Crystalline Entity


 * ''For the mission description of the Fleet Action, see:.

The Crystalline Entity is a massive spaceborne cosmozoan that can be found in the Teneebia Sector. It can travel at warp speeds and sustains itself by consuming organic material using a Matter Conversion Beam.

History

 * A Crystalline Entity devastated twelve inhabited worlds, among them, , and , in the 24th Century. It was eventually destroyed by during an attempt to communicate with it in.
 * In 2409 another Entity encroached on Federation space, attacking and destroying a colony in the Teneebia Sector. Three Federation starships - the USS Byzantium, USS Pollux, and USS Sri Lanka - attempted to stop it, but the arrival of a Tholian attack force resulted in the destruction of the latter two vessels and critical damage to the Byzantium.

Armament

 * Unique - Matter Conversion Beam (Antiproton Damage)
 * Unique - Energy Release: Periodically the Entity switches from its standard attack mode into an Absorption Phase. During this phase, all incoming damage is reduced to negligible levels. When this phase ends (after approximately 30 seconds), the Entity will expel any absorbed energy in an Antiproton shockwave in a 10km radius. Damage done by the energy release depends on the amount of energy it was able to absorb.
 * Unique - Spawns Large Crystalline Fragments which target players and explode ("shatter") when they get to within about 1km doing large amounts of Kinetic damage to all objects in the Area of Effect.
 * Unique - Spawns Small Crystalline Fragments which principally grant the Entity a damage buff (see Recrystallize Effect explained below) but also shatter for Area of Effect damage. Although they do not target players, small fragments apparently shatter when they are destroyed by weapons or abilities.  Damage done by small fragments is Physical damage to all objects within a short radius.  Physical damage is done straight to the hull (shields give no protection) and the amount done is roughly equal to the small fragment's initial total hull points.

Resistance
The Entity has "very high" resistance to all forms of energy damage. It is somewhat less resistant to kinetic damage -- with only "high" resistance to it. Its fragments have no damage resistance.

Healing
The Crystalline Entity has high innate healing regeneration.

Immunity
Neither the Crystalline Entity nor any of the fragments it spawns have any shields, subsystems, or power levels. As a consequence, the Crystalline Entity and its fragments are totally immune to the normal effects of Boarding Parties, Viral Matrix, Charged Particle Burst, Tachyon Beam, Tyken's Rift, and Directed Energy Modulation. (See below however the special use of some of these abilities to counter the Entities re-crystallizing buff.) Phaser, tetryon, and polaron energy weapons will do their normal DPS on this mission, but their Procs have no effect. Similarly, transphasic projectiles will do their normal DPS, but their shield penetrating abilities are useless against the Entity and its fragments.

Jam Sensors, Scramble Sensors and other similar effects do not affect the Entity, but will "befuddle" Large Fragments.

Re-Crystallizing Damage Buff
If a Large Crystalline Fragment shatters on a player, it will spawn three Small Crystalline Fragments. The small fragments then travel back to the Entity, where they adhere to its surface and "Re-Crystallize" it. The re-crystallization bestows a stacking damage buff on the Entity. A few abilities that are typically used to drain enemy shields and subsystem power, have proven effective in breaking down newly-formed crystals along the Entity's surface. The following abilities will periodically remove multiple Re-Crystallize charges from the Entity:

Tactical Advice

 * A large amount of advice on how to complete the mission is given out in dialog boxes with Admiral Grigori Yanishev at the mission's outset. The dialog advice can be found listed under the mission description for.