Star Trek Online: Levelling an Alt on a New Account
Creating alts is an integral aspect of the MMORPG genre. Many players will create a character of a specific class or faction, play it for a while, lose interest in it or they may decide that it is just not for them. Fortunately it is no effort at all to simply re-roll a new alt and set off once again. Furthermore, lots of players never reach level cap of the MMORPG that there playing. When the going get’s tough, so to speak, you can either soldier on for another 50 levels or simply create a new alt and return to the comfort of tried and tested content. Alts also give you the chance to secure an accolade or achievement that you previously missed. They are also of great benefit to the genres social aspects. Creating a new alt so you can play along with a friend who is just starting is great fun. Developer’s love them too as it means you’re still playing the game.
Creating alts is an integral aspect of the MMORPG genre. Many players will create a character of a specific class or faction, play it for a while, lose interest in it or they may decide that it is just not for them. Fortunately it is no effort at all to simply re-roll a new alt and set off once again. Furthermore, lots of players never reach level cap of the MMORPG that there playing. When the going get’s tough, so to speak, you can either soldier on for another 50 levels or simply create a new alt and return to the comfort of tried and tested content. Alts also give you the chance to secure an accolade or achievement that you previously missed. They are also of great benefit to the genres social aspects. Creating a new alt so you can play along with a friend who is just starting is great fun. Developer’s love them too as it means you’re still playing the game.
So it is easy to see why alts are so popular and a key part of the MMRPG scene. I recently resumed playing Star Trek Online and found that I have nearly used up all my available character slots. Rather than pay for more, the easiest solution was to create a new account, which I duly did. I took advantage of the on going Gemma Recruitment Event and claimed the free Level 60 Tactical Vanguard Jem’Hadar character. However, what I really wanted to do was create a new 23rd Century character from the Star Trek: The Original Series era. STO has an outstanding but somewhat short story arc set in this time period which totally catches the vibe of the TV show. Hence I created a new Captain and “boldly” went about the business of saving the universe without ripping my shirt at the shoulder. It didn’t take long for me to spot the difference between creating an alt on this new account compared to my existing one.
My main STO account dates back to the launch of the game in January 2010. In 2015 I upgraded to a lifetime account. I have one primary character that I have used to play through all in-game content and events. In STO a lot of the rewards you receive from events are account unlocks. Ships you have bought from the C-Store are similarly available across your account. So if you create a new alt, as soon as you have completed the tutorial you can start claiming a wealth of gear that greatly assists in your ongoing progression. Kit modules, ground weapons, shield and armour for your away team. Universal consoles and various sets of ship gear. Then there’s dozens of vessels to choose from. You get the idea. Simply put, rolling a new alt under such circumstances is a relatively frictionless undertaking because they get such a leg up with all the material advantage. My new alt on the recently created alternate account has no access to any of this.
Overall this has been a timely reminder as to how all new players experience Star Trek Online. You get a level appropriate ship, default gear and slowly progress using the mission rewards you’re given. Your inventory and bank space is initially small but sufficient for the loot that you receive at this stage of the game. Without the benefits of fancy unlocks, learning combat with the gear the game provides teaches you the situational awareness and tactics you need to master. You can’t cheese it through having access to better stuff. Hence the levelling process, via the missions, means you progress in a measured fashion, gaining access to better gear, as the game intended. The game gives you what you need as you level for free. If you want any more then you can always use the store. This intended scarcity makes the new player consider what they equip and what they may sell or buy.
As I am playing on a new account which I created mainly for short term fun, I am reticent to spend any money on the two alts it is currently home to. I did remember to check on the Alienware website to see if there were any freebie game codes available and there are at the time of writing this posts. So I managed to secure the following items. Terran Empire Odyssey Outfit. An Elite Services Pack and a small XP Boost. The service pack provides 36 bank slots and 36 inventory slots, as well as two bridge officer slots. This usually costs 1000 Zen in the C-Store store so is well worth grabbing while its still available. Beyond this addition, I shall continue to play in the “vanilla” fashion, as Cryptic intended. Although not being able to access my account unlocks has made me appreciate how beneficial they can be. In the meantime, I shall battle the Klingons with my vendor trash gear, like its some kind of Kobayashi Maru test.
