If that's the case across the board, then WHAT. Was. The. Point. Of. This. Event....
Wrathful Kirk IMO was designed very well to be a VERY useful skirmish event crew. So presumably the point was to make the upcoming skirmish a lot easier.
If that's the case across the board, then WHAT. Was. The. Point. Of. This. Event....
Wrathful Kirk IMO was designed very well to be a VERY useful skirmish event crew. So presumably the point was to make the upcoming skirmish a lot easier.
Yes, I'll probably run with W. Kirk, Killy, and two RPC's.
Further along that line, merits are the most plentiful and replenishable resource in the game.
For me this unfortunately is not quite true. I am always rather short on merits.
I am selective on shuttles still and let them wait for execution if they do not suit my remaining event crew while I open some new ones until they fit, but I use these leftovers on the next turn.
With quite ok non-event crew only sitting around otherwise anyway I found that the difference in the success percentage is not noteworthy (maybe 2% per shuttle). If this is the difference between "to be or not to be" - so be it. I rather feel good when playing than perfectionizing everything on the cost of fun. Because that is what a game should be about.
Wir, die Mirror Tribbles [MiT] haben freie Plätze zu vergeben. Kein Zwang und kein Stress, dafür aber Spaß, Discord und eine nette, hilfsbereite Gemeinschaft, incl. voll ausgebauter Starbase und täglich 700 ISM.
Further along that line, merits are the most plentiful and replenishable resource in the game.
For me this unfortunately is not quite true. I am always rather short on merits.
I am selective on shuttles still and let them wait for execution if they do not suit my remaining event crew while I open some new ones until they fit, but I use these leftovers on the next turn.
With quite ok non-event crew only sitting around otherwise anyway I found that the difference in the success percentage is not noteworthy (maybe 2% per shuttle). If this is the difference between "to be or not to be" - so be it. I rather feel good when playing than perfectionizing everything on the cost of fun. Because that is what a game should be about.
Short on merits? Hmm...what’s your gauntlet strategy as far as matchup refreshes go? And do you buy a lot of items from faction stores? Generally speaking, most items in the stores are obscenely expensive when bought with merits versus farmed with chrons. There are certain exceptions for hard-to-find items (0* orchids, for example); however, things like 3* casings are way too expensive from faction stores and really should only be bought there in emergencies.
If you avoid spending merits in faction stores (other than on transmissions) and do not frequently refresh gauntlet matchups, you should be running a surplus of merits between gauntlet wins, event/campaign rewards, and daily mission completions.
Further along that line, merits are the most plentiful and replenishable resource in the game.
For me this unfortunately is not quite true. I am always rather short on merits.
I am selective on shuttles still and let them wait for execution if they do not suit my remaining event crew while I open some new ones until they fit, but I use these leftovers on the next turn.
With quite ok non-event crew only sitting around otherwise anyway I found that the difference in the success percentage is not noteworthy (maybe 2% per shuttle). If this is the difference between "to be or not to be" - so be it. I rather feel good when playing than perfectionizing everything on the cost of fun. Because that is what a game should be about.
Short on merits? Hmm...what’s your gauntlet strategy as far as matchup refreshes go? And do you buy a lot of items from faction stores? Generally speaking, most items in the stores are obscenely expensive when bought with merits versus farmed with chrons. There are certain exceptions for hard-to-find items (0* orchids, for example); however, things like 3* casings are way too expensive from faction stores and really should only be bought there in emergencies.
If you avoid spending merits in faction stores (other than on transmissions) and do not frequently refresh gauntlet matchups, you should be running a surplus of merits between gauntlet wins, event/campaign rewards, and daily mission completions.
Also spread unfreezing bonus crew over the entire week each day rather than just one day (after dabo refresh is the cost reset I believe)
I usually keep a 1k baseline of merits and only use gauntlet refresh sparingly. I don't think I've bought anything from faction store other than transmissions, there may have been the odd occasion when I wanted to save a replicator use if I wasn't convinced I was able to level crew during a faction event and thus my shuttles are tied to another faction but that was probably a long time ago now.
