Well, I for one am pretty happy with this Phoenix box event, because I can get some stuff I couldn't get before when I wasn't playing. I only wish it were on for more than just one week, but I'm still happy they even brought these items back at all. So I'm totally fine with this.
Take note of the title of this thread. The rewards for all the other categories are fine to me except Epic. Downgrading to ultra rare is known to me, but there I am limited to the 2 ships that were lottery chances to win.
Ok. So downgrade some more, and enjoy, since 'the rewards for all the other categories are fine to me.' Got a delta recruit, or a handful of them? This event helps them claim things they could never have. Got some AoY recruits, same story. New characters you've created? All the little things will help them level and even when they're alt status serve some helpful and/or fun purpose.
This is the first time phoenix box event has run. It was an amazing surprise if the dil-ex is allowed to tell a story as well as the overwhelming positive responses to this event, which really is like a lockbox (UR) plus epic rarity added with more limited prizes but much cheaper and valuable to veterans and new players alike. It could rerun in the future, where new items may be added that some may have missed based on the results (participation and feedback) of this one.
In all likelihood, Cryptic/PWE knows many players may already have those epic and at least some UR prizes, and so want to measure how popular they are with their current setup as a baseline.
My little story is having ignored the Risa event with its ship prizes since I was brand new to the game and wanted my first real starship (an Odyssey with saucer separation) over some weird alien ships "that probably require investing a ton of time outside of Dil & EC farming", never thinking I'd enjoy the game so much to binge at it like a mad person. Regretted it, and looked forward in anticipation for the Risa ships all year (mostly the vette), not having them slotted, only to be told sorry, meet exclusivity, you can't have 'em ever.
Much (justified) protests and bouts of anger later, phoenix box came out of nowhere, so I was prepared to gamble away a lot of Dil for them, which I did, and got 'lucky' 351 boxes later for both Risian ships, nevermind all the other awesome little things here and there. I expected to burn a giant pile of Dil for nothing because RNG and expected low odds, Dil burned alright, but came out with what I wanted for so long and thought I could never ever get.
Those who pay lobi to acquire event ships up front, or to fill in missing days, pay a lot. Those who are able to be there for those very few minutes a day keep the event active, and help pull in other potential players, help the game out by the numbers. These being expensive and a huge gamble, sure, I don't like it one bit, but it's much better than 'sorry, exclusive, you can never have it' and keeps the former expenses/participation justified for the good of the game.
While it's awesome that people get a chance to get missed items, the people that got them didn't get them for free!
They spent the time grinding or they bought the special game boxes for the codes.
Again, great for those that missed them, but the people that did get them worked for them.
The one thing that could have put this event over the top would have been to make the lower level coupons upgradeable to higher level ones.
Yeah letting people 'upgrade' tokens would have been a serious mistake.
indeed, you can trade 10 Uncommon Prize Tokens for another Phoenix Prize Pack though and I think that is a fair compromise.
I have said before and I will say again, people asked for a "chance" to get past ships and that is exactly what they got, chance - as in - a possibility of something happening.
I think the phoenix boxes are a awesome idea and implemented just as they should be.
When I think about everything we've been through together,
maybe it's not the destination that matters, maybe it's the journey,
and if that journey takes a little longer,
so we can do something we all believe in,
I can't think of any place I'd rather be or any people I'd rather be with.
Now this was a novel Idea but it fell short. I as a long time player who has completed all the events for ships, find the prizes lacking for the epic voucher. If I was to be awarded an Epic voucher, It would be useless to me as I already have all the ships offered. Maybe the Jem'Hadar Strike ship could have been offered, or maybe that new Ferengi ship only a chosen few received. All I'm saying is this pack is wonderful for those players who are very new to the the game,but us veterans get a selection of rewards that are already owned.
I haven't read through all the comments, so unsure if anyone has made this very obvious point. OP, this event isn't targeting you. This event is targeting anyone who hasn't had the opportunity, or missed the opportunity due to other circumstances, to earn these items at the original release date of said items. If you don't like the event, don't participate, but surely there is no need for you to come whine about it on the forums. I feel they should not have (and didn't) added ships like the Elachi Dread, Jem Attack Ship T6 and a few others as they are a way for Cryptic to make extra money via the promotion of R&D packs, it's highly unlikely you will ever see those ships in this event if it ever appears again. Now stop being a greedy cry baby and go enjoy all your event items and ships.
