So what the hell is stopping people from just aiming down a bit when it comes to specializations? I've found that the absolute best way to play for them [in STO] is not to pay too much attention to level progression post 60 and take it as an incidental bonus. If you play for it (ie. dedicate time explicitly to earning XP rather than XP plus dil, marks, equipment, ec, and so on in the normal course of gameplay), you will burn yourself out because by all appearances the system hasn't been balanced to support intensive grinding. Instead it apparently tries to reward consistent playtime over a longer period (you won't earn a level every day but with persistence you'll eventually get up there.)
This is a good advice, one that I follow to atm because Argala was already too much to take on the way to get my 8 toons to 60, yet played a considerable part in it.
The problem with the spec trees is just that you are likely to see 2 more mains and 4 more secondaries per year from now on if the release cycle of reputations is any indication.
If thats the case and the progression stays as low at it is players will never be ale to explore that system to its full potential. Such a fact is just demoralizing and generates pressure where there should be none.
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Let me tell you a story of Rainbow Six Vegas. It was a tactical shooter I played on the Xbox 360 (not the closest game to STO but it does have one notable parallel). In order to get to the maximum level, it tooks me two months of grinding from perhaps just 5 levels down. I could have applied a similar expectation for a level every day or so to that system, and become frustrated as hell wit hit, but I didn't and I enjoyed myself despite the slow XP.
So what the hell is stopping people from just aiming down a bit when it comes to specializations? I've found that the absolute best way to play for them [in STO] is not to pay too much attention to level progression post 60 and take it as an incidental bonus. If you play for it (ie. dedicate time explicitly to earning XP rather than XP plus dil, marks, equipment, ec, and so on in the normal course of gameplay), you will burn yourself out because by all appearances the system hasn't been balanced to support intensive grinding. Instead it apparently tries to reward consistent playtime over a longer period (you won't earn a level every day but with persistence you'll eventually get up there.)
So the problem should rather be stated that XP doesn't match [insert name here]'s expectations. And while that shouldn't be taken as [insert name here]'s expectations are automatically wrong, they should be mindful of the possibility (and approach spec's from a different direction if they find a significant enough disconnect.)
There are three points here: one, STO has always had it possible to complete a new system within a season. Two: there isn't much of an either/or in STO, so it's not like anyone's thinking "If I choose this, I lock myself out of that, therefore it doesn't matter so much what I max out as what I choose". Three: The Reputation system created an expectation that power creep was being managed by limiting your access to how many powerful abilities you could access at once.
The Specialization system breaks all three of these. It is just a really, really poorly implemented bunch of badly thought-through changes. Defend it all you want, but your defense basically turns into what many of us have already decided: that STO is no longer worth bothering to play as anything more than a very casual level of play. If STO thinks that's going to turn into greater monetization than previous, I think they're in for a very rude shock.
Let me tell you a story of Rainbow Six Vegas. It was a tactical shooter I played on the Xbox 360 (not the closest game to STO but it does have one notable parallel). In order to get to the maximum level, it tooks me two months of grinding from perhaps just 5 levels down. I could have applied a similar expectation for a level every day or so to that system, and become frustrated as hell wit hit, but I didn't and I enjoyed myself despite the slow XP.
So what the hell is stopping people from just aiming down a bit when it comes to specializations? I've found that the absolute best way to play for them [in STO] is not to pay too much attention to level progression post 60 and take it as an incidental bonus. If you play for it (ie. dedicate time explicitly to earning XP rather than XP plus dil, marks, equipment, ec, and so on in the normal course of gameplay), you will burn yourself out because by all appearances the system hasn't been balanced to support intensive grinding. Instead it apparently tries to reward consistent playtime over a longer period (you won't earn a level every day but with persistence you'll eventually get up there.)
So the problem should rather be stated that XP doesn't match [insert name here]'s expectations. And while that shouldn't be taken as [insert name here]'s expectations are automatically wrong, they should be mindful of the possibility (and approach spec's from a different direction if they find a significant enough disconnect.)
