Star Trek Online: Trait Bug
All MMORPGs have bugs. It is a certainty in life, just like death and taxes. However, some have more than others. I’m sure we could argue for hours as to which particular game has the most but I’ll leave that discussion to others. Star Trek Online has its share, many of which have persisted for years. But there is one that stands out, due to its longevity and sheer annoyance. To be specific, the “trait bug”. Like many MMO’s STO has a trait system that offers a range of passive or active buffs, skill boosts and statistical tweaks. STO is very much a number game, especially if you are chasing a high DPS output, which lots of players do. The trait bug is the random “unslotting” of some of your characters traits. It can affect any of the seven categories of traits but tends to most often happen to Personal Space Traits and Starship Traits. Unless you regularly check, most players will not immediately know this has happened.
All MMORPGs have bugs. It is a certainty in life, just like death and taxes. However, some have more than others. I’m sure we could argue for hours as to which particular game has the most but I’ll leave that discussion to others. Star Trek Online has its share, many of which have persisted for years. But there is one that stands out, due to its longevity and sheer annoyance. To be specific, the “trait bug”. Like many MMO’s STO has a trait system that offers a range of passive or active buffs, skill boosts and statistical tweaks. STO is very much a number game, especially if you are chasing a high DPS output, which lots of players do. The trait bug is the random “unslotting” of some of your characters traits. It can affect any of the seven categories of traits but tends to most often happen to Personal Space Traits and Starship Traits. Unless you regularly check, most players will not immediately know this has happened.
The trait bug tends to happen when changing instances within STO. IE When transitioning from sector space to system space or when travelling to a planet surface or visiting a space station. It can also happen after the release of any content update. As STO rotates through a schedule of yearly events, the bug manifests itself quite regularly. However, despite it persisting in the game years, it is hard to pin down a specific set of factors that cause it. It is capricious by nature, which makes it more frustrating. The “unslotting” of traits will impact upon space and ground combat and it is often the feeling that your current build feels “gimped” that leads players to discover that a selection of random traits have vanished from their existing setup. A further source of annoyance is the fact that there isn’t a permanent fix or a workaround that is 100% effective.
At present, the nearest I have got to a solution is as follows. Clear all existing traits and save to a new loadout. Overwrite existing loadouts to remove them. Log out of the game and close the client. Then log back in. Go to system space above the homeworld of your faction. Set all your traits as you desire and save the loadout. I would also advise taking a screenshot or making a written note of your trait selection. This broadly works but can fail after a content update. This bug is an especially poor reflection upon Cryptic because it has been around so long. I would happily forgo a content update, if the developers spent time and resources on a comprehensive bug fix. Sadly, I suspect that is not going to happen. In the meantime, if anyone has any other workarounds, I’d be interested to know them.
MMO Tropes: Death
“The MMO genre is rife with its own set of tropes; recurring themes and motifs that have become established and ubiquitous. All of which are ideal material for a hastily produced, lazily conceived, recurring blog post”. Dying in an Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game is a clear and unambiguous fail state. A means by which to teach the player that they’re doing something wrong and that they need to rethink their strategy. IE Don’t mess with the foul Marmydons unless you have back up and are wielding the Sword of Kagnazax. Dying is a reminder to not get overconfident and maintain situational awareness. It teaches us to ensure you have the right gear and consumables, to be au fait with the mechanics of any fight you’re about to get into and that winning is not a given. Any enterprise that offers a tangible reward will come with potential risks and consequences. If you’re playing in a group then death provides a timely reminder not to rely on Colin.
I use to be alive until I took an arrow to the cerebral cortex
“The MMO genre is rife with its own set of tropes; recurring themes and motifs that have become established and ubiquitous. All of which are ideal material for a hastily produced, lazily conceived, recurring blog post”. Dying in an Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game is a clear and unambiguous fail state. A means by which to teach the player that they’re doing something wrong and that they need to rethink their strategy. IE Don’t mess with the foul Marmydons unless you have back up and are wielding the Sword of Kagnazax. Dying is a reminder to not get overconfident and maintain situational awareness. It teaches us to ensure you have the right gear and consumables, to be au fait with the mechanics of any fight you’re about to get into and that winning is not a given. Any enterprise that offers a tangible reward will come with potential risks and consequences. If you’re playing in a group then death provides a timely reminder not to rely on Colin.
Over the course of its evolution, the MMORPG genre has handled death in many different ways. There’s the scorched earth policy of permadeath, in which your in-game character dies for good. You lose everything you’ve accrued and have to create a new character and start from scratch. Then there was the infamous “corpse run”, in which your character’s spirit spawns at a designated point on the in-game map and has to return to their own dead body to re-animate it. In the meantime, any passing player can pilfer your loot from your unattended cadaver. However, such draconian rules have fallen out of favour with modern MMOs, although you will still find them in many classic games that still linger online. Death is now treated as a minor penalty that temporarily inconveniences you. It may incur damage to your gear but it is no longer the setback that it used to be.
I’ve spent many a happy hour plummeting to my death in LOTRO
In the Lord of the Rings Online, death is politely called “defeat” and occurs when your morale reaches zero. While defeated your character remains immobile, unable to use any skills. You may then use a self-revive which has a two hour cooldown by default, assuming that the immediate area is safe. If however you cannot or do not wish to self-revive, you may “retreat” which will teleport you to the nearest rally point, which is a circle of stones in a safe area. This disadvantage of “retreating” is that it may take you a substantial distance from your previous location. This is particularly problematic if you are in an instance. However, if you are playing in a group you may be revived by a fellow player, if they are of a class that can revive others. It is not the best or worst example of death mechanics in an MMO but it can be managed. You can purchase an account unlock that reduces the two hour cooldown on “revive” to one or purchase additional consumable “revives” by using in-game currency.
Death is managed in a far more equitable fashion in Star Trek Online. During ground combat, if you are inconvenienced by dying you can simply respawn at the last unlocked respawn point. However, more often than not, your character is accompanied by your “away team”. This is a group of four NPC companions or “bridge officers”. While dead you may request “help”, in which case one will come and revive you. Depending upon the intensity of the ongoing combat, your companions may well all heroically die trying to save you. However, if you ensure that you have a holographic or android NPC on your away team, these have the ability to self-reboot. Hence if your entire group is wiped out, one will self-revive and then revive everyone else. Conversely, space combat in STO handles dying far more simply. There is a short 10 second cooldown and then you can opt to respawn in the combat zone.
“He’s dead, Jim. Oh shit, it is Jim”
I have always liked the way that Guild Wars 2 has made reviving others a key social aspect of the game. Each player can use a self-revive when “downed”, the stage between zero health and “defeat”. Alternatively, while “downed” if you manage to kill an enemy you will “rally” back to a state of health. However, once dead, they can either retreat to the nearest waypoint or look to an ally or the kindness of passing strangers to revive you. In dynamic events, where there are lots of players, it is commonplace to help players who are “downed” or “defeated” as it is practical to have as many functional players attacking a target as possible. There are traits in the game that improve reviving speed and potency. Gear can be augmented with runes, some of which can improve revival mechanics.
The Elder Scrolls Online dispenses with the intermediate stage of being “downed” and once your health is exhausted, you are officially dead. At this point, you can retreat to the nearest wayshrine or self-revive using a soul gem. Soul gems are consumable items that are initially empty. However, if the player slots the right skills, they are filled with the souls of enemies they defeat. Hence soul gems come with a cost. The player has to either make them themselves or buy them pre-made from the in-game store. Reviving yourself with a soul gem will grant you a spectral form for a short time that is unable to attack or be attacked, before returning to full health. This allows the player to strategically reposition themselves. Soul gems can also be used to revive other players. However, unlike Guild Wars 2, as you are using a resource with a value, players may not always be disposed to help you.
A poultry-geist
Most people are not overly enamoured by death mechanics. However, during solo PVE gameplay, it is broadly tolerated. However, in my experience, this changes significantly during group content. I jokingly mentioned earlier about death in instances or raids. It is a fact that players do not warm to dying in an MMO when it is due to the incompetence of another player. Group content in MMOs requires a substantial investment of time and resources. Death may lead to a wipe and failure to obtain the loot you desire. Which means when Colin fucks up and you all die, tempers will flare. It can ruin a game. Colin notwithstanding, death is a legacy penalty left over from the original hardcore days of MMOs. Its relevance seems to have diminished with age and continues to do so in this era of “live services”. It may eventually vanish from the genre as it ultimately stands in the way of player gratification. Unhappy players tend not to play or pay. Business doesn’t like that.
MMO Tropes: Running All the Way
“The MMO genre is rife with its own set of tropes; recurring themes and motifs that have become established and ubiquitous. All of which are ideal material for a hastily produced, lazily conceived, recurring blog post”. I was in London recently, idly walking to the Natural History Museum in South Kensington, when a group of tourists started running for no discernable reason. Someone I was with asked “ I wonder why they’re running” and I replied “perhaps they think they’re in an MMO”. The quips fell on deaf ears but that is a cross I often have to bear. This anecdote highlights one of the points of this post. Namely, why do our avatars in the MMORPG genre run by default? I would also like to discuss the manner in which MMOs address the issue of travel around an ever expanding virtual world. Is fast travel lazy? Our mounts a boon or a bane?
“The MMO genre is rife with its own set of tropes; recurring themes and motifs that have become established and ubiquitous. All of which are ideal material for a hastily produced, lazily conceived, recurring blog post”. I was in London recently, idly walking to the Natural History Museum in South Kensington, when a group of tourists started running for no discernable reason. Someone I was with asked “ I wonder why they’re running” and I replied “perhaps they think they’re in an MMO”. The quips fell on deaf ears but that is a cross I often have to bear. This anecdote highlights one of the points of this post. Namely, why do our avatars in the MMORPG genre run by default? I would also like to discuss the manner in which MMOs address the issue of travel around an ever expanding virtual world. Is fast travel lazy? Our mounts a boon or a bane?
