No, by wording your post in the manner that you did and by the title that you used, you are presenting it that way. Now, by defending what you wrote and putting the blame on others, I would say, that your post is very much a bragging post.
*sigh* Fine, so I'm bragging. :rolleyes:
Does that make you happy? Are we done? Can we get back to the actual topic now?
I have played since day 2 actually, paid for the game, paid for subs.. Went F2p (felt robbed) I have still put in a little cash here and there, TBH its a waste of money to open boxes or try for rare ships from DOff promos (.04% chances... Id go to vegas first at least they are going to pay someone) Pay to quickly win, Or grind like its your full time job, everyone else slowly lingers behind, finishes the build just after it gets nerfed... PWE is "fair" by comparison to some companies, ut in the end worthless groups of bits is what they sell.. Win is being able to make your bits appear to have victory over someone elses... Pay to imaginary win..... Ill no longer pay any RL monies for anything I have 8 chars and can grind 2k zen per month without really playing, so patience and saving to "win"
Alright, I'm really getting tired of people whining about C-Store stuff, Lockboxes and the Lobi Store and how freaking greedy Perfect World/Cryptic are apparently.
So I went through all my purchases and calculated the overall amount of Zen that they cost.
Note that none of the items on this list were paid for with real money! I simply play between one and two hours per day and grind whatever I currently need to grind.
So, here's my List:
EC Cap - 500 Zen 2 Character slots - 625 Zen Tactical Vesta - 2500 Zen Isometric Charge Console - 1500 Zen Rhode Island (giveaway) - 750 Zen Nebula (giveaway) - 2000 Zen Yellowstone Runabout (giveaway) - 500 Zen TWOK Uniform (giveaway) - 550 Zen TOS Command Tunic (giveaway) - 550 Zen Reman Character (reputation unlock)- 600 Zen Delta Flyer (crafted it the old way)- 500 Zen Tac Bortasqu' - 2500 Zen Eng Bortasqu' - 2500 Zen Guramba Siege Destroyer- 2000 Zen B'Rel Retrofit (character unlock via VA Token) - 2000 Zen Kar'Fi Carrier (character unlock via Emblem grinding before we had Dilithium)- 2000 Zen To'duj Fighter (giveaway) - 500 Zen Marauder Patrol Cruiser (giveaway) - 2000 Zen Phalanx Science Vessel (giveaway) - 1000 Zen Qorgh Raptor (giveaway) - 1000 Zen Krenn Class, Temporal Destroyer - 800 Lobi - 20160 Zen ( 5 Lobi per box) Temporal Warfare Set - 600 Lobi - 15120 Zen ( 5 Lobi per box) Korath Uniform - 200 Lobi - 5040 Zen ( 5 Lobi per box) Korath Class, Temporal Science Ship - 145 million EC - 10458 Zen (1,75 mil per key at the time of purchase) Lhair Class, Tal Shiar Adapted Destroyer - 56 million EC - 5922 Zen (1,2 mil per key at the time of purchase)
Which amounts to:
82775 Zen
Again, I did not pay a single dime for any of this. All I do is spend a little time ingame each day, mostly grinding my 8k Dilithium per day on one and sometimes two characters.
Oh, and I went Silver when the game became F2P. So no stipends either.
So quit your whining and stop being lazy. Getting shineys isn't hard, it just takes some time.
hi, i have 2 JHDC and a temporal destroyer, an unopened bastion, a scimitar and tons of other ships i got through dil grinding just like you or just being smart at the exchange(althrough i did bought some ships and character slots with real money), p2w is real.
simply because you can get through regular play(a VERY long time playing btw), doesn't mean it isn't, a excellent example of this is the bulwark(better stats at EVERYTHING than the oddy... really?), not even the bug is that bad.
then people wonder why pvp is abandoned.
i'll admit through STO is probably one of the best "free" to play MMOs out there, which is both good and sad lol, i would prefer if cryptic went the dota way, and only sold ship costumes, but i wonder if it would work so well for STO like it does for dota.
hi, i have 2 JHDC and a temporal destroyer, an unopened bastion, a scimitar and tons of other ships i got through dil grinding just like you or just being smart at the exchange(althrough i did bought some ships and character slots with real money), p2w is real.
simply because you can get through regular play(a VERY long time playing btw), doesn't mean it isn't, a excellent example of this is the bulwark(better stats at EVERYTHING than the oddy... really?), not even the bug is that bad.
