Hi, I about to Dump alot of RL info so I can find out if I should come back and play STO. Plz Help

darkshadow1029 · November 9

Hi, I hope this post finds you well and happy.

I am posting because I am trying to find a home game to Play with RL people and become friends and get to know. I am 50 and I have played MMO's since EQ (3rd xpan) then moved to WoW vanilla on release date, which I stayed unit about the end of WoTLK, I have played all xpan some but never found them to the quality of the first 2. I have Played EQ2, and Vanguard, etc, etc and beta a lot of game. I have even beta'd this game and played for awhile. I have return off and on over the years. But, I am now 50 and most games are just about elitist and about playing just for a month or 2 then moving on ( I have been guilty of that too), but I want to find a home and friends online (people like I use to have back when MMOs where more then just single player Co Op games like they are now. I don't mind playing solo or doing a lot on my own. But, I want Guild( or what ever it is here) busy, Discord Busy. I want a group of people I am looking forward to logging on and spending time with (not just guildies but community) I know that this game is older and graphics aren't RE5 or anything and there are bugs, But how is the community? That leads to, I play very weird hours. I am disabled, with a Wife that is a Over night RN, so 6pm to 8am or so. So i am normally up some through the day, (11am to 2 or 3pm) then off until like 6-8pm and off and on until like 4 or 5 am. Am I even going to find people or Guildies on at that hour? I am not to stupid, it doesn't have to be like 1 Million MMMHHHHHH. but enough to do things or talk?

Like I said before, I am wanting a home, some where I log on everyday to see people and play with them.

Thank you for your time and patience as I prattled.

phoenixc · November 9

I know what you mean, I used to spend a lot of time in Second Life mostly for the social interaction, which it had more of than most MMOs of the time, but even that has become fractured, polarized, and distant compared to what it was back in the mid-to-late aughts. It is often rather eerie going to places that used to be so active in SL and finding them empty (or gone altogether), and most of the radar traces seem to be either bots or people up in skyboxes either not talking or using private chat nowadays.

I tried Everquest (I am not sure which version) a few years ago, and while l saw other players in it no one seemed to be using the chat function, even when I tried starting a conversation, and since I was not too impressed with the oldstyle grinder concept and the combat system's heavy emphasis on combos I didn't stick around long for the solo play alone.

Tera used to be a great place for tight guilds and intricate group dungeon crawls, but the last time I was there (after a long absence) it was the same as with EQ and pretty much everyone was just grinding and ignoring everyone else. Few even bothered to troll Elin anymore, which used to be a constant annoyance in chat even when no one else had anything to say. I don't think that game is even still around though.

STO seems to be one of the more socially active games nowadays (even though it too is less so than it used to be), especially if you get into a very active fleet. There is still a sort of light RP at DS9, ESD chat is usually active, though the subjects tend to wander, and there is often socialization at Drozanna station and Risa (along with some RP as well), and some fleets have very active chat channels that you can use anywhere.

Part of the problem is probably the dozen or so different voice/chat services like Discord drawing people away from ingame chat (and voice in the games where, unlike STO's it actually works well) which fractures and isolates a game's playerbase into little groups.

darkshadow1029 · November 9

So would you suggest STO for a home for someone wanting to Play a game and play with others? I mean, is there only 90k total people in all the servers and then have like 15 servers. and then spread that through out the day, so there is like 10 people total on an any given time? Is the community helpful for new players or long gone returning players? And how is the population at 12am CST (I am in Oklahoma, NA)

Also, is there a server I should be looking at? How does the Romulans and DS9 Dominion etc work, do I need to buy the packs what. The last time I was here they where sale Lifetime memberships for like 179 or 199. I would be deleting any toons I have, to start over to get a fresh look and start. What classes and ship is the best for newbie to get to endgame and also be useful after you get there?

darkshadow1029 · November 12

any input to above questions?

inferiority · November 12

darkshadow1029#6117 wrote: »

So would you suggest STO for a home for someone wanting to Play a game and play with others?

I'm a bit of a loner in the game and enjoy playing through the story missions, which are designed for 1-player although most can also be played by up to five in a team.
There are Task Force Operations, which are played in groups of 5 or 10. There is a matchmaking system that allows you to queue for a TFO and the game will put the Team together automagically.
There are battlezones, where larger groups of players have to work together to advance the battle against whichever foes are in the zone, but you don't need to be in a team to participate - just load into the zone and join in at whatever stage the battlezone is in currently.

I mean, is there only 90k total people in all the servers and then have like 15 servers. and then spread that through out the day, so there is like 10 people total on an any given time?

There are only 3 servers for STO, One is for PlayStation, one for Xbox, and one for PC. There's also a test server (PC only), but it's not worth worrying about. Server population will vary throughout the day, just as in any game.

Is the community helpful for new players or long gone returning players?

