Just a heads up with some more changes that will be coming to the test servers soon.
-We have reverted the cooldown on Romulan Battle Cloak to 20 seconds.
-The base power levels for most Romulan Warbirds are being reverted to 40 base for each subsystem. The T'liss and T'varo are unaffected by this change.
-We have increased the power level bonuses to ships based on your current Singularity Power. This now goes from +5 at low singularity to +15 at max Singularity (up from +0 to +7.5). This bonus is disabled while your Singularity Powers are on cooldown.
As always, these changes are subject to further possible iterations in the future.
Thank you for listening to feedback, I appreciate that the dev team is taking are feedback seriously. While I don't think these changes are necessarily the right way to go about balancing warbirds, 40 second battle cloak diffidently wasn't.
And the bonus power should help some though.
Also the bonus power he's talking about is to what ever system your singularity core is geared to.
Just a heads up with some more changes that will be coming to the test servers soon.
-We have reverted the cooldown on Romulan Battle Cloak to 20 seconds.
-The base power levels for most Romulan Warbirds are being reverted to 40 base for each subsystem. The T'liss and T'varo are unaffected by this change.
-We have increased the power level bonuses to ships based on your current Singularity Power. This now goes from +5 at low singularity to +15 at max Singularity (up from +0 to +7.5). This bonus is disabled while your Singularity Powers are on cooldown.
As always, these changes are subject to further possible iterations in the future.
Would be nice once finals are done on the power levels and cloaking time frames if the Enhanced Battle Cloaks can be looked at.
Just a heads up with some more changes that will be coming to the test servers soon.
-We have reverted the cooldown on Romulan Battle Cloak to 20 seconds.
-The base power levels for most Romulan Warbirds are being reverted to 40 base for each subsystem. The T'liss and T'varo are unaffected by this change.
-We have increased the power level bonuses to ships based on your current Singularity Power. This now goes from +5 at low singularity to +15 at max Singularity (up from +0 to +7.5). This bonus is disabled while your Singularity Powers are on cooldown.
As always, these changes are subject to further possible iterations in the future.
Thank you for decreasing the cooldown to the cloak. Still wish we had the 45 base power, but the bonus from the singularity is very nice.
Still tough to really tell how it's going to effect things since were not at level 50. well most of us aren't
Haven't read all of the posts here, but I've tried to keep up with those since Archon's explanation. This is just my own opinion, and I don't claim it to be anything more, but I seem to agree with what some others are saying, to a large degree.
Essentially, don't destroy the 'canon' features of the Romulan ships (the biggest being the superior cloaking, IMO) in order to balance 'neat new tricks' that you came up with to make them 'more unique.' It's not that the 'new tricks' are useless or weak or any of that. It's that they are not the canon core of a Romulan ship that most of us are looking for when we choose to play a Romulan.
When we choose to play a Romulan, we expect the canon features of Romulan ships that we grew up watching in the TV episodes. The singularity core powers are not really a part of that. Yes, it was established that the Romulans use a different type of warp core, an artificial singularity, but the fancy in-game powers have little basis in canon, and are not at all what I think of when I think of a Romulan ship. In short, they are not what make the ship 'Romulan,' in my mind.
So first and foremost, give all Romulan ships the superior cloaking ability that -does- come from the canon shows. Make sure they all have that Romulan feel that I am looking for as a long-time fan of Star Trek. Then balance all the other little bells-and-whistles powers so that they bring the whole package in at an acceptable level, in terms of game balance. If something needs to be weakened, let it be the nifty, yet non-canon bits that don't really cry out to being key points of the Romulan experience that I'm looking for.
I couldn't agree more. I rather have the singularity powers nerfed to oblivion than lose the cloak. the cloak is a dedicated part of romulan technology and canon and needs to be there and be just as good as it can be.
Just a heads up with some more changes that will be coming to the test servers soon.
-We have reverted the cooldown on Romulan Battle Cloak to 20 seconds.
