Cryptic Studios has released its latest Q&A on Star Trek Online with a focus on PvP.
The development team took some of the most popular questions from the community on the topic and answered them all, see the full thing below:
Q: shikamaru317 – Do you guys have any current plan for Open PvP, perhaps in the form of Neutral Zones? I know that Jack Emmert made a post on the forums saying he and the CEO wanted to add Open PvP, but that it may take a while.
A: It is something we have been planning. We would like to have open and persistent PvP ground and Space maps – a front line if you will. Currently, our priority is to focus on new instanced games. So at this point, we have no ETA on when you can expect this.
: TheWalkingLost – Will we ever see a Dueling option? Like a 1v1 Challenge first to 3 out of 5 kills or something?
A: Again, our current focus is on things like a better queue and matchmaking experience, along with new, more interesting instanced PvP games. Our priority is making the current PvP experience better before focusing on new features. But 1 vs. 1 challenges or simple dueling is definitely something we do want to offer.
Q: HeathenStorm – Will we see ‘auto grouping’ in PVP matches? Or at the very least will there be individual chat channels for the side you’re on?
A: We have not plans on auto grouping. We do want to provide better tools for grouping. Faction based chat channels is one of the features we want to add.
Q: Schneemann – Any plans to add more variety to spend our PvP rewards for, especially stuff like more weaponvariants (even Phaser are missing a lot of variants like [heavy] dual cannons…)?
A: Yes, this is a high priority feature we are currently working on. All those weapons actually exist, they just only exist for random critter drops. So at this point is just a matter of going through the thousands of weapons, getting the proper pricing on them, and getting them sorted nicely into the PvP, Exploration and STF stores, as well as Memory Alpha.
Q: akumarev – Will there be an option for mixed faction teams I.E. fed / klingon teams together?
A: This is not something we ever considered, though it is an interesting idea.
Q: akumarev – [Will we ever see] PVP batteries similar to the PVP hypos?
A: Yes, you’ll probably see these added. To be honest, the way you get PvP hypos is something we want to improve upon in general.
Q: Trible_Hunter – Will we ever see teams larger then 5?
A: We are looking at offering 10-man teams for some upcoming maps, and perhaps even more. We will definitely look more closely at this when we release open persistent PvP maps.
Q: Trible_Hunter – Why cant I see ALL friendly ships on my mini map during PVP battle. These ships should be sharing some kinda of situational awareness data between each other.
A: This is a feature we want to add. Ideally, you will see a distinction between your teammates and any allies.
Q: Trible_Hunter – Will we see rewards for people that have healing roles. I notice that in the borg PVE people will heal and assist other players. But in the PVP its every man/woman for themself… A reward for these type of toons would foster a better playing experience for all.
A: We currently track hull healing stats in PvP, and we are currently working on including shield healing to that. Buffing will be harder to track. Once we nail this down we can look into rewards for best supporting players.
Q: Jaruslothran – When will cruisers be able to tank more effectively than a science vessel. [It] seems odd that the tank class can’t out tank the support class.
A: Balance is very important for us, and a very high priority. We are currently working on a lot of significant balance changes that should address this and many other issues – for both PvP and PvE.