If you've already gotten the good stuff on the list for free, then good for you. Seriously. Other people have not and this is an answer to a very long standing request to give us a way to get stuff we missed. Sorry it doesn't benefit you, but you don't have to spend your dilithium if there's nothing you want on the list.
Why can't people just be happy. Being a long term player means you do not have to take part, you've got the items already. this is a good way for people to get hold of items they've wanted but not there when they were first offered. there are rewards thee for those that have everything, so your not really missing out.
That's right, BE HAPPY, folks!
Be happy someone else is happy or got what they wanted.
People don't kick a dead dog, guys.
Problem is there's sadly folks who don't like to see other people be happy, and so they either make fun of them, ridicule them or give them a hard time.
~plops on her sexy librarian glasses~
So, think of others being happy for once, folks. I'm sure Jacob Marley would tell you the same.
There was nothing in it for me either (except seeing the Dilithium market plummet, LOL). I pretty much have all relevant ships already.
On a whole, catering to a few tycoons, with too much money, in need of a sink, is rarely a good idea when it adversely affects the vast majority of other players. Peeps seem to be happy, though, and I quickly converted my Zen to Dilithium before it was too late. Zen *buyers* of course, will be happy too.
I think you could have upgrading just fine... if you had to pay 10 to one to move up to the next tier.
Guaranteed Epic with a maximum of 10,000 boxes opened? Less for each better-than-uncommon you pull along the way. Not seeing a problem .
That would be acceptable yes.
sure it is if you happen to have 40,000,000 dilithium handy for one ship.
pack of 10 boxes @ 40,000 x by 1000 = 10,000 boxes @ 40,000,000
better off trading 10 Uncommon Prize Tokens for another Phoenix Prize Pack and seeing if you get lucky.
just think how many c-store ships you could get for 40,000,000 dilithium even at worst case of 500dil-1zen that's 80,000zen.
you can get the delta pack for just 12,000zen
Post edited by bobbydazlers on
When I think about everything we've been through together,
maybe it's not the destination that matters, maybe it's the journey,
and if that journey takes a little longer,
so we can do something we all believe in,
I can't think of any place I'd rather be or any people I'd rather be with.
Exactly. Though if RNGeesus hates you so much you get nothing but uncommons out of 10,000 boxes you might want to take the hint. Conversely even ONE Ultra rare would shave 1,000 boxes of this undertaking.
So yeah, I'm talking about a proposal the devs might take seriously, not some wildly player-friendly end run around the RNG. Its just a very long streak breaker. Actually since ~50% of all boxes drop Rare or better, you're actually looking at an average of under 2000 boxes to trade up to epic. Making these T6 ships typically cost 8,000,000 dil, which is probably a bit on the low side for the Dev's purposes...
I think it's a good idea of having at least some chance to get retired items for players who weren't around when the events ran - it's always (imo) better to be inclusive. And to those who already have the stuff - it's not always about you. Let other folks have nice stuff too.
Happy Holidays.
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Star Trek Online Volunteer Community Moderator "bIghojchugh DaneH, Dumev pagh. bIghojqangbe'chugh, DuQaHlaH pagh." "Learn lots. Don't judge. Laugh for no reason. Be nice. Seek happiness."~Day[9] "Your fun isn't wrong."~LaughingTrendy
Opened 21 packs yesterday, got enough for 3 shotguns, 1 or 2 more and I'll be set. Only ship I might be interested in is the corvette, but even that I probably wouldn't use
I got lucky for once and got the UR in the first 20 boxes. I only wanted 1 UR but I will still open more to get rid of some dilithium. Get RMC for all characters, shotgun, spike, and AP torpedo. For the VR prizes and uncommon are best.
I do think that the drop rate for epic UR is a little low. I would make it more like 1/100 rather than 1/250. But that's just me.
