Starship weapons are the most important items in the game, second only to bridge officers in their utility and their use by players. In this list, we’ll be going over the top ten best weapon types that you can use, why they’re useful, and how to get them! Like our ground weapons list, this will include items that are expensive to get, just because they’re so dang useful!
Weapons in Star Trek Online typically come in three varieties: beams, cannons, and projectiles. Beams include dual beam banks and single beam arrays; cannons have single, dual, and dual heavy cannons; and projectiles are torpedoes, missiles, and mines. Each type has a purpose and works best for specific builds.
This list does not go into the specialized list for torpedoes and mines, which are highly dedicated and distinct from the "standard" weapons most players deal with.
With that out of the way, let us begin!
10. Zhat Vash Disruptors (Best For Bonus Damage)
Zhat Vash have unique visuals!
Zhat Vash disruptors are a relatively recent addition to the game that came along with the Picard Lockbox. These weapons are an "updated" Romulan weapon system that has a 4% bonus damage per stack mechanic, maxing out at 5 stacks. This means that as long as the weapon is firing on the target, it can gain a 20% damage bonus!
The weapons also come with unique visuals and sounds, which can add to the fun factor when using them.
As far as weapons go, the biggest draw here is if you’re doing a bonus damage stack—lots of bonus damage consoles, powers, traits, etc. It isn’t that much of an increase, as traits and consoles give you the best yield, but if you’re chasing those higher numbers, every bit of DPS counts.
They take our number 10 spot thanks to this, but keep in mind that the weapon proc is per enemy, meaning that they are great against HP sponge types and terrible against swarmer type enemies.
What Zhat Vash Disruptors Excels In
- Their bonus damage mechanic lets them get up to 20% extra damage, putting them into the same category as the Spiral Wave Disruptors when fully spooled up.
- They have unique visuals and sounds, which is always fun when it comes to ship weapons.
- Fairly cheap, so easier to get than some of the more exclusive weapons on this list
Weapon Stats
Disruptor Array
- Energy Damage
- 250' targeting arc
- to target: __ Disruptor Damage (__ DPS)
- -10 Weapon Power to self while this weapon is firing
- 2.5% chance: Apply Viridium Isotope to Foe for 45 sec (max 5 stacks)
- +4% Bonus Damage with this weapon per Viridium Isotope applied to target
- 1 sec recharge
How to get Zhat Vash Disruptors:
They can be gained from the Exchange, typically for a few million energy credits depending on weapon type. Otherwise you can get them from the Picard Zhat Vash Lockbox.
9. Elachi Disruptors (Best For Shield/Armor Penetration)
Evade the terrifying Elachi - or just use their weapons instead!
An older weapon but a classic, the Elachi Disruptors were once the absolute king of PVP in Star Trek Online thanks to their shield and armor penetrating buff. Back when Beam: Overload was a single-fire alpha strike style weapon, escorts used to run full Elachi Dual Beam Banks up front, then pop an enemy ship with a Beam: Overload.
Since those crazy days, however, it’s fallen out of favor. It isn’t as powerful as standard content, and PVP has been dominated by Space Magic builds for a long time, rendering ships that use this fairly underpowered.
That said, this still does ruinously huge damage when combined with Beam: Overload or Cannon: Rapid Fire on NPC targets. It’s especially good against ships that have high shield values, like Romulans, Federation, etc., since they tend to have weaker hulls. It's not so fantastic against the Borg, but it can still work if you’ve got very high critical damage values.
If you’re wanting to utterly ignore shields, I would pick between the Dual Heavy Cannons and the Dual Beam Banks-single arrays and cannons aren’t worth it.
What Elachi Disruptors Excels In
- Has total shield penetration in addition to 50 armor penetration, which essentially removes any natural defenses most NPC ships have.
- With high damage builds, it can outright delete targets, bypassing an entire layer of HP.
- Very good on Escorts or other ships that are DPS focused.
Weapon Stats
Elachi Disruptor Dual Beam Bank
- Energy Damage
- 90' targeting arc
- to target: __ Disruptor Damage (__ DPS)
- -10 Weapon Power to self while this weapon is firing
- 2.5% Chance: +50 Armor Penetration and 100% Shield Penetration
- 1 sec recharge
How to get Elachi Disruptors:
These are old weapons, so getting them from the Lockbox isn’t as feasible anymore. They’re also quite expensive on the player market, making these difficult to get a full set of.