These here forums are the best place to look for advice, or to post questions. Quite a few of us frequently visit, and will try to answer any questions you may have.
There's many threads where new & returning players have already posted questions, so you may find threads that already answer some of your questions.

And how is the population at 12am CST (I am in Oklahoma, NA)

I've no idea. The server population is difficult to estimate as there's no 'global' chat channel to cover all maps within the game.
People at Deep Space Nine won't be able to see the chat on Qo'noS or Earth Space Dock.

Also, is there a server I should be looking at?

There's only one server per platform, so this isn't something to be concerned over.

How does the Romulans and DS9 Dominion etc work, do I need to buy the packs what.

All factions are fully playable by any player. However, Dominion characters are locked out until you have at least one other character at level 65.
There is absolutely no need to spend money on the game to be able to access any of the content.
The amount of content you can access grows as you level up, with almost all parts of the game accessible once you reach level 40. There's a few remaining parts of the game that open up at level 50. (Max level is 65 btw.)

As with any Free-to-Play game, there is an ingame shop. Much of the items in there will make your endgame experience go a little faster, perhaps more smoothly, but there's nothing that's Pay-to-Win.

What classes and ship is the best for newbie to get to endgame and also be useful after you get there?

There's only three classes in the game - Tactical (damage dealer), Engineering (tank), and Science (crowd-control and healer).
Picking a class doesn't restrict you to the type of ship you play either.
As you play, and increase in level, you'll be given more powerful ships up to a Tier 5 at level 40. The most powerful ships are Tier 6, and come from the Z-Store or Lockboxes. Tier 5 is still usable for endgame content, and there are Free Tier 6 ships to be had from seasonal Events, such as Q's Winter Wonderland which opens in mid-December. There's also the Anniversary Event at the start of February and the Risa Lohlunat Festival in the Summer.

phoenixc · November 12

T6 ships are (almost, there is/was one cstoreT4 that does it too though it stops at T4 if it is still available) unique in that they can be used at any level past the tutorial since they level-up with the character. If there is one that you like you can get it at any time and while not all of the weapon and console slots are open until you pass level milestones that open them one by one, the ships are still slightly higher quality at those early levels than the single-level ones you get along the way.

Still, unless you already have an idea of what kind of T6 you would like, those single-level ships can be used to try out the various types (escorts, cruisers, destroyers, science ships, etc., though carriers are rather scarce in single-level ship choices). And, as Inferiority pointed out, any character class can use any ship type, they just bring different choices to the game (mainly via captain's class abilities) depending on the combination, and all are viable.

inferiority · November 12

inferiority wrote: »

Picking a class doesn't restrict you to the type of ship you play either.

Something else to consider, is that ships are faction-locked to start with, although Romulan Republic and Dominion characters can fly the ships of their chosen ally.

If, as a Starfleet character, you wish to fly a Klingon ship, you can unlock cross faction flying in one of two ways:

Buy the unlock from the Z-Store; or
Level a KDF character to level 65, which unlocks it for FREE!
(This can be done quite quickly too, perhaps in just a few days depending on how much time you have to be able to play.)

Another thing to consider is Recruitment Events.
During such an Event, any character created will become a Recruit, and will have a Thingummajig™ in the Inventory.
It contains groups of additional tasks to perform as you play, which unlock bonuses for that character.
Completing all tasks within a group unlocks an extra account-wide reward which can be claimed on all your other characters.
There are four Recruitment events that run throughout the year:

Klingon Recruitment - usually starts early February;
Delta Recruitment - usually starts in April;
To get the most out of this one, you need three recruits:
- Starfleet 2409;
- Klingon Defense Force;
- Romulan Republic
Temporal Agent Recruitment - sometimes runs during summer, sometimes in September, for the TOS anniversary date;
Gamma Recruitment - has settled into an Autumn timeslot, usually in mid-October.

Delta, Gamma, and Klingon Recruits get their Thingummajig™ during the tutorial and should complete their tutorial during the Event.
Temporal Recruits get their Thingummajig™ at the end of their first story arc, so must complete that during the Event.
After the Events are over, the Thingummajig™ stays in your Inventory and you can complete the goal contained therein at your own pace.

protoneous · November 13

darkshadow1029#6117 wrote: »

So would you suggest STO for a home for someone wanting to Play a game and play with others? Is the community helpful for new players or long gone returning players?

I want a group of people I am looking forward to logging on and spending time with

Yes, yes, and yes.

For me the best way to get to know a few people and chat with other players on discord was to join a fleet. Two places to try would be..

1) This forum's Fleet Recruitment section

2) reddit.com/r/sto/ (fleet info in right sidebar)

It's still a good game after all these years and has a huge number of hours of content (the entire storyline) that's completely free and fun to play as well as TFO's for group play. There's also recruitment events and seasonal and year long event campaigns that all give out some nice rewards.

Good luck out there in space, Captain

Hi, I about to Dump alot of RL info so I can find out if I should come back and play STO. Plz Help

Comments