Ok..So I can finally post on the forums

I'm a federation engineer character and I have several questions regarding various aspects of this game, here they go...
1.) I just got a new ship and it has 2 Engineering bridge officer slots but I only have 1 engineering B.officer, where can I get more?
2.) I keep doing the mini-game to get materials...What do you do with these materials and where do you do it at?
3.) I put points into 'Attack Patterns' but it doesn't seem to do anything, what are these for?
4.) Can you change what skills your bridge officers have, if so where is this done?
5.) The duty officer system is a complete mystery to me...Is this something low level players can even participate in? If so are there any guides out there explaining how it works?
6.) Thus far I've pretty much just been doing missions and the rewards seem pretty good. I've done a couple of patrol missions and the rewards seem lame in comparison. What are some good areas that are repeatable that players can earn good rewards for time spent, AKA grind areas?
7.) I've read that most of the fun content starts at level 50, (the max level im assuming?) about how long does it take to get to this level?
8.) Is it possible to just focus on doing ship missions that don't have a 'beam down' segment of the mission or is it essential to build both your ship and your away team?
9.) I keep getting xindi lock boxes that I can't open without a key which must be purchased with RL money...What are these lock boxes and what do you commonly get out of them?
10.) While we're on the subject of RL money...How much of an impact on a player's success does their RL money purchases make? Guess I'm asking if this game is Pay-to-win, pay-to-progress, pay-to-dominate etc?
11.) I've messed around with the Klingons and Romulans a little and was wondering if there were any distinct advantages to using them other than access to cloaking technology?
12.) Are there any good ways to level up fast for newer players?
13.) I keep getting invitations to, I'm guessing, clans or guilds or w/e? Are there any benefits to joining one of these organizations apart from comradery?
14.) Hows the end-game PvP?
That's all I can think of for now, thanks in advance for any advice
Comments
1. all over the place - Exchange is the easiest place, but not easy to use.
2. 3 things - use them in crafting, collect, or sell to someone else. (at level 15 you get a tutorial to guide you through the basics of that)
3. Attack Patterns are 4 Boff powers, each with their own uses. Attack Pattern Alpha boosts your damage, AP Beta debuffs your oponents defences, AP Delta Buffs your own defence and applies a deouff to those who attack you, and AP Omega is defensive and offensive. All 4 are useful, but in PvE APB is the most common, and PvP APO is most common.
4. The various Boff Trainers can train level 1 and level 2 abilities, but to train level 3 abilities you need to go to other players, or search the exchange for the ability you want.
5. Doffing is a nice easy system where you send your ships junior officers on missions - or, you can use them to improve various aspects of your ship and captain.
6. Missions are easiest, KDF has more repeatables suitable for levelling outside of missions. Also, the story is nice to run through.
7. 50 is the current max level, and the whole of STO is really built around level 50s.
8. All except for one mission features ground - you would certainly make it easier for yourself to at least keep an eye on your equipment.
9. Lockboxes are a lucky dip with varying stuff gainable from Doffs to ships - only guarantee is a minimum of 4, and an average of 5.3, Lobi, which you can use to buy various stuff varying from Uniforms to pets to ships. (The odds on a grand prize ship are like rolling a 250 sided dice and hoping for 1)
10. Everything except for Veteran rewards is available for free - you pay for the ease of access. For example, an average player grinds 500 Zen per week, at 51 Zen per character per day at current exchange rates.
In PvE, your ship matters far less than player skill - a T2 ship specced well enough with a skilled pilot can Pick-Up Group all current PvE content.
In PvP, you can bring a Level 40 Tier 5 ship along, but realistically you cannot expect to compete on equal terms to someone bringing a Fleet or Lockbox ship along.
11. Roms are OP but fragile, KDF are neglected but most true to Trek, and Feds get all the toys. Essentially.
12. Bonus XP weekends really - or missions.
13. Fleets are like guilds - generally the best gear for stats (but Rep sets can be better overall) There is also the company aspect.
14. A2B Escorts, Lockbox ships and Vapers Online currently.
YET, I feel compelled to help because I had the same questions when I started
1) You can buy Bridge Officers (BOffs) from Earth Spacedock (ESD), from various Duty Officer missions or from the Exchange (in-game market).
2) The materials are used for Crafting items.
3) There are three Tactical BOff abilities based on Attack Patterns: Beta, Delta, Omega.
4) Yes, BOff abilities are changed by a vendor on ESD under Admiral Quinn.
5) Yes, use the Wiki linked above, the panel to the left has links to the Duty Officer system. Worth reading!
6) Well, anything Reputation related but I think you need to be higher level. So just plug away at the missions.
7) "Fun" is relative. Although you'll be able to do anything in the game at 50, you are more valuable to others if you learn how to play the game before then. :P
8) All the episodes will have Ground content, so I recommend learning to do both - although there is WAY more content for Space.
9) Lock Boxes are a monetized way to give players "loot" that cannot be acquired through regular game-play. Although all of the items can be found on the Exchange, some are definitely not cheap that way. You do not need anything in the boxes. Yet here: http://www.arcgames.com/en/games/star-trek-online/news/detail/6004243-xindi-lockbox-overview is the Dev Blog about it's contents and more detail may be found on the Wiki. Looking athe the STO main page daily will help for posterity.
10) Opinions vary. You do not need to spend any RL money on anything - but it WILL take longer to acquire items or services because you will need to get A LOT of Dilithium to convert into Zen.
11) Opinions vary. Play what you want to play and learn their ins and outs. For my part, I love Fed and do not care for cloaking or raiders.
12) Just play the game and DOff like crazy, you'll get to 50 quick. Trust me.
