Upgrading Saru
Kirkish1
✭✭
in The Bridge
So since DB is making it easier to get chromitons with voyages are they planning to counter act it by making it more of a pain to update characters? I got my first officer Saru and what a pain he is to update. At level 4 and 26 he needs a one star hand scanner that requires 18 components to build. I didn't have enough of one (don't remember which) so I had to run a mission at 16 chromitons each time to get the items. I stopped at level 40 because I will have to grind out 8 basic science experiments to build a 3 star science lesson. I really wish DB would make some of the items like science experiments and holoprograms easier to acquire. /end_rant
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I also spent about 700 chronitons with a supply kit to level him that I saved starting yesterday. Overall I think a reasonable amount for a 4* crew.
I honestly have an easier time getting some four-star equipment then these damn holoprograms and sci experiments.
0* holoprograms are faction/cadet only. there might be some as rare/one-time rewards but they don't drop from anywhere else.
I've had bugs where a mission that had the item as a rare reward will show up even if I already got the reward. You can usually tell if it has the rare reward symbol on it.
Yeah, that must be it. I wonder if DB'll reimburse the chronitons I lost due to this bug...my guess is no.
I found him pretty easy too, but like all cards it's going to depend on what you have in inventory.
Probably not the easiest to level, but 100% worth it.
Two stat crew members are of limited use for voyages. Very few are actually viable, but Saru may be useful from time to time.
especially in higher levels more SR and Rare ones.
I have purchased 0* holoprograms from the factions centers on multiple occasions, simply because it seems far cheaper to do so. 25K credits or (I think) 75 Merits when available.
Only 1 faction center has the Holoprograms - Section 31. Right now, I need like 18-24 of them for 5 or 6 crew needing Champagne or some holo-whatever. From the end of the last event until the start of the current, I ran Section 31 with 3 shuttles non-stop for 0* Holoprograms. Problem is, 0* doesn't drop often. They cost 50,000 credits or 50 merits WHEN available in the faction center. I am always low on credits so it hurts to spend 50,000 on any basic item. I've also been replicating them (VIP 12 - 4 replications/day), but I still need many other things like 2* Bloodwine and other faction-only items. The Holoprograms are also available in a 1* Thursday Boost cadet mission, but those of us that are smart run the 2* Boost missions to get the 10x boost pulls for the upcoming event... so I can't run the Cadet missions. I have a stockpile (60+) of Basic Science Experiments, 2* IDIC's, and 2* Novels due to M/W/F 3* Cadet Chron missions... I just can't seem to get these damn Holoprograms fast enough!
@ 41.7 chronoton estimate per item = 917.4 just for 0* items
20 faction only items
Katheryn Janeway - 12 science experiments 0*
@ 41.7 chronoton estimate per item = 500.4
11 faction only items
The struggle is real
Problem with this concept rolls into the Chrons-Credits-Training conundrum. You can't have all 3 in ample supply without spending $$ for dilithium. Yes, I have plenty of rations - 74 4*, 392 3*, and 112 2* (thank you voyages), but it will cost me 32,000/90,000/250,000 to replicate a 3*/4*/5* item for a crew member. If I replicate 4 5* items, that's 1 million creds/day! I try to replicate the lowest value item needed (like a 2* Champagne instead of making 4 holoprograms or going big and replicating the 3* item (or higher) that needed the 2* Champagne. But still my credits are low. I know if I ran every mission rather than warping them, I would make 30% more credits (I think, I forget the number but running 10 missions nets more creds than tapping Warp-10). But then that's extra time consumed. Then if you manage to replicate these items and push more crew ahead, trainers become scarce. I usually have between 200-500 5* Trainers, but with a good 10 for 10 pack pull (today I got 4 new crew to level) it will eat those up. I have played since Feb 2016 and have never had a tremendous surplus of trainers like I hear others have. So, the rotating conundrum applies here.
If you have done the math, sometimes it is better to replicate 2 items to make one, even though you use 2xreplicator. Maybe this crew has a few rare/hard to get items, which also makes replicating more desirable.
For Example:
We see we need 2 items. We are short on credits, but large on Replicator rations (thanks to Voyages!)
To replicate the 4* Opera Glasses would be 90K credits
But if we replicate the the 3* Opera Glasses for 32K, and the 2* Tuxedo for 9K, then build for 10k, total cost is now 51K instead of 90K.
Yes, it will take a little longer, but if you are VIP8+ and have 3-4 Replicators per day, it becomes less of an issue.
