The three most iconic species in Trek lore are now represented (even if the Romulans are less than they once were). With numerous hints to another new faction forthcoming, who could it be?
These are my thoughts on the three most promising contenders:
Cardassians: Once a powerful force in the far reaches of the Alpha Quadrant, they've settled down some over the decades, their primary adversaries now being the True Way cult. But with Bajoran enslavement a distant, painful memory and an alliance unlikely, what else would make this species on par with even the the fledgling Romulan Republic? The Romulans have at least the Remans to spice things up, and perhaps may some day woo the Suliban and Acamarians into joining their ranks.
But who would ally with the Cardies? The Breen? The Deferi? The Tzenkethi? The Talarians?
And what event would make this faction relevant again in 2409?
The Xindi: Not seen since Enterprise, it would be very interesting to see what they've become since the Delphic Expanse was destroyed. With five different species (and perhaps an elusive 6th out there somewhere), there's certainly a lot of room for interesting ships, costumes, and so forth. And unlike the Cardassians, their sector does not yet appear in game which leaves room for all new locations to explore.
Unknown: The most likely contender. The devs have likely chosen a species from the Delta Quadrant since that's the direction the story is heading. While I can't think of any that would be better as antagonists and don't know of any that are interesting enough to be on par with the Romulans (in the Federation/Klingon tug of war), perhaps other Star Trek fans know more than I about the viability of the various races in that quadrant.
Unlikely Contenders:
The First Federation: Nobody's heard from them in forever. Their chief export is Tranya (a liquor) and they're the size of very tiny children. Save for their ship technology, they aren't very interesting.
The Patriarchy: Found this on a Star Trek map. No idea who they are.
The Kzinti Hegemony: Distant relatives of the Caitians. Do we really need another cat-species in STO?
Metron Consortium: They have been mentioned in STO, having made contact with the U.S.S. Stargazer-A in 2393. As a faction, they are uninteresting (based on what little we know about them) but they might pop up again in the main storyline some day.
Xaraxian Congress: Also mentioned in STO, with a member of this species appearing at Memory Alpha (Zara Dren). They value peace and may become members of the Federation but they otherwise uninteresting.
Feel free to add your own speculations. I look forward to reading them.
Definately not the Kzinti Hegemon. Cryptic tried to get the rights for them but they were denied. Hence the Ferasans.
I'd definately go with the good old Spoonheads. The Cardies... the ground work for them has already been laid with reps appearing (aka Rugan Skyl) appearing in a number of multi-faction mission instances.
As to what might make them relevant. Maybe something similiar to what made the Bajorans and Romulans relevant. A technological discovery. Something that the Cardies can take pride in and feel not as if they are accepting hand outs but truly advancing to a new future. What that might be, who knows.
Actually I'd like to see more of the Terran Empire from the alternate universe.
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All future factions will follow the mini-faction system that is represented by the Romulan Republic. So at level 10, you pick to either ally with the Federation or Klingon Empire. The first faction will be the Cardassian/Dominion followed by the Liberated Borg faction. Reason why I chose Cardassian/Dominion is due to limited racial selection for just Cardassians and there is the whole Odo/Garak connection that might allow an alliance between the two.
Ugh no more factions. With the way the faction system works now in order to force players to align with Fed or Klingons we'll get all sorts of story butchery like the job they did with the Romulan Republic. New playable species fine, but mini factions are a joke.
I'm personally hoping for Cardassians. And considering that Cryptic likes taking the path of least resistance, they are the most likely. Most of the art assets are already in game, as is their territorial space, etc. etc.
And, yeah, the Ferasans are supposed to be the Ersatz Kzinti, and considering the legal problems surrounding them, "real" Kzinti are unlikely.
The answer is easy.
The next faction will of course be tribbles!
Not tribbles. Gagh. We will learn (through Doff crits on select days and C-store episode packs) of the great gagh/tribble wars that made both species (and the galaxy) what they are today. We will also discover the humble beginnings of the Iconians and how they rose to fill the power vacuum created by the fall of both the Gagh Imperium and the Tribble Hegemony.
I can't wait...
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As much as I'd love for the Xindi to be done, I'm sure the STO team will find a way for Cardassians to be the fourth faction. Perhaps some other species would willingly come to them to join the Union... cause let's face it, they don't seem like the Feds who would be all nicey-suckup to species like the Bajorans, and they aren't an empire-to-be any more, especially after temporarily being a vassal species for the Dominion.
I have to agree, I really don't want another faction. It would just end up like the Romulans and having to choose a side.
The only thing I would accept is Cryptic making a Privateer / Merchant faction, where players play civilians and fly civilian ships, and have that as a way for our accounts to earn EC. That or a homeworld expansion.