Captain Jean-Luc Picard: "We think we've come so far. Torture of heretics, burning of witches, it's all ancient history. Then - before you can blink an eye - suddenly it threatens to start all over again."
"With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably."
While the Conversion Rate down between Tokens is 1:2, look at the rate for trade-in for Phoenix Prize Boxes. That is 10:1 Uncommon. That means that it would take 5 Rare to buy that Prize Box after conversion. So in theory 5 Uncommon are the equivalent of 1 Rare, so 5 lesser Tokens to equal 1 the next step higher.
But, since MMOs are always asymmetrical in going the opposite direction (say selling items back to Vendors), let's use the Replicator Rate for disposal of 40%. So that is 2.5x (10÷.4) or 25 Tokens of some level to go up a level for 1 Token.
Using 25 Tokens to get 1 Token makes it possible but rarer. 100k Dilithium to get a Rare from all Uncommons and 2.5 Million to get a Very Rare, or 62.5 Million for a Ultra Rare. All this assumes opening boxes only gets you Uncommons, which is not the case.
'But to be logical is not to be right', and 'nothing' on God's earth could ever 'make it' right!'
Judge Dan Haywood
'As l speak now, the words are forming in my head.
l don't know.
l really don't know what l'm about to say, except l have a feeling about it.
That l must repeat the words that come without my knowledge.'
Now this was a novel Idea but it fell short. I as a long time player who has completed all the events for ships, find the prizes lacking for the epic voucher. If I was to be awarded an Epic voucher, It would be useless to me as I already have all the ships offered. Maybe the Jem'Hadar Strike ship could have been offered, or maybe that new Ferengi ship only a chosen few received. All I'm saying is this pack is wonderful for those players who are very new to the the game,but us veterans get a selection of rewards that are already owned.
Hi
As a long time player myself, I was very satisfied with the Phoenix promotion. It allowed me to get a ship I missed from this year anniversary event and this was my primary goal.
I was also able to get a couple of things that I hadn't encountered before like DOFFS.
A common complaint I hear from newer players if the lack of ability to get items/ships they missed. This can put a sour taste in the mouth of someone who maybe looking at STO as his/hers regular MMO but feels they aren't competitive and leave the game.
What is most impressive about the promotion is that if you were aiming for a Epic/UR outcome and didn't get it, the worst outcome if you didn't want anything gear/emotes etc. are the Phoenix Upgrades. They provide the exact same technology and research points outcome as 4 Superior Upgrades from the R&D crafting system but at only 93% of the dilithium cost - 4000 (cost of each Phoenix) vs 4300 (cost of 4 Superior Upgrades @ 1075 each). So if a player was able to put 200 of these aside, using them on future gear upgrading will have saved him/her 60,000 Refined Dilithium.
While it is true that there was only one item I was interested in at Epic/UR level and wasn't interested in much else, the concept behind this enables newer players to get past ships/gear and doing something for the segment of players is very important for the longevity of the game. So essentially the dilthium I spent today has been committed to upgrading my gear or hold it for new gear in the future.
I also note, that since Phoenix was launched the heat has come off the Dilithium market which I am sure Cryptic would have been a little concerned about.
Today, I sold over 250k Dil to buy 750 Zen, because the exchange rate had dropped by over 100 D/Z. Then I claimed my free box, and one of my toons now has the Voth admiralty ship. (+50 to each stat when alone, and the stats are pretty good to start with..) If I want more boxes, grinding Dil is amusingly easy in this game, especially with the help of my Klink toon (who gets Contraband from Marauding DOff missions, and then that's 2k Dil per toon handing it in per day).
I'd like to have the shotgun, although I have to decide who gets it. And a couple of other toons could use the Admiralty card. Beyond that, no, this event isn't meant for me. But you know what? It's not always about me. And it's not always about you, either. The sooner you absorb that into your overall worldview, the happier you'll be.
Now this was a novel Idea but it fell short. I as a long time player who has completed all the events for ships, find the prizes lacking for the epic voucher. If I was to be awarded an Epic voucher, It would be useless to me as I already have all the ships offered. Maybe the Jem'Hadar Strike ship could have been offered, or maybe that new Ferengi ship only a chosen few received. All I'm saying is this pack is wonderful for those players who are very new to the the game,but us veterans get a selection of rewards that are already owned.
