After 2 years of STF's it is easy to see common player types, reactions and outcomes. So rather than post best or worst experiences I thought it might be interesting to identify player types.
Tactical Fanatic (TF)
A player who discusses the tactics prior to the match, and the most likely to remind you of your position during combat. A user of the 'Target: >>>> CUBE <<<' form of communication, this player will remind you of your role and most likely to ignore you should you ignore the plan. Or trigger lines. Or fall off the edge of something.
DPS Aficionado (DPSE)
These players believe the only role of the game is to exceed your dps potential on every run. DPS Experts can be found in private channels (dps-5000, dps-10000, and dps20K), are more often helpful with your build questions, and will likely post in channel the ACT parse from the combat you underperformed in.
Silent but not Necessarily Deadly (SND)
These players insist on ejecting warp core plasma on everything, regardless of the mission profile. Like a wolf marking it's territory, the SND player will spend most of his time getting into position to drop another load. They will insist it provides greater damage than conventional weapons, and will die trying to prove it.
Post-Planning Expert (PPE)
These people are often the most dangerous; not to the borg, but to the team. They are most likely to ignore an effective plan for one of thier own devising. Even as the Tactical Fanatic and the DPS Afficiandao will ask nicely for them to get with the team, the PP Expert will regale the team with his expertise and point out the flaws in your plan as the STF fails.
Compulsive Complainer (CC)
These players are easy to identify, normally by thier constant complaining that the rest of the teams lacks dps, skill or the general understanding that the CC Player is in fact a friend of the devs. This player may actually have met a dev at one point in thier lives, and now consider that instance on par with becoming a god.
Relax, it's just a Game'r (RG)
These laid back individuals strive for optionals, but in the instance they don't achieve it really doesn't bother them. They don't like bickering and will rarely insert themselves in conversations with CC's and PPE's.
Restarting Perfectionists (RP)
These players will not allow an STF to continue is one of the following happens: A player ignores the plan, a random disconnect happens, or if a hat drops suddenly around them. It is not uncommon for an RP to restart a CSE three or more times until they achieve an untouched Kang.
Outdated Warrior (OW)
These players are the first to shout 'OMG - 5KM ISN'T THAT HARD' at random points against Donatra in KSE. The generally argue they know best, or that they personally have spoken to a dev. They will also seem surprised that there are things call 'forums' and 'release notes'.
Serial Repulsor (SR)
A player who has a need to use his repulsors on every target, regardless of the situation. As a child this person was most likely the one who could not help themselves when presented with a button marked 'danger'. Distinguishing characteristics include mashed spaced bar, and a tendency to push probes through the portal on KSE.
The Helping Hand (HH)(courtesy of anothervisitor)
These players not only try to forward the mission but will also help people in need with their Hazard Emitters, Extend Shields, or Science Team and Engineering Team abilities because they know that dead players reduce the chance of success.
You are exactly right by saying all of this.
But see...This is what makes STO stick out from other games.
There's so many different things in game to make each player individually different.
And so many freely different ways to make a every player choose there own play style.
But with all this in-game, its what makes space and/or ground combat so successful.
"This is Admiral BumBleBush!..Captain of the U.S.S. Prometheus!..I order you to lower your shields and weapons or ill be forced to fire upon you!!!"
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC] "This is Fleet Commander BumBle!..
Vice Admiral of the U.S.S. Prometheus!..
I order you to lower your shields and weapons or ill be forced to fire upon you!!!"
We do them for the grind, not the fun. Once you've reached that stage, which most of us did a long time ago, why would you want to run with anyone but the "best" who can get it done as fast as possible to leave you free to do other things?
Well, not everyone is a vet. More newbies arrive every day. :P
The Helping Hand (HH)
These players not only try to forward the mission but will also help people in need with their Hazard Emitters, Extend Shields, or Science Team and Engineering Team abilities because they know that dead players reduce the chance of success.
Personally I am a combination of (RG) + (HH)
This^ I tend to do that when I can, though most often with Hazard Emitter.
This^ I tend to do that when I can, though most often with Hazard Emitter.
