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	<title>West Karana &#187; MMOs</title>
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	<link>http://westkarana.com</link>
	<description>A blog about EverQuest, EverQuest II and MMORPGs in general</description>
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		<title>STO: STF Walkthrough &#8212; Khitomer Accord (Space)</title>
		<link>http://westkarana.com/index.php/2012/02/09/sto-stf-walkthrough-khitomer-accord-space/</link>
		<comments>http://westkarana.com/index.php/2012/02/09/sto-stf-walkthrough-khitomer-accord-space/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 10 Feb 2012 03:31:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Tipa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[MMOs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Star Trek Online]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://westkarana.com/?p=10076</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It was pointed out to me at some length in an elite STF tonight &#8212; Infected &#8212; that while these STF walkthroughs are fine for the normal mode task forces, elite task forces take slightly different strategies. Those strategies would work in normal mode, too, but nobody bothers with them. In normal mode STFs, these [...]
Related posts:<ol>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2012/01/23/sto-special-task-force-walkthrough-infected-space/' rel='bookmark' title='STO Special Task Force walkthrough: Infected (Space)'>STO Special Task Force walkthrough: Infected (Space)</a> <small>Infected (Space) is very simple. There&#8217;s only one thing you...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2012/01/20/sto-special-task-force-walkthrough-the-cure-space/' rel='bookmark' title='STO Special Task Force walkthrough: The Cure (Space)'>STO Special Task Force walkthrough: The Cure (Space)</a> <small>Before Star Trek Online implemented the PvE queuer, getting into...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2010/12/04/gimme-some-space-star-trek-online-pirate-galaxy-space-paranoids/' rel='bookmark' title='Gimme Some Space: Star Trek Online, Pirate Galaxy, Space Paranoids'>Gimme Some Space: Star Trek Online, Pirate Galaxy, Space Paranoids</a> <small>Klingon meets Breen. Breen goes boom. Star Trek Online&#8217;s launch...</small></li>
</ol>

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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="attachment_10077" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 490px"><a href="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/GameClient-2012-01-23-21-21-10-15.jpg"><img src="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/GameClient-2012-01-23-21-21-10-15-480x384.jpg" alt="" title="Khitomer Accord (Space)" width="480" height="384" class="size-medium wp-image-10077" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Khitomer Accord (Space)</p></div>
<p>It was pointed out to me at some length in an elite STF tonight &#8212; Infected &#8212; that while these STF walkthroughs are fine for the normal mode task forces, elite task forces take slightly different strategies. Those strategies would work in normal mode, too, but nobody bothers with them. In normal mode STFs, these walkthroughs work fine.</p>
<p>Khitomer Accord is the most complicated of the space task forces. The Borg are attempting to go back in time via the time portal and arrange the past and present more to their liking. Probes are going to warp in on the two gateways and head (slowly) to the time portal. If ten get through, the mission fails. If even ONE gets through, the optional objective fails. Every one of the gateways, generators and transformers must be destroyed within 15 minutes, or the optional is failed.</p>
<p>Once all those are destroyed, an assimilated Reman Scimitar &#8212; Donatra&#8217;s Scimitar &#8212; warps in. Once her ship is destroyed, the mission is won. The optional rewards and the mission rewards spawn above the time portal.</p>
<p>Let&#8217;s take this step by step.</p>
<div id="attachment_10078" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 490px"><a href="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/khitomer.png"><img src="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/khitomer-480x313.png" alt="" title="Playbook for Khitomer Accord (Space)" width="480" height="313" class="size-medium wp-image-10078" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Playbook for Khitomer Accord (Space)</p></div>
<p>There&#8217;s a tactical cube guarding the time portal at the start of the mission. Destroy that.</p>
<p>ONE SHIP needs to head over to the complex on the right. This is usually a tactical ship. This ship will destroy every probe and sphere that warps into that gateway. Those ships will head slowly toward the time portal once spawned. It is IMPORTANT that NO PROBE gets through. They don&#8217;t have much health, they die fast. Spheres will spawn occasionally as guards; they must be destroyed as well, but probes always die first.</p>
<p>Some groups leave a ship in front of the time portal to take care of probes from both sides, but in my opinion, this lets probes get too close to the portal.</p>
<p>When the lone right side guard isn&#8217;t killing stuff, it should be taking out the nanite generators around the transformers. It&#8217;s important to always be shooting something in this STF (in all of them, actually).</p>
<p>Everyone else goes to the left side. Another tactical ship could be dedicated to taking down the probes, but it&#8217;s no hardship for the team working on the generators and gateways to just take them out as they spawn. As long as someone does it.</p>
<p>The left and right complexes are copies of the complex from Infected, and die the same way. Kill the generators around one side, then the transformer, go to the other side and take down the matching generators and transformer, then the gateway.</p>
<p>Once the left gateway is killed, the RIGHT gateway will spawn a patrol of four probes and two spheres. Everyone should be headed there at full impulse to deal with the spawn, then take out the right complex as was done with the left. Spheres will continue to warp in to defend the complexes; it&#8217;s important to keep those in check, but it&#8217;s also important to get the gateways down before the optional timer expires.</p>
<p>Once everything is dead, Donatra&#8217;s ship warps in near zone in. She does considerable damage and also occasionally spawns tractor probes to keep you in place. Every so often she will cloak and move away. When she decloaks, she will charge up her thalaron weapon and fire it, doing massive damage to everything in a cone in front of her. There will be lines showing her firing arc; move out of it if you&#8217;re in it. Use evasive maneuvers if you need to. Best strategy is to keep generally behind the Scimitar as it is very weak from behind.</p>
<p>Once she&#8217;s dead (and there&#8217;s no timer at this point, take as long as you need), fly up above the time portal and grab your reward.</p>
<p>If you&#8217;re new to Khitomer Accord, just stay with the main group and you&#8217;ll do fine &#8212; if you see some probes and you&#8217;re in a position to shoot them, shoot them. If spheres are dogging you, pull them back to the group and get everyone shooting it. Don&#8217;t be flying 20km out trying to solo it; the STF needs your weapons on the mission objectives.</p>
<p>Khitomer Accord (Space) is actually easier than Infected (Space). Being responsible for the right side while the rest of the group is doing the left side is a real lift. But if someone flies up and tries to help, let them &#8212; head back to the main group.</p>
<p>Related posts:<ol>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2012/01/23/sto-special-task-force-walkthrough-infected-space/' rel='bookmark' title='STO Special Task Force walkthrough: Infected (Space)'>STO Special Task Force walkthrough: Infected (Space)</a> <small>Infected (Space) is very simple. There&#8217;s only one thing you...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2012/01/20/sto-special-task-force-walkthrough-the-cure-space/' rel='bookmark' title='STO Special Task Force walkthrough: The Cure (Space)'>STO Special Task Force walkthrough: The Cure (Space)</a> <small>Before Star Trek Online implemented the PvE queuer, getting into...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2010/12/04/gimme-some-space-star-trek-online-pirate-galaxy-space-paranoids/' rel='bookmark' title='Gimme Some Space: Star Trek Online, Pirate Galaxy, Space Paranoids'>Gimme Some Space: Star Trek Online, Pirate Galaxy, Space Paranoids</a> <small>Klingon meets Breen. Breen goes boom. Star Trek Online&#8217;s launch...</small></li>
</ol></p>
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		<slash:comments>5</slash:comments>
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		<title>STO: Red Gift Box, v2. Now with more cash needed!</title>
		<link>http://westkarana.com/index.php/2012/02/09/sto-red-gift-box-v2-now-with-more-cash-needed/</link>
		<comments>http://westkarana.com/index.php/2012/02/09/sto-red-gift-box-v2-now-with-more-cash-needed/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:49:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Tipa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[MMOs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Star Trek Online]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://westkarana.com/?p=10072</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[At the winter holiday event. Cryptic dangled a Jem&#8217;Hadar starship in front of the players. &#8220;Run the race in Q&#8217;s Winter Wonderland,&#8221; went the line, &#8220;and you will win a gift box that could contain this highly desirable ship!&#8221; The chance of that race dropping one of the red gift boxes was less than 1%. [...]
