I don't play grouped content, so I'm torn between two reps, Nukara and Dyson.
Early Nukara ground was like Defera still is today, pathetic rewards for a lot of effort, but they have increased the rewards there a couple of times, so now blasting tholians is much more fun, which probably explains why I rarely find myself alone on the map these days.
Dyson was a blast when it first launched, but once the parasites found out about the dil rewards things changed, you had to play when the USA was awake otherwise you could find yourself as the sole live player in a full instance, the rest being bots, haven't been in the BZ since Cryptic's last redesign but I understand it's much worse now.
The rest either get done slowly from the daily mark bonus, or wait until an event so I can shove little creatures into an industrial blender.
Probably OMEGA, but in it's original set-up of dropping salvage you need to get the Mk XII sets. After having reduced everything to mark grinding and window shopping the reps are virtually identical.
In the status quo, probably Dyson as you have ground and space open battlezones and they aren't too obnoxious to fight.
^ Memory Alpha.org is not canon. It's a open wiki with arbitrary rules. Only what can be cited from an episode is. ^
"No. Men do not roar. Women roar. Then they hurl heavy objects... and claw at you." -Worf, son of Mogh
"A filthy, mangy beast, but in its bony breast beat the heart of a warrior" - "faithful" (...) "but ever-ready to follow the call of the wild." - Martok, about a Targ
"That pig smelled horrid. A sweet-sour, extremely pungent odor. I showered and showered, and it took me a week to get rid of it!" - Robert Justman, appreciating Emmy-Lou
Probably OMEGA, but in it's original set-up of dropping salvage you need to get the Mk XII sets. After having reduced everything to mark grinding and window shopping the reps are virtually identical.
In the status quo, probably Dyson as you have ground and space open battlezones and they aren't too obnoxious to fight.
The problem with the old system is it was based on RNG. you did not earn your gear you gambled for it and prayed the right items would drop.
"He shall be my finest warrior, this generic man who was forced upon me.
Like a badass I shall make him look, and in the furnace of war I shall forge him.
he shall be of iron will and steely sinew.
In great armour I shall clad him and with the mightiest weapons he shall be armed.
He will be untouched by plague or disease; no sickness shall blight him.
He shall have such tactics, strategies and machines that no foe will best him in battle.
He is my answer to cryptic logic, he is the Defender of my Romulan Crew.
He is Tovan Khev... and he shall know no fear."
The problem with the old system is it was based on RNG. you did not earn your gear you gambled for it and prayed the right items would drop.
When I play Diablo I do the exact same thing. That's not a problem in my book, that's what motivates me to play the game again and again. Now I buy the item and have no way to advance and it gets stale. Rolling a dice keeps things fresh as you have to adapt to a dynamic game.
^ Memory Alpha.org is not canon. It's a open wiki with arbitrary rules. Only what can be cited from an episode is. ^
"No. Men do not roar. Women roar. Then they hurl heavy objects... and claw at you." -Worf, son of Mogh
"A filthy, mangy beast, but in its bony breast beat the heart of a warrior" - "faithful" (...) "but ever-ready to follow the call of the wild." - Martok, about a Targ
"That pig smelled horrid. A sweet-sour, extremely pungent odor. I showered and showered, and it took me a week to get rid of it!" - Robert Justman, appreciating Emmy-Lou
These results so far are actually a lot more varied than what I was expecting...it surprises me to see that the only rep that seems to be almost universally panned is Delta rep.
Funny about Delta rep though...I know Delta Rising made some horrible mistakes with the patrols that undoubtedly left a bad taste in people's mouths, but I actually like the Kobali BZ a lot. The Vaadwaur are like the complete anti-Borg to fight. They're fast, relentless, and sneaky. Their AI is programmed with strategy--like intentionally shooting you in the back, crouching to limit their damage, and shielding their teammates so you have to pay attention and figure out who's a viable target instead of just pew pew pewing without thinking. It's something I do when I want a big adrenaline rush, because you have to be on your toes ALL the time when dealing with them, even in the simple little open/found missions.