I give everything. Hazards, ExtSh, Aux2SIF, ET, APD, TSS, etc etc.
stardestroyer001, Admiral, Explorers Fury PvE/PvP Fleet | Retired PvP Player
Missing the good ol' days of PvP: Legacy of Romulus to Season 9 My List of Useful Links, Recently Updated November 25 2017!
Improvising Supporter (IS)(courtesy of rahmkota19)
The IS knows wat the mission takes to complete. He will go in with an all around ship, lending team members support where needed, whether its killing, healing or tanking. He will also give orders midgame to direct players to where they are needed.
Button Masher (BM)(courtesy of bluegeek)
Cheerfully ignores all build recommendations and uses whatever sounds cool and happens to be in their inventory. Too lazy to set up complex keybinds, or to carefully select BOFF powers, this player's gaming style closely resembles facerolling the keyboard to the casual observer while in reality the player is frantically mashing buttons to keep from going "BOOM". Some Button Mashers are educable, but DPSE's should not hold their breath..
The latter isn't entirely accurate, as I choose to not use/abuse keybind macros(they're too 'cheaty' for my personal taste - I manually redistribute shields with Mouse_4, etc.), and I like to tinker with various setups and configurations that may or may not be 'optimal'.
Otherwise, I actually enjoy pugging STFs and adapting to the situation/team composition - even if that means having to carry the team more often than not.
I am a HH and SR when in a Romulan Ha'nom. I have 2 copies of all healing abilities. I also give TT to other players. Maybe that's why my DPS is below 1000.
Normaly I am TP+BM+RG+
PnS (Park n shoot, I call myself The Sniper)
This type of player isn't very good at steering his ship so he drops his anchor at an appropriate distance sits back and presess spacebar. Once his ship is destroyed waits for a respawn button to appear and repeats the cycle. They usually fly escorts.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Nobody gets in until the Federation decides to make bigger doors.
Dreadnought Strafer (DS)
These players hover at 8-9 kilometers out from targets like Gateways, Donatra, the Cure Carrier, and tactical cubes, constantly moving in and out of range to stay alive. A good DS comes in range to drop salvos for as long as possible, then drifts out to 10-11 km to heal (then rinse and repeat), and is often the last ship standing if the rest of the team is killed by the target. A bad DS, however, flies off too far to get back in range quickly enough (15-20 km), does not stay in range long enough to do anything but meaningless damage, or strafes targets that aren't Dreadnoughts (Spheres, Probes, Generators, Transformers, etc. (Cubes can be strafed if a player is low on health or taking damage from another source plus the Cube, and Spheres can rarely be strafed if a player is about to die or has managed to somehow aggro all of them)).
I fall into this category (DS, hopefully a good one), HH, and, if the going gets tough, RG, because one optional doesn't really hurt me. There will always be another.
I have been both an SND and an SR, but thankfully not at the same time. I think most of us start off as Button Mashers.
In what group would the type of people that, in khit, trigger the cube, then run. Leaving the cube to blast you as you try to take out probes?
this list assumes players are trying to win....
I suppose I'm a bit of a button masher, but that's because I fly a variety of things on my chars, and complex keybinds would likely end up being different on all of them...
Compulsive Complainer (CC)
These players are easy to identify, normally by thier constant complaining that the rest of the teams lacks dps, skill or...
Lack of remodulator, lack of healing of injuries on the spot, lack of crouch+aim, lack of any clue of what the STF is about...
Guilty, Your Honour. For a while anyway, before I discovered PESTF. I still do it on rare occasions, though. Specially when teaming through PESTF.
Relax, it's just a Game'r (RG)
These laid back individuals strive for optionals, but in the instance they don't achieve it really doesn't bother them. They don't like bickering and will rarely insert themselves in conversations with CC's and PPE's.
All my toons have all their optionals, but I still strive for them. It's extra marks that I can turn into dilithium. However, even though it bothers me failing optionals, I try not to make a big deal about it.
Outdated Warrior (OW)
These players are the first to shout 'OMG - 5KM ISN'T THAT HARD' at random points against Donatra in KSE.
Guilty, until I was proven wrong by Borticus' post. So very sorry.