Just like the bug, you can buy the Bulwark off the exchange and like with everything else on the exchange, you don't even have to sell keys or fleet modules to do so.
then people wonder why pvp is abandoned.
There was another thread here recently, where the almost unanimous answer was the crappy community.
Cryptic will not create content that nobody plays, its a waste of resources and I assure you that heads will roll if some Lead Developer ignores the state of the game and proceeds down the same path because this is a business ... hard to sell stuff on a game devoid of players.
Reason why we have grinds if because you people complain about it but keep lining up, its like "eek, grind ... can I have some more" ... just stop, abandon the place and at one point Cryptic will take action, if they dont then PWE will because, again ... this is a business, not charity.
Being a business is not an excuse for completely abandoning the concept of quality. It is possible to have some degree of pride in the product beyond its effect on the balance sheet.
On the other hand... you are correct. A business' concern is profit. And what better opportunity for profit is there than a monopoly?
Being a business is not an excuse for completely abandoning the concept of quality. It is possible to have some degree of pride in the product beyond its effect on the balance sheet.
On the other hand... you are correct. A business' concern is profit. And what better opportunity for profit is there than a monopoly?
you have an odd definition of "quality"... If they didn't care then they wouldn't fix glitches or rebalance things after releasing them.
Oh yes because clearly EverQuest and WoW were at no point ever connected to addictive behavior right? There is hindsight and then there is self-inflicted blindness.
I never said they weren't, but the P2W model uses the same mechanics. The difference is where the game is monetized. Both models employ addictive behavior to compel players to play it.
This isnt charity, this attitude of "P2W means less quality" is pure TRIBBLE because STO was a subscription based game and I just need to look at what happen after launch to see the game suffered after, even at launch the game was barebones.
It is not "pure TRIBBLE", MMO mechanics predicated on driving players to generate revenue for the publisher does detract from the quality of the game. If you're trying to make a game that pushes people toward paying or generating goods to sell, you're taking time away from making a good game. You have to make a good game first and build a revenue stream around that.
I am really sick and tired of this behavior that to me comes from people that want a subscription model because they prefer to pay in down payments their addiction and hey, lets forget subscription games arent shy of having a store, even WoW does that.
I never said I wanted a subscription model. Don't put words in my mouth.
I am sorry if you cannot control yourself, I also done some impulse buys but hey, I can only blame myself and not Valve, Perfect World Entertainment or anyone else.
Don't presume to know me or my behavior. I can control myself, I never said I was compelled by the economy. I only said that the game is neglected because the mechanics are focused on herding people to the stores or the grind. PWE isn't putting effort into making anything more than treadmill with an unreachable carrot on a string.
We are a consumer society, I cannot blame people trying to sell me their product and I am RESPONSIBLE for it, however it seems now its perfectly fine to not to be responsible for anything ... personal responsibility no longer exists, I am sick and tired of passing the responsibility to others.
Again, this is not about addiction or blaming PWE/Crpytic for getting people addicted, it's about them focusing on the money at the expense of game quality because exploiting addictive behavior seems to be the easiest way to make a profit.
Cryptic will not create content that nobody plays, its a waste of resources and I assure you that heads will roll if some Lead Developer ignores the state of the game and proceeds down the same path because this is a business ... hard to sell stuff on a game devoid of players.
Nobody suggested anything like that. What are you talking about?
Reason why we have grinds if because you people complain about it but keep lining up, its like "eek, grind ... can I have some more" ... just stop, abandon the place and at one point Cryptic will take action, if they dont then PWE will because, again ... this is a business, not charity.
"You people"? Lay off the straw man. I am my own person and you would do well not to presume that I'm part of this imaginary group of people you conjure up.
Acting like an indignant jerk to everybody isn't going to gain you any credibility. It certainly won't make people listen to you.
Go here and show your support for a better Foundry!
Yet another poor horse dragged out past it's life expectancy.
What you call it is immaterial for those that play it. The system allows players to acquire pretty much any gear in the game with little or no out of wallet expense. It really doesn't matter WHO pays for it, as long as the player who wants the gear, is able to acquire it. It levels the playing field between those who have cash to burn and those that don't.
If you want to call it pay to win, fine, go right ahead. Wait, it's not pay to win? That's fine too. It doesn't matter to me, and I would expect many others who benefit from this mechanic are of similar mind. All that matters is I am able to get what I need, without having to fork over my own cash if I choose not to. You can be both right here.
