User:Dukedom/Sandbox/01

Introduction

Traits always have been a tricky choice to pick, because once you choose them they stay with your captain his whole career.
There are only a few more annoying things than to realize somewhere after your Captain Promotion that the nice trait you picked during your Character Creation is not as nifty as you imagined.
This holds even more truth with Season Four and its ground combat revamp which made ground traits a more or less viable choice again.
This guide will try to help you on that important decision.
Basic Builds will deal with trait builds available to all players while Advanced Builds includes trait builds which likely will require a Cryptic Store purchase.

Basic Builds

If Star Trek Online is not your first MMORPG you might expect some classic variations of the tank, damage dealer & healer triangle. I would suggest to discard this association. Style of play differs vastly between Space and Ground environments. A character filling the tank role perfectly fine in space might turn out to be a pushover once he beams down. Previous to Season Four pure space builds were the popular choice among most players because ground combat was shunned.

Pure Space Builds

Pure space builds are mostly limited to the custom alien species since almost all other races have one or more racial specific ground trait/s. If you choose species above possible traits you will have to compromise later.

The Damage Dealer (Space)

Suggested race selection: Alien

• Efficient Captain: Increases power levels for systems below 75 power.
• Accurate: Increases chance to hit on all your space weapons. In addition accuracy overflow will convert into larger and more frequent critical hits.
• Techie: Increases several Engineering abilities including weapon systems performance.
• Warp Theorist: More power.

This build focuses on one thing only. Picking traits that will help you dishing out the most damage you can get. If you're not comfortable with playing a custom alien species you can take a Bolian and drop Warp Theorist. If you drop Efficient Captain you can play this build with Andorians, Trills or Orions.

The Space Healer/Controller

Suggested race selection: Alien

• Astrophysicist: A bonus to all your science abilities.
• Techie: To gain an edge for your hull healing abilities.
• Efficient Captain: Increases power levels for systems below 75 power.
• Warp Theorist: More power.

While most shield and hull healing abilities are engineering ones, Transfer Shield Strength which is believed to be the best shield heal currently available by the majority of the playerbase is a science skill. And if you augment your science abilities with the Astrophysicist trait it's just another small leap from a pure space healer to a space controller, using science abilities to disable opposing ships. If you're not comfortable with with playing a custom alien species check the previous build for alternative species suggestions.

The Space Evader

Suggested race selection: Alien

• Elusive: Defense increase makes you harder to hit.
• Astrophysicist: Use those science skills to disable opponents. Disabled ships do not hit you either.
• Techie: For the moments you finally get hit after all.
• Efficient Captain: Increases power levels for systems below 75 power.

I don't need to deal more damage than my opponent, I just need to survive longer than him. If that is your mantra these are probably your traits too. Focusing on not getting hit, disabling the opponent and augmenting your abilities to repair the damage received. While very similar to the Space Healer build this one emphasizes more on your own survival rather than the survival of your team. Especially when dealing with smarter opponents (aka other players) this build might be the better choice. Again, if you're not comfortable with playing a custom alien species check the previous build for alternative species suggestions.

Pure Ground Builds

Up until Season Four pure ground builds were an oddity. Time will tell if they prove to be a more popular choice now.

The Medic

Suggested race selection: Betazoid

• Empathic'req': Increased health regeneration for your team and less threat generation by your actions.
• Creative: Increases your kit abilities by 5%.
  • Telepathic'req': Required Betazoid trait but not important for this build.
  • Sure Footed: Knockback and Root resistance.
  • Stubborn: Stun, Placate and Runspeed Resistance.

If you want to be a medic you'll need Creative. Empathic augments your healing nice and reduces the threat you are generating. If you pick up Sure Footed or Stubborn as your fourth trait is a matter of preference both are equaly viable.

Alternative race selection: Bajoran

• Creative'req': Increases your kit abilities by 5%.
• Spiritual'req': Increased health regeneration on yourself and bonus on healing abilities used on you.
• Sure Footed: Knockback and Root resistance.
• Stubborn: Stun, Placate and Runspeed Resistance.

While not having access to Empathic like Betazoids Spiritual increases your own ability to survive. And remember a disabled medic cannot heal after all.

Alternative race selection: Orion (female)

• Seductive'req': Confuse and Placate resistance and reduced threat generation.
• Creative: Increases your kit abilities by 5%.
• Sure Footed: Knockback and Root resistance.
• Stubborn: Stun, Placate and Runspeed Resistance.

The KDF version of the medic. While not to be known for their healing capabilities orion females can serve this role well enough.

The most important trait in this build is Creative to augment your kit heals. Reduced threat generation is a nice bonus to keep you from accidently pulling aggro with your heals. The other traits serve to reduce the chance of you becoming disabled. As said before a disabled medic cannot heal.

The Aggro Grabbing Build (not a tank!)

Suggested Federation race selection: Andorian

• Aggressive: Increased damage and threat generation.
• Acute Senses'req': Increased perception and exploit damage.
• Lucky: Increased critical hit chance.
• Resilient: Increased Damage resistance.