I get your point, but when you want to be competitive end-game and face the biggest PvE challenges then you'll want everything maxed out to help you beat the content. With my main character I love playing elite content, it's something that my alts will probably never be able to do due to the time and gearing up investments needed. Before the patch of last week I wasn't complaining about the exp gain either. It seemed slow, but now it's just terrible. They may say that it wasn't nerfed, but it does feel that way.
Your advice is better for alt characters, with those I have absolutely no aspiration to level them up beyond level 60, and should they get additional spec points then it's a nice bonus, but for my main char I want to be able to beat the elite content. (And not just because I can, but because I need the material packages for my R&D crafts.)
And for the record, I'm satisfied with gaining 0.75 level a day, I'm not grinding 2 levels or more a day. Right now I'm at about 1.5 level every 2 days, which is pretty much the grind you mentioned in Rainbow 6. The latest patch nerfed even that 0.75 down below that to 0.5 level a day. I only have 12 more levels to go, but it still feels like it's taking ages.
I wonder if the OP has ever heard of DOFF missions?
I have. Do you find them any more rewarding as of last weeks patch? Sorry I dont. They helped me massively to level my toons from 50-60 within the first four weeks of DR but as of late nope. Really same thing as with Argala itself.
Looking for a fun PvE fleet? Join us at Omega Combat Division today.
Third party filler content is not an excuse to create insane grinds based on very few activities, and make sure it all run on rails. If I was looking primarily for fan creations, I would not be here. Simple as that.
I have. Do you find them any more rewarding as of last weeks patch? Sorry I dont. They helped me massively to level my toons from 50-60 with the first four weeks of DR but as of late nope. Really same thing with Argala itself.
On Tribble, doff assignments currently award just shy of 2x what they do on holodeck.
Nitpicking is a time-honored tradition of science fiction. Asking your readers not to worry about the "little things" is like asking a dog not to sniff at people's crotches. If there's something that appears to violate natural laws, then you can expect someone's going to point it out. That's just the way things are.
I don't follow your post at all, sorry. What last 15 specialisation points? When you reach level 60 there are 50 more points to get, that's 50 x 154,000 XP. Argala is the highest rewarding patrol in the game right now, any of the other queues you mention would take an even bigger wall of text than my first OP.
It is bad, it is very bad, the forums are mostly united on how bad it is, so are the facebook threads, the people in our fleets that agree and most of all the people in our fleets that say nothing because they have left the game sadly.
60 more points. 30 Intel, 15 commando and 15 pilot.
Commando and pilot and specialized ground and space. The vast majority of people focus on ground OR space. People rarely, almost never, focus on mastering both and hence the 15 points for either ground or space (whichever you choose NOT to specialize in) are just a bonus.
This program, though reasonably normal at times, seems to have a strong affinity to classes belonging to the Cat 2.0 program. Questerius 2.7 will break down on occasion, resulting in garbage and nonsense messages whenever it occurs. Usually a hard reboot or pulling the plug solves the problem when that happens.
You know what's really cool? The fact that a lot of people already grinded out their post 60 50 specialization points before they nerfed it.
So who wants to pvp?
You know what's not cool? That even more people didn't. :-/
If I'd known that it'd be labeled as a 'bug' later on then I'd have hurried my TRIBBLE off to get those points back then. As it was I had about 20 in after getting to level 60 since I wanted to pace myself a bit.
In my fleet of 200+ people only 1 to maybe 3 people had their skills maxed out on a single character, all the others were left to grind with what we have now. The guy of who I know that he maxed out has 30 characters in total. Assuming that he only plays 10 characters on a regular basis, he's still facing a huge grind for all of his alts.
No offense intended, but your post is only valid for a handful of characters.
60 more points. 30 Intel, 15 commando and 15 pilot.
Commando and pilot and specialized ground and space. The vast majority of people focus on ground OR space. People rarely, almost never, focus on mastering both and hence the 15 points for either ground or space (whichever you choose NOT to specialize in) are just a bonus.
I'm afraid you're wrong about that. I for one am somebody who wants to be competitive on both ground and space.
I started specializing in ground first since ground combat is easier than space and it requires less items to upgrade, but I'm now working on finishing the biggest challenges in space as well and I'll need all the spec points I can get for that.
