This is just another thread about DPS in other words. STO provides players to make friends, join fleets and armadas. The players have blogs, YouTube videos, websites and wikis to gain information on how to play the game. This game has a tutorial for new players to understand the basics.
It seems to me you all want to wall off new players from everyone else until they pass some sort of litmus test.
No, because the game doesn't teach it. You have to go and reach out looking for the information, either on forums, friends, or fleetmates. But you are also not told to do that. So unless you stop and wonder why you suck, and try to do something about it, you will not even know you suck or that you can do something about it.
MMOs in general have gear systems, I do not understand why people do not even ask for this information.
When I go to play a new game I ask the community about things I don't know, including how gear works in said game and what equipment works, and I experiment using the suggestions to find a setup which works for me.
Theres plenty of information if someone bothers to look, even if the game doesn't force it on you in pop up windows.
I find the BIGGEST issue in queues is NOT gear but lack of teamwork and general ignorance. people who have no idea how to complete the special objectives, especially on elite, need to practice more on Normal.
"He shall be my finest warrior, this generic man who was forced upon me.
Like a badass I shall make him look, and in the furnace of war I shall forge him.
he shall be of iron will and steely sinew.
In great armour I shall clad him and with the mightiest weapons he shall be armed.
He will be untouched by plague or disease; no sickness shall blight him.
He shall have such tactics, strategies and machines that no foe will best him in battle.
He is my answer to cryptic logic, he is the Defender of my Romulan Crew.
He is Tovan Khev... and he shall know no fear."
Did you when you started playing, OP?
Were you born with being an expert STO player encoded into your DNA already?
Have you ever offered to take a newer player under your wing and show them a better way to equip themselves and play?
Is Star Trek Online an evening's entertainment or a religious lifestyle choice for you?
Have you ever given gear or a ship to a newer player?
Or,
As is usually the case, is all you can do is whine and and moan and TRIBBLE in these forums about how new players are making the game less fun for you?
It is people like you, posting what you did, that gives the truly Elite players of this game such a bad reputation with newer players. No wonder they donlt listen when all they get is TRIBBLE from people like you everywhere they turn.
When I started out, my first captain was Federation science... which from what I'm told now is "possibly the worst choice". I got to a point (it was in the Romulan story arc, one of the missions that's since been remastered), but it was the one with a shield wall with the gap you have to fly through being guarded by a D'Deridex (the scene still exists, it's in the Cirini Prime mission now). I could. not. kill. that ship. Just could not. Exited and restarted the mission like three or four times, probably spent over an hour in combat with that thing.
Wound up spending about another hour hitting the Wiki and hanging out at ESD (at the Exchange as I was prepared to buy some stuff), trying to figure out what was wrong with my ship. Someone started private messaging me (which was the first time ever) with a simple "what's up?" or something like that. We got to talking, and he helped me out (including passing on what I consider the three primary rules of shipbuilding - all of which I was in violation of at the time, and even putting together a budget build based on them solved my problem)... and then at the end tells me he's the leader of a fleet and offered me to join it, which I did. (I'm still there and am now the projects manager for him.)
But one of the things I wonder is - how many players were playing tac or eng or just had different gear or whatever and therefore didn't hit that particular wall (or one like it) and get to endgame levels without ever having to think about what kind of equipment is on their ship - the "all my slots are full so it should work" syndrome.
Those three rules, by the way? Energy matching, type matching (beams or cannons, to maximize BOFF boosts), and using all tac console slots for energy-specific booster consoles.
Fed science isn't bad at all, Science in general is just a little less straightforward to build for than other careers.
"He shall be my finest warrior, this generic man who was forced upon me.
Like a badass I shall make him look, and in the furnace of war I shall forge him.
he shall be of iron will and steely sinew.
In great armour I shall clad him and with the mightiest weapons he shall be armed.
He will be untouched by plague or disease; no sickness shall blight him.
He shall have such tactics, strategies and machines that no foe will best him in battle.
He is my answer to cryptic logic, he is the Defender of my Romulan Crew.
He is Tovan Khev... and he shall know no fear."
Before you start blaming the users, you need to first put yourself in their shoes for just a moment and ask the following:
1) Does the tutorial(s) explain most or all aspects of the game.
2) If I need further help after doing the tutorial(s), where is the instruction manual in which I can learn *ALL* aspects of the game. This includes, but not limited to the skills trait system, passives, BOFF powers/skills etc.
3) Do I understand how the equipment system works to provide what I'm looking for. Are there key notes which are basic enough to follow to what each weapon does in terms of real damage, or what increase effect there would be if a particular console is added.