There are many games out there that are F2P that require you to break out your wallet to succeed or to acquire much coveted items with no other alternative. Star Wars is a pretty good example, but there are far worse offenders out there.
You can have the Supreme Court of (Insert Country) make a declaration, there be an 12th Commandment, or a royal edict, and people on the other side will still argue the point.
Yet another poor horse dragged out past it's life expectancy.
What you call it is immaterial for those that play it. The system allows players to acquire pretty much any gear in the game with little or no out of wallet expense. It really doesn't matter WHO pays for it, as long as the player who wants the gear, is able to acquire it. It levels the playing field between those who have cash to burn and those that don't.
If you want to call it pay to win, fine, go right ahead. Wait, it's not pay to win? That's fine too. It doesn't matter to me, and I would expect many others who benefit from this mechanic are of similar mind. All that matters is I am able to get what I need, without having to fork over my own cash if I choose not to. You can be both right here.
There are many games out there that are F2P that require you to break out your wallet to succeed or to acquire much coveted items with no other alternative. Star Wars is a pretty good example, but there are far worse offenders out there.
You can have the Supreme Court of (Insert Country) make a declaration, there be an 12th Commandment, or a royal edict, and people on the other side will still argue the point.
You're right, it is immaterial what you call it. What is really at issue here is the neglect this game has seen because they're putting in all their energy in crafting and balancing a game design to herd people into behaviors they can profit from. Meanwhile, good game play and design is getting pushed aside. They don't have to make us grind for this stuff, but they want to make F2P just uncomfortable enough to grind that we just get impatient and get out our wallets. I never have, but I don't doubt others have. They could make all this virtual currency we grind for a natural part of the game play instead of making each mission a barrier you have to get through so you can have your marks or dilithium. People should be coming to play the game because of the content in the game, not so they can get their food pellet for pounding the sensor when the light flashes.
I'm tired of chasing after gear. So honestly, I could give a rat's posterior if the game is P2W or just F2P. What I do care about is having content that isn't dull and be encouraged to grind it over and over until you feel like you should be getting a salary from Cryptic. Right now, the only fun I really have is in Ker'rat trying to blow each other to dust.
Go here and show your support for a better Foundry!
Not sure where I provided a definition of "Quality" on which you could have made that determination.
If they didn't care then they wouldn't fix glitches or rebalance things after releasing them.
Here's a thought: Fix the glitches and test for balance, before release.
Maybe things are changing, but I recall two things in particular. The game was released before it was finished and it took three years for the "First Contact" bug to get fixed.
Regardless of the specifics regarding PWE/Cryptic:STO, my previous post was a statement of a general concept, not a direct indictment of this game.
or you spend your time earning in game currency to get what you want. If this was truly a free game then no in game currency would be needed, period. All you would have to do to attain that ship or whatever is reach the right level, beat the right boss, complete the right tier.
This game is Pay2Win, which is Free2Play, but it is not Free2Win.
I quite agree with you in that you do not have to pay to win, on the other hand I can also see where others are coming from when they say that someone else paid for you to win.
now although I have paid for the lifetime sub I have never paid any other cash into the game and although I often use my lifetime reward ships I have never bought any other ships from the c-store though I did get the free giveaway ships but most of what I purchased from the store either before lifetime by grinding dil or after lifetime with stripend would not effect my gameplay ability, in that way I mean ship slots, bank and inventory size and such.
so no ships, consoles weapons or such that would make me harder to beat in a conflict and although as I said I do fly my lifetime ships I can often be seen going into battle with the free ships I got as I was levelling up and ftp also all the weapons and consoles and such were all received as normal gameplay rewards.
also all of my ground gear is what I received via normal gameplay.
now to the point, do I feel any worse off when doing an elite stf or such with other players who have c-store ships and gear and the honest answer is no most certainly not.
I find I do just as well & sometimes better when I am flying my free ships as when I am flying my lifetimes and often see people who are using c-store stuff having to respawn just as often and sometimes more then I do and I have often made it through the whole game without having to respawn at all.
I have experienced the same doing ground stuff also.
When I think about everything we've been through together,
maybe it's not the destination that matters, maybe it's the journey,
and if that journey takes a little longer,
so we can do something we all believe in,
I can't think of any place I'd rather be or any people I'd rather be with.