13) Yes, people are inviting you to join a Fleet. Do not accept them! Research Fleets in the forums below or ask the sender a /tell to talk about the fleet. You may also get invites to join a team, that's up to you. Joining a Fleet has many benefits ... depending on the fleet. Who knows, you may make some great in-game friends!
14) PvP is not handled well by the game company from what I can tell. Look at the PvP forum for more info.
Good luck!
A- As you progress, and level, you will later be offered the chance to pick between a tactical, engineer, or science BOFF. At this point, you will be able to pick others that you might need.
2.) I keep doing the mini-game to get materials...What do you do with these materials and where do you do it at?
A- These materials are for the crafting system that will unlock at about level 15. It is time consuming, and takes a long time to level. Though, the weapons, and gear are pretty good. I would recommend that if you have the storage space, keep them. Then, you can try the crafting system, and decide for yourself if you will like it.
3.) I put points into 'Attack Patterns' but it doesn't seem to do anything, what are these for?
A- The captains skill Attack Patterns will not give you that skill. It is a skill that can be obtained for the tactical BOFFs. At first, I would recommend focusing on skills like Tactical Team for a tactical BOFF, when you get one.
For your skill tree, the best things to focus on for the earlier levels should be skills that increase your ships shields, and energy weapons. At first, you might not want to go above 6 points in them. If you wait, you will be able to decide if you want to completely max out points in them. Keep in mind though, if you only max one for shields, but none of the others that can help shields, then you are wasting points.
If any are already maxed, then you can still wait till you get a better hang of things, because unless you pay a sub, are lifetime, or buy the respect token, you will not get to respect.
4.) Can you change what skills your bridge officers have, if so where is this done?
A- There are a couple of places for this. If you are Fed, or Fed side, then you can go to one in the Earth Spacedock. From the transporter, go along the walkway to the left. Then, you will see an opening to the left with a waterfall. Go to the left around it, and jump over the railing to the lower floor. Then, turn around behind you. It is the person to the left, in that room. They are the skill trainer.
For Klink, run out of the transporter room. Make a slight turn to the right, so you are facing the large torch there. Run past it, and you will see a door on the other side of the room. Go through it. It leads to a short hall, with another door at the end. Go through it, and head straight, and down the ramp. The trainer is the hunched over Klingon.
5.) The duty officer system is a complete mystery to me...Is this something low level players can even participate in? If so are there any guides out there explaining how it works?
A- The DOFF system is something that can help. It will open up to you at level 10. (For Romulan, it will open up after you hit level 10, and pick a faction to side with).
The DOFF system will give you a few options. One is that you can put the DOFFs on missions, and get rewards when they finish them. Some missions may require you to spend Dil, EC, or some other things. I usually dont even bother with them. I will focus on the ones that cost nothing, have low risk, and give experience. They can help you to level quickly.
The other thing it can do to help you is that some DOFFs can be put on active duty. You will need to read the details on them to find out which will help. They can reduce the cool down on abilities, skills, and some weapons.
6.) Thus far I've pretty much just been doing missions and the rewards seem pretty good. I've done a couple of patrol missions and the rewards seem lame in comparison. What are some good areas that are repeatable that players can earn good rewards for time spent, AKA grind areas?
A- One thing I suggest for Fed characters is the PVE mission called Starbase 24. It is not the best for leveling, but you can get gear pretty quick. For Exp, the best way is to do the episodes. They offer the best Exp now.
7.) I've read that most of the fun content starts at level 50, (the max level im assuming?) about how long does it take to get to this level?
A- For the first time, if you take your time, it can take up to a week, maybe a little more. After you get used to the gameplay, you can level to 50 in about 3-4 days, if you spend about 3 hours per day, and that is still slow.
8.) Is it possible to just focus on doing ship missions that don't have a 'beam down' segment of the mission or is it essential to build both your ship and your away team?
A- Those would just be the PVE missions. They are slower at leveling the missions. Also, you will miss out on some of the mission rewards that might help you.
9.) I keep getting xindi lock boxes that I can't open without a key which must be purchased with RL money...What are these lock boxes and what do you commonly get out of them?
A- The lockboxes are a gamble. They give you a chance to get rare ships, and other things. I usually dont open them myself. I do collect the boxes though. I have a lot of the older boxes, and when I need EC, I might put some on the exchange. Also, if you do want to open some, you can buy some keys on the exchange also. They cost a lot, but it keeps you from using real life money.
10.) While we're on the subject of RL money...How much of an impact on a player's success does their RL money purchases make? Guess I'm asking if this game is Pay-to-win, pay-to-progress, pay-to-dominate etc?
A- You can obtain everything in the game with farming, or grinding. Even everything in the C-Store. So, all that money does is help you get it quicker, that is all.
11.) I've messed around with the Klingons and Romulans a little and was wondering if there were any distinct advantages to using them other than access to cloaking technology?
A- The Klingons (and Romulan on their side) are better for getting Dil faster. Also, the Romulan have the advantage of offering a good cloaking bonus to damage when coming out of cloak. They do have a few earlier missions that are different, and they are interesting for some of us who like story.
12.) Are there any good ways to level up fast for newer players?
A-The missions are really the best way now. Unless they ever run an experience bonus weekend, it is just the missions as the best option.
13.) I keep getting invitations to, I'm guessing, clans or guilds or w/e? Are there any benefits to joining one of these organizations apart from comradery?
A- If you get into a good fleet (STO version of guilds) they can help with a lot of the questions you have. Also, they can offer you access to better gear, and weapons. I do suggest to be careful though. Personally, I dont join fleets that spam players with invites in game. There is actually a place on the forums where we are supposed to advertise for our fleets. It is under the Fleet Administrative Station section of the forums. There is one for Fed, Klink, and Romulan. Though, some of the Fed, and Klink fleets accept Romulan.
I would suggest checking them out. And if you go into your options, you can make it where they will not be able to send invites to you.