[was on Sabbatical/Hiatus] Currently a trialist at Galaxy SquadronSTAY SAFE and KBO
Ok, "short on something" has a different meaning for us. I feel merits are short if I fall below 9k and try to stay between 9.5 and 10.4k.
I do not spend anything on Gauntlet (and there I more often get credits or useless stuff than merits), but I spend plenty on specific faction equipment I cannot farm from missions (yet).
Wir, die Mirror Tribbles [MiT] haben freie Plätze zu vergeben. Kein Zwang und kein Stress, dafür aber Spaß, Discord und eine nette, hilfsbereite Gemeinschaft, incl. voll ausgebauter Starbase und täglich 700 ISM.
Ok, "short on something" has a different meaning for us. I feel merits are short if I fall below 9k and try to stay between 9.5 and 10.4k.
I do not spend anything on Gauntlet (and there I more often get credits or useless stuff than merits), but I spend plenty on specific faction equipment I cannot farm from missions (yet).
What expenditure are you saving up for? Unless you hit every faction event hard or you mean to drum up enough for a merit pull splurge all in one go, I can't see a need for having such a huge stockpile of merits. But certainly purchasing from the faction store is not economically sound it's there to get you out of a fix from time to time but just be patient with your shuttles double rewards (old boosts) overnight etc. or replicate if you find you are getting more credits than merits, shift the weight around a bit.
For instance when replicating, sometimes I use schematics, other times I use trainers or the ample star base components as replicator fuel - by the time i have rotated what I can use as replicator fuel I can use the first source of fuel I used again.
Each resource has a symbiotic relationship and whilst you can't technically exchange like for like they can be used to help bolster one or the other.
[was on Sabbatical/Hiatus] Currently a trialist at Galaxy SquadronSTAY SAFE and KBO
But certainly purchasing from the faction store is not economically sound it's there to get you out of a fix from time to time but just be patient with your shuttles double rewards (old boosts) overnight etc. or replicate if you find you are getting more credits than merits shift the weight around a bit.
I deplete everything to a certain self-set level every day with replications. (Btw most ship schematics I actually need to build the ships!) There is no rotation yet for me.
And I am working on honorizing factions (the more exotic ones are left) so the ones that are done already never get their turn currently. So some stuff I never get out of shuttles except there being a Faction event for it. And I am not THAT patient.
You apply long-term-player conditions to your advice but they do not apply to newer players like me.
Wir, die Mirror Tribbles [MiT] haben freie Plätze zu vergeben. Kein Zwang und kein Stress, dafür aber Spaß, Discord und eine nette, hilfsbereite Gemeinschaft, incl. voll ausgebauter Starbase und täglich 700 ISM.
But certainly purchasing from the faction store is not economically sound it's there to get you out of a fix from time to time but just be patient with your shuttles double rewards (old boosts) overnight etc. or replicate if you find you are getting more credits than merits shift the weight around a bit.
I deplete everything to a certain self-set level every day with replications. (Btw most ship schematics I actually need to build the ships!) There is no rotation yet for me.
And I am working on honorizing factions (the more exotic ones are left) so the ones that are done already never get their turn currently. So some stuff I never get out of shuttles except there being a Faction event for it. And I am not THAT patient.
You apply long-term-player conditions to your advice but they do not apply to newer players like me.
Well said, and I approve of merits hoarding. As a new player you will absolutely find the faction stores useful to help you equip crew, and often the hard items to farm up cost 250 merits in the faction shops, so I absolutely advocate new players build a bankroll of merits.
At this point I'm not a new player anymore but I still have a huge stockpile of merits, because for whatever reason I get enjoyment out of seeing a massive merits total
But certainly purchasing from the faction store is not economically sound it's there to get you out of a fix from time to time but just be patient with your shuttles double rewards (old boosts) overnight etc. or replicate if you find you are getting more credits than merits shift the weight around a bit.
