This fries my brain.... STO has had the most mind boggling easiest content in any mmo ever for years, you dont even have to try 90% of the time in episode content, just turn on auto fire, keep an active target, and drive in circles. You dont even need to keep decent gear for most normal episodes, you can have mkVI gear in lv50 content and still win with ease.
I actually find it is more common than many think. There's been an ongoing joke within a few members of my fleet about another fleet that we constantly seem to run into that teaches their membership so badly on playing the game that they can't do anything right at all.
Every time we talk to one of these people it becomes clear that a handful of people who run this fleet, and also a channel of the same name, have been telling them a,b and c is how it is when actually it isn't.
One prime example that's popped up a couple of times is this D'Deridex build that has dual cannons and torpedoes on it, and according to their fleet leaders that is one of the best builds in the game. I mean odds are they aren't the perpetrators in this case but my point is that there are big groups of players out there who really are bad and because they think they're awesome they then tell everyone else that is how to do it.
The only people I blame for being noobs are those that run fleets/groups/channels/whatever that encourage others to be as bad as they are, I'd even be tempted to add Smirk to that list as he doesn't set a good example.
Ten soldiers wisely led will beat a hundred without a head. - Euripides
I no longer do any Bug Hunting work for Cryptic. I may resume if a serious attempt to fix the game is made.
Sorry to tell you this, OP, but my 10 year old son passed this content on normal with green's, so i'm pretty sure, the problem lies in you not knowing the mechanics of the game, i remember i had the same problema when i started 3 years ago.. or its four??, anyway.. the first month i lost many times until i learned resistances, got better weapons and learned how to use my powers and when...
One prime example that's popped up a couple of times is this D'Deridex build that has dual cannons and torpedoes on it, and according to their fleet leaders that is one of the best builds in the game.
D'derp.... cannons.... *brain explodes* even someone with the IQ of a dog TRIBBLE should be able to tell thats pure fail
The OP has some issues -- not getting help, mostly -- but there is a disconnect with the difficulty.
I suspect very much that someone who started the game today and tried to play straight through to 60 would be in BAD shape. Remember, going into level 51 they would have NO rep or fleet gear NOR the ability to make an "uber blue" ship. Its not just gear, its experience and know-how. They would have no crafting nor much dil for upgrades. I can't see someone in that situation being able to even DO the missions in the 51+ content. I also suspect they would be in bad shape in most of the STFs even on the "normal" mode. And ground difficulty is an even steeper curve as most players avoid it so there is far less info on how to do it well on top of many players skimping on buying top end ground rep items and for sure not upgrading the stuff until their ships are all done.
I am not a fan of making an easier mode as a fix though. They painted themselves into a corner. MOST MMO games follow a recipe here:
1) new expansion with new level cap
2) old level cap +1 quests provide gear catchup that is on par with the "average player" at old level cap
3) using old gear OR gear from #2, people grind to new level cap and earn new stuff that is far better than the old stuff.
Does anyone still think upgrading items was a great idea?
This fries my brain.... STO has had the most mind boggling easiest content in any mmo ever for years, you dont even have to try 90% of the time in episode content, just turn on auto fire, keep an active target, and drive in circles. You dont even need to keep decent gear for most normal episodes, you can have mkVI gear in lv50 content and still win with ease.
I'd agree with you there, you don't have to try 90% of the time, my issue is with the other 10%, which if you can't get over that hurdle ends up becoming the entirety of the time. In other words, it jumps from "easy" to "impossible" with ltitle in-between.
I kind of complained about the OPs problems years ago. I mean, the game is ultra easy, but obviously the op is unmotivated and clueless. But there is a major issue with the game design.
The real problem has always been the game whips you through missions and levels so extremely fast you never learn anything or can't experiment with gear or powers. It doesn't explain game mechanics at all, the tooltips and descriptions in the game are so terrible you have no clue what anything does unless you read what it is outside the game. They added new tutorials that did nothing to improve this.
There isn't even an ingame help or library that people can look up what something like CSV even does, much less the strategy behind it, or the difference between CRF.
None of this makes them money, so unless they can make a library that costs dil for entry its not happening.
