1. I have enough EC not to complain ( if there is such thing) made some a while back and still have some.
2. I am not a Cryptic hater, doom guy or anything like that. For instance i know many that hate some late changes but i actuality like the way this game is going regarding some game-play aspects. I want to see more of that.
BUT i see to many people complaining about how hard is to make EC now, how u need EC to make EC and so on. The idea is that many people are casual games not professional grinders/farmers.Now that junk farming its not working anymore they seem to have problems making EC. I might add that with the new changes regarding consoles now its useless to hope u will get some good console from making 1st in some runs, u get utter junk.
Also what its not working anymore (without taking a huge risk) its buying things low after market saturation ( lock box) waiting and selling later. With all this late changes regarding lvls or stuff and so on only sure thing are lock boxes ships, some uni consoles (and possible traits). But again those things are not cheep for poor players and having your little EC locked out for moths ...
It would be nice if some things would be implemented to help poor players get a decent start. Imo at least.
P.S. - I know there still ways to make EC but i am talking about some people that for various reasons cant do those due to lack if skill, EC, time etc.
Please stay on the subject my last post was closed due to some people starting talking about nonsense, if u plan to do that make your own post )
I strongly believe if you look around there are enough ways to collect EC, but do you really need it ?
Maybe to fill out a project in the fleet yard, but with a small fleet shouldn't be a problem.
You do not have to buy stuff from the exchange just make sure you make your own get your fleet gear best gear ever. And Ultra gear just get your lazy but t trained to make your own stuff it requires time but thats about it .
People who start with all the stuff coming from R&D to the exchange its easy to gear up your char from the start of your game, well yes maybe you have to spend around 10 bucks to sell some keys to get you some EC to get started but overall this game is free, and if you want to play it 100% FREE you can all it cost is TIME....
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
"Coffee: the finest organic suspension ever devised. It's got me through the worst of the last three years. I beat the Borg with it."
if u wanna keep up with end game advantages and powerful increases for pvp and new enemys, you have to ether dedicate your life to grinding or payup, but the cat above me is right, the game is well rounded enough to support a number of things for people with less time and no money to spend...think, new episodes and foundry!
but its true the noose is tightening on the dedicated player and (must have everything guy), so if u dont wanna get burned out try spreading yourself out a bit in the game, u may find something they overlooked to help u get ahead...or help add to the foundry if u have story to tell
Every online game starts getting into this cycle and everyone complains. But the way things are going is it. Less loot value in EC and yet very rare mark 12 purple exceed it's low value. Right now I'll just stock pile funds and ore now converting it to usable ore value. I say use what you have and grind for what you don't have. Spend the extra time in the game to get what you need.
So far everything we've heard about is attainable in-game. While some of the new elements (essentially new skills) seem to be locked to new ships, they can be achieved for the most part through upgrades. Not all, but certainly enough for the new end game content.
To be honest, much of the bling offered in the new sets are just that - 'bling'. Dedicated players, and even the dps jockeys' will agree, that you can attain everything of value ingame without paying a cent.
Yes, some new things are $$$ only; this too shall pass, and eventually you can earn it ingame.
Now as for leveling in an afternoon - this seems to be a thing of the past, and I'm all for it. I am loving the fact that my R&D efforts are going to take me into February before i see results. I am ok with that.
As for ec generation. Holy TRIBBLE, I make more now than ever. No I don't use ec farming mission or buy and sell ships. I don't need to. R&D materials alone have generated 200+ million ec in the last 4 weeks. It's better than reselling keys... 2-3x better.
Having said that - watch the market crash lol. But that's ok.
Things come and go in the game. Ive been here for 2+ years. Will likley be here a year from now.
As for purchasing the Delta set - the wife says yes I may. I've been a good boy. In truth though, if I waited for it to show up after Christmas in the Zen store (maybe before Christmas), I'd hae the zen for it.
Yay - the game gets more support.
Yay - we can still keep playing.
Yay - the changes really are pissing of the PvPers. Nothing more satisfying than that
P2P - Pay to Play = STO definitely isn't this, as only Veteran Rewards actually have to have a real money pay at point of use.
