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Upcoming Season 8 Traits and Reputation System! (Subject to Change)
xiaoxiaon
Member Posts: 10 Arc User
So as many of you know, Tribble has undergone some massive changes in the last day, introducing what looks like a dumbed down version of the S8 release that's coming in May! For the rest of you that know the update is coming but have yet to check it out, here's some tidbits regarding it all!
I highly recommend many of you players head to Tribble, or at least the Tribble sub-forums and get into more detailed discussion on these preliminary changes! Branflakes has already noted that many of these skills are still in the development process. That said, the more *constructive* feedback *after* testing its current functionality, the better! Let's make Season 8 an update well worth releasing!
Here are a couple screenshots of what I was able to gather in regards to two aspects people are looking forward to - Traits and the new Reputation system:
Season 8 Traits
New Class-based Traits
When a character is created from scratch, their traits are predetermined by their race and class they select. They receive what is now effectively *five* traits in S7, but more often than not, these traits are displayed as four traits. This is due to all racial required traits being merged into a single trait. (For example, Human players start with Leadership and Teamwork in S7. In S8, they start with 'Human', which grants both the Leadership and Teamwork trait in one, plus 3 other traits that are determined based on the class they selected.) There are a few races that are an exception to this, including aliens, who only receive four traits, none of them being a 'race-unique' trait. The balance to this seems to be in the upcoming aspects of trait selection - where an alien has a larger variety of traits to select from. This is currently being ironed out, as some races have placeholder text for what their traits provide. (If it is requested, I can release a chart or update this post with all trait combinations available to new characters. It is quite a bit more work to write and polish-up compared to the trait/rep stuff I'm posting.)
Secondly, as a player levels, every 10 levels they obtain grants them a 'trait point'. This point grants a player an additional trait of their choice, with a fifth bonus point at level 50.
The "Photonic Capacitor", "Last Ditch Effort", and "Grace Under Fire" traits unlock at the last two 'trait tiers', as they affect skills that aren't available until a player reaches these levels.
This means that at level 50, a player can have a total of nine traits! In most cases, preset traits are equally divided between ground and space, which means you could have up to 7 (or more with a few races) traits focusing on a particular type of combat! As an alien, I was able to select *every* space trait and have one trait left over for ground.
**I do hope that last part is in the works and requires a balance of ground and space traits. Otherwise, this will cause min-maxing characters to have a significant advantage to the type of combat they specialize in, causing an even greater disparity between 'balanced' play for all players on both the ground and space fronts.
Tholian-based Reputation
Nukara Strikeforce Reputation
There's a lot to handle here. Take a look and see for yourselves in the picture linked above. I've highlighted the gear unlocks that are going to be the go-to items in this reputation chain.
A couple notes from the screenshots obtained:
Aux Power Config actively scales - the +8.6 listed is due to the ~43 aux power I was currently running. This seems to imply an actively changing maximum hull and shield capacity! Interesting... but unless Cryptic 'unlocks' it for testing, it's unlikely to undergo any actual testing until release, which might result in some awfully buggy issues.
Emergency Fix seems to scale towards a 40% proc? (I'll edit this when I gather more info about it)
Refracting Tetryon Cascade is affected by anything that boosts exotic damage in addition to all tac abilities that boost damage. The listed amount should be at or near the *base* outbound damage.
Nukara missions are not currently granting marks for the reputation system, so it's impossible to progress in this system at the moment.
~~~~~~
Okay, that being said, I hope this is a good introduction for those of you looking forward to the Season 8 update!
Once again, please give Tribble a shot and post CONSTRUCTIVE feedback in the Tribble subforums! The less whining and complaining and the more comparisons and combat logs/videos of combat (PVP & PVE) we have to show devs, the more likely they'll do something before the release date. For every good thread I've seen, there seems to be a couple pages of threads already asking for nerfs or complaining about things with very little actual testing or practice in actual combat. Many skills in this game have become very 'samey' and 'normalized' compared to some of the MMOs I love and continue to enjoy. S8 already has a few introductions that seem to try and emphasis the uniqueness of each class - and a means of hard/soft countering them with the other classes.