4) Do I understand how to access all content of the game, and do I understand how the rewards work and how I can use said rewards.
I can't really blame anyone for not knowing how does stuff work. I've been playing STO for ages, but I only recently learned what do skills actually do (besides the very generic info given by the ingame description) and how they really affect powers and stuff, by checking a completely unrelated website.
Most of the time, items and powers have meaningless descriptions you can't translate into a specific bonus. I'm still puzzled at how much does "+5000 stealth" on Intelligence Team actually help me (it doesn't seem to do anything besides the comparatively huge number), or how much does +30 Graviton Generators actually extend my Gravity Well AoE and if it is more or less useful than +30 Warp Core Potential (that seems to have a tiny effect, if it does anything at all).
Tooltips/descriptions in this game are pretty terrible. Same for Neverwinter. It's probably a Cryptic trademark ("this is a legacy engine, made eons ago by other people and mantained by nobody, we don't really know how most stuff works, so we can't give accurate descriptions").
And no, the STO community in game is mostly TRIBBLE. If you ask questions there's a 99% chance you'd either get yelled at for being a noob, ridiculed, or trolled. I don't know about you but after that most would be hesitant to ask in forum or on reddit.
My experience has trended that the "yelling" usually starts aimed at the other advice givers = and only angles back to the OP when they show a clear preference for following someone else's advice.
To wit: Bob posts about Science builds, with no clear preference for what he wants to do with it, because he wants to do different things in the same mission without fighting the UI. I chime in and post my "mixed PartGen / Drain" build to give him a chance to experiment and maybe "have fun". Fred chimes in with a full-on PartGen build screaming "Since STO = DPS, you need to be PartGen or GTFO." Since I didn't agree with Fred, I draw flames (partially to "encourage" me to be like Fred, partially to discourage Bob from picking my build)...
If Bob were to ask further questions about the mixed drain build, Fred would begin to flame Bob until Bob gives up and joins the "DPS is all" crowd.
While I strive to not flame Fred, just because he has a differing viewpoint - too many others who "take my tact" begin to flame Fred because a game should not be "cookie cutter" where everyone runs DPS only builds. And again, the flames would be aimed at Bob if he indicates a preference to "Fred's viewpoint"...
I won't say you're wrong for having witnessed what you did. I will say that I have only had the opposite problem. After a failed run, the words such as "WTF?!!! Why don't you take your noob TRIBBLE$ off the computer, do us real gamers a favor and commit suicide already?!!!" crosses quite a few lines. For that alone that player should have been instantly banned and gone from the game permanently.
Most of the time, items and powers have meaningless descriptions you can't translate into a specific bonus. I'm still puzzled at how much does "+5000 stealth" on Intelligence Team actually help me (it doesn't seem to do anything besides the comparatively huge number), or how much does +30 Graviton Generators actually extend my Gravity Well AoE and if it is more or less useful than +30 Warp Core Potential (that seems to have a tiny effect, if it does anything at all).
So effing much this. And I know I'm going to get a 'Well, look it up on the wiki, reddit, ect' from the morons on this forum. But you actually expect players to run across 2314223 different sites to track down information? Because most people are not willing to do that being casual players and all. Plus not everything is on the wiki - btw that site is so incredibly out of date idek. Reddit is very much hit or miss. Sto academy? - even worse than the wiki at being out of date. This forum? Let's not even go there shall we.
Google can only take you to the information already put online it can't generate ti out of thin air, but so much of the information available is severely out of date and it's often impossible to tell if it is or isn't. And in any case it's spread out over several dozen places.
Logic is the beginning of wisdom, not the end of it.
And no, the STO community in game is mostly TRIBBLE. If you ask questions there's a 99% chance you'd either get yelled at for being a noob, ridiculed, or trolled. I don't know about you but after that most would be hesitant to ask in forum or on reddit.
My experience has trended that the "yelling" usually starts aimed at the other advice givers = and only angles back to the OP when they show a clear preference for following someone else's advice.
To wit: Bob posts about Science builds, with no clear preference for what he wants to do with it, because he wants to do different things in the same mission without fighting the UI. I chime in and post my "mixed PartGen / Drain" build to give him a chance to experiment and maybe "have fun". Fred chimes in with a full-on PartGen build screaming "Since STO = DPS, you need to be PartGen or GTFO." Since I didn't agree with Fred, I draw flames (partially to "encourage" me to be like Fred, partially to discourage Bob from picking my build)...
If Bob were to ask further questions about the mixed drain build, Fred would begin to flame Bob until Bob gives up and joins the "DPS is all" crowd.