The Helping Hand (HH)(courtesy of anothervisitor)
These players not only try to forward the mission but will also help people in need with their Hazard Emitters, Extend Shields, or Science Team and Engineering Team abilities because they know that dead players reduce the chance of success.
I do this all the time. Guilty as charged and proud of it.
Improvising Supporter (IS)(courtesy of rahmkota19)
The IS knows wat the mission takes to complete. He will go in with an all around ship, lending team members support where needed, whether its killing, healing or tanking. He will also give orders midgame to direct players to where they are needed.
Does dashing to the other side in KASE to blow probes in the nick of time then back to my side because the other side's probe duty captain has died count?
Relax, it's just a Game'r (RG)
These laid back individuals strive for optionals, but in the instance they don't achieve it really doesn't bother them. They don't like bickering and will rarely insert themselves in conversations with CC's and PPE's.
The Helping Hand (HH) (courtesy of anothervisitor)
These players not only try to forward the mission but will also help people in need with their Hazard Emitters, Extend Shields, or Science Team and Engineering Team abilities because they know that dead players reduce the chance of success.
I always see the people on the STF as a team (a real team). If one fails we all fail. It's never one person's fault even if it was that person's mistake that caused a more difficult situation. We are all responsible. And yes, it is just a game.
Also, it is very frequent for me to use my healing skills on others rather than on myself. I've been in situations in which I needed them, but someone was needing them more so I use them on that person, risking a bit more, but I usually can handle it. Sometimes I even disengage a target and use evasive maneuvers to get faster to someone who is out of range and I notice being in a tight spot to help them out. Or even rushing in firing at will to get aggro away from someone being badly hit.
I'm more the strategic and tactical planning type with fleet runs, before each operation, i'll try and work out a battle plan with my fleetmates before we go into the mission.
I've been playing RTS games for many years and i read military history, those factors help with the planning side of things.
"The meaning of victory is not to merely defeat your enemy but to destroy him, to completely eradicate him from living memory, to leave no remnant of his endeavours, to crush utterly his achievement and remove from all record his every trace of existence. From that defeat no enemy can ever recover. That is the meaning of victory."
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
____________________________________________________
Pay no attention to the dates and titles under my name at the left! I am a Career Officer, Lifetime Sub since launch, was in the Beta. Having problems with my forum account.
I'd say a combination of the Improvising Supporter (IS) and something special I like to call the "Opportunistic Vet" (OV)
The Opportunistic Vet is essentially a wannabe-sto veteran. He is a softer version of archetypes such as the DPS-maniacs and the mmo-build-freaks. For example, he flies an escort, but as a science officer with a balanced skill build, thus leaning towards the more accredited setup of what is "effective" without a full commitment to any one role. He tries to be polite and level-headed, but expects competence and diligence. "They didn't give you that Starfleet uniform because you looked pretty, you know!"
I'm generally an Improvising Supporter, but I do lean towards the Tactical Fanatic sometimes, especially when it's clear the group needs help with the tactics.
A studier of in-game efficiency, this group tends to stick to a build they know until testing personally more efficient builds, then upgrading and working to personally better that new design for both DPS and friendly survival. Usually seen flying an escort of some type these mostly engineering-specific officers seem to almost tank their way out of anything. They understand what it takes to get the job done and truly try to help others more efficiently build a working ship but are quickly shut down as a mere child and not the generous genius they really are.
On a side note not all gimIcks are worthless... You'd be surprised the damage the Risian can put out with both the subspace wake and vent theta radiation consoles on top of a plasma cannon build.
We don't want what the Feds have. We want the equivalent. We want fairer treatment. Concern, desire, greed to some extent, and passionate belief that the enough people would buy KDF items to make it worth Cryptic's while.
Improvising Supporter (IS) (courtesy of rahmkota19)
The IS knows wat the mission takes to complete. He will go in with an all around ship, lending team members support where needed, whether its killing, healing or tanking. He will also give orders midgame to direct players to where they are needed.
I'm this guy. I've been called "Jean-Luc Picard during the Battle of Sector 001". I analyze the situation on the fly, study what my team does, and have them adapt accordingly. It also doesn't hurt that I have a Fleet Sovereign I dust off from time to time.
