Cryptic releases a gun that deals a billion damage, then buffs all NPCs in the game to have several hundred billion hitpoints, along with a healthy degree of innate damage resistance and a special snowflake ability that constantly knocks your weapons offline.
People say the high DPS meta isn't infinitely scalable -- it most definitely is. Cryptic just makes the enemies in the game have higher numbers and calls it balance.
We're already reaching the point where 5 tac consoles are becoming the norm for shiny new ships. When that gets old and tiresome, Cryptic will just release a ship with 6 tac consoles and 6 fore weapon slots, then all other ships in the game will be measured by that particular facet.
Rinse, repeat, etc.
An people will gladly throw their money at them for doing so, lol.
I'm sure they will release many more super overpowered escorts in the near future, they are like money making machines for cryptic. After all, they are the most typical and classical Star Trek ships, lol.
Btw. Welcome back to escorts online!
"...'With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured...the first thought forbidden...the first freedom denied--chains us all irrevocably.' ... The first time any man's freedom is trodden on, we're all damaged. I fear that today--"
- (TNG) Picard, quoting Judge Aaron Satie
I like the visual design of all of the Federation variants and if I were going to buy a faction bundle this would be the one. But I'm super tempted to hold out and see if/when they come out with a T6 version of the Defiant. They've already done T6 Intepid and Galaxy variants, so a new Defiant variant is a no-brainer.
I had been thinking on going MVAE with my newest Delta Recruit, but the Icarus brings everything I was looking for in boff slotting with better stats and it comes with a fantastic console. And now seeing the Mercury console in action, I'm seriously deciding if I want to go for the gusto and grab the Fed pack. A Defiant would be nice, but without a LtCom Sci its really not what I'm looking for. And it wouldn't have the Itano Circus console.
An people will gladly throw their money at them for doing so, lol.
I'm sure they will release many more super overpowered escorts in the near future, they are like money making machines for cryptic. After all, they are the most typical and classical Star Trek ships, lol.
Btw. Welcome back to escorts online!
And I'll throw money at them when they get around to releasing ships I care about. The T6 Pilot ships do look extremely attractive and their abilities look fantastic.
I just don't like them enough that I'd be willing to buy them all over again 6 months to a year from now.
I bought a bunch of fleet modules back in the day to get Fleet versions of some ships I really liked, and to help support Cryptic. So, I guess when they get around to releasing ships that are interchangable with certain ships I already own, I might be more willing to throw some money their way.
They almost had me with the T6 D'Deridex, until I found out it didn't have the IRW prefix option.
Since all future romulan ships presumably will be made solely by the Romulan Republic, I'm not seeing any of those purchases in my future.
So, I'm going to go ahead and say T6 Command Odyssey and a T6 Aquarius with the Piloting theme. Might be the only ships I'm willing to buy all over again without a discount. But, I suppose time will tell.
been reading your stuff for sometime now, you gotta decide... do you want to play? or you want to go?
That's a good question. I should have a firesale and give away all my things because somebody said something on the forums I didn't like and then leave the game forever because all good things have to come to an end.
That seems like a pretty reasonable response to something like that.
(...) If you buy this 3 pack and nothing else in this flipping game, you're set- only need some direction on boff layout, doff, trait, done and done (...)
New people coming in and buying nothing but this bundle (or people who may not be escort jocks/used to flying escort) are the curbstomp fodder to keep others entertained...ignoring the doffs (zemok, graga, emergency conn holo, etc) that are unattainable or expensive, the best boffs (SRO from the embassy/t4 diplo nausicaans), and the other ships (Phantom, Presidio, Dauntless, Astika) as vehicles for the best traits.
Having the bankroll and knowledge to make a ship sing is one thing, but assuming that 10 minutes of help and a list of the stuff to make a given build happen are within the reach of a good many people in any reasonable stretch of time before some new toy comes along is far-fetched.
The most sound bit of reasoning I see is that these ships are a solid foundation for a particular playstyle... but PvP and the dps-race PvE metas are ruled by the entry cost and that none of us have immunity to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
I really wanted something to love with the Romulan ships, but while in the hull piece gif I can see combinations I like, going to hold out. I even went back to my T5U T'Varo from my Faeht.
