I'm not sure I like this. The concept of specializations is sound and interesting, but you guys should have been more prepared to launch this than it currently seems. As it is now it will be released in a very limiting and RP unfriendly fashion and I don't like that at all.
Only one primary specialization at launch? Well, that sucks. You should have thought this through better. What if I don't want to specialize an Intelligence Captain? What if the concept of my char is the polar opposite of that? It seems I'll have no choice at launch. Also this whole batch of specializations seems soooo tac.focused that it ain't even funny. You do realize that some of us play science and engineering captains, right? You should have had at least 3 primary specializations prepared that fit all of the classes better.
And please work on your creativity a bit for Star Trek sakes. The "names" of these abilities are a joke. 'Pedal to the metal'? 'Rock and roll'?? LMAO!!
Seriosuly, it's suposed to be a Star Trek game, not Angry Birds. Figure out something that sounds more techy or trekkish and come back, this is just not it.
Sorry to be negative, the system is sound and familiar to me, but it just feels unfinished and not really prepared for release in it's current format.
So One primary and two secondary specializations comes with Delts Rising. Spec Points once spent are permanent.
Can I save the Points and continue to gain more if I want to save for possible future Specilization? Or must I spend the Points before I can get another point?
I hope that you will be able to hold on to the points and continue to get more till we have have a spec we want to spend for a particular character.
I like it...more variety...more options.. I will say that this (along with other changes) will give incentive for players with alts to consolidate their efforts on a select few toons.
This also gives me hope that we will never see a level cap increase again. Level cap increases are utterly unnecessary on any mmo and if this was just a one time thing...I'm cool with it.
Welcome to Starfleet, where everyone (unknowingly) works for Section 31 because of their "intelligence" specialization...
I mean, really now. Only one primary, one spacial secondary (pilot) and one ground secondary (Commando)?
<now laying it on really thick> Yeah, the Hotshot Pilot, Commando trained, spy doctor is just how I imagined my character <drip drip>
I would have appreciated the creation of, say, 6 primary trees, 2 per class, and the "cross class" trees would be the secondaries... Heck, even if it was like we got now, a space oriented one and a ground oriented one...
So I could build, say, a sci-tac to take advantage of my Vesta, while Joe-bob builds a Sci-engie to maximize his Nebula... And heck, I could make my Engie an Intel-Sci, because, well, that might fit his background halfway decent and we already have the intel specialization...
Here's hoping the system's gonna be fleshed out by X2.5 (holiday season) and not next year... My doctor doesn't do the shades, suit and tricked-out watch thing... :P
Detecting big-time "anti-old-school" bias here. NX? Lobi. TOS/TMP Connie? Super-promotion-box. (aka the two hardest ways to get ships) Excelsior & all 3 TNG "big hero" ships? C-Store. Please Equalize...
To rob a line: [quote: Mariemaia Kushrenada] Forum Posting is much like an endless waltz. The three beats of war, peace and revolution continue on forever. However, opinions will change upon the reading of my post.[/quote]
Welcome to Starfleet, where everyone (unknowingly) works for Section 31 because of their "intelligence" specialization...
I mean, really now. Only one primary, one spacial secondary (pilot) and one ground secondary (Commando)?
<now laying it on really thick> Yeah, the Hotshot Pilot, Commando trained, spy doctor is just how I imagined my character <drip drip>
I would have appreciated the creation of, say, 6 primary trees, 2 per class, and the "cross class" trees would be the secondaries... Heck, even if it was like we got now, a space oriented one and a ground oriented one...
So I could build, say, a sci-tac to take advantage of my Vesta, while Joe-bob builds a Sci-engie to maximize his Nebula... And heck, I could make my Engie an Intel-Sci, because, well, that might fit his background halfway decent and we already have the intel specialization...
Here's hoping the system's gonna be fleshed out by X2.5 (holiday season) and not next year... My doctor doesn't do the shades, suit and tricked-out watch thing... :P
Actually you already DO work for Section 31 thanks to that mission in the Cardassian Arc. Willingly or not.
Can someone explain to me how buying the abilities works in regards to new trees?