I deplete everything to a certain self-set level every day with replications. (Btw most ship schematics I actually need to build the ships!) There is no rotation yet for me.
And I am working on honorizing factions (the more exotic ones are left) so the ones that are done already never get their turn currently. So some stuff I never get out of shuttles except there being a Faction event for it. And I am not THAT patient.
You apply long-term-player conditions to your advice but they do not apply to newer players like me.
That maybe so but you still have not answered my question why do you need in excess 9k merits?
Early game you are constricted and if you have not reached honored status or got more ships these are built in bottlenecks that will pass, but it does require patience and persistence and turning around shuttles as efficiently as possible but also if there are some that are still on 1 min time missions you can apply kick start strategies to bolster your reputation quicker - however it also sounds like you will still need to acquire a robust enough crew to complete (successfully) missions and shuttles, again, another in built game bottleneck.
[was on Sabbatical/Hiatus] Currently a trialist at Galaxy SquadronSTAY SAFE and KBO
But certainly purchasing from the faction store is not economically sound it's there to get you out of a fix from time to time but just be patient with your shuttles double rewards (old boosts) overnight etc. or replicate if you find you are getting more credits than merits shift the weight around a bit.
I deplete everything to a certain self-set level every day with replications. (Btw most ship schematics I actually need to build the ships!) There is no rotation yet for me.
And I am working on honorizing factions (the more exotic ones are left) so the ones that are done already never get their turn currently. So some stuff I never get out of shuttles except there being a Faction event for it. And I am not THAT patient.
You apply long-term-player conditions to your advice but they do not apply to newer players like me.
Well said, and I approve of merits hoarding. As a new player you will absolutely find the faction stores useful to help you equip crew, and often the hard items to farm up cost 250 merits in the faction shops, so I absolutely advocate new players build a bankroll of merits.
At this point I'm not a new player anymore but I still have a huge stockpile of merits, because for whatever reason I get enjoyment out of seeing a massive merits total
But those merits could be used for packs with the possibility of legendaries and the certainty of honor. Why sit on more than what you need for gauntlet, unfreezing crew, and buying faction stuff.
I once ran into the issue of not being able to buy everything I wanted from the faction store by lacking merits, so I stockpiled them afterwards. It was a one-time-investment of saving, and now I have a comfortable pillow to rely on as I can spend as much as I like at once and replenish over time. This feels better than always being uncertain about whether I can buy everything from the store if I hardly play for a couple of days and only screen the store for useful stuff.
I think my crew is quite fine ok but quite often I still have no event crew at the start of an event (unlike this time). But I have around 100 crew still to be equipped (let alone plenty of common to rare crew to keep and immo instead of airlocking).
Wir, die Mirror Tribbles [MiT] haben freie Plätze zu vergeben. Kein Zwang und kein Stress, dafür aber Spaß, Discord und eine nette, hilfsbereite Gemeinschaft, incl. voll ausgebauter Starbase und täglich 700 ISM.
But certainly purchasing from the faction store is not economically sound it's there to get you out of a fix from time to time but just be patient with your shuttles double rewards (old boosts) overnight etc. or replicate if you find you are getting more credits than merits shift the weight around a bit.
I deplete everything to a certain self-set level every day with replications. (Btw most ship schematics I actually need to build the ships!) There is no rotation yet for me.
And I am working on honorizing factions (the more exotic ones are left) so the ones that are done already never get their turn currently. So some stuff I never get out of shuttles except there being a Faction event for it. And I am not THAT patient.
You apply long-term-player conditions to your advice but they do not apply to newer players like me.
Well said, and I approve of merits hoarding. As a new player you will absolutely find the faction stores useful to help you equip crew, and often the hard items to farm up cost 250 merits in the faction shops, so I absolutely advocate new players build a bankroll of merits.
At this point I'm not a new player anymore but I still have a huge stockpile of merits, because for whatever reason I get enjoyment out of seeing a massive merits total
But those merits could be used for packs with the possibility of legendaries and the certainty of honor. Why sit on more than what you need for gauntlet and unfreezing crew?
not to mention that SR crew that could Fully fuse and make your roster instantaneously better.