P2W/G2W - Pay to win/grind to win = STO isn't quite P2W. Sure, paying a load of money for a Lockbox ship and paying money to equip it means you have a better ship, but skill and knowledge count for far more than P2W.
P2P - Pay to Play = STO definitely isn't this, as only Veteran Rewards actually have to have a real money pay at point of use.
P2W/G2W - Pay to win/grind to win = STO isn't quite P2W. Sure, paying a load of money for a Lockbox ship and paying money to equip it means you have a better ship, but skill and knowledge count for far more than P2W.
If your F2P you are entirely dependent on the market and if zen sellers even care to sell @ certain rates. If supply is cut off or strangled then good luck getting a deceint ship even with dil since fleet ships also require ship modules.
Skill and knowledge + better ship + better weapons> skill and knowledge + f2p ship + still grinding for items. By the time you grind enough to get the items and on par another patch/lockbox ship/exclusive console will be here to move the goalpost farther away.
STO is borderline pay2win unless you think all pvpers are flying non-c store/lockbox/fleet ships. That is why most players don't even touch it with a stick. But hey, lets wait for those zen upgrades on the subpar t5.5 upgrades in delta rising. Sure won't be pay2win then.
Nothing about this game is p2w, and its entirely f2p. Everything of importance is available to everyone, what you're referring to, as far as EC value goes, isnt even a cryptic issue. The exchange is entirely controlled by players. Players dictate the value of items and their availability. If you're finding yourself having to grind out millions or billions of EC to obtain a certain item, keep in mind that its o my because a player decided that its worth that much. And the same is true for dilithium and zen. If you truly believe that the game is getting too expensive, or that its impossible for new players to get higher quality gear, then the best thing to do is stop paying stupidly high prices for stuff that isn't worth it. Deprive the greedy of their income and they'll be forced to stop charging so much. Or, sell for far less and force them to drop prices to make EC.
Afaik, STO and other PWE games are the only F2P games that allow you to get in game currency, which can be turned into purchasing real money items.
Guild Wars 2 also has an exchange for ingame currency and cash shop currency. And in Lotro you can earn Turbine points ingame. Virtually all cash shop items in SWTOR are tradable, thus you can get them from the exchange for ingame currency.....
If your F2P you are entirely dependent on the market and if zen sellers even care to sell @ certain rates. If supply is cut off or strangled then good luck getting a deceint ship even with dil since fleet ships also require ship modules.
Skill and knowledge + better ship + better weapons> skill and knowledge + f2p ship + still grinding for items. By the time you grind enough to get the items and on par another patch/lockbox ship/exclusive console will be here to move the goalpost farther away.
STO is borderline pay2win unless you think all pvpers are flying non-c store/lockbox/fleet ships. That is why most players don't even touch it with a stick. But hey, lets wait for those zen upgrades on the subpar t5.5 upgrades in delta rising. Sure won't be pay2win then.
So, F2P then, unless you are professing to zero knowledge of STO's economy.
So? Of course a better ship with better equipment will beat a worse ship with worse equipment with equal players. That is how it should be.
Your lack of patience does not make STO P2W, and neither does needing a Fleet or lockbox ship to be competitive.
ok so many think this game is getting to be more pay to win, let me say now i dont agree with that entirely but i can understand how many would feel that way.
we know full well nobody is holding a gun to our head to force us to do anything but if you enjoy the game and want to remain competative you need the best gear so many feel that they are being backed into a corner.
though i am a lifer i have never paid anything else into the game, all my gear comes from grinding.
i am no better off financially being a lifer, if i earn Ec or dil i get the same as a ftp player.
i have no problem earning Ec and i rarely sell much on the exchange, i only have 3 characters but still have 50mil in joint savings and about 30mil held by characters.
most of the in game drops i get just recycle.
its supprising when im playing an stf or other pve how many times i see other players completely pass up on game drops, sure its probably nothing great but you can still get a few hundred EC for it in the recycler.
