The klingons overall have more enjoyable content, better story and more interesting ships, but in the long run people generally associate more with the federation and to a degree romulans than the klingons.
my favorite toons are my 3 roms and my 3 kdf. i have also 3 feds but feds are less interesting in my opinion. rom and kdf stories are really excellent, and i prefer also their ships.
I have a KDF captain, and she just sits there, since I can't freaking stand the entire faction. The klinks are little more than bullies with guns, completely incapable of thinking past the chance of shooting something and fully willing to ignore things like tactics, intelligence, or foresight in favor of "HURRR ME KLINGON WARRIOR!"
I just don't see the appeal. At all. I also find it funny that they're portrayed with passion and carry themselves with endless chutzpah, despite the Empire continuing to exist only because the Federation is averse to actually putting down threats.
"So you walk eternally through the shadow realms, standing against evil where all others falter. May your thirst for retribution never quench, may the blood on your sword never dry, and may we never need you again."
-Dedication plaque of the Federation Starship U.S.S. Merkava
I have a KDF captain, and she just sits there, since I can't freaking stand the entire faction. The klinks are little more than bullies with guns, completely incapable of thinking past the chance of shooting something and fully willing to ignore things like tactics, intelligence, or foresight in favor of "HURRR ME KLINGON WARRIOR!"
I ended up deleting my KDF for similar reasons. Even doing the DOFF assignments contributes to an extremely unsavory atmosphere. Sell people into slavery! Go kill yourself over a recoverable injury! Loot, burn, pillage, and assassinate! All of this because it's supposed to be "honor"! And don't forget, the Klingons weren't as much concerned with the Undine as they were territory (attacking the Federation was beyond stupid...right up there with doing the exact same thing to Cardassia and giving the Dominion an Alpha Quadrant beachhead instead of being able to fight them bottlenecked at the Wormhole--that very incident being why the Klingons' word had zero credibility the second time around).
I do not think Cryptic should get the full blame for it by any means; we have the TNG and DS9 writers to thank for the dumbing down of the Klingons, and that was definitely a loss to the show. At least on the Fed side, yes, the Federation is more militarized now, it is actually conceivable when I run some missions to imagine I've simply dropped my opponent with a heavy stun, and that they'll come to after I'm gone with a headache and a grudge.
Christian Gaming Community Fleets--Faith, Fun, and Fellowship! See the website and PM for more. :-) Proudly F2P.Signature image by gulberat. Avatar image by balsavor.deviantart.com.
Spent most of "triple double" weekend working on my KDF Sci. Reasons for not trying to run "exclusive" KDF:
1. Their "best" science ship = DSD. Reason I say "best" is because I don't count the Vo'Quv (Carrier), the Varanus is a cheap rip-off of the DSSV, and that's about it for "top tier" KDF ships with Sci Cmdr...
1.5 And the reason I don't fly "other ships" is that I try to keep each captain in a semi-unique playstyle. Feddie splits time between Pathfinder, Vesta, and Recluse. KDF would love a Vesta-clone so that the Fed could Recluse it, the KDF could Vesta it, and the Rommie can EBC-T'Varo...
2. Other than the DOffing of prisoners into slavery, my fully clothed Bortasq' wearing Orion doesn't seem very - Orion - to me, despite the backstory. She runs around espousing Klingon Honor more than attempting to subvert it as the Syndicate essentially aims to make the KDF their "bodyguard"...
3. And once you clear into the Rommie arc, she seems to be "a Federation Plant" espousing things like the Prime Directive, saving others, doing Talaxian Chores, etc. etc.
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]
I used to play with my klingon a lot more but since DR equiping even one character costs so much that I effectively stopped playing with anybody else than my FED main. My other characters now only get revived during CC events and Horga'hn hunts during summer event.
The klingons overall have more enjoyable content, better story and more interesting ships, but in the long run people generally associate more with the federation and to a degree romulans than the klingons.
There are even more Klingon characters than Romulans.
I don't dispute that there are more Klingons than romulans, on the last official count, however, it has to be seen in the light of how long they've been around.
Klingons were part of the game from day one, whereas the Romulans have only been around for 2 years, so naturally there will be more...
The fact that they are only seperated by 3.2% speaks to the interest alone.
Don't look silly... Don't call it the "Z-Store/Zen Store"...
As a player of only KDF, I think if they would simply allow for cross faction teaming most of the reasons people don't play Klingon would be eliminated.
(For the record: I have 12 toons, 3 professionsx3 factions plus 3 deltas, one each per faction and profession, my Roms are split 2 and 2, and I handle them all independently, so no farming, all level 60, though mostly thanks to doff)
I very much doubt that many of the things mentioned here apply to the choice which character to roll. When you start a new game, only a select few will gather information about number of available end game ships or the question whether dialogue suits your character. Let alone prices whose value you cannot guess of consoles whose usefulness you can guess even less.
These things may be galling, depending on your disposition, no doubt, but especially in a game like this, which attracts probably more players through the IP than through gameplay mechanics and their reviews, it really can not be the reason for the very unbalanced number of players per faction.
