Greetings, Admirals! You’re listening to EPISODE 211 OF PRIORITY ONE PODCAST, the premier Star Trek Online podcast! This episode was recorded on Thursday, February 26th, 2015 and made available for download on Monday, March 2nd, 2015 at PriorityOnePodcast.com!
This week we experienced a great loss in the Star Trek and greater Sci-Fi community. On Friday, February 27, 2015, Leonard Nimoy passed away. There is little we can say that has not already been. However, join us in celebrating the Life of Leonard Nimoy in this week’s episode. You can also watch our Live-Stream tribute to him in Star Trek Online with Lead Designer Al “Captain Geko” Rivera”
This week we Trek Out all the Star Trek Sounds your little heart could ever want! In STONews, a massive patch has hit Holodeck that not only squashed some bugs, but also introduced the changes to reward payouts for mission content. We also keep tracking those Devs and keep you informed of special posts related to the game. Finally, before we wrap the show, we’ll open hailing frequencies for your incoming messages!
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TOPICS DISCUSSED
This week’s Community Question:
- What has your experience been with the changes to the reward payouts in STO? Have you begun earning enough XP to better progress through something like the Specialization System? Do you feel you now have several options to go and level?
Let us know YOUR thoughts by commenting below!
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Elio is a Northern New Jersey Cuban-American and graduate of Kean University, having earned his Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Performance in 2011. He has performed in internationally renowned performance halls such as Avery Fisher Hall with the New York Philharmonic, as a member of the Westminster Symphonic Choir, and in Beijing, China as a representative for Kean University. Since 2012, he has had the wonderful opportunity to Executive Produce Priority One – the premiere Star Trek Online podcast. Whether recruiting, managing the global team of talented volunteers, arranging interviews with special guests, editing, web-development, finding sponsors, managing crowd funding, or writing content for the podcast, Elio has a hand in it all. A long-time Trekkie, Elio has been watching the series since he was a child and sneaking in late night, back-to-back, episodes of TNG reruns. He finally embraced the Trekdom in college and spent many hours catching up on the entire multiverse…. instead of studying.
Greetings, Admirals! You’re listening to EPISODE 210 OF PRIORITY ONE PODCAST, the premier Star Trek Online podcast! This episode was recorded on Thursday, February 19th, 2015 and made available for […]
Eklinaar on 2015-03-04
Live long and prosper.
Eklinaar on 2019-01-30
Live long and prosper.
foxman86 on 2015-03-03
I think there is something people are forgetting.
The episode replays, once you have done them once, alot of people (im not saying all) can rerun them and blast through many of the missions inside of 10 – 20 mins. You are also alot of times doing this mission by yourself, and having more people can make the mission run quicker.
Also, alot of episode missions are relatively easier for alot of veterans, where you can walk through blindfolded.
Compare that to STF’s, where it, even with a 5 man team, can be very difficult, and requires constant co-operation between team memmbers, and with fail instances in the advance queues, no wonder you get a higher reward for higher risk.
Also compare that there is no STF the combines that i am aware of ground and space into one mission. Since people specialise in “barn storming” STF’s as quick as they can.
I believe 192 dilithium for episode rewards might need to be a tad higher (240 maybe). I also believe cryptic may have used the wrong road with “we want rewards based on time invested”.
Players are getting stuck up on the fact episodes take longer, when they don’t take into account that most episode missions, while maybe taking longer, is so easy or a non challenge compared to alot of STF’s.
My opinion of course.
The_Grand_Nagus on 2015-03-03
I’m very confused; why are you comparing episode replays to STFs? That makes absolutely no sense. If anything they are comparable to patrols, which reward 480 dilithium for 5-10 minutes of gameplay.
The_Grand_Nagus on 2015-03-03
After I replied, I realized you might be saying that episode replay rewards should be less than pve que rewards, and that is why you were bringing up STFs.
However if that is the logic you want to use, then you are saying that patrol rewards should be reduced down to 192 as well. But regardless of whether you think episode replay rewards should be less than pve que rewards or not, they should at *least* be equal to patrol rewards.
GavinRuneblade on 2015-03-04
if it is based on time, like Al said the reward is meant to be, then 10 minutes in an STF, 10 minutes in a patrol and 10 minutes in a mission should all reward exactly the same.
They do not.
Whether missions are “easier” or not is irrelevant to what Gecko said. Gecko said dilithium would be a time currency and you could play any content for the same reward.
