My problem is the price in EC. I pretty much wiped out my main character reaching level 3 in terms of her EC stash, then raided ANOTHER character just to continue. And now she's bankrupt again and not even level 4. I still have 50k+ of omega rep to get the mark XII armor (which I want for outfits) and I'm not thinking my EC levels will even last that long due to replicating and buying the items for those specific missions.
And I'm not liking the idea of trying to do the rep-grind on MANY characters, or working on more then one character to max out a rep at a time. I wanna max romulan rep for the free reman race, but I don't like the idea of spending a month + ALL the energy credits required to max it out. Or having to do the rep on one char, then repeating it on my romulan (planned) char so they have romulan themed gear.
It's an improvement over the randomness yes, but the EC costs skyrocket rather quickly and I doubt everybody can maintain that level of EC incoming to offset it.
I don't get how you ever run out of EC. I get so much EC just from selling any loot I get that I never run out unless I blow it all on a new Horta in the Marketplace.
i got 2 full sets in less then a month plus all my omega weapons from the old system as for the rep grind it wouldn't be so bad if they scaled the xp according to the tier your on rather then adding cost in ec and marks but keeping the rep xp the same 800 and 2k should skale to 1800 and 4k at teir 3 for rep xp
Just chiming in that I've found the grind gear overrated for most, if not all, content currently in the game, up to and including PvP.
With the introduction of the rep tracks I pretty much decided my new characters (but 1) didn't need that stuff. They are still pretty viable, and even get more freedom in choosing the exact mods they get to the equipment. The biggest advantage I found was the mk xii Positron arrays with a combination of [SIF], [STL] and/or [SHDS].
Got the full mk xii sets on 2-3 characters - the ones I had pre-S7 - so I can still compare, but I really can't be bothered going through these bureaucrat gameplay-style* rep tracks for such a minor boost :P
I will also echo that, pre-S7, it was a piece of cake to get the Mk XI sets before, and that I too got the Mk XII sets in a couple of weeks per character, but will also concede that the STF dil output has increased since.
*I guess that's admiralty for you: administrative duty and paperpushing...
In the old system, some players would have gone *years* without completing their sets.
With the new system, completing a set is far easier and not chance-based, like the old Borg drops. Just takes time and resources, but once it's done, you're glad you did it because of all the little perks it gives you.
I do remember players grinding for the Nth time for the last piece of gear while sometimes newcomers seemed to pick up gear left and right.
I do not like the costs of the rep. system or abandoning the social zone for a personal rep. tab. However the system is much fairer now. The drops were exciting but I saw too many skilled people go without a well-earned reward for a long time.
I would also point out that the reputation system brought a lot of new stuff to the table. Getting through the tiers opens up space and ground abilities that weren't there before and can't really be given in a drop like gear can. Plus, you can go after the gear you want and ignore the rest. And with all of the different places to get Romulan marks, it really forced me to explore all of the season 7 content. In my opinion, the reputation system was well implemented and felt like less of a grind than playing STF's all day to not get the gear drop I wanted.
guess why I left ...
I left STO 1st time back 6+ months ago, around the time Nukara was introduced
my reason was the back whole the fleet holdings are, it's a dilithium sink
my fleet, after all this time, still hasn't reached max tier with the starbase, we are very close but still .. 6 months and I still can't get a fleet Armitage
when LOR got released I decided to get back to STO and give it a try, only to find out that all borg stuff went away to another black whole .. in form of "reputation"
yes it took time, even weeks, to get a full set .. but it was the trill of the hunt, you did STFs because you wanted to
now it's a 2nd job, you do STFs because you have to; also, it's rather useless to do ground STFs anymore - they just wiped the floor with 1/2 of the end-game content and for what
now they introduced the dilithium mine, that is a blatant ponzi scam
dilithium mine that requires dilithium in it's projects?!!? what the hell .. is it a mine or a black hole
also, if you do the math, the so called "discounts" aren't there because of the millions of dilithium the projects require to complete
the only reasons to even do the dilithium mine tiers are the consoles and the cores
Defera - I see no reason do to it anymore
Nukara - same
New Romulus - I did it once for the novelty of it and I do the story missions that get unlocked with every tier but that's it
the reputation system made a lot of content absolutely useless
I just sit with the game in window and watch the eSTF channels so I can farm dilithium - because that's the state the game was reduced to
from time to time a do a fleet alert, a crystalline catastrophe or a mine trap for the marks
Defera - I see no reason do to it anymore
Nukara - same
New Romulus - I did it once for the novelty of it and I do the story missions that get unlocked with every tier but that's it
the reputation system made a lot of content absolutely useless
I just sit with the game in window and watch the eSTF channels so I can farm dilithium - because that's the state the game was reduced to
from time to time a do a fleet alert, a crystalline catastrophe or a mine trap for the marks
the joke's on you Cryptic
It really feels like the game is winding down doesn't it? What I want to know is this: now that they've run out of old content to rehash for their next rep grind, what can thy possibly do a rep of next? PvP? Reuse the same old PvP maps we've had for 3 years? That's really all I can think of.