I think OP and most people here forget one rule of life. Time is money.
quite true, if I spend 5 hrs a day playing sto that's 35 hrs a week and if I was working and earning money at say 10 pounds per hr that would mean I am paying 350 pounds per week to play sto.
so heres an idea, why not just pay 1400 pounds to cryptic every month get all the stuff you get through normal play but never have to actually ever play at all.
wow that sounds like a fun game!
theres a big difference between pay to win and play to win.
or I should say one l of a difference.
When I think about everything we've been through together,
maybe it's not the destination that matters, maybe it's the journey,
and if that journey takes a little longer,
so we can do something we all believe in,
I can't think of any place I'd rather be or any people I'd rather be with.
Alright, I'm really getting tired of people whining about C-Store stuff, Lockboxes and the Lobi Store and how freaking greedy Perfect World/Cryptic are apparently.
So I went through all my purchases and calculated the overall amount of Zen that they cost.
Note that none of the items on this list were paid for with real money! I simply play between one and two hours per day and grind whatever I currently need to grind.
So, here's my List:
Krenn Class, Temporal Destroyer - 800 Lobi - 20160 Zen ( 5 Lobi per box) Over $200 worth of zen in real money Temporal Warfare Set - 600 Lobi - 15120 Zen ( 5 Lobi per box) Over $150 worth of zen in real money Korath Uniform - 200 Lobi - 5040 Zen ( 5 Lobi per box) Korath Class, Temporal Science Ship - 145 million EC - 10458 Zen (1,75 mil per key at the time of purchase) Over $100 worth of zen in real money Lhair Class, Tal Shiar Adapted Destroyer - 56 million EC - 5922 Zen (1,2 mil per key at the time of purchase)
Which amounts to:
82775 Zen So a total of more than $800 worth of zen in real money
Again, I did not pay a single dime for any of this. All I do is spend a little time ingame each day, mostly grinding my 8k Dilithium per day on one and sometimes two characters.
Oh, and I went Silver when the game became F2P. So no stipends either.
So quit your whining and stop being lazy. Getting shineys isn't hard, it just takes some time.
So quite your freeloading. Some players don't have the time some of us do to grind the dil every day. Some players just pay real money to get things faster. And some of us don't like grinding billions of EC. You don't see a problem with a lobi ship that can cost upwards of $200 or more for a single character?
I refuse to purchase lobi store ships. It's not worth it. If I didn't average less than 5 friggen lobi per box I might consider it.
I's aggravating to open about 20 lockboxes and manage to get 2 plasmonic leech consoles, then open about 30+ later and not get a single one.
I've had it with loxboxes. The last 30 I opened I had at least 25 common quality duty officer packs, 2 Tal'shiar command codes (and they're friggen common), and a couple bonus pool items. Not that I wanted any, but not even a single mirror ship out of the last 50 lockboxes. It's as if the drop rates for the good stuff has been reduced in the last couple months.
If I open 20 boxes I'm lucky if a couple give me 5 or 7 lobi. It's extremely rare for me to get 20 or 50 lobi from a single box.
Now I'm not one to go hog wild and use the zen I get with dil, or buy for real money (yes some of us actually buy zen for real money, and I bought lifetime sub when it was on sale over a month ago), and blow it all on keys to open boxes. Sometimes I buy a 10 pack or 2 and sometimes I get a few keys here and there.
But some players have a gambling problem, which is what the whole lockbox system was meant to take advantage of. I've seen players a few times over the time I've been playing, complain on the forums about spending upwards of $1,000 or more of real money on zen to get keys and not get the very rare ship from lockboxes.
In conclusion, take your self righteous, freeloading attitude, and stick it up your TRIBBLE. :mad:
There are no regular free Tier 5 ships. Yes there are ways in which you can 'win' one if you're lucky, or you can save the ridiculous levels of EC to buy one off the exchange (But only if you've paid zen to remove the 10mill cap),
uh. the free ships everyone gets at Rear Admiral are "Free tier 5 ships" and if you were a subscriber or LTS, you can also get one of the free T5 Retrofits at VA.
or you spend your time earning in game currency to get what you want. If this was truly a free game then no in game currency would be needed, period. All you would have to do to attain that ship or whatever is reach the right level, beat the right boss, complete the right tier.