This is not the case currently.
Whether or not this is good or bad is a matter of opinion. But Gecko has not had his team implement what he said he was aiming for.
The_Grand_Nagus on 2015-03-04
@GavinRuneblade said:”if it is based on time, like Al said the reward is meant to be, then 10 minutes in an STF, 10 minutes in a patrol and 10 minutes in a mission should all reward exactly the same.
They do not.
Whether missions are “easier” or not is irrelevant to what Gecko said. Gecko said dilithium would be a time currency and you could play any content for the same reward.
This is not the case currently.
Whether or not this is good or bad is a matter of opinion. But Gecko has not had his team implement what he said he was aiming for.”
———–
I completely agree with everything you just said.
GavinRuneblade on 2015-03-04
First, my thoughts on the issue of Dilithium Throttling.
Lots of people talk about “increasing the daily refining cap” because they feel they don’t have enough dilithium, and they can earn more than they can refine. This is a bit of a short sighted request. Look at NeverWinter Online. They have a 24,000/day refining limit on their Dilithium equivalent (Astral Diamonds). However, while that is 3 times higher than here in STO, the prices of everything you need Dilithium/Astrals for are 5 to 10 times higher. I absolutely, 100% guarantee the same would happen in STO if the refining cap were raised. The most expensive items we can buy with Dilithium include some of the fleet gear, like hangar pets, consoles, and even ships for up to 200,000 (I believe) as the most expensive single purchase in STO. In NeverWinter there are companions and gear purchases that cost over 2 million. Please, let’s not open this can of worms.
The other comment you guys made about Al mentioning most players don’t hit the daily cap is not surprising. Way back when I was new to STO (late 2013), they used to do a blog about “Dilithium 101” and in an early post on the forums they mentioned that they were changing how much dilithium was available in game because their metrics showed the average player refined only 13k per WEEK. Lots of forumites were incredulous and refused to believe that statement, going on rants of how they found it easy to exceed the cap and so on. But with years of changes and much more dilithium easily available I’m not at all surprised to hear that most players most days don’t hit the cap.
I spend a lot of time helping new players learn the game. I think a lot of forumites forget how hard the game is to learn and how complex it is. They are familiar with it now, they know all the tricks. Coming to it as a silver(free) player with no zen ships or veteran bonuses, no bajoran phasers that level with you from the DS9 bundle, no crafted gear from your main, no giant bag of EC from your main etc. makes the game a very different place. Seeing it through the eyes of a new player over and over is very rewarding, and it makes me keenly aware of the vast gulf between the haves and have nots.
Dilithium throttling is very much a “first world problem”.
@cookie, with your dilithium and your fleet, what I do is I look at my unrefined dil before I log out of any given character. That shows how much I earned while I played. I donate 1/3 of that number to my fleet. It’s usually a small amount, but it adds up. It’s never so much that I can’t afford to pay it because it only counts what I already finished doing that very session.
seannewboy on 2015-03-03
Wonderful tribute, i had a blast watching it.
As for the changes i havent really used them yet.
foxman86 on 2019-01-30
I think there is something people are forgetting.
The episode replays, once you have done them once, alot of people (im not saying all) can rerun them and blast through many of the missions inside of 10 – 20 mins. You are also alot of times doing this mission by yourself, and having more people can make the mission run quicker.
Also, alot of episode missions are relatively easier for alot of veterans, where you can walk through blindfolded.
Compare that to STF’s, where it, even with a 5 man team, can be very difficult, and requires constant co-operation between team memmbers, and with fail instances in the advance queues, no wonder you get a higher reward for higher risk.
Also compare that there is no STF the combines that i am aware of ground and space into one mission. Since people specialise in “barn storming” STF’s as quick as they can.
I believe 192 dilithium for episode rewards might need to be a tad higher (240 maybe). I also believe cryptic may have used the wrong road with “we want rewards based on time invested”.
Players are getting stuck up on the fact episodes take longer, when they don’t take into account that most episode missions, while maybe taking longer, is so easy or a non challenge compared to alot of STF’s.
My opinion of course.
The_Grand_Nagus on 2019-01-30
I’m very confused; why are you comparing episode replays to STFs? That makes absolutely no sense. If anything they are comparable to patrols, which reward 480 dilithium for 5-10 minutes of gameplay.
