I voted no just for the price in comparison to other "season mega packs". This is by FAR the worst bundle. I get LOR was 15k vs this one being 12k....but LOR had 9 ships and 30 keys. Delta had 9 ships. Temporal had 11 or 12? Gamma had 9 ships and limited edition playable races.
And this one has 4 ships (and a skin if you already own ship 5) and a bunch of garbage for one character? and a few keys? Generally these mega packs have been savings of 50% off "list" price. so for 4 ships (12k zen), the keys (1k zen), and some character unlocks (call those all 3k zen). Individual list would be 16k zen (ish). So this pack should be priced at 7000 - 8000 Zen full price. With the 30% launch bonus would be 4900 - 5600. Way more palatable.
So unless they repeat the Temporal (where a few days before it went live they dumped a BUNCH of extra stuff).....this is just a money grab right now.
This reads rather bizarre but describes my attitude towards the pack as best as it gets.
I think it sums up how the whole game community feels about it really. With the adjustments, now it's a would-be great pack, if it wasn't priced somewhere in the range of 30%-50% higher than it should be. IMO, 8,000 Zen is what the regular price should be. 12,000 Zen regular price is financial prison TRIBBLE considering the relative content desert this pack is.
"I'm sorry, I can't hear you over the sound of how awesome I am."
It would cost only half the pack's price to buy separately the two ships I'll be allowed to use on my main. The clothes I expect will be fedlocked again like everything Disco related, so no point buying those. The starter pack I already have. And the rest is just filler.
It would cost only half the pack's price to buy separately the two ships I'll be allowed to use on my main. The clothes I expect will be fedlocked again like everything Disco related, so no point buying those. The starter pack I already have. And the rest is just filler.
So not likely.
GOOD NEWS! One of the costumes is KDF-only.
As is one of the BOFFs! Amazing!
Space Barbie Extraordinaire. Got a question about Space Barbie? Just ask.
Things I want in STO:
1) More character customization options such as more clothing options, letting the toon complexion affect the entire body, not just the head. Also a true RGB color picker applied to all costume and appearance options, which would allow for true appearance customization and homogenous colors instead of "this same exact color looks vastly different on two different pieces."
2) Bridge customization, not bridge packs. Let us pick a general layout and adjust the color palette, console appearance, and chair types, as well as more ready room layout options.
3) Customizable ground weapons, i.e. The aesthetic look of phaser dual pistols but they shoot antiproton bolts. For obvious reasons this would only apply to standard ground weapons.
4) For the love of Q please revamp Plasma Ground Weapons. They look like demented Supersoakers right now.
5) True Vanity Impulse and Deflector effects similar to Vanity Shields.
6) A greater payout for hitting T6 Reputations. Currently it takes more time and resources to get from T5 to T6 than it does to get from nothing to T5. Make that grind really pay out at the end.
7) Mirrorverse Refugee event similar to AoY/Delta/Gamma, complete with new Mirrorverse recruits for all factions.
8) Independent Faction, because yo ho yo ho a pirate's life for me!
Don't care for Discovery anything, except Disco terrans which were really well done, and a few ships that do look nice, but I don't enjoy it as a "star trek" show nor a sci-fi show.
Also the lack of Romulan ships which is expected to last till the end of this year is another reason to not bother with padding the sale metrics until this is addressed.
Also, where's the T5/6 Nova/Rhode Island science ship remodel and redesign?? It's a canon Fed ship! It will sell!
True, the Disco Terrans feel closer to home than the TOS/TNG/DS9 or Ent versions. That's one of the few positive things about Disco i can mention so far.
Warship Voyager was in the right direction, but technically speaking those were not Terrans.
Edit: Mandatory T6 Warship Equinox. Evil just got a Terran Twin.
This program, though reasonably normal at times, seems to have a strong affinity to classes belonging to the Cat 2.0 program. Questerius 2.7 will break down on occasion, resulting in garbage and nonsense messages whenever it occurs. Usually a hard reboot or pulling the plug solves the problem when that happens.
This reads rather bizarre but describes my attitude towards the pack as best as it gets.
