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Request for advice on 4*s backlog (64 non-FE)

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  • Bella_PhoenixBella_Phoenix ✭✭
    edited February 2018
    Thanks for the advice al103. I’m definitely interested in Gauntlet so I’ll keep Grand Proxy Neelix. I also plan on saving honor to get the citations to upgrade some of them.

    Also, I know that it makes much more sense to keep the 4* crew and dump the 2 or 3* crew. The only problem with this is that I have so many of the 4* crew that I almost never use them appropriately. Most of them I have never used in any way. This is because they are too low in level and some of the items take quite a while to get. They also take too long to fully fuse. For these reasons I figured I should get rid of the 4* crew I won’t need and work on getting a good set of 2 and 3* crew for the Cadet Challenges. They are quicker to level and fully fuse. Then I can put them in cryo and take them out as needed. This would leave more room in the future for the 4 star crew that I would like to level up and fully fuse.

    Lastly, I switched my post around so that the ones I don’t mind dismissing are shown first.
  • RaraRacingRaraRacing ✭✭✭✭✭
    Thanks for the advice al103. I’m definitely interested in Gauntlet so I’ll keep Grand Proxy Neelix. I also plan on saving honor to get the citations to upgrade some of them.

    Also, I know that it makes much more sense to keep the 4* crew and dump the 2 or 3* crew. The only problem with this is that I have so many of the 4* crew that I almost never use them appropriately. Most of them I have never used in any way. This is because they are too low in level and some of the items take quite a while to get. They also take too long to fully fuse. For these reasons I figured I should get rid of the 4* crew I won’t need and work on getting a good set of 2 and 3* crew for the Cadet Challenges. They are quicker to level and fully fuse. Then I can put them in cryo and take them out as needed. This would leave more room in the future for the 4 star crew that I would like to level up and fully fuse.

    Lastly, I switched my post around so that the ones I don’t mind dismissing are shown first.

    Don't mean to sound harsh but ...

    - You probably never use your 4*s because you seem to have little focus when it comes to levelling them ... as an example:
    Check out McGivers stats at 3/4 FE and I bet you she'll easily be in the top 5 for DIP base on your crew, she'll be on shuttles constantly. So ... at level 20 she's not doing anything for you but is probably one of your best DIP crew ...
    TIP 1: Go through your crew list (not just the do-not-airlock list for traits and what not) and see who best meets what your crew needs/gas a gap in ... and do so at their current fuse levels.
    Then get to focus levelling those crew asap (be they 1/4 in Mirror Phlox's case or 3/4 for McGivers)
    Another example is Mirror Dax at 1/4 has a higher SEC base than e.g. 5* Sarek! so ... Sarek for voyages and Mirror Dax for shuttles.

    - Get to power levelling some of those easy 3*s you have (Reyga, Hugh, Scott, Ogawa) and get them up and into cryo. Also, the 2*s you list ... if you are adamant in keeping them, then power level the likes of Seven, Saru, Scott, Chakotay (not easy), Riker and get them in cryo.

    - These first two points are all about focus ... you have 6-7 days to get those 6 crew off don't sweat it with the timers that recently tick down to leave you with nothing if you forget.
    TIP 2: So focus on 2 crew at a time (e.g. a 2* and a 3*) so that you've always got something to do even if one is stuck on a faction-only item and waiting on the return of your shuttles.
    When you've got a handful up and off then start with the 4*s.

    - TIP 3: In the meanwhile, try to refrain from doing ANY portal pulls ... sure crew will come in through Voyages, but that's something that can be absorbed in your list. Pulls are different, they are something you actively choose to do. You know a 10x Premium pull (like this weekend's community reward) will give you between 6-8 crew on average. I'd refrain from it until you at least have cleared the waiting list and have about 2-3 slots open, or easily cleared.
    You want to do pulls to get good crew, but your worst nightmare is getting a 5* behold from one and then having to airlock 6-7 crew to accommodate that 1 5* ... a huge waste of resources that could have been prevented.

    To specifically indicate who to airlock and who not ... that's something I feel you should personally decide on ... but I feel that, if you start off with the right base, in your specific situation, you'd never need to airlock any of your crew (4* and above at least - 3* and below are so easy to get now that I see it as okay ... in the past (pre-voyages and merit pulls) I'd have put it at 2* and below).
  • Bella_PhoenixBella_Phoenix ✭✭
    edited February 2018
    You didn’t sound harsh Rararacing. It’s not the first time I hear this news. I’ve tried to focus on just 2 or so at a time but some of them take such a long time and with all the events I’ve gotten so many at this point, I have no idea how to decide which ones to airlock. I also just started to have more time to play. For a long time I only had time to log in for a few minutes a day. Since it’s so quick to level up the 2 or 3 star ones it seemed to make sense to keep those ones and level them up faster.