Am I truly the only one who feels like that about fighting the Vaadwaur on the ground?
The Vaadwaur were/are interesting. I was not a fan of the WWI trench thematic elements, helping the Kobali, costume design elements, or some of the special effects, but each reputation has its challenges. Delta is neither in my top nor worst reputation choices. Unlike the Terran reputation, the lack of Delta specialty currency made the rep. more of a slog. After completing the Kobali battlezone the first time there was no incentive to go back at first.
I actually liked Bug Hunt when it came out but the hard 20 min time gate was a deterrent. That said, I ran it for Delta and Iconian marks and special currency.
The Mirror Event really helps with earning current reputation marks, and of particular rep. marks.
I mostly play solo so I appreciate a reputation that has decent solo options for completing it. The recent changes to allow converting marks to elite marks has been a massive improvement in this regard.
My favourites are Romulan and Dyson because they include stronger story elements than the others.
I don't like that it's designed for BFAW boats. Trying to use a 45 deg firing arc DHC boat or a torp boat (wider arc but even slower travel time on the damage) with beam boats that can can hit everything around them instantly (the fly in a circle with spawns behind the direction of travel events and the I'll just full stop here and hit everything events especially) is frustrating to say the least.
This is my Risian Corvette. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
Their AI is smart but their respawn timers are too short. I wouldn't mind them being even a little tougher as long as they didn't reappear before I'm even done clearing the area.
That was definitely overwhelming when I hadn't upgraded and I wasn't used to or expecting their tactics.
Now, I must be some sort of glutton for punishment because that very mechanic is now a reason for me to play in that BZ. Like I said, it's one that I do when I want a big adrenaline rush, because I know I won't be getting any time to rest. I actually seem to be getting good at it.
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I'm actually split between the Nukara and New Romulus reputations. Both have been (traditionally) the most accessible, and (in my opinion) the most fun.
These results so far are actually a lot more varied than what I was expecting...it surprises me to see that the only rep that seems to be almost universally panned is Delta rep.
Funny about Delta rep though...I know Delta Rising made some horrible mistakes with the patrols that undoubtedly left a bad taste in people's mouths, but I actually like the Kobali BZ a lot. The Vaadwaur are like the complete anti-Borg to fight. They're fast, relentless, and sneaky. Their AI is programmed with strategy--like intentionally shooting you in the back, crouching to limit their damage, and shielding their teammates so you have to pay attention and figure out who's a viable target instead of just pew pew pewing without thinking. It's something I do when I want a big adrenaline rush, because you have to be on your toes ALL the time when dealing with them, even in the simple little open/found missions.
Am I truly the only one who feels like that about fighting the Vaadwaur on the ground?
Well, if I have to choose a ground zone or ground enemy to fight, Vaadwaur might be the most interesting. In space it would actually be similar.
But Terran and Counter-Command offer a space battle zone as a space for elite marks. That's just awesome.
Star Trek Online Advancement: You start with lowbie gear, you end with Lobi gear.
Am I truly the only one who feels like that about fighting the Vaadwaur on the ground?
Nah I loved the Kobali BZ for the very reasons you mention, and once they added the probe cores and power cells to the last two missions it became functional to visit it regularly.... but outside of that the rewards suck. I can at least make dil off the dinos and enough marks to be appreciable... Kobali BZ? Not so much.
Yeah, that's true that the dilithium-fu is weak with that zone. Really it's the adrenaline junkie side of me that makes me play it--that and the fact that if I get in a mark hunt I can get two dailies for the price of one visit. Sometimes I may go for marks but do stuff like intentionally try to fight my way to the base instead of using the transporter...basically going in looking for random trouble.
Christian Gaming Community Fleets--Faith, Fun, and Fellowship! See the website and PM for more. :-) Proudly F2P.Signature image by gulberat. Avatar image by balsavor.deviantart.com.
I prefer Omega. Gear is still useful after all this time and the kinetic beam is a must have for beam builds.
