This is the second entry in our three-part feature on Cryptic Studios' upcoming Star Trek Online. In our first entry, we discussed how STO tackles the weighty task of providing enough story and questing (aka player vs. environment, or PvE) content to entertain players from launch and beyond. In this article, we'll hit a favorite topic of mine: player vs. player (or PvP).
Star Trek Online PvP features both ship-to-ship space battles and ground-based conflicts to match the game's dual-sided approach to presenting this beloved slice of science fiction. While the game features both, for now I'm only interested in the space combat side of STO PvP, as it's what I've been able to check out firsthand.
Say Hello to the Bad Guys
The key to any healthy PvP environment is the concept of conflict. In Star Trek Online, this conflict arrives in the form of an ongoing war between the Federation and the Klingons. Players gain access to the Klingon faction once they've reached a minimum level of progress on their Federation characters (currently set at level 6 in the beta), but from what I've seen, the Klingon faction is a stripped-down, PvP-focused counterpart to the more feature-complete Federation.
Klingons in Star Trek Online can be compared to The Lord of the Rings Online's Monster Play system. In that game, "evil" characters are limited to specific Monster Play zones, and gain power only by beating up on the pesky hobbits and elves who dare step into their domain. Similarly, in Star Trek Online, Klingons have very limited access to PvE content -- with little to do besides queue up for PvP battles -- while the Federation gets to enjoy all the fun of galactic exploration.
No Griefing Allowed
Star Trek Online is not the sort of game for those who thrive on open-world PvP situations; for better or worse, PvP only happens when you want it to. That doesn't mean the game lacks a good selection of different PvP options, though. Challenges can take place in private instances for team-based competition, or in arena maps that you can join via a global queue system. You can queue up anytime, anywhere.
In addition to the straight-up deathmatch-styled engagements, STO offers objective-based scenarios as well, like Assault and Area Control. Assault is about managing resources and delivering them safely to planets. The deeper you go into heavily guarded areas, the more points you get. Area Control is your typical "domination"-style game, where you fight for control of five locations, gaining more points the longer you keep them. I've found that the Federation side has a much easier time with Area Control than the Klingons do. Since the Klingons must make use of their cloaking technology to create a combat advantage, they seem to suffer an immediate disadvantage in games that require them to sit and capture a zone in full view.
Bird Hunting 101
While it may seem like PvP is lopsided in the Federation's favor, situational exceptions certainly exist, such as when you're stuck in a one-on-one fight. Birds of Prey (the ubiquitous Klingon warships) can cloak on you mid-combat, allowing them to escape... only to come back when you least expect them.
These harassment tactics are not only annoying, but they can be very effective. To avoid this, it's a good idea to snare them with a tractor beam, keep them within sensor range of a science vessel, or just blow them up with a well-timed torpedo just before they vanish. Their shields drop just before a cloak, so at that moment they're quite vulnerable. Sometimes it's smart to fire off your photon torpedo salvo before the enemy shields are down, since significant travel time is involved prior to impact.
Klingon ships also tend to feature more forward-firing weaponry, without the generous arcs of the Federation guns. The Klingons are far more of a hit-and-run-oriented faction than the Federation; in my experience, the latter excel when sticking together and focus-firing.
Warcraft in Space?
If you're still wondering whether Star Trek Online is just another take on World of Warcraft with a sci-fi license slapped on, the space combat will set you straight. STO is nothing like your typical fantasy MMO. The closest comparison is probably Pirates of the Burning Sea, with its vaguely similar naval combat. In a similar fashion, I feel like many players may be drawn to STO's distinctive space combat only to find that the other areas of the game aren't as captivating.
To succeed in PvP space combat, you need to watch your directional shields, turning to keep your weakened shields away from incoming fire. This is counterbalanced by your own directional weaponry, as you also need to keep the opponent within the firing arcs of your phaser banks, photon torpedoes, cannons, and other armaments. You can manage your ship's systems to funnel power toward the task at hand, opting out of a balanced setup to focus on shields for defense, speed for maneuverability, or attack for more firepower. It can be downright difficult to maneuver your ship smoothly while simultaneously slamming the spacebar to fire your phasers, diverting power to your weakened shields, and hitting the hotkeys to use your bridge officers' abilities.
