Basic Gameplay

The following commentary is meant as a guide to a basic set-up for normal gameplay. It is assumed that one is familiar with the basic controls, etc. outlined in the manual and the on-line references at the STO web site.

Space Gameplay

Once you are commissioned to "captain" a starship at the beginning rank of Ensign you are sent to Earth Dock to collect, outfit, name and modify your vessel. Admiral Quinn grants you the ship. The Shipyard is where the outfitting, etc. is done. As you progress, the upper floor of the Shipyard will be used to access subsequent ships and ship equipment which are earned by rank:

Ensign-Leutenant = Tier 1 Vessel that can mount any equipment and weapons.

Lt. Commander = Tier 2 Vessel where you must select between Cruiser, Escort or Science Classes (Hint: most players seem choose the firepower of the Escort Class whcih exclusively mounts Cannons over Level IV). Up to this point, any class can mount cannon weapons.

Commander = Tier 3 Vessel of the types selected above.

Captain = Tier 4 Vessel

Admiral = Tier 5 Vessel

Outfitting the Ship

Ships are requisitioned from Starfleet and come fully equipped to complete your missions. You can and will add to the kit including the following items:

• Weapons - a must since nearly all of your ship missions will entail fighting.
• Shields - a necessary part of surviving a conflict. You generally choose between lower and higher capacity shields. Lower ones generally recharge very quickly; higher capacity shields generally have lower rates of recharging.
• Deflector Dish - this is used for detection, electronic countermeasures and tractor beams.
• Impulse Engine - includes power ratings and manouverability.
• Consoles - each ship has at least one console of each basic type (Tactical, Engineering and Science). As you progress, higher tier ships have more consoles of each type depending on ship class. This equipment influences and affects the performance of the above equipment systems.
• Consummables - these are items that you can purchase, create (at a crafting station) or loot that directly benefit an equipment system. They offer a temporary boost to power generation and include:
  • Auxiliary Batteries
  • Weapon Batteries
  • Shield Batteries and
  • Engine Batteries

HINT: Start with basic weapons and upgrade with drops as soon as you can. Try to stay with one weapon type (phaser, disruptor, etc.) because you will be able to improve your skills with them much easier if you are dealing with a single energy type. Try to strike a balance between high recharge rate for shields and shield capacity. It does depend on your space combat style. In general, it is always better to select greater capacity shields because with skills, energy balancing and batteries, you can always supplement the recharge rate. Engines come with difference enhancements, but you can never go wrong with a faster rate of turning. Top speed doesn't matter so much in STO. Likewise, Deflector Dishes can feature all levels of enhancements, but the ones that provide the ability to jam an enemy's weapons are helpful.

As for the Consoles, there are many choices. Tactical consoles enhance different weapons. Use ones that improve the weapons you use most (energy weapons over mines and torpedoes). Engineering consoles also enhance a variety of equipment. Those that benefit power generation are especially helpful. Lastly, the consummables have different strategies. Mostly the Engine Batteries are not as useful. Shield and Auxiliary Batteries are the most useful. The Auxiliary Batteries are most helpful when used with skills that transfer power from auxiliary to another system (shields, weapons, etc.).

Combat Tips

Set energy output for maximum weapons ("X" icon to the right of the shield strength indicator). This sets your weapons for maximum damage and faster kills. If you are in a battle with multiple enemies and your shields are taking a beating, change the setting for shield generation ("D" icon). Keep in mind it takes some time (about 15 seconds) for the effects to be realized. Escort ships and weapons perform better at this setting. Cruisers perform well too, but against multiple hard targets, the "D" setting can greatly improve one's survivability. Science ships lack the damage dealing potential of Escorts and Cruisers, relying more on buffs and debuffs, so the "D" setting is probably better.

Since most of your combats will be face-to-face, put your strongest energy weapons up front. At lower tiers, it is more important to maximize your ability to drop an enemy's shields and beam weapons have higher DPS than kinetic weapons (torpedos and mines). Basic space combat is comprised of using your beam weapons to drop a shield and expose the hull. Then torpedos and mines are used to deliver kinetic damage to the hull. It is not necessary to use kinetic weapons to damage hulls. Beam weapons can do an adequate job; it's just that a well placed torpedo does far more immediate damage.

Basic Attack Strategies

All weapons have a 10 km. range. Use your Full Impulse power until you are about 11-12 km. in range, then drop back to manouvering engines to bring yourself just into range to maximize your time on target. Using all beam weapons, fore and aft. Place Arrays in all locations and attack target from an angle where all weapons can fire (analogous to a broadside attack). This is used more by Cruisers and Science ships.

Place cannons in front, try dual heavy cannons, but remember that your attack arc is 45 degrees so the target must remain directly in front of you. Using manouvering to keep the target in range (reverse engines, stop, manouvering skills). You can place an array in the rear weapon location to attack when the cannons are out of range (arc). This is used more by Escorts. Against slower targets, it is possible to stay on an enemy's "six" and pound away at it. Like you, the enemy can only bring a limited number of weapons against you at that location.

Place a torpedo launcher in the aft mount to attack as you turn away from a target. In this way you can expose a target's hull with forward firing beam weapons, then turn away to deliver a punishing torpedo atack on the exposed hull. Also you can attack and kill an enemy that stays in your "six", such as fighters.

Use the "Spider Web" attack where you continually drop mines and lead a target into the mine field. Although mines deliver little damage to shields alone, many mines can add up to high damage to shields. Note that mines have a lifespan before they self-destruct, but there is usually plenty of time to create a large minefield with faster recyling types (photon e.g.). Mines can also be used defensively. Some enemy torpedos can become confused and target mines instead of your ship. Also, an exploding mine can detonate an incoming torpedo or an enemy mine. Mines are another tool to effectively eliminate enemies on your "six". Mines can be dropped at any time so you may actually use your Full Impulse engines to close on a target and drop mines close, then cruise past to engage them with beam weapons.

