One thing that occurs to me about Infected is that Gozer has commented that STFs are not for PuGs. And I respect that. I enjoyed Heroics especially and some raiding in WoW. I loved STFs in City of Heroes (which were PuG content, really).
But most organized groups in games I played before formed one of a few ways:
1) Existing social group, generally mostly uber-casuals. This has been the majority of my experience in MMOs. It's why I played with comic book writers and artists and genre people in City of Heroes. It's why I joined my roommates' guild in WoW. This can be fun. This also makes it like pulling teeth to do many things as a group aside from leveling because the skill levels and interests are so varied.
Let me warn you off the bat: This means a rogue in cloth deciding he's a tank may be someone you group with. It also means Gail Simone will friggin' wipe your group non-stop because she thinks it's funny and if you aren't up for that, you're probably in the wrong group.
2) Mentorship. The standard model for a lot of people. This just plain doesn't work for me. It means scheduling. It also means if you decide to keep an erratic schedule, you'll want to do things when nobody else is on. It also means a lot of babysitting for very new players. It usually leads to lots of rules and regimentation and quotas for certain activities.
My favorite approach is option #3:
#3) Loosely organized groups. You discover someone doing what you're doing and you start doing that activity with them, semi-frequently. This generally requires a few things but mostly a puggable introductory content where you can meet strangers... and it can help to have open world or open instances where undirected activities happen.
You can do #1 or #2 in STO but I have no idea how #3 works. You're not going to happen to notice someone in combat or participating in an activity you aren't a part of. Moreover, there is no introductory puggable STF.
That is an issue, IMHO.
There needs to be, essentially, some form of STF tutorial, whether a nerfed Infected or new STF prior to Infected, that actually gets strangers doing these kinds of things together and acts as a group building hub.
IMO Fleets are there for people to play together regularly and improve their skills as a unit rather then as individuals. I don't think it's the STFs job to teach people to form Fleets and become better team players. Any other mission in the game can be used for PUGging; with the hope that PUGging eventualy leads to continued playing with the same people.
I do think they should tell you at the beginning of each STF mission that they're not designed for PUGs but rather for "dedicated teams" to do. Maybe that way people would have different expectations of what the STF is.
The only problem with the fleet missions is they are now going to be offering EXCLUSIVE CONTENT only acheivable if you have a social gaming group.
This is BAD as some of us can not get this gear. I PUG'd Infected the other day for 6 hours and we ended up with only 3 people. Could you possibly put more Borg in that? maybe a Cube or 2 in the space station to make sure no one has a chance?
If cryptic suppors exclusive STF gear then they need to reissue an exclusive upgraded to tier 6 Uber Galaxy to those of us who earned them through the referral program as the excuse for nerfing that was "no one should have access to exclusive content someone else can't earn" or some drek like that.
Make the STF's scalable to the number of players in the mission at the time. If someone bolts, cut the mobs back to compensate. Currently they are way too hard anyway.
personally if i had made them i would have had them start at level 10, then level 20 etc and make each one slightly harder to everybody can get used to them and at least experience the easier low level ones which would have been like normal eps, you just need 4 or 5 people to do it.
if not i would have made the ones we currently have easier and in keeping with the game and then added harder ones later.
i personally think the current set up is a waste but i am pleased it sounds like they are making normal and advanced versions that should be more in keeping with the game.
IMO Fleets are there for people to play together regularly and improve their skills as a unit rather then as individuals. I don't think it's the STFs job to teach people to form Fleets and become better team players. Any other mission in the game can be used for PUGging; with the hope that PUGging eventualy leads to continued playing with the same people.
I do think they should tell you at the beginning of each STF mission that they're not designed for PUGs but rather for "dedicated teams" to do. Maybe that way people would have different expectations of what the STF is.
Many guilds do not form around endgame content in my experience and I find the idea of guilds to be a bad system that isn't organic to how people actually play games. In general, what I've seen is that guilds tend to either form policies which are irrelevant to their players' objectives or have no policies at all and basically act as a private chat channel. People tend to hop guilds to do the content they want to do and leave everyone else behind.
Take a game like WoW. Heroic Dungeons were inherently better for bringing players into endgame than guilds are.