While I strive to not flame Fred, just because he has a differing viewpoint - too many others who "take my tact" begin to flame Fred because a game should not be "cookie cutter" where everyone runs DPS only builds. And again, the flames would be aimed at Bob if he indicates a preference to "Fred's viewpoint"...
I won't say you're wrong for having witnessed what you did. I will say that I have only had the opposite problem. After a failed run, the words such as "WTF?!!! Why don't you take your noob TRIBBLE$ off the computer, do us real gamers a favor and commit suicide already?!!!" crosses quite a few lines. For that alone that player should have been instantly banned and gone from the game permanently.
yep. when i fly my odyssey, i have all three set consoles, and people say I'm stupid.. but you know what? with all three consoles, my pets don't die in 30 seconds. the saucer uses grav well 1.. and is useful. am I doing 150,000 dps? no. am i competing against the 50 year old living in mommies basement drooling over the extra .002 dps he squeaked out? no.
am i having fun? usually. my only issue is that I really cannot do "end game" because I'm NOT spending 20 hours a week on the game and that I detest the comments snide remarks demands and political bullsqueeze I experienced in the three fleets i had the misfortune to join
It has been suggested in other threads to reopen Memory Alpha up for in-game collection of blogs relating to the STO Storyline, I don't see why some of the better "Build" guides from the forums [ or a link to the entire build section of the STO forums] couldn't also be linked there to provide an in-game resource for players.
An even better solution, would be to have the above information accessible through you ships library computer which we rarely get to use anyway it would be as if your captain was actually researching the databases for information on a problem as seen on the various ST shows and movies. Include a "this information is available tutorial" so players were aware of it.
Do any of the newer players have any idea about how to equip themselves in STO???
Obviously some do and some don't.
Norway and Yeager dammit... I still want my Typhoon and Jupiter though. JJ Trek The Kelvin Timeline is just Trek and it's fully canon... get over it. But I still prefer TAR.
#TASforSTO
'...I can tell you that we're not in the military and that we intend no harm to the whales.' Kirk: The Voyage Home
'Starfleet is not a military organisation. Its purpose is exploration.' Picard: Peak Performance
'This is clearly a military operation. Is that what we are now? Because I thought we were explorers!' Scotty: Into Darkness
'...The Federation. Starfleet. We're not a military agency.' Scotty: Beyond
'I'm not a soldier anymore. I'm an engineer.' Miles O'Brien: Empok Nor
'...Starfleet could use you... It's a peacekeeping and humanitarian armada...' Admiral Pike: Star Trek
It has been suggested in other threads to reopen Memory Alpha up for in-game collection of blogs relating to the STO Storyline, I don't see why some of the better "Build" guides from the forums [ or a link to the entire build section of the STO forums] couldn't also be linked there to provide an in-game resource for players.
An even better solution, would be to have the above information accessible through you ships library computer which we rarely get to use anyway it would be as if your captain was actually researching the databases for information on a problem as seen on the various ST shows and movies. Include a "this information is available tutorial" so players were aware of it.
I find this idea just shy of brilliant and it would be very welcome.
Logic is the beginning of wisdom, not the end of it.
Quite often in some of the PvE missions, ground and space,I've seen some players dead after a few minutes on the easiest of missions. I find out later that they are not equipped properly, and rely on more experienced players to save the day.
Experienced players can not finish a mission alone, its a team effort.
They don't equip with things like health hypo's and shield recharge batteries. They have no idea where you get these items.
Its also down to DPS as well. weapons and equipment ground and space not upgraded.Its not that expensive to upgrade gear as you go, and or change to better weapons and then upgrade those.
Personally if I am not equipped properly for a mission, I do not enter it.
No offense, but who are you to even try to dictate to others how, why or what they should play like in-game. Trial and Error is a big thing us humans use as a tool to learn. Being given the info without learning the hows', why's or what's first is pure folly! I have never had anyone show me what to do in-game because I explored it all first before I had my first interaction with another player, and believe me, raging on at another player because of what you perceive as a poor build only serves to drive that player away. Have some humility and be nice to your fellow players. If they don't want your help, don't force it upon them.
"You don't want to patrol!? You don't want to escort!? You don't want to defend the Federation's Starbases!? Then why are you flying my Starships!? If you were a Klingon you'd be killed on the spot, but lucky for you.....you WERE in Starfleet. Let's see how New Zealand Penal Colony suits you." Adm A. Necheyev.
No, because the game doesn't teach it. You have to go and reach out looking for the information, either on forums, friends, or fleetmates. But you are also not told to do that. So unless you stop and wonder why you suck, and try to do something about it, you will not even know you suck or that you can do something about it.