8. Ba’ul Antiproton Beams (Best For Beam: Fire At Will)
Fancy chain weapons? Ba'ul got your back.
Ba’ul energy weapons were another one of the ex-kings of the game up until they got heavily nerfed. These weapons, especially the beams, were very powerful because of the bounce-effect, so when combined with Fire At Will, you could suddenly be a disco-ball of death, destroying the entirety of an enemy fleet by yourself!
But you can’t quite do that anymore, as the bounce damage has been reduced significantly since the heyday of the Ba’ul beams. Still, they’re good enough to make the list at number 7 thanks to the feature.
Specifically, combined with Fire At Will and high bonus damage, you can tear apart fleets of lower HP ships and cause some good trouble for the bigger sponges out there. Fire At Will isn’t as powerful as Beam Overload, so what happens if you use the Ba’ul beams with it?
Well, it’s tricky. The tooltips read that 5% of the total damage is converted into a refraction, and if you crit for 500,000 damage, that's a measly 25,000 damage bounce. It sounds like a lot until you realize that’s just a single bounce to a single nearby target for that single beam attack.
What makes it work so well with Fire At Will is the volume of fire-when you’ve stacked bonus damage and weapon haste, you output a multitude of attacks on numerous enemies all at once, which rapidly adds up to big DPS numbers versus the frankly pitiful damage of the Beam Overload version.
Despite their limitations, they’re still fun beams, and they’re the only antiprotons that don’t look like lightning bolts in space!
What Ba’ul Antiproton Beams Excels In
- Has a refraction mechanic, letting your weapons do an additional chain shot for 5% attack damage.
- When combined with Fire At Will, you can fill up space with dozens of refraction shots, whittling down enemies.
- Has a unique visual and sound effect.
- Best used by Dual Beam Bank 5/3 setup ships like the Gagarin or other Miracle Worker ships.
Weapon Stats
Ba'ul Antiproton Array
- Energy Damage
- 250' targeting arc
- to target: __ Antiproton Damage (__ DPS)
- -10 Weapon Power to self while this weapon is firing
- Ba'ul Refraction - Each shot chains to an additional target for 5% of attack damage
- 1 sec recharge
How to get Ba’ul Antiproton Beams:
Like the others, this is a player market or Lockbox weapon. Given the age, it’s likely to be pretty expensive at this point, so it can be tricky to get your hands on these.
7. Sensor-Linked Phaser Beam Array (Best For Damage)
For maximum pewpew to give you that "Star Wars" feel in your "Star Trek"!
Sensor-Linked weapons are yet another ex-king knocked off their throne by time and expansion. These weapons take a different approach to most in that they have a skill bonus rather than a weapon effect. That is to say, they improve the captain's skills that influence the total damage of a weapon system. They’re also cumulative!
This means that you want to have a full set of Sensor-Linked weapons, as they’ll give you up to +40 to Starship Defenses (making you harder to hit) and Starship Critical Hit Severity (making your criticals hit way harder).
These were very popular beams in high-end builds for a long time, only displaced after the release of the Advanced Disruptors/Phasers (which I didn’t include, as they are impossible to get).
They possess no further procs or benefits, however, making them a very one-dimensional buff weapon. In terms of style, they look identical to the Discovery era phaser weapons, with the same effects and sounds.
What Sensor-Linked Phaser Beams Excels In
Passive major buffs to Defense and Critical Damage, which is a rare combination in the game.
Excellent in beam or cannon form, as the buffs work regardless. Best used with a full set, however, to get the most out of them.
Looks and sounds just like the phasers did in Discovery!
Weapon Stats
+5 Starship Defensive Maneuvering (Improves Defense)
+5 Starship Weapon Amplification (Improves Critical Hit Severity with Weapons)
Phaser Array
- Energy Damage
- 250' targeting arc
- to target: __ Phaser Damage (__ DPS)
- -10 Weapon Power to self while this weapon is firing
- 1 sec recharge
How to get Sensor-Linked Phaser Beams:
Another one of those player market weapons or Lockbox weapons. These are pretty expensive, as they’re still seen as a good middle-ground weapon.
6. Spiral Wave Disruptors (Best For Damage)
The Cardassians really were kind of terrifying weren't they?
