Federation Starter Pack - Potential Improvements?

ultimatenewbie

I refer to the 'Federation Starter Pack' which costs 300 Zen from the C-Store - see the spoiler below if you dont recall the contents of the pack.

Now, I didnt join the game right at the start, however I do remember with my first character that you began with 'white quality' bridge officers - none of this purple quality Flores jazz. I dont know exactly when the Tutorials had their revamp (with the release of LoR?) but before the revamp it seems to me that the value proposition of the Starter Pack was quite reasonable when compared to being issued with basic white quality boffs and just the equipment from the story missions.

However, my view is that - since the upgraded Tutorials (for which, thanks Cryptic!) - the value proposition for the Starter Pack has taken a dive. Without paying any Zen, you start with a purple boff and all the others are green quality. You get green quality weapons by about the third mission. Therefore, it seems you pay 300 Zen for a 1000 Skill Point Box (gained not as a lump sum but instead as a 20 per cent faster accumulation rate) and some green or blue equipment that you grow out of pretty quickly.

Given that the skill point system is about to go through a refresh, it might be an opportune time to reconsider the value proposition for the Federation Starter Pack.

I am interested in the views of players who did purchase one (like I did, for my second character - but not the others) - did you consider it good value for money? What stuff did you not really use, what stuff could you have used instead? If you havent bought it, why not? What do you think would be useful for a Starter Pack - noting that the contents would have to be balanced with Cryptic still making money off it and having a low face value so new players dont have to fork out too much real money for early equipment. How much Zen would you consider paying for it?

The other thing I've been wondering about is the number of players who follow the story and level up to 50+ then reach the Delta Quadrant and get hammered. As STO opens out quite quickly once you hit Level 50, I was wondering whether there might actually be use for an additional 'Flag Officer Assistance Pack' (or whatever) that could help out characters at that stage in their development. If so, what might such a pack reasonably include? I was thinking like 180-200 Reputation points for some/all Reputations so players could relatively quickly get the 6 daily projects to get the basic space and ground warfare traits. Also perhaps some purple boffs and doffs - if so, which? Include some other things for 500-1000 Zen (noting that more developed characters have a greater dill grind capability) and go.

Federation Starter Pack

• 1000 Skill Point Boost
• Academy Graduate Title
• Mk II Blue Phaser Auto Rifle, Energy Dampening Armour, Mk II Green Personal Shield
• Mk II Blue Photon Torpedo, Mk II Green Shield Array.
• Green Human Female Engineering Bridge Officer (Equipped with green weapon, shield, armour)
• Green Betazoid Female Science Bridge Officer (Equipped with green weapon, shield, armour)
• 5x Weapon, Shield, Engine and Aux batteries
• 10x Medium Hypos, Shield and Weapon power cells.
• Single Character Unlock

[/spolier]

samt1996

Radical change - Total re-think required (post below)

Leveless items that level with you for the first few ranks.

angrytarg

Radical change - Total re-think required (post below)

I haven't bought it, but the starter pack is... questionable at best. Green items, boffs, 1000xp points - nothing of this is of any worth, especially not Zen. I agree with @samt1996 - some levelless items would at least make some sense. But considering that even the casual player outlevels the "starter pack" in a matter of of maybe two hours tops the asking price is ridiculous. Getting a T1 ship gives you much more of a "leg up" than this pack. Add to that that it's a single-character unlock, unlike for example the chromodynamic armour which is a Mk II armour but available across the account (digital deluxe bonus from way back) the "starter pack" insults one's intelligence, really.​​

davefenestrator

Moderate change - Improve value for money and change the content and I'd buy it for all my alts!

samt1996 wrote: »

Leveless items that level with you for the first few ranks.

Exactly. Like the recent Featured Episode gear. I got the Sunrise and Stormbound sets for my new fed science captain and have used them from levels (10-20) - 60.

Maybe "fewer but better" purple not blue and levels up to Mk XII - 1-2 boff (since / eng not tac), 1-2 phaser beam rifle, 1-2 armor, etc.

