test content
  • Games
  • Social
  • Arc News
  • Support
  • Zen
What is the Arc Client?
Install Arc
Forums > Home› Star Trek Online General Discussion

What good are energy credits?

kenm2011kenm2011 Member Posts: 5 Arc User
edited September 2023 in Star Trek Online General Discussion
I'm just coming back to the game after being away for a long time. I'm not finding anything really worth buying with energy credits. It looks like most of the things I'd like to buy are either Dilithium or Zen based. Am I missing something?
Post edited by baddmoonrizin on

Comments

  • feliseanfelisean Member Posts: 688 Arc User
    energy credits are used as currency for sales between players. basically you could buy a lot of zen/lobi stuff with energy credits.
    Tiers.jpg
    ingame: @Felisean
    Personal Endeavors Guide
    Arena of Sompek Guide
    Kobayashi Maru Informations/Guide
    Colony Defense Simulation Guide
  • leemwatsonleemwatson Member Posts: 5,492 Arc User
    kenm2011 wrote: »
    I'm just coming back to the game after being away for a long time. I'm not finding anything really worth buying with energy credits. It looks like most of the things I'd like to buy are either Dilithium or Zen based. Am I missing something?

    You need EC for buying things from the Exchange off other players, so they are, like Dil, the lifeblood of your account.
    "You don't want to patrol!? You don't want to escort!? You don't want to defend the Federation's Starbases!? Then why are you flying my Starships!? If you were a Klingon you'd be killed on the spot, but lucky for you.....you WERE in Starfleet. Let's see how New Zealand Penal Colony suits you." Adm A. Necheyev.
  • pottsey5gpottsey5g Member Posts: 4,252 Arc User
    edited February 2020
    kenm2011 wrote: »
    I'm just coming back to the game after being away for a long time. I'm not finding anything really worth buying with energy credits. It looks like most of the things I'd like to buy are either Dilithium or Zen based. Am I missing something?
    EC is great for getting lock box items without gambling via keys opening box's or for buying new ships. Or if you really want to buying keys to open lockbox's but you are mostly better off just buying the lockbox items directly. I get most of my new ships via EC. You can buy most lobi items as well via EC.
  • tribbulatertribbulater Member Posts: 299 Arc User
    edited February 2020
    As said above, EC is mostly used to acquire things on the Exchange from other players. DOffs, BOffs, weapons, gear, consoles, traits, ships, fashion items, lockbox keys and more - all yours to be had for the low, low price of a few thousand to a few billion ECS!
  • kenm2011kenm2011 Member Posts: 5 Arc User
    I've been looking to buy ships on the exchange, but there is no ship tab.
  • feliseanfelisean Member Posts: 688 Arc User
    kenm2011 wrote: »
    I've been looking to buy ships on the exchange, but there is no ship tab.

    they are part from reward boxes. but you should search for the specific name
    Tiers.jpg
    ingame: @Felisean
    Personal Endeavors Guide
    Arena of Sompek Guide
    Kobayashi Maru Informations/Guide
    Colony Defense Simulation Guide
  • fleetcaptain5#1134 fleetcaptain5
    fleetcaptain5#1134
         Member Posts: 5,051 Arc User
    They're useless, feel free to donate them to me ;)
  • leemwatsonleemwatson Member Posts: 5,492 Arc User
    kenm2011 wrote: »
    I've been looking to buy ships on the exchange, but there is no ship tab.

    If you're looking for Tier six ships, use 'T6' in the search bar.
    "You don't want to patrol!? You don't want to escort!? You don't want to defend the Federation's Starbases!? Then why are you flying my Starships!? If you were a Klingon you'd be killed on the spot, but lucky for you.....you WERE in Starfleet. Let's see how New Zealand Penal Colony suits you." Adm A. Necheyev.
  • littlesarbonnlittlesarbonn Member Posts: 486 Arc User
    edited February 2020
    That's one of those things they should have adjusted a long time ago. Looking for ships on the exchange is really difficult unless you know exactly what ship it is you're seeking, which makes browsing for ships to buy really one step lower than impossible. Sometimes, just knowing what's available is the incentive to decide to actually buy something.

