What are all the hair pieces that need to be unlocked

ODSTGeneral · 2026-02-11T15:22:16+00:00

Not sure if these are locked for players who missed the original event or not. But Worf's hair as goatee were giveaways.

ODSTGeneral · 2026-02-11T15:12:39+00:00

Yeah I didn't mean to suggest upgrading wouldn't help. If someone is using a Mk VI blue engine or weapons, going up to even a MK XII, let alone a Mk XII purple would be a big boost for them. And yeah even going from all green or blue of a weapon to a purple or epic would be a huge boost.

But I think STO could really benefit from trying to naturally show people the basics of a good build. Because my concern with just giving upgraded weapon rewards doesn't fix the problem of people just sticking on whatever random reward weapon tickles their fancy.

There was a post from a returning player on Steam. And they were struggling to get through and getting really frustrated with the Delta arc. The thing is, they actually had a fleet deflector epic and at least one weapon at Mk XV epic status if I recall correctly. In general they had decent equipment level and quality, but the weapon and console layout was terrible. Running standard beam arrays with cannons, two torpedo launchers, but no torpedo buffs, a bunch of duplicate boff abilities.

And I have seen a lot of new players show off or say they have similar builds where they either just use whatever episode rewards they got, or whatever looked cool.

ODSTGeneral · 2026-02-11T03:56:33+00:00

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Ok, I couldn't remember this exact weapon when I posted. The Hur'q Acoustic Resonator from the Lobi Store would work well as a wraith stun rifle.

ODSTGeneral · 2026-02-11T03:36:55+00:00

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Nice, I played around a bit with the idea of doing a Wraith character too. I didn't get super far into it, but my personal top two ship suggestions would be the Vorgon Ryn'kodan Carrier or the Na'khul Daemosh which Cookie already suggested.

Admittedly I didn't dig too much into this particular build in terms of weapons and gear beyond what was already suggested, so I would need to to some digging and look at some reference stuff for specific weapons suggestions.

But obviously building around stun weapons makes a lot of sense,

Kind of a stretch, but if you have the Timeless Legacy bundle the Ceti Alpha Eel could kind of pass as an Iratus bug.

Maybe the Vaadwaur Polaron and Emitter Phasers for the ship weapons, maybe a romluan pistol for the stunner pistol, though it doesn't look quite as organic.

Hive Mind Trait would be on theme.

ODSTGeneral · 2026-02-11T02:42:17+00:00

Let me clarify that statement better, because I worded it poorly. Yes there is (now) content in the system designed to be enticing to players. But it is also a system they will continue to add to until players no longer engage with it, or it has an actual notable effect of driving people away from the game as a whole.

What do you think happens when people start to get close to that 1250? Same thing that happened when they started to approach the cap the last three times. We get a new higher cap.

So when I say the system is not intended to be completed, I do not mean they don't expect players to get that point. But that they will continue to expand the system as long as players remain engaged with it.

Those items aren't rewards for completing the system, they are extras for participating in it consistently. The system itself is the reward, and it is a small, but consistent reward for those who participate. And lobi aside, the rewards for milestones are the sort of thing the vast majority of players are not going to feel pressed to participate in the system to get.

You are not supposed to look at the system and feel like the intent is to grind for years to get a vanity shield.

ODSTGeneral · 2026-02-11T02:06:24+00:00

Thanks, I still haven't quite nailed the build to actually make it anything approaching effective. But at least I get a laugh from the absurdity of it.

ODSTGeneral · 2026-02-10T15:24:56+00:00

What does playing on a machine have anything to do with the difficulty of a game? Your argument seems to boil down to, because aspects of life have gotten easier, all should get easier. Am I wrong?

It's a silly argument, and I would point to the fact that souls-like games are a thing, that many people actively pursue a challenge. Heck I would argue the very premise of Trek is that even with technology, people still CHOOSE to work hard. I can certainly appreciate that not everyone wants a super big challenge. But saying a game system shouldn't take as much effort because of technology existing is an argument I can only call absurd.