Here's an idea: save your dilithium and transfer it to Zen if you already have all the goodies. Since the Dilex crashed, you can expect to make a good profit once the Dilex recovers.
3) Getting the tech manuels and those are really good
4) the ability to get things i missed on (mind im not after the ships my vengeance is my baby )
5) Newer players can get things THEY missed out on
6) Dil exchange is the lowest its been in a very long time
Op it seems to me your either mad because the dil exchange is low, or you have a strong sense of self entitlement and dont want newer players to have the shinys you got because you want it to be exclusive.
This box is the best thing to happen to the game in a while, so just get over yourself and your sense of entitlement and be happy that new players can get and enjoy the things they normally couldnt.\
Sure its a lottery box but atleast we dont need keys , i hope cryptic runs this box alot more
I've been playing since day 1 and was skeptical that anything in this promotion would be useful to me. However I bought a 10 pack, opened them, and was pleasantly surprised. I purchased the Crystal Torp that I had missed, bought a console I didn't even existed, and got some turret consumables that seemed pretty awesome. All this and I STILL have some tokens left over for the next character I want to get some of these things on. Sure, I didn't get the Super-epic-awesome-rare token for a ship, but frankly, I'm all shipped out. I own every C-store ship in the game, and all the event ships as well. I understand the frustration of some, but to call this an " epic fail" is ridiculous. It's no wonder the Devs don't talk to us anymore, they give the players what they want and get yelled at for it! Anyway, I think this is a success for Cryptic and hope they bring it back a few times a year, maybe with some different things added each time.
*************************** Fleet Admiral In charge of Bacon Fighting 5th Attack Squadron The Devils Henchman
Look at it this way OP;
You don't need anything from this Phoenix box promo... Great !
Now you have all that surplus dil to trade for super low priced Zen !!!
This is win/win/win for everybody involved. It's like the best thing to ever happen to STO. Followed closely by the infinity box !
Look a little deeper at this promo before totally pooping all over it !
You have a great opportunity RIGHT NOW, to make great use of your Dilithium !
Either way you go, with phoenix packs or rather buying as much cheap zen as you can get your greedy paws on. Its a HUGE win for everyone involved !
Cheer up Grinch. Geez.
EDIT: How can you even overlook the cheap Zen !!! Its even better then the Tech Upgrades. Use your noggin !
Comments
Ok. So downgrade some more, and enjoy, since 'the rewards for all the other categories are fine to me.' Got a delta recruit, or a handful of them? This event helps them claim things they could never have. Got some AoY recruits, same story. New characters you've created? All the little things will help them level and even when they're alt status serve some helpful and/or fun purpose.
This is the first time phoenix box event has run. It was an amazing surprise if the dil-ex is allowed to tell a story as well as the overwhelming positive responses to this event, which really is like a lockbox (UR) plus epic rarity added with more limited prizes but much cheaper and valuable to veterans and new players alike. It could rerun in the future, where new items may be added that some may have missed based on the results (participation and feedback) of this one.
In all likelihood, Cryptic/PWE knows many players may already have those epic and at least some UR prizes, and so want to measure how popular they are with their current setup as a baseline.
My little story is having ignored the Risa event with its ship prizes since I was brand new to the game and wanted my first real starship (an Odyssey with saucer separation) over some weird alien ships "that probably require investing a ton of time outside of Dil & EC farming", never thinking I'd enjoy the game so much to binge at it like a mad person. Regretted it, and looked forward in anticipation for the Risa ships all year (mostly the vette), not having them slotted, only to be told sorry, meet exclusivity, you can't have 'em ever.
Much (justified) protests and bouts of anger later, phoenix box came out of nowhere, so I was prepared to gamble away a lot of Dil for them, which I did, and got 'lucky' 351 boxes later for both Risian ships, nevermind all the other awesome little things here and there. I expected to burn a giant pile of Dil for nothing because RNG and expected low odds, Dil burned alright, but came out with what I wanted for so long and thought I could never ever get.
