Star Trek Online (STO), anyone?
 

Hey guys,

I was just wondering if any of you guys play STO. I've been playing on and off since it went ftp and I really enjoy it for a casual MMO. It's a nice blend of Star Trek and MMO (although I wish it were a bit more true to the former).

So, anyone play, have played, or want to play? :3

It seems not. I don't have much experience in space or naval warfare (except I do like reading them). So I'm nervous to bother trying for both that reason and the slowness of this computer (due whatever the hell my mother did to it)

I played it for a bit back around the time it first came out and was subscription only. At the time I found it interesting but not enough to warrant the money every month given the features as compared to something like WoW or even the Old Republic eventually. What irks me even more now, however, is that the best ships can really only be acquired using paid for currency.

Anyways, the gameplay is still fun and the story beyond what was shown in the original universe and where Spock was sent back in time is rather interesting and well thought out from what I've seen and read.

I think I played a bit, but it wasn't quite what I liked, sooo.

See? I'm weird with the whole ptp/w argument. I don't mind the highest tier of things being cash-only, because I don't need to be the best. As long as I am good enough to compete, that's all I care about. Then again, I'm only really a PvE-oriented person; I don't like anything involving PvP.

so what sort of gameplay is it?

The easiest way for me to describe STO is to say it's Guild Wars with a Star Trek skin over it.

You create a character from two and a half factions - the Federation, a full faction; Klingon Defense Force (KDF), a full faction; or the new Romulan Republic (after a certain level, flows into Fed or KDF). Then, you pick a 'class' - classes consist of tactical (DPS), science (Heals/Buffs/DPS), and Engineering (Buffs/Debuffs/Tank). The skills you can use depend on the class you pick. Finally, you pick a ship - there are three classes of ships: escorts (DPS; like Defiant), cruisers (tank; like Enterprise-D), and science vessels (heals/buffs; like Voyager).

Once all that's chosen, you can either play the story through or join a fleet (e.g. guild) and play with friends. Along the way, you gain NPCs who join your ships' crew - these are your away team and ship team. They go with you on missions and give your ship special abilities.

There is a mix of land and space-based combat, and most missions try to mix it up. Most of the races are in there, and there are certain 'arcs' that include enemies like species 8472 (called Undine in STO), RSE, Cardassians, Breen, and Vorta/Jem'Hadar.

My Admiral, for example, has completed the story. She is a science officer focusing on medical who flies around in a Prometheus-class starship (the actual on-screen Prometheus). That means she can use her healing while the ship focuses on DPS, which makes it a cool balance in battle.

It's hard to sum up in a post. Is it everything I would like a Star Trek MMO to be? Absolutely not. Does it get actual voice actors from the show to do things and try to keep everyone happy as much as possible? I think that's a definite yes. It's a nice ST-inspired game to play casually.

Well, now that there's a Mac client I may very well come back and play, but I will have to start from scratch unfortunately. If only more games would follow suite.

That's awesome news, Alpha! Fed, KDF, or RR? Season 9 is coming out in April, I think.

I'm probably leaning towards Fed, but the Klingons and Romulans came out after I stopped playing, so want to try at least one of them out...probably Romulans.

Romulans are cool because you eventually ally with either Fed or KDF, but it kind of sucks that they're not their own faction.

You've missed a bit, then. Fed got a brand new tutorial and the early level missions have been updated with newer effects and voices; KDF also now has a tutorial and doesn't start at lvl 20. Romulans, in my opinion, probably have one of the better stories, but they also came out the latest, so it's expected. xP

I have Fed and RomFed, so I can help there... but I still have my not-finished-with-the-tutorial Klingon. I just can't seem to get into the KDF.

Well, I'll take that into consideration then when I finally get all the patch data downloaded and installed....over 7 gb...holy hell....

Hm. Wonder if I should go back to playing. The problem with STO (and SWTOR, actually) is that I've never watched them. Yes, I know, that's silly, but I much prefer reading things to watching, and don't really have a thing for movies. (I saw the Matrix for the first time last semester.)

So...STO lore is a bit lost on me @___@

I've gotten into both so I know the backstories (and played a lot of the games really....working on DS9 so I understand the whole Dominion aspect better however).

I have always loved TNG - grew up watching it with my uncle. Once I got Netflix, I watched DS9, Voyager, Enterprise, and finally TOS/TAS. Once I finished with those, I watched all the TNG movies, followed by the TOS movies. I just love the universe they live in (minus hostile aliens, of course)!

On a side note...I've now made two characters: 1 Tactical Federation and 1 Tactical Romulan.

I was very wary of tac to begin with - I chose sci for my first character (Fed)... but when I made my first Rom, I felt like trying it out. It is definitely my second favorite.

