Crew are not 'worse' because they have two skills, they're generally less desirable because the stats dictate it. There's an inherent connection, of course, but a clear distinction. Imo Mirror Phlox is the best super rare in the game. He's an outlier, but a good blueprint for how DB can improve their stat distributions.
I made a comment recently about 2-skill vs 3-skill and how DB could improve crew variety and help break up gauntlet walls in the process. As of that post, 3-skillers accounted for 39 of the 45 crew with a top 3 gauntlet pair. Why? They already have the advantage of skill set flexibility for gauntlet matchups (and shuttle seating). Combine that with the best pairs as well and you have a recipe for gauntlet walls.
If you gave Culber the #1 gauntlet pair from Defensive Phlox, he goes from voyage total #216 to #36. If Harcourt Fenton Mudd had Locutus' DIP/SCI proficiency, he'd go from voyage total #238 to #55. Give Species 8472 the bases of Gladiator Spock and he goes from #215 to #74. They would be far more effective and desirable than 'shuttle crew'. Wait, that's a silly solution. A crew can't have a great base and a great gauntlet pair. Except for 3-skiller Gary Seven. Or 3-skiller Interfaced La Forge. Or 3-skiller Captain Braxton...
Those are more extreme examples and I don't particularly like the big outliers that would produce, but DB could certainly balance things a bit better. Give the occasional 2-skiller the numbers to push them into the voyage total 100s rather than 200s. Why not give the Killy/Commandant/Kes arena abilities to 2-skill crew? Why not even out the disparity among top gauntlet pairs which kills several birds with one stone - better voyage ability for 2-skillers, wider utility than just shuttles, more people giving DB their $$ for new crew, fewer gauntlet walls, etc.
Back in the real world, I would recommend RP Kirk (#1 'SEC and DIP' shuttler, great arena ability, lots of Faction events), Mirror Phlox, Culber, Laborer Spock (maybe the best defensive arena choice atm), Niners Rom, Graduation Burnham, RAF Bashir. Bajoran Dukat for his collections.
It seems that more and more, 3-skill crew can equal or better the shuttle contributions of 2-skill crew while offering far more utility. As it stands, Culber is the only 2-skill crew I would cite, personally, and not before several other crew. Yea, 2-skill crew are 'worse', but not useless and can certainly be made better along with the gauntlet and event/purchase motivation at the same time.
And that lens is a great example. The more crew you have the less likely you are to use some. The ones I barely ever use are just as many three skill. Lorca, Lissan, Loque’que Sato, Guinevere Kira, they make these shuttles quite often even though there are three skillers with the same skill sets.
That's only because you don't have a superior replacement. That doesn't make two skill crew inherently useful. It just means you're making do with what you have. My 5/5 Degra gets a lot of shuttle time but that's mostly because I don't have anything better besides Leonardo. All of those crew you listed have superiour 3 skill crew to compete with. Lorca is the only one in a top 10 list.
I have LoqSato and ProfSato partially fused. Who should I fuse first?
Just wanted to point out, that I don't think anyone is saying that 2 stat crew are better, or even equal to most 3 stat crew, however that doesn't omit their usefulness.
By your own argument, you say, it means your making do with what you have? is that not a given? of course we are going of of based on what we have. Since no one starts out with every 3 stat officer in the game, then it seems kind of silly to me to say or even imply that 2 stat officers are useless, especially if that is the best or only alternative given the demands of the game on your crew at that time.
You say you wouldn't waste resources leveling up a 2 stat crew, so if a person does not have a 3 stat character alternative to said 2 stat crew, or at least not enough of them at the time, does that mean we just wait till we get one, and miss out on anytime we could of used the 2 stat in the mean time?
As far as events go, I am using 2 stat crew as we speak, so I should use a 3 stat crew with no event bonus? cause I airlocked or kept all my 2 stats frozen.
And that lens is a great example. The more crew you have the less likely you are to use some. The ones I barely ever use are just as many three skill. Lorca, Lissan, Loque’que Sato, Guinevere Kira, they make these shuttles quite often even though there are three skillers with the same skill sets.
That's only because you don't have a superior replacement. That doesn't make two skill crew inherently useful. It just means you're making do with what you have. My 5/5 Degra gets a lot of shuttle time but that's mostly because I don't have anything better besides Leonardo. All of those crew you listed have superiour 3 skill crew to compete with. Lorca is the only one in a top 10 list.
I have LoqSato and ProfSato partially fused. Who should I fuse first?
Regarding shuttles you don’t use one at a time, you use about 16 at a time. Professor Sato would go first but Loque’que Sato will also get a seat
I use 12 at a time. I usually fish for the 3-seaters. Neither would be used unless its a Sato event. If it is a Sato event, there's only 3 Sato's in game that are going to be used. You're simply making do with a lesser crew and even then there are other bonus crew that might be better. Her only real advantage is that she's part of a collection. She's still very low on the list of priorities to fuse.
Omg you are so right. How could I have been so foolish for all this time. 9 top 5 finishes and I could have been doing so much better if I just followed your advice. Thank you so much for enlightening such a weak player with such a weak crew. Perhaps some day I can be up there on the leaderboards right along side you
And that lens is a great example. The more crew you have the less likely you are to use some. The ones I barely ever use are just as many three skill. Lorca, Lissan, Loque’que Sato, Guinevere Kira, they make these shuttles quite often even though there are three skillers with the same skill sets.
That's only because you don't have a superior replacement. That doesn't make two skill crew inherently useful. It just means you're making do with what you have. My 5/5 Degra gets a lot of shuttle time but that's mostly because I don't have anything better besides Leonardo. All of those crew you listed have superiour 3 skill crew to compete with. Lorca is the only one in a top 10 list.
I have LoqSato and ProfSato partially fused. Who should I fuse first?
Regarding shuttles you don’t use one at a time, you use about 16 at a time. Professor Sato would go first but Loque’que Sato will also get a seat
I use 12 at a time. I usually fish for the 3-seaters. Neither would be used unless its a Sato event. If it is a Sato event, there's only 3 Sato's in game that are going to be used. You're simply making do with a lesser crew and even then there are other bonus crew that might be better. Her only real advantage is that she's part of a collection. She's still very low on the list of priorities to fuse.
Omg you are so right. How could I have been so foolish for all this time. 9 top 5 finishes and I could have been doing so much better if I just followed your advice. Thank you so much for enlightening such a weak player with such a weak crew. Perhaps some day I can be up there on the leaderboards right along side you
And that lens is a great example. The more crew you have the less likely you are to use some. The ones I barely ever use are just as many three skill. Lorca, Lissan, Loque’que Sato, Guinevere Kira, they make these shuttles quite often even though there are three skillers with the same skill sets.
