test content
Logo
What is the Arc Client?
Install Arc
Cryptic/PWE, Urgent Plea: Fleet Owners Selling Access to their Starbases
kemcha
Member Posts: 343 Arc User
Ever since the first Starbase hit Tier 5, an obvious problem has cropped up turning STO into a pathetic scam involving Fleet Owners trying to turn their Starbases into a revenue generating scam where they are now charging players to join their fleets.
When the Starbase system was designed, I didn't think that this would turn into an issue where Fleet Owners would try to make EC from new players who want to join their fleet. While I'm sure that Fleet Owners think they're entitled to do this, it has turned into a major problem of conflict.
Fleets and Starbases should not be used to generate EC wealth for the Fleet Owners. Everyday, in ESD Zone Chat, not a single day can go by without some Fleet Owner offering to sell access to their Tier 5 Starbase in exchange for 10 Million EC. To make matters worse, this scam has degenerated to the Tier 4 Starbases with the Fleet Owners pulling the same scam. I imagine that this is about to escalate to Tier 3 Starbases, as well.
Joining a Starbase should not have special conditions where you are forced to give the fleet owner an exorbitant amount of EC to either join their fleet or to gain access to their Fleet Vendors. In the past few months, I have quit over a dozen fleets because they are making too many conditions on new members and I think that Cryptic and PWE needs to eliminate this scam.
Fleet Owners are justifying this with the excuse "we spent a lot of dilithium to get to Tier 5 so we can charge for access". Since fleet starbases are built by the entire fleet, this "entitlement" where Fleet Owners are trying to generate in-game currency from its members and from new members is an insult.
Please, Cryptic and PWE, end this practice and stop Fleet owners from doing this because STO is rapidly becoming a joke among the in-game players.
BTW, I imagine that the hate comments from the Fleet Owners will try to derail this topic but if you find this move by Fleet Owners to sell access to their Starbases are "offensive" and as a "scam", post in here and tell Cryptic what you think about this move by Fleet Owners who think they are entitled to do this.
When the Starbase system was designed, I didn't think that this would turn into an issue where Fleet Owners would try to make EC from new players who want to join their fleet. While I'm sure that Fleet Owners think they're entitled to do this, it has turned into a major problem of conflict.
Fleets and Starbases should not be used to generate EC wealth for the Fleet Owners. Everyday, in ESD Zone Chat, not a single day can go by without some Fleet Owner offering to sell access to their Tier 5 Starbase in exchange for 10 Million EC. To make matters worse, this scam has degenerated to the Tier 4 Starbases with the Fleet Owners pulling the same scam. I imagine that this is about to escalate to Tier 3 Starbases, as well.
Joining a Starbase should not have special conditions where you are forced to give the fleet owner an exorbitant amount of EC to either join their fleet or to gain access to their Fleet Vendors. In the past few months, I have quit over a dozen fleets because they are making too many conditions on new members and I think that Cryptic and PWE needs to eliminate this scam.
Fleet Owners are justifying this with the excuse "we spent a lot of dilithium to get to Tier 5 so we can charge for access". Since fleet starbases are built by the entire fleet, this "entitlement" where Fleet Owners are trying to generate in-game currency from its members and from new members is an insult.
Please, Cryptic and PWE, end this practice and stop Fleet owners from doing this because STO is rapidly becoming a joke among the in-game players.
BTW, I imagine that the hate comments from the Fleet Owners will try to derail this topic but if you find this move by Fleet Owners to sell access to their Starbases are "offensive" and as a "scam", post in here and tell Cryptic what you think about this move by Fleet Owners who think they are entitled to do this.
possibilities are a thing of hope, sometimes it drives us toward something better
Post edited by kemcha on
0
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
BTW: tem million is cheap now. A few weeks ago I belive the going rate 25-30 million.
ingame: @.Spartan
Original Cryptic Forum Name: Spartan (member #124)
The Glorious, Kirk’s Protegè
The real problem lies with fleets that actually DO scam people out of their EC, when you pay for access but don't get what you paid for. It's best to just not sink to that level of desperation. The reality is, the payoff isn't really worth the risk.
