test content
Logo
What is the Arc Client?
Install Arc
Squirrely thoughts on Romulans missions up to level 32.
mistformsquirrel
Member Posts: 128 Arc User
*SPOIILERS - This thread will contain unmarked spoilers for the Romulan storyline up to level 32*
So, I just came back to STO a couple days ago after about 7 months away, and started playing a Romulan. I'll be honest: I did not have high hopes. There are things I adore about this game, and some that I absolutely despise; and there were a lot of things making me worry that in spite of all the potential, I'd mostly be seeing red if I came back.
Well, turns out I needn't have worried so much. No, it's not perfect - there are aspects I'd have changed; but, the Romulan storyline has some of the most enjoyable content in any Cryptic game since COH for me - in fact it's got some of the best MMORPG content I've played anywhere at all.
I want to discuss this in greater detail however, because there are both things I want to praise and things I want to criticize:
I'm level 32 and I've done nothing but Episodes*. This is how I imagined the game way back before launch. Even the weaker episodes have been a lot more interesting than most game's leveling content, and substantially better than patrols or grinding Exploration missions. I will admit I'm leveling too fast for my liking; but STO's always been that way and making enough content to slow it down would be tough, so I'm not going to complain too much about that.
The story itself - I admit I'd like more choices, and to have them affect the direction of the plot; but what's there feels good. I feel a lot more involved with the Romulan Republic than I've *ever* felt with Starfleet or the KDF. I can honestly say I have characters I like, love and hate in the Romulan faction's arc, beyond just my own personalized crew. That's much better than Fed side where 99% of the time I barely know who I'm talking to.
Based on that previous point - with both KDF and Fed characters I always feel forced to come up with some sort of gimmick or theme to keep a given character interesting. I have a crew of (not canonical) Starfleet Marines, I have a crew of Betazoid clones, and another that's a time-and-dimension displaced regiment of British infantry from the 18th century (it's complicated...). All characters I love dearly and each was well worth creating and playing in their own right.
But I do like how when I came to the Romulan faction, even though I had no idea what I wanted my crew to be, I was able to 'grow into' a crew naturally. Khev, Hiven, Satra and Veril have remained my Away Team of choice simply because of the way I met each of them. They feel like characters I have a bond with; yet with the exception of Khev, I don't feel like any of them are so pronounced that I couldn't just make my own crew if that's what I'd prefer to do.
Khev is kind of complicated... I personally like him and enjoy his contribution to the story thus far, but I understand why he gets on some people's nerves. Still, overall I enjoy the fact that I can start a Romulan and even if I have no idea what I'm doing beyond "Be a Romulan" and still have fun with it. I can (unlike Fed and KDF sides) to a degree just lose myself in the narrative.
I guess what I'm getting at is - while not flawless, I feel like the Romulan experience is much more in line with how I wanted STO to be from the get-go.
I particularly wanted to praise two missions that stuck out at me -
Firstly - Mind Games; From a gameplay standpoint I didn't much care for this mission; but frankly, that didn't matter. This mission took me from generically hating Hakeev "cause you're supposed to and he blew up your homeworld" to wanting to do unspeakable things to him in a dark room with a razorblade. Seriously - I was furious at what I was being forced to do and how I didn't have any real control over myself; but I wasn't mad at the game for it, I was upset with Hakeev, which is exactly how such a mission should wind up. My point is - the writing here was pretty darn good and drew me that much further into the narrative than I ever expected to be.
Secondly - and I forget the name, which makes me feel bad, but there was a mission I just did recently where I flew around in the atmosphere in a shuttlecraft, dogfighting and blasting huge siege walkers around a Romulan city with a squadron of other shuttles at my back. It was crazy and awesome. Hard too** - but even though I exploded a half a dozen times, I still enjoyed myself thoroughly. I don't know if it was intentional or not, but that mission and Nimbus III both had a serious Star Wars vibe to them as well - I love Trek, but I also love Star Wars, so having Star Wars flavored Star Trek had me grinning ear to ear. (I realize that's not everyone's cup of tea, but I thought it was great.)
Now, this isn't to say I liked everything:
I wasn't keen on infiltrating the Tal Shiar for instance - that arc was... eh. It felt a little forced because by that point I'm already known by Hakeev and he really doesn't like me. Just personal opinion - I'm not much for infiltration anyway.
