If you only had three keys what lockbox would you open?

koje · February 2016

So, I've played on and off since launch and recently gotten back into the game again but in all these years I have never opened a single lockbox. However, I have recently acquired three master keys. There have been so many lockboxes over the years so I'm unsure what to do with my first ever keys. So, I come here asking your good advice. I know the lockboxes are random so no guarantee of what I will get but imagine you don't own anything from any lockbox, which ones would you most want to open and why?

Thanks!

garaks31 · February 2016

1. sell the keys
2. temporal ... wells ...

thatcursedwolf · February 2016

^ Sell the keys, guaranteed results.

lingeringsoul888 · February 2016

so that's at most 15 million EC from selling the keys, good luck getting those ships you're a few hundred million short.

If the game is just to open 3 boxes, it wouldn't matter which one you open, opening three wouldn't get you much at all. Unless you're extremely lucky and get the grand prize. Any grand prize can net you 500million+ on the exchange

davefenestrator · February 2016

Can you use 15 million EC more than a 1-in-100 chance of getting a ship?

If not, which ship do you want to (not) get? A Tarantula? A Herald ship? Pick the box with the ship you want, open them, then enjoy your Preferred Mining Claims.

risian4 · February 2016

I'd check the prices of the rewards of the boxes you're considering. Assuming you won't get a ship with those 3 keys (could be though) I wouldn't choose one that dropped recently. Certainly not the Herald box, most of its stuff isn't worth much as everyone is still dumping the stuff they got from it.

The Voth box has some interesting rewards, especially Doffs, that can sell for a lot of EC. Same for Vaadwaur and the Xindi boxes. I've often started with a few keys (10, 20 maybe), got some valuable stuff and in the end I would be able to open well over 50 boxes by selling the contents.

I'm always grateful that everyone keeps saying you shouldn't open boxes - makes it so much easier for those of us who do open them as their contents become much more valuable if fewer people are opening them

A few months ago, I started with 26 m EC I got from selling Z-particles and Rubidium, bought some keys, got a Xindi aquatic ship, sold it, got more keys, was lucky again and eventually I ended up with 3000 lobi.

But again, check the prices of the possible rewards. Things may have changed during the past couple of weeks/months. You probably won't get a ship, but it'd be best to choose the box that has the highest chance of rewarding something valuable if you want to open some boxes.

spiritwalker1969 · February 2016

Tal Shiar - Plasmonic Leech, otherwise I would probably sell the keys and buy something I needed from the exchange.

[Otherwise I would hold out for the as yet (and probably never) unreleased Borg Lockbox which contains (the as yet fictional) Picard Locutus Targetting Console. This console will provide (a) total negation of Borg Energy Drains and (b) target all weapons on the magic coordinates which one-shot tactical cubes

]

In all seriousness, have a look on the wiki and see what you fancy trying for in the so-far released lockboxes then check the exchange if you can get it for a reasonable price then sell the required amount of keys and enjoy. Some of the lesser prizes are better than the press they get on the forums. The polymorphic thingy from the Herald box for example - annoying when Gateway to Grethor is spammed with these (as they are probably related to the problems at the end of the PvE) but use of the probes is optional, it also gives +25 antiproton damage which could be of benefit to less well equipped players relying on rep or loot gear. We will have our preferences based on how we play, our build ideas, career path - so choose what you fancy and enjoy.

seaofsorrows · February 2016

Depends.

If there as a ship I really wanted, I would open that box. Even though the chances aren't great, there is still a chance.

If I just wanted to try and make some money, I would probably open either the Tal-Shiar or the Xindi-Terrestrial box. The Tal Shiar can give you the Destroyer or Plasmonic Leech which both sell for a good amount, and the Terrestrial can drop the Olean or a bridge officer training manual like Kemocite.

The odds are against you either way, so try for whatever it is you really want.

koje · February 2016

Thank you for all the responses. Greatly appreciated.