My character still needs 12 more points in Pilot before I'm at 60+50, but the grind is starting to bore me to death, even though I'm still going at a somewhat reasonable pace of 1 level every 2 - 3 days.
I hoped to be done before the winter event goes live, but I'm doubtful about that.
You know what's not cool? That even more people didn't. :-/
If I'd known that it'd be labeled as a 'bug' later on then I'd have hurried my TRIBBLE off to get those points back then. As it was I had about 20 in after getting to level 60 since I wanted to pace myself a bit.
In my fleet of 200+ people only 1 to maybe 3 people had their skills maxed out on a single character, all the others were left to grind with what we have now. The guy of who I know that he maxed out has 30 characters in total. Assuming that he only plays 10 characters on a regular basis, he's still facing a huge grind for all of his alts.
No offense intended, but your post is only valid for a handful of characters.
It's more than a handful I am certain. The point is, why would anyone pvp with that knowledge?
Also, you know they nerfed it because of the starship traits. Right? Why would you buy more than 1 t6 ship if you can get 3 of 4 traits from leveling specializations?
Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone elses opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation. ~ Oscar Wilde
7,900,000 skill points needed to get from level 60 to level 110, effectively all the spec points, and even with your doubling of the patrol rewards, that still requires 887 Argala patrols on average PER TOON.
Yeah, they know. And it's not supposed to be a short-term goal. We asked for something to do after reaching the level cap. We asked for "infinite progression". We got it, and now you're saying that you don't want it.
It's probably not gonna change any time soon. Just do what the devs say and consider each specialization point a long-term goal. And besides, even if you get the 60 specialization points and max THOSE out... what are you gonna do then when there are many many more specializations to earn?
...you DO know that we aren't gonna be left with only one primary and two secondary specializations to earn, right? There have been more that were finished when Delta Rising went live and are waiting to be patched into the game NOW. Do you want THOSE too?
Yeah, they know. And it's not supposed to be a short-term goal. We asked for something to do after reaching the level cap. We asked fo
maybe it is that some wanted it. And some don't want it.
Now some are happy that they have a long term goal,and others are not, because they never wanted a long-term goal.
But the magics of internet echo chamber and pre-selection bias ensures that you never really hear both sides, only the one that is not satisfied right now. And we can't even tell which side is bigger, and how many neutrals exist.
Star Trek Online Advancement: You start with lowbie gear, you end with Lobi gear.
maybe it is that some wanted it. And some don't want it.
Now some are happy that they have a long term goal,and others are not, because they never wanted a long-term goal.
But the magics of internet echo chamber and pre-selection bias ensures that you never really hear both sides, only the one that is not satisfied right now. And we can't even tell which side is bigger, and how many neutrals exist.
Yeah, they know. And it's not supposed to be a short-term goal. We asked for something to do after reaching the level cap. We asked for "infinite progression". We got it, and now you're saying that you don't want it.
It's probably not gonna change any time soon. Just do what the devs say and consider each specialization point a long-term goal. And besides, even if you get the 60 specialization points and max THOSE out... what are you gonna do then when there are many many more specializations to earn?
...you DO know that we aren't gonna be left with only one primary and two secondary specializations to earn, right? There have been more that were finished when Delta Rising went live and are waiting to be patched into the game NOW. Do you want THOSE too?
First they remove the ability to mess around, then they go for infinity. There is a tiny little cage, but you can live there forever!
Why the level 110.. why do feel you got to max level "NOW"? You will get there eventually, just play the game, and take the every now and then ability boost as a perk for longevity.
Kinda like the old days with veteran rewards where you actually had to be in game for a certain length of time to get certain rewards. Guess you can't "BUY" your way to max level in a day this time But go ahead and grind that mission 800+ times if you want so you can hurry along to max.
I myself will just play and take the bonus abilities as they come along, but they will not be my sole purpose for playing. :cool:
Why the level 110.. why do feel you got to max level "NOW"? You will get there eventually, just play the game, and take the every now and then ability boost as a perk for longevity.
