U.S.S. Shepard

Notes

• All weapon-centric builds benefit from the tactical ultimate, as weapon haste and bonus weapon damage from the Focused Frenzy active are appreciable when used on big targets. Applying the bonus to your team is also appreciated. I do not find the cooldown boost from Frenzied Reactions to be needed on a build with a good cooldown scheme.

• Engineering skills

  • Since I use this skill tree for both tanks and offtanks, taking two points in Hull Restoration/Hull Capacity helps survivability. Increased Hull Capacity boosts Tyler's Duality as well

  • I always take a single point in Hull Plating, but other resistance skills and Damage Control are not worth it. Likewise, 2 points in Impulse Expertise is an appreciable boost to maneuverability. Warp Core Potential and especially Warp Core Efficiency help boost power to subsystems. Efficiency is particularly good at adding power to subsystems I am not allocating much power to.

  • Improved EPS Power Transfer is essential for recovering power while firing energy weapons. 

• Science skills

  • Single points in Shield Restoration/Shield Capacity are low opportunity cost for relatively high survivability gains. Since I need skill points elsewhere, only 1 here for those. 

  • A single point in Shield Regeneration has surprisingly large impact on shield regeneration based on recent research by Jay

  • Since this character uses Quantum Phase torpedoes on multiple builds, which scale with Drain Expertise, I take both points in DrainX. A single point in Control Expertise powers the Fragment of AI Trait on builds that use it on this toon. 

  • All energy builds should take maximum points in Long Range Targeting Sensors. 

  • The rest of the science skills are of little value on this build and are completely skippable. 

• Tactical skills

  • Energy Weapon Training, Hull Penetration, Shield Penetration, Weapon Specialization, and Weapon Amplification are all worthwhile skills to take 3 points in as they boost energy weapon damage directly. Since I do have a torpedo and it does decent damage, 2 points in Projectile Weapon Training is a good choice. 

  • I like taking 2 points apiece in accuracy and defense. Defense is a small contribution to avoiding incoming damage but also helps reduce enemy crits when you're not moving and accuracy is just good all around, if not a stat that you'll need tons of. 

  • Coordination Protocols, Defense Coordination and Offensive Coordination are good team boosts so I always take those. They also benefit hangar pets on builds that have those. Improved Tactical Readiness is essential for reducing tactical cooldowns along with the rest of the cooldown scheme. 

• Unlocks

  • There are two crucial unlocks: battery expertise (improves duration of consumable batteries) and threat control which either increases or decreases threat based on threatening stance. 

This ship is a classic beams + 1 torpedo set up. It has absolutely zero investment into exotic damage, so I am not skilled at all into those.

Intel/Strategist is the best-in-slot choice for non-tank Energy builds. Intel provides substantial damage through flanking and Intel Fleet. Strategist likewise adds damage through Logistical Support, Maneuver Warfare, and Show of Force, as well as some damage reduction through Layered Defenses.

Notes

Torpedoes: One, I wanted a torpedo for immersion purposes. Two, the right torpedo, when used with Entwined Tactical Matrices and Supercharged Weapons, is NOT a DPS loss compared to beam arrays. I was already going to slot the Quantum Phase Converter console, so adding the torpedo for its two-piece is an excellent DPS boost. It outparses everything else. I could have slotted the Dark Matter torpedo, but I already had the Quantum Phase gilded and it doesn't quite do the same damage. Note that if you don't like the Disco DBB, but you are okay with the Dark Matter torpedo, I would use the DM torpedo in order to keep the 2-piece bonus. 

Mixing in DBBs: Despite "don't mix weapons" being conventional wisdom for good reason, I've chosen to mix in a couple of DBBs. For one, I wanted the Lorca's Ambition two-piece bonus without the torpedo. For two, specifically on a beam build with a torpedo and 2 Omnis+turret, all of my weapons are hitting my forward arc anyway. 

On Use of Epic Gear: It would be an obnoxious expense to take gear that I previously already had at Mk XV Epic and re-purchase and partially re-upgrade it to Mk XV VR/UR.  You don't need Epic to do well on Elite; Mk XV Very Rare or Ultra Rare is fine. Please don't let that be an impediment to your use of this build. 

Firing Order

1. The Prolonged beam stacks up the longer it's in combat, so I want it firing early. It's gonna be de-synced pretty quickly anyway due to its own haste. 

2. The torpedo needs to be early in the cycle to stack Super Charged Weapons / proc ETM. Plus its proc does shield damage, so hitting earlier in the cycle is better. 

