I'm going to play devil's advocate a bit here. *ducks*
Week 3 into Delta Rising and I've hit 54, and will probably stay there indefinitely for the sole reason that I'm bored and frustrated.
I came into it with great excitement. More Story! New mechanics! New content! But, my enthusiasm has waned. I am sad and concerned.
To be fair, STO operates on a Free-to-play model with limited development resources, but still it is widely considered that the game is tremendously imbalanced. I've paid a lot of money to support the game. Many of us have. And here we are again with another bug-laden release and obsolete equipment that we paid real money for. OK, yes..gear becomes obsolete with a new major release to an MMO..but the cost to upgrade all this sh* is crazy, imho.
I was excited (and patient) getting over the first two leveling "humps" by repeating content to get to the next mission. But to get anywhere, it's a tough and tedious grind, and one that I've all but lost patience for. I try repeatedly to immerse myself in the story with those long patrol missions, but the dialogue and decision-making trees bear no consequence to the player, and the rewards are dismal.
Legacy of Romulus surpasses this "expansion" in quality and its era had infused a lot of great changes to the game. I don't know what happened this time around...but i can't help but notice that D/R seems to leave the players (especially those with numerous alts) with costs that are way too high, rewards that are way too low, and content that is far too non-existent.
I stay because of Stonewall and the friendships I've forged here, and the love for Star Trek that we all share and immerse ourselves in. But as for STO as a game, and while i do agree that the franchise is better with than without it, my concerns for the future of the game are higher than they've ever been.
But despite all I jump on the bitchwagon about, I'll remain hopeful under the circumstances. PWE has some tough choices ahead in the long run if they want to keep a satisfied majority.
My 2 EC's.