Let's say I buy levels of Intelligence Officer skills. Now let's say some other Specialization comes out. Let's call it "Wafflemancer." Now I've already put a bunch of points into Intelligence Officer, but I think Wafflemancer fits my concept better and want to specialize in that instead. Will I able to buy points in Wafflemancer instead, or does me having already bought points in Intelligence Officer preclude that?
I'm assuming that it works kind of like Traits: you can have as many levels in the various and sundry specializations as you like, but you can only use one Primary and one Secondary at a time. So if I wanted to go from Intelligence Officer to Wafflemancer, I'd just have to buy levels of Wafflemancer and slot it as my active specialization.
So let's say I have no interest in the Intelligence tree (which I don't). Can I just keep saving up my spec points until a tree that I do like comes along and then just do a point dump and snag the whole thing in one go?
Also, do I need to have a Primary tree chosen to use a Secondary tree? Because if I need to use Intel until a new Primary that I like comes along, I'm going to be salty. So salty.
Can someone explain to me how buying the abilities works in regards to new trees?
Let's say I buy levels of Intelligence Officer skills. Now let's say some other Specialization comes out. Let's call it "Wafflemancer." Now I've already put a bunch of points into Intelligence Officer, but I think Wafflemancer fits my concept better and want to specialize in that instead. Will I able to buy points in Wafflemancer instead, or does me having already bought points in Intelligence Officer preclude that?
I'm assuming that it works kind of like Traits: you can have as many levels in the various and sundry specializations as you like, but you can only use one Primary and one Secondary at a time. So if I wanted to go from Intelligence Officer to Wafflemancer, I'd just have to buy levels of Wafflemancer and slot it as my active specialization.
Is this correct?
That's my reading of it, yes.
If you want to go a new direction, accumulate more points, spend them in the new tree, switch to that tree. It remains to be seen if switching active primary/secondary trees will have a cost or not.
Right lines, but I have to agree with those who think it is unfinished and that the skills don't really reflect what a very large proportion of players joined STO for. We're not general MMO players - we're here for the Star Trek aspect and you keep missing that out. You will eventually lose people, and Trek fans have shown that they're prepared to spend stupid amounts of money on their obsession, so this will hurt your profitability in the medium to long-term if you don't sort it out.
That said, the bonuses from Commando sound useful and I'll be following them - but something engineering or science focused very soon as a follow-on please?
Why not? I don't see why it would be a bad thing. It's not like the current class system is that defining - you can be science officer in the tactical ship and your skills could be all in the engineering tree. The only difference are those few powers you get while leveling (and their ranks) which could work the same way as those specializations.
That way we could also remove this hybrid boff nonsense that was put in place only so that players won't complain that there is a new boff class but not player class.
Obviously Cryptic is already done with the development and it's too late for all that, but maybe in the future?
So let's say I have no interest in the Intelligence tree (which I don't). Can I just keep saving up my spec points until a tree that I do like comes along and then just do a point dump and snag the whole thing in one go?
Also, do I need to have a Primary tree chosen to use a Secondary tree? Because if I need to use Intel until a new Primary that I like comes along, I'm going to be salty. So salty.
I certainly hope so, since I have absolutely zero interest in Intelligence Specialization for any but 1 of my chars. What really sucks is that even if saving the points is possible, I'll have to wait for them to release other specializations before I can endulge in the new content fully.
Well thats a massive disappointment not a single worthwhile specializations to aim for based on the data in the blog. The concept is good but I dont see a single Specializations thats worth aiming for with the limited info we got given.
Can someone explain to me how buying the abilities works in regards to new trees?
Let's say I buy levels of Intelligence Officer skills. Now let's say some other Specialization comes out. Let's call it "Wafflemancer." Now I've already put a bunch of points into Intelligence Officer, but I think Wafflemancer fits my concept better and want to specialize in that instead. Will I able to buy points in Wafflemancer instead, or does me having already bought points in Intelligence Officer preclude that?
I'm assuming that it works kind of like Traits: you can have as many levels in the various and sundry specializations as you like, but you can only use one Primary and one Secondary at a time. So if I wanted to go from Intelligence Officer to Wafflemancer, I'd just have to buy levels of Wafflemancer and slot it as my active specialization.
Is this correct?
You get points. You put them in a tree. Those points, once spent, are permanently spent in that tree. But you can spend in more than one tree. And you can freely decide which Primary and Secondary Tree you will have active at any one time.