    (I was trying to delete this comment, but for some reason it won't give me the option. It appears the poster before me actually answered the question I was just asking.)
    Fleet Admiral Duane Gundrum, U.S.S. Merrimack
    Fleet Admiral Ventaxa Proxmire, U.S.S. Shaka Walls Fell
    Blog: http://www.sarbonn.com/?page_id=1990
    Foundry series: Bob From Accounting & For the Sake of the Empire
  • UnknownUnknown
    This content has been removed.
  • crypticarmsmancrypticarmsman Member Posts: 4,115 Arc User
    kenm2011 wrote: »
    I'm just coming back to the game after being away for a long time. I'm not finding anything really worth buying with energy credits. It looks like most of the things I'd like to buy are either Dilithium or Zen based. Am I missing something?

    They're good if you want to just buy a Lockbox/Lobi ship from another player off the exchange - thus bypassing the gambling aspect (which could cost you more in RL currency then what it would take to amass enough EC for a particular ship by selling other items on the Exchange.)
    Formerly known as Armsman from June 2008 to June 20, 2012
    TOS_Connie_Sig_final9550Pop.jpg
    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..."
  • davefenestratordavefenestrator Member Posts: 10,672 Arc User
    edited February 2020
    You can also buy lock box weapons, lobi costume unlocks, crafted gear including the level 15 items like the TR-116B rifle and Conductive RCS console. If you love to gamble you can buy keys.

    If it isn't bind on pickup, you can probably buy it.
  • kenm2011kenm2011 Member Posts: 5 Arc User
    I did find some ships listed on the exchange. You guys weren't kidding, they are hard to find. Thanks for the help.
  • captainbrian11captainbrian11 Member Posts: 733 Arc User
    they should proably find a way to list ships specificly on the exchange,
  • fleetcaptain5#1134 fleetcaptain5
    fleetcaptain5#1134
         Member Posts: 5,051 Arc User
    More consistent naming conventions for ships would also help.

    Why is the Kelvin dreadnought for example called: Kelvin timeline intel dreadnought cruiser when the Tzenkethi ship is listed as 'Tzenkethi Rhas'bej battlecruiser'?

    In one case, the ship is named after and found by typing in the type of ship, in the other case the specific name of the ship is leading.

    And this is, btw, the same in the C-store, which sorts ships alphabetically - a rather pointless thing since Advanced heavy cruisers are found under the A, whereas the Advanced light cruiser is instead found near the bottom because it's listed as 'Reliant class - advanced light cruiser'.


    To give just one example. They should pick one method of naming (and then sorting) their ships and stick with that.
  • tribbulatertribbulater Member Posts: 299 Arc User
    edited February 2020
    Sometimes when just general browsing the Reward Boxes tab for ships, I just look for the 'class' of the ship and see what pops up. Cruiser, Dread, Carrier, Escort, Raider, etc. The 'T6' search key is also good. Sometimes I check 'Mirror' but that shows other stuff too.
  • disqord#9557 disqord
    disqord#9557
         Member Posts: 567 Arc User
    This brings up a good point, though. Energy Credits have next to no sink in the game whatsoever. Everyone has a way to generate more Credits and introduce them into the economy, but from what it sounds like here, nobody ever uses them for anything that isn't player to player. It sounds like a very clear case of inflation to me. I know a lot of people who played for years and years, and they can attest to how prices of all items on the exchange have gradually risen higher and higher over time. Credits are only going to continue building, so maybe it would be a good time to cull the numbers? Or, we could go the alternative route and just remove ways of gaining credits for the layman, thereby only decreasing current rates of inflation rather than deflating the currency directly. Nah, that's a terrible idea, right?