-The base power levels for most Romulan Warbirds are being reverted to 40 base for each subsystem. The T'liss and T'varo are unaffected by this change.
-We have increased the power level bonuses to ships based on your current Singularity Power. This now goes from +5 at low singularity to +15 at max Singularity (up from +0 to +7.5). This bonus is disabled while your Singularity Powers are on cooldown.
As always, these changes are subject to further possible iterations in the future.
Interesting. Thanks for the update and reverting the cloak change.
Just a heads up with some more changes that will be coming to the test servers soon.
-We have reverted the cooldown on Romulan Battle Cloak to 20 seconds.
-The base power levels for most Romulan Warbirds are being reverted to 40 base for each subsystem. The T'liss and T'varo are unaffected by this change.
-We have increased the power level bonuses to ships based on your current Singularity Power. This now goes from +5 at low singularity to +15 at max Singularity (up from +0 to +7.5). This bonus is disabled while your Singularity Powers are on cooldown.
As always, these changes are subject to further possible iterations in the future.
I dunno, AC. Between this and the EPTX changes, y'all're setting up a nasty nasty precedent of actually listening to beta-testing feedback. Do you really want to walk down the road of making the players happy?
(The answer to that question is, of course, YES. )
Not saying it's currently unbalanced, overpowered, useless or whatever since I didn't yet have chance to play with a Tier 5 warbird (and that's where everything happens in game).
However I can express my opinion that if the warbirds get nerfed in some respect, it should be hull. I'd say shields as well, but those are just so important in STO that a decrease (no matter how small) in shield modifier would be a major disadvantage.
Still, I believe Romulan ships should be relatively fragile thus relying on Battlecloaking rather than (shields/)hull for defense.
TOIVA, Toi Vaxx, Toia Vix, Toveg, T'vritha, To Vrax: Bring in the Allegiance class. Toi'Va, Ti'vath, Toivia, Ty'Vris, Tia Vex, Toi'Virth: Add Tier 6 KDF Carrier and Raider. Tae'Va, T'Vaya, To'Var, Tevra, T'Vira, To'Vrak: Give us Asylums for Romulans.
oh, do your power levels get bumped up as you charge up singularity level? and then disapate back to normal after useing a singularity skill?i always thought they should do that, but hadn't noticed if that had happened yet.
I never noticed that, either, though I wasn't looking for it. That's actually a really cool mechanic, it forces the player to make choice there. Personally I'd probably choose higher power levels *most* of the time.
Just a heads up with some more changes that will be coming to the test servers soon.
-We have reverted the cooldown on Romulan Battle Cloak to 20 seconds.
-The base power levels for most Romulan Warbirds are being reverted to 40 base for each subsystem. The T'liss and T'varo are unaffected by this change.
-We have increased the power level bonuses to ships based on your current Singularity Power. This now goes from +5 at low singularity to +15 at max Singularity (up from +0 to +7.5). This bonus is disabled while your Singularity Powers are on cooldown.
As always, these changes are subject to further possible iterations in the future.
I like these changes. Keeps Romulans from having a super-alpha strike, due to coming in and out of cloak (since we don't build singularity in cloak), makes the cloak useful, and makes the Singularity useful in long missions, and gives an option of more energy, or a singulariy power.
You know, the entire discussion about the singularity cores made me ponder.
Why did cryptic felt the need to even add them to the game in the first place?
For myself, i find them to be utterly pointless and to be just a gimmick so they appear more shiny.
It is not what makes a romulan ship romulan.
Just a heads up with some more changes that will be coming to the test servers soon.
-We have reverted the cooldown on Romulan Battle Cloak to 20 seconds.
-The base power levels for most Romulan Warbirds are being reverted to 40 base for each subsystem. The T'liss and T'varo are unaffected by this change.
-We have increased the power level bonuses to ships based on your current Singularity Power. This now goes from +5 at low singularity to +15 at max Singularity (up from +0 to +7.5). This bonus is disabled while your Singularity Powers are on cooldown.
As always, these changes are subject to further possible iterations in the future.