Increased threat generation and supplementing traits that focus on increasing overall damage. Not to forget Resilient to aid in surviving the nasty things whose attention you were trying to grab.

Suggested KDF race selection: Klingon

• Warrior'req': Increased damage.
• Honorable'req': Increased Damage resistance and high threat generation.
• Lucky: Increased critical hit chance.
• Peak Health: Bonus to hit points.

The Klingon build is actually superior to the Andorian one. You get all the goodies the Andorians have, double their threat generation and as topping an additional 10% to your hit points. Quite a package. Federation players need to purchase Klingons in the Cryptic Store making this an advanced build for them.

Alternative race selection: Nausicaan

• Aggressive: Increased damage and threat generation.
• Pirate'req': Increased stealth and damage.
• Physical Strength'req': Increased melee damage.
• Lucky: Increased critical hit chance.

Nausicaans almost don't make it into this category of builds. They might not have a problem getting aggro but without proper support certainly will have a problem maintaining it. Disabled people cannot participate in aggro managment.

As you probably already have guessed the important trait in this build is Aggressive or the superior threat generation of Honorable. This needs to be sidelined with a nice trait increasing your damage output, because all the threat generation in the game won't do anything for you if you cannot dish out a decent amount of damage. And last but not least you want to survive the attention you have grabbed.

The Glass Cannon

Suggested race selection: Bajoran

• Spiritual'req': Increased health regeneration on yourself and bonus on healing abilities used on you.
• Creative'req': Increased kit abilities.
• Soldier: Increased damage and stronger critical hits.
• Lucky: Increased critical hit chance.

Focus on damage dealing and not grabbing aggro. If you do Spiritual will be your friend. If you want to have fun with Rally Cry this is the build to try it with.

Alternative race selection: Saurian

• Circulatory Redundancies'req': Plasma, Fire and Toxic resistances.
• Acute Senses'req': Increased perception and exploit damage.
• Soldier: Increased damage and stronger critical hits.
• Aggressive: Increased damage and threat generation.

In terms of raw damage potential this is it. If you really want to go down this road you should brace yourself being called the squishy lizard soon.

The Survivor

Suggested race selection: Benzite

• Natural Armor'req': Damage resistance
• Natural Immunities'req': More Damage resistance
• Peak Health: Increased Hit Points.
  • Sturdy: Even more Damage resistance (focus on kinetic and knockback)
  • Mental Discipline: alternative Damage resistance (the dreaded Psionic Damage)

As you probably already have guessed this build focuses on staying alive. Natural Armor is slightly better than Resilient so the Benzites are the species of choice. Currently I would suggest picking Sturdy as the fourth trait over Mental Discipline unless you have problems dealing with Undine or Remans.

Alternative race selection: Trill

• Hyper Metabolism'req': Damage resistance and increased Health regeneration.
• Resilient: Damage resistance.
• Peak Health: Increased Hit Points.
• Mental Discipline: Damage resistance.

This alternative uses Resilient instead of the Benzite race trait and gains a slight boost to health regeneration because of the Hyper Metabolism. Your build of choice if the Benzite are just to blue for you.

Alternative race selection: Orion (female)

• Seductive'req': Confuse and Placate resistance, lower threat generation.
• Resilient: Damage Resistance.
• Peak Health: Increased Hit Points.
  • Sturdy: Even more Damage resistance (focus on kinetic and knockback)
  • Mental Discipline: alternative Damage resistance (the dreaded Psionic Damage)

Orion females are the build choice for the KDF. Again choose Sturdy or Mental Discipline as your fourth trait. If you want both of them you need to pick an Alien so you can get rid of Seductive instead.

Mixed Builds

Mixed builds are usualy needed when picking your species over your traits. When you're stuck with two racial specific traits you have to make your remaining choices count double. Instead of focusing on single builds we will work through the species themselves and take a look which trait choices would augment their racial specifics instead.

Human

Humans start with Leadership and Teamwork. They make fairly well tactical officers and if Teamwork wasn't broken currently would make excellent Space Evaders too.

Suggested space trait: Accurate Alternative space trait: Techie

Tactical officers should stick with Accurate because they will gain the most from its bonus. Techie is the trait of choice for more defensive oriented players to gain a kick with their engineering abilities.

Suggested ground trait: Resilient Alternative ground trait: Peak Health

Humans don't have the neccessary trait choices to really shine at damage dealing, so it's better to focus on survival.

Andorian

Andorians start with Acute Senses only. They will make excellent tactical officers and because of having three customizable trait choices will do well in most other roles.

Suggested space traits: Accurate & Warp Theorist Alternative space traits: Techie & Warp Theorist

Again the suggested traits for tactical officers, and the alternative for players who don't focus on dealing damage primarily.

Suggested ground trait: Aggressive Alternative ground trait: Resilient or Peak Health

Aggressive with its damage increase is the prime choice for Andorians. Slightly more fragile than a pure ground build though. Or take the survival traits Resilient and Peak Health.

Note: You can vary Andorians even more. The two space, two ground traits choice is by no means the only viable thing to pick.