In STO, my basic question is: why do STFs? They're just this weird little alternative gameplay style that gets dumped on you at endgame, for which there is no puggable precursor to make people consider doing them.
Grouping needs to be introduced to players before you require a skilled form of it. Otherwise, people won't group and they certainly won't do challenging group content.
Even in an MMO, you have to sell people on grouping and teach them to do it before you can reasonably expect skilled groups to form, aside from the people whose brains are just wired funny, that one of the four Bartle types that's social.
Many guilds do not form around endgame content in my experience and I find the idea of guilds to be a bad system that isn't organic to how people actually play games.
The point is you're not supposed to form them around end-game content. You're supposed to form them from PUGs you've established all the way back to your Lt ranks. These PUGs turn into Fleets. Fleetmates play together regularly for 50 levels and become used to each other. Those types of dedicated players are best suited for STFs. That doesn't mean you can't PUG STFs. It simply means the people you've been playing with since the beginning of your career are simply better at understanding your style and adapting to it then someone you just met 2 minutes ago.
My only STF dislike is the most painful assembly of team to do it. Usually I go there and I hear people shouting 2 more for this 1 more for that and when you finally get your team going someone leaves during mission and another one. Now you are half way done with your STF and one of you have to leave and ask others to join you.
Would be nice to have some kind of STF queue system, similar to PvP queue. Although I'm not much in favor of PvP queues that may in theory actually work for STF's.
This all goes back to the design that all the sectors and systems are separate instances. If they were to remove system instances then it would greatly help with teaming, since people that are flying around would see you doing a mission and would want to team up and such. You could keep the sector instances so that you can switch to another sector instance if the current one has a person or group doing a mission in the system, and you'd rather do it alone or with your own team. Then they could just divide each sector instance into 3 categories: easy, advanced and elite, and then you would just join the one with the difficulty you in which you wish to do the mission.
However redesigning all that is a heck of a lot of work, and time-consuming. Not to mention having to scale everything (planets, meteors, etc) as you enter a system (where as in the current system you just load the map in its proper scale already). It would basically be taking sector space further and making it all to scale.
As for the STFs they just need to set the current STF difficulty as a ''heroic'' or something similar, and then have the regular difficulty sliders in effect with better scaling. This would make the missions much more accessible since you can actually choose an easy mode if your team is meh, or a higher difficulty if your team is good.
The only problem with the fleet missions is they are now going to be offering EXCLUSIVE CONTENT only acheivable if you have a social gaming group.
This is BAD as some of us can not get this gear. I PUG'd Infected the other day for 6 hours and we ended up with only 3 people. Could you possibly put more Borg in that? maybe a Cube or 2 in the space station to make sure no one has a chance?
If cryptic suppors exclusive STF gear then they need to reissue an exclusive upgraded to tier 6 Uber Galaxy to those of us who earned them through the referral program as the excuse for nerfing that was "no one should have access to exclusive content someone else can't earn" or some drek like that.
Make the STF's scalable to the number of players in the mission at the time. If someone bolts, cut the mobs back to compensate. Currently they are way too hard anyway.
There is NOTHING at all exclusive about STF's other than the rewards they bring.
The point is you're not supposed to form them around end-game content. You're supposed to form them from PUGs you've established all the way back to your Lt ranks. These PUGs turn into Fleets. Fleetmates play together regularly for 50 levels and become used to each other. Those types of dedicated players are best suited for STFs. That doesn't mean you can't PUG STFs. It simply means the people you've been playing with since the beginning of your career are simply better at understanding your style and adapting to it then someone you just met 2 minutes ago.
Your point seems to be that there should be some type of tutorial to teach people how to pug the STFs. My reply to that is that people have 45+ levels to PUG and establish relationships before they get to the SFTS. All those earlier levels are your tutorial.
Your point seems to be that there should be some type of tutorial to teach people how to pug the STFs. My reply to that is that people have 45+ levels to PUG and establish relationships before they get to the SFTS. All those earlier levels are your tutorial.
But they aren't taught to want to do it. Teaming is not a terribly organic part of gameplay until you run into that brick wall where you're expected to be good at it.
I'm not against challenging STFs but there needs to be some kind of precursor to get people in the mindset of organized grouping or people won't do it.
Besides, who even talks in a PuG at Lt. 7 if they do wind up in one?