That's only because you don't have a superior replacement. That doesn't make two skill crew inherently useful. It just means you're making do with what you have. My 5/5 Degra gets a lot of shuttle time but that's mostly because I don't have anything better besides Leonardo. All of those crew you listed have superiour 3 skill crew to compete with. Lorca is the only one in a top 10 list.
I have LoqSato and ProfSato partially fused. Who should I fuse first?
Just wanted to point out, that I don't think anyone is saying that 2 stat crew are better, or even equal to most 3 stat crew, however that doesn't omit their usefulness.
By your own argument, you say, it means your making do with what you have? is that not a given? of course we are going of of based on what we have. Since no one starts out with every 3 stat officer in the game, then it seems kind of silly to me to say or even imply that 2 stat officers are useless, especially if that is the best or only alternative given the demands of the game on your crew at that time.
You say you wouldn't waste resources leveling up a 2 stat crew, so if a person does not have a 3 stat character alternative to said 2 stat crew, or at least not enough of them at the time, does that mean we just wait till we get one, and miss out on anytime we could of used the 2 stat in the mean time?
As far as events go, I am using 2 stat crew as we speak, so I should use a 3 stat crew with no event bonus? cause I airlocked or kept all my 2 stats frozen.
Usefulness implies something. LoqSato could be said to be useful for Sato events or collections but she's not useful otherwise. Not even for shuttles. Having two skills cuts her off from part of the game.
I would say if you have limited resources, you should consider how you use them. Degra is part of 3 collections and having him fused helped because I got two important collections finished. That 100 or 150K honour I dumped on him was a lot but was probably worth it. Dumping honour into Rogue Winn on the other hand?
I should also point out you're not using a 2-skill crew in the event. You're using a bonus crew. It has another feature that makes it useful. Captain Scott is the dumbest crew in the game but he's still great for ship battles. One skill is pretty useless but he's a ship battle guy not a one skill guy.
I don't really understand the huge deal about 3 crew vs 2 skill crew, I guess I am the minority. I understand 3 skill crew "tend" to be more versatile, but that doesn't negate 2 skill crew with really high stats. People are so voyage crazy, the last few months, I have never had a voyage go under 8 hours, and sometimes thou rarely get 10, so where is the huge advantage exactly? I get 30 mins over 8 hours instead of 25? I rarely extend my voyages past 8 anymore anyways, cause I have plenty of chrons, and most of the voyage purple drops as is, so I feel theres a better use of my dil.
3 Skill crew are more versatile AND have better collective stats. The game has thrown a bunch of CMD/SEC crew at us over the years. This will form the back bone of a CMD/SEC Voyage. Only one of those can be slotted out side C/S/D seats though. Mirror Picard having that trivial little SCI stat makes your Voyage that much stronger allowing you to seat all of your other strong crew. That extra 700-800 pts only adds 6-7 minutes but that's about 3 more chances to get additional honour and crew that make your roster stronger.
The worst 3-skill Voyager still has better aggregate stats than any 2-skill crew. They actually do entirely negate all 2-skill crew. Someone just made a new Voyage spreadsheet and I punched in all of my 5-stars. 5/5 Degra sits at #30 and he's one of the few with two strong skills. And he's only going to get lower as my crew improves.
Spreadsheets are great:) however I am basing on my actual experience. Since I have no trouble getting to 8 hours, I don't see the huge advantage, and most times its better if It doesn't go too much past 8 hours, cause then I am tempted to let it keep going, and forget and then have to spend dil anyways ;p
Also my experience with voyages, is its better to at least try to balance stats, and sometimes those two stats fit better then the stats I currently have, especially when the 3rd stat of a crew is very minor.
Not to mention, there is more to this game than just voyages, shocking I know;) but to each their own;) As long as I am successful with how I do it, Im good either way.
Getting to 8 hours is fine. Getting to 10 is better. I've blown more than a few Voyages. I don't use the tokens if I can help it. I'm also at the point where to get the remaining crew I need to squeeze every last drop of honour and its the only reliable source of honour outside of dailies. I can always recall if I don't think I can manage the time correctly.
Balancing stats doesn't actually work. In order to get 10 hours, you'll need ~12k/12k. That usually means seating things in the off stats.
Voyages specifically require high combined stats. Everything else doesn't. Having a solid 2-skill voyager is something that will eventually be replaced.
you sure about the 12k/12k rule for 10 hour voyages? as an absolute.. I don't pretend to be an expert on voyages, but pretty sure ive done a 10 hour one without a refresh at least once or twice, and I don't remember having 12k in both main stats, maybe close thou. Good to know that 12/12 might guarntee a 10 hour thou, appreciate that.
Also, I am not arguing that 3 skill characters tend to be better in voyages, but as I said previously there are other aspects to this game.
You guys enjoy trying to get the perfect voyage stats, its cool to have goals, its just not one of mine, might change down the line thou, never know;)
At 10 hours, on average, you won't fail any missions with 12500 skill points. Your proficiencies are part of the Voyage calculation so crew with large proficiencies can swing that number in either direction. What skills are tested during each hazard does matter. If you get a lot of hazards testing weaker skills in the 8-10h range, its highly unlikely you'll make it. If you don't have enough points in the tertiaries in general, you'll lose too much anti-matter in the first 4-6 hours. Ideally you want plenty of hazards testing the main two stats in the 8-10 hour range and if your stats aren't high enough you won't make it.
The other aspects of the game don't require 2-skill crew. They're usually worse in the Gauntlet. They're not necessarily the strongest in base stats either. The only 2-skill with the highest base is Culber. Most of the other top 10 base stats are occupied by 3-skill crew. The only thing 2-skill crew are good for is collections.
And that lens is a great example. The more crew you have the less likely you are to use some. The ones I barely ever use are just as many three skill. Lorca, Lissan, Loque’que Sato, Guinevere Kira, they make these shuttles quite often even though there are three skillers with the same skill sets.
That's only because you don't have a superior replacement. That doesn't make two skill crew inherently useful. It just means you're making do with what you have. My 5/5 Degra gets a lot of shuttle time but that's mostly because I don't have anything better besides Leonardo. All of those crew you listed have superiour 3 skill crew to compete with. Lorca is the only one in a top 10 list.
I have LoqSato and ProfSato partially fused. Who should I fuse first?
Just wanted to point out, that I don't think anyone is saying that 2 stat crew are better, or even equal to most 3 stat crew, however that doesn't omit their usefulness.