Selling the three keys wouldn't get me anywhere close to enough to buy any T6 ship but it's an option if I just want to buy some ship equipment I guess. Opening a box at least gives me small chance of getting a ship but most likely not which is why I came here to ask about which boxes have a good chance of dropping something useful even if it's not a ship.

For example, the TS box for the plasmonic leech was a good suggestion although I don't know how rare of a drop that is.

Are all of the lockbox ships non-Starfleet type ships? If so, none of them really appeal to me. My ROM and KDF captains already have T6 ships that I like but I would really love some sort of T6 Starfleet ship but I guess those are zen store only.

*sigh* Still have no idea what to do.

meimeitoo · February 2016

Sell the keys.

warmaker001b · February 2016

Sell the keys. That's guaranteed, positive returns instead of wishing on a star and opening 3 boxes and getting literally TRIBBLE in return.

jslyn · February 2016

I would sell the keys and get something useful.

koje · February 2016

Sell the keys seems the best option. My KDF and Rom-KDF both have the plasmonic leech because I had bought the Vandal Destroyer which they could both claim but none of my Fed captains have it. I guess I could sell the three keys and save up to buy a leech for my Fed but they sell for no less than 77 mil so the keys alone won't get me close to that either. I wish buying it once would unlock it for other characters the way all my KDF captains can claim the destroyer/leech.

Thanks again for the advice. Very helpful.

spiritwalker1969 · February 2016

koje wrote: »

Sell the keys seems the best option. My KDF and Rom-KDF both have the plasmonic leech because I had bought the Vandal Destroyer which they could both claim but none of my Fed captains have it. I guess I could sell the three keys and save up to buy a leech for my Fed but they sell for no less than 77 mil so the keys alone won't get me close to that either. I wish buying it once would unlock it for other characters the way all my KDF captains can claim the destroyer/leech.

Thanks again for the advice. Very helpful.

One tactic I tend to use to get EC is to use the account bank to transfer R&D mats to the character that needs an EC injection, then when a stack maxes out sell on the exchange - some of these run in the 10's of millions for 999. Same with the R&D components that get dropped from the academy recruitment assignments. If your KDF are idle - station them in the sectors between Risa & Khitomer, these sectors all have reasonably good Doff Assignments for contraband which can be exchanged for dil ---> zen --->more keys --->ec or gather 250 cotraband and sell for ~10M EC (when Dil events are on the horizon have seen +50% on this price). These sectors also have forced labour doff missions which pay 500 Dil. You can also hit the Admiralty system for EC, mats & Dil, KDF seem to be better for this. Just using this I have shipped around 400M EC through my main character in the past 2-3 weeks.

kiralyn · February 2016

davefenestrator wrote: »

Can you use 15 million EC more than a 1-in-100 chance of getting a ship?

If not, which ship do you want to (not) get? A Tarantula? A Herald ship? Pick the box with the ship you want, open them, then enjoy your Preferred Mining Claims.

Was so disappointed this time.... did my usual "new lockbox? 30 keys!" routine, and didn't get any mining claims!

spiritwalker1969 · February 2016

kiralyn wrote: »

davefenestrator wrote: »

Can you use 15 million EC more than a 1-in-100 chance of getting a ship?

If not, which ship do you want to (not) get? A Tarantula? A Herald ship? Pick the box with the ship you want, open them, then enjoy your Preferred Mining Claims.

Was so disappointed this time.... did my usual "new lockbox? 30 keys!" routine, and didn't get any mining claims!

I must have gotten your mining claims? Did you happen to get my T6 ship by accident?

cbrjwrr · February 2016

If you haven't yet, don't sell the keys right now; the price is artificially deflated because of the 10% sale on keys. Wait for the price to adjust after the sale.

burstorion · February 2016

None, sell them as you have more chance getting what you want with ec than gambling - more so with the plethora of 'prizes' (I term that loosely) used to lengthen the odds of getting the good stuff

hanover2 · February 2016

If I were given three free keys, I would immediately open the exchange window and post them for market price minus 1%. I refuse to validate the existence of those gamble boxes. Those things get deleted from my inventory whenever I make the mistake of picking them up. Space is positively littered with my discarded lockboxes.

centaurianalpha · February 2016

Selling the keys is actually the best return; I have an ongoing project to see what chances may be had by opening 100 of each lock box. That way, the percentages are easy to see; even at 100/box, ships are very rare, and even then, they are usually Mirror Universe ships that can't be upgraded. The Admiralty System saved these from total garbage, but otherwise you've got a roughly 2 in 3 chance of just getting a DOff mini-pack or some energy weapons.

