Pathfinder build

[median dirge]

Which Pathfinder exactly?

Also:
It is much better to start with an idea or attempt yourself, then refine that.

Shared builds only help so much, as you might not have the same stuff available, thus maybe can't really go into the direction the player went who shared.

This one: https://stowiki.net/wiki/Pathfinder_Long_Range_Science_Vessel

Or one of the ships of the same class?

[hushed fable]

T6 Pathfinder long range science vessel

This is my first science vessel so I'm not really sure where to start to make the most of it

[silk spruce]

what kind of build do you want to do on it
EPG or DEWSCI?

[median dirge]

Imho:
A regular DEW-SCI build would be best for this ship.

Additionally:
=> get the Fleet version (Fleet Intrepid Long Range Science Vessel); same bridge seating and weapon configuration, bit better hull and shield stats and one more console slot.

[silk spruce]

the BOFF layout on here is also pretty well suited for puresci tbh

[median dirge]

The number of filler consoles points me to a more mixed setup tho

[silk spruce]

I guess if this player doesn't have many EPG accessories, then dewsci would work better

one thing to fix right away: the armor generator console doesn't work with energy weapons

[median dirge]

I‘d probably toss that thing entirely and slot another colony tac or isomag

But first we‘ll wait for OP to decide where to head 😇

The base we see is fairly DEW-heavy.

ETM, FaW, classic DEW DECS setup + a secdef
Maybe enough to adjust the one ENG Boff and both SCI a bit to cater to secdef and shuffle around some consoles for better ones

[hushed fable]

What is dewsci?

[median dirge]

DEW = Directed Energy Weapons. The classical „pew pew“ you see on screen

SCI/EPG = Focus on the science aspect (SecDef, SCI Boffs with anomalies, etc, EPG assorted clickie consoles)

DEW-SCI is a common hybrid build on ships like the Pathfinder,

You have a weapon base and mix in some SCI elements

[hushed fable]

Ok, in that case let’s go with that. As for the fleet version, I’m working towards that. All I need is a fleet module. I’m pretty close to completing two reps

As for the armor, I’ve got isomags and another colony tac I can replace it with.

I only used the armor because I had it from my T5 intrepid. I thought since I could only use it with intrepid variations I figured it wouldn’t be a bad idea. Clearly I was mistaken.

[median dirge]

You should use 2 omnis aft plus either a turret kr the KCB (since you front-face because of DBB and torp so a regular array aft is a relatively dead slot in that case)

Consider the Terran Task Force Phaser Beam Array for your front weapons (replacing the array currently there; DBB and torp stay)

[bold vessel]

You're just not going to find constantly up-to-date build samples of varying types and budgets for each of the nearly 500 T6 ships in this game.

Far more efficient for you to:

1. Identify what build types the ship can accommodate.
2. Pick a build type and look up build samples and resources for said build.
3. Adapt it to your ship within your budget and theme.

In service of above, I strongly recommend you familiarize yourself with the various end-game ship build archetypes currently available, and also learn to recognize what ships are better suited to which specific build types:

1. Beams: Fire At Will (FAW) or Beams: Overload (BO) DPS - Any ship can be built for this, or a hybrid of this. Because every ship can equip beams and dual beam banks.
2. Cannons: Scatter Volley (CSV) or Cannons: Rapid Fire (CRF) DPS - Any ship can be built for this, or a hybrid of this. But ships that can mount Dual Cannons will be much better candidates for it.
3. Specialist Firing Mode Energy Weapons DPS - Any ship with a Commander rank Pilot/Intel/Miracle Worker Bridge Officer (BOFF) station. This is for Reroute Reserves To Weapons (RRTW), Surgical Strikes (SS) and Exceed Rated Limits (ERL) respectively.
4. Exotic DPS (Space Magic) - Ideally on ships with a Secondary Deflector, or at least lots of Science/Universal/Temporal/Intel Bridge Officer stations to fit as many Anomalies and other Exotic Particle Generator (EPG) scaling abilities as possible.

5. Projectiles DPS (Kinetic Torps) - Ships with at least a Lt. Cmdr Command BOFF station, to fit Concentrate Firepower III.
6. Threat-tank - Basically a FAW boat, but its primary goal is to draw aggro away from teammates while mitigating the incoming damage. Ships with high hull modifiers, 8 weapons and a Commander rank Command BOFF station make for great tanks. This is to have the maximum number of weapons possible to draw Threat with, while greatly mitigating the incoming damage with Suppression Barrage III.
7. Debuff Support (Nanny) - The "healer" role does not really exist in STO. The closest we have to a support role is a build where its goal is to increase the damage output of your teammates by way of enemy debuffs and team buffs. The modern Support ship wants at least 2 hangar bays filled with Type 7 shuttles, as a bare minimum.
8. Pets-focused DPS (Pure Carrier) - Any ship with 2 hangar bays. Though such a build almost necessitates the Superior Area Denial (SAD) and/or Independent Wingmate traits, along with the usage of a narrow selection of hangar pets. There are only a handful of high performing hangar pet fighters/frigates in this game, and pet damage output tends to scale rather poorly outside of those ship traits.
9. Hybrid of one or more of above - This one is pretty much up to your imagination and knowledge of shipbuilding, mixing and matching all of the above applicable builds to each ship in varying degrees. I would avoid exploring this until you have decent grasp of the fundamentals of each build type you are attempting to hybridize.

---

Sample builds for each of the above mentioned archetypes: #1421236774696652880

If you prefer your guides to be in video form, here's one for Directed Energy Weapons (DEW) builds:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRsEADAzcK8

---

Your question might then become:

1. Which role is the easiest to build and fly in? Probably broadside Beam boats, due to abundance of story mission reward gear related to it, and ease of piloting with its broadside arcs.
2. Which role has the highest DPS ceiling? As of this writing this, CSV DPS for Infected The Conduit (Elite), Broadside FAW DPS for Infected The Conduit (Advanced), Hive Onslaught (Advanced) and Hive Onslaught (Elite). Data source for these: https://oscr.stobuilds.com/ui/
   • Don't let the above fact stop you from trying the other DPS build archetypes listed earlier. All are more than capable of absolutely trivializing Elite-difficulty PVE content, depending on degree of buildcraft and piloting.
3. Which role is the most useful for teamplay? Threat-tanks and Debuff Support, though such roles are mainly used in Elite difficulty TFOs with a pre-made team.
4. Which role is the most "fun"? That is for you to explore and decide.

Once you've identified what build your ship can accommodate, picked a build direction, and hammered out your first full build, you can then post the full build details here for a more in-depth review and feedback session.

One last thing, do note that all of above is only within the context of Space PvE. PvP is a whole 'nother ball game and one I am not qualified to give feedback on.

[hushed fable]

I completely forgot about my omnis. I was grabbing stuff quick since I was in a break between running TFOs with my fleet and was grabbing all my maxed gear.

As for the KCB and the Terran array, those are reputation items right? If so I probably already unlocked them since I’m working on completing tier 6 for both and if not I’ll have access in a week or two.

@bold vessel thank you for all this reply. I’ve only ever built FAW or CSV builds so I know nothing about other builds. You’ve definitely given me a lot to think about. I’ll be sure to watch this video and put it to use.