The three most iconic species in Trek lore are now represented (even if the Romulans are less than they once were). With numerous hints to another new faction forthcoming, who could it be?
Creating a fourth playable faction would thin out and fracture the players. Many players are already burning out from grinding a handful of avatars; therefore, adding a fourth faction would not guarantee any success. Cryptic has continuously mentioned that the KDF side is barely being touched. Even though the KDF has been slightly adjusted, the faction is still not winning over enough players. It would be a tremendous risk on Cryptic's part.
I originally owned: (3) Federation avatars, (1) KDF avatar, and (1) Romulan avatar. After I realized the endgame and after-faction missions were all the same, I ended up deleting my KDF and Romulan avatars. Players can only repeat the same missions, stfs, and holdings for so long, and then the exercise becomes completely meaningless.
Its already starting to become meaningless for many players.
Cryptic should just expand and fix the current factions.
Sorry, but new content WILL come out for any MMO you play as long as they have a healthy playerbase. If it's only bug fixes and nothing else, there would hardly be any new players - Only the hardcore players of that game and the newbie Stop Having Fun Guys players.
We're getting new content alongside bug fixes(despite people thinking that bug fixes don't exist), so if we're gonna get new content, it might as well be good new content.
I want bug fixes too, but I also don't want the game to die for being too stale.
How about they actually finish what they started including the Klingon and Romulan faction, Iconian conflict and all the other hundred loose ends, hmn k? I swear an ADHD epidimic is sweeping through this country.
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We will also discover the humble beginnings of the Iconians and how they rose to fill the power vacuum created by the fall of both the Gagh Imperium and the Tribble Hegemony.
If anybody can make that happen, it's "Q".
The observation someone made in this thread that there are already a tremendous amount of existing assets for Cardies, they probably are a good bet.
As for the Xindi, they may not be the next mini-faction but I expect they'll show up at some point considering their connection to the Sphere Builders (who pretty much did on Enterprise what the Iconians are doing now i.e. turning one race against another). Chances are, they either are the Iconians or, more likely, they're another Servitor race.
As for issues with current factions and bug fixes, that will always be an ongoing process for as long as the game exists. They've made tremendous headway in addressing these things in the last two major releases and are likely to continue doing so in the future.
New content, however, is a must for the game to continue to gain and retain players as that is what pays the bills and makes us the majority of us the happiest (since few people are going to be amped up by a marketing slogan like "Buy STO! Now with more bug fixes!").
The most likely candidates for a 4th faction are the Cardassians (just because they are the Cardassians); who doesn't want to fly around in a Galor Class Cruiser ... oh wait! :cool: :P But seriously, the Cardassians are one of the more interesting species in Trek, and aside from the Klingons, we know more about Cardassian culture than any other Trek species (including the Romulans).
From a knowledge base, it would be Federation > Klingon > Cardassian > Romulan. Romulans were the third major faction introduced, but the Cardassians got their background introduced significantly in comparison. Cryptic could build so much from that. I wouldn't want them aligning with the Breen or Dominion though, the only non-cardassian species I'd see as practical would be Bajoran-Cardassian Hybrids, with unique traits, likely as a c/zen store option.
The Xindi would be cool, but with five (possibly six) unique species, I honestly can't see Cryptic pulling them off to satisfaction. They'd be ruined. Not to mention how do you play as an Xindi Aquatic or Avian? That would take some serious gameplay mechanic changes. I'd love to see an Xindi-arc story (could always throw a story out where the Sphere Builders are subjects of the Iconian; when the Iconian fall (they will) there Sphere Builders take over which leads to the Battle of Procyon V).
I would however favor the Xindi (the humanoid versions at least) being made available to existing factions. They'd need to be available to all factions though, not just the mighty Federation.
No love for the Borg? Or a splitter faction of the Borg who disagree with the Queen's policies?
1. Borg do not agree, they do not disagree, they have no feelings, nothing. Borg are puppets in a hive mind. Only liberated Borg have this and there would be fewer liberated Borg than there are Romulans because really if it was that easy to disconnect a Borg from the collective the Borg wouldn't be a threat.
2. We only have Two real factions with a mini faction in the middle at the moment, to add to that is illogical. Let's smooth out game mechanics and build up the Romulans to a true faction before talking about another.
3. Xindi would be a nice playable character option for the three factions we have now.
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I'd definately go with the good old Spoonheads. The Cardies... the ground work for them has already been laid with reps appearing (aka Rugan Skyl) appearing in a number of multi-faction mission instances.
