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Dilithium solution that is a win for everyone in the form of a new recruitment event
xorv
Member Posts: 75 Arc User
I don't often post here, but seeing the dilithium issue and at least anecdotally a drop of in player activity I'm offering a solution.
First of all what we need is a dilithium sink that doesn't hurt new players or cut too much into Cryptics profits, and is something veteran players would be happy to pay.
The answer IMO is a recruitment event specifically targeted at experienced veteran players. Something that gives such players a new challenge spicing up what for many is getting to be a stale game, gives rewards that are desirable but don't greatly add to the power creep, and offers ways to willingly spend dillithium that doesn't TRIBBLE over the rest of the game's financial ecosystem.
Disclaimer: This is an incomplete idea, it's meant as a suggestion for a different approach and for Cryptic and others making suggestions on the same topic to think outside the box. It's not something that I claim is free from issues, and has every potential problem covered. It's a starting point.
Elite Recruitment event.
* The new character experience is blazingly brief for experienced players, these recruits will take much longer to advance. New recruits will require 10X the amount of exp to level their character, ships, and reputation. Additionally they will only gain advancement in character levels and ships by completing content on Elite settings. content at lower settings gives no reward towards advancement.
* Being able to fly ALL the ships is fun, but having to specialize your character and make some meaningful choices in ship selection and character role is also fun.
New recruits have ship and shuttle slots different from regular characters, at character creation this is 1 ship and shuttle (plus the starting ship), as they advance in rank this will eventually increase to 3 ships and 1 shuttle. When a ship or shuttle is selected for this slot it cannot be removed without a special token. The recruit cannot fly any ship not allotted to one of these slots.
A player may buy a ship replacement token for 1.5 million dillithium, and may buy additional ship or shuttle slots starting at 1.5 million dillithium for the first, 3 million for the second, and 4.5 million for the third, and so on. You're meant to pick just a handful of ships this recruit flies, but if you really insist on more you can pay for the privilege.
* A big turn off to veteran players in investing in new characters is getting all the rare expensive ship traits and consoles they already have on existing characters onto the new one. For most it's not worth it, making new recruit characters throw away alts after gaining the recruitment event rewards. This recruitment event offers a new way to flesh out the new character by paying dilithium rather than Zen or EC.
These recruits can gain ship traits and consoles differently from other characters. Any ship be it Lock box, Lobi, Event, Promo, or C-store can have its ship trait and console unlocked by the recruit if it is owned by another character on the same account. The cost for doing so is 1 million Dillithium each. These recruits also gain access to Ship Trait slots at creation unlike other characters.
* New Armada based social zone.
A new social zone is created that is Armada based, initially it has nothing in it and only the Elite recruits can access it. Non Armada based characters who are Elite recruits can be invited.
Ideally new very challenging team missions could be added that are initiated out of this social zone that would help progress the participating Elite Recruits and the new Holding.
A series of visual and convenience based upgrades can be made to the social zone, only Elite recruits can contribute, and a large portion of the requirements are expertise as well as moderate amounts of dillithium (less than the colony). The Holding at tier 3 opens up a new option to alter some old outdated T6 ships allowing the moving of a rear weapon slot to a forward slot turning a 3/3 ship to a 4/3, or 4/3 to a 5/2, or a 4/2 to a 5/1 etc. (only select ships can be changed this way). It will cost a substantial amount of dilithium and require the recruit has the ship in one of their ship slots. (unsure if this ought to just be a recruit exclusive or also an account wide option)
* Additional Recruit rewards.
Unlike previous recruitment events there's no account wide dillithium or rep rewards. Most of the rewards should be exclusive visual rewards and titles. A quality ship shield visual in the same class as say the section 31 shield. Some nice space barbie uniform pieces and badges. If they're exclusive to the recruitment event and look good players will want them, and there's no power creep.
First of all what we need is a dilithium sink that doesn't hurt new players or cut too much into Cryptics profits, and is something veteran players would be happy to pay.
The answer IMO is a recruitment event specifically targeted at experienced veteran players. Something that gives such players a new challenge spicing up what for many is getting to be a stale game, gives rewards that are desirable but don't greatly add to the power creep, and offers ways to willingly spend dillithium that doesn't TRIBBLE over the rest of the game's financial ecosystem.
Disclaimer: This is an incomplete idea, it's meant as a suggestion for a different approach and for Cryptic and others making suggestions on the same topic to think outside the box. It's not something that I claim is free from issues, and has every potential problem covered. It's a starting point.
Elite Recruitment event.
* The new character experience is blazingly brief for experienced players, these recruits will take much longer to advance. New recruits will require 10X the amount of exp to level their character, ships, and reputation. Additionally they will only gain advancement in character levels and ships by completing content on Elite settings. content at lower settings gives no reward towards advancement.