3. The WA DBB also has a stacking damage buff over time the longer it is in combat, hence being next

4. It was a tossup whether to put the Phaser Beam Bank last or let the Terran go last since it scales with the target's missing health and the target that I've already hit with the other weapons should be lower health. I put the Terran 2nd-to-last on this build. Didn't make much difference. 

5. Phaser DBB is last by default. Maybe that logic is flawed, but that's why I ordered them I way I did.

Notes:

Drive Train: In terms of healing, the Disco 2-piece regen and Shield Absorptive Frequency Generator go a long way for survivability. You could swap in Competitive Engines if desired or Romulan Engines for more offensive stats. The ship is designed to be self-sufficient but it's not a full tank for Elite runs. 

Notes: 

No Trilithium Set: The Gamma 2-piece set is slotted over the Trilithium 2-piece set. According to both the Energy Weapon Calculator and several ISA parses, the Gamma set ends up being superior once you adjust the haste for uptime. There are a few reasons for this. 1) The Trilithium-Omni cannot be re-engineered. It also doesn't have the 2% bonus damage from T6 reputations that the Inhibiting beam does. 2) The 10% weapon haste is great but especially on a FAW build, does not proc often enough, whereas the -10 DRR from the Gamma beam is easily proc'd against big targets as long as you're not sitting completely still. Seriously, the haste proc has 2% uptime on a FAW build. 3) Even as Cat1-saturated as I am, 36.25% Cat1 is still quite good against an uptime-adjusted 6% haste. 

Alternate energy types: Obviously all weapons would need to be replaced. Unless switching to Disruptor with the Wide Angle Heavy Dual Beam Bank, replace the Quantum Phase torpedo with Dark Matter Torpedo. If Disruptor, consider the Nausicaan Energy Torpedo. Quantum Phase Converter and Ordnance Accelerator (unless Polaron) are the two consoles to replace. Replace the fleet consoles with the appropriate flavor.

Meta-Focused Tweaks:

If going full DPS with unlimited budget, you’re not using beams. That said, for higher damage at higher cost:

• Tachyon Net Drones over Assimilated Module

• Immolating Phaser Lance over Hull Image Refractors

• Hull Image Refractors and Quantum Phase Converter -> Dynamic Power Redistribution Module+Point Defense Bombardment Warhead or two of Weaponized Helical Torsion/Bioneural Infusion Circuits/Approaching Agony. This means you're taking the Dark Matter Torpedo instead.

• Replace all the Locators and the Ordnance Accelerator with Isomags. 

Budget Tweaks:

 If lower budget:

• Drop a Locator (T6X upgrade)

• Replace Flagship Tactical Computer with Zero Point Energy Conduit or Approaching Agony

• Drop Hull Patches if no T6X upgrade

Meta Notes

• Could replace MAS III with Reverse Shield Polarity for more tankiness if you need it. Wouldn't recommend it. 

Meta-Focused Tweaks:

If you have more budget

• Redirected Armor Plating -> Fragment of AI Tech

• Innocuous -> Terran Targeting Systems

• Point Blank Shot -> Symbiotic Ice

• Beam Barrage -> Context Is For Kings

If you're not a tactical captain, swap A Good Day to Die for EPS Manifold Efficiency (Engineer) and Context Is For Kings (Science). Note that EPS Manifold Efficiency is free while Context is an Exchange purchase. 

Budget Tweaks:

 If low budget, your options get significantly worse. Note that we don't slot Operative because your boffs provide a non-stacking copy of it already.

• A Good Day to Die -> Accurate

• Intelligence Agent Attache -> Techie

Meta-Focused Tweaks:

If you have more budget 

• Pilfered Power->Terran Goodbye or Promise of Ferocity

• Add Strike From Shadows (T6X2 upgrade)

• Ideally you'd replace Entwined Tactical Matrices with Superweapon Ingenuity to extend Beam Overload

Budget Tweaks:

 If low budget, (try and keep the ones at the bottom) 

• Drop Super Charged Weapons (T6X upgrade)

• Calm Before the Storm -> Unconventional Tactics

• Improved Critical Systems -> Improved Command Frequency

Miscellaneous

This ship manages cooldowns via Photonic Officer: (Photonic Officer II, and a little extra in readiness skills, plus a Krenim).

This allows me to maintain high Aux power (for heals, the Temporal Disentanglement Suite, and general defense) while freeing up duty officers to enhance damage. It's also easy to fly--the only things I need to do are constantly cycle my Tactical and Engineering chains, which I should be doing anyway. I could use Attrition Warfare for engineering abilities, but that's less forgiving unless Threatening Stance is on all the time. Despite having more survivability, this build is not a tank; plus Strategist has a number of damage abilities that would be lost if Threatening Stance was used constantly.

Link to CDR sheet for this build