Dreadnought class. Two times the size, three times the speed. Advanced weaponry. Modified for a minimal crew. Unlike most Federation vessels, it's built solely for combat.
These be me. I play Engy & Sci the most, tho I do have one Tac that I play occasionally.
The Helping Hand (HH) (courtesy of anothervisitor)
These players not only try to forward the mission but will also help people in need with their Hazard Emitters, Extend Shields, or Science Team and Engineering Team abilities because they know that dead players reduce the chance of success.
Improvising Supporter (IS) (courtesy of rahmkota19)
The IS knows wat the mission takes to complete. He will go in with an all around ship, lending team members support where needed, whether its killing, healing or tanking. He will also give orders midgame to direct players to where they are needed.
HH, probably from my years playing paper-and-pencil where everyone at the table understood that we were all relying on each other in every situation, no one was parsing anything, and there were no buttons to mash.
The Veteran has seen it, done it, and on his other toon can do it better. He'll chortle at you for being naive and wax endlessly about how bad this game is. Any new item or theory you have he's done and disproven it, and why would you be so stupid anyways? Typically stodgy and won't provide assistance aside from a snide remark and wonders why not everyone was born with an inherent knowledge of the entire game like he was. When found as a fleet leader you can generally find The Veteran desperately controlling every resource of the base, ensuring projects only get que'd when he can snipe all the easy fleet credits, then complain loudly that they're carrying the entire fleet and why doesn't anyone else donate like they do?
Comments
You are exactly right by saying all of this.
But see...This is what makes STO stick out from other games.
There's so many different things in game to make each player individually different.
And so many freely different ways to make a every player choose there own play style.
But with all this in-game, its what makes space and/or ground combat so successful.
"This is Admiral BumBleBush!..Captain of the U.S.S. Prometheus!..I order you to lower your shields and weapons or ill be forced to fire upon you!!!"
"This is Fleet Commander BumBle!..
Vice Admiral of the U.S.S. Prometheus!..
I order you to lower your shields and weapons or ill be forced to fire upon you!!!"
My character Tsin'xing
I give everything. Hazards, ExtSh, Aux2SIF, ET, APD, TSS, etc etc.
Missing the good ol' days of PvP: Legacy of Romulus to Season 9
My List of Useful Links, Recently Updated November 25 2017!
The latter isn't entirely accurate, as I choose to not use/abuse keybind macros(they're too 'cheaty' for my personal taste - I manually redistribute shields with Mouse_4, etc.), and I like to tinker with various setups and configurations that may or may not be 'optimal'.
Otherwise, I actually enjoy pugging STFs and adapting to the situation/team composition - even if that means having to carry the team more often than not.
I have an idea, just never see people hit more then 14k when I run.
Normaly I am TP+BM+RG+
PnS (Park n shoot, I call myself The Sniper)
This type of player isn't very good at steering his ship so he drops his anchor at an appropriate distance sits back and presess spacebar. Once his ship is destroyed waits for a respawn button to appear and repeats the cycle. They usually fly escorts.
Dreadnought Strafer (DS)
These players hover at 8-9 kilometers out from targets like Gateways, Donatra, the Cure Carrier, and tactical cubes, constantly moving in and out of range to stay alive. A good DS comes in range to drop salvos for as long as possible, then drifts out to 10-11 km to heal (then rinse and repeat), and is often the last ship standing if the rest of the team is killed by the target. A bad DS, however, flies off too far to get back in range quickly enough (15-20 km), does not stay in range long enough to do anything but meaningless damage, or strafes targets that aren't Dreadnoughts (Spheres, Probes, Generators, Transformers, etc. (Cubes can be strafed if a player is low on health or taking damage from another source plus the Cube, and Spheres can rarely be strafed if a player is about to die or has managed to somehow aggro all of them)).
I fall into this category (DS, hopefully a good one), HH, and, if the going gets tough, RG, because one optional doesn't really hurt me. There will always be another.
I have been both an SND and an SR, but thankfully not at the same time. I think most of us start off as Button Mashers.
I suppose I'm a bit of a button masher, but that's because I fly a variety of things on my chars, and complex keybinds would likely end up being different on all of them...