So how about the option for warbirds to not use the singularity mechanic at all? Seriously.
Well, that's an interesting change to say the least. I did read right that earlier ships have improved power levels, right? That's important, because it really affects you most at early levels.
That's obviously not going to happen. Why even waste time on a post?
Because its feedback. This is a topic that is requesting feedback. So I'm providing my feedback on a change the I believe that need to be made in the game. You dont like that? #dealwithit
Haven't read all of the posts here, but I've tried to keep up with those since Archon's explanation. This is just my own opinion, and I don't claim it to be anything more, but I seem to agree with what some others are saying, to a large degree.
Essentially, don't destroy the 'canon' features of the Romulan ships (the biggest being the superior cloaking, IMO) in order to balance 'neat new tricks' that you came up with to make them 'more unique.' It's not that the 'new tricks' are useless or weak or any of that. It's that they are not the canon core of a Romulan ship that most of us are looking for when we choose to play a Romulan.
When we choose to play a Romulan, we expect the canon features of Romulan ships that we grew up watching in the TV episodes. The singularity core powers are not really a part of that. Yes, it was established that the Romulans use a different type of warp core, an artificial singularity, but the fancy in-game powers have little basis in canon, and are not at all what I think of when I think of a Romulan ship. In short, they are not what make the ship 'Romulan,' in my mind.
So first and foremost, give all Romulan ships the superior cloaking ability that -does- come from the canon shows. Make sure they all have that Romulan feel that I am looking for as a long-time fan of Star Trek. Then balance all the other little bells-and-whistles powers so that they bring the whole package in at an acceptable level, in terms of game balance. If something needs to be weakened, let it be the nifty, yet non-canon bits that don't really cry out to being key points of the Romulan experience that I'm looking for.
I would agree with this as well but the devs have gone to so much trouble on their baby (singularity powers) already, that I suspect it will be hard to convince them. Like you I wanted to play the Romulans that I'm familiar with from the TNG era. I only play KDF as a stopgap measure. Seeing that they toyed with 40 seconds on a battle cloak at all suggests they really want to keep the singularity powers as is.
Honestly, STO would have to completely mess up Romulans to keep me from playing them. It is a little scary how close they started with the infamous alliance decision. Then there was the -40 to power. The possibility of a 40 second battle cloak as well is disheartening.
Now, they have the benefit of the doubt with it being beta and all, but given how much I hate the P2W lockboxes and cryptic's idea of PvP ship balance (Seriously, what genius came up with TIF? That person(s) certianly didn't play test the victim of multiple TIFs being thrown at him), I am seriously concerned they may still mess it up. I just don't think they PvP balance very well. These singularity powers are screaming temporal shiplike gimmicks that are either useless or OP. Between now and launch is a mere three weeks and the beta testers are more or less stuck at level 21. There is very little if any PvP beta testing going on right now . . .
Not saying it's currently unbalanced, overpowered, useless or whatever since I didn't yet have chance to play with a Tier 5 warbird (and that's where everything happens in game).
However I can express my opinion that if the warbirds get nerfed in some respect, it should be hull. I'd say shields as well, but those are just so important in STO that a decrease (no matter how small) in shield modifier would be a major disadvantage.
Still, I believe Romulan ships should be relatively fragile thus relying on Battlecloaking rather than (shields/)hull for defense.
My objection to that (and it's less from a canon point of view, I'll grant) is simply that "weakened hull/shields in exchange for battlecloak" has been done already in the Klingon raiders.
I might not have even noticed or cared had they opted for that solution up front, but as they've opted for more variety, and I'd rather keep that going than go back and make another Klingon BoP variant.
That being said, the singularity powers gives us three potent defensive abilities that all have a place in covering our butts while going in to cloak, so even with a ding to hull or shields, we'd still be in a pretty good place durability-wise.
And were the Dilithium comes and no, dont say it from other characters ... doesnt work that when I started and it sure as hell should be used as a solution.
