1) Visit a Klingon ground map. Each Klingon world has a unique breed of targ: Qo'nos has very large but not very aggressive targs, while those on Boreth are small and fierce. Almost all wild targ pups are white quality, but on occasion there will be a green quality 'pick of the litter' or a 'runt'.
2) Capture a live wild targ pup and give it to a DOff to raise. Klingon Chefs always fail to raise them for some reason apparently connected to grapok sauce inventory shortages. There is a chance for quality improvement at this stage. A blue quality result can add one trait from the list which is unique to this stage of life: Aggressive or Obedient.
3) When a pup is raised to sounder it is ready to begin training under a Targ Handler DOff. Depending on the quality of your Targ Handler, about half of all sounders fail their training, which means you need another pup. Training by DOffs other than Targ Handlers results in a much higher mortality rate. There is a chance for quality improvement at this stage, with a purple quality result allowing traits unique to this level. These traits could be attack forms, such as: Charge, Flank, and Trample.
3a) Training a non-combat targ pet is far less dangerous, and most targs survive no matter who raises the sounder. The chance of quality improvement is the inverse of the chance of survival, so it is unlikely to improve in quality. The only quality improvement trait at this point is the docile trait, and the resulting targ becomes a non-combat pet.
4) Adult targs are either Boars or Sows, which is important for breeding purposes only. Only adult targs can be bred, but breeding may result in age progression. Like any other stage of life, a DOff may advance the targ to the next age category with a potential quality improvement to ultra-rare, along with specific traits which can only be gained at this point: Toughness, Ferocity, and Call Of The Wild.
5) Ancient Warriors are targ of the oldest age bracket. No further improvement is possible at this stage, and these revered targ become ship's pets and companions of lords. Loyal, powerful, and uncannily empathic, it is a fool who threatens the master of one of these massive smelly beasts. Although they are no longer a part of the breeding game, they have earned the respect of their masters, and live out their lives as a warrior among warriors, until the wilderness calls them out for the final hunt.
How To Breed Your Targ
A boar and sow are introduced under the eye of a DOff who will determine when to separate them due to the increase of aggression in the female following estrus which may result in the death of one or both targ due to fighting. Targs with the aggressive trait increase this chance. Life sciences DOffcan reduce the chance of death while Targ Handler DOffs both reduce chance of death of the adults and increase the chance of quality improvement in the pups. Adult targ of higher than white quality have a chance of producing some green quality pups, with higher than green quality adults having a chance for blue quality pups in the litter. While blue quality is the highest quality possible in a pup, higher quality parents usually produce more and higher quality offspring.
Once the number and quality of the litter is established, individual pups may be trained, traded, or used in various klingon recipes. You may need to buy more grapok sauce. The pups you select for training begin at step two of the training schedule above.
How To Use Your Targ
Before you can use combat pet Targs on a ground map you must have a Targ Handler DOff slotted in one of your five Active Ground DOff Duty Stations. The quality of this DOff determines the number of targ you can summon into combat, ultimately limited by the targs your character has in inventory at the time.
Activating a Targ Handler opens a commands menu similar to the emote menu, which allows the player to issue commands to his targ handler. Quality of targ and handler determine how well or how quickly such orders are followed. Standard commands such as Attack, Guard, and Stay are augmented by special commands based on the traits of the targs in the pack.
When activated your Targ Handler, with the traits of a Bekk, beams to your character's location with his pack of Targ, and they follow you around, engaging in combat as required. So long as the Handler DOff is alive the targ can be commanded. Once the handler is dead the targ may wander into the bush, or may continue to follow the character, randomly attacking whatever they see until they too wander off.
The exception to this is that any combat trained targ can be placed in a player character's or BOff's item slot and used exactly as any other combat pet. Only adults and Ancient Warriors are considered combat pets. They do not use a command menu when summoned this way, and act like ordinary combat pets. Pups and Sounders are by default non-combat pets unless guided by a Targ Handler DOff.
Although only one Targ Handler can be summoned at any one time, slotting multiple Targ Handlers allows multiple summons. Each handler can be used only once on any given map instance, with a very long cooldown to prevent use, transition, reuse abuse. Targs also have individual cooldowns, and are further limited by available inventory space.