KDF side, they look more appealing in the other hull materials, but I already have my kdf command 3pk, as well as perhaps favorite ship in the game, my Mat'ha. I'll hold out for the T6 BoP.
Now these decisions are also weighed with the fact that on Friday I will reach a 1000 days and get my veteran ships. {And the KDF vet destroyer has a battle cloak, while the Romulan one is one of the sexiest ships in the game}
With that said, TRIBBLE the Chimera the Icarus halt pieced my heart. I actually rather like the Ajax hull as well.
I think it is funny how many here Love the look of the KDF raptors & and disliked the KDF Command ships, when I feel just the opposite. Variety is the spice of life, and like Dilithium, 'The Spice must Flow.'
Thanks for the Advanced Light Cruiser, Allied Escort Bundles, Jem-Hadar Light Battlecruiser, and Mek'leth
New Content Wishlist
T6 updates for the Kamarag & Vor'Cha
Heavy Cruiser & a Movie Era Style AoY Utility Cruiser
I think it is funny how many here Love the look of the KDF raptors & and disliked the KDF Command ships, when I feel just the opposite. Variety is the spice of life, and like Dilithium, 'The Spice must Flow.'
I'm in the same boast as you, while some of the command ships are ugly kitbashing the 3 you can get a nice looking ship, with these Raptors no amount of kitbashing will make them look good. It's a real shame as I love the pilot movements they released in yesterdays blog.
I guess I'll have to wait until they release a pilot ship that looks good for the KDF side. While I like the look of the Romulan one, and the Federation one (surprisingly coming from a non-Fed player) both my mains are KDF and I don't have time to level my Romulan up to take advantage of this and why should I spend 3-6K in Zen on a character I don't play when I could send that amount on a KDF and 2 characters could take advantage of that, even if just for the traits. Allow us to use some of the T5 or earlier Raptor costumes on these and I'll buy is asap. :P
Support the Game by Supporting the KDF, equality and uniqueness for all factions!
Love the look and stats of the ships! But the Price! Big sad face!
I feel that they lost the the sight of the star trek enterprise and game and now just want to milk Trekies n gamers alike of there real time money and/or ingame time and energy to earn dill. I and many others I have chatted with in game agree they have taken more away from the game then added.
Now with the new Pilot ships, Which I so wanted.. and then I looked at the price.. OMG, hell NO!
As a life time member I feel we have made the commitment of being loyal gamers. But feel now I am being suckered and robbed.
Yes we get a stippen, but we have really lost the edge over free to players, then to stay current we have to pay through the nose to get T6 ships, fleet T6 ships and items.
I purpose this! Give lifers 10% to 20% discount on all new items.
And cut the prices of these T6 ships ($120.oo dollars for all the T6 pilot ships is outrageous!)
I want to have fun! but with all this money I have to shell out to stay current is Not fun.
Where is the game we all loved and use to play?
Please think about this! I am not alone on these thoughts. There is a collective on these thoughts.
Trying to stay loyaland shareing my feelings, @Dragonepoch
I see most of what I came to mention has already been covered. The kinda familiar sounding consoles. The speed of power creep when the Qui'Tu is arguably a better Fleet Mat'Ha that came out a bit less then a month ago. Lots of questions about Stay on Target.
Structural Integrity Overcharge: "...based on how high you set your base (unmodified) engine power"
vs.
Subwarp Sheath: "...gain armor penetration with all weapons (amount based on your speed)"
Is that absolute speed or percent throttle setting? Is Evasive Maneuvers a damage buff now?
these maneuvers, this is what escorts should have got, like how cruisers got their command auras, sci ships got their secondary deflectors and sensor analysis, and raiders got their flanking. instead it gets gated behind 1 ship per faction, instead of spread out to all escorts.
gating every new amazing thing they introduce behind 2 or 3 ships, in a game with hundreds of ships, is awful. all these things, and hybrid seats, should be backwards compatible. there might actually be intensive to buy tier 5 again, instead of incentive to avoid them like the plague.