Although MMOs are often proud of the size and scale of the virtual world’s they’ve created, getting around is time consuming and at times a chore. Hence, running in an MMO is usually the most expedient way of travelling. It’s not mandatory though, which is why you will sometimes see role players walking everywhere for realism. The trade off is that it takes longer and you look like a fool doing it. Each to their own. When you’re new to a game, discovering and exploring a major quest hub, such as Minas Tirith in The Lord of the Rings Online, is a source of enjoyment. However, roll on a few weeks and it soon becomes a nuisance that has to be managed and endured. Mercifully, most MMOs have various means of fast travel, via waypoints, shrines, or stables. This is done for convenience, although some will argue it comes at the expense of immersion.
As many MMOs are fantasy based, animal or beast themed mounts can provide a suitable, lore friendly means to travel around. Although fast travel from point to point is convenient, riding around and exploring the immediate environment can be a major point of appeal for an MMO. LOTRO does this very well as Standing Stone Games’ virtual Middle-earth is one of the biggest gaming maps available. The world is diverse and richly designed and there are many iconic places to discover. The Elder Scrolls Online similarly offers a varied and immersive open world to explore. Cryptic’s Star Trek Online handles the vastness of the galaxy well. Sector Space is big and takes a degree of time to traverse. This situation does improve once you hit the level cap and can access Quantum Slipstream drive which allows for much faster short bursts of speed. Star Wars: The Old Republic has a far more practical point to point, hyperspace travel system but I never liked the way it cost you money for fuel.
Another thing to consider about running in MMOs is that it does have some tactical applications beyond its functional use. For example, depending upon “aggro mechanics” it is possible in some games to run past or even through a group of mobs without alerting them. Even if you do trigger enemies, in many MMOs you can outrun them although such things do come with an element of risk. For example, in LOTRO it is entirely possible to run through Moria (with an alt at the same level of the content) from the West to East gates and survive, as long as you know the most expedient route. Then there are the practical benefits of a strategic withdrawal. Remember, “he who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day”. Temporary running buffs can also be useful when “retreating to victory”.
Single player games seem to handle travel differently and certainly have some advantages. I envy the fact that a game like Grand Theft Auto V or Red Dead Redemption 2 provide the players with access to public transport. I especially like riding the train between towns in RDR2 as it is very restful and highlights for a few minutes the detail of the open world. Similarly, using the L Train in GTA V adds to the illusion of a living city. It would be nice to see something like that in the MMOs genre. I also liked the way in LA Noire, if you don’t want to drive the car yourself from case to case, you simply use the passenger door and your NPC companion would be the designated driver. All goes to show that you can approach the matter of getting from A to B with a degree of creativity, rather than just running all the way.
A Month in Gaming
Here we are again with another summary of my gaming activities in recent months. Or in this case since last September. It’s been a while but I’ve been on a blogging hiatus until recently. However, I’ve kept myself busy gaming wise and often I find the hunt for news video games, just as entertaining as I do playing them. Perhaps that could be a future blog post. Back to the matter in hand. Gaming wise, pretty much all things related to the MMORPG genre are currently on the back burner. I’ll give specifics later but I am taking a break from these for the present. I am currently looking at trying games outside my usual comfort zone and also trying to test whether you can or cannot teach an old dog new tricks. Fortunately, the answer appears to be yes you can. Enough summation, on to the specifics.
Here we are again with another summary of my gaming activities in recent months. Or in this case since last September. It’s been a while but I’ve been on a blogging hiatus until recently. However, I’ve kept myself busy gaming wise and often I find the hunt for news video games, just as entertaining as I do playing them. Perhaps that could be a future blog post. Back to the matter in hand. Gaming wise, pretty much all things related to the MMORPG genre are currently on the back burner. I’ll give specifics later but I am taking a break from these for the present. I am currently looking at trying games outside my usual comfort zone and also trying to test whether you can or cannot teach an old dog new tricks. Fortunately, the answer appears to be yes you can. Enough summation, on to the specifics.
LOTRO Update 34: Before the Shadow. Let me state for the record that I still consider The Lord of the Rings Online to be a robust and entertaining realisation of Middle-earth. It has kept me entertained since late 2008. If you are new to the game there is a ton of content, a huge amount of lore references and a supportive and friendly community. But the last update had very little to offer veteran players. The new content was aimed at level 1 to 32 players. So apart from a new story, nothing much of note was added to the game for those with level cap characters and that is pretty much why I’m tired of this game. All it ever offers is “more of the same”.
Due to changes within EG7, I suspect a lot of the promised updates like the graphics overhauls and the console version will never be carried out and LOTRO is fated to remain essentially as it is. No major new systems or gameplay mechanics will be added. Just variations on existing content. For me that is no longer sufficient to hold my interest. Hence I played through some of Update 34: Before the Shadow when it was released last November but after a few days I just stopped logging in. I didn’t feel especially upset. In fact it felt like the right response. When you’re done, you’re done.
Red Dead Redemption 2. I returned to this RPG in January and picked up exactly where I left off in 2020. The plot was still familiar to me so it really was a seamless continuation. I played through the main story and was amazed at what a compelling experience it was. As I’ve already written a blog post about this remarkable game I won’t repeat myself too much but I consider this to be one of the best video games ever. Great game play, a compelling narrative and a feeling of immense satisfaction when you reach the end. It also keeps you thinking and reflecting upon it for days afterwards. As all great art does.
Hogwarts Legacy. Controversy aside, I really enjoyed this game. It offered everything I personally wanted from a Hogwarts themed video game. I was surprised at the quality of some of the companion side quests, especially the Sebastian Sallow story arc. I will happily return to the game if further DLC is released and I may at a future date play through the entire thing again with a new character. If they are in another house there are some unique storylines. In the meantime, the only content left to me to do is some completionist, busy work, so for the present I’ve finished with this title. It did provide over 70 hours of entertainment.
Sniper Elite 5. Nowadays, most games have a relatively short life cycle. One year is usual, so I was quite surprised to discover that Sniper Elite 5 was to get a second season pass with another “years worth” of content. New maps, new weapons, new cosmetic skins. Some may argue it’s all a bit thin but I just fundamentally like the concept behind this game. Slow, measured and tactical driven gameplay for those who want it. For those who like to run and gun, that is still an option. This fifth iteration of the game has really refined the sniping mechanics and the weapons customisation means you really can create a loadout that suits your need and style. I like the stealthy approach and setting booby traps and the game excels at this. Invasion mode where another player can gatecrash your game and hunt you down, still keeps me on my toes. I’ll happily play for another year.
Star Trek Online. What I like about this MMORPG is that you know exactly where you stand with it. You can complain about the monetisation, the ground combat and “lack of diplomatic missions” but the game doesn’t lie to you about its nature. STO is the gaming embodiment of a quid pro quo. If you grind a new event, you get a reward. If you grind all the events scheduled throughout the year, you get a bigger reward. There’s always something to do in this game. If you have time to kill, then you can play through all story arcs on all factions. There’s a lot. Alternatively, if you just have 30 minutes of gaming time, why not do the latest Task Force Operation? This is why STO is always in my gaming rotation.
Warzone 2.0 DMZ. I ended up buying a new graphics card because of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, when it was released last November. The latest iteration of the franchise also saw the release of a new version of Warzone, its free multiplayer counterpart. I’m simply not a good enough player to get the most out of the battle royale mode but the new DMZ variant, which is an extraction shooter, is damn compelling. Yes the game is flawed at present and a lot of the community are sociopathic but occasionally you get a game that hits the spot perfectly. You find a good squad, play in a coordinated fashion and gain some phat loot. And any fool that crosses your path, gets wrecked. You then exfil in the helicopter, under the cover of smoke, back in time for corn flakes. These are the days when gaming is good.
The Hunter: Call of the Wild. Finally, I bought this hunting game after watching a “let’s play” video on YouTube and am happy to report that it is a very interesting alternative take on the "first person shooter" genre. The game is slow, methodical and surprisingly immersive. It rewards patience. I didn’t think this genre would have any appeal for me but it is certainly holding my interest at present. It also has a substantial playerbase and community on reddit who are happy to share tips and information. I wasn’t expecting any of this which is an added bonus.
Star Trek Online: Ascension
This afternoon Cryptic launched the latest season update, Ascension, for the MMORPG Star Trek Online. Furthermore, I’m sure it will not come as a shock to long term players that it was broken and an emergency patch had to be applied. Oh how we all laughed. Even after being “fixed” players are still experiencing bugs with the new content, especially the ground mission part of the update, but this sadly is just par for the course. Personally speaking, it is not the bugs that I have a problem with as they are just part of the overall gaming experience when playing STO. What I am saddened about is the actual gameplay found in Ascension. The space combat section of the game is simply “more of the same”. Destroy some specific vessels and once the goal has been met, watch the cutscene. But the ground combat is especially uninspired and repetitive, despite its interesting setting.
This afternoon Cryptic launched the latest season update, Ascension, for the MMORPG Star Trek Online. Furthermore, I’m sure it will not come as a shock to long term players that it was broken and an emergency patch had to be applied. Oh how we all laughed. Even after being “fixed” players are still experiencing bugs with the new content, especially the ground mission part of the update, but this sadly is just par for the course. Personally speaking, it is not the bugs that I have a problem with as they are just part of the overall gaming experience when playing STO. What I am saddened about is the actual gameplay found in Ascension. The space combat section of the game is simply “more of the same”. Destroy some specific vessels and once the goal has been met, watch the cutscene. But the ground combat is especially uninspired and repetitive, despite its interesting setting.
