While open PvP may never be available in STO, the idea of waging full-on battles without level banding or lengthy queues is tempting.

There are three stages to a Strike Force, faction v. faction battle:

1) Inception: voting on the location, preparing for the day's match.
2) Execution: actual space battles
3) Completion: scoring compared on a rank/faction basis.

(===| Click here to see a visual diagram of a Strike Force |===)

• Strike Forces occur once a day at set times, alternating time slots each day for various peak-play hours across the world.
• Calendars can track schedule times for players (displaying it in GMT and local)
• Players given one hour notice before a Strike Force begins
• Players who have committed to play can vote on the location (from non-PVE versions of favorite maps)

• Strike Forces last an hour.
• Late joins must travel to actual system.
• No level banding (see mock-up for reasons why ganking is de-incentivized via scoring).

• Scoring:
  • Points are awarded based on kill's tier (i.e. Tier 1 is worth fewer points than tier 5). This de-incentivizes ganking.
  • Players are compared on a like-rank, like-faction basis on the Scoreboard (i.e. Lieutenants aren't directly competing against Vice Admirals for top-of-the-charts).
  • Top scorers and top factions in points get slight bonus to rewards.
• Rewards:
  • PvP Currency
  • Accolades
  • Crafting Unlocks: specific universal gear or sets that promote unique roles (i.e. crowd control, power siphoning, AoE).