Targ Traits:
White quality targs are the ones NPC's use. Higher quality targs have traits which can make them superior to the average targ. Some qualities are available only at a particular life stage and quality improvement, while others are more generally available.
Domesticated pups can be white, green, or blue in quality. Wild pups can occasionally be found of green quality, but are generally white.
Pups of green quality can have one of the following traits:
Pick Of The Litter - larger pup which has bonus hit points at every stage of life.
Runt - smaller pup with greater agility, granting it greater defense at every stage of life.
Pups or Sounders of blue quality can have one of the following traits:
Aggressive - Additional damage bonus at every stage of life, prone to attack without provocation and slow to accept changes in orders.
Obedient - Responds quickly to changes of orders in battle. Will not wander off in case of death of handler.
Sounders or Adults of purple quality can have one of the following traits:
Charge - Doubles damage of first attack. Can only charge any opponent once. Can result in a knockdown.
Flank - Grants improved flanking bonus to allies which target its target; forces target to target it.
Trample - Doubles damage when attacking stunned or knocked down targets
Adults and Ancient Warriors of ultra violet quality can have one of the following traits:
Call Of The Wild - When this ability is used, a high pitched squeal of incredible volume can both interrupt enemies action sequence and enrage all targs within hearing, granting them a 50% damage bonus for a short duration, (30 seconds?)
Ferocity - When this ability is used the targ initiates a frenzied state which allows it to attack twice in each combat round.
Toughness - This ability increases the targ's resistance to kinetic damage, along with a smaller resistance to energy damage.
Ancient Warriors which advance to gold quality attain the Pack Alpha trait. All targ in its pack have the effect of the Obedient trait, and will continue to follow orders in case of the death of the Targ Handler so long as the Pack Alpha lives. Additionally, the pack will attack the same target as the Pack Alpha unless an individual is defending itself in melee. Finally, the Pack Alpha can summon wild targs to aid it in battle when reduced to 50% hit points.
The above list is restricted to targs advancing to the listed age and quality. There are also traits which can be acquired when a targ advances to an age and quality category not listed above. For example, a white sounder which advances to a green adult cannot attain the traits listed for green quality pups. Instead, a list of traits linked solely to quality are available for those which advance too soon or too late.
Green:
Agile - evasion bonus to defense, able to escape AoE effects after the first dama
Fierce - resistant to placate attacks, stuns, and holds.
Stout - resistant to knockdown, knockback, and interrupts.
Blue:
Evasive - relatively high defense bonus versus ranged attacks and grenades.
Resiliant - reduced duration and effect of gasses, infections, and DoT effects.
Sensitive - resists psionic attacks, attacks user of psionics until death.
Purple:
Battle Cry - this high pitched scream interrupts enemy action queues, leaving them flat footed until their next action.
Bristle Shield - rubbing against sap producing trees forms a tough plate of dried sap reinforced and held together by its body hair, thus granting an armor bonus versus melee attacks.
Sharpened Tusks - increased penetration and extra melee damage.
Ultra Violet:
Berserk Attack - attacks all targets in 3m radius, reduced damage for each attack.
Overwhelming Attack - knocks down targeted enemy.
Rage - enhanced penetration and damage bonus for thirty seconds.
Each gold trait is determined by the particular species, some of which offer additional traits of other quality levels to those listed, which are the traits of targs found on Qo'nos. Hybrids of several species have larger trait pools available which may make it more difficult to achieve the individual trait the breeder desires, but offer a greater variety of combinations of traits.
So there, Cryptic, I just did the easy part. Now it's up to you to do the coding, gui's, graphics, and animation, then extensively bug test the idea. Nothing to it.
A normie goes "Oh, what's this?"
An otaku goes "UwU, what's this?"
A furry goes "OwO, what's this?"
A werewolf goes "Awoo, what's this?"
"It's nothing personal, I just don't feel like I've gotten to know a person until I've sniffed their crotch." "We said 'no' to Mr. Curiosity. We're not home. Curiosity is not welcome, it is not to be invited in. Curiosity...is bad. It gets you in trouble, it gets you killed, and more importantly...it makes you poor!"
Passion and Serenity are one.
I gain power by understanding both.
