Deep Space Mining, Part 3

Pushing Even Further into Deep Space

by CmdrBond

You have mined in: Nikola and Sotavi (See Deep Space Mining, Part 1), the Federation systems Goesting and Dashai for Grade 4 Gas, the Romulan systems Yvnys and Tolain for Grade 4 Ore, and the Klingon systems Garyb and Zlim’kach (See Deep Space Mining, Part 2), now it’s time to push even further into Deep Space.

As we push further into Deep Space we come to the next mining locations that you will be able to reach and, in my opinion, one of the best spots in Deep Space. These spots include three hub and spoke systems with a secret bonus!

In this article we are continuing to focus on Grade 4 Gas, Ore, and Crystal, but we are going to add Latinum. For Grade 4 Gas, the Federation system is Holles (See Figure 1 and Figure 2). For Grade 4 Ore, the Romulan system is Talvath (See Figure 3 and Figure 4). And for Grade 4 Crystal, the Klingon system is Szov (See Figure 5 and Figure 6). For Raw Latinum the Federation system is Almango (See Figure 7), the Romulan system is Esto (See Figure 8), and the Klingon system is T’ong (See Figure 9).

Figure 1: Federation Hub and Spoke	Figure 2: Federation Hub and Spoke Resources
Figure 3: Romulan Hub and Spoke	Figure 4: Romulan Hub and Spoke Resources
Figure 5: Klingon Hub and Spoke	Figure 6: Klingon Hub and Spoke Resources

To reach these Hub and Spoke systems, which are setup essentially the same, you need to have a warp range of 75 (See Figure 7, Figure 8, and Figure 9).

Figure 7: Federation Space Warp Ranges

Figure 8: Romulan Space Warp Ranges

Figure 9: Klingon Space Warp Ranges

As mentioned above, each of these hub and spoke systems are set up essentially the same. The hub system contains the Grade 4 mineral resource with 18 mining nodes that max out at 100,000 (See Figure 10, Figure 11, and Figure 12). And, one of the spoke systems contains Latinum with 12 mining nodes that max out at 470,000 (See Figure 13).

Figure 10: Raw Gas	Figure 11: Raw Ore
Figure 12: Raw Crystal	Figure 13: Raw Latinum

In the beginning I mentioned a secret bonus. Even if you only have one ship capable of warp 75, such as the Franklin-A, bring your ship to one of the spoke systems, such as the Latinum system. Then move your base to that system. Then your mining ships can reach the hub system in order to mine the Grade 4 mineral regardless of their warp range. I always choose the Latinum system to park my base so that I can also mine Latinum. One thing to note: Since you may have only one ship that can reach warp 75, you will want to plan when you move your base so that you can still complete your dailies or events and not have to repeatedly move your base.

So, when you are able to reach these hub and spoke systems, you will open up a lot more places to mine Grade 4 Gas, Ore, and Crystal and Latinum.

Deep Space Mining, Part 2

Mining Further into Deep Space

by CmdrBond

You’ve made it to Deep Space, begun mining in Nikola and Sotavi (See Deep Space Mining, Part 1), and now you are ready to push further into Deep Space. Where do you go? And, how do you get there?

After Nikola and Sotavi, the next mining locations that you will be able to reach are in the Faction portions of Deep Space. In this article we are continuing to focus on Grade 4 Gas, Ore, and Crystal. For Grade 4 Gas, the Federation systems are Goesting and Dashai (See Figure 1 and Figure 2). For Grade 4 Ore, the Romulan systems are Yvnys and Tolain. And for Grade 4 Crystal, the Klingon systems are Garyb and Zlim’kach.

Figure 1: Federation Systems	Figure 2: Federation Mining Resources
Figure 3: Romulan Systems	Figure 4: Romulan Mining Resources
Figure 5: Klingon Systems	Figure 6: Klingon Mining Resources

These systems are setup essentially the same. You will require a warp range of 65 to reach each of the Grade 4 resources listed above (See Figure 7, Figure 8, and Figure 9).

Figure 7: Federation Space Warp Ranges

Figure 8: Romulan Space Warp Ranges

Figure 9: Klingon Space Warp Ranges

Each of these systems have 18 mining nodes that max out at 100,000 which is the same as Sotavi and Nikola (See Figure 10, Figure 11, and Figure 12). However, unlike Sotavi and Nikoa, the nodes don’t switch upon reset which is a positive.