Related posts:<ol>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2009/04/30/3402/' rel='bookmark' title='Wizard 101 Gift Cards at 7/11'>Wizard 101 Gift Cards at 7/11</a> <small>Tonight, our friend Nameless, the Nameless Builder Turtle, will be...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2009/07/15/wizard-101-gift-cards-galore/' rel='bookmark' title='Wizard 101 gift cards galore!'>Wizard 101 gift cards galore!</a> <small>I think this might be old news, but here it...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2010/12/24/wizard101-the-last-gift-of-the-giving-tree/' rel='bookmark' title='Wizard101: The last gift of the Giving Tree'>Wizard101: The last gift of the Giving Tree</a> <small>I&#8217;d hoped that the Giving Tree would give, as its...</small></li>
</ol>

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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="attachment_10073" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 485px"><a href="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/lockbox_blog_020712.jpg"><img src="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/lockbox_blog_020712.jpg" alt="" title="It&#039;ll cost you to open this box." width="475" height="267" class="size-full wp-image-10073" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">It&#039;ll cost you to open this box.</p></div>
<p>At the winter holiday event. Cryptic dangled a Jem&#8217;Hadar starship in front of the players. &#8220;Run the race in Q&#8217;s Winter Wonderland,&#8221; went the line, &#8220;and you will win a gift box that could contain this highly desirable ship!&#8221; The chance of that race dropping one of the red gift boxes was less than 1%. The chance that the red gift box, once obtained, would have a ship inside was far less than 1%. You could _buy_ gift boxes for $1 each. On the forums, people reported spending between $50 and $200 for red gift boxes until they obtained one of those ships.</p>
<p>Most ended up with stacks and stacks of useless items, and no ship. I was one of those; I only spent about $30 on red gift boxes. That was my wake-up call. All that money for nothing. Never again.</p>
<p>At least there was a really, really small possibility of obtaining the ship for free.</p>
<p>Along with the new feature episode this weekend comes the <a href="http://www.startrekonline.com/node/2864">Cardassian Lock Box</a>. This will drop as loot in the game. The lock box can contain:</p>
<ul>
<li>A box with a Cardassian Galor class cruiser starship.</li>
<li>A box with a powerful cross-faction starship console.</li>
<li>A box with a Crossfire Tribble.</li>
<li>A Duty Officer Pack just like the ones sold in the C-Store.</li>
<li>A Large Commendation Boost</li>
<li>A smaller Commendation Boost</li>
<li>A Skill Point Boost</li>
<li>A box with a shuttle pet.</li>
<li>A box with a Dilithium Horta companion pet</li>
<li>A box with a Sehlat Cub companion pet</li>
<li>A box that when opened unlocks the Deep Space Nine Federation Costume Pack for the account.</li>
<li>A Shield Pack box. This box contains a random blue or purple quality shield for a starship or personal shield for ground use.</li>
<li>A box with a stack of Gamma Quadrant commodity items for use in Duty Officer missions.</li>
<li>A box with a stack of double bonus consumables</li>
</ul>
<p>More detail on these options <a href="http://www.startrekonline.com/node/2864">at this link</a>, but it boils down to boxes containing the ship, and boxes not containing the ship. You can certainly expect you will open boxes not containing the ship hundreds of times before opening a box that contains the ship, the Cardassian Galor-class cruiser.</p>
<p>The boxes drop for free. But opening them costs cash &#8212; 100 CP per master key. That&#8217;s a bit over a dollar per try. How much is this ship worth? A week&#8217;s wages for something that is pretty comparable to the Excelsior-class ship already in the C Store.</p>
<div id="attachment_10074" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 485px"><a href="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/galor_blog_020812.jpg"><img src="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/galor_blog_020812.jpg" alt="" title="The Cardassian Galor-class cruiser" width="475" height="267" class="size-full wp-image-10074" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">The Cardassian Galor-class cruiser</p></div>
<p>it&#8217;s not a bad ship, the Galor (<a href="http://startrekonline.com/node/2866">full details here</a>). It&#8217;s appropriate to put it in the cash shop, the game having gone free to play, after all. What I object to is the lotto aspect of it. If you think the average player will spend $100 (random number pulled from the air, likely on the low side) on this ship, put it in the cash shop, charge $100 for it, and everyone who wants one can send the benjamins your way.</p>
<p>Trying to _trick_ players out of their money, though &#8212; that&#8217;s low. Yes, it&#8217;s done in lots of other F2P games, and it&#8217;s low for them as well.</p>
<p>The forums are, predictably, on red alert. <a href="http://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?t=252981">61 pages of stunned and angry players</a> as of this writing, many still reeling from the Red Gift Box scandal and wondering how Cryptic could pull the same stunt twice in a row. They&#8217;re hoping to trap the new F2P users, say the conspiracy theorists.</p>
<p>Longasc of the German fleet Rhodanjugend (not the real fleet name) plans to sell the boxes on the exchange to people with too much money, and perhaps earn enough to BUY the ship outright from those who choose to sell them after they finally win them. Sounds like a plan to me.</p>
<p>Related posts:<ol>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2009/04/30/3402/' rel='bookmark' title='Wizard 101 Gift Cards at 7/11'>Wizard 101 Gift Cards at 7/11</a> <small>Tonight, our friend Nameless, the Nameless Builder Turtle, will be...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2009/07/15/wizard-101-gift-cards-galore/' rel='bookmark' title='Wizard 101 gift cards galore!'>Wizard 101 gift cards galore!</a> <small>I think this might be old news, but here it...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2010/12/24/wizard101-the-last-gift-of-the-giving-tree/' rel='bookmark' title='Wizard101: The last gift of the Giving Tree'>Wizard101: The last gift of the Giving Tree</a> <small>I&#8217;d hoped that the Giving Tree would give, as its...</small></li>
</ol></p>
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		<slash:comments>7</slash:comments>
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		<title>Star Trek Online: The 2800 Return this weekend</title>
		<link>http://westkarana.com/index.php/2012/02/06/star-trek-online-the-2800-return-this-weekend/</link>
		<comments>http://westkarana.com/index.php/2012/02/06/star-trek-online-the-2800-return-this-weekend/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 07 Feb 2012 03:08:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Tipa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[MMOs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Star Trek Online]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[feature episode]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[federation news service]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fns]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Who are &#8220;the 2800&#8243;? They are the 2,800 ships in the Dominion fleet that was swallowed up in the wormhole by the Prophets during a crucial point in the Dominion War. Their elimination gave starbase Deep Space 9 time to complete mining the mouth of the wormhole to the Gamma Quadrant, and was the turning [...]