In the chaos of their battle, I bring order.
I am a shadow, darkness born from light.
The Force is united within me.
Yeah, but kit modules aren't as much fun. Monkey breeding, parrot breeding, pikachu... err, epohh breeding, and tribble breeding were all big hits back in their day, and consumed thousands of game hours. Heck, players bred tribbles for no more reward than another tribble.
The system I outlined allows for doffing, including the purchase of special DOffs which can be dil and zen purchases for the higher quality Targ Handlers.
The system I outlined allows for the Exchange of items between players, both socially and for EC profit.
The system I outlined provides for raw materials used in item creation, including but not limited to Targ Pup in Grapok Sauce, and Heart of Targ consumables.
The system I outlined creates a new mini-game which has as its goal the creation of unique combat pets the player can use in game.
All you get from a kit module is "insert random spawn, cooldown, repeat."
Tamer ground / Controller space pet specialization please. Kit modules and BOFF training manuals for ground/space pet-related skills. Themed starships of course would be Carriers.
Do you want to strap a jetpack on the targs and fire them out of torpedo tubes?
It would be great if we could get animal companions that we can put in a ground boff station. An animal that fight alongside you. In a way all STO characters are pet classes. We have boffs as companions. I know this not what the OP means. A pet class in an MMO is a class that uses an animal companion and our boffs are no animals.
Perhaps there are some work arrounds. Roll KDF and take 4 Gorns tactical boffs. Give them melee abillties and a melee weapon or no weapon. You are now a lizard tamer. You can also take 4 Ferasan boffs, same setup. They have lunge as a trait, but you have to buy them in the C-store. You can also take 4 female orions, dress them as minimal as possible. Now, you are the beast. Also, buy the whip in the lobi store. A must have, I say.
the federation also doesn't use: subspace weapons, radioactive weapons, weapons which cause excessive amounts of pain to targets or weapons that spew large amounts of toxic goo, nor do they allow genetic manipulation - yet all of these things are used and done on a routine basis in STO
so i'll reiterate:
starfleet gets sehlats and attack dogs
KDF gets targs, jackal mastiffs and saurians
romulans get vivver cats and any combination of epohhs, nanovs, dewan arthropods, rihan sailbacks, armored hathams or driclae
all factions get warriguls
A normie goes "Oh, what's this?"
An otaku goes "UwU, what's this?"
A furry goes "OwO, what's this?"
A werewolf goes "Awoo, what's this?"
"It's nothing personal, I just don't feel like I've gotten to know a person until I've sniffed their crotch." "We said 'no' to Mr. Curiosity. We're not home. Curiosity is not welcome, it is not to be invited in. Curiosity...is bad. It gets you in trouble, it gets you killed, and more importantly...it makes you poor!"
Passion and Serenity are one.
I gain power by understanding both.
In the chaos of their battle, I bring order.
I am a shadow, darkness born from light.
The Force is united within me.
So much awesome here. I love it when players brainstorm new ideas or rethink old ones.
As a primarily space player, my initial reaction to the idea of a BOff taking on the animal handler role filled me with dismay: which Space Boff would I have to give up to open up a spot on my roster? But with PvP a dying art and PvE seldom requiring resetting my powers tray even from mission to mission, my crew doesn't need an alternate tac or sci BOff any more. So, after due consideration, I say bring on the Animal Handler Ground BOff.
I still want Animal Handler DOffs and breeding of combat pets. I'd even go for a Veterinarian DOff to care for them between battles.
But watch out for those Federation Beagles. Not only are they offensive to Vulcan olfactory sensors, they bay at about 120 decibles in a diatonic tone that is exceptionally painful to Vulcan ears. Gotta love those beagles.
the federation also doesn't use: subspace weapons, radioactive weapons, weapons which cause excessive amounts of pain to targets or weapons that spew large amounts of toxic goo, nor do they allow genetic manipulation - yet all of these things are used and done on a routine basis in STO
(...)
