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zazaaji
Member Posts: 160 Arc User
Hello everyone. I just found out about this game and will try it after it's downloaded over night. I just have some questions, as all the threads I can find relating to them are around a year old.
1 - I have never once seen absolutely any Star Trek episode, movie, or anything. Due to other things referencing it though, I can recognize certain well know Star Trek terms and characters. Spock, Federation, Klingon, etc. Obviously I still won't know pretty much anything Star Trek related. How much will this effect my appreciation of the game? Is it fun even for people that don't know Star Trek?
2 - Since I am new to this game and Star Trek in general, I am wanting to join the best newcomer faction in both population and newbie friendliness. I am assuming that would be Starfleet/Federation since that is the "main" faction from the little I know about Star Trek, but is that correct?
3 - In MMO games in general, I tend to solo. Is this game soloable through max level realistically? Also, I generally play as tanks, so I'm thinking Engineer is best. Is that class good for newbies?
4 - Is there any active guild/fleet that is willing to help a newcomer? I do NOT mean free hand outs, I just mean a guild/fleet that can answer my general Star Trek questions when needed, be willing to assist me with low level dungeons when needed, etc.
5 - I have played Champions Online and enjoyed its gameplay. Is STO similar in that regard?
Thank you everyone
1 - I have never once seen absolutely any Star Trek episode, movie, or anything. Due to other things referencing it though, I can recognize certain well know Star Trek terms and characters. Spock, Federation, Klingon, etc. Obviously I still won't know pretty much anything Star Trek related. How much will this effect my appreciation of the game? Is it fun even for people that don't know Star Trek?
2 - Since I am new to this game and Star Trek in general, I am wanting to join the best newcomer faction in both population and newbie friendliness. I am assuming that would be Starfleet/Federation since that is the "main" faction from the little I know about Star Trek, but is that correct?
3 - In MMO games in general, I tend to solo. Is this game soloable through max level realistically? Also, I generally play as tanks, so I'm thinking Engineer is best. Is that class good for newbies?
4 - Is there any active guild/fleet that is willing to help a newcomer? I do NOT mean free hand outs, I just mean a guild/fleet that can answer my general Star Trek questions when needed, be willing to assist me with low level dungeons when needed, etc.
5 - I have played Champions Online and enjoyed its gameplay. Is STO similar in that regard?
Thank you everyone
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2. Starfleet gets the most support, but I suggest creating a character in each faction just to get the story. Also, create the characters before May 21 so they get the Delta Recruit perks. You just need to complete part of the tutorial to get them qualified for it.
3. This game is extremely soloable. The Engineer is mostly about survivability. It is also the pet class of STO where you can create turrets, shield generators, medical generators, and drones for ground combat.
5. STO and Champions Online supposedly use the same engine, but there is not much similarity between the two except for the alien character creation system. Also, costumes are not affected by gear. So you can wear a TNG uniform into combat where other MMOs would require you to wear full plate armor for the same defense bonuses.
3 - Thanks for the warning, I despise pet classes. If it's just turrets though, it might be ok with me. I'll need to research classes more, it seems.
5 - Does that mean that your character never changes appearance, short of visiting the tailor? If so, is there at least more uniform parts you can unlock? Frankly I hated that about Champions Online, and it seems like it'd be even more limited than CO due to it's lore restriction.
2.b The Delta Recruit system will give you some great little rewards and also lead you, story wise, into the current Season (Season 10) it will also provide you with some great little rewards as you progress, unlocking account wide benefits too. There are differences to the story line for each faction, and rewards are given per story arc completed. as already mentioned, it is worth rolling a Fed, KDF and Romulan character to benefit from all the account wide rewards. all that is needed is for you to complete the tutorial on each character, up to and including meeting the temporal agent in the factions main hubs, before 21st May. The account wide rewards are then permanent and available to any character you roll from then on in (as far as we have been told
5.b The starting tutorials for all factions are pretty decent, so in terms of getting to grips with what you need to get into the pewpew, you should really have no trouble.
5.c The tailor provides you with 2 outfit builds per character to start, with a 3rd unlocking once you join a fleet. these options are selectable on any map in game by right clicking on your character portrait and selecting any you have created. these are free to create, free to swap, and can be saved as outfits for loading into the tailor to overwrite the current 'selected for editing' outfit (hope that makes sense) and 1 of the tutorial missions available for any faction will lead you there.
Happy Hunting
Watch it now!
Seriously go get some DVDs and watch it! (joking)
Now seriously serious, you miss a LOT if you don't know who the people are you are interacting with.