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<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2010/02/24/star-trek-online-what-would-you-say-to-cryptic/' rel='bookmark' title='Star Trek Online: What would you say to Cryptic?'>Star Trek Online: What would you say to Cryptic?</a> <small>This morning I, and likely every other Star Trek Online...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2010/01/11/star-trek-online-character-and-ship-creation/' rel='bookmark' title='Star Trek Online: Character and Ship Creation'>Star Trek Online: Character and Ship Creation</a> <small>Every article about Star Trek Online is going to discuss...</small></li>
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><center><iframe width="480" height="244" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/B5znfFotn0A" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center></p>
<p>Who are &#8220;the 2800&#8243;? They are the 2,800 ships in the Dominion fleet that was swallowed up in the wormhole by the Prophets during a crucial point in the Dominion War. Their elimination gave starbase Deep Space 9 time to complete mining the mouth of the wormhole to the Gamma Quadrant, and was the turning point to a long, protracted war.</p>
<p>Now, they&#8217;ve apparently returned to continue the war.</p>
<p>This weekend, Saturday, February 12th, the Klingon Empire and the Federation will reluctantly join forces once again to battle the foe that nearly destroyed the Federation once before.</p>
<p>The Federation News Service will be there with a full report.</p>
<p>Related posts:<ol>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2010/08/07/star-trek-online-undine-front-the-return-spoilers/' rel='bookmark' title='Star Trek Online, Undine Front: The Return (spoilers)'>Star Trek Online, Undine Front: The Return (spoilers)</a> <small>Yes, desperately catching up on all the posts I should...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2010/02/24/star-trek-online-what-would-you-say-to-cryptic/' rel='bookmark' title='Star Trek Online: What would you say to Cryptic?'>Star Trek Online: What would you say to Cryptic?</a> <small>This morning I, and likely every other Star Trek Online...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2010/01/11/star-trek-online-character-and-ship-creation/' rel='bookmark' title='Star Trek Online: Character and Ship Creation'>Star Trek Online: Character and Ship Creation</a> <small>Every article about Star Trek Online is going to discuss...</small></li>
</ol></p>
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		<slash:comments>6</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>DDO: Doomsphere the Dull</title>
		<link>http://westkarana.com/index.php/2012/01/30/ddo-doomsphere-the-dull/</link>
		<comments>http://westkarana.com/index.php/2012/01/30/ddo-doomsphere-the-dull/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:20:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Tipa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Dungeons & Dragons Online]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MMOs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[team spode]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://westkarana.com/?p=10049</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[After last week&#8217;s mass dragon death in Gianthold Tor, we were back in the Cornfields of Catastrophe Greenhouse of Gore Tidepools of Terror Orchard of the Macabre. These civic leaders really need to work on coming up with better names for their neighborhoods or nobody&#8217;s gonna want to move there. The module failed to impress [...]
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="attachment_10050" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 490px"><a href="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/dndclient-2012-01-29-22-54-24-25.jpg"><img src="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/dndclient-2012-01-29-22-54-24-25-480x319.jpg" alt="" title="Doomsphere v1.0" width="480" height="319" class="size-medium wp-image-10050" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">I have a bad feeling about that floor</p></div>
<p>After last week&#8217;s mass dragon death in Gianthold Tor, we were back in the <del datetime="2012-01-30T12:05:03+00:00">Cornfields of Catastrophe</del> <del datetime="2012-01-30T12:05:03+00:00">Greenhouse of Gore</del> <del datetime="2012-01-30T12:05:03+00:00">Tidepools of Terror</del> Orchard of the Macabre. These civic leaders really need to work on coming up with better names for their neighborhoods or nobody&#8217;s gonna want to move there.</p>
<p>The module failed to impress last time we went and this time was no different. We had our choice of beholders or vampires. Spode really wanted to get his vorpal freak on with vampires because, the problem with beholders is you can&#8217;t really cut off their heads! But after dispatching some nameds in the Orchard, it was at Doomsphere&#8217;s doors we found ourselves.</p>
<p>I think I remember the instance clearly. We go in, kill trash, fall through a floor, split the party to kill two guys at the same time, fall through a floor, find the boss, fall through a floor several times each time fighting a more difficult version of the boss and waves of trash.</p>
<p>The beholder, Doomsphere, eventually started walloping people with anti-magic rays. We wiped three times. Each wipe meant all but one of us had to release, heal, then fight back to the instance. The second time I didn&#8217;t even get a chance to get rezzed before the party wiped again.</p>
<p>No loot to speak of, experience was crappy, no traps, monsters for the entire module are thick with incorporeal spooky types, only got three kills in the entire instance (really??? how is that possible?). I spent most of the night dead. I should have brought a book.</p>
<p>I&#8217;ll be glad when we&#8217;re done with this module. Ruins of Gianthold and Harbinger of Madness were way more fun.</p>
<p>I dinged a rank, I&#8217;m on the last rank before level 16. Ulan dinged sometime during the week, so I&#8217;m the last one&#8230; I should probably buy some hirelings and farm some xp this week.</p>
<p>Related posts:<ol>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2011/08/21/ddo-justifiable-homicide/' rel='bookmark' title='DDO: Justifiable Homicide.'>DDO: Justifiable Homicide.</a> <small>If the Chamber of Raiyun were a module for the...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2011/10/31/ddo-the-girl-who-lived/' rel='bookmark' title='DDO: The girl who lived'>DDO: The girl who lived</a> <small>We don&#8217;t have to play on off days in our...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2012/01/11/ddo-buying-time/' rel='bookmark' title='DDO: Buying Time'>DDO: Buying Time</a> <small>None of Team Spode much liked working so hard on...</small></li>
</ol></p>
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		<title>STO: Picture Day</title>
		<link>http://westkarana.com/index.php/2012/01/28/sto-picture-day/</link>
		<comments>http://westkarana.com/index.php/2012/01/28/sto-picture-day/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 28 Jan 2012 06:06:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Tipa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[MMOs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Star Trek Online]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://westkarana.com/?p=10044</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I noticed today I&#8217;d gotten my monthly allotment of C Store points in Star Trek Online (I get some each month for being a subscriber). There wasn&#8217;t anything I particularly wanted to _buy_&#8230; I have all the ships I need. Maybe some of the uniform options. There are _lots_. Most of the time, you&#8217;re the [...]