Those who pay lobi to acquire event ships up front, or to fill in missing days, pay a lot. Those who are able to be there for those very few minutes a day keep the event active, and help pull in other potential players, help the game out by the numbers. These being expensive and a huge gamble, sure, I don't like it one bit, but it's much better than 'sorry, exclusive, you can never have it' and keeps the former expenses/participation justified for the good of the game.
I will use my free dil this week. At the end of the week I will cash what I got in for upgrades.
Maybe I'll get lucky, if not, minimum effort applied and upgrades.
I enjoy seeing others have fun and get excited with their new toys. Kinda like watching the kids at Christmas.
indeed, you can trade 10 Uncommon Prize Tokens for another Phoenix Prize Pack though and I think that is a fair compromise.
I have said before and I will say again, people asked for a "chance" to get past ships and that is exactly what they got, chance - as in - a possibility of something happening.
I think the phoenix boxes are a awesome idea and implemented just as they should be.
When I think about everything we've been through together,
maybe it's not the destination that matters, maybe it's the journey,
and if that journey takes a little longer,
so we can do something we all believe in,
I can't think of any place I'd rather be or any people I'd rather be with.
I haven't read through all the comments, so unsure if anyone has made this very obvious point. OP, this event isn't targeting you. This event is targeting anyone who hasn't had the opportunity, or missed the opportunity due to other circumstances, to earn these items at the original release date of said items. If you don't like the event, don't participate, but surely there is no need for you to come whine about it on the forums. I feel they should not have (and didn't) added ships like the Elachi Dread, Jem Attack Ship T6 and a few others as they are a way for Cryptic to make extra money via the promotion of R&D packs, it's highly unlikely you will ever see those ships in this event if it ever appears again. Now stop being a greedy cry baby and go enjoy all your event items and ships.
Guaranteed Epic with a maximum of 10,000 boxes opened? Less for each better-than-uncommon you pull along the way. Not seeing a problem
^^^^^^
That's right, BE HAPPY, folks!
Be happy someone else is happy or got what they wanted.
People don't kick a dead dog, guys.
Problem is there's sadly folks who don't like to see other people be happy, and so they either make fun of them, ridicule them or give them a hard time.
~plops on her sexy librarian glasses~
So, think of others being happy for once, folks. I'm sure Jacob Marley would tell you the same.
[Excessively used, oversized images removed]
On a whole, catering to a few tycoons, with too much money, in need of a sink, is rarely a good idea when it adversely affects the vast majority of other players. Peeps seem to be happy, though, and I quickly converted my Zen to Dilithium before it was too late. Zen *buyers* of course, will be happy too.
sure it is if you happen to have 40,000,000 dilithium handy for one ship.
pack of 10 boxes @ 40,000 x by 1000 = 10,000 boxes @ 40,000,000
better off trading 10 Uncommon Prize Tokens for another Phoenix Prize Pack and seeing if you get lucky.
just think how many c-store ships you could get for 40,000,000 dilithium even at worst case of 500dil-1zen that's 80,000zen.
you can get the delta pack for just 12,000zen
When I think about everything we've been through together,
maybe it's not the destination that matters, maybe it's the journey,
and if that journey takes a little longer,
so we can do something we all believe in,
I can't think of any place I'd rather be or any people I'd rather be with.
So yeah, I'm talking about a proposal the devs might take seriously, not some wildly player-friendly end run around the RNG. Its just a very long streak breaker. Actually since ~50% of all boxes drop Rare or better, you're actually looking at an average of under 2000 boxes to trade up to epic. Making these T6 ships typically cost 8,000,000 dil, which is probably a bit on the low side for the Dev's purposes...
However, OP, you don't need to worry. There's an extremely slim chance you'd get an epic token anyway.
U.S.S. Buteo Regalis - Brigid Multi-Mission Surveillance Explorer build
R.R.W. Ri Maajon - Khopesh Tactical Dreadnought Warbird build
My Youtube channel containing STO videos.
Happy Holidays.