So you are correct. But they have said that once the point is spent, you can't move the point to something else.
Spend your Specialization Points wisely! Even though there is no limit to the number of Abilities you purchase within the various Specializations, allowing dedicated captains to potentially earn everything there is to offer, every choice made within this system is permanent. No options will be given to refund spent points, or remove an Ability that has already been purchased.
Great i take a power, next day cryptic nerv it to 000000.1 % and i'm stuck with something worthless (1 had grinded for 3 months??)
Abilities that have been purchased will only remain available while the Specialization is active.
Unlocks are earned automatically, based on the number of Abilities you have purchased within their associated Specialization.
Unlocks are available regardless of the active/inactive status of their associated Specialization.
This is what I was talking about, i don't completely understand this.
Why not? I don't see why it would be a bad thing. It's not like the current class system is that defining - you can be science officer in the tactical ship and your skills could be all in the engineering tree. The only difference are those few powers you get while leveling (and their ranks) which could work the same way as those specializations.
That way we could also remove this hybrid boff nonsense that was put in place only so that players won't complain that there is a new boff class but not player class.
Obviously Cryptic is already done with the development and it's too late for all that, but maybe in the future?
First, because it would require SO much work to implement we would miss out on one or two seasons just so they could code it
Second, it would remove some of the flavor from the game, class specific optionals, and just general uniqueness of characters
You get points. You put them in a tree. Those points, once spent, are permanently spent in that tree. But you can spend in more than one tree. And you can freely decide which Primary and Secondary Tree you will have active at any one time.
So you are correct. But they have said that once the point is spent, you can't move the point to something else.
That's what I figured. So there's a degree of care about where do you want to spend your points right now, but there's ultimately an infinite quantity of points, so you can eventually get all the points in all the skills.
Like on my characters, right now only one of them really fits the Intelligence Officer specialization concept, and my main really fits only Pilot well. Now I'll probably just spend my points first on Pilot, and then on whatever catches my eye until something more appealing to my concept comes along.
Spend your Specialization Points wisely! Even though there is no limit to the number of Abilities you purchase within the various Specializations, allowing dedicated captains to potentially earn everything there is to offer, every choice made within this system is permanent. No options will be given to refund spent points, or remove an Ability that has already been purchased.
Great i take a power, next day cryptic nerv it to 000000.1 % and i'm stuck with something worthless (1 had grinded for 3 months??)
Worry not, I'm sure a respec token will be in the cstore in a few months. They aren't going to make a system that isn't monetized in some way.
Abilities that have been purchased will only remain available while the Specialization is active.
Unlocks are earned automatically, based on the number of Abilities you have purchased within their associated Specialization.
Unlocks are available regardless of the active/inactive status of their associated Specialization.
This is what I was talking about, i don't completely understand this.
so say i have specialization X and specialalization Y
X has abilities 1-2-3-4-5
Y has 6-7-8-9-10
X has unlock 11
Y has unlock 12
I unlock all 10 abilities which unlocks 11 and 12
when i have X active, i have abilties 1-5 and unlocks 11 and 12
when i have y active, i have abilties 6-10 and unlocks 11 and 12
While I have no interest in the current selections offered, I do like the concept assuming something is offered for other roles (which includes the content benefiting from said roles being present...).
However, I think the primary purpose of this system is to entice us even more into T6 ships. While secondary professions might be very easily plugged into most anything, I expect the primary ones will tie directly into specialist ship types (and their specialist officers). You go down the Intelligence tree to get Intelligence officers rank III abilities which of course can only be used on T6 ships with Intelligence officer seats.
In other words, while you do get a boost in power or options, the MOST beneficial way to take advantage of your specialization points is to fly the ship type and use officer types of the specialization you have active.
Worry not, I'm sure a respec token will be in the cstore in a few months. They aren't going to make a system that isn't monetized in some way.
I'm getting the distinct feeling it will be released with the next specialization, because otherwise there would be no way to select it on an existing character.
First, because it would require SO much work to implement we would miss out on one or two seasons just so they could code it
Second, it would remove some of the flavor from the game, class specific optionals, and just general uniqueness of characters
Specilization Trees are selected to be active or inactive. Active Tree's powers are usable. Inactive tree's powers are unusable.