Figure 10: Raw Gas

Figure 11: Raw Ore

Figure 12: Raw Crystal

So, when you are able to reach these systems, you will open up a lot more places to mine Grade 4 Gas, Ore, and Crystal.

Deep Space Mining, Part 1

Beginning to Mine in Deep Space

by CmdrBond

You’re planning to enter Deep Space; or, you’ve finally made it to Deep Space, and you are ready to begin mining Grade 4 resources. Where do you go? And, how do you get there?

The first two mining locations that you will be able to reach are Nikola and Sotavi. (See Figure 1 & Figure 2). Both of these systems require a warp range of 61. In Nikola you will find Grade 4 Ore and Crystal. (See Figure 1). In Sotavi you will find Grade 4 Ore and Gas. (See Figure 2). Ideally, you should plan ahead before you enter Deep Space so that you can reach warp 61+ with either a mining ship or your Discovery with summoning capability (so that you can summon your mining ship).

Figure 1: Nikola

Figure 2: Sotavi

Obviously, having your mining ship capable of warp 61+ is preferable so that you are not using up your Mycelium. But this means you will need a maxed ECS Horizon with Warp research or one of the faction miners (USS Antares, K’Vort, or Valkis) nearly maxed with Warp research. Also, don’t forget that you can use Cadet Scotty to increase the warp range of your miner. With that in mind, there may be scenarios where using the Discovery is the better option or the only option for you. For example, since the Discovery research comes before the Warp Range research you will most likely be using your Discovery at first to reach these mining spots.

Whether you need the Discovery Research or the Warp Range research they can be found in the Galaxy Research Tree (Figure 3).

Figure 3: Galaxy Research Tree

With the Discovery option, you will want to research three things in the Galaxy Research Tree: USS Discovery Summoning, USS Discovery Warp Range, and Cultivated Mycelium Jump Efficiency. (See Figure 4)

Figure 4: USS Discovery Research

Also, since your Discovery is an Explorer, you can use TOS Scotty in the Captain seat to increase your warp range. You can also place one or two of the other TOS officers on the bridge with TOS Scotty to achieve synergy which will increase the warp range a little further.

If you want to do the Warp research, which is called “Enhanced Warp Cores,” you can find it in the Galaxy research tree farther to the right than the Discovery research (See Figure 5).

Figure 5: Enhanced Warp Cores

Once you are able to reach Nikola and Sotavi you should note that the mining nodes in these systems behave similar to the mining nodes in the Willenia and Niawillen systems. This means that when you reset the node it might change to the opposite mineral in that respective system. Lastly, each of these systems have 18 mining nodes that max out at 100,000.

The Armada Display Bug

And the Workaround

by CmdrBond

NOTE: According to Scopely this bug has been fixed in patch 37 (Patch 37 Release Notes Link).

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If you have been in a couple armadas you are probably familiar with the Armada display bug. However, if you are not familiar with it, what is the Armada Display Bug? How does it affect your game play? And, most importantly, what can you do about it?

First, what is the Armada Display Bug? When you begin an armada and people start joining the armada you can see your armada strength versus the target strength by clicking on the target (See Figure 1). Then, if you click on the little icon that looks like two blue people (See the red circle in Figure 1) you will see a list of who is in the armada (See Figure 2).

Figure 1: Armada vs Target window

Figure 2: Armada Ship List

In the Armada vs Target window (Figure 1) you will see the Total Armada strength. And, in the Armada Ships List (Figure 2) you will see the strength of each of the ships in the armada. These values are displayed incorrectly. That’s the bug!

So, how does the bug affect your game play? It really doesn’t affect game play. This is because when the armada battle begins, the game calculates the battle using the correct ship strength values. Only the display of ship strength values is affected. The only thing that might happen is that you may appear to be in the armada; but when the battle begins you may find that you are actually not in the armada battle. This can be frustrating if you do not understand what is happening.

Now that you know what the bug is, what can you do about it? Until Scopely fixes this bug, you will have to simply ignore it or implement a work-around. The work-around involves a somewhat tedious process. First, click on the target and then click on the little icon that looks like two blue people (Figure 1). In the Ships in Armada window find the little icons that look like blue eyes (See Figure 3).