Related posts:<ol>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2010/07/28/star-trek-online-season-two-goes-live/' rel='bookmark' title='Star Trek Online: Season Two goes live'>Star Trek Online: Season Two goes live</a> <small>Want to see what a Rear Admiral, Upper Half looks...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2010/03/16/star-trek-online-congratulations-admiral/' rel='bookmark' title='Star Trek Online: Congratulations, Admiral!'>Star Trek Online: Congratulations, Admiral!</a> <small>I had a different picture prepared for this post, but...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2010/04/23/star-trek-online-reporting-from-the-cardassian-front/' rel='bookmark' title='Star Trek Online: Reporting from the Cardassian Front'>Star Trek Online: Reporting from the Cardassian Front</a> <small>The Federation News Service (our fleet/guild in Star Trek Online)...</small></li>
</ol>

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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="attachment_10046" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 490px"><a href="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/tpral.jpg"><img src="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/tpral-480x207.jpg" alt="" title="Admiral T&#039;pral&#039;s crew" width="480" height="207" class="size-medium wp-image-10046" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Admiral T&#039;pral&#039;s crew</p></div>
<p>I noticed today I&#8217;d gotten my monthly allotment of C Store points in Star Trek Online (I get some each month for being a subscriber). There wasn&#8217;t anything I particularly wanted to _buy_&#8230; I have all the ships I need. Maybe some of the uniform options.</p>
<p>There are _lots_. Most of the time, you&#8217;re the only one who sees your bridge officers. How they&#8217;re dressed has no effect on the game. But it&#8217;s _fun_. I broke down and bought the Bajoran militia uniforms that Odo and Major Kira wore on Star Trek: Deep Space 9.</p>
<p>Then I decided I really needed a changeling on my crew. I brought my Romulan bridge officer kicking and screaming to the tailor, lightened his skin, shaved off a lot of sharp edges, partially melted him, and I had me my changeling.</p>
<p>All the males on my crew got Odo&#8217;s uniform. All the females got Kira&#8217;s, but in Starfleet section colors. You can see all my bridge officers above. Not all of them are thrilled with their new look. I guess they liked the regulation thigh-high boots of the old uniform.</p>
<div id="attachment_10045" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 490px"><a href="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/flyby.jpg"><img src="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/flyby-480x382.jpg" alt="" title="T&#039;pral&#039;s Fleet" width="480" height="382" class="size-medium wp-image-10045" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">T&#039;pral&#039;s Fleet</p></div>
<p>Not much of an admiral without a fleet; after collecting all the bridge crew together, I thought I should do the same for her ships. My science admiral has an entirely different fleet, and my Klingon yet another. This is T&#8217;pral&#8217;s. Mostly escorts. I scaled them to the relative sizes of the ships according to the Memory Alpha wiki. The Akira came out larger than I expected.</p>
<p>So; pictures.</p>
<p>Related posts:<ol>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2010/07/28/star-trek-online-season-two-goes-live/' rel='bookmark' title='Star Trek Online: Season Two goes live'>Star Trek Online: Season Two goes live</a> <small>Want to see what a Rear Admiral, Upper Half looks...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2010/03/16/star-trek-online-congratulations-admiral/' rel='bookmark' title='Star Trek Online: Congratulations, Admiral!'>Star Trek Online: Congratulations, Admiral!</a> <small>I had a different picture prepared for this post, but...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2010/04/23/star-trek-online-reporting-from-the-cardassian-front/' rel='bookmark' title='Star Trek Online: Reporting from the Cardassian Front'>Star Trek Online: Reporting from the Cardassian Front</a> <small>The Federation News Service (our fleet/guild in Star Trek Online)...</small></li>
</ol></p>
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		<title>STO: Growing from ensign to admiral</title>
		<link>http://westkarana.com/index.php/2012/01/24/sto-growing-from-ensign-to-admiral/</link>
		<comments>http://westkarana.com/index.php/2012/01/24/sto-growing-from-ensign-to-admiral/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 24 Jan 2012 12:50:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Tipa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[MMOs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Star Trek Online]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://westkarana.com/?p=10038</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Most MMOs, if they allow it at all, make changing your avatar&#8217;s appearance a time consuming and possibly expensive task. In Star Trek Online, a trip to in-game tailors on any space station allow you to change everything from your uniform, to your hairstyle, to the smallest detail of your appearance. You can store up [...]
