Star Trek Online Discussion Thread (now free to play!)

[sonn]

I've been looking over the F2P matrix trying to work out if it's better to keep subscribing or just go free. What's stopping me really is the veteran rewards (particularly the loss of the Veteran ship token, although both toons that would need it so have an unused Bortas each).

The inventory and bank slots are an issue too (it would cost several monthly's subs to replace them on all my toons), but the respec isn't really an issue as I don't use them that much.

Yeah, most of my chars have the Odyssey or Bortas, but not everyone is an Engineer.

Does anyone know if you actually lose bank/inventory slots? Based on what I've read on the F2P FAQ, it doesn't look like they would be taken away. I'd like to talk with someone that has converted from active subscriber to f2p to see how it affected them.

.

I've come back since its gone F2P and I've still got all my inventory/bank slots from before.

I haven't noticed any big differences since I've come back other then not getting a VA ship token. Only time I've been in a queue was on Saturday after the new FE came out.

 

[CmdrAJD]

It's an Excelsior-class Heavy Cruiser that I bought with C points once I hit Commander. And thanks for the help. I currently have two tactical/security officers, an engineering, and a science officer. I honestly haven't paid too much attention to them other than upgrading their equipment and using their skill points on their abilities.

Just a few suggestions: (Assuming that you are using a Tac officer)

Put single cannons on the front, turrets on the rear.

Run the Defari FEs that will give you the frosty set.

LCDR Engr - Engr Team I / Rvrs Shd Pol I / Aux to Batt II
ENS Engr - Emer Pwr to Wpns

Hope this helps.

.

Thanks! I just added the cannons last night, and I'll check on the turrets. I appreciate the advice.

 

[Hartzilla2007]

HOLLY CRAP! I have a Mk XII MACO shield for my ship.

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

HOLLY CRAP! I have a Mk XII MACO shield for my ship.

Gratz, now all you need are the other Prototype techs to get teh set bonuses.

 

[Scout101]

Speaking of which, planning on running a few STFs tomorrow morning to warm up for the afternoon shitshow that will surely be the new FE. I've also got the MK XII shield, so preference will be towards running KA Elite Space, then maybe doing either another elite space or a normal ground, then see if the timer's up to run KA again. Sucker's odds, but i want more of the elite set now that I've got a piece. So sick of the KA mission though (pretty easy, aside from dumb PUG groups), and Cure Space is too hard on elite with randoms...

 

[Methos]

woohoo... finally home from work... 3 weeks away was too long this time...

can get back on with the game now lol

M

 

[Hartzilla2007]

I'm starting to think about only running Elite with fleet mates.

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

I'm starting to think about only running Elite with fleet mates.

Infected elite is totally PUGable... Don't expect the Optional, since most of the time some idiot blows a gen to early.

I only run it on Elite now.

Same for Ground, since I got the full MACO set (XI), it seems a lot easier.
A premade fleet team would be nice to actually get a shot at the optional.
I guess it would reqire a few runs to get the right rythm down.

KA space is also PUGable on elite, but can take a while if people are not really knowing what they are doing.

KA ground is the easiest STF of them all. Only Elite here. You cant even fail this one.

The only one I have as of yet not beaten at all on Elite is Cure.
Since there is always someone who thinks the same strategy as in Normal applys.
At first it seems as easy. But since most people fail to realize that blowing up a cube doesn't stop spawns but in fact increases them and results in waves of raptors and negh vars instead of BoPs this usuall fails about 5 minutes after the first cube blows.

And lets not talk about Armek at all, who is a pain on Normal anyway.

 

[Scout101]

Yeah, i won't do a ground one otherwise, and getting sick of failing Cure Space with them. Infected at least they can't fail. KA gets infuriating when they fail the optional (it's gotta be the easiest one to get of the group). Last night I did KA optional, and one guy was just there farming, didn't play at all. i sat there at the end and waited, he came alive with 20 seconds left in the match and raced to grab "his" reward. Yay for the developers not fixing that! There's GOT to be some sort of kick option. Not manually, as the players would abuse it, but either a really short timeout where if you don't do anything, you're booted and replaced, or even better, a requirement that you have to participate to receive credit. Easiest way to do that is require that on a 5 man team, you HAVE to deal at least 5% of the total damage to get any rewards at the end. If everyone's participating, you'd expect 15-20% each, but 5% at least sets a floor if someone's a decoy, distraction, scout, whatever. Shouldn't be tough to accomplish.