This game is Pay2Win, which is Free2Play, but it is not Free2Win.
But if you can pay with gameplay time... rather than your own wallet... how is that not the same as "reach the right level" or "complete the right tier"? Is it even "paying" if what you spend is time playing a game? Run enough missions that you earn the dil / ec for whatever you're after, up to and including a Jem'Hadar attack ship. SO I think you're distorting the reality by using technically correct, but misleading, terms.
While it's correct to say "time is money", my personal experience is that the time spent earning those in game-resources is its own reward in that the missions, gameplay etc is actually fun and a nice bit of mental wallpaper away from my job.
STO's dilithium and EC exchanges actually do a pretty good job of their stated aim - balancing people who have money but not time, against those with time but not money.
Out of free to play games Star Trek Online has one of the most fairest towards players there is. Most games that are free to play do not offer nearly as much as Star Trek Online and none of them I have seen offer you the ability to farm to get what you want. It may take a long time but at least it's a option.
There is one other that, to me, is even better on that aspect, and it's Lord Of The Rings Online. But if you don't like fantasy/medievalistic settings, then it wouldn't be the game for you.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
butcher suspect, "What'd you hit me with?"
Temperance Brennan, "A building"
i thought pay to win means, that you can buy things in store, that make you SUPERIOR in fights or pvp.
nearly all offers in store are either cosmetic or for lazynes.
ships were on a thin line long time. (mostly one more slot for console can make a difference) since fleetships arrived, i dont think ships itself are pay to win anymore now. nearly all fleetvariants now have better console and boff layouts than their store counterparts.
fleetships can be obtained via ec investment, ec isnt a spare rescource (though it all depends on someone actually buying fleetmodules and put them up in exchange)
unique consoles were and still are now on a thin line i think. in one on one encounters in pvp they can make the difference. but in longer fights? i dont think so. they use up a console slot, an unpaying player can slot with resists and such.
also nearly all consoles can be countered very easy.
secondly its definetely doable even for not-real-money buyers to get those, if they really think they are the point.
i still think they arent. you dont loose a 5vs5 pvp match because someone puts up a single aceton assimilator.
i dont think this game is pay to win in any way, but i personlally stay away from pvp anyway ^^
I have not put any real world money into this game since just after f2p, when it was obvious which direction the game was going into.
Thankfully, with the stipend from my lts, and the dilithium exchange, I don't need to spend any money, just a little time.
Cryptic does not release cstore ships very quickly, so that allows me to save up and get what I want for only a little time per day.
I have no problem with this, I get what I want (Zen) and they get what they want (Dilithium). It is win win in my opinion..
Scam boxes and lobi store stuff will never be bought by me with real money, either. I would rather let the weaker minded blow cash, and then just pick what I want with in game ec.
Granted, there hasn't been anything worth getting from them since the Temporal scam box, but that is my own view....
That doesn't make it accurate, it is still an unwarranted insult of the people who fund the game for us.
To play on A Few Good Men speech ~ I don't have the time or the patience to explain myself to a man who plays for free the game I provide and then complains about the manner in which I provide it. I would rather he just say thank you! Otherwise pick up a credit card and man your post.
Only very few games do you ever see it. This game? Pfft, even if you buy every ship, still gotta equip it with the best. Only way to do that. GRIND.
In the end most of it is cosmetic. In some way shape or form, even players who pay for ships, even me who payed for just about every cruiser on the fed from tier 1-5[just for craps and giggles] and even bought the avenger, it was more cosmetics than anything else. Cept maybe the avenger since I wanted to try a 5-3 format.
But frankly to get the best stuff in game, still requires a grind to get the MACO, or new Voth gear and the like.
Want pay 2 win. Go try Battlestar Galactica online. Buy 1 set of equipment, then it's literally how deep are your pockets.
You can go on day 1. BUY all the XP you need to unlock the line class, train up your abilities[this does take about a week] then after that, you can literally dump as much money as it takes and you can have top end gear without ever having to grind a thing.
In about a week or so you can have the top end stuff superceeding those that have been grinding since Open beta and might have level 12 gear out of 15.
THAT is pay to win folks. There is NOTHING like that here.
Star Trek Battles member. Want to roll with a good group of people regardless of fleets and not have to worry about DPS while doing STFs? Come join the channel and join in the fun!
