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Considering STO
castamere7
Member Posts: 9 Arc User
Hey folks,
I'm looking for a good PvE alternative to EVE Online's PvP. Is STO still a regularly updated game with a good player base? Do players socialize much in-game? Is it too late for a new player to start? What do you do in the game, for the most part?
Thanks!
I'm looking for a good PvE alternative to EVE Online's PvP. Is STO still a regularly updated game with a good player base? Do players socialize much in-game? Is it too late for a new player to start? What do you do in the game, for the most part?
Thanks!
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Depends on what loot they drop.
For the most part, unless you join a fleet prior to attaining level 50 (end game), you will be playing the game by yourself. That's basically because STO relies on story missions to advance the game for the most part. However, many (not all) story missions will allow up to 4 players to play the mission together, but some missions sets the limit to only two. Therefore, if you have friends or make friends in the game it is possible to play together.
When you get to level 50 the reputation system is unlocked and queued PvE missions becomes available. This is the MMO aspect of the game where you basically team up with 4 other players to accomplish the mission objectives. The great thing about the queued PvE missions is that there are a lot of missions to choose from. The bad thing about the queued PvE missions is that there are a lot of missions to choose from...
The player base in STO is not huge. There is no official PC player population other than a 2015 Infograph that stated 2.5 million player accounts. The problem is the numbers can be interpreted in different ways such as how active are the accounts? Do the number of accounts only include players who have logged in at least once in the past month, or the past 6 months? Depending on who you ask regarding the player population, you may get an "stable" or "unhealthy" reply. I think it is stable. I would like to say the PC player population is growing steadily, but I do not think that is the case.
Many of the queued PvE missions are dead, or you need to wait a long time for the mission to start since you are waiting for other players to join. The problem is nearly all of these PvE missions are tied to the reputation system. When players get all that they want from a specific reputation system (there are currently 11 of them), they tend to stop playing the PvE missions because they no longer need the reputation marks and elite marks. Many of the PvE missions are really fun to play, but if no one else wants to play with you, then......... There are Adventure Zones and Battlezones to get the reputation / elite marks that you desire, but that drains players away from the PvE missions.
No much chat going on in the game unless you become aware of / find a chat channel that is very active and you wish to join. For the most part if you want to socialize, then I recommend you find a fleet. However, I must add that I started playing STO because it has a strong single player aspect to the game. I don't really socialize in the game and I have not joined a fleet yet in the past 4 years. I socialize with other players in the forum.
It is never too late for a new player to start. The game is not as competitive as Eve Online. Actually the PvP aspect of STO is almost non-existent. The primary challenge will be getting marks to advance through the reputation system, but as I stated there are Adventure and Battlezones. Plus you can join a fleet that have members who actively play the queued PvE missions. Plus other players in the forum can give you ideads
I replay many of the story missions in the game to get useful mission rewards that are worth having. Play PvE missions or the adventure / battlezones simply because they are fun, or I need them for more recently created characters to advance the reputation systems. Grind to gather resources such as Dilithium which are very useful to upgrade gear (there is always gear to upgrade), but can also be converted in Zen in order to purchase items in the cash shop (C-Store). There are only two ways to get Zen one is to purchase Zen with real money. The other is to trade refined Dilithium for Zen. I use both methods to get Zen. I play both space missions and ground missions. There are not many games that allows to command a starship in space while on the other hand run around the surface of a planet with your character in 3rd person mode. Granted, ground combat is not as good as space combat, but I have ground to like it. I reminds me of a 2006 to 2009 3rd person shooter game; old school, but fun.
As for updates, yes there are regular update. Season 14 just went live on October 3rd. Keep in mind, this is a free to play game so new content does not come out as often as a game that requires a subscription and / or requires you to purchase expansions. It is possible to play STO completely for free. However, since Cryptic has been working on the PS4 and XBone versions new content has slowed down a bit. Hopefully it will pick up a bit. I would be nice if each half season of the game had at least 8 story missions.
There is a subscription and lifetime subscription. Lifetime subscription gives a bunch of bonuses like playable Liberated Borg and Talaxian (Neelix) while subscription gives a few minor bonuses like inventory slots for leveling up. A common practice is to subscribe for a month while you are leveling your characters, then go F2P and buy the Energy Credit cap increase to go from 10 million energy credits to I think 2 billion energy credits.
If you're an actual Rick Berman era Star Trek fan you'll probably like the PvE/Story portion of the game - but if you're used to EVE; this game will give you no real challenge in PvE either.
If you're not a Star Trek fan, you'll find the PvE story progression tedious.
PWE ARC Drone says: "Your STO forum community as you have known it is ended...Display names are irrelevant...Any further sense of community is irrelevant...Resistance is futile...You will be assimilated..."
Unlike the gate ambushers on EVE and fleets looks to harrass other players for an entrance fee through the system or just an unprovoked attack without warning, the PVP in STO is a lot different in that end as it's all in a small area where the fighting happens.
The PVP community on STO is very small though and to some extent a little poisonous as there is a small element of that group that like to brag, be annoying, lack respect and generally act entitled. It is ultimately your choice though.