Also Star Trek is very unique, unlike Battlestar or Star Wars for example. It is much less about action than moral thematic.
(but this shouldn't worry you STO is pure pew pew, lol)
I'd join Federation/Starfleet, but it is said the Klingon players tend to more friendly to each other... i can't confirm that to be honest.
If i where you, i'd try them all for few levels and decide for yourself what you suits to you the most.
It is completely soloable! (i'm also a solo player)
Of course there are special missions you "have" to do with other players, but you just have to queue up for that mission, without any drama or fuss.
Regarding to class, i'd experiment a bit if i where you. You can combine so called Enginnering/Tactical/Science ships with any Character class you want!
The only channel i listen to is NoP public service, people there are downright helpful.
NEVER EVER ask anything in Earth Spacedock chat! (seriously)
I have only limited experience with CO. Other than in CO you have actually two "characers" first, your captain and second your ship. And you also have some Bridge officers which can acompany you on ground missions (sometimes).
I hope this could help a bit.
1. not entirely accurate, some key details you will miss in the storyline that helps you understand the characters and some of the story.
3. science is about survivability as well, but heavy control effects and complete chaos with gravity wells and scramble sensors for ex. tactical captains are all about pew pew.
Been around since Dec 2010 on STO and bought LTS in Apr 2013 for STO.
UFP is a helpful fleet and you can usually find people to help you and answer questions. You can check out the web site here, and sign up if you're interested. Once you sign up, just post your character name and @ handle in the Invite Request forum and someone will send you a fleet invite. You can find instructions there to add our fleet channel to your chat box as well so you can talk with fleet mates and get help when you need it.
Best of luck to you, and hopefully you enjoy your time in STO. Feel free to post on the forums here as well if you have further questions, I have found some of the best advice here. I wouldn't worry too much about your build or stats while you're leveling, just play the missions and have fun. You can decide your end game ship and weapon setup once you hit level 50+. For now, just play and learn the game, it's a pretty fun game.
- Feds have way more choices than the Romulans and the Klingons combined
- Romulan ships all have battle cloak (at the least the ships I have lookd at)
BIG NOTES:
Do not base your character's class around what you want to fly. In this game any class can effectively fly any ship. Most people choose tactical for this reason because tactical gives you some good space damage dealing powers.
You can DPS or tank with any class of character. You will just tank a tiny bit better in an engineer and DPS a tiny bit better with a tactical. If you learn how to play each class you get can DPS out of your ears with any of them.
The roles are a little reversed on the ground. On the ground the tactical class does the buffing and the engineer class brings the pain with mines and bombs. Science is also really fun on the ground with their bag of tricks.
My delta recruit is swimming in dilithium and I am seriously not even trying to earn it. Roll a delta recruit in your chosen faction/class as your primary character.
Do not buy fancy gear while leveling, just buy common gear from the vendor until you reach level 50. Sell the rare drops you get while leveling on the exchange and save the cash for when you hit level 50.
1 - The shorthand answer is: This is not the official Star Trek universe so there is no right or wrongs playing STO, just personal preference.
2 - I think you are a prime candidate for some random Fed Fleet. So go ahead and ask them all the n00b questions you have :P
Seriously though, it's my opinion that the KDF has the best Community and the better storyline.
3 - You will have no problems with solo play...once you get through one hell of a learning curve.
4 - There's a section at the bottom of this forum for the various Fleets in the game, ask there.
5 - whowhatnow
My recommendations:
- Start with the Romulan Faction as a Tactical Alien.
Tacs just have an easier time during the leveling process and the Alien species has many advantages that you'll find out weeks from now.
- Buy the Legacy of Romulus Starter Pack from Cryptic's Store (CStore).
Claim and open it when you start a new Rom Faction-only character.
- Accept it will take weeks before you feel up to speed.
RIP KDF and PvP 2014-07-17 Season 9.5 - Death by Dev
So I wouldn't worry about it, just jump in and play.
And once you've done enough to decide you enjoy the game and want to get more into it, then you could start to look at more advanced stuff. Here are some handy websites:
- The official STO wiki is good for newcomers. Guides for every mission and explanations of game mechanics.
- STO Academy Skillplanner is an awesome tool for theorycrafting endgame captain and ship builds. Usually when asking for build help others request you use this tool so they can see it and offer feedback.
- And if you happen to a keen Redditor there is the STO Reddit page
Hope that helps.
