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

[Harvey]

Has anyone here made it to level 3 and 4 as a marauder (through duty officer missions) and not got the corresponding transwarp abilities that are supposed to be rewarded? Do I have to do something to enable them? Should I report the issue to Cryptic?

 

[intrinsical]

I suspect Cryptic will ultimately follow something similar to Turbine's model of releasing "adventure packs". For example in DDO, Turbine generally releases 4 adventure packs every year. Subscribers and lifetime members automatically get all adventure packs unlocked so they don't have to pay for these adventure packs.

For F2P players, they generally get one adventure pack for free every year (typically in March, when the number of players are at an all-year low). The remaining three adventure packs, generally released just prior to major school breaks and major holidays, are locked and F2P players have to pay to get these adventure packs unlocked.

CO (Cryptic's other MMORPG) used to sell adventure packs but after the first two they started making them free.

The situation has changed. The majority of the players are now F2P players with little investment in STO and extremely short attention span. What's worse, they may not even be a fan of Star Trek, so ships like the Ambassador class which have sentimental value to us trek fans are simply another ship.

What these f2p players "want" is to have an interesting fun adventure, and the universal MMO constant of desiring better equipment. So it makes sense for Cryptic to start producing C-Store FEs and ships.

 

[Hartzilla2007]

I suspect Cryptic will ultimately follow something similar to Turbine's model of releasing "adventure packs". For example in DDO, Turbine generally releases 4 adventure packs every year. Subscribers and lifetime members automatically get all adventure packs unlocked so they don't have to pay for these adventure packs.

For F2P players, they generally get one adventure pack for free every year (typically in March, when the number of players are at an all-year low). The remaining three adventure packs, generally released just prior to major school breaks and major holidays, are locked and F2P players have to pay to get these adventure packs unlocked.

CO (Cryptic's other MMORPG) used to sell adventure packs but after the first two they started making them free.

The situation has changed. The majority of the players are now F2P players with little investment in STO and extremely short attention span. What's worse, they may not even be a fan of Star Trek, so ships like the Ambassador class which have sentimental value to us trek fans are simply another ship.

What these f2p players "want" is to have an interesting fun adventure, and the universal MMO constant of desiring better equipment. So it makes sense for Cryptic to start producing C-Store FEs and ships.

As long as the let the subscribers get these FEs for free and just charge the Silvers I'm okay with it.

 

[Amaris]

Has anyone here made it to level 3 and 4 as a marauder (through duty officer missions) and not got the corresponding transwarp abilities that are supposed to be rewarded? Do I have to do something to enable them? Should I report the issue to Cryptic?

I'll let you know. I'm level two for the Diplomatic, and I'm about 100 points away from Level 3. I do have the L2 Transwarp to K7, though, so I expect it to work as normal for L3.

 

[Harvey]

Cool, thanks. My level 1 and 2 transwarp abilities appeared as soon as I reached the appropriate marauder rank. I think.

 

[Ronald Held]

It is unfortunate how those who paid and care about Star Trek get the short end of the stick.

 

[Amaris]

It is unfortunate how those who paid and care about Star Trek get the short end of the stick.

Lifers, Golds, and F2Pers alike.

 

[Rocketeer]

Yeah, I also noticed the massive numbers of instances. Cryptic probably isn't counting the number of users anymore. Just counting the dollars spent in the C-store. Show me the money!

.

I've tried to come up with a way they could pay their employees with free accounts, but I'm having a little trouble. Could you detail your plan for how they do this?

Glad you asked - they stop giving everything except the kitchen sink to the F2P players.


.

 

[Rocketeer]

It is unfortunate how those who paid and care about Star Trek get the short end of the stick.

Lifers, Golds, and F2Pers alike.

Yeah, I'd rather have a good time than have the latest, greatest weapon or the shiniest ship. That's not a problem in PvE. However, in PvP, the boys with the shiny ships and weapons are going to spank you.

.

 

[Amaris]

It is unfortunate how those who paid and care about Star Trek get the short end of the stick.

Lifers, Golds, and F2Pers alike.

Yeah, I'd rather have a good time than have the latest, greatest weapon or the shiniest ship. That's not a problem in PvE. However, in PvP, the boys with the shiny ships and weapons are going to spank you.

.

Agreed. Shoot, I'm just trying to keep my Excelsior from falling apart while in combat.
I will say this: I found out just how bad I am with escorts. I flew my Defiant class retrofit and got my rear repeatedly kicked a dozen times, and I'm not talking in PvP, I'm talking Ker'rat, and taking on the Borg. Just *boom*.

Though I do wonder if there's a bug. I refitted my Excelsior class retrofit with all antiprotons, 2 Mk XI blue Mag regulators, readjusted my Boff abilities primarily for defense instead of DPS, and I still managed to get blown to pieces in seconds by a Borg cube. This didn't happen before the latest patch.