The_Grand_Nagus on 2019-01-30
After I replied, I realized you might be saying that episode replay rewards should be less than pve que rewards, and that is why you were bringing up STFs.
However if that is the logic you want to use, then you are saying that patrol rewards should be reduced down to 192 as well. But regardless of whether you think episode replay rewards should be less than pve que rewards or not, they should at *least* be equal to patrol rewards.
GavinRuneblade on 2019-01-30
if it is based on time, like Al said the reward is meant to be, then 10 minutes in an STF, 10 minutes in a patrol and 10 minutes in a mission should all reward exactly the same.
They do not.
Whether missions are “easier” or not is irrelevant to what Gecko said. Gecko said dilithium would be a time currency and you could play any content for the same reward.
This is not the case currently.
Whether or not this is good or bad is a matter of opinion. But Gecko has not had his team implement what he said he was aiming for.
The_Grand_Nagus on 2019-01-30
@GavinRuneblade said:”if it is based on time, like Al said the reward is meant to be, then 10 minutes in an STF, 10 minutes in a patrol and 10 minutes in a mission should all reward exactly the same.
They do not.
Whether missions are “easier” or not is irrelevant to what Gecko said. Gecko said dilithium would be a time currency and you could play any content for the same reward.
This is not the case currently.
Whether or not this is good or bad is a matter of opinion. But Gecko has not had his team implement what he said he was aiming for.”
———–
I completely agree with everything you just said.
GavinRuneblade on 2019-01-30
First, my thoughts on the issue of Dilithium Throttling.
Lots of people talk about “increasing the daily refining cap” because they feel they don’t have enough dilithium, and they can earn more than they can refine. This is a bit of a short sighted request. Look at NeverWinter Online. They have a 24,000/day refining limit on their Dilithium equivalent (Astral Diamonds). However, while that is 3 times higher than here in STO, the prices of everything you need Dilithium/Astrals for are 5 to 10 times higher. I absolutely, 100% guarantee the same would happen in STO if the refining cap were raised. The most expensive items we can buy with Dilithium include some of the fleet gear, like hangar pets, consoles, and even ships for up to 200,000 (I believe) as the most expensive single purchase in STO. In NeverWinter there are companions and gear purchases that cost over 2 million. Please, let’s not open this can of worms.
The other comment you guys made about Al mentioning most players don’t hit the daily cap is not surprising. Way back when I was new to STO (late 2013), they used to do a blog about “Dilithium 101” and in an early post on the forums they mentioned that they were changing how much dilithium was available in game because their metrics showed the average player refined only 13k per WEEK. Lots of forumites were incredulous and refused to believe that statement, going on rants of how they found it easy to exceed the cap and so on. But with years of changes and much more dilithium easily available I’m not at all surprised to hear that most players most days don’t hit the cap.
I spend a lot of time helping new players learn the game. I think a lot of forumites forget how hard the game is to learn and how complex it is. They are familiar with it now, they know all the tricks. Coming to it as a silver(free) player with no zen ships or veteran bonuses, no bajoran phasers that level with you from the DS9 bundle, no crafted gear from your main, no giant bag of EC from your main etc. makes the game a very different place. Seeing it through the eyes of a new player over and over is very rewarding, and it makes me keenly aware of the vast gulf between the haves and have nots.
Dilithium throttling is very much a “first world problem”.
@cookie, with your dilithium and your fleet, what I do is I look at my unrefined dil before I log out of any given character. That shows how much I earned while I played. I donate 1/3 of that number to my fleet. It’s usually a small amount, but it adds up. It’s never so much that I can’t afford to pay it because it only counts what I already finished doing that very session.
seannewboy on 2019-01-30
Wonderful tribute, i had a blast watching it.
As for the changes i havent really used them yet.
Marcase on 2015-03-03
That was a nice tribute to Spock, P1, well done. We in the 44th gathered on Vulcan as well, joining our allies from the 12th fleet and many others, just to take a moment to remember such an iconic character.
While there I listened to “Spocks Padd”, the one with the episode monologues – sure turned me misty eyed.
I’m looking forward to what Cryptic will come up with as a proper memorial; Al’s comments on finding the ‘right’ one without unintentionally upsetting people is indeed a tricky mission. But the memorial on SF Academy is very well done so I have faith Cryptic will -as always!- pull it off nicely.
The dilithium extra is a nice bonus, and I for one believe the (lower) dili rewards for episode replays are sufficient.