Speaking of that and of trying ... Token only works for Warbirds, "allied" ships cost Dilithium or Zen with T5 being out, there is no "or" because you cannot use a allied T5 ship, you use a Warbird or a lock box ship.
So ... are they free? can I get one without either spending millions of EC or hundreds of real money for them? after all I am quite aware of their cost and I am certain that I am not going to just get a JHAS or any other lock box ship without a cost, be it on EC or be it on real money.
So here is what you really said ... "You don't like warbirds? buy a lockbox ship".
I am in the Beta and I know how things current work, I am not sure if you are since what you just said shows a large amount of ignorance towards current implementation, it seems you are trying too hard to not find any faults.
I am a beta tester, I am giving my feedback and my feedback is not making whatever they made "work", excusing their decisions but rather see what they done and say what I think because that is my honest opinion,I am not here to justify their decisions ... only to offer my feedback on then, they are free to do whatever they want with it.
I am in the beta. I have been working with the powers. I am working WITH the singularity powers rather than just saying "I don't want these, let me play the way I always have!" I'm talking tactics. I'm trying skill combinations. I'm finding what WORKS out of what we've already been given, rather than telling the devs "oh, I'd rather you just throw it all out" or "I thought this power was useless, make it work like this because that's the way I thought it should be used." Most importantly, I really REALLY want to challenge the endgame stuff before the system is ripped up and tossed out, or mutilated into unrecognizability, based off the opinions of people who dismissed the system out of hand.
As for getting ships courtesy of your alts (and it's a pretty safe bet you have non-romulan alts already), I'm not sure what you mean by "doesnt work that when I started and it sure as hell should be used as a solution", but you know you can use the dilithium exchange to move processed dilithium between characters, right? You know any T1-T4 zen store ships you've unlocked are available to all your alts, including your Romulan, right? You know that if you're so vehemently opposed to Warbirds, you can put in some work to get out of it, right? So yeah, allies ships or lockbox ships. You have OPTIONS.
I am in the beta. I have been working with the powers. I am working WITH the singularity powers rather than just saying "I don't want these, let me play the way I always have!" I'm talking tactics. I'm trying skill combinations. I'm finding what WORKS out of what we've already been given, rather than telling the devs "oh, I'd rather you just throw it all out" or "I thought this power was useless, make it work like this because that's the way I thought it should be used." Most importantly, I really REALLY want to challenge the endgame stuff before the system is ripped up and tossed out, or mutilated into unrecognizability, based off the opinions of people who dismissed the system out of hand.
As for getting ships courtesy of your alts (and it's a pretty safe bet you have non-romulan alts already), I'm not sure what you mean by "doesnt work that when I started and it sure as hell should be used as a solution", but you know you can use the dilithium exchange to move processed dilithium between characters, right? You know any T1-T4 zen store ships you've unlocked are available to all your alts, including your Romulan, right? You know that if you're so vehemently opposed to Warbirds, you can put in some work to get out of it, right? So yeah, allies ships or lockbox ships. You have OPTIONS.
No. Most people dont have the option to transfer thousands of dilithium between characters. They have the ability to do so, but need to be able to get the dilithium, and not have need for it on their other character. And youre right... I could use an ally T1-T4 ship... and then I'm boned... because T5 ships are only warbirds with the same stupid powers.
Im not opposed to warbirds... (in fact I love the design of most of them). Im opposed to a gimmicky system thats being shoehorned in to give the Romulans something special. Im opposed to that system being forced onto players who want to play a Romulan.
The powers are useless. But its great that you want to use them. Its great you want to change your playstyle to work with them. I dont. I'd prefer to have the option to fly a warbird and not use them and not be penalized for not using them. They dont have to throw out the entire system. Just give me a way to turn it off on my ship.
So as it is my choices are:
A. Play a romulan, and suffer through a horrible power system for a chance to fly warbirds. (And maybe possibly by stuff from the C-Store because I hate playing my Romulan.)
or
B. Dont play a romulan (and dont pay Cryptic money for anything on the C-Store because why buy stuff for a faction I'm never going to play.)