Warning: Plot Spoilers (although Cryptic have given away all these details themselves, already). The Terran Emperor of the Mirror Universe, Wesley Crusher and yes you did read that correctly, is planning to join with the Mirror version of V’Ger, known as The Other. Obviously such a “melding” will not lead to such benevolent results as it did in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. During the course of Ascension, is a ground mission set within the core of The Other, where you play a Mirror version of your own alt. This character called The Inquisitor assists the Emperor’s away team. However, as this is some form of session play, you only have access to a bespoke and somewhat basic set of skills on your quickbar. So say goodbye to your own personal build and kit skills. And if that wasn’t a sufficient pain in the ass, you can’t even toggle your weapon to autofire.
Thus, while in this “gimped” state you then have to contend with a set of lacklustre tasks, such as turning off six power nodes before worker drones can bring them back online. It is a race that can be successfully done if you can figure out the shortest and most efficient route. If you don’t, then multiple drones will spawn and interrupt you, while you desperately try to catch up. The key to success is not to stand next to the power nodes but to get as close to them until the power off button appears on your screen. Hence there is a shorter optimal route that will allow you to complete the task before too many drones spawn. However, all of this still has to be undertaken with STO’s janky aim controls, while getting caught up in the environment for no discernible reason (a common bug in the game). It is far from fun and if you don’t know the workaround, very, very repetitive.
There’s nothing wrong with the story and as always, the voice acting by original cast members (in this case Wil Wheaton) is top notch. It’s just that the nuts and bolts of the game is incredibly uninventive. The V’ger, sorry The Other, environments are very well realised but just shooting wave after wave of generic drones is as dull as ditch water. It is a fact of life about the MMO genre that there is a limited amount of interactions you can make within gameplay. The key is in the creative way you “dress up” these interactions, so although they may be simple, they don’t come across that way within the context of the wider story. It is this specific element that is missing in Ascension. I do hope that Cryptic tries better than this next time. There is so much content in STO, such as the entire Agents of Yesterday expansion, that is exemplary. This is the standard that should be aimed for.
Navigating in MMORPGs
The Lord of the Rings Online was my first major MMORPG. I started playing in late 2008 and quickly discovered that there was a necessity to become familiar with the game world. Although the game provides quick travel options they were not ubiquitous at that point and often a player would simply travel on foot to travel costs down and to take the most direct route. Back in 2008 you could not own a mount until level 30. Hence I began “learning the maps” in the game and to this day still remember how to travel from one side of Moria, to another. The maps in the base game remain clear in my mind as they were so well trodden. Not so those in the regions. There are far more stables with fast mounts present in the game now and so convenience trumps any requirement to become so familiar with newly added zones. Nowadays Standing Stone Games designs new zones that tend to funnel players through them from quest hub to quest hub.
The Lord of the Rings Online was my first major MMORPG. I started playing in late 2008 and quickly discovered that there was a necessity to become familiar with the game world. Although the game provides quick travel options they were not ubiquitous at that point and often a player would simply travel on foot to travel costs down and to take the most direct route. Back in 2008 you could not own a mount until level 30. Hence I began “learning the maps” in the game and to this day still remember how to travel from one side of Moria, to another. The maps in the base game remain clear in my mind as they were so well trodden. Not so those in the regions. There are far more stables with fast mounts present in the game now and so convenience trumps any requirement to become so familiar with newly added zones. Nowadays Standing Stone Games designs new zones that tend to funnel players through them from quest hub to quest hub.
After considering the wider matter of maps in general in the MMO genre, it seems that most of them seem to be lacking in some fashion. The biggest problem is that traditional in-game maps are two dimensional views of three dimensional environments. LOTRO, Star Wars: The Old Republic and Guild Wars 2 are prime examples of this. Furthermore maps in this genre tend to be initially devoid of specific detail. This is to encourage exploration which then populates a map with NPC, fast travel points, crafting stations etc after they’re discovered. Another issue, especially in fantasy games, is that the maps themselves are designed in a stylised manner and are frequently not accurate in the sense that an Ordnance Survey map is in real life. The Elder Scrolls Online at least addresses the issue of multi-layers maps, allowing players to switch between levels. But it is far from perfect. The MMO does allow you to set a waypoint which can be a godsend.
As maps can prove so “unhelpful”, I find the most practical thing a game can do to help me with navigation is to provide a highly visible landmark which can be used to orientate players. Weathertop is a prime example of this in the Loneland region of LOTRO. The crumbling fortress on the highest hill in the region dominates the map. Having line of sight helps you make quick decisions when travelling and find the direction you need. Guild Wars 2 has gone all in on the concept of verticality and three dimensional environments. Does it make for interesting and complex world design? Yes. But the main problem is you cannot easily set a destination and travel there. As you seldom have any line of sight, often the only way to a location is through trial and error. Usually through “bandit territory”. It is intensely frustrating especially as there is much XP gain to be had via discovery. It makes me miss Neverwinter and its sparkly trails that can optionally lead you to your destination.
Navigating in Star Trek Online is the polar opposite of most other fantasy based MMOs and a very straightforward process. Especially after 2015 when developers Cryptic revised the galaxy map dividing it into four clearly defined quadrants, rather than sectors which were separate instances. The point and click navigation between planetary systems in sector space is simple and easy. If you wish to navigate by hand you can manually fly around at your own leisure. However, until you earn the transwarp travel skill it can take some time to get from one side of the map to another as a low level player. There is no cost associated with travel in STO. Unlike SWTOR which charges the player for the fuel used to travel across space. Both approaches are compliant with their respective lore of each franchise.
I find travelling and exploration a major source of enjoyment in MMOs. If I’m confronted with a blank map, then the first thing I want to do is open it up and see its details. I’ll often go exploring first off, rather than playing through mission or quest content. This isn’t always a shrewd decision as I can find myself in zones I am ill equipped to travel. Bu for me, looking around the game world is part of a game attraction, especially if it has a rich and diverse environment. Sometimes I will log into LOTRO and ride around Middle-earth just for the pleasure of it. Sadly, that is not the case for all MMOs. Take SWTOR, which has some industrial themed, city based maps that are a never ending maze of corridors and walkways. Overall I would like to see more games in the MMO genre having some sort of Grand Tour option or game mechanic. A means for peaceful exploration as an alternative to the usual narrative driven progression.
Star Trek Online: Five Tips
I’ve been playing Star Trek Online on and off for about 8 years. During that time I read a lot of Wikis and watched a lot of videos on YouTube that explore the game’s various systems and mechanics. I find a lot of the recommendations made by “expert” players to be impractical. The commonest being builds that include traits and consoles that you can only obtain from buying specific ships. Or using resources in quantities that take months of grinding to build up. This is hardly what I’d call handy advice for a new player. So I thought I’d give five tips of my own in no particular order, that I feel are useful. Some are glaringly obvious. Others not so. But hopefully they will prove useful to both new and returning players.
I’ve been playing Star Trek Online on and off for about 8 years. During that time I read a lot of Wikis and watched a lot of videos on YouTube that explore the game’s various systems and mechanics. I find a lot of the recommendations made by “expert” players to be impractical. The commonest being builds that include traits and consoles that you can only obtain from buying specific ships. Or using resources in quantities that take months of grinding to build up. This is hardly what I’d call handy advice for a new player. So I thought I’d give five tips of my own in no particular order, that I feel are useful. Some are glaringly obvious. Others not so. But hopefully they will prove useful to both new and returning players.
1.) Like many other MMORPGs, STO allows players to customise their character. However, if you pick a specific race such as Vulcan or Klingon, there are limits to what you can do. Fortunately, there is another option that offers players a lot more creative choice. If you create an “alien” species you have access to a lot more customisation options. Hence an alien can be made to look like a Vulcan, Andorian etc. Furthermore, with some creativity you can also make a character that looks like a Cardassian, which is a cheaper option than paying to unlock the official playable version of the Cardassian race. STO also supports the ability to save custom character builds as a .jpg file. These can be exported and shared for others to use. You can find examples here.
2.) A perennial problem in MMOs is running out of storage space and STO is no different. If you find this an issue then make use of the in-game mail system simply by mailing unbound items to yourself. You can leave unread mail indefinitely and also access it from other alts, making this a very useful secondary storage system. Mail terminals can be found in most social areas such as Starfleet Academy, Earth Spacedock and DS9 (and similar areas for other factions).
3.) Bridge Officer or Boffs as many players refer to them can be a thorny issue. Some are only available via fleet resources, some from lockboxes and others are quest rewards. You can also buy a lot of generic Boff from vendors. You’ll often find a lot of discussion around which ones are “the best”. Ultimately, it is not the respective colour quality (white/green/blue/purple) that counts the most but their unique racial traits. Cardassian Boffs provide an accuracy, defence and +2% damage boosts. Very useful if pursuing a DPS build. Romulan Tactical Boffs have the Superior Operative Trait and are available via the Fleet Embassy, providing critical chance and severity boost. The Hierarchy Science Boff has the Pirate trait providing a further damage and stealth boost. It can be obtained from the mission “Alliances”. These are not expensive options.
4.) In ground combat, players can adopt a mobile approach or alternatively crouch and aim. The advantage of the latter is that crouching presents a smaller target and aiming down the sights awards a damage buff. Some players do not like the hassle of having to press several additional keys while in combat to crouch and aim. However, when in combat on a ground map, you can use a macro by copying the following into the chat bar: /Bind x ” crouch 1 $$ aim 2 “ If you then press x you will simultaneously crouch and enter aim/sniper mode. Note this tactic is not a “get out of jail card” that makes you invincible. You still need to maintain situational awareness. But if used appropriately, then crouching and aiming makes mob clearance a lot quicker.