In fact, with the added dili from patrols, my dili grinding problems with numerous alts are over.
Three quick patrols, turning in contraband, turning in Reputation marks, fleet mine bonus and some doffing finishes the daily 8,500 goal quite easily on multiple toons.
This is very welcome with the many crafting and R&D projects running nearly 24/7.
Personally I would like to see a variable reward for playing Normal/Adv episodes/patrols, just as an extra incentive.
The issue is indeed the XP.
I think Cryptic underestimated, or perhaps misunderstood, what the players *really* wanted; being max level. As I look around my fleet, most if not all are playing (dare I say grinding) for XP to breach that level 150 and up (Level 60 plus the Intel/Cmd/Pilot specializations).
One of the reasons is something my fleet member Blackout said – it’s no longer grinding for ships, but for ship traits, and unlocking those you need XP.
No matter how good, bad or gorgeous a ship is, everyone is looking at those ship mastery traits first, and ‘canon’ and looks or playability second – if at all. And that’s a shame, really.
Once again a wonderful episode, and it was nice seeing the full P1 away team with the Geko Lizard Man out and about.
(Maybe Geko can come up with an in-gme fix to avoid the erroneous team-click when you’re joined up with for an episode).
The_Grand_Nagus on 2015-03-03
@Marcase said: “The dilithium extra is a nice bonus, and I for one believe the (lower) dili rewards for episode replays are sufficient.”
That is a completely valid opinion, and as I have said before, opinions are neither “right” nor “wrong”. However, there is a difference between opinions and facts. Here are 2 actual facts:
Fact #1: Cryptic said: “we wanted to ensure that time invested would earn you similar rates of these rewards across the game – regardless of what you choose to play”
Fact #2: episode replays take approximately 10 minutes and reward 192 dilithium, while patrols take approximately 10 minutes and reward 480 dilithium.
Fact #3: based on the facts above, episode replays do not reward ‘similar rates of rewards for similar time invested’ as patrols as we were told they would.
All of that said, if you think the current episode replay rewards are “sufficient”, that’s fine. But that opinion doesn’t change the *fact* that episode replay rewards do not match what they told us about ‘similar rates of rewards for similar time invested’.
And lastly, a question: since you think the current episode replay rewards are “sufficient”, do you *not* think that we should be rewarded similarly based on similar time investment?
Marcase on 2015-03-03
@Grand_Nagus; good points all.
You’re absolutely right re Fact #2; it’s a weird imbalance rewarding *just* 192 dili comparing to the patrol 480 dili, and I have no idea what the thinking behind that was.
Also it’s somewhat “fluid”; a Tac in a tricked out T-6 Eclipse can steamroll through most patrols in less than 5 mins while an engineer in a T-5 ‘zombie tank’ may take 15 or more.
I replay episodes mostly for story (or ‘immersion’ as Elijah would say 🙂 or for trying to (re)discover content (ie climbing mountains which you should not be able to, finding that hidden lake etc).
I’m just considering the ‘mere’ 192 dili a nice added bonus, but it’s not and will not motivate me more to replay episodes. I’m there for the Trek, not the dili.
I too heard Geko on P1 mention the 10-minute reward discrepancy and I fully expect they’ll tweak the rewards in the near future. Again for now I’m gratefull for the low episode dili reward – sprinkles on my icecream, nice to have, not must have.
I wish dili reward was dynamic and calculated to actual time spend on a certain mission/patrol coupled to difficulty – exploit sensitive I know, but you get the idea.
To answer your question, my personal take on it all is that rewards should be tailored; an Argala grind fest doesn’t compare to a “Dust to Dust” episode replay and that should be the rewarding factor, not actual / guestimated time spend in-game.
The_Grand_Nagus on 2015-03-03
@Marcase said: Also it’s somewhat “fluid”; a Tac in a tricked out T-6 Eclipse can steamroll through most patrols in less than 5 mins while an engineer in a T-5 ‘zombie tank’ may take 15 or more.”
You are right. In general, I would say that patrols are closer to the 5-10 minute range, while episodes are closer to the 10-15 minute range. So the fact that episodes typically take longer yet reward less only makes the reward imbalance worse.
