STO FAQ

>What's STO?
Star Trek Online, an MMO developed by Cryptic of Champions Online and Neverwinter infamy.

>What's the gameplay like?
A mix of 3rd person space combat taking place outside your bridge along with some 3rd person ground combat.

>How's this fit in to the Trek universe?
It's a non-canon Star Trek game taking place in 2410, decades after TNG/VOY/DS9. War has erupted between the Federation and Klingons again, the Romulans are rebuilding after the destruction of Romulus, and every other race of enemies are butting in, from the Borg to Laser Dinosaurs to Iconian hotties.

>Is it Free2Play?
Yes.

>Is it Pay2Win?
Pay2Convenience. Dilithium can be farmed in game to exchange for Zen, the paid currency used to buy items in the C-store. In this way everything except veteran rewards can be earned through your actions ingame. Just expect those items to be a long grind if you go the F2P route. All content is free and the free ships you get are good enough to decent at all the PVE content. The grind (or pay) is only mandatory if you want to PvP or have your favorite canonical ship to fly around in at the endgame.

>What are lockboxes and Lobi?
Lockboxes are gambling items that reward random selections from a pool of items. Item selection is dependent on the type of lockbox, and always contains one or more ships, including a ship that is usually really cool or OP. Lockboxes can also contain unique weapons, kit modules, gear and traits.

Lobi is a special currency only available by opening lockboxes. Lobi can be used in a special store to buy exclusive ships, gear, weapons, and costumes. 4-20 lobi are in each lockbox, but getting enough lobi to buy a ship may cost tens or even hundreds of dollars.

Once acquired, lobi and lockbox ships and gear are bound to the character that unlocked them. They cannot be transferred to other characters on the same account, or sold once claimed or equipped. If not equipped or claimed, any items or ships from the lockbox or lobi stores can be sold on the auction house/exchange for EC, the basic currency. Buying lockbox/lobi gear is the most economic way to acquire them.

Premium ships are account unlocks, and can be claimed by any appropriately leveled alt.

>What's a Fleet Ship?
Fleet ships are top-tier ships with the highest stats save some lockbox/lobi/premium. Some fleet ships include access to a special skin and color scheme.

They require access to fleet starbases to buy, and need combinations of Fleet Credits, Fleet Ship Modules (bought on the C-store or exchange), Dilithium, and Provisions, which are generated by completing fleet projects. There are Fleet versions of some premium ships. Owning a premium version of a fleet ship reduces the amount of Fleet ship Modules needed (from $25 equivalent to $5), and gives access to the gimmicks skins, and special gear usually included with the premium versions.

>What's Fleet Gear?
The best gear in the game, stat-wise (though some reputation items are arguably as good or better). Like ships, requires access to fleet holdings, fleet credits, provisions, and sometimes dilithium. Ground and space gear and weapons are available.

>How do I get Fleet shit?
Join a fleet with an appropriate shipyard or shop tier, donate to fleet projects to generate fleet credits and provisions, and hope for easy access to their stores. Otherwise, join the NoP Public Service chat channel and ask for access to Spire, Starbase or Mine. You'll still have to have fleet credits and provisions. Note that you CANNOT buy fleet SHIPS by the latter method, unless they let you temporarily join the fleet. Certain C-store ships and almost lockbox and lobi ships are as good as Fleet Ships.

>What is a doff and what's the point of it?
Doffs are Duty Officers and part of the Duty Officer system. They represent your minor crew members. You can acquire them through missions, item packs. Send doffs on timer-based "Assignments" and claim rewards when they're done. Higher-quality doffs have a better chance of success and critical success. Certain doff missions award more doffs.

Doffs can be "equipped" to your active roster (up to 5 for ground, 5 for space by default). Equipped doffs provide certain bonuses when used in conjunction with certain powers. For example, a Fabrication Officer doff has a chance to spawn extra turrets when you use the Fabricate turret power, or an Energy Weapon Officer has a chance to speed up the cooldown of energy weapon powers. Some doffs are required to use certain builds, mainly the Aux2Batt build (requires 3 Technician doffs or Rare or better quality and the use of Auxiliary to Batteries power).

>What is the Best Ship Class?
Ship performance depends on your build and equipment. That said, the current content's emphasis on high damage generation favors escorts and cruisers (that use certain builds). Most science ships have too few weapons and tactical power slots to generate very high DPS numbers, and most NPCs are immune to their single-target debuffs. Science ships are generally more viable in PVP, though if you like them don't let that deficiency stop you from using them.

>I'm X Career, that means I have to fly X Ship Class, right?
Wrong. Any career can fly any ship class, and in fact some career mix-and-matches are better suited than others, such as Tacticals in Cruisers, or Engineers and Sciences in Escorts.

>What side should I choose as a Romulan?
Either side is fine. Your choice will affect your access to your allies' starting areas, your fleet choice, your Tier 4 ship selection (though you're best in a Warbird under any circumstance), and an exclusive outfit. Just remember that Klingons are relatively neglected when it comes to new developments and fixes.

>How do I be a Cardassian/Xindi/Hirogen?
Create a new "Alien" character and choose certain face and head options. "Scaled Spoon" for Cardassians. Rumor suggests Cards will eventually become a distinct race or faction, but no scheduled plans at present.