Lobi are a consolation, but at 5/box, 3 boxes would still not yield much of value in all probability. I've now opened >600 boxes, and have yet to get a good faction ship, which is well within the published probabilities...

lopequil · February 2016

As a counter example I got two temporal science vessels one after the other from twenty boxes. My advice is just to pick a box with a ship you'd like and take your chances, then sell what you don't want. Yes you might get something worthless like a ground kit but you might also get an R&D box and those will net you a couple mil each.

cbrjwrr · February 2016

centaurianalpha wrote: »

Selling the keys is actually the best return; I have an ongoing project to see what chances may be had by opening 100 of each lock box. That way, the percentages are easy to see; even at 100/box, ships are very rare, and even then, they are usually Mirror Universe ships that can't be upgraded. The Admiralty System saved these from total garbage, but otherwise you've got a roughly 2 in 3 chance of just getting a DOff mini-pack or some energy weapons.

Lobi are a consolation, but at 5/box, 3 boxes would still not yield much of value in all probability. I've now opened >600 boxes, and have yet to get a good faction ship, which is well within the published probabilities...

Statistically, that isn't actually that implausible; the probability of 600 boxes without a grand prize ship event occurring is 9% ((249/250)^600) which is very unlikely, but still reasonably possible.

samt1996 · February 2016

I'd flush them down the toilet...

opekis · February 2016

jslyn wrote: »

I would sell the keys and get something useful.

+1 ... Your odds of winning anything nice are really low...

hanover2 · February 2016

And if they published those odds anywhere visible, the reality check would likely discourage a lot of sales. I guess the "technically not gambling if you squint real hard" hair split lets them off the hook for any consumer-friendly disclosure. But I still find it shady and underhanded to profit from the ignorance of a consumer base composed even partially of children.

tancrediiv · February 2016

OP, my advice is a bit more individual choice.

I hate the lockbox system. There are no guarantees and when people quote the odds of a grand prize at 2.5%, statistically, it is not true. If you use a 100 keys or 1 the odds are still horrrible. Basic Statistics and Probability Analysis will allow you to see the true probability of success. How much risk can you safely absorb?

If you have money to burn, go ahead, use keys and open boxes. But open boxes with the items which sell at the best rate on the exchange with high demand. Plasmonic leech (tal Shiar box) is highly sought-after by Feds and is more likely to drop. It's price tag is over 70 million and rising. It will drop far more often so you may make more selling them or other popular items and then buy what you want at a market demand price. Also, those items will tend to go up in price on the exchange when demand stays high but the supply of boxes or items drop.

For example, I bought 140 keys the last 6 months from the zen store. I did not win a high end ship. I bought 12 keys with EC more than 2 years ago iirc and got a JHAS, later a Narcine, then a Contortrix. Nothing since. Yes, you can win. The question is WILL you. And to get the console sets for, for instance, the Xindi ships, you need all 4 ships, two from the box and 2 from the Lobi store. To get enough Lobi Crystals you would have to open about 400 lockboxes to get the 1800 lobi needed.

You could instead sell the minor consoles and reward packs on the exchange to build EC to guarantee buying those ultra rare ships. Use this to supplement your game play EC earnings. But from what has been said here, you should be able to see this is a marketing tactic designed to make money for a company to pay for the game operations. If you have money to burn, it's your decision. I suggest not throwing your money away and buying with in game currency. Do not fall for the trap. Use your money to pay for college, support your family, go on a trip, whatever. Until a guarantee is built in so after a certain number of dollars spent gets a prize worthy of the cash, use keys at your own risk.

If you only had three keys what lockbox would you open?

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