[was on Sabbatical/Hiatus] Currently a trialist at Galaxy SquadronSTAY SAFE and KBO
But those merits could be used for packs with the possibility of legendaries and the certainty of honor. Why sit on more than what you need for gauntlet and unfreezing crew?
10000 merits do not get you anywhere in terms of honor. On average they equal to, say, 2000 honor. 10000 merits feel better than 2000 honor for me.
And I have so many legendaries sitting around at 1* (many maxed, some untouched) that the small chance to get another one will not get me anywhere either.
Wir, die Mirror Tribbles [MiT] haben freie Plätze zu vergeben. Kein Zwang und kein Stress, dafür aber Spaß, Discord und eine nette, hilfsbereite Gemeinschaft, incl. voll ausgebauter Starbase und täglich 700 ISM.
But those merits could be used for packs with the possibility of legendaries and the certainty of honor. Why sit on more than what you need for gauntlet and unfreezing crew?
10000 merits do not get you anywhere in terms of honor. On average they equal to, say, 2000 honor. 10000 merits feel better than 2000 honor for me.
And I have so many legendaries sitting around at 1* (many maxed, some untouched) that the small chance to get another one will not get me anywhere either.
I agree totally there. I do make merit pulls from time to time, but nothing will drain merits faster, and there is no guarantee you will get anything of value.
But those merits could be used for packs with the possibility of legendaries and the certainty of honor. Why sit on more than what you need for gauntlet and unfreezing crew?
10000 merits do not get you anywhere in terms of honor. On average they equal to, say, 2000 honor. 10000 merits feel better than 2000 honor for me.
And I have so many legendaries sitting around at 1* (many maxed, some untouched) that the small chance to get another one will not get me anywhere either.
All the more reason to get on the honor / citation treadmill as soon as possible.
Credits maybe in the millions, merits in the 1000s honor in the hundreds (going by crew dismissals here)
But what has been shown to be the most valuable resource - honor and it's the lowest accumulating rate compared to what you need to spend it on. Ergo for every honor point earned has a far higher value than the next resource. i.e think exchange rates.
Also 10000 would only purchase 40, 250 merit costing faction items that you can easily amass in time. I don't know about you but I'd rather take the honor that would go to something a little more long lasting even if it's going back to the days of taking lucky honor begolds to finally unlock that legendary I've always wanted.
[was on Sabbatical/Hiatus] Currently a trialist at Galaxy SquadronSTAY SAFE and KBO
I managed to stay above the fray (or at least find a soft middle between the top tier fighting for top 25 and the fray at 500)
In the final day and a half, I was hovering between rank 130 and rank 200. I was occasionally spending time boosts and stopped using rentals. I saw @DavideBooks a few times.
Is it usually more of a coast at that stage David?
I was running time boosts, reward boosts and extra shuttles the first two days. I maintained around 150. The third day, I stopped the extra shuttles and reward boosts and only used a few time boosts. I stayed about 200 or so. The last day I just ran shuttles as normal. I ended just over 250. Generally my goal is to stay around 1000, but I anticipated heavy fighting and went extra hard at the start. I still have 30 tokens and 100 time boosts. I simply spent several months not using them and have (had) a grand stockpile.
I don't know, I just feel better saving up than spending, because I tend to spend recklessly. And keep in mind, that merits total is AFTER spending like 1K thawing various Picards/Kirks last week, buying up several 250 merit faction items leveling up Wrathful Kirk last night, and having spent several hundred in the last 24 hours refreshing Gauntlet match ups. But that is kind of my point, I love saving up because when I get the need/desire to do something, I want to be able to do it. I spent like 3K this week and I did so without fear, because I knew I had them. Not saying it is optimal strategy, but it works for me, and I'm doing OK for myself.
-EDIT-
I also just spent 50K Honor on a 5* citation 36 hours ago.
