Friday, July 12, 2013

Task Force website w/backup DSA blog

I have established a web server for any material that doesn't quit fit on this blog. This will be referred to as "Salat's Site" for now. I have added a link to this site as a page header in this blog. Currently the site contains a backup copy of the DSA Alliance blog in case the original vanishes, etc.

taskforcephoenix.no-ip.org

As always, any suggestions or ideas are welcomed!

Salat@maxgenius


P.S. This site is hosted on a Mac Mini (vintage 2007).

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Blog Update Underway

I will be updating the blog shortly with a collection of posts from the old site, some updated for content changes.  In the meantime, please bear with us (is that the right form of bear for that saying? Rawr!) while we get the new site up and running.

Thanks,

Garrett

Saturday, June 8, 2013

Engineering Regent Build for Karl



Like Salat, Karl is also an engineer in a Regent, however he wants to PvP and needs a new skills build too.  I’ll base this on the old Salat post and make a few changes.

The Regent class assault cruiser retrofit is a pretty nice ship, the wide-angle quantum torpedo launcher is even better and is an ideal weapon for broadsiding.  Keep in mind that you will never be a primary damage dealer as an engineer in a cruiser.  And I mean never.  Never ever ever.  So to be effective in PvP it’s important that we not try.  In PvP as an engineering cruiser you will be a) healing your teammates, b) soaking up damage whenever someone decides to attack you, c) providing support to your teammates on whatever target they are attacking in that order.  Some of the best cruisers I’ve seen in PvP have done negligible damage (though they could have been even better dropping a mine launcher in the back or popping some weapons batteries so they could actually contribute to damage).  So what can he do to get the most out of his ship?  Here is my proposed setup, using equipment that I know he mostly already has:

Weapons:
Fore:
3x phased polaron beam array mk xii
1x wide-angle quantum torpedo launcher
Aft:
3x phased polaron beam array mk xii (or substitute a mine launcher, maybe even cloaking tractor beam mine from the Romulan episodes)
1x Borg kinetic cutting beam

Why?  The 6 beam broadside is the standard attack of cruisers everywhere.  The wide-angle quantum torpedo launcher is perfect for broadsiding.  The kinetic cutting beam adds potency to the forward attack, plus a little more to the broadside.

I can’t afford phased polaron. The weapons you have right now (polaron mk xi very rare) are good enough, but in PvP phasers are widely regarded as the most useful, since a luckily timed phaser shields offline can be the only way to kill some top-end players.  Procs, especially ones that do neat things like phasers and polarons, are more valuable than the little bit of damage a pure energytype weapon will do, and even moreso in a secondary damage role.  These are fairly expensive but the good news is that they are the cheapest of the dual-proc reward pack weapons.  You’ll want at least one [acc] modifier, preferably 2, though that will run with a larger pricetag than you’ll want.  [crtd] is the second best modifier followed by [crth] with [dmg] bringing up the rear.  I wouldn’t bother with phased polaron mk xi since I don’t like spending big bucks for second best.  Save up and get the top-end ones… eventually.

Can a ship support this many energy weapons at once?  Yes.  While 6 arrays is the standard, at 125 power, 7 arrays hit approximately 5% harder.  The kinetic cutting beam doesn’t add as much damage but it also has less energy drain and has a nice set power with the assimilated module and synergy with the Borg set.

Mine launcher? Who uses mine launchers? As an engineering cruiser you will, to be effective, often be running with most of your power to shields and auxiliary to help heal your team.  Your guns will not be so useful at that point, however a mine launcher is independent of weapons power and has the added bonus of helping to defeat the spam (fighters, heavy torpedoes, pirate distress calls, photonic fleets, other mines, etc.) that can occasionally cause much trouble.  They also will seek out and hammer cloaked Romulan warbirds which is a thing now.