* Being able to fly ALL the ships is fun, but having to specialize your character and make some meaningful choices in ship selection and character role is also fun.
New recruits have ship and shuttle slots different from regular characters, at character creation this is 1 ship and shuttle (plus the starting ship), as they advance in rank this will eventually increase to 3 ships and 1 shuttle. When a ship or shuttle is selected for this slot it cannot be removed without a special token. The recruit cannot fly any ship not allotted to one of these slots.
A player may buy a ship replacement token for 1.5 million dillithium, and may buy additional ship or shuttle slots starting at 1.5 million dillithium for the first, 3 million for the second, and 4.5 million for the third, and so on. You're meant to pick just a handful of ships this recruit flies, but if you really insist on more you can pay for the privilege.
* A big turn off to veteran players in investing in new characters is getting all the rare expensive ship traits and consoles they already have on existing characters onto the new one. For most it's not worth it, making new recruit characters throw away alts after gaining the recruitment event rewards. This recruitment event offers a new way to flesh out the new character by paying dilithium rather than Zen or EC.
These recruits can gain ship traits and consoles differently from other characters. Any ship be it Lock box, Lobi, Event, Promo, or C-store can have its ship trait and console unlocked by the recruit if it is owned by another character on the same account. The cost for doing so is 1 million Dillithium each. These recruits also gain access to Ship Trait slots at creation unlike other characters.
* New Armada based social zone.
A new social zone is created that is Armada based, initially it has nothing in it and only the Elite recruits can access it. Non Armada based characters who are Elite recruits can be invited.
Ideally new very challenging team missions could be added that are initiated out of this social zone that would help progress the participating Elite Recruits and the new Holding.
A series of visual and convenience based upgrades can be made to the social zone, only Elite recruits can contribute, and a large portion of the requirements are expertise as well as moderate amounts of dillithium (less than the colony). The Holding at tier 3 opens up a new option to alter some old outdated T6 ships allowing the moving of a rear weapon slot to a forward slot turning a 3/3 ship to a 4/3, or 4/3 to a 5/2, or a 4/2 to a 5/1 etc. (only select ships can be changed this way). It will cost a substantial amount of dilithium and require the recruit has the ship in one of their ship slots. (unsure if this ought to just be a recruit exclusive or also an account wide option)
* Additional Recruit rewards.
Unlike previous recruitment events there's no account wide dillithium or rep rewards. Most of the rewards should be exclusive visual rewards and titles. A quality ship shield visual in the same class as say the section 31 shield. Some nice space barbie uniform pieces and badges. If they're exclusive to the recruitment event and look good players will want them, and there's no power creep.
Post edited by baddmoonrizin on
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Comments
I'm not pleased with this currently.
I guess you could tie Vortas into it somehow, but my idea has little in common with Gamma Recruits. Gamma recruits start at level 60, pushing the player into the existing "end game" more rapidly. My idea makes the earlier part of the game far more challenging, and delaying the character from reaching the existing "end game" substantially. Also Gamma recruitment pumps more dilithium into the game, my recruitment idea extracts dilithium.
I would say tying my idea into a DSC recruitment event would be a critical mistake. Discovery and Picard are likely the shows driving new players into the game at this time, and those players will likely want to explore STO from the framework of the Trek shows they watch. Putting that experience behind a ultra hard mode meant for veteran players would drive many of those new players away, and do little extra to appeal to the veteran players I was aiming at originally.
My idea uses a recruitment event as a tool for improving the game, but it has little in common with existing recruitment events. The design goals of the former Gamma recruitment event and potential future DSC recruitment event and what I'm suggestion are very different.
I guess if you had to tie my idea into some lore from the Trek shows, you could use Red Squad from DS9 series.
Your describing the classic problem of all MMORPGs. How to allow a player like yourself to have ways to keep advancing your character without creating ridiculous power creep over time. I suppose many would argue the power creep ship sailed long ago in STO, but I'd still like to try not to make things even worse. Your right that other than space barbie my idea isn't really offering you anything in that respect, aside from your new themed character that happens to be an Elite Recruit will take a lot longer to plateau than your previous characters. Oh and if on the off chance one of your previously characters is themed to fly an older T6 ship with a less than ideal weapons layout like a 4/3 escort there would be away to improve that if the changes I mentioned in my OP also had an account wide option.
While not really part of my OP the answer other game developers have come up with to address the character development plateau and not add power creep is to have lateral character development rather than vertical. Meaning at a certain point your not developing your character in a vertical power advancement, but advancing by specialization. becoming less and less of a generalist, and more and more specialized to how like to play and your characters role in game, and especially in a team. Of course this runs counter to the desire of some MMO players to be able to just do everything with their one character.