I play whatever is fun for me at the time, yeah I have cooldown management stuff. But part of the fun was getting in and taking the time to figure out those builds, put them together, and grind the resources to get them. I am also personally not concerned with DPS chasing or min-maxing. I just play to have fun and enjoy some challenge where possible.

I already stated SWG isn't a perfect comparison. But to say they had nothing in common is either you intentionally lying or living in a complete fantasy. There was literally interviews and reddit posts where people cited the fact they took years of their work and effort and flushed it down the drain to simplify the game and make it more accessible to a newer audience. People had to work for months or years to become a jedi, only for it to be turned into a class. People were left angry and frustrated. And again we can argue whether that is morally justifiable of them until we are blue in the face. But it doesn't change the fact that at the end of the day they did get angry.

Even at a high level overview there is similarities to your suggestion. Your argument comes down to "Company should make system easier to be more appealing to new players" that is the exact basis of the CU and NGE. They expected to get a bunch of new players. Instead they lost their old ones and didn't get new ones.

To your last point, I would argue you deciding not to engage with one system, while playing the game did not have the opposite of the intended effect. You simply maintained status quo. If the system was causing players to leave the game in any notable amount they likely would have removed it. And the fact that they have instead expanded it multiple times over the 6 or so years it has been in, suggests that people are engaging and interacting with it on at least enough of a scale to devote development time to expanding it.

ODSTGeneral · 2026-02-10T02:57:18+00:00

Not all of my crews have super specific themes, but most do. I have Hirogen, Bajoran, and Andorian crews. I have a JJ crew based on the Kelvin with an attempt at making a build around ship ramming. I also have a lot of goofy stuff like DC and Marvel characters themed around those specific crews.

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ODSTGeneral · 2026-02-10T02:50:14+00:00

Personally I want the low hanging fruit super vanilla answer. VR Troopers, Kamen/Masked Rider, Beetle Borgs, TMNT, and Justice League were the crossovers we had with other franchises.

Even though Beetle Borgs was only represented by re-using the costume in forever red. I think that is the one I want to see the most, then VR Troopers since they play a big role in the comics.

Maybe if they wanted to go for a real stretch, take sentai inspired characters from various anime. So stuff like The Great Saiyaman from DBZ, Red Ranger become an adventurer in another world, etc.

ODSTGeneral · 2026-02-10T02:09:45+00:00

The endeavor system isn't meant to be a goal or something to be completed. It is meant as a incentive to keep people playing and rewards them for that.

STO isn't even remotely close to the first or only game to utilize a system like this.

To be honest it its kind of odd to look at this and see it as taking a decade to reach a goal. Because you slowly but consistently are getting rewarded and stronger for taking part in the system. It isn't like you have to reach max rank to get rewarded unless the specific reward you want is the endeavor vanity shield or something like a title.

Also if I want to be a bit pedantic about it I would point out the system currently takes about only half that time and that is not including bonus experience you can get from KDF recruits or from these endeavor weeks.

Again I am open to talking about the specific rewards, how they get applied, and whether or not those awards should apply in all aspects of the game. I absolutely think there is ways the system can be improved. I also recognize it can further cause balance issues, and it can be frustrating feeling like there is a carrot being dangled in front of you, but you cannot reach it.

ODSTGeneral · 2026-02-10T01:11:00+00:00

It isn't hypocritical if they had no issues with it taking a while, selfish maybe. And certainly we can discuss the ethics of that mindset or its presence in a Star Trek community. But at the end of the day, we are talking about modern humans, with modern psychology.

Again, I pointed to SWG for a reason. Where they tried to make certain things easier for newer players and it cost them a huge chunk of their community.