But they aren't taught to want to do it. Teaming is not a terribly organic part of gameplay until you run into that brick wall where you're expected to be good at it.
I'm not against challenging STFs but there needs to be some kind of precursor to get people in the mindset of organized grouping or people won't do it.
Besides, who even talks in a PuG at Lt. 7 if they do wind up in one?
I don't disagree with the idea that Cryptic needs to find ways to get people to team throughout the game. I simply disagree with the idea that it can be done at the end of the game. After 45+ levels of solo play a 15 minute PUG tutorial before attempting the hardest content in the game will accomplish nothing. People need to be taught the benefits of group play long before they get to an STF. There needs to be must-team objectives throughout the game to teach people the benefits of teaming. By the time they get to the STFs people are to hardened into the solo play mode.
I There needs to be must-team objectives throughout the game to teach people the benefits of teaming. By the time they get to the STFs people are to hardened into the solo play mode.
Which is why removing system instancing would be the better overall path. When you actually see someone else doing a mission you actually feel like teaming up to do it faster/easier/to help out. Not to mention the fact that this is one of the ways you make friends and join guilds in other MMOs
Which is why removing system instancing would be the better overall path.
I've had no problems with the game auto-teaming me in instances. It's up to me whether I wish to talk and establish relationships with those people once I'm auto-teamed with them.
An open world isn't going to make someone more social then they want to be and missions you can easily do by yourself aren't going to teach you how to do them as a team.
There is NOTHING at all exclusive about STF's other than the rewards they bring.
THAT is precisely what I'm talking about.
Give me a chance to get that loot another way that isn't prejudicial of my lifestyle and I would have no complaint.
If we referral people can't have unbeatable exclusive ships, then people fortunate enough to have social groups should not have loot the rest of us can't.
Put the Borg stuff out there to craft as well and i'll be happy.
Otherwise I'll have tp PUG and cryptic will be hypocrites for nerfing the Galaxy X's and not making STF loot available to everyone.
I've had no problems with the game auto-teaming me in instances. It's up to me whether I wish to talk and establish relationships with those people once I'm auto-teamed with them.
An open world isn't going to make someone more social then they want to be and missions you can easily do by yourself aren't going to teach you how to do them as a team.
Which is why removing system instancing would be the better overall path. When you actually see someone else doing a mission you actually feel like teaming up to do it faster/easier/to help out. Not to mention the fact that this is one of the ways you make friends and join guilds in other MMOs
Yes STO has the auto team function, but that does not mean that you always get put in a team, or that you even talk to the person. You get auto put into a team. With the open world you have to msg the person and actually talk to them. And thats the first step in meeting people you actually want to play with and team up with, which can later lead to good STF teams.
Another helpful is adding LFG system, but that wont guarantee you join a group that is good. They still need to adjust STFs so that the current difficulty is the highest, and then you can try finding groups for a lower difficulty if you're doing it with random people that dont usually work together.
I've had no problems with the game auto-teaming me in instances. It's up to me whether I wish to talk and establish relationships with those people once I'm auto-teamed with them.
An open world isn't going to make someone more social then they want to be and missions you can easily do by yourself aren't going to teach you how to do them as a team.
Which is why I think there should be at least one easy STF before the hard ones start, maybe even one per rank. That's what I mean by "tutorial", the same way SB27 is a tutorial for Fleet Actions when compared with, say, Crystalline Entity.
Which is why I think there should be at least one easy STF before the hard ones start, maybe even one per rank. That's what I mean by "tutorial", the same way SB27 is a tutorial for Fleet Actions when compared with, say, Crystalline Entity.
whilst i agree, thats not a good comparison.
starbase 24 is in no way a tutorial for CE. none of the fleet actions are.
CE is much like the task forces. there is nothing in the game to prepare you for it.
When you actually see someone else doing a mission you actually feel like teaming up to do it faster/easier/to help out. Not to mention the fact that this is one of the ways you make friends and join guilds in other MMOs
I've played in many open world games. Sometimes I've felt the need to help others and other times I haven't. And sometimes I've helped and been accused of kill-stealing. Open world is not a perfect solution. CO is 99.9% open world and see what's happened to that.
As I said above, open world can't make you any more social then what you are.