Have to agree, the degree of lock in to everything now is pretty rediculous and it stiffling what was/is the best thing about STO, ship build customisation. With lobi box fighter pets and consoles being locked to species specific ships, consoles locked to T5+ ships and hybrid BOFF abilities likely to only appear on 2-3 ships per faction, it's a real shame all this work is being put into these things but after 2 months and the next new thing rolls around you can't continue using any of it because it's now all incompatible.
But yeah this mechanic should be retrofitted to all escorts, shuttles for that fact too (Delta flyer at a minimum being the first pilots shuttle in cannon, I guess)
I'm in the same boast as you, while some of the command ships are ugly kitbashing the 3 you can get a nice looking ship, with these Raptors no amount of kitbashing will make them look good. It's a real shame as I love the pilot movements they released in yesterdays blog.
What are you yapping on about? The KDF pilot ships look great! Best of the lot. As I saw someone else mention, they're very SR-71-ish, you find that an ugly aeroplane?
The Fed ones are a close 2nd, nice shuttle/Peregrine/Defiant kit bashes.
What are you yapping on about? The KDF pilot ships look great! Best of the lot. As I saw someone else mention, they're very SR-71-ish, you find that an ugly aeroplane?
The Fed ones are a close 2nd, nice shuttle/Peregrine/Defiant kit bashes.
What I am yabbing on about is how horrible they look, everyone I have spoken to in-game seems to agree.
They really don't look all that Klingon, at least not with those fins and the material skin. At least the Command ships each were fairly different in appearance the only real different in each variant here is the wings and the head/neck.
Sure some might like them just as others don't. They could at least made each variant look different enough like the command ships or the other faction pilots ships to give us some customisation choices.
Support the Game by Supporting the KDF, equality and uniqueness for all factions!
Mmm, I'm not all a fan of the powercreep going on lately, but I do always welcome new mechanics/abilities that are added to the game to make it more fun and give some diversity to the game. (Playing same old abilities for years does get stale. Just a little.)
With that said, I do enjoy the looks of the ships. Think I may like the looks of the KDF ships the most. For some reason though... that Ajax class ship... when I stare at it it's as if it's got an angry eye and a grumpy look. Lol. Maybe it's just my imagination, but the ship does look grumpy.
Looking forward to hopefully getting my hands on the KDF ships at the very least.
these maneuvers, this is what escorts should have got, like how cruisers got their command auras, sci ships got their secondary deflectors and sensor analysis, and raiders got their flanking. instead it gets gated behind 1 ship per faction, instead of spread out to all escorts.
I'd agree with this as well to be honest. I remember when command auras came out I happily got the Avenger and I certainly didn't mind the auras being brought to other ships after getting that ship. If anything I was happy. Hopefully, they'll do this to other ships as well with these special mechanics the pilot ships get. Pilot ships can keep their fancy pilot BOFF abilities, but it'd be nice that at least these unique ship mechanics be brought to other escorts/BOPs and stuff.
STO forum term definitions for newbies:Piloting Skill: That thing you do where you fly around and avoid big scary green plasma balls of death. Pressing F and spacebar may also relate to skill.Taco: A very sacred thing. Do not speak I'll of the Taco or things will happen. Terrible things! Humor: Something not found here. Don't bring it. This forum is serious business.Fun: Something illegal. Don't have it and don't bring it
We're excited to show off the full capabilities of our Pilot Ships in our latest blog. The Corps of Engineering have given out their full schematics on these new beauties!
They easily could be Star Wars ships, there's nothing at these designs that's especially Starfleet imo.
(except the surface markings, of course)
EDIT:
Don't get me wrong the Icarus looks really sexy and if this wheren't a Star Trek game i'd certainly would give it a try.
"...'With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured...the first thought forbidden...the first freedom denied--chains us all irrevocably.' ... The first time any man's freedom is trodden on, we're all damaged. I fear that today--"
- (TNG) Picard, quoting Judge Aaron Satie
The KDF Pilot Raptors are more appealing to me in the images using the other hull materials. Even better when the pieces align to give it a shorter neck and wider wingspan. But with all that said, I am still going to stick by my KDF Command Cruisers & Mat'Ha.
