Plasmas are upgrade weapons of the Federation (as well as foes of the Federation, eg. Romulans). They come in several types, as most energy weapons do in STO. Plasma energy weapons deliver a consistent energy attack designed to burn down enemy shields more efficiently than kinetic weapons (mines and torpedos). All plasmas have a 2.5% chance of adding plasma damage over time. Without buffs, plasma damage to shields is about 1/10th of its rated damage to hulls. All damage points shown in the tables are rated against unprotected hulls. In general, all of the data for Plasma Ship Weapons are identical to Phaser Ship Weapons except for the specific damage add described below.