Whether a tree is active or not does not prevent you from putting points into that tree to unlock abilities. Points spent dont go away nor will they let you respec them. Points are permanent.
Powers unlocked in a tree are only available to be used if that tree has been selected to be Active.
You can only have one Primary Tree and One Secondary Tree active at any time. You can max out all the trees if you want. Delta Rising will come with One Primary and Two Secondary Trees at release.
There's no real point to a respec. It'd be like... because a new rep system came out, demanding a respec to your Omega rep so you could take your Omega rep points and respec them into NewRep rep points. When a new specialization comes out, well, you just get more specialization points and put them there.
Specilization Trees are selected to be active or inactive. Active Tree's powers are usable. Inactive tree's powers are unusable.
Whether a tree is active or not does not prevent you from putting points into that tree to unlock abilities. Points spent dont go away nor will they let you respec them. Points are permanent.
Powers unlocked in a tree are only available to be used if that tree has been selected to be Active.
You can only have one Primary Tree and One Secondary Tree active at any time. You can max out all the trees if you want. Delta Rising will come with One Primary and Two Secondary Trees at release.
context is everything, i know all of that, i was responding to the idea of just ripping out classes and making them primary specializations
Hmm so no Science specialisation tree will possibly have to do the intel one since Pilot and Commando does not suit my fed oh well at least my KDf and romulan will do well as commandoes
NO TO ARC
Vice Admiral Volmack ISS Thundermole
Brigadier General Jokag IKS Gorkan
Centurion Kares RRW Tomalak
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
So uh, I've read it like three times now...and...I'm not seeing where it says how many of the abilities we actually have access to - whether it's all of them that we have purchased or if it is a case of having a limited number we can select from of those we have purchased. There's the bit about one Primary and one Secondary, but that's under the specialization info and gives the appearance (to me) of simply saying we can only have a single Primary Specialization and Secondary Specialization active...but that's not the same as saying we can only have one ability from each active.
With there being 30 Primary and 15 Secondary abilities, that's a total of 45 abilities one could gain access to...so uh...will there be a set number we can set active or...well, yeah - that's my question.
Hmm so no Science specialisation tree will possibly have to do the intel one since Pilot and Commando does not suit my fed oh well at least my KDf and romulan will do well as commandoes
the intel isnt the same thing, its a primary specialization (only one at release) while the other two are secondary
Comments
Only one primary specialization at launch? Well, that sucks. You should have thought this through better. What if I don't want to specialize an Intelligence Captain? What if the concept of my char is the polar opposite of that? It seems I'll have no choice at launch. Also this whole batch of specializations seems soooo tac.focused that it ain't even funny. You do realize that some of us play science and engineering captains, right? You should have had at least 3 primary specializations prepared that fit all of the classes better.
And please work on your creativity a bit for Star Trek sakes. The "names" of these abilities are a joke. 'Pedal to the metal'? 'Rock and roll'?? LMAO!!
Seriosuly, it's suposed to be a Star Trek game, not Angry Birds. Figure out something that sounds more techy or trekkish and come back, this is just not it.
Sorry to be negative, the system is sound and familiar to me, but it just feels unfinished and not really prepared for release in it's current format.
Can I save the Points and continue to gain more if I want to save for possible future Specilization? Or must I spend the Points before I can get another point?
I hope that you will be able to hold on to the points and continue to get more till we have have a spec we want to spend for a particular character.
KDF: Dahar Master Kan (Borg Klingon Tactical)::Dahar Master Torc (Alien Science)::Dahar Master Sisteric (Gorn Engineer)
RR-Fed: Citizen Sirroc (Romulan Science)::Fleet Admiral Grell (Alien Engineer)
RR-KDF: Fleet Admiral Zemo (Reman Tactical)::Fleet Admiral Xinatek (Reman Science)::Fleet Admiral Bel (Alien Engineer)
TOS-Fed: Fleet Admiral Katem (Andorian Tactical)::Lieutenant Commander Straad (Vulcan Engineer)
Dom-Fed: Dan'Tar (Jem'Hadar Science)
Dom-KDF: Kamtana'Solan (Jem'Hadar Science)
CoHost of Tribbles in Ecstasy (Zombee)
This also gives me hope that we will never see a level cap increase again. Level cap increases are utterly unnecessary on any mmo and if this was just a one time thing...I'm cool with it.