1 - Not having knowledge of Star Trek might actually be a boon for STO as it's not trying really hard to stick to the source material. If it should motivat you to pick up watching star Trek, though, it can be a good thing
2 - I want to recommend the Klingon faction because it could really need an influx of new players and it also features possibly a better storyline. However, Starfleet (Federation) is indeed the "main faction" of the franchise and STO is heavily biased/tailored towards Starfleet players.
3 - As others said, STO is basically a single player game until you reach endgame (you can of course team up at any point if you like).
4 - On both sides there are a lot of fleets that would welcome you. Just ask around in game or in the forums
5 - I haven't played CO so I don't know
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My only interest(huge ) in a Star trek game is a product of watching every series and every movie many times over because I really love it, not every single episode, but love it in general. So... I am not exactly sure how will you find yourself in this game, although I have played some other games where I didn't know the story, heroes or other things related.
My advice is, watch the series, maybe start with "The next generation", see if you will find something that will make you watch more and more and "draw" you to the Star trek world. Give it a chance, have an open mind, try not to think about every little detail. If you find yourself drawn to the story, the factions, the characters ... you will probably like the game. If not, I don't think so, sorry.. but that is my opinion.
1) The game will be playable and enjoyable of course, but you'll be missing out on a lot of story-related things. Characters such as Worf, 7 of 9, the Doctor (not Dr Who), etc will probably seem like random npcs. However, to anyone familiar with Star Trek, seeing them in the game hits you right in the nostalgia.
2) Definitely Federation. That's the focus of Star Trek in general, and this game is no exception. Feds have the most outfits and the best (faction-specific) content.
3) This game is actually one of the most solo-friendly games out there. As for what to play, I actually want to recommend science instead of engineer. Engineers are kind of a pet class, and while they have ways to keep up and toughen their shields, they can still die helplessly against things that deal damage that bypasses shields. Science characters are fantastic for any ground combat, and in space combat, it actually doesn't matter too much since your survivability depends on what type of ship you choose. (You can be a DPS tactical in a tanky cruiser ship)
You can get all of the best gear available by soloing, which is pretty awesome.
- - -
Skipping 4 & 5 because I know very little about either.
Welcome to STO.
Edit--fellow soloer's tip: Do ground content with an entourage of engineering and science bridge officers, all outfitted with pretty much anything that heals shields or health.
If you feel like it, you could also already start additional recruits for two other factions. Maybe that will help you decide what faction you want to focus on first. Maybe pick a different class for each faction at first, so you can also figure out what class you like most.
The game is very solo-friendly. For the regular story content, you can level solo. At end-game, you may want to explore team content, but it's not an absolute necessity, and the lowest difficulty content is generally doable with pick up groups, especially for some of the older content that people can play in their sleep.
Don't spend any money on stuff until you know a bit more about the game.
I would join the KDF after lv10, that way you can get the plasmonic leech for all your kdf-chars as an accountunlock when purchasing the vandal destroyer (1k zen, easy to reach even with grinding dilithium). It is the most powerful console ingame and will greatly help you in all regards.
Not to mention that KDF-chars (and thus kdf-allied romulans) can do special doff-missions for contraband, which can be traded for dilithium ore. Its a very easy way to supply your other chars with dilthium.
Note: I would suggest you start with 3 chars, romulans, level them to lv 10/11 and join the kdf. Then you park two of them on Quonos, the klingon homeworld, at the security officer. You mainchar will level further, do the doffmissions (you send part of your crew on away missions without needing to go yourself) and send your other chars the contraband. They can make dilithium with it (again, just sending of the mission), while your main is actively progressing. That way you have the benefit of an rapidly advancing mainchar with the dilthium output of 3 chars.
3 - Engineer is fine, but you can also be quite tanky in space as an tactical officer. On ground engineers and tacticals are nearly equal, depending on the mission. It is noteable that whatever you do, you should provide DPS. Even a tank is useless if he cant draw aggro, hence he would cease being a tank. Pretty much every useful engineering ability is sort of pet-like, though only the support drones are real pets. Mortars and turrets are very useful for long range combat, while transphasic bomb and chroniton minefields are extremely powerful at close range and aggressive gameplay (which you need to have a piece of action and a chance to tank).
In space you should be able to hand out 8-10k dps after reaching level 50, which is an easy task to accomplish, especially as and kdf-allied romulan:).
I think Cruisers are a bit boring, though they have the "classic" Trek feel for them.
On the ground, yes. Characters are less mobile, because no travel powers, and your skills have individual cooldowns instead of an energy meter, but otherwise ground combat does resemble that of CO's ranged attacker classes.