And the third option, that comes from them giving me a way to get rid of signularity powers is:
C. Play a romulan and be happy that my warbird doesnt have stupid powers. (and then buy stuff from the C-store because Im enjoying my Romulan).
And honestly... my choice is going to be option B if there is no way to opt out of the singularity system.
Hyouki while your right people need to adapt to ship designs in certain respects, the other people have point too and honestly. Its the same thing as picking your captain class and boff abilities, except this time just by being a Romulan you are being pigeon holed into some special abilities, that you may or may not want, that cause you to gain a disadvantage is horrible.
But I myself like the abilities, while some more then others. But I'm also glad they are trying something new for a change. Maybe later they will have adapted warp cores that remove romulan power drain while you loose the abilities and maybe a adapted singularity core for the other factions.
Again, quit being lazy and learn how they work to your advantage.
You don't want to fly a warbird. You want a warbird skin for the same ships and playstyles we've been using all these years already.
Evolve. Grow. Adapt. Try something NEW.
I do want to fly a warbird. Thats the whole point of rolling a Romulan. Its to fly ships that look like warbirds. Id prefer to fly them like every other ship in the game. Why shouldn't I be allowed to? Why should I be made to change my playstyle, one that has worked well for years, just because of this TRIBBLE system?
I do want to fly a warbird. Thats the whole point of rolling a Romulan. Its to fly ships that look like warbirds. Id prefer to fly them like every other ship in the game. Why shouldn't I be allowed to? Why should I be made to change my playstyle, one that has worked well for years, just because of this TRIBBLE system?
Because YOU, are not the only player in STO. You do not like it, another one likes it. I think it is for the best if all factions are as much as different from each other as possible.
"Cryptic Studio’s Jack Emmert (2010): Microtransactions are the biggest bunch of nonsense. I like paying one fee and not worrying about it – like my cellphone. The world’s biggest MMO isn’t item based, even though the black market item GDP is bigger than Russia … microtransactions make me want to die.”
Hyouki while your right people need to adapt to ship designs in certain respects, the other people have point too and honestly. Its the same thing as picking your captain class and boff abilities, except this time just by being a Romulan you are being pigeon holed into some special abilities, that you may or may not want, that cause you to gain a disadvantage is horrible.
Hyouki's actually right on the meta-level if one stops to think about it.
Every Captain ability is a gimmick.
Every BOFF ability is a gimmick.
Every DOFF is a gimmick.
Every piece of gear is a gimmick.
Everything...is...a gimmick.
the singularity powers have ever so much of a positive effect for warbirds. and thats GOOD, i would hate them if they were game changing.
their main draw is battlecloak across the board, and their interesting hybrid station setups.
its absolutely imperative that the turn rate for the 2 big warbirds be increased though, no singularity power, battle cloak or station setup will save them from always on worst turn rate ever
I like the new new ships and now the boffs. The ships are cool and the singularity is cool and now the boff are two, now that we can select the officers we want. The singularity is cool when the ships are blown up. I hope it gets better from here.
Because YOU, are not the only player in STO. You do not like it, another one likes it. I think it is for the best if all factions are as much as different from each other as possible.
And you know... that would be a valid argument if I had said:
"They should completely remove the singularity mechanic entirely because I said so."
However, what I said (and I have said from the beginning) is:
"I want to fly a Romulan Warbird, but this singularity thing isnt for me. Can there be an option to not have to use it?"
Never said I was the only person playing this game. Never even insinuated it. Never said no one should be able to use the singularity system because I dont like it... but I did say that there should be an option for people who dont like it to be able to opt out of using it, without being penalized.
Hyouki's actually right on the meta-level if one stops to think about it.
Every Captain ability is a gimmick.
Every BOFF ability is a gimmick.
Every DOFF is a gimmick.
Every piece of gear is a gimmick.
Everything...is...a gimmick.