This game has an extensive tutorial that teaches you all about everything virtually......let me guess, you skipped it!?
"You don't want to patrol!? You don't want to escort!? You don't want to defend the Federation's Starbases!? Then why are you flying my Starships!? If you were a Klingon you'd be killed on the spot, but lucky for you.....you WERE in Starfleet. Let's see how New Zealand Penal Colony suits you." Adm A. Necheyev.
No, because the game doesn't teach it. You have to go and reach out looking for the information, either on forums, friends, or fleetmates. But you are also not told to do that. So unless you stop and wonder why you suck, and try to do something about it, you will not even know you suck or that you can do something about it.
This game has an extensive tutorial that teaches you all about everything virtually......let me guess, you skipped it!?
No, it doesn't. The tutorial teaches you a lot about the basic mechanics, but it doesn't tell you that there's a lot to this game that depends on synergy of various pieces working together. For example, let's say you have a ship armed half with cannons and half with beams, and they're spread over three different energy types. The tutorial NOWHERE tells you that matching all the energy types would be better, because then all your weapons would be boosted by the same type of tac consoles (not to mention that the energy-specific tac consoles are better than the generic +beam or +cannon types)... and also NOWHERE tells you that having either all beams or all cannons would allow you to get more benefit from your tac BOFF powers (and by example actually discourages that, as virtually every new ship - the only exception I can recall is the T1 ships which probably don't just for lack of slots - comes from the shipyard with some of both).
That you're expected to figure out on your own, or be told. But the tutorial also doesn't tell you that it's not exhaustive.
Putting those two ideas together, you can take 1+1+1 and it equals something closer to 5 than it does 3.
And before you o off the handle - I'm neither a DPS chaser nor even a parser. I'm not saying you need world record level of DPS. But just obeying those basic principles will bring your builds up to average-or-better. And the tutorial DOES NOT even hint at them.
I always use at least one torpedo on every ship, never have issues.
"He shall be my finest warrior, this generic man who was forced upon me.
Like a badass I shall make him look, and in the furnace of war I shall forge him.
he shall be of iron will and steely sinew.
In great armour I shall clad him and with the mightiest weapons he shall be armed.
He will be untouched by plague or disease; no sickness shall blight him.
He shall have such tactics, strategies and machines that no foe will best him in battle.
He is my answer to cryptic logic, he is the Defender of my Romulan Crew.
He is Tovan Khev... and he shall know no fear."
Most of the time, items and powers have meaningless descriptions you can't translate into a specific bonus. I'm still puzzled at how much does "+5000 stealth" on Intelligence Team actually help me (it doesn't seem to do anything besides the comparatively huge number), or how much does +30 Graviton Generators actually extend my Gravity Well AoE and if it is more or less useful than +30 Warp Core Potential (that seems to have a tiny effect, if it does anything at all).
So effing much this. And I know I'm going to get a 'Well, look it up on the wiki, reddit, ect' from the morons on this forum. But you actually expect players to run across 2314223 different sites to track down information? Because most people are not willing to do that being casual players and all. Plus not everything is on the wiki - btw that site is so incredibly out of date idek. Reddit is very much hit or miss. Sto academy? - even worse than the wiki at being out of date. This forum? Let's not even go there shall we.
Google can only take you to the information already put online it can't generate ti out of thin air, but so much of the information available is severely out of date and it's often impossible to tell if it is or isn't. And in any case it's spread out over several dozen places.
The information out there is not entirely correct either. Examples like calculation errors, or the game made changes and the info hasn't been updated etc. Further more, it should not be up to the community to know how the game operations on a basic levels. Walkthroughs, guides, etc. are things that communities should focuse on, not on game manuals.
Retired. I'm now in search for that perfect space anomaly.
No, because the game doesn't teach it. You have to go and reach out looking for the information, either on forums, friends, or fleetmates. But you are also not told to do that. So unless you stop and wonder why you suck, and try to do something about it, you will not even know you suck or that you can do something about it.
This game has an extensive tutorial that teaches you all about everything virtually......let me guess, you skipped it!?
I think you may have....
Retired. I'm now in search for that perfect space anomaly.
No, because the game doesn't teach it. You have to go and reach out looking for the information, either on forums, friends, or fleetmates. But you are also not told to do that. So unless you stop and wonder why you suck, and try to do something about it, you will not even know you suck or that you can do something about it.
This game has an extensive tutorial that teaches you all about everything virtually......let me guess, you skipped it!?