I've played in many open world games. Sometimes I've felt the need to help others and other times I haven't. And sometimes I've helped and been accused of kill-stealing. Open world is not a perfect solution. CO is 99.9% open world and see what's happened to that.
As I said above, open world can't make you any more social then what you are.
WoW is open world and you see what happened to that. So as you can see using one example does not prove that it works/does not work lol xD. And I didnt say its the only solution. But it does help, as does changing the difficulties for STFs, adding a LFG channel for them, and adding more team missions besides Fleet Actions to the game for lower levels.
Raids in every MMO are designed for multiple people. Loners in all of the 300+ MMOs are just going to have to learn to accept that.
I can accept that but I think Warcraft would be in the same boat without Deadmines, Shadowfang Keep, Scarlet Monastery and then the heroic dungeon difficulty they started doing in BC as a pre-raid prep.
Before you can run, you need to crawl and walk. The problem is, there's no crawling or walking stage when it comes to grouping and what exists is optional.
Now, I do believe normal questing should be optionally solo but you need to have tiers of difficulty for grouping, some of which is designed to be blown through just to get people in the habit of grouping and casually meet players to group with.
Someone can invite me to an STF fleet but talk is cheap. I'd rather meet people doing an easy STF we can warm up with regularly and be able to say, "You guys are good. I bet we could do Infected! Who's up for it?"
Give me a chance to get that loot another way that isn't prejudicial of my lifestyle and I would have no complaint.
If we referral people can't have unbeatable exclusive ships, then people fortunate enough to have social groups should not have loot the rest of us can't.
Put the Borg stuff out there to craft as well and i'll be happy.
Otherwise I'll have tp PUG and cryptic will be hypocrites for nerfing the Galaxy X's and not making STF loot available to everyone.
No. I like the fact that there is unique loot only to be had through certain ways. Whether it be through STF's, crafting, PVP, PVE, or diplomacy. It adds depth to the loot system, and encourages people to try out parts of the game that may not have otherwise thought to try. I, personally, have not done any diplomacy missions (other than the ones that happen to give DXP in B'tran) mainly because it is boring and a waste of my time IMO. But if they ever came up with an item set for diplomatic achievement, I would consider doing them. I wouldn't complain how Cryptic is making me play in a way that is not my style.
As for getting people to team, what harm could it do to have a few missions at level 10, 20, or 30 that require teaming? It wouldn't need to be hard or challenging, but something that requires 2 or 3 people to complete. For example, having a simultaneous console activation like in Infected, except without the mob difficulty. It would allow people to team together without worrying too much about the mob factor.
No. I like the fact that there is unique loot only to be had through certain ways. Whether it be through STF's, crafting, PVP, PVE, or diplomacy. It adds depth to the loot system, and encourages people to try out parts of the game that may not have otherwise thought to try.
Exactly. There needs to be more of this (and there will be as they already have plans for other sets to make available).
As for getting people to team, what harm could it do to have a few missions at level 10, 20, or 30 that require teaming? It wouldn't need to be hard or challenging, but something that requires 2 or 3 people to complete. For example, having a simultaneous console activation like in Infected, except without the mob difficulty. It would allow people to team together without worrying too much about the mob factor.
Yep. Would definitely add more depth to the game if you have some lower level STFs or missions that require teaming. The only problem with this would be that since you can already level up so fast in this game, you could simply lvl to the next rank without having to do these missions (or require their loot). They would only really be useful for commander rank and higher since it starts to slow down a bit there.
Exactly. There needs to be more of this (and there will be as they already have plans for other sets to make available).
Yep. Would definitely add more depth to the game if you have some lower level STFs or missions that require teaming. The only problem with this would be that since you can already level up so fast in this game, you could simply lvl to the next rank without having to do these missions (or require their loot). They would only really be useful for commander rank and higher since it starts to slow down a bit there.
IMHO, the best solution would be to take some existing assets and put together level scaling STFs. Have them award exploration badges (which you tend to get slower than you need for leveling) below VA rank and emblems when played at VA rank.
I'd just make the minimum level to play each one scale up so that you get the impression of expanding options.
If The Foundry were a bit more advanced, I'd probably focus on some level agnostic STF designs.