14.) Hows the end-game PvP?
A- Some like, most dont. I dont like it myself, unless it is a private build for testing, or just playing around. The PVP system needs a lot of work, and the developers have said they will be trying to fix it in the future. We just dont know when that will be though. However, if you can get into a good group of friends, and do some private PVP, they might be able to help you improve your PVE builds. That helped me when I started.
I hope this helps some.
5.) The duty officer system is a complete mystery to me...Is this something low level players can even participate in? If so are there any guides out there explaining how it works?
- You can play it at level 11 when they give you a set of "free" low quality officers to start out. You get a few more later. You should immediately head to your academy and recruit more if you want to play, it takes time to get a working set. Its really easy... pick a mission, meet the requirements (most just take officers with certain traits, some need dil or items or money etc as well..), mash go, and wait. Time to complete takes from 30 min to days. You want to match officers with the most 'green' traits and the fewest 'red' -- for example, if trying to be diplomatic, your unruly, angry thug officer will have a lot of red traits because he is terrible at this job. Likewise your pacifist guy who does well at diplomacy will stink at beating someone up.... so you pick the right guy for the job as best you can. Officers come in quality like other stuff, white/green/blue/purple standard colors. Purples will succeed and critically succeed more often but a green with 3 matching traits is "usually" better than a purple with no matches at all. There probably are guides but its really not hard, just choose a mission and hit "start", for the most part... or ask a specific question.
6.) Thus far I've pretty much just been doing missions and the rewards seem pretty good. I've done a couple of patrol missions and the rewards seem lame in comparison. What are some good areas that are repeatable that players can earn good rewards for time spent, AKA grind areas?
Not so many. You can grind/repeat at 50. KDF can do defense missions for 1400 dil at low levels, for xp, but its tedious. If in a fleet, you can grind fleet alerts after level 5, these are super easy and simple group efforts that take 5-10 min. There are areas where you can shoot things for fun but you get very little xp and low level loot is of no value unless you score something to equip -- rare because you get so many good blues from missions. You can also repeat missions for blue gear; at 30+ it can be worth a quick 3x repeat of a blue weapon mission...
7.) I've read that most of the fun content starts at level 50, (the max level im assuming?) about how long does it take to get to this level?
- you can hit 50 in 2-3 days of hard play. But IMHO the first few times, the missions and leveling up ARE fun. You should try to enjoy the here & now; the developers put a lot of time and energy in the level up content missions and they tell a story, and are a fun mix of ground and space, with a good feel to them. The 10th time through them, it loses something, but the first time should be a lot of fun.
8.) Is it possible to just focus on doing ship missions that don't have a 'beam down' segment of the mission or is it essential to build both your ship and your away team?
you can play space only at 50. Until then, its not easy to avoid a bit of ground combat. You don't need an elite ground team to level up though; just use what you find, and it will be good enough.
9.) I keep getting xindi lock boxes that I can't open without a key which must be purchased with RL money...What are these lock boxes and what do you commonly get out of them?
They have a "jackpot" reward of a ship, usually a very, very good ship. They also have lobi, which after a long time let you buy a very, very good ship of your choice among other things. The rest include duty officers, character traits, dil mining claim (get 25-50k dil from a daily quest from item inside), interesting free weapons, and more. Some of the boxes have unique ship consoles of great value. You can buy keys for energy credits or convert dil to zen to buy them slowly. I can buy about 2-3 keys / day using many alts to grind for them.
10.) While we're on the subject of RL money...How much of an impact on a player's success does their RL money purchases make? Guess I'm asking if this game is Pay-to-win, pay-to-progress, pay-to-dominate etc?
Paying is quicker and faster. You can do anything free, with infinite time and patience. Here, alts help a lot; 10 alts or so can farm dil in parallel. You will struggle to succeed at top level pvp without spending real money; however there is a major overhaul later this year that will reset much of this (everyone starts over from scratch levelign from 50-60 and getting new gear). So, my advice is to farm dil, and wait to see what comes at 60. Its a good time to be a new guy!
11.) I've messed around with the Klingons and Romulans a little and was wondering if there were any distinct advantages to using them other than access to cloaking technology?
Romulan singularity is powerful -- one use of it provides a big damage boost and another provides a big defense boost. Roms have the best offensive ships in the game -- even their weakest ships usually have 3 tactical consoles and a decent tac officer. It is the damage dealing faction. They also get superior bridge officers with deadly space traits. KDF is best at getting dil easily, and has access to some awesome consoles on low tier ships (paid for ships) including the potent plasma leech and another that puts you behind your target.
12.) Are there any good ways to level up fast for newer players?
you don't need to level up any faster. Again, its a 2-3 day process and should be enjoyed, not rushed. But if you want to go faster.... skip the ground missions in drozna station by doing fleet alerts every 30 min after level 5. This requires joining a fleet.
13.) I keep getting invitations to, I'm guessing, clans or guilds or w/e? Are there any benefits to joining one of these organizations apart from comradery?
I highly recommend you only join one after being talked to. The random invite-anyone fleets are usually of low quality (there are exceptions of course).
Missions that you do along the way will offer bridge officers (BOFFs, for short) as rewards.
Additionally, you can check the exchange for more BOFFs, and there are some duty officer assignments that will offer a new BOFF.
It's a part of the duty officer (DOFF for short) system. They say level 15-ish, so I would go with that. I haven't created a character with the new system in place.
If the materials are going into your main inventory, double-click the materials and that should send them to the appropriate storage tab.
They do what they say they do. You have to click them in combat to get the effect, and depending upon your own numbers and skill level, along with the abilities o fthe target you may not immediately notice a difference.
Eartjh Space Dock (ESD for short). When you transport in, take the left exit and into the area through a door on the left. The BOFF trainer is in that area
I recommend just walking around ESD and getting familiar with where things are and what they do.