No, it doesn't. The tutorial teaches you a lot about the basic mechanics, but it doesn't tell you that there's a lot to this game that depends on synergy of various pieces working together. For example, let's say you have a ship armed half with cannons and half with beams, and they're spread over three different energy types. The tutorial NOWHERE tells you that matching all the energy types would be better, because then all your weapons would be boosted by the same type of tac consoles (not to mention that the energy-specific tac consoles are better than the generic +beam or +cannon types)... and also NOWHERE tells you that having either all beams or all cannons would allow you to get more benefit from your tac BOFF powers (and by example actually discourages that, as virtually every new ship - the only exception I can recall is the T1 ships which probably don't just for lack of slots - comes from the shipyard with some of both).
That you're expected to figure out on your own, or be told. But the tutorial also doesn't tell you that it's not exhaustive.
Putting those two ideas together, you can take 1+1+1 and it equals something closer to 5 than it does 3.
And before you go off the handle claiming I'm a DPS hound - I'm neither a DPS chaser nor even a parser. (To be honest, my computer skill has proven insufficient when I've tried to set up parsers; I've tried every one I've heard of and never been able to get any of them functional; they also need better tutorials and/or instructions.) I don't hang out on STF-related chat channels (in fact the only channel I'm active on most of the time is my armada's private chat), I don't run elites, and I almost never (unless my armada is organizing that day) even run in premade groups for PVEs. I'm a sporadic PUGger - but I do pull my own weight and the parses I've seen others post usually put my ship in second or third place, even in Advanced.
I'm not saying you need world record level of DPS. But just obeying those basic principles will bring your builds up to average-or-better. And the tutorial DOES NOT even hint at them.
I'm sorry, but the fact that you can use consoles so you can use different beam/cannon/torp types does not need explanation in a tutorial, all that is given in the console's descriptions. The fact is that using one type with it's matching consoles type is plain common sense as is also described by the fact it clearly shows in the console description that it has a higher output. All it takes is the ability to READ. A tutorial does not need to tell you any of this.
And before you go off that handle of yours, I'm an Instructor of Martial Arts, been doing so for well over 20 years, and I know full well that everyone has their own way of playing the game, their own level of learning ability. Giving a player all that knowledge at once, without once getting the player to find out something for themselves, which is clearly shown right in front of them, does not make for a better player, it only serves to dumb down that yearning to learn, adapt and be an individual.
"You don't want to patrol!? You don't want to escort!? You don't want to defend the Federation's Starbases!? Then why are you flying my Starships!? If you were a Klingon you'd be killed on the spot, but lucky for you.....you WERE in Starfleet. Let's see how New Zealand Penal Colony suits you." Adm A. Necheyev.
No, because the game doesn't teach it. You have to go and reach out looking for the information, either on forums, friends, or fleetmates. But you are also not told to do that. So unless you stop and wonder why you suck, and try to do something about it, you will not even know you suck or that you can do something about it.
This game has an extensive tutorial that teaches you all about everything virtually......let me guess, you skipped it!?
Which tutorial did you play? Because it sure as hell can't be the "new" Fed one, that one is more confusing than informative. Also, extensive? It touches on the barest minimum of information, the rest you're left to figure out for yourself.
Logic is the beginning of wisdom, not the end of it.
No, because the game doesn't teach it. You have to go and reach out looking for the information, either on forums, friends, or fleetmates. But you are also not told to do that. So unless you stop and wonder why you suck, and try to do something about it, you will not even know you suck or that you can do something about it.
This game has an extensive tutorial that teaches you all about everything virtually......let me guess, you skipped it!?
Which tutorial did you play? Because it sure as hell can't be the "new" Fed one, that one is more confusing than informative. Also, extensive? It touches on the barest minimum of information, the rest you're left to figure out for yourself.
I decided to create a new toon for The Delta Recruit event. Seeing how I've been playing for years, I was curious to see the updates they'd done. The fact there's a ton of pop ups explaining all the systems is all I needed to know, because all the other info regarding equipment is given in each item's description. It doesn't take a genius to put that info together.
"You don't want to patrol!? You don't want to escort!? You don't want to defend the Federation's Starbases!? Then why are you flying my Starships!? If you were a Klingon you'd be killed on the spot, but lucky for you.....you WERE in Starfleet. Let's see how New Zealand Penal Colony suits you." Adm A. Necheyev.
I'm sorry, but the fact that you can use consoles so you can use different beam/cannon/torp types does not need explanation in a tutorial, all that is given in the console's descriptions. The fact is that using one type with it's matching consoles type is plain common sense as is also described by the fact it clearly shows in the console description that it has a higher output. All it takes is the ability to READ. A tutorial does not need to tell you any of this.