I think it sums up how the whole game community feels about it really. With the adjustments, now it's a would-be great pack, if it wasn't priced somewhere in the range of 30%-50% higher than it should be. IMO, 8,000 Zen is what the regular price should be. 12,000 Zen regular price is financial prison TRIBBLE considering the relative content desert this pack is.
Yep I agree. No idea what they are thinking. Cryptic seems to be rather confident atm.
Looking for a fun PvE fleet? Join us at Omega Combat Division today.
It would cost only half the pack's price to buy separately the two ships I'll be allowed to use on my main. The clothes I expect will be fedlocked again like everything Disco related, so no point buying those. The starter pack I already have. And the rest is just filler.
So not likely.
GOOD NEWS! One of the costumes is KDF-only.
Which is to say my romulan main isn't going to be wearing any of them.
It would cost only half the pack's price to buy separately the two ships I'll be allowed to use on my main. The clothes I expect will be fedlocked again like everything Disco related, so no point buying those. The starter pack I already have. And the rest is just filler.
So not likely.
GOOD NEWS! One of the costumes is KDF-only.
Which is to say my romulan main isn't going to be wearing any of them.
You can presumably use it on KDF boffs that are part of the crew of one of your KDF-allied characters.
It would cost only half the pack's price to buy separately the two ships I'll be allowed to use on my main. The clothes I expect will be fedlocked again like everything Disco related, so no point buying those. The starter pack I already have. And the rest is just filler.
So not likely.
GOOD NEWS! One of the costumes is KDF-only.
Which is to say my romulan main isn't going to be wearing any of them.
You can presumably use it on KDF boffs that are part of the crew of one of your KDF-allied characters.
and why would any sane rom player use kdf boffs when they can have an all SRO crew?
On the fence, tending to no. Not a fan of MW ships, as I stated in another thread, and the non account unlock, even if loosened, is also not my cup of tea. The rest is meh. With some account unlocks plus the Starter Pack Discount now I may be tempted one day, but then again, I may not be. However, some statements I'd like to comment on:
No, I am not dumb enough to buy something other packs of the same price gave me more of
Comparison to past packs is valid, however it is not necessarily "dumb" to buy this pack because it offers less value per zen. Because as a pack you still save money, so if you wanted all the contents it would be economically correct. Unless you want to make a statement that packs should be cheaper (others have voiced opinions to that end). Also, it could be that the other packs were very good deals while this is just a good deal. Thing is, the other packs aren't superior in an economic sense, especially because you cannot buy their worth a second time.
The general feeling however I get. It is similar to the once account unlock starter help pack (inventory slots, bank slots, boff slots, ec cap upped) - the new character unlock version is still worth it, but it feels off.
Cardinal sins:
-No romulan/reman ships.
-Pilot escorts that have a weapon layout of a raider, but no flanking and less flexibility.
-Traits are baiting for the buy, since they might be part of the next meta.
-Trying to feed us Tardigrades and ugly ships after seeing that WE'RE NOT INTO THAT
-Technically 12k zen pack with four ships and some space-barbie
I sincerely feel sorry for their work. I'd rather turn zen into dil than purchase that in either combination. There's plenty of C-store ships that are way more awesome than those two.
After reviewing the situation here, maybe they'll learn from their hit-and-miss and switch the narrative towards more of what the buyer wants to buy/to be surprised with.
NOT UGLY SHIPS AND TARDIGRADES!!!!
You not liking the ships and tardigrades is of course your opinion and a very valid reason not to buy them. However, you don't speak for all players. "We're not into that", "The buyer wants (...) not ugly ships and tardigrades". Threads in this forum show that there are others not sharing this opinion (cf "tardigrade adoption"). Trying to pass off personal opinion as objective fact is also a cardinal sin - just in discussions. At least that's my opinion. As for multiple exclamation points: they're not points you're making.
My mother was an epohh and my father smelled of tulaberries
The Gagarin is very tempting so I'll get that at some point but the pack as a whole is just bad compared to what other offer for that price.
Honestly if the KDF cruiser wouldn't look like that I'd get it too but what disco did to the klingons is abhorrent. I really like the series as a whole but god why did they have to f*ck up their looks and designs so badly? I'm sure our devs did their best and made some really high effort & quality models for those ships but even a high quality model of a pice of sh*t is still just that.