Not AT ALL to be mean but if you're honestly at endgame and finding Normal too hard to the point you're this frustrated then something is up. I would 100% recommend now investigating your build and the basics of the game. Tuning power levels and your crit hit/severity makes a big difference.
I am seeing both sides. since DR launched there has been some weird imbalance. in Mirror normal, I can come through pretty well unscathed. Borg red alerts, I die if I'm inattentive. I like the difficulty it's about right for me. but I just came out of the academy, doing one of the farming foundry missions. I died. TWICE. I have never died in there before DR. not only are the ships a bit tougher, but one of them is firing a transphasic cluster that through full shields can kill an Odyssey class starship. that should not be possible, not on normal.
that said, yes, if the OP is unable to complete a mission, he needs to get assistance with his build, or possibly move to another ship. if you are trying to do this stuff in a B'rel, maybe move to a Vorcha
I think maybe a lot of his problem might be on ground. Maybe for the first year I played I basically just got my captain out of the way and let the boffs do their thing. If I was targetable I was targeted by all mobs available and killed. It wasn't until I began getting rep gear that I could do ground comfortably.
Captain Jean-Luc Picard: "We think we've come so far. Torture of heretics, burning of witches, it's all ancient history. Then - before you can blink an eye - suddenly it threatens to start all over again."
"With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably."
My initial response was a bit like other people here - the game is already so freakin' easy.
But... it's easy to forget that one man's 'Easy' is another man's 'Advanced'. We all have different player levels, and if Cryptic was wise they'd cater to them all with the difficulty setting. All they have to do is tailor the rewards to match and you're golden.
Why don't all us here help the OP. Take him to KP planet and see what he or she uses and teach him or her how to do right on the ground. Use Join a Team. Let me know I'll join in and help. We all should be helping one another anyway. I help others in MU-E if their shields are really low.
Ground Gear
Space Gear
Not rocket science. But anyone struggling in this game we need to assist them.
Yes, I'm sure we're all impressed by your uberness
ZZZzzz...
You say you want it easy, then refuse help when offered, not to mention insulting someone who hasn't even said anything to offend prior to this comment...
Chris Robert's on SC:
"You don't have to do something again and again and again repetitive that doesn't have much challange, that's just a general good gameplay thing."
I don't know how to respond to this, other than, you must be one of those guys/girls in the stfs that I enter into that I have to pick up the slack with. That said, a couple of weeks ago when we all had to respec a couple times and our doffs had to be put back on active duty and our traits went missing, that's how I know in fact the game is easy on normal because I was just fine. Also, watch any video of a true dps freak and when they test a new trait, in fact, there is one of a guy testing the new delta rep's traits on youtube, where him and others to properly test something do a solo mission with no traits except the one they are testing to properly parse and gauge its effectiveness.
But asking for something to be easier? Those in the 10K 20K and 30K have the opposite and correct vantage point: give us an elite in Infected Space and Cure Space, among others, and challenge us.
This must be a troll.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
"Go and have a wee, the second act gets considerably weirder." -Tim Minchin
I have complained numerous times over the years about this and absolutely nothing has been done about it so I presume the same will happen here yet again.
Some of us (i.e. me) just find the level of difficulty, even on normal mode to be far too high. My ship keeps getting blown up in space,
Don't mean to be rude, but for realz?! On Normal, EVERYTHING IS AWESOME! Well, actually, it isn't, as it's usually way too easy.
All kidding aside, you're not supposed to die on Normal, though. Ever. It may still happen, occasionally, but should be extremely rare. On Elite, yes, you can die. Mostly, speaking for myself, because of pilot error (like ignoring a triple Feedback Pulse for too long or something, thinking you're invincible). But even on Elite, normally you won't die.
So, I'd say, look into resists, either passive (Engineering Console) or active (via Attack patterns, for instance). Typically, things start getting comfortable when you manage to at least ca. 40% resists across the board. That number is not cast in stone, of course. Also highly depends on your playstyle.
Don't go overboard on resist mods, either: they have diminishing returns, and, most importantly, come with a huge opportunity cost (namely, that you could have used the slot for something else).