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My vote went to Delta, of which I understand I am in the extreme minority. While I absolutely agree that the forced patrol missions are the weakest of Delta Rising's added content, I don't find them as objectionable as other people seem to; on my "main" characters I typically play all of the Episode content in order, and Delta reputation (so far) is the only one that awards you marks for playing regular "story" content (with the exception of a few "one-off" rewards in the Undine reputation and the Dyson Sphere). Do I like the forced patrol missions? I don't hate them, but I don't think they're particularly strong content either - but they ARE part of the Delta Rising story line, which means I WILL play through them on any of my "content" focused characters. And the ground zone is definitely something I really enjoy (I agree wholeheartedly with gulberat that it is the best content to come with Delta Rising) - and you get delta marks for those missions too.
Simply put, Delta reputation is the one type I can complete for playing content I would be playing anyway on any of my main content character. So it's the one type of reputation I don't have to actually "go out off my way" to get, if that makes sense.
Incidentally, the reputation that I think of as a "side tour" (versus main content) that I most *enjoy* earning the marks for is New Romulus - Paradoxically, I find the ground missions in the adventure zone proper quick, easy, and an oddly relaxing diversion. Oddly, although it is probably the reputation I have the second easiest time completing, it is also the reputation that I most loathe actually claiming the reward on. The Tholians are quite possibly my least favorite faction to face in ground combat, and I really, really hate that cave mission you have to complete to claim the reward.
Ugh, the cave mission. I had to team with a fleetmate to get through it on the first toon I claimed that reward on, because otherwise my frustration was going to go through the roof...
Christian Gaming Community Fleets--Faith, Fun, and Fellowship! See the website and PM for more. :-) Proudly F2P.Signature image by gulberat. Avatar image by balsavor.deviantart.com.
"The meaning of victory is not to merely defeat your enemy but to destroy him, to completely eradicate him from living memory, to leave no remnant of his endeavours, to crush utterly his achievement and remove from all record his every trace of existence. From that defeat no enemy can ever recover. That is the meaning of victory."
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
You got space patrols, you got ground action, special missions after each tier to help advance the Rep, and cut scenes to add to the story as you go along. It makes you are actually have progression. Plus you can do it all solo as well, and they do offer some group stuff.
Next I would say Dyson. For the same reason with the Romulan.
After that the rest is just crappy. There is no additional story told, some don't even have solo content, Some makes you do the same mission for the entire duration IF you want to do the Rep. The worst Reps to me is the Undine, Nukura, Omega, and Terran.
While the Romulan rep has actual story and a mission tied to it, at least they did add some type of story content (even if kind of light) to these last two reps.
The Voth story was tied to the BZ sphere accolade (consoles) and the special doff missions crits. The Delta story was tied to the Kobali BZ. The Undine has been the only one of the latest ones that was just pure pew pew the aliens and no story.
The Adapted MACO suits are awesome. That and I like the MACO space set (not Adapted).
That and it was the only one to continuously grind before I took a long break. Now... I don't really have a 'favorite' one, but I'll still take MACO over everything else.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC] "Look at me I'm a target!" "Fire the Lance on my mark... MARK! "How many times have we gone into the breach again R'shee?" My proposal for a Galaxy bundle
1st: Tholian-> good gears, marks easily obtainable, no need for bnp or stuff like that
2nd: romulan and dyson, for the ground missions. I like very much new romulus and the dyson bz.
3rd: borg: good gears, but the stfs are just boring, The borg are dumb, the tachyon beam is pathetic etc
4th: the rest.
and the delta rep and the cc rep, i hate these 2 rep. fortunately, there is "borg disconnected" to grind the marks for this 2 rep
Yeah, the cold restarts are the best, but grinding that Reputation, maybe the worst. Shaddap, Kagran!