Equipment:
Omega Force Deflector, Omega Force Engine Engine, Omega Force Shield or fleet elite shield all mk xii if you can manage
Tactical Consoles: 3x polaron phase modulator regulator (or move one of the universal consoles here so you can use more engineering or science consoles)
Engineering Consoles: 2x neutronium armor (or substitute one SIF generator), plasmonic leech, assimilated module
Science Consoles: 2x field generator (or substitute one Romulan emitter array)
Devices: Deployable turret/Scorpion fighters/operational assets, weapons battery, shields battery, subspace field modulator

Why? With the full flow capacitors that you need for plasmonic leech, Omega Force’s two piece power of tetryon glider will really help take down shields that are often so tough in PvP.

Why no quantum chamber? Despite the awesome quantum torpedo launcher, most of your dps in this build is still coming from the polaron arrays.  Look at it this way: there are 6 arrays, with energy drain lowering their hitting power to about 63% of their tooltip display damage vs. 1 torpedo launcher doing slightly better than its tooltip display damage.  The arrays will still be responsible for more of the damage by a ratio of more than 2.5:1.  Tactical consoles are additive, meaning that each console you put in adds the same percentage of your base damage to the attack.  While it may look like more consoles aren’t helping much, as a raw number damage boost, each additional console does the exact same as the previous, so you’re not losing any effectiveness by adding more of the same console.

So we’re using the two piece Omega adapted Borg technology set? Yes sir.  The assimilated module provides a nice little weapon power boost, plus crit boost and some toughness, while the two piece set bonus with the cutting beam provides a 2.5% chance proc (so half a proc per minute per weapon) to boost weapon power and provide power drain resistance, which is super useful with a beamboat.

What about the shield? You can go with the full Omega Force set, but if you’re not into grinding more STFs, the fleet elite shield may in fact be far better.  The adaptive stacking damage resistance is quite overpowered and can result in shields that are very difficult to overcome.  I usually think resilient is best since there are some attacks that can do damage through the shields and with RSP it’s often the case that my hull is what’s in trouble rather than my shields.  If you know what your enemies are going to be using, the specific resistance type can be incredibly helpful, if not, then the regeneration bonus version is decent for all uses.

Deployable turrets aren’t very good.  Very true, but what else are you going to put there?  Some of the higher-end deployables can be moderately effective for damage, and many can help draw fire, make targeting you more difficult, and be generally useful as spam or as counter-spam.

Boff setup:
Tactical Boff 1: TS1, THY2/BFAW2, APB2
Tactical Boff 2: TT1
Engineering Boff 1: EPtW1, EPtS2, RSP2, Aux2Sif3
Engineering Boff 2: EPtW1, EPtS2
Science Boff: Tractor Beam 1, HE2

Why? I spent quite a while arguing against beam fire at will, but then they fixed it so now it’s a useful ability once again.  High yield 2 is a great damage booster, while spread 1 is good for knocking down incoming heavy torpedoes and small craft, while providing almost the same damage boost as the generally unimpressive high yield 1.  Either option will work well.

What about my torpedo spread 3? I love torpedo spread 3 but it’s more of a PvE ability.  The good news is that with 2 tactical boffs you don’t have to replace it.  Just have one lieutenant commander for PvE and the other for PvP.

What about subsystem targeting? There could be some merit here, but that’s more of a science ship or rear weapon on an escort with too many tactical boff ensign slots sort of thing.

Why not APO instead? As a cruiser in a secondary damage role, your emphasis should be on boosting team damage, not your own.  Your friendly escorts will really appreciate the APB debuff when their dual heavy cannons with cannon rapid fire tear the target apart.

So this is similar to the Dragon cruiser build that you wanted Salat to use, but didn’t you have EPtS1 and EPtW2 that time? Salat’s main problem was dps, not survivability, and he only did PvE.  In PvP you’re not going to be a main damage dealer and survivability is going to be so much more important.  The difference between EPtS1 and EPtS2 is noticeable.