As already stated, it should unlock shortly and you will be given a tutorial. Not much to it, just listen to what they say and don't be afrad to see what happens if you trade out a DOFF or two for different ones.
Also, especially early on when you don't have many DOFFs, don't be afraid to fail.
You can find new DOFFS on the exchange, in lockboxes, and can acquire them through some missions, and get them through advancement in the system.
There are also DOFF packs which you can find on the exchange, in lockboxes, or in the C-store.
You can try pug queues. Little button on the bottom of your mini-map. To the right of your DOFF button.
If you ran a mission that you enjoyed, that offered a decent reward you can repeat that as well.
There's a timer, so you can not just repeat them constantly, but in truth I would suggest just playing through the episodes and not worrying so much about grinding.
Unless you are totally into PvP, anyway. If you just want to PvP then you will want gear I guess, but that isn;t my thing, so I can;t offer suggestions.
I don't know about all of that.
Play through the episodes. 50 doesn't take too long. When the DOFF system opens up to you you can earn experience through that as well.
Some missions require an away team. Try to keep that gear up to date.
You only need a single away team, though. If you have one set-up that you like to use then just worry about those four BOFFs. That guy that never leaves the ship doesn't need any gear, never mind up-to-date gear.
Give some different arrangements a try-out and see what you like.
Right click on the box and select info for more information.
You can check the news section of the game's site to find more info.
Here is an overview article.
Here is a more in-depth look at the ships that can be found in the lockboxes or the Lobi store.
Here is the Wiki's page on the Xindi lockbox.
A lockbox is only guaranteed to have Lobi and something, which could be a DOFF mini-pack or some sort of boost. It could also contain an ultra-rare ship that is quite powerful and that could sell for hundreds of millions of energy credits if you didn't want to use it yourself.
The Lobi crystals can be used to purchase some fairly exclusive items, including other very rare ships.
Pay to win discussions are verboten.
That being said, I don't see the game that way at all. Fleet gear is quite strong. Myself, I am not a part of a fleet and I get along okay. Two of my favorite three ships are mirror ships (found in lockboxes, but also available on the exchange for a modest price) and the other came from an in-game event.
I have no problem with PvE content.
PvP? Again, not my scene. Some people might say "P2W", but if you can buy the ship on the exchange for EC, even if it's a whole lot of EC, then it can't be seen exclusively as P2W, right?
Some things are more easily/cheaply found here or there, but I suggest just going with whatever faction you like the most, or make a character in each faction to experience the stories (though the Romulans are kind of a half-faction and you will get a lot of crossover content with one of the other factions).
Sometimes there will be a bonus XP weekend, or you may find an XP booster (you can check the exchange to see if any are for sale), but there aren;t really any secret tricks.
Just play the game and enjoy the ride. 50 will happen before too long.
Fleet gear, as well as some uniforms only available from a fleet tailor.
But blind invites are nothing I care for. I reject those out of hand. If someone wants to send me a message asking if I am interested I take more kindly to that even though i am still fleet-free.
Check the fleet secton of the forums if you arer eally interested and read up on what the different fleets say they are about.
Or just accept the blind invites, see how it goes, and jump around until you finally find a fleet that you like.
Again, I don't do PvP here so I have no idea.
Have fun.
1.) I just got a new ship and it has 2 Engineering bridge officer slots but I only have 1 engineering B.officer, where can I get more?
As stated, you can buy Bridge Officers (Boff) from the Exchange. They are also rewarded to you in specific main story missions. Additionally, the is something called Duty Officer (Doff) missions which unlocks at level 11. This is a separated and somewhat complex topic, but after achieving certain commendation level (doing Doff missions) Doff missions will appear that will reward Boffs.
2.) I keep doing the mini-game to get materials...What do you do with these materials and where do you do it at?
The materials you are referring to are Dilithium and various crafting material. The dilithium mini-game refers to asteroid mining in the Beta Ursae sector. Crafting materials can be obtained from scanning mini games of anomalies found in space and on ground in the main story missions.
Dilthium is a premium currency in STO. The primary use is to convert to Zen via the Dilithium Exchange; currently 156 dil = 1 Zen. Dilithium is also used to buy reputation gear. The reputation system unlocks when you reach level 50. Rep Gear is premium gear that is generally surpassed by Fleet Gear. You must join a fleet to get fleet gear, assuming the fleet starbase has been advanced far enough to offer the gear you are looking for.
Crafting material is... for crafting. The main source of crafting materials are the queued PvE and STF (Special Task Force) missions; most of which are available starting at level 43 / 44, but the elite versions are only available at level 50. Season 9.5 introduced a totally new crafting system and this is something I have not explored yet.
3.) I put points into 'Attack Patterns' but it doesn't seem to do anything, what are these for?
That's a skill for Tactical Captains. I am not sure your tactical Boff's attack pattern abilities will be augmented if you choose those skills for a non-tactical captain.
4.) Can you change what skills your bridge officers have, if so where is this done?
Yes, you can. You need a "Respec Token". They can be purchased from the c-Store for 500 Zen and it is listed under "Services". There is currently at 15% discount on service related items, but it ends today at 10am PST; 1pm EST.
If you subscribing for $15 per month or you have purchased the Lifetime Subscription for $300 ($200 on sale), then every time your toon advances 1 rank (not level) you will get a free respec token.
5.) The duty officer system is a complete mystery to me...Is this something low level players can even participate in? If so are there any guides out there explaining how it works?
The Doff system opens up at level 11. At which point you will get 20 free Doffs. Doff missions are totally optional, you do not need to bother with this missions if you do not want to. However, I generally recommend people should play the Doff missions for the various rewards.
