A couple of notes before we begin. First, the numbers involving the increases in BO Skill Points and Starfleet merits within are arbitrary and are only meant to provide illustration on the concept. Second, any and all constructive feedback is more than welcome.
Tired of using the same old BO powers all the time? Want to try out a more interesting combination but are locked out by BO station limitations? Or do you want to have a little more versatility like the Bird of Preys have? Well for the most part you can't... but you can get pretty darn close.
Introducing, and proposing, the Bridge Officer Power Upgrade system. This system will allow you to upgrade the lower level BO power in the lower level BO stations to their more powerful versions. So no, this doesn't mean that you'll be shooting off Viral Matrix from an ensign science station, but rather Reverse Shield Polarity III instead of I from that station.
Now how is this going to work? Simple. Since it is unrealistic to think that Starfleet officers wouldn't keep improving their skills over time, it's unrealistic to think that they would settle for level 1 skills when there are level 3 version of that skill. So they would keep training. Like so:
http://i721.photobucket.com/albums/ww211/startrek2011/BOSkillProposal1a.jpg
Now this wouldn't be automatically available for everyone to use, you would have to be of the correct rank to be able to train this skill normally from the BO trainer. So no, there will be no Lieutenants running around with level 3 skills in PvP. And more to the point the excess BO points being spent on the skill will not affect the performance of the skill. Once you hit 9 normally that's the performance cap for that level.
However once you hit 9 with the upgrade points, like so:
http://i721.photobucket.com/albums/ww211/startrek2011/BOSkillProposal2a.jpg
You'll end up with this automatically.
http://i721.photobucket.com/albums/ww211/startrek2011/BOSkillProposal3a.jpg
So realistically you'll be spending 900 points on an ensign level 1 skill just to get it up to level 2. If you'll also notice there is also a 100 point increase in the number of BO points that are necessary to increase that skill. So to get High Yield Torpedo up to level nine in ensign it's going to cost 1350 BO skill points in addition to the 900 Bo skill points already invested, which would equal 2250 BO skill in total for ensign, as opposed to just spending the 900 to level it to max in lieutenant.
Now what about level 3 skills? Obviously it's just cheaper just to spend the 900 in lieutenant and forget about this system altogether if there is no real incentive for it. Well using a level 2 skill in an ensign station is pretty decent incentive by itself, since it opens up your lieutenant station for a different skill. But yeah there is a need for level 3 skills to truly make this worthwhile.
Unlike the level 2 skills, leveling up the skill to level 3 is a little more involved. For starters, you have to level it up like normal to get the maximum effectiveness of the skill. Then you have to level it an additional nine times, just like leveling the level 1 skill to level 2. However unlike the level 1 skill going to level 2 skills, the skill doesn't automatically skill up the moment you train the second set of nine, as seen below.
http://i721.photobucket.com/albums/ww211/startrek2011/BOSkillProposal4a.jpg
The training stops at the new nine, and will stay there indefinitely. So you spent the points, got the skill all ready for leveling up to three, and yet nothing happens. So how do you get the level 3 skill into the ensign slot? The answer is exactly as you get the level 3 skills in lieutenant commander and commander slots. You train the skill into the bridge officer yourself.
http://i721.photobucket.com/albums/ww211/startrek2011/BOSkillProposal5a.jpg
As seen above, once the level 2 skill has been leveled up to max and is ready to level up to level 3, a new option appears in the Officer Training menu. This new option allows for a skill that your captain can already train at level 3 to be trained at Lieutenant Commander or Commander to be trained at a lower level. So going by this example here High Yield Torpedo III, which is a Lieutenant Commander Bridge Station, can now be trained for use at the Ensign Bridge Station. However there is a catch...
http://i721.photobucket.com/albums/ww211/startrek2011/BOSkillProposal6a.jpg
You can only train the skill on the Bridge Officer who is ready to have their skill leveled up, and no one else. Also the price for training the skill has been increased significantly, due in part to the difficulty in using this skill at the lower level. And of course to make it so that training this same skill at the level it was intended for is going to be cheaper than training it at the lower level.