So I guess the main reason is, as mentioned: Star Trek is Fed. Full stop. If you watched the series, you may want to be Kirk or Picard. You may see Klingons or Romulans that are cool, heroic even, but they last for 5 episodes if they're lucky. The guys you spent your time with are Feds. Even if they are renegade-ish like Ro Laren. So for players who want to role play in the wider sense, Fed is the number one choice. Regardless of mechanics, dialogue or availability of Sci ships.
Then we have the other aspect, too: KDF toons get less gameplay by a lot of those players who have a group of toons. I don't know whether there is hard data like the number of toons rolled available to the public. But yes, it is a problem and it may lead to the "parking" or even deleting of toons you deem surplus to time available. But, and there is certainly no hard data about this, I am fairly certain that the majority of players in this game doesn't go so far, I think the simple formula "ST=Fed" explains most of it.
My mother was an epohh and my father smelled of tulaberries
(For the record: I have 12 toons, 3 professionsx3 factions plus 3 deltas, one each per faction and profession, my Roms are split 2 and 2, and I handle them all independently, so no farming, all level 60, though mostly thanks to doff)
I very much doubt that many of the things mentioned here apply to the choice which character to roll. When you start a new game, only a select few will gather information about number of available end game ships or the question whether dialogue suits your character. Let alone prices whose value you cannot guess of consoles whose usefulness you can guess even less.
These things may be galling, depending on your disposition, no doubt, but especially in a game like this, which attracts probably more players through the IP than through gameplay mechanics and their reviews, it really can not be the reason for the very unbalanced number of players per faction.
It may be true that, for most newer players, end-game and overall content considerations don't generally factor into their initial character choice. But I don't agree that this remains as true as that player becomes more familiar and knowledgeable about the game and its landscape. A growing dissatisfaction with relative content and features coupled with a grass-is-greener perspective can quite easily encourage someone to switch factions, even at the expense of a reroll. Moreover, there's quite a history when it comes to the various ways the game has discouraged, or rather failed to adequately interest players from adopting KDF "mains" or opting to stick with KDF.
Gamers respond to good content just as much as they do to familiar themes. If, for instance, the roles were reversed, and the KDF had been treated like the Feds, and the Feds had been treated like the KDF from the get-go where STO is concerned, the population disparity would look much different.
Gamers respond to good content just as much as they do to familiar themes. If, for instance, the roles were reversed, and the KDF had been treated like the Feds, and the Feds had been treated like the KDF from the get-go where STO is concerned, the population disparity would look much different.
Don't disagree here. Though the question would arise if this higher percentage of KDF players would mean a significantly higher absolute number of KDF players. (insert "Rom" for "KDF", reasoning would be the same). Or would players just say "I played this game (as a Fed), it sucked (as a Fed), no need to continue"? I guess for many players the fact that KDF gameplay would be better would not turn them to play the red side (or green side, if applicable). Because their first choice would probably still have been "Fed" (unless led the way by some review, which most certainly applies only to a fraction of players).
As an aside: apart from the (admittedly very major) issue of ship diversity, I do think that KDF and Rom (and especially KDF Rom) gameplay seems to reward more, albeit not by too much. As mentioned in my first post, I play my toons independently, but I made them with time in between and a certain cycle (F-K-R-F-K-R). Yet, apart from my oldest toon, who got all the Lobi and similar "once only" stuff, the Klinks are overtaking the Feds and the Roms are about to do that, too, when it comes to money, dil, etc. So, again the ship issue notwithstanding, from a mechanical pov at least to me it seems as if you shouldn't play Fed. Yet people do. (Ships are important though. As may be variety. We have two Rom races without LTS, a couple of KDF (if I am not mistaken 5+alien+special) and at least twice that for Fed).
My mother was an epohh and my father smelled of tulaberries
Comments
I will not disagree on the Feds being more popular but the KDF has more than the Roms.
http://www.arcgames.com/en/games/star-trek-online/news/detail/9065123-star-trek-online-5-year-anniversary-infographic
There are even more Klingon characters than Romulans.
I just don't see the appeal. At all. I also find it funny that they're portrayed with passion and carry themselves with endless chutzpah, despite the Empire continuing to exist only because the Federation is averse to actually putting down threats.
-Dedication plaque of the Federation Starship U.S.S. Merkava
I ended up deleting my KDF for similar reasons. Even doing the DOFF assignments contributes to an extremely unsavory atmosphere. Sell people into slavery! Go kill yourself over a recoverable injury! Loot, burn, pillage, and assassinate! All of this because it's supposed to be "honor"! And don't forget, the Klingons weren't as much concerned with the Undine as they were territory (attacking the Federation was beyond stupid...right up there with doing the exact same thing to Cardassia and giving the Dominion an Alpha Quadrant beachhead instead of being able to fight them bottlenecked at the Wormhole--that very incident being why the Klingons' word had zero credibility the second time around).
