They removed not only the ability to make new user made maps and scenarios but removed all content related to the function saying it would essentially require requiring the game from scratch because no one was left that knew how it worked.

Yeah, that part sucks. I miss it.

Many of the missions have been removed over the years, saying they no longer are good enough quality compared to new content, etc.

I can't think of a single mission that was removed that I miss. There's probably one or two, but the few removals there were have been largely beneficial. And the new missions are amazing by comparison.

Everything is a shadow of what it was.

I disagree. I started playing when STO went free to play back around when romulans became playable.

It's only been in the last 2 years that I started really enjoying the game instead of forcing myself to try because I really wanted star trek SO BAD in an MMO.

The QoL improvements are good, the events are still fun and the rewards are actually worthwhile.

There are handfuls of people in the fleets I'm in that are playing completely f2p thanks to reward ships and event/reputation gear and holding their own, doing good damage in group content, so there ARE plenty of microtransaction options, but they're not required -- just super beneficial if you have the cash.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I've played STO off and on over the years all the way back to the closed beta and initial launch. There have been a lot of ups and downs over the years.

It is true that the pay segments aren't required in any way shape or form, unlike some other similar games.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

It is true that the pay segments aren’t required in any way shape or form, unlike some other similar games.

Yeah, once the yearly event started including the option of either two T6 C-store ships (which will unlock those normally RL-Money-Only ship traits that are so much fun) OR a single T6 Lockbox ship (as long as it's been out for a year) making those high-end ridiculous min-maxed builds (that aren't even necessary to play the game's hardest content) became a very real possibility without spending a dime.

Add in every event giving bunches of bonus dilithium after you complete it and the fact that they got rid of the bots and you can even trade dilithium for zen in a reasonable amount of time. People were buying the 10th anniversary bundle left and right without spending any money last christmas when it went on sale.

It takes more planning in advance than just using Attack Pattern: Credit Card, but it's totally doable.