Bingo. If you want one of those 200K FC ships, all you need to do is buy 200K worth of dilithium. You want a Fleet Avenger? Buy 20K of dilithium and 4 ship modules. Elite warp cores? You guessed it, buy dil.
Go here and show your support for a better Foundry!
Comments
Does that make you happy? Are we done? Can we get back to the actual topic now?
hi, i have 2 JHDC and a temporal destroyer, an unopened bastion, a scimitar and tons of other ships i got through dil grinding just like you or just being smart at the exchange(althrough i did bought some ships and character slots with real money), p2w is real.
simply because you can get through regular play(a VERY long time playing btw), doesn't mean it isn't, a excellent example of this is the bulwark(better stats at EVERYTHING than the oddy... really?), not even the bug is that bad.
then people wonder why pvp is abandoned.
i'll admit through STO is probably one of the best "free" to play MMOs out there, which is both good and sad lol, i would prefer if cryptic went the dota way, and only sold ship costumes, but i wonder if it would work so well for STO like it does for dota.
There was another thread here recently, where the almost unanimous answer was the crappy community.
Being a business is not an excuse for completely abandoning the concept of quality. It is possible to have some degree of pride in the product beyond its effect on the balance sheet.
On the other hand... you are correct. A business' concern is profit. And what better opportunity for profit is there than a monopoly?
My character Tsin'xing
Long list of "Oh, yeah, well what about -this- bug?!" incoming in 3 ... 2 ... 1 ...
My character Tsin'xing
I never said they weren't, but the P2W model uses the same mechanics. The difference is where the game is monetized. Both models employ addictive behavior to compel players to play it.
It is not "pure TRIBBLE", MMO mechanics predicated on driving players to generate revenue for the publisher does detract from the quality of the game. If you're trying to make a game that pushes people toward paying or generating goods to sell, you're taking time away from making a good game. You have to make a good game first and build a revenue stream around that.
I never said I wanted a subscription model. Don't put words in my mouth.
Don't presume to know me or my behavior. I can control myself, I never said I was compelled by the economy. I only said that the game is neglected because the mechanics are focused on herding people to the stores or the grind. PWE isn't putting effort into making anything more than treadmill with an unreachable carrot on a string.
Again, this is not about addiction or blaming PWE/Crpytic for getting people addicted, it's about them focusing on the money at the expense of game quality because exploiting addictive behavior seems to be the easiest way to make a profit.
Nobody suggested anything like that. What are you talking about?
"You people"? Lay off the straw man. I am my own person and you would do well not to presume that I'm part of this imaginary group of people you conjure up.
Acting like an indignant jerk to everybody isn't going to gain you any credibility. It certainly won't make people listen to you.
What you call it is immaterial for those that play it. The system allows players to acquire pretty much any gear in the game with little or no out of wallet expense. It really doesn't matter WHO pays for it, as long as the player who wants the gear, is able to acquire it. It levels the playing field between those who have cash to burn and those that don't.
If you want to call it pay to win, fine, go right ahead. Wait, it's not pay to win? That's fine too. It doesn't matter to me, and I would expect many others who benefit from this mechanic are of similar mind. All that matters is I am able to get what I need, without having to fork over my own cash if I choose not to. You can be both right here.
There are many games out there that are F2P that require you to break out your wallet to succeed or to acquire much coveted items with no other alternative. Star Wars is a pretty good example, but there are far worse offenders out there.
You can have the Supreme Court of (Insert Country) make a declaration, there be an 12th Commandment, or a royal edict, and people on the other side will still argue the point.
You're right, it is immaterial what you call it. What is really at issue here is the neglect this game has seen because they're putting in all their energy in crafting and balancing a game design to herd people into behaviors they can profit from. Meanwhile, good game play and design is getting pushed aside. They don't have to make us grind for this stuff, but they want to make F2P just uncomfortable enough to grind that we just get impatient and get out our wallets. I never have, but I don't doubt others have. They could make all this virtual currency we grind for a natural part of the game play instead of making each mission a barrier you have to get through so you can have your marks or dilithium. People should be coming to play the game because of the content in the game, not so they can get their food pellet for pounding the sensor when the light flashes.
I'm tired of chasing after gear. So honestly, I could give a rat's posterior if the game is P2W or just F2P. What I do care about is having content that isn't dull and be encouraged to grind it over and over until you feel like you should be getting a salary from Cryptic. Right now, the only fun I really have is in Ker'rat trying to blow each other to dust.