300 zen = 12+ million EC which buys a lot of purple gear and tech upgrades.

groomofweird

Radical change - Total re-think required (post below)

You can find far far better in our fleet bank.
Heck most people would gladly craft some low level gear in a min or two to help a new player.

jcsteele

Radical change - Total re-think required (post below)

I agree with all that's been posted above . Next time I start a new toon I might just use my mains and craft new gear. Hell, I did that for my Delta Recruit last year.

bergins

Radical change - Total re-think required (post below)

I'd have to do the math, but it seems to me I could use the 300 Zen to buy 2 LB Keys instead, sell them on the exchange, and pick up the same (or better) gear off the exchange, and have a lot of EC left over.

Major change needed to make this pack worth it, unless you really really need that "Academy Graduate" title.

warmaker001b

Notice a Fed Starter Pack and of course, no KDF or Romulan versions.

captxpendable

warmaker001b wrote: »

Notice a Fed Starter Pack and of course, no KDF or Romulan versions.

That's because new Feds are gullible

saber1973a

Radical change - Total re-think required (post below)

yeah - starter pack should have some levelles items at least...
You can get some better items from regular play (including the BOFFs)
or by DOFF assignments...
And with it being not account unlock (not even character unlock - just one-time purchase)...
it's basically useless as it is.

dragnridr

Radical change - Total re-think required (post below)

I'd keep the character slot, and change the rest to leveless weapon, shields, and armor for your captain, some batteries, R&D materials (enough to make some gear for the first time) Ship slot and a couple of random Boffs that are purple quality that has purple gear.

warpangel

Where's the "ditch the starter pack completely" -option?

Really, nothing in that pack is remotely useful. You'd be better off buying keys with that 300 Zen and selling them on the ex, getting enough EC to buy 100x better stuff.

And of course, the game is so easy and leveling so fast that spending money on early gear is a complete waste to begin with.

saber1973a

Radical change - Total re-think required (post below)

warpangel wrote: »

Where's the "ditch the starter pack completely" -option?

Really, nothing in that pack is remotely useful. You'd be better off buying keys with that 300 Zen and selling them on the ex, getting enough EC to buy 100x better stuff.

And of course, the game is so easy and leveling so fast that spending money on early gear is a complete waste to begin with.

...shhh.. about the last one, before someone will think about fixing it... by making it harder to level-up....

warpangel

saber1973a wrote: »

warpangel wrote: »

Where's the "ditch the starter pack completely" -option?

Really, nothing in that pack is remotely useful. You'd be better off buying keys with that 300 Zen and selling them on the ex, getting enough EC to buy 100x better stuff.

And of course, the game is so easy and leveling so fast that spending money on early gear is a complete waste to begin with.

...shhh.. about the last one, before someone will think about fixing it... by making it harder to level-up....

I wish.

fiberteksyfir

Radical change - Total re-think required (post below)

Yeah that box is a total noob trap.. The gear is actual junk (you can get crafted purples at mk ii for less than what you can airlock the greens for). Its a relic of seasons looooong passed. i think that thing has been up since launch - which in the before time, the long long ago was probably reasonable... But now its very very dated. Some kind of scaling gear would be an improvement and a unique purple boff of some kind maybe.. The greens are inferior before you finish the tutorial and you get better ones along the way (or on the cheap from the exchange)

ultimatenewbie

Moderate change - Improve value for money and change the content and I'd buy it for all my alts!

Well, thanks for all the helpful and constructive feedback everyone. It seems like views are pretty consistent - the current arrangement is considered almost universally negative.

I like the idea of self-levelling items, such as rifles and consoles.

Although it is probably too much (and not strictly necessary) for a starter pack, but the idea of a special shuttle (eg, like the sleek shuttlecraft variant from Voyager which seems to be missing from the game currently) and the related Admiralty card could make it a selling point - even for characters which have already leveled up!

I dont think an account unlock would be appropriate, though, as I imagine a substantial part of the Starter Pack market would be people trying to get their alts off the ground with less grinding; an account unlock would kill that market.