Oh well helps diversity my player experience but not buying ships that utilize the same mechanic for more than 1 faction.
I really wish I found the Romulan ones more to my taste, although even there is one or two hull configurations that show promise.
But I think as for my 7 KDF & 3 Romulan characters, they can hold out until the next batch of ships, hopefully Pilot Iconics or Raiders, or something else.
A Pilot T'Varo, B'rel, or Aquarius would all get my attention, while a T6 Pilot Vor'cha would have me singing. Even after all I have paid for a T5U Fleet Tor'kaht.
Offering 9 packs are great, If you wanted 2 sets, you get the third set free. 12k zen is the price of 4 T6 ships and these are fleet level too.
I am all for Faction uniqueness, so this let's someone like me who wants different player experiences on different factions to choose which experience we want.
KDF I went Command, I love battle cruisers, Dreadnoughts, and Dreadnought carriers. I have vowed to never purchase a Fed Battle cruiser.
Feds mean Science Slant, I like ships with at least a LTC Sci, T5U Ambassador, T5U MVAE, Adapted Destroyer, Scryer. The Icarus trait and boff selection will compliment these ships. (Confession: I did purchase the Phantom just to put the nacelles on the Scryer)
Romulans, Hit & Run dog fighters with EBC. I really regret that the Romulan ships don't speak to me more. For now the T5U Fleet T'varo is my joy and pleasure. Faeht is great too.
But these big packs allow players to choose their experience and reduce the number of mastery traits that a Faction Locked. Oh don't get me wrong, I think some traits should be Faction locked to keep some uniqueness, but not all of them.
I have 12 toons, 7 KDF, a KDF allied Romulan & Reman, 2 Feds and 1 Federation allied Reman, so I am much more of a Red Side player, but for this round the Fed Ships are what speak to me, live every thing but the Mercury Class' deflector Dish.
I just wish the ROM Pilot Ships were more like the ROM Command Cruisers, they were the best looking ones, although I never bought those.
I would love to see a Pilot T6 Mogai (Well I'd use the Valdore parts mostly). That ship just seemed amazingly maneuverable as an NPC Enemy Ship, annoyingly so actually, and seeing the Pilot maneuvers with the huge wingspan would be great.
Thanks for the Advanced Light Cruiser, Allied Escort Bundles, Jem-Hadar Light Battlecruiser, and Mek'leth
New Content Wishlist
T6 updates for the Kamarag & Vor'Cha
Heavy Cruiser & a Movie Era Style AoY Utility Cruiser
They easily could be Star Wars ships, there's nothing at these designs that's especially Starfleet imo.
(except the surface markings, of course)
I did already mention that they resemble over-sized A-Wings to me, but I wouldn't say there's nothing Starfleet about them. They definitely have a Defiant-ish feel to them, and I can even pick out elements of the Armitage Class Carrier in it. Also, I personally think that ship is fitting with the overall "evolution" of Starfleet ships. If the Wells class is anything to go by (Which is Voyager cannon), at least some Starfleet ships are eventually going to start having a flatter, more streamlined layout, and I can see this ship as being a distant ancestor to the Wells in some ways.
hey real quick...
this is a game,
not rocket science LOL
your going to get the t4 "immune to damage for 3 secs after first shot"
and then what?
you roll, then you got your "rock and roll" for a few more breaths...
make her speedy (as all the scorts that pvp DO already WELL BEFORE even s10 and DELTA, GOOD lord the pvp meta was already going the "stardagger" route before any of this b.s. hit)
and that's real quick, NOT a slam, when you think about what he was doing years and years ago, its common place tactics now
and can you really fault that? hit....and run... called logic- makes sense- DUMP your best attack, your "kill" attack and then get the F out of dodge LOL
its iconic, its scripture as pvp games go, do what you gotta do to get that kill, and if your a glass cannon, well no honor and standing there and dying, get OUT OF THERE LOL
these ships?