L2P, it sounds rude, but don't keep dying. Just take the time, one day, to figure out the basics. You'll have more fun, and will live to tell about it.
I actually find it is more common than many think. There's been an ongoing joke within a few members of my fleet about another fleet that we constantly seem to run into that teaches their membership so badly on playing the game that they can't do anything right at all.
Every time we talk to one of these people it becomes clear that a handful of people who run this fleet, and also a channel of the same name, have been telling them a,b and c is how it is when actually it isn't.
One prime example that's popped up a couple of times is this D'Deridex build that has dual cannons and torpedoes on it, and according to their fleet leaders that is one of the best builds in the game. I mean odds are they aren't the perpetrators in this case but my point is that there are big groups of players out there who really are bad and because they think they're awesome they then tell everyone else that is how to do it.
The only people I blame for being noobs are those that run fleets/groups/channels/whatever that encourage others to be as bad as they are, I'd even be tempted to add Smirk to that list as he doesn't set a good example.
HEY!!... I used to that... but Ionly did it in Story missions.. and I turned on the BC like alot so I could turnand face them... yeah.. I admited it didn't work well lol.. I just liked it for some reason :P.. but I also never told anyone else how uber it was.. in fact I told them it was painful.. I also never ever qued that way.. that would be dumb
to the OP... it almost sounds like your are just running in and shooting... but not using any skills at all.. now I admit to NOT having read all 5 pages so if you said you are not doing that already I apoligize. But yeah you have to fix up your tray to have your skills and abilities in an order that you are comfortable with and then use them.. alot.. like all the time. Croutch (c key)... I do not use shooter mode.. I think that makes it harder to be honest although I am sure some can use it well. Bring hypos, sheild rechargers..etc.. put in tray... use them.. try to get rep gear which helps alot too.
Tactical Captain, Boffs split with 2 tactical, 1 engineer and 1 science.
I'd agree with you there, you don't have to try 90% of the time, my issue is with the other 10%, which if you can't get over that hurdle ends up becoming the entirety of the time. In other words, it jumps from "easy" to "impossible" with ltitle in-between.
Make the sci a pure healer, maybe take a second with you. Give the engineer mortars, turrets, maybe a medical generator if you fancy. Mortars don't need line of sight on target and turrets can pull aggro if needed.
As to your skills, carry full stacks of large hypos, I'm not the biggest fan of consumables but they'll help. Also might want to try sniping and let your bridge officers do the up close and personal work, I think there a command in the BOFF interface that'll let you select a target for them.
Most of the problem comes from people who just don't think or engage their brains. It happens in the real world often, just like in games....
They just do stuff, they fail, they do it again and again. At no point do they stop, analyze, even try to get any help or develop any understanding. You can't make games around these people, you need to let them fail.
Mortars can wipe out hostile NPC's behind locked doors and who hasn't seen a turret shoot at NPC's thru a wall around a corner or in another room?
The mortars yes, but turrets as far as I've seen don't actually damage anything. They're the same as the security escorts in that they don't seem to understand there's a wall or something between them and the target.
Ten soldiers wisely led will beat a hundred without a head. - Euripides
I no longer do any Bug Hunting work for Cryptic. I may resume if a serious attempt to fix the game is made.
I am in favor of a super-easy mode where you can enjoy the stories. They need to offer little to no reward though, as reward is related to risk. Unfortunately that's difficult to implement because, with little reward there's little progress, and you need progress to enjoy the stories as they are locked behind level restrictions. If those restrictions weren't in place, or if the were way lower, I could see this working. But I don't personally think it will happen.
That said, at this moment, there's no way to get away from Normal difficulty if you want to progress.
I don't think the ship or character build is the problem. You are just unable, or unwilling, to grasp the basic gameplay mechanics of this game. You don't need uber builds, optimized builds, number crunching, nothing like that. You just need to learn very basic mechanics, like:
understand how shield facings work and distribute shields accordingly
use your boff powers correctly (don't use high yield torpedo if you have no torpedoes, etc)
actually USE your BOFF and kit powers - from the tone of the OP I have to wonder if you know they even exist
distribute your power levels accordingly
etc.