though dil is a little harder i dont find getting it that much of a problem eaither specially since they started the event weekends, i try to do epohh tagging every day and its suprising how many marks you can earn especially over the marks event and then turn in the marks i have saved over the dil weekend.
the high exchange rate for zen is a problem but theres nothing you cant do without on the c-store at this moment though that could change once they bring out T6 ships but we will have to see how well T5U ships fair before making judgement on that.
i do feel they were a bit off charging for some T5 upgrades when many players have already spent money getting those ships or at least gone through a long hard grind to get them but other then that i still think STO is the most genorous online game i have ever played.
i am sure most of us has at least one or two T5`s we can upgrade for free so we shall just have to make do i suppose at least until we can grind enough dil to exchange to buy one.
if anybody gives you grief over using a T5U just reply - "dont blame me blame cryptic"
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.
another mountain from nothing. really not needed. all you need is to look around and see these things yourself and you have no reason to start a thread about it. so you got some ec, good for you but this is the system this team setup up, you can either take it on the chin or you can leave the game if thats what you want, you signed that eula and that gives this team the ability to change anything they like on the game without needing anything from the end user no matter how entitled they feel about the game.
as a matter of interest i found a new easy way of getting enough ec to last weeks at least, so really it hasnt really effected me the vendor trash nerf.
I will decide if "this mountain" its good for nothing, but wait i did make this so i have already decided tyvm. I don't really need your sarcasm regarding the amount of EC i have, that was beside the point if u know how to read, my point was that i don't do this for myself. I did singed the eula again already knew that, but that still give me the right to say what i think about some thing i see in the game. Now if u are using vendor trash and do pugs and manage good for u but some cant and i keep meeting them in pugs, having 3 times more dps then 4 others its not fun only cuz they use trash or lack skill. Basically means u are carry those not counting that will take more time > SO why all the unneeded sarcasm when i was to make it good for most ?
Good for u about your method of making EC but just saying that without sharing has no point other then feeling good about yourself. Again u admit EC nerf has affected u but managed to find other ways. well not all did apparently.
I still don't understand the point of your post other that saying a player don't need EC but well u can make lots of ec ... ok ...
Anyway I think that some of the ways to make EC in this game are not known/understood by many players. With EC nerf those are now lacking knowledge to make more. And with the lvl increase all those will have more problems. That's all.
That doesn't mean all is rosy. With the Dilithium Exchange, they shirk around some of the problems with Pay-To-Win, but not all. They still have a strong incentive for power creep in the system (because people are more likely to grind dilithium or buy Zen if they can get more power), and it still creates a barrier to entry for certain types of play - most importantly IMO PvP, where I think it should not be gear, but skill (and skilling) should decide the outcome.
Star Trek Online Advancement: You start with lowbie gear, you end with Lobi gear.
That doesn't mean all is rosy. With the Dilithium Exchange, they shirk around some of the problems with Pay-To-Win, but not all. They still have a strong incentive for power creep in the system (because people are more likely to grind dilithium or buy Zen if they can get more power), and it still creates a barrier to entry for certain types of play - most importantly IMO PvP, where I think it should not be gear, but skill (and skilling) should decide the outcome.
Skilled players want the most OP gear. The best of the best will always be a skilled player with the best gear.
I will decide if "this mountain" its good for nothing, but wait i did make this so i have already decided tyvm. I don't really need your sarcasm regarding the amount of EC i have, that was beside the point if u know how to read, my point was that i don't do this for myself. I did singed the eula again already knew that, but that still give me the right to say what i think about some thing i see in the game. Now if u are using vendor trash and do pugs and manage good for u but some cant and i keep meeting them in pugs, having 3 times more dps then 4 others its not fun only cuz they use trash or lack skill. Basically means u are carry those not counting that will take more time > SO why all the unneeded sarcasm when i was to make it good for most ?
Good for u about your method of making EC but just saying that without sharing has no point other then feeling good about yourself. Again u admit EC nerf has affected u but managed to find other ways. well not all did apparently.
I still don't understand the point of your post other that saying a player don't need EC but well u can make lots of ec ... ok ...