I was about to say the same. STO doesn't care for what has been said and shown in canon, it's about fun and what "looks cool". Since Feds (if we pretend there are still factions in the game at all) were to get the superior version of it I'd go back to holographic animals again. Klingons get Targs, Mastiffs and Saurs, Romulans get their New Romulus cat things and Feds get all of those in holographic form, giving them holographic traits instead of biological ones. However, since Cryptic doesn't create faction specific content any more we'd probably just get animal handling kits across the board, the same for everyone and you could simply choose what kind of pet you want, the whole thing gets a half-baked lore mentioning (The alliance adopts traditional, low-tech means because - new enemy that's extremely adept at countering high-tech blahblah - poor Borg could always be taken for this since the don't assimilate animals and can be beaten with a stick)
^ Memory Alpha.org is not canon. It's a open wiki with arbitrary rules. Only what can be cited from an episode is. ^
"No. Men do not roar. Women roar. Then they hurl heavy objects... and claw at you." -Worf, son of Mogh
"A filthy, mangy beast, but in its bony breast beat the heart of a warrior" - "faithful" (...) "but ever-ready to follow the call of the wild." - Martok, about a Targ
"That pig smelled horrid. A sweet-sour, extremely pungent odor. I showered and showered, and it took me a week to get rid of it!" - Robert Justman, appreciating Emmy-Lou
How about a universal module for a kit that can summon combat pets?
If you are a kingon, Targs...,.. Gorn ghet those lizard things, Vulcan get a Seloth Cat (sp), and everyone else gets somethign different....
That'd require for the module to recognize what race you play and I think that's not possible. It can only differentiate between factions, so Gorn will get Targs sind red faction is "Klingon" and all Feds would get Sehlats. But it would also work and be a budget solution.
^ Memory Alpha.org is not canon. It's a open wiki with arbitrary rules. Only what can be cited from an episode is. ^
"No. Men do not roar. Women roar. Then they hurl heavy objects... and claw at you." -Worf, son of Mogh
"A filthy, mangy beast, but in its bony breast beat the heart of a warrior" - "faithful" (...) "but ever-ready to follow the call of the wild." - Martok, about a Targ
"That pig smelled horrid. A sweet-sour, extremely pungent odor. I showered and showered, and it took me a week to get rid of it!" - Robert Justman, appreciating Emmy-Lou
A normie goes "Oh, what's this?"
An otaku goes "UwU, what's this?"
A furry goes "OwO, what's this?"
A werewolf goes "Awoo, what's this?"
"It's nothing personal, I just don't feel like I've gotten to know a person until I've sniffed their crotch." "We said 'no' to Mr. Curiosity. We're not home. Curiosity is not welcome, it is not to be invited in. Curiosity...is bad. It gets you in trouble, it gets you killed, and more importantly...it makes you poor!"
Passion and Serenity are one.
I gain power by understanding both.
In the chaos of their battle, I bring order.
I am a shadow, darkness born from light.
The Force is united within me.
Kit Modules might be easier, and creating a variety of them of various qualities for particular summons might be sufficient, but the easy road always leads downhill.
The idea of Animal Handler characters makes sense. There is someone to care for the animals while you are off doing your thing. Also, the door opens on a lot of other possibilities this way.
With kit modules, they are created, sold, and boom, done. This is far less satisfying as a game mechanic than a new breeding game that has combat pets rather than Marks as the end product.
I always opt for ideas which lead to more ideas. Kit Modules are a kind of dead end. You buy or find the summon you want and that game is over. Breeding and DOffing are minigames in their own right, and can potentially consume many game hours before the player has his ultimate setup.
It might take a while to create, but anything worthwhile takes time to create.
Comments
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” -- Benjamin Franklin
1) Visit a Klingon ground map. Each Klingon world has a unique breed of targ: Qo'nos has very large but not very aggressive targs, while those on Boreth are small and fierce. Almost all wild targ pups are white quality, but on occasion there will be a green quality 'pick of the litter' or a 'runt'.
2) Capture a live wild targ pup and give it to a DOff to raise. Klingon Chefs always fail to raise them for some reason apparently connected to grapok sauce inventory shortages. There is a chance for quality improvement at this stage. A blue quality result can add one trait from the list which is unique to this stage of life: Aggressive or Obedient.
3) When a pup is raised to sounder it is ready to begin training under a Targ Handler DOff. Depending on the quality of your Targ Handler, about half of all sounders fail their training, which means you need another pup. Training by DOffs other than Targ Handlers results in a much higher mortality rate. There is a chance for quality improvement at this stage, with a purple quality result allowing traits unique to this level. These traits could be attack forms, such as: Charge, Flank, and Trample.