I also like the feeling of having enough to get anything I want. I buy anything I please in the faction stores and run any missions I want. Right now I'm saving for the portal update. Once that update comes, I'll open all my pulls and spend 40 or 50K merits on merit pulls.
And that is just through daily playing, monthly card, and campaigns. I don't buy offers.
I don't understand the need for people to pressure others into playing in a more optimal manner. If they're happy with what they're doing, leave them be, and enjoy the fact it will take them longer to be competitive in events?
I don't understand the need for people to pressure others into playing in a more optimal manner. If they're happy with what they're doing, leave them be, and enjoy the fact it will take them longer to be competitive in events?
There are plenty of regrets the game poses on how things could have been done better, perhaps part of me is trying to help others who can make a quicker change than I ever did, I don't think I was being overly pressurising, certainly not my intention, just giving another side of the coin on the bottlenecks to come. Sanoa already mentions they have enough merits to get by and feel confident I'm at a position whereas I feel 1k is ample probably could get by on half that but then I would feel a bit more tentative. Now that could be down to place in progression or just differences on how we play the game.
I get the feeling Sanoa's need for such a vast merit stash is and will continue to diminish in need for it, they can always monitor their weekly monthly spending if needs be to find out for sure. But the question they should be perhaps asking is there much need between 9k and 8k or 7k will I need to spend more than 2k at any given time without the chance to replenish from dailies events gauntlets etc and to my mind the answer is no.
[was on Sabbatical/Hiatus] Currently a trialist at Galaxy SquadronSTAY SAFE and KBO
From the mathematical point of view I know that you are right.
But games are not pure maths. To waste merits is just terrible to me and I would probably rather quit the game than force myself to do so. Ranking lower does not bother me on the other hand as long as I reach my set goal.
I think at this point the conversation should end, no? Events are getting tougher and tougher without badgering people who are quite happily bumbling along enjoying themselves and getting what they want from the game into switching up their strategy.
From the mathematical point of view I know that you are right.
But games are not pure maths. To waste merits is just terrible to me and I would probably rather quit the game than force myself to do so. Ranking lower does not bother me on the other hand as long as I reach my set goal.
I think at this point the conversation should end, no? Events are getting tougher and tougher without badgering people who are quite happily bumbling along enjoying themselves and getting what they want from the game into switching up their strategy.
I think you are using a different conversation that happened on another day I’m talking about different possible uses and methods of resource management to aid your desired goals in the game whatever they may be, and not necessarily competing competitively in an event. Plus there is no such thing as suboptimal play there’s human play or illegal bot play.
And I repeat I was sharing my views on their comments nothing more.
[was on Sabbatical/Hiatus] Currently a trialist at Galaxy SquadronSTAY SAFE and KBO
But those merits could be used for packs with the possibility of legendaries and the certainty of honor. Why sit on more than what you need for gauntlet and unfreezing crew?
10000 merits do not get you anywhere in terms of honor. On average they equal to, say, 2000 honor. 10000 merits feel better than 2000 honor for me.
And I have so many legendaries sitting around at 1* (many maxed, some untouched) that the small chance to get another one will not get me anywhere either.
My reserve merits level is 5k, which is more than enough to buy any number of faction store items and unthaw a large number of crew on short notice. When I reach 10k, I buy merit packs until I get back to 5k.
In any case, I don’t think it is quite fair to say that buying merit packs “won’t get you anywhere.” I did some rough math to work out the honor per year from merit packs.
Assumptions
-All daily missions granting merits are completed.
-An average daily yield of 300 merits from gauntlet battles (four wins per round yielding an average of 100 merits total per round, with only three rounds fought every day instead of the theoretical max of 6 without dil revives). I believe this to be quite conservative for many people, as it’s not tied to gauntlet rank - just stringing together a dozen individual wins across an entire day.
-An average of 150 honor per merit pack. The absolute minimum is 75 (three 1*s) and the realistic maximum is 300 (three 3*s), though more is possible (150 assumes three 2* crew drop). I also believe this to be slightly conservative, as the drop rates for 2* and 3* crew are higher than for 1* and it doesn’t account for the occasional 4* that is already immortal.