At the very least, Doff missions will give you a little bit of experience which can help you advanced just a little faster. They reward a little bit of dilithium as well and a few EC (energy credits). There are some that will reward you with crafting material (Science), prisoners (Military), random equipment (Engineering), Boffs (this is a personal mission) or more Doffs (various types of missions like "Prisoner Exchange Negotiations", "Asylum", "Sanctuary"...).
Critical success increases the reward amount / quality of the reward. Meaning more ECs and dilithium, or better quality random gear and better quality Doffs.
As mentioned earlier, this is a complex topic....
The crafting system is also tied into the Doff system and I assume when you reach level 11 you will also get 18 holographic Doff to help you with crafting.
6.) Thus far I've pretty much just been doing missions and the rewards seem pretty good. I've done a couple of patrol missions and the rewards seem lame in comparison. What are some good areas that are repeatable that players can earn good rewards for time spent, AKA grind areas?
Pretty much "Starbase 24" is a good PvE to get a decent amount of XP to level up and also a decent source of gear. I have not played Starbase 24 in season 9.5 because I have max level toons, so I do not know if Cryptic decreased the quantity and quality of loot drops.
You can also replay main story missions to get higher level gear. For example, in the missions "Everything Old is New" you can choose standard phaser beam arrays or the blue retro phaser beam arrays (looks nice, but the sound effects will probably annoy you after a while). When you first play it, you might get Mk IV (or whatever) phasers. When you rank up the Mk level also ranks up. When you are Vice Admiral you will get Mk XI versions.
To replay old missions press "L" and I believe all missions are listed in the available tab. There should be a "Replay" option for the missions you have already done.
7.) I've read that most of the fun content starts at level 50, (the max level im assuming?) about how long does it take to get to this level?
Yes and no.
Many people like end game content because at level 50 a lot of things are unlocked such as the reputation system to get better gear and the associated elite STFs. However, that is when everything starts to become a grind where you are doing the same missions over and over again to get the resources necessary to advance through the tiers of the various rep systems (Omega Force, New Romulan, Undine, etc...) and to buy the gear. I am pretty sure not everyone is happy about continuous grinding...
How long does it take to get to level 50? That is entirely up to you. I have read some posts of people doing it in 3 days. I don't think they slept much or did anything else. The best way is to do the main story mission because most of them will advance you up one level after you do it. As mentioned before, Doff missions also rewards a little bit of XP so it's another reason to do them. For example, during the Risa Summer Event I had a level 37 Romulan toon. The event lasted about 45 days I think. I did that event to farm for Lohlunat Favors to be sold on the Exchange. It was a pretty easy way to make ECs. During that time I did not do any main story mission for this toon. I mostly stuck to doing Doff missions and a few missions to grind dilthium. I was able to get to max level in about 30 days or less because I always had 20 Doff missions running.
If you play 4 main story missions per day you should be able to advance to max level within 14 days.
Expansion Pack #2 will be release this year. There was a Star Trek convention this past weekend in Las Vegas where Cryptic revealed details about EP2. I did not bother reading anything about, but when released, max level will be level 60.
8.) Is it possible to just focus on doing ship missions that don't have a 'beam down' segment of the mission or is it essential to build both your ship and your away team?
If you are talking about main story missions, then the answer is generally "No".
9.) I keep getting xindi lock boxes that I can't open without a key which must be purchased with RL money...What are these lock boxes and what do you commonly get out of them?
Lock boxes are "lottery tickets". They can give you high value rewards like ships, something like that have very low pays; about 0.5%. I have read several rants about people opening 200 - 600 lock boxes and all they got for their trouble is "trash". Beware. Do it for fun if you want, but do not allow them to become an obsession.
As I mentioned in question #2, there is the Dilthium Exchange... Dilithium is a premium currency in this game, second only to Zen. There are many ways to get dilithium, but it comes easiest once you have reached max level and can do the elite STFs (eSFTs). Borg eSTFs rewards 960 dilithium and so does the Crystalline Entity eSTF. Other elite STFs only rewards 240 dilithium like the Undine and Voth related eSTFs.
All of the PvE and STF missions reward marks. 50 marks can to turned in for 500 dilithium. The Borg and Crystalline Entity eSTFs rewards the most marks. They give 60 marks every time you play them; the Borg eSTFs rewards and additional 15 marks if you are able to complete the optional objective. Most PvE and STF missions have a 30 minute cool down. However, Borg STFs have a 60 minute cool down.
To clarify, the dilithium you receive from asteroid mining, Doff missions, PvE and STF as well as other sources are "dilithium ore". It must be refine to "dilithium crystal" so that it actual becomes valuable. You can refine up to 8,000 dilithium ore into dilithium crystals per day, per toon. The refined dilithium can then be exchanged for Zen. The current rate is 156 dilithium crystals for 1 Zen. Most people convert dilithium to Zen to buy keys on the Exchange. A 10-Pack of keys costs 1,125 Zen, that translates to 175,500 dilithium. Assuming the exchange rate remains stable and you are able to refine 8,000 dilithium with your single toon, you will be able to buy a 10-Pack in about 22 days.
To access the Dilithium Exchange, press "I" to open up your Inventory window. Then click the Asset tab. There you should see a purple button for the "Exchange".
What do you get from a lock box?
- You get 4 or 5 Lobi crystals which can be used in the Lobi Store to buy things like specific ships, but there are other things as well. I don't really look at the Lobi Store, but I guess ships cost around 800 Lobi.
- You might get a ship specific to that type of lock box like the Xindi Carrier from the Xindi lock box.
- You might get a Mirror Universe Starship. The KDF Negh'Var battlecruiser seems to be the most sought after, but your toon need to be KDF to get it. The value ranges wildly I bought two for 4.0 and 4.5 million from the Exchange which is a bargain compared to current prices of 16+ million EC.