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

It is unfortunate how those who paid and care about Star Trek get the short end of the stick.

Lifers, Golds, and F2Pers alike.

Yeah, I'd rather have a good time than have the latest, greatest weapon or the shiniest ship. That's not a problem in PvE. However, in PvP, the boys with the shiny ships and weapons are going to spank you.

.

Agreed. Shoot, I'm just trying to keep my Excelsior from falling apart while in combat.
I will say this: I found out just how bad I am with escorts. I flew my Defiant class retrofit and got my rear repeatedly kicked a dozen times, and I'm not talking in PvP, I'm talking Ker'rat, and taking on the Borg. Just *boom*.

Though I do wonder if there's a bug. I refitted my Excelsior class retrofit with all antiprotons, 2 Mk XI blue Mag regulators, readjusted my Boff abilities primarily for defense instead of DPS, and I still managed to get blown to pieces in seconds by a Borg cube. This didn't happen before the latest patch.

If it's not the gear and ship build itself, you might have to look at your skill point distribution.

 

[Emher]

Lifers, Golds, and F2Pers alike.

Yeah, I'd rather have a good time than have the latest, greatest weapon or the shiniest ship. That's not a problem in PvE. However, in PvP, the boys with the shiny ships and weapons are going to spank you.

.

Agreed. Shoot, I'm just trying to keep my Excelsior from falling apart while in combat.
I will say this: I found out just how bad I am with escorts. I flew my Defiant class retrofit and got my rear repeatedly kicked a dozen times, and I'm not talking in PvP, I'm talking Ker'rat, and taking on the Borg. Just *boom*.

Though I do wonder if there's a bug. I refitted my Excelsior class retrofit with all antiprotons, 2 Mk XI blue Mag regulators, readjusted my Boff abilities primarily for defense instead of DPS, and I still managed to get blown to pieces in seconds by a Borg cube. This didn't happen before the latest patch.

This is how my Defiant retrofit looks:

I used this thread as a basis, and made some modifications: http://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?t=244532

Worked out fine for me. Sure, I still blow up real quick if I'm careless, but as long as I think before diving in and keep an eye on my shield skills and distribution, I come out on top more often then not. If nothing else I do massive damage.

Also, I'm not done yet with that ship. Still things to be added and upgraded.

 

[intrinsical]

Lifers, Golds, and F2Pers alike.

Yeah, I'd rather have a good time than have the latest, greatest weapon or the shiniest ship. That's not a problem in PvE. However, in PvP, the boys with the shiny ships and weapons are going to spank you.

.

Agreed. Shoot, I'm just trying to keep my Excelsior from falling apart while in combat.
I will say this: I found out just how bad I am with escorts. I flew my Defiant class retrofit and got my rear repeatedly kicked a dozen times, and I'm not talking in PvP, I'm talking Ker'rat, and taking on the Borg. Just *boom*.

Though I do wonder if there's a bug. I refitted my Excelsior class retrofit with all antiprotons, 2 Mk XI blue Mag regulators, readjusted my Boff abilities primarily for defense instead of DPS, and I still managed to get blown to pieces in seconds by a Borg cube. This didn't happen before the latest patch.

Its very easy to turn escorts into a glass cannon. That's what happened to my ship initially, it couldn't even handle a D'dridex in FEs but I learnt. These days, 7 out of 12 of my BOFF abilities are defensive in nature. They include 2 tactical teams, 2 emergency power to shields, 2 transfer shield strength and 1 hazard emitters.

Even with these abilities, my ship will still crumble under sustained attacks so typically if I cannot destroy the opponent in 30 seconds, I punch evasive maneuvers and get out of there.
I'll wait for the abilities to recycle before jumping back into the fray. Basically, hit and run.

This is how my Defiant retrofit looks:

I used this thread as a basis, and made some modifications: http://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?t=244532

Worked out fine for me. Sure, I still blow up real quick if I'm careless, but as long as I think before diving in and keep an eye on my shield skills and distribution, I come out on top more often then not. If nothing else I do massive damage.

Also, I'm not done yet with that ship. Still things to be added and upgraded.

I love that you named your ship after Nicole de Boer. Right now, my engineer's ships are named after trek writers.

USS Meyer, Miranda class, for Nicolas Meyer who gave us Wrath of Khan.
USS Fontana, Constitution class, for Dorothy Fontana who is my favorite TOS novel writer.
USS Piller, Stargazer class, for Michael Piller who wrote many TNG episodes.
USS Echevarria, Galaxy class, for Rene Echevarria who wrote many TNG and DS9 episodes.

I'm still wondering what to name my Sovereign, but that's still a few levels away. Probably USS Moore or USS Frakes. And if I ever get the Excelsior, it will be the USS Nimoy.

 

[Rocketeer]

Lifers, Golds, and F2Pers alike.

Yeah, I'd rather have a good time than have the latest, greatest weapon or the shiniest ship. That's not a problem in PvE. However, in PvP, the boys with the shiny ships and weapons are going to spank you.