Not really. A gimmick is something (more often than not shoehorned) into an existing or new product that would not hamper the operation of said product if it wasnt there. (Having a special feature for the sake of having a special feature...) Examples:
Wii motion controls
the 3D function on the Nintendo 3DS.
Xbox Kinect
PlayStation Move
The WiiU's tablet controller
The rear touch pad on the PSVita
If none of those existed, the consoles they are related to would still function just fine* (and in the case of the 3DS, you can turn off the 3D and not have to use it).
*With the possible exception of the Wii, as with out motion control, it might not have ever existed in the first place. But the majority of games do use it for anything more than inputs that could have easily been handled by a button.
So while the above are gimmicks; player abilities, BOff/Companion abilities and gear are pretty essential to the function of an MMO (or even just an RPG in general). The DOff system could be considered one, yes. But if it is, its one that you dont have to use. Id even go so far to say most of the CStore consoles are gimmicks in some form (eg the Impulse Burst or Subspace Jump).
The Singularity system is definitely a gimmick. Its a special feature to make the Romulans stand out, just because having a special feature seemed like a good idea.
Just a heads up with some more changes that will be coming to the test servers soon.
-We have reverted the cooldown on Romulan Battle Cloak to 20 seconds.
-The base power levels for most Romulan Warbirds are being reverted to 40 base for each subsystem. The T'liss and T'varo are unaffected by this change.
-We have increased the power level bonuses to ships based on your current Singularity Power. This now goes from +5 at low singularity to +15 at max Singularity (up from +0 to +7.5). This bonus is disabled while your Singularity Powers are on cooldown.
As always, these changes are subject to further possible iterations in the future.
Excellent! This looks much better.
Infinite possibilities have implications that could not be completely understood if you turned this entire universe into a giant supercomputer.
did y'all re-revert the cloak? I just cycled mine and it came up with a 30s cooldown. I've got 35% cooldown, so if I'm doing the math right, that puts the base cloak at 40s. Do I need to drop and regrab the mogai?
ugh, never mind. reading comprehension fail. "will be rolled back".
Comments
"We are smart." - Grebnedlog
Member of Alliance Central Command/boq botlhra'ghom
Thank you for listening to feedback, I appreciate that the dev team is taking are feedback seriously. While I don't think these changes are necessarily the right way to go about balancing warbirds, 40 second battle cloak diffidently wasn't.
And the bonus power should help some though.
Also the bonus power he's talking about is to what ever system your singularity core is geared to.
Would be nice once finals are done on the power levels and cloaking time frames if the Enhanced Battle Cloaks can be looked at.
Thank you for decreasing the cooldown to the cloak. Still wish we had the 45 base power, but the bonus from the singularity is very nice.
Still tough to really tell how it's going to effect things since were not at level 50. well most of us aren't
I couldn't agree more. I rather have the singularity powers nerfed to oblivion than lose the cloak. the cloak is a dedicated part of romulan technology and canon and needs to be there and be just as good as it can be.
Interesting. Thanks for the update and reverting the cloak change.
I dunno, AC. Between this and the EPTX changes, y'all're setting up a nasty nasty precedent of actually listening to beta-testing feedback. Do you really want to walk down the road of making the players happy?
(The answer to that question is, of course, YES.
However I can express my opinion that if the warbirds get nerfed in some respect, it should be hull. I'd say shields as well, but those are just so important in STO that a decrease (no matter how small) in shield modifier would be a major disadvantage.
Still, I believe Romulan ships should be relatively fragile thus relying on Battlecloaking rather than (shields/)hull for defense.
Toi'Va, Ti'vath, Toivia, Ty'Vris, Tia Vex, Toi'Virth: Add Tier 6 KDF Carrier and Raider.
Tae'Va, T'Vaya, To'Var, Tevra, T'Vira, To'Vrak: Give us Asylums for Romulans.
Don't make ARC mandatory! Keep it optional only!
I never noticed that, either, though I wasn't looking for it. That's actually a really cool mechanic, it forces the player to make choice there. Personally I'd probably choose higher power levels *most* of the time.
