I agree fully. The stupid time gating is wearing thin. Seriously people, I get you want us to play the game, but for the love of god, you're simply driving most of us away anyway.
I wouldn't say driving me away, but slimming down active character foot prints does not seem good for a microtransaction based game.
PvE Jem'Hadar motto:Participation Ribbonsare life.
Perhaps combat engines could drop out of combat faster than other engines, letting you cloak up or enter full impulse sooner.
Or you could make combat engines quicker than other types, with a major penalty to full impulse speed. That seems to fit the concept of a "combat" engine to a tee.
Alternatively, you could change the cutoff point on the power curve. Maybe bump it up to 75 instead of 50?
In terms of regenerative shields, it's tough. You could just up the regen, or have regeneration tick in more often but I don't think that solves the underlying issues of being weak against burst, and insignificant against heavy sustain. In any case, a small to moderate buff to regeneration wouldn't hurt.
One solution is to increase the native redistribution rate of regenerative shields. This would allow them to make the most of their regenerative properties.
Another solution could be an in-built resistance (maybe along the lines of 33-50%) to shield drains.
Regardless of how regenerative shields get buffed, I would also take a look at Omega shields in particular. The turn rate boost just isn't that significant compared to what you get with MACO or KHG shields. Perhaps it should build up a few stacks like MACO?
Lastly Bort, while I have your ear, have you seen Virus' tests on the PvP forums that show tetryon beams (singles, not doubles) losing instead of gaining damage with FAW?
I would like to hear a response from gorngonzolla about the reputation sponsorship also reducing the cooldown of the projects as well. If you think about it the player has to spend the time getting the marks for the projects and then ultimately the gear anyways so they will be playing just like cryptic wants. Also, the more alts cryptic can get people to rep up the more time players spend playing.
Really does it hurt lowering the cooldown of the projects of alts considering those factors?
Quite simple, really. Have on run Omega, one run Nukara, one run Romulan, and one run Dyson all the way up. The rest you can do whatever you want to do with them, but just save the marks.
Once you have tier 5 a rep, the others benefit, and you save basically half your resources. Mind you nothing is stopping you from doing all the reps on all your alts, but you'll be wasting resources after this goes live. So if you want it all NOW NOW NOW, no it's not going to help you at all. If you have no patience, not going to help you at all. Want to plan just a little bit and be patient, it'll help you in the long run, with less resouces needed and less time in the long run to get all your alts to tier 5.
My suggestion, like I said take 4 alts, let them do the run to tier 5. The others farm dilithium and marks. Gear isn't cheap, and the new system doesn't make it any cheaper, just easier to get.
Yes, this is great for those who create new characters or have alts that they play once in a while, and allowing them to get caught up. However, as I said, it just doesn't work for players who work on players at the same time.
Some of you have the mentality "just do it later", but those who been in this game a very long time who have multiple characters who just can't afford to "just do it later", and they work on all characters on their account at the same time. Because when STO came out, there was little to do, and long-term players made literally dozens of characters. But after F2P and the addition of Dilithium, marks, and such, you no longer couldn't afford to just work on characters later.
Now, the STO is reverting to an MMO where having more than a few characters, actually becomes a burden. But you can't throw them away because you invested money into them, and well.........you are stuck in a bad situation. That's why people yelled at the Devs about the Reputation system, because of that burden of having multiple characters. While they are addressing that with this sponsoring, it's not addressing the issue of the pressure to level characters immediately to stay competitive.
I doubt anyone here really understands that. Which is probably people are throwing out insults and degrading other players, who just wants a way to ease the burden.
Would it be possible to alter Sponsorship to not only double the xp of future projects, but also to double previously earned xp? Like you already have 50k rep on your alt, use the token, and get it doubled to 100k? The same outcome as the currently implemented variant, but instead of ignoring rep on our alts for weeks, we can play them regularly, earning the needed rep, and have all our chars finished at the same time as our main. This would drastically increase usefulness of sponsorship, especially while doing newly added reps for several chars.
Great idea, I support this.
Say the word, it saves the world. CUUCUUMBEER!"-With slight partigen with it." Proud member or DPS-800"-We kill dem mines with our scitter turrets."
Perhaps combat engines could drop out of combat faster than other engines, letting you cloak up or enter full impulse sooner.
Or you could make combat engines quicker than other types, with a major penalty to full impulse speed. That seems to fit the concept of a "combat" engine to a tee.
Alternatively, you could change the cutoff point on the power curve. Maybe bump it up to 75 instead of 50?
I really like the combat engines being faster in combat but slower at impulse that sounds really neat. Nothing major, like 10% difference, but still something. Alternately they could be slower but get an innate base turn rate boost say -10% speed but +1 flat turn rate which would give them a nitch.
In terms of regenerative shields, it's tough. You could just up the regen, or have regeneration tick in more often but I don't think that solves the underlying issues of being weak against burst, and insignificant against heavy sustain. In any case, a small to moderate buff to regeneration wouldn't hurt.