    Also, I have no idea which 4* ones should be kept and which ones aren’t really as useful. I’ve looked at site but still have no idea what to look for. For example, when you mentioned about McGivers and her stats. I have no idea what you meant by DIP base. I’ve looked at the stats but with all the combos and traits, how do I know what to look for? How do I know if one crew member is good for Voyages, Shuttles, the Gauntlet, Cadet Challenges or the Arena?
  • al103al103 ✭✭✭
    edited February 2018
    I have no idea what you meant by DIP base.
    Quick rundown:
    Stat is shown as X (Y - Z)
    Base - X - used for Shuttles, not the worst thing to be looking in everybody as it's really used everywhere but Gauntlet.
    Min(imum) - X+Y - the guaranteed hit on away missions
    Max(imum) - X+Z - you can't hit higher than that
    Average - X + Y + (Z-Y)/2 - used for Voyages and in general good guideline if it's worth trying away mission even if Max allows
    Skill or Roll - the very same Y-Z range, used for Gauntlet
    Max Skill/Roll - Z, used to chose crew for Gauntlet, but Y is nearly as much important IMHO
    Min Skill/Roll - Y

    Usually it's about either FFFE or just FE character, not lvSomething one.

    So by DIP base it means that lv100 3/4 Marla have 795 DIP for Shuttles before starbase bonus and even more after. 800 is VERY solid number even for Com and Sec where many have Kortar, Picard and T'Kuvma 5/5.

    And so my cold acted again and so I again leave to remaining explanation to somebody else.
  • Bella_PhoenixBella_Phoenix ✭✭
    edited February 2018
    al103 wrote: »
    I have no idea what you meant by DIP base.
    Quick rundown:
    Stat is shown as X (Y - Z)
    Base - X - used for Shuttles, not the worst thing to be looking in everybody as it's really used everywhere but Gauntlet.
    Min(imum) - X+Y - the guaranteed hit on away missions
    Max(imum) - X+Z - you can't hit higher than that
    Average - X + Y + (Z-Y)/2 - used for Voyages and in general good guideline if it's worth trying away mission even if Max allows
    Skill or Roll - the very same Y-Z range, used for Gauntlet
    Max Skill/Roll - Z, used to chose crew for Gauntlet, but Y is nearly as much important IMHO
    Min Skill/Roll - Y

    Usually it's about either FFFE or just FE character, not lvSomething one.

    So by DIP base it means that lv100 3/4 Marla have 795 DIP for Shuttles before starbase bonus and even more after. 800 is VERY solid number even for Com and Sec where many have Kortar, Picard and T'Kuvma 5/5.

    And so my cold acted again and so I again leave to remaining explanation to somebody else.

    So if I’m understanding this correctly (I’ll use my Bridge Officer Troi as an example):

    Command: base of 597 with 76 - 197 she would have a guaranteed hit of 673 and a max of 794.

    With Medical she would get

    Base of 616 with 169 - 514 so she would have a minimum hit of 785 and a maximum of 1130.

    If I compare that with Captain Janeway

    Once at level 100 FF
    Her highest one being command she would have

    Base 718 + (106 - 261) she would have a minimum of 824 and a maximum of 979.

    Would this mean that when it comes to Command, once FF, Captain Janeway would be better suited for Shuttles (since her command base is higher) and Bridge Officer Troi would be better for the Gauntlet (since her range is higher in command and she has a high range for medical as well) and possibly medical for the Voyages?
  • ~peregrine~~peregrine~ ✭✭✭✭✭
    I would like to thank everyone who gave their time to offer feedback & wise counsel on my crew. I yield the floor to you, @Bella_Phoenix ! 🖖🏻
    "In the short run, the game defines the players. But in the long run, it's us players who define the game." — Nicky Case, The Evolution of Trust
  • RaraRacingRaraRacing ✭✭✭✭✭
    @Bella_Phoenix

    Yes, sorry jumped the Timelines 101 on choosing crew to keep. :)

    - If you are deciding on who to keep for the Gauntlet ONLY look at the number between the brackets. So in this case, Janeway would be better for CMD (106-261) vs Troi's (76-197) ... but there are many factors to take into account when comparing crew and I think I should list them first. (Yes Troi is better in Gauntlet in general, but for other reasons).

    1. First of all, when comparing crew I would start by comparing like for like ... in your Janeway/Troi example, Janeway is a main skill CMD and Troi is a main skill MED ... sure they have secondary skills that overlap, but you should initially just look at the main skill (there are exceptions but that's for 201).
    --> So comparing Janeway to Troi is slightly moot, as they provide support in different areas.

    2. When comparing crew you should look at what they can provide you now ... sure you might add stars in the near future, but it could also take a very, very long time to add stars.
    In general a 4/4 will outshine a 1/4, so you'll always want to prioritise 4/4s. However, sometimes a 1/4 can be really good for one specific reason ... e.g. when I saw that my 1/4 McGivers had the best possible DIP base stat for my crew at the time I immediately levelled her, because I was weak there ... she was better than 1/5s I had, or 4/4s etc. ... she's now 4/4 and still one of my best (3rd actually). Her roll is very poor at 100 (she's 13th in combined skill!!), but I exclusively used (and use) her for shuttles, so I didn't mind.

