I was about to post the same thing as the OP, but I use a galaxy-r.... for what I've been experiencing, it's even worse. Especially against klingons (and I do it too on my klingon ) where you get tractored a lot / theta rad / PSW.

Maybe it's no hope and I really should get the excelsior too when I play with my tac /cruiser...

For the most part I agree - and I've seen a lot of Tac/Cruisers go pop in seconds (I did a lot at the beginning) - but as with any combo you persevere, find out what works for you and hopefully get better at it. I've been flying the Excelsior for some time now in PvP and I'm usually pretty satisfied with my contribution to the team. Of course, it helps if the Eng/Cruisers realise that you're helping make up for their lack of DPS and throw you a heal now and then - but I guess a lot of them don't notice I'm a Tac (unlike the opposition ).

You know I tried them - even got myself a Defiant Retrofit but there's just something about the cruiser style of combat I love (the whole tall ships thing I guess) - although it's fun to lumber around and then pop Evasive Maneuvers and EP2E1 and be an escort for a few seconds To be honest though, if I didn't have the Excelsior I'd probably be in an Intrepid - the rest of the cruisers are just too slow at turning for my liking - the Excelsior hits the cruiser 'sweet spot' for me.

Great! I'll see you soon!

I've been working on a idea that just might work...
Could some PvP veterans take a look at this build?

My idea is to try to bring down the numbers on the spike dmg you receive, using aceton fields and BT:W..

1) Personally, I would avoid Aceton as much as you can. Almost everyone is carrying a Hazard, and if not, someone on their team is. If you really want Acetons, then go with a Kar'Fi and use Fer'Jai frigates in both hangars. Easiest way to nullify spike damage? Extend Shields. Extend Shields 3 with it's 40+% resist and ~200/sec regen can take even the most brutal of Beam Overloads and turn it into a scratch. Couple it with a Transfer Shields 2, and your target's shields are more or less impregnable. (My favorite tactic is to give an allied Escort Extend 2 and TSS 3 from my Nebula... then I don't have to worry about healing them for a while)

2) You can only really have 1 Aux to SIF. Sure, you can technically slot 2, but it's already at it's GCD so a second literally would never be used.

3) A Cruiser without EngTeam? That's a huuuuuuuge no-no in my book. If not for the heal, then at least the debuff clear.

4) Take those 9/9 out of your skills (really, it's legitimately not worth it at all) and invest in the other Space skills like Warp Core Potential, Engine Performance, and Armor.

1 - Sadly.. you are right.. thanks.
2 - Aux to Sif 3 is the way to go then.. thanks.
3 - The problem with Eng team is the shared cooldown with tac team... and one does need tac team nowadays
4 - Didn't know that, thanks a lot.

About extend shields (as I see that the OP also uses it), since we are talking about tac/cruiser, is it still a valid option? I mean.. protecting others is great, but a tac/cruiser goes down very fast so he needs all protection he can get..

EngTeam does share a 15 second CD with TacTeam. However, given enough time/experience, you'll learn to work around that. Also, you have Tactical Initiative which will bring your TacTeam down to a 15 second CD so that you can rotate a single copy during crunch times.

Extend Shields can be a great asset to even a Tac/Cruiser... by shielding one of your allies, you're not only giving your enemies something else to shoot at (since they may have died otherwise), you're helping taking some heat off yourself since your shielded friend will theoretically be attacking one of the enemy team. And every person that's not attacking you/is helping take down an enemy team member (even if that enemy isn't directly targetting you) boosts your survivability.

For reference:
Extend 1 = ~20-24% resist
Extend 2 = ~30-34% resist
Extend 3 = ~40-44% resist

To get yourself into the groove of things, I'd recommend cycling 2x EPtS 3 with 2x EngTeam 1 and 1 TacTeam. Or, if you're comfortable with the timing of multiple EPtX, substitute one of those EngTeams with an EPtE/A. I wouldn't recommend EPtW since the damage buff is laughable and with the skill changes, it's not hard to maintain high Weapons power levels at all.

A Cruiser with EPtS 3's resistance buff (and consequently near 125 Shield power) with the Borg shield, maybe a +Shield Regen % console or two, and constant shield distribution will have very nice shield regen.

Further down the line, though, I'd say try and switch away from EPtS 3 to 2 or 1. Having 3 is pretty much a **** move since it takes up slots that are far better suited for heals or offensive tools (DEM/EWP) and is just a lame move over all :p

Possible build?
EngTeam 1, RSP 1, EPtS 3
EngTeam 1/EPtX 1, Extend 1, EPtS 3, Aux to SIF 3
(or switch it up for Aux to SIF 1 and and Extend 3... though, as a Tac, I recommend the Aux to SIF 3/Extend 1 combo)

Well some notes on your build, definitely spread those points around more. Warp core potential gives +5 to all power at 9 ranks, which actually makes it more cost effective than ranking each performance skill to 3 (which gives +5 power to the system). That said, more power is always better. I'd suggest 6 in performance skills and go to 6-9 in potential.

Points in subspace decompilers does not do much for you, nor is particle generators particularly useful for a cruiser. You get far more damage from weapons than from any special damage. I would drop them both entirely and put the points elsewhere.


Also a tac/cruiser can definitely play healer well if you are set up for it. My Negh'var has always been a tough cookie despite the tac captain. Extend is definitely worth considering, even extend 1 is quite valuable.

You definitely do not need two tac teams, though. Definitely get an engineering team. Remember they are going to fix tac team one day, better to not get dependent on it.

I'll try that. Thanks for the golden advice

Thanks all for the feedback (both for myself, and for the other poster)! I am trying to put this knowledge to good use!

P.S. No luck finding a PvP guild/fleet... Anyone know of any recruiting fresh-faced-bright-eyed new VA's like myself? Without other players to train my officers, it isn't possible to get some of the Mk III skills listed above.

looks like foxrocks and mvs took care of this page...

listen, you guys hang in there, you will find a feet. or one will find you. at tops there are around 50 of us who pvp regularly, and even less that excell in what they are good at. i consider myself, at least, on the road to competing with them.

but there are so many intagibles to discuss. for 1, the shot caller of any fleet is the mvp. they are hard to find, and as rare as anything in this game. the more you play the game, the more you will find decsision making more important than the powers that your team has at their disposal to deliver.

have fun, kill bad guys.

horizon