Borg beams useless

posted on February 22nd, 2009, 10:41 pm

I do not know how weapons stats are described for the borg.
But compared to the other races, the borg beam weapons are pretty much shield-scratchers.

Compared to the fed/kling/dom/rom beam weapons, borg beams seem to be at a fixed weakness from scout cube to tactical cube. only the torps are strong.

Dunno if anyone else has seen this, but a borg's beam weapons are useless compared to what phsers and disruptors can do. Was this intentional?

No one is talking about increasing borg power, but it seems the bulk of their power is in the torp only, while the beam does nothing.

posted on February 22nd, 2009, 10:44 pm

I agree with you. I noticed the same thing. I built a sphere with 4 beams and one torpedo, the torpedo killed small ships like sabers almost instantly, the beams did almost nothing but being green and shiny 

posted on February 22nd, 2009, 10:48 pm

i like it the way it is...

makes you build a nice mixed fleet of spheres and cubes make the cube have pure torps and sphere pure phaser and your take down fleets in seconds... combine that was devasting attack (which is basically an instant sheild killer) and Nanites adn your laughig all the way home...

posted on February 22nd, 2009, 11:21 pm

that's true. i can tweak my fleet... that's fine.
but isnt it a little queer though.. the all [powerful borg, and in game too they are powerful... just have cat's claws for beams... it's a little funny 

posted on February 22nd, 2009, 11:53 pm

I think the beams take out ships quite well actually: haven't ever noticed a problem with them (especially when used in combo with devastating attack) 

posted on February 26th, 2009, 2:03 pm

Energy phasers should be more damaging than all other beam weapons...in general imo I mean it's a BORG GUN. =3

posted on February 26th, 2009, 2:26 pm

Now that you mentioned it, I'm noticing the borg beams weakness too...
maybe thats to make up for the fact that some of them are multi targeting or something like that.

Still, a beam damage of around 17 (as far as i remember...)  for a sphere that is focused on beams seems rather strange, even if the sphere has got several such beams.

posted on February 27th, 2009, 1:20 am

I think the beams take out ships quite well actually: haven't ever noticed a problem with them (especially when used in combo with devastating attack) 

devastating attack is a special ability. of course when shields are down...but if the devastating attack were used and a fed were hitting the same structure with its phasers, the phasers do more damage than the beam... and this is what i find strange...

as rhaz said, it's supposed to be a Borg Gun not a shield scratcher that is outmatched hit for hit by a phaser....

posted on February 27th, 2009, 2:34 am

Seems balanced to me nonetheless... especially once shields are down 

posted on February 27th, 2009, 3:00 am

I think it might be intentional, as a balance to the fact that borg go through shields like nobody's business (cube torpedoes, and every single ship has devastating attack).  I agree that it'd be nice to see the borg with useful beam weapons though, even if it meant less powerful torpedoes; in fact, I can't recall a time I've ever seen the Borg using torpedoes in any series (although I might just not be remembering so well).  The beam weapons were much more prominent.

posted on February 27th, 2009, 3:53 pm

Beams were more common, but Torps were used. A shield draining Torpedo was used during the first TNG encounter and they used regular torps for one-hit-kills in First Contact, among other times most likely.

posted on February 27th, 2009, 6:17 pm

Issue.

Devestating attack is an optional ability that can be very readily rendered unpurchasable.  If it's being used as a reason for Borg beams to be less effective than they should be, then shouldn't devestating attack be moved from it's current status to either forced or not possible to be blocked from?

If the dominion really needs to build that dreadnought, they can scrap perimeter or hyperspace artillery, or defenders.  If Feds really need those Phalanx, they can scrap some of those warp-in vessels.  The Borg have no means to free up their credit supplies.  Once spent at the Transmission Matrix, that's it, not changing out until the next game.

posted on February 27th, 2009, 7:12 pm

Actually, the beams seem to be quite good at killing the shields...

posted on February 27th, 2009, 7:54 pm

Torps were used on the VOY cubes.

posted on March 3rd, 2009, 7:15 pm

what about the beam that ripped apart Sisko's fleet ships at Wolf 359 as shown in the first episode of DS9