One solution is to increase the native redistribution rate of regenerative shields. This would allow them to make the most of their regenerative properties.
Another solution could be an in-built resistance (maybe along the lines of 33-50%) to shield drains.
The distribution boost would be great. I really don't think they are that underpowered in PvE depending on build as I can push them over 2.5k regen which tics for half every 3 seconds and is actually kinda silly but if they had native distribution bonus that would be really good.
On the other hand I really think half the problem is just how strong Resilient shields really are in the current game. Probably wouldn't hurt to give all shields a 5% ish cap boost other than Resilient just to level the playing field a tad (or a 5% ish cap nerf to Resilient) but thats just my thoughts.
Yes, this is great for those who create new characters or have alts that they play once in a while, and allowing them to get caught up. However, as I said, it just doesn't work for players who work on players at the same time.
Some of you have the mentality "just do it later", but those who been in this game a very long time who have multiple characters who just can't afford to "just do it later", and they work on all characters on their account at the same time. Because when STO came out, there was little to do, and long-term players made literally dozens of characters. But after F2P and the addition of Dilithium, marks, and such, you no longer couldn't afford to just work on characters later.
Now, the STO is reverting to an MMO where having more than a few characters, actually becomes a burden. But you can't throw them away because you invested money into them, and well.........you are stuck in a bad situation. That's why people yelled at the Devs about the Reputation system, because of that burden of having multiple characters. While they are addressing that with this sponsoring, it's not addressing the issue of the pressure to level characters immediately to stay competitive.
I doubt anyone here really understands that. Which is probably people are throwing out insults and degrading other players, who just wants a way to ease the burden.
What you are talking about is what any new player will face. Most of us have 2-3 captains we keep up. I have 3 for sure. But imagine doing all the leveling from scratch and being new to the game.
It needs to be account based. I really don't think it would hurt the use of the end game content. Those with 1 or 2 won't be repeating the content more than they need and those with lots and lots of alts will complete the rep once then run it for marks to obtain gear. I know that if I had account unlocks I would have all 6 toons needing gear and stuff. I would be putting in the same time over all the toons for the items I wanted, and most of them require inputs from the content their reps are tied to.
In the end it is short sighted not to have account based reputation.
PvE Jem'Hadar motto:Participation Ribbonsare life.
Yes, this is great for those who create new characters or have alts that they play once in a while, and allowing them to get caught up. However, as I said, it just doesn't work for players who work on players at the same time.
I've been in the game as long as or longer then you. It's impossible for you to have been in the game longer then I unless you're a dev. I run multiple toons every day, and I've probably deleted more level 50s then the majority of the players in this game will ever create. So I feel your pain to a degree.
That said, after a year, with the old system, running multiple characters, with only playing a couple of hours a day and taking two huge breaks from STO, I can't believe this would still be an issue for you. Even taking my time, I've got multiple characters at tier V rep and many more getting close. So for the life of me, I can't figure out how you don't have any characters at tier V if what you say is true, and you've been around for as long as you say you have.
So this "I've been around too long" doesn't make any sense to me. It's probably me and I'm missing something in translation though.
Here's the thing, I see no content in the game that requires anything from the reputation system. Nothing. There is no content in this game at all, where you can't be competitive without tier V gear. PvP is possibly the only thing, and even then good smart game play can compensate for the lack or resources
And if you've been around as long as your post suggests, you have EC and dilithium coming out of your nose, and can buy quite a bit of stuff to keep any new characters updated.
So this system not working for you, I don't get. Again, this is what I perceive, is the I want it NOW! attitude that is so prevalent in STO. Is the system perfect, no, I can't say it is, but I can't for the life of me understand how this effects you negatively, and can only effect you positively.
Has anyone got stats on the voth space set and new space weapons? Sorry if its been posted before.
I just got to tier II on the rep, so no I don't. I've seen the set console and it's pretty much a standard set console, nothing great to it when compared to some of the other consoles you can get in Season 8. The Torpedo though, it's a purple MKXII Photon Torpedo launcher with a 180 degree arc, that has a 33% chance to drop a gravimetric well that'll last 15 seconds.
Haven't gotten to the Experimental Proton Weapon MKXII yet, so no idea if its a cannon, dual beam, or beam. My GUESS, just from having fought the Voth, is that it's a beam weapon, possibly like the Borg cutting beam.
Here's the thing, I see no content in the game that requires anything from the reputation system. Nothing. There is no content in this game at all, where you can't be competitive without tier V gear. PvP is possibly the only thing, and even then good smart game play can compensate for the lack or resources
Its most frustrating that a pve grind has its only significant impact on pvp. This is actually why i continue to take issue with the rep system. I would think that a couple traits are not that big of a deal, but as they accumulate they are collectively a very big deal.
It would be avoidable if the traits were inactive in pvp matches. The gear is another thing. If you buy it you can use it. There are other avenues for gear that is competitive, or at least you don't have to run every rep just for gear.