Related posts:<ol>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2010/03/16/star-trek-online-congratulations-admiral/' rel='bookmark' title='Star Trek Online: Congratulations, Admiral!'>Star Trek Online: Congratulations, Admiral!</a> <small>I had a different picture prepared for this post, but...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2010/02/14/star-trek-online-vs-eve-online-part-3/' rel='bookmark' title='Star Trek Online vs EVE Online: Part 3'>Star Trek Online vs EVE Online: Part 3</a> <small>When last we met the crew of the USS Alvarado,...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2009/03/06/whats-to-love-about-cryptics-star-trek-online/' rel='bookmark' title='What&#8217;s to love about Cryptic&#8217;s Star Trek Online?'>What&#8217;s to love about Cryptic&#8217;s Star Trek Online?</a> <small>Ya know, I was going to start this forward looking...</small></li>
</ol>

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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><center><br />
<table>
<tr>
<td>
<a href="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/GameClient-2012-01-24-07-32-07-26.jpg"><img src="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/GameClient-2012-01-24-07-32-07-26.jpg" alt="Ensign T&#039;pral" title="GameClient 2012-01-24 07-32-07-26" width="213" height="320" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10040" /></a></td>
<td>
<a href="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/GameClient-2012-01-24-07-31-42-11.jpg"><img src="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/GameClient-2012-01-24-07-31-42-11.jpg" alt="" title="Vice Admiral T&#039;pral" width="213" height="320" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10039" /></a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p></center></p>
<p>Most MMOs, if they allow it at all, make changing your avatar&#8217;s appearance a time consuming and possibly expensive task. In Star Trek Online, a trip to in-game tailors on any space station allow you to change everything from your uniform, to your hairstyle, to the smallest detail of your appearance. You can store up to five appearances at once which you can swap with a keystroke at will.</p>
<p>No other MMO offers that.</p>
<p>In my Vulcan engineer&#8217;s long career in Starfleet, the years and the burdens of command have taken her from the fresh enthusiasm of a newly minted ensign to the grizzled veteran of years of campaigns against the Breen, the Borg, the Devidians, the Romulans, the Klingons and all the other myriad enemies of the Federation.</p>
<p>Thanks to the tailor system, not only has her appearance changed &#8212; making her more distinguished with age and authority &#8212; but all her previous appearances are saved to my local hard drive. I can load them up at any tailor.</p>
<p>If your characters are more than just manikins on which to drape raid gear with increasingly bizarre shoulderpads, you might like what you can do with them in Star Trek Online.</p>
<p>Bonus feature: You can do the same with every member of your bridge crew and away teams as well. Want to make your crew change from the young crew of the original Star Trek series to the aged geriatric crew of Star Trek V?</p>
<p>That can happen.</p>
<p>(By the way, I designed the uniforms T&#8217;pral is wearing).</p>
<p>Related posts:<ol>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2010/03/16/star-trek-online-congratulations-admiral/' rel='bookmark' title='Star Trek Online: Congratulations, Admiral!'>Star Trek Online: Congratulations, Admiral!</a> <small>I had a different picture prepared for this post, but...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2010/02/14/star-trek-online-vs-eve-online-part-3/' rel='bookmark' title='Star Trek Online vs EVE Online: Part 3'>Star Trek Online vs EVE Online: Part 3</a> <small>When last we met the crew of the USS Alvarado,...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2009/03/06/whats-to-love-about-cryptics-star-trek-online/' rel='bookmark' title='What&#8217;s to love about Cryptic&#8217;s Star Trek Online?'>What&#8217;s to love about Cryptic&#8217;s Star Trek Online?</a> <small>Ya know, I was going to start this forward looking...</small></li>
</ol></p>
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		<title>DDO: Unfinished business in Gianthold Tor</title>
		<link>http://westkarana.com/index.php/2012/01/23/ddo-unfinished-business-in-gianthold-tor/</link>
		<comments>http://westkarana.com/index.php/2012/01/23/ddo-unfinished-business-in-gianthold-tor/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 23 Jan 2012 12:13:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Tipa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Dungeons & Dragons Online]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MMOs]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://westkarana.com/?p=10034</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[None of us was happy about the way we left Gianthold Tor; expert at getting through the dungeon and killing the Gatekeeper, unable to kill the three dragons at the end. We&#8217;d all gained a level since we left the Tor, though, and the Harbingers of Madness gear was a literal game changer for most [...]
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<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2011/08/29/ddo-team-spode-is-mired-in-kobolds/' rel='bookmark' title='DDO: Team Spode is Mired in Kobolds'>DDO: Team Spode is Mired in Kobolds</a> <small>Team Spode isn&#8217;t an adventuring party with a lot of...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2011/04/02/dragon-age-2-money-shot/' rel='bookmark' title='Dragon Age 2: Money shot'>Dragon Age 2: Money shot</a> <small>All I hear is people complaining about Dragon Age 2....</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2011/10/31/ddo-the-girl-who-lived/' rel='bookmark' title='DDO: The girl who lived'>DDO: The girl who lived</a> <small>We don&#8217;t have to play on off days in our...</small></li>
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="attachment_10035" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 490px"><a href="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/dndclient-2012-01-22-23-07-49-00.jpg"><img src="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/dndclient-2012-01-22-23-07-49-00-480x384.jpg" alt="" title="Go ask Alice, when the white dragons fall" width="480" height="384" class="size-medium wp-image-10035" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Go ask Alice, when the white dragons fall</p></div>
<p>None of us was happy about the way we left Gianthold Tor; expert at getting through the dungeon and killing the Gatekeeper, unable to kill the three dragons at the end. We&#8217;d all gained a level since we left the Tor, though, and the Harbingers of Madness gear was a literal game changer for most of us.</p>
<p>The rewards for grinding Gianthold Tor for rare dragon scales are not that great, given the effort involved. I estimate it would take killing a dragon thirty times in order to get enough scales to make a piece of armor. We were never going to spend half a year farming this instance.</p>
<p>But the dragons had to die. Last night we returned to Gianthold Tor and we killed the dragons.</p>
<div id="attachment_10036" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 490px"><a href="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/dndclient-2012-01-22-23-58-29-21.jpg"><img src="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/dndclient-2012-01-22-23-58-29-21-480x384.jpg" alt="" title="The Death of the Black Dragon" width="480" height="384" class="size-medium wp-image-10036" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">The Death of the Black Dragon</p></div>
<p>All the dragons have a giant protector, and both dragon and giant have to die within seconds of each other. For this, we split the group. Spode tanked the dragon, Ulan the giant, and Gleek and I would switch from one to the other to keep their health balanced as we took them down.</p>
<p>We&#8217;d all acquired special cold resist gear when we were here before. We suited up, potioned up and buffed up, went in, and died pretty fast. Came back, changed our positioning a little &#8212; dead dragon. Between the four of us, no dragon scales.</p>
<p>Next up: the blue dragon, whose power was lightning. Since this was said to be the easiest of the three dragons, we&#8217;d tried this one a few times before. The room gradually becomes more electrified as the fight drags on. If you can&#8217;t kill everything in two minutes, the room itself will kill you.</p>
<p>Again, first time failure. Second time we kept the clerics near to the wall, outside the worst of the electricity, and won. One blue dragon scale between the four of us.</p>
<p>Gleek challenged us to kill the black dragon in his room full of acid pools the first time. This trick requires keeping the clerics and everyone else on one of the islands floating in the acid pools. And we did it &#8212; first try. Two black dragon scales among the four of us.</p>
<p>Three dragon scales out of twelve chances = 25% chance at a scale. If I&#8217;d need 20 black dragon scales for some decent light armor, I could expect to kill the dragon 80 times (on normal mode). I&#8217;d get some scales from other people in the group in trade for the ones I wouldn&#8217;t need, of course, but that&#8217;s still going to be a significant number of kills required.</p>
<p>We&#8217;re happy we killed the dragons, but I don&#8217;t think any of us see any reason to go back.</p>
<p>Related posts:<ol>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2011/08/29/ddo-team-spode-is-mired-in-kobolds/' rel='bookmark' title='DDO: Team Spode is Mired in Kobolds'>DDO: Team Spode is Mired in Kobolds</a> <small>Team Spode isn&#8217;t an adventuring party with a lot of...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2011/04/02/dragon-age-2-money-shot/' rel='bookmark' title='Dragon Age 2: Money shot'>Dragon Age 2: Money shot</a> <small>All I hear is people complaining about Dragon Age 2....</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2011/10/31/ddo-the-girl-who-lived/' rel='bookmark' title='DDO: The girl who lived'>DDO: The girl who lived</a> <small>We don&#8217;t have to play on off days in our...</small></li>
</ol></p>
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		<title>STO Special Task Force walkthrough: Infected (Space)</title>
		<link>http://westkarana.com/index.php/2012/01/23/sto-special-task-force-walkthrough-infected-space/</link>
		<comments>http://westkarana.com/index.php/2012/01/23/sto-special-task-force-walkthrough-infected-space/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 23 Jan 2012 05:24:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Tipa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[MMOs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Star Trek Online]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://westkarana.com/?p=10028</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Infected (Space) is very simple. There&#8217;s only one thing you have to do. And that is all focus and kill the nanite spheres and probes when they pop. That&#8217;s all. Infected (Space) is a test of teamwork. If someone goes off on their own, the optional is all but lost. There are two optional objectives. [...]