Miguel on 2015-03-03
So you saying i should not use my tier 6 command ship and just use the trait.. Bro you do know the command ship has some useful skills like 100 percent free power use all lvls and 28 plus to damage .. So some ships are useful.. As i will be using command ships..I will miss spock 🙁
Marcase on 2015-03-03
I’m saying you should use whatever ship you like:
we have folks in my fleet who show up in fleet-only STFs with a Tier 1 Connie – and it’s hilarious good fun 🙂
However, some traits are so good (Reciprocity) that they are a must-have. I have the Delta Rising pack but after unlocking the Phantom’s ship mastery I parked it next to the Guardian on a desolate planet under a pack of ice. They aren’t bad ships, but there are other better ones – Like the Presidio beats the Guardian.
Nevermind that especially Roms only have lousy ship mastery traits available (and KDF to a lesser extent as well), so they really need certain lockbox ships just to get access to decent traits.
Looking at the T-6 Command ships, I decided to only get the Tac versions for the AHOD trait; the other Sci/Eng ship mastery traits just didn’t warrant the extra investment (though knowing myself I’ll probably buy them individually a year from now just for the ‘must have’ greedy kid / collector in me).
And for max power, I highly recommend getting the plasmonic leech – the only true ‘must have’ console in the game imho – on ALL your toons, both Fed and KDF.
The thing is that Cryptic gave us a challenge with Elite level content; if you want to ROFLSTOMP the elite baddies you need to have truly elite gear – no room for ‘cool’ traits unless it hits like a Klingon with a bloodrage, so be picky which ship mastery traits you get/buy if you really want to beat the Elite.
And that’s not even taking PVP into account.
Marcase on 2019-01-30
That was a nice tribute to Spock, P1, well done. We in the 44th gathered on Vulcan as well, joining our allies from the 12th fleet and many others, just to take a moment to remember such an iconic character.
While there I listened to “Spocks Padd”, the one with the episode monologues – sure turned me misty eyed.
I’m looking forward to what Cryptic will come up with as a proper memorial; Al’s comments on finding the ‘right’ one without unintentionally upsetting people is indeed a tricky mission. But the memorial on SF Academy is very well done so I have faith Cryptic will -as always!- pull it off nicely.
The dilithium extra is a nice bonus, and I for one believe the (lower) dili rewards for episode replays are sufficient.
In fact, with the added dili from patrols, my dili grinding problems with numerous alts are over.
Three quick patrols, turning in contraband, turning in Reputation marks, fleet mine bonus and some doffing finishes the daily 8,500 goal quite easily on multiple toons.
This is very welcome with the many crafting and R&D projects running nearly 24/7.
Personally I would like to see a variable reward for playing Normal/Adv episodes/patrols, just as an extra incentive.
The issue is indeed the XP.
I think Cryptic underestimated, or perhaps misunderstood, what the players *really* wanted; being max level. As I look around my fleet, most if not all are playing (dare I say grinding) for XP to breach that level 150 and up (Level 60 plus the Intel/Cmd/Pilot specializations).
One of the reasons is something my fleet member Blackout said – it’s no longer grinding for ships, but for ship traits, and unlocking those you need XP.
No matter how good, bad or gorgeous a ship is, everyone is looking at those ship mastery traits first, and ‘canon’ and looks or playability second – if at all. And that’s a shame, really.
Once again a wonderful episode, and it was nice seeing the full P1 away team with the Geko Lizard Man out and about.
(Maybe Geko can come up with an in-gme fix to avoid the erroneous team-click when you’re joined up with for an episode).
The_Grand_Nagus on 2019-01-30
@Marcase said: “The dilithium extra is a nice bonus, and I for one believe the (lower) dili rewards for episode replays are sufficient.”
That is a completely valid opinion, and as I have said before, opinions are neither “right” nor “wrong”. However, there is a difference between opinions and facts. Here are 2 actual facts:
Fact #1: Cryptic said: “we wanted to ensure that time invested would earn you similar rates of these rewards across the game – regardless of what you choose to play”
Fact #2: episode replays take approximately 10 minutes and reward 192 dilithium, while patrols take approximately 10 minutes and reward 480 dilithium.
Fact #3: based on the facts above, episode replays do not reward ‘similar rates of rewards for similar time invested’ as patrols as we were told they would.
All of that said, if you think the current episode replay rewards are “sufficient”, that’s fine. But that opinion doesn’t change the *fact* that episode replay rewards do not match what they told us about ‘similar rates of rewards for similar time invested’.
And lastly, a question: since you think the current episode replay rewards are “sufficient”, do you *not* think that we should be rewarded similarly based on similar time investment?