Reminds me of paragon levels from diablo 3
I mean, really now. Only one primary, one spacial secondary (pilot) and one ground secondary (Commando)?
<now laying it on really thick> Yeah, the Hotshot Pilot, Commando trained, spy doctor is just how I imagined my character <drip drip>
I would have appreciated the creation of, say, 6 primary trees, 2 per class, and the "cross class" trees would be the secondaries... Heck, even if it was like we got now, a space oriented one and a ground oriented one...
So I could build, say, a sci-tac to take advantage of my Vesta, while Joe-bob builds a Sci-engie to maximize his Nebula... And heck, I could make my Engie an Intel-Sci, because, well, that might fit his background halfway decent and we already have the intel specialization...
Here's hoping the system's gonna be fleshed out by X2.5 (holiday season) and not next year... My doctor doesn't do the shades, suit and tricked-out watch thing... :P
To rob a line: [quote: Mariemaia Kushrenada] Forum Posting is much like an endless waltz. The three beats of war, peace and revolution continue on forever. However, opinions will change upon the reading of my post.[/quote]
Actually you already DO work for Section 31 thanks to that mission in the Cardassian Arc. Willingly or not.
TRIBBLE Hydra! Hail Janeway!
Let's say I buy levels of Intelligence Officer skills. Now let's say some other Specialization comes out. Let's call it "Wafflemancer." Now I've already put a bunch of points into Intelligence Officer, but I think Wafflemancer fits my concept better and want to specialize in that instead. Will I able to buy points in Wafflemancer instead, or does me having already bought points in Intelligence Officer preclude that?
I'm assuming that it works kind of like Traits: you can have as many levels in the various and sundry specializations as you like, but you can only use one Primary and one Secondary at a time. So if I wanted to go from Intelligence Officer to Wafflemancer, I'd just have to buy levels of Wafflemancer and slot it as my active specialization.
Is this correct?
Also, do I need to have a Primary tree chosen to use a Secondary tree? Because if I need to use Intel until a new Primary that I like comes along, I'm going to be salty. So salty.
Mine Trap Supporter
That's my reading of it, yes.
If you want to go a new direction, accumulate more points, spend them in the new tree, switch to that tree. It remains to be seen if switching active primary/secondary trees will have a cost or not.
That said, the bonuses from Commando sound useful and I'll be following them - but something engineering or science focused very soon as a follow-on please?
Why not? I don't see why it would be a bad thing. It's not like the current class system is that defining - you can be science officer in the tactical ship and your skills could be all in the engineering tree. The only difference are those few powers you get while leveling (and their ranks) which could work the same way as those specializations.
That way we could also remove this hybrid boff nonsense that was put in place only so that players won't complain that there is a new boff class but not player class.
Obviously Cryptic is already done with the development and it's too late for all that, but maybe in the future?
I certainly hope so, since I have absolutely zero interest in Intelligence Specialization for any but 1 of my chars. What really sucks is that even if saving the points is possible, I'll have to wait for them to release other specializations before I can endulge in the new content fully.
You get points. You put them in a tree. Those points, once spent, are permanently spent in that tree. But you can spend in more than one tree. And you can freely decide which Primary and Secondary Tree you will have active at any one time.
So you are correct. But they have said that once the point is spent, you can't move the point to something else.
KDF: Dahar Master Kan (Borg Klingon Tactical)::Dahar Master Torc (Alien Science)::Dahar Master Sisteric (Gorn Engineer)
RR-Fed: Citizen Sirroc (Romulan Science)::Fleet Admiral Grell (Alien Engineer)
RR-KDF: Fleet Admiral Zemo (Reman Tactical)::Fleet Admiral Xinatek (Reman Science)::Fleet Admiral Bel (Alien Engineer)
TOS-Fed: Fleet Admiral Katem (Andorian Tactical)::Lieutenant Commander Straad (Vulcan Engineer)
Dom-Fed: Dan'Tar (Jem'Hadar Science)
Dom-KDF: Kamtana'Solan (Jem'Hadar Science)
CoHost of Tribbles in Ecstasy (Zombee)
imo all themepark mmo's should have some form of AA system in place.