Figure 3: Ships in Armada window

Click on the blue eye icon next to one of the ships listed. Take note of the ship’s strength before you click on the blue eye icon. For example, look at the ship strength for the second ship in Figure 3. It is listed as 441,711. When you click on the blue eye icon next to this ship you will get a ship detail window. In this window you will see the accurate ship strength (See Figure 4). Notice this ship’s strength is listed as 675,978, not 441,711 as show in the previous window.

Figure 4: Ship Detail Window

When you go back to the Ships in Armada window, the ship strength for this ship will be displayed correctly. You must do this for each ship in the armada. Once you have done this for each ship in the armada, each ship will be displayed correctly and the total armada strength will be displayed correctly (See Figure 5).

Figure 5: Updated Ships in Armada window

Compare the original ship strength for each ship in Figure 3 with the updated ship strength for each ship in Figure 5. A couple of things you will notice: each of the ship’s strength have been corrected except for mine and the ships have been reordered by strength. It is not the most elegant work-around but it is the only work-around for this bug that I know of at this time.

Faction Tips

Gaining Respected Status in All Three Factions

by CmdrBond

 

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NOTE: This article has been superceded by the article Gaining Respected Status in All Three Factions, Ver. 3.

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Should you try to gain Respected Status in all three factions? While the answer is ultimately up to you, I believe it's a very good idea and here's why:

● You get additional faction options in your Daily Goals for killing hostiles and mining 

○ Some of the best rewards are:

    ■ Mining: the repair speed ups, credits, and recruit tokens

    ■ Hostiles: the resources, credits, and recruit tokens

○ See Figure 1 thru Figure 12

● You no longer get harassed by hostiles in any of the faction territories with the exception of augment space

○ This saves resources

● Being at the Respected level for a faction opens up purchasing options in the faction store for that particular faction

○ For example, at the Respected level you can use credits to purchase Enterprise, Augur, and D4 blueprints for the respective faction

● Once you reach the Respected level in a faction you’re locked, meaning you cannot go below that level

○ This is what allows you to achieve the Respected level for each faction

 

Faction Points

First, how do you get faction points:

● Daily Goals – Mining (See Figure 1)

o Romulan Miner rewards (See Figure 2)

o Romulan Excavator rewards (See Figure 3)

o Federation Miner rewards (See Figure 4)

o Federation Excavator rewards (See Figure 5)

o Klingon Miner rewards (Figure 6)

o Klingon Excavator rewards (Figure 7)

● Daily Goals – Hunting Hostiles (See Figure 8)

o Romulan Warrior rewards (See Figure 9)

o Romulan Champion rewards (See Figure 10)

o Federation Warrior rewards (See Figure 11)

o Federation Champion rewards (See Figure 12)

o Klingon Warrior rewards (See Figure 13)

o Klingon Champion rewards (See Figure 14)

● Daily Events – Reputation Event!

● Borg Refinery (See Figure 30 and Figure 31)

● Faction Missions

● Faction Hunt event (when available)

● Other Miscellaneous events

● Hunting Hostiles (See the section: Daily Goals – Hunting Hostiles)

● Armadas

● Away Teams

Figure 1: Daily Goals List - Mining	Figure 2: Romulan Miner rewards
Figure 3: Romulan Excavator rewards	Figure 4: Federation Miner rewards
Figure 5: Federation Excavator rewards	Figure 6: Klingon Miner rewards
Figure 7: Klingon Excavator rewards	Figure 8: Daily Goals List - Hostiles
Figure 9: Romulan Warrior rewards	Figure 10: Romulan Champion rewards

Figure 11: Federation Warrior rewards	Figure 12: Federation Champion rewards
Figure 13: Klingon Warrior rewards	Figure 14: Klingon Champion rewards

 

General tips to help you achieve the Respected level in each faction:

As early as possible in your Star Trek Fleet Command (STFC) play, focus on one faction until you achieve the Respected level and then move on to one of the other two factions

1. Daily Goals – Mining and Hunting Hostiles

A. If they're available, do not do any of the Daily Goals from the other two factions as this will work against you

     1) You can still mine and kill hostiles, just don't click on the check marks for the other two factions in the Daily Goals list

          a) For example, in Figure 15, I have not checked the Federation Champion checkbox since I am working on my Klingon reputation

         

                   Figure 15: Daily Goals Example

          b) One exception: Do not kill hostiles from the faction that you are working on as this will work against you

               ○ For example, in Figure 16, if I were to kill this level 40 Klingon hostile while working on my Klingon reputation, I would lose 1,472 Klingon faction points