THESE ARE the iconic hit and runners, these are those skill jocky ships, they have EVERYTHING you want to do that tactic, everything YOU NEED to do that tactic... its only if you want to be some "I want to do all the damage in the game while at the same time take everything anyone wants to throw at me and shrug it off for long stretches of time EVEN WITHOUT my team helping me out" LOL guy
that doesn't exist anymore unless your talking a fbp boat and that's NOT in your control, that's a random kill every time
NOTHING WRONG with random kill, do it all the time with grenades in FPS's LOL we all have gotten lucky in the past doing that, its just YOU know and THEY know what went down... and IF your cool with random kills being you MO well then, nothing wrong with that, your having fun, BUT if you actually want to be in control of WHAT you kill, WHAT you take, these ships have already the "framework" to do jus that WHILE also having a powerful built in get out of jail free card with the ( I think b.s. immunity) BUT in right nows meta, its tough
I don't fault them, fbp is off the hook cause of that crafting trait, and the fix is b.s. , didn't balance anything, SO I CHAMPION this weekend's HOT, sexy, scort pilots to take some sci ships down a peg, I champion the b.s. immunities after 9+ months of sci dominance
call me a guy for the underdog...
scorts have been needing love for some time in this game... truth
and klinks above all others...
anyways, GOD SAVE THE PEW.
I know it's not rocket science, but I was thinking more about the second aspect, i.e. the tendency for those for whom something is easy to think it's easy for others.
While I like the new movement system of those ships and their stats they have a huge tactical advantage over all existing escorts, and once more make existing ships less attractive and unequal.
Comments
I'm sure they will release many more super overpowered escorts in the near future, they are like money making machines for cryptic. After all, they are the most typical and classical Star Trek ships, lol.
Btw. Welcome back to escorts online!
I had been thinking on going MVAE with my newest Delta Recruit, but the Icarus brings everything I was looking for in boff slotting with better stats and it comes with a fantastic console. And now seeing the Mercury console in action, I'm seriously deciding if I want to go for the gusto and grab the Fed pack. A Defiant would be nice, but without a LtCom Sci its really not what I'm looking for. And it wouldn't have the Itano Circus console.
And I'll throw money at them when they get around to releasing ships I care about. The T6 Pilot ships do look extremely attractive and their abilities look fantastic.
I just don't like them enough that I'd be willing to buy them all over again 6 months to a year from now.
I bought a bunch of fleet modules back in the day to get Fleet versions of some ships I really liked, and to help support Cryptic. So, I guess when they get around to releasing ships that are interchangable with certain ships I already own, I might be more willing to throw some money their way.
They almost had me with the T6 D'Deridex, until I found out it didn't have the IRW prefix option.
Since all future romulan ships presumably will be made solely by the Romulan Republic, I'm not seeing any of those purchases in my future.
So, I'm going to go ahead and say T6 Command Odyssey and a T6 Aquarius with the Piloting theme. Might be the only ships I'm willing to buy all over again without a discount. But, I suppose time will tell.
That's a good question. I should have a firesale and give away all my things because somebody said something on the forums I didn't like and then leave the game forever because all good things have to come to an end.
That seems like a pretty reasonable response to something like that.
USS Casinghead NCC 92047 launched 2350
Fleet Admiral Stowe - Dominion War Vet.
Hey, at least you know I read what you have to say even if nobody else does. :P
New people coming in and buying nothing but this bundle (or people who may not be escort jocks/used to flying escort) are the curbstomp fodder to keep others entertained...ignoring the doffs (zemok, graga, emergency conn holo, etc) that are unattainable or expensive, the best boffs (SRO from the embassy/t4 diplo nausicaans), and the other ships (Phantom, Presidio, Dauntless, Astika) as vehicles for the best traits.
Having the bankroll and knowledge to make a ship sing is one thing, but assuming that 10 minutes of help and a list of the stuff to make a given build happen are within the reach of a good many people in any reasonable stretch of time before some new toy comes along is far-fetched.