What's your ign/handle?

Would have to look it up to be honest...though they are both Tactical and my Romulan is aligned with the Federation. *shrugs* Just like it better for some reason.

Edit: My Fed ign is Alpha. My Romulan one is random....

My handles are Enaya@cmdrserael (Fed) and Ayonak@cmdrserael (RomFed).

Have to add you. Both of my guys are Fed so we could play together some. I've been finding the Romulan storyline more interesting as of late...especially with the split between the Republic and the Tal Shiar. I'm not too far into it though....still plenty to discover!

Well, the Feds just got the revamped tutorial (which is FAR better than the old one) and updated beginner mission graphics. The Rom tutorial, I think, does a better job of getting you invested in it - your homeworld is attacked and you have to flee. I loved the RomFed stuff. :3

Yeah, I noticed the revamped tutorial. Doesn't throw you into a nearly impossible to win fight against an Undine ship as early as the original did. Good lord I hated that....especially with having to sit back and maybe fire a few "pot shots" every now and again while the NPC ships took care of it.

The Romulan tutorial definitely does. I just finished the mission with the Tholians and the Enterprise-C. That was a twist and a half that I didn't expect...and then the timeship showing up to help? Nope, never saw it coming. Getting a chance to pilot a ship with that impressive firepower compared to my heavy warbird was fun though. "Wets the whistle" for things to come as you continue to advance and progress in rank. I'd really consider getting a Lifetime subscription if I could afford it...but $300 is a good chunk of change....

While I was leveling my characters up to 50, I subscribed for one month of gold (I think at $15). You get retrait tokens every promotion, more inventory and boff spaces, a free extra character slot (and a foundry slot), some cash shop currency, as well access to the account bank. This all stays, assuming you get to level 50 before the month ends.* Best money I ever spent on an MMO.

Oh, and usually around tax time or new seasons (with s9 coming out in April), they offer a lifetime sale. I've considered getting it, but... it's so much money at once that I always say no.

*It doesn't go away, but if you don't reach 50 by the time you go back to silver, you won't get the gold benefits for leveling (such as inventory and boff slots) - you keep everything you've unlocked, though.

Finally hit Captain (30) on my Federation character and ended up taking the Intrepid class for my ship. Contemplated the Defiant (more maneuverable with the firepower), and the Galaxy (sheer firepower and consoles), but ended up going for the middle ground since I wanted something similar to what I had with the previous ship. Honestly, I've never gone with the purely "tactical" stereotype ship despite being a tactical officer myself. Weird, but I'm enjoying it. The story is sucking me in more and more though....

I really do love the story. Although I would prefer more diplomatic options (instead of just blowing ships up all the time), it tries it's best to be the ST we know and love.

I went with sci up until I hit RALH, when I went with the Prometheus-class ship option. I love her to death, man. If I had a spare 25, I would go for the multi-vector version.

The game has too much "beam down and kill everything" as the federation. But it's understandable, I suppose. Much harder to make a more nuanced experience... Especially in an mmo.

Well, there is an attempt out there to create a more balanced game (can't remember the name of it at the moment), but yes, I'd agree with the fact that there is a bit too much of a "blow everything up" plot line on the whole.

I've looked and I think it will be a bit of a tear for me between the Prometheus and the Sovereign. I like them both. Just going to have to cross that bridge when I get to it....in 10 levels.

Toho, I absolutely agree. I wish ships were just 'disabled' or we could use diplomatic rank to end things without firing.

If the Sovereign is a cruiser like the Enterprise E, then it's a no contest for me. I could never beam boat; I like to move and strike quickly. If you need help with any later missions, my Fed and RomFed are at your command.

I'm pretty sure my one character is a VA, but I don't play much. I have some kind of big ship that wasn't on the movies or shows.

I don't play it constantly, but it's a nice 'I don't pay so I feel able to play whenever I want' game. I played WoW for a bit, and any time I didn't feel like playing, I felt like I was wasting money.

Actually, the Enterprise E was the first Sovereign class ship. Still a toss up for me, but I have a bit of grinding before I get to that point. I like the mobility, but I also enjoy the sheer fire power. Just going to have to wait and see. So far I've had the more powerful yet less maneuverable ships, so the Intrepid is certainly a change of pace so far. Need to progress more with my RomFed because I can't wait to get my hands on a D'deridex. They are my favorite class of ship to date across all species and alliances.

So far in the story I'm getting to the point where your ship is the one to investigate and discover the cause and nature of the supernova that destroyed Romulus and Remus. Should be intriguing to find out. Once I get to Vice Admiral with my Fed I'll jump back over to my Romulan.

hey Sei I play STO name on there is Alana Torres and my ship is USS Prime lol