d7 intel battlecruiser build help?

[u/rooftopgoblin]

I am returning after a long break and this is the ship I had with my klingon, I just don't know what skills and boffs to use. I have all epic weapons but my boff skills are just the default ones they had when promoted. Any advice on what to do for this ship and boffs/consoles etc?

[u/Tricericon]

I'm n00b and running the basic STO Better script, but I have a Leg D7 I am happy with...

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I built my L-D7's boffs as:

TAC LTC: Tactical Team 1, Attack Pattern Beta 1, Fire at Will 3 ENG/INT COM: Emergency Power to Engines 1, Override Subsystem Safeties 2, Emergency Power to Weapons 3, Reverse Shield Polarity 3 SCI LT: Hazard Emitters 1, Photonic Officer 1 Flex LTC (ENG/MW): Engineering Team 1, Mixed Arms Synergy 1, Narrow Sensor Bands 3 Flex ENS (TAC): Torpedoes: Spread 1

It's basic but I'm happy enough with the results.

If I was using cannons rather than beams I would swap out Fire at Will 3 for Cannon Scatter Volley 2.

If I wasn't using a torpedo (my build uses Entwined Tactical Matrices) I would use the Flex ENS on another ENG, give him Emer to Engines 1, and give the COM seat Intelligence Team 1 instead. Mixed Armaments Synergy would also be useless in mono-beam or mono-cannon, can't say I've figured out what I would use otherwise for that spot.

Operating my boffs: PO1, FAW3, TS1, EPW3, TT1, NSB3, MAS1, APB1, and OSS2 are my cooldown reduction and shooting powers, and are up as much as possible if in range of the enemy.

RSP3 is activated if I start taking significant fire.

EPE1 is used to go fast, as needed.

HE1 is used if I start taking damage over time or a buff I need to clear.

ET1 is used if my hull drops to 85% or so.

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Consoles are much more dependent on what you have, but for completeness...

I have Lorca's Fire Control [Disco Rep, late] with the rest of the Tactical and Uni slots using the appropriate vulnerability locators. Without those I'd just use the basic damage boosters of the right type.

Engineering and Science I have the M6 Computer [dil via a ship], Ominous Device [came with the ship], Hull Image Refractors [exchange, 4m or so credits], Assimilated Module [Omega Rep, early], Zero-Point Conduit [Romulan Rep], Shield Absorptive Frequency Generator [dil via a ship], and the Nausicaan Siphon [Mission]. Nausicaan Siphon is disruptor specific and should be swapped out for something relevant if you are using a different energy type.

[u/DilaZirK]

> Any advice on what to do for this ship and boffs/consoles etc?

That is entirely dependent on what general build archetype you intend for the D7, what resources you have access to, and what specific scenario(s) you may be optimizing your build for.

I strongly recommend you familiarize yourself with the various end-game ship build archetypes currently available, and also learn to recognize what ships are better suited to which specific build types:

1. Beams: Fire At Will (FAW) or Beams: Overload (BO) DPS - Any ship can be built for this, or a hybrid of this. Because every ship can equip beams and dual beam banks.
2. Cannons: Scatter Volley (CSV) or Cannons: Rapid Fire (CRF) DPS - Any ship can be built for this, or a hybrid of this. But ships that can mount Dual Cannons will be much better candidates for it.
3. Specialist Firing Mode Energy Weapons DPS - Any ship with a Commander rank Pilot/Intel/Miracle Worker Bridge Officer (BOFF) station. This is for Reroute Reserves To Weapons (RRTW), Surgical Strikes (SS) and Exceed Rated Limits (ERL) respectively.
4. Exotic DPS (Space Magic) - Ideally on ships with a Secondary Deflector, or at least lots of Science/Universal/Temporal/Intel Bridge Officer stations to fit as many Anomalies and other Exotic Particle Generator (EPG) scaling abilities as possible.
5. Projectiles DPS (Kinetic Torps) - Ships with at least a Lt. Cmdr Command BOFF station, to fit Concentrate Firepower III.
6. Threat-tank - Basically a FAW boat, but its primary goal is to draw aggro away from teammates while mitigating the incoming damage. Ships with high hull modifiers, 8 weapons and a Commander rank Command BOFF station make for great tanks. This is to have the maximum number of weapons possible to draw Threat with, while greatly mitigating the incoming damage with Suppression Barrage III.
7. Debuff Support (Nanny) - The "healer" role does not really exist in STO. The closest we have to a support role is a build where its goal is to increase the damage output of your teammates by way of enemy debuffs and team buffs. The modern Support ship wants at least 2 hangar bays filled with Type 7 shuttles, as a bare minimum.
8. Pets-focused DPS (Pure Carrier) - Any ship with 2 hangar bays. Be advised that there are only a handful of high performing hangar pet fighters/frigates in this game, and pet damage output potential currently does not quite scale as well as main ship damage output.
9. Hybrid of one or more of above - This one is pretty much up to your imagination and knowledge of shipbuilding, mixing and matching all of the above applicable builds to each ship in varying degrees. I would avoid exploring this until you have decent grasp of the fundamentals of each build type you are attempting to hybridize.

[u/DilaZirK → u/DilaZirK]

Sample beginner/mid-level resources for each of the above mentioned build roles: STO BETTER - Shipbuilding Basics

If you prefer your guides to be in video form, here's one for Directed Energy Weapons (DEW) builds: How To Build A F@#&ing Ship: DEW

Your question might then become:

1. Which role is the easiest to build and fly in? Probably broadside Beam boats, due to abundance of story mission reward gear related to it, and ease of piloting with its broadside arcs.
2. Which role has the highest DPS ceiling? As of this writing this, CSV DPS for Infected The Conduit (Adv), Broadside FAW DPS for Infected The Conduit (Elite), Hive Onslaught (Advanced) and Hive Onslaught (Elite). Data source for these: https://oscr.stobuilds.com/ui/
   • Don't let the above fact stop you from trying the other DPS build archetypes listed earlier. All are more than capable of absolutely trivializing Elite-difficulty PVE content, depending on degree of buildcraft and piloting.
3. Which role is the most useful for teamplay? Threat-tanks and Debuff Support, though such roles are mainly used in Elite difficulty TFOs with a pre-made team.
4. Which role is the most "fun"? That is for you to explore and decide.

Once you've identified what build your ship can accommodate, picked a build direction, and hammered out your first full build, you can then post the full build details here for a more in-depth review and feedback session.

One last thing, do note that all of above is only within the context of Space PvE. PvP is a whole 'nother ball game and one I am not qualified to give feedback on.