Why a tractor beam? In PvP if you can trap a fast moving escort your life gets so much easier.  Watch their status to see when their APO is about to come off, then hit them with a tractor beam and watch them die.  Also to keep other targets in the narrow sweet spot of your broadside and quantum torpedo.  If you’re more interested in healing and staying alive, then replace with TSS1 or ST1.  Actually, science team can be a real lifesaver when up against a Science captain using the vastly overpowered subnucleonic beam on you or your teammates.  If you have two science boffs then you can have one of each and swap as desired.

Doffs:
Conn Officer – the kind that reduces cooldown on tactical team and buffs attack patterns.  At least 1 purple or if you can’t afford that 2 blues.  One blue probably isn’t enough.  The purple ones will cost you a couple million each, while the blues will cost a few hundred thousand.
Warp Core Engineer – to give a chance at boosted power every time an emergency power is activated.  Probably not as useful as it used to be before plasmonic leech (or maybe more useful when your opponents start using plasmonic leech on you).
Shield Distribution Officer – for buffs when brace for impact is used.  It’s so good that two might be worth using, as it can give you a Miracle Worker’s worth of shield heal.  You can get top end ones from I believe it is the Rolor Nebula colonization doff mission chain.
Projectile Weapons Officer – to increase quantum torpedo rate of fire
Tractor Beam Officer – to add shield drain to your tractor beam

So the conn officer thing again?  Yep, a purple conn officer of this type reduces the cooldown of a single tactical team down to 20 seconds, which is almost as fast as the 15 seconds for duplicate ability.  It also gives a big boost to your attack pattern skill, and with the near constant APB that could be quite helpful.

What if I don’t want to use the tractor beam? Then get another projectile weapons officer or shield distribution instead.

Power settings:
1: 100 weapons, 15 shields, 70 engines, 15 aux
2: XX weapons, YY shields, 15 engines, 15 aux
3: 15 weapons, 70 shields, 100 engines, 15 aux
4 15 weapons, 70 shields, 15 engines, 100 aux

How do I use these most effectively?  For maximum dps, run in setting 1.  Once the going gets tough and lots of enemies start shooting at you, switch to setting 2.  Setting 3 is used for running away, while setting 4 is for healing while out of danger or maximum tanking with Aux2Sif3 and HE2 going.  You could also go 85/85 shields and auxiliary for that.

What’s the XX and YY there? I don’t know what you have for weapons power boosters and captain skills, so I can’t pin down those numbers exactly.  Suffice to say, XX is the minimum weapon power setting that gives you 125 when EPtW1 is used, while YY is the remainder of your available power.

Wait, what? You’re running a Regent at 100 weapon power with chained EPtW1, warp core engineer, plasmonic leech, and Borg console?  You’re squandering a lot of power.  Don’t you know that any power over 125 is completely wasted?  No.  While the maximum damage is capped at 125 power, any power above that is a reserve that protects against power depletion.  An 8 beam broadside at 125 power plus Borg console and EPTW2 activated immediately prior to firing will do over 20% more damage than an 8 beam broadside at 125 power.  To put that into perspective, an escort with the typical 4 dhc and 3 turrets setup will do marginally less than 20% more damage than an escort with only 3 dhc and 3 turrets.  A 7 beam broadside (closest to this build) shows about an 18% improvement.

Skills:

The build you showed Aniol and I is not very efficient and misses some things that your build needs.  I’m not going to go all the way and set it up fully for you, since I don’t know what you want to do for ground or what things you value more than others, but there will be ranges of smart decisions.
Starship attack patterns: at least 6.  You will only have one APB and you’re an engineer so it won’t be a huge thing for you, but it’s cheap and it will help you and your team produce damage on hulls.  Max if you have the points for it.

