Starship Combat 101

Basic Starship Combat

The meat and potatoes of most of Star Trek Online is the robust and enjoyable starship combat sections. This is featured in nearly all missions in PVE and in many of the Task Force Operations (TFOs). Getting good at this is a major factor in the enjoyment and progress through the games story and overall progression. The game does an okay job at preparing you for the basics of starship combat, but it falls flat in some of the more advanced aspects of it. They very briefly cover firing arc and reinforcing shields and some officer abilities. However beyond the basics the game has very little to say about things more than the Heavy Torpedo ability most all captains will have access to.

There is much more you need to know at the higher levels to be able to handle the post level 60 difficulty spike.

Let's review some of the perhaps forgotten or poorly explained basics.

Arcs Revisited

Below is a diagram of the different types of weapons and their arcs relative to your ship, with both the front and back arcs highlighted. A more visual representation might help in enhancing your ability to keep those pesky foes in range and in the targeting arc of your weapons.

As you can see in the diagrams, each weapon type has its own arc of fire. The more powerful weapons have the most limited firing arc and the least powerful the largest. This is by design and can make or break your ability to fight with your chosen ship type.

If you favor heavy ships that have a beefy hull and as a result have a slow to very slow turning ability (around 5-8) then you will not want to have weapons with a limited arc as it will be very hard for your ship to turn quickly enough, especially in close, to keep track of your target. Whereas a nimble ship, with a light hull, with a fast turning capability (15+) will benefit from powerful weapons with the more limited arc of fire.

The game basically makes you decide whether or not you want to kill fast or kill slow. The slower ships can take more damage and so can afford to kill opponents slower with their weaker weapons with a wider arc. Or you can kill fast with a fast ship and its high offense weapons. Both are a viable strategy assuming you have the right bridge officers and weaponry to take advantage of it.

Ultimately you want to be able to dispatch your opponent quickly because if you don't even with a tough ship, you can find yourself overmatched in many fights 2, 3, or even 4 to 1 odds. Reducing those numbers and improving your odds is something you need to do and do it quickly.

Your skill in piloting the ship with your keyboard and mouse is perhaps a deciding factor in which ship and weaponry you should use. A skilled pilot will be more capable and may have more fun with a faster ship. Those that find that keeping their foes in the arc of their weapons a challenge might be well served by using a larger slower ship kitted out with beam arrays to take advantage of the 250 degree arc of fire.

Fast ships

These are ships that find themselves listed mainly as an Escort (Federation) or a Bird-of-Prey or Raptor (Klingon/Romulan). These ships by design are fast and light. They pack in the weapons but sacrifice their hull and defensive strength in favor of being able to deal damage. They basically are Glass Cannons. Examples of this type of ship are:

Fast Ship Tactics

For ships that are considered "fast", which are those ships with 15 and higher turning speeds, the name of the game is: Firepower.

That in a word is the tactic to use. As fast, nimble ships are Glass Cannons, you want to put as much damage down range at your target as quickly as possible before they do the same to you. In this regard the Romulans and Klingons have an inherent advantage with their ships able to have cloaking devices and Raider bonuses baked into even their basic ships. Because of this speed/maneuverability weapons that are limited in targeting arc are the best bang for your buck. These weapons take into consideration your ships ability to keep your target where you want them and then apply the maximum amount of damage. As you are a glass cannon, you need to strike hard, fast, and remove your opponents from the fight. The weapons with the more limited arcs are the tools of your trade in these ships.

So for fast nimble ships, the order of battle for the weaponry, again modified for piloting ability, is:

1. Dual Heavy Cannons (45 degree arc)*

2. Dual Cannons (45 degree arc)*

3. Dual Beam Banks / Torpedoes (90 degree arc)*

4. Turrets / Omni-Directional (360 degree arc)**

5. Cannons (180 degree arc)*

6. Beam Arrays (250 degree arc)

*Note that all Cannons types and Dual Beam Banks cannot be mounted in the rear weapon slots. Only Beam Arrays, Torpedoes, Mines, Turrets and Omni-Directional weapons can be placed in the rear weapon slots.

**Turrets can be placed in forward weapon slots. Omni-Directional weapons cannot be placed in forward weapon slots.

As you level your Escort, Bird-of-Prey or Raptor class ships, the number of weapons slots will increase from the 2 forward to 4 or even 5 forward weapons. To the aft you will usually start with 1 and end with 3 or 4. Since the fast ships are able to turn quickly enough to put their forward weapons, which is where most of your firepower is located, at their target you will want to lead with your nose/front arc. Rear firing weapons are great to give the opponent a great "parting shot" but it rarely helps in the overall fight. Shields hammered down by your attacks in one direction are usually still at full as you fly past meaning the rear weapons are firing at a fully shielded side. Better is to have Turrets or Omni-Directional weapons in your aft weapon slots. This way, as you attack with your forward weapons, ALL your weapons are considered forward since the Turrets and Omnis are focused all on one target. As you fly past, those weapons will track and continue to engage, but while you close on your target you are putting forth maximum firepower towards your foe.

