What did I do wrong?

[GraemeGunn]

I've been away from this game for eight years, decided to try it again, and I got a free upgrade from level 50 to 65. Anything that I do, any mission, any PvE or whatever, any patrol, anything that involves fighting I can't complete. I have zero issue with the enemies and such, and I breeze through the mission - once I get to the "boss fight", as it were, that ship or being I have to fight is unstoppable and kills me within a few hits.

What's going on here? Obviously I need to get better shields and weapons, but how am I supposed to afford this stuff? If I want a better weapon than the one I have, if I look on the exchange, the stupid thing is five million EC, and it's only slightly more powerful than the one I have currently (why would I spend five million EC to go from say, 500dps to 550dps for example). I had no trouble at all getting to the rank of Admiral, but now when I go to replay missions or do anything, really, I just get my ass handed to me immediately.

I've been trying to play this stupid game again for a week so far, and I haven't completed a single mission - I get through ninety percent of each one, and then I just get hit with a ship that hits me twice, and I'm dead. How is it that the rest of the mission is so easy, but then the boss fight is ridiculous? What have I done wrong? lol

[Eggy]

If you've been gone a while, then you will probably need to check your traits for starters. It's one of the tabs on the character screen.

There's more, but it's been a long time since I messed with it. Poke around a bit and keep asking for help. There are some great people on this forum.

[Pack 4 Potatoes]

Is your ship damaged and in need of repair components?

[✨Saint✨]

Same here OP, I have recently returned and everything has been reset, it took me some time to find my way again but it is way better than before. From a few hundred DPS to thousands of DPS.
Some things have changed, get used to it, check it out and adapt.
I am pretty sure the game is not stupid, ignorance is.

[Maj_Cyric]

5 Million... Well isn't gonna get you an Epic quality weapon/gear.. Base cost of making something into Epic is about 14 million EC..

As for your level... well getting to level 65 is never an issue.. it's handling the "power creep" for the avg player that is an issue...

Also there are some ships (borg Tactical Cubes, Cardie Battleships, Voth Capital ships etc) that use Feedback Pulse or have shields that reflects damage back.. Like the Voth Bulwark will pop a shield that has a limited facing towards a threat that reflects damage back (one must either kill it with an opening shot before it pops it up or moves around to the flank on the other side to finish it off)...

If you want, you can take a screenie like this
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2312429580

And we can help guide you in getting a build that "works" better.. (it's not just the weapon that matter, but also the consoles that add passive damage/stats etc that also matter)

Also a Screenie like this
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2267315469
will help us in helping point out which traits to use or not use...


Also another major factor in your damage output is what your ship's Weapon subsystem level is at the time when the weapon fires.. at 100 it deals 100% of the weapons damage at 50 you deal only 75% (minus other factors like distance to target, armor of target etc etc etc)...

[SeaDog]

You might want to level a new toon to get used to the system again. Leveling tokens are never all they're cracked up to be as you miss all the things you would have gotten by leveling manually. If you search youtube for "sto budget builds" you will find some videos that show you how to build OK ships using mission rewards and free/cheap ships. Here is a link to a page that lists all the mission rewards: http://www.lethalitysto.com/mission-rewards/

[Alone I Break]

Also, 4500 refined dilithium can get you at the very least 1 Phoenix Universal Upgrade token (the success rate of getting Phoenix Prize Tokens is rather randomized, so expect getting the rather common "Uncommon Prize Tokens" far more often). Just 1 of those upgrades can level up one of your items 1 whole level.

[NavFamG]

Depending on how long you've been gone, your ship and equipment might be a bit on the out dated side.

Same thing happened to me the first time I came back. I had played at launch for a year, stopped and came back 3? 4? years later and my ship and equipment just weren't up to it.

If you don't want to start a new character as has been suggested, open up the episode list and just replay all the old content from the start to get your equipment back up and relearn the game.

[GraemeGunn]

Thanks for all the help everyone! I was gone for eight years, so yeah, my stuff was pretty outdated.

[Maj_Cyric]

Originally posted by GraemeGunn:

Thanks for all the help everyone! I was gone for eight years, so yeah, my stuff was pretty outdated.

Oh and there are also some missions that don't "scale well" for the avg casual player (being at a level well beyond the mission level).. Mainly Delta Quad missions.. The Vaadwaur Astika-class for example (Heavy Artillery Vessel), often requires many hit and fade style attacks for the ill-equipped...

Other missions might require you to stay at max range or just find someone who is better equipped to help you run through the mission.

[VoodooMike]

Originally posted by GraemeGunn:

I have zero issue with the enemies and such, and I breeze through the mission - once I get to the "boss fight", as it were, that ship or being I have to fight is unstoppable and kills me within a few hits.

While you're not mentioning the specifics, I'm guessing what you're talking about is the mission "Shadow Play" and you're being destroyed by the De'diredex's torpedo spread - we get threads posted about it a few times a year, and it's pretty much always the same issue.

Originally posted by GraemeGunn:

What's going on here? Obviously I need to get better shields and weapons, but how am I supposed to afford this stuff? If I want a better weapon than the one I have, if I look on the exchange, the stupid thing is five million EC, and it's only slightly more powerful than the one I have currently (why would I spend five million EC to go from say, 500dps to 550dps for example). I had no trouble at all getting to the rank of Admiral, but now when I go to replay missions or do anything, really, I just get my ass handed to me immediately.

No, stop rambling about the state of the game and the plight of the 99%ers and such and such. The issue with that particular mission is that it is the first mission requiring you to actually use boff abilities rather than just pew-pew-pewing at enemies. You need to deal with the tractor beam, the heavy plasma torpedoes, or both. You can do that with Polarize Hull (science ability, any rank) for the tractor beam, and wither Fire At Will with your beams, or Scatter Volley with your cannons for the big plasma balls.

While a lot of content can just be facerolled by exchanging fire with enemies and doing more damage and soaking more damage, there are certain missions and certain enemies that will be prohibitively difficult if you take that approach and are not intensely overgeared. As stated, the polaron barrage from the Vaadwaur will also tear ships apart if they opt not to move out of it, or aren't highly tanky.

Originally posted by GraemeGunn:

I've been trying to play this stupid game again for a week so far, and I haven't completed a single mission - I get through ninety percent of each one, and then I just get hit with a ship that hits me twice, and I'm dead. How is it that the rest of the mission is so easy, but then the boss fight is ridiculous? What have I done wrong? lol

So skip the missions if you can't handle them. You're not required to do any of them - they're just a source of gear and entertainment, and if you're not entertained then do something else.

[The Emperor Of Mankind]

You could also get friends to help on missions too. Add me if you want.

[blackknight24]

at the risk of sounding like a troll... suck it up and git gud! Things change or die... its the nature of MMO's.

[Maj_Cyric]

Originally posted by blackknight24:

at the risk of sounding like a troll... suck it up and git gud! Things change or die... its the nature of MMO's.

I'd say you sound more like a DICK

[Pack 4 Potatoes]

Originally posted by blackknight24:

at the risk of sounding like a troll... suck it up and git gud! Things change or die... its the nature of MMO's.

He is trying to change. That is why he is asking for tips...