If you're getting blown up in space repeatedly in Normal difficulty in pre-50 story content, you're very likely failing at one or many of the above items. Having top gear won't fix any of your issues. You just need to wrap your mind about these core gameplay mechanics and use them in your favor.
Are you sure they do no damage? I've cleared locked rooms using turrets at low levels by spawning them as close as possible to the door/wall.
This works because if you look closely the turrents "nose" is actually in the room and can shoot inside while the body is outside and can't be hit.. it's an odd clipping effect that sometimes works in our favor.
It's this kind of thinking that gave us unrealistically glowing objects all over the place because some people couldn't find their way out of a paper bag and though it was too hard to use a scan, we really don't need more of it.
If you get an easy mode you will blow through the game too fast and get bored and demanding something new even quicker. You won't have the satisfaction of completing the game on a equal footing with other players and you will be the guy at the kiddie table who's input won't have any value. I'm as casual as casual can get and though I'll agree that DR still needs work, for the rest of the game even I'm saying if you need this, you need to up your game.
If something is not broken, don't fix it, if it is broken, don't leave it broken.
This works because if you look closely the turrents "nose" is actually in the room and can shoot inside while the body is outside and can't be hit.. it's an odd clipping effect that sometimes works in our favor.
Ah if that's what it is doing then I can understand the confusion, because I don't usually have turrets clipping into the walls.
Ten soldiers wisely led will beat a hundred without a head. - Euripides
I no longer do any Bug Hunting work for Cryptic. I may resume if a serious attempt to fix the game is made.
My initial response was a bit like other people here - the game is already so freakin' easy.
But... it's easy to forget that one man's 'Easy' is another man's 'Advanced'. We all have different player levels, and if Cryptic was wise they'd cater to them all with the difficulty setting. All they have to do is tailor the rewards to match and you're golden.
Have your built post on STOacademy, link it and post it to that thread. Some "good" players will help with your build.
Other areas you will only get ego and "its not the game...its your fault attitude". Recently there was an XP nerfing coupled by an HP increase...however, you wont notice if you have the right build.
Cryptic has lost its sensitivity to players and will not help. Only those who have been here around to see the change sympathize but go to the right areas to look for help.
I have a buddy who was telling me not to long ago that he was having a real hard time in STO, sounded similar to what you are saying. He asked me to look at his character and I did. The build wasn't bad, it wasn't perfect but it at least made sense (one energy type, gear was at a mark appropriate to his level, weapon layout made sense, Boff powers were adequate) so I couldn't figure out why he was having such a hard time.
Then I pressed U and looked at his trats - they were completely empty. He didn't know that they were there. I then clicked on the Doff Icon under the map and he had 0/5 assigned for ground and 0/5 for space. We set up his traits and Doffs and it made a world of difference.
He's a good gamer, smart guy.. just no one ever told him about that stuff. Maybe check that when you get time.
Comments
I actually find it is more common than many think. There's been an ongoing joke within a few members of my fleet about another fleet that we constantly seem to run into that teaches their membership so badly on playing the game that they can't do anything right at all.
Every time we talk to one of these people it becomes clear that a handful of people who run this fleet, and also a channel of the same name, have been telling them a,b and c is how it is when actually it isn't.
One prime example that's popped up a couple of times is this D'Deridex build that has dual cannons and torpedoes on it, and according to their fleet leaders that is one of the best builds in the game. I mean odds are they aren't the perpetrators in this case but my point is that there are big groups of players out there who really are bad and because they think they're awesome they then tell everyone else that is how to do it.
The only people I blame for being noobs are those that run fleets/groups/channels/whatever that encourage others to be as bad as they are, I'd even be tempted to add Smirk to that list as he doesn't set a good example.
Good luck!
