This game has potential but lacks what most MMO's have: the ability to keep the client (subscriber) hooked and interested. Right now, there is a posting thread regarding what you would like to see change with STO from past, present, and future. There are so many posts right now (over 3000) that would signify change is warranted.

But I have been playing this game for a few months now and have come to note a thing or two that in my opinion would make STO just about the best online experience save none; that is if STO would make the changes.

What's wrong with the game? Well for starters is doesn't evolve with the player. There are missions to complete and so forth, in which they seem to be well written but lack coninuance. Meaning that when the missions are over it's just that; over! There are no additional missions to play and the player is left to either compete with PvP or go on redundant sub-missions to explore this world and that and for what? Nothing of value that is to be sure.

What about the weapons and such for ships that you can earn through borg salvage? In short, it's not worth the effort. Why? Let me explain: I first tried to earn the 'special' items for both the Omega and MACCO sects and at first the 'elite' ones then I just gave up trying to earn who knows how many borg salvage chips, shields, engines, etc. to buy just one elite deflector or engine, so I settled for the verteran items of the same. The token being that if you have all 3 items (shield, engine, and deflector) you would receive an 'advanced' and powerful weapon for your ship. Mine was the 'Heavy Graviton Beam'. Sounds menacing right? Nah, didn't even scratch the paint on the KDF Borg Bird of Prey when playing PvE. Even though the weapon promised to deliver a 1000 kenetic punch to the enemy it was more like a 1000 kenetic 'tickle' to the enemy as I watched the weapon deliver its payload to the target, which has a reduction in shields, only to see it do nothing other than cause the enemy ship to stall and stop for a second, then start right back up again as if nothing even happened! No further reduction in shields, no damage, nothing other than a California Stop, then moving along as if it never got hit in the first place. What a waste of time and effort it took to collect these borg salvage units (and we all know just how hard it is to collect these on Elite Missions) for all three parts of the Verteran weapons only to see it do less damage than a wet firecracker. Here I was all set to deliver a crushing, not devastating, blow to the enemy target only to find out that this fierce sounding weapon was a dud. I even checked the info on the damn thing to see if I was missing something and I couldn't see any other side effect this weapon was supposed to have that I may have mistaken it for doing in the first place. Then there is the difference between weapons; like Elite vs. Veteran. We're talking a few points difference between the two! look, I know all about keeping the playground level so everyone can play but having weapons that do not increase more than 20-75 units is not just making it 'fair and balanced' but downright boring and tiresome. Then I still see other players that can speed around and keep firing on you without a power drop or pause between blasts; these must be hackers who have been able to alter the weapon and engine settings to outpace anything else around. That doesn't make it fair and balanced at all; I would like to see these hacker jobs put out of business and see STO issue weapons with some teeth! Don't hand out a MXI plasma torpedo that deals out 2000 kenetic damage and then earn a MXII plasma torpedo that deals out 2010 damage. These aren't exact damage figures but you get my drift. We all work, excuse me; play hard for these upgrades so make them worth the upgrade! Add some power to them! What? That would hurt another player you say? Fine, upgrade their shields to take it. My point here is make the prize worth the effort. Don't water down these weapons and such because you think someone may blast the paint job off their mom's civic; give them something to combat with. Right now the numbers are so close to each other that the only target players want to put in their sights after receiving these items of fluff is STO Executives. It would also help if STO could let us know just how many borg salvage units and what type are needed for that Elite Engine. Right now you would have to guess.

Lastly, fix the damn bugs in the game! Try playing Kerrat some time only to find out you cannot kill that probe because it's embedded inside a solid object. It can shoot you but you can't even target it! Most of the borg are like this in this arena which doesn't make for interesting and good gameplay

The simple truth to this whole thing is this: if you want STO to survive and continue on then you will listen and make the needed changes. If all you care about is inflating your profits then STO will become another "has been" of the MMO world. Be sure of this: there are more MMO's coming down the line to play and with the economy as bad as it is now we, the clients' are left with only one choice to make as to which MMO will get our money, fan base, and loyalty. Question is will STO be around to even consider?

first off: ranting wall of text. If you want anyone to read it reduce it to bullet points or something.