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<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2012/01/20/sto-special-task-force-walkthrough-the-cure-space/' rel='bookmark' title='STO Special Task Force walkthrough: The Cure (Space)'>STO Special Task Force walkthrough: The Cure (Space)</a> <small>Before Star Trek Online implemented the PvE queuer, getting into...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2012/02/09/sto-stf-walkthrough-khitomer-accord-space/' rel='bookmark' title='STO: STF Walkthrough &#8212; Khitomer Accord (Space)'>STO: STF Walkthrough &#8212; Khitomer Accord (Space)</a> <small>It was pointed out to me at some length in...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2011/02/10/star-trek-online-that-healthy-green-infected-glow/' rel='bookmark' title='Star Trek Online: That Healthy, Green, Infected Glow'>Star Trek Online: That Healthy, Green, Infected Glow</a> <small>I talk a great talk about the importance of grouping...</small></li>
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="attachment_10029" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 490px"><a href="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/GameClient-2012-01-20-20-48-26-73.jpg"><img src="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/GameClient-2012-01-20-20-48-26-73-480x384.jpg" alt="" title="Infected Space (Elite)" width="480" height="384" class="size-medium wp-image-10029" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Infected Space (Elite)</p></div>
<p>Infected (Space) is very simple. There&#8217;s only one thing you have to do. And that is all focus and kill the nanite spheres and probes when they pop. That&#8217;s all. Infected (Space) is a test of teamwork. If someone goes off on their own, the optional is all but lost.</p>
<p>There are two optional objectives. Complete the entire task force in fifteen minutes, and don&#8217;t allow any nanite sphere or nanite probe to heal one of the transformers. If any nanite probe or nanite sphere gets close enough to heal a transformer, the optional is instantly lost.</p>
<p>The strategy is pretty simple. If you see a nanite sphere or nanite probe, kill it. One ship can easily take the probes, but unlike Khitomer Accord, they don&#8217;t come alone. They come mixed with tougher nanite spheres and very tough sphere escorts. Additionally, random spheres come to defend the transformers.</p>
<p>Kill the transformers in order. Trying to kill both at once will launch an unkillable wave of spheres and probes.</p>
<div id="attachment_10030" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 338px"><a href="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/infected.png"><img src="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/infected-328x480.png" alt="" title="Infected playbook" width="328" height="480" class="size-medium wp-image-10030" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Infected playbook</p></div>
<p>There&#8217;s a lot of different strategies to winning Infected, especially the elite version, where the transformer guard spheres are replaced by cubes. I&#8217;m going to write down the way it&#8217;s normally done in normal mode.</p>
<p>You start facing a tactical cube threatening a Federation starbase, Starbase 82. Like all tactical cubes, it has very strong shields, strong hull, strong weapons, and heavy plasma torpedoes that can take down an unprotected ship in one hit. It has two sphere guards which will try to tractor you so the cube can kill you.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s pretty annoying.</p>
<p>Once the cube and the spheres are dead, move to the transformer marked with a (2). It is healed by four generators. Kill the guardian sphere (or cube in elite), the generators and then the transformer.</p>
<p>While this is going on, nanite spheres, nanite probes and regular spheres will arrive through the gateway. Break off and kill them. Seriously. Continuing to damage the transformer may cause another wave of probes and spheres. If any of the nanite spheres or probes heal the transformer, it will instantly lose the optional. Additionally, since they are healing damage to the transformer, it will take longer to finish the mission which means more waves of spheres until you have half a dozen circling around.</p>
<p>So when you see a sphere or probe while you&#8217;re killing a transformer, take a break and help kill them. Position yourself in front of the transformer. Burn it down. When enemies come, swivel 90 degrees, kill them, turn back and continue the assault.</p>
<p>With that down, go to the transformer on the right side (3) and do the same thing.</p>
<div id="attachment_10032" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 490px"><a href="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/GameClient-2012-01-20-19-33-09-97.jpg"><img src="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/GameClient-2012-01-20-19-33-09-97-480x421.jpg" alt="" title="The cube and gateway" width="480" height="421" class="size-medium wp-image-10032" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">The cube and gateway</p></div>
<p>With the transformers down, a tactical cube will arrive to guard the gateway. Both the cube and the gateway must die to get the optional. The cube takes longer to kill and does more damage, so I would kill the cube first, then kill the gateway. Some suggest killing the cube right at the gateway, so that the cube will damage the gateway, but that&#8217;s pretty hard to arrange, and it puts ships in range of the gate&#8217;s guns. Getting on the far side of the cube keeps everyone out of the range of the gate guns.</p>
<p>If everyone works together to kill the adds as they spawn, this special task force comes down to raw damage. Unlike Cure and Khitomer Accord (walkthrough still to come), nobody has to do a special job, Just kill enemies, then kill the gates, repeat until finished.</p>
<p>Related posts:<ol>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2012/01/20/sto-special-task-force-walkthrough-the-cure-space/' rel='bookmark' title='STO Special Task Force walkthrough: The Cure (Space)'>STO Special Task Force walkthrough: The Cure (Space)</a> <small>Before Star Trek Online implemented the PvE queuer, getting into...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2012/02/09/sto-stf-walkthrough-khitomer-accord-space/' rel='bookmark' title='STO: STF Walkthrough &#8212; Khitomer Accord (Space)'>STO: STF Walkthrough &#8212; Khitomer Accord (Space)</a> <small>It was pointed out to me at some length in...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2011/02/10/star-trek-online-that-healthy-green-infected-glow/' rel='bookmark' title='Star Trek Online: That Healthy, Green, Infected Glow'>Star Trek Online: That Healthy, Green, Infected Glow</a> <small>I talk a great talk about the importance of grouping...</small></li>
</ol></p>
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		<title>STO Special Task Force walkthrough: The Cure (Space)</title>
		<link>http://westkarana.com/index.php/2012/01/20/sto-special-task-force-walkthrough-the-cure-space/</link>
		<comments>http://westkarana.com/index.php/2012/01/20/sto-special-task-force-walkthrough-the-cure-space/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 20 Jan 2012 05:51:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Tipa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[MMOs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Star Trek Online]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://westkarana.com/?p=9997</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Before Star Trek Online implemented the PvE queuer, getting into special task forces was a matter of sitting in Gamma Orionis, spamming for groups. And the people wanting to fill groups would have insane pre-qualifications, like specific classes and builds, and they would kick you out if you didn&#8217;t fit their narrow requirements. You also [...]