By your own argument, you say, it means your making do with what you have? is that not a given? of course we are going of of based on what we have. Since no one starts out with every 3 stat officer in the game, then it seems kind of silly to me to say or even imply that 2 stat officers are useless, especially if that is the best or only alternative given the demands of the game on your crew at that time.
You say you wouldn't waste resources leveling up a 2 stat crew, so if a person does not have a 3 stat character alternative to said 2 stat crew, or at least not enough of them at the time, does that mean we just wait till we get one, and miss out on anytime we could of used the 2 stat in the mean time?
As far as events go, I am using 2 stat crew as we speak, so I should use a 3 stat crew with no event bonus? cause I airlocked or kept all my 2 stats frozen.
Usefulness implies something. LoqSato could be said to be useful for Sato events or collections but she's not useful otherwise. Not even for shuttles. Having two skills cuts her off from part of the game.
I would say if you have limited resources, you should consider how you use them. Degra is part of 3 collections and having him fused helped because I got two important collections finished. That 100 or 150K honour I dumped on him was a lot but was probably worth it. Dumping honour into Rogue Winn on the other hand?
I should also point out you're not using a 2-skill crew in the event. You're using a bonus crew. It has another feature that makes it useful. Captain Scott is the dumbest crew in the game but he's still great for ship battles. One skill is pretty useless but he's a ship battle guy not a one skill guy.
huh? Yah I'm using 2 skill crew, who happens to be event crew. the logic of that argument makes no sense. if I had your bias against 2 skill crew I might not even have or have kept the crew to have the bonus I am able to utilize now.
I was active on a movie-collecting forum about a decade ago, as Blu-ray and HD-DVD were still vying for supremacy in the marketplace. This was ultimately a rather niche concern. The average person--even the average person who cared enough about movies to come to a forum dedicated to collecting them--was slow to adopt any HD format. It was expensive, for one thing. It required new equipment. And there was the Beta/VHS War, which taught us all to expect one to die off kind of early and no one wanted to be stuck with a machine that would only play a handful of HD discs.
But there was this one guy who so zealously embraced Blu-ray that he flamed several threads. Eventually, he outright declared that the basis of his determination of the superiority of Blu-ray stemmed from his superiority as a film aficionado and even as a human being. Anyone who didn't share his appreciation for Blu-ray was a mere peasant, too much of a rube to even understand anything about how to appreciate, respect, or even just enjoy film. That is not verbatim, but it is awfully close.
I don't think about that guy often, but when I do, it's usually because I'm streaming something obscure and I wonder whether he's enlightened enough to stream it, too, because it's a film otherwise not in circulation on physical media, or if he's so enlightened that he shuns streaming altogether for being inferior.
And when I think of that guy in those moments, I hope that he's matured enough to live in the same world most of us live in, where we do "make do with lesser [things]". Hell, we even find value in those "lesser" things. Not because we're trying to delude ourselves that we have something of quality, but because we see those things in a light that shows us something to appreciate, respect, or even just enjoy.
That was all apropos of nothing, of course. I just sometimes reminisce about things.
I was active on a movie-collecting forum about a decade ago, as Blu-ray and HD-DVD were still vying for supremacy in the marketplace. This was ultimately a rather niche concern. The average person--even the average person who cared enough about movies to come to a forum dedicated to collecting them--was slow to adopt any HD format. It was expensive, for one thing. It required new equipment. And there was the Beta/VHS War, which taught us all to expect one to die off kind of early and no one wanted to be stuck with a machine that would only play a handful of HD discs.
But there was this one guy who so zealously embraced Blu-ray that he flamed several threads. Eventually, he outright declared that the basis of his determination of the superiority of Blu-ray stemmed from his superiority as a film aficionado and even as a human being. Anyone who didn't share his appreciation for Blu-ray was a mere peasant, too much of a rube to even understand anything about how to appreciate, respect, or even just enjoy film. That is not verbatim, but it is awfully close.
I don't think about that guy often, but when I do, it's usually because I'm streaming something obscure and I wonder whether he's enlightened enough to stream it, too, because it's a film otherwise not in circulation on physical media, or if he's so enlightened that he shuns streaming altogether for being inferior.
And when I think of that guy in those moments, I hope that he's matured enough to live in the same world most of us live in, where we do "make do with lesser [things]". Hell, we even find value in those "lesser" things. Not because we're trying to delude ourselves that we have something of quality, but because we see those things in a light that shows us something to appreciate, respect, or even just enjoy.
That was all apropos of nothing, of course. I just sometimes reminisce about things.
Thanks Travis, that sums it up perfectly and eloquently;) and with that I'm out of the debate;)
Spreadsheets are great:) however I am basing on my actual experience. Since I have no trouble getting to 8 hours, I don't see the huge advantage, and most times its better if It doesn't go too much past 8 hours, cause then I am tempted to let it keep going, and forget and then have to spend dil anyways ;p
Also my experience with voyages, is its better to at least try to balance stats, and sometimes those two stats fit better then the stats I currently have, especially when the 3rd stat of a crew is very minor.
Not to mention, there is more to this game than just voyages, shocking I know;) but to each their own;) As long as I am successful with how I do it, Im good either way.
Getting to 8 hours is fine. Getting to 10 is better. I've blown more than a few Voyages. I don't use the tokens if I can help it. I'm also at the point where to get the remaining crew I need to squeeze every last drop of honour and its the only reliable source of honour outside of dailies. I can always recall if I don't think I can manage the time correctly.
Balancing stats doesn't actually work. In order to get 10 hours, you'll need ~12k/12k. That usually means seating things in the off stats.
Voyages specifically require high combined stats. Everything else doesn't. Having a solid 2-skill voyager is something that will eventually be replaced.
you sure about the 12k/12k rule for 10 hour voyages? as an absolute.. I don't pretend to be an expert on voyages, but pretty sure ive done a 10 hour one without a refresh at least once or twice, and I don't remember having 12k in both main stats, maybe close thou. Good to know that 12/12 might guarntee a 10 hour thou, appreciate that.
Also, I am not arguing that 3 skill characters tend to be better in voyages, but as I said previously there are other aspects to this game.
You guys enjoy trying to get the perfect voyage stats, its cool to have goals, its just not one of mine, might change down the line thou, never know;)
At 10 hours, on average, you won't fail any missions with 12500 skill points. Your proficiencies are part of the Voyage calculation so crew with large proficiencies can swing that number in either direction. What skills are tested during each hazard does matter. If you get a lot of hazards testing weaker skills in the 8-10h range, its highly unlikely you'll make it. If you don't have enough points in the tertiaries in general, you'll lose too much anti-matter in the first 4-6 hours. Ideally you want plenty of hazards testing the main two stats in the 8-10 hour range and if your stats aren't high enough you won't make it.