Anyway I think that some of the ways to make EC in this game are not known/understood by many players. With EC nerf those are now lacking knowledge to make more. And with the lvl increase all those will have more problems. That's all.
ahh so its an entitlement claim about what you want and an attempt to try get more information from a confrontational attitude by trying to bait me into it? do you know how many entitlement claims have been ignored over the years? you think thats sarcasm or im trying to mock you or something? think again.
no im always deadly serious when i make my points, i got no use for sarcasm and thats as far as i will defend my own actions, dont presume to know.
T6 Miranda Hero Ship FTW. Been around since Dec 2010 on STO and bought LTS in Apr 2013 for STO.
I understand they need money to pay developers, programmers, etc. Not sure if they are getting greedy or those overpriced actors are sucking up huge revenue.
They should just use local theatre students to imitate Voyager actors. The skill of wanna be actors is amazing and we probably could not tell the difference. Best of all they will all work for free just for a chance to put something on their resume.
This actor worship in Star trek is just pathetic.
With the addition of new powers, which can only be accessed with massive amounts of zen STO has officially become Pay to Win.
Is the game still free? Yep. Haven't spent a cent, and I'm covered in top-end gear and lockbox/lobi ships. I'd feel guilty about it, but I feel the content I create is a fair exchange
Skilled players want the most OP gear. The best of the best will always be a skilled player with the best gear.
And I think a low gear cap but a high skill* cap is preferably to the other way around. F2P business practices may however mean the opposite.
*) Player skill;not skills expressed in game mechanics (like +5 to accuracy with phasers) but skill in using the game mechanic (like in "I can counter a plasma fire with hazard emitters"/"If I can stay close, i deal more damage")
Star Trek Online Advancement: You start with lowbie gear, you end with Lobi gear.
Before you can contend this game is P2W, you still have to answer the question, "What exactly are you winning?" If you're all about the PvP, well, sorry to break this to you, but PvP is a tacked-on addition to the game, not the game itself. To borrow a phrase from Maj. Charles Emerson Winchester III, being the best at STO PvP is akin to being the best ballet dancer in Peoria. The dedicated-PvP space combat sim is down the street. Star Trek is by nature cooperative, so it should be unsurprising that its MMO operates similarly.
And I haven't run into anything yet that I can't complete with my free gear and free ships. I'm winning, and I haven't paid a penny. So again, pay to win what?
BUT i see to many people complaining about how hard is to make EC now, how u need EC to make EC and so on. The idea is that many people are casual games not professional grinders/farmers.Now that junk farming its not working anymore they seem to have problems making EC. I might add that with the new changes regarding consoles now its useless to hope u will get some good console from making 1st in some runs, u get utter junk.
Also what its not working anymore (without taking a huge risk) its buying things low after market saturation ( lock box) waiting and selling later. With all this late changes regarding lvls or stuff and so on only sure thing are lock boxes ships, some uni consoles (and possible traits). But again those things are not cheep for poor players and having your little EC locked out for moths ...
.
.
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P.S. - I know there still ways to make EC but i am talking about some people that for various reasons cant do those due to lack if skill, EC, time etc.
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.
.
The game is still free to play because you technically do not need to spend any money at all. However, the flip side is you generally need to devote time to grind for what you want. Grinding is necessary because if STO was only played by F2P players who do not spend any money, then Cryptic cannot generate any money. I believe I have read somewhere that Cryptic paid $50 million for the Star Trek license through sometime in 2014. The expiration of that license has come and gone and I am pretty sure Cryptic is in the middle of negotiating a new licensing agreement with CBS to keep STO going for the next few / several years.
While it is harder to grind for ECs, the game is still playable without much need to purchase expensive items from the Exchange. If you strictly play the main story missions, then I would say that those missions provide most, but niot all the gear to fill up the slots on your ship. There are the optional missions which can be done to get random loot drops to be sold on the Exchange or to vendors to raise ECs. Or it could be something that you can actually use. While it would be nice to fill up those engineering, science and tactical console slots, it is not absolutely necessary to do so. You advance pretty quickly at least up to level 35 by doing the main story missions. From what I recall going from level 36 to around 45 was a bit of a grind since you more or less had to do two main story missions to advance one level.