I will still play the dyson stuff, but I won't have to plan my game time around it. I had a good break from Nukara/Romulan then the CE event hit. I can't even log in for a while. S8 will get me back for a while, but if the team play in battlezones doesn't blow my skirt up I will have to evaluate whats going on here. I can wait. Took 6 months off before and it was for the best. A good break could be positive, except the rep system might be a real bear by then.
PvE Jem'Hadar motto:Participation Ribbonsare life.
Its most frustrating that a pve grind has its only significant impact on pvp. This is actually why i continue to take issue with the rep system. I would think that a couple traits are not that big of a deal, but as they accumulate they are collectively a very big deal.
It would be avoidable if the traits were inactive in pvp matches. The gear is another thing. If you buy it you can use it. There are other avenues for gear that is competitive, or at least you don't have to run every rep just for gear.
I agree with this, totally. Or at the very least, if you HAVE To have a PvP rep system (gods forbid we don't have a rep system for everything) make a PvP rep system which is seperate from the other rep systems, and only impacts PvP that allows PvP to be competitive tier 0 to tier 5 but gives small advantages.
PvP should be about skill, not about gear and who can spend the most time farming traits. Now mind you as I've said before, you can still be competitive in PvP without the rep system, skill will trump a bad player with all the grinded rep and gear they could find, but the rep and gear does help.
Seeing what the alt-friendly mechanic for reputations seems to be, I'm somewhat disappointed.
Of course I'm happy about this 'sponsorship' mechanic. It will save me time and resources on the reps I intend to complete for every new character (currently, only the Omega one). But it's not like it really makes completing other reps any more pleasant on alts.
Well, I guess I was expecting too much from this (like an additive bonus for the third, fouth character running a given reputation, for instance).
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.
What you are talking about is what any new player will face. Most of us have 2-3 captains we keep up. I have 3 for sure. But imagine doing all the leveling from scratch and being new to the game.
It needs to be account based. I really don't think it would hurt the use of the end game content. Those with 1 or 2 won't be repeating the content more than they need and those with lots and lots of alts will complete the rep once then run it for marks to obtain gear. I know that if I had account unlocks I would have all 6 toons needing gear and stuff. I would be putting in the same time over all the toons for the items I wanted, and most of them require inputs from the content their reps are tied to.
In the end it is short sighted not to have account based reputation.
I know all too well about starting from Scratch, I had to do it with LoR with Romulan characters. So I know all too well the pain of working on the 3 reputations at the same time. I really was painful.
If people think it should be account bound then I won't argue. I for one just don't want to grind reputation on every single character when this goes live. And I'm sure everyone else here is the same.
Hopefully they will take our feedback and create another alternative that helps.
I've been in the game as long as or longer then you. It's impossible for you to have been in the game longer then I unless you're a dev. I run multiple toons every day, and I've probably deleted more level 50s then the majority of the players in this game will ever create. So I feel your pain to a degree.
All due respect, I seriously doubt you've been in STO longer than me. I've been active on the STO forums before it even went into Alpha, and participated in both Open and Closed Betas. :P
And yes, I have deleted lvl 50s, but they were just mules that I sacrificed to make room for characters for LoR. Though I don't think I will ever do that again. But me deleting a character I had to invest financially.........its the same as putting down your pet.
That said, after a year, with the old system, running multiple characters, with only playing a couple of hours a day and taking two huge breaks from STO, I can't believe this would still be an issue for you. Even taking my time, I've got multiple characters at tier V rep and many more getting close. So for the life of me, I can't figure out how you don't have any characters at tier V if what you say is true, and you've been around for as long as you say you have.
So this "I've been around too long" doesn't make any sense to me. It's probably me and I'm missing something in translation though.
Here's the thing, I see no content in the game that requires anything from the reputation system. Nothing. There is no content in this game at all, where you can't be competitive without tier V gear. PvP is possibly the only thing, and even then good smart game play can compensate for the lack or resources
And if you've been around as long as your post suggests, you have EC and dilithium coming out of your nose, and can buy quite a bit of stuff to keep any new characters updated.
The old STO was easy to have alts, because there hardly was much to do. But that changed when F2P came, and you had to grind Dilithium and earn Fleet Marks with these characters. Which turned "oh I think I'll play this character today" to "I have to grind on every toon today so I can buy stuff".
And not sure what gave you an impression that I didn't have any characters at Tier 5 (not sure if you are talking Tier 5 level or Tier 5 Reputations). I have 15 Level 50 characters (9 mains, rest mules) only characters that aren't leveled up are my Foundry test characters. And all of my mains have Max Reputations within 45 days of the launch of the season. That's why I'm advocating the alternate reputation system. Not everyone can just do a little at a time, you know?