Related posts:<ol>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2012/01/23/sto-special-task-force-walkthrough-infected-space/' rel='bookmark' title='STO Special Task Force walkthrough: Infected (Space)'>STO Special Task Force walkthrough: Infected (Space)</a> <small>Infected (Space) is very simple. There&#8217;s only one thing you...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2012/02/09/sto-stf-walkthrough-khitomer-accord-space/' rel='bookmark' title='STO: STF Walkthrough &#8212; Khitomer Accord (Space)'>STO: STF Walkthrough &#8212; Khitomer Accord (Space)</a> <small>It was pointed out to me at some length in...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2010/12/04/gimme-some-space-star-trek-online-pirate-galaxy-space-paranoids/' rel='bookmark' title='Gimme Some Space: Star Trek Online, Pirate Galaxy, Space Paranoids'>Gimme Some Space: Star Trek Online, Pirate Galaxy, Space Paranoids</a> <small>Klingon meets Breen. Breen goes boom. Star Trek Online&#8217;s launch...</small></li>
</ol>

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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="attachment_9998" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 490px"><a href="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/GameClient-2012-01-19-19-47-07-93.jpg"><img src="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/GameClient-2012-01-19-19-47-07-93-480x384.jpg" alt="" title="Killing the Cube" width="480" height="384" class="size-medium wp-image-9998" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Killing the Cube</p></div>
<p>Before Star Trek Online implemented the PvE queuer, getting into special task forces was a matter of sitting in Gamma Orionis, spamming for groups. And the people wanting to fill groups would have insane pre-qualifications, like specific classes and builds, and they would kick you out if you didn&#8217;t fit their narrow requirements. You also were obliged to stay for all parts of the special task force, all space parts and all ground parts.</p>
<p>The PvE queue splits the ground missions and space missions apart, gives separate rewards for each, and does all the role balancing automatically. Nobody is going to kick you out of an STF. But they will expect you to know what to do. They themselves might have no idea what to do, but they will expect YOU to.</p>
<p>The secret is: they&#8217;re easy once you know what&#8217;s happening.</p>
<p>The easiest space mission is The Cure. If you can master this one, you pretty much have all the skills to do Infected and Khitomer Accord. </p>
<div id="attachment_10002" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 396px"><a href="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/thecure.png"><img src="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/thecure-386x480.png" alt="" title="Map for &quot;The Cure&quot;" width="386" height="480" class="size-medium wp-image-10002" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Map for &quot;The Cure&quot;</p></div>
<p>In &#8220;The Cure&#8221; space STF, the captain and crew of the IKS Kang were sent to the Vorn system to check up on Borg movements but no word has come from them since. Our job is to head in, save the Kang and destroy the Borg.</p>
<p>The optional objectives (for the normal mode) are to make sure the Kang doesn&#8217;t drop beneath 75% health, and to destroy all the Borg and hail the Kang within 15 minutes.</p>
<p>The Borg are using the Vorn system to assimilate and launch a Borg/Klingon armada. Their first target: the IKS Kang. There are three Borg cubes constructing and launching ships at the Kang. Each cube is being healed by four nanite probes. Each nanite probe is being healed by a matching nanite probe.</p>
<p>One ship needs to take charge of protecting the Kang from ships launched by the cubes marked 2 and 3. Usually a cruiser or science ship is best for this. Many people choose to tank the ships right at the Kang, but this is a mistake. Assimilated ships that are within weapons range of the Kang will fire upon it, so it&#8217;s best if they never get that near. The assimilated Klingon ships move VERY SLOWLY for a reason. Secondly, if the protecting ship gets blown up, it can respawn and full impulse to intercept the ships before they finish making their way to the Kang. If they are already AT the Kang, they can likely do enough damage to ruin the optional before you get back.</p>
<p>If you&#8217;re new to STFs, you&#8217;ll probably want to follow everyone to the cube marked with a 1. That cube will have already launched a couple weak assimilated Birds of Prey. Kill them on the way in. It&#8217;s the responsibility of the kill team to make sure no Borg ships escape to cause more trouble for the protector. </p>
<p>Kill the bottom nanite probes, then the upper nanite probes, then the cube. Head immediately to the Kang, as the other two cubes are launching more powerful Negh&#8217;Var cruisers and the protector ship is going to need help clearing the swarm. Once all the enemies are dead, the strike team moves to the cube marked 2, while the protector moves between cube 3 and the Kang.</p>
<p>After cube 2, the strike team helps clear the newly launched Negh&#8217;Var warships and then kills the third cube, ignoring the weak raptors that are launched. The protector still deals with those. Once the third cube is dead, kill all the remaining Borg ships, fly to the Kang and hail it.</p>
<div id="attachment_10003" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 490px"><a href="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/GameClient-2012-01-19-19-59-08-61.jpg"><img src="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/GameClient-2012-01-19-19-59-08-61-480x320.jpg" alt="" title="The Assimilated Carrier" width="480" height="320" class="size-medium wp-image-10003" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">The Assimilated Carrier</p></div>
<p>Optional objectives should be done at this point if the cube killing went fast enough and the Kang didn&#8217;t take significant damage. It is very hard to get the optional objective if there&#8217;s more than one ship on intercept duty, or that ship can&#8217;t take the damage. If you are a cruiser or science ship captain, it is your responsibility to ensure you have a lot of shield and hull heals because dying is bad. Interceptor ships should also be able to kill the two Borg birds of prey easily (they have almost no hull).</p>
<p>Once the Kang is away, an Assimilated Carrier will warp in. It&#8217;s a tank and spank; burn it down. It launches fighters, drones and BoPs which will die to any cannon scatter or beam fire at will or can just be ignored. Don&#8217;t get distracted by taking down the weak ships, just kill the carrier.</p>
<p>You can pick up your optional and mission rewards where the IKS Kang was parked.</p>
<p>Be sure to roll NEED on any Encrypted Data Chips or Rare Borg Salvage that randomly drop. You need EDCs for ship gear (40 per piece if you go for the Mark XI/Veteran stuff, and you should) and Borg Salvage for requisitions with which you can buy Mark XI weapons which are uniquely powerful against Borg ships. There is a very rare Borg Tech that can drop here, I can&#8217;t remember which one, but it can be turned in and instantly get you a ship bit worth 40 EDCs.</p>
<p>If this is helpful, let me know! If it can be improved, definitely let me know!</p>
<p>Related posts:<ol>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2012/01/23/sto-special-task-force-walkthrough-infected-space/' rel='bookmark' title='STO Special Task Force walkthrough: Infected (Space)'>STO Special Task Force walkthrough: Infected (Space)</a> <small>Infected (Space) is very simple. There&#8217;s only one thing you...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2012/02/09/sto-stf-walkthrough-khitomer-accord-space/' rel='bookmark' title='STO: STF Walkthrough &#8212; Khitomer Accord (Space)'>STO: STF Walkthrough &#8212; Khitomer Accord (Space)</a> <small>It was pointed out to me at some length in...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2010/12/04/gimme-some-space-star-trek-online-pirate-galaxy-space-paranoids/' rel='bookmark' title='Gimme Some Space: Star Trek Online, Pirate Galaxy, Space Paranoids'>Gimme Some Space: Star Trek Online, Pirate Galaxy, Space Paranoids</a> <small>Klingon meets Breen. Breen goes boom. Star Trek Online&#8217;s launch...</small></li>
</ol></p>
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		<title>STO: Meet your Kellerun Infiltrator</title>
		<link>http://westkarana.com/index.php/2012/01/18/sto-meet-your-kellerun-infiltrator/</link>
		<comments>http://westkarana.com/index.php/2012/01/18/sto-meet-your-kellerun-infiltrator/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 19 Jan 2012 04:07:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Tipa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[MMOs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Star Trek Online]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://westkarana.com/?p=9994</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I had a run of luck; I got the rare borg deflector tech drop which went to replace my Mark XI MACO Deflector with an Omega Force Mark XI deflector; winning just five missions got me the rest of the Encrypted Data Chips (EDCs) I needed, 40 total, for the Omega Force Mark XI engines, [...]