Kobali battlezone, the last two open missions reward a mark package and one special mark daily (that's two total) without having to queue for the STFs
^ Memory Alpha.org is not canon. It's a open wiki with arbitrary rules. Only what can be cited from an episode is. ^
"No. Men do not roar. Women roar. Then they hurl heavy objects... and claw at you." -Worf, son of Mogh
"A filthy, mangy beast, but in its bony breast beat the heart of a warrior" - "faithful" (...) "but ever-ready to follow the call of the wild." - Martok, about a Targ
"That pig smelled horrid. A sweet-sour, extremely pungent odor. I showered and showered, and it took me a week to get rid of it!" - Robert Justman, appreciating Emmy-Lou
I picked Romulan because most of those came in after I stopped playing and there's something relaxing about running around a purple planet hugging squid.
The problem with the old system is it was based on RNG. you did not earn your gear you gambled for it and prayed the right items would drop.
When I play Diablo I do the exact same thing. That's not a problem in my book, that's what motivates me to play the game again and again. Now I buy the item and have no way to advance and it gets stale. Rolling a dice keeps things fresh as you have to adapt to a dynamic game.
The problem is not everyone GETS the right items and after enough playthroughs of not being rewarded anything which you want, the player gives up. this is EXACTLY what's happened to Rampages in Champions Online.
You don't buy rep items you EARN them with marks. EARNED from content. you work you get.
theres literally no difference in advancement except that the new system is far more satisfying for a majority of players.
"He shall be my finest warrior, this generic man who was forced upon me.
Like a badass I shall make him look, and in the furnace of war I shall forge him.
he shall be of iron will and steely sinew.
In great armour I shall clad him and with the mightiest weapons he shall be armed.
He will be untouched by plague or disease; no sickness shall blight him.
He shall have such tactics, strategies and machines that no foe will best him in battle.
He is my answer to cryptic logic, he is the Defender of my Romulan Crew.
He is Tovan Khev... and he shall know no fear."
That's the problem for me. I work to earn a living. I don't work to earn game items, I want to play to get game items. The process of getting the items has to be reward enough to make me play over and over again - the chance of getting a very rare piece of equipment is motivation enough. Granted, STO doesn't have meaningful loot at all - if we had a number of "magic" and "rare" items that could drop as well as sets it would help, but still. The "work-earn" mechanic is grind. The "play and enjoy yourself" mechanic is fun. At least for me. If the play part is so unsatisfying that I cannot be bothered to play it in the first place it's a sign of bad game design and eventually I have to ask myself why do I want the item reward in the first place when the game is so much pain to play?
^ Memory Alpha.org is not canon. It's a open wiki with arbitrary rules. Only what can be cited from an episode is. ^
"No. Men do not roar. Women roar. Then they hurl heavy objects... and claw at you." -Worf, son of Mogh
"A filthy, mangy beast, but in its bony breast beat the heart of a warrior" - "faithful" (...) "but ever-ready to follow the call of the wild." - Martok, about a Targ
"That pig smelled horrid. A sweet-sour, extremely pungent odor. I showered and showered, and it took me a week to get rid of it!" - Robert Justman, appreciating Emmy-Lou
That's the problem for me. I work to earn a living. I don't work to earn game items, I want to play to get game items. The process of getting the items has to be reward enough to make me play over and over again - the chance of getting a very rare piece of equipment is motivation enough. Granted, STO doesn't have meaningful loot at all - if we had a number of "magic" and "rare" items that could drop as well as sets it would help, but still. The "work-earn" mechanic is grind. The "play and enjoy yourself" mechanic is fun. At least for me. If the play part is so unsatisfying that I cannot be bothered to play it in the first place it's a sign of bad game design and eventually I have to ask myself why do I want the item reward in the first place when the game is so much pain to play?
RNG isn't fun for the people who simply can't seem to get the drops.
Game's not a pain to play for me, the rep system is a joy for me compared to the old RNG based PITA.
The old system simply did not reward all players, and those players who did not feel rewarded were unhappy. the new one rewards everyone for success.
"He shall be my finest warrior, this generic man who was forced upon me.
Like a badass I shall make him look, and in the furnace of war I shall forge him.
he shall be of iron will and steely sinew.