And you say there is no content that requires something from the reputation system? You forget about Romulan reputation. You need to unlock new missions for each Romulan Reputation Tier, and you unlock Tau Dewa Transwarp with Tier 1 Rom Rep, and of course unlocking free Remans when you complete Tier 5 Romulan Reputation.
As for my wealth...........I manage. But I don't have the resources to buy Lock Box ships or buy access to Tier 5 Fleets to buy endgame gear. Which is a different matter in itself since Cryptic hates small fleets.
So this system not working for you, I don't get. Again, this is what I perceive, is the I want it NOW! attitude that is so prevalent in STO. Is the system perfect, no, I can't say it is, but I can't for the life of me understand how this effects you negatively, and can only effect you positively.
I'm sorry if I'm giving that impression, but I'm far from demanding "I want it now".
I'm saying I want to do the work, I just don't want to do it on every single character I own. I won't want to grind 16 hours a day for 45 days like I had to with Romulan Reputation and Nukara Reputation. I just want to enjoy the game, not turn it into a job.
Because you and everyone here clearly knows, if you don't get stuff done within two months after a release, it will be far harder to do content, because there is less players doing it since they finished building their reputations.
PvP should be about skill, not about gear and who can spend the most time farming traits. Now mind you as I've said before, you can still be competitive in PvP without the rep system, skill will trump a bad player with all the grinded rep and gear they could find, but the rep and gear does help.
I agree for now about rep not being required, there are only 6 or so tiny buffs, but after a year or two, there could be over 20. That is a huge difference to overcome, especially for a new player that wants to learn pvp and has all these guys running around with great doffs, gear, boffs, experience, and reps. The reps are the one thing that since they require pve content and there is not alternative in pvp or fleet offerings, then they should get excluded from pvp.
PvE Jem'Hadar motto:Participation Ribbonsare life.
Seeing what the alt-friendly mechanic for reputations seems to be, I'm somewhat disappointed.
Of course I'm happy about this 'sponsorship' mechanic. It will save me time and resources on the reps I intend to complete for every new character (currently, only the Omega one). But it's not like it really makes completing other reps any more pleasant on alts.
This pretty much sums up my feelings. Having time shaved off the grind is nice, but this does nothing to ameliorate the soul crushing boredome that comes from running around and finding eight different commodities/currencies per rep system per character per day.
I honestly would have been fine with keeping the time to completion the same if the inputs were made less onerous (IE: drop a commendation/token/whatever in and you're done for the day).
I honestly would have been fine with keeping the time to completion the same if the inputs were made less onerous (IE: drop a commendation/token/whatever in and you're done for the day).
The devs have said that if the Dyson Reputation works well, then the other reputations would get modified to match it as well, but that likely would be a Season 9 change.
Will wait and see regarding this new sponsorship thing. I can't say it fills me with enough hope that would allow me to have some 10+ alts again.
I deleted pretty much every alt I had apart from my Fed main, 1 Romulan, 1 KDF and the first character (sentimental reasons) I ever created.
Only my Fed main has all but the Nukara Rep completed, and none of the others will be put through the grind, even with the current changes....
I have to agree, that while this may ease leveling the rep for some, it is not enough of a change for people that run 10 or more toons.
But, given that zen/dil sales and exchanges are the life blood of this game, it is unlikely we will ever seem more then this kind of token effort to alter the current mechanics.
I think you should make the 200 exp optional you can continue to grind 200 on 1 hr cooldown or do a 800 exp per day. For those that don't have the time to continually grind, for 4+ hrs.
You only have the ability to do two projects at once anyways.
The devs have said that if the Dyson Reputation works well, then the other reputations would get modified to match it as well, but that likely would be a Season 9 change.
I could see the change before season 9. The dyson rep tech is new and Geko or someone stated they waited till S8 to test it with all the release stuff. But if it is proven, then they can clone it to the others, using Dyson as a template and update the other reps mid season. On the other hand, if they want to see its reception from the player base, it could take a few months to get a warm fuzzy, then they may just work it into the S9 release just to make a simpler work flow. I am not sure, my speculation, I would not be surprised if it happens before S9.
PvE Jem'Hadar motto:Participation Ribbonsare life.
I have to agree, that while this may ease leveling the rep for some, it is not enough of a change for people that run 10 or more toons.
But, given that zen/dil sales and exchanges are the life blood of this game, it is unlikely we will ever seem more then this kind of token effort to alter the current mechanics.
I think account rep is better for micro transactions. Fewer alts, fewer ships and gear purchased per human being. Me as an example, I am down to an engineer and tactical. The battlecruiser actually could be the last ship I buy in a very long time for both. And since my KDF never gets played I haven't bought a kdf ship since their 3 pack released, and won't till they are given rep. Finally my romulan flies a DD that was free for leveling and mk x green gear, never started rep. I enjoyed the rommie leveling experience, but not the thought of 4 reps so no romulan sales.