So while the Turrets and Omni-Directionals are down the list of weapons in 4th spot, this is only the case in regards to the raw damage output they have compared to the ones above them. A good and skilled pilot can make an approach and veer off to allow other types of weapons to engage like beam arrays that can and will do more damage to the targets down or weakened shields. There is also something to be said of putting a powerful burst of torpedoes into a ship's unshielded side as you veer off inflicting a serious beatdown.

All of theses tactics are solid but mitigated by your piloting skill, your playstyle and also your ship's capabilities.

Medium Speed/Maneuverability Ships

Medium speed ships, that being ships with turn rates between 9 and 14 are in an interesting place. They aren't quite fast enough to be able to use weapons like regular cannons, but are still fast enough to perhaps use cannons that have a wide arc modifier or ability. For the most part, you'd be better served with dual beam banks and torpedoes than with the cannons. These ships tend to have slightly higher hull hit points and stronger shields though usually not that much higher that you will be able to slug it out toe to toe. These ships still will need to maneuver and utilize their weaponry effectively to overcome a tough defense and/or weather a furious offensive barrage. Many Science based ships fall into this category and as such you will likely be needing to focus on your Bridge Officers science abilities to be successful with this type of ship. Examples of these ships are:

Medium Speed/Maneuverabilty Ship Tactics

As with the fast ships, medium to average speed/maneuverability ships- especially Science based ships, will need to be equipped with the right assortment of gear to be able to perform well. Because a lot of these middling ships tend to be Science ships, the majority of your damage will come from abilities supplemented with energy and kinetic weapons on your ship. In these ships, you may want to keep your distance from your enemy and use the hit and fade attacks that allow your abilities to weaken them before closing and finishing them off. The basic principles of combat are the same with these ships as they are with the faster or slower ships. Its all about using the ship and your crew to enhance its inherent functionality and offset as much as you can its inherent weaknesses. However, while they are not glass cannons they are not damage soaking behemoths either. They straddle the middle ground. As such you will need to work with that when engaging in ship to ship combat. Rushing in and trying for an alpha strike and out direct damaging your opponent, especially when you are outnumbered, is a losing strategy with these ships. Instead, look to using hit and fade strategies that allow you to recover damage to your hull and shields quickly and get back into range to strike again before your oppoent has a chance to do the same. This is extremely important to do when facing larger ships as they generally have powerful weapons but are slower to close allowing you to dart in and out of range. Using Science ship abilities to do a damage over time, or target ship subsystems is a great way to wear down your opponent before you finish them off with a torpedo barrage or a beam assault.

Here are my recommendations for ship weaponry for medium speed/maneuverability ships, Again based on your skill with piloting you may see better results with some of the other weapons I have rated lower, so keep that in mind and experiment to find the right mix:

1.  Dual Beam Banks / Torpedoes (90 degree arc)*

2.  Beam Arrays (250 degree arc)

3.  Turrets / Omni-Directional (360 degree arc)**

4.  Cannons (180 degree arc)*

5.  Dual Heavy Cannons (45 degree arc)*

6.  Dual Cannons (45 degree arc)*

*Note that all Cannons types and Dual Beam Banks cannot be mounted in the rear weapon slots. Only Beam Arrays, Torpedoes, Turrets and Omni-Directional weapons can be placed in the rear weapon slots.

**Turrets can be placed in forward weapon slots. Omni-Directional weapons cannot be placed in forward weapon slots.

Dual beam banks and torpedoes are good choices for these ships to supplement your Bridge Officer and ship based abilities on offense. These weapons straddle the middle ground of targeting arc and damage output. Because of this, these weapons are only suitable for the middling maneuverability ships. Faster ships should use the tighter arc weapons and slower ships are better suited to the wider arc weapons. That said, the middle speed ships can use them all, depending on your piloting skills. Generally you will want to use these weapons to place your opponent in your front arc to be able to use your Bridge Officer abilities will generally have forward facing targeting arcs of their own. Placing turrets and Omni-directional weapons in the rear slots allow for all weapons to be firing forward and a decent number to the side or rear should you need to move out of range to wait out the ability timers and let your DoTs do their damage.