Second: I do hope this is a troll post. Otherwise you do not understand how this game works.

ok, actual comment time:
1: When you equip parts of a set you get bonuses based on how many set pieces you have. For example, the maco set gives a power insulator and skill recharge reduction with two pieces, and then the heavy graviton beam with the third. These bonuses are IN ADDITION to the base stats they have, you can consider them extra.
2: The heavy graviton beam is not supposed to do dmg. It's supposed to slow your target. It does that.
3: 1000 kinetic dmg is nothing. a standard Photon torpedo does more. In addition you hit the guy with his shields up, so you only did 250 dmg to his shields.
4: since most skills increase based on percentages, a small increase can turn into a lot when properly buffed.


On the other hand, I agree STO has nothing to keep players coming back for more. There's PvP, which is currently trash (though with the new PvP thing coming out that may change). There are also STFs you can run... and run.... and run.... and eventually (hopefully) get good equipment so you can... run stfs better.

I agree, I couldn't actually read 1/4 of that wall without my eyes going funny so I missed most of what was said..

The fatal floor with STO is that it has no end game, with Wow you have Raiding (when a decent amount of guilds complete the final bosses they create more raid content), with SWG you had Jedi/Bounty Hunting and the Galactic Civil War and possibly crafting system(best crafting of any mmo), with Eve you have Expansion and Business etc, what does STO have?

3 repeatable missions which results in gear just to run the same missions with.

My STO Fleet has about 1000+ past players - they didn't log in for a while so they were kicked to make room for new players - its a continuous cycle, with about 500 people currently on the fed fleet roster about 10 player per day. - so whatever money they are making with 10 per day, it would be more than slightly increased with all the returning past players.

I personally feel this game is a seasonal game, when the game produces content people login, clearly their metrics show this.

I can only hope for the future - this is blind hope mind-you, I have not heard or seen nothing to give me hope other than my own stupid gullibility, naivety and nerd-love for the IP.

/endSadDesperateRant

It can never live up to ...

"... to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before."

I have hope for this game. This game is saveable. It is very easy to give this game end game content and I believe it is coming. STO just has to be smart and put the 2 things they are working on together. They said they will be giving the Fleets the ablity to have their own starbase. I don't every fleet will have a starbase, a starbase is to expansive for a fleet to go "hey 2400's tax payers, build me a new starbase." They say they are working on the pvp system. The smart thing that I pray STO does is to put the starbases and pvp together. Make the fleets fight each other for starbases. To futher improve pvp do what Pirates of the Burning Sea does, make red zones around a starbase about to be fought over. Sure, this might be coping PotBS but so what, it works, and STO already copied them with its pve combat anyway. Realy the only difference to the pve combat is PotBS and STO is about 800 years.

STO's Fatal Flaw = Cryptic/Perfect World.

Actually it could (and woudn't be too hard), read the 1st link in my sig. It shows how to create a complete exploration system, linked to both PvE and PvP, with endless replayability.

As for the rest of the topic, I agree completely, however, the final solution is not more "play once" featured eps, the solution is a dynamic (randomized) mission system capable of generating an infinate number of mission scripts each time someone enters a system. The second fix is territorial PvP, and this should be linked to the 1st fix (conquer space and have access to unique PvE there).

STO has bult there game on turn over and just do not care about the end game players. PWE has said as much as well.

Yes, I could have shortened my posting but then I would have left out much info. Some writing is not for everyone, only those who are patient enough and willing to listen will be able to read the entire posting:

So, for those who like short posts, this is for you:

STO: Good/Bad:

Bad:
* Lock Boxes
* Weapons that have little variances between them (i.e. MXI=200, MXII=210)
* Having ships that are useless to anyone
* Player Ships that cannot be beat (i.e. super charged birds of prey that can keep firing salvos without stopping)
* Letting you buy 3 of the same ships without STO telling you that you are doing it, then you cannot use them!
* Recycled 're-run' espisodes with lame prizes
* Having to save up tons of Borg Salvage only to get lame weapons and such
* Not knowing how much Borg Salvage will buy an Elite set of engines, deflectors, and shields
* Not listening to players who have a point in unison
* And most important of all: HAVING INVESTED $$$ IN CRYPTIC POINTS NOT KNOWING IF THERE IS GOING TO BE STO DOWN THE ROAD, SUCH AS NEWER EPISODES, NEW FACTIONS TO PLAY, ETC.. There comes a point where your investment is expected to yield better returns, which sadly STO has not been able to provide.

Good:
* Hey, it's Star Trek
* Other than reaching its zenith with the episodes now offered, it's still fun to play.

For what it's worth...