Atrox, Recluse, and general carrier advice
 

Hey all,

I've been running my Engineer main around in escorts and escort-style craft for a good while, but with the new ship sale in place I've been in a good position to try out a change of pace. Since I know I just don't get along too well with Cruisers (got a Regent and a proto-Odyssey and they don't like me :P), I went and got me a Vesta for a bit of fun, multi-role science flavor.

Now I'm ready for a more extreme departure, and I'm thinking...carriers. With the new ship sale in place I'm in a good position to pick up an Atrox, but I'm also coming into some money soon and might be able to swing my very own Tholian Recluse.

Should I get the Atrox or the Recluse? Does anyone have suggested builds/tips for either? I was also considering saving up for a Temporal Destroyer instead of a Recluse. Is that a better buy? Are Stalkers as terrible a carrier pet as some have suggested? What's the main strategy for flying a catboat?

Any advice is welcome!

Forget about the Atrox. Seriously, waste of money.

It's a 2500 Zen ship with only 9 console slots, no Fleet version, no unique ability or anything, no custom bridge, and the Stalker fighters cannot be used on any other Fed carrier-type ship.

In addition, it cannot mount dual cannons (whereas Recluse can), it doesn't have any universal boff slots (whereas Recluse does), and it costs absurd amount of Zen (2500? Really? It should cost 2000 like the majority of other non-top-tier vessels).

Save your EC and get yourself a Recluse. Superior ship with superior capabilities.


Still, I dumped them both in favour of the Vesta, because I couldn't stand the slow turn rate anymore. Also, Fed hangars aren't really that great. If you want to have some fun with a Carrier then I strongly suggest playing as a KDF in a Kar'Fi.

a KDF in a Kar'fi OR Vo'Quv.... these in my humble opinion are arguably the best 2 carriers in the game...

Well, that's not exactly a glowing endorsement :P

Now I've got some followup questions:

- Are dual cannons that important to carrier builds?
- Is the Atrox that inferior?
- What's a better buy, a Mobius or a Recluse? I know the Mobius isn't a carrier, but if you had the EC to spend, which would you pick?

I think if you are going to spend that kind of money then you should consider the Vesta 3 pack (in for a penny in for a pound as it were)

No, but the point and shoot is a good build with some science skills, like gravity well. I used single cannons, beam arrays, and turrets.

The maneuverability makes it somewhat unwieldy, again considering some of the best science powers are aimed with your nose. It really could use a quality control check with all the new carriers out, but then again so could the klingon versions.

The fighters are a sore spot with me, as they are fairly effective, and unique. but even though the normal fighters are more powerful, you can't use them on anything but the atrox.

the Atrox ain't THAT inferior i have one myself and it is a solid ship since it is currently the bulkiest science ship the feds have. On top of that you can have 2 bays of fighters. The recluse i s more versitile yes but if your a engy you want bulk. I myself have not been able to buy a recluse yet but the Mobius is a solid choice it is a good escort and has access to the tipler cylinder when you get it from the Wells.

Depends on the build, obviously. Check the community's reaction when Cryptic's announced Vesta will be able to mount dual cannons.
Carriers have slow turn-rate, but with commander universal boff station you could dump a tactical officer, put on some dual cannons, scatters and rapids and your dps would increase significantly. They're also good for sci builds - slows, holds etc. And if anything, it's at least an option which Atrox doesn't provide.
Just compare the stats. Atrox is a standard Tier 5 ship with 9 consoles, while Recluse is a "Fleet" level type of ship.
Recluse has more base HP, bigger shield modifier, 10th console slot, a bit better turn-rate and comes not only with its own (good) fighters, but also with a thermionic torpedo, which is a decent disable-type weapon that you can use on other ships.

It's not a matter of "which one would I pick", as they're completely different classes. I fly mobius on a Tac and I think it's a decent choice for a Sci as well, but for my Eng I've tried out numerous ships only to stick with Vesta for the time being, at least until Feds receive some proper Battlecruiser (hopefully one of the andorian ships).

Speaking of battlecruisers and spending EC - D'Kora may be a good choice for you. It provides decent amount of firepower with dual cannons, can turn pretty well and has boff layout that allows for both firepower and tanking (i.e. great for an engineer).

No, you can't, unless they've changed something recently, which I doubt.