Legacy Combat Tips

A combination of real-time combat and real-time strategy has created a uniquely challenging experience in Star Trek: Legacy, but it is not an instantly mastered one. Legacy needs to be studied, experienced, and experimented with to get the best results. Fortunately, you don't have to do all the legwork yourself. Here are some basic tips to keep in mind.

Archer's Enterprise.

Tutorial Tips
Star Trek: Legacy does an excellent job of introducing you to various control mechanics throughout the single-player game. Each of the beginning missions introduces a few new tactics or abilities that you may not have already noticed. Pay attention to these tips. You will learn, among other things, that:

• The phasers on several ships can fire in 360 degrees.
• You can knock out an opponent's shields with your phasers, then destroy the hull with your torpedoes.
• There are times when you will not be allowed to warp, so you must master warp mechanics quickly.
• Radial menus control all the orders you will issue.

Left Stick Control
Controlling the path of your ship is not difficult, but the concept behind the controls of your ship is unique, so you won't be drawing on your past gaming experience. Instead of actively moving the ship, the left stick controls only your ship's pitch, that is, the angle at which it faces. Your instinct will be to hold the left stick to drive the ship forward, but this is accomplished by toggling the B button to select a speed. If all you want to do is move forward, you don't need to touch the stick at all.

Focused attack.

Map Essentials
While Star Trek: Legacy isn't a turn based game, you will still need to make consistent use of your tactical map. Bring up a grid map by pressing the Back button and you can highlight the positions of ships and other points of interest. In addition to providing an overview of your situation, you can also use the map to set waypoints for your ships by selecting a ship with the D-pad and pressing A on the map.

One Enemy at a Time
Even if you are surrounded, you will quickly be destroyed if you don't focus on a single ship. Focus each of your ships on one other ship an encounter. If you have the numbers, team up several ships against one to take it out quickly and move to another target.

This tip is especially important when you face off against an enemy space station, which will release swarms of fighters. Combine the might of your starships, take out the station first, and then destroy the pesky enemy fighters.

Balanced Team
The first concern when you build your fleet should be balance. You will need to meet any number of various challenges, so overloading on speed or power will cripple you, even with the best of tactics. The exception to this rule is after a loss. If you replay a mission, feel free to rebuild your team to tailor-fit it to fit the challenge ahead.

Use the nebulas to your advantage.

Ship to Ship Combat
Instinct would tell you to face your enemy as you fight them, but that is often not the case in Legacy. Combat is carried out at a comparatively easy pace, as your ship can't turn on a dime, but the effective area of fire for phasers on many ships is 360 degrees, and you can often fire photon torpedoes behind you as well. 

A common mistake is made in flying past your enemy, and then immediately attempting to turn towards them again. Instead, maintain your rate of fire as you move past, reaching an effective turning distance. If you try to spin too quickly, both you and your enemy will be turning together, and you won't be able to line up a good shot.

Stay Classy
It's easy to simply pick enemies at random, especially when trying to make sure each of your ships has a target. The most vital thing to remember, however, is to match your enemies class for class. Otherwise, you will find yourself trying to out-maneuver a speedy scout with a lumbering Yokohama class battleship. It will take you a few extra moments on the map, but it will be worth your time when you see your enemies fall before you.

Planetary Shielding
Just because you're fighting in space doesn't mean you can't use your environment to your advantage. Use nearby planets as obstacles, buying yourself precious time for repairs. This is especially important when piloting a smaller or weaker ship. When piloting a heavier ship, you can lose an opponent by plowing into a dangerous nebula. They will hesitate to follow you, but if they do, your heavier hull and shielding will let you outlast them.

Energy Management
You may recall a desperate order from a Star Trek captain to focus "all power" on the weapons or shields. Hold down X in Legacy to focus the juice where you need it the most.

Whether you're harnessing extra speed to catch a fleeing enemy, bulking up the phasers for that last bombardment, or revitalizing your hull integrity to survive an extra few seconds, energy management will be vital in every encounter.

Article by Ryan Treit