Starship weapons training: max
Starship energy weapons: max
Starship projectile weapons: max, as your quantum torpedo is going to be firing most of the time.
Starship maneuvers: around 6, probably not more than that since you’re going to be getting hit most of the time in a slow cruiser anyway and the difference between 6 and 9 is small.
Starship targeting systems: max
Starship stealth: you have none so 0.
Starship threat control: actually a pretty efficient source of damage resistance.  If you don’t mind drawing a lot of aggro in PvE, somewhere between 3 and 6 is good.
Starship energy weapon specialization: max
Starship projectile weapons: at least 6 using your quantum torpedo but are running out of skill points, max if you can.
Driver coil: I like 3 for use in sector space, and for flying at full impulse into combat it’s nice to have some, but most of the time it won’t come into play.  With full dragon cruiser and plasmonic leech, batteries and eps power transfer you won’t ever need more than 3 and could probably get away with none.
Starship batteries: If you like to be popping batteries all the time, then maybe some, but I generally only use them to repair offlined systems and provide the occasional damage boost or shield heal.  I don’t have any of this skill on any of my characters.
Starship hull repair: max
Structural integrity: max
Starship subsystem repair: this doesn’t come into play all that often, and it doesn’t do much even when it does come into play.  I generally ignore this.  No more than 3.
Starship warp core efficiency: you have a dragon cruiser and plasmonic leech.  This is almost entirely useless to your ship.  None.
Starship electroplasma systems: since you will be activating an emergency power ability every 15 seconds, you’ll probably want max on this.
Starship impulse thrusters: max
Starship warp core potential: somewhere between 3 and 6 but probably closer to 3.  The higher levels don’t do much, you’ll have EPtS and EPtW to keep those two systems high all the time, plus plasmonic leech to keep engines and auxiliary fairly high as well.
Starship engine performance: somewhere between 3 and 6 but probably closer to 3 for the same reason as above.
Starship hull plating: somewhere between 3 and 6.  Going from 6 points to 9 would be like upgrading your ablative armor from white to blue.  It’s not worth it to do that at this level.
Starship shield performance: somewhere between 3 and 6 but probably closer to 3 for the same reason as above.
Starship armor reinforcements: no more than 3
Starship auxiliary performance: no more than 3
Starship weapons performance: no more than 3.  As important as weapons power is, your EPtW1 constantly being chained will keep this nice and high most of the time, and when you need more you have EPS power transfer and nadion inversion to fall back on.
Starship flow capacitors: max
Starship shield emitters: max
Starship power insulators: 3 minimum, with how many people have plasmonic leech now it might be a good idea to carry up to 6 of these.
Starship shield systems: max
Starship inertial dampeners: some, especially if you fight a lot of science ships with viral matrix and knock abilities.
Ignore all other science skills.
Of course, try the rest of the build first without respeccing to get a feel for what you need and what you don’t.  There are tools that can be found online to help calculate your power levels, too.

Combat Style:
First off, we need to ensure your “Controls” settings are set up in a sensible way. 
Click unselects target: on
Only attack if target selected: off
Assist target on attack: on
Never auto target pets: depends on the situation but probably leave that off.  Your damage isn’t going to be a dealbreaker in most situations and as an engineer you have no abilities like fire on my mark to accidentally waste on a fighter.  In fact, spam clearing might be an important thing to do.  In PvP you’ll always want to attack the same target as your teammates are targeting, so you will probably use assist keys to do that most of the time anyway.
Select attacker if attacked: off (it’s often more trouble than it’s worth if you’re trying to do something else when a new enemy starts attacking you)
Tab selects offscreen targets: on
Keep moving during contact dialogues: on (what is the point of having it stop you? All that ever does is kill you when you complete some sort of objective and a window comes up and stops you then the thing you just killed blows up right beside you)
Auto attack: toggle, change cancels (make sure all your weapons are set to autofire, too. They’ll be highlighted in green if they are)

Under “HUD” I like to have as much enemy target information as possible at all times, both NPC and human.

For this build, you’re going to want to get to broadside position as quickly as possible and stay there.  Flying in at full impulse then powersliding at close range can work well, as can evasive maneuvers when you find yourself slipping out of position.  If you’re in a nice place, and feel like stopping there, don’t.  Stopping sets your base defense to less than 0.  Instead, switch between forward and reverse every second or two.  This will keep your defense rating a positive number.

