STO - Impressions @ ZAM

ZAM have added their impressions from the gamescom presentation of Star Trek Online that can be read here.

This brings us to an interesting topic. Players get the majority of their power in combat differently than you might expect. Cryptic wanted to take the idea of Bridge Officers being an important part of a battle from the cinematic experience, and make them an extremely important part of Star Trek Online. "Your Bridge Officers are really MMO pets pushed to the next level. You name them, customize them, level them, choose which skills they have, invest skill point into them and give them the equipment that they have when they beam down to an away mission. So they really help define who you are by which Bridge Officers you have with you" said Zinkevich. He went on to explain how leveling your bridge officers up will continue to enhance gameplay. For this example he used a bridge officer named Sasha Meera who has a photon torpedo salvo skill that increases the number of torpedoes fired as she levels up. Additionally, as she continues to level, she'll gain new skills that you can invest in. Imagine if the MMO that you're playing now had an alternate advancement system for all your individual items; that's essentially what Cryptic has done here.