And I am Flavius@Kirk2449
Quick Game review:
Manual - What manual?!?..so ya there's a bit of a learning curve on this one folks, Strategy Guides are comming out but they cost $. If you want to know in-depth how too's see me on TS.
Like all new released online games, its buggy but very playable. The thing you notice is sometimes the server pauses/stops responding when you go into another instance. The galaxy is divided into Sector blocks and there's usually 3 Sectors in each. You maining get the lag when entering a new Sector block(server). Unlike WOW and other MMO's gear is a nice to have(IE: green blue purple) but your skills count for more. Also unlike WOW, there is not a Realm (server) to choose to play on. You login from the login server, create characters from another server(this is all seemless to you the player), and then enter the starting Sector/Sector Block(instanced server cluster per block I think). WOw term "Zone" = Sector Block or so it seems.
Ok so what about actual play? Space Combat is blast! 4 shield quadrants(fore, aft, starboard, port or forward, rear, left, right for you land-lovers
). Power management (Engines, Shields, Weapons, Auxilliary Systems), Throttle, special abilities to activate("Emergeny power to the forward shields!!", "Overload the photons and fire!", "Engage Tachyon pulse on my mark!"). You twist and turn and try to outmanuver your opponents for position as you try to take down each others shields on one side so you can blast them with a photon/quantum/plama/tetryon/tri-cobolt/phasic torpedo volley.
In space you scan for anomolies(this give you materials to use to enhance common items to blues). Wow players note: crafting is currently only equivalent to Enchanting but you can enchant a white common to a blue rare! That's pretty sweet.
Ground combat I am still working on learning but like wow you have special abilities with cool-downs but mainly try to outflank(your away team is up to 5 members in a solo instance) as you get flank damage bonuses. The other tactical thing to do in away missions ground combat is to use or have one or more of your bridge officers do is to use a weapon that has a secondary attack that is an Expose type of attack. An expose attack has a chace to proc and effect and put the target in an exposed state for a few seconds. THEN you or a BO uses a weapon that has an Exploit attack for its secondary mode of fire and that will do HUGE damage, often leading to a Vaporizaiton! Schaweet! <8
Enough for now, stop down in Creamy Blue for a chat if you are curious about the game as Stinky and I are having a fun time so far with it, despite the bugs and lack of info on "how do I..." The STO forums are extremly active in making a manual of sorts on all the facets of the game.
Gib