              

                      Figure 16: Klingon Hostile Example

B. When killing hostiles for Daily Goals or just for faction points, focus on transports and scouts as they give you more faction points

     1. I have found a two-ship strategy works well

          a) You can either set each ship by a regeneration node and kill the hostiles when they appear or…

          b) You can take both ships around the system in a clockwise or counterclockwise manner killing the transports as you go

     2. Pick a system and transport level where you can kill 40 to 60 transport ships before your ship dies

          a) This will save on resources

          b) For example, when I was working on my Klingon reputation, I would hunt in the Altanea system

               1) This system has transports with level 37-39

               2) I mostly ignored the level 38 and 39 transports

               3) Here are the stats from an experiment that I conducted to demonstrate why I mostly hunted level 37 transports:

              

                       Figure 17: Hostile Hunt Experiment

               4) As you can see, by hunting level 37 transports rather than by hunting level 38 and level 39 transports, I earned more faction points (more than double) before my ship would die

                    ■ Level 39 transports give 1,308 faction points (See Figure 18)

                      

                    Figure 18: Faction points for a Level 39 Transport

                    ■ Level 38 transports give 1,082 faction points (See Figure 19)

                      

                    Figure 19: Faction points for a Level 38 Transport

               ■ Level 37 transports give 888 faction points (See Figure 20)

                      

                    Figure 20: Faction points for a Level 37 Transport

               ■ Level 38 scouts give 1,623 faction points (See Figure 21)

                      

                       Figure 21: Faction points for a Level 38 Scout

          5) Remember, you need to choose a system and transport level that works for you

          6) Watch out for scouts as they give more Faction points than other ships of the same level (See Figure 17 and Figure 21)

               ■ Remember that the Messages you earn for killing scouts can be traded in for credits in the faction store

                      

                      

                              Figure 22: Faction Store examples

               ■ Note: It costs more messages for credits at the Respected level so use them as much as possible before you hit the Respected level

                    ○ At the Associate level it costs 70 Messages for 240 credits – [3.43 credits per Message] (See Figure 22)

                    ○ At the Respected level it costs 180 Messages for 350 credits – [1.94 credits per Message] (See Figure 22)

                    ○ As you can see it is much more efficient to use as many of your Messages for credits prior to hitting the Respected level

               ■ I used this technique to buy extra faction credits to trade for the three faction mining ships: Valkis, K’Vort, and USS Antares

               ■ I also used this technique to buy extra faction credits to trade for Enterprise, Augur, and D4 blueprints

                    ○ Note: The warship blueprints become available in the faction store once you reach the Respected level

c) I tried to kill between 100 and 200 transports, above the Daily Goals, each day

     1) The way I tracked this was by looking at the item totals (See Figure 23)

     2) Since hostiles do not always drop items, this method will mean that you are killing more than the number of items listed

         

                               Figure 23: Items

2. Daily Events – Reputation Event!

A. The Reputation Event is a great way to earn faction points for spending resources which you are going to spend anyway (See Figure 24)

      Figure 24: Klingon Reputation Event

B. Make sure you join the Reputation Event each day only for the faction you are focused on (See Figure 25)

           Figure 25: Reputation Event

C. Do not join the Reputation Events from the other two factions as this will make it take longer to achieve the Respected level in the faction that you're focused on

     1) As you can see in Figure 25, I only joined and completed the Klingon Reputation Event since I am working on my Klingon Reputation

          a) For example, note the negative faction points for the other two factions in Figure 26, Figure 27, Figure 28, and Figure 29

     2) Faction points that you earn may vary, but here is an example of what I earn at each day at each level of the Klingon Reputation Event

          a) At level one, you can earn 5,400 faction points (See Figure 26)

              

       Figure 26: Klingon Reputation Event level one rewards

          b) At level two, you can earn 10,800 faction points (See Figure 27)

              

         Figure 27: Klingon Reputation Event level two rewards

          c) At level three, you can earn 21,600 faction points (See Figure 28)

              

        Figure 28: Klingon Reputation Event level three rewards

          d) At level four, you can earn 43,200 faction points (See Figure 29)

              

         Figure 29: Klingon Reputation Event level four rewards

3. Borg Refinery

A. You can earn faction points in the Borg refinery (See Figure 30)

    