Wow bit of a whiner eh.... If you have time grind, if not buy... Don't complain...
Not sure where I provided a definition of "Quality" on which you could have made that determination.
Here's a thought: Fix the glitches and test for balance, before release.
Maybe things are changing, but I recall two things in particular. The game was released before it was finished and it took three years for the "First Contact" bug to get fixed.
Regardless of the specifics regarding PWE/Cryptic:STO, my previous post was a statement of a general concept, not a direct indictment of this game.
Either you pay money to get what you want...
or you spend your time earning in game currency to get what you want. If this was truly a free game then no in game currency would be needed, period. All you would have to do to attain that ship or whatever is reach the right level, beat the right boss, complete the right tier.
This game is Pay2Win, which is Free2Play, but it is not Free2Win.
now although I have paid for the lifetime sub I have never paid any other cash into the game and although I often use my lifetime reward ships I have never bought any other ships from the c-store though I did get the free giveaway ships but most of what I purchased from the store either before lifetime by grinding dil or after lifetime with stripend would not effect my gameplay ability, in that way I mean ship slots, bank and inventory size and such.
so no ships, consoles weapons or such that would make me harder to beat in a conflict and although as I said I do fly my lifetime ships I can often be seen going into battle with the free ships I got as I was levelling up and ftp also all the weapons and consoles and such were all received as normal gameplay rewards.
also all of my ground gear is what I received via normal gameplay.
now to the point, do I feel any worse off when doing an elite stf or such with other players who have c-store ships and gear and the honest answer is no most certainly not.
I find I do just as well & sometimes better when I am flying my free ships as when I am flying my lifetimes and often see people who are using c-store stuff having to respawn just as often and sometimes more then I do and I have often made it through the whole game without having to respawn at all.
I have experienced the same doing ground stuff also.
When I think about everything we've been through together,
maybe it's not the destination that matters, maybe it's the journey,
and if that journey takes a little longer,
so we can do something we all believe in,
I can't think of any place I'd rather be or any people I'd rather be with.
quite true, if I spend 5 hrs a day playing sto that's 35 hrs a week and if I was working and earning money at say 10 pounds per hr that would mean I am paying 350 pounds per week to play sto.
so heres an idea, why not just pay 1400 pounds to cryptic every month get all the stuff you get through normal play but never have to actually ever play at all.
wow that sounds like a fun game!
theres a big difference between pay to win and play to win.
or I should say one l of a difference.
When I think about everything we've been through together,
maybe it's not the destination that matters, maybe it's the journey,
and if that journey takes a little longer,
so we can do something we all believe in,
I can't think of any place I'd rather be or any people I'd rather be with.
So quite your freeloading. Some players don't have the time some of us do to grind the dil every day. Some players just pay real money to get things faster. And some of us don't like grinding billions of EC. You don't see a problem with a lobi ship that can cost upwards of $200 or more for a single character?
I refuse to purchase lobi store ships. It's not worth it. If I didn't average less than 5 friggen lobi per box I might consider it.
I's aggravating to open about 20 lockboxes and manage to get 2 plasmonic leech consoles, then open about 30+ later and not get a single one.
I've had it with loxboxes. The last 30 I opened I had at least 25 common quality duty officer packs, 2 Tal'shiar command codes (and they're friggen common), and a couple bonus pool items. Not that I wanted any, but not even a single mirror ship out of the last 50 lockboxes. It's as if the drop rates for the good stuff has been reduced in the last couple months.
If I open 20 boxes I'm lucky if a couple give me 5 or 7 lobi. It's extremely rare for me to get 20 or 50 lobi from a single box.
Now I'm not one to go hog wild and use the zen I get with dil, or buy for real money (yes some of us actually buy zen for real money, and I bought lifetime sub when it was on sale over a month ago), and blow it all on keys to open boxes. Sometimes I buy a 10 pack or 2 and sometimes I get a few keys here and there.
But some players have a gambling problem, which is what the whole lockbox system was meant to take advantage of. I've seen players a few times over the time I've been playing, complain on the forums about spending upwards of $1,000 or more of real money on zen to get keys and not get the very rare ship from lockboxes.
In conclusion, take your self righteous, freeloading attitude, and stick it up your TRIBBLE. :mad:
uh. the free ships everyone gets at Rear Admiral are "Free tier 5 ships" and if you were a subscriber or LTS, you can also get one of the free T5 Retrofits at VA.
