.......for themselvs.

I see ppl on the forums always asking for the best pvp build. I have an answer for you. It is the build that fits your playstyle best. Most of us who do well in pvp have tried many skill point builds, BO officer skills and such.

You ppl who do not figure stuff out for yourselvs only hurt yourselvs. If a build works good for player X it does not mean that same build will work for player Y. Most of the players asking for help don't even give us any info that might help us help you.

The best pvpers take the time to figure something out. They see what works best and does not for them.

I have also seen many ppl with solid builds do horrable in pvp. Pvp is not just a matter of build it is a matter
of knowing what to do at the right time and what not to do.

Good example. Many are crying that thier escort got over nerfed. Hmm, after trying stuff, tweeking this and that i am doing fine and so are many other escort pilots in my fleet.

Ppl if you want to be good at pvp i will give you some tips.

1- First off..... NEVER judge if stuff is working for you if you are in a PUG! Hard to judge if stuff is good when you have others doing stupid stuff. Find a group that is doing good and stick with them for a bit.

2- Don't judge a build until you have tried it for a bit. A new build can take some time to get used to.

3- DON'T be stupid. I see ppl run into 5 on the other side and wonder why did i die in no time at all, this build sucks.

4- REMEMBER.... the ship does not make the pilot the pilot makes the ship. All a good build can do is make a great pilot awsome and a poor pilot a bit better.

3- Practice, practice, practice. Go into PVE maps like in B'tran and get used to your new build. Then pvp once you have gotten used to where your skills are on the keyboard and used to how they work.

4- If you get nuked by something find out what it was, how to avoid or fix it. Also, never be afriad to run away and come back after what is messing you up is gone.

5- Learn to fly the ship itself. THIS is a big one. If you can't fly the ship you are dead meat.........!!!!!!!!

You will not always be the top dog in score. If you die 20 times in a pvp match look at yourself before you say others are OP. Learn and learn more.

If you that think just cuz you have a good build and you get owned that stuff is OP, insted you may want to say either... that person was good or that team knows how to work together. Look at what a pilot may have done that got you in trouble. Learn to counter it and ALSO see if you can figure out how to do that yourself

Last point, most battles will not be 1v1. Learn to work as a team player. If the team you are on sucks find a group that does not. A good fleet that likes to pvp is a good start.

Did not write this to offend anyone. All of us are willing to help those willing to help themselvs, but we can't fly the ship for you. Much is up to you.

Almost forgot this point added after reading another post. Do not change a ton of stuff on your build at once. Change 1 or 2 things then test it. If something does not work change it back or try something else. By changing to much at one time you really can not tell what helped/hurt you.

/peace

Good post + a few more characters so i can hit reply

Very nice post Badlander. I agree with just about everything you said. I go into pvp and get my aft handed to me quite often and i curse the ones who did it to me (including myself), and at the end i know that i just need to practice and tweak my toon/ship more.

I do however think the Klinks are still a bit OP.....but i can say this impartially because i also have a Klink i play and notice i rip through most feds i encounter. Then again if they werent OP then no one would play them since they have no content of their own....yet. I dont play her that much though because i just cant bring myself to play against the Feds all that often. I was raised on Star Trek and Feds were always good and Klinks were always bad. (Grew up on TOS). I always wanted to be the good guy. Occasionally though its kinda fun being a tad bad...lol

In general, I test builds against constant opponents in the "devend the x-system", to see how quickly I can rip through the same ship over and over again.

It's not a perfect test, but since most non-playables are pretty consistant, it at least gives somewhat of a baseline test.

In relation to the escort bit.

Escorts and any cannon based ship are trickier to fly than either a cruiser or a science ship. Sure you can do a balls to the wall strafing run on someone but after that you must re-align yourself to do anymore real dps. I see a lot of escorts finish their strafe and then stop right behind the ship they were shooting at instead of maneuvering properly. A sure fire way of getting dead quick.

Perhaps it is merely the fed players that are lacking

I play almost 100% Klink now... the bottom line there is nothing to do on the klink side but PvP. You don't run into any non PvP biuilds on the Klink side of things. Anyone playing Klingon right now enjoys PvP more then anything else and uses there skill spend and sets their ship up to compete.

On my Fed Escort I can do right around the same amount of damage on a Fed Vs Fed... I find the Klingon players are for the most part more rigged to counter and heal for PvP.

I agree with almost all that is in the OP. It would be great if people followed the advice. But they won't. There will still be posts asking what is the best ship, what is the best weapon. Posts moaning that a particular weapon is useless. Or that a particular ability is overpowered and has no counter.

For me working out the best, ship, build and tactics is why I love PvP. I am always trying to get better. If I change something and it doesn't work, I will change it back. And then try something new. I just love it when it finally comes together and I have a build that works for me.

Only thing I would disagree with the OP is that if you mainly PUG then you should test in a PUG. A build might work when you have good support but fail totally when you are on your own.

I have asked this several times now, but no-one who has stated this idea has every given me an answer (that I could understand).

Why am I so much more successful playing my Klingon characters as opposed to when I am playing my Federation characters?

Because in general, Klingon players are more experienced, more prepared, and better equipped for PvP.