Anyway, of the remaining 4, we split into two groups to start. Retards go flying back and forth, won't work together. I'm with a lightly-armed cruiser on my side, I recommend he guard for probes since I've got better DPS for the transformers. First time I've suggested something in a STF and actually been told NO over chat He proceeds to flail for a while, then rushes over to play the other side. with the 3 of them on that side, they still manage to let 7 probes past them, none on my side where I'm now alone. I work my probes, and clean most of the generators out. They fly by for a minute, knock the gateway down to about 50%, then everyone leaves to play the other side again! Probes are now coming 3-4 at a time, so I'm busy keeping up with that, while the 3 of them are arguing about probes, no one actually gets most of them, and they get to the 7 I mentioned. Eventually they get that gate down to low, and someone comes to help, but DAMN, about the worst possible experience in an STF. Was the only one there with a clue, they refused to listen to anything (i always pre-type the plan so I can broadcast it when it starts), won't work together, are in rainbow cruisers, and one guy just farming for the rewards.

Top it off, I got a cardie box (trashed), a useless console, and 2 EDCs. Yay?

 

[Hartzilla2007]

I'm starting to think about only running Elite with fleet mates.

Infected elite is totally PUGable... Don't expect the Optional, since most of the time some idiot blows a gen to early.

I only run it on Elite now.

Same for Ground, since I got the full MACO set (XI), it seems a lot easier.
A premade fleet team would be nice to actually get a shot at the optional.
I guess it would reqire a few runs to get the right rythm down.

KA space is also PUGable on elite, but can take a while if people are not really knowing what they are doing.

KA ground is the easiest STF of them all. Only Elite here. You cant even fail this one.

The only one I have as of yet not beaten at all on Elite is Cure.
Since there is always someone who thinks the same strategy as in Normal applys.
At first it seems as easy. But since most people fail to realize that blowing up a cube doesn't stop spawns but in fact increases them and results in waves of raptors and negh vars instead of BoPs this usuall fails about 5 minutes after the first cube blows.

And lets not talk about Armek at all, who is a pain on Normal anyway.

Its not the difficulty that's the problem its the asshats yelling at you that's the problem.

 

[Amaris]

Yeah, i won't do a ground one otherwise, and getting sick of failing Cure Space with them. Infected at least they can't fail. KA gets infuriating when they fail the optional (it's gotta be the easiest one to get of the group). Last night I did KA optional, and one guy was just there farming, didn't play at all. i sat there at the end and waited, he came alive with 20 seconds left in the match and raced to grab "his" reward. Yay for the developers not fixing that! There's GOT to be some sort of kick option. Not manually, as the players would abuse it, but either a really short timeout where if you don't do anything, you're booted and replaced, or even better, a requirement that you have to participate to receive credit. Easiest way to do that is require that on a 5 man team, you HAVE to deal at least 5% of the total damage to get any rewards at the end. If everyone's participating, you'd expect 15-20% each, but 5% at least sets a floor if someone's a decoy, distraction, scout, whatever. Shouldn't be tough to accomplish.

Agreed. It gets frustrating when you lose the optional, only to look over toward the start area and see a ship sitting there doing nothing. There has to be a fix for it.

Anyway, of the remaining 4, we split into two groups to start. Retards go flying back and forth, won't work together. I'm with a lightly-armed cruiser on my side, I recommend he guard for probes since I've got better DPS for the transformers. First time I've suggested something in a STF and actually been told NO over chat He proceeds to flail for a while, then rushes over to play the other side. with the 3 of them on that side, they still manage to let 7 probes past them, none on my side where I'm now alone. I work my probes, and clean most of the generators out. They fly by for a minute, knock the gateway down to about 50%, then everyone leaves to play the other side again! Probes are now coming 3-4 at a time, so I'm busy keeping up with that, while the 3 of them are arguing about probes, no one actually gets most of them, and they get to the 7 I mentioned. Eventually they get that gate down to low, and someone comes to help, but DAMN, about the worst possible experience in an STF. Was the only one there with a clue, they refused to listen to anything (i always pre-type the plan so I can broadcast it when it starts), won't work together, are in rainbow cruisers, and one guy just farming for the rewards.

Top it off, I got a cardie box (trashed), a useless console, and 2 EDCs. Yay?