Notice the placement of asteroids that can be used as shields from which to launch attacks or screen out attacks from other enemy ships. Note that STO will frequently have NPC ships lodge in asteroids where they can be easily dispatched or may not be targeted at all until they free themselves.

When attacking groups always reduce the size of the group by first eliminating the weaker targets before attacking the largest ships. This will dramatically reduce the number of weapons that attack you and increase your survivability. Note that the best drops come generally from the largest ships. If possible, use skills that affect a target's ability to attack you, first on the larger enemies, then switch to attack and eliminate the weaker ones.

Don't forget that you are fighting in three dimensions. Targets above and below you can be attacked but the shield you attack is not necessarily as specific as if you approach from a side. Your ship will attempt to strike the weakest and most prominent facing shield, but you cannot rely on the AI for consistency.

Basic Defensive Strategies

The number one rule when engaging enemies, as with any MMORPG is to not take on enemy groups larger than you can handle. Racing into a group of enemy ships with guns blazing will have you have you in a warp core breach so fast your head will spin.

Select your target before engaging; consider you approach angles to minimize exposing your ship to more weapons. Remember that your ship will come under fire from multiple weapons - beams, torpedos and mines - so consider the potential threats first.

The three basics are: (1) engage only the enemy ships you must and on your terms; (2) dispatch weaker enemies first and fast to reduce the number of threats and weapons against you; and (3) monitor and manage your shields continuously. Engage from the furthest distance you are able - in STO this is 10 km. Shields are managed in several places:

• Individual skills you can preload on to your skill bar. This is a rookie/noobie practice. Wean yourself from this and manage shields in the following ways

• The shield strength indicator shows the 4 shields and a center section indicating hull strength. Selecting any shield will shift recharge energy temporarily to this shield before the others. Selecting the center hull section will redistribute shield strength allocation to even them among all four shields. Using this method potentially clears 5 spots from your skill tool bar.

• The power level allocation is to the right of the shields icons and allows energy to be routed on a priority basis to weapons, shields, engines or balanced among the three. Selecting the "D" icon (for defensive profile).

Enter a battle from distance facing you enemy and shift charging to the front shield. This will offset any initial damage you take. As your front shield strength lowers, reallocate and shift recharging together. You can use skills (Auxiliary power to shields) to fortify recharging. Lastly, if your shields are dangerously close to exposing the hull, consider resetting the energy profile to "D". Initially try to keep it at "X" to maximize your weapons' damage and shorten your weapon recycle rates.

As you engage enemies, be mindful that it is sometimes easier to just turn a stronger shield towards your attackers than to shift shield strength to a facing shield. True shield management results in spreading the damage to all shields as evenly as possible. Eventually, your hull will be exposed, but by managing your shields in this way you will prolong your ability to stay in a fight and hopefully kill your opponent first.

There are some skills that can halt an enemy's attack (Jamming e.g.) or add a debuff to your attack that takes their weapons off line. A particularly useful skill is Shield Transfer (from and enemy). Using these skills liberally with the above can extend your survivability and even allow you to engage stronger multiple targets long after weaker players have been destroyed.

There are other skills that increase your manouverability and/or speed (Attack Pattern X or Ramming Speed or Emergency Manouvers) and they can be used to outrun a fight if it becomes too dangerous. This is another reason to keep enemy engagements at distance. You can activate each of these skills in turn as one expires and run away while shifting shield power to the rear shields.

Lastly, don't forget that you can always activate a shield battery to supplement your shield recharge rate temporarily. However, using any battery results in a recycle time of 1m. 30sec. minute before another can be activated.

Ground Gameplay

Ground, or Away Missions come in several types including combat and search variations. Most involve combat with other ground missions.

Outfitting Your Away Team

The key to ground missions is having your character and away team officers properly outfitted with

• Weapons

• Shields

• Kit (character only) - think of it as a supplemental skill set

• Armor

• Consummables and

• Skills that complement each other.

Try to balance equipment with your rank and the level of difficulty of the mission. For example, as a Commander, make sure that all of your away team are equipped with Commander level items regardless of their ranks. You ability to use equipment is dependent upon your rank, not your officers' ranks. Kit is a profession dependent (Tactical, Engineer, Science) suit that adds skills and abilities to your character only. They cannot be fitted to away team officers. You can rotate Kits to give you various abilities you think you may need on a mission and even change them whenever you like.

Ground weapons come in a wide variety of damage and energy types. Each weapon has 2 attacks, one is a standard attack and the other is a specialized attack with a longer recycle interval. The most helpful are those that do damage over a wide area (cone, split beam and cylinder attacks are the most common). Have at least one if not both weapons with these secondary abilities. Some weapons also deliver an Expose debuff. This is a short term debuff that multiplies received damage several fold and frequently results in a target's disintegration (a nifty graphic). Once exposed, a target needs to be hit with a Secondary attack from a weapon that takes advantage of the debuff. Read the characteristics of each weapon carefully and outfit one of each type.

Shields and armor typically include buffs and debuffs. Unlike ships, after your shields take damage, your health suffers. Some attacks can bypass shields so pay attention. One prevalent one is the gas grenade noted by the green smoke after it explodes which causes health damage over time. In general select shields and armor that reduce damage types you expect to face. Items that reduce energy weapon damage in general are better unless you know you are facing a specific energy type, such as Disrupter fire. Energy specific protection can be higher than general protection from energy weapons of all types.