Hi all, I figure I start this thread since I need help in something I have long neglected, the ground build of my engineer. I came to the realization after the recent PvP endeavor and Current Arena of Sompek event where my character spent most of these incidents cowering behind a shield guarded by a mortar, turrets and health generator and since my current ship build is almost done I figured I'd start working on my ground build. I'd post my current set up but really its just the Na'kuhl ground set and zefram cochran shotgun and stuff I threw together like a quantum mortar, turrets, health generator ect with a skill tree that is an utter mess with all skill points going in weapon and kit proficiency.
I'm Looking for a Tanking/DPS kinda set up, I came in late so I missed out on most event items so I'm stuck using, Reputation, Episode, Exchange and Lobi Gear, any advice?
I tried looking for ground builds on the forum before I created this thread but the most recent I could find was from 2015. Then again it is understandable the ground gameplay on sto isn't exactly great, but with recent experience, I realized I need to put more effort into it.
The last time I had problems surviving on the ground the advice I was given was to simply kill things before they could kill me. My science rommie then found a radiation-based ground setup that did exactly that, nuked everything before I was even in danger.
I haven't played and engineer in many many years but maybe bringing your damage up as much as possible would be the way to go.
The last time I had problems surviving on the ground the advice I was given was to simply kill things before they could kill me. My science rommie then found a radiation-based ground setup that did exactly that, nuked everything before I was even in danger.
I haven't played and engineer in many many years but maybe bringing your damage up as much as possible would be the way to go.
Care to share your radiation build? My science toon is in desperate need of science magic damage.
My knowledge is limited to tactical builds but I'll share what works for me on the ground.
I wanted to have a hybrid build edging towards dps, tanking, and buffs. The specializations I have been using are Command and Commando. Command offered team based support perks and also a health bonus while Commando focuses solely on ground combat bonuses, for both health, kits, and weapon dmg, along with a buff to your captain's base dmg. The kit frame I use came from the fleet store and I chose one which gave bonuses to shields, weapon dmg, and kit effectiveness.
The kit modules I use all provide buffs. I use 3 tactical and 2 command modules;
Motivation
Rally Cry
Ever Watchful
Strategic Analysis
Return Fire
For the ground skill points I went with a mix. 4 points to the dmg, 1 to shields, 2 to hp, and 2 to the kit efficiency. This way I have points in all areas, with the ones I am somewhat lacking made up for through the Commando secondary specialization.
My character has 9 personal trait slots and I chose to use;
Brutal Tactics
Creative
Limited Telepathy
Lucky
Superior Peak Health
Regenerative Tissue
Superior Resiliency
Strike Team Specialist
Superior Assault Training
For the Reputation Traits, I go with;
Omega Weapon Proficiency
Lethality
Integrated Nanofibers
Mental Acuity
Deadly Aim
I use purple Duty Officers (Doffs) with the following bonuses;
Ground Operational Asset Cooldown
Additional Security Escorts
2x Rally Cry
Medic on Hypo Use
Increased Crit on Melee
For the armor and shields, I generally go with the fleet versions, with the advanced shields having very high capacity and the nanite armor for the HoT. My go to weapons are the TR-116B Rifle and the Jem'Hadar Assault Minigun. I change my loadout when I have a chance of needing to deal with the Borg and use the Adapted MACO set instead.
This is the stuff that works for me. I hope it gives some ideas for others' builds.
The last time I had problems surviving on the ground the advice I was given was to simply kill things before they could kill me.
Interesting. So the same tactical concepts from space carry over to ground combat. Cryptic doesn't get enough credit for it's overall game design synergy.
While I'm sure there's more expensive and higher performing builds around, the most commonly suggested and one of the top performers is simply to use the Plasma and critical bonuses from two free sets.
You also get one of the best, most survivable shields in the game, since you get 10s of immunity if you shields drop below 10% (1 minute cooldown). You're probably not going to want to actually use the set's minigun, I personally favor a Plasma Wide Beam Rifle since the secondary fire hits 5 targets, it's (one of?) the longest range, and there's no discernible delay to using said secondary fire (which is good for making sure you take advantage of Exposed targets).
With regards to Engineers specifically (which happens to be the only ones I really know and play), the Shield Pulse module is highly recommended. Low(ish?) cooldown, instant AoE shield heal. Beyond that, I tend to play an exceedingly lazy Engineer so I have a Flamethrower Turret, a Seeker Drone, a Methuselah Drone, and an Echo Papa 607 Drone System. I also use the DOffs that give a chance of spawning additional turrets and Support Drones (since I give those to the two engineers on my Away Team anyway).
So effectively, I spawn a turret, a mini-army of 4-6 drones, and then just aim and kneel and shoot at max range. Still hit wave 12 on a regular basis, even when I'm deliberately minimizing effort.
Oh, the above doesn't work well against Borg, but meh. Also be sure to pick up a Gambling Device, that's the strongest buff we get, particularly since the above is setup for crits.
While I'm sure there's more expensive and higher performing builds around, the most commonly suggested and one of the top performers is simply to use the Plasma and critical bonuses from two free sets.
I like this set up, What would you suggest for secondary weapon, skill tree and traits? Also whats the name of the flamethrower kit? I can't seem to find it on the exchange.
I prefer the Plasma Wide Beam rifle for general purposes. It's functionally identical to a split beam rifle, which has maximum range and an exceeding fast multi-hit Exploit for the secondary fire. As my BOffs almost all use Expose weapons, it means I can take advantage of that - in my experience, a sniper rifle tends to be unable to exploit that short window of opportunity. Maximum range is just so I don't have to really move around much, and can stay crouched. It should be available on the exchange. Just re-engineer to [CrtD]. Note that ground was never revamped, so [Dmg] is garbage. The only difference between the rifle and a generic split beam is that it hits 5 targets instead of 3. Also it looks better because it's not a giant monstrosity.
Flamethrower Turret Fabrication is from the Fleet Embassy.
There's probably way better arrangement of ground skill trees than mine. I do know I avoided Kit Efficiency because in general (with my build) I just toss down the turrets and drones once. Recharge doesn't really come much into play. I feel Kit Performance is worthwhile since those fabrications are going to be out most of the time, so the effect is essentially always "on".
Traits... Firearms Specialist is nice, since our gear is boosting Secondary Attacks, may as well try to get more of them out. It's luck based, though. Orbital Devastation is awesome, makes your Orbital Strike less likely to be wasted. Pack Leader is nice, increase chance to Expose and +2s of Expose. Applies to the whole party, and has synergy with the Secondary Attacks as it's Exploit. Beyond that I'm just using the normal free stuff like Creative, Soldier, and Superior Rifle Training (which I believe is from K13). As a Romulan I also have Plasma Weapon Specialist.
I really don't bother too much with ground traits and such, with the gear and kit in place it functions well enough that I don't need to worry about it. I mean, rep traits I'm obviously using Lethality and Deadly Aim because they're the obvious Critical stuff, but I'm also using Physical Conditioning (+5%) which is obviously just Quality of Life and not really increasing combat performance.
I’ll give a thought to the fleet ground weapons. My weapon of choice is an elite fleet full auto phaser rifle. The full auto weapons have a slightly shorter range compared to split beams, but they pump out a lot of DPS which is very handy if you’re getting swarmed. There’s a lot of the time I don’t even have to bother using my kit abilities in places like the Dyson battlezone because things are dropping so quickly with it.
That being said, I don’t forget about the rep gear. Despite their age, the MACO and Omega sets are very solid and useful choices. I’ve a preference for the Adapted MACO for the healing ability, but I have one boff wear the regular set and another the omega for the passive bonuses.