True. It's a MW Battle Cruiser so it was tempting. I already have most cruisers on allied side and due to the sheer amount i rarely play most of them so adding another (battle) cruiser is low on my list of priorities.
This program, though reasonably normal at times, seems to have a strong affinity to classes belonging to the Cat 2.0 program. Questerius 2.7 will break down on occasion, resulting in garbage and nonsense messages whenever it occurs. Usually a hard reboot or pulling the plug solves the problem when that happens.
While I am not happy about the price, especially since I picked up the starter pack already, I am going to pull the trigger on this. Even though I already have enough alts. I'll consider it a celebration for getting a job after having been out of work for six months due to an accident.
They make a wondrous mess of things. Brave amateurs, they do their part.
> @tigeraries said: > markhawkman wrote: » > > warpangel wrote: » > > markhawkman wrote: » > > warpangel wrote: » > > It would cost only half the pack's price to buy separately the two ships I'll be allowed to use on my main. The clothes I expect will be fedlocked again like everything Disco related, so no point buying those. The starter pack I already have. And the rest is just filler. > > So not likely. > > > > GOOD NEWS! One of the costumes is KDF-only. > > > > Which is to say my romulan main isn't going to be wearing any of them. > > > > You can presumably use it on KDF boffs that are part of the crew of one of your KDF-allied characters. > > > > > and why would any sane rom player use kdf boffs when they can have an all SRO crew?
For Ground combat for one.
'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.'
While many people compare the Discovery pack to cheaper packs, I actually compare it to the other 'season' packs that go for 15,000 Zen, or the price of 1 more T6 ship.
For the price of one ship less, Discovery Operations has:
4 ships, plus the Walker scaling ship, 1 BOff (per faction), 1 single-unlock combat pet, 5 upgrade kits, 2 XP boosts, 2 costumes, a buckethead, and 10 keys.
So basically, save the price of 1 ship, cut the contents of the package by 55% (in my estimation). Maybe Cryptic thinks we can't math? Anyways, as others have said, value of the package isn't even in the ballpark. No sale.
And how many times has Cryptic just added more and more items to their bundles until they were finally released? So until the Pack becomes available, there is no way we can compare the Discovery Operations Pack to the others.
Well, as I predicted earlier in the week that with them releasing the Stats we could expect a release on Thursday. They announced on the Livestream Wednesday that it was releasing Thursday after the Patch.
No time for them to add stuff to the pack. This was the shortest lead time announcent for an upcoming Pack. Seems like a hasty cobble up.
'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.'
Well, as I predicted earlier in the week that with them releasing the Stats we could expect a release on Thursday. They announced on the Livestream Wednesday that it was releasing Thursday after the Patch.
No time for them to add stuff to the pack. This was the shortest lead time announcent for an upcoming Pack. Seems like a hasty cobble up.
It's downright shady.. as usual.
They're releasing the pack now.. but saying things like the Combat Pet account unlock didn't get changed in time. Meanwhile, they hit you with a limited time sale and want you to act now based on promises of things to be added later.
Things like this and the Starter Pack scam are why I no longer feel comfortable spending real money on this game. The trust level right now is exactly zero for me.. I pretty much don't believe a word they say.
Nope. I don't mind Discovery, at all.
What I don't like about this 12.000zen pack is that I already have the Discovery starter-pack, with the Prototype Explorer-ship... ...and in this 12.000zen-pack, the only thing left that I can imagine would be interesting for me, is the Klingon outfit, and maybe(...) the Klingon BoP. I pretty much 'know' that this Klingon outfit will not be useable for others than strictly klingons. -My kdf-aligned romuline will most surely not get access to it. -The same way, to my horror, I discovered the Discovery-mirror outfit is not accessible.
That the Discovery-mirror outfit isn't accessible for a klingon/aligned, I can sort of understand.
What bothered me even deeper, was that my fed-tos-tellarite-made-into-discovery-toon weren't allowed to purchase the disco-mirror outfit either!!! Ffs, Cryptic!