The most sound bit of reasoning I see is that these ships are a solid foundation for a particular playstyle... but PvP and the dps-race PvE metas are ruled by the entry cost and that none of us have immunity to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
KDF side, they look more appealing in the other hull materials, but I already have my kdf command 3pk, as well as perhaps favorite ship in the game, my Mat'ha. I'll hold out for the T6 BoP.
Now these decisions are also weighed with the fact that on Friday I will reach a 1000 days and get my veteran ships. {And the KDF vet destroyer has a battle cloak, while the Romulan one is one of the sexiest ships in the game}
With that said, TRIBBLE the Chimera the Icarus halt pieced my heart. I actually rather like the Ajax hull as well.
I think it is funny how many here Love the look of the KDF raptors & and disliked the KDF Command ships, when I feel just the opposite. Variety is the spice of life, and like Dilithium, 'The Spice must Flow.'
I'm in the same boast as you, while some of the command ships are ugly kitbashing the 3 you can get a nice looking ship, with these Raptors no amount of kitbashing will make them look good. It's a real shame as I love the pilot movements they released in yesterdays blog.
I guess I'll have to wait until they release a pilot ship that looks good for the KDF side. While I like the look of the Romulan one, and the Federation one (surprisingly coming from a non-Fed player) both my mains are KDF and I don't have time to level my Romulan up to take advantage of this and why should I spend 3-6K in Zen on a character I don't play when I could send that amount on a KDF and 2 characters could take advantage of that, even if just for the traits. Allow us to use some of the T5 or earlier Raptor costumes on these and I'll buy is asap. :P
Love the look and stats of the ships! But the Price! Big sad face!
I feel that they lost the the sight of the star trek enterprise and game and now just want to milk Trekies n gamers alike of there real time money and/or ingame time and energy to earn dill. I and many others I have chatted with in game agree they have taken more away from the game then added.
Now with the new Pilot ships, Which I so wanted.. and then I looked at the price.. OMG, hell NO!
As a life time member I feel we have made the commitment of being loyal gamers. But feel now I am being suckered and robbed.
Yes we get a stippen, but we have really lost the edge over free to players, then to stay current we have to pay through the nose to get T6 ships, fleet T6 ships and items.
I purpose this! Give lifers 10% to 20% discount on all new items.
And cut the prices of these T6 ships ($120.oo dollars for all the T6 pilot ships is outrageous!)
I want to have fun! but with all this money I have to shell out to stay current is Not fun.
Where is the game we all loved and use to play?
Please think about this! I am not alone on these thoughts. There is a collective on these thoughts.
Trying to stay loyaland shareing my feelings, @Dragonepoch
Structural Integrity Overcharge: "...based on how high you set your base (unmodified) engine power"
vs.
Subwarp Sheath: "...gain armor penetration with all weapons (amount based on your speed)"
Is that absolute speed or percent throttle setting? Is Evasive Maneuvers a damage buff now?
One: Is it just me, or do the Fed ships remind me of an over-sized A-Wing from Star Wars (which is kinda fitting... I think)
Two: If following the theme of number One, "Stay On Target" is much more amusing.
Three: ...I know the Lord told me not to Covet, buuuuuut.....
COVET, COVET, COVET, COVET, COVET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But yeah this mechanic should be retrofitted to all escorts, shuttles for that fact too (Delta flyer at a minimum being the first pilots shuttle in cannon, I guess)
What are you yapping on about? The KDF pilot ships look great! Best of the lot. As I saw someone else mention, they're very SR-71-ish, you find that an ugly aeroplane?
The Fed ones are a close 2nd, nice shuttle/Peregrine/Defiant kit bashes.
What I am yabbing on about is how horrible they look, everyone I have spoken to in-game seems to agree.
They really don't look all that Klingon, at least not with those fins and the material skin. At least the Command ships each were fairly different in appearance the only real different in each variant here is the wings and the head/neck.
Sure some might like them just as others don't. They could at least made each variant look different enough like the command ships or the other faction pilots ships to give us some customisation choices.
With that said, I do enjoy the looks of the ships. Think I may like the looks of the KDF ships the most. For some reason though... that Ajax class ship... when I stare at it it's as if it's got an angry eye and a grumpy look. Lol. Maybe it's just my imagination, but the ship does look grumpy.