Account bound rep is not something for nothing, some form of laziness, or anything negative. It permits altoholics to enjoy diversity. STO gives us account bound rep, we give them account wide purchases. STO gives us character bound rep, and sto gets character wide purchases. To further that, I am still using the alts to get doffs routinely and run doff missions so i get more EC by selling common doffs, hoping for greens and blues to actually keep on the roster. But the EC permits me to buy stuff off the exchagne instead of lock box keys. I really don't understand why alts get deleted by some with extra unused slots, there is a possibility they could be used in the future. And as far as content goes, I am only playing the end episodes twice instead of 10 times because the alts are stored on my sleeper ship. Also rep missions would probably be played as much or more because the alts have account bound rep, but character bound gear which means that isntead of running rep twice, I would run it once for xp, then on my alts for gear. I see account bound rep increasing my utilization of the rep based missions.
PvE Jem'Hadar motto:Participation Ribbonsare life.
I could see the change before season 9. The dyson rep tech is new and Geko or someone stated they waited till S8 to test it with all the release stuff. But if it is proven, then they can clone it to the others, using Dyson as a template and update the other reps mid season. On the other hand, if they want to see its reception from the player base, it could take a few months to get a warm fuzzy, then they may just work it into the S9 release just to make a simpler work flow. I am not sure, my speculation, I would not be surprised if it happens before S9.
It's a bit more complicated than simply "cloning" the Dyson Joint Command rep. We need to make sure the existing reps are giving out meaningful and varied items in the Equipment Requisition boxes and stores unlocked at each tier are selling valuable items. In some cases, we'd ideally create new set items and algorithmically generated items (the stuff you see in the dilithium stores) to flesh out the reputation so that there's meaningful rewards at each tier.
That said, if players enjoy the new reputation we'd want to make sure the experience is consistent across all reps.
TL;DR version: Updating older reps will require a lot of work, it's too early to say precisely when we would perform this update.
It's a bit more complicated than simply "cloning" the Dyson Joint Command rep. We need to make sure the existing reps are giving out meaningful and varied items in the Equipment Requisition boxes and stores unlocked at each tier are selling valuable items. In some cases, we'd ideally create new set items and algorithmically generated items (the stuff you see in the dilithium stores) to flesh out the reputation so that there's meaningful rewards at each tier.
That said, if players enjoy the new reputation we'd want to make sure the experience is consistent across all reps.
TL;DR version: Updating older reps will require a lot of work, it's too early to say precisely when we would perform this update.
Regards,
Phil "Gorngonzolla" Zeleski
I think it's safe to say we enjoy the random loot *as a bonus*. Don't increase the costs on the old Reps to accommodate and it's all good if you ever decide to update the older Reps.
As long as it *stays going forward*, then I'm fine ultimately.
yes they really should stop the money grabbing. you know that currency that keeps the game developed and the devs in a job.
Sarcasm aside, it's sad when they forego creating new content, or bringing older content upto speed, in order to release a "new lockbox" for a quick buck. But I digress...
And hope to see the rest of the reputation categories updated accordingly within the forseeable future.
It's a bit more complicated than simply "cloning" the Dyson Joint Command rep. We need to make sure the existing reps are giving out meaningful and varied items in the Equipment Requisition boxes and stores unlocked at each tier are selling valuable items. In some cases, we'd ideally create new set items and algorithmically generated items (the stuff you see in the dilithium stores) to flesh out the reputation so that there's meaningful rewards at each tier.
That said, if players enjoy the new reputation we'd want to make sure the experience is consistent across all reps.
TL;DR version: Updating older reps will require a lot of work, it's too early to say precisely when we would perform this update.
Regards,
Phil "Gorngonzolla" Zeleski
Even if you just changed the project inputs of the old reps to be more like the Dyson rep that would be a massive improvement.
In other words, I wouldn't be sad to see improvement roll out over time in pieces instead of waiting a long time and having it all done as once. Of course I don't know if doing it in bits is even viable.
Sarcasm aside, it's sad when they forego creating new content, or bringing older content upto speed, in order to release a "new lockbox" for a quick buck. But I digress...
Its not sad, its just reality. You could technically argue there are a thousand things that need to be done now, but if they dont constantly create ways to get more money then the game will very quickly shut down. if there is no new lockbox at the launch of season 8 then the vast majority of returning people will turn up, play it, leave while having nothing to new to buy. thats how the majority play MMO's that are f2p.
there is a big difference between a quick buck and continuous revenue. the reason we are getting larger and larger updates for free is because of these lockboxes go hand in hand. you cant just do one without the other. its development suicide.
They offer the game for free, they offer this new FE free, season 8 update for free, the winter event for free. its not exactly like there is no new content coming. some things will get delayed because of its priority (and to draw the relevant feedback from the new system) and they cant make everything at once.
Comments
I wouldn't say driving me away, but slimming down active character foot prints does not seem good for a microtransaction based game.
Hmmm. I'm going to spitball a bit here.
Perhaps combat engines could drop out of combat faster than other engines, letting you cloak up or enter full impulse sooner.