Space combat is entirely different, of course.
2 - If you are looking for support from the development team then the faction to join is Federation. Klingon's are a secondary thought to Cryptic because of metrics and money. Romulan's are also a secondary thought as well even if you go Fed aligned Romulan. Both Klingons and Romulans are suffering from a lack of pure top level science ships so think twice before playing a Science captain that wants a Science ship in the KDF or Romulan factions because Cryptic has been glacial to those needs.
3 - I've solo'd through the whole leveling process as a tactical and engineering captain. Engies can be more durable in doing things but tac's can kill quick and be tough as well. I've tanked in my tac against borg cubes and things already.
4 - Ask around in general zone chat. There are a lot of fleets out there at various stages of growth so you should have a nice selection to pick from.
5 - Yes and no to some degrees. The ground combat is similar to Champions but the starship combat is obviously not the same. One thing you'll really might miss playing STO is the amount of diverse outfits Champions offers. Still the flip side is your starships get some customization options so it kinda balances out some.
2. Feds get all the toys. Kdf gets... Truthfully not much but I like story the best and cryptic has been doing better about not totally TRIBBLE over the kdf lately. Roms tend to get even less then kdf but a lot of their stuff is a little overpowered and their storylines are some of the best in the game. You gotta pick fed or kdf as a rom though. but that means you get some of their stuff while leveling.
3. I've soloed 3 characters a kdf tact, fed engineer, and rom sci all 3 did just fine.. Though you may want go with fed for your science their the only ones with real sci ships at max. Though any class can use any ship so use whatever you like on whatever you like.
4. Forum section and the chat on new romulus and qo'nos should work for finding a fleet... For the love of all that is holy do not leave the general chat open in earth space dock... It'll cause you to lose faith in humanity, assuming you have any.
5. A little on ground.
if I stop posting it doesn't make you right it. just means I don't have enough rum to continue interacting with you.
1 - Some of the missions will have back story to help fill in the gaps. And so you can learn Trek history. Just keep clicking when they say more questions or etc. You can also visit Memory Alpha website. Also the STOwiki website as well. There you can look up more about it and read what is going on. Other than that. You should enjoy playing even not knowing Trek lore. You can run around shooting, and fly in space with space battles. Some missions are easy, some are very challenging. In all lots of fun.
2 - Federation is the main one. Since you get more stations, more story missions, and more ships to choose from. However the KDF and Romulan is just as fun. I would recommend trying the other 2 as well. To see what they offer. You might like KDF or Romulan better. I play all 3 as my mains and enjoy what each one offers. It helps to Role Play with them some as well. As for character build. I have done Eng and Tac. Both are very fun to play. I touched Sci some, and its proving just as fun.
3 - Yes the game is completely solo to get to high level. And to do most content. I solo most of the time. Very rarely get into groups due to my life time restraints.
4 - Yes there is plenty of nice fleets out there. You just have to look around. My main 3 are in different ones. We are always doing something.
5 - Not sure I hadn't played Champions.
USS Casinghead NCC 92047 launched 2350
Fleet Admiral Stowe - Dominion War Vet.
There are some social zones and missions which are left over from launch day.
They are not up to the current game standards and Cryptic's long term goal is to replace them eventually.
if you want to have a bit of fun later on, go look for some old playthrough videos to see how far the game has come already.
The even is about over, so I wouldn't worry about it too much. Play and enjoy.
You can unlock stuff using zen points in the game store. That way you can just click and change instantly. I just visit the tailor and change when I want to. There is a lot of places that offer the tailor.
USS Casinghead NCC 92047 launched 2350
Fleet Admiral Stowe - Dominion War Vet.
I'm a fan of Star Trek, so my answer in this is always going to be a bias one, but I don't think the question should be "will I like a Star Trek themed MMO?", instead it should be "will I like an MMO?" If they answer is yes, then you'll feel right at home.
When I first started playing this, it was the first (and to this date, the only) MMO that I actually play.
It depends what you want out of the game.
The Klingon (and to a lesser extent) the Romulan factions are very unique and underutilized; most of the new toys are catered toward the Federation/Starfleet playerbase, because that's where the larger percentage of the community is. That's also where the brats tend to be.
The one thing I have found when playing Klingon though; the playerbase seems more... mature. If (when playing a Federation character) I'll go to a Federation social zone and you'll have people discussing stupid topics, or people crying about this, that and the other. Conversation over on the Klingon side (whilst more limited) doesn't involve so much of that, so you can sieve through the bull**** easier.
