Jupiter Force

Hi all,

I wanted you to hear it first, after this week's episode of STOked, we won't be shoot and releasing any more for the foreseeable future.

I plan to take another look at things, perhaps as the new featured episodes are near release.

Right now, I simply gotta take time to enjoy the game, and nurture my passion for it. Without it, I just don't really have gas in the tank for the show.. And it shows.

Jupiter Force is the biggest highlight of my efforts with this project, I look forward to just getting to play the game, to really just play. Looking forward to spending some of that time with you.

If and when the time is right to bring the show back, you guys will be the first to know... And we'll be putting a call out for help!
-Chris

PS. Really, not enough thanks can be given to everyone who's stepped up after the J-Man left to really keep the show great. Thanks to all of you, lets all go have some fun now!

I've had a few questions raised about this so since my segment to cover this will be at least 2 weeks here's the lowdown on how it works.


What to look for:
Encrypted data chips (EDC)/
Guaranteed 1 on normal, 2 on elite (during STF weekly event this is doubled).
They rarely drop during the mission or as part of the team loot.

Rare Borg Salvage/
Medium rarity. Sometimes 1-2 drop in the personal loot, sometimes in team loot. Asfar as I know these aren't affected by the STF event.

Borg *ITEM* tech/
ITEM = shield, weapon, engine etc.
Don't expect these to be common. I spent 40-50 STFs to get my first tech item yet another got their's first STF.
Tech items drop in specific STFs (see below);

Infected: Space -> Shield-----Ground -> Personal Shield
The Cure: Space -> Engine-----Ground -> Weapon
Khitomer Accord: Space -> Deflector-----Ground -> Armour

Recruit = Mk10
Veteran = Mk11

Borg prototype tech/
Currently unknown but from what little I've complete elite's they aren't guarranteed and should consider them extremely rare.


Stuff you can buy/
5 EDC or 1 rare Borg salvage
1 Borg retrofit item (the old holodeck gear).
Mk10 Standard Borg issue item.

10 EDC or 2 rare borg salvage
Mk11 Standard Borg issue item.
1056 dilithium.

20 EDC
Mk10 Special reserve requisition item (Omega Force and MACO/Klingon Honor Guard).
Rare Borg doff.

40 EDC
Mk11 Special reserve requisition item (Omega Force and MACO/Klingon Honor Guard).
Very rare Borg doff.


README!
DO NOT rush to spend your EDC or rare Borg salvage!!!

Why? Bear with me and I'll explain because this ended up benefiting me.

I farmed 40 EDC but did nothing with them then I finally got a veteran PSG Borg tech item. I then cashed this in for the Klingon Honor Guard PSG.
I then went and bought the KHG weapon with my 40 EDC. The reason being if I'd gone and bought the shield with EDC then got the PSG tech I'd be forced to buy 1 Omega PSG and one KHG PSG.
I can only use 1 at a time and I get no set 2 bonus. Now with my set2 bonus of 2.5% damage and adrenaline hypo to facilitate STF ground STFs.
Why did I choose the gun?
1/ Borg proc means I do better damage.
2/ The weapon tech comes from cure ground and that seems a stick issue with Armek being annoying. This way I can avoid cure ground and do KA more from the armour while farming space for EDC (and tech items) or infected incase I can pick up another PSG tech for Omega Force.


Rare Borg Salvage aren't really anything special either.
Space normal is so easy you really don't need them.
Elite? Well if you look at the maths the MK11 Acc, CrtD, Borg weapons (compared to my MK11 Dmg, CrtD, CrtH weapons);

My weapons do about 5dps more so actually better by a tiny bit.
My weapons crit more often by 2.5%.
My weapons crit 20% more.

As an offeset the Borg weapons are 10% more accurate (I recall accuracy not affecting PvE) and has a 7.5% chance to do 1000 damage to the Borg.

Now yes you could buy ground gear like the weapons for the Borg damage to get through the adaptation a bit better but I really don't see how the Borg weapons will significantly outdamage my current weapons in space and at best this will only be against the Borg). So that leaves rare Borg salvage only being useful for dilithium currently. I would recommend holding off on using the rare Borg salvage because you don't know what will happen. On Tribble, rare Borg salvage used to be used for the special reserve requisition items but it seems that's now gone.


Doffs
You could buy doffs but it's a lot for 1 doff and it will be of limited use for doing more doff assignments. It could help you with future STFs in the form of beamin down another escort but this is reliant on your ability.


My advice:

1. Save up EDC for ground veteran special reverse requisition (to begin with).
2. Look out for the veteran ground tech drops and when you get one look to spend your 40+ EDC on another item of the same set (my example above should be clear enough) so you get the set2 bonus.
3. Focus then on farming another 40 EDC for the 3rd item especially the STF which gives you a chance of getting that tech drop (in my example, KA ground gives the armour).

J-Man breaks the news about joining Cryptic Studios, and why he's stepping down from STOked and future plans for episode 101 and beyond!

My fellow Star Trek fans,
All good things must come to an end. Today I am announcing my departure from Star Trek Online and Cryptic Studios. For three years I have been humbled to work with such a fine crew to ensure that Star Trek Online became a reality. Through many months of hard work and countless good and bad days, we have created a living galaxy where anyone could boldly go. I’m now confident that the future of Star Trek Online is secure with Perfect World. While there is never a perfect time to leave such a good thing, I’ve chosen to move on in my career and pursue new challenges. This was a difficult decision but ultimately one that will start a new chapter for me and my family. My time at Cryptic has been wonderful and I strongly believe in all the employees of this company.
That is why STO will continue on the strong path ahead of it. Stephen D’Angelo, formerly the lead programmer on STO and current CTO of Cryptic, is returning to manage the project and ensure that the free-to-play launch goes off without a hitch. Stephen not only loves Star Trek, but has a strong understanding of how STO works under the hood and has personally been responsible for the majority of our performance improvements over the last several months to prepare for the onslaught of new users. He will be working directly with the very talented leadership team on the project to ensure that all of the features and content I’ve been talking about in the Engineering Reports are delivered with high quality. Stephen will be driving the schedule through F2P launch and the months after to ensure that the switch over goes well and that there is a solid content plan after re-launch.
In the meantime, Cryptic will be considering a permanent Executive Producer to take over the LIVE development team in the months after free-to-play launches. Rest assured that the team responsible for all the great improvements and enhancements to the game is still here. I’ve no doubt that you’ll enjoy the creativity and talent this team has to offer in the months and years ahead.
For the doomsayers, I encourage you to have faith in this team. While I have been honored to sit in the Captain’s chair, it is really the amazing talent of this team and company that have set the course for this game and kept it as strong as it is. There is no one to blame for my departure but me. In my opinion, Perfect World is going to be an amazing partner for Cryptic to work with. Free-to-play is something that I’ve always wanted for this game because I have seen the value and success of that business firsthand by watching Champions. Having Jack and Craig as leaders of Cryptic is also something that has greatly benefited Star Trek Online. They both love and care for this game and are more involved on a day-to-day basis than you may realize. I cannot express enough how thankful I am for the opportunity to have worked here. It is a highlight in my career and something I will miss when I am gone.
Before my departure at the end of the month, I will be fielding interviews, answering questions and working toward ensuring STO free-to-play has an amazing launch later this year.
Thank you for your trust and respect. It has been an honor to serve as your Captain.
Live long and prosper,
Daniel Stahl


Forum Linkage