-A 5,000 merit reserve is subtracted from the total merits earned - this assumes someone starting from nothing at all, rather than already having a reserve built up.
-Other than not counting 4*/5* crew in my honor-per-merit-pack figures, I assume all crew are airlocked for honor. Anyone needing to fill out their 1*/2*/3* crew ranks will of course get less honor than is calculated.
-I did not subtract merits spent on thawing crew - everyone’s mileage may vary here and I couldn’t begin to estimate this for the whole population of players.
Results
-215 merits per day from missions
-300 merits per day from the gauntlet
-7500 merits per month from the free campaign track
-8800 merits per month from the premium campaign track
-merits available to spend per month on packs: 17,950 (free campaign) or 26,750 (w/premium campaign)
-minimum guaranteed honor per year: 21,600/32,400
-maximum realistic honor per year: 86,400/129,600
-average honor per year: 43,200/64,800
Depending on RNG when it comes to who you airlock from your merit packs, you’re probably looking at one extra citation per year. It doesn’t seem like a lot, but that’s one mega event legendary you don’t have to DYC. Add in the straight honor drops from completing all daily missions, and now you’re at least at two citations and maybe three with some love from RNGesus. It’s not much but it adds up over time.
Then, with the chance for useful 4*/5* crew drops, I would think this means a lot more to newer players scrabbling to put together a collection of useful 5* crew than the veterans looking to bleed off excess currency. I know I was happy early on with the crew I managed to assemble but can only dream about how much easier certain things would have been if I had an extra leg up like this.
But those merits could be used for packs with the possibility of legendaries and the certainty of honor. Why sit on more than what you need for gauntlet and unfreezing crew?
10000 merits do not get you anywhere in terms of honor. On average they equal to, say, 2000 honor. 10000 merits feel better than 2000 honor for me.
And I have so many legendaries sitting around at 1* (many maxed, some untouched) that the small chance to get another one will not get me anywhere either.
My reserve merits level is 5k, which is more than enough to buy any number of faction store items and unthaw a large number of crew on short notice. When I reach 10k, I buy merit packs until I get back to 5k.
In any case, I don’t think it is quite fair to say that buying merit packs “won’t get you anywhere.” I did some rough math to work out the honor per year from merit packs.
Assumptions
-All daily missions granting merits are completed.
-An average daily yield of 300 merits from gauntlet battles (four wins per round yielding an average of 100 merits total per round, with only three rounds fought every day instead of the theoretical max of 6 without dil revives). I believe this to be quite conservative for many people, as it’s not tied to gauntlet rank - just stringing together a dozen individual wins across an entire day.
-An average of 150 honor per merit pack. The absolute minimum is 75 (three 1*s) and the realistic maximum is 300 (three 3*s), though more is possible (150 assumes three 2* crew drop). I also believe this to be slightly conservative, as the drop rates for 2* and 3* crew are higher than for 1* and it doesn’t account for the occasional 4* that is already immortal.
-A 5,000 merit reserve is subtracted from the total merits earned - this assumes someone starting from nothing at all, rather than already having a reserve built up.
-Other than not counting 4*/5* crew in my honor-per-merit-pack figures, I assume all crew are airlocked for honor. Anyone needing to fill out their 1*/2*/3* crew ranks will of course get less honor than is calculated.
-I did not subtract merits spent on thawing crew - everyone’s mileage may vary here and I couldn’t begin to estimate this for the whole population of players.
Results
-215 merits per day from missions
-300 merits per day from the gauntlet
-7500 merits per month from the free campaign track
-8800 merits per month from the premium campaign track
-merits available to spend per month on packs: 17,950 (free campaign) or 26,750 (w/premium campaign)
-minimum guaranteed honor per year: 21,600/32,400
-maximum realistic honor per year: 86,400/129,600
-average honor per year: 43,200/64,800
Depending on RNG when it comes to who you airlock from your merit packs, you’re probably looking at one extra citation per year. It doesn’t seem like a lot, but that’s one mega event legendary you don’t have to DYC. Add in the straight honor drops from completing all daily missions, and now you’re at least at two citations and maybe three with some love from RNGesus. It’s not much but it adds up over time.