The other aspects of the game don't require 2-skill crew. They're usually worse in the Gauntlet. They're not necessarily the strongest in base stats either. The only 2-skill with the highest base is Culber. Most of the other top 10 base stats are occupied by 3-skill crew. The only thing 2-skill crew are good for is collections.
And shuttles
No, they're not. There is no special benefit for having two skills. If the game were explicitly balanced around 2-skill having higher average bases, I'd agree with you but there's no evidence the game is set up that way.
For example, ZhiOdo and Admiral Kirk have very similar base DIP and CMD. They're effectively the same for DIP shuttles and DIPandCMD shuttles (Odo is actually a bit better for both). ZhiOdo is much better for DIPandSEC shuttles because he has 3 skills.
They are useful for shuttles. I never said there was some mystery added benefit.
They're not useful. They offer less utility than comparable 3 skill crew. Two skill crew are less impacted for shuttles than Voyages or Gauntlets but are still a lesser choice.
When I have 12 three skill crew on a voyage and need 16 more for shuttles in a faction event, many of those shuttle seats are filled with two skill crew. I have 72 immortalized legendaries so it’s not like I don’t have choices. Many two skill crew are the best options for those shuttle seats and I’m not going to turn them down because I am bitter that they are two skill crew. Perhaps you are not getting the most out of your crew if you are shunning them.
So your useful crew is on Voyages and you're just using leftovers in shuttles? Your two skill crew aren't the best choices for shuttles. They're the best choices you have available. That's not the same thing. Implying that two skill crew are useful, implies they're worth developing. I could dump 200K honour into my Lorca for his sky high CMD base but that takes away honour from other crew who also have strong bases and useful Voyage stats.
Even if you prioritized shuttles over voyages for some reason, three-skill crew are decidedly not universally better than two-skill crew...you cannot tell me that you would rather put an immortal Klingon Janeway into a SEC/COM shuttle slot over an immortal Warship Tuvok. Janeway is the superior voyager even for a SEC/COM voyage but is inferior for any SEC/COM shuttle seat outside of an event where she gets a bonus and Tuvok does not.
Why would I use Tuvok when I can use Falcon O'Brien or Durango Troi? Tuvok is entirely replaceable except during Tuvok events.
I am super glad for you that you have both O’Brien and Troi immortal or at least in the queue for citations. I’ve got Troi at 2/5* FE and O’Brien at 1/5* level 1, both of whom joined my crew long after I immortalized the likes of T’Kuvma, Warship Tuvok, and Mirror Kirk...I wasn’t about to sit on my honor stockpile, hoping to land a whopper like Falcon O’Brien so I could FF him, I needed help right away and spent accordingly. Even now, my citations are better spent on rare skill combos...I will be thrilled to see either O’Brien or Troi pop up in future beholds and would certainly choose them over virtually any two-skill crew (as stated many posts back), of course.
This notion that two-skill crew are inherently worthless isn’t that different from the idea that crew are “bad” if they aren’t within a certain arbitrary range of the voyage rankings. “Don’t put a citation on [X] because they aren’t inside the top 20 and therefore aren’t any good!” It’s ignorant, chiefly because not everyone has every available crew - what might be a terrible citation target for you or me could be a game-changer for someone else. The advice I offer to anyone, from whales on down to someone who just installed Timelines today, is the same: identify what weaknesses your crew have, figure out who you have that can improve upon that weakness and level/cite that person, and start buying event/Tuesday/special packs if you have the dil and nobody in-house who can help you get better.
Spreadsheets are great:) however I am basing on my actual experience. Since I have no trouble getting to 8 hours, I don't see the huge advantage, and most times its better if It doesn't go too much past 8 hours, cause then I am tempted to let it keep going, and forget and then have to spend dil anyways ;p
Also my experience with voyages, is its better to at least try to balance stats, and sometimes those two stats fit better then the stats I currently have, especially when the 3rd stat of a crew is very minor.
Not to mention, there is more to this game than just voyages, shocking I know;) but to each their own;) As long as I am successful with how I do it, Im good either way.
Getting to 8 hours is fine. Getting to 10 is better. I've blown more than a few Voyages. I don't use the tokens if I can help it. I'm also at the point where to get the remaining crew I need to squeeze every last drop of honour and its the only reliable source of honour outside of dailies. I can always recall if I don't think I can manage the time correctly.
Balancing stats doesn't actually work. In order to get 10 hours, you'll need ~12k/12k. That usually means seating things in the off stats.
Voyages specifically require high combined stats. Everything else doesn't. Having a solid 2-skill voyager is something that will eventually be replaced.
you sure about the 12k/12k rule for 10 hour voyages? as an absolute.. I don't pretend to be an expert on voyages, but pretty sure ive done a 10 hour one without a refresh at least once or twice, and I don't remember having 12k in both main stats, maybe close thou. Good to know that 12/12 might guarntee a 10 hour thou, appreciate that.
Also, I am not arguing that 3 skill characters tend to be better in voyages, but as I said previously there are other aspects to this game.
You guys enjoy trying to get the perfect voyage stats, its cool to have goals, its just not one of mine, might change down the line thou, never know;)
At 10 hours, on average, you won't fail any missions with 12500 skill points. Your proficiencies are part of the Voyage calculation so crew with large proficiencies can swing that number in either direction. What skills are tested during each hazard does matter. If you get a lot of hazards testing weaker skills in the 8-10h range, its highly unlikely you'll make it. If you don't have enough points in the tertiaries in general, you'll lose too much anti-matter in the first 4-6 hours. Ideally you want plenty of hazards testing the main two stats in the 8-10 hour range and if your stats aren't high enough you won't make it.
The other aspects of the game don't require 2-skill crew. They're usually worse in the Gauntlet. They're not necessarily the strongest in base stats either. The only 2-skill with the highest base is Culber. Most of the other top 10 base stats are occupied by 3-skill crew. The only thing 2-skill crew are good for is collections.
And shuttles
No, they're not. There is no special benefit for having two skills. If the game were explicitly balanced around 2-skill having higher average bases, I'd agree with you but there's no evidence the game is set up that way.
For example, ZhiOdo and Admiral Kirk have very similar base DIP and CMD. They're effectively the same for DIP shuttles and DIPandCMD shuttles (Odo is actually a bit better for both). ZhiOdo is much better for DIPandSEC shuttles because he has 3 skills.
They are useful for shuttles. I never said there was some mystery added benefit.