And before you go off that handle of yours, I'm an Instructor of Martial Arts, been doing so for well over 20 years, and I know full well that everyone has their own way of playing the game, their own level of learning ability. Giving a player all that knowledge at once, without once getting the player to find out something for themselves, which is clearly shown right in front of them, does not make for a better player, it only serves to dumb down that yearning to learn, adapt and be an individual.
Apparently it does, because about 80% of the players I see getting sworn at, teased, etcetera (or that I'm doing those things behind their back to, because I'm polite enough not to do it to them) are running those precise 'rainbow trash' type builds and don't appear to know any better; nor did I until I ran into a situation in a story episode where I could not progress, and researched it for myself - WAY after completing the tutorial.
Just because the information is out there and it appears to be common sense doesn't mean it doesn't need to be said.
Interesting about-face there... from "an extensive tutorial that teaches you all about everything virtually" to then claiming that basics like this don't need to be added to it because they should be obvious (but apparently aren't).
No about-face there. I'm one of those that studies everything I need to know before I use it. I don't need a tutorial to tell me about different types of weapon, when it's clear as day in-front of you!
"You don't want to patrol!? You don't want to escort!? You don't want to defend the Federation's Starbases!? Then why are you flying my Starships!? If you were a Klingon you'd be killed on the spot, but lucky for you.....you WERE in Starfleet. Let's see how New Zealand Penal Colony suits you." Adm A. Necheyev.
This is some of the problem right here. A "casual" player is just that:someone playing for fun and socializing with fleeties etc. In other words, what would be considered a "normal" player. "Casual" does not translate into "advanced" and "elite". Normal is for people just having fun,the other levels are designed for people who have researched builds,interaction of boff powers,the actual parameters of a specific mission in order to complete it successfully.
Seems to me that common sense dictates that "advanced" and "elite" are not for "casual" players,if so they would be called "casual" stf's...oh wait,we have those. They're called "normal"! If you can't or won't take the time to find out what you need to do to get better then just be "normal" players. I have no issues with this kind of player,great,have fun, enjoy the game,socializing,whatever...just don't be surprised when people like me,who have done extra research into the mechanics of the game(which,by the way is "advanced" learning) get upset. Actually I never get upset with anyone ingame,as in "shaming" them or calling them out,but I do sometimes mutter things to myself.
I don't interfere with your fun,please don't interfere with mine while I try to beat the seemingly unkillable enemies that Cryptic has thrown at us. If you want to play advanced/elite stuff, then please find out what you need to do before jumping in blindly and ruining my fun,which is what the game is supposed to be about.
All that being said,I do agree that some basic information has been completely ignored by Cryptic,such as running one energy type,whether to use cannons or beams,etc. Hopefully,this is something that can and will be corrected by said company,to the benefit of ALL players. After all, if we don't play,they don't get pay!
As a returning player who already had a decent understanding about the gameplay and mechanics, one thing I have noticed is the documentation and information, which back when I played before was rather extensive, is rather incomplete, outdated, or entirely missing these days. STOWiki, for example, isn't reliable for much of the new content and the new meta. Even google searches were returning some sparse results.
I had to go out of my way to ask on both STObuilds reddit and here in the builds/powers section (since literally no one responded to my initial Academy section thread, thanks guys) to get brought up to date on some thing.
The game itself has never really done a good job of explaining any of its various mechanics, and it has only become more new player unfriendly with age. So, it's always been up to the community to provide adequate documentation and information for new players, but the community seems to have fallen behind in that regard. There's plenty of talk about the high end side of things (i.e. "look at all this math!!!"), and players posting p2w builds that broke some absurd DPS records, but that generally isn't very helpful to a newer player.
Comments
It seems to me you all want to wall off new players from everyone else until they pass some sort of litmus test.
MMOs in general have gear systems, I do not understand why people do not even ask for this information.
When I go to play a new game I ask the community about things I don't know, including how gear works in said game and what equipment works, and I experiment using the suggestions to find a setup which works for me.
Theres plenty of information if someone bothers to look, even if the game doesn't force it on you in pop up windows.
I find the BIGGEST issue in queues is NOT gear but lack of teamwork and general ignorance. people who have no idea how to complete the special objectives, especially on elite, need to practice more on Normal.
"He shall be my finest warrior, this generic man who was forced upon me.
Like a badass I shall make him look, and in the furnace of war I shall forge him.
he shall be of iron will and steely sinew.
In great armour I shall clad him and with the mightiest weapons he shall be armed.