D'derp.... cannons.... *brain explodes* even someone with the IQ of a dog TRIBBLE should be able to tell thats pure fail
I suspect very much that someone who started the game today and tried to play straight through to 60 would be in BAD shape. Remember, going into level 51 they would have NO rep or fleet gear NOR the ability to make an "uber blue" ship. Its not just gear, its experience and know-how. They would have no crafting nor much dil for upgrades. I can't see someone in that situation being able to even DO the missions in the 51+ content. I also suspect they would be in bad shape in most of the STFs even on the "normal" mode. And ground difficulty is an even steeper curve as most players avoid it so there is far less info on how to do it well on top of many players skimping on buying top end ground rep items and for sure not upgrading the stuff until their ships are all done.
I am not a fan of making an easier mode as a fix though. They painted themselves into a corner. MOST MMO games follow a recipe here:
1) new expansion with new level cap
2) old level cap +1 quests provide gear catchup that is on par with the "average player" at old level cap
3) using old gear OR gear from #2, people grind to new level cap and earn new stuff that is far better than the old stuff.
Does anyone still think upgrading items was a great idea?
Tactical Captain, Boffs split with 2 tactical, 1 engineer and 1 science.
I'd agree with you there, you don't have to try 90% of the time, my issue is with the other 10%, which if you can't get over that hurdle ends up becoming the entirety of the time. In other words, it jumps from "easy" to "impossible" with ltitle in-between.
The real problem has always been the game whips you through missions and levels so extremely fast you never learn anything or can't experiment with gear or powers. It doesn't explain game mechanics at all, the tooltips and descriptions in the game are so terrible you have no clue what anything does unless you read what it is outside the game. They added new tutorials that did nothing to improve this.
There isn't even an ingame help or library that people can look up what something like CSV even does, much less the strategy behind it, or the difference between CRF.
None of this makes them money, so unless they can make a library that costs dil for entry its not happening.
Completed Starbase, Embassy, Mine, Spire and No Win Scenario
Nothing to do anymore.
http://dtfleet.com/
Visit our Youtube channel
edit:
Or 1 eng with medical/shield and one with turrets/drones
that said, yes, if the OP is unable to complete a mission, he needs to get assistance with his build, or possibly move to another ship. if you are trying to do this stuff in a B'rel, maybe move to a Vorcha
"With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably."
But... it's easy to forget that one man's 'Easy' is another man's 'Advanced'. We all have different player levels, and if Cryptic was wise they'd cater to them all with the difficulty setting. All they have to do is tailor the rewards to match and you're golden.
Ground Gear
Space Gear
Not rocket science. But anyone struggling in this game we need to assist them.
Time will only tell!
You say you want it easy, then refuse help when offered, not to mention insulting someone who hasn't even said anything to offend prior to this comment...
"You don't have to do something again and again and again repetitive that doesn't have much challange, that's just a general good gameplay thing."
But asking for something to be easier? Those in the 10K 20K and 30K have the opposite and correct vantage point: give us an elite in Infected Space and Cure Space, among others, and challenge us.
This must be a troll.
"Go and have a wee, the second act gets considerably weirder." -Tim Minchin
Don't mean to be rude, but for realz?! On Normal, EVERYTHING IS AWESOME! Well, actually, it isn't, as it's usually way too easy.
All kidding aside, you're not supposed to die on Normal, though. Ever. It may still happen, occasionally, but should be extremely rare. On Elite, yes, you can die. Mostly, speaking for myself, because of pilot error (like ignoring a triple Feedback Pulse for too long or something, thinking you're invincible). But even on Elite, normally you won't die.
So, I'd say, look into resists, either passive (Engineering Console) or active (via Attack patterns, for instance). Typically, things start getting comfortable when you manage to at least ca. 40% resists across the board. That number is not cast in stone, of course. Also highly depends on your playstyle.
Don't go overboard on resist mods, either: they have diminishing returns, and, most importantly, come with a huge opportunity cost (namely, that you could have used the slot for something else).
L2P, it sounds rude, but don't keep dying. Just take the time, one day, to figure out the basics. You'll have more fun, and will live to tell about it.
Prior to DR, in anything other than STF's/PVP, you could just mash you face against the keyboard and still come out on top.