In great armour I shall clad him and with the mightiest weapons he shall be armed.
He will be untouched by plague or disease; no sickness shall blight him.
He shall have such tactics, strategies and machines that no foe will best him in battle.
He is my answer to cryptic logic, he is the Defender of my Romulan Crew.
He is Tovan Khev... and he shall know no fear."
RNG isn't fun for the people who simply can't seem to get the drops.
Game's not a pain to play for me, the rep system is a joy for me compared to the old RNG based PITA.
The old system simply did not reward all players, and those players who did not feel rewarded were unhappy. the new one rewards everyone for success.
Matter of taste. For me, a game has all right to make you lose or not win once in a while. I don't like the guaranteed success games of today offer because we came to believe because I invest time I have to be compensated (when playing is the compensation). But your opinion may of course vary
^ Memory Alpha.org is not canon. It's a open wiki with arbitrary rules. Only what can be cited from an episode is. ^
"No. Men do not roar. Women roar. Then they hurl heavy objects... and claw at you." -Worf, son of Mogh
"A filthy, mangy beast, but in its bony breast beat the heart of a warrior" - "faithful" (...) "but ever-ready to follow the call of the wild." - Martok, about a Targ
"That pig smelled horrid. A sweet-sour, extremely pungent odor. I showered and showered, and it took me a week to get rid of it!" - Robert Justman, appreciating Emmy-Lou
RNG isn't fun for the people who simply can't seem to get the drops.
Game's not a pain to play for me, the rep system is a joy for me compared to the old RNG based PITA.
The old system simply did not reward all players, and those players who did not feel rewarded were unhappy. the new one rewards everyone for success.
Matter of taste. For me, a game has all right to make you lose or not win once in a while. I don't like the guaranteed success games of today offer because we came to believe because I invest time I have to be compensated (when playing is the compensation). But your opinion may of course vary
We can still lose elite queues (which I play often). I don't really care whether we get the 15 consolation marks for losing, since if we actually win we're rewarded for doing so.
There's a difference between failure with no reward, and victory with no reward.
"He shall be my finest warrior, this generic man who was forced upon me.
Like a badass I shall make him look, and in the furnace of war I shall forge him.
he shall be of iron will and steely sinew.
In great armour I shall clad him and with the mightiest weapons he shall be armed.
He will be untouched by plague or disease; no sickness shall blight him.
He shall have such tactics, strategies and machines that no foe will best him in battle.
He is my answer to cryptic logic, he is the Defender of my Romulan Crew.
He is Tovan Khev... and he shall know no fear."
It added the Dyson sphere which meant we got the space element (which is not perfect but can be good fun with friends) and the ground battle zone which is probably one of the most rewarding areas of the game. The Voth ground zone is a fine example of how ground stuff should be done, it's a pitty they never followed it with Kobali Prime (which is nice but broken and empty most days). I think it encouraged more players to try ground combat which is great. Equipment wise it has some great stuff for science or torp builds but it's now maybe getting surpassed by the Terran rep at least for me.
Comments
Good job you did with them 4 years ago devs.
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Early Nukara ground was like Defera still is today, pathetic rewards for a lot of effort, but they have increased the rewards there a couple of times, so now blasting tholians is much more fun, which probably explains why I rarely find myself alone on the map these days.
Dyson was a blast when it first launched, but once the parasites found out about the dil rewards things changed, you had to play when the USA was awake otherwise you could find yourself as the sole live player in a full instance, the rest being bots, haven't been in the BZ since Cryptic's last redesign but I understand it's much worse now.
The rest either get done slowly from the daily mark bonus, or wait until an event so I can shove little creatures into an industrial blender.
In the status quo, probably Dyson as you have ground and space open battlezones and they aren't too obnoxious to fight.
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The problem with the old system is it was based on RNG. you did not earn your gear you gambled for it and prayed the right items would drop.
"He shall be my finest warrior, this generic man who was forced upon me.
Like a badass I shall make him look, and in the furnace of war I shall forge him.
he shall be of iron will and steely sinew.