    Right?
  • sthe91sthe91 Member Posts: 5,999 Arc User
    edited February 2020
    No to your idea. We should not run over the layman.
    Where there is a Will, there is a Way.
  • davefenestratordavefenestrator Member Posts: 10,672 Arc User
    disqord#9557 wrote: »
    This brings up a good point, though. Energy Credits have next to no sink in the game whatsoever. Everyone has a way to generate more Credits and introduce them into the economy, but from what it sounds like here, nobody ever uses them for anything that isn't player to player. It sounds like a very clear case of inflation to me

    That's true. Aside from leveling up reputations, buying fleet gear once or twice per alt, and funding fleet projects I do almost nothing that actually destroys EC instead of just shifting it to another player.

  • trennantrennan Member Posts: 2,839 Arc User
    kenm2011 wrote: »
    I'm just coming back to the game after being away for a long time. I'm not finding anything really worth buying with energy credits. It looks like most of the things I'd like to buy are either Dilithium or Zen based. Am I missing something?

    Buying stuff off the exchange and playing dabo. That's about it, other than the fleet/reputation project EC cost.
    Mm5NeXy.gif
  • davefenestratordavefenestrator Member Posts: 10,672 Arc User
    trennan wrote: »
    kenm2011 wrote: »
    I'm just coming back to the game after being away for a long time. I'm not finding anything really worth buying with energy credits. It looks like most of the things I'd like to buy are either Dilithium or Zen based. Am I missing something?

    Buying stuff off the exchange and playing dabo. That's about it, other than the fleet/reputation project EC cost.

    I use GPL for the dabo endeavors since GPL is ten times as useless.
  • garaks31garaks31 Member Posts: 2,845 Arc User
    https://sto.gamepedia.com/Infinity_Prize_Pack_-_T6_Ship

    https://sto.gamepedia.com/Special_Requisition_Choice_Pack_-_Tier_6_Promotional_Ship_Choice_Pack

    https://sto.gamepedia.com/Special_Requisition_Pack_-_TOS_Dreadnought_Starship_(T6)

    https://sto.gamepedia.com/Special_Requisition_Pack_-_Discovery_Starship_(T6)

    https://sto.gamepedia.com/Lobi_Crystal_Consortium

    https://sto.gamepedia.com/Borg_Lock_Box

    https://sto.gamepedia.com/Infinity_Prize_Pack_-_T5_Ship
    tmprl.jpg?width=998&height=499

    https://forum.arcgames.com/startrekonline/discussion/1249570/axanar-locks-in-start-date-for-filming
  • foxrockssocksfoxrockssocks Member Posts: 2,482 Arc User
    disqord#9557 wrote: »
    This brings up a good point, though. Energy Credits have next to no sink in the game whatsoever. Everyone has a way to generate more Credits and introduce them into the economy, but from what it sounds like here, nobody ever uses them for anything that isn't player to player. It sounds like a very clear case of inflation to me. I know a lot of people who played for years and years, and they can attest to how prices of all items on the exchange have gradually risen higher and higher over time. Credits are only going to continue building, so maybe it would be a good time to cull the numbers? Or, we could go the alternative route and just remove ways of gaining credits for the layman, thereby only decreasing current rates of inflation rather than deflating the currency directly. Nah, that's a terrible idea, right?

    Right?

    Except we don't see inflation that can't be directly attributed to supply and demand. The problem with most game economies is that there is no inelastic demand, there is no bank, no loans, no capital investment, etc. There is also no wear and tear or destruction of items. You effectively hide your EC under your mattress, and it has zero effect on the economy until you decide to spend it on something, and once you have what you want you don't need to buy it again.

    If nothing in the new lockbox interests you, it doesn't matter whether you have 100 billion or 100 thousand, you aren't in competition for the goods. You can get a lot of stuff really cheap despite it being lockbox stuff because it is not in demand while the stuff that is expensive is in high demand compared to its supply.
This discussion has been closed.