5.) The final tips I have for new STO players is to play the game at your own pace and in a way that suits you. There is no traditional endgame as such and therefore, fine tuning your build becomes the main pursuit for long term players. If you’ve played any of the Task Force Operations in STO at some point you’ll have auto-grouped with a high DPS player who effectively destroys everything before you’ve even blinked. This can inspire you (or play on your FOMO) to pursue a fancy build yourself. The only trouble with this is players who have high end builds usually have invested a lot of time and money into the game. It is not a casual or cheap undertaking. There are plenty of budget builds that work and the main story content is manageable with average gear. Worrying about stats can leach all the fun out of STO. So only get on the DPS treadmill if that is what motivates you as a player.
Star Trek Online: The Timeline Needs You (Again)
Cryptic are once again running the Temporal Agent Recruitment event in Star Trek Online from Tuesday 6th September 2022. Players who create a TOS (The original series) era character during this time are eligible for bonus dilithium, equipment and special traits as they play through the game. Progression also unlocks rewards for existing alts which can prove very useful. There are also unique tasks associated with Temporal Agents such as finding and unlocking Temporal Probes, which are hidden throughout the game’s story content. Once a player has created a 23rd century Starfleet character, completed the tutorial and received their special Temporal Agent transceiver device, they will gain the title Temporal Agent. The goals and bonus content associated with the event can be completed anytime, even after it ends on October 4th.
Cryptic are once again running the Temporal Agent Recruitment event in Star Trek Online from Tuesday 6th September 2022. Players who create a TOS (The original series) era character during this time are eligible for bonus dilithium, equipment and special traits as they play through the game. Progression also unlocks rewards for existing alts which can prove very useful. There are also unique tasks associated with Temporal Agents such as finding and unlocking Temporal Probes, which are hidden throughout the game’s story content. Once a player has created a 23rd century Starfleet character, completed the tutorial and received their special Temporal Agent transceiver device, they will gain the title Temporal Agent. The goals and bonus content associated with the event can be completed anytime, even after it ends on October 4th.
The Temporal Agent Event was originally linked to the launch of the third expansion for Star Trek Online, Agents of Yesterday which was released in July 2016. This content update added a new 23rd century faction with a bespoke starter zone set in that era. Several of the story arcs featured refer to specific TV episodes from the TOS era. Hence players will cross swords with the Gorn, neural parasites and the Romulans. The game aesthetic captures the look and feel of the original series perfectly and features a wealth of sound effects that are lore appropriate. There’s also voice acting from Walter Koenig and Chris Doohan (James Doohan’s son). The opening story that takes place on Taurus II does a good job of orienting new players. If there is any complaint to be had it’s that it’s all too short.
Once a player has completed the story arc of Agents of Yesterday, a lore based plot device is used to bring them to the current Star Trek Online era, so they can continue through the main episodic content. If you are a Trek fan then STO has a lot to offer. The game licence is fully supported by the CBS and Paramount which is why so many of the original cast from the various TV shows continue to voice their own characters. As an MMO STO lends itself well to both short and lengthy game play sessions. But if you are old enough to have grown up watching Star Trek TOS, then the forthcoming Temporal Agent Event affords a perfect opportunity to revel in nostalgia as well as a neat point of entry into STO. The game’s free-to-play business model affords new players plenty of time to determine whether they like this particular MMO and there’s certainly no reason to immediately spend money on ships or other items.
A Month in Gaming
I have confined my gaming to three MMORPGs in recent months and have not strayed into anything new. Time has been an issue due to a great deal of change in my domestic life. Hence The Lord of the Rings Online, Star Wars: The Old Republic and Star Trek Online have proven suitable for my needs. Being able to log into a game and commence an activity without any complicated preamble is convenient and currently suits my schedule down to the ground. I will be buying Sniper Elite 5 at the end of the month as this is a franchise that has always proven entertaining and engaging. While recently perusing the various game launchers I have installed, I took the opportunity to remove several games that I’m no longer playing or that have proven to be a “five minute wonder”. Hence I said goodbye to GreedFall, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Breakpoint and Days Gone. Their removal is no reflection upon their quality.
I have confined my gaming to three MMORPGs in recent months and have not strayed into anything new. Time has been an issue due to a great deal of change in my domestic life. Hence The Lord of the Rings Online, Star Wars: The Old Republic and Star Trek Online have proven suitable for my needs. Being able to log into a game and commence an activity without any complicated preamble is convenient and currently suits my schedule down to the ground. I will be buying Sniper Elite 5 at the end of the month as this is a franchise that has always proven entertaining and engaging. While recently perusing the various game launchers I have installed, I took the opportunity to remove several games that I’m no longer playing or that have proven to be a “five minute wonder”. Hence I said goodbye to GreedFall, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Breakpoint and Days Gone. Their removal is no reflection upon their quality.
I’ve finally completed all outstanding content in LOTRO and find myself now kicking my heels. The conclusion of Fate of Gundabad was interesting and I felt that there was emotional depth to the character Mótsog. I have also enjoyed exploring both The Angle of Mitheithel and Yondershire. I like the way that Standing Stone Games is not just creating new content for endgame. Adding additional zones for players levelling alts makes good business sense. It also makes the game more attractive to returning players by offering them content that they previously haven’t played. At the time of writing this post, LOTRO is celebrating its 15th anniversary. Although this is a significant milestone and one I am pleased that the game has achieved, I am not especially interested in the celebrations themselves. I don’t find any of the activities engaging, nor do I find any of the gifts and prizes that can be claimed desirable. I prefer the functional over the cosmetic.
Despite some frustration with the post Knights of the Eternal Throne storyline in SWTOR, rather than quit I decided to continue to play through the remainder of the original game. So far I have completed the Imperial Agent and Trooper stories. Both were well conceived and executed, although I did find the Trooper a little underpowered as a class. Speaking of which, it would also appear that every class in the game has at least one companion that is an utter twat. I see absolutely no merit in companions such as Skadge and Kaliyo Djannis. They’re objectionable and their dysfunctional nature doesn’t provide any alternative insight. These aren’t anti-heroes that make philosophical points to counter traditional archetypes. These are just shitty people who are a pain in the butt. Mercifully, for every poorly conceived companion there are at least two who are well rounded and relatable.
Moving on to my final gaming mainstay, STO, I continue to find this MMO ideal for quick fix entertainment. This game offers long term involvement but also excels at providing daily activities that can be quickly undertaken.In the last few months I have earned A600 Android (Combat Pet), a Tier 6 Jarok Alliance Carrier and sundry upgrade tokens for use on various alts. I’ve also continued working my way through the various story arcs in the main game and it has again proven a welcome reminder at how well developer’s Cryptic are at utilising the wealth of Star Trek lore to their advantage. Canonical characters and events are not just referenced or invoked as a lazy fan service, but drawn upon in ways that are relevant and that sustain an interesting narrative. I look forward to Star Trek: Strange New Worlds being integrated into the game.
Playing MMOs Solo
There was a perennial question being discussed over at Massively Overpowered recently. Justin Olivetti asked “why do you play MMOs solo” and as you would expect, there was a wide variety of answers. I have written about this myself in the past, as when I first started playing MMOs, I was very enamoured by the social element and therefore very disposed towards group content. However, that experience between 2008 and 2011, when I played The Lord of the Rings Online most days and dedicated Friday and Saturday nights to raiding, was very much down to circumstances. I had the time and inclination to spend hours online. That is something that I don’t have now. Plus the novelty of the social element has worn a little thin over the years. Nowadays, I do not have the luxury of waiting for a raid group to assemble, nor do I have the tolerance for the inevitable delays that always stem from any kind of human interaction.
It’s just me versus Middle-earth
There was a perennial question being discussed over at Massively Overpowered recently. Justin Olivetti asked “why do you play MMOs solo” and as you would expect, there was a wide variety of answers. I have written about this myself in the past, as when I first started playing MMOs, I was very enamoured by the social element and therefore very disposed towards group content. However, that experience between 2008 and 2011, when I played The Lord of the Rings Online most days and dedicated Friday and Saturday nights to raiding, was very much down to circumstances. I had the time and inclination to spend hours online. That is something that I don’t have now. Plus the novelty of the social element has worn a little thin over the years. Nowadays, I do not have the luxury of waiting for a raid group to assemble, nor do I have the tolerance for the inevitable delays that always stem from any kind of human interaction.
Hence the primary reason I play MMOs solo is simply to be able to progress at my own pace and not having to be dependent on others in any other way, shape or form. The advantages are obvious, as are the disadvantages. I may well be able to clear through PVE content, level efficiently and manage my gear progression, but I also miss a substantial part of the game. I haven’t participated in any major group content in LOTRO for over a decade. The last raid I did was Draigoch’s Lair in 2011. But that is the price you pay for solo gameplay. By playing on my own I get to use my time efficiently. Raiding is a long, drawn out process that doesn’t come with any guarantees. It is this aspect of MMOs that bothers me. If I invest my time into something, I want to walk away with some sort of reward. Raids do not always hand out loot in an equitable fashion. Playing through PVE content on your own gives you clear and achievable goals.
“Can you tell me where Bagel Street is?”
