No trading, no exchange purchases, just loot drops and vendor purchases?

realisticalty

I was thinking of creating an alt and just using whatever loot he gets without buying anything on the exchange, trading with other players, or withdrawing from a fleet bank, etc.

I've seen this type of thing done in other MMO's.

Has anyone tried this here and what rules do you go by? Do you allow yourself to sell items on the exchange or just discard them? I'm sure this has been done before, I just haven't seen it mentioned in the forums...

mightybobcnc

Yes, somebody did exactly this a few weeks/months ago. They said the game experience was totally transformed by doing it that way. I'll see if I can find the thread.

-edit- Bingo:
http://sto-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?t=1061611

psychoplatt

I have 20 chars and did that way on 14 so far. I don't even spend skill Points till i hit 50

kozar2

It's actually really easy in this game. All top end gear at level 50 isn't on the exchange anyway. You'll likely slowdown a bit levelling from 40 on but before then it's pretty easy with found loot. I did characters that way when I started because I had no money or fleet. It's fun and much faster as you just do missions and go. Much more immersive.

erei1

That's what I do every time I make a character. I honestly don't see the point in buying a MK3-4 items on the exchange, when a with one from the NPC will do almost the same. And when you take about an hour to move to the next rank anyway.
I just buy a set of polaron weapons/console when I reach 50 to start eSTF and the rep grind.

doffingcomrade

It seems to me that without the ability to use the Exchange or trade with other players, you would be unable to equip yourself with even the most basic white-level equipment, so your ship would be completely unflightworthy and you would spend a lot of time doffing, as without the ability to acquire even basic white gear from the Exchange, the only other source of equipment that you can acquire without a functioning ship would be doffing.

Hell, how would you even acquire a ship? Even ships are from the Exchange...well, I guess unless you are Gold, have C-Store, or get the Risamobile.

realisticalty wrote: »

Has anyone tried this here and what rules do you go by? Do you allow yourself to sell items on the exchange or just discard them? I'm sure this has been done before, I just haven't seen it mentioned in the forums...

I don't think it would be wise to shoot yourself in the foot on an account level by not SELLING things on the Exchange, so selling should be legal, as vendortrashing GOOD items would be criminal, even if you must then dump the sale proceeds into your account or fleet bank. Your ground rules only forbid buying and withdrawing, not selling or depositing.

Eventually, these rules would become a bit moot anyway, since all the top-end gear is rep or fleet. So you would doff your way to 50 and to acquire doffs to feed to the Starbase, grind the Risamobile or use a C-Store ship, and then equip it in fleet and rep gear, at which point you're just like everyone else.

thecosmic1

realisticalty wrote: »

I was thinking of creating an alt and just using whatever loot he gets without buying anything on the exchange, trading with other players, or withdrawing from a fleet bank, etc.

That is how I do every single character I make. It is not a hindrance as most STO combat is designed to be easily to defeat even using White gear.

I am always amazed at people spending all their ECs on things, especially for lower Rank characters. It is probably why so many people seem to never have ECs.

noblet

If you think about it, how many pieces of equipment do you actually get from other players? Fleet weapons/modules? Reputation modules? Lobi modules? Everything worth having in sto, you get yourself, as opposed to buying off the exchange. The accx3 weapons just don't interest most ppl. Look at your ship, point to one item that's brought from other players. Chances are, it's at most a plasmonic leech if you're fed, nothing if you're klink.;)

I've never had to buy anything off the exchange for any of my dozen chars while leveling. It's just easy enough that it's not necessary, and there's no point in minmaxing for things that'll only be used for a little while. At end game, there's nothing worth buying from other ppl.

doffingcomrade

Honestly, now that I think of it, this is pretty close to how I play anyway, with the exception that I buy whites and accept any gear from the Exchange where I am being paid to take it (stuff being sold under vendortrash value). Everything else, frankly, gives me sticker shock.

noblet wrote: »

If you think about it, how many pieces of equipment do you actually get from other players?

Basically just white XIs, because they're so cheap that it's not worth the hassle of trying to wait until my doffs puke up the selection of weapons I need, and you can't really grind stuff out of missions if you don't even have guns, as you cannot karate-chop your way through space combat like you can with ground.

dominatrixx1971

I have literally leveled 3 characters on nothing but doff missions. They use hand-me-downs from my main or what they acquired from doff missions and I did not spend skill points on any of them until they hit at least lvl 45. It is possible to completely grow a toon from start to finish and equip them without spending any EC or Zen on them. I just run my main in STF's then send what is necessary to whoever needs it and before I know it they are equipped. I am currently growing a nice little Orion who is lvl 36 and has done nothing but doff missions and Lore for the dilithium and it has worked out well. I do have to confess though with my Orion I have spent just a little EC because I wanted an all VR Female Orion Bridge, but other than that they are running with what was handed down from my other girls.

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jaguarskx

This is how I normally play STO.

I don't rely on the Exchange for gear, I merely use to post things I can sell for more than 50% of the value. However, I do use the Exchange to buy under priced items and then re-sell them for higher prices. For example, I have seen many cases where something like a Shield Mk XI is being sold for only 5k EC. I would purchase it and then sell at the vendor for whatever the 50% value is. I only do this for low level toons to raise some cash at the beginning of the game.

All the equipment on my ships are loot drops or mission rewards. This even applies to my KDF / Fed toons that have been max level for the past 3 / 4 months. No rep system gear either and since I am not in a fleet, no fleet gear as well.

Yes, I am playing elite STF with nothing more than junk.


When I eventually have enough ECs I start playing the Exchange market... you know buy low, sell high. I mostly do trading on weapons, some ships and recently Doffs.

realisticalty

dominatrixx1971 wrote: »

I have literally leveled 3 characters on nothing but doff missions. They use hand-me-downs from my main or what they acquired from doff missions and I did not spend skill points on any of them until they hit at least lvl 45. It is possible to completely grow a toon from start to finish and equip them without spending any EC or Zen on them. I just run my main in STF's then send what is necessary to whoever needs it and before I know it they are equipped. I am currently growing a nice little Orion who is lvl 36 and has done nothing but doff missions and Lore for the dilithium and it has worked out well. I do have to confess though with my Orion I have spent just a little EC because I wanted an all VR Female Orion Bridge, but other than that they are running with what was handed down from my other girls.

I've got a KDF alt I "doff-only'ed" to 50 - that went fairly fast - now I'm wondering how long it would take to doff to max commendation level and whether I should go for that before maybe changing out his original bridge crew or training them or something.

(I suppose on my "limited" alt I should allow sales to the exchange...)