They're not useful. They offer less utility than comparable 3 skill crew. Two skill crew are less impacted for shuttles than Voyages or Gauntlets but are still a lesser choice.
When I have 12 three skill crew on a voyage and need 16 more for shuttles in a faction event, many of those shuttle seats are filled with two skill crew. I have 72 immortalized legendaries so it’s not like I don’t have choices. Many two skill crew are the best options for those shuttle seats and I’m not going to turn them down because I am bitter that they are two skill crew. Perhaps you are not getting the most out of your crew if you are shunning them.
So your useful crew is on Voyages and you're just using leftovers in shuttles? Your two skill crew aren't the best choices for shuttles. They're the best choices you have available. That's not the same thing. Implying that two skill crew are useful, implies they're worth developing. I could dump 200K honour into my Lorca for his sky high CMD base but that takes away honour from other crew who also have strong bases and useful Voyage stats.
Even if you prioritized shuttles over voyages for some reason, three-skill crew are decidedly not universally better than two-skill crew...you cannot tell me that you would rather put an immortal Klingon Janeway into a SEC/COM shuttle slot over an immortal Warship Tuvok. Janeway is the superior voyager even for a SEC/COM voyage but is inferior for any SEC/COM shuttle seat outside of an event where she gets a bonus and Tuvok does not.
Why would I use Tuvok when I can use Falcon O'Brien or Durango Troi? Tuvok is entirely replaceable except during Tuvok events.
I am super glad for you that you have both O’Brien and Troi immortal or at least in the queue for citations. I’ve got Troi at 2/5* FE and O’Brien at 1/5* level 1, both of whom joined my crew long after I immortalized the likes of T’Kuvma, Warship Tuvok, and Mirror Kirk...I wasn’t about to sit on my honor stockpile, hoping to land a whopper like Falcon O’Brien so I could FF him, I needed help right away and spent accordingly. Even now, my citations are better spent on rare skill combos...I will be thrilled to see either O’Brien or Troi pop up in future beholds and would certainly choose them over virtually any two-skill crew (as stated many posts back), of course.
This notion that two-skill crew are inherently worthless isn’t that different from the idea that crew are “bad” if they aren’t within a certain arbitrary range of the voyage rankings. “Don’t put a citation on [X] because they aren’t inside the top 20 and therefore aren’t any good!” It’s ignorant, chiefly because not everyone has every available crew - what might be a terrible citation target for you or me could be a game-changer for someone else. The advice I offer to anyone, from whales on down to someone who just installed Timelines today, is the same: identify what weaknesses your crew have, figure out who you have that can improve upon that weakness and level/cite that person, and start buying event/Tuesday/special packs if you have the dil and nobody in-house who can help you get better.
Amen. Skill points over replacement. It wins championships
Given the event that just started, is this a good time/place to say I actually cited Debra up to 4/5 and it made him my 3rd-best base ENG and 4th best SCI?
I also cited up Ilia to 3/5 to get her up to the top of my SCI list, and Admiral Kirk at 4/5 is my top DIP, just ahead of Miss Mega Cornwell....but that's a conversation for a different thread
huh? Yah I'm using 2 skill crew, who happens to be event crew. the logic of that argument makes no sense. if I had your bias against 2 skill crew I might not even have or have kept the crew to have the bonus I am able to utilize now.
You're using an event crew. If you stepped back and thought about, you might think that an event crew with comparable base primary and two additional skills would be more useful than what you have.
I'm not biased. Its an honest appraisal of ability. I have a 1/5 Capt Lorca. He's potentially good at shuttles due to his high base and I can use him in Lorca and DSC events. Fusing him would make him better but that has a hefty cost. I have numerous other 3 skill crew sitting at 1/5 many of which are popular crew. 5 of those are Spock, 4 of those are Data. All of them would significantly improve my Voyages and allow me to dominate Spock,Data, TOS and TNG events. I think any criticism I have of 2-skills are pretty valid. Every time I add one to my roster, I'm making a decision to use valuable crew space on crew who will sit there most of the time. That's not what I would call useful.
I just returned shuttles with both of my Loque’que Satos on them and they both succeeded! Whew!!! That was a HUGE gamble. I’m so lucky to have gotten away with that!
I wasn’t about to sit on my honor stockpile, hoping to land a whopper like Falcon O’Brien
My honour "stockpile" is being spent on:
Falcon, TuxedoNog,2xTroi, 2xArcher,Capt La Forge, 3xJaneway,4xData,5xSpock,2xPicard,etc/etc/etc
And somehow I'm supposed to slap some paltry 2-skill crew in there? If Labourer Spock gets added to the Tuque collection, I guess I might be able to justify him. I still need Jury Rigger but I'll probably manage to get 4* Yates first.
In the early-mid game it's different but in the long run, 2 skill crew are useless for gauntlet and voyages (except Dr Culber)
The best two skill crew are those with more than 1000 base (before bonuses) in BOTH skills and relatively common event crew because they are great for shuttles, especially for faction events, including not being fully fused. A good ship ability is nice but that's just icing on the cake.
I just returned shuttles with both of my Loque’que Satos on them and they both succeeded! Whew!!! That was a HUGE gamble. I’m so lucky to have gotten away with that!
Grats. My shuttle with ZhianOdo returned. And 2x Laas. Less of a gamble. Sorry, I'm not much of a gambler.
I just returned shuttles with both of my Loque’que Satos on them and they both succeeded! Whew!!! That was a HUGE gamble. I’m so lucky to have gotten away with that!
Grats. My shuttle with ZhianOdo returned. And 2x Laas. Less of a gamble. Sorry, I'm not much of a gambler.
Perhaps they succeeded cuz they were carried by the 3 skill Weyoun whom I got winning his event. He was on the shuttle too so that must have been it
I just returned shuttles with both of my Loque’que Satos on them and they both succeeded! Whew!!! That was a HUGE gamble. I’m so lucky to have gotten away with that!
Grats. My shuttle with ZhianOdo returned. And 2x Laas. Less of a gamble. Sorry, I'm not much of a gambler.
Perhaps they succeeded cuz they were carried by the 3 skill Weyoun whom I got winning his event. He was on the shuttle too so that must have been it
Glad you realized that bonus crew with appropriate stats are what gets the job done. Flexible seating arrangements from having 3 skills helps.
I just returned shuttles with both of my Loque’que Satos on them and they both succeeded! Whew!!! That was a HUGE gamble. I’m so lucky to have gotten away with that!
Grats. My shuttle with ZhianOdo returned. And 2x Laas. Less of a gamble. Sorry, I'm not much of a gambler.