At present I play four MMOs. In LOTRO I have been in the same guild (or Kinship as it’s known in this game) since 2009. I know many of the other members and it is still active but certainly not to the degree it was a decade ago. In Star Trek Online I have my various alts in the respective Reddit based Fleets (guilds) such as Reddit Alert. I will chat with other members but I don't really know anyone nor ever group with them to play through content. I am in the Fleet simply for the benefits of accessing Fleet resources. which are mainly gear based in STO. With regard to Star Wars The Old Republic, I am in a guild which I created myself. This was mainly to stop me from getting swamped by guild invites from other players when the game first launched. It has two active members, myself and podcast co-host Brian. Beyond having a novelty name (Shaved Wookies) it serves no purpose. Due to my intermittent playing of The Elder Scrolls Online I see no reason to join a guild in that game.
The most social interaction I have in an MMORPG at present is in STO. Task Force Operations are five man missions which last between 5 and 15 minutes depending on the ability of the group. When selecting the TFO of your choice you are then auto-grouped and ported immediately to the appropriate instance. More often than not there is no communication between players in Team Chat. Sometimes players will deliberately go AFK and wait just to get the TFO reward. Every now and then someone will say “hi” to the group. On other occasions someone will try and give instructions but that seldom goes well. But such is the state of solo gameplay in most MMOs. You only talk and group with people if you want to and if there’s no compelling reason, then you don’t. Any game where your progress is dependent upon others is a game that I’ll more than likely not play.
A Month in Gaming
It’s been a while since I’ve written an instalment of A Month in Gaming. Over Christmas and New Year I was busy with family issues and it’s only in January that I’ve started anything approaching a regular gaming schedule. The novelty of Forza Horizon 5 has run its course and I’ve grown tired of the game’s upbeat tone and neverending activities that litter the in-game map. It’s nice that the game tries hard to engage with you but it reaches a point where you never get a time to stop, think and take stock. I couldn’t find anything else included in the Xbox Game Pass which especially excited me. There were a few titles that did take my fancy but I then discovered that I already own them elsewhere via Steam or Epic Games. So I decided to cancel my subscription. I still think that the Xbox Game Pass for PC is very good value and my failure to find anything that I like is my problem and not Microsoft’s fault.
It’s been a while since I’ve written an instalment of A Month in Gaming. Over Christmas and New Year I was busy with family issues and it’s only in January that I’ve started anything approaching a regular gaming schedule. The novelty of Forza Horizon 5 has run its course and I’ve grown tired of the game’s upbeat tone and neverending activities that litter the in-game map. It’s nice that the game tries hard to engage with you but it reaches a point where you never get a time to stop, think and take stock. I couldn’t find anything else included in the Xbox Game Pass which especially excited me. There were a few titles that did take my fancy but I then discovered that I already own them elsewhere via Steam or Epic Games. So I decided to cancel my subscription. I still think that the Xbox Game Pass for PC is very good value and my failure to find anything that I like is my problem and not Microsoft’s fault.
As ever MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online has kept me intermittently busy over the Winter months. I have continued with the central story arc that runs throughout the latest expansion Fate of Gundabad. Sadly performance issues still plague the new zone. I have experienced at least two instances, in which NPCs will not trigger the next stage of the story and remain unresponsive despite having flaming rings above their heads. Lag also persists in the Gundabad maps, especially in Câr Bronach. Handing in missions is also problematic and again you often find yourself having to wait for the game to catch up with what you’re doing. I also managed to visit the Bullroarer test server and take a look at the preview of Update 32 (Beta #4 and #5). So far I like what I’ve seen of the new zone, The Angle of Mitheithel. It’s biggest problem seems to be the correct pronunciation of the name.
Star Trek Online has just started its12th anniversary celebrations. Kate Mulgrew is the latest actor from the television shows to reprise her character in-game. Furthermore, not only do we finally get to meet Admiral Kathryn Janeway in-game, we also encounter her Mirror Universe incarnation, Terran Marshal Janeway. I cannot emphasise how important it is to STO to have the presence of so many much loved characters in-game, portrayed by the same actors that did so on television. It certainly elevates the credibility and gravitas of the proceedings. The anniversary episode continues the new Terran Empire storyline and has some very interesting lore based surprises. One plot element that’s proving a major talking point is who exactly is the current Emperor of the Terran Empire. Will it be someone who has previously not featured in the game? Will there be a major voice artist surprise later in the year?
As for what I intend to play in February and beyond, I’m not quite sure at present. I suspect I’ll be done with LOTRO shortly and will then take a break from the game. I usually return to The Elder Scrolls Online for three months or so but I cannot at present muster much enthusiasm for the game. Should I revisit an older game such as one of the Sniper Elite series, or should I replay Hand of Fate 2; a game which still impresses me. I am reluctant to buy something new as the last few times I’ve done this it hasn’t proven a good decision. Prior to Christmas I bought Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Breakpoint in a sale and it has failed to hold my interest. I sure I can find something in my ever growing libraries of “free” games to keep me amused. I shall have a trawl through them and hopefully may find a pleasant surprise.
Star Trek Online: The Captain’s Table
If you are a lifetime account holder for the MMORPG Star Trek Online, you get a selection of tangible benefits, as well as unfettered access to the game without currency caps and other impediments. These benefits include exclusive ships and playable races, additional bank and inventory slots and a plethora of boots and buffs. Buried among these trinkets and baubles is access to The Captain's Table. An interdimensional bar which caters exclusively to captains and leaders of note throughout the galaxy. In the early 25th century, the bar appeared aboard a mysterious Sierra-class space station, inside the Aenigma Nebula. The nebula is accessible through ship-sized portals in the orbits of Earth, Qo'noS and New Romulus. The Captain's Table is a nightclub and social venue with the following services.
If you are a lifetime account holder for the MMORPG Star Trek Online, you get a selection of tangible benefits, as well as unfettered access to the game without currency caps and other impediments. These benefits include exclusive ships and playable races, additional bank and inventory slots and a plethora of boots and buffs. Buried among these trinkets and baubles is access to The Captain's Table. An interdimensional bar which caters exclusively to captains and leaders of note throughout the galaxy. In the early 25th century, the bar appeared aboard a mysterious Sierra-class space station, inside the Aenigma Nebula. The nebula is accessible through ship-sized portals in the orbits of Earth, Qo'noS and New Romulus. The Captain's Table is a nightclub and social venue with the following services.
The Tailor
The Wholesaler (Ferengi Merchant with Mk I & II Personal Shields and Body Armor)
Mail, Bank and Exchange Consoles
Ship customization officer
Ship repair officer
Injury treatment officer
Vendor for minor and major repair components and regenerators.
The Captain's Table has been available in Star Trek Online since the game’s launch in 2010. On paper it’s a nice concept. A members only area offering alleged benefits. However, that isn’t really the case 12 years on. Travelling around sector space was a more complex process in 2010 with sector blocks, transition screens and then later transwarp gateways. Hence having an exclusive area with a range of services, away from Earth Spacedock, Qo'noS and New Romulus was a great way to avoid the crowds. I suspect that Cryptic may have had plans to add more functionality to The Captain's Table over time. Sadly this has never happened. The game has grown and the services available via the Aenigma Nebula can be found easily elsewhere. Furthermore, travelling in sector space was overhauled in 2015. Thus, The Captain's Table is now mainly redundant.
It would be nice if Cryptic did something with The Captain's Table to make it relevant again. Players are happy to offer suggestions and you’ll find plenty on the STO subreddit. Why not add unique missions, or allow players to refine some bonus Dilithium. Alternatively, make some exclusive gear available via the vendors there. Or at the very least add the Aenigma Nebula to the list of Transwarp destinations? Would any of these be difficult to do? Sadly, in the meantime The Captain's Table must remain as it has been for the last 12 years. A snapshot frozen in time. If you can, why not visit Aenigma Nebula, for old times sake. And reflect upon what it could have been. And while you are there, if you have any items to sell, use the vendor at The Captain's Table. He’ll give more Energy Credits for selling trash loot, than any other vendor in the game
Star Trek Online: Black Screen Bug
Over the last year an intermittent bug has been plaguing the MMORPG, Star Trek Online. For most players it is not unresolvable and there is a workaround. However, it is one of those bugs that is a low level source of annoyance for most and for a few unlucky players a major impediment to playing Star Trek Online. The bug is as follows. If you use the Arc game launcher to log into your Perfect World Entertainment account and then start Star Trek Online from the list of games, you will randomly get a black screen rather than the Cryptic logo and the game loading. If this occurs, you need to press ctrl+alt+del to bring up the Task Manager and manually click “End Task” to terminate the frozen GameClient.exe file. Relaunching the game from Arc a second time often resolves the issue and the game starts. However, the problem may occur again after exiting the game or it may not. It does seem to be somewhat random and capricious.
Over the last year an intermittent bug has been plaguing the MMORPG, Star Trek Online. For most players it is not unresolvable and there is a workaround. However, it is one of those bugs that is a low level source of annoyance for most and for a few unlucky players a major impediment to playing Star Trek Online. The bug is as follows. If you use the Arc game launcher to log into your Perfect World Entertainment account and then start Star Trek Online from the list of games, you will randomly get a black screen rather than the Cryptic logo and the game loading. If this occurs, you need to press ctrl+alt+del to bring up the Task Manager and manually click “End Task” to terminate the frozen GameClient.exe file. Relaunching the game from Arc a second time often resolves the issue and the game starts. However, the problem may occur again after exiting the game or it may not. It does seem to be somewhat random and capricious.
As this has happened to me, I have spent some time trying to determine what factors cause the “black screen bug”. Does it occur after a Windows update? Or a Star Trek Online or Arc client update? A video driver update? I’ve tried doing a file integrity test on the existing installation of the game but the bug will occur again shortly afterwards even if everything checks out. However, if you go directly to the installation directory for Star Trek Online and bypass the Arc game launcher altogether and click directly upon the GameClient.exe file, then the game launches without a problem every time. This squarely points to the problem being caused directly or indirectly by the Arc game launcher. Playing Star Trek Online without using Arc is not a major inconvenience. Arc simply provides some additional services that make life easier, such as the ability to easily buy in-game currency and to redeem game related item codes.