Kinda like the old days with veteran rewards where you actually had to be in game for a certain length of time to get certain rewards. Guess you can't "BUY" your way to max level in a day this time But go ahead and grind that mission 800+ times if you want so you can hurry along to max.
I myself will just play and take the bonus abilities as they come along, but they will not be my sole purpose for playing. :cool:
Ferasan Foreign Legion Fleet Admiral
J-Dan22
Nobody can grind that number of missions in a single day, let alone in a week. The point is that it's an awful grind because there isn't anything else that gives a reasonable amount of exp to level up on. If, for example, we received 5x as much exp for completing any of the PvE queues then those would give a decent alternative, or at least much more than they do now. Right now those don't even come close in terms of exp gain.
Yeah, they know. And it's not supposed to be a short-term goal. We asked for something to do after reaching the level cap. We asked for "infinite progression". We got it, and now you're saying that you don't want it.
You know what?! There's no such thing as a 'long term goal' in an MMO like ours. There *cannot* be. This is not like real life, where you go, say, to medical school, and emerge 8 years later, being a full surgeon. This is STO, not exactly 'constant as the Northern Star.' Every six months or so they change the game drastically, or pull the rules right from under you (Trait system, anyone?). So, any realistic goal kinda has to fit said half-year time frame, max. If not, chances are what you were after either no longer exists, has been devaluated, or has simply changed too much -- and is thus something you can't really bank on, long-term wise.
The above is also, btw, why R&D is inherently fail. Ceteris paribus, which is to say, if STO were *guaranteed* stagnant for like 4 years, these very long-term Epic R&D goals might work. But by then the game will have changed so much, that currently making such a 'deep investment' is simply foolhearted.
It's probably not gonna change any time soon. Just do what the devs say and consider each specialization point a long-term goal. And besides, even if you get the 60 specialization points and max THOSE out... what are you gonna do then when there are many many more specializations to earn?
No you won't ... I doubt the game is still here in 20 years :P
It might be if the players are still interested in playing the game, but if STO lives for 10 years it'd be quite an accomplishment already.
Then again, city of heroes still exists too, doesn't it? That one is a lot older. Champions Online is still around as well, even though it has a really low player base, so having the game still around by 2020 is possible.
I'm afraid you're wrong about that. I for one am somebody who wants to be competitive on both ground and space.
Congratulations because you, and i for that matter, are the exceptions to the rule.
I have heard and seen very few people who take that road and that is why i said it rarely (almost never) occurs.
And even then i opted for commando since the pilot abilities seemed to be mostly focused on hi and run tactics while that is just about the only thing my engineer does not excel in.
This program, though reasonably normal at times, seems to have a strong affinity to classes belonging to the Cat 2.0 program. Questerius 2.7 will break down on occasion, resulting in garbage and nonsense messages whenever it occurs. Usually a hard reboot or pulling the plug solves the problem when that happens.
Congratulations because you, and i for that matter, are the exceptions to the rule.
I have heard and seen very few people who take that road and that is why i said it rarely (almost never) occurs.
And even then i opted for commando since the pilot abilities seemed to be mostly focused on hi and run tactics while that is just about the only thing my engineer does not excel in.
I'm flying sci/sci and the pilot tree just looked the least interesting of the three, due to its high focus on defense, while I was mostly looking to increase my dps first. With the commando and intel done I can now focus on the pilot tree. I have yet to do Korfez since I wanted to improve my vessel first, but I hope to jump in there as soon as I finished my tier 2 in pilot.
I just hope there are enough people left by then to team up with.
LoL I am glad I dont look at games like that. I have never touched argala patrol but it looks like your caught in some kinda wierd loop there. If you can't get out I suggest submitting a bug report :P
maybe it is that some wanted it. And some don't want it.
Now some are happy that they have a long term goal,and others are not, because they never wanted a long-term goal.
But the magics of internet echo chamber and pre-selection bias ensures that you never really hear both sides, only the one that is not satisfied right now. And we can't even tell which side is bigger, and how many neutrals exist.
I don't care about a long term goal, and I think that's true for a lot of people. The problem is the grind. Not the long term goal.