He will be untouched by plague or disease; no sickness shall blight him.
He shall have such tactics, strategies and machines that no foe will best him in battle.
He is my answer to cryptic logic, he is the Defender of my Romulan Crew.
He is Tovan Khev... and he shall know no fear."
qft
Fed science isn't bad at all, Science in general is just a little less straightforward to build for than other careers.
"He shall be my finest warrior, this generic man who was forced upon me.
Like a badass I shall make him look, and in the furnace of war I shall forge him.
he shall be of iron will and steely sinew.
In great armour I shall clad him and with the mightiest weapons he shall be armed.
He will be untouched by plague or disease; no sickness shall blight him.
He shall have such tactics, strategies and machines that no foe will best him in battle.
He is my answer to cryptic logic, he is the Defender of my Romulan Crew.
He is Tovan Khev... and he shall know no fear."
I can't really blame anyone for not knowing how does stuff work. I've been playing STO for ages, but I only recently learned what do skills actually do (besides the very generic info given by the ingame description) and how they really affect powers and stuff, by checking a completely unrelated website.
Most of the time, items and powers have meaningless descriptions you can't translate into a specific bonus. I'm still puzzled at how much does "+5000 stealth" on Intelligence Team actually help me (it doesn't seem to do anything besides the comparatively huge number), or how much does +30 Graviton Generators actually extend my Gravity Well AoE and if it is more or less useful than +30 Warp Core Potential (that seems to have a tiny effect, if it does anything at all).
Tooltips/descriptions in this game are pretty terrible. Same for Neverwinter. It's probably a Cryptic trademark ("this is a legacy engine, made eons ago by other people and mantained by nobody, we don't really know how most stuff works, so we can't give accurate descriptions").
I won't say you're wrong for having witnessed what you did. I will say that I have only had the opposite problem. After a failed run, the words such as "WTF?!!! Why don't you take your noob TRIBBLE$ off the computer, do us real gamers a favor and commit suicide already?!!!" crosses quite a few lines. For that alone that player should have been instantly banned and gone from the game permanently.
So effing much this. And I know I'm going to get a 'Well, look it up on the wiki, reddit, ect' from the morons on this forum. But you actually expect players to run across 2314223 different sites to track down information? Because most people are not willing to do that being casual players and all. Plus not everything is on the wiki - btw that site is so incredibly out of date idek. Reddit is very much hit or miss. Sto academy? - even worse than the wiki at being out of date. This forum? Let's not even go there shall we.
Google can only take you to the information already put online it can't generate ti out of thin air, but so much of the information available is severely out of date and it's often impossible to tell if it is or isn't. And in any case it's spread out over several dozen places.
yep. when i fly my odyssey, i have all three set consoles, and people say I'm stupid.. but you know what? with all three consoles, my pets don't die in 30 seconds. the saucer uses grav well 1.. and is useful. am I doing 150,000 dps? no. am i competing against the 50 year old living in mommies basement drooling over the extra .002 dps he squeaked out? no.
am i having fun? usually. my only issue is that I really cannot do "end game" because I'm NOT spending 20 hours a week on the game and that I detest the comments snide remarks demands and political bullsqueeze I experienced in the three fleets i had the misfortune to join
An even better solution, would be to have the above information accessible through you ships library computer which we rarely get to use anyway it would be as if your captain was actually researching the databases for information on a problem as seen on the various ST shows and movies. Include a "this information is available tutorial" so players were aware of it.
Obviously some do and some don't.
Norway and Yeager dammit... I still want my Typhoon and Jupiter though.
JJ Trek The Kelvin Timeline is just Trek and it's fully canon... get over it. But I still prefer TAR.
#TASforSTO
'...I can tell you that we're not in the military and that we intend no harm to the whales.' Kirk: The Voyage Home
'Starfleet is not a military organisation. Its purpose is exploration.' Picard: Peak Performance
'This is clearly a military operation. Is that what we are now? Because I thought we were explorers!' Scotty: Into Darkness
'...The Federation. Starfleet. We're not a military agency.' Scotty: Beyond
'I'm not a soldier anymore. I'm an engineer.' Miles O'Brien: Empok Nor
'...Starfleet could use you... It's a peacekeeping and humanitarian armada...' Admiral Pike: Star Trek
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I find this idea just shy of brilliant and it would be very welcome.
No offense, but who are you to even try to dictate to others how, why or what they should play like in-game. Trial and Error is a big thing us humans use as a tool to learn. Being given the info without learning the hows', why's or what's first is pure folly! I have never had anyone show me what to do in-game because I explored it all first before I had my first interaction with another player, and believe me, raging on at another player because of what you perceive as a poor build only serves to drive that player away. Have some humility and be nice to your fellow players. If they don't want your help, don't force it upon them.
