Damage Types
 

I'm a returning player, coming back after about 6 months or so, and I have a question.

When re-outfitting my ship, I noticed that the tooltip on my beams has changed. It went from something in the range of, -% power if weapons other then this type, to -10% when fired.

Does this mean I can now put multiple beams with different energy types without a penalty; or is there something I am missing?

You may do so "without penalty" as the only difference between energy weapon types now is their critical proc. Phasers randomly disable subsystems, Antiprotons critical with more damage, Tetryons drain shield power, etc.

However, a big change with Season 5 was that Tactical consoles were subtley revamped, and you are now better off having an Energy-specific console over a generic one (In short, a Phaser Relay gives a better bonus than a Directed Energy Distribution Manifold)

So if you think about that with respect to your weapons loadout, you are ultimately better off focussing on a single energy type with the consoles to match, than having Josph's Technicolour Dreamcoat with generic consoles to suit all. Specific, focussed builds will be doing more damage than a build that tries to cover everything.

Exactly the answer I was looking for, thanks much!

I do have one other off topic question. It says that we obtain doff's as we level, but I have been 50 since about 2 months after launch. Whats the process for getting the ones I should have from leveling ?

Interesting. I got mine retro-actively awarded through my mission log. If you hit "L" to bring up the log, and go to "In Progress", there should be some Duty Officer missions to turn in which will award you your DOFFs.

If there is nothing in progress however, it could possibly be a bug and I'd recommend filing a ticket.

Excellent. More info I was looking for. The search function is paying for itself.

My mantra has been "Phasers! Phasers everywhere!" simply because they're easy to get and seem to have a nice balance between damage and firing arc. Allowing me to fight like a high seas pirate.

The only negative I've noticed so far is a dangerous power lack coming out of full impulse, but so far it seems to be working. And some of the advice above seems to support the tactic.

But I must ask: Am I setting myself up for big pain in later missions?