Then, with the chance for useful 4*/5* crew drops, I would think this means a lot more to newer players scrabbling to put together a collection of useful 5* crew than the veterans looking to bleed off excess currency. I know I was happy early on with the crew I managed to assemble but can only dream about how much easier certain things would have been if I had an extra leg up like this.
Great breakdown!
And this is why discussions like this need to happen. It can start with discussing someone's specific play choices, but it can be used as a jumping-off point into deeper strategy discussions that can be beneficial to the player base at large.
I try to hold around 3,000-5,000 merits and 3 million credits. The rest goes for packs for honor. But each person can play to whatever style they want and is fun for them. It is a game after all.
@Dirk Gunderson Wow, 1 citation per year really is... less than I even expected when I wrote "gets you nowhere". Interesting still.
According to the drop rates listed in the merit pack one pack drops 6,7269 stars on average btw. (taking 5*s also into account which likely will not be turned into honor, but their probability is microscopic anyway). So that equals 168 honor per pull.
Wir, die Mirror Tribbles [MiT] haben freie Plätze zu vergeben. Kein Zwang und kein Stress, dafür aber Spaß, Discord und eine nette, hilfsbereite Gemeinschaft, incl. voll ausgebauter Starbase und täglich 700 ISM.
@Dirk Gunderson Wow, 1 citation per year really is... less than I even expected when I wrote "gets you nowhere". Interesting still.
If we take that line of thought a bit further, then there is no point in completing all the daily missions (73k honor per year) or clearing all campaign reward tiers (36k honor per year on the free track, an additional 48k honor per year with the premium track). Perhaps there is even no point in being in a fleet that can clear all the activity rewards every day (a max of 208,050 honor per year)...between an honor begold and citations, you couldn’t immortalize one 5* crew in a whole year of membership in a super-active fleet. Why bother, right?
Hey, if that style of play works for you, more power to you. This is a game and everyone should have fun playing it. Giving up on getting citations that could make my crew better in favor of watching currencies pile up to infinity isn’t my idea of fun, but to each their own.
@Dirk Gunderson Wow, 1 citation per year really is... less than I even expected when I wrote "gets you nowhere". Interesting still.
According to the drop rates listed in the merit pack one pack drops 6,7269 stars on average btw. (taking 5*s also into account which likely will not be turned into honor, but their probability is microscopic anyway). So that equals 168 honor per pull.
Low probability !== zero probability
I've definitely had three 5* drops from merit pulls, potentially a fourth, in Mirror Kirk (550 honour as RNG used to hand him out like candy in begolds for me), Momma Troi and Interfaced Barclay.
I've also had several 4*s drop, and whilst the honour-per-pack isn't oodles it does accrue over time.
Each to their own, but I personally enjoy merit pulls.
Comments
Wrathful Kirk IMO was designed very well to be a VERY useful skirmish event crew. So presumably the point was to make the upcoming skirmish a lot easier.
Yes, I'll probably run with W. Kirk, Killy, and two RPC's.
I am selective on shuttles still and let them wait for execution if they do not suit my remaining event crew while I open some new ones until they fit, but I use these leftovers on the next turn.
With quite ok non-event crew only sitting around otherwise anyway I found that the difference in the success percentage is not noteworthy (maybe 2% per shuttle). If this is the difference between "to be or not to be" - so be it. I rather feel good when playing than perfectionizing everything on the cost of fun. Because that is what a game should be about.
Short on merits? Hmm...what’s your gauntlet strategy as far as matchup refreshes go? And do you buy a lot of items from faction stores? Generally speaking, most items in the stores are obscenely expensive when bought with merits versus farmed with chrons. There are certain exceptions for hard-to-find items (0* orchids, for example); however, things like 3* casings are way too expensive from faction stores and really should only be bought there in emergencies.