As to what might make them relevant. Maybe something similiar to what made the Bajorans and Romulans relevant. A technological discovery. Something that the Cardies can take pride in and feel not as if they are accepting hand outs but truly advancing to a new future. What that might be, who knows.
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http://forum.arcgames.com/startrekonline/discussion/1145998/star-trek-battles-channel-got-canon/p1
The next faction will of course be tribbles!
Not quite. It is the Tribble/Horta/Exocomp Alliance or known simply as THE Alliance.
And, yeah, the Ferasans are supposed to be the Ersatz Kzinti, and considering the legal problems surrounding them, "real" Kzinti are unlikely.
Not tribbles. Gagh. We will learn (through Doff crits on select days and C-store episode packs) of the great gagh/tribble wars that made both species (and the galaxy) what they are today. We will also discover the humble beginnings of the Iconians and how they rose to fill the power vacuum created by the fall of both the Gagh Imperium and the Tribble Hegemony.
I can't wait...
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The only thing I would accept is Cryptic making a Privateer / Merchant faction, where players play civilians and fly civilian ships, and have that as a way for our accounts to earn EC. That or a homeworld expansion.
Expand upon the existing.
I originally owned: (3) Federation avatars, (1) KDF avatar, and (1) Romulan avatar. After I realized the endgame and after-faction missions were all the same, I ended up deleting my KDF and Romulan avatars. Players can only repeat the same missions, stfs, and holdings for so long, and then the exercise becomes completely meaningless.
Its already starting to become meaningless for many players.
Cryptic should just expand and fix the current factions.
I agree. I want things too. But this game needs a lot of bug fixes.
Sorry, but new content WILL come out for any MMO you play as long as they have a healthy playerbase. If it's only bug fixes and nothing else, there would hardly be any new players - Only the hardcore players of that game and the newbie Stop Having Fun Guys players.
We're getting new content alongside bug fixes(despite people thinking that bug fixes don't exist), so if we're gonna get new content, it might as well be good new content.
I want bug fixes too, but I also don't want the game to die for being too stale.
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And then? I'd say Cardassians, but they would end like Romulans.
As for the Borg, they're good candidate not for faction, but for some kind of "monster play". Which could be interesting if done right.
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No, no love at all for that. Sorry.
If anybody can make that happen, it's "Q".
The observation someone made in this thread that there are already a tremendous amount of existing assets for Cardies, they probably are a good bet.
As for the Xindi, they may not be the next mini-faction but I expect they'll show up at some point considering their connection to the Sphere Builders (who pretty much did on Enterprise what the Iconians are doing now i.e. turning one race against another). Chances are, they either are the Iconians or, more likely, they're another Servitor race.
As for issues with current factions and bug fixes, that will always be an ongoing process for as long as the game exists. They've made tremendous headway in addressing these things in the last two major releases and are likely to continue doing so in the future.
New content, however, is a must for the game to continue to gain and retain players as that is what pays the bills and makes us the majority of us the happiest (since few people are going to be amped up by a marketing slogan like "Buy STO! Now with more bug fixes!").
However, my money is on the Voth, as cryptic has established that they are't the "bad guys"... Just misguided.
I would have to agree as we would get some more boring Rep Projects.
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2. If not point 1, then Cardassians.
That is all.
From a knowledge base, it would be Federation > Klingon > Cardassian > Romulan. Romulans were the third major faction introduced, but the Cardassians got their background introduced significantly in comparison. Cryptic could build so much from that. I wouldn't want them aligning with the Breen or Dominion though, the only non-cardassian species I'd see as practical would be Bajoran-Cardassian Hybrids, with unique traits, likely as a c/zen store option.
The Xindi would be cool, but with five (possibly six) unique species, I honestly can't see Cryptic pulling them off to satisfaction. They'd be ruined. Not to mention how do you play as an Xindi Aquatic or Avian? That would take some serious gameplay mechanic changes. I'd love to see an Xindi-arc story (could always throw a story out where the Sphere Builders are subjects of the Iconian; when the Iconian fall (they will) there Sphere Builders take over which leads to the Battle of Procyon V).
I would however favor the Xindi (the humanoid versions at least) being made available to existing factions. They'd need to be available to all factions though, not just the mighty Federation.
1. Borg do not agree, they do not disagree, they have no feelings, nothing. Borg are puppets in a hive mind. Only liberated Borg have this and there would be fewer liberated Borg than there are Romulans because really if it was that easy to disconnect a Borg from the collective the Borg wouldn't be a threat.
2. We only have Two real factions with a mini faction in the middle at the moment, to add to that is illogical. Let's smooth out game mechanics and build up the Romulans to a true faction before talking about another.
3. Xindi would be a nice playable character option for the three factions we have now.