.

Agreed. Shoot, I'm just trying to keep my Excelsior from falling apart while in combat.
I will say this: I found out just how bad I am with escorts. I flew my Defiant class retrofit and got my rear repeatedly kicked a dozen times, and I'm not talking in PvP, I'm talking Ker'rat, and taking on the Borg. Just *boom*.

Though I do wonder if there's a bug. I refitted my Excelsior class retrofit with all antiprotons, 2 Mk XI blue Mag regulators, readjusted my Boff abilities primarily for defense instead of DPS, and I still managed to get blown to pieces in seconds by a Borg cube. This didn't happen before the latest patch.

I haven't fought any Borg lately, but just about any upper tier cruiser should be able to take a beating before going down. Next time I get a chance, I'll see how things fair against the Borg.

Tactical ships aren't made for slugging it out though. Hit them hard then retreat, repeat.

.

 

[Emher]

Its very easy to turn escorts into a glass cannon. That's what happened to my ship initially, it couldn't even handle a D'dridex in FEs but I learnt. These days, 7 out of 12 of my BOFF abilities are defensive in nature. They include 2 tactical teams, 2 emergency power to shields, 2 transfer shield strength and 1 hazard emitters.

Even with these abilities, my ship will still crumble under sustained attacks so typically if I cannot destroy the opponent in 30 seconds, I punch evasive maneuvers and get out of there.
I'll wait for the abilities to recycle before jumping back into the fray. Basically, hit and run.

Exactly. I don't have quite that many defensive skills, but if I can't bring them down in time before I start taking real damage, I get out of there with Evasive Maneuvers. If I'm in a real hurry and I'm below 50% hull strength I use Ramming Speed as well to get that burst of speed out of there.

This is how my Defiant retrofit looks:

I used this thread as a basis, and made some modifications: http://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?t=244532

Worked out fine for me. Sure, I still blow up real quick if I'm careless, but as long as I think before diving in and keep an eye on my shield skills and distribution, I come out on top more often then not. If nothing else I do massive damage.

Also, I'm not done yet with that ship. Still things to be added and upgraded.

I love that you named your ship after Nicole de Boer. Right now, my engineer's ships are named after trek writers.

USS Meyer, Miranda class, for Nicolas Meyer who gave us Wrath of Khan.
USS Fontana, Constitution class, for Dorothy Fontana who is my favorite TOS novel writer.
USS Piller, Stargazer class, for Michael Piller who wrote many TNG episodes.
USS Echevarria, Galaxy class, for Rene Echevarria who wrote many TNG and DS9 episodes.

I'm still wondering what to name my Sovereign, but that's still a few levels away. Probably USS Moore or USS Frakes.

Of course. The reasons are several: I'm a HUGE Niner, Ezri is my favorite of the two Dax, and the Defiant is small but feisty, just like Ezri. And did I mention I love Ezri?

I decommissioned my Miranda class, and I still kinda regret that. I still liked my modded Constitution a lot more then I ever did the Miranda, but we went trough some stuff together. It was the Kurosawa. The Conny the Kurosawa-B and then finally the Akira class, the Kurosawa-C. All based on the Akira class named Kurosawa I had in my Harry Potter/st TNG crossover fanfic now nearly ten years ago

I was really undecided next, but I wanted to try Science ships seeing as that's what my officer is, and it fell to the Intrepid class, and I named it the Picardo. Of course after Voyager's Robert Picardo, easily my favorite on that show. And the the Sovereign I named the Siddig, after Siddig El Fadil/Alexander Siddig.

Oh and my Odyssey became the Bashir since I couldn't think of a better name at that moment, and my Runabout is the Seine.

 

[Rocketeer]

You have good taste in starships.

.

 

[Emher]

Thanks I'm thinking of buying some more slots at some point to get a Galaxy class as well. It's one of the few I really feel I'm missing. It just looks so fantastic, and there's not beating it in sheer scale!

 

[Captain_Amasov]

I dunno, the Odyssey-class makes the Galaxy feel somewhat small these days: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7210/6801454400_49ee00e393_o.jpg

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

Now that was nice fun PvP.
I went into Ker'rat to find some Klingons and I found out just how good my build really is. It took 3 of them to kill me and they had to work for it.
Two I could take on and even managed to destroy them from time to time.
Sovereign is just that awesome.
Doubt I could have done that with the Odyssey. To compensate for the aweful turnrate I would have had to get more heals and sacrificed DPS.
And then a stalemate would have been the best possible outcome.

Now where is my Sovereign Refit with that Rapid Burst Torpedo launcher the Enterprise used in First Contact?

 

[Captain_Amasov]

One thing I never understood was how a torpedo launcher that fired four at a time was considered rapid burst? The Enterprise-D was capable of firing multiple torpedoes at once: http://youtu.be/H_XbWq49vUM