So at this point, select the officer who can be trained, hit the train button, click okay to confirm, and in a matter of moments, you get the following on your screen.
http://i721.photobucket.com/albums/ww211/startrek2011/BOSkillProposal7a.jpg
Tada! That ensign BO station is now, thanks to the hard work your character and the BO's training, able to use a level 3 skill. Obviously this makes those ensign stations more useful than they use to be, as they open up new options for the Lieutenant, Lieutenant Commander, and even Commander level skills. This in turn creates more variety in player builds, which in turn makes PvP more unpredictable. And making PvP more unpredictable makes it more fun, since players are going to have to be on their toes for anything and everything now.
This is all fine and dandy for those who are tactical officers training tactical bridge officers, or science officers training science bridge officers, or even engineering officers training engineering bridge officers. But what about those who wish to make the most of the bridge officers who don't match their class? Well prior to Season 2.0 those players would have been stuck with what they got. However thanks to the efforts of the devs here at Cryptic the brand new bridge officer trading system solves that little problem. Players can now trade between players for bridge officers they wish to train to max, and then trade back to get your bridge officers back.
In the following list I have included all Captain Trainable Lieutenant Commander and Commander level Bridge Officer Powers, and where under this new system these abilities could be used.
Captain Trainable Bridge Officer AbilitiesGround AbilitiesTactical
Leg Sweep III Ensign
Photon Grenade III Ensign
Supressing Fire III Lieutenant
Target Optics III Lieutenant
Engineering
Chroniton Mine Barrier III Ensign
Quick Fix III Ensign
Shield Recharge III Ensign
Shield Generator Fabrication III Lieutenant
Phaser Turret Fabrication III Lieutenant
Science
Gravimetric Shift III Ensign
Hypospray Dylovene III Ensign
Medical Tricorder III Ensign
Sonic Pulse III Lieutenant
Tricorder Scan III Lieutenant
Space AbilitiesTactical
Beam Array: Fire at Will III Ensign
Tactical Team III Ensign
Torpedo: High Yield III Ensign
Attack Pattern Beta III Lieutenant
Cannon: Rapid Fire III Lieutenant
Dispersal Pattern Beta III Lieutenant
Attack Pattern Omega III Lieutenant Commander
Engineering
Emergency Power to Auxiliary III Ensign
Emergency Power to Weapons III Ensign
Emergency Power to Engines III Ensign
Emergency Power to Shields III Ensign
Engineering Team III Ensign
Directed Energy Modulation III Lieutenant
Extend Shields III Lieutenant
Eject Warp Plasma III Lieutenant Commander
Science
Hazard Emitters III Ensign
Jam Sensors III Ensign
Science Team III Ensign
Tachyon Beam III Ensign
Tractor Beam III Ensign
Charged Particle Burst III Lieutenant
Feedback Pulse III Lieutenant
Scramble Sensors III Lieutenant
Gravity Well III Lieutenant Commander
Photonic Shock Wave III Lieutenant Commander
Well thats all fine and dandy. All of these level III skills have level I equivalents at the bridge officer stations listed. So youre not facing any new abilities, just stronger versions of powers that you are already facing in PvP and PvE. But these level III abilities are a dime a dozen. Leveling up your captain to max and then training your BOs with these abilities is not hard, unless youre a Klingon, and makes this little proposal here a slight upgrade to the game. What if this system could also be used as a means to stimulate the economy, and place in those Bridge Officer Power Slots level III abilities that are rarely seen in PvP, or even PvE on the ground?
There are a total of 29 Bridge Officer Abilities that are exclusively trained by other bridge officers. Many of these abilities are highly sought after, like for instance Beam Array: Overload III which currently is only useable on an Excelsior for Cruisers. By taking the above system which is applied to powers that you can train at either the Bridge Officer Trainer or yourself and apply it to powers that can only be trained by Bridge Officers, suddenly nearly every single ability in the game is open to combinations previously un-thought of.