Or you could make combat engines quicker than other types, with a major penalty to full impulse speed. That seems to fit the concept of a "combat" engine to a tee.
Alternatively, you could change the cutoff point on the power curve. Maybe bump it up to 75 instead of 50?
In terms of regenerative shields, it's tough. You could just up the regen, or have regeneration tick in more often but I don't think that solves the underlying issues of being weak against burst, and insignificant against heavy sustain. In any case, a small to moderate buff to regeneration wouldn't hurt.
One solution is to increase the native redistribution rate of regenerative shields. This would allow them to make the most of their regenerative properties.
Another solution could be an in-built resistance (maybe along the lines of 33-50%) to shield drains.
Regardless of how regenerative shields get buffed, I would also take a look at Omega shields in particular. The turn rate boost just isn't that significant compared to what you get with MACO or KHG shields. Perhaps it should build up a few stacks like MACO?
Lastly Bort, while I have your ear, have you seen Virus' tests on the PvP forums that show tetryon beams (singles, not doubles) losing instead of gaining damage with FAW?
Really does it hurt lowering the cooldown of the projects of alts considering those factors?
Yes, this is great for those who create new characters or have alts that they play once in a while, and allowing them to get caught up. However, as I said, it just doesn't work for players who work on players at the same time.
Some of you have the mentality "just do it later", but those who been in this game a very long time who have multiple characters who just can't afford to "just do it later", and they work on all characters on their account at the same time. Because when STO came out, there was little to do, and long-term players made literally dozens of characters. But after F2P and the addition of Dilithium, marks, and such, you no longer couldn't afford to just work on characters later.
Now, the STO is reverting to an MMO where having more than a few characters, actually becomes a burden. But you can't throw them away because you invested money into them, and well.........you are stuck in a bad situation. That's why people yelled at the Devs about the Reputation system, because of that burden of having multiple characters. While they are addressing that with this sponsoring, it's not addressing the issue of the pressure to level characters immediately to stay competitive.
I doubt anyone here really understands that. Which is probably people are throwing out insults and degrading other players, who just wants a way to ease the burden.
Great idea, I support this.
CUUCUUMBEER! "-With slight partigen with it."
Proud member or DPS-800 "-We kill dem mines with our scitter turrets."
I really like the combat engines being faster in combat but slower at impulse that sounds really neat. Nothing major, like 10% difference, but still something. Alternately they could be slower but get an innate base turn rate boost say -10% speed but +1 flat turn rate which would give them a nitch.
The distribution boost would be great. I really don't think they are that underpowered in PvE depending on build as I can push them over 2.5k regen which tics for half every 3 seconds and is actually kinda silly but if they had native distribution bonus that would be really good.
On the other hand I really think half the problem is just how strong Resilient shields really are in the current game. Probably wouldn't hurt to give all shields a 5% ish cap boost other than Resilient just to level the playing field a tad (or a 5% ish cap nerf to Resilient) but thats just my thoughts.
Who runs more than 125 engine power? Shield or even AUX would be much, much more useful.
Its bad enough that the shield is regen, and the engine combat. Hope they change them or give them compensating stats.
Then please fill out my dissertation survey on feline attachment, it'd be a massive help (-:
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/87XKSGH
What you are talking about is what any new player will face. Most of us have 2-3 captains we keep up. I have 3 for sure. But imagine doing all the leveling from scratch and being new to the game.
It needs to be account based. I really don't think it would hurt the use of the end game content. Those with 1 or 2 won't be repeating the content more than they need and those with lots and lots of alts will complete the rep once then run it for marks to obtain gear. I know that if I had account unlocks I would have all 6 toons needing gear and stuff. I would be putting in the same time over all the toons for the items I wanted, and most of them require inputs from the content their reps are tied to.
In the end it is short sighted not to have account based reputation.
I've been in the game as long as or longer then you. It's impossible for you to have been in the game longer then I unless you're a dev. I run multiple toons every day, and I've probably deleted more level 50s then the majority of the players in this game will ever create. So I feel your pain to a degree.
That said, after a year, with the old system, running multiple characters, with only playing a couple of hours a day and taking two huge breaks from STO, I can't believe this would still be an issue for you. Even taking my time, I've got multiple characters at tier V rep and many more getting close. So for the life of me, I can't figure out how you don't have any characters at tier V if what you say is true, and you've been around for as long as you say you have.
So this "I've been around too long" doesn't make any sense to me. It's probably me and I'm missing something in translation though.
Here's the thing, I see no content in the game that requires anything from the reputation system. Nothing. There is no content in this game at all, where you can't be competitive without tier V gear. PvP is possibly the only thing, and even then good smart game play can compensate for the lack or resources
And if you've been around as long as your post suggests, you have EC and dilithium coming out of your nose, and can buy quite a bit of stuff to keep any new characters updated.