I've given some serious thought to making an Infected tuitorial. The problem is, that ground map doesn't play nice with BO pathing and I don't have the option to prevent people from using BOs.
Do people really need more than that to tell them what to do?
just watch a 7 min video before you play and you should be all set. right?
right?
I get into groups i yell out into zone chat "hey im doing cage of fire anyone want to join me?"
I participate in zone chat in sol and add some friends there. when i need help i just ask and usually someone agrees to help me.
Ive had friends pm me to take up a slot in infected, the cure w/e. for some reason my experience was the exception.
is the reason people arent teaming up and TRIBBLE because its not readily achievable *which it is imo* or because they are somewhat antisocial and dont want to take the first step and speak up?
i mean i pug and get it done i fleet run it and get it done there is a fleet recruiting area.
isnt a persons choice to remain a "noob" thier own?
i mean if i refuse to study is it my fault or the states fault for not building a library across the street?
No. I like the fact that there is unique loot only to be had through certain ways. Whether it be through STF's, crafting, PVP, PVE, or diplomacy. It adds depth to the loot system, and encourages people to try out parts of the game that may not have otherwise thought to try. I, personally, have not done any diplomacy missions (other than the ones that happen to give DXP in B'tran) mainly because it is boring and a waste of my time IMO. But if they ever came up with an item set for diplomatic achievement, I would consider doing them. I wouldn't complain how Cryptic is making me play in a way that is not my style.
As for getting people to team, what harm could it do to have a few missions at level 10, 20, or 30 that require teaming? It wouldn't need to be hard or challenging, but something that requires 2 or 3 people to complete. For example, having a simultaneous console activation like in Infected, except without the mob difficulty. It would allow people to team together without worrying too much about the mob factor.
What harm to have Soloable STF's using your own logic?
Teaming suks. If you depend on other people you will get hurt in the end. life lesson there.
Anywho I am PAYING to be able to play this game and that means I must work and don't have days to play through the STFs.
Solo them or make them missions. You want ALL the money so make STF's soloable!
Seriously though, you MMO'rs need to chill. If it takes you 4 other guys to use the toilet you are taking MMOs too far.
At some point you're going to have to learn that personal attacks targeted at people who disagree with you are not going to be tolerated on this forum. If the only way you can respond to an idea is to attack the poster making the statement you've already lost.
Wouldn't hurt you at all if I could craft or buy these items in the C-Store as I wouldn't be playing with you not being the gregarious type.
You can already craft the Aegis set, which is better then the Borg set, IMO.
Or again, Cryptic can just give me and my referral buddies back our Tier 6 battleships and we won't mind your STF exclusive loot one bit.
The Galaxy X was always a T4.5 ship. It's never been as good as any other T5 ship. I got one the day it was released into the game, flew it for 10 minutes, and put it away and never took it again. It is what it is.
I hate doing the weekly episodes!!! i Really hate them.
I'm not good with doing tasks and just want to blow stuff up and get my award.
I find it very discriminating and prejudiced that Cryptic forces me to do things other than combat to get those rewards!!!
So please Cryptic put the weekly episode rewards up on the C-Store! Because i don't want do those episodes to get them!!!
Comments
I do think they should tell you at the beginning of each STF mission that they're not designed for PUGs but rather for "dedicated teams" to do. Maybe that way people would have different expectations of what the STF is.
This is BAD as some of us can not get this gear. I PUG'd Infected the other day for 6 hours and we ended up with only 3 people. Could you possibly put more Borg in that? maybe a Cube or 2 in the space station to make sure no one has a chance?
If cryptic suppors exclusive STF gear then they need to reissue an exclusive upgraded to tier 6 Uber Galaxy to those of us who earned them through the referral program as the excuse for nerfing that was "no one should have access to exclusive content someone else can't earn" or some drek like that.
Make the STF's scalable to the number of players in the mission at the time. If someone bolts, cut the mobs back to compensate. Currently they are way too hard anyway.
if not i would have made the ones we currently have easier and in keeping with the game and then added harder ones later.
i personally think the current set up is a waste but i am pleased it sounds like they are making normal and advanced versions that should be more in keeping with the game.
Many guilds do not form around endgame content in my experience and I find the idea of guilds to be a bad system that isn't organic to how people actually play games. In general, what I've seen is that guilds tend to either form policies which are irrelevant to their players' objectives or have no policies at all and basically act as a private chat channel. People tend to hop guilds to do the content they want to do and leave everyone else behind.