3a) Training a non-combat targ pet is far less dangerous, and most targs survive no matter who raises the sounder. The chance of quality improvement is the inverse of the chance of survival, so it is unlikely to improve in quality. The only quality improvement trait at this point is the docile trait, and the resulting targ becomes a non-combat pet.
4) Adult targs are either Boars or Sows, which is important for breeding purposes only. Only adult targs can be bred, but breeding may result in age progression. Like any other stage of life, a DOff may advance the targ to the next age category with a potential quality improvement to ultra-rare, along with specific traits which can only be gained at this point: Toughness, Ferocity, and Call Of The Wild.
5) Ancient Warriors are targ of the oldest age bracket. No further improvement is possible at this stage, and these revered targ become ship's pets and companions of lords. Loyal, powerful, and uncannily empathic, it is a fool who threatens the master of one of these massive smelly beasts. Although they are no longer a part of the breeding game, they have earned the respect of their masters, and live out their lives as a warrior among warriors, until the wilderness calls them out for the final hunt.
How To Breed Your Targ
A boar and sow are introduced under the eye of a DOff who will determine when to separate them due to the increase of aggression in the female following estrus which may result in the death of one or both targ due to fighting. Targs with the aggressive trait increase this chance. Life sciences DOffcan reduce the chance of death while Targ Handler DOffs both reduce chance of death of the adults and increase the chance of quality improvement in the pups. Adult targ of higher than white quality have a chance of producing some green quality pups, with higher than green quality adults having a chance for blue quality pups in the litter. While blue quality is the highest quality possible in a pup, higher quality parents usually produce more and higher quality offspring.
Once the number and quality of the litter is established, individual pups may be trained, traded, or used in various klingon recipes. You may need to buy more grapok sauce. The pups you select for training begin at step two of the training schedule above.
How To Use Your Targ
Before you can use combat pet Targs on a ground map you must have a Targ Handler DOff slotted in one of your five Active Ground DOff Duty Stations. The quality of this DOff determines the number of targ you can summon into combat, ultimately limited by the targs your character has in inventory at the time.
Activating a Targ Handler opens a commands menu similar to the emote menu, which allows the player to issue commands to his targ handler. Quality of targ and handler determine how well or how quickly such orders are followed. Standard commands such as Attack, Guard, and Stay are augmented by special commands based on the traits of the targs in the pack.
When activated your Targ Handler, with the traits of a Bekk, beams to your character's location with his pack of Targ, and they follow you around, engaging in combat as required. So long as the Handler DOff is alive the targ can be commanded. Once the handler is dead the targ may wander into the bush, or may continue to follow the character, randomly attacking whatever they see until they too wander off.
The exception to this is that any combat trained targ can be placed in a player character's or BOff's item slot and used exactly as any other combat pet. Only adults and Ancient Warriors are considered combat pets. They do not use a command menu when summoned this way, and act like ordinary combat pets. Pups and Sounders are by default non-combat pets unless guided by a Targ Handler DOff.
Although only one Targ Handler can be summoned at any one time, slotting multiple Targ Handlers allows multiple summons. Each handler can be used only once on any given map instance, with a very long cooldown to prevent use, transition, reuse abuse. Targs also have individual cooldowns, and are further limited by available inventory space.
Targ Traits:
White quality targs are the ones NPC's use. Higher quality targs have traits which can make them superior to the average targ. Some qualities are available only at a particular life stage and quality improvement, while others are more generally available.
Domesticated pups can be white, green, or blue in quality. Wild pups can occasionally be found of green quality, but are generally white.
Pups of green quality can have one of the following traits:
Pick Of The Litter - larger pup which has bonus hit points at every stage of life.
Runt - smaller pup with greater agility, granting it greater defense at every stage of life.
Pups or Sounders of blue quality can have one of the following traits:
Aggressive - Additional damage bonus at every stage of life, prone to attack without provocation and slow to accept changes in orders.
Obedient - Responds quickly to changes of orders in battle. Will not wander off in case of death of handler.