So this system not working for you, I don't get. Again, this is what I perceive, is the I want it NOW! attitude that is so prevalent in STO. Is the system perfect, no, I can't say it is, but I can't for the life of me understand how this effects you negatively, and can only effect you positively.
I just got to tier II on the rep, so no I don't. I've seen the set console and it's pretty much a standard set console, nothing great to it when compared to some of the other consoles you can get in Season 8. The Torpedo though, it's a purple MKXII Photon Torpedo launcher with a 180 degree arc, that has a 33% chance to drop a gravimetric well that'll last 15 seconds.
Haven't gotten to the Experimental Proton Weapon MKXII yet, so no idea if its a cannon, dual beam, or beam. My GUESS, just from having fought the Voth, is that it's a beam weapon, possibly like the Borg cutting beam.
Its most frustrating that a pve grind has its only significant impact on pvp. This is actually why i continue to take issue with the rep system. I would think that a couple traits are not that big of a deal, but as they accumulate they are collectively a very big deal.
It would be avoidable if the traits were inactive in pvp matches. The gear is another thing. If you buy it you can use it. There are other avenues for gear that is competitive, or at least you don't have to run every rep just for gear.
I will still play the dyson stuff, but I won't have to plan my game time around it. I had a good break from Nukara/Romulan then the CE event hit. I can't even log in for a while. S8 will get me back for a while, but if the team play in battlezones doesn't blow my skirt up I will have to evaluate whats going on here. I can wait. Took 6 months off before and it was for the best. A good break could be positive, except the rep system might be a real bear by then.
I agree with this, totally. Or at the very least, if you HAVE To have a PvP rep system (gods forbid we don't have a rep system for everything) make a PvP rep system which is seperate from the other rep systems, and only impacts PvP that allows PvP to be competitive tier 0 to tier 5 but gives small advantages.
PvP should be about skill, not about gear and who can spend the most time farming traits. Now mind you as I've said before, you can still be competitive in PvP without the rep system, skill will trump a bad player with all the grinded rep and gear they could find, but the rep and gear does help.
Of course I'm happy about this 'sponsorship' mechanic. It will save me time and resources on the reps I intend to complete for every new character (currently, only the Omega one). But it's not like it really makes completing other reps any more pleasant on alts.
Well, I guess I was expecting too much from this (like an additive bonus for the third, fouth character running a given reputation, for instance).
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 know all too well about starting from Scratch, I had to do it with LoR with Romulan characters. So I know all too well the pain of working on the 3 reputations at the same time. I really was painful.
If people think it should be account bound then I won't argue. I for one just don't want to grind reputation on every single character when this goes live. And I'm sure everyone else here is the same.
Hopefully they will take our feedback and create another alternative that helps.
All due respect, I seriously doubt you've been in STO longer than me. I've been active on the STO forums before it even went into Alpha, and participated in both Open and Closed Betas. :P
And yes, I have deleted lvl 50s, but they were just mules that I sacrificed to make room for characters for LoR. Though I don't think I will ever do that again. But me deleting a character I had to invest financially.........its the same as putting down your pet.
The old STO was easy to have alts, because there hardly was much to do. But that changed when F2P came, and you had to grind Dilithium and earn Fleet Marks with these characters. Which turned "oh I think I'll play this character today" to "I have to grind on every toon today so I can buy stuff".
And not sure what gave you an impression that I didn't have any characters at Tier 5 (not sure if you are talking Tier 5 level or Tier 5 Reputations). I have 15 Level 50 characters (9 mains, rest mules) only characters that aren't leveled up are my Foundry test characters. And all of my mains have Max Reputations within 45 days of the launch of the season. That's why I'm advocating the alternate reputation system. Not everyone can just do a little at a time, you know?
And you say there is no content that requires something from the reputation system? You forget about Romulan reputation. You need to unlock new missions for each Romulan Reputation Tier, and you unlock Tau Dewa Transwarp with Tier 1 Rom Rep, and of course unlocking free Remans when you complete Tier 5 Romulan Reputation.
As for my wealth...........I manage. But I don't have the resources to buy Lock Box ships or buy access to Tier 5 Fleets to buy endgame gear. Which is a different matter in itself since Cryptic hates small fleets.
I'm sorry if I'm giving that impression, but I'm far from demanding "I want it now".
I'm saying I want to do the work, I just don't want to do it on every single character I own. I won't want to grind 16 hours a day for 45 days like I had to with Romulan Reputation and Nukara Reputation. I just want to enjoy the game, not turn it into a job.
Because you and everyone here clearly knows, if you don't get stuff done within two months after a release, it will be far harder to do content, because there is less players doing it since they finished building their reputations.
I agree for now about rep not being required, there are only 6 or so tiny buffs, but after a year or two, there could be over 20. That is a huge difference to overcome, especially for a new player that wants to learn pvp and has all these guys running around with great doffs, gear, boffs, experience, and reps. The reps are the one thing that since they require pve content and there is not alternative in pvp or fleet offerings, then they should get excluded from pvp.