In the following list I have included all Bridge Officer Trainable Lieutenant Commander and Commander level Bridge Officer Powers, and where under this new system these abilities could be used.
Bridge Officer Trainable Bridge Officer AbilitiesGround AbilitiesTactical
Draw Fire III Ensign
Focus Fire III Ensign
Smoke Grenade III Lieutenant
Lunge III Lieutenant
Engineering
Weapons Malfunction III Ensign
Reroute Power to Shields III Lieutenant
Science
Tachyon Harmonic III Ensign
Stasis Field III Lieutenant
Vascular Regenerator III Lieutenant
Space AbilitiesTactical
Beam Array: Overload III Ensign
Torpedo: Spread III Ensign
Target Weapons Subsystems III Ensign
Target Engines Subsystems III Ensign
Target Shields Subsystems III Ensign
Target Auxiliary Subsystems III Ensign
Attack Pattern Delta III Lieutenant
Cannon: Scatter Volley III Lieutenant
Engineering
Auxiliary to Structural III Lieutenant
Boarding Party III Lieutenant
Reverse Shield Polarity III Lieutenant
Aceton Field III Lieutenant Commander
Science
Mask Energy Signature III Ensign
Polarize Hull III Ensign
Transfer Shield Strength III Ensign
Energy Siphon III Lieutenant
Photonic Officer III Lieutenant
Tractor Beam Repulsors III Lieutenant
Tykens Rift III Lieutenant
Viral Matric III Lieutenant Commander
Comments
Now there is one concern with the Bridge officer trading system and this BO Power Upgrade system working in tandem. There is the possibility that Lieutenants could end up with level 3 skills in their ensign slots. Obviously this would be a concern for PvP balance, though seeing a Brel and a Miranda blow each other out of the sky with two High Yield Quantum Torpedoes III would be rater amusing.
Amusing or not there needs to be a solution to this problem. And I propose this solution for your consideration. Before you as a player are able to train your bridge officer with a power in a slot it wasnt originally meant for you have to meat two criteria.
The first is this, your character needs to be of a high enough rank for the ability that you are going to train to be trained and used at its normal level. What this means is that for instance you want to train your Bridge Officer with Torpedo: High Yield III. Normally how this would work is that you character has to be a Lieutenant Commander and have the Starship Torpedo Weapons skill maxed out to train Torpedo: High Yield III in your Bridge Officers Lieutenant Commander Power Slot. This can be done ingame right now, however inorder to use that skill your player character needs to be at least a commander.
The Second Criteria is this, in order to train your bridge officer with an ability in a power slot other than its original, your bridge officer has to be the required rank has to be the required rank to use this skill normally. Going back to the Torpedo: High Yield III example, your bridge officer normally has to have a rank of Lieutenant Commander inorder to use that skill. So to train Torpedo: High Yield III in your Bridge Officers Ensign Power Slot your bridge officer needs to be at least Lieutenant Commander. So these abilities are not showing up any earlier than they normally do.
Furthermore, by putting in this criteria this solves the problem of trading Bridge Officers with commander level powers to Lieutenants. The current bridge officer trading system doesnt allow for trading of commissioned bridge officers to a character that is a lower rank than the Bridge officer is.
That is my proposal. Cryptic Studios is more than welcome to use this concept in any way shape or form should they choose to pursue a system like this.
So, what do you, the community, think about this?
What you would have is MORE Boffs to draw on then especially with the department head system coming out. Boffs would fill these roles on your ship and give you a power to your ship. Then they would need to be promoted to gain access to different skills but limit the promotion system so we do not have all commanders but only two or three at most.
Possibly offer a second skill if you promote them to Commander but if you did not limit them then Boff skills would get out of control in a way in PvP. The idea is good but needs a little refinement and restrictions IMO.
Would the quantity of experience points allow you to get the upgrades as you progress, or would these be the upper tier bonuses that you would grind through to get?
Or maybe both?
I'm interested, to say the least.
Now when I replay, at least now I can actually use my stupid BO skill points.