Star Trek Online is about to celebrate its 6^th Anniversary! Along with new content and prizes that can be earned during the upcoming festivities, it’s important for players to know that the previous years’ special event currency is being retired.

Before this happens, though, we want to give you the opportunity to trade in any leftover Qmendations for something special. Beginning on January 14^th, 2016 (just after Maintenance completes) we're opening access to the "Anniversary Buyback" store. This special store, accessible from your Event Reputation Store button, will be offering a selection of unique prizes in exchange for your Qmendations.

Here are the items that will be available:

** NOTE: Specialization Point packages may only be purchased by Level 60 characters.

A few prizes require a bit more information, so allow me to expand on those…

SPECIALIZATION / XP PACKAGES

Purchasing any of these items will immediately reward the buyer with either 1 Specialization Point, or an amount of XP equivalent to the fraction (1/2 or 1/10^th), or the amount (265 XP) indicated. These cannot be traded, and only players that are already Level 60 will be eligible to purchase them.

While the lowest denomination package may be purchased in bulk, it’s important to note that larger packages are more cost-efficient.

ELITE QUEUE R&D MATERIALS

These packages are exactly identical to the rewards given upon the completion of an Elite Queue. Players will be able to choose which Material they prefer to receive, by purchasing the corresponding pack:   Craylon Gas, Argonite Gas, Dentarium, Trellium-K, Plekton Particle, or Radiogenic Particle

As with the standard Elite Queue R&D prizes, all of these packages include all of the following:

• 10 Common R&D Materials
• 10 Uncommon, Rare or Very Rare R&D Materials
• 7 Rare or Very Rare R&D Materials
• 3 Very Rare R&D Materials
• Common, Uncommon and Rare Materials are Random, while the Very Rare will always correspond to the Material type purchased.

STARSHIP EMOTE PACKS

Each of these packages unlocks one or two new powers, which can be slotted into your Starship Power Trays. Activating any of these Powers will display a brief holographic symbol above your ship while in System or Sector Space. All share a brief cooldown period, so as to discourage noisy over-use of this new feature.

Our hope is that having a few quick communication options at your fingertips may help even total strangers communicate with one another with ease, while flying among the stars.

While these will remain exclusively available on the Event Buyback Stores for the time being, these Emote Packs will eventually also become available for Gold-Pressed Latinum.

FAQ:

Why are you retiring the Qmendations?

We want to maintain the exclusivity and collectability of the event ships from all of our seasonal Events each year, and in order to do that we will be retiring the existing items. When the 6^th Anniversary Event begins, an entirely new currency will be needed to acquire the event starship. This will be the process going forward – a new item to be collected each year.

Our goal for this change is to ensure that everyone participates on equal footing for the release of each year's new ship.

What if I have a partial Anniversary Reputation project in progress?

Those of you that already have an anniversary ship project in progress from a previous year’s event WILL NOT lose any progress, and can simply finish that project either with your existing Qmendations, or with the new currency when it arrives. 

 Can I slot a new project for previous Anniversary Ships?

No. These ships are being retired.

What about discounts for alts?

Moving forward, all starships earned by completing an Event Project will be unlocked for all characters on your account. Visit the Event Store to claim them on additional characters!

What if I don't finish an Anniversary Reputation project?

All in-progress Anniversary Reputation projects will be removed before the subsequent year arrives.

Why are the Anniversary Buyback prices different from the Summer and Winter Buyback?

Anniversary festivities from previous years rewarded event currency at a different rate than either Summer or Winter. Packages of Qmendations purchased from the Lobi Store also included a different amount of event currency than the Summer or Winter packages. These changes in the supply of this currency necessitated the change in pricing.

More to come!

More information on the 6^th Anniversary Event is right around the corner! The event goes live very soon!