I also think a version for KDF and Romulans would also be a welcome addition.

dareau

Keeping in mind that, perhaps, the "worst" part of levelling characters in the modern meta is dealing with "ground abilities" - aka "kits" - I once had "power levelled" a guy from 10-40 using a Lt. Level ground kit with it's 2 powers till I finally ran into a kit-giving mission, and said mission only gave like 1 level-appropriate power anyway - here's my solutions:

Simple, elegant: Starter kit dispenses 2x Delta Recruit level-up boxes, one the ground kit one, the second being "player's choice" (space weapons, space support, ground support) - through Level 40 (Captain).

More "complex" - levelless / start at Mk II and give enough TP/upgrade books to carry through Mx X or XII, hand out a full slate of everything - 6x space energy weapons, 2x torps, 3x each "flavor" of console (sci, tac, eng) an exploit and expose ground weapon, full support rigs (shields, armor, core, engine, deflector, etc.) and a set of "rechargeable" weapon/aux/engine/shield battery devices...

smokeybacon90

Radical change - Total re-think required (post below)

"Here, pay money for something that will be rendered obsolete after one hour of gameplay by random loot drops."

One of the worst marketing decisions in this game besides the C-store "Boosts".

gradii

Minimal change - Good value for money but content should be updated/swapped

Basic Level scaling gear included. Problem solved.

warpangel

dareau wrote: »

Keeping in mind that, perhaps, the "worst" part of levelling characters in the modern meta is dealing with "ground abilities" - aka "kits" - I once had "power levelled" a guy from 10-40 using a Lt. Level ground kit with it's 2 powers till I finally ran into a kit-giving mission, and said mission only gave like 1 level-appropriate power anyway - here's my solutions:

So? My Delta Recruit was running random drop white-green mk whatever kit modules for months even after hitting max level. Never even noticed. Game's easy.

EDIT: And the ex is full of cheap kit modules for those who care enough to buy some.

pwstolemyname

Radical change - Total re-think required (post below)

As it stands, as every one else has said: Its a Trap! ... or was that the wrong franchise? All it is going to do is create a bad impression with the kind of new player that spends money.

A real starter pack should remove the EC cap, add some bank slots, a character slot, a couple of keys, fleet dilithum contribution tokens and provide a shuttle of some sort. Make it a one time purchase and up the price to 500 zen.

This way its a grate deal for the first time zen user, instead of feeling riped off their first impression of spending zen will be positive so they are more likly to spend again. Also the fleet dill contribution tokens will get them thinking about joining a fleet which would increase the chance that they keep playing.

Giving out gear is a bad move as it devalues the achivment a new player feels when items drop during play.

markhawkman

I need more data, what are the Boff traits? are they in any way special?

inferiority

Radical change - Total re-think required (post below)

Increase the cost to 650zen and change the box to a generic "Galactic Restoration Starter Pack".
Give it the following contents:

• Faction Specific Requisitions Box (similar to the Delta Recruit level-up pack.)
  Gives a choice of ship gear, ship weapons, or ground gear - these can all be freely upgraded to Mk XII.
• 2x Blue-quality Bridge Officers with blue non-scaling equipment (1 Sci, 1 Eng)
• 5x Weapon, Shield, Engine and Aux batteries
• 10x Medium Hypos, Shield and Weapon power cells.
• Faction-Specific Tier-1 Starship
  • Oberth Class Light Science Vessel (Federation Captains)
  • B'Rotlh Bird-of-Prey (Klingon Defense Force Captains)
  • T'varo Light Warbird (Romulan Republic Officers)
  Alternatively, backwards modify each of the following 'Iconic' ships from the series to a Tier 1 version:
  • Galaxy Class Prototype (Federation Captains)
    "Console - Crimson Forcefield" to confuses foes for 10 seconds. (Extends to 15 seconds for Pakled captains.)
  • Negh'Var Prototype (Klingon Defense Force Captains)
    "Console - Prototype Phase Cloak" allows the ship to pass through solid objects for 8 seconds.
  • D'deridex Warbird Prototype* (Romulan Republic Officers)
    "Console - Prototype Phase Cloak" allows the ship to pass through solid objects for 8 seconds.
    * The D'deridex Warbird Prototype is a significantly smaller and more maneuverable ship than what the D'deridex eventually became.)