This pretty much sums up my feelings. Having time shaved off the grind is nice, but this does nothing to ameliorate the soul crushing boredome that comes from running around and finding eight different commodities/currencies per rep system per character per day.
I honestly would have been fine with keeping the time to completion the same if the inputs were made less onerous (IE: drop a commendation/token/whatever in and you're done for the day).
The devs have said that if the Dyson Reputation works well, then the other reputations would get modified to match it as well, but that likely would be a Season 9 change.
I deleted pretty much every alt I had apart from my Fed main, 1 Romulan, 1 KDF and the first character (sentimental reasons) I ever created.
Only my Fed main has all but the Nukara Rep completed, and none of the others will be put through the grind, even with the current changes....
But, given that zen/dil sales and exchanges are the life blood of this game, it is unlikely we will ever seem more then this kind of token effort to alter the current mechanics.
You only have the ability to do two projects at once anyways.
I could see the change before season 9. The dyson rep tech is new and Geko or someone stated they waited till S8 to test it with all the release stuff. But if it is proven, then they can clone it to the others, using Dyson as a template and update the other reps mid season. On the other hand, if they want to see its reception from the player base, it could take a few months to get a warm fuzzy, then they may just work it into the S9 release just to make a simpler work flow. I am not sure, my speculation, I would not be surprised if it happens before S9.
I think account rep is better for micro transactions. Fewer alts, fewer ships and gear purchased per human being. Me as an example, I am down to an engineer and tactical. The battlecruiser actually could be the last ship I buy in a very long time for both. And since my KDF never gets played I haven't bought a kdf ship since their 3 pack released, and won't till they are given rep. Finally my romulan flies a DD that was free for leveling and mk x green gear, never started rep. I enjoyed the rommie leveling experience, but not the thought of 4 reps so no romulan sales.
Account bound rep is not something for nothing, some form of laziness, or anything negative. It permits altoholics to enjoy diversity. STO gives us account bound rep, we give them account wide purchases. STO gives us character bound rep, and sto gets character wide purchases. To further that, I am still using the alts to get doffs routinely and run doff missions so i get more EC by selling common doffs, hoping for greens and blues to actually keep on the roster. But the EC permits me to buy stuff off the exchagne instead of lock box keys. I really don't understand why alts get deleted by some with extra unused slots, there is a possibility they could be used in the future. And as far as content goes, I am only playing the end episodes twice instead of 10 times because the alts are stored on my sleeper ship. Also rep missions would probably be played as much or more because the alts have account bound rep, but character bound gear which means that isntead of running rep twice, I would run it once for xp, then on my alts for gear. I see account bound rep increasing my utilization of the rep based missions.
It's a bit more complicated than simply "cloning" the Dyson Joint Command rep. We need to make sure the existing reps are giving out meaningful and varied items in the Equipment Requisition boxes and stores unlocked at each tier are selling valuable items. In some cases, we'd ideally create new set items and algorithmically generated items (the stuff you see in the dilithium stores) to flesh out the reputation so that there's meaningful rewards at each tier.
That said, if players enjoy the new reputation we'd want to make sure the experience is consistent across all reps.
TL;DR version: Updating older reps will require a lot of work, it's too early to say precisely when we would perform this update.
Regards,
Phil "Gorngonzolla" Zeleski
I think it's safe to say we enjoy the random loot *as a bonus*. Don't increase the costs on the old Reps to accommodate and it's all good if you ever decide to update the older Reps.
As long as it *stays going forward*, then I'm fine ultimately.
Translation: Likely won't be updated until they can find time in the schedule (between the constant lockboxes, and other money-grabbing shenanigans).
Sad really
yes they really should stop the money grabbing. you know that currency that keeps the game developed and the devs in a job.
Sarcasm aside, it's sad when they forego creating new content, or bringing older content upto speed, in order to release a "new lockbox" for a quick buck. But I digress...
And hope to see the rest of the reputation categories updated accordingly within the forseeable future.
Even if you just changed the project inputs of the old reps to be more like the Dyson rep that would be a massive improvement.
In other words, I wouldn't be sad to see improvement roll out over time in pieces instead of waiting a long time and having it all done as once. Of course I don't know if doing it in bits is even viable.
Its not sad, its just reality. You could technically argue there are a thousand things that need to be done now, but if they dont constantly create ways to get more money then the game will very quickly shut down. if there is no new lockbox at the launch of season 8 then the vast majority of returning people will turn up, play it, leave while having nothing to new to buy. thats how the majority play MMO's that are f2p.
there is a big difference between a quick buck and continuous revenue. the reason we are getting larger and larger updates for free is because of these lockboxes go hand in hand. you cant just do one without the other. its development suicide.
They offer the game for free, they offer this new FE free, season 8 update for free, the winter event for free. its not exactly like there is no new content coming. some things will get delayed because of its priority (and to draw the relevant feedback from the new system) and they cant make everything at once.