- Some might reward a console, like the coveted Plasmonic Leach which is valued at around 28 to 32 million on the Exchange. Only Federation and Romulan toons who sided with the Federation will get the Plasmonic Leach. The KDF gets something different because they can get the Plasmonic Leach when they buy the Vandal destroyer from the C-Store.
- Most of the time you get TRIBBLE like a common Doff pack or and XP boost pack.
10.) While we're on the subject of RL money...How much of an impact on a player's success does their RL money purchases make? Guess I'm asking if this game is Pay-to-win, pay-to-progress, pay-to-dominate etc?
You don't necessarily have to spend RL money if you have the patience to farm / grind for dilithium and then refine it (up to 8,000 per day) and then exchange it for Zen. I do a combination of grinding and purchase Zen when there is a 15% Zen bonus where $20 USD gets you 2,300 Zen.
You can stretch that by waiting for discounts like, just this past weekend where "Services" got a 15% discount. A respect token (bought for my 1st toon) usually costs 500 Zen, but I bought it for 425 Zen. I also bought an additional 100 Doff slots for my one of my KDF toon for 616 Zen instead of 725 Zen.
Pay-to-win? Depends on your point of view and what you play. If you want to play PvP, then yes, it is pay-to-win because as a new player to STO you simply cannot compete against other PvP players who have been playing for a long time and have ships where they spent a lot of time grinding for / buying the ship itself and the gear on board. If you want to be an effective enough PvP'er and want to be one ASAP, then you are going to have to spend RL money to achieve that goal.
If you are not into PvP (like me), then you do not need to spend money to have fun unless you want to. Many people want to get to max level ASAP to buy a Tier 5.5 ship from the C-Store. Me? I like the free Tier 5 ship I got when I reached level 40 that do not feel I need to spend money on a C-Store ship. For example, my Fed Engineer toon is flying the T5 Sovereign class heavy cruiser (the Enterprise-E starship). I find that it is a very well balanced starship then I do not want to spend the 2,500 for a Tier 5.5 starship. Yes, they are a little better, but not $25 USD (either RL money or grind) better. When level 60 is the new max level and Tier 6 ships becomes available, then my opinion may change, but there are some people who are speculating that Tier 6 ships might cost 3,000 to 3,500 Zen.
The most important thing to buy from the C-Store is the EC Cap Remover which I believe costs 1,000 Zen. Without this you are limited to only having 10 million EC per toon, anything you get after that simply vanishes. That is not a lot of money. The EC Cap Remover bumps that up to 1 billion EC and applies to all toons on your account so you only need to buy it once.
I use Zen to buy Doff slots because I do a lot of Doff missions. You get 100 Doff slots at level 11. You need to increase that by another 100 be actually have enough slot for a variety of Doffs capable of doing a wide variety of Doff missions. My toons have either 300 or 400 Doff slots.
11.) I've messed around with the Klingons and Romulans a little and was wondering if there were any distinct advantages to using them other than access to cloaking technology?
The KDF is known as "Klingon Dilithium Farmers". Dilithium comes a lot easier for the KDF faction (and Romulan toons siding with the KDF) because of they have a military Doff mission where they can turn in captured prisoners for dilithium and because they many different Doff missions (mostly marauding and some espionage) that can reward a decent amount of contraband which can be either sold on the exchange for 40k - 42k EC or converted into dilithium.
The Fed faction also have Doff missions that rewards contraband, but they are not as common as for the KDF. I have spent a lot of time getting good quality Doffs for my toon; this is more easily done with the Fed faction. On a good day my Fed toons (Fed Engineer and Fed-aligned Romulan Science [less developed than the Engineer]) might get 5 contraband each. However, on a good day my primary KDF tactical toon can get over 30; if I really try hard and get lucky, I have gotten up to 50 contraband in one day (need to devote time though). My KDF Engineering toon is less developed, but on a good day I should be able to get about 20 contraband.
Gameplay wise, the big advantage for the KDF is the Bird of Prey (BoP). My tactical toon has been flying BoPs exclusively since level 1. It is not easy to do though. Flying BoPs is a real challenge because they are squishy with low hull strength. But for me that is what makes it extremely fun. My KDF engineer flies cruisers, but that toon just recently bought a Mirror Universe Ki'Tang BoP from the Exchange for 1 million EC. Not ready to fly it since I am still kitting out my cruiser with the decent gear (i.e. "vendor trash", not rep gear). I wonder how effective that toon will be in a BoP.
As for Romulan... I like the story. However... at this time I am still trying to figure out how to play a science toon. I know what to do and have fun with an Engineer and Tactical toon. I am trying to figure out a play style that makes playing a science toon fun. The lack of any real science starstip until you reach level 40 does not help. Maybe the science track is simply not for me.
12.) Are there any good ways to level up fast for newer players?
Like I stated, the main story missions supplemented by Doff missions.
13.) I keep getting invitations to, I'm guessing, clans or guilds or w/e? Are there any benefits to joining one of these organizations apart from comradery?
I prefer not to join any fleets, at least for now. I turn off the chat option to receive invites.
The main reason why most people join a fleet is to get Fleet Gear. Fleet gear is considered the best type of gear you can get for your ship. If you are into dealing out a high / extreme level of damage, then Fleet gear is the way to go. The available gear (and ships) depends on how developed the Fleet's starbase is. This is done through projects where you commit resouces to like dilithium or other commodities to the starbase. Starbases can range from Tier 0 to Tier 5. There may or may not be a future Tier 6. You contribute to projects to eventually earn Fleet Credits required to buy gear and starships.
Fleet members can provide you with a lot of advice like what skills to choose and how to build your ship to be the most effective.
14.) Hows the end-game PvP?