Been around since Dec 2010 on STO and bought LTS in Apr 2013 for STO.
I doubt it, the money is probably privately/personally used to buy high end rares on the exchange like Temporal ships and stuff like that. Fleet mates don't really need anything expensive, everything that is needed is gained by the rep systems..all the blues and XI stuff is dirt cheap. Leveling in the game goes so fast, that you don't really need to worry too much about keeping fully geared until you hit admiral.
in the rest of the world we like to know what we are getting first before we buy and and advert doesnt tell anything about what the content is about since adverts are meant to trick people.
Been around since Dec 2010 on STO and bought LTS in Apr 2013 for STO.
^ Completely agree.
OP, if you don't want to pony up the joining fee for top tier fleets feel free to just start your own and spend a year of grinding playing catch up.
Don't like it? Well tough. There is no reason any fleet should be carrying an overly self entitled sponge so either contribute like every other fleet member or fill your own projects out.
Those of us around since before season 6 hit, when fleet Sbs hit tribble, we saw the level it was going to need. We saw just how bad it would be.
There were predictions then, or early on on how the mega-fleets from the get-go were going to clearly be the ones who would get ahead. It was said that people would start selling fleet access, that they would do exactly this.
To me, it's simply the predictions coming true, for good or for ill.
It is good at least, because even selling access to buy other stuff, allows those not in a big fleet, to have usage of things that they might not ever get without it. The exception being ships, which you have to join a fleet to do.
I invite people to my own fleet's SB once in awhile, to let them buy anything but a ship. It doesn't use our provisions, so it does no harm to us. I don't charge for it, because I just see it more as a thing to be nice about atm, not as a money-maker.
Its a sad but logical trend. *shrug*
When the need arose, large fleets with established bases and embassies on both sides of the divide came to Caspian's aid. I recall an officer of the Ausmonauts offering our own shipyard and fleet store access to anyone affected by Caspian's implosion. I remember a long list of fleets with such offers as well.
But if you're with deep pockets and wanting access to the latest and greatest at the fastest without needing to join a megafleet and contributing to the fleet first, then I think its fair for the supplying fleet to demand some kind of compensation.
What's NOT fair is someone getting scammed of their money... which is sad. The best I can say is if Cryptic overhauls the system, allowing you to check the level of the fleet you are buying into, the projects and provisions already unlocked, and allow you to make the trade via a NPC on the starbase who could sell you the requisition at the price set by the fleet, that would be the best.
But since that's hopeful wishing, its just buyer beware.
"Last Engage! Magical Girl Origami-san" is in print! Now with three times more rainbows.
Support the "Armored Unicorn" vehicle initiative today!
Thanks for Harajuku. Now let's get a real "Magical Girl" costume!
Mostly because I very much doubt the fleet have given consent. I don't mind so much if the leaders/officers discuss with the members, maybe hold a vote - and are honest and transparent about the money and where it goes. In reality, the vast majority aren't - and that money is going straight into the hands of the people at the top so they can buy the best shineys. Especially in the fleets where not even all of the members who put the dil and effort in have access - it's just pretty terrible.
I don't see their right ever being taken away, and I'm not even sure it should be - but it is another example of how human beings are greedy ******* who only care about themselves.
A friend of mine was offering me access for only 5m the other day. A friend! For something which costs him nothing, all he has to do is send me a starbase invite. I'm the one paying for all of this, my dil, my fleet creds, MY FLEETS PROVISIONS, it costs them absolutely nothing at all. That's what annoys me the most, there's no altruism and only greed.
(I find this acceptable for fleet ships, which require you to be a member and uses their provisions. It seems fair for them to recoup what they lost, but I'd only do a deposit into the fleet bank and never a private trade)
Kirk's Protege.
If you do not want T5 shipyard, do not buy it, and make your own base. If selling T5 shipyard access is disgusting for someone. Then the jealousy and laziness of some people is really disgusting.