Basically, what you say is "I don't see why you are hungry, you have plenty of water". We complain about the grind, and you say having a long term goal is fine.
Why the level 110.. why do feel you got to max level "NOW"? You will get there eventually, just play the game, and take the every now and then ability boost as a perk for longevity.
Kinda like the old days with veteran rewards where you actually had to be in game for a certain length of time to get certain rewards. Guess you can't "BUY" your way to max level in a day this time But go ahead and grind that mission 800+ times if you want so you can hurry along to max.
I myself will just play and take the bonus abilities as they come along, but they will not be my sole purpose for playing. :cool:
Ferasan Foreign Legion Fleet Admiral
J-Dan22
On paper, that sound good. Unfortunately, the xp we earn from doing endgame stuff is so ridiculously low (we are speaking 2-3K xp per stf, when you need about a million xp for a specialization point) we have no hope to complete the current specialization tree in a lifetime, unless we start some hardcore grinding. And they'll add more trees in the future.
Even if it's not your goal to complete it, to really enjoy it enough (IE spend a bunch of point and start unlocking things), you'll have to grind. Or hope your kids will continue your work.
On paper, that sound goo. Unfortunately, the xp we earn from doing endgame stuff is so ridiculously low (we are speaking 2-3K xp per stf, when you need about a million xp for a specialization point) we have no hope to complete the current specialization tree in a lifetime, unless we start some hardcore grinding. And they'll add more trees in the future.
Even if it's not your goal to complete it, to really enjoy it enough (IE spend a bunch of point and start unlocking things), you'll have to grind. Or hope your kids will continue your work.
I think they will eventually soften this up they are still looking at stats and trying to tune stuff.
However powerlevelling is probably giving them the wrong impression if any number of people are doing it.
I am not doing it I get my guys to 60 and then ignore that panel and just have fun.
I don't care about a long term goal, and I think that's true for a lot of people. The problem is the grind. Not the long term goal.
Basically, what you say is "I don't see why you are hungry, you have plenty of water". We complain about the grind, and you say having a long term goal is fine.
On paper, that sound goo. Unfortunately, the xp we earn from doing endgame stuff is so ridiculously low (we are speaking 2-3K xp per stf, when you need about a million xp for a specialization point) we have no hope to complete the current specialization tree in a lifetime, unless we start some hardcore grinding. And they'll add more trees in the future.
Even if it's not your goal to complete it, to really enjoy it enough (IE spend a bunch of point and start unlocking things), you'll have to grind. Or hope your kids will continue your work.
Well... I did recently become a father, and I've already introduced him to STO. He seems like the shiny colours quite a bit, so there is still hope.
I just never thought that we'd have a "STO - The Next Generation".
I think they will eventually soften this up they are still looking at stats and trying to tune stuff.
I hope so. But if we don't keep telling them how much we hate the way it is currently, do you think they'll bother changing anything ?
Just 2 days ago Smirk was still saying how successful the expansion was.
yes there is. Now that I have the Rep gear I want I am back to doing more Foundry missons. The problem is even with the Officer Reports you are lucky to get 3000 xp.
"The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war."
Douglas MacArthur - Quote on the dedication plaque of the U.S.S. Ranger NCC-97332-A Armitage class Fleet Heavy Strike Wing Escort.
Comments
This is a good advice, one that I follow to atm because Argala was already too much to take on the way to get my 8 toons to 60, yet played a considerable part in it.
The problem with the spec trees is just that you are likely to see 2 more mains and 4 more secondaries per year from now on if the release cycle of reputations is any indication.
If thats the case and the progression stays as low at it is players will never be ale to explore that system to its full potential. Such a fact is just demoralizing and generates pressure where there should be none.
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There are three points here: one, STO has always had it possible to complete a new system within a season. Two: there isn't much of an either/or in STO, so it's not like anyone's thinking "If I choose this, I lock myself out of that, therefore it doesn't matter so much what I max out as what I choose". Three: The Reputation system created an expectation that power creep was being managed by limiting your access to how many powerful abilities you could access at once.