Been around since Dec 2010 on STO and bought LTS in Apr 2013 for STO.
PvP is almost non-existent in STO.
The STF's are not required, but they do suppliment your build by giving you a form of currency for different reputations which in turn helps you get a piece of gear. STF's also give you dilithium and credits from loot trash.
Been around since Dec 2010 on STO and bought LTS in Apr 2013 for STO.
Play through a few mission arcs... if it's enjoyable for him/her, then continue and stick around.
The game opens up a bit more at level 50..
Once at level 50 check out the reps, some PVE queues and other systems like doffing and admiralty.
If OP still enjoys it at this point, I think he's found a new game to play.
Look into joining a fleet once you reach level 50 and you understand the game a bit more. You'll make some friends and have a community to support and help you.
Just make sure you join a "max level fleet" though !! (Level 65 Fleet)
Queues can be avoided for the most part if you really want to play solo. We have various battlezones in game each rewarding different rep marks and goodies..
The only queues you might need are the Red Alerts. (which fill quickly and are generally fun if not a little repetitive)
There is Tholian Red Alert and Borg Red Alert which award you a "choice of Rep Marks" box.
You pick which marks you want at the end of the mission.
Rep marks advance your reputation chains. So the choice of Marks box is very handy if you want to avoid most of the queued missions.
As you progress each rep, new items and equipment become available to you in the Rep Store.
Some examples of the rep chains are; Omega/Borg Rep, Romulan Rep, Dyson Rep, Nukara Rep... ect
Each rep has different gear and sets you can buy as you progress through each.
And if you liked TOS and TNG I suspect you'll like the Episode chains. (The story mode for STO) generally single player, but you can invite friends to play with you in most of them if you so choose.
The only "requirement" in the queues is needing them to get marks for the rep system. Although a number of players don't like it, Cryptic made some of the most played queues so that you get a choice of which marks you want as a reward. Those queues normally pop within seconds, sometimes a minute or two so there's minimal wait time. Unlike dungeons in most games, those queues (and most others) are easily done with zero coordination (or even input) between players, go in, kill everything and collect your rewards. After the 30 minute cooldown, do it again, choosing a different reward, rinse and repeat as much as you can stand your heart desires.
For the other queues, some definitely require teamwork instead of just killing everything in sight. The good thing is those almost never pop unless you already have a team and do a private queue so you can discuss who's doing what ahead of time. The bad thing is those almost never pop unless you already have a team and do a private queue so you either need to find a goof and active Fleet or make enough friends in game who play at the same time(s) that you do so you have five players.
I am in good and active Fleets so there's never a problem filling a queue when wanted, however my tendency to need to go AFK a lot means I tend to not run queues (other than the ones mentioned in my first paragraph). Lots of toons at level 60 and yet I have no problems finding things to do solo, re-running some of my most favorite missions either for fun or for rewards gear, playing the exchange a little, even playing space barbie. Then there's the foundry, player made missions that range from awful to absolutely awesome, as good or better than than what the game Devs produce. Don't get me wrong, the Devs produce some great stuff but some of the players, having basically free reign instead of design by committee, definitely equal or even surpass them at times.
Sure, the more one grinds, the greater the amount of space barbie and game gear or skills one obtains, but the big problem with this is there's nothing truly new (outside of occasional expansions) to do with any of it or to apply it in some super meaningful way. (Comments moderated out - BMR)
Leveling to 50, on advanced or especially elite, with a friend or two, is super fun, and the stories, visuals, and game mechanics are awesome even if there's no real consistency in quality from one to the other.
I had the most fun in this game prior to the Delta Rising L50-60+ expansion, which was the best expansion ever and the players loved it(tm), and despite binging on the game since then, pretending to be a DR survivor, I'm not, the actual STO I knew died then, and it's decline towards a ghost town has been in my experience pretty steady.
So, now I play it casually, making the most of the previous grinds (which I regret fully but I can't turn back the clock), and quit to play something else, or increasingly not bother with video games anymore at all, which is a great thing.
Once you've played through as a modern Federation captain, there is a small amount of additional story content playing as a The Original Series captain who starts out in the classic (not JJ Abrahms) Kirk era. There is much longer additional content from creating Romulan and Klingon faction captains and you get to fly different kinds of ships like Warbirds with cloaking.
You do not need to spend any real world cash until you reach at least level 50, when you might want a Tier 6 endgame level ship.
Do not delete / discharge old ships as you level up, they are useful for the Admiralty system that unlocks at level 52?
You only need to do grouped raid content to get optional gear through the Reputation system,
If you're in an active fleet, sort of. Just stay away from sector and ESD zone chat. It was never that great, but when the game went F2P it became incredibly toxic.
Nah, I started a new alt from scratch a week ago and have most of the gear I need for it now (okay, so I had an alt buy a lot of stuff). Just have to grind all the Reputations for 40 days (it's time gated).
So I'd say if you make some good choices and don't mind putting a few hours into the game every day, you should be able to have all the stuff you'd need for an above average build in 2 months.