But if you can pay with gameplay time... rather than your own wallet... how is that not the same as "reach the right level" or "complete the right tier"? Is it even "paying" if what you spend is time playing a game? Run enough missions that you earn the dil / ec for whatever you're after, up to and including a Jem'Hadar attack ship. SO I think you're distorting the reality by using technically correct, but misleading, terms.
While it's correct to say "time is money", my personal experience is that the time spent earning those in game-resources is its own reward in that the missions, gameplay etc is actually fun and a nice bit of mental wallpaper away from my job.
STO's dilithium and EC exchanges actually do a pretty good job of their stated aim - balancing people who have money but not time, against those with time but not money.
Well, then, you put your desires for zen on hold, and use the dilithium for other purposes, like fleet gear. Simple enough.
Only thing I think is really all that much in the realm of "Pay to Win", would likely be the Scimitar.
butcher suspect, "What'd you hit me with?"
Temperance Brennan, "A building"
There is one other that, to me, is even better on that aspect, and it's Lord Of The Rings Online. But if you don't like fantasy/medievalistic settings, then it wouldn't be the game for you.
butcher suspect, "What'd you hit me with?"
Temperance Brennan, "A building"
nearly all offers in store are either cosmetic or for lazynes.
ships were on a thin line long time. (mostly one more slot for console can make a difference) since fleetships arrived, i dont think ships itself are pay to win anymore now. nearly all fleetvariants now have better console and boff layouts than their store counterparts.
fleetships can be obtained via ec investment, ec isnt a spare rescource (though it all depends on someone actually buying fleetmodules and put them up in exchange)
unique consoles were and still are now on a thin line i think. in one on one encounters in pvp they can make the difference. but in longer fights? i dont think so. they use up a console slot, an unpaying player can slot with resists and such.
also nearly all consoles can be countered very easy.
secondly its definetely doable even for not-real-money buyers to get those, if they really think they are the point.
i still think they arent. you dont loose a 5vs5 pvp match because someone puts up a single aceton assimilator.
i dont think this game is pay to win in any way, but i personlally stay away from pvp anyway ^^
Thankfully, with the stipend from my lts, and the dilithium exchange, I don't need to spend any money, just a little time.
Cryptic does not release cstore ships very quickly, so that allows me to save up and get what I want for only a little time per day.
I have no problem with this, I get what I want (Zen) and they get what they want (Dilithium). It is win win in my opinion..
Scam boxes and lobi store stuff will never be bought by me with real money, either. I would rather let the weaker minded blow cash, and then just pick what I want with in game ec.
Granted, there hasn't been anything worth getting from them since the Temporal scam box, but that is my own view....
LOVE IT!!! Perfect response!!
Only very few games do you ever see it. This game? Pfft, even if you buy every ship, still gotta equip it with the best. Only way to do that. GRIND.
In the end most of it is cosmetic. In some way shape or form, even players who pay for ships, even me who payed for just about every cruiser on the fed from tier 1-5[just for craps and giggles] and even bought the avenger, it was more cosmetics than anything else. Cept maybe the avenger since I wanted to try a 5-3 format.
But frankly to get the best stuff in game, still requires a grind to get the MACO, or new Voth gear and the like.
Want pay 2 win. Go try Battlestar Galactica online. Buy 1 set of equipment, then it's literally how deep are your pockets.
You can go on day 1. BUY all the XP you need to unlock the line class, train up your abilities[this does take about a week] then after that, you can literally dump as much money as it takes and you can have top end gear without ever having to grind a thing.
In about a week or so you can have the top end stuff superceeding those that have been grinding since Open beta and might have level 12 gear out of 15.
THAT is pay to win folks. There is NOTHING like that here.
Star Trek Battles member. Want to roll with a good group of people regardless of fleets and not have to worry about DPS while doing STFs? Come join the channel and join in the fun!
http://forum.arcgames.com/startrekonline/discussion/1145998/star-trek-battles-channel-got-canon/p1
you mean zen right?
turn zen into dili = fc and dili = fleet stuffs.
you can have everything from day 1.
Bingo. If you want one of those 200K FC ships, all you need to do is buy 200K worth of dilithium. You want a Fleet Avenger? Buy 20K of dilithium and 4 ship modules. Elite warp cores? You guessed it, buy dil.