I like these changes. Keeps Romulans from having a super-alpha strike, due to coming in and out of cloak (since we don't build singularity in cloak), makes the cloak useful, and makes the Singularity useful in long missions, and gives an option of more energy, or a singulariy power.
I approve.
Why did cryptic felt the need to even add them to the game in the first place?
For myself, i find them to be utterly pointless and to be just a gimmick so they appear more shiny.
It is not what makes a romulan ship romulan.
So how about the option for warbirds to not use the singularity mechanic at all? Seriously.
"We are smart." - Grebnedlog
Member of Alliance Central Command/boq botlhra'ghom
Because its feedback. This is a topic that is requesting feedback. So I'm providing my feedback on a change the I believe that need to be made in the game. You dont like that? #dealwithit
I would agree with this as well but the devs have gone to so much trouble on their baby (singularity powers) already, that I suspect it will be hard to convince them. Like you I wanted to play the Romulans that I'm familiar with from the TNG era. I only play KDF as a stopgap measure. Seeing that they toyed with 40 seconds on a battle cloak at all suggests they really want to keep the singularity powers as is.
Honestly, STO would have to completely mess up Romulans to keep me from playing them. It is a little scary how close they started with the infamous alliance decision. Then there was the -40 to power. The possibility of a 40 second battle cloak as well is disheartening.
Now, they have the benefit of the doubt with it being beta and all, but given how much I hate the P2W lockboxes and cryptic's idea of PvP ship balance (Seriously, what genius came up with TIF? That person(s) certianly didn't play test the victim of multiple TIFs being thrown at him), I am seriously concerned they may still mess it up. I just don't think they PvP balance very well. These singularity powers are screaming temporal shiplike gimmicks that are either useless or OP. Between now and launch is a mere three weeks and the beta testers are more or less stuck at level 21. There is very little if any PvP beta testing going on right now . . .
My objection to that (and it's less from a canon point of view, I'll grant) is simply that "weakened hull/shields in exchange for battlecloak" has been done already in the Klingon raiders.
I might not have even noticed or cared had they opted for that solution up front, but as they've opted for more variety, and I'd rather keep that going than go back and make another Klingon BoP variant.
That being said, the singularity powers gives us three potent defensive abilities that all have a place in covering our butts while going in to cloak, so even with a ding to hull or shields, we'd still be in a pretty good place durability-wise.
I am in the beta. I have been working with the powers. I am working WITH the singularity powers rather than just saying "I don't want these, let me play the way I always have!" I'm talking tactics. I'm trying skill combinations. I'm finding what WORKS out of what we've already been given, rather than telling the devs "oh, I'd rather you just throw it all out" or "I thought this power was useless, make it work like this because that's the way I thought it should be used." Most importantly, I really REALLY want to challenge the endgame stuff before the system is ripped up and tossed out, or mutilated into unrecognizability, based off the opinions of people who dismissed the system out of hand.
As for getting ships courtesy of your alts (and it's a pretty safe bet you have non-romulan alts already), I'm not sure what you mean by "doesnt work that when I started and it sure as hell should be used as a solution", but you know you can use the dilithium exchange to move processed dilithium between characters, right? You know any T1-T4 zen store ships you've unlocked are available to all your alts, including your Romulan, right? You know that if you're so vehemently opposed to Warbirds, you can put in some work to get out of it, right? So yeah, allies ships or lockbox ships. You have OPTIONS.
No. Most people dont have the option to transfer thousands of dilithium between characters. They have the ability to do so, but need to be able to get the dilithium, and not have need for it on their other character. And youre right... I could use an ally T1-T4 ship... and then I'm boned... because T5 ships are only warbirds with the same stupid powers.
Im not opposed to warbirds... (in fact I love the design of most of them). Im opposed to a gimmicky system thats being shoehorned in to give the Romulans something special. Im opposed to that system being forced onto players who want to play a Romulan.
