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Star Trek Online Beginners Guide - Part One : Career Choice
Part one of our STO beginners guide, starting with career/class choice.
Written by Chris Joyce, 19 January 2010
Star Trek Online (STO) is almost nearing the end of its Open Beta phase, and fast approaching its launch date of 2nd February for the US, and 5th February for Europe.
Star Trek Online Character CreationThere is a lot of interest in the game - not only because it is a new MMO, but also as it is the first MMO to be set in the Star Trek universe; a bold, yet challenging choice for Cryptic and Atari.
Star Trek Online Character CreationWith the games imminent launch, Gamerzines now bring you our beginners guide blog to STO, starting right here with your first task - career choice.
Star Trek Online Character CreationEach player will be the Captain of his, or her, own ship and will be able to choose whether to serve the United Federation of Planets, or the Klingon Empire.
Klingon gameplay is not unlocked until you reach level 6 with the Federation, however the basic career details are pretty much the same, albeit with the obvious cosmetic differences.
Just like Picard, Kirk, Janeway, or any other Starfleet Captain had a background in their own particular field of expertise, so will players of STO and they have a choice of three.
Each of the three careers have their own specialties, but in the early stages of the game they are all fairly similar, and it is only further in that your own individual skills and talents come in to play.
Engineering Officer:
If you were to compare this role to other typical MMOs, it would be compared to that of a 'tank'.
Engineers are responsible for protecting their crew and ship, and ensuring survivability by creating support generators and the deployment of defensive minefields.
Through improving their own personal shields, Engineers are able to withstand the most damage, and can support their away team by becoming the front line of defence in ground combat or improving your ships shields in space.
MMOZine Issue 33
For our latest Star Trek Online coverage, click here to download MMOZine Issue 33 for free.Engineers are also capable of applying modifications to their firearms, or providing support fire from turrets and drones.
Science Officer:
The Science Officer is a very versatile career, with a number of skills available to them.
They have the ability to react quickly to combat situations with holds, or energy fields designed to damage or hinder attacking foes, and heal their away team.
Not only can Science Officers providing healing support, and cause damage in combat, they are also capable of direct enemy holds and debuffs to weaken enemy strength, making them a great crowd control class.
Tactical Officer:
If dealing damage and getting right into the middle of the action is your thing, then the Tactical Officer is the career path for you.
With the ability to deal high combat damage, and provide stealth recon the Tactical Officer can support his away team by drawing off threat or improving combat effectiveness with tactics and squad commands.
In space combat, Tactical Officers are able to apply enhancements to your ships phasers and torpedoes giving you an edge over your opposition.
Although there are only three careers available, the effectiveness and skills are dependant on the players allocation of skill points later in the game; something which we will cover in a further blog piece.
As well as skill point decisions, your career skills are also affected by your choice of race, and character traits.
Part 2 of our beginners guide to STO will be available soon, where we will provide in-depth information on the races available, and their individual traits and benefits.
Star Trek Online coverage available in MMOZine Issue 33 - click here to download it for free!
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