You should be running with full weapons power and the rest to engines to maximize your dps and maneuverability at first, then switch to shields power once the incoming damage becomes significant.  While arrays do very well at long range, and torpedoes retain full effectiveness regardless of range, getting in close will still provide the best dps, so if you can, do it.
This ship is primarily a traditional concept cruiser, so treat it as such.  You will be tanking, healing others, and supporting as your main functions.  You will also have a better sustained broadside than most of the cruisers out there, but this is not the selling feature.

Keybinds:
Where would this build be without the keybinds to use it properly?  I’ve attached the file here (download to your Cryptic Studios\Star Trek Online\Live directory and then enter /bind_load_file karl.txt in the chat window to upload to the game) but you’ll have to set up your trays exactly as I lay out below.

Row 1: 1 Brace for Impact, 2 EPS Power Transfer, 3 Evasive Maneuvers, 4 Miracle Worker, 5 Nadion Inversion, 6 Rotate Shield Frequency, 7 Engineering Fleet, 8 Call Trade Freighter, 9 Full Impulse, 10 Quantum Slipstream
Row 2: 1 Abandon Ship, 2 Fleet Support, 3 Ramming Speed, 4 Quantum Singularity Manipulation, 5 Gravitic Anchor (Space Set Power) or blank if you go with fleet shield or Heavy Graviton Beam if you keep using your MACO, 6 (Specialty Console if you choose to use one, such as vent theta radiation or isometric charge), 7 Scorpion Fighters, 8 Weapons Battery, 9 Shields Battery, 10 Subspace Field Modulator
Row 3 (Lt Cdr Tac): TS1, BFAW2, APB2
Row 4 (Ensign Tac): TT1
Row 5 (Cdr Eng):  EPtW1, EPtS2, RSP2, Aux2Sif3
Row 6 (Lt Eng): EPtW1, EPtS2
Row 7 (Lt Sci 1): TrB1, HE2
Row8 (Lt Sci 2): ST1, HE2

And here’s how you use it:
Switch configuration
Not a combat command, but by pressing “o” you can quickly and easily reload your bind file.  This is handy for making small adjustments. 
o Playersay Karl Starship $$ bind_load_file karl.txt

Power Presets
Use these to quickly change between your power settings, most importantly to go from total offense (setting 1) to offense and tanking (setting 2).  The button for setting 2 is duplicated as it is the one you will need to activate most frequently in the heat of battle, so it is nice to have two attempts at it.  Notice that there is no button for engines (setting 3) as the only time you need to engage this quickly is handled by a different button shown below.
F9 "StatsPreset_Load Preset_1"
F10 "StatsPreset_Load Preset_2"
F11 "StatsPreset_Load Preset_2"
F12 "StatsPreset_Load Preset_4"

Chain Emergency Power TT and Distribute Shields
Pressing spacebar will fire all your weapons, redistribute your shields, and activate TT1 and both copies of EPtW1 and EPtS2.  This will give you boosted power to both weapons and shields essentially permanently (just activation downtime), and a good tactical team rate to clear debuffs and grant a small buff to your weapons every so often, while keeping your shields balanced.  You don’t have to be constantly hammering away at spacebar, just when one of the chained powers is becoming available or when you would like to distribute your shields.
space "GenSendMessage HUD_Root FireAll $$ +power_exec Distribute_Shields $$ +TrayExecByTray 3 0 $$ +TrayExecByTray 4 0 $$ +TrayExecByTray 4 1 $$ +TrayExecByTray 5 0 $$ +TrayExecByTray 5 1"

APB
Pressing “1” on the numpad will activate APB for when you want to use it.  I don’t put it in the spacebar bind because sometimes you just don’t need it and thus would rather save it in reserve.
numpad1 "+TrayExecByTray 2 2"

Tractor Beam
Pressing “2” on the numpad will make people stuck.  Save it for when you have a fast moving target in your sweet spot and need him to stay stuck so you can pummel him with your quantum torpedo.
numpad2 "+TrayExecByTray 6 1"