I found it interesting that your choice of captain isn't a huge factor in these tense battles; instead, your choice of ship and bridge officers are the more critical decisions. Cruisers are the tanks, escorts are the damage-dealers, and science vessels can fill support roles, like healing, sniping subsystems, and so on.
As I wrote in the first part of our feature, Star Trek Online offers many different progression paths for players as they work toward the rank of Admiral. No matter what sort of content you enjoy, you'll always earn skills, gear, and ranks. Despite that, I'm taking a wait-and-see approach before deciding whether or not it's worth ranking up via PvP. And for what it's worth, it looks like the PvE gear that Federation players earn far outclasses what's available for the more PvP-focused Klingons.
Star Trek Online just hit open beta, so we'll soon be able to get a better idea of what the final game will be like. Check back soon for the third part of our feature, in which we'll detail what's in store for players who make it through to Star Trek Online's endgame.
While it may seem like PvP is lopsided in the Federation's favor, situational exceptions certainly exist, such as when you're stuck in a one-on-one fight. Birds of Prey (the ubiquitous Klingon warships) can cloak on you mid-combat, allowing them to escape... only to come back when you least expect them.
These harassment tactics are not only annoying, but they can be very effective. To avoid this, it's a good idea to snare them with a tractor beam, keep them within sensor range of a science vessel, or just blow them up with a well-timed torpedo just before they vanish. Their shields drop just before a cloak, so at that moment they're quite vulnerable. Sometimes it's smart to fire off your photon torpedo salvo before the enemy shields are down, since significant travel time is involved prior to impact.
Klingon ships also tend to feature more forward-firing weaponry, without the generous arcs of the Federation guns. The Klingons are far more of a hit-and-run-oriented faction than the Federation; in my experience, the latter excel when sticking together and focus-firing.
Warcraft in Space?
If you're still wondering whether Star Trek Online is just another take on World of Warcraft with a sci-fi license slapped on, the space combat will set you straight. STO is nothing like your typical fantasy MMO. The closest comparison is probably Pirates of the Burning Sea, with its vaguely similar naval combat. In a similar fashion, I feel like many players may be drawn to STO's distinctive space combat only to find that the other areas of the game aren't as captivating.
To succeed in PvP space combat, you need to watch your directional shields, turning to keep your weakened shields away from incoming fire. This is counterbalanced by your own directional weaponry, as you also need to keep the opponent within the firing arcs of your phaser banks, photon torpedoes, cannons, and other armaments. You can manage your ship's systems to funnel power toward the task at hand, opting out of a balanced setup to focus on shields for defense, speed for maneuverability, or attack for more firepower. It can be downright difficult to maneuver your ship smoothly while simultaneously slamming the spacebar to fire your phasers, diverting power to your weakened shields, and hitting the hotkeys to use your bridge officers' abilities.
I found it interesting that your choice of captain isn't a huge factor in these tense battles; instead, your choice of ship and bridge officers are the more critical decisions. Cruisers are the tanks, escorts are the damage-dealers, and science vessels can fill support roles, like healing, sniping subsystems, and so on.
As I wrote in the first part of our feature, Star Trek Online offers many different progression paths for players as they work toward the rank of Admiral. No matter what sort of content you enjoy, you'll always earn skills, gear, and ranks. Despite that, I'm taking a wait-and-see approach before deciding whether or not it's worth ranking up via PvP. And for what it's worth, it looks like the PvE gear that Federation players earn far outclasses what's available for the more PvP-focused Klingons.
Star Trek Online just hit open beta, so we'll soon be able to get a better idea of what the final game will be like. Check back soon for the third part of our feature, in which we'll detail what's in store for players who make it through to Star Trek Online's endgame.
http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/star-trek-online/1061070p2.html
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