Take a game like WoW. Heroic Dungeons were inherently better for bringing players into endgame than guilds are.
In STO, my basic question is: why do STFs? They're just this weird little alternative gameplay style that gets dumped on you at endgame, for which there is no puggable precursor to make people consider doing them.
Grouping needs to be introduced to players before you require a skilled form of it. Otherwise, people won't group and they certainly won't do challenging group content.
Even in an MMO, you have to sell people on grouping and teach them to do it before you can reasonably expect skilled groups to form, aside from the people whose brains are just wired funny, that one of the four Bartle types that's social.
Would be nice to have some kind of STF queue system, similar to PvP queue. Although I'm not much in favor of PvP queues that may in theory actually work for STF's.
However redesigning all that is a heck of a lot of work, and time-consuming. Not to mention having to scale everything (planets, meteors, etc) as you enter a system (where as in the current system you just load the map in its proper scale already). It would basically be taking sector space further and making it all to scale.
As for the STFs they just need to set the current STF difficulty as a ''heroic'' or something similar, and then have the regular difficulty sliders in effect with better scaling. This would make the missions much more accessible since you can actually choose an easy mode if your team is meh, or a higher difficulty if your team is good.
There is NOTHING at all exclusive about STF's other than the rewards they bring.
Why would anyone PuG in the Lt. ranks, though?
But they aren't taught to want to do it. Teaming is not a terribly organic part of gameplay until you run into that brick wall where you're expected to be good at it.
I'm not against challenging STFs but there needs to be some kind of precursor to get people in the mindset of organized grouping or people won't do it.
Besides, who even talks in a PuG at Lt. 7 if they do wind up in one?
Which is why removing system instancing would be the better overall path. When you actually see someone else doing a mission you actually feel like teaming up to do it faster/easier/to help out. Not to mention the fact that this is one of the ways you make friends and join guilds in other MMOs
An open world isn't going to make someone more social then they want to be and missions you can easily do by yourself aren't going to teach you how to do them as a team.
THAT is precisely what I'm talking about.
Give me a chance to get that loot another way that isn't prejudicial of my lifestyle and I would have no complaint.
If we referral people can't have unbeatable exclusive ships, then people fortunate enough to have social groups should not have loot the rest of us can't.
Put the Borg stuff out there to craft as well and i'll be happy.
Otherwise I'll have tp PUG and cryptic will be hypocrites for nerfing the Galaxy X's and not making STF loot available to everyone.
full post here:
Yes STO has the auto team function, but that does not mean that you always get put in a team, or that you even talk to the person. You get auto put into a team. With the open world you have to msg the person and actually talk to them. And thats the first step in meeting people you actually want to play with and team up with, which can later lead to good STF teams.
Another helpful is adding LFG system, but that wont guarantee you join a group that is good. They still need to adjust STFs so that the current difficulty is the highest, and then you can try finding groups for a lower difficulty if you're doing it with random people that dont usually work together.
Which is why I think there should be at least one easy STF before the hard ones start, maybe even one per rank. That's what I mean by "tutorial", the same way SB27 is a tutorial for Fleet Actions when compared with, say, Crystalline Entity.
whilst i agree, thats not a good comparison.
starbase 24 is in no way a tutorial for CE. none of the fleet actions are.
CE is much like the task forces. there is nothing in the game to prepare you for it.
As I said above, open world can't make you any more social then what you are.
WoW is open world and you see what happened to that. So as you can see using one example does not prove that it works/does not work lol xD. And I didnt say its the only solution. But it does help, as does changing the difficulties for STFs, adding a LFG channel for them, and adding more team missions besides Fleet Actions to the game for lower levels.
I can accept that but I think Warcraft would be in the same boat without Deadmines, Shadowfang Keep, Scarlet Monastery and then the heroic dungeon difficulty they started doing in BC as a pre-raid prep.
Before you can run, you need to crawl and walk. The problem is, there's no crawling or walking stage when it comes to grouping and what exists is optional.
Now, I do believe normal questing should be optionally solo but you need to have tiers of difficulty for grouping, some of which is designed to be blown through just to get people in the habit of grouping and casually meet players to group with.