Star Trek Online Volunteer Community Moderator
"bIghojchugh DaneH, Dumev pagh. bIghojqangbe'chugh, DuQaHlaH pagh."
"Learn lots. Don't judge. Laugh for no reason. Be nice. Seek happiness." ~Day[9]
"Your fun isn't wrong." ~LaughingTrendy
Find me on Twitterverse - @jodarkrider
I do think that the drop rate for epic UR is a little low. I would make it more like 1/100 rather than 1/250. But that's just me.
"With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably."
But, since MMOs are always asymmetrical in going the opposite direction (say selling items back to Vendors), let's use the Replicator Rate for disposal of 40%. So that is 2.5x (10÷.4) or 25 Tokens of some level to go up a level for 1 Token.
Using 25 Tokens to get 1 Token makes it possible but rarer. 100k Dilithium to get a Rare from all Uncommons and 2.5 Million to get a Very Rare, or 62.5 Million for a Ultra Rare. All this assumes opening boxes only gets you Uncommons, which is not the case.
l don't know.
l really don't know what l'm about to say, except l have a feeling about it.
That l must repeat the words that come without my knowledge.'
Hi
As a long time player myself, I was very satisfied with the Phoenix promotion. It allowed me to get a ship I missed from this year anniversary event and this was my primary goal.
I was also able to get a couple of things that I hadn't encountered before like DOFFS.
A common complaint I hear from newer players if the lack of ability to get items/ships they missed. This can put a sour taste in the mouth of someone who maybe looking at STO as his/hers regular MMO but feels they aren't competitive and leave the game.
What is most impressive about the promotion is that if you were aiming for a Epic/UR outcome and didn't get it, the worst outcome if you didn't want anything gear/emotes etc. are the Phoenix Upgrades. They provide the exact same technology and research points outcome as 4 Superior Upgrades from the R&D crafting system but at only 93% of the dilithium cost - 4000 (cost of each Phoenix) vs 4300 (cost of 4 Superior Upgrades @ 1075 each). So if a player was able to put 200 of these aside, using them on future gear upgrading will have saved him/her 60,000 Refined Dilithium.
While it is true that there was only one item I was interested in at Epic/UR level and wasn't interested in much else, the concept behind this enables newer players to get past ships/gear and doing something for the segment of players is very important for the longevity of the game. So essentially the dilthium I spent today has been committed to upgrading my gear or hold it for new gear in the future.
I also note, that since Phoenix was launched the heat has come off the Dilithium market which I am sure Cryptic would have been a little concerned about.
Snipey47a
Bravo!
Here's an idea: save your dilithium and transfer it to Zen if you already have all the goodies. Since the Dilex crashed, you can expect to make a good profit once the Dilex recovers.
1) got the red matter console i missed out on
2) Got those 2 doffs
3) Getting the tech manuels and those are really good
4) the ability to get things i missed on (mind im not after the ships my vengeance is my baby )
5) Newer players can get things THEY missed out on
6) Dil exchange is the lowest its been in a very long time
Op it seems to me your either mad because the dil exchange is low, or you have a strong sense of self entitlement and dont want newer players to have the shinys you got because you want it to be exclusive.
This box is the best thing to happen to the game in a while, so just get over yourself and your sense of entitlement and be happy that new players can get and enjoy the things they normally couldnt.\
Sure its a lottery box but atleast we dont need keys , i hope cryptic runs this box alot more
Fleet Admiral In charge of Bacon
Fighting 5th Attack Squadron
The Devils Henchman
You don't need anything from this Phoenix box promo... Great !
Now you have all that surplus dil to trade for super low priced Zen !!!
This is win/win/win for everybody involved. It's like the best thing to ever happen to STO. Followed closely by the infinity box !
Look a little deeper at this promo before totally pooping all over it !
You have a great opportunity RIGHT NOW, to make great use of your Dilithium !
Either way you go, with phoenix packs or rather buying as much cheap zen as you can get your greedy paws on. Its a HUGE win for everyone involved !
Cheer up Grinch. Geez.
EDIT: How can you even overlook the cheap Zen !!! Its even better then the Tech Upgrades. Use your noggin !