So what is left in this pack, priced at 12.000(!) zen? Nada. nothing. Its quite disappointing.
Some T6 also had more improvements over the T5 than just those. The T6 Tac Bortasqu' has these additional improvements over the T5 Tac Bortasqu'.
More Hull.
Better Shield Mod.
Better Turn Rate.
Almost twice the Inertia rating.
What does the T6 have that the T5 version doesn't?
Starship Trait (no ship below T6 has one)
+1 Boff ability, 13 vs 12. For the T6 Galaxy it went into the Tactical seat which is a big deal.
Boff Specialization / Hybrid Seat access. More flexibility for builds.
+20 bonus power total instead of the +15 of the T5.
That's on top of the previous improvements like the T6 Galaxy has over the T5 version.
You can see the value of once highly prized T5 ships have plummet as T6 began to take over.
Transition into T7, if it should ever happen, will also have power creep continue to entice the move from T6->T7. It will be more than just +1 console. Probably expect more Boff ability slots on top of even more T7 unique gimmicks that make them better.
You do realise T7 ships would be even more expensive and not much more than a new console slot with rehashed skins of the t5/6's currently in game.
If T7 were to happen, there'd be more improvements than +1 console. T6 ships have Specialization / Hybrid Seat access as well as 13 BOFF abilities vs the 12 of T5. Some of the T6 variants have additionally better Hull / Shield Mods, some even more power bonus, turn rate, inertia, etc. If T7 were to ever be a thing there'd be similar improvements to entice people to make the move.
But I still remember the drama around here, and in the game when T6 hit with Delta Rising years ago. I had a number of friends quit the game because all that investment into their T5 ships, which were endgame, were suddenly made obsolete by the power creep of T6.
But I still remember the drama around here, and in the game when T6 hit with Delta Rising years ago. I had a number of friends quit the game because all that investment into their T5 ships, which were endgame, were suddenly made obsolete by the power creep of T6.
Which is a ridiculous notion because a lot of T5 ships are perfectly serviceable as endgame ships.
I took a T5 Prometheus through Surface Tension once on a lark. It was a bit more difficult to play and I got blowed up more than once, but I still beat the mission. I would imagine that having gold gear helped a lot, but still.
Space Barbie Extraordinaire. Got a question about Space Barbie? Just ask.
Things I want in STO:
1) More character customization options such as more clothing options, letting the toon complexion affect the entire body, not just the head. Also a true RGB color picker applied to all costume and appearance options, which would allow for true appearance customization and homogenous colors instead of "this same exact color looks vastly different on two different pieces."
2) Bridge customization, not bridge packs. Let us pick a general layout and adjust the color palette, console appearance, and chair types, as well as more ready room layout options.
3) Customizable ground weapons, i.e. The aesthetic look of phaser dual pistols but they shoot antiproton bolts. For obvious reasons this would only apply to standard ground weapons.
4) For the love of Q please revamp Plasma Ground Weapons. They look like demented Supersoakers right now.
5) True Vanity Impulse and Deflector effects similar to Vanity Shields.
6) A greater payout for hitting T6 Reputations. Currently it takes more time and resources to get from T5 to T6 than it does to get from nothing to T5. Make that grind really pay out at the end.
7) Mirrorverse Refugee event similar to AoY/Delta/Gamma, complete with new Mirrorverse recruits for all factions.
8) Independent Faction, because yo ho yo ho a pirate's life for me!
0
rattler2Member, Star Trek Online ModeratorPosts: 58,596Community Moderator
T5 is still viable with the right build. For the most part the only real difference between T5 and T6 is a 1 console slot, maybe one BOff power slot, and Specialist seating.
Sure T6 also has some minor level scaling as well as the mastery stuff, but up a T5 to T5U and you get the Mastery stuff as well, minus the Trait which actually doesn't add stats itself unless its slotted.
So realistically... its only a minor hit to performance to go with a T5 over a T6. Still usable with 99% of content, maybe barring Elite depending on the build. If you're concerned about getting the most performance and top numbers... then go with a T6. If you don't care... do whatever you want as long as it is fun. If you want to run a T5... then run a T5.