Marcase on 2019-01-30
@Grand_Nagus; good points all.
You’re absolutely right re Fact #2; it’s a weird imbalance rewarding *just* 192 dili comparing to the patrol 480 dili, and I have no idea what the thinking behind that was.
Also it’s somewhat “fluid”; a Tac in a tricked out T-6 Eclipse can steamroll through most patrols in less than 5 mins while an engineer in a T-5 ‘zombie tank’ may take 15 or more.
I replay episodes mostly for story (or ‘immersion’ as Elijah would say 🙂 or for trying to (re)discover content (ie climbing mountains which you should not be able to, finding that hidden lake etc).
I’m just considering the ‘mere’ 192 dili a nice added bonus, but it’s not and will not motivate me more to replay episodes. I’m there for the Trek, not the dili.
I too heard Geko on P1 mention the 10-minute reward discrepancy and I fully expect they’ll tweak the rewards in the near future. Again for now I’m gratefull for the low episode dili reward – sprinkles on my icecream, nice to have, not must have.
I wish dili reward was dynamic and calculated to actual time spend on a certain mission/patrol coupled to difficulty – exploit sensitive I know, but you get the idea.
To answer your question, my personal take on it all is that rewards should be tailored; an Argala grind fest doesn’t compare to a “Dust to Dust” episode replay and that should be the rewarding factor, not actual / guestimated time spend in-game.
The_Grand_Nagus on 2019-01-30
@Marcase said: Also it’s somewhat “fluid”; a Tac in a tricked out T-6 Eclipse can steamroll through most patrols in less than 5 mins while an engineer in a T-5 ‘zombie tank’ may take 15 or more.”
You are right. In general, I would say that patrols are closer to the 5-10 minute range, while episodes are closer to the 10-15 minute range. So the fact that episodes typically take longer yet reward less only makes the reward imbalance worse.
Miguel on 2019-01-30
So you saying i should not use my tier 6 command ship and just use the trait.. Bro you do know the command ship has some useful skills like 100 percent free power use all lvls and 28 plus to damage .. So some ships are useful.. As i will be using command ships..I will miss spock 🙁
Marcase on 2019-01-30
I’m saying you should use whatever ship you like:
we have folks in my fleet who show up in fleet-only STFs with a Tier 1 Connie – and it’s hilarious good fun 🙂
However, some traits are so good (Reciprocity) that they are a must-have. I have the Delta Rising pack but after unlocking the Phantom’s ship mastery I parked it next to the Guardian on a desolate planet under a pack of ice. They aren’t bad ships, but there are other better ones – Like the Presidio beats the Guardian.
Nevermind that especially Roms only have lousy ship mastery traits available (and KDF to a lesser extent as well), so they really need certain lockbox ships just to get access to decent traits.
Looking at the T-6 Command ships, I decided to only get the Tac versions for the AHOD trait; the other Sci/Eng ship mastery traits just didn’t warrant the extra investment (though knowing myself I’ll probably buy them individually a year from now just for the ‘must have’ greedy kid / collector in me).
And for max power, I highly recommend getting the plasmonic leech – the only true ‘must have’ console in the game imho – on ALL your toons, both Fed and KDF.
The thing is that Cryptic gave us a challenge with Elite level content; if you want to ROFLSTOMP the elite baddies you need to have truly elite gear – no room for ‘cool’ traits unless it hits like a Klingon with a bloodrage, so be picky which ship mastery traits you get/buy if you really want to beat the Elite.
And that’s not even taking PVP into account.
Jerry Lewis on 2015-03-02
What has your experience been with the changes to the reward payouts in STO? It is nice to get some xp while doing Battlezones, and it is nice to get some dilithium for doing Episode Replays, however the amount of these received, for their respective content, are too far to low to get me to do the content for them. Have you begun earning enough XP to better progress through something like the Specialization System? I hate to say it but no. With the amount I am able to play I have gone from being able to earn, on average, 3 Spec Points a week to 1 in 7.4 days, again on average. If the XP would have been what we were able to earn this weekend it wouldn’t have been so bad, but that was double. Do you feel you now have several options to go and level? I pretty much have the same options as before, so not really more options, just no great way to earn XP, and I know that part of that was because Argala was over awarding. It didn’t seem to be as much an issue to me once I decided that I would no longer be playing with the intent of progressing the Spec trees, as 30 weeks, on average, to cap out a Primary Spec tree is long enough that it feels unattainable if that is the reason I am playing.