It's why I stick to Cure Space. The others are too much headache. I mean, no one's perfect, but getting the new guy who thinks this is going to be just like PvE to calm down and focus is annoying. One "Cure" mission (I play Normal), we had just started, and a player in an escort says he's going to protect the Kang, and just darts off. We all knew he was going to explode, and I kept trying to get him over to help me take on the first cube to no avail, and sure enough, two minutes in, this explosion comes from the direction of the Kang, and 30 seconds after that, we lose the optional.

 

[Bird of Prey]

I'm starting to think about only running Elite with fleet mates.

Infected elite is totally PUGable... Don't expect the Optional, since most of the time some idiot blows a gen to quickly

I had this happen today. Right before we started, everyone agreed on the 10% rule for the gens except one guy who didn't say anything. As soon as the first cube was gone, he proceeds to blow up the first gen he sees. Oh well, I came out of that with 2 edc's, green Cardie box, blue mk XII deflector, and purple mk Xi engines. Not bad for the final drop... Still looking for that Maco gear drop though...

 

[CorporalClegg]

Kinda of a stupid question but is there a setting in the game that makes it so when you log out you go to the character select screen instead of the log in?

It's not a terribly big deal, but I made a Tac Captain tonight and started crafting her some stuff with Miikka. The going back and forth for mats and what not was getting kind of annoying. I have a rather convoluted pword that's a pain to type each time.

 

[Amaris]

Nope. You'll always go to the login screen.

By the by, I'll never complain about anyone griping about the Odyssey class again. I just did an STF where it was me (Excelsior Retrofit), a Defiant Refit, two Odysseys, and a BortaS class. These people didn't know a thing about what they were doing. It was Cure Space on Normal, and half the time I was alone fighting the Cube bases myself because everyone was panicking over at the IKS Kang. What's worse is we missed the optional by about 2 seconds, and I had worked my ass off to get it done.

The last straw though, was the carrier. I did about 90% of the damage, because the other ships were too busy flying around trying to avoid the BOPs, (and failing). So we get down to the last 3 or 4% of the carrier's health, and these guys just flake, I mean, they can't hit anything worth a damn. So I get all of the BoPs on MY tail, and no one comes to help. Instead, one guy keeps using the Eject Warp Plasma ability and it's doing nothing at all, and he keeps doing it over and over and over again.

Finally, right before I get the last shot, the BoPs all fire on me at once. Normally I'd be fine, but I'd just taken a bunch of torpedo hits, and before I could regenerate, *boom*. I got back just in time for them to make the last shot, and they only barely managed. I have a headache now. Jebus!

Oh, and the guy in the BortaS was destroyed 5 times during the carrier run! 5 TIMES! I've only died 3 times in the STFs, and all three involved players either leaving while I'm engaged in battle with the Borg bases, or abandons assisting me because something's happening to the IKS Kang. It's not that difficult!

 

[ProwlAlpha]

That's why I hate doing the Cure. Apparently no one knows have to use their abilities, especially cruisers and science ships, who don't heal. Lately, I have only got the optional once in six times trying the Cure. The Cure used to be the fast and quick one, but now its populated by morons, who don't pay attention to the time. The last time I played the Cure, two cruisers, a science ship, and an escort failed to protect the Kang, with me fighting against the Cubes, and they blamed me. Before the massive fail rate, I don't die on the Cure nor normal Infected.

I only go on Infected Elite, and generally I get good PUGs. KA, I get too annoyed with the non-team work. I played with this one guy who let in four probes because it wasn't his job to destroy them. Apparently his job was to fight the spheres, self appointed.

 

[Amaris]

That's why I hate doing the Cure. Apparently no one knows have to use their abilities, especially cruisers and science ships, who don't heal. Lately, I have only got the optional once in six times trying the Cure. The Cure used to be the fast and quick one, but now its populated by morons, who don't pay attention to the time. The last time I played the Cure, two cruisers, a science ship, and an escort failed to protect the Kang, with me fighting against the Cubes, and they blamed me. Before the massive fail rate, I don't die on the Cure nor normal Infected.

I only go on Infected Elite, and generally I get good PUGs. KA, I get too annoyed with the non-team work. I played with this one guy who let in four probes because it wasn't his job to destroy them. Apparently his job was to fight the spheres, self appointed.

