Explain the basics of the game to a new player

[Ziri]

Hey I've got a bit of a situation here as in I'm confused.

I'm a brand new player to this game and MMOs in general. I am overwhelmed by all the places and things to do, but before I jump ahead I want to educate myself on the details of the game. I have a friend who's been tutoring me, but he isn't a super experienced player. I basically need to know everything a beginner should know in order to succeed and advance. It's kind of a frightening world. I'd appreciate anything you can tell me.

Note: I do know a LOT about Star Trek, so no need to explain that bit of it. Just need game related stuff

Thanks!

[Szeron]

Take your time and have fun.

That said, could you be a bit more specific about where and how you want to play the game? Which faction(s) are you playing?

Basically:
You've got three major playstyles with some niche variations:
-Attack Ships- (Escorts, Destroyers*, Raptors, Raiders, etc.)
Usually armed with a lot of foreward weaponry designed to hit big and hit hard above all else. Skill ceiling goes higher the more specialized you get.
-Cruisers- (Cruisers, Battlecruisers, Destroyers*, Carriers*, etc.)
Ships designed to take a beating, give one back, and look out for other players in the process. Takes a bit to learn how to maximize them, but they can be pretty face-rolling once you master them.
-Science Ships- (Science Ships, Carriers*, etc.)
Force Multipliers: the ships: the game: the movie. They require a lot of specialization and investment to get good returns back from, but a single science ship can turn a large bloody free-for-all into a coordinated shooting gallery.

Ground combat analogies:
-Tactical Captain/Bridge Officer-
"Rogues", "Warriors", etc. DPS/Control/(de)buffers. Very limited healing options.
-Engineers-
"Hybrids", "Summoners", etc. The primary shield healers - also get health healing through deployables. Lots of tricks, traps, and versatility. Can take a little while to fully deploy their arsenals and are not very mobile.
-Science-
"Healers", "Wizards", etc. They are the primary health healers and actually make pretty good self-healing tanks because of it. They also get a limited number of very powerful attack 'spells' and control abilities.

General tips:
-Unless you're running a very special ship build, set your weapon power to 100 and leave it there, regardless of ship type.
-Alternating two copies of Tactical Team will generally take care of your shield facings, but don't neglect learning how to do it manually.
-Use either Cannons or Beams, not both - there are some complex and obvious reasons, but in short, mixing weapon types does more harm than good(outside of looking neat).
-Percentage based ship consoles stack at the base values(not cumulative - each one will add the same amount). Feel free to load up with as many disruptor/whatever-damage-type consoles you prefer. (Damage type consoles give more benefit than weapon type consoles.)
-Non-percentage based consoles suffer from diminishing returns. Never use 4 of the same type of armor plating, etc.(ideally never more than 2, but you still get some benefit at 3.)
-The "V" key works on ground and space at pointing you to your nearest objective. If you're lost in the middle of a mission, try using the scanner.
-Have fun! If you're not enjoying yourself, then what's the point?

[Shannon Fartacus]

Better: Try it out! It is free... you can build your own opinion.

[Ziri]

Thanks for the info, it's really helpful.

@shann122. I already have a couple hours in the game, I just wanted some more info on how to play. It's confusing to a new player.

[こんにちは]

Add me on steam if you want Raven i am kind of new also (40 hrs odd) but im confident enough to get around for the most part and im willing to help out where i can dude.

[Shannon Fartacus]

You're right, it's realy massive and tons of infos are to be worked through. didn't know, that you already tested the game... i needed weeks to check up what belongs to who and where to what... it's almost endless!

[allEy Volta]

thank you, i'm new too and this was helpful.

[Thanks]

I would also like to add in the discussion a Youtuber named jtkirk86 who has made a series of "STO tips and tricks" videos.

Learning the mechanics of STO game world could be a little confusing because RPG elements in this MMO is unlike the traditional MMORPG you see now days. His (jtkirk86) videos was very easy to fallow and understand because he had a prepared an organized script on hand, going over bits and pieces of STO world.


I would highly recommend everyone new to STO to watch all his (10+) videos only totaling under 70 mins. It can save you 70+ hours in game just to figuring out half of what's on the videos on your own.

Youtube search: "STO tips and tricks" and visit jtkirk86 channel