The Specialization system breaks all three of these. It is just a really, really poorly implemented bunch of badly thought-through changes. Defend it all you want, but your defense basically turns into what many of us have already decided: that STO is no longer worth bothering to play as anything more than a very casual level of play. If STO thinks that's going to turn into greater monetization than previous, I think they're in for a very rude shock.
I get your point, but when you want to be competitive end-game and face the biggest PvE challenges then you'll want everything maxed out to help you beat the content. With my main character I love playing elite content, it's something that my alts will probably never be able to do due to the time and gearing up investments needed. Before the patch of last week I wasn't complaining about the exp gain either. It seemed slow, but now it's just terrible. They may say that it wasn't nerfed, but it does feel that way.
Your advice is better for alt characters, with those I have absolutely no aspiration to level them up beyond level 60, and should they get additional spec points then it's a nice bonus, but for my main char I want to be able to beat the elite content. (And not just because I can, but because I need the material packages for my R&D crafts.)
And for the record, I'm satisfied with gaining 0.75 level a day, I'm not grinding 2 levels or more a day. Right now I'm at about 1.5 level every 2 days, which is pretty much the grind you mentioned in Rainbow 6. The latest patch nerfed even that 0.75 down below that to 0.5 level a day. I only have 12 more levels to go, but it still feels like it's taking ages.
I have. Do you find them any more rewarding as of last weeks patch? Sorry I dont. They helped me massively to level my toons from 50-60 within the first four weeks of DR but as of late nope. Really same thing as with Argala itself.
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Third party filler content is not an excuse to create insane grinds based on very few activities, and make sure it all run on rails. If I was looking primarily for fan creations, I would not be here. Simple as that.
On Tribble, doff assignments currently award just shy of 2x what they do on holodeck.
See previous post for possible caveat.
Joined January 2009
I could live with that, thank you very much for info sir.
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So who wants to pvp?
60 more points. 30 Intel, 15 commando and 15 pilot.
Commando and pilot and specialized ground and space. The vast majority of people focus on ground OR space. People rarely, almost never, focus on mastering both and hence the 15 points for either ground or space (whichever you choose NOT to specialize in) are just a bonus.
You know what's not cool? That even more people didn't. :-/
If I'd known that it'd be labeled as a 'bug' later on then I'd have hurried my TRIBBLE off to get those points back then. As it was I had about 20 in after getting to level 60 since I wanted to pace myself a bit.
In my fleet of 200+ people only 1 to maybe 3 people had their skills maxed out on a single character, all the others were left to grind with what we have now. The guy of who I know that he maxed out has 30 characters in total. Assuming that he only plays 10 characters on a regular basis, he's still facing a huge grind for all of his alts.
No offense intended, but your post is only valid for a handful of characters.
I'm afraid you're wrong about that. I for one am somebody who wants to be competitive on both ground and space.
I started specializing in ground first since ground combat is easier than space and it requires less items to upgrade, but I'm now working on finishing the biggest challenges in space as well and I'll need all the spec points I can get for that.
My character still needs 12 more points in Pilot before I'm at 60+50, but the grind is starting to bore me to death, even though I'm still going at a somewhat reasonable pace of 1 level every 2 - 3 days.
I hoped to be done before the winter event goes live, but I'm doubtful about that.
It's more than a handful I am certain. The point is, why would anyone pvp with that knowledge?
Also, you know they nerfed it because of the starship traits. Right? Why would you buy more than 1 t6 ship if you can get 3 of 4 traits from leveling specializations?
It's probably not gonna change any time soon. Just do what the devs say and consider each specialization point a long-term goal. And besides, even if you get the 60 specialization points and max THOSE out... what are you gonna do then when there are many many more specializations to earn?
...you DO know that we aren't gonna be left with only one primary and two secondary specializations to earn, right? There have been more that were finished when Delta Rising went live and are waiting to be patched into the game NOW. Do you want THOSE too?
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Now some are happy that they have a long term goal,and others are not, because they never wanted a long-term goal.
But the magics of internet echo chamber and pre-selection bias ensures that you never really hear both sides, only the one that is not satisfied right now. And we can't even tell which side is bigger, and how many neutrals exist.