Yeah, it gets frustrating. No one pays attention. I ran one more STF about half an hour ago, and they just kept getting slaughtered. There was a BoP, a BortaS, an Odyssey, a Defiant Refit, and myself. The BoP kept getting blown up every couple of seconds. The BortaS just couldn't keep up with anything, and kept getting blown up every few minutes. The Odyssey kept getting blown up because the guy kept going at the Borg cubes at the far end of the map without waiting for anyone else. The Defiant and myself were the only ones using actual teamwork to get the job done, and it was the two of us who bore the brunt of the workload. We still didn't get the optional, but the poor guy in the Defiant kept saying "hey! we don't need 3 ships defending the Kang! Get the cubes!" Other than myself, no one listened. Ah well, at least I managed to get the last EDC required to get my Retro STF borg gear. Yay!

 

[DarkHorizon]

TBH, I don't do the Elite STFs unless it's with the fleet, simply because I know I don't have the skill necessary - plus, my combat settings don't seem to play well with the tactics required (I keep autofiring on the targets even when I point the camera away). I've always played on the standard difficulty for missions, and found that challenging enough.

In other news, I am glad I sacrificed 5 EDC's for the Borg engine - just did two laps on Tour the Galaxy in 42 minutes...

 

[intrinsical]

I've discovered that doing elite STFs on weekends is just asking for trouble. If you want to successfully run elite STFs, do them on wednesday or thursday nights. I have constantly failed runs on weekends and constantly successful runs on wed/thurs. Go figure.

 

[sbk1234]

Noob here. if this has already been discussed, sorry. But I wasn't going to read through 1218 posts. Anyway, I just started playing. My question is, Is this all there is? So far, it's just been battle after battle. I really thought there would be some exploring and discovering. I'd love an opportunity to really check out the Star Trek universe. So far, it's only been battle after battle, either on the surface, or in space.
I know that I'm still at the very beginning, but wondering if I should stick at it.

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

Noob here. if this has already been discussed, sorry. But I wasn't going to read through 1218 posts. Anyway, I just started playing. My question is, Is this all there is? So far, it's just been battle after battle. I really thought there would be some exploring and discovering. I'd love an opportunity to really check out the Star Trek universe. So far, it's only been battle after battle, either on the surface, or in space.
I know that I'm still at the very beginning, but wondering if I should stick at it.

STO is an MMO and that means heavy combat focus.
However unlike other MMOs this game still offers alternatives.

There are exploration areas in the star clusters bordering on the known sector blocks whch may end in combat or in discovering a new planet, aiding a new civilization or finding scientific anomalies.
These features are rudimentary and quickly repetitive, but that is a trope of MMOs again.

STO has a diplomacy system.
Completing non combat missions in the star clusters or sector patrols gain you diplomacy experience which will ultimately rank you up to 4 different diplo levels.
Those diplomacy commendation ranks will open up diplomacy options in some story missions at least to avoid a portion of combat.

You can also gain diplomacy experience by heaviliy using the DOFF system, a minigame system that you can use to get regular experience and lots of different commendation experience as well.

Some people use this system exclusively to level up their characters.
Finding the most interesting DOFF assignments could be called exploration as well as every sector and cluster and some system and base maps have different doff mission which change every few hours.

With the doff system you dont actively steer your ship or shuttle yourself. You delegate the task at hand to lower deck personell which is represented by trading card like Duty Officer profiles.
Each Duty officer has his own department, specialty, traits and quality which influence the outcome and rewards of the assignment.
Those duty officers can also be assigned to active duty on your ship or away team to enhance your stats for active play.

And then there is the Foundry. This is the tool for user generated content which offers many story driven and combat light missions created by other players.
Some are quite epic and long and some even come entirely without combat.
Some of those missions are not on the technical level of Cryptic's best missions like the Feature Episodes but are leaps and bounds more creative then any official mission in the game.
It is worth checking out if you are in for the Trek experience.
Just be warned that for every mission there are ten so called missions which are utter garbage as well.
So it can be a bitdifficult to find the gems.
To avoid the bad ones read the reviews from players who have played them already and read up on forums like StarbaseUGC which is a community dedicated to the Foundry.

All in all there is quite a bit of non combat content and it's just a matter of finding it.

Also: Welcome to the game and if you are looking for a fleet, feel yourself invited to join the TrekBBS Armada. With an exception or two all of us are TrekBB members and playmore or less regularly together.
We share playtime, fun and resources for an overall better gaming experience.
Just give us a hail here or in game for a formal invite.