It really feels like the game is winding down doesn't it? What I want to know is this: now that they've run out of old content to rehash for their next rep grind, what can thy possibly do a rep of next? PvP? Reuse the same old PvP maps we've had for 3 years? That's really all I can think of.
I know there was a time limited Crystalline event, the remnant of it is still in the rep window for some reason
following same logic, I can see a rep event for Riza
a PvP rep is also extremely likely
even the reman datalogs are a thing of the past now, doing Vault Shuttle event is another thing I'll never do
I am sad to see what has become of the game in my absence of just over a year or so.
Not only have some in-game rewards been removed from STF's they were originally obtained from (borg set for instance), but they've now been stuck behind a horribly implemented reputation grind that is nothing other than a blatant time and ec sink.
Having even first tier rewards gated behind time-based "quests" is ridiculous. You can't even grind the rep in the traditional MMO manner, as the return from, for instance, turning in Omega marks in the non-time limited manner is abysmal.
Why turn STO into a grind? It's counter-productive to modern MMO development philosophy. Any MMO player survey will tell you: no-one likes grinding in an MMO. Grinding loses subs.
Do you like killing Borg?
If you answered "Yes" my next question is: what's the problem?
Kill Borg = earn Omega Marks and BNPs = rep up and get stuff.
It's a lot more straightforward and easier for new players than the old system under which you had to wait for the right combination of random drops.
...Oh, baby, you know, I've really got to leave you / Oh, I can hear it callin 'me / I said don't you hear it callin' me the way it used to do?...
- Anne Bredon
But the old system had a TRIBBLE chance drop was,is, and will be bad.
So yes, the rep system could be better, but its still less of a pain then the old one was.
Says you :P
The difference between pre-Season 7 (from now on referred to as "the good old days") and now is you played to get gear, not play to unlock the gear for purchase much later on.
That's the reason I would like to see an STF exclusive...you have to play the STF's to get them.
Random drops btw...why not?
NO to ARC RIP KDF and PvP 2014-07-17 Season 9.5 - Death by Dev
How do you figure? All you needed to do was complete one PVE mission and three STFs for a piece of the Borg set. That's a few hours of game play time. Not sure how that equates to "years".
The original Borg Set acquisition:
"Assimilation" mission = universal borg console
"Infected" STF = borg engine
"The Cure" STF = borg deflector
"Khitomer Accord" = borg shield
(I might have the deflector and shield backwards)
at most total time combined to get: 8 hours (Depends on how good your STF team is)
Above method destroyed by all the whiners saying they couldn't spare 2 to 3 hours on a weekend to do an STF.
The next method was hated by almost everyone due to the stupid random drop of the chip needed to get the mk xii sets. People grinded the STFs and never got the drop.
The third and latest method is the joke Omega reputation grind. This method destroyed the easiest piece to get the universal borg console by removing it from the reward table of "Assimilation" and adding it to the Omega Rep grind.
Comments
With the introduction of the rep tracks I pretty much decided my new characters (but 1) didn't need that stuff. They are still pretty viable, and even get more freedom in choosing the exact mods they get to the equipment. The biggest advantage I found was the mk xii Positron arrays with a combination of [SIF], [STL] and/or [SHDS].