Great i take a power, next day cryptic nerv it to 000000.1 % and i'm stuck with something worthless (1 had grinded for 3 months??)
Unlocks are earned automatically, based on the number of Abilities you have purchased within their associated Specialization.
Unlocks are available regardless of the active/inactive status of their associated Specialization.
This is what I was talking about, i don't completely understand this.
First, because it would require SO much work to implement we would miss out on one or two seasons just so they could code it
Second, it would remove some of the flavor from the game, class specific optionals, and just general uniqueness of characters
That's what I figured. So there's a degree of care about where do you want to spend your points right now, but there's ultimately an infinite quantity of points, so you can eventually get all the points in all the skills.
Like on my characters, right now only one of them really fits the Intelligence Officer specialization concept, and my main really fits only Pilot well. Now I'll probably just spend my points first on Pilot, and then on whatever catches my eye until something more appealing to my concept comes along.
And because I'm a horrid completionist.
Cardassian Arc? Who plays that?:D You are already VA and on to PvEs and reps before you get to the Cardies story arc.
On a serious note... it should go well with my section 31 outfit.
Lifetime Sub since June 2010
Worry not, I'm sure a respec token will be in the cstore in a few months. They aren't going to make a system that isn't monetized in some way.
so say i have specialization X and specialalization Y
X has abilities 1-2-3-4-5
Y has 6-7-8-9-10
X has unlock 11
Y has unlock 12
I unlock all 10 abilities which unlocks 11 and 12
when i have X active, i have abilties 1-5 and unlocks 11 and 12
when i have y active, i have abilties 6-10 and unlocks 11 and 12
However, I think the primary purpose of this system is to entice us even more into T6 ships. While secondary professions might be very easily plugged into most anything, I expect the primary ones will tie directly into specialist ship types (and their specialist officers). You go down the Intelligence tree to get Intelligence officers rank III abilities which of course can only be used on T6 ships with Intelligence officer seats.
In other words, while you do get a boost in power or options, the MOST beneficial way to take advantage of your specialization points is to fly the ship type and use officer types of the specialization you have active.
I'm getting the distinct feeling it will be released with the next specialization, because otherwise there would be no way to select it on an existing character.
Specilization Trees are selected to be active or inactive. Active Tree's powers are usable. Inactive tree's powers are unusable.
Whether a tree is active or not does not prevent you from putting points into that tree to unlock abilities. Points spent dont go away nor will they let you respec them. Points are permanent.
Powers unlocked in a tree are only available to be used if that tree has been selected to be Active.
You can only have one Primary Tree and One Secondary Tree active at any time. You can max out all the trees if you want. Delta Rising will come with One Primary and Two Secondary Trees at release.
KDF: Dahar Master Kan (Borg Klingon Tactical)::Dahar Master Torc (Alien Science)::Dahar Master Sisteric (Gorn Engineer)
RR-Fed: Citizen Sirroc (Romulan Science)::Fleet Admiral Grell (Alien Engineer)
RR-KDF: Fleet Admiral Zemo (Reman Tactical)::Fleet Admiral Xinatek (Reman Science)::Fleet Admiral Bel (Alien Engineer)
TOS-Fed: Fleet Admiral Katem (Andorian Tactical)::Lieutenant Commander Straad (Vulcan Engineer)
Dom-Fed: Dan'Tar (Jem'Hadar Science)
Dom-KDF: Kamtana'Solan (Jem'Hadar Science)
CoHost of Tribbles in Ecstasy (Zombee)
context is everything, i know all of that, i was responding to the idea of just ripping out classes and making them primary specializations
Vice Admiral Volmack ISS Thundermole
Brigadier General Jokag IKS Gorkan
Centurion Kares RRW Tomalak
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
With there being 30 Primary and 15 Secondary abilities, that's a total of 45 abilities one could gain access to...so uh...will there be a set number we can set active or...well, yeah - that's my question.
the intel isnt the same thing, its a primary specialization (only one at release) while the other two are secondary
I'm noticing a lot of Neverwinter-style features creeping their way into STO...hmm. So far sounds good.