Perhaps they succeeded cuz they were carried by the 3 skill Weyoun whom I got winning his event. He was on the shuttle too so that must have been it
No, they succeeded because they're bonus and event crew who have flexible seating arrangements due to having 3 skills.
They are neither bonus crew, event crew, nor three skill crew. They are a solid 1376 base diplomacy
I just returned shuttles with both of my Loque’que Satos on them and they both succeeded! Whew!!! That was a HUGE gamble. I’m so lucky to have gotten away with that!
Grats. My shuttle with ZhianOdo returned. And 2x Laas. Less of a gamble. Sorry, I'm not much of a gambler.
Perhaps they succeeded cuz they were carried by the 3 skill Weyoun whom I got winning his event. He was on the shuttle too so that must have been it
No, they succeeded because they're bonus and event crew who have flexible seating arrangements due to having 3 skills.
They are neither bonus crew, event crew, nor three skill crew. They are a solid 1376 base diplomacy
Sorry, I misinterpreted your original statement. I should point out that 1376 base DIP is trash for a faction event. There are at least 10 crew that I can think of that are better, many of which are 4*'s.
Many people on these forums will speak of the ills of two skill crew, but are there any that you feel are a vital part of your crew? Are there any that you recommend for someone to acquire and level up as fast as possible? For that matter, any one skill crew?
5/5 Joachim is definitely my dark horse stalwart. Even with Roller and Durango now immortalized and other SEC-CMD crew piling up, my J-man is is still in use about 50% of the time, either as 3rd string in daily shuttles or especially when others are tied up in voyages. Can’t underestimate how over-represented SEC is in shuttle missions.
I wasn’t about to sit on my honor stockpile, hoping to land a whopper like Falcon O’Brien
My honour "stockpile" is being spent on:
Falcon, TuxedoNog,2xTroi, 2xArcher,Capt La Forge, 3xJaneway,4xData,5xSpock,2xPicard,etc/etc/etc
And somehow I'm supposed to slap some paltry 2-skill crew in there? If Labourer Spock gets added to the Tuque collection, I guess I might be able to justify him. I still need Jury Rigger but I'll probably manage to get 4* Yates first.
That’s just the thing, though: since you have a really great list of three-skill crew to cite, you apparently don’t need a two-skill to cover a gap. Of all my two-skill legendaries plus Captain Scott, Rura Penthe Kirk is the only one I would cite (on account of his ludicrous base SEC, decent proficiencies, good ship ability, and event bonus potential) and Scotty is the only other one I would very strongly consider in a behold (all about the Skirmish benefit). Of the 28 others at various fusions and levels, the only one I would seriously consider taking unless forced to do so otherwise are Admiral Kirk (event bonus), Frank Hollander (event bonus with rare skills for the base character), and Mirror Bashir (also rare skills for event bonus).
But not everyone is in the same boat we’re in and shouldn’t be discouraged from improving their crew when possible?
I wasn’t about to sit on my honor stockpile, hoping to land a whopper like Falcon O’Brien
My honour "stockpile" is being spent on:
Falcon, TuxedoNog,2xTroi, 2xArcher,Capt La Forge, 3xJaneway,4xData,5xSpock,2xPicard,etc/etc/etc
And somehow I'm supposed to slap some paltry 2-skill crew in there? If Labourer Spock gets added to the Tuque collection, I guess I might be able to justify him. I still need Jury Rigger but I'll probably manage to get 4* Yates first.
That’s just the thing, though: since you have a really great list of three-skill crew to cite, you apparently don’t need a two-skill to cover a gap. Of all my two-skill legendaries plus Captain Scott, Rura Penthe Kirk is the only one I would cite (on account of his ludicrous base SEC, decent proficiencies, good ship ability, and event bonus potential) and Scotty is the only other one I would very strongly consider in a behold (all about the Skirmish benefit). Of the 28 others at various fusions and levels, the only one I would seriously consider taking unless forced to do so otherwise are Admiral Kirk (event bonus), Frank Hollander (event bonus with rare skills for the base character), and Mirror Bashir (also rare skills for event bonus).
But not everyone is in the same boat we’re in and shouldn’t be discouraged from improving their crew when possible?
I'm not discouraging anyone. I just think its highly unlikely that you won't have something that's a bit better. Consider a random beginner with a smattering of 1/5's. Let's say they have 3x 2skill and 3x 3xSkill. What do they pick? There are other factors but all other things being equal they'll probably get the most use from the 3-skills. As a low-spender I'm lucky if I get to FF more than one 5* per month. That two skill crew better be extra useful if it wants any love.
If you have to make do with something it might as well be a 4*. They're generally easier to finish and at minimum the game will give you two free 4/4's per month. Its pretty much what I did for 2.5 yrs.
I just returned shuttles with both of my Loque’que Satos on them and they both succeeded! Whew!!! That was a HUGE gamble. I’m so lucky to have gotten away with that!
Grats. My shuttle with ZhianOdo returned. And 2x Laas. Less of a gamble. Sorry, I'm not much of a gambler.
Perhaps they succeeded cuz they were carried by the 3 skill Weyoun whom I got winning his event. He was on the shuttle too so that must have been it
No, they succeeded because they're bonus and event crew who have flexible seating arrangements due to having 3 skills.
They are neither bonus crew, event crew, nor three skill crew. They are a solid 1376 base diplomacy
Sorry, I misinterpreted your original statement. I should point out that 1376 base DIP is trash for a faction event. There are at least 10 crew that I can think of that are better, many of which are 4*'s.
I do have better. They were on shuttles and a Voyage as well. And I challenge you to name these four stars with a better base diplomacy than 1376
That’s including bonuses. Bonuses are not a regular thing. That will help you for the next four days. I have bonus crew with higher diplomacy for the next four days too. Satos base is good for the life of STT
That’s including bonuses. Bonuses are not a regular thing. That will help you for the next four days. I have bonus crew with higher diplomacy for the next four days too. Satos base is good for the life of STT
So? The rest of the time she'll get beat by different bonus crew. Or the 26 other DIP crew that have higher base DIP than she does.
That’s including bonuses. Bonuses are not a regular thing. That will help you for the next four days. I have bonus crew with higher diplomacy for the next four days too. Satos base is good for the life of STT
So? The rest of the time she'll get beat by different bonus crew. Or the 26 other DIP crew that have higher base DIP than she does.
The Bulls won championships with lousy centers. It’s ok to use crew that isn’t the greatest thing in the world. Your roster needs to be deep. After a voyage and 4 shuttles you are down to your what? 8th best diplomat? I can win with Sato being my 8th best diplomat.
