Slow moving Borg?

posted on January 24th, 2010, 5:01 am

Hi all,

I was just wondering why the Borg don't take advantage of (at least for humans) their natural speed and agility when trying to assimilate other species.  It seems they always move stiff-legged and slow.  I would think that they would have greater success in defeating resistant species, especially humans, if they moved swiftly and could very rapidly close on any defenders.  Do their implants or other aspects of their physiology prevent them from doing so?

posted on January 24th, 2010, 5:14 am

a sphere can outrun excelsior 2s, and  can go just as fast as all the other fed ships, so their fast enough, the feds on the other hand.....

[antillies]

posted on January 24th, 2010, 5:21 am

Last edited by antillies on January 24th, 2010, 5:23 am, edited 1 time in total.

Sorry, let me clarify.  I meant in close-corridors, say if they boarded a ship or were boarded.  And I'm not talking in terms of FO - more of a general universe question.

posted on January 24th, 2010, 6:09 am

Even though the Borg don't have feelings, they exude a kind of arrogance and are always over confident.  They simply believe that they are the most powerful force in the galaxy and that no one is capable of resisting them for long, if at all.  This gives experienced crews like those of the Enterprise just enough room to maneuver against a far superior technological force.

They assimilate (steal) people and ideas, because they have no original ideas of their own.  That's why the rescue plan to get Locutus worked, because before Picard was "stolen", it was understood that the saucer was of no consequence.  They had no idea that Riker would use the battle section as the actual diversion, with the real threat being the saucer and it's shuttlepod.

That's also why triggering the solar flare worked in "Descent", because the renegade borg understood that their ship was superior to the Enterprise.  They were still learning individuality, and didn't realize that an inferior ship can still be creative and win the day.

This overconfidence in the collective has always been their achilles heel, and the only way we've really ever beaten them.  Not counting Voyager's zombie borg of course.

posted on January 24th, 2010, 7:48 am

voyager ruined the borg, in TNG when we first met them they were a force so powerful not even a fleet of 40 federation vessels could stop them. To any other race 40 federation vessels are a sight to be feared.

AAAnnd then voyager came along and defeated the borg with an Intrepid light cruiser, not 100, not 1000 but 1.

Hopefullt the borg in STO will be just like TNG borg.

[Phoenix]

posted on January 24th, 2010, 10:32 am

Last edited by Phoenix on January 24th, 2010, 12:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.

There is a degree of arrogance in the way the Borg pace themselves. They obviously can run because it's been shown in Borg episodes like the Voyager one recently, but it's only tended to be for drones that have become separated from the collective and had their individuality flood back to them.

Snapshot, let's not forget the scene with the Tactical cube and Seven's shock and disbelief at Janeway as she ordered that they attack it, despite Seven's ample warning at just how "tough" it is. I found it somewhat funny that:
a) the Tactical Armour didn't cover every inch of the ships hull,
b) Voyager knocked out it's engines, a critical system, in the first volley after hitting parts of UNprotected hull,
c) the Delta Flier I survived 3 gravimetric torps before dying on the 4th,
d) Voyager survived a hell of a pounding despite ships at first contact and Wolf 359 being one-shotted, e) The Tactical Cube did not display an uncanny knack for regeneration despite a standard cube lasting for hours against an armada of Fedrats,
f) Voyager attacked AGAIN later in the episode!
g) Despite having thousands of drones to hand, the cube did not just beam drones into every nook and cranny of Voyager.
h) Despite having Tuvok's access code they still lost to Voyager (I'm remember the Generations moment where a lowly BoP had similar info and took out a Galaxy in a few volleys).

EDIT

i) Someone on Voyager MUST have realised that Tuvok's access codes had been assimilated and no one thought it necessary to change them.
j) Janeway, upon hearing that a cube may have taken the Delta Flier - "Red Alert, set course to intercept". All casual like... Any other Captain would likely call it quits and excise the better part valour and warp away, quickly.
k) Despite the queen personally monitoring Janeway's assimilation (because we all know she's obsessed enough to do that), she did not notice that Janeway's thoughts were not part of the collective until she caught a glimpse of Tuvok's some time later.

posted on January 24th, 2010, 10:35 am

Anyone read the re-launch series of books, specifically the Destiny trilogy? The Borg regain their status as 'threat' there 

posted on January 24th, 2010, 12:30 pm

Pheonix i agree with all of it.

In best of both world pt.1 the Enterprise... A 'Galaxy class battleship' lost its shields in 3 hits to a single rather normal cube.

in voyager an 'Intrepid class light cruiser' survived a heavy attack from a borg 'Tactical Cube'.

Writed shit me sometimes.

I mean remember when they rescued 7of9 from the borg and the delta flyer took about half a dozen gravometric torps to a "SINGLE" shield face and survived without hull damage.

Or in 1st Contact when everyones fav class, the Sovereign destroyed a whole sphere in one quantum barrage.



Bring back the old days of leaderless borg, ruthless, united and perfect.

posted on January 24th, 2010, 1:53 pm

Or in 1st Contact when everyones fav class, the Sovereign destroyed a whole sphere in one quantum barrage.

That one is sorta justified by the time portal; it screwed the Enterprises defenses, likely did the same to the Borg.

posted on January 24th, 2010, 2:19 pm

also maybe it was the second time quantums had been used against them.

cast your eyes back to when the enterprise D first met a cube, their weapons destroyed much of the cube, before the borg adapted.

maybe the borg hadnt adapted to quantums yet. they did serious damage to the cube.

the defiant was at the battle though. maybe the defiant didnt have quantums yet, or worf didnt fire them, or the launchers were disabled before firing.

posted on January 24th, 2010, 2:53 pm

He was too busy mashing an unpowered console with his fists and growling to give the order to fire quantums.

posted on January 24th, 2010, 2:57 pm

I would've thought that it was more of a case of Borg being slow due to the numerous implants and there all encompassing armour. If they really believed resistance was futile, and speed was not a necessity, then why (like mentioned earlier) can a Sphere outrun an Excelsior? 

posted on January 24th, 2010, 3:00 pm

i think if we look at the technology of the borg, then they should be very fast, but too much speed for them would make them overpowered and not really sensisble for a game. imagine if we made the borg as powerful as in the shows. every1 would play borg and fo would be all borg.

posted on January 24th, 2010, 3:53 pm

They are inevitable and monolithic - that combination of "ideas" makes them a slow moving force, otherwise the protagonists would have no hope to stop them. Plus, fast moving drones would look silly and unimposing I bet 

posted on January 24th, 2010, 3:55 pm

Wouldn't running make them look too 'human'?