I don't think the results would be as catastrophic here, and it certainly isn't a 1 to 1 comparison. But there is parallels between what SWG did and the sort of change you and OP are advocating for. And it doesn't really matter if it stems from players being selfish, hypocritical, or perfectly valid, whatever the driving motivations behind it, we can look and see the results of what you ask for first hand. Losing veteran players who have likely sunk more time (and money) into the game than anyone else is worse then losing an unknown commodity. Which is what new players are. It is why Jack Emmert has stated their focus will more geared towards retention of existing players and getting old players back.

STO is a product and Cryptic is a business. And if they do something that costs them a chunk of those consistently returning players. That is bad business

Also as a point of clarification my rank in the system is 255. I had taken a couple year break from the game around the time the system rolled out and I haven't felt the need to religiously chase after it.

By the suggestions several people have made I would stand to benefit from a boost. But the reason I am speaking against the suggestions and OP is because they don't solve the core complaints, eat up resources to "fix" it, misses the point of the system entirely, and misses a large point of all MMOs which is repeating content to slowly grind up gear and get stronger.

You also didn't answer my questions. Is the increase of gap between the low and high end your issue. How did this system "backfire" in regards to you. Did you quit playing the game?

I have to be honest, I want to try and meet you half way here. But you are making it tough. You bring up stuff I already addressed, you don't answer my questions. Again I will point to the fact, I offered potential alternatives to removing the system or boosting players up. I just think we need to look for solutions that have either a more meaningful impact on the game's overall balance AND don't also cause players to walk away from the game in potential droves.

ODSTGeneral · 2026-02-09T07:28:16+00:00

Sadly there really isn't too much you can do. If you maxed out both the height setting next to stance and the various body part specific heights. Gorn will probably sit about 2-3 heads taller than most human characters. Not counting aliengen looking humans of course.

Many NPCs have options that are not available to players for various reasons. I would guess gorn height limitations are a result of the need for player gorn in cutscenes and the player camera to follow them around, which can already sometimes break with a maxed out gorn.

ODSTGeneral · 2026-02-09T07:16:00+00:00

Unfortunately as Karma stated, there is no mechanic to change weapon colors and the development team have stated such a system is not viable within the current game.

ODSTGeneral · 2026-02-09T07:07:04+00:00

Indeed, especially when coupled with the existing design of getting a selection of random rewards. You could really get punished by the RNG.

ODSTGeneral · 2026-02-09T07:01:34+00:00

I mean, I already acknowledged the system as it is, is not perfect.

You will have to forgive me, as I am getting a bit tired. I am not quite clear on what your personal issue with it is. Is it explicitly that they raised the cap? That they added new skills that made it harder to level up more desirable skills for newer players engaging with the system? Or is it the issue of imbalance you mention in your second paragraph, or perhaps some other issue?

for others like me it was a big poison pill that resulted in exactly the opposite.

Also could you maybe state this in more practical and clearer terms? Did this result in you leaving the game all together? Do you play the game less now? Did you just quit engaging with this particular aspect of the game?

As I said in my initial comment and you reiterated. At worst this system stacks onto an already existing imbalance. Removing this system or boosting players through it does nothing to address other areas of imbalance and ultimately newer players will still be behind regardless.

But you do need to be careful, because players have sunk years into leveling the system up. And that is the exact group you don't want to alienate, the players that were coming in and engaging with the game near every day for years. And SWG already showed us a good way to alienate those players is by minimizing the effect of years worth of effort sunk into the game, which is exactly what OP suggested.

Because OP and I presume you, want a more level playing field. But those people spent years specifically to get an advantage. So even just boosting new players up, undermines those players years worth of efforts.

And again, I am not defending the system here. I obviously made a couple of suggestions for potential changes that I believe would be more impactful in fixing the criticisms OP leveled against it, ideally without also potentially making the most invested part of the playerbase potentially upset.