Slow Speed/Maneuverability Ships

Larger and slower ships, those with a base turn rate of 8 or below,  have an inherent lack of speed and maneuverability and so will need to use tactics and weaponry that are flexible to fight off and overcome faster and more nimble foes, those that are often packing a large offensive punch. To do this, ships of this type, will need to be able to restore shields and hull quickly and be able to bring a large array of weapons to bear on the targets regardless of where they may be attacking from. Being like a castle means you have strong defenses but you still need to able to focus your attacks on your opponents to take them out before they wear you down. Using your defensive skills to their fullest are key to prevailing over a numerically superior or more nimble foe. Cruiser and engineering based ships are dominant in this class for obvious reasons. They are tanks. Fortresses in space. While still mobile they are needing to be played correctly to be able to win the battles ahead. Examples of ships like this are:

Slow Speed/Maneuverabilty Ship Tactics

Since these ships have a low turn rate tracking your opponents will be a large part of the battle and your tactics. Your weaponry will need to reflect that inherent weakness and overcome it. As such you will not want to use weaponry that has a narrow arc of targeting as keeping your oppoent in that arc is difficult. A powerful gun is not much use if you cannot aim it effectively. Equally important is using a weapon that still packs a large enough punch to actually hurt your foe. Because larger shipd tend to be engineering heavy ships your bridge officer abilities should allow you to absorb the damage dealt by your foe. Your hull heals and shield repairs will need to be in full gear to allow your counterattack to bloody your opponent and let you get the edge in combat. These will be key to victory when you are flying a castle into combat. Use its strengths to overcome and exploit the weaknesses of your enemy. Faster ships are great at alpha strikes and trying to take you out in a fast series of strikes. Reflecting, absorbing, and mitigating that damage and then bringing your guns to bear is what you will need to do. Medium ships will try to keep you at bay and strike at key locations and use damage over time. Cleansing the DoT and keeping up with them to strike back is key to those fights.

Here are my recommendations for the weapons that you should place on your slower ships. Again, like with the fast and medium speed ships, your skill in flying will influence these rankings. Find what works for you:

1.  Beam Arrays (250 degree arc)

2.  Turrets / Omni-Directional (360 degree arc)**

3.  Dual Beam Banks / Torpedoes (90 degree arc)*

4.  Cannons (180 degree arc)

5.  Dual Heavy Cannons (45 degree arc)*

6.  Dual Cannons (45 degree arc)*

*Note that all Cannons types and Dual Beam Banks cannot be mounted in the rear weapon slots. Only Beam Arrays, Torpedoes, Turrets and Omni-Directional weapons can be placed in the rear weapon slots.

**Turrets can be placed in forward weapon slots. Omni-Directional weapons cannot be placed in forward weapon slots.

If you decide to go with beam arrays, that have 250 degree arcs, will allow you to overlap your front and rear arcs. This means if you slot beam arrays forward and aft you will be able to bring them all to bear on your target in the form of a broadside. As such you will want to turn your ship to the side to allow for more of your weapons to target and fire at your attacker. Turrets and Omni-directional weapons are highly useful for slower ships as they are able to strike at your opponents regardless of their location. The weakness of those weapons is their low damage output. As such the beam arrays tend to be a better choice for pilots able to keep their opponents in that side arc. Most Omni-directional weapons are limited to 1 per damage type (ie 1 phaser Omni-directional on a phaser build). Because of this limitation turrets and Omni-directionals will need to be used with the right mix of other weapons. Torpedo weapons, especially those that are heavy hitters with slow reload speeds can be a good choice as you turn and get the enemy into your torpedo arc. Or it a nasty surprise for a ship sweeping past you to fire a waiting torpedo at them. This tends to be situational and as such takes up a slot that could be doing damage more often even if its less damaging. Putting 1 torpedo weapon forward or aft would be all that would be recommended in this case. Placing a powerful one there with a slow recharge is better than a faster, weaker, type.

Shields...SHIELDS!

The tutorial briefly mentions that you can reinforce the shields on your ship as they take damage from incoming fire by clicking on the arc that needs the reinforcement. Doing this caused your ship to flow shields from the other arcs to fill the weakened one. However, a single click is not all that is required at times. One click or the press of the arrow keys to reinforce only does so much. In order to rapidly replace shields to an arc will require a rapid tapping of the key or clicking quickly to reinforce that arc to get that shield back up. This is not covered in the game's basic combat tutorial and can, and often does, save your ship from being destroyed. In addition make sure you use the shield abilities of your Science Bridge Officer or your Engineering Bridge Officer to sent more energy from your ship to your shields.