Welcome to Number 6, your last stop shop for generic weapons to fill your ship with! Spiral Waves have moved back and forth from best weapon to second best weapon type to use for many years now. With nerfs to the Advanced Phasers, they’re back in the limelight as the best weapon type in the game!
Why aren’t they Number 1, you ask? Well, because these are the top 10 best weapons!So what makes these so good? They have the dual proc of knocking a subsystem offline and the disruptor proc of -10 damage resistance for fifteen seconds. In of itself, that’s pretty dang good, though with only a 2.5% chance to proc it isn’t a great fit for Beam Overload builds.
Typically, you’ll see these guys in cannon and turret form, to maximize the odds of the proc happening and thus reach the higher ends of damage potential. That said, it’s not unheard of for dual beams to see some spotlight, even single beams when built accordingly.These are extremely good weapons for anyone to use and function as the best weapon type in the game.
What Spiral Wave Disruptors Excels In
- They have a dual proc that disables subsystems as well as reduces damage resistance, making these very powerful when combined with Cannon Rapid Fire or Fire At Will.
- Fantastic damage output for the damage type thanks to a built in DMG proc.
- Easy to get, just need one of the Cardassian C-Store ships, making these the most accessible high end weapons.
Weapon Stats
Spiral Wave Disruptor Beam Array
- Energy Damage
- 250' targeting arc
- to target: __ Disruptor Damage (__ DPS)
- -10 Weapon Power to self while this weapon is firing
- to target: 2.5% Chance: One Random Subsystem Offline for 5 sec
- to target: 2.5% Chance: -10 All Damage Resistance for 15 sec
- 1 sec recharge
How to get Spiral Wave Disruptors:
You unlock these weapons after buying any of the Cardassian playable starships (usually they’re around $30.00 for one) which then gives you the option to buy the various types directly from the Dilithium store for 45,380 each.
5. Advanced Piezo-Plasma Beam Array (Best For Beam Overload/Surgical Strikes)
Healing beam? Healing beam.
Our Top 5 list is actually individual weapons rather than whole weapon types, and I’ll explain why. With any particular ship build, you’ll nearly always include one of these top 5 weapons because of their versatility, power, or set bonuses that dramatically increase the efficiency of your ship build.
The Piezo-Electric Plasma Beam is an example of a synergistic weapon that’s able to do some truly incredible things when thrown onto a plasma weapon build. By itself, it’s not too much to write home about-it has a chance to proc a regenerative matrix on your ship that improves passive hull healing and shield healing for yourself and nearby allies. It includes critical severity and, most importantly, technical overload capability.
Technical Overload works in conjunction with powers like Surgical Strikes or Beam Overload and causes a secondary explosion at the target location that scales with the damage done. Essentially, you "double tap" with it in addition to an AOE. On top of that, electrical resistance is low on most ships, giving this weapon a resistance bypass effect!
Even if you aren’t using a uniform damage type, this weapon is still extremely good on any Beam Overload or Surgical Strikes build thanks to its bonuses.
What Advanced Piezo-Plasma Beam Array Excels In
- Fantastic weapon for synergy bonuses when it comes to Beam Overload or Surgical Strikes. Specific traits that extend the firing duration of either add even more DPS to this weapon type.
- Works with any beam type, not just plasma, thanks to its primary damage being found in the electrical secondary effect.
- Easy to get through the reputation system and comes in plasma and polaron flavors in case you need specific synergies.
- It’s great as a fore or aft weapon depending on ship build.
Weapon Stats
Advanced Piezo-Polaron Beam Array
- Energy Damage
- 250' targeting arc
- to target: __ Polaron Damage (_ DPS)
- -10 Weapon Power to self while this weapon is firing
- 5% chance: Apply Protomatter Regenerative Influx to self and nearby allies:
- * +___ Shield Regeneration for 10 sec
- * +Regenerate 2.5% of Max Hull per second for 10 sec
- +60% Critical Severity
- 1 sec recharge
- Additionally, when first activated while Beam Overload or Surgical Strikes are active, this weapon triggers a Technical Overload on the target that deals electrical damage in an area around the target that is increased if the target is electrical.
