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Star Trek Online

Season 7 Dev Blog #16

By PWE_BranFlakes | Wed 07 Nov 2012 12:00:34 PM PST

PvE Queue Improvements

Star Trek Online STO MMORPG F2P Sc-Fi MMO game

With the launch of Season 6, players were challenged with a variety of new missions that required large teams to work together to defend fleet starbases, protect distant colonies or escort friendly freighters through a blockade. This type of group gameplay isn't new to Star Trek Online, but it has become an important part of the equation for players desiring to make their mark on the galaxy and earn high-end weapons and equipment.

Season 7 will feature even more of these group missions that require you to work together with other captains against a threat or towards a common objective. Whether it's defending Romulan colonists against Salt Vampires or assaulting the Borg Unimatrix itself, you need to organize if you want to tackle the toughest challenges and reap the biggest rewards that Star Trek Online has to offer.

To that end, you can use a window called the "PvE Queue" to sign up for these collaborative missions. When you "queue" for a mission, you are telling the game that you are looking for other people who also want to play that mission. When the required number of players has queued, they are all notified to launch the mission. Using the PvE Queue is the fastest way to team up with other captains and enjoy STO's group content.

To access the PvE queue, click on the PvE Queue button on the minimap, or the "PvE" button on the Mission Journal Overview page.

Star Trek Online STO MMORPG F2P Sc-Fi MMO game

1. The "PvE" button on the journal Overview page will bring up the PvE Queue window.

Star Trek Online STO MMORPG F2P Sc-Fi MMO game

2. You can also access the PvE Queue from this button on the minimap.

Along with the new group missions featured in Season 7 come new types of rewards. Romulan and Omega Marks are used in the new Captain Reputation system. Other rewards available include high-end gear, Dilithium and Fleet Marks. As the Star Trek Online team took stock of all the new missions and rewards we were adding with Season 7, it was clear that the PvE Queue needed to be redesigned to make it easier for players to understand critical information about each group mission. With the old PvE Queue window, it was very difficult to tell what the rewards of a group mission were, how many players it required to complete, or how challenging it was.

In Season 7, all the critical information about each mission in the PvE Queue is front and center in the mission list. The difficulty of the mission, its required group size, whether it is in space or on the ground and the reward it gives are all listed on the new PvE Queue design.

Star Trek Online STO MMORPG F2P Sc-Fi MMO game

3. The new PvE Queue Window

Additionally, you can sort or filter the missions by any of these categories to find exactly which mission your captain needs to play. And finally, we've removed the separate "Details" window from the old queue and put all the information and a descriptive image into a permanent pane on the right side of the queue. This should make it very easy to browse all the group content in Star Trek Online and find the missions you're most excited to play.

To join the queue for a mission, simply click the "Join" button below the mission's information on the right. You will be added to the queue and when enough players have joined, you will be prompted to begin the mission.

In the new PvE Queue window you can see very clearly which queues you have joined, as any queue you've joined will have a row highlighted in green, like so:

Star Trek Online STO MMORPG F2P Sc-Fi MMO game

If, for some reason, you don't qualify for a mission, the row will be highlighted in red. Rollover the icon in the status column to see which of the mission's requirements you do not meet.

Star Trek Online STO MMORPG F2P Sc-Fi MMO game

If you've queued for a mission that you no longer wish to play, you can click on that missing and then click on the "Leave" button to remove yourself from the queue.

The PvE Queue offers some of the most exciting social gameplay in Star Trek Online, and with the launch of Season 7 is the gateway to some of the best rewards in the game. Many missions offer the reputation marks you need to access high-level Romulan and Task Force Omega gear, as well as the Fleet Marks you need to improve your Fleet's Starbase or Embassy. The updated PvE Queue window makes it easy to find and sort the available missions by a variety of important categories, and the new information pane helps you get a feel for the mission at a glance. Most importantly though, it still only takes a couple clicks to find the mission you want and queue up for it, keeping the process simple and fast.

The release of Season 7 promises the addition of a lot of great content for Star Trek Online, and we're excited to be able to improve the experience of how you find and play that content with the new PvE Queue window.

We’ll see you in-game!

Thomas "TheCrypticCat" Marrone
UI Artist
Star Trek Online

 

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