Basically what I said above. What I was explaining is that there are still bottlenecks, whether it be credits or # of replications/day. I understand the "lower cost is better when available". In your exact example, this morning for Daystrom's 4* Opera I did (2) 2* Tuxedo so it was only 18K to replicate then the 10k to build. Today I need (5) 2* Science Experiments (faction only, no Cadet Missions), (2) 2* Encoded Communique (Faction only or Tuesday Cadet Missions), and still need many Holoprograms. So I did the (2) Tuxedos and (2) Science Experiments... now waiting for 24 hours. I could have replicated the 4* Opera spending more credits, but saving 1 replication for something else. Unless I get lucky to see these items in the FC's at today's reset AND have the RNG of buying with merits (again, 2* items are 250,000 credits so there's the credit bottleneck, and I don't spend dilithium on anything in the FC's), I can't progress certain crew until tomorrow's replications. And while I wait and build/advance other crew, they then require a faction only item, and the amount of replicated items needed grows larger...
Partly complaining, but not overly complaining. I remember when the replicator didn't exist and it was a shuttle grind to get the items. Send 3 out and always have 1 if not 2 fail, or the problem when the basic stuff wouldn't drop in shuttles when you were honored, or... you get the picture.
Jim
Science experiments can be a faff, but I do have farming days where I get myself up to double figures of them.
Plus, anything that's a pain to get, if it's available in a faction store for credits or merits, I get them. Can never have too many Bajoran phasers or holoprograms...
So here's where my original point comes in to play, which I didn't articulate as well as I could have.
Take Saru's 3* science experiment. It's cheaper to replicate it than to buy a 2* science experiment for credits in the faction store. Buying for merits is the way to go if that option is given to you. But this is a case where you can consider replicating the entire item instead of buying the component, if you want it now.
Credit bottlenecks will exist, as with replicator uses. My point was just that it might be cheaper to replicate the item than purchase the component that is lacking.
The last 10 crew I've had the pleasure to immortalise/FE over the past week included 2* Saru, 5* Seven of Nine, 4* Captain Janeway, 4* Sarek, 3* Dr. Carol Marcus, and 3* Mora Pol for a grand total of 89 0* Science Experiments.
My saviour has been to run Epic "Talk Less, Smile More" (Worf, Sito, Picard) 6 times on available days for on average around 6 sci exp. (and 150 chrons) per day ... and then run Elite "Flesh & Blood" on the two available days, for another 6 on average ... that's 30.
Couple that with timely replication uses (looking at you 2* Marcus's Research - build cost around 3.000, rep cost 9.000 credits and a lot less frustration) and voila.
So in my book, items that are featured on cadet days are easy picking ... stuff like 1* Security Reports are a lot more irritating.
My struggling point is getting crew leveled up fast enough, as I'm clean out of 5* trainers at present and have numerous crew in need of them (looking at you T'Kuvma)
MWF are always a hard choice because they offer ALL the good stuff. Talk Less, Smile More on elite offers holoprograms and Bravery in Action (epic) offers 2* Security Codes. I'm running out these 3 things all the time. Seems like EVERYONE needs at least one of each at some point during their build.
True ... but you can just run Section 31 shuttles during the week for 2* Security Codes or buy them at the faction store if they are in for Merits.
... and that's why the key is to focus on just one or two crew (what I've always stressed in Ready Room advice) ... sure everyone needs a ton of items, but the crew you're leveling don't ... 4* Saru doesn't need 2* Security Codes, and that is what the OP was stating, that 4* Saru was tough ... so if you're leveling Saru it is an easy call to run the mission I mentioned.
e.g. I know that T'Kuvma will provide a bonus all month, so I've been working on him since I got him this morning, have him up to 70 ... I've checked the components he needs and know I'll run into a block in the very near future when I need to make his lvl 86 item (Rakal Troi is waiting for the exact same item to be built, so I know I cannot complete it without running Maquis faction shuttles (or do Sunday's appropriate cadet missions)) ... up till then it is a matter of chrons.
My lvl 100 Stranded Odo needs one more component to be able to FE him ... I need to run Bajoran shuttles for that piece, but he has little to no impact this coming month (for so far I know).
--> when this phase of the event is over I'll be running Maquis shuttles until I have enough of the componenet I need. It is an easy choice.
I agree about the shuttles and security codes but sometimes you just need them. Like this weekend you need both science experiments (Saru) and Security Codes (T’Kuvma) and it’s a hard choice between the 2. I’ve already level both because I decided to use my daily replicator use to get around science experiments for Saru on Wednesday and then replicate the security codes for T’Kuvma on Thursday. Leveling both at the same time this weekend would be hard because you don’t have the option to run section 31 shuttles.