HEY!!... I used to that... but Ionly did it in Story missions.. and I turned on the BC like alot so I could turnand face them... yeah.. I admited it didn't work well lol.. I just liked it for some reason :P.. but I also never told anyone else how uber it was.. in fact I told them it was painful.. I also never ever qued that way.. that would be dumb
to the OP... it almost sounds like your are just running in and shooting... but not using any skills at all.. now I admit to NOT having read all 5 pages so if you said you are not doing that already I apoligize. But yeah you have to fix up your tray to have your skills and abilities in an order that you are comfortable with and then use them.. alot.. like all the time. Croutch (c key)... I do not use shooter mode.. I think that makes it harder to be honest although I am sure some can use it well. Bring hypos, sheild rechargers..etc.. put in tray... use them.. try to get rep gear which helps alot too.
Make the sci a pure healer, maybe take a second with you. Give the engineer mortars, turrets, maybe a medical generator if you fancy. Mortars don't need line of sight on target and turrets can pull aggro if needed.
As to your skills, carry full stacks of large hypos, I'm not the biggest fan of consumables but they'll help. Also might want to try sniping and let your bridge officers do the up close and personal work, I think there a command in the BOFF interface that'll let you select a target for them.
Edit: You're not using Draw Fire are you?
Truth is most of these folk have been relatively new to the game and don't know any better unfortunately.
They just do stuff, they fail, they do it again and again. At no point do they stop, analyze, even try to get any help or develop any understanding. You can't make games around these people, you need to let them fail.
Completed Starbase, Embassy, Mine, Spire and No Win Scenario
Nothing to do anymore.
http://dtfleet.com/
Visit our Youtube channel
The mortars yes, but turrets as far as I've seen don't actually damage anything. They're the same as the security escorts in that they don't seem to understand there's a wall or something between them and the target.
That said, at this moment, there's no way to get away from Normal difficulty if you want to progress.
I don't think the ship or character build is the problem. You are just unable, or unwilling, to grasp the basic gameplay mechanics of this game. You don't need uber builds, optimized builds, number crunching, nothing like that. You just need to learn very basic mechanics, like:
If you're getting blown up in space repeatedly in Normal difficulty in pre-50 story content, you're very likely failing at one or many of the above items. Having top gear won't fix any of your issues. You just need to wrap your mind about these core gameplay mechanics and use them in your favor.
STO Screenshot Archive
From my experience they don't do anything at all.
This works because if you look closely the turrents "nose" is actually in the room and can shoot inside while the body is outside and can't be hit.. it's an odd clipping effect that sometimes works in our favor.
If you get an easy mode you will blow through the game too fast and get bored and demanding something new even quicker. You won't have the satisfaction of completing the game on a equal footing with other players and you will be the guy at the kiddie table who's input won't have any value. I'm as casual as casual can get and though I'll agree that DR still needs work, for the rest of the game even I'm saying if you need this, you need to up your game.
Ah if that's what it is doing then I can understand the confusion, because I don't usually have turrets clipping into the walls.
Agreed.
This area of the forums might not be the best area to look for answer...
go to: http://sto-forum.perfectworld.com/forumdisplay.php?f=218
Have your built post on STOacademy, link it and post it to that thread. Some "good" players will help with your build.
Other areas you will only get ego and "its not the game...its your fault attitude". Recently there was an XP nerfing coupled by an HP increase...however, you wont notice if you have the right build.
Cryptic has lost its sensitivity to players and will not help. Only those who have been here around to see the change sympathize but go to the right areas to look for help.
Good luck.
I'm getting my build a bit more optimized now.
Post your build and we'll try to help you.
I just remembered something as well.
I have a buddy who was telling me not to long ago that he was having a real hard time in STO, sounded similar to what you are saying. He asked me to look at his character and I did. The build wasn't bad, it wasn't perfect but it at least made sense (one energy type, gear was at a mark appropriate to his level, weapon layout made sense, Boff powers were adequate) so I couldn't figure out why he was having such a hard time.
Then I pressed U and looked at his trats - they were completely empty. He didn't know that they were there. I then clicked on the Doff Icon under the map and he had 0/5 assigned for ground and 0/5 for space. We set up his traits and Doffs and it made a world of difference.
He's a good gamer, smart guy.. just no one ever told him about that stuff. Maybe check that when you get time.