But I still remember the drama around here, and in the game when T6 hit with Delta Rising years ago. I had a number of friends quit the game because all that investment into their T5 ships, which were endgame, were suddenly made obsolete by the power creep of T6.
Which is a ridiculous notion because a lot of T5 ships are perfectly serviceable as endgame ships.
I took a T5 Prometheus through Surface Tension once on a lark. It was a bit more difficult to play and I got blowed up more than once, but I still beat the mission. I would imagine that having gold gear helped a lot, but still.
I used the patrol escort you get at level 40 all the way up through the iconian arc. Things got a bit harder after Step Between the Stars. But, that's because the ship you use at the end resets your traits, which it still does. Took me a few episodes into Delta to figure that one out.
And the drama about powercreep, that tarted back when they introduced fleets, and all the subsequent stuff you can get from them. Delta Rising was the Warlords of Draenor for STO. Players got tired of warning Cryptic about what would happen if they continued and followed through on their word to leave.
Back when they were talking about releasing the fleet system and what it came with, all I could say was, "Here comes the powercreep. The games just going to get easier from here on." Lo and behold, several years later and there isn't much of a challenge left in the game.
Now back on topic. This pack, comparing it to other packs that you can get. Even with the recent changes to it, still isn't worth the price tag. I might buy, later on the down the road. Probably after it drops into discount packs, after not selling to well.
Comments
And this one has 4 ships (and a skin if you already own ship 5) and a bunch of garbage for one character? and a few keys? Generally these mega packs have been savings of 50% off "list" price. so for 4 ships (12k zen), the keys (1k zen), and some character unlocks (call those all 3k zen). Individual list would be 16k zen (ish). So this pack should be priced at 7000 - 8000 Zen full price. With the 30% launch bonus would be 4900 - 5600. Way more palatable.
So unless they repeat the Temporal (where a few days before it went live they dumped a BUNCH of extra stuff).....this is just a money grab right now.
I think it sums up how the whole game community feels about it really. With the adjustments, now it's a would-be great pack, if it wasn't priced somewhere in the range of 30%-50% higher than it should be. IMO, 8,000 Zen is what the regular price should be. 12,000 Zen regular price is financial prison TRIBBLE considering the relative content desert this pack is.
My character Tsin'xing
As is one of the BOFFs! Amazing!
Things I want in STO:
1) More character customization options such as more clothing options, letting the toon complexion affect the entire body, not just the head. Also a true RGB color picker applied to all costume and appearance options, which would allow for true appearance customization and homogenous colors instead of "this same exact color looks vastly different on two different pieces."
2) Bridge customization, not bridge packs. Let us pick a general layout and adjust the color palette, console appearance, and chair types, as well as more ready room layout options.
3) Customizable ground weapons, i.e. The aesthetic look of phaser dual pistols but they shoot antiproton bolts. For obvious reasons this would only apply to standard ground weapons.
4) For the love of Q please revamp Plasma Ground Weapons. They look like demented Supersoakers right now.
5) True Vanity Impulse and Deflector effects similar to Vanity Shields.
6) A greater payout for hitting T6 Reputations. Currently it takes more time and resources to get from T5 to T6 than it does to get from nothing to T5. Make that grind really pay out at the end.
7) Mirrorverse Refugee event similar to AoY/Delta/Gamma, complete with new Mirrorverse recruits for all factions.
8) Independent Faction, because yo ho yo ho a pirate's life for me!
True, the Disco Terrans feel closer to home than the TOS/TNG/DS9 or Ent versions. That's one of the few positive things about Disco i can mention so far.
Warship Voyager was in the right direction, but technically speaking those were not Terrans.
Edit: Mandatory T6 Warship Equinox. Evil just got a Terran Twin.
Yep I agree. No idea what they are thinking. Cryptic seems to be rather confident atm.
Looking for a fun PvE fleet? Join us at Omega Combat Division today.
My character Tsin'xing
and why would any sane rom player use kdf boffs when they can have an all SRO crew?
