also some other consoles to consider are the Zero Point (from Rommie Rep) and the Temporal console (Lobi Store) that boost your turn and crits.
2.)Tactical Stations:
The most important thing to have on your ship is Tactical Team(TT). It's best to have x2 copies to keep it up with little down time. If you stack at least x2 Blue, x1 Green Conn officers on your Active Space Duty Officers, then you can run 1 copy which allows it to hit the minimum cooldown.
Some people like to mix up their abilities. You can have a mix of Scatter stuff and target specific stuff, or focus on just one.
Single Target
Myself, I double up on Cannon Rapid Fires and Torpedo High Yields. It keeps your weapons hitting hard for max up time due to shared cooldowns being half of the full cooldown. Going a strict cannon route lets you have quite a few slots to play with attack patterns.
Scatter
Some people like to go with Scatter Volley and Torp Spreads on their escorts. If you go this route just remember you will agro whatever your shooting at in PvE and it will be harder to survive.
Dual Beam Option
If you went with this then like I said, you'll want Beam Overload III in your pocket. You can get this off the exchange for cheap. Just search "(race) Tacitcal" under blue or purple quality. Make sure you add the race to get past all the cluster on there.
They use to be really expensive but due to the fact the skill misses more sense some patches, it's fallen off the high ladder in the PvP community. However quite a few there still use it. Some have recommended using just BO II.
You can double up on BO's depending on how you want to set up your ship. The thing with going the DBB route is you take up a lot of space having to equip cannon and beam skills.
Patterns
Omega: Make sure you go with a copy of Omega if you don't have Polarize Hull(PH). This will allow you to escape tractors, which is vital! This is the best pattern because it does so much. Along with afore mentioned, it boost your defense %, and your damage output. 2 copies is even better.
Beta: If you do have a PH, you might want to consider going with this pattern. It will give you a damage buff along with de-buffing your targets resistance. It has a small cooldown compared to rest. If you run with 2 copies of Omega this will cycle in with them for constant pattern up time. NOTE, TACTICAL TEAM WILL CLEAR THIS IN PVP, so it's more a PvE pattern.
Delta: Delta is a lot like Beta, except your target does not receive the debuff unless they target you or whoever you throw the pattern on. But when they do target you, you also get a buff to your resistance. This is a good pattern for PvP and cycles with 2 copies of Omega also.
Engineer Station
x2 Emergency Power to Shields......no if's or but's about this really. Like always run what you want in the end, but if you want to be able to fly around without turning into space dust right away you I highly suggest to run this. If you went with a Fleet escort for a ship then I suggest a Engineer Team. It shares a cool down with your TT, but it shouldn't be to hard to throw it in there if you need it in a pinch.
For the Akira users I suggest Aux to Struct Integrity II. It gives you a nice resist with a small hull heal and has only 15 sec cooldown. Engineer Team will conflict with your Tac team if you want it, so keep that in mind. You can also pick up a Reverse Shield Polarity for that "HOLY SH....!!!!" moment when your hull pops down to 35% because another escort just melted a shield facing. The thing to keep in mind is RSP has a long cooldown.
Science Station
Grab a Hazard Emitter. Escort pilots all over STO have this, because its going to be your only hull heal 90-100% of the time depending on ship. It also clears those nasty plasma fires in STFs. Your ship relies on its shields, not your hull. So you can go with a I or II. Polarize hull is a good option to to help your Omega Pattern for getting out of tractor beams. You can either run a Sci Team or a Transfer Shield Strength. This will give you some more help on keeping your shields up. I suggest Transfer Shield Strength. Even though Sci Team will clear sci stuff, it shares cooldowns with Tac team, so it will be hard to throw in if your keeping your Tac teams up non-stop. If you went with Fleet Escort, do not go Sci team at all, as it shares cooldown with TT and ET. You can, but it will be difficult, if at all impossible to manage well.
If you went with the MVAM escort you can throw in another Transfer Shield (III is really good), Hazard Emitter, or add Polarize Hull with the 2. Some people like to throw in Feedback Pulse or a Gravity Well. Just keep in mind what you are spec into for maximum results.
3.) Duty Officers
Duty Officers are just an important part to builds now as ship gear and your weapons. I'll cover just a few, but it all comes to down to reading what certain ones do and what you are looking for in a build. Remember that you can buy the same Duty officer from the exchange with the same name.
Conn Officers are a Tac/escort favorite. There are several options for these and they get quite pricey. Ones that lower the cooldown to Tac Team/boost attack patterns are the most popular and cheapest of the the expensive bunch(ie others are ones that lower cooldown for rapid fires and such). As I stated earlier you can run x2 blue and a green and get your Tac team to a global cooldown which allows you to use one copy and open up a bridge officer ability for something else.
The best Conn officer to use is the one that reduces cooldown to your Attack Patterns. This cost some serious EC and for good reason. Running 3 of them will allow you to run Attack Pattern Omega III at a 32 second cooldown giving you a serious boost in damage and defense.
Shield Distribution officers are the other fav, not just for escorts or tacs. The one that has X amount % to trigger a shield heal when you use Brace for Impact is the ticket. Blue's give you 40% chance and purples give you 50%. It's really common if your running 3 Conn to fill your other 2 spots out with 2 of these.
If your rich, or you saved your way, and have room for a 5th slot due to the fact your other 4 are purples and it left you room then I suggest experimenting to what suits you. Here are some I've tried.
- Akira flyers will want to look into Flight Control Officers to get some boost out of their fighters. The popular one is the one that boost 25% accuracy to your fighters in intercept mode.
-There is a Warp Core Engineer that will boost all your power levels on a chance % when you use an Emergency Power to skill. I tend to use this one on my other escorts.
There are tons of great doffs out there and they really can open up your world to a better build. My finally advice is to look at them and see what would benefit you the most and not bankrupt you.
4.)Power Levels
For power levels you want your weapon power maxed to ensure you get the most DPS possible. I suggest evening out the rest of them. One thing to remember is to keep your escort moving. The faster you are the higher your defense bonus is causing other players to miss your ship. Once you get good with your ship, it won't be a problem throwing it in reverse and slinging your guns around to keep on the ship. Just be wary when in tough fights of doing this. Someone might catch you.
5.)Specs
The skill tree is not really that hard to figure out. Just read what the thing says and apply what applies to you. The only thing to keep in mind is the last tier "Weapon Performance" If you run full power to weapons, it's pointless to put a lot of points into it, as it improves your ships weapon power. If you would like to shift more power into another system and keep your weapon's at the highest, then it won't hurt to put a few points in, just don't go crazy with it.
Some people will tell you that your wasting points by putting too many in one slot. I've got most of mine with 8-9 in all the places I need, with no points in places I don't.
One thing I highly suggest to any people who get confused, DO NOT SPEC into Threat control if you play a lot of PvE. This is meant for tanky Engineers. Sadly not many people in the community spec into it to provide the classic Tank MMO approach in missions. However this skill does give you resist for speccing into it, which helps in PvP.
6.)Remarks
On closing I just want to remind everyone to do what works for you. One setup doesn't work as good as it does for someone else play style. My intent is like CoS asked for, insight as what to look into. This little guide is the "short, quick" version to the past year+ of forum diggin, PvP playing research I've put into things. I'm still changing what I do. If I had it on paper, my ship would probably be at it's current state v11.0. I can't tell you how many times I've switched Bridge Officer abilities and how many respec tokens I've gone through tweaking my guy. I hope this little unlock to the secret of my success and the advice given helps everyone. ;-)
