Oh ugh.. Skill caps and end game..

[Tsori]

I'm on the other side of the fence, I really hated the fact they didn't have a skill cap and would eventually let everyone max out everything.

That's not how it should work, you specialize! Not have every character become jack-of-all-trades. If you're a tank then you spec skillpoints accordingly. They'll all be there right in front of you....there's no mystery.

I've read a lot of peoples stories as to how they leveled their character and what they like/dislike about it. I even read a story about a Science Character in an Escort that fools enemies into thinking hes tactical by flying one then does a sensor sweep and blasts the cloaked guys to smitherines.

That extra nail in the coffin crap doesn't fly with me, I don't buy it.

This is good news, I love the idea of making the Borg Queen one of the endgame encounters right off the bat

I agree, but max skills wouldnt cause everyone to be jack of all trades, it just allows them to play a tactical if they wish then switch back to science later. you still need a custom set of BO's with certain abilities, so youd all be different.. just eliminates the point of leveling up an alt.

[Plaxidia]

I agree, but max skills wouldnt cause everyone to be jack of all trades, it just allows them to play a tactical if they wish then switch back to science later. you still need a custom set of BO's with certain abilities, so youd all be different.. just eliminates the point of leveling up an alt.

Ok so here is my last point for the night.

You say it will eliminate the need to make an alt.. But you still have to do the work to get all those points and you will be doing it at max lvl.. so basically grinding.. Personally that sounds boring. I would rather build an alt and have the ability to lvl it with quests and such. Only a few of the quests we do are repeatable so you wont have any of that to do again to gain the additional points.. And as of right now.. Pvp and fleet actions will get boring pretty fast..

[California]

For those who didn't see it

Hey gang,

I know quite a few of you are upset over this, so let me try and explain this change to you.

We have plans to release more content in the future, and at some point we'd like to raise the skill point cap, in the same way other titles have raised their level cap. The skill point cap is in place to ensure that we can not only add more content later on, but also to make sure that we can balance that content to provide you with a suitable challenge. With a skill point cap in place, we know what you're capable of, and we can balance the challenges in new content to provide you a suitable challenge. With no skill point cap, you'll not only be able to max out every skill in the game, but eventually, when we release new content, it will become trivial to you immediately. When we raise the level cap, you’d be max level right away. In the end, not having a skill point cap hurts the game, and consequently the amount of fun you guys can have.

Star Trek Online is also unique in that your Captain isn’t the end of your avatar. You’ve got Bridge Officers to tinker with, who gain skills on their own. You’ve also got a great number of ships available to you, and all sorts of weapons, consoles and devices to discover and utilize. So even though we made the decision to cap your Captain’s skill gain, it doesn’t mean there’s not more to achieve in the Star Trek Online universe at max level. In fact, we’ve got all sorts of stuff planned, from raid-style Episodes to more Fleet Actions to more Star Clusters. We’ll be talking more about what’s coming post-launch soon.

So yes, much like other MMOs, there is a cap as to how far you can advance your character at launch. Much like other titles, there are also other incentives to keep players invested in the game once they reach that cap. Endgame content is going to have some pretty cool rewards that players will need in order to actually "max out" their characters, everything from more Kits for your captain, to new equipment for your ship, and there's also some really cool powerful Bridge Officers to find out there as well.

Thanks,

Stormshade

[Khajjah]

I understand why this may be upsetting but I am in agreement with their decision. The difference between max level characters and max level characters in MMOs that have extra endgame skill trees and abilities can be a continental rift. The content and the PvP system would become skewed causing some issues and rediculously one sided battles. I like the idea of making a character uber but I can do that in SFC or BC. I do not pretend that the primary reason for this is not monetary but again I think this is for the best for long term player satisfaction.

[Nishka]

Yeah I don't know what the greatest solution is, but I don't agree with everyone hitting the ceiling in 80 hours. If I wanted to beat a game in 80 hours I'd play a one player RPG. This is just not a good financial move, unless they just planned on getting all of their money through lifetime subs.

The average player will be admiral in 80 hours, if you're going to power level it'll probably be a lot faster then 80 hours.
I'm usually a slow leveler since I tend to stray off and explore random things and take my time, but I make up for my straying off by playing a lot of hours and still keep up with leveling to the average people.

I expect to be admiral within a week, I'll probably hit level 11 in the 1st day and from there on I expect to need 2 days per rank.


I just mailed my manager with a request to shorten my vacation with a week. I'm probably better off spending that extra week sometime later this year.

I'm also still not sure about keeping my lifetime sub or not.. 200 euro is a lot of money that I can also spend on something else. Add a 100 euro and I can get a PS3 which will last more then my playtime with STO.

[California]

Yeah I can't justify the sub, there are just too many things that I need/want like a futon, new vertical blinds, a mexican cruise, etc.

[APewty]

Sure, I've not been on the beta as much as most of you but I still haven't hit the ship upgrade. I just hit level 10 but I have like 600 skill points before I get my promotion. I am apparently not an average players because I can't imagine hitting Admiral in 80 hours. Then again, I've never leveled as fast as the average player that plays hours on end nearly every day of their life.

I have no problem with skill caps. Their reasoning also makes a lot of sense concerning game additions and the imbalance unlimited skill cap would cause. I do understand why some folks want the unlimited skills but none of us are going to get everything they want so I tend to take the wait and see approach.

The lifetime sub is a gamble, IMO. There's a chance the game tanks then you bought a lifetime sub for a game that gets shut down in less than 2 years. There's a chance that something else gets broken that makes you very angry. Since it's an MMO, you're buying a sub to a game that WILL change. Either buy the lifetime sub and live with what the game becomes, or don't. Have your eyes open whatever you do.

End of open beta will give us all a better picture of the game's release status. However, I'm going to guess the future of the game will be up in the air at release so this debate will not end. That's my prediction at least.