For an MMO, PvP is actually a very small aspect of STO. Many PvP'ers have complained that they fell abandoned because Cryptic does not do much to promote PvP. I do not PvP, but if that is something you want to do, then the PvP community will welcome you with open arms before blasting your ship into a hulking piece of junk.
Regarding Pay-To-Win et all - with the Dilithium Exchange, no one has to pay money himself to acquire certain end-level stuff - but someone did sure pay for it. I guess that means it is never technically pay-to-win, but money can definitely be helpful. I would recommend not spending any Dilithium or Zen until you feel somewhat familiar with the game and have a good idea what you spend your resources on. You won't need anything for levelling.
PvP is pretty underdeveloped in STO. It hasn't seen much improvements and balance is often questionable. Still, it can be a lot of fun (if you accept the shortcomings), particularly if you fly with a team. Teamwork is really, really important and it's more likely to lose because of poor teamwork then because you didn't fly a lockbox or fleet ship or have only common (white) gear. (The other thing very important aside teamwork is equipping the right Bridge Officer powers - you'll want to know what works, what is basically a must-have, and how things work together.)
Why do you despise the ground aspect of this game? You should know it has more balanced between captain clases than space will ever be.
BTW, you know nothing Jean-Luc !!!
I would add that you should press "B" to switch into shooter mode rather than the standard RPG mode. It made a whole world of difference for me.
http://sto-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?t=998011
1.) I just got a new ship and it has 2 Engineering bridge officer slots but I only have 1 engineering B.officer, where can I get more? You'll get them from story missions and DOff missions later. You can also buy them on the exchange.
2.) I keep doing the mini-game to get materials...What do you do with these materials and where do you do it at? Depends on the mini-game, but I assume you're referring to crafting materials. You can either use these for crafting or sell them on the exchange. I recommend the latter.
3.) I put points into 'Attack Patterns' but it doesn't seem to do anything, what are these for?
I'm not clear on everything anymore since they changed the skill tree. I'll skip this.
4.) Can you change what skills your bridge officers have, if so where is this done? By training them, yes. There are officers on stations or you can use the "train up" option when you get a new officer. I personally buy my BOffs off the exchange for their skills and train my current officers with them. [You can also have someone else train your officers in abilities you don't have, but good luck finding someone willing./COLOR]
5.) The duty officer system is a complete mystery to me...Is this something low level players can even participate in? If so are there any guides out there explaining how it works? I forget what lever DOffs are unlocked now, but don't worry about it until you get there. I say avoid it for now, as some of the chain missions are unfinishable due to the loss of star clusters.
6.) Thus far I've pretty much just been doing missions and the rewards seem pretty good. I've done a couple of patrol missions and the rewards seem lame in comparison. What are some good areas that are repeatable that players can earn good rewards for time spent, AKA grind areas? The last missions in the FE's have decent xp payouts. And the reruns are nice when they come up. In general I'd say try not to worry about it until you can do queued instances. That's where the majority of it will come from.
7.) I've read that most of the fun content starts at level 50, (the max level im assuming?) about how long does it take to get to this level? Maybe 3 or 4 days on a normal day. 1 if it's a bonus XP weekend. No, seriously. This game revolves around max level players.
8.) Is it possible to just focus on doing ship missions that don't have a 'beam down' segment of the mission or is it essential to build both your ship and your away team? Nope. Well, you can have a ground specialized or space specialized character, but in the end it makes little difference. DPS is the name of the game.
9.) I keep getting xindi lock boxes that I can't open without a key which must be purchased with RL money...What are these lock boxes and what do you commonly get out of them? Don't bother with them unless you either have a lot of money or a lot of free time to grind DIL. It's gambling -- we sometimes call them "lottery boxes." Don't waste your life on them.
10.) While we're on the subject of RL money...How much of an impact on a player's success does their RL money purchases make? Guess I'm asking if this game is Pay-to-win, pay-to-progress, pay-to-dominate etc? Technically none, yes. But you aren't going to max DPS without a cstore or lockbox ship.
11.) I've messed around with the Klingons and Romulans a little and was wondering if there were any distinct advantages to using them other than access to cloaking technology? Not really. Both factions are far less developed than the Federation. You can RP and whatnot, but they all do pretty much the same missions.
12.) Are there any good ways to level up fast for newer players? Just play the game and you'll be max in les than a week.
13.) I keep getting invitations to, I'm guessing, clans or guilds or w/e? Are there any benefits to joining one of these organizations apart from comradery? Don't trust fleets that recruit out of zone chat. Most are shady, are desperate for people to help them build their fleet, or will add nothing to your experience here.
14.) Hows the end-game PvP? There is none. It's just...PvP. Forever.
Regarding point 13 I'd agree with previous posters. Don't accept random invites. If you'd like to join a fleet, which I can only recommend doing, you should consider what you want. Laid back? RP? PvP? There are different flavors everywhere. There's a fleet recruiting section in the forum you can check out for this.
You know when I came to STO I had a question on a drain build and put it up here too. There was a guy writing me such a lengthy answer like many of the previous posters here. I was quite amazed that someone took the time to help me to such an extent and I ended up joining their fleet. That was more than a year ago and I've never looked back. Best decision ever. So if you want some honest advice on picking a fleet: Get in touch with the people in this thread! You can be pretty sure they come from helpful fleets that have a good atmosphere. And at the start of your STO experience this is probably what you should look out for. You'll often find their fleets in their signature. If you like you're also welcome to check out my fleet linked in the signature or get in touch with me via ingame Email to @vocmcp if you'd like to know more about my fleet.
Live long and Prosper!
Yes, that is correct.
For some reason the captain skills got stuck in my head. You can change the Boff abilities at any time. All it takes are some ECs and Expertise points.