How could Cryptic stop it anyway...lol
If you dont want to pay Ec then dont join their fleet. its that simple. there are thousands upon thousands of fleets. go find one that does not want to charge you. its not rocket science.
Fleets can do pretty much what they want, as its all in game economy. if you dont agree with it then fine, but you cant tell people how to play their game, or manage their fleet that is 100% optional to join.
If it was somehow real money, then that is a problem. while its all in game economy then its justified. if you dont like it then that fleet is not for you.
As a leader myself of my fleet, I havent gone down this path of offering my fleets "inventory" to other people. As my fleet/family/friends have worked so hard to get where we are that all provisions ect should go to them and fitting them with the best of gear if they so choose.
Now back to watching s1 TNG :P
Cost them NOTHING? You honestly think getting a Tier 5 starbase costs nothing at all?
The level of ignorance is staggering.
Costs them nothing eh?
http://www.stowiki.org/User:MatthewM/FleetCosts
Look at that, the MINIMUM EC cost to get to T5 is 585 million EC, and 29 million dilithium. A mere 5M EC is chump change compared to the costs required.
Good lord the sense of entitlement here is staggering. Don't want to pay the costs to get access to T5 equipment? Grind up your own starbase.
Furthermore, it is not a scam. A scam is when money is taken for services or products that are not provided, these examples are people selling access to a service, which is being provided. No one is forcing people to pay out money to get access to this stuff, if people are happy to pay the price then the more power to them. Christ the whining in this thread is worse than the bugship pet one.
Edit: I'm also told that people sell things on the exchange for money.
Not to mention the actual time investment of adding DOFFs one at a time to a project until they changed it to the checkboxes (that are still awful.) That time investment is worth more than the EC costs alone, maybe even all the resources combined.
You know what it is...
-Supporter of Cryptic Lockboxes!
Really because that is the first thing I thought would happen. Guess I've played too much EVE, or STO devs haven't played it enough perhaps.
Fleet Owners forget that its their fleet members who help contribute to the building of their starbases and once they get to Tier 5, they seem to claim credit that "they" as a single person, built their starbase.
This is a legit concern that I posted in the first post and from the rumors I've been hearing in-game, that the STO devs are going to be addressing this problem with STO. Nobody involved with the development of STO have actually come out and said anything about it.
As I said in my first post, the Fleet Owners have opted to troll this topic in defense of them making money by selling access to their fleet.
How do you know the money isn't being disseminated amongst their members? I assume you have proof of what you say?
I like how you dismiss opposing viewpoints as trolling because it doesn't gel with your viewpoint. These people are offering a service for people who don't want to wait to get access in their own fleet, and if someone is offering access to a fleet for a price which another person who wants access is willing to pay, then why is that a problem? It's called capitalism, a system on which many economies operate.
If you don't want to pay out such a cost to get T5 access, then don't. No one is forcing you to do anything.
That's basically your iwin button isn't it? Anyone who disagrees with you is a troll?
I haven't heard a single constructive comment that explains why they feel entitled to charge a feee to gain access to their T5 Starbase. After all, as someone said earlier, its not costing Fleet Owners anything for a member to purchase something from their starbase vendors.
I'm a wealthy player, in-game. With multiple thousands of refined dilithium, Zen and a ton of EC ... it's offensive that Fleet owners think they have the right to abuse the game in this fashion. I go out of my way to educate other players to NOT pay any fleet for the privilege of joining them. Fleet Owners are simply a minority because a majority of the players in-game find the mere act of selling access to a starbase to be offensive and that it "ruins" the game for every player.
Marx, Engels, Kemcha...
Why should T5 fleets deign to explain themselves to you at all? Do you sit at their officer meetings with some sort of veto power over their actions? In this case the T5 fleets hold all the cards and yet most are quite reasonable about the prices charged. For a lot (if not most) players buying access to T5 bases will be the only way to get anything of that level before next year.. if their fleets get there at all!
Also, FYI, a few thousand refined Dil is not a big deal... do you have millions of Refined Dil? As far as EC goes, could you buy a few bugships at the drop of a hat? If not you also don't have the kinds of EC fleets have spent.