I did a similar test several days ago... i think the first build is better if you can/want use BO

however I had to use the second one because on a sci ships BO have a shared cooldown with subsystem's targeting abilities (that i do not want to loose).

I ran with 3 DBBs up front in my RSV for ages and could never figure out why my DPS was not where I thought it should be.
After switching to all BAs with 1 cluster Transphasic aft, on the advice of a wise soul who suggested the change, am much happier and think i know why.
It all comes down to your turn rate. At one stage I was running 3 RCS consoles, and even that didnt help, the amount of time that u take to bring DBBs back on target, is more than enough for BAs to keep firing and blitz there DPS numbers of any DBB combo.
While I realise that my DPS will always be laughable compared to some builds, I really don't care, I can at least see the enemies stats dropping now when I zap 'em, and that gives me a sense of contribution that I wasn't getting with the DBBs, so am glad I made the switch.

First, the only way to really test one weapon set up against another will be to utilize a combat log parsing program.

Then, you'll need to find some decent targets, like other players or Elite Borg things that won't die too fast. (There are also a few foundry missions, search for DPS and set your difficulty to Elite).


I really wouldn?t judge anything by the Orion corvettes in Stranded in Space.




Last, I'll just say you're always going to perform better when you can bring all of your weapons into the same arc of fire - either fore or broadside.


So either go all beam arrays, or go DBBs + Turrets. Don't mix and match.

It really depens on what you expect out of a battle, does it?

if you can expect to kill an enemy in a quick burst attack, cannons and turrets all the way and then you only need enough survivability to get through a burst attack yourself.

If you are expecting a prolonged battle, beams are maybe better to wear someone out over time if he can "burst tank" but has little to resist ongoing dps pressure.

Of course reality says different, in that everybody has enough tankability to survive almost anything and that you have to surprise your target, overwhelm by numbers or trickery.