Comparison to past packs is valid, however it is not necessarily "dumb" to buy this pack because it offers less value per zen. Because as a pack you still save money, so if you wanted all the contents it would be economically correct. Unless you want to make a statement that packs should be cheaper (others have voiced opinions to that end). Also, it could be that the other packs were very good deals while this is just a good deal. Thing is, the other packs aren't superior in an economic sense, especially because you cannot buy their worth a second time.
The general feeling however I get. It is similar to the once account unlock starter help pack (inventory slots, bank slots, boff slots, ec cap upped) - the new character unlock version is still worth it, but it feels off.
You not liking the ships and tardigrades is of course your opinion and a very valid reason not to buy them. However, you don't speak for all players. "We're not into that", "The buyer wants (...) not ugly ships and tardigrades". Threads in this forum show that there are others not sharing this opinion (cf "tardigrade adoption"). Trying to pass off personal opinion as objective fact is also a cardinal sin - just in discussions. At least that's my opinion. As for multiple exclamation points: they're not points you're making.
Honestly if the KDF cruiser wouldn't look like that I'd get it too but what disco did to the klingons is abhorrent. I really like the series as a whole but god why did they have to f*ck up their looks and designs so badly? I'm sure our devs did their best and made some really high effort & quality models for those ships but even a high quality model of a pice of sh*t is still just that.
They make a wondrous mess of things. Brave amateurs, they do their part.
> markhawkman wrote: »
>
> warpangel wrote: »
>
> markhawkman wrote: »
>
> warpangel wrote: »
>
> It would cost only half the pack's price to buy separately the two ships I'll be allowed to use on my main. The clothes I expect will be fedlocked again like everything Disco related, so no point buying those. The starter pack I already have. And the rest is just filler.
>
> So not likely.
>
>
>
> GOOD NEWS! One of the costumes is KDF-only.
>
>
>
> Which is to say my romulan main isn't going to be wearing any of them.
>
>
>
> You can presumably use it on KDF boffs that are part of the crew of one of your KDF-allied characters.
>
>
>
>
> and why would any sane rom player use kdf boffs when they can have an all SRO crew?
For Ground combat for one.
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.'
And how many times has Cryptic just added more and more items to their bundles until they were finally released? So until the Pack becomes available, there is no way we can compare the Discovery Operations Pack to the others.
It is, isn't it.
Glad I'm not the only one to notice.
No time for them to add stuff to the pack. This was the shortest lead time announcent for an upcoming Pack. Seems like a hasty cobble up.
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.'
It's downright shady.. as usual.
They're releasing the pack now.. but saying things like the Combat Pet account unlock didn't get changed in time. Meanwhile, they hit you with a limited time sale and want you to act now based on promises of things to be added later.
Things like this and the Starter Pack scam are why I no longer feel comfortable spending real money on this game. The trust level right now is exactly zero for me.. I pretty much don't believe a word they say.
Buyer beware.
The only thing I like about Discovery is the warp out sound and look in the game.
What I don't like about this 12.000zen pack is that I already have the Discovery starter-pack, with the Prototype Explorer-ship... ...and in this 12.000zen-pack, the only thing left that I can imagine would be interesting for me, is the Klingon outfit, and maybe(...) the Klingon BoP. I pretty much 'know' that this Klingon outfit will not be useable for others than strictly klingons. -My kdf-aligned romuline will most surely not get access to it. -The same way, to my horror, I discovered the Discovery-mirror outfit is not accessible.
That the Discovery-mirror outfit isn't accessible for a klingon/aligned, I can sort of understand.
What bothered me even deeper, was that my fed-tos-tellarite-made-into-discovery-toon weren't allowed to purchase the disco-mirror outfit either!!! Ffs, Cryptic!
So what is left in this pack, priced at 12.000(!) zen? Nada. nothing. Its quite disappointing.
Doubt there will be T7 ships they are going to scaling ships that level with you.
*IF* there is to be Tier 7 there will be more to it than just a simple extra console.
From Tier 5->6, let's use the T5U Fleet Galaxy with the T6 Fleet version.
Some T6 also had more improvements over the T5 than just those. The T6 Tac Bortasqu' has these additional improvements over the T5 Tac Bortasqu'.
More Hull.
Better Shield Mod.
Better Turn Rate.
Almost twice the Inertia rating.