Got the full mk xii sets on 2-3 characters - the ones I had pre-S7 - so I can still compare, but I really can't be bothered going through these bureaucrat gameplay-style* rep tracks for such a minor boost :P
I will also echo that, pre-S7, it was a piece of cake to get the Mk XI sets before, and that I too got the Mk XII sets in a couple of weeks per character, but will also concede that the STF dil output has increased since.
*I guess that's admiralty for you: administrative duty and paperpushing...
But the old system had a TRIBBLE chance drop was,is, and will be bad.
So yes, the rep system could be better, but its still less of a pain then the old one was.
I do remember players grinding for the Nth time for the last piece of gear while sometimes newcomers seemed to pick up gear left and right.
I do not like the costs of the rep. system or abandoning the social zone for a personal rep. tab. However the system is much fairer now. The drops were exciting but I saw too many skilled people go without a well-earned reward for a long time.
I left STO 1st time back 6+ months ago, around the time Nukara was introduced
my reason was the back whole the fleet holdings are, it's a dilithium sink
my fleet, after all this time, still hasn't reached max tier with the starbase, we are very close but still .. 6 months and I still can't get a fleet Armitage
when LOR got released I decided to get back to STO and give it a try, only to find out that all borg stuff went away to another black whole .. in form of "reputation"
yes it took time, even weeks, to get a full set .. but it was the trill of the hunt, you did STFs because you wanted to
now it's a 2nd job, you do STFs because you have to; also, it's rather useless to do ground STFs anymore - they just wiped the floor with 1/2 of the end-game content and for what
now they introduced the dilithium mine, that is a blatant ponzi scam
dilithium mine that requires dilithium in it's projects?!!? what the hell .. is it a mine or a black hole
also, if you do the math, the so called "discounts" aren't there because of the millions of dilithium the projects require to complete
the only reasons to even do the dilithium mine tiers are the consoles and the cores
Defera - I see no reason do to it anymore
Nukara - same
New Romulus - I did it once for the novelty of it and I do the story missions that get unlocked with every tier but that's it
the reputation system made a lot of content absolutely useless
I just sit with the game in window and watch the eSTF channels so I can farm dilithium - because that's the state the game was reduced to
from time to time a do a fleet alert, a crystalline catastrophe or a mine trap for the marks
the joke's on you Cryptic
It really feels like the game is winding down doesn't it? What I want to know is this: now that they've run out of old content to rehash for their next rep grind, what can thy possibly do a rep of next? PvP? Reuse the same old PvP maps we've had for 3 years? That's really all I can think of.
following same logic, I can see a rep event for Riza
a PvP rep is also extremely likely
even the reman datalogs are a thing of the past now, doing Vault Shuttle event is another thing I'll never do
I just came back after leaving for all of season 6 and 7 and have 3 rep tracks to run on 5 characters
Buying these regenerators, and shield charges and hypos 20 at a time really sucks, really really sucks!!
It's damn near punishment!
Do you like killing Borg?
If you answered "Yes" my next question is: what's the problem?
Kill Borg = earn Omega Marks and BNPs = rep up and get stuff.
It's a lot more straightforward and easier for new players than the old system under which you had to wait for the right combination of random drops.
...Oh, baby, you know, I've really got to leave you / Oh, I can hear it callin 'me / I said don't you hear it callin' me the way it used to do?...
- Anne Bredon
Says you :P
The difference between pre-Season 7 (from now on referred to as "the good old days") and now is you played to get gear, not play to unlock the gear for purchase much later on.
That's the reason I would like to see an STF exclusive...you have to play the STF's to get them.
Random drops btw...why not?
RIP KDF and PvP 2014-07-17 Season 9.5 - Death by Dev
The original Borg Set acquisition:
"Assimilation" mission = universal borg console
"Infected" STF = borg engine
"The Cure" STF = borg deflector
"Khitomer Accord" = borg shield
(I might have the deflector and shield backwards)
at most total time combined to get: 8 hours (Depends on how good your STF team is)
Above method destroyed by all the whiners saying they couldn't spare 2 to 3 hours on a weekend to do an STF.
The next method was hated by almost everyone due to the stupid random drop of the chip needed to get the mk xii sets. People grinded the STFs and never got the drop.
The third and latest method is the joke Omega reputation grind. This method destroyed the easiest piece to get the universal borg console by removing it from the reward table of "Assimilation" and adding it to the Omega Rep grind.