The biggest problem you'll have is that there are only three ways to get an end level ship. Buy one from the c-store, get a lockbox ship or get a free event ship (there's generally one or two a year). All the other levels give you a freebie.
Your first hurdle will be deciding whether you want to be a science officer (crowd control wizards in space and heal/crowd control wizards on ground), a tac officer (DPS) or an engineering officer (decent to excellent dmg on ground, healers/tankers in space)
Your second hurdle will be which sort of ship you want. Science ship, escort (think Defiant), cruiser or in some cases carrier. Unlike your career, you aren't locked into any ship type, so you can switch as you like.
Actually I tell a lie, your first hurdle will be deciding faction:-
Federation - Cruisers are generally slow with higher turnrates and most can't use dual heavy cannons (the hardest hitting energy weapon). Very few of their ships have cloaks. They do have a lot of sci ships though.
Klingons - Obviously nearly every ship has a cloak. Klingon cruisers are generally faster and have higher turnrates than their Federation counterparts and they can also use dual heavy cannons (they also supposedly have slightly less hull, but it's barely noticeable). Klingons get the Bird of Prey, which can cloak in combat (most Klingon ships can only cloak out of combat). They also have Raptors, which is their version of Escorts.
Romulans - All their ships can cloak in combat, but have lower power levels than the Klingons and Federation. They get a big bonus in that many of their bridge officers give a bonus to critical chance and critical damage. They also have the best story arc in the game. The downside is they aren't a real faction and you end up picking between siding with the Federation or the Klingons.
Zap ships, most of them made by vastly more advanced races. Doesn't matter if they're Klingon, Borg, Voth or time ships from 500 years in the future, they all blow up with about the same effort. Sorry, had to whine there.
But yes, mostly zap things in space queues and zap things in ground queues. And chat in Kerrat while blowing up Borg cubes.
Daizen - Lvl 60 Tactical - Eclipse
Selia - Lvl 60 Tactical - Eclipse
One thing to be aware of is: if you're lower level, and make some higher level friends, you form the team first! That way, the higher level can match your level. Otherwise, baddies will gank you good! @_@
As for the social aspect, your best bet is to consider joining a fleet. You get some good people in there, and really good active fleets will be able to tell you all the ins and outs of the game.
Good luck, and see ya around the galaxy!
And knowing is half the battle!
21 'til I die!
It's however likely... in time once you've tried different ships builds, different profession skills for bridge officer's, certain ships will become more appealing. It's usually best to review the different specializations that are available and the type's of ships that have those specialized bridge seating.
Escorts, Raider's and Pilot Ships typically use Intel or Pilot Specialization Seating but not all; generally are more maneuverable and can load dual heavy cannon's but not as good at tanking. Cruiser's can still be effective with beams although some Battlecruisers are a cross of Escort and Cruiser; some can even load dual cannons, and use Command Specialization others Intel. There are some FED specific 26th Century (Fed) Ships that are also Battlecruiser's for TAC's, but Sci Ship's even for TAC captain is skilled right put out good to great damage.
But depending how you skilled / trained your TAC Captain you'll likely want a ship that plays to your strength's; while also wanting a few skill's in ENG/SCI so bridge officer's can help in more different ways.
Certainly not! I think it's easier to get into STO now than it used to be. Useable gear isn't restricted to top tier project rewards and good and useable ships are offered for free during both of the major seasonal events (the Risa summer festival and Q's winter wonderland...the latter of which any MMO gamer needs to see.)
There's certainly a lot you could get into at the min-max level and through the major stores and prize boxes but STO is a game that is at once very casual and also very intense. It really depends on how far you want to take it. Ditto for socialization. If you want to hang out with people then trying to find an active fleet (with considerate members) is going to be the thing to do (random chat is what it is in gaming). One I can recommend is "Shields of Tomorrow" which follows the twitch-streamed Star Trek RPG production. It was founded with a great mix of people so you'll find both new players and veterans (willing to help anytime) in the fleet. If you get into STO, and can't happen to find SoT by the time you can join a fleet, send me a message here and I'll be able to send you an invite.
I guess the one thing to keep in mind is that STO has a lot of missions. While leveling, they'll be your major source of resources and XP. But, as other things pop up (ex. zones, patrols, community-made foundry missions [which are generally good, some spectacular], and PVE queues) be sure to give them a try. It'll vary the early experience and help cue you into everything that'll be available once you reach the end-game (which isn't much of a grind at all.) Ie. battlezones, new missions, a lot of PVE's (though naturally the populous has their dedicated favorites), more Foundry missions, adventure zones, more patrols, and the odd event. Plus, there's huge array of customization options that you can really dig into (space barbie is the true end-game.
So all in all STO can pretty much be whatever you want it to. It's a diverse game, so let yourself ease into the mix (there's a lot to take in, especially when you get to ancillary systems like upgrades, duty officers, and later Admiralty and reputations) and explore as you will.
Notable missions: Apex [AEI], Gemini [SSF], Trident [AEI], Evolution's Smile [SSF], Transcendence
Looking for something new to play? I've started building Foundry missions again in visual novel form!
Teaming is optional for everything except queues.
(Comments moderated out - BMR)
My character Tsin'xing