Anywaste, since leveling up is pretty quick, there is no real need to spend too much EC on gear early in the game because they will not last you very long. I generally start buying things from the Exchange once I reach captain rank and even then I try not to spend too much ECs.
By the time you get to max level you should have a decent amount of ECs, but even then you generally do not need to spend much on gear. You will have attained a lot of free gear from the main story missions. I started doing elite STFs with nothing more than the free gear and maybe spending around 500k EC in total for consoles. Of course over time I have spent a bit more ECs on gear from the Exchange, but overall the gear is basically the same.
Before you can contend this game is P2W, you still have to answer the question, "What exactly are you winning?" If you're all about the PvP, well, sorry to break this to you, but PvP is a tacked-on addition to the game, not the game itself. To borrow a phrase from Maj. Charles Emerson Winchester III, being the best at STO PvP is akin to being the best ballet dancer in Peoria. The dedicated-PvP space combat sim is down the street. Star Trek is by nature cooperative, so it should be unsurprising that its MMO operates similarly.
And I haven't run into anything yet that I can't complete with my free gear and free ships. I'm winning, and I haven't paid a penny. So again, pay to win what?
This ^
I NEVER could understand the whole P2W statement being used in this game.
Especially when it concerns PVE.
STO is Free-to-Play. This means you can play the game and have access to all of the content without paying a dime.
The catch is that it takes time.
That is the business model for F2P. Make it subscription free or optional to populate the game. Then entice the player base with items and services.
The items you don't REALLY need, but they would 'enhance' your experience.
Comments
Bad time management?
I strongly believe if you look around there are enough ways to collect EC, but do you really need it ?
Maybe to fill out a project in the fleet yard, but with a small fleet shouldn't be a problem.
You do not have to buy stuff from the exchange just make sure you make your own get your fleet gear best gear ever. And Ultra gear just get your lazy but t trained to make your own stuff it requires time but thats about it .
People who start with all the stuff coming from R&D to the exchange its easy to gear up your char from the start of your game, well yes maybe you have to spend around 10 bucks to sell some keys to get you some EC to get started but overall this game is free, and if you want to play it 100% FREE you can all it cost is TIME....
"Coffee: the finest organic suspension ever devised. It's got me through the worst of the last three years. I beat the Borg with it."
somebody forgot to tell him this!
if u wanna keep up with end game advantages and powerful increases for pvp and new enemys, you have to ether dedicate your life to grinding or payup, but the cat above me is right, the game is well rounded enough to support a number of things for people with less time and no money to spend...think, new episodes and foundry!
but its true the noose is tightening on the dedicated player and (must have everything guy), so if u dont wanna get burned out try spreading yourself out a bit in the game, u may find something they overlooked to help u get ahead...or help add to the foundry if u have story to tell
Time will only tell!
200th POST!
So far everything we've heard about is attainable in-game. While some of the new elements (essentially new skills) seem to be locked to new ships, they can be achieved for the most part through upgrades. Not all, but certainly enough for the new end game content.
To be honest, much of the bling offered in the new sets are just that - 'bling'. Dedicated players, and even the dps jockeys' will agree, that you can attain everything of value ingame without paying a cent.
Yes, some new things are $$$ only; this too shall pass, and eventually you can earn it ingame.
Now as for leveling in an afternoon - this seems to be a thing of the past, and I'm all for it. I am loving the fact that my R&D efforts are going to take me into February before i see results. I am ok with that.
As for ec generation. Holy TRIBBLE, I make more now than ever. No I don't use ec farming mission or buy and sell ships. I don't need to. R&D materials alone have generated 200+ million ec in the last 4 weeks. It's better than reselling keys... 2-3x better.
Having said that - watch the market crash lol. But that's ok.
Things come and go in the game. Ive been here for 2+ years. Will likley be here a year from now.
As for purchasing the Delta set - the wife says yes I may. I've been a good boy. In truth though, if I waited for it to show up after Christmas in the Zen store (maybe before Christmas), I'd hae the zen for it.