If devs are able to explain and clarify their *intent* with their additions and modifications, the player base should be able to try and see how well it is implemented and works in practice. (As a former employee that worked QA in game testing, it takes dozens of hours to make a well-educated and solid opinion of how aspects of a game need to be balanced or modified without (and sometimes with) design documents. Ignoring anything less than all options results in an inferior product that lacks the quality any dedicated production team will show in their final results. <-This is also directed to you guys at Cryptic!)
There are a lot of potentially new players joining the game when Season 8 releases and having a re-release similar to the initial launch of the game will really hamper its potential!
I'll do my best to keep this post updated with any changes and updates in Tribble and the Tribble sub-forums! Enjoy~!
Easy link to thread: bit.ly/STO-S8
I highly recommend many of you players head to Tribble, or at least the Tribble sub-forums and get into more detailed discussion on these preliminary changes! Branflakes has already noted that many of these skills are still in the development process. That said, the more *constructive* feedback *after* testing its current functionality, the better! Let's make Season 8 an update well worth releasing!
Here are a couple screenshots of what I was able to gather in regards to two aspects people are looking forward to - Traits and the new Reputation system:
Season 8 Traits
New Class-based Traits
- Race and Class determine starting traits
- Bonus Trait every ten levels for a total of ~9 traits at 50!
- New traits are class specific!
- Unique class trait unlocked at level 50
When a character is created from scratch, their traits are predetermined by their race and class they select. They receive what is now effectively *five* traits in S7, but more often than not, these traits are displayed as four traits. This is due to all racial required traits being merged into a single trait. (For example, Human players start with Leadership and Teamwork in S7. In S8, they start with 'Human', which grants both the Leadership and Teamwork trait in one, plus 3 other traits that are determined based on the class they selected.) There are a few races that are an exception to this, including aliens, who only receive four traits, none of them being a 'race-unique' trait. The balance to this seems to be in the upcoming aspects of trait selection - where an alien has a larger variety of traits to select from. This is currently being ironed out, as some races have placeholder text for what their traits provide. (If it is requested, I can release a chart or update this post with all trait combinations available to new characters. It is quite a bit more work to write and polish-up compared to the trait/rep stuff I'm posting.)
Secondly, as a player levels, every 10 levels they obtain grants them a 'trait point'. This point grants a player an additional trait of their choice, with a fifth bonus point at level 50.
The "Photonic Capacitor", "Last Ditch Effort", and "Grace Under Fire" traits unlock at the last two 'trait tiers', as they affect skills that aren't available until a player reaches these levels.
This means that at level 50, a player can have a total of nine traits! In most cases, preset traits are equally divided between ground and space, which means you could have up to 7 (or more with a few races) traits focusing on a particular type of combat! As an alien, I was able to select *every* space trait and have one trait left over for ground.
**I do hope that last part is in the works and requires a balance of ground and space traits. Otherwise, this will cause min-maxing characters to have a significant advantage to the type of combat they specialize in, causing an even greater disparity between 'balanced' play for all players on both the ground and space fronts.
Tholian-based Reputation
Nukara Strikeforce Reputation
- Tetryon Focused Space Gear with unique (?) proc
- New Tholain-Themed Weapon Set with Universal Console, Dual Beam Bank and Mines
- New Tholian-Themed Space Set
- New Consumables (Ground and Space combat pets and Anti-Tholian items)
- UR Widow Fighters
- MK XII VR Formerly Lobi-only Set now Available through Rep!
- Aux Power Subsystem T4 Passive!
There's a lot to handle here. Take a look and see for yourselves in the picture linked above. I've highlighted the gear unlocks that are going to be the go-to items in this reputation chain.
A couple notes from the screenshots obtained:
Aux Power Config actively scales - the +8.6 listed is due to the ~43 aux power I was currently running. This seems to imply an actively changing maximum hull and shield capacity! Interesting... but unless Cryptic 'unlocks' it for testing, it's unlikely to undergo any actual testing until release, which might result in some awfully buggy issues.
Emergency Fix seems to scale towards a 40% proc? (I'll edit this when I gather more info about it)
Refracting Tetryon Cascade is affected by anything that boosts exotic damage in addition to all tac abilities that boost damage. The listed amount should be at or near the *base* outbound damage.
Nukara missions are not currently granting marks for the reputation system, so it's impossible to progress in this system at the moment.
~~~~~~
Okay, that being said, I hope this is a good introduction for those of you looking forward to the Season 8 update!
