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Hey, captains. Shaw again.
I remember that when Delta Rising first launched, many people were complaining about the “one mistake and the mission fails” nature of the revised STFs.
I’ve since heard that the STFs have been altered to be less unforgiving, but I’m still not clear on what’s been changed.
Here’s the thing — I learned to enjoy the old STFs, thanks to the help of Fleeties, but I’ll be the first to admit, I’ve been an enthusiastic STF player, not a flawless one.
The Fleeties who trained me in STFs may also recall that I have an almost pathological fear of being “the goat” — the guy who accidentally f#cks it up for the team. I used to have literal nightmares about those Borg probes getting past me …
So, if the revised STFs are still “One wrong move, and you screw it up for everyone else”, I won’t touch the new STFs, especially not with pick-up-groups. The 44th Fleet is generally very tolerant, but pugs are often horribly hostile, as we all know.
Someone here (Akula?) famously joked that pugs are for players who are such a-holes, no fleet will keep them long. Not precisely true, of course, but there’s still some truth in the humor.
So, is it now safe for me to check out the supposedly-revised STFs? If so, which difficulty tier will best keep me from the “one mistake and you bork it for everyone” nightmare?
Thanks to everyone with the time and the inclination to reply. It’s appreciated.
Cheers,
Shaw
aka @CobaltBlueHero
Well, the ‘old’ STFs just got harder, that’s about the gist of it.
It’s like we’re reset back to green Mk X (ten) and having to do Mk XII Elite STFs in the old system; if you don’t upgrade or seriously invest in powerhouse ships it’ll be a tough nut to crack (but not impossible).Just talking generalities here, especially regarding the classic Borg / Undine STFs.
Revamped STF tactics are still similar, NPCs just have more hitpoints which makes them tougher to kill, which is an issue since we’re on a timer. Also, there are more spheres thrown into the mix, and they can be very distracting, drawing fire away from intended targets.
In Cure Space for example you used to be able to do RML (Right, Middle Left) with one guy covering 2 BoP approaches; Kang will now be harassed by spheres too, which complicates things for the Kang defender. Simple solution is to have 2 guys covering Kang during the first wave; after the rogue spheres are gone you can revert to the usual RML strategy with 1 on Kang and the rest mauling cubes.
In ISE, it’s best for now to return to the 10% rule: bring health of the generators down to 10% before blowing them all: here there are more spheres running amok as well, so you need to pay more attention and simply have more DPS than before. Grav Well helps.
That’s basically the new reality; need moah DPS to kill evil NPCs within the time limit. Grav Wells and other snares (Warp Plasma) will have a bigger role again, just as they did before we could steamroll ESTFs pre-Delta.
On a side note, I have the Delta pack and all the T-6 ships, but for STFs I still rely on my trusted T-5U ships as they seem to do better in STFs. Just saying that your current (fleet) ships are still very much viable. Upgrading to Mk XIV weapons/tac consoles however, will be unavoidable.
And I can’t recall you ever being ‘the goat’ 😀
"Boldly bashing Borg to bits since 2012..."Thanks for the overview, Marcase. I appreciate the time you put into your reply.
Looks like I’ll hold off on STFs until I get at least some of my gear bumped up to a higher tier. I love my USS Shadwick, and what I’ve done with her loadout, but I’m feeling the pressure even while battling the Vaadwaur NPC swarms. I know I’m not quite ready for the new STFs … yet.
Cheers,
Shaw
aka @CobaltBlueHero
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