Yay - the game gets more support.
Yay - we can still keep playing.
Yay - the changes really are pissing of the PvPers. Nothing more satisfying than that
My Two bits.
Admiral Thrax
P4C - Pay for convenience = STO is.
P2P - Pay to Play = STO definitely isn't this, as only Veteran Rewards actually have to have a real money pay at point of use.
P2W/G2W - Pay to win/grind to win = STO isn't quite P2W. Sure, paying a load of money for a Lockbox ship and paying money to equip it means you have a better ship, but skill and knowledge count for far more than P2W.
If your F2P you are entirely dependent on the market and if zen sellers even care to sell @ certain rates. If supply is cut off or strangled then good luck getting a deceint ship even with dil since fleet ships also require ship modules.
Skill and knowledge + better ship + better weapons> skill and knowledge + f2p ship + still grinding for items. By the time you grind enough to get the items and on par another patch/lockbox ship/exclusive console will be here to move the goalpost farther away.
STO is borderline pay2win unless you think all pvpers are flying non-c store/lockbox/fleet ships. That is why most players don't even touch it with a stick. But hey, lets wait for those zen upgrades on the subpar t5.5 upgrades in delta rising. Sure won't be pay2win then.
By far the best model for free players on the planet to the point I think paying people are getting ripped off if you look at say lockboxes.
Guild Wars 2 also has an exchange for ingame currency and cash shop currency. And in Lotro you can earn Turbine points ingame. Virtually all cash shop items in SWTOR are tradable, thus you can get them from the exchange for ingame currency.....
So, F2P then, unless you are professing to zero knowledge of STO's economy.
So? Of course a better ship with better equipment will beat a worse ship with worse equipment with equal players. That is how it should be.
Your lack of patience does not make STO P2W, and neither does needing a Fleet or lockbox ship to be competitive.
we know full well nobody is holding a gun to our head to force us to do anything but if you enjoy the game and want to remain competative you need the best gear so many feel that they are being backed into a corner.
though i am a lifer i have never paid anything else into the game, all my gear comes from grinding.
i am no better off financially being a lifer, if i earn Ec or dil i get the same as a ftp player.
i have no problem earning Ec and i rarely sell much on the exchange, i only have 3 characters but still have 50mil in joint savings and about 30mil held by characters.
most of the in game drops i get just recycle.
its supprising when im playing an stf or other pve how many times i see other players completely pass up on game drops, sure its probably nothing great but you can still get a few hundred EC for it in the recycler.
though dil is a little harder i dont find getting it that much of a problem eaither specially since they started the event weekends, i try to do epohh tagging every day and its suprising how many marks you can earn especially over the marks event and then turn in the marks i have saved over the dil weekend.
the high exchange rate for zen is a problem but theres nothing you cant do without on the c-store at this moment though that could change once they bring out T6 ships but we will have to see how well T5U ships fair before making judgement on that.
i do feel they were a bit off charging for some T5 upgrades when many players have already spent money getting those ships or at least gone through a long hard grind to get them but other then that i still think STO is the most genorous online game i have ever played.
i am sure most of us has at least one or two T5`s we can upgrade for free so we shall just have to make do i suppose at least until we can grind enough dil to exchange to buy one.
if anybody gives you grief over using a T5U just reply - "dont blame me blame cryptic"
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 will decide if "this mountain" its good for nothing, but wait i did make this so i have already decided tyvm. I don't really need your sarcasm regarding the amount of EC i have, that was beside the point if u know how to read, my point was that i don't do this for myself. I did singed the eula again already knew that, but that still give me the right to say what i think about some thing i see in the game. Now if u are using vendor trash and do pugs and manage good for u
Good for u about your method of making EC but just saying that without sharing has no point other then feeling good about yourself. Again u admit EC nerf has affected u but managed to find other ways. well not all did apparently.
I still don't understand the point of your post other that saying a player don't need EC but well u can make lots of ec ... ok ...
Anyway I think that some of the ways to make EC in this game are not known/understood by many players. With EC nerf those are now lacking knowledge to make more. And with the lvl increase all those will have more problems. That's all.