Once again, please give Tribble a shot and post CONSTRUCTIVE feedback in the Tribble subforums! The less whining and complaining and the more comparisons and combat logs/videos of combat (PVP & PVE) we have to show devs, the more likely they'll do something before the release date. For every good thread I've seen, there seems to be a couple pages of threads already asking for nerfs or complaining about things with very little actual testing or practice in actual combat. Many skills in this game have become very 'samey' and 'normalized' compared to some of the MMOs I love and continue to enjoy. S8 already has a few introductions that seem to try and emphasis the uniqueness of each class - and a means of hard/soft countering them with the other classes.
If devs are able to explain and clarify their *intent* with their additions and modifications, the player base should be able to try and see how well it is implemented and works in practice. (As a former employee that worked QA in game testing, it takes dozens of hours to make a well-educated and solid opinion of how aspects of a game need to be balanced or modified without (and sometimes with) design documents. Ignoring anything less than all options results in an inferior product that lacks the quality any dedicated production team will show in their final results. <-This is also directed to you guys at Cryptic!)
There are a lot of potentially new players joining the game when Season 8 releases and having a re-release similar to the initial launch of the game will really hamper its potential!
I'll do my best to keep this post updated with any changes and updates in Tribble and the Tribble sub-forums! Enjoy~!
Easy link to thread: bit.ly/STO-S8
Have any questions about the game? Send me a message and I'll be happy to help!
Post edited by xiaoxiaon on
0
Comments
Listen Cryptic, the races should unlock a Trait for that character based on that race, not lock the player into having that Trait.
It's a 'reverse' Isometric charge in a sense. The damage scales down on each subsequent target and starts at a lower value than Isometric Charge begins at. That said, it *is* affected by tactical consoles... so the damage with full buffs and the other T5 rep skill could result in some very bursty damage.
I disagree. You can choose n traits. At last one racial trait will be far superior to nth trait you would choose. I'm going to change race of my main alien char, if I can.
To clarify, a trait respec seems to reset all of your *selected* traits, but not your base traits. I'm fairly positive this will be reworked in upcoming patches.
That said, please read what I posted thoroughly. The traits you begin with are themed based on your race and class, but 60%+ of the traits you obtain as you progress to level 50 are selected (and re-selectable with a respec) by you.
Same general principle though (hit one, jump to another, jump to another), even if the implementation is a bit tweaked.
And as you mentioned, it is apparently labeled as Tetryon damage...
Correct - and the tooltip damage does improve when I equip any consoles that boost tetryon damage. I'm pretty sure that this will encourage more players to use this energy type in higher-tiered combat.
i do like one of the nukara reputation passive choices that boosts defence/offense based on auxiliary power. that will definetely boost up sci captains offensively or defensively.
However for the T2 passive i think most people, if not everyone, will choose the shield penetration power for space combat especially in pvp. i guess then resilient shields become even more useful over other shields in this regard.
For the T2 power, tactical toons will definetely be sold on the cryo immobilization module since they can critical hit more often than other career choices, especially in pvp where they are aiming for 1 hit K.O. using a cryo pulsewave.
Also looks like i will be grinding out nukara for the forseeable future. dont really fancy paying dilithium for the ground set.
anyways that's my say.
DISENCHANTED
If you have lobys to upgrade it MKII.
BAD idea
also, i noticed the accolades window still hasn't got an overhaul. i would love to see it divided by category and see all the accolades there are, not only the next one in line.
"We are smart." - Grebnedlog
Member of Alliance Central Command/boq botlhra'ghom
+1 10/char
What use is a trait that boosts the effect of turrets if you're a tactical or grenade kit skills if you're an engineer? That said, there are some traits that 'could' be available for all classes but aren't. Why? Likely because the developers want to show some progression towards actual roles each class can play. I expect more traits to be introduced as they're likely in the pipeline at the moment. I'd assume upcoming traits will focus on the following:
Sci = CC/healing/support
Tac = damage/damage support/damage resist-threat control
Eng = shield healing/drone-turret support/damage.
If you're only talking about traits that are 'geared' towards other classes, you are always able to take those traits as one of your 5 'bonus' traits as you level to level 50.
But as for the class *exclusive* traits, they're exclusive because they're probably supposed to 'improve' characters in a passive way the same way active abilities are unlocked for those classes as they progress. It's just adding a bit more variety to your build.
Maybe a dev can chime in and back up the hypothesis.