EPS Power Transfer
Press “3” on the numpad on its own to get a quick boost to your power levels for when you want to either get a little extra defense, speed, shield resistance, healing, and/or hitting power.
numpad3 "+TrayExecByTray 0 1"

Nadion Inversion
Press “0” and “3” at the same time to get prevent power drain, useful for more dps.
numpad0+numpad3 "+TrayExecByTray 0 4"

Brace
Press “4” on the numpad when torpedoes are incoming or a ship is about to explode right next to you.
numpad4 "+TrayExecByTray 0 0"

RSF and SFM
Press “0” and “4” on the numpad when everyone starts to open up on you.
numpad0+numpad4 "+TrayExecByTray 0 5 $$ +TrayExecByTray 1 9"

Hull Repair
Press “5” on the numpad to activate Aux2Sif3, and either of the two Hazard Emitters.
numpad5 "+TrayExecByTray 4 3 $$ +TrayExecByTray 6 1 $$ +TrayExecByTray 7 1"

Miracle Worker
Press “0” and “5” on the numpad to activate Miracle Worker, for when you really, really need it.
numpad0+numpad5 "+TrayExecByTray 0 3"

Shield Heal
Press “6” on the numpad to activate EPtS2 (it’s a little more reliable this way than with the chained space bar) and ST1.
numpad6 "+TrayExecByTray 4 1 $$ +TrayExecByTray 5 1 $$ +TrayExecByTray 7 0"

RSP
Press “0” and “6” on the numpad to Reverse Shield Polarity, for when you really, really need it.
numpad0+numpad6 "+TrayExecByTray 4 2"

BFAW
Press “7” on the numpad to activate Beam Fire at Will.
numpad7 "+TrayExecByTray 2 1"

TS
Press “8” on the numpad to ready Torpedo Spread.  Good for multiple small targets, incoming heavy torpedoes, and getting a little more dps out of your quantum torpedo.
numpad8 "+TrayExecByTray 2 0"

GTFOOD
Press “9” to run away really fast while rerouting shields aft.  This is an absolute lifesaver when things get disasterous.
numpad9 "GenSendMessage Throttle_FullImpulse_Button FullThrottle $$ +TrayExecByTray 0 2 $$ StatsPreset_Load Preset_3 $$ +power_exec reroute_shields_rear"

About to die
Pressing the “.” on the numpad will activate Fleet Support and Ramming Speed.  I’ve duplicated Fleet Support on either side of the string to make sure it’s the first one activated, as sometimes Ramming Speed is counterproductive.
decimal "+TrayExecByTray 1 1 $$ +TrayExecByTray 1 2 $$ +TrayExecByTray 1 1"

Evasive
Press “Page Down” for when you want to go fast without switching power levels.
PageDown "+TrayExecByTray 0 2"

Device1 (Scorpions)
These are self-explanatory, but I must stress that to maximize your effectiveness you should be using all your devices liberally.  They’re pretty cheap; don’t be a miser.  I used to use numpad divide for one of these, however the expansion broke it for use with keybinds like season 6 broke numpad enter, so now I have to skip it.  Most of the time in space it won’t be an issue unless I accidentally press it out of old habits or accidents and end up with my cursor in the chat window.
numlock "+TrayExecByTray 1 6"

Device2 (Weapons Battery)
multiply "+TrayExecByTray 1 7"

Device3 (Shields Battery)
subtract "+TrayExecByTray 1 8"

Engineering Fleet
Pressing “End” will activate engineering fleet (I put this one out of alphabetical order in the tray for consistency’s sake across the different professions).  It’s a long cooldown, and you won’t need it often, so it’s in a somewhat out of the way location.
End "+TrayExecByTray 0 6"

Console (Isometric Charge)
Pressing “Page Up” will make closely grouped smallish enemies go boom.  If there’s just the one big enemy, it’s not so good, so for those situations you should replace it with something else.
PageUp "+TrayExecByTray 1 5"