                    Figure 30: Borg Refinery

     1) Note: The higher level your Vi’dar, the more faction points you can earn in the Borg refinery

          a) It is well worth your time to tier up your Vi’dar

          b) In Figure 31, at my Vi’dar tier, I earn 52,000 Klingon faction points

          c) Note: As your Vi’dar tier increases so does the amount of inert nanoprobes you will need for the Borg refinery (See Figure 31)

              

             Figure 31: Borg Refinery - Klingon Faction Points

B. You should also know that you can buy faction credits in the Borg refinery as well (See Figure 32)

     1) I used this technique to buy extra faction credits to trade for the three faction mining ships: Valkis, K’Vort, and USS Antares

     2) I also used this technique to buy extra faction credits to trade for Enterprise, Augur, and D4 blueprints

          a) Note: The warship blueprints become available in the faction store once you reach the Respected level

              

                  Figure 32: Borg Refinery - Klingon Credits

4. Faction Missions

A. Only do faction missions for the faction that you're focused on

     1) Since the faction missions give faction points this will help you achieve the Respected level faster

          a) In the example shown in Figure 33 and Figure 34 you see that for the completion of this mission you earn 100,000 faction points

              

                     Figure 33: Faction Mission Example

B. Don't do any faction missions for the factions that you're not focused on

     1) Archive these faction missions for later since completing them will work against you

          a) For example, in Figure 34, the completion of this mission earns:

               ○ -140,800 Romulan faction points

               ○ -52,800 Federation faction points

              

               Figure 34: Faction Mission Rewards Example

5. Faction Hunt Event

A. For Faction Hunt Events, only focus on the faction that you're working on

     1) Do not participate in the faction hunt for the factions that you are not working on as this will work against you

6. Other Miscellaneous events

A. Watch out for events that will give you negative faction points for the faction that you are working on

     1) Do not participate in these events as this will work against you

7. Borg Research

A. You should complete the three Borg research options in the Galaxy Research tree as soon as possible (See Figure 35)

     1) These Borg research options will boost your rewards respectively:

          a) Prime Borg Rewards

          b) Nanoprobe Hunter

          c) Prime Active Nanoprobes Refining

    

               Figure 35: Galaxy Research Tree

8. Armadas

A. Armadas can earn faction points but they are not as effective or efficient as hunting hostiles

B. When attacking armada targets, pay attention to the faction points received

     1) While you will not get negative points like when hunting the wrong faction hostiles, you may not get any points at all

     2) For example, if you are working on your Klingon reputation,

          a) A Federation Uncommon Level 31 Armada Target (See Figure 36) would give you 432 Klingon faction points

          b) A Romulan Uncommon Level 31 Armada Target (See Figure 37) would give you 872 Klingon faction points

          c) A Klingon Uncommon Level 31 Armada Target (See Figure 38) would give you 0 Klingon faction points

         

  Figure 36: Federation Uncommon Level 31 Armada Target

         

   Figure 37: Romulan Uncommon Level 31 Armada Target

         

    Figure 38: Klingon Uncommon Level 31 Armada Target

9. Away Teams

A. With the introduction of Away Teams, you have an additional method to obtain Reputation points

B. When completing Away Team missions focus on missions that give Away Team Credits (See Figure 39)

      Figure 39: Away Teams Mission List

C. Away Team Credits can be earned through Assignment Success Rewards or Critical Success Rewards      1) NOTE: You will always get more credits through the Critical Success Rewards      2) You will want to get your Assignment Success percentage above 90% to have a good chance of success (See Figure 40)           a) NOTE: Going way above 100% is overkill and wasteful as it doesn’t increase your chances of success beyond 100%      3) You want to get your Critical Success percentage above 30%, if possible, to have a decent chance of winning the Critical Success Rewards (See Figure 40)           Figure 40: Chance of Success

4) Once you have enough Away Team Credits…           a) Click on the Claim box (See Figure 41)           b) At the bottom of the screen, scroll all the way to the right and click on Away Teams (See Figure 42)           c) You will then see Reputation Rewards for each faction (See Figure 43), click on the appropriate faction           d) Then, depending on how many credits you have, click on 1, 2, or 3 chests (See Figure 44)

     

Figure 41: CLAIM	Figure 42: GIFTS
Figure 43: Away Team Rewards	Figure 44: Faction Reputation Rewards

 

Conclusion

This covers everything that I can think of at the moment. If I think of more tips or if you have some tips of your own that you want to pass along, let me know in the comments and I will add them to the list if appropriate.