You're welcome! It's great to see appreciation for the post.
Correction: One ground trait looks like an awesome addition to the ENGs.
"We are smart." - Grebnedlog
Member of Alliance Central Command/boq botlhra'ghom
i don't like this way of thinking. if i wanted to play as a CLASS, i would play WOW.
STO's skill system is interesting, because we are able to play a sci focused tac and a tac focused sci toon
and these builds are viable.
i don't want to play only TAC, cause it is the raw damage and the only viable option.
i wanna have a hard time deciding on the traits.
sci's and engis also do have weapons equipped on their ships, so they also could use + accuracy or the - accuracy debuff trait i have seen on my KDF tac on tribble.
Combination of Starship Threat and +Threat Consoles...Threat shouldn't be an issue.
Just an idea.
"We are smart." - Grebnedlog
Member of Alliance Central Command/boq botlhra'ghom
I think it is great that we are finally seeing the roles more defined though. I built my Vulcan engineer around tank style passives. Will he be changed so that he is not perked to tank anymore?
Were they to do something like that, I'd definitely have to say I'd prefer that was an Eng BOFF ability rather than an Eng Captain ability/trait. Perhaps even some sort of 2/3 pc gear bonus ability.
SCI needs more healing powers and less GD on them. Its pretty sad when you see TACs have a higher healing percentage than a SCI during pvp or you have a TAC healing you. Granted it could be the player, but on my SCI character, I dont have that many options.
The BOFF ability needs to enhance or help with the GD, not be the TC. The player needs to do that.
While I understand your opinion, I feel it's going to be very difficult to avoid this simply due to how class active abilities currently function. When it comes down to it, a tactical will always have the most damage potential, and engineer the most healing/tanking potential and a sci, the most crowd control and support potential. But like you stated, even with these active abilities, flying different ships, loading varied consoles, bridge officer skills and active duty officers all create the massive amount of versatility that I love about STO.
The more I think about it, the more I feel that this is a very valid concern. If enough of these traits focus too much on their intended role, we may see a lot more pigeonholing in terms of suggested build load-outs and their trait distribution. Maybe introducing certain 'minor' traits that are 80% as effective as their class-based counterpart as an option for the classes unable to normally take the trait? (Similar to how some races obtain traits that are 20-40% more effective as their 'standard' equivalent traits). While this might sound unfair, it's just making a more balanced or hybrid build viable with very little weaknesses while making min-max builds (that also trait in that respec) possible, but with (hopefully) more exploitable weaknesses to take advantage of, especially in a team environment.
While you want players to have the option to choose, you don't want everyone to just pick the 'best' trait regardless of race/class/role. (Note I distinguish role from class - I feel you're completely correct in this regard)
I hold aggro in my beam loadout 95% of the time. The only exception is when I'm playing with some fleet-mates that have an even higher DPS than mine. Although as a Tac, I typically try to avoid holding aggro as most of my build is DPS focused. I even run a -threat console to boot. (It's sad that I left my bug in PvE for a beam build that actually outperforms and out-survives my predecessor)
The thing about Wow that scares this community is the "eletism", because most of the players here want to do random, mixed, and half-baked stratagies but still win. They like their game breaking all-in-1 builds, and have an aversion to team play. They fear if the formula changes they will not be able to just zerg the STF as fast as possible so they can get back to Dronoza for RP.
What we are saying is not about the ability to take on a cube, I can take on a cube by myself, and I assuming the majority of end game players can too despite what their weapon set up. What we are talking about is the ability to hold the threat despite high dps damage, in order to help the escorts survive longer, granted that means the SCI needs a more distinct healing and exotic damage tree rather than just small passives on the skill tree.
This is totally fair and totally balanced.
You can only learn from something when you fully understand it. Something you completely fail to do both with why WoW was successful, which aspects of it made it that way, and with what currently makes STO successful and why the playerbase wants well what they want. But that is another topic for another thread and attempting to educate you or expand your thought processes would simply be a waste of my time. Anyway if you wish to emulate anyone you should take a gander at Riot who is still expanding their playerbase and market share rather than blizzard who hasn't done that in years.
Onto the traits they will end up just like the skill tree I'm afraid.
Since you haven't contributed to the thread other than to insult people, I would say you are not being productive and being a troll.
back to topic, I do like the new TAC traits.