What does the T6 have that the T5 version doesn't?
Starship Trait (no ship below T6 has one)
+1 Boff ability, 13 vs 12. For the T6 Galaxy it went into the Tactical seat which is a big deal.
Boff Specialization / Hybrid Seat access. More flexibility for builds.
+20 bonus power total instead of the +15 of the T5.
That's on top of the previous improvements like the T6 Galaxy has over the T5 version.
You can see the value of once highly prized T5 ships have plummet as T6 began to take over.
Transition into T7, if it should ever happen, will also have power creep continue to entice the move from T6->T7. It will be more than just +1 console. Probably expect more Boff ability slots on top of even more T7 unique gimmicks that make them better.
If T7 were to happen, there'd be more improvements than +1 console. T6 ships have Specialization / Hybrid Seat access as well as 13 BOFF abilities vs the 12 of T5. Some of the T6 variants have additionally better Hull / Shield Mods, some even more power bonus, turn rate, inertia, etc. If T7 were to ever be a thing there'd be similar improvements to entice people to make the move.
But I still remember the drama around here, and in the game when T6 hit with Delta Rising years ago. I had a number of friends quit the game because all that investment into their T5 ships, which were endgame, were suddenly made obsolete by the power creep of T6.
Which is a ridiculous notion because a lot of T5 ships are perfectly serviceable as endgame ships.
I took a T5 Prometheus through Surface Tension once on a lark. It was a bit more difficult to play and I got blowed up more than once, but I still beat the mission. I would imagine that having gold gear helped a lot, but still.
Things I want in STO:
1) More character customization options such as more clothing options, letting the toon complexion affect the entire body, not just the head. Also a true RGB color picker applied to all costume and appearance options, which would allow for true appearance customization and homogenous colors instead of "this same exact color looks vastly different on two different pieces."
2) Bridge customization, not bridge packs. Let us pick a general layout and adjust the color palette, console appearance, and chair types, as well as more ready room layout options.
3) Customizable ground weapons, i.e. The aesthetic look of phaser dual pistols but they shoot antiproton bolts. For obvious reasons this would only apply to standard ground weapons.
4) For the love of Q please revamp Plasma Ground Weapons. They look like demented Supersoakers right now.
5) True Vanity Impulse and Deflector effects similar to Vanity Shields.
6) A greater payout for hitting T6 Reputations. Currently it takes more time and resources to get from T5 to T6 than it does to get from nothing to T5. Make that grind really pay out at the end.
7) Mirrorverse Refugee event similar to AoY/Delta/Gamma, complete with new Mirrorverse recruits for all factions.
8) Independent Faction, because yo ho yo ho a pirate's life for me!
https://sto.gamepedia.com/Advanced_Escort_(T6)
https://sto.gamepedia.com/Advanced_Escort
Sure T6 also has some minor level scaling as well as the mastery stuff, but up a T5 to T5U and you get the Mastery stuff as well, minus the Trait which actually doesn't add stats itself unless its slotted.
So realistically... its only a minor hit to performance to go with a T5 over a T6. Still usable with 99% of content, maybe barring Elite depending on the build. If you're concerned about getting the most performance and top numbers... then go with a T6. If you don't care... do whatever you want as long as it is fun. If you want to run a T5... then run a T5.
I used the patrol escort you get at level 40 all the way up through the iconian arc. Things got a bit harder after Step Between the Stars. But, that's because the ship you use at the end resets your traits, which it still does. Took me a few episodes into Delta to figure that one out.
And the drama about powercreep, that tarted back when they introduced fleets, and all the subsequent stuff you can get from them. Delta Rising was the Warlords of Draenor for STO. Players got tired of warning Cryptic about what would happen if they continued and followed through on their word to leave.
Back when they were talking about releasing the fleet system and what it came with, all I could say was, "Here comes the powercreep. The games just going to get easier from here on." Lo and behold, several years later and there isn't much of a challenge left in the game.
Now back on topic. This pack, comparing it to other packs that you can get. Even with the recent changes to it, still isn't worth the price tag. I might buy, later on the down the road. Probably after it drops into discount packs, after not selling to well.