In great armour I shall clad him and with the mightiest weapons he shall be armed.
He will be untouched by plague or disease; no sickness shall blight him.
He shall have such tactics, strategies and machines that no foe will best him in battle.
He is my answer to cryptic logic, he is the Defender of my Romulan Crew.
He is Tovan Khev... and he shall know no fear."
When I play Diablo I do the exact same thing. That's not a problem in my book, that's what motivates me to play the game again and again. Now I buy the item and have no way to advance and it gets stale. Rolling a dice keeps things fresh as you have to adapt to a dynamic game.
Get the Forums Enhancement Extension!
The Vaadwaur were/are interesting. I was not a fan of the WWI trench thematic elements, helping the Kobali, costume design elements, or some of the special effects, but each reputation has its challenges. Delta is neither in my top nor worst reputation choices. Unlike the Terran reputation, the lack of Delta specialty currency made the rep. more of a slog. After completing the Kobali battlezone the first time there was no incentive to go back at first.
I actually liked Bug Hunt when it came out but the hard 20 min time gate was a deterrent. That said, I ran it for Delta and Iconian marks and special currency.
The Mirror Event really helps with earning current reputation marks, and of particular rep. marks.
My favourites are Romulan and Dyson because they include stronger story elements than the others.
I like that they added a BZ for Terran.
I don't like that it's designed for BFAW boats. Trying to use a 45 deg firing arc DHC boat or a torp boat (wider arc but even slower travel time on the damage) with beam boats that can can hit everything around them instantly (the fly in a circle with spawns behind the direction of travel events and the I'll just full stop here and hit everything events especially) is frustrating to say the least.
That was definitely overwhelming when I hadn't upgraded and I wasn't used to or expecting their tactics.
Now, I must be some sort of glutton for punishment because that very mechanic is now a reason for me to play in that BZ. Like I said, it's one that I do when I want a big adrenaline rush, because I know I won't be getting any time to rest. I actually seem to be getting good at it.
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Well, if I have to choose a ground zone or ground enemy to fight, Vaadwaur might be the most interesting. In space it would actually be similar.
But Terran and Counter-Command offer a space battle zone as a space for elite marks. That's just awesome.
Tactical Team sucked, once upon a time. I got it buffed. Don't think for a minute that Cryptic ignores forum feedback.
Nah I loved the Kobali BZ for the very reasons you mention, and once they added the probe cores and power cells to the last two missions it became functional to visit it regularly.... but outside of that the rewards suck. I can at least make dil off the dinos and enough marks to be appreciable... Kobali BZ? Not so much.
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Simply put, Delta reputation is the one type I can complete for playing content I would be playing anyway on any of my main content character. So it's the one type of reputation I don't have to actually "go out off my way" to get, if that makes sense.
Incidentally, the reputation that I think of as a "side tour" (versus main content) that I most *enjoy* earning the marks for is New Romulus - Paradoxically, I find the ground missions in the adventure zone proper quick, easy, and an oddly relaxing diversion. Oddly, although it is probably the reputation I have the second easiest time completing, it is also the reputation that I most loathe actually claiming the reward on. The Tholians are quite possibly my least favorite faction to face in ground combat, and I really, really hate that cave mission you have to complete to claim the reward.
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-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
While the Romulan rep has actual story and a mission tied to it, at least they did add some type of story content (even if kind of light) to these last two reps.
The Voth story was tied to the BZ sphere accolade (consoles) and the special doff missions crits. The Delta story was tied to the Kobali BZ. The Undine has been the only one of the latest ones that was just pure pew pew the aliens and no story.
That and it was the only one to continuously grind before I took a long break. Now... I don't really have a 'favorite' one, but I'll still take MACO over everything else.
"Look at me I'm a target!"
"Fire the Lance on my mark... MARK!
"How many times have we gone into the breach again R'shee?"
My proposal for a Galaxy bundle
2nd: romulan and dyson, for the ground missions. I like very much new romulus and the dyson bz.