Likewise I've noticed a fair few annoying bugs - my sound cuts out occasionally, my Plasma Full Auto Rifle has no sound when fired in secondary mode, ditto my Plasma Minigun - and the minigun has a weird tendency to fire from my Boff's feet rather than the gun in normal mode. I'm sure that's all been reported and will be corrected soon, but... quite jarring imo.
Another thing I'm a little iffy on is the Warp Core/Singularity Core thing. I'm not strictly against it; but after playing so long without a slot for something like that it feels a little odd having yet another piece of gear to keep track of and (more importantly), something I have to refit on all my old max level characters.
I think my biggest gripe is that, unless I've missed it, the Romulans don't have a true Carrier at cap. I mean there's a couple half-carriers (which is what I'll go with), but I love my gigantic fighter-launching ships of doom; so it's disappointing to not have that. Maybe someday though.
Anyway, I still have a ways to go before this character is max level; but I'm quite happy plowing along as is and I just wanted to give some kudos where I thought they were due.
*Well unless you don't count the Nimbus stuff as Episode content - I actually kinda do though as unlike most open world content in other games it actually made sense for the most part and there's nothing in the way of "get me ten bear tails cause I said so".
Still would have preferred it be instanced mind you; but it was enjoyable and I liked the story a lot.
**One thing I will say though about Shuttle missions - I really don't like having only a single Boff slot for them. I really feel like shuttles ought to have a Lt. slot and an Ensign slot. Otherwise shuttle missions can become unenjoyable since you can't actually dodge fire yourself, but simultaneously can't pack both a hull and shield heal on the same ship. Just a random stray thought.
So, I just came back to STO a couple days ago after about 7 months away, and started playing a Romulan. I'll be honest: I did not have high hopes. There are things I adore about this game, and some that I absolutely despise; and there were a lot of things making me worry that in spite of all the potential, I'd mostly be seeing red if I came back.
Well, turns out I needn't have worried so much. No, it's not perfect - there are aspects I'd have changed; but, the Romulan storyline has some of the most enjoyable content in any Cryptic game since COH for me - in fact it's got some of the best MMORPG content I've played anywhere at all.
I want to discuss this in greater detail however, because there are both things I want to praise and things I want to criticize:
I'm level 32 and I've done nothing but Episodes*. This is how I imagined the game way back before launch. Even the weaker episodes have been a lot more interesting than most game's leveling content, and substantially better than patrols or grinding Exploration missions. I will admit I'm leveling too fast for my liking; but STO's always been that way and making enough content to slow it down would be tough, so I'm not going to complain too much about that.
The story itself - I admit I'd like more choices, and to have them affect the direction of the plot; but what's there feels good. I feel a lot more involved with the Romulan Republic than I've *ever* felt with Starfleet or the KDF. I can honestly say I have characters I like, love and hate in the Romulan faction's arc, beyond just my own personalized crew. That's much better than Fed side where 99% of the time I barely know who I'm talking to.
Based on that previous point - with both KDF and Fed characters I always feel forced to come up with some sort of gimmick or theme to keep a given character interesting. I have a crew of (not canonical) Starfleet Marines, I have a crew of Betazoid clones, and another that's a time-and-dimension displaced regiment of British infantry from the 18th century (it's complicated...). All characters I love dearly and each was well worth creating and playing in their own right.
But I do like how when I came to the Romulan faction, even though I had no idea what I wanted my crew to be, I was able to 'grow into' a crew naturally. Khev, Hiven, Satra and Veril have remained my Away Team of choice simply because of the way I met each of them. They feel like characters I have a bond with; yet with the exception of Khev, I don't feel like any of them are so pronounced that I couldn't just make my own crew if that's what I'd prefer to do.
Khev is kind of complicated... I personally like him and enjoy his contribution to the story thus far, but I understand why he gets on some people's nerves. Still, overall I enjoy the fact that I can start a Romulan and even if I have no idea what I'm doing beyond "Be a Romulan" and still have fun with it. I can (unlike Fed and KDF sides) to a degree just lose myself in the narrative.
I guess what I'm getting at is - while not flawless, I feel like the Romulan experience is much more in line with how I wanted STO to be from the get-go.
I particularly wanted to praise two missions that stuck out at me -
Firstly - Mind Games; From a gameplay standpoint I didn't much care for this mission; but frankly, that didn't matter. This mission took me from generically hating Hakeev "cause you're supposed to and he blew up your homeworld" to wanting to do unspeakable things to him in a dark room with a razorblade. Seriously - I was furious at what I was being forced to do and how I didn't have any real control over myself; but I wasn't mad at the game for it, I was upset with Hakeev, which is exactly how such a mission should wind up. My point is - the writing here was pretty darn good and drew me that much further into the narrative than I ever expected to be.