My character Tsin'xing
Lack of remodulator, lack of healing of injuries on the spot, lack of crouch+aim, lack of any clue of what the STF is about...
Guilty, Your Honour. For a while anyway, before I discovered PESTF. I still do it on rare occasions, though. Specially when teaming through PESTF.
All my toons have all their optionals, but I still strive for them. It's extra marks that I can turn into dilithium. However, even though it bothers me failing optionals, I try not to make a big deal about it.
Guilty, until I was proven wrong by Borticus' post. So very sorry.
I do this all the time. Guilty as charged and proud of it.
Does dashing to the other side in KASE to blow probes in the nick of time then back to my side because the other side's probe duty captain has died count?
Then yeah, guilty.
Cheers.
These laid back individuals strive for optionals, but in the instance they don't achieve it really doesn't bother them. They don't like bickering and will rarely insert themselves in conversations with CC's and PPE's.
The Helping Hand (HH) (courtesy of anothervisitor)
These players not only try to forward the mission but will also help people in need with their Hazard Emitters, Extend Shields, or Science Team and Engineering Team abilities because they know that dead players reduce the chance of success.
I always see the people on the STF as a team (a real team). If one fails we all fail. It's never one person's fault even if it was that person's mistake that caused a more difficult situation. We are all responsible. And yes, it is just a game.
Also, it is very frequent for me to use my healing skills on others rather than on myself. I've been in situations in which I needed them, but someone was needing them more so I use them on that person, risking a bit more, but I usually can handle it. Sometimes I even disengage a target and use evasive maneuvers to get faster to someone who is out of range and I notice being in a tight spot to help them out. Or even rushing in firing at will to get aggro away from someone being badly hit.
I've been playing RTS games for many years and i read military history, those factors help with the planning side of things.
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
This OP is awesome. Well done.
Pay no attention to the dates and titles under my name at the left! I am a Career Officer, Lifetime Sub since launch, was in the Beta. Having problems with my forum account.
The Opportunistic Vet is essentially a wannabe-sto veteran. He is a softer version of archetypes such as the DPS-maniacs and the mmo-build-freaks. For example, he flies an escort, but as a science officer with a balanced skill build, thus leaning towards the more accredited setup of what is "effective" without a full commitment to any one role. He tries to be polite and level-headed, but expects competence and diligence. "They didn't give you that Starfleet uniform because you looked pretty, you know!"
and Tactical Fanatic
A studier of in-game efficiency, this group tends to stick to a build they know until testing personally more efficient builds, then upgrading and working to personally better that new design for both DPS and friendly survival. Usually seen flying an escort of some type these mostly engineering-specific officers seem to almost tank their way out of anything. They understand what it takes to get the job done and truly try to help others more efficiently build a working ship but are quickly shut down as a mere child and not the generous genius they really are.
On a side note not all gimIcks are worthless... You'd be surprised the damage the Risian can put out with both the subspace wake and vent theta radiation consoles on top of a plasma cannon build.
The IS knows wat the mission takes to complete. He will go in with an all around ship, lending team members support where needed, whether its killing, healing or tanking. He will also give orders midgame to direct players to where they are needed.
I'm this guy. I've been called "Jean-Luc Picard during the Battle of Sector 001". I analyze the situation on the fly, study what my team does, and have them adapt accordingly. It also doesn't hurt that I have a Fleet Sovereign I dust off from time to time.
Dreadnought class. Two times the size, three times the speed. Advanced weaponry. Modified for a minimal crew. Unlike most Federation vessels, it's built solely for combat.
The Veteran has seen it, done it, and on his other toon can do it better. He'll chortle at you for being naive and wax endlessly about how bad this game is. Any new item or theory you have he's done and disproven it, and why would you be so stupid anyways? Typically stodgy and won't provide assistance aside from a snide remark and wonders why not everyone was born with an inherent knowledge of the entire game like he was. When found as a fleet leader you can generally find The Veteran desperately controlling every resource of the base, ensuring projects only get que'd when he can snipe all the easy fleet credits, then complain loudly that they're carrying the entire fleet and why doesn't anyone else donate like they do?