David Desjardins (@creativegeek_ca) on 2015-03-02
Nice episode all.
Falling through the TOS Enterprise, getting stuck in the wall by the Jeffries tube, was funny and a needed light moment.
What I’d love to know – how players spent time on vulcan this weekend? A rough guess would be nice to know.
Jerry Lewis on 2019-01-30
What has your experience been with the changes to the reward payouts in STO? It is nice to get some xp while doing Battlezones, and it is nice to get some dilithium for doing Episode Replays, however the amount of these received, for their respective content, are too far to low to get me to do the content for them. Have you begun earning enough XP to better progress through something like the Specialization System? I hate to say it but no. With the amount I am able to play I have gone from being able to earn, on average, 3 Spec Points a week to 1 in 7.4 days, again on average. If the XP would have been what we were able to earn this weekend it wouldn’t have been so bad, but that was double. Do you feel you now have several options to go and level? I pretty much have the same options as before, so not really more options, just no great way to earn XP, and I know that part of that was because Argala was over awarding. It didn’t seem to be as much an issue to me once I decided that I would no longer be playing with the intent of progressing the Spec trees, as 30 weeks, on average, to cap out a Primary Spec tree is long enough that it feels unattainable if that is the reason I am playing.
David Desjardins (@creativegee on 2019-01-30
Nice episode all.
Falling through the TOS Enterprise, getting stuck in the wall by the Jeffries tube, was funny and a needed light moment.
What I’d love to know – how players spent time on vulcan this weekend? A rough guess would be nice to know.
hatchery on 2015-03-02
I am very happy with the reward revamp. As I am frequently running STFs and other queues with my fleet, I now have the option to participate with my lower level characters, and get a good return.
This is greatly enhancing the game for me and most people in my fleet, as we no longer have to set aside extra time to “grind”, and gain the opportunity to grow new builds on alt characters into our strategy.
hatchery on 2019-01-30
I am very happy with the reward revamp. As I am frequently running STFs and other queues with my fleet, I now have the option to participate with my lower level characters, and get a good return.
This is greatly enhancing the game for me and most people in my fleet, as we no longer have to set aside extra time to “grind”, and gain the opportunity to grow new builds on alt characters into our strategy.
The_Grand_Nagus on 2015-03-02
I really love the *idea* behind the reward changes; specifically the “we wanted to ensure that time invested would earn you similar rates of these rewards across the game – regardless of what you choose to play”. Unfortunately that didn’t quite work out, because if I want to spend my time replaying an episode mission I get *drastically* less reward than if I spend that same time(or less) playing a patrol mission. To elaborate, investing 10-15 minutes replaying an episode rewards 192 dilithium, and a piece of gear worth maybe 50k EC at most. On the other hand, investing 10 minutes(or less) playing a patrol rewards a minimum of 480 dilithium, plus up to 65 rep marks which convert to another easy 620 dilithium(2 hourly 140 projects + 1 daily 340 project), for a grand total of 1,100 dilithium for a *single* 10 minute patrol!!! Clearly, this is nowhere *near* ‘similar rates of rewards for similar time investment’. All of that said, I do appreciate all of the work that went into this new reward system, and hope they will make the adjustments necessary so that dilithium can one day actually be a time based currency like they have talked about.
The_Grand_Nagus on 2019-01-30
I really love the *idea* behind the reward changes; specifically the “we wanted to ensure that time invested would earn you similar rates of these rewards across the game – regardless of what you choose to play”. Unfortunately that didn’t quite work out, because if I want to spend my time replaying an episode mission I get *drastically* less reward than if I spend that same time(or less) playing a patrol mission. To elaborate, investing 10-15 minutes replaying an episode rewards 192 dilithium, and a piece of gear worth maybe 50k EC at most. On the other hand, investing 10 minutes(or less) playing a patrol rewards a minimum of 480 dilithium, plus up to 65 rep marks which convert to another easy 620 dilithium(2 hourly 140 projects + 1 daily 340 project), for a grand total of 1,100 dilithium for a *single* 10 minute patrol!!! Clearly, this is nowhere *near* ‘similar rates of rewards for similar time investment’. All of that said, I do appreciate all of the work that went into this new reward system, and hope they will make the adjustments necessary so that dilithium can one day actually be a time based currency like they have talked about.
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