However, for a percentage of Star Trek Online players, the “black screen bug” is not so easily remedied and is a much larger problem. Not everyone finds launching the game directly from the GameClient.exe file bypasses the bug. I have found several subreddits and Steam discussions about this problem and some players have had to reinstall the entire game client to be able to continue to play the game. The technically minded have trawled through various log and error files but have not managed to determine a satisfactory explanation for this seemingly random problem. Perhaps it is time for Cryptic to look into this matter as it is obviously “a thing” for many players and may get worse overtime. It’s always best to try and get ahead of a problem than behind it. However, Cryptic are not known for their speed or decisiveness.
Star Trek Online: The Missing Missions
On October 15th 2018, Cryptic released Season 15: Age of Discovery for the MMORPG Star Trek Online. As well as adding new Star Trek: Discovery themeed content to the game, the developers also overhauled the new player experience and as a result made some major changes to existing missions in the game. Several story arcs were taken from the “Episodes” tab of the game’s Journal and relegated them to the status of side-content. As a result, several well written and enjoyable storylines are now buried in the game’s UI and are therefore easily overlooked. Some of them have been further gated behind a level 60 requirement to be eligible to play them. For more details of both these “side-content” story arcs and playing the entire game in narrative order, please see my previous post, Playing the Story Arcs in Order.
On October 15th 2018, Cryptic released Season 15: Age of Discovery for the MMORPG Star Trek Online. As well as adding new Star Trek: Discovery themeed content to the game, the developers also overhauled the new player experience and as a result made some major changes to existing missions in the game. Several story arcs were taken from the “Episodes” tab of the game’s Journal and relegated them to the status of side-content. As a result, several well written and enjoyable storylines are now buried in the game’s UI and are therefore easily overlooked. Some of them have been further gated behind a level 60 requirement to be eligible to play them. For more details of both these “side-content” story arcs and playing the entire game in narrative order, please see my previous post, Playing the Story Arcs in Order.
The other major change that Cryptic made with the launch of Season 15 was the removal of eight missions. At the time, Cryptic stated that this was to accommodate ongoing revisions and improvements to various content. This was confirmed as five missions were changed to feature revised graphics and the addition of canonical characters to the game, such as Commander La Forge (LeVar Burton). Cryptic initially stated that the eight missions would return at some point in the future. However, after three years this has still not yet happened. Furthermore, having recently played through the games complete content, it is apparent that many of the stories have been tweaked in such a way that they do not require the return of these eight missions. If it is the case that these stories have been permanently removed from STO, it will be a loss to the overall game. The missing missions are as follows.
Hide and Seek. Coded messages by an Undine infiltrator sent you to a distant nebula where enemies lie and wait.
Stop the Signal. The player is ordered to the Bomari System to find and destroy a Klingon listening post in the area.
The Kuvah'Magh. Ambassador Kas invited Miral Paris, who is said to be the Kuvah'Magh, as a mediator to a peace conference on Regulus IV. However, spurred by B'vat's propaganda, the talks are sabotaged by Klingons and their Orion mercenaries who believe Miral to be a false saviour. Although the talks have failed, Kas eventually assists the player in chasing B'vat away before he can abduct Miral Paris.
Treasure Trading Station. Starfleet has received a communication from a servant of one of the Klingon great noble houses. She claims to have vital information about the Klingon's war plans and she is willing to exchange that information for relocation to a planet out of the Empire's grasp.
Task Force Hippocrates. There are more reports than usual about Klingon and Gorn attacks along the border of Federation space. Starfleet has created a task force to patrol the area.
The Ultimate Klingon. After rescuing Julian Bashir from a Gorn ambush on his research lab in the Korvat System, the player has to investigate a genetic research facility on H'atoria and discovers Amar Singh creating genetically modified super warriors for the Klingon Empire.
City on the Edge of Never. After helping Captain Thelin of the U.S.S. Kirk against a Klingon ambush, he reports that Miral Paris, the supposed Kuvah'magh, was kidnapped by B'vat. The player follows him to the Gateway System, where B'vat takes Miral through the Guardian of Forever.
Past Imperfect. In Past Imperfect the player is transported to the past by the Guardian of Forever to defeat B'vat's schemes and preserve the present.
A Year in Gaming
Usually in a post such as this, my primary focus would be writing about the games that I’ve played over the last twelve month and what it was about them that I specifically enjoyed. However, this year I feel that I must address the wider issues that have dominated the news regarding the video games industry. Simply put, several very high profile and successful triple A video game companies have been beset by scandals over the last twelve months. And these have been of such a nature that they have finally laid to rest the myth that some still cling to, that working “in video games” is somehow different from working in more traditional industries because it’s “cool”. It turns out that it has all the same failings as TV, music and film. The people at the top are abusive and broken and maltreat those at the coalface who do all the real work for precious little reward.
Usually in a post such as this, my primary focus would be writing about the games that I’ve played over the last twelve month and what it was about them that I specifically enjoyed. However, this year I feel that I must address the wider issues that have dominated the news regarding the video games industry. Simply put, several very high profile and successful triple A video game companies have been beset by scandals over the last twelve months. And these have been of such a nature that they have finally laid to rest the myth that some still cling to, that working “in video games” is somehow different from working in more traditional industries because it’s “cool”. It turns out that it has all the same failings as TV, music and film. The people at the top are abusive and broken and maltreat those at the coalface who do all the real work for precious little reward.
Hence, I feel that there is now a moral dilemma in buying games from certain companies and that their products are in a way “tainted”. The same way as there is shopping at certain stores that are known for their unethical practises. However, a consumer boycott is not always the most effective form of protest and on occasions can do more harm to those parties one wishes to demonstrate a degree of solidarity with. However, one can still voice one’s unhappiness with the situation and that is what seems to be happening at present. Negative PR seldom goes unnoticed and as and when it impacts upon share prices, the message eventually reaches the top of the food chain. Action gets taken sooner or later but what the Activision Blizzard, Ubisoft and Bungie scandals highlight are a wider societal malaise. The abhorrent behaviour that we’ve read about seems to be ingrained in specific socioeconomic stratas. Fixing that is a much harder issue than just replacing a few managers and CEOs.
Moving on from how shitty the video game industry seems to be, personally speaking this has not been the most exciting year for my relationship with video games. As 2021 draws to an end my PC’s hard drive is filled with games that I’ve abandoned and become bored with. Cyberpunk 2077, GreedFall and Days Gone are a few examples of games that showed promise but became somewhat routine and pedestrian. I did enjoy my first major foray into the Assassin’s Creed franchise. Black Flag proved to have an engaging story and an unusual setting, hence I completed the game. My gaming mainstays, the MMORPGs The Lord of the Rings Online and Star Trek Online, also kept me busy this year. This was mainly due to the way this genre lends itself to “quick fix” gaming. STO in particular continuously runs events that afford the player a reason to log in and undertake a quick task. Yet despite this engagement, I don’t feel I’ve done anything significant in either game.
The jury is still out as to whether my Nintendo Switch has been a good or bad investment. It gets used mainly when my granddaughters come to visit and then Mario Kart is a firm favourite. But personally I have yet to find a game that enthrals me. I think I’m just culturally conditioned to do my gaming on a PC. And in other news, my love hate relationship with Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout continues. There is fun to be had playing this game but the moment specific races and events appear, they instantly kill my passion. I have still yet to win a crown. This failure to achieve this particular goal bothers the heck out of me. I suspect that overall, my relationship with gaming is shifting. As a pastime it is becoming very much like mainstream cinema. There’s no shortage of content but it’s all rather generic, formulaic and mediocre.
As for 2022, well for the present I shall just continue to push on with LOTRO and STO. I have nearly finished the new expansion in LOTRO, Fate of Gundabad and have reached the current level cap of 140. I finally got on top of the new Legendary Item system and have managed to create a rather robust new weapon. I think I may soon make a return to The Elder Scrolls Online and see what content I have waiting for me. I usually enjoy playing for a few months continuously and feel that subscribing improves the overall experience. I shall also keep a weather eye on the video game industry to see if and how it bounces back from the recent scandals assailing it. It already looks like the player uptake of NFTs is not going to be as easy as some publishers have anticipated. Maybe I’ll chance upon some hidden video game gems in the next 12 months and my enthusiasm will be restored. Time will tell.
A Month in Gaming
September has been and gone and the nights are now drawing in. Usually this time of year is ideal for gaming but sadly I’ve had a lot on over the last 30 days and as a result there’s been precious little time for gaming or indeed writing. Such is life. When I did have some leisure time, MMOs were the easiest way to get a quick gaming fix, as per usual. Standing Stone Games announced that the next expansion for The Lord of the Rings Online would be released in November and that a revision of the Legendary Item system would be coming prior to that. Hence I took a look at the beta builds on the Bullroarer test server and then started prepping my various alts on the live servers, to get ready for this major change. I also managed to complete the latest event in Star Trek Online. However, beyond these straightforward tasks I didn’t really get to do much more.
September has been and gone and the nights are now drawing in. Usually this time of year is ideal for gaming but sadly I’ve had a lot on over the last 30 days and as a result there’s been precious little time for gaming or indeed writing. Such is life. When I did have some leisure time, MMOs were the easiest way to get a quick gaming fix, as per usual. Standing Stone Games announced that the next expansion for The Lord of the Rings Online would be released in November and that a revision of the Legendary Item system would be coming prior to that. Hence I took a look at the beta builds on the Bullroarer test server and then started prepping my various alts on the live servers, to get ready for this major change. I also managed to complete the latest event in Star Trek Online. However, beyond these straightforward tasks I didn’t really get to do much more.