Someone can invite me to an STF fleet but talk is cheap. I'd rather meet people doing an easy STF we can warm up with regularly and be able to say, "You guys are good. I bet we could do Infected! Who's up for it?"
No. I like the fact that there is unique loot only to be had through certain ways. Whether it be through STF's, crafting, PVP, PVE, or diplomacy. It adds depth to the loot system, and encourages people to try out parts of the game that may not have otherwise thought to try. I, personally, have not done any diplomacy missions (other than the ones that happen to give DXP in B'tran) mainly because it is boring and a waste of my time IMO. But if they ever came up with an item set for diplomatic achievement, I would consider doing them. I wouldn't complain how Cryptic is making me play in a way that is not my style.
As for getting people to team, what harm could it do to have a few missions at level 10, 20, or 30 that require teaming? It wouldn't need to be hard or challenging, but something that requires 2 or 3 people to complete. For example, having a simultaneous console activation like in Infected, except without the mob difficulty. It would allow people to team together without worrying too much about the mob factor.
Exactly. There needs to be more of this (and there will be as they already have plans for other sets to make available).
Yep. Would definitely add more depth to the game if you have some lower level STFs or missions that require teaming. The only problem with this would be that since you can already level up so fast in this game, you could simply lvl to the next rank without having to do these missions (or require their loot). They would only really be useful for commander rank and higher since it starts to slow down a bit there.
IMHO, the best solution would be to take some existing assets and put together level scaling STFs. Have them award exploration badges (which you tend to get slower than you need for leveling) below VA rank and emblems when played at VA rank.
I'd just make the minimum level to play each one scale up so that you get the impression of expanding options.
If The Foundry were a bit more advanced, I'd probably focus on some level agnostic STF designs.
I've given some serious thought to making an Infected tuitorial. The problem is, that ground map doesn't play nice with BO pathing and I don't have the option to prevent people from using BOs.
Hitchhiker's Guide To Star Trek Online: "The Cure"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_s0SkARQUY
Hitchhiker's Guide To Star Trek Online: "The Infected"
Props to SancTuarY of Wanderhome
http://www.sanct-guild.com
Do people really need more than that to tell them what to do?
just watch a 7 min video before you play and you should be all set. right?
right?
I get into groups i yell out into zone chat "hey im doing cage of fire anyone want to join me?"
I participate in zone chat in sol and add some friends there. when i need help i just ask and usually someone agrees to help me.
Ive had friends pm me to take up a slot in infected, the cure w/e. for some reason my experience was the exception.
is the reason people arent teaming up and TRIBBLE because its not readily achievable *which it is imo* or because they are somewhat antisocial and dont want to take the first step and speak up?
i mean i pug and get it done i fleet run it and get it done there is a fleet recruiting area.
isnt a persons choice to remain a "noob" thier own?
i mean if i refuse to study is it my fault or the states fault for not building a library across the street?
oh and
i forget what i read.
Guess I should just open a class action suit against a system that's trying to make me a communist.
Where did I put that Homeland Security number?
Seriously though, you MMO'rs need to chill. If it takes you 4 other guys to use the toilet you are taking MMOs too far.
Wouldn't hurt you at all if I could craft or buy these items in the C-Store as I wouldn't be playing with you not being the gregarious type.
Or again, Cryptic can just give me and my referral buddies back our Tier 6 battleships and we won't mind your STF exclusive loot one bit.
What harm to have Soloable STF's using your own logic?
Teaming suks. If you depend on other people you will get hurt in the end. life lesson there.
Anywho I am PAYING to be able to play this game and that means I must work and don't have days to play through the STFs.
Solo them or make them missions. You want ALL the money so make STF's soloable!
You can already craft the Aegis set, which is better then the Borg set, IMO.
The Galaxy X was always a T4.5 ship. It's never been as good as any other T5 ship. I got one the day it was released into the game, flew it for 10 minutes, and put it away and never took it again. It is what it is.
I'm not good with doing tasks and just want to blow stuff up and get my award.
I find it very discriminating and prejudiced that Cryptic forces me to do things other than combat to get those rewards!!!
So please Cryptic put the weekly episode rewards up on the C-Store! Because i don't want do those episodes to get them!!!