Truer statement has never been said
First they remove the ability to mess around, then they go for infinity. There is a tiny little cage, but you can live there forever!
Kinda like the old days with veteran rewards where you actually had to be in game for a certain length of time to get certain rewards. Guess you can't "BUY" your way to max level in a day this time
I myself will just play and take the bonus abilities as they come along, but they will not be my sole purpose for playing. :cool:
Ferasan Foreign Legion Fleet Admiral
J-Dan22
Nobody can grind that number of missions in a single day, let alone in a week. The point is that it's an awful grind because there isn't anything else that gives a reasonable amount of exp to level up on. If, for example, we received 5x as much exp for completing any of the PvE queues then those would give a decent alternative, or at least much more than they do now. Right now those don't even come close in terms of exp gain.
No you won't (not without Power Grind of some sort) ... cause, I doubt the game is still here in 20 years :P
You know what?! There's no such thing as a 'long term goal' in an MMO like ours. There *cannot* be. This is not like real life, where you go, say, to medical school, and emerge 8 years later, being a full surgeon. This is STO, not exactly 'constant as the Northern Star.' Every six months or so they change the game drastically, or pull the rules right from under you (Trait system, anyone?). So, any realistic goal kinda has to fit said half-year time frame, max. If not, chances are what you were after either no longer exists, has been devaluated, or has simply changed too much -- and is thus something you can't really bank on, long-term wise.
The above is also, btw, why R&D is inherently fail. Ceteris paribus, which is to say, if STO were *guaranteed* stagnant for like 4 years, these very long-term Epic R&D goals might work. But by then the game will have changed so much, that currently making such a 'deep investment' is simply foolhearted.
Um, get those too, maybe?!
It might be if the players are still interested in playing the game, but if STO lives for 10 years it'd be quite an accomplishment already.
Then again, city of heroes still exists too, doesn't it? That one is a lot older. Champions Online is still around as well, even though it has a really low player base, so having the game still around by 2020 is possible.
Congratulations because you, and i for that matter, are the exceptions to the rule.
I have heard and seen very few people who take that road and that is why i said it rarely (almost never) occurs.
And even then i opted for commando since the pilot abilities seemed to be mostly focused on hi and run tactics while that is just about the only thing my engineer does not excel in.
I'm flying sci/sci and the pilot tree just looked the least interesting of the three, due to its high focus on defense, while I was mostly looking to increase my dps first. With the commando and intel done I can now focus on the pilot tree. I have yet to do Korfez since I wanted to improve my vessel first, but I hope to jump in there as soon as I finished my tier 2 in pilot.
I just hope there are enough people left by then to team up with.
LoL I am glad I dont look at games like that. I have never touched argala patrol but it looks like your caught in some kinda wierd loop there. If you can't get out I suggest submitting a bug report :P
Basically, what you say is "I don't see why you are hungry, you have plenty of water". We complain about the grind, and you say having a long term goal is fine.
On paper, that sound good. Unfortunately, the xp we earn from doing endgame stuff is so ridiculously low (we are speaking 2-3K xp per stf, when you need about a million xp for a specialization point) we have no hope to complete the current specialization tree in a lifetime, unless we start some hardcore grinding. And they'll add more trees in the future.
Even if it's not your goal to complete it, to really enjoy it enough (IE spend a bunch of point and start unlocking things), you'll have to grind. Or hope your kids will continue your work.
I think they will eventually soften this up they are still looking at stats and trying to tune stuff.
However powerlevelling is probably giving them the wrong impression if any number of people are doing it.
I am not doing it I get my guys to 60 and then ignore that panel and just have fun.
Well... I did recently become a father, and I've already introduced him to STO. He seems like the shiny colours quite a bit, so there is still hope.
I just never thought that we'd have a "STO - The Next Generation".
Just 2 days ago Smirk was still saying how successful the expansion was.
yes there is. Now that I have the Rep gear I want I am back to doing more Foundry missons. The problem is even with the Officer Reports you are lucky to get 3000 xp.
Douglas MacArthur - Quote on the dedication plaque of the U.S.S. Ranger NCC-97332-A Armitage class Fleet Heavy Strike Wing Escort.