I toyed with the idea of playing New World. I had taken part in an earlier beta test and found elements of the game to be quite appealing. I especially enjoyed the combat which I felt was both fluid and had a sense of physicality. Yet the minimal plot, voice acting and general “old school” approach made the overall game feel somewhat archaic to me. And so I decide not to purchase it and get swept up in the excitement of a new MMO launch. However, it can be very interesting to observe such a phenomenon. Many of my blogging colleagues have been documenting their experiences and it can be very interesting reading multiple perspectives upon different aspects of the game. Plus the perennial question of what is a “good MMO launch” has been raised once again. Personally I am too old and impatient to have to deal with logon queues and for daily, rolling patches to fix content.
I did manage to log into Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. Rather than play Warzone, I opted for Team Deathmatch with AI bots. I cranked up the difficulty and it proved quite taxing but on the plus side, it was nice to be able to play a game without any angry commentary in chat and more importantly people cheating with aimbots, or rage quitting the game and closing it for everyone as they were hosting. I am a big advocate of multiplayer games having AI bots as an alternative to live play. Playing against bots means you can practice and work upon your skills as well as just enjoy gameplay at a level that you can cope with. For many players it is potentially the only time that they’ll be able to access certain weapons, kill streaks and such like. Although playing with others is an integral part of such games as CoD:MW, it is always good to have options that don’t make your enjoyment totally dependent on others
Sadly, I am not using my Nintendo Switch much as I expected. I assumed that the handheld device would easily lend itself to short bursts of intermittent gameplay, which reflects my current schedule. But this doesn’t seem to be the case, although I do think this comes down to the sort of games one has. I may need to buy some new titles that lend themselves to casual gameplay, or 30 minute sessions over a long period of time. Perhaps the RPG Disco Elysium will fit that bill. I think the most I did in September with my Switch was update the software. At least now it supports bluetooth earbuds.
As for October, I’m not sure If it is wise to make any major gaming plans. I am toying with the idea of using an old hard drive to upgrade to Windows 11, to see how it performs. If there are any major issues I can easily return the original drive without any inconvenience. I guess that LOTRO and STO will fill the gaming gap, as per usual. As and when I get more time, I may look around for something new to play. It may be time to step outside of my comfort zone and try something different. The last few times I’ve done this the results have been positive.
Star Trek Online: Playing the Story Arcs in Order
Over the course of its eleven year lifespan, Star Trek Online has evolved from a rushed, incomplete MMO to a far more coherent product. Cryptic have done much over the years to revise the game and make it a more linear experience. However, these changes have not been without consequence. One of which is that the central storylines are now somewhat confused. This is because several missions have been removed from the game and several story arcs have been consolidated. Cryptic have stated that some of these missing missions will be remastered and returned at some point, although as time passes, this becomes less likely. Others which served as wrappers to story arcs have been replaced by alternative content produced in later revisions. The net result is that new players may find the various stories somewhat difficult to follow due to gaps in the plot or content being offered in the wrong order. That is not a good thing for a game founded on an intellectual property driven by complex, interconnected stories and themes.
Over the course of its eleven year lifespan, Star Trek Online has evolved from a rushed, incomplete MMO to a far more coherent product. Cryptic have done much over the years to revise the game and make it a more linear experience. However, these changes have not been without consequence. One of which is that the central storylines are now somewhat confused. This is because several missions have been removed from the game and several story arcs have been consolidated. Cryptic have stated that some of these missing missions will be remastered and returned at some point, although as time passes, this becomes less likely. Others which served as wrappers to story arcs have been replaced by alternative content produced in later revisions. The net result is that new players may find the various stories somewhat difficult to follow due to gaps in the plot or content being offered in the wrong order. That is not a good thing for a game founded on an intellectual property driven by complex, interconnected stories and themes.
There are six playable factions available in STO. Klingon Defence Force, Discovery era Starfleet, Dominion, TOS era Starfleet, Romulan Republic and Starfleet. All have an initial story arc that is unique to that particular faction. Once this is complete the following missions are then universal to all. Because the greatest proportion of players in the game are 25th century Starfleet aligned, I will focus upon the changes and current state of the missions that are available to this faction. Upon creating a Starfleet character, a new player must complete the initial game tutorial which is a story arc containing a chain of five missions. Upon completion, further missions are available via the mission journal, under the “episodes” tab. Missions scale to the player's current level. Missions do not have to be played in order, however for the sake of this blog post the assumption is that the new player wishes to follow the story.
As a 25th century Starfleet aligned player, after the tutorial the first major mission chain is the Klingon War. This has been redeveloped several times over the years and some content has been removed, pending a remaster. I shall write specifically about these missing episodes in a future blog post. In its present state the Klingon War is now shorter and more succinct but lacks a suitable climax for it’s main protagonist Admiral B’vat. Furthermore, a smaller mission chain within the Klingon War has been moved from the main episode menu and placed under the “available” tab. Cryptic decided at the beginning of season 15 (October 2018) to downgrade several mission chains to “side content”. A poor choice as these stories are far from trivial. Hence for story continuity I would advise the new player to proceed with the Spectres storyline immediately after completing the Klingon War. The game prompts players to do this by highlighting the side content missions under the banner of The Galaxy at Large.
The next major mission chain that features under the “episodes” tab in the mission journal is Romulan Mystery. This arc focuses on the collapse of the Romulan Star Empire after the Hobus disaster and the fledgling breakaway Romulan Republic. There is an interesting prequel storyline called Wasteland (sadly designated as “side content”) that again can be found under the “available” tab within the mission journal. This takes the player to Nimbus III, the so-called planet of galactic peace. This six mission chain introduces several important characters such as the Reman leader Obisek and head of the Tal Shiar, Colonel Hakeev. It also provides a useful mission reward; Nimbus Pirate Distress Call. This is a unique reusable Ship Device, which summons three support vessels: a Tuffli-class freighter, a Breen Chel Grett-class Cruiser and an Orion Corsair-class Flight Deck Carrier for a short period of time. NB. If you play STO as a Romulan, the Wasteland story is incorporated into the main Romulan Mystery arc, thus validating the point that this is not trivial content and shouldn’t be designated “side content”.
After the Romulan Mystery, the next mission chain focuses on the True Way; a group of Cardassian extremists that don’t agree with the peace treaty that the Cardassian Union signed with the Federation after the Dominion war. The Cardassian Struggle explores several interesting ideas, such as residual Jem’Hadar forces in the Alpha Quadrant and a splinter link of Changelings. Immediately after the Cardassian Struggle story arc, again the player who is interested in continuity should return to the so-called “side content” missions and play through the Lost Dominion. The story addresses the issue of a Dominion fleet that was temporarily diverted in time by the Prophets, when they used the Bajoran Wormhole during the Dominion war. The returning Jem’Hadar fleet is unaware that the war is over and still determined to carry out their mission and capture Deep Space Nine.
The next story in chronological order after Lost Dominion, is Cold War which again has been relegated to “side content” status. This features the Breen and their ongoing harassment of a minor warp capable race called the Deferi who seek help from the Federation. It soon becomes apparent that Preserver relics located on the Deferi homeworld are of interest to the Breen forces. This is an enjoyable story arc with a different adversary and a plot device that calls back to the Star Trek TOS era. The mission rewards offers a space set of Breen themed equipment that all do cold damage. At one point players could gain a Breen Tactical Bridge Officer by completing the episode “Cold Storage”. Sadly that option has now been removed from the game and the Breen Tactical Bridge Officer is now only available as a store item as part of a rather expensive bundle.
After completing the Cold War arc, players can continue to work through all the remaining content in the order it is presented in the “episodes” tab of the Mission Journal. A new player that plays through all content listed above with a 25th century Federation character will experience the most coherent narrative that is available at present. However, to truly learn all nuances of the overarching Iconian plot which was the mainstay of all STO content up to late 2015, you need to play through the unique story content that is available for each faction. There are elements of this story that can only be found in the Romulan and Klingon arcs. An important quality of life tip I’d recommend to anyone playing from scratch is to go into the game’s settings and disabled “auto hail” so you do not get continuously bombarded with mission bestowal prompts. Like many MMOs, STO has changed throughout its lifespan and the storylines do have continuity and chronological errors. If you bear this in mind it will ease some of the anomalies as and when they are encountered.
Star Trek Online: Bugs
All video games have bugs of some sort. It is impossible to release such complicated products without some technical issues getting past “quality assurance”. With regard to contemporary triple A releases, pre-sales and unmovable release dates means that games often launch in a quasi-finished state and are therefore marred by major problems. Hence we frequently see substantial “day one patches”. But such is the nature of the video games industry. Bugs, glitches and flaws are part of the landscape and we as gamers live in hope that they’ll get fixed over a titles lifecycle. Except they are often not. Take The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim for example. It has been released on multiple platforms since its release in 2011 and yet the same bugs still persist in every iteration. And it’s no different in the MMORPG genre. If you want further evidence of this, look no further than Star Trek Online.
“Captain's log, Stardate 5630.8. Today I fell out of my ship.”
All video games have bugs of some sort. It is impossible to release such complicated products without some technical issues getting past “quality assurance”. With regard to contemporary triple A releases, pre-sales and unmovable release dates means that games often launch in a quasi-finished state and are therefore marred by major problems. Hence we frequently see substantial “day one patches”. But such is the nature of the video games industry. Bugs, glitches and flaws are part of the landscape and we as gamers live in hope that they’ll get fixed over a titles lifecycle. Except they are often not. Take The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim for example. It has been released on multiple platforms since its release in 2011 and yet the same bugs still persist in every iteration. And it’s no different in the MMORPG genre. If you want further evidence of this, look no further than Star Trek Online.
