To Bolt or Not To Bolt

captaincf · Post by **captaincf** » Fri Apr 29, 2011 10:40 pm

That is my question. Moving from the Hydran Kingdom (Where Everything is Expendable) to the realm of plasmas (The Gorn Confederation: Slow but Steady, The Romulan Star Empire: Hide and Seeking Weapons, and The Interstellar Concordium: Badges? We Don't Need No Stinking Badges) I am tactically challenged. However even in my Plama Newbiness, I get the feeling bolting is not a good return on my energy investment.

Am I wrong? If so, please explain. If I am, why?

Savedfromwhat · Post by **Savedfromwhat** » Sat Apr 30, 2011 12:53 am

Bolting is like all things situational, I had a scenario on an open map where my opponent flew his remaining ship away at speed 32, we were 12 hexes apart, I followed and bolted anbolted and bolted, after about 10 turns I got some power hits and got him, it took a long grind.

lb4269 · Post by **lb4269** » Sat Apr 30, 2011 3:17 pm

In an SFB scenario I tried two weeks ago, a Fed CL overran my cloaked WE and did all sorts of mean things to my rear shield. I had gotten him to hit a hidden nuclear space mine on the way in, so his ship had lost most of his padding internals. As he turned to run and re-load his photons, I decloaked and realized I was never going to get my plasma R to hit him with any really kick once he got the speed up. (He also had a Wild Weasel option since it was SFB, so I really lacked a way to threaten him with my single launcher.)

I opted for the bolt, and got lucky with my roll, and I hit his weak back shield for 25 points of damage and got about half of it in. It was enough to break his will and get him to disengage.

I tend to use the bolt in FC and SFB when I see my opponent turning tail and kicking up the speed and it could be another turn or two before we're passing each other again. I also use it when I'm limited in launchers (in this case, I only had one) and I know he will be able to heavily reduce my Plasma R on its way in.

I'm just getting into Romulans in FC, so I'm also figuring things out as I go. You normally find me on the Tholian or Hydran fronts.

kinshi · Post by **kinshi** » Wed Jun 08, 2011 7:34 pm

Bolting plasmas for me is based on the type of launcher used.

I would never bolt an S or R simply because I do not care to gamble that much energy on a die-roll and I feel the destructive potential of an R is wasted on a bolt. (why bolt a Plas-R when I could shotgun it instead for a far greater effect?)

However, I will freely bolt Plas-F & G due to the low energy costs and reduce arming time and the still decent amount of direct fire damage I get in return, also the odds of a hit are decent balance vs the amount of energy expended. Most plasma armed ships have F or G launcher in addition to the larger S or R launcher, and by bolting the smaller launcher, you gain a flexibility you would not have if you use them all as seekers (beside, F and G do not have much longevity, and a lot of their destructive potential gets lost simply on dissipation over time, and direct fire from point defenses).

jmt · Post by **jmt** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 12:57 pm

It is most definitely a situational thing, based on not only what things are like now but what they will be like over the next two turns.

In an FC game, I was flying A Gorn CL versus a Romulan KR. We had just exchanged phaser shots and he had hit me with one of his Plasma-S on shield 3. He had turned away and was about to cloak.

I was closing and getting ready to anchor him at the start of the next turn. He was fading fast and I saw I couldn't catch him in time nor would a launched plasma reach him in time. So, my only option was to bolt a torp.

The torp hit and did a good amount of internals. It allowed me to stay close and wait for him to uncloak.

David · Post by **David** » Wed Feb 13, 2013 9:34 pm

Old thread but wanted to comment. As everyone has said, it is situational. I'll give you a good scenario. I was in a tourny battle couple of years ago. I was playing the KR Cruiser and my opponent was a Neo-Tholian. Now web can be pretty hard on BP. The Tholian I was facing I had played before using a different ship (Klink if I remember correctly). Even though I won with the Klink, it wasn't easy and my Tholian opponent knew how to place web.

So after he had set up his free-standing web he started getting into position. I managed to skirt the web and as I was coming around he was somewhere in the neighborhood of R5 or so. It was a gamble to be sure, but I bolted everything and fired all bearing phasers (by the way, Klingon and KR ships are fantastic when it comes to phaser arcs...I mean FANTASTIC). Anyway, like I said, it was a gamble. If I missed with most/all of the bolts then it would be three turns of the Neo-Tholian pounding me with disruptors while I try to recharge. If I hit with all/most he wouldn't be expecting it and it would really take him off his game plan and do quite a bit of damage. Four bolts (2xS and 2xF) yields 50 points of damage not counting phasers. Well, I hit well. I fair piece of damage through the now down shield. Took out some weapons, power etc. So the next three recharge turns weren't as big of an issue as he was hurt and not wanting to mix it up at close range.

Just one example of a time that it might be useful.

pinbot · Post by **pinbot** » Thu Feb 14, 2013 12:38 am

I missed this thread, so thanks for reviving it. Interesting that the R-bolt was poo-poo'd. It's actually by far the best 'bang-for-buck' bolt in terms of expected damage for energy spent, and outside range 3, it's quite decent compared to other direct fire weapons in term of efficiency. From range 4-8 the R-bolt's damage efficiency is comparable to a hellbore's (just treating HB total damage as a lump sum). At range 9-10 only the PPD and Phaser-4 are more energy efficient than the R-bolt (but they are both way better).

edit - doh! Now I see why I missed this post. I don't read the SFB section. The 'new posts since last visit' feature tricked me. The above is only true in FC. Sorry.

David · Post by **David** » Sun Aug 25, 2013 5:26 pm

On the R-torp for SFB. It's like a salvo of OL'd photons; if they hit then their a great weapon. If they miss then the weapon sucks

Plasma is great...if it can catch and hit the opponent. That isn't as easy as one would think. It can be drawn out and it can be weakened with phaser fire. So a bolt that nets 25 points of damage all by itself...if it hits can really throw a monkey wrench into the opponents gears. WW don't affect it and it can't be weakened by phaser fire. Those are two big considerations. A 25-point slap in the face (or rear) can go a long way towards taking down a shield (or even taking it down and doing internals depending on the shape it is in). It may dissuade an overrun or make running a real nightmare if you can use phaser fire to snip through the down shield.

So bottom line is this; 50 points is great...if it has a chance to hit. 25 points beats 0 if the torp can't or won't hit with enough juice to make a difference.