I know the potential for grief here, but let me first stat that I totally get that Tribble is for testing, and that we have a MUCH longer than usual test cycle going on. Also, this is the first Klingon build for F2P and subsequently minor errors (such as the Lt. 19, and voice over for Commander which say's Lt. Cmdr) are not game breaking and will likely get fixed.
That said, here are some initial thoughts:
- Start KDF with Tier 2 ship -
Nice in theory, since we will very quickly be running through the Lt. Cmdr ranks. Unfortunately, even with the Uncommon gear we get, it is still VASTLY underpowered compared to normal enemies which match our levels.
This alone might not be a big deal EXCEPT, that gaining enough Dilithium to properly outfit our Tier 2 vessel without sacrificing a Tier 3 ship entirly, is problematic.
- Begin with only 3 BOffs -
This is also problematic for two key reasons;
1) Buying new Boffs, costs 420 (IIRC) Dilithium. Impossible coming out of the gate. Currently on Holodeck, a new BOff costs 100 EC. Which makes it fairly easy to start out with BOffs that have powers a Captain may want early on.
2) Retraining BOffs is now using EC instead of Merit (I know the Merit concept is going away), which means that we will have to "Deal" with BOff skills we do not like or which are not particularly useful, while we grind desperately for enough cash through mission drops to retrain the skills we actually want/use.
NOTE: As of this writing, the Training UI is not working at the Skill Store. So even if you manage to get the cash in EC, you still cannot train your BOffs.
- Story Missions are not matching level for Mission rewards -
This is still an issue on the Fed side as well. The XP pushes us up quickly in rank, but the gear being offered as rewards is very low level in comparison. Hopefully this is just an oversight and is being worked on internally.
If not, it will simply add to the sense of being woefully underpowered compared to our enemies who are leveling with us while our ability to gain level appropriate gear falls further behind.
- KDF Commendation system does not appear to be on par with Feds -
Pretty selfexplanatory. And, as I feared, Marauding in particular is NOT on par with Fed Diplomacy. Feds max out at Tier 4 Diplomacy (1,360) with fewer DXP than it would take to hit Tier 1 Marauding (2,500).
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Now it should be noted that I jumped right into Story Missions as they opened up. If I had ground Dailies (Explos) first, I might have had the Dilithium to buy gear OR upgrade my ship. But likely not both.
Also, and as noted above, were the training UI working, I could retrain the BOffs I have.
I have typically defended the party-line at Cryptic when it comes to KDF issues, as I have read repeatedly that CS wants the KDF to be on par with the Feds. I still believe that, and can wait a little longer for the new KDF content that will be delivered eventually. But in the mean time, I would really-really like to see those things which can be done to keep the faith with the KDF community carefully and thoughtfully implemented.
Also, as I have previously stated, I know this is the first build, and we have a very long way to go before F2P is ready for Holodeck. So far I have been enjoying my time on the Fed side during this Beta, however, in comparison the KDF is currently even more painful than it was previously.
If nothing else, CS, will you PLEASE look into the level of gear being awarded for early story missions, evaluate the current cost of BOffs in Dilithium, and make sure that we can get into a boat that is powered and equipped competitively with the missions we have available.
Well said. I didn't see your thread when I wrote mine, but I agree with your points. I'm hoping to level 21 to the high 20s tonight, and I'll try the first Klingon episode in the process. When I get home today, I should have some marauding missions to turn in and see how the progress there goes.
Definitely some very good points. The fast pace of leveling is great, but gear and other equipment is woefully hard to come by. Plus, being unable to train BOffs is extremely frustrating. I managed to get it to work with one BOff training, but none after that. So now I have duplicate powers and some that are useless and can't really do anything about it.
Ok, so I've gotten my kdf toon to commander 3 now and still have not been offered a single new BOff to fill my empty spaces on my ship. Anyone else noticed this?
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