This game has an extensive tutorial that teaches you all about everything virtually......let me guess, you skipped it!?
I always use at least one torpedo on every ship, never have issues.
"He shall be my finest warrior, this generic man who was forced upon me.
Like a badass I shall make him look, and in the furnace of war I shall forge him.
he shall be of iron will and steely sinew.
In great armour I shall clad him and with the mightiest weapons he shall be armed.
He will be untouched by plague or disease; no sickness shall blight him.
He shall have such tactics, strategies and machines that no foe will best him in battle.
He is my answer to cryptic logic, he is the Defender of my Romulan Crew.
He is Tovan Khev... and he shall know no fear."
The information out there is not entirely correct either. Examples like calculation errors, or the game made changes and the info hasn't been updated etc. Further more, it should not be up to the community to know how the game operations on a basic levels. Walkthroughs, guides, etc. are things that communities should focuse on, not on game manuals.
I think you may have....
That's where I learned about 80% of my STO knowledge. The rest was from just playing the game.
Seriously any time I get involved in character builds or understanding game mechanics, I go look for the game's wiki.
I'm sorry, but the fact that you can use consoles so you can use different beam/cannon/torp types does not need explanation in a tutorial, all that is given in the console's descriptions. The fact is that using one type with it's matching consoles type is plain common sense as is also described by the fact it clearly shows in the console description that it has a higher output. All it takes is the ability to READ. A tutorial does not need to tell you any of this.
And before you go off that handle of yours, I'm an Instructor of Martial Arts, been doing so for well over 20 years, and I know full well that everyone has their own way of playing the game, their own level of learning ability. Giving a player all that knowledge at once, without once getting the player to find out something for themselves, which is clearly shown right in front of them, does not make for a better player, it only serves to dumb down that yearning to learn, adapt and be an individual.
Which tutorial did you play? Because it sure as hell can't be the "new" Fed one, that one is more confusing than informative. Also, extensive? It touches on the barest minimum of information, the rest you're left to figure out for yourself.
I decided to create a new toon for The Delta Recruit event. Seeing how I've been playing for years, I was curious to see the updates they'd done. The fact there's a ton of pop ups explaining all the systems is all I needed to know, because all the other info regarding equipment is given in each item's description. It doesn't take a genius to put that info together.
No about-face there. I'm one of those that studies everything I need to know before I use it. I don't need a tutorial to tell me about different types of weapon, when it's clear as day in-front of you!
This is some of the problem right here. A "casual" player is just that:someone playing for fun and socializing with fleeties etc. In other words, what would be considered a "normal" player. "Casual" does not translate into "advanced" and "elite". Normal is for people just having fun,the other levels are designed for people who have researched builds,interaction of boff powers,the actual parameters of a specific mission in order to complete it successfully.
Seems to me that common sense dictates that "advanced" and "elite" are not for "casual" players,if so they would be called "casual" stf's...oh wait,we have those. They're called "normal"! If you can't or won't take the time to find out what you need to do to get better then just be "normal" players. I have no issues with this kind of player,great,have fun, enjoy the game,socializing,whatever...just don't be surprised when people like me,who have done extra research into the mechanics of the game(which,by the way is "advanced" learning) get upset. Actually I never get upset with anyone ingame,as in "shaming" them or calling them out,but I do sometimes mutter things to myself.
I don't interfere with your fun,please don't interfere with mine while I try to beat the seemingly unkillable enemies that Cryptic has thrown at us. If you want to play advanced/elite stuff, then please find out what you need to do before jumping in blindly and ruining my fun,which is what the game is supposed to be about.
All that being said,I do agree that some basic information has been completely ignored by Cryptic,such as running one energy type,whether to use cannons or beams,etc. Hopefully,this is something that can and will be corrected by said company,to the benefit of ALL players. After all, if we don't play,they don't get pay!
I had to go out of my way to ask on both STObuilds reddit and here in the builds/powers section (since literally no one responded to my initial Academy section thread, thanks guys) to get brought up to date on some thing.
The game itself has never really done a good job of explaining any of its various mechanics, and it has only become more new player unfriendly with age. So, it's always been up to the community to provide adequate documentation and information for new players, but the community seems to have fallen behind in that regard. There's plenty of talk about the high end side of things (i.e. "look at all this math!!!"), and players posting p2w builds that broke some absurd DPS records, but that generally isn't very helpful to a newer player.