    3. Try to decide on how you want to improve crew ... base stats are great for shuttles (e.g. faction events) and are generally the first place to look ... if you really like the gauntlet then maybe you should focus on crew with good rolls. For voyages you are looking to level diverse crew, usually 3 skills and a diverse set (so not only e.g. CMD/DIP/SEC skilled crew) ... you can compare crew of the same skill set by going to the wiki and then the crew cost page (link on the right) ... there you can click a Behold button and compare as many crew as you like, there is a table with Voyage scores at lvl 100 for each fuse level.

    Personally, I'd go for a mix of base and voyage and pick my best gauntlet crew out of that initial group.

    Now ... if I, for example look at your list of "don't mind getting rid of" you've actually got some decent 1/4s there:
    - Niners Rom - quite high ENG base for a 1/4! This is a difficult skill to get good crew in.
    - Commander barak - high base CMD.
    - Tourist Quark - good skill combo, nice base DIP and decent MED. At 1/4 usable in voyages for sure if you need help there.
    - Amb. K'Ehleyr - another great base DIP.
    - the Burnhams - (I like Prospect more than Graduation) ...
    etc. etc. etc.

    It would be a pity to toss those gals/guys if you have other options to level and freeze other crew (2*s and 3*s).
    Like I said before, you probably don't need to airlock a single crew if you're not against freezing some of the 2*s and 3*s ... step 1 (as you are levelling crew to freeze) is to get a general overview of the quality of your current (4*) crew from the viewpoint for how you approach the game.
    So, if you like Gauntlet best, just look for crew with the best numbers "between the brackets" and level those.
    If you are in it for the long run, focus on 3-skill crew with a high fuse level.
    If you enjoy events most, focus on crew to be featured in upcoming events (level 3* Odo asap!).

    I created a little Excel where I listed the 3 best base crew that I have for each skill and that need to be levelled ... I combine that little list with crew for upcoming events ... and then if I manage to get anyone FF through a voyage etc. I level those as a priority (will allow me to free up space again).
    All my 1-3/4*s sit at level 1 until their names reach the top of a list. But event-associated crew are my main driver for levelling (gives me purpose).
    So, this week I'm finishing off my 5* Saru and I've started on a 3/4 Gillian Taylor ... I don't have anyone to level for the coming event (War Interrupted) ... after Taylor I'll probably level a Worf variant (I have too many at lvl 1 should a Worf event ever come up I want to not have to level all those within a week).
  • RaraRacingRaraRacing ✭✭✭✭✭
    @~peregrine~

    Yes, I'm also burnt out on events ... but I still like the focus of levelling crew for those events ... even if I do not participate more than threshold rewards (like this week). :)

    For me, mega-events are a bit dreary/monotonous with fairly similar crew being churned out (see this Discovery/Andorian event) every week ... I still have to complete 5* Saru, and I've just not been excited to complete him ... more SCI etc.
    I had the same feeling for the Klingon event ... I did enjoy the first Discovery and Mirror mega-events ... the Borg was a bit meh too.

    Keep posting here if you want more tips!! I like giving advice, it also helps me learn, as it clarifies my thought processes.
  • Bella_PhoenixBella_Phoenix ✭✭
    edited February 2018
    RaraRacing wrote: »

    3. For voyages you are looking to level diverse crew, usually 3 skills and a diverse set (so not only e.g. CMD/DIP/SEC skilled crew)

    Thanks for the tip. I’ll look out for that.
    RaraRacing wrote: »
    Now ... if I, for example look at your list of "don't mind getting rid of" you've actually got some decent 1/4s there:
    - Niners Rom - quite high ENG base for a 1/4! This is a difficult skill to get good crew in.
    - Commander barak - high base CMD.
    - Tourist Quark - good skill combo, nice base DIP and decent MED. At 1/4 usable in voyages for sure if you need help there.
    - Amb. K'Ehleyr - another great base DIP.
    - the Burnhams - (I like Prospect more than Graduation) ...
    etc. etc. etc.
    RaraRacing wrote: »
    If you enjoy events most, focus on crew to be featured in upcoming events (level 3* Odo asap!).

    Now I know I’m on the right track! I actually kept all of these ones once I looked at their stats and understood it. Plus I’m already levelling Odo and Rakal Troi for the next event. Thanks for all the help guys. Now I think it’ll be much more fun to play.
  • ~peregrine~~peregrine~ ✭✭✭✭✭
    Just a quick update on my crew backlog: I have reduced the number of partially equipped 4*s from 64 to 45, and I have 13 more non-FF 4*s idling at level 01. Only when a 4th copy drops from portal/voyage/pack will I move them onto the workbench, and I will be ruthless when airlocking one-offs.

    Thanks again to everyone who contributed to furthering my education! LLAP
    "In the short run, the game defines the players. But in the long run, it's us players who define the game." — Nicky Case, The Evolution of Trust
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