I'm liking how the lockboxes are evolving. Here's an idea for a lockbox prize.

As a prize you could place an "Alt-Ship-Skin" in boxes. These would give you access to a new ship skin on the ship of your choice. You just set your current ship, activate the ship skin and then you have access to a new ship skin for that ship only.

Yes, this would involve creating new skins for the ships that are out there, but they wouldn't have to be as major a redesign as the Regent. They could be slight streamlining with new colour schemes and materials. Just something to make them different and stand out.

I think this would give the players access to something nice. To make them VERY sought after, they could be made to be bound to account. Reward the players who open lockboxes.

If PWE liked the idea and wanted to take it further, you could have green, blue and purple skin prizes that each correspond to a different skin. Each would be different, but a green prize could only award the uncommon skin, the blue prize could award the rare and uncommon skin and the purple prize would give access to the skin of your choice. (The colours, of course, referring to the rarity of the prize.)

Possibly make the skins an all or nothing thing. If you have the skin, you can't alter what pylons, etc. That way they can't get bastardised like those silly little Armitages that look like Mirandas.

I've stop playing this game due to the money sink that all these "boxes" have turned us into doing. Be a real game and at least let buy the ships straight out. What do I do all these boxes stuck with that I'll never buy key for them. So now they're taking space. Your money sink for players I can only hope fails. The more the developers like it the less I'll play.

Or, we could do the normal way, with Patterns and Material.

I would be happy with a convenience option in the options menu to turn off Lockbox drops.

They deliberately STOPPED selling skins, I assume because we stopped buying them.
So those skins only come as exclusive "new" features of the fleet ships.

Eventually we might get actual new skins for the ships that don't have them yet. But then I assume as an incentive to get the fleet ships again.

Regardign ships in lockboxes:

I can't take their reasoning for them seriously anymore.

They said lockbox ships are there to make them rare? Really? I can't see anything about them being rare anymore.
If I want one, I won't having much difficulty grinding it out, easier if I invest some real money.

In my opinion the rarity excuse doesn't work anymore.

The number of actual Starfleet/KDF ships in their respective factions is getting smaller every day compared to the total number of lockbox/other faction ships.

OMG you mean There are Actually Ships outside Starfleet and the KDF?! Other races do make there own ships?! No Way! This must not be allowed! It says Star Trek Online, Not StarFleet or KDF online. Some of us Like these newer ships. Hell if I could go factionless I would and sadly, I know ALOT that would also. The way they are integrating them Via Lockbox maybe not so much, I would rather have a "z" store purchase so its account unlock, But I understand they bread making aspect of it. Cryptic and PW inc. Are NOT the only games out there that have the lock box issue, MANY games are now adapting it, along with the F2p and Micro-Transaction Mall. Tho some Specifically NCsoft are bleeding and starting to burn trying to get it working. If NCsoft can't get its micro malls working and stop burning finances trying to get its Asian market moving, I don't see GW2 lasting very long at a 6.5 million loss this year.

Not at all.. I'd welcome more ship choices for RP reasons alone.

Just the excuse to keep them rare so they HAVE to put them in lockboxes is boggus.
Because they are everythign BUT rare at this point.
Give it a few more months and starfleet ships will feel rarer.

It's the pretense I don't take seriously.

understandable. but I do like them. I mean I do enjoy my recluse and orb weaver, But I still rock my armi