3rd: borg: good gears, but the stfs are just boring, The borg are dumb, the tachyon beam is pathetic etc
4th: the rest.
and the delta rep and the cc rep, i hate these 2 rep. fortunately, there is "borg disconnected" to grind the marks for this 2 rep
Kobali battlezone, the last two open missions reward a mark package and one special mark daily (that's two total) without having to queue for the STFs
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The problem is not everyone GETS the right items and after enough playthroughs of not being rewarded anything which you want, the player gives up. this is EXACTLY what's happened to Rampages in Champions Online.
You don't buy rep items you EARN them with marks. EARNED from content. you work you get.
theres literally no difference in advancement except that the new system is far more satisfying for a majority of players.
"He shall be my finest warrior, this generic man who was forced upon me.
Like a badass I shall make him look, and in the furnace of war I shall forge him.
he shall be of iron will and steely sinew.
In great armour I shall clad him and with the mightiest weapons he shall be armed.
He will be untouched by plague or disease; no sickness shall blight him.
He shall have such tactics, strategies and machines that no foe will best him in battle.
He is my answer to cryptic logic, he is the Defender of my Romulan Crew.
He is Tovan Khev... and he shall know no fear."
That's the problem for me. I work to earn a living. I don't work to earn game items, I want to play to get game items. The process of getting the items has to be reward enough to make me play over and over again - the chance of getting a very rare piece of equipment is motivation enough. Granted, STO doesn't have meaningful loot at all - if we had a number of "magic" and "rare" items that could drop as well as sets it would help, but still. The "work-earn" mechanic is grind. The "play and enjoy yourself" mechanic is fun. At least for me. If the play part is so unsatisfying that I cannot be bothered to play it in the first place it's a sign of bad game design and eventually I have to ask myself why do I want the item reward in the first place when the game is so much pain to play?
Get the Forums Enhancement Extension!
RNG isn't fun for the people who simply can't seem to get the drops.
Game's not a pain to play for me, the rep system is a joy for me compared to the old RNG based PITA.
The old system simply did not reward all players, and those players who did not feel rewarded were unhappy. the new one rewards everyone for success.
"He shall be my finest warrior, this generic man who was forced upon me.
Like a badass I shall make him look, and in the furnace of war I shall forge him.
he shall be of iron will and steely sinew.
In great armour I shall clad him and with the mightiest weapons he shall be armed.
He will be untouched by plague or disease; no sickness shall blight him.
He shall have such tactics, strategies and machines that no foe will best him in battle.
He is my answer to cryptic logic, he is the Defender of my Romulan Crew.
He is Tovan Khev... and he shall know no fear."
Matter of taste. For me, a game has all right to make you lose or not win once in a while. I don't like the guaranteed success games of today offer because we came to believe because I invest time I have to be compensated (when playing is the compensation). But your opinion may of course vary
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We can still lose elite queues (which I play often). I don't really care whether we get the 15 consolation marks for losing, since if we actually win we're rewarded for doing so.
There's a difference between failure with no reward, and victory with no reward.
"He shall be my finest warrior, this generic man who was forced upon me.
Like a badass I shall make him look, and in the furnace of war I shall forge him.
he shall be of iron will and steely sinew.
In great armour I shall clad him and with the mightiest weapons he shall be armed.
He will be untouched by plague or disease; no sickness shall blight him.
He shall have such tactics, strategies and machines that no foe will best him in battle.
He is my answer to cryptic logic, he is the Defender of my Romulan Crew.
He is Tovan Khev... and he shall know no fear."
It added the Dyson sphere which meant we got the space element (which is not perfect but can be good fun with friends) and the ground battle zone which is probably one of the most rewarding areas of the game.
The Voth ground zone is a fine example of how ground stuff should be done, it's a pitty they never followed it with Kobali Prime (which is nice but broken and empty most days). I think it encouraged more players to try ground combat which is great.
Equipment wise it has some great stuff for science or torp builds but it's now maybe getting surpassed by the Terran rep at least for me.