Spaceset Power (Heavy Graviton Beam or Gravitic Anchor if applicable)
Press “Home” to activate your space set power.  Again, long cooldown, so it’s put out of the way.
Home "+TrayExecByTray 1 4"

Target Fore
Pressing the “Up” arrow will target the closest enemy in your front 180 degree firing arc while redistributing your shields in that direction.
Up "+power_exec reroute_shields_forward $$ Target_Enemy_Near_ForArc 180"

Target Side
Pressing the “Right” arrow will target the closest enemy in your broadside (to either left or right, but usually the way your screen is pointed) while still redistributing your shields right.
Right "+power_exec reroute_shields_right $$ Target_Enemy_Near_SideArc 70"

Team Heal
Pressing “`”, that’s the squiggly thing to the left of the number 1, will send all your transferable heals to your current target (if friendly).  The numbers “1” thru “4” will do the same to that numbered teammate.  If you are an engineering cruiser, or any other sort of healboat, you need to be doing this constantly in team play, or you’re not pulling your weight.
` "+TrayExecByTray 4 3 $$ +TrayExecByTray 6 1 $$ +TrayExecByTray 7 1"
1 "Target_Teammate 1 $$ +TrayExecByTray 4 3 $$ +TrayExecByTray 6 1 $$ +TrayExecByTray 7 1"
2 "Target_Teammate 2 $$ +TrayExecByTray 4 3 $$ +TrayExecByTray 6 1 $$ +TrayExecByTray 7 1"
3 "Target_Teammate 3 $$ +TrayExecByTray 4 3 $$ +TrayExecByTray 6 1 $$ +TrayExecByTray 7 1"
4 "Target_Teammate 4 $$ +TrayExecByTray 4 3 $$ +TrayExecByTray 6 1 $$ +TrayExecByTray 7 1"

Team Focus
Pressing “F1” thru “F4” will make your teammate’s target your own; useful if you have a team that isn’t really good at communicating and you want to ensure that you are firing on a target that someone else has also targeted.  “F5” will make your target’s target your target, but you shouldn’t have much use for that except to confuse yourself.
F1 "Target_Teammate 1 $$ Assist"
F2 "Target_Teammate 2 $$ Assist"
F3 "Target_Teammate 3 $$ Assist"
F4 "Target_Teammate 4 $$ Assist"
F5 "Assist"

Chat Command target my target
Pressing “g” will instruct your teammates to attack your target. They won’t automatically be given the target, but it does help them know upon whom to focus their firepower.  If no one else is calling targets, you should, and doing so will be of great help (if your teammates are watching their chat window, that is).
g Team Focus fire on $target.

Abandon Ship
You need this ability rarely (you’re an engineering cruiser, after all) but when you do you need it easy to hit in a hurry.  “Left alt” is the easiest button I can think of for this, as it is right next to the fire key.  One word of caution is that you have to clear any existing keybinds that use the alt key or else you may accidentally do something else entirely.
Lalt "Trayexecbytraywithbackup 1 1 0 1 0"

Feel free to modify this in any way you want.  This kind of setup works well for me, but other people are more comfortable with other setups.  You may have to take some of what I say with a grain of salt because I actually haven’t done any VA level PvP since the expansion came out, so I’m not sure how the playing field has changed since everybody got plasmonic leech, warp cores, and Romulans with battle cloaks.

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Destination Fleet(s)

Several people have suggested possible fleet homes for us "exiles".
Feel free to post such suggestions as comments. Include information such as current fleet size, tier level, command structure, and any other information or opinions.

Please include your STO identity or handle if possible. Thanks again!

Federation Fleet

KDF Fleet


Reference/Name Tier Info/Memo
Tim/M.J.
Ann
Kira

Monday, April 29, 2013

Fleet Planning (suggestions/additions requested)

Please post your STO address with your comment if possible

  •  Fleet “genesis”
    • established fleet
      • which fleet to join
      • potential fleet merger
    • new fleet
  • Factors
    • Tier level/development
    • Command structure
      • fleet ranking
        • advancement
      • fleet bank/access