The powers are useless. But its great that you want to use them. Its great you want to change your playstyle to work with them. I dont. I'd prefer to have the option to fly a warbird and not use them and not be penalized for not using them. They dont have to throw out the entire system. Just give me a way to turn it off on my ship.
So as it is my choices are:
A. Play a romulan, and suffer through a horrible power system for a chance to fly warbirds. (And maybe possibly by stuff from the C-Store because I hate playing my Romulan.)
or
B. Dont play a romulan (and dont pay Cryptic money for anything on the C-Store because why buy stuff for a faction I'm never going to play.)
And the third option, that comes from them giving me a way to get rid of signularity powers is:
C. Play a romulan and be happy that my warbird doesnt have stupid powers. (and then buy stuff from the C-store because Im enjoying my Romulan).
And honestly... my choice is going to be option B if there is no way to opt out of the singularity system.
Again, quit being lazy and learn how they work to your advantage.
You don't want to fly a warbird. You want a warbird skin for the same ships and playstyles we've been using all these years already.
Evolve. Grow. Adapt. Try something NEW.
But I myself like the abilities, while some more then others. But I'm also glad they are trying something new for a change. Maybe later they will have adapted warp cores that remove romulan power drain while you loose the abilities and maybe a adapted singularity core for the other factions.
i for once love the mechanics and like that they are adding more customization and tactics to use in battle
I do want to fly a warbird. Thats the whole point of rolling a Romulan. Its to fly ships that look like warbirds. Id prefer to fly them like every other ship in the game. Why shouldn't I be allowed to? Why should I be made to change my playstyle, one that has worked well for years, just because of this TRIBBLE system?
Because YOU, are not the only player in STO. You do not like it, another one likes it. I think it is for the best if all factions are as much as different from each other as possible.
Hyouki's actually right on the meta-level if one stops to think about it.
Every Captain ability is a gimmick.
Every BOFF ability is a gimmick.
Every DOFF is a gimmick.
Every piece of gear is a gimmick.
Everything...is...a gimmick.
their main draw is battlecloak across the board, and their interesting hybrid station setups.
its absolutely imperative that the turn rate for the 2 big warbirds be increased though, no singularity power, battle cloak or station setup will save them from always on worst turn rate ever
Also the Haakona/Ha'apax will most certainly have a turn rate boost when seperated if you have the c-store version.
And you know... that would be a valid argument if I had said:
"They should completely remove the singularity mechanic entirely because I said so."
However, what I said (and I have said from the beginning) is:
"I want to fly a Romulan Warbird, but this singularity thing isnt for me. Can there be an option to not have to use it?"
Never said I was the only person playing this game. Never even insinuated it. Never said no one should be able to use the singularity system because I dont like it... but I did say that there should be an option for people who dont like it to be able to opt out of using it, without being penalized.
Not really. A gimmick is something (more often than not shoehorned) into an existing or new product that would not hamper the operation of said product if it wasnt there. (Having a special feature for the sake of having a special feature...) Examples:
Wii motion controls
the 3D function on the Nintendo 3DS.
Xbox Kinect
PlayStation Move
The WiiU's tablet controller
The rear touch pad on the PSVita
If none of those existed, the consoles they are related to would still function just fine* (and in the case of the 3DS, you can turn off the 3D and not have to use it).
*With the possible exception of the Wii, as with out motion control, it might not have ever existed in the first place. But the majority of games do use it for anything more than inputs that could have easily been handled by a button.
So while the above are gimmicks; player abilities, BOff/Companion abilities and gear are pretty essential to the function of an MMO (or even just an RPG in general). The DOff system could be considered one, yes. But if it is, its one that you dont have to use. Id even go so far to say most of the CStore consoles are gimmicks in some form (eg the Impulse Burst or Subspace Jump).
The Singularity system is definitely a gimmick. Its a special feature to make the Romulans stand out, just because having a special feature seemed like a good idea.
Excellent! This looks much better.
Infinite possibilities have implications that could not be completely understood if you turned this entire universe into a giant supercomputer.
ugh, never mind. reading comprehension fail. "will be rolled back".