Secondly - and I forget the name, which makes me feel bad, but there was a mission I just did recently where I flew around in the atmosphere in a shuttlecraft, dogfighting and blasting huge siege walkers around a Romulan city with a squadron of other shuttles at my back. It was crazy and awesome. Hard too** - but even though I exploded a half a dozen times, I still enjoyed myself thoroughly. I don't know if it was intentional or not, but that mission and Nimbus III both had a serious Star Wars vibe to them as well - I love Trek, but I also love Star Wars, so having Star Wars flavored Star Trek had me grinning ear to ear. (I realize that's not everyone's cup of tea, but I thought it was great.)
Now, this isn't to say I liked everything:
I wasn't keen on infiltrating the Tal Shiar for instance - that arc was... eh. It felt a little forced because by that point I'm already known by Hakeev and he really doesn't like me. Just personal opinion - I'm not much for infiltration anyway.
Likewise I've noticed a fair few annoying bugs - my sound cuts out occasionally, my Plasma Full Auto Rifle has no sound when fired in secondary mode, ditto my Plasma Minigun - and the minigun has a weird tendency to fire from my Boff's feet rather than the gun in normal mode. I'm sure that's all been reported and will be corrected soon, but... quite jarring imo.
Another thing I'm a little iffy on is the Warp Core/Singularity Core thing. I'm not strictly against it; but after playing so long without a slot for something like that it feels a little odd having yet another piece of gear to keep track of and (more importantly), something I have to refit on all my old max level characters.
I think my biggest gripe is that, unless I've missed it, the Romulans don't have a true Carrier at cap. I mean there's a couple half-carriers (which is what I'll go with), but I love my gigantic fighter-launching ships of doom; so it's disappointing to not have that. Maybe someday though.
Anyway, I still have a ways to go before this character is max level; but I'm quite happy plowing along as is and I just wanted to give some kudos where I thought they were due.
*Well unless you don't count the Nimbus stuff as Episode content - I actually kinda do though as unlike most open world content in other games it actually made sense for the most part and there's nothing in the way of "get me ten bear tails cause I said so".
Still would have preferred it be instanced mind you; but it was enjoyable and I liked the story a lot.
**One thing I will say though about Shuttle missions - I really don't like having only a single Boff slot for them. I really feel like shuttles ought to have a Lt. slot and an Ensign slot. Otherwise shuttle missions can become unenjoyable since you can't actually dodge fire yourself, but simultaneously can't pack both a hull and shield heal on the same ship. Just a random stray thought.
Post edited by mistformsquirrel on
0
Comments
That's the Atmospheric Defense, and can be found in the PvE Queue at the top of the list if you'd ever like to run it again with other players as your supporting wing, instead of just NPCs in the Episode.
Protonic Kool-Aid Down The Drain Cruiser
Immortal BOff Skills combo for Ground
I think you're confusing two missions.
The same map is first used in "The Best Defense" in the Romulan leveling path.
http://sto.gamepedia.com/Mission:_The_Best_Defense
However it was also re-used for the mission in the PvE que.;)
I particularly liked gathering up the crew, gave a sense of growing rebellion agaisnt the old empire, gathering strength and numbers in a way you were a part of, not just stated in text
Yeah I felt inclined to keep them but finally had to get rid of them. Warbirds benefit a lot from particular traits. You want 3 Remans boffs with basic, regular and superior infiltrator (unless you're Reman yourself) and the rest Romulans with superior romulan operative.
I don't know if post change Veril's have infiltrator (I haven't started a new character to check) but she lost the ambush duration bonus from subterfuge with the change and none of the Romulans had sup rom op. So bye bye to them.
I hated that one. It was bugged every time I did it. My shuttle kept freezing mid-air. Was worst in the scorpion so I had to do it in a tiercel.
Yeah we don't, and they just published patch notes for the test server with fleet versions of the fed and kdf carriers alongisde the romulan ar'kif - one of our tac half carriers. Not looking good for us
Sci - hazard emitters + science team
Eng - eng team / aux to structural integrity + emergency power to shields
I think they're built more for hit and run tactics. I haven't played much in fed or kdf shuttles but I found in the scorpion I was best to cloak, line myself up to fire on a target, decloak, boom boom boom, and cloak again if I started getting too beat up.