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<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2009/03/28/wizard-101-so-malistaire-we-meet-again/' rel='bookmark' title='Wizard 101: So, Malistaire. We meet again.'>Wizard 101: So, Malistaire. We meet again.</a> <small>I don&#8217;t want to talk about Kraysys. But&#8230; five times!...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2008/10/22/eq-seeds-of-destruction-meet-caiffin-the-merc/' rel='bookmark' title='EQ: Seeds of Destruction: Meet Caiffin, the Merc.'>EQ: Seeds of Destruction: Meet Caiffin, the Merc.</a> <small>So this screen shot entirely contains my philosophy of life....</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2009/04/26/eq2-you-never-know-who-youll-meet-in-the-spawn-line/' rel='bookmark' title='EQ2: You never know who you&#8217;ll meet in the Spawn Line'>EQ2: You never know who you&#8217;ll meet in the Spawn Line</a> <small>...</small></li>
</ol>

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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="attachment_9995" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 490px"><a href="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/GameClient-2012-01-18-21-43-49-57.jpg"><img src="http://westkarana.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/GameClient-2012-01-18-21-43-49-57-480x270.jpg" alt="" title="Fully functional" width="480" height="270" class="size-medium wp-image-9995" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Fully functional</p></div>
<p>I had a run of luck; I got the rare borg deflector tech drop which went to replace my Mark XI MACO Deflector with an Omega Force Mark XI deflector; winning just five missions got me the rest of the Encrypted Data Chips (EDCs) I needed, 40 total, for the Omega Force Mark XI engines, and I already had the Omega Force Mark XI shields, so&#8230; full Kellerun Infiltrator set. 2 pieces give a boost to tetryon damage, and 3 pieces gives a power that makes enemies unable to turn for five seconds.</p>
<p>Not INCREDIBLY useful, but there you have it. Only my assimilated Borg console remains of the Borg components of my ship, but mostly the ship is clean once more. All good clean Federation/Klingon tech. I had a bunch of generic Rare Borg Salvage so I replaced all my non-tetryon ship weapons with tetryon ones for more damage.</p>
<p>Thing is now I have to do ground missions to finish my MACO armor set. And then I&#8217;ll be done. Game over. Until the next feature episode. I came back to Star Trek Online and leveled a character from lieutenant to vice admiral, got the best escort I could afford, learned the tricks and what&#8217;s left? Elite missions, I guess, but those take a really long time and I&#8217;ve only ever won once. So most of the time, no reward whatsoever.</p>
<p>Maybe now that Star Trek Online has gone free to play, it&#8217;s time to stop paying.</p>
<p>The problem with pickup groups is nobody wants to step up and lead the group except for the jerks. And THEY&#8217;LL only speak up when you haven&#8217;t done anything according to their secret unspoken plan. One guy made it his mission to rag on me. He apparently, during a Khitomer space, was hoping to kill both the transformers together by getting one to 1%, then the other. I only found out about this when I destroyed the first one.</p>
<p>So anyway, tonight I figured I&#8217;d start off with a quick description of what the optional objectives were (most people never bother to look). And we won that one, optional included. Next time we were coming close to missing a timer and I begged people to ignore the non-vital targets and help me burn the gate, one said, &#8220;we know, child. we have time.&#8221; And they were right, we did and we won the optional again.</p>
<p>Has anyone noticed that the optional rewards have largely started to suck?</p>
<p>I figure it doesn&#8217;t hurt to say something. I just don&#8217;t want to be the kind of person who starts getting angry and yelling and stuff. It&#8217;s supposed to be fun. And it really doesn&#8217;t matter that much to me, but I just think that people sometimes just are too embarrassed to admit they have no idea in hell what they&#8217;re supposed to do, but aren&#8217;t bothered enough by it to actually find out on their own.</p>
<p>Look out for future posts on how to win the STFs&#8230; and adventures in ground missions.</p>
<p>Related posts:<ol>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2009/03/28/wizard-101-so-malistaire-we-meet-again/' rel='bookmark' title='Wizard 101: So, Malistaire. We meet again.'>Wizard 101: So, Malistaire. We meet again.</a> <small>I don&#8217;t want to talk about Kraysys. But&#8230; five times!...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2008/10/22/eq-seeds-of-destruction-meet-caiffin-the-merc/' rel='bookmark' title='EQ: Seeds of Destruction: Meet Caiffin, the Merc.'>EQ: Seeds of Destruction: Meet Caiffin, the Merc.</a> <small>So this screen shot entirely contains my philosophy of life....</small></li>
<li><a href='http://westkarana.com/index.php/2009/04/26/eq2-you-never-know-who-youll-meet-in-the-spawn-line/' rel='bookmark' title='EQ2: You never know who you&#8217;ll meet in the Spawn Line'>EQ2: You never know who you&#8217;ll meet in the Spawn Line</a> <small>...</small></li>
</ol></p>
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