That’s including bonuses. Bonuses are not a regular thing. That will help you for the next four days. I have bonus crew with higher diplomacy for the next four days too. Satos base is good for the life of STT
So? The rest of the time she'll get beat by different bonus crew. Or the 26 other DIP crew that have higher base DIP than she does.
The Bulls won championships with lousy centers. It’s ok to use crew that isn’t the greatest thing in the world. Your roster needs to be deep. After a voyage and 4 shuttles you are down to your what? 8th best diplomat? I can win with Sato being my 8th best diplomat.
That's not how the game is set-up. Funny thing about Voyage crew is that great Voyage crew are often not great at shuttles. My best DIP Voyagers are not my best DIP base crew. Bridge Officer #1 is the only one I have who manages to be good at both but she's still worse than many bonus crew. Professor Sato is the #1 DIP base but only #82 for Voyages.
I can do the event with 8 DIP crew that are all better than Sato and not one of them will ever go on a Voyage. Most other faction events are pretty much the same.
That’s including bonuses. Bonuses are not a regular thing. That will help you for the next four days. I have bonus crew with higher diplomacy for the next four days too. Satos base is good for the life of STT
So? The rest of the time she'll get beat by different bonus crew. Or the 26 other DIP crew that have higher base DIP than she does.
The Bulls won championships with lousy centers. It’s ok to use crew that isn’t the greatest thing in the world. Your roster needs to be deep. After a voyage and 4 shuttles you are down to your what? 8th best diplomat? I can win with Sato being my 8th best diplomat.
That's not how the game is set-up. Funny thing about Voyage crew is that great Voyage crew are often not great at shuttles. My best DIP Voyagers are not my best DIP base crew. Bridge Officer #1 is the only one I have who manages to be good at both but she's still worse than many bonus crew. Professor Sato is the #1 DIP base but only #82 for Voyages.
I can do the event with 8 DIP crew that are all better than Sato and not one of them will ever go on a Voyage. Most other faction events are pretty much the same.
Everyone “does” the event. That doesn’t say how well you do
Comments
I made a comment recently about 2-skill vs 3-skill and how DB could improve crew variety and help break up gauntlet walls in the process. As of that post, 3-skillers accounted for 39 of the 45 crew with a top 3 gauntlet pair. Why? They already have the advantage of skill set flexibility for gauntlet matchups (and shuttle seating). Combine that with the best pairs as well and you have a recipe for gauntlet walls.
If you gave Culber the #1 gauntlet pair from Defensive Phlox, he goes from voyage total #216 to #36. If Harcourt Fenton Mudd had Locutus' DIP/SCI proficiency, he'd go from voyage total #238 to #55. Give Species 8472 the bases of Gladiator Spock and he goes from #215 to #74. They would be far more effective and desirable than 'shuttle crew'. Wait, that's a silly solution. A crew can't have a great base and a great gauntlet pair. Except for 3-skiller Gary Seven. Or 3-skiller Interfaced La Forge. Or 3-skiller Captain Braxton...
Those are more extreme examples and I don't particularly like the big outliers that would produce, but DB could certainly balance things a bit better. Give the occasional 2-skiller the numbers to push them into the voyage total 100s rather than 200s. Why not give the Killy/Commandant/Kes arena abilities to 2-skill crew? Why not even out the disparity among top gauntlet pairs which kills several birds with one stone - better voyage ability for 2-skillers, wider utility than just shuttles, more people giving DB their $$ for new crew, fewer gauntlet walls, etc.
Back in the real world, I would recommend RP Kirk (#1 'SEC and DIP' shuttler, great arena ability, lots of Faction events), Mirror Phlox, Culber, Laborer Spock (maybe the best defensive arena choice atm), Niners Rom, Graduation Burnham, RAF Bashir. Bajoran Dukat for his collections.
It seems that more and more, 3-skill crew can equal or better the shuttle contributions of 2-skill crew while offering far more utility. As it stands, Culber is the only 2-skill crew I would cite, personally, and not before several other crew. Yea, 2-skill crew are 'worse', but not useless and can certainly be made better along with the gauntlet and event/purchase motivation at the same time.
Just wanted to point out, that I don't think anyone is saying that 2 stat crew are better, or even equal to most 3 stat crew, however that doesn't omit their usefulness.
By your own argument, you say, it means your making do with what you have? is that not a given? of course we are going of of based on what we have. Since no one starts out with every 3 stat officer in the game, then it seems kind of silly to me to say or even imply that 2 stat officers are useless, especially if that is the best or only alternative given the demands of the game on your crew at that time.
You say you wouldn't waste resources leveling up a 2 stat crew, so if a person does not have a 3 stat character alternative to said 2 stat crew, or at least not enough of them at the time, does that mean we just wait till we get one, and miss out on anytime we could of used the 2 stat in the mean time?
As far as events go, I am using 2 stat crew as we speak, so I should use a 3 stat crew with no event bonus? cause I airlocked or kept all my 2 stats frozen.
Omg you are so right. How could I have been so foolish for all this time. 9 top 5 finishes and I could have been doing so much better if I just followed your advice. Thank you so much for enlightening such a weak player with such a weak crew. Perhaps some day I can be up there on the leaderboards right along side you
lol.. sorry but that was kind of funny
Usefulness implies something. LoqSato could be said to be useful for Sato events or collections but she's not useful otherwise. Not even for shuttles. Having two skills cuts her off from part of the game.
I would say if you have limited resources, you should consider how you use them. Degra is part of 3 collections and having him fused helped because I got two important collections finished. That 100 or 150K honour I dumped on him was a lot but was probably worth it. Dumping honour into Rogue Winn on the other hand?
I should also point out you're not using a 2-skill crew in the event. You're using a bonus crew. It has another feature that makes it useful. Captain Scott is the dumbest crew in the game but he's still great for ship battles. One skill is pretty useless but he's a ship battle guy not a one skill guy.
huh? Yah I'm using 2 skill crew, who happens to be event crew. the logic of that argument makes no sense. if I had your bias against 2 skill crew I might not even have or have kept the crew to have the bonus I am able to utilize now.
But there was this one guy who so zealously embraced Blu-ray that he flamed several threads. Eventually, he outright declared that the basis of his determination of the superiority of Blu-ray stemmed from his superiority as a film aficionado and even as a human being. Anyone who didn't share his appreciation for Blu-ray was a mere peasant, too much of a rube to even understand anything about how to appreciate, respect, or even just enjoy film. That is not verbatim, but it is awfully close.
I don't think about that guy often, but when I do, it's usually because I'm streaming something obscure and I wonder whether he's enlightened enough to stream it, too, because it's a film otherwise not in circulation on physical media, or if he's so enlightened that he shuns streaming altogether for being inferior.
