Specializations and Class

Captain Class: Science

Captain Race: Human

Captain Faction: Federation

Primary: Intelligence

Secondary: Strategist

Intended Role: Energy + Science mixed DPS

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 Antiproton Cannons of various flavors. I went for a variety of cannon subtypes purely for visuals. I love seeing the different red-purple cannon splats of various shapes, frequencies, and sizes. That’s why there’s a Ba’ul and a Delphic cannon in there. The build would function just as well if not better with regular Antiproton for all the slots. I avoided Radiant weapons because they are significantly different in color and they don’t benefit from any other haste except their own. Weapon flavor is Antiproton because they look cool and fit the aesthetic of the ship. Energy type doesn’t matter (much). Could have just as easily been any other type.

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 Dark Matter torpedo provides a fantastic 2-piece bonus in addition to fueling Super Charged Weapons.

Link to Energy Weapon Calculator for this build

Notes:

This ship is sufficiently nimble that the Prevailing Regalia engines are not worth it. There's plenty of other defensive tools, so the Stamets-Tilly 2-piece is also unneeded. Instead, we'll go for max offensive stats from deflector, engine, and warp core.

Notes:

Not many set bonuses are particularly good for antiproton exclusively (aside from the Ba'ul 2-piece Lobi set, which is more for tanks), so instead this build focuses on generically good bonuses and consoles rather than sets. The only set bonus is the near-ubiquitous Lorca's Ambition 2-piece for 25% Critical Severity.

Alternate Energy types:

Obviously all weapons would need to be replaced except the torpedo. Alliance Tactics 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 antiproton cannons are probably a touch better than some of the alternate flavors I have here.

Budget Tweaks:

• Regular antiproton 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

• Alliance Tactics -> Voth Phase Decoy from the Phoenix Box

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

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)

• Withering Barrage > 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. Entwined Tactical Matrices can be used to replace Withering Barrage, just make sure you stagger out your Torp Spread and Cannon Scatter Volley instead of stacking them. I did 358K with ETM before I had Withering Barrage so it's certainly Elite-capable.

Recursive Shearing III vs CSV III

• Given the seating of the Theseus, you have to choose between Recursive Shearing III and Cannon: Scatter Volley 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. CSV III gains 5% extra (final) damage and a -10 less accuracy penalty compared to CSV II. 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. Jayiie has a build on the same ship that uses Scatter Volley III; check that out if you'd like a different take as it also does tons of damage. The Vincent Kish duty officer helps mitigate this loss as well by providing a chance at upgrading the Scatter Volley II to III.

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 does not model that 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

Ship Stats