How to get Advanced Piezo-Plasma Beam Array:
This weapon is gained by completing the Lukari Tier 4 Restoration Initiative Reputation. It takes a while to get there, but it’s well worth it to get this weapon. Total cost is 500 Lukari Marks, 2 Protomatter Microcontainers, 15,000 Refined Dilithium, and 30,000 Energy Credits.
4. Dark Matter Quantum Torpedo (Best For All Builds)
Laugh maniacally while your enemies disintigrate before you!
The Dark Matter Quantum Torpedo is the everyman's weapon in Star Trek Online. Combined either with our Number 1 weapon and the Lorca’s Fire Control Tactical console, it produces a torpedo that’s just fantastically good at all content.
The DM is powerful not because of its kinetic damage, which is just average, but because of the nature of its proc. It applies "Dark Matter"—a stacking DoT that dissolves the target slowly over time. It also comes with the added benefit of disabling the Warp Core breech that usually happens when you destroy an enemy.
This makes it not as good for science fiction builds since they want the warp core breach, but it’s fantastic for anything else. The torpedo combined with Torpedo Spread III will spread the DoT to every ship on the field, ensuring that you maximize the DoT and increasing your overall DPS by a good margin.
The set effect fires off a torpedo automatically, without using any cooldowns or any other systems, to any target below 50% HP with a maximum rate of fire of 1 per second and 1 per enemy. This means any enemy near you will get hit by a DoT as they’re taking damage!
What Dark Matter Quantum Torpedo Excels In
- High kinetic damage thanks to its Quantum Torpedo base stats.
- Has a high damage DoT that disables warp core breaches.
- With the full set bonus, it works like another weapon with the DoT build in that autotargets low HP enemies.
Weapon Stats
Dark Matter Laced Quantum Torpedo
- Kinetic Damage
- 90' targeting arc
- to target: ___ Kinetic Damage (___ DPS)
- +4% Critical Chance
- Add a stack of Dark Matter Dissolution, __ Physical Damage every 1 sec for 10 sec.
- Critical Strikes add two stacks instead
How to get Dark Matter Quantum Torpedo:
Gained by doing the Discovery Reputation and is unlocked at Tier 1, making this among the most accessible weapons in the game. Costs 500 Discovery Marks, 2 P.stellaviatori Spore Canisters, 15,000 Refined Dilithium, and 40,000 Energy Credits.
3. Prolonged Engagement Phaser Beam Array (Best For Phaser Builds)
The classic, timeless, and ever present TNG/DS9 orange! Now in "it gets better over time" flavor!
The Prolonged Engagement Phaser Beam Array is ranked third!This weapon and its peers all have a scaling mechanic that works best when in combat. That is to say, they get better the longer you fight!
The PEP is a great addition to any Phaser build because of the stacking amplification effect it gets in addition to the firing haste bonus that applies to this weapon. More or less, at max stacks, you’ll be doing 115% more damage compared to a normal phaser array with 20% added firing haste!
It also maintains the normal phaser proc of disabling a random subsystem, which can be a nice bonus when in combat against a lot of enemies. High damage values combined with the added haste really put this thing in a league of its own until you reach the top 2.
What Prolonged Engagement Phaser Beam Array Excels In
- Ramp up damage puts it well above anything but the top 2 on this list in terms of raw damage output.
- Haste mechanic means it fires even faster! People will often use the Phaser Cannons to maximize this haste bonus.
- The added proc means you’ll be able to do high damage and still disable subsystems on enemy ships, which is handy!
Weapon Stats
Prolonged Engagement Phaser Array
- Energy Damage
- 250' Targeting Arc
- to target: __Phaser Damage (__DPS)
- -10 Weapon Power to self while this weapon is firing
- Applies one stack of Amplified Relays.
- * Per stack, this weapons deals 1% increased damage
- * Every 5 stacks of Amplified Relays, gain 20% Firing Cycle Haste for this Weapon for 8 secs
- to target: 2.5% Chance: One Random Subsystem Offline for 5 sec
- 1 sec recharge
How to get Prolonged Engagement Phaser Array:
This weapon can only be gained through the Phoenix Lockbox via a Rare Token.
2. Terran Task Force Disruptor Beam (Best For All Builds)
For when you need a weapon of fear AND war!
The Terran Task Force weapons were, for a very long time, the undisputed "always slot it" weapons in Star Trek Online. It was just so dang good, there was no reason not to use it on every build, even science builds! It’s been nerfed once or twice here and there, but it's still a truly legendary weapon in the halls of Star Trek Online history.