Sounders or Adults of purple quality can have one of the following traits:
Charge - Doubles damage of first attack. Can only charge any opponent once. Can result in a knockdown.
Flank - Grants improved flanking bonus to allies which target its target; forces target to target it.
Trample - Doubles damage when attacking stunned or knocked down targets
Adults and Ancient Warriors of ultra violet quality can have one of the following traits:
Call Of The Wild - When this ability is used, a high pitched squeal of incredible volume can both interrupt enemies action sequence and enrage all targs within hearing, granting them a 50% damage bonus for a short duration, (30 seconds?)
Ferocity - When this ability is used the targ initiates a frenzied state which allows it to attack twice in each combat round.
Toughness - This ability increases the targ's resistance to kinetic damage, along with a smaller resistance to energy damage.
Ancient Warriors which advance to gold quality attain the Pack Alpha trait. All targ in its pack have the effect of the Obedient trait, and will continue to follow orders in case of the death of the Targ Handler so long as the Pack Alpha lives. Additionally, the pack will attack the same target as the Pack Alpha unless an individual is defending itself in melee. Finally, the Pack Alpha can summon wild targs to aid it in battle when reduced to 50% hit points.
The above list is restricted to targs advancing to the listed age and quality. There are also traits which can be acquired when a targ advances to an age and quality category not listed above. For example, a white sounder which advances to a green adult cannot attain the traits listed for green quality pups. Instead, a list of traits linked solely to quality are available for those which advance too soon or too late.
Green:
Agile - evasion bonus to defense, able to escape AoE effects after the first dama
Fierce - resistant to placate attacks, stuns, and holds.
Stout - resistant to knockdown, knockback, and interrupts.
Blue:
Evasive - relatively high defense bonus versus ranged attacks and grenades.
Resiliant - reduced duration and effect of gasses, infections, and DoT effects.
Sensitive - resists psionic attacks, attacks user of psionics until death.
Purple:
Battle Cry - this high pitched scream interrupts enemy action queues, leaving them flat footed until their next action.
Bristle Shield - rubbing against sap producing trees forms a tough plate of dried sap reinforced and held together by its body hair, thus granting an armor bonus versus melee attacks.
Sharpened Tusks - increased penetration and extra melee damage.
Ultra Violet:
Berserk Attack - attacks all targets in 3m radius, reduced damage for each attack.
Overwhelming Attack - knocks down targeted enemy.
Rage - enhanced penetration and damage bonus for thirty seconds.
Each gold trait is determined by the particular species, some of which offer additional traits of other quality levels to those listed, which are the traits of targs found on Qo'nos. Hybrids of several species have larger trait pools available which may make it more difficult to achieve the individual trait the breeder desires, but offer a greater variety of combinations of traits.
So there, Cryptic, I just did the easy part. Now it's up to you to do the coding, gui's, graphics, and animation, then extensively bug test the idea. Nothing to it.
#LegalizeAwoo
A normie goes "Oh, what's this?"
An otaku goes "UwU, what's this?"
A furry goes "OwO, what's this?"
A werewolf goes "Awoo, what's this?"
"It's nothing personal, I just don't feel like I've gotten to know a person until I've sniffed their crotch."
"We said 'no' to Mr. Curiosity. We're not home. Curiosity is not welcome, it is not to be invited in. Curiosity...is bad. It gets you in trouble, it gets you killed, and more importantly...it makes you poor!"
The system I outlined allows for doffing, including the purchase of special DOffs which can be dil and zen purchases for the higher quality Targ Handlers.
The system I outlined allows for the Exchange of items between players, both socially and for EC profit.
The system I outlined provides for raw materials used in item creation, including but not limited to Targ Pup in Grapok Sauce, and Heart of Targ consumables.
The system I outlined creates a new mini-game which has as its goal the creation of unique combat pets the player can use in game.
All you get from a kit module is "insert random spawn, cooldown, repeat."
Helpful Tools: Dictionary.com - Logical fallacies - Random generator - Word generator - Color tool - Extra Credits - List of common English language errors - New T6 Big booty tutorial
Perhaps there are some work arrounds. Roll KDF and take 4 Gorns tactical boffs. Give them melee abillties and a melee weapon or no weapon. You are now a lizard tamer. You can also take 4 Ferasan boffs, same setup. They have lunge as a trait, but you have to buy them in the C-store. You can also take 4 female orions, dress them as minimal as possible. Now, you are the beast. Also, buy the whip in the lobi store. A must have, I say.
