U.S.S. Faraday

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

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

  • 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 is using Gravity Well and other control-based abilities, having both points in ControlX boosts those as well as the Fragment of AI Tech trait adds value. I take a single point in DrainX to help resist drains and two points in EPG for boosting the Exotics like Gravity Well on this build. 

  • 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.

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. Temporal Operative would be another viable choice for primary. 

Notes

This ship’s primary role is Energy DPS. Its primary weapon systems are Polaron Cannons of various flavors. I went for a variety of cannon subtypes purely for visuals. I love seeing the different cannon shots of various shapes, frequencies, and sizes. That’s why there’s a Chronometric and Vaadwaur cannon in there. The build would function just as well if not better with regular Polaron for all the slots. Energy type doesn’t matter (much), but Polaron is better suited for Rapid Fire due to the Technical Overload effect from the Lukari reputation weapons.

Mods: Recent investigations on this particular ship using the energy weapon calculator showed that taking [CrtD] mods wherever possible was a net win. This is not universally true.

Torpedoes: I wanted a torpedo for immersion purposes. Two, the right torpedo, when used with Super Charged Weapons, is NOT a DPS loss compared to beam arrays. The Morphogenic torpedo provides a fantastic 3-piece bonus in addition to fueling Super Charged Weapons. 

Notes:

This ship is sufficiently nimble that the Prevailing Regalia engines are not worth it. This ship does somewhat lack other defensive tools, so the Stamets-Tilly 2-piece could have been an option over the Fleet Core. I chose to go for max offensive stats from deflector, engine, and warp core. 

Notes:  

Alternate Energy types: 

Obviously all weapons would need to be replaced. Don't run Morphogenic on non-Polaron energy builds. Piezo-Electric Focuser is the only console to replace. Keep D.O.M.I.N.O. and replace the fleet consoles with the appropriate flavor.

Meta-Focused Tweaks:

• Regular Polaron cannons are probably a touch better than some of the alternate flavors I have here. 

Budget Tweaks:

• Regular Polaron cannons are just fine here, don't need the fancy lockbox ones

• D.O.M.I.N.O. -> M6 Computer from the T3 Perseus

• Protomatter Field Projector -> Ablative Hazard Shielding from the Arbiter is a good choice. If you don't have it, Trellium-D from the "Ragnarok" mission is okay

• Drop the Kobayashi Maru for a Red Matter Capacitor from the Phoenix Box

Recursive Shearing III vs CSV III

• Given the seating of the Edison, you have to choose between Recursive Shearing III and Cannon: Rapid Fire III. Taking Recursive Shearing III results in 15% more stored damage over 5 seconds on a single-target power every 15-20 seconds. This is a “final” damage amp on that ability, not Cat1 and doubles its damage. Given that choice and given that I’d drop two ranks in Recursive Shearing compared to one for Scatter Volley, I chose Recursive Shearing III. The Vincent Kish duty officer helps mitigate this loss as well by providing a chance at upgrading the Rapid Fire II to III.

Meta-Focused Tweaks:

If you want to go full glass-cannon with unlimited budget:

• Ablative Shell -> Terran Targeting Systems

• Give Your All -> Adaptive Offense

Budget Tweaks:

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

• Drop Inspirational Leader (Elite Captain unlock)

• Ablative Shell ->  Redirected Armor Plating

• Context Is For Kings -> Operative

• Terran Targeting Systems -> Point-Blank Shot

• Fragment of AI Tech -> Innocuous

• Intelligence Agent Attache -> Techie

• Boimler Effect -> Photonic Capacitor

• Self-Modulating Fire -> Accurate

Meta-Focused Tweaks:

These are pretty well the best traits at this price point. If your budget is unlimited

• Strike From Shadows -> Terran Goodbye

Budget Tweaks:

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

• Drop Super Charged Weapons (T6X upgrade)

• Improved Critical Systems -> Promise of Ferocity at the C-store level, Programmable Matter Enhancements otherwise (Exchange)

• Strike From Shadows -> Improved Command Frequency (Command specialization)

• Calm Before the Storm -> Unconventional Tactics (Strategist specialization)

• Go For the Kill > Improved Predictive Algorithms (Intelligence specialization)

This build basically won't work without Emergency Weapon Cycle but if you really can't swing it, try Arrest from the Constable specialization to help fill cooldowns as presumably you won't have Boimler Effect either.

Notes:

Improved Critical Systems was superior to Promise of Ferocity or Piercing Projectiles, but it was very close. If you don't have ICS, consider one of those at the C-store level. Go For the Kill is pretty important to Cannon: Rapid Fire builds but I understand it's obnoxiously expensive to acquire

Miscellaneous

This ship manages cooldowns via Photonic Officer I and The Boimler Effect. Previously I was using Photonic Officer II, the Chrono-Capacitor Array reputation trait, and a Krenim boff to help with the tactical chain cooldowns, but the Boimler Effect allows me to drop the reputation trait and downgrade Photonic Officer. Note that with a good Photonic Officer timing and Calm Before the Storm, as shown here, I barely need the Boimler Effect, but those aren't always on good timing cycles so it's mostly to fill gaps. The tool only somewhat models taht trait. Previously, the use of Entwined Tactical Matrices on a 20 second rotation between Scatter Volley and Torpedo Spread made reducing the tactical chain down to 15 seconds less important, but with Withering Barrage, having the more powerful (if unreliable) Boimler Effect was beneficial. That said, I do not recommend slotting the Boimler Effect as your only CDR source. 

Link to CDR sheet for this build