What this weapon does is that it increases the total damage dealt to an enemy by up to 200% based on missing HP, reaching its maximum ramp up when they drop to 25% HP. This is the original Borg Killer. You slapped this thing on a tactical cube at those values and you watched your DPS fly sky high.
The radiation damage proc effect isn’t bad either, but in comparison to the damage ramp up mechanic, it pales in comparison in regards to sheer utility. The ramp-up works against any foe in the game!
The high base damage of the beam and cannon versions adds insult to injury, since up until the Discovery Reputation, nothing came close to competing against it.
What Terran Task Force Disruptor Beam Excels In
- High base damage with a built in damage ramp up mechanic.
- Deletes things when you get them to below 25% HP.
- Comes in Disruptor and Phaser variants, though it doesn’t get their particular procs.
Weapon Stats
Terran Task Force Phaser Array
- Energy Damage
- 250' Targeting Arc
- to target: _ Phaser Damage (_ DPS)
- (Damage dealt increases as target's hull decreases, up to 200% damage at 25% hull)
- -10 Weapon Power to self while this weapon is firing
- to target: 2.5% chance: Apply stack of Withering Radiation
- (Lasts for 60 sec, 5 stacks max)
- _ Radiation Damage to target per stack of Withering Radiation
- +20% Critical Severity
- 1 sec recharge
How to get Terran Task Force Phaser Array:
A Reputation system weapon, this comes from the Terran Task Force and unlocks at Tier 4. Total cost is identical to the other Reputation weapons - 500 Terran Marks, 2 Terran Gravimetric Inducers, 15,000 Refined Dilithium, and 30,000 Energy Credits.
1. Phaser Wide Angle Dual Heavy Beam Bank (Best For Everything)
Boldly going where phasers have never gone before!
Our number one spot is the Phaser Wide Angle Dual Heavy Beam Bank! This heavy weapon is a wide angle version of a typical dual beam bank, giving it a 135 degree targeting arc. This means that if you are using a broadside cruiser, you can "wiggle" or "fish tail" to get it to fire at enemies while still broadsiding to maximize uptime.
Like the other Reputation system weapons, this weapon is a relatively recent addition to the game and, like the Terran weapon, has become the undisputed champion of "always slot this weapon, do it now". The reason being that it also has a ramp up mechanic, but only when combined with the other two pieces of the set.
With the Dark Matter Torpedo or Lorca’s Tactical Console, you’ll get War Discretion, which gives you up to 25 stacks of 1% critical severity for 25 seconds. This is huge, given that the critical severity stat determines the raw output of your critical hits!
Combine it with Beam Overload and you’ve got one of the hardest hitting weapons in the game, beaten only by dedicated torpedo builds.
The wide angle, set synergy, and high stats make this our number one weapon in our Top 10 Star Trek Online weapons!
What Phaser Wide Angle Dual Heavy Beam Bank Excels In
- Has a 135 degree firing arc, letting you broadside with it if you pilot intelligently.
- Set bonus turns this into the hardest hitting beam weapon in the entire game at base value.
- When combined with Surgical Strikes or Beam Overload, you end up with devastating strikes that can pass the 500,000 mark when built correctly.
- Looks like the Discovery phasers, for those who are a fan of the show.
Weapon Stats
Phaser Wide Angle Dual Heavy Beam Bank
- Energy Damage
- 135' targeting arc
- +10% Critical Severity
- to target: __ Phaser Damage (__ DPS)
- -12 Weapon Power to self while this weapon is firing
- Critical strikes add +1% Bonus Damage to this weapon for 20 seconds, up to +20%
- +4% Critical Chance
- to target: 2.5% Chance: One Random Subsystem Offline for 5 sec
- 1 sec recharge
How to get Phaser Wide Angle Dual Heavy Beam Bank:
The last weapon here on our list is also a Reputation weapon - it has the same costs as the Dark Matter Torpedo but is unlocked at Tier II.
And there we have it! Our Top 10 Star Trek Online Best weapons list! As always, one of the nice things about the game is that you don’t have to have these in order to be successful in the game. You can use any weapon in any combination and still be able to complete basic content. I hope you enjoyed this list. Please look forward to more!
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