That doesn't mean all is rosy. With the Dilithium Exchange, they shirk around some of the problems with Pay-To-Win, but not all. They still have a strong incentive for power creep in the system (because people are more likely to grind dilithium or buy Zen if they can get more power), and it still creates a barrier to entry for certain types of play - most importantly IMO PvP, where I think it should not be gear, but skill (and skilling) should decide the outcome.
My character Tsin'xing
ahh so its an entitlement claim about what you want and an attempt to try get more information from a confrontational attitude by trying to bait me into it? do you know how many entitlement claims have been ignored over the years? you think thats sarcasm or im trying to mock you or something? think again.
no im always deadly serious when i make my points, i got no use for sarcasm and thats as far as i will defend my own actions, dont presume to know.
Been around since Dec 2010 on STO and bought LTS in Apr 2013 for STO.
:cool:
They should just use local theatre students to imitate Voyager actors. The skill of wanna be actors is amazing and we probably could not tell the difference. Best of all they will all work for free just for a chance to put something on their resume.
This actor worship in Star trek is just pathetic.
With the addition of new powers, which can only be accessed with massive amounts of zen STO has officially become Pay to Win.
*) Player skill;not skills expressed in game mechanics (like +5 to accuracy with phasers) but skill in using the game mechanic (like in "I can counter a plasma fire with hazard emitters"/"If I can stay close, i deal more damage")
Before you can contend this game is P2W, you still have to answer the question, "What exactly are you winning?" If you're all about the PvP, well, sorry to break this to you, but PvP is a tacked-on addition to the game, not the game itself. To borrow a phrase from Maj. Charles Emerson Winchester III, being the best at STO PvP is akin to being the best ballet dancer in Peoria. The dedicated-PvP space combat sim is down the street. Star Trek is by nature cooperative, so it should be unsurprising that its MMO operates similarly.
And I haven't run into anything yet that I can't complete with my free gear and free ships. I'm winning, and I haven't paid a penny. So again, pay to win what?
The game is still free to play because you technically do not need to spend any money at all. However, the flip side is you generally need to devote time to grind for what you want. Grinding is necessary because if STO was only played by F2P players who do not spend any money, then Cryptic cannot generate any money. I believe I have read somewhere that Cryptic paid $50 million for the Star Trek license through sometime in 2014. The expiration of that license has come and gone and I am pretty sure Cryptic is in the middle of negotiating a new licensing agreement with CBS to keep STO going for the next few / several years.
While it is harder to grind for ECs, the game is still playable without much need to purchase expensive items from the Exchange. If you strictly play the main story missions, then I would say that those missions provide most, but niot all the gear to fill up the slots on your ship. There are the optional missions which can be done to get random loot drops to be sold on the Exchange or to vendors to raise ECs. Or it could be something that you can actually use. While it would be nice to fill up those engineering, science and tactical console slots, it is not absolutely necessary to do so. You advance pretty quickly at least up to level 35 by doing the main story missions. From what I recall going from level 36 to around 45 was a bit of a grind since you more or less had to do two main story missions to advance one level.
Anywaste, since leveling up is pretty quick, there is no real need to spend too much EC on gear early in the game because they will not last you very long. I generally start buying things from the Exchange once I reach captain rank and even then I try not to spend too much ECs.
By the time you get to max level you should have a decent amount of ECs, but even then you generally do not need to spend much on gear. You will have attained a lot of free gear from the main story missions. I started doing elite STFs with nothing more than the free gear and maybe spending around 500k EC in total for consoles. Of course over time I have spent a bit more ECs on gear from the Exchange, but overall the gear is basically the same.
This ^
I NEVER could understand the whole P2W statement being used in this game.
Especially when it concerns PVE.
STO is Free-to-Play. This means you can play the game and have access to all of the content without paying a dime.
The catch is that it takes time.
That is the business model for F2P. Make it subscription free or optional to populate the game. Then entice the player base with items and services.
The items you don't REALLY need, but they would 'enhance' your experience.