ultimatenewbie

Moderate change - Improve value for money and change the content and I'd buy it for all my alts!

inferiority wrote: »

Increase the cost to 650zen and change the box to a generic "Galactic Restoration Starter Pack".
Give it the following contents:

• Faction Specific Requisitions Box (similar to the Delta Recruit level-up pack.)
  Gives a choice of ship gear, ship weapons, or ground gear - these can all be freely upgraded to Mk XII.
• 2x Blue-quality Bridge Officers with blue non-scaling equipment (1 Sci, 1 Eng)
• 5x Weapon, Shield, Engine and Aux batteries
• 10x Medium Hypos, Shield and Weapon power cells.
• Faction-Specific Tier-1 Starship
  • Oberth Class Light Science Vessel (Federation Captains)
  • B'Rotlh Bird-of-Prey (Klingon Defense Force Captains)
  • T'varo Light Warbird (Romulan Republic Officers)
  Alternatively, backwards modify each of the following 'Iconic' ships from the series to a Tier 1 version:
  • Galaxy Class Prototype (Federation Captains)
    "Console - Crimson Forcefield" to confuses foes for 10 seconds. (Extends to 15 seconds for Pakled captains.)
  • Negh'Var Prototype (Klingon Defense Force Captains)
    "Console - Prototype Phase Cloak" allows the ship to pass through solid objects for 8 seconds.
  • D'deridex Warbird Prototype* (Romulan Republic Officers)
    "Console - Prototype Phase Cloak" allows the ship to pass through solid objects for 8 seconds.
    * The D'deridex Warbird Prototype is a significantly smaller and more maneuverable ship than what the D'deridex eventually became.)

Whilst I would like to see these ships, I doubt that they'd be practical to implement (ie, everyone would want the Tier 1 Galaxy, D'Deridex etc) because quite simply it'd be rad. Also, I think keeping starship choice and starter pack separate is sensible - because the face value is lower, and if you'd rather a different ship and the starter pack you dont have to pay through the nose.

What you describe above is, i think, not striking the right balance between content and price.

Still, the Pakled reference was amusing.

feiqa

Back before the R&D revamp it had some value to boost you a bit. Now with crafted gear and lock box equipment coming out everywhere. It is easier to buy purple gear from the exchange than get this. Also it is a 'Federation' starter pack because when it was put out you had to get a fed character to 25 to even have a kdf toon and they started at 25 so the pack would be worthless to them.

So this pack either needs to be wiped completely. Or rebuilt from the ground up. Used to be you could get a decent set of blue gear from the dil store. They wiped all those to bring out the R&D gear. so my recommendation. Either make it a Starter pack or put down three of them. One per faction. It comes with a blue split beam rifle and shield. A title per faction like. Academy graduate, top of class etc for Feds. along with some medal. A similar Klingon title. Honour carrier or the like to show you did not take kindly to your dishonourable captain and a special medal/pip you wear. Romulan side they have militia member as a title.
The medal is worn under where the fed badge is or could be a cord like service branches wear. This extra bling tossed in there may entice a few older toons to buy it as well just to have that extra costume piece they can toss on.

http://www.paradestore.com/index.php/single-strand-citation-cords-one-color.html?utm_source=GoogleShopping&utm_medium=CSE&utm_campaign=Feeds&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=NB_PLA_Cords_GOOG&utm_term=shopping&utm_content=shRR8JMLP|pcrid|56535420172|pmt||pkw||pdv|c|&&gclid=Cj0KEQiAsP-2BRCFl4Lb2NTJttEBEiQAmj2tbcqHSLqX_yHYyPJVmzjGabommclFpMyvsQg4QtWOMfQaAlNp8P8HAQ

sorry for it being an ad but it shows a shoulder cord.