Hello, all, and welcome to Joe and STO! This week, we were told the current Event’s prize would be a Maelstrom Torpedo.
You know, like the Maelstrom Quantum Torpedo?
…
The one used to help sell the Legendary First Strike Bundle?
Okay, fine, first a brief education on Maelstrom Torpedoes!
MAELSTROM TORPEDO MECHANICS
The Trifluoride Maelstrom is only the 2nd Maelstrom type so far, but both it and the original Maelstrom Quantum Torpedo have had a few distinct mechanics:
- They contain up to 3 charges that can be fired off individually, as a set of 2, or for all 3, similar to how the Quantum Warhead Module console and its like work. (Of course, if you fire with any charges built up, it uses all charges, not just one.)
- They have a 75-second total recharge time from 0 charges up to 3 charges. This makes for a 25 second per-charge recharge timer.
- They’ll do much double damage based on the type of enemy you fire it against and their combat status:
- Cruisers or smaller (e.g.: Frigates, Escorts): Double damage guaranteed.
- Battleship: If the shield facing it hits would be at/near 0%.
- Dreadnought and Players: If the ship’s hull is near 50%.
- You can only have 2 Maelstrom Torpedoes equipped. That usually means 1 forward and 1 aft (so the recharges aren’t as much of a problem since you can’t fire from bad angles for a chunk of their recharge times).
- According to STOWiki.net (linked later), both Maelstroms so far are classified as Quantum Torpedoes, so they’ll take any bonuses given to Quantum Torpedoes as well as standard Torpedoes.
It’s these mechanics that have made the Maelstrom Quantum Torpedo the best-in-slot Torpedo when used with damage-boosting abilities and Torpedo: Spread.
Here’s a video from Spencer (AKA “CasualSAB”) talking about the Maelstrom when it first released.
HISTORICAL NOTE: Although the mechanics behind the Maelstrom Quantum Torpedo have changed, the general idea that it’s among the best Torpedos for Torpedo: Spread (and perhaps for Torpedo builds in general) is still true…or rather, became true again after a short period of uselessness. There was a brief time where it wasn’t a good idea due to an attempted nerf, but that’s reversed quite a bit. Below for historical context are the videos (again from Spencer) relating to the initial nerf of the Maelstrom Quantum and the mechanical change to Maelstroms in general to bring it back in line with its original mechanical intent.
So now that you know just how powerful these are, let’s look at the newer entry, the Maelstrom Triflouride Torpedo (spelled to how it’s spelled in-game just for this link)!
MAELSTROM TRIFLUORIDE TORPEDO BASICS
First off, it’s “Trifluoride,” not, “Triflouride.” We’re going to defeat our enemies with 3 cups of Flour, so we’re Flouriding them? I don’t know. Just go with it. 🙂
There’s not a ton to talk about here. It’s a Maelstrom, so it has all the above-mentioned Maelstrom Torpedo mechanics. But in addition, it has a proc for certain bonuses to drop:
- +200 Shield Regeneration per facing;
- +20% Energy Damage for 30 seconds;
- +2.5% Critical Chance for 30 seconds; or
- +20% Critical Severity for 30 seconds.
As a result, its damage came down a bit from the Maelstrom Quantum’s output to compensate.
This is also a free torpedo if you do The Feast Event, the 5th of the 5-part Event Campaign 5 (currently running on PC; likely runs in January on PlayStation/XBox platforms).
…
Yes, I said FREE! If you didn’t want the Legendary First Strike Bundle, here’s your chance to be near-meta on your gear choices!
“…Wait…NEAR Meta?”
Well…yeah. Did you think a meta-breaking item would be free? (…don’t answer that.)
I mean, to be real, most of us don’t chase DPS to get to the top of the leaderboards. If we chase DPS, it’s to destroy enemy ships and troops faster than we could have when we didn’t know any better…I think. (…don’t look at me like that!)
And I think the Maelstrom Trifluoride Torpedo will do that for you.
NOTE: All these comparisons and notes about performance are assuming no changes (to the stats and/or mechanics) happen to this torpedo. If they ultimately do, these comparisons will be out of date.
Let’s look at a few screenshots taken from a some players.
DarthDragonborn has the first two here, shown without any traits active (we can’t ignore the effects of Endeavor Perk Points, unfortunately):
In his comparison, the Maelstrom Quantum Torpedo (the original) outpaces the Maelstrom Trifluoride Torpedo by 723.2 damage on a single charge. That’s only a 2.27% drop in damage output for the Trifluoride version.
Now, let’s look at Stu1701 (…the Stu with the top hat, if you’re still getting him and MCStu confused. 😉 ):
On a single charge, Stu’s seeing the advantage to the Maelstrom Quantum Torpedo at 1,425.4 damage, a 4.62% drop in performance for the Trifluoride.
Finally, we have Augmented Dictator Games (AKA “Auggie”, and WELCOME BACK!) with his take on the Trifluoride flavor of Maelstrom:
FINAL VERDICT: Should You Run “The Feast” for this Torpedo?
The short answer will be a resounding, “Yes.”
Seeing as how the Maelstrom Quantum Torpedo came back as the meta Torpedo (though use it appropriately for maximum benefit!), having a ~5% different version available for free AND ACCOUNT-UNLOCKED is amazing! It essentially lets you try out the mechanic before splurging for the Legendary First Strike Bundle, and/or it lets you catch up a bit before you can focus on min/max’ing your damage output.
Even in the worst case of ending up in Mudd’s Market, this is likely to be 2,000-2,500 Zen. If you’re pinching pennies to get the best performance for the lowest price, this will likely rank highly as one of those, “Yes, it’s expensive, BUT,” type items. It’s expensive for a torpedo launcher, but when the alternative is ~$40 higher, it depends on if you can wait to afford the Bundle the original’s in, or if you’re tired of grinding Zen and just want a Maelstrom.
For PC players, this blog goes up kind of late in your potential progress. Counting this afternoon, you have 3 more full days (or part of a 4th, counting after maintenance for a few hours Thursday [though betting on maintenance not running long is a small problem]) to start doing your 14 daily runs (based on 24 hours; it’s technically a 20-hour timers) of “The Swarm” or “Bug Hunt” to get this for free.
For PlayStation/XBox players, consider this an advanced warning that you may want to do this Event when it comes up, whether or not you’re trying to complete the Event Campaign.
After all, I think we’d all hate to see a free nearly-foolproof damage boost for everyone go to waste. 😉
Styx’ing to My Plans
I’ll be working on the Terran Styx review over the next week or so. I’m hoping to have that out before the end of November. Then, it’s the Pulse Phaser Mirror Crossfield in December, fingers crossed before Christmas. My final entry for the year likely will be another update on the F2P account before the New Year (where STO will be 14 years old…my goodness!).
Warm Ko-Fi on a Cool Week
If you like the content I put up (I know it’s not regular, but I hope it is informative when I’m able), please consider donating to my Ko-Fi page. Just $5 from one reader will let me skip the rest of this Event on my main PC account so I can focus on the ship reviews and F2P account update coming up.
As for next year, I’m undecided on reviewing the expected 14th Anniversary Bundle, but I will be taking donations to help skip a chunk of the Event Campaign on my main account (by doing Buyouts on all 5 Events), again to buy time to focus on the F2P account and any ship reviews I may end up doing.
Until next time, all, enjoy playing Star Trek Online!
Joe and STO 