It's actually much earlier than that. The mission is called "Turning Point" and it is the 10th Romulan mission you will play as a Romulan. After playing as a Romulan for the 1st time, you can skip the 4 tutorial missions so "Turning Point" will actually be the 6th mission you play, but you must be at least level 9 to begin that mission.
P.S. Thanks for all the advice and answers. Has already made a big difference in my game play
Yes. .
But the Feds have their own missions which also reward those things.
Do the Klingons have more?
I mean, I know that as a Fed Captain I can do an "Inspect Freighter", or "Strike against fugitive support network", and other DOFF assignments and have a chance to find contraband, and dilithium comes with most DOFF missions in some quantity.
All content is free and good ships are available all the way up to level 40 (or is it 45?) These ships at Tier 5 can be used in ALL end-game content.
If anything, you might need more inventory and bank slots as you level you as you collect goodies from mission rewards, etc. You may later WANT to buy a ship or costumes, etc. That's up to you.
The special consoles on most C-Store ships are not necessary or all that useful. Perhaps the most "useful" ones are on the Vesta ships. But again, they are not needed.
If you are going to buy from the C-Store, WAIT for it to be on sale. All items eventually go on a sale at some point.
SCE ADVISORY NOTICE: Improper Impulse Engine maintenance can result in REAR THRUSTER LEAKAGE. ALWAYS have your work inspected by another qualified officer.
The KDF have much more missions that rewards contraband which includes Disable Freighters, Intimidate Unaligned Systems, various assault / raid missions on Federation facilities (the are all 45 minute missions) and a few more. Normal success reward either 1 or 2 contraband depending on the mission. Critical success rewards 2 to 5 contraband plus the possibility of acquiring prisoners. 4 prisoners can be turned in for 500 dilithium on normal success or 1,500 dilithium on critical success. This is done through "Forced Labor" military missions.
Because there are more contraband missions for the KDF you have more chances to have critical success which boosts your daily contraband acquisition. The most contraband I ever received for my Fed toon in a single was probably 9 and I had to search high and low for those few missions during the weekend. I think on average I get about 4 or 5 contraband per day for my Fed toon (sometimes more, sometimes less). For my KDF toon contraband is very easy to come by because there are many missions that reward contraband. I am sure there are set cool down times so it is possible to see the same mission twice in a day. I do not keep track of the missions, but sometimes if I wake up early enough I log into STO before leaving for work. I clear my list of completed Doff missions, then spend about 10 - 15 minutes hunting around for contraband missions. At night when I play STO I collect the rewards from the morning missions and queue up new missions. If I am lucky the same missions that appeared in the morning will appear at night.
As stated, my Fed toon (has 380 Doffs) can mostly get 4/5 contraband per day, my Fed Aligned Rom toon (has 185 Doffs) gets on average 3 per day. Pretty low because contraband missions are not very common for the Fed. My primary KDF toon (with 285 Doffs) should have no problems getting up to 30 contraband. Sometimes on the weekend when I have time to play during the morning and in the evening I have gotten as much as 50 contraband if I am lucky. I have a 2nd KDF toon (has 157 Doffs) which can get about 15 or 20 contraband per day.
My Fed toon has a lot of purple and blue Doffs; combined they make up around 80% of my total Doffs (majority are blue); the remaining 20% (maybe even less than that) are green Doffs. Even with that mix, that toon does not seem to get very many critical successes with contraband missions. Best guess is my primary KDF toon has 40% of the Doffs which are still green quality, but overall it seems that toon on average has a higher critical success rate. Having plenty of contraband missions does help.
As stated before, the KDF have "Forced Labor" missions that rewards 500 dilithium (1,500 dilithium if critical success) when turning over 4 prisoners. In one day I had 3 critical successes for these "Forced Labor" missions (really, really lucky). Right there is 4,500 dilithium or more than half of the daily refinement limit. The Fed have missions that rewards dilithium for prisons (well they do but I do not count 5 dilithium as much of a reward). Turning over prisoners for a little bit of XP is a waste when playing the Fed. Save them for the "Negotiate Prisoner Exchange" mission that is also available to the KDF.
Because of the relative ease of getting contraband and dilithium; some people refer to the KDF as "Klingon Dilithium Farmers". Some people play the KDF faction just to farm. Me, I actually play that faction.
The best way to get more personal inventory slot, bank slots and an account bank (used to easily transfer gear between toons; unless they are bound to a specific toon) is to subscribe to the game for 1 month; $15.
For each rank you will receive 6 additional bank and inventory slots; a total of 30. This is retroactive and it applies to all your current toon. If you have 2 max level toons then each toon will get 30 additional slots (90 in total). The more toons you have the more benefits you will receive for just paying $15 for a single month then cancelling. New toons created after you cancel your subscription will not gain any additional "free" slots unless you subscribe again. These slots are permanent.
When you subscribe any toon that is not max level will receive a free respec token for every rank they progress. A max maximum of 5 tokens... 6 when max level gets bumped to level 60. Toons already at max level gets nothing but jack and... TRIBBLE.
The EC cap of 10 million per toon is lifted, but will return once your subscription ends. Unless you have already purchased the EC Cap Remove separately or you plan on buying it. If you have not purchased the EC Cap Remover and you cancel your subscription, then any toon with more than 10 million ECs cannot earn anymore until that amount drops below 10 million. You do not loose any ECs, you just cannot gain anymore.
I highly disagree. Engineers are much stronger than the others, being able to heal, dps, and create cover /control the fight.
It's all in the Kits (modules, now) and DOffs - try a Science character with Gravimetric Field and the DOff that gives it a chance to spawn a small Gravity Well, along with the Risian Geologist and an Exothermic Induction Field - there's a nice bit of controlling the fight right there.
^Words that every player should keep in mind, especially whenever there's a problem with the game...