STO Guest Blog: Fleet System Expansion

“This is Captain Picard of the Enterprise. I'm taking command of the fleet!”

This amazing moment in Trek history, as well as the countless others that preceded it, helped fuel the desire that Star Trek fans have to one day want to be part of a fleet in the Federation. The Star Trek Online development team has always wanted to provide a deep fleet experience for players, and with the release of Season 6: Under Siege, we delivered on that long standing desire. STO’s fleet system has been a huge hit with fleets and players that have joined fleets. The sense of progression, the new rewards, the visual Starbase updates, and the sense of community that building something together creates have all contributed to the success of the system. Well, our goal was never to only have a Starbase available for fleets – we always planned to expand the system with smaller fleet holdings that we refer to as “Outposts.” Our first Outpost is prepped to go live with Season 7, and I’m here to break it down for everyone.

Introducing the Fleet Embassy Outpost.

First things first: the progression of an Embassy is shorter than that of a Starbase. A fleet of players running at maximum efficiency can completely finish their Embassy in less than half the time and cost it takes to complete their Starbase. This design decision gives players smaller, achievable holdings to complete on their continual road of constructing their Starbase. The Embassy holding will work exactly like the Fleet Starbase in that fleets select and run projects in order to unlock tiers in a category which then unlocks tiers in the holding itself – specifics on the fleet system can be found HERE. There will be reward unlocks, environment upgrades, and functionality rewards throughout your fleet’s journey of creating an Embassy on New Romulus. In the Embassy, there are three total tracks, Embassy, Recruitment and Diplomacy, each consisting of three tiers. Embassy progression moves through the two supporting tracks, Diplomacy and Recruitment, and earning progress in both of those will unlock tiers of the Embassy.
                                                                                                                                                   
By increasing tier rank in the Diplomacy track, your fleet is improving its relations with the Romulans that are living on New Romulus. As such, they will be more willing to assist you with blending your technology with theirs, giving players access to more Romulan themed rewards. Unlocking tiers in the Diplomacy track will update the appearance of the Embassy diplomatic area while also providing provisionable rewards such as Romulan themed Operational Assets, Romulan Distress Signals, and some brand new, top of the line science consoles.

As your Recruitment track increases in rank, your fleet will become more appealing to Romulan personnel and may convince some of their population to join your crew and your adventures. Unlocking tiers in the Recruitment track will update the appearance of the Embassy’s Research and Development locations while also providing provisionable rewards such as Romulan Bridge Officers, updated kits, Romulan Duty Officers, and several Duty Officer Assignment slot upgrades.

Unlocking tiers in the Embassy track will update the appearance of the majority of your Embassy, while also providing functionality updates. Embassy transwarps, Starbase to Embassy transportation, Duty Officer Assignment availability in your Embassy, and a variety of discount vendors will all be made available through progress in this track.

The Embassy will provide another avenue of progression for fleets and allow them to feel more involved in the story and construction of New Romulus. The new rewards, new social environment, and new possibilities combine to provide fun, interesting, and most of all, Trek xperience for the fleets in STO.

I look forward to seeing you all online for Season 7, and can’t wait to see the progress your fleets are certain to make on the new Embassy Outpost. We’ll see you in-game!

Steve "SalamiInferno" Ricossa, Jr.
Producer
Star Trek Online