Rare, in STO, means that it has two small bumps over the corresponding common item. Uncommon items have one. Very rare items have three. The English word "rare" can also mean excellent or extraordinary. Merriam-Webster says "2 a : marked by unusual quality, merit, or appeal : distinctive b : superlative or extreme of its kind".
Purple items are rare for people who aren't at the Admiral Rank. They're also rare in the fact that it takes days, or even weeks of play, to get some of them. Overall, though, I do agree that the Honor items could have a different color without it interfering with anything.
White=Common.
Green=less common.
Blue=more less common.
Purple=Rarely seen item. One of a kind. There will never be another like it. Sold in bulk at fine retailers everywhere.
Well, I just think it was a mistake to hand out "rare" = purple items so early on... the Badge of Exploration/Honor/Excellence stuff should have been blue, if you ask me, and they should save purple for later.
Why the should not be purple or rare? Atm these items are the best ones in the game and they are not the same like in WoW and Co.
Rare items are not better in base stats than the blue, green or white ones.
Antiproton Array Purple Mk X = 160 DPS
Phaser Array White Mk X = 160 DPS
Every next color there is only one extra value.
White = no extras
Green = 1 extra (eg +0.1 Acc)
Blue = 2 extras (eg +0.1 Acc +2% Chrit Chance)
Purple = 3 extras (eg +0.1 Acc +2%crit Chance +20 Crit Serv)
And for this items u need 4 weeks to get all items for ur char and ur ship if u do all 2 daily quest (fed) every day. So theay are rare becouse it took a long time to get them... much longer than to get from Ensign 1 to RA 5!
in WoW, epic started off as rarely seen, but from BC on, it was more common then white ;( Alot of people today need epics in games too feel accomplished, even though some of us know todays epics mean nothing.
The days of EPIC gear in games is no longer epic, its common. Its terrible design ;( If they made rare gear legendary orange colored, in 6 months, all gear would be orange lol.
The color code is not really for rarity but rather for quality. In WoW things have been the same, blue being better than green, purple better than blue. Purple items itself are still pretty rare, I am admiral now but the only very rare item I ever came across without badges was a gun from a mission reward. Other than that, blues and greens rule the field.
Also try searching the exchange, you will only find a very very few purples around there. Of course you can get certain items for badges reward, but they are limited. For example if I don't want a Antiproton Beam but rather a Disruptor Beam, I am stuck since there is no "easy" place where to get them.
It boils down to what WoW devs call "itemization". A given base item (white) will have certain stats, an uncommon (green) item will have a little bit of a bonus, rare (blue) will have two doses of bonus (which can be the same or different), and very rare (purple) will have three doses of bonus.
In a given loot table, white will be more common than green, green will be more common than blue, and so on. But the terms "uncommon" and "rare" should not be equated to "lightning will strike twice before you see two blues or purples" but rather "more work went into making these great".
Take the "crafting" at Memory Alpha for instance.. you take in a base item plus some bits of data you have from scanning every corner of creation for a boost or two in stats. It doesn't make the blue item you just made any rarer than the whites or greens you scavenge from the battlefield, it just makes them that much better.
Comments
Green=less common.
Blue=more less common.
Purple=Rarely seen item. One of a kind. There will never be another like it. Sold in bulk at fine retailers everywhere.
Rare items are not better in base stats than the blue, green or white ones.
Antiproton Array Purple Mk X = 160 DPS
Phaser Array White Mk X = 160 DPS
Every next color there is only one extra value.
White = no extras
Green = 1 extra (eg +0.1 Acc)
Blue = 2 extras (eg +0.1 Acc +2% Chrit Chance)
Purple = 3 extras (eg +0.1 Acc +2%crit Chance +20 Crit Serv)
And for this items u need 4 weeks to get all items for ur char and ur ship if u do all 2 daily quest (fed) every day. So theay are rare becouse it took a long time to get them... much longer than to get from Ensign 1 to RA 5!
The days of EPIC gear in games is no longer epic, its common. Its terrible design ;( If they made rare gear legendary orange colored, in 6 months, all gear would be orange lol.
Also try searching the exchange, you will only find a very very few purples around there. Of course you can get certain items for badges reward, but they are limited. For example if I don't want a Antiproton Beam but rather a Disruptor Beam, I am stuck since there is no "easy" place where to get them.
In a given loot table, white will be more common than green, green will be more common than blue, and so on. But the terms "uncommon" and "rare" should not be equated to "lightning will strike twice before you see two blues or purples" but rather "more work went into making these great".
Take the "crafting" at Memory Alpha for instance.. you take in a base item plus some bits of data you have from scanning every corner of creation for a boost or two in stats. It doesn't make the blue item you just made any rarer than the whites or greens you scavenge from the battlefield, it just makes them that much better.