And when I think of that guy in those moments, I hope that he's matured enough to live in the same world most of us live in, where we do "make do with lesser [things]". Hell, we even find value in those "lesser" things. Not because we're trying to delude ourselves that we have something of quality, but because we see those things in a light that shows us something to appreciate, respect, or even just enjoy.
That was all apropos of nothing, of course. I just sometimes reminisce about things.
Thanks Travis, that sums it up perfectly and eloquently;) and with that I'm out of the debate;)
I am super glad for you that you have both O’Brien and Troi immortal or at least in the queue for citations. I’ve got Troi at 2/5* FE and O’Brien at 1/5* level 1, both of whom joined my crew long after I immortalized the likes of T’Kuvma, Warship Tuvok, and Mirror Kirk...I wasn’t about to sit on my honor stockpile, hoping to land a whopper like Falcon O’Brien so I could FF him, I needed help right away and spent accordingly. Even now, my citations are better spent on rare skill combos...I will be thrilled to see either O’Brien or Troi pop up in future beholds and would certainly choose them over virtually any two-skill crew (as stated many posts back), of course.
This notion that two-skill crew are inherently worthless isn’t that different from the idea that crew are “bad” if they aren’t within a certain arbitrary range of the voyage rankings. “Don’t put a citation on [X] because they aren’t inside the top 20 and therefore aren’t any good!” It’s ignorant, chiefly because not everyone has every available crew - what might be a terrible citation target for you or me could be a game-changer for someone else. The advice I offer to anyone, from whales on down to someone who just installed Timelines today, is the same: identify what weaknesses your crew have, figure out who you have that can improve upon that weakness and level/cite that person, and start buying event/Tuesday/special packs if you have the dil and nobody in-house who can help you get better.
Amen. Skill points over replacement. It wins championships
I also cited up Ilia to 3/5 to get her up to the top of my SCI list, and Admiral Kirk at 4/5 is my top DIP, just ahead of Miss Mega Cornwell....but that's a conversation for a different thread
You're using an event crew. If you stepped back and thought about, you might think that an event crew with comparable base primary and two additional skills would be more useful than what you have.
I'm not biased. Its an honest appraisal of ability. I have a 1/5 Capt Lorca. He's potentially good at shuttles due to his high base and I can use him in Lorca and DSC events. Fusing him would make him better but that has a hefty cost. I have numerous other 3 skill crew sitting at 1/5 many of which are popular crew. 5 of those are Spock, 4 of those are Data. All of them would significantly improve my Voyages and allow me to dominate Spock,Data, TOS and TNG events. I think any criticism I have of 2-skills are pretty valid. Every time I add one to my roster, I'm making a decision to use valuable crew space on crew who will sit there most of the time. That's not what I would call useful.
If I win the lottery I might change my mind.
My honour "stockpile" is being spent on:
Falcon, TuxedoNog,2xTroi, 2xArcher,Capt La Forge, 3xJaneway,4xData,5xSpock,2xPicard,etc/etc/etc
And somehow I'm supposed to slap some paltry 2-skill crew in there? If Labourer Spock gets added to the Tuque collection, I guess I might be able to justify him. I still need Jury Rigger but I'll probably manage to get 4* Yates first.
The best two skill crew are those with more than 1000 base (before bonuses) in BOTH skills and relatively common event crew because they are great for shuttles, especially for faction events, including not being fully fused. A good ship ability is nice but that's just icing on the cake.
Grats. My shuttle with ZhianOdo returned. And 2x Laas. Less of a gamble. Sorry, I'm not much of a gambler.
Perhaps they succeeded cuz they were carried by the 3 skill Weyoun whom I got winning his event. He was on the shuttle too so that must have been it
They are neither bonus crew, event crew, nor three skill crew. They are a solid 1376 base diplomacy
Sorry, I misinterpreted your original statement. I should point out that 1376 base DIP is trash for a faction event. There are at least 10 crew that I can think of that are better, many of which are 4*'s.
5/5 Joachim is definitely my dark horse stalwart. Even with Roller and Durango now immortalized and other SEC-CMD crew piling up, my J-man is is still in use about 50% of the time, either as 3rd string in daily shuttles or especially when others are tied up in voyages. Can’t underestimate how over-represented SEC is in shuttle missions.
That’s just the thing, though: since you have a really great list of three-skill crew to cite, you apparently don’t need a two-skill to cover a gap. Of all my two-skill legendaries plus Captain Scott, Rura Penthe Kirk is the only one I would cite (on account of his ludicrous base SEC, decent proficiencies, good ship ability, and event bonus potential) and Scotty is the only other one I would very strongly consider in a behold (all about the Skirmish benefit). Of the 28 others at various fusions and levels, the only one I would seriously consider taking unless forced to do so otherwise are Admiral Kirk (event bonus), Frank Hollander (event bonus with rare skills for the base character), and Mirror Bashir (also rare skills for event bonus).
But not everyone is in the same boat we’re in and shouldn’t be discouraged from improving their crew when possible?
I'm not discouraging anyone. I just think its highly unlikely that you won't have something that's a bit better. Consider a random beginner with a smattering of 1/5's. Let's say they have 3x 2skill and 3x 3xSkill. What do they pick? There are other factors but all other things being equal they'll probably get the most use from the 3-skills. As a low-spender I'm lucky if I get to FF more than one 5* per month. That two skill crew better be extra useful if it wants any love.
If you have to make do with something it might as well be a 4*. They're generally easier to finish and at minimum the game will give you two free 4/4's per month. Its pretty much what I did for 2.5 yrs.
I do have better. They were on shuttles and a Voyage as well. And I challenge you to name these four stars with a better base diplomacy than 1376
Prisoner Archer 1936
Jannar 1838
Kilana 1834
Chaplain Odo 1758
Yelgrun 1468
Baseball Dukat 1436
That’s including bonuses. Bonuses are not a regular thing. That will help you for the next four days. I have bonus crew with higher diplomacy for the next four days too. Satos base is good for the life of STT
So? The rest of the time she'll get beat by different bonus crew. Or the 26 other DIP crew that have higher base DIP than she does.
The Bulls won championships with lousy centers. It’s ok to use crew that isn’t the greatest thing in the world. Your roster needs to be deep. After a voyage and 4 shuttles you are down to your what? 8th best diplomat? I can win with Sato being my 8th best diplomat.
I can do the event with 8 DIP crew that are all better than Sato and not one of them will ever go on a Voyage. Most other faction events are pretty much the same.
Everyone “does” the event. That doesn’t say how well you do