Pet specialization!!!
It can be a full primary, with ground and space stuff, kit modules, boff abilities and a 9-pack of carriers to cash in on it all.
so i'll reiterate:
starfleet gets sehlats and attack dogs
KDF gets targs, jackal mastiffs and saurians
romulans get vivver cats and any combination of epohhs, nanovs, dewan arthropods, rihan sailbacks, armored hathams or driclae
all factions get warriguls
#LegalizeAwoo
A normie goes "Oh, what's this?"
An otaku goes "UwU, what's this?"
A furry goes "OwO, what's this?"
A werewolf goes "Awoo, what's this?"
"It's nothing personal, I just don't feel like I've gotten to know a person until I've sniffed their crotch."
"We said 'no' to Mr. Curiosity. We're not home. Curiosity is not welcome, it is not to be invited in. Curiosity...is bad. It gets you in trouble, it gets you killed, and more importantly...it makes you poor!"
As a primarily space player, my initial reaction to the idea of a BOff taking on the animal handler role filled me with dismay: which Space Boff would I have to give up to open up a spot on my roster? But with PvP a dying art and PvE seldom requiring resetting my powers tray even from mission to mission, my crew doesn't need an alternate tac or sci BOff any more. So, after due consideration, I say bring on the Animal Handler Ground BOff.
I still want Animal Handler DOffs and breeding of combat pets. I'd even go for a Veterinarian DOff to care for them between battles.
But watch out for those Federation Beagles. Not only are they offensive to Vulcan olfactory sensors, they bay at about 120 decibles in a diatonic tone that is exceptionally painful to Vulcan ears. Gotta love those beagles.
I was about to say the same. STO doesn't care for what has been said and shown in canon, it's about fun and what "looks cool". Since Feds (if we pretend there are still factions in the game at all) were to get the superior version of it I'd go back to holographic animals again. Klingons get Targs, Mastiffs and Saurs, Romulans get their New Romulus cat things and Feds get all of those in holographic form, giving them holographic traits instead of biological ones. However, since Cryptic doesn't create faction specific content any more we'd probably just get animal handling kits across the board, the same for everyone and you could simply choose what kind of pet you want, the whole thing gets a half-baked lore mentioning (The alliance adopts traditional, low-tech means because - new enemy that's extremely adept at countering high-tech blahblah - poor Borg could always be taken for this since the don't assimilate animals and can be beaten with a stick)
Get the Forums Enhancement Extension!
If you are a kingon, Targs...,.. Gorn ghet those lizard things, Vulcan get a Seloth Cat (sp), and everyone else gets somethign different....
That'd require for the module to recognize what race you play and I think that's not possible. It can only differentiate between factions, so Gorn will get Targs sind red faction is "Klingon" and all Feds would get Sehlats. But it would also work and be a budget solution.
Get the Forums Enhancement Extension!
#LegalizeAwoo
A normie goes "Oh, what's this?"
An otaku goes "UwU, what's this?"
A furry goes "OwO, what's this?"
A werewolf goes "Awoo, what's this?"
"It's nothing personal, I just don't feel like I've gotten to know a person until I've sniffed their crotch."
"We said 'no' to Mr. Curiosity. We're not home. Curiosity is not welcome, it is not to be invited in. Curiosity...is bad. It gets you in trouble, it gets you killed, and more importantly...it makes you poor!"
The idea of Animal Handler characters makes sense. There is someone to care for the animals while you are off doing your thing. Also, the door opens on a lot of other possibilities this way.
With kit modules, they are created, sold, and boom, done. This is far less satisfying as a game mechanic than a new breeding game that has combat pets rather than Marks as the end product.
I always opt for ideas which lead to more ideas. Kit Modules are a kind of dead end. You buy or find the summon you want and that game is over. Breeding and DOffing are minigames in their own right, and can potentially consume many game hours before the player has his ultimate setup.
It might take a while to create, but anything worthwhile takes time to create.