Star Trek Online is a game that uses the licensed intellectual property that it is founded upon very well. At present, the game is re-running the Temporal Agent Recruitment event, in which if you create a new character from the 23rd century, you receive allsorts of account wide benefits. Being a child of the seventies, I was raised on repeats of Star Trek TOS. So this event is a major incentive for me. The story missions set in this era are extremely enjoyable and touch upon the lore from many classic episodes such as Galileo Seven, Arena and Journey to Babel. Yet the game is blighted with bugs. Bugs the developer’s Cryptic still haven’t gotten around to fixing. Dialogue doesn’t always match the in-game subtitles. Mobs will spawn or glitch into walls or other parts of the environment. And missions simply fail to advance. Sometimes a problem can be cleared by changing phases but more often than not, the player has to abandon the instance and start the mission from scratch.
Oddly it is the minor glitches, rather than the major issues, that prove to be deal breakers. For example, the latest episode Firewall has some technical issues. It crashed the entire game when I first tried to play it last night and many other players in my Fleet (Guild) had performance issues. Mobs were not spawning and checkpoints would fail to trigger. Now Cryptic will patch these problems ASAP. Broadly, the playerbase is understanding of these sorts of problems, mainly because they’re so common. Yet many old glitches remain overlooked. If I visit the interior of my ship, many of the crew who are seated, clip through their chairs and are embedded in the floor. Part of the wall in the shuttle hangar is missing and your character can fall through this. After a few moments of free falling they then respawn on the floor of the Bridge. Plus for some reason the game currently gets my alt’s name wrong with NPCs referring to someone else. To me, these long term environmental glitches are far worse than flaws in new content.
One of the reasons that Star Trek Online has never truly hit “the big time”, despite having a killer IP, is because it’s always been rough around the edges. Cryptic seems to have a reputation for creating products that lack polish. STO could certainly benefit from a long list of bugs being fixed, such as traits resetting, exchange filters not working and animation glitches. But such a task would mean not producing any new content for about a year. Sadly, development within the MMO genre has to be targeted and that often leads to either compromises or a hobson’s choice. It’s a damn shame that Cryptic can’t get the game’s house in order. Star Trek Online 2.0 could then be marketed a lot more proactively. But I don’t think the status quo is going to change and beyond immediate fire fighting, long term bugs are going to remain. Thus my 23rd century crew will remain embedded in the floor and I’ll just have to do my best not to fall out of my ship.
A Month in Gaming
Again this is more a case of two months in gaming. Furthermore although I was quite active in July, I was less so in August as the Blaugust 2021 Festival of Blogging event consumed the lion share of my leisure time. The majority of my gaming time is usually mid to late evening. Although Mrs P and I do many activities together, there are times when she will want to watch something I don’t, be engrossed in a book or out with friends. These occasions present sizable windows of time to focus upon a video game, which is especially useful for the MMORPG and RPG genres. However, I often have to choose whether to use this time exclusively for gaming or some other recreational activities such as writing. Another foible of my video game time management is trying to arrange things so I can undertake recurring, daily quests in a game early in the morning. I will often tackle such content in Star Trek Online, as soon as I get up.
Again this is more a case of two months in gaming. Furthermore although I was quite active in July, I was less so in August as the Blaugust 2021 Festival of Blogging event consumed the lion share of my leisure time. The majority of my gaming time is usually mid to late evening. Although Mrs P and I do many activities together, there are times when she will want to watch something I don’t, be engrossed in a book or out with friends. These occasions present sizable windows of time to focus upon a video game, which is especially useful for the MMORPG and RPG genres. However, I often have to choose whether to use this time exclusively for gaming or some other recreational activities such as writing. Another foible of my video game time management is trying to arrange things so I can undertake recurring, daily quests in a game early in the morning. I will often tackle such content in Star Trek Online, as soon as I get up.
Role-playing Games. I regret to say that my flirtation with GreedFall ran out of steam in July. This is no reflection upon the game itself which is interesting and enjoyable. It simply got usurped by Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag. I was so frustrated trying to play this game on the Nintendo Switch that I purchased it again on the PC and was able to play through the content far more easily with a keyboard and mouse. I completed the main story in the game and passed on the subsequent busy work side content. Enthused by the joys of playing a quality RPG, I moved straight on to the PC version of Days Gone. I really like this game as its setting in post-apocalyptic Oregon is quite unusual and it has a very similar zombie vibe to that of Left For Dead 2. This is another example of a game that I play with keyboard and mouse for PVE content and then a game controller when using a vehicle. Unfortunately, I haven’t had time of late to focus on this game due to the blogging event.
Massively Multiplayer Online Role-playing Games. I returned to The Lord of the Rings Online and started working through the last two content updates, Wildwood and Blood of Azog. As the former was level 45 content it was an absolute breeze to clear and it did wonders for my Virtue Traits. The story was inventive and this new area certainly compliments Bree-land as a region. Although I have a liking for any Dwarven driven stories in LOTRO, questing in Azanulbizar is a slog and too much of the content is of a grinding nature. Hence Star Trek Online has received more of my attention these last two months. Developer’s Cryptic continue to ensure that there are regular new events to undertake and goals to work towards. I’ve also raised another two alts to level cap, although I did use a boost for one with interesting results. I even felt bold enough to experiment with a “cannon build” on one of my KDF vessels, although it requires competent flying to use effectively.
Odds and Sods. Having bought a new game controller I have started playing Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout once again. It is fun in short doses but I still worry about the fact I’ve not yet in over a year, won a Crown. I also find it curious that I find it more entertaining collecting the various outfits and emotes than playing the game itself. I also returned briefly to Call of Duty: Warzone to see what the state of the game is. The patch for the latest season was once again ridiculously large and took hours to download. Upon playing a solo Battle Royale game, I found things were pretty much exactly as I left them. I still don’t like the changes made to the map and some weapons continue to be overpowered and therefore ubiquitous. However, having been away from the game for so long, I found myself playing against new players and it proved to be a far more equitable experience. As for the next few months I have nothing major planned. The next announcement I’m awaiting is the release date and cost of the next LOTRO expansion. Hopefully I can return to Days Gone in September.
Star Trek Online: The Agony of Choice
Today I finally earned the requisite amount of campaign progress to be eligible for a free ship in the MMORPG Star Trek Online. It’s taken eight months or so to achieve this and I’ve played doggedly through the Voth Advance, Tholian Trouble and the Defense of Pahvo, multiple times to gain the maximum 3,500 campaign progress. Despite having plenty of time to decide which of the multiple reward options I would take, when actually confronted with a choice, I found it quite difficult to do so. Because there are a LOT of ships available in this game. So many in fact that making a choice becomes problematic. You find yourself not wanting to make a mistake so you end up down the rabbit hole of “researching ships”. Naturally, there are no definitive best ships in the game, although there are many that favour specific play styles and have certain benefits. Opinions vary and so you quickly find yourself just confused, cautious and even a little annoyed at being “ put in such a position”.
Today I finally earned the requisite amount of campaign progress to be eligible for a free ship in the MMORPG Star Trek Online. It’s taken eight months or so to achieve this and I’ve played doggedly through the Voth Advance, Tholian Trouble and the Defense of Pahvo, multiple times to gain the maximum 3,500 campaign progress. Despite having plenty of time to decide which of the multiple reward options I would take, when actually confronted with a choice, I found it quite difficult to do so. Because there are a LOT of ships available in this game. So many in fact that making a choice becomes problematic. You find yourself not wanting to make a mistake so you end up down the rabbit hole of “researching ships”. Naturally, there are no definitive best ships in the game, although there are many that favour specific play styles and have certain benefits. Opinions vary and so you quickly find yourself just confused, cautious and even a little annoyed at being “ put in such a position”.
There are three choices on offer. You can claim a ship from the Zen store, or a ship from the Infinity Lockbox which includes all the cross faction ships and vessels that are usually only available for a short period of time or found on the exchange at extortionate prices. Alternatively you can claim a fistful of Lobi Crystal, which is an in-game currency that lets you buy not only unique ships but consoles, ship weapons, ground gear and personnel. Lobi Crystals have the advantage of being bound to your account and so can be transferred between alts. If you claim a ship from either of the other two options associated with this promotional event, then they are bound to character. Essentially, these choices are better for players with fewers alts and may be one primary character. Luckily that is me in a nutshell. Although I have nine alts, one remains the focal point of my gaming and gets the best resources.
So after much deliberation, I found myself back where I started and decided upon the choice I had made several months ago while working through the campaign. I chose the Tier 6 Atlas Prototype Dreadnought Cruiser from the TOS era. Although this is a really stylish looking ship with a nice 23rd century aesthetic, I really just wanted it for the Universal Console. The Dynamic Power Redistributor Module offers +11.2 Energy Damage Resistance Rating and +17.8% Directed Energy Damage as a passive boost. It then has a "clickable" skill that gives +40% Bonus Damage (Reapplied every 1 second for 20 seconds as long as health is above 80%), +100 Bonus Damage Resistance Rating for 20 seconds and +500% hull regen per minute for 20 seconds. All with a 2 minute recharge. This is all well and good but once the console was equipped on my current ship and the Dreadnought Cruiser sent to Dry Dock, it did seem to deflate the sense of victory for completing this event and mitigate all the hard work. Perhaps I should have chosen something shiny that I was actually going to fly. C’est la vie or STO in this case.