Looking forward to hopefully getting my hands on the KDF ships at the very least.
I'd agree with this as well to be honest. I remember when command auras came out I happily got the Avenger and I certainly didn't mind the auras being brought to other ships after getting that ship. If anything I was happy. Hopefully, they'll do this to other ships as well with these special mechanics the pilot ships get. Pilot ships can keep their fancy pilot BOFF abilities, but it'd be nice that at least these unique ship mechanics be brought to other escorts/BOPs and stuff.
They easily could be Star Wars ships, there's nothing at these designs that's especially Starfleet imo.
(except the surface markings, of course)
EDIT:
Don't get me wrong the Icarus looks really sexy and if this wheren't a Star Trek game i'd certainly would give it a try.
Oh well helps diversity my player experience but not buying ships that utilize the same mechanic for more than 1 faction.
I really wish I found the Romulan ones more to my taste, although even there is one or two hull configurations that show promise.
But I think as for my 7 KDF & 3 Romulan characters, they can hold out until the next batch of ships, hopefully Pilot Iconics or Raiders, or something else.
A Pilot T'Varo, B'rel, or Aquarius would all get my attention, while a T6 Pilot Vor'cha would have me singing. Even after all I have paid for a T5U Fleet Tor'kaht.
Offering 9 packs are great, If you wanted 2 sets, you get the third set free. 12k zen is the price of 4 T6 ships and these are fleet level too.
I am all for Faction uniqueness, so this let's someone like me who wants different player experiences on different factions to choose which experience we want.
KDF I went Command, I love battle cruisers, Dreadnoughts, and Dreadnought carriers. I have vowed to never purchase a Fed Battle cruiser.
Feds mean Science Slant, I like ships with at least a LTC Sci, T5U Ambassador, T5U MVAE, Adapted Destroyer, Scryer. The Icarus trait and boff selection will compliment these ships. (Confession: I did purchase the Phantom just to put the nacelles on the Scryer)
Romulans, Hit & Run dog fighters with EBC. I really regret that the Romulan ships don't speak to me more. For now the T5U Fleet T'varo is my joy and pleasure. Faeht is great too.
But these big packs allow players to choose their experience and reduce the number of mastery traits that a Faction Locked. Oh don't get me wrong, I think some traits should be Faction locked to keep some uniqueness, but not all of them.
I have 12 toons, 7 KDF, a KDF allied Romulan & Reman, 2 Feds and 1 Federation allied Reman, so I am much more of a Red Side player, but for this round the Fed Ships are what speak to me, live every thing but the Mercury Class' deflector Dish.
I just wish the ROM Pilot Ships were more like the ROM Command Cruisers, they were the best looking ones, although I never bought those.
I would love to see a Pilot T6 Mogai (Well I'd use the Valdore parts mostly). That ship just seemed amazingly maneuverable as an NPC Enemy Ship, annoyingly so actually, and seeing the Pilot maneuvers with the huge wingspan would be great.
I did already mention that they resemble over-sized A-Wings to me, but I wouldn't say there's nothing Starfleet about them. They definitely have a Defiant-ish feel to them, and I can even pick out elements of the Armitage Class Carrier in it. Also, I personally think that ship is fitting with the overall "evolution" of Starfleet ships. If the Wells class is anything to go by (Which is Voyager cannon), at least some Starfleet ships are eventually going to start having a flatter, more streamlined layout, and I can see this ship as being a distant ancestor to the Wells in some ways.
The Fed ships seem to be a departure from fed design language in the same way the defiant was.
The Phantom and Pilot ships follow that design language.
To my the Scryer always reminded me of the Oberth, as does the Steamrunner in some ways as well.
There are typical and atypical fed ships, that is nothing new. Just like the rare 4 Nacelle ships.
The Defiant, Phantom, and Pilot ships are all more of the Unibody Fed ship design language family.
I know it's not rocket science, but I was thinking more about the second aspect, i.e. the tendency for those for whom something is easy to think it's easy for others.