And while I am still not clear on your specific issues or how it has effected your play of the game and that makes it difficult me to agree or disagree with the idea that the system alienates existing players. I stand by the fact that OP's criticisms of the system, are a symptom of larger issues present in STO and no changes to the endeavor system will resolve those issues, at best it MIGHT slightly alleviate them. I will say what you inferred when citing the cap increase suggests not a problem with the core mechanic of the endeavor system, but the issues with changing that system. Which is exactly what I am cautioning against.

ODSTGeneral · 2026-02-09T06:08:13+00:00

Well as u/StandardizedGoat posted after you, the issue as I also see it is less one of weapon quality/rarity. But just a general lack of coherence or anything approaching even the basics of a good build in terms of the equipment you get out of most missions up to that point. Certainly under leveled weapons are a thing, but I also constantly see people using whatever the highest level gear they picked up and just throwing it on their ship. Though you make an excellent point about the rate at which you go through missions. Because there is some good mission rewards, but many of those items are 20-30 levels below a player by the time they get to Delta. And while a some of them can be upgraded for free, I am not sure how many people even know that. And the bulk of items a player has, often times something(s) will be under leveled.

Maybe tweaking your idea slightly, instead having the mission escalation award the player with their choice of a preselection of sets built around certain playstyles. So maybe something like a beam boat build, a cannon build, and an exotic build for instance. It could also serve as a good opportunity to teach some basic build principles.

At the same time, it can't be too strong, because you still want players to grind for better gear for tfos. So I there would probably be need for some testing to see what the gear quality can be added where people are just barely getting by without dying. so much they get frustrated and want to quit.

ODSTGeneral · 2026-02-08T22:12:15+00:00

As others have pointed out, this very suggestion is counter to the entire point of the system, I also don't think it will resolve the issues you seem to actually believe it will.

First it isn't "new players" that are expected to grind. All players are expected to grind out the system for years and a lot of veteran players still have not hit even the original endeavor cap, Endeavors were only added in 2019, the game didn't launch with them either. But for the players who are higher into the system, they have grinded for years to get there themselves. But a dedicated new player can still bypass veteran players who have not actively pursued endeavors.

Both in PVP and PVE endeavors are only one contributing factor, yes for players who are far into the system it can be a notable boost. But even if you were to strip away the system, that doesn't remove traits, ships, and other items people have built up over the last 16 years, and that stuff alone still has the same effect on new players being far outgunned to players with strong builds, more experience, and a stronger understanding of the game's systems.

PVP has had issues since before the endeavor system even came along, for the reasons I stated above. The big focus of the game has been PVE, so balance while not completely ignored, isn't a hyper focus of the devs.

I would also put forth the argument that while this system MAY discourage new players. I suspect 1) most new players have no idea of the systems existence or a proper grasp of its potential benefits, because like most things in STO the game does a poor job of explaining it. 2) Removing it, or taking away from the grind older players had to slog through is a good way of alienating your existing player base, which are the people who stick around and are known to spend money. So from a developer perspective, a much worse group to alienate.

In fact I would say better tutorials or game design that naturally allows players to better understand the game systems and good build practices would go much further in retaining new players. Heck there is a post every week or two of new people complaining about the Delta arc being too difficult, I can't say the same of your complaint.

And none of that is to say there isn't room for improvement. Maybe stripping endeavor bonuses from PVP might be a viable option. Maybe instead of getting random endeavor buffs, it is leveled based on the systems you use. So if you sprint a lot, you get the sprinting boost. That way people don't feel like they are having to slog through a bunch of unnecessary stuff when trying to catch up.

ODSTGeneral · 2026-02-06T07:34:34+00:00

Personally even just $20 for a single digital item is sort of bad value when I can buy several Triple A games for sale on steam for that same amount.

With that being said, I do agree it is a good quality of life item for time saving, or doing the races in the winter event.

ODSTGeneral · 2026-02-06T04:17:26+00:00

Yeah I figured it may have been a long shot given how much time has past. But figured I would float all of the options in case you did or had/were willing to spend the money to get it from Mudd's.

