Borg Cube Cutting Beam - FastTrek Docs

Background

The Borg Cube was introduced to Star Trek® Fleet Command in November 2023. Its grind loop involves killing hostile ships to charge its Cutting Beam special ability. You then fire this beam at another hostile (or player).

When the cutting beam destroys the other ship (i.e. it is the last weapon attack), you are awarded with Technological Distinctiveness (TD). This in turn can be exchanged in the Support Refinery (no, not in ‘Borg’ where you might expect it) for materials that allow research and upgrading of the Borg Cube itself.

So far so good. But the problem is that charging the cube on ‘regular’ hostiles can take between 4-10 hits, depending on their hull. Hostiles with a high hull charge the cube faster. Next, the damage of the cutting beam is fixed to its level.

Here’s an overview:

With the FastTrek bot for STFC you can easily automate the Borg Cube Cutting Beam grind loop with a few clicks and save time.

The Borg Cube Cutting Beam Strategy

The main strategy employed by FastTrek is to charge in one system and fire in another. We know, for example, that Swarm hostiles at an appropriate level will charge most cubes in a single hit. Using the graphic above you can then find a system where the beam can destroy a hostile in a single hit.

To check whether a hostile can be killed by your Cube’s Cutting Beam, scan it and bring up its detailed information (click the [i] button).

Scroll to hull health and compare damage to your own Borg Cube’s.

This level 29 “Fearless Bandit” in Shynna, for instance, could be killed in a single shot from the Cutting Beam using a Tier 2, level 11+ Borg Cube.

However, we don’t want to charge the Cutting Beam in that system, because each of these hostiles only charges it by 6% or so. And worse, they will fill the Cube’s cargo hold with junk!

Instead, we could fly to Alpha Horunia, level 26 Swarm Space. These hostiles charge a T2 cube with a single shot. Single shot charge, single shot fire.

Lots of flying around though. Lots of clicking on the map.

Enter FastTrek….

Borg Cube Settings

Set up and features are exactly the same as the regular Hostile Hunt mode, except that you have the option of two target locations instead of just one.

Location

See Target Locations

The first location is for charging.

The second location is for firing the beam.

Recall Conditions and Repeating

See Recall & Repeat

If you have configured this hunt for Technological Distinctiveness to repeat, FastTrek will automatically repair the Borg Cube as per your repair settings.

FastTrek will then send it back to the “charge location” for another round of Cutting Beam charging and Cutting Beam firing.

When the automation ends, you will need to manually recall any ships that you may have used as anchors.

Target Type and Level Restrictions

Unlike with regular hostile hunt, these restrictions only apply to firing the beam. They are completely ignored for charging.

FastTrek will target anything for charging. But when it comes to firing, it will automatically try and select the highest level hostile it can readily see in the firing location. This is to maximise the TD rewards, which are based on the level of the target.

Multiple Charges

With the Binary Cutter Borg Cube refit and the Prime Shearing Boost research (Ex-Borg tree) your cube can charge up to 300%, allowing it to be fired multiple times in succession.

To enable this behaviour, please head to Settings > Ship Behaviour and adjust the Borg Cutting Beam Charge Level.

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