Unless mistaken, you'll start with one or two character slots anyway. Might I suggest you create two characters? One Federation, the other Klingon?
The game is solo-able, yeah, though up to a certain point, then you might want to join a fleet (even then, you aren't forced into doing things with said fleet; you can still solo gameplay etc on your own). Fleets serve as a bank and mass resource centre of which you can put an investment into.
You'll no doubt have had countless applications sent your way by now, that'll be all the answers you need there.
No idea. Never played it.
But it comes no where close to what Champions Online has for selection. Also, a lot of outfits are locked behind the C-Store, Lobi Store, Fleets, Veteran Rewards, Lifetime Subscription, Events, and Reputation system.
Plenty of answers already to your questions directly, so I'll add a tiny bit more:
Delta Recruits
Take full advantage of the Delta Recruit event by simply making as many characters as free character slots you have available, which I'm guessing is 4. Even if it seems excessive now, just play your main character and pretend they aren't there. Sure the global event bonuses are nearly over, but you'll still have most the ones that come with new characters created during this time including the largest rewards that are well worthwhile.
All you really need for the big rewards is 1 Delta Recruit, which will then directly and instantly apply to all (non-delta) characters every created (claimed at the temporal officer) once that delta recruit finishes all the missions to the end of the Breen Arc. However, Delta Recruits themselves are exempt so they each need to finish the storyline up to that point, and it's a long one but it gets easier and quicker once you learn what to do. Up to you: get more free resources but do storyline on all deltas, or make 1 delta recruit and automatically port many including the big rewards to all other characters.
Choosing Your Character(s)
Your gameplay and preferences may change as you explore the game. Plan accordingly early as best you can so you end up with a character species, career, and faction that will be satisfying later on:
- Use http://en.memory-alpha.org or general search engines to glance at the species available whose temperament and appearance stand out to you. Each species does have a subtle difference in appearance despite the flexibility offered by character creator even for those that on the surface look alike or can be made to look alike.
Factions and Role Play
There's definitely leeway on what faction you choose from a role play perspective so you don't have to necessarily be as the faction is portrayed. Example: I have Romulans who side with the Romulan Star Empire by attire and warbird designation (originally villains in ST unlike the split in this game; portrayed as xenophobic, secretive, lusting for power, etc.) who are part of a fleet whose storyline includes wariness and avoidance of Romulans (ironic) on characters that defy the uni-dimensional/stereotypical nature as portrayed in ST canon that I believe wasn't developed adequately. Why? My way of showing support for an independent Romulan Faction, sympathy with many traditional elements and drives, occasional role-play of one's shadow, striving for uniqueness, and rebellion against the establishment.
Same with KDF, role-played as Orions but mostly outcasts of both the Klingon code of honor and the Orion criminal syndicate but whose unique approach to personal freedom happens to find no quarrel with either, and therefore stands proudly and squarely as KDF, yet still regards the Feds as enemies of personal freedom and ignorant/intolerant [redacted] of different approaches to life (in a STO universe). This is somewhat contrary to ST/STOs storyline development and Fed-Centrism of ST itself.
Long story short, choose what you resonate most with, and role play them as you like.
Fleets
My overall gaming time probably involves 95% of lone-wolf type play, and still feels that way in team-only missions, which is why it makes sense to find fleets and friends to make the MMO aspect most rewarding. So keep searching, and don't settle until you find ones that suit you best.
I don't think a knowledge of Trek is a requirement to enjoy this game...but it certainly helps. Rather than suggesting you watch entire series, I would recommend a few movies:
I *think* all of these are on Netflix, and I'm pretty sure all the TV series are as well.
The Federation is by far the most popular faction. Here is the breakdown from a recent infographic:
http://www.arcgames.com/en/games/star-trek-online/news/detail/9065123-star-trek-online-5-year-anniversary-infographic
That said, each faction has it's own unique story, so I would suggest playing all 3.
STO is a very solo friendly game, IMO. That said, I have always played a Tactical captain flying Escorts or Cruisers, so I can really only speak to that experience.
Yes, there are a lot of active fleets. Check this board:
http://sto-forum.perfectworld.com/forumdisplay.php?f=78
Yes and no. All of Cryptic's games have a certain familiar feel, however the combat in STO is really not very similar to the combat in Champs.
All of that said, welcome to the community, and please feel free to message me in game any time. My handle is @the.grand.nagus
The-Grand-Nagus
Join Date: Sep 2008