I do not think Cryptic should get the full blame for it by any means; we have the TNG and DS9 writers to thank for the dumbing down of the Klingons, and that was definitely a loss to the show. At least on the Fed side, yes, the Federation is more militarized now, it is actually conceivable when I run some missions to imagine I've simply dropped my opponent with a heavy stun, and that they'll come to after I'm gone with a headache and a grudge.
Christian Gaming Community Fleets--Faith, Fun, and Fellowship! See the website and PM for more. :-)
Proudly F2P. Signature image by gulberat. Avatar image by balsavor.deviantart.com.
1. Their "best" science ship = DSD. Reason I say "best" is because I don't count the Vo'Quv (Carrier), the Varanus is a cheap rip-off of the DSSV, and that's about it for "top tier" KDF ships with Sci Cmdr...
1.5 And the reason I don't fly "other ships" is that I try to keep each captain in a semi-unique playstyle. Feddie splits time between Pathfinder, Vesta, and Recluse. KDF would love a Vesta-clone so that the Fed could Recluse it, the KDF could Vesta it, and the Rommie can EBC-T'Varo...
2. Other than the DOffing of prisoners into slavery, my fully clothed Bortasq' wearing Orion doesn't seem very - Orion - to me, despite the backstory. She runs around espousing Klingon Honor more than attempting to subvert it as the Syndicate essentially aims to make the KDF their "bodyguard"...
3. And once you clear into the Rommie arc, she seems to be "a Federation Plant" espousing things like the Prime Directive, saving others, doing Talaxian Chores, etc. etc.
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]
I don't dispute that there are more Klingons than romulans, on the last official count, however, it has to be seen in the light of how long they've been around.
Klingons were part of the game from day one, whereas the Romulans have only been around for 2 years, so naturally there will be more...
The fact that they are only seperated by 3.2% speaks to the interest alone.
Qapla!
I very much doubt that many of the things mentioned here apply to the choice which character to roll. When you start a new game, only a select few will gather information about number of available end game ships or the question whether dialogue suits your character. Let alone prices whose value you cannot guess of consoles whose usefulness you can guess even less.
These things may be galling, depending on your disposition, no doubt, but especially in a game like this, which attracts probably more players through the IP than through gameplay mechanics and their reviews, it really can not be the reason for the very unbalanced number of players per faction.
So I guess the main reason is, as mentioned: Star Trek is Fed. Full stop. If you watched the series, you may want to be Kirk or Picard. You may see Klingons or Romulans that are cool, heroic even, but they last for 5 episodes if they're lucky. The guys you spent your time with are Feds. Even if they are renegade-ish like Ro Laren. So for players who want to role play in the wider sense, Fed is the number one choice. Regardless of mechanics, dialogue or availability of Sci ships.
Then we have the other aspect, too: KDF toons get less gameplay by a lot of those players who have a group of toons. I don't know whether there is hard data like the number of toons rolled available to the public. But yes, it is a problem and it may lead to the "parking" or even deleting of toons you deem surplus to time available. But, and there is certainly no hard data about this, I am fairly certain that the majority of players in this game doesn't go so far, I think the simple formula "ST=Fed" explains most of it.
It may be true that, for most newer players, end-game and overall content considerations don't generally factor into their initial character choice. But I don't agree that this remains as true as that player becomes more familiar and knowledgeable about the game and its landscape. A growing dissatisfaction with relative content and features coupled with a grass-is-greener perspective can quite easily encourage someone to switch factions, even at the expense of a reroll. Moreover, there's quite a history when it comes to the various ways the game has discouraged, or rather failed to adequately interest players from adopting KDF "mains" or opting to stick with KDF.
Gamers respond to good content just as much as they do to familiar themes. If, for instance, the roles were reversed, and the KDF had been treated like the Feds, and the Feds had been treated like the KDF from the get-go where STO is concerned, the population disparity would look much different.
Don't disagree here. Though the question would arise if this higher percentage of KDF players would mean a significantly higher absolute number of KDF players. (insert "Rom" for "KDF", reasoning would be the same). Or would players just say "I played this game (as a Fed), it sucked (as a Fed), no need to continue"? I guess for many players the fact that KDF gameplay would be better would not turn them to play the red side (or green side, if applicable). Because their first choice would probably still have been "Fed" (unless led the way by some review, which most certainly applies only to a fraction of players).
As an aside: apart from the (admittedly very major) issue of ship diversity, I do think that KDF and Rom (and especially KDF Rom) gameplay seems to reward more, albeit not by too much. As mentioned in my first post, I play my toons independently, but I made them with time in between and a certain cycle (F-K-R-F-K-R). Yet, apart from my oldest toon, who got all the Lobi and similar "once only" stuff, the Klinks are overtaking the Feds and the Roms are about to do that, too, when it comes to money, dil, etc. So, again the ship issue notwithstanding, from a mechanical pov at least to me it seems as if you shouldn't play Fed. Yet people do. (Ships are important though. As may be variety. We have two Rom races without LTS, a couple of KDF (if I am not mistaken 5+alien+special) and at least twice that for Fed).