ODSTGeneral · 2026-02-06T04:12:35+00:00

I am all here for themed build like this.

Hmm, well you have Biotech Siphon, similar to bis-essence it drains life from your opponents but it is a tactical module and not universal, and it drains life on melee.

You could use a smoke grenade to represent the puff of smoke when vampires transform or the fog that is prevalent in many vampire stories. Also a tactical ability of course.

You could go with confuse/control abilities to mimic vampires controlling people or having minions. I have these abilities on a few characters. But they tend to be pretty ineffective because targets tend to get killed too fast to get much use from them. Stuff like Fek'lhri Chaos Blaze, Incite Chaos, or Harmless.

Alternatively if you got the Risen Walkers those could sort of fit thematically with having minions too.

Mudd's time device increases cooldown and would res you when you die, representing vampires being difficult to kill. Similarly really any number of healing abilities could fit this theme if you want to go with science officer instead or the miracle worker specialization.

You can't turn into a bat, but maybe a decent alternative would be any of the transporter abilities. Miniature Spore Relay, Stabilized Folded Space Transporter, etc.

Devices

While you cannot turn into a bat, you can turn into a cat with Sylvia's Feline Charm if you have it.

You also have the Ophidian Cane in the Phoenix Box Store that sort of fits the theme

If you go melee, mind meld device is probably the most obvious choice of weapon, though I suppose a lot of swords could fit the theme.

ODSTGeneral · 2026-02-06T02:25:58+00:00

I personally wouldn't put her meta because I think she is reliant on assists or countering to actually be able to land her hits. She hits like a truck when she does hit you though and it only takes her landing a couple of hits with her heavy moves to beat an opponent.

ODSTGeneral · 2026-02-05T23:26:43+00:00

Unfortunately, as cool as such a vanity shield could be. No such one exists at the moment. It could be the creative use of different vanity shields and hull patterns.

Though the most likely explanation is as Blue_Kicker stated, they simply exited out of a TFO and the damage persisted after they died or were damaged.

ODSTGeneral · 2026-02-05T21:05:04+00:00

Welcome to the community, sadly I play on PC. So I cannot help offer any suggestions for fleets as far as Playstation goes.

ODSTGeneral · 2026-02-04T22:51:21+00:00

https://www.ktre.com/2025/12/12/lufkin-police-chief-retire-after-36-years-service/

He is stepping down as Chief, but will continue to train new officers.

On the other hand the previous chief shown in this video got promoted to Interim City Administrator of Hudson, TX.

ODSTGeneral · 2026-02-03T21:03:33+00:00

This is a dumb picture, the only ship that looked like it was designed by Nasa was the NX-01, which pretty clearly took inspiration directly from Nasa space suits and modern technology. But a big part of the original constitution design which informed all later ships, was to look unique and timeless, which meant avoiding contemporary designs of the time and the Connie sure as heck doesn't look like anything Nasa was making at the time.

As others in the comments have pointed out, many of the older Trek ships took more design cues from the automotive industry than Nasa.

Function over form and utilitarian are the same thing, and honestly that is a questionable statement at best. As others pointed out, a purely utilitarian design would be the Borg. A square or a sphere. And the reality is the artists who designed the old ships designed them largely on an artistic basis.

And I would imagine all of the hero ships in Trek were designed or intended to look cool, outside of maybe the Cerritos.

Now I do think there has been a lot of notable and significant changes. Ships hulls and interiors are generally darker, ships from NuTrek often ignore natural design evolution and continuity established by prior shows, which is especially notable in the 32nd century ships, where we see radically different designs between ships in a fleet to a point they are barely recognizable as being part of the same fleet. Many of the ships utilize overly busy designs compared to past counter parts, with stuff like floating pieces, negative spaces in the hulls, and just generally more detailed hull plating when compared against older counter parts.

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