If you avoid spending merits in faction stores (other than on transmissions) and do not frequently refresh gauntlet matchups, you should be running a surplus of merits between gauntlet wins, event/campaign rewards, and daily mission completions.
Also spread unfreezing bonus crew over the entire week each day rather than just one day (after dabo refresh is the cost reset I believe)
I usually keep a 1k baseline of merits and only use gauntlet refresh sparingly. I don't think I've bought anything from faction store other than transmissions, there may have been the odd occasion when I wanted to save a replicator use if I wasn't convinced I was able to level crew during a faction event and thus my shuttles are tied to another faction but that was probably a long time ago now.
I do not spend anything on Gauntlet (and there I more often get credits or useless stuff than merits), but I spend plenty on specific faction equipment I cannot farm from missions (yet).
What expenditure are you saving up for? Unless you hit every faction event hard or you mean to drum up enough for a merit pull splurge all in one go, I can't see a need for having such a huge stockpile of merits. But certainly purchasing from the faction store is not economically sound it's there to get you out of a fix from time to time but just be patient with your shuttles double rewards (old boosts) overnight etc. or replicate if you find you are getting more credits than merits, shift the weight around a bit.
For instance when replicating, sometimes I use schematics, other times I use trainers or the ample star base components as replicator fuel - by the time i have rotated what I can use as replicator fuel I can use the first source of fuel I used again.
Each resource has a symbiotic relationship and whilst you can't technically exchange like for like they can be used to help bolster one or the other.
And I am working on honorizing factions (the more exotic ones are left) so the ones that are done already never get their turn currently. So some stuff I never get out of shuttles except there being a Faction event for it. And I am not THAT patient.
You apply long-term-player conditions to your advice but they do not apply to newer players like me.
Well said, and I approve of merits hoarding. As a new player you will absolutely find the faction stores useful to help you equip crew, and often the hard items to farm up cost 250 merits in the faction shops, so I absolutely advocate new players build a bankroll of merits.
At this point I'm not a new player anymore but I still have a huge stockpile of merits, because for whatever reason I get enjoyment out of seeing a massive merits total
That maybe so but you still have not answered my question why do you need in excess 9k merits?
Early game you are constricted and if you have not reached honored status or got more ships these are built in bottlenecks that will pass, but it does require patience and persistence and turning around shuttles as efficiently as possible but also if there are some that are still on 1 min time missions you can apply kick start strategies to bolster your reputation quicker - however it also sounds like you will still need to acquire a robust enough crew to complete (successfully) missions and shuttles, again, another in built game bottleneck.
But those merits could be used for packs with the possibility of legendaries and the certainty of honor. Why sit on more than what you need for gauntlet, unfreezing crew, and buying faction stuff.
I think my crew is quite fine ok but quite often I still have no event crew at the start of an event (unlike this time). But I have around 100 crew still to be equipped (let alone plenty of common to rare crew to keep and immo instead of airlocking).
not to mention that SR crew that could Fully fuse and make your roster instantaneously better.
And I have so many legendaries sitting around at 1* (many maxed, some untouched) that the small chance to get another one will not get me anywhere either.
I agree totally there. I do make merit pulls from time to time, but nothing will drain merits faster, and there is no guarantee you will get anything of value.
All the more reason to get on the honor / citation treadmill as soon as possible.
Credits maybe in the millions, merits in the 1000s honor in the hundreds (going by crew dismissals here)
But what has been shown to be the most valuable resource - honor and it's the lowest accumulating rate compared to what you need to spend it on. Ergo for every honor point earned has a far higher value than the next resource. i.e think exchange rates.
Also 10000 would only purchase 40, 250 merit costing faction items that you can easily amass in time. I don't know about you but I'd rather take the honor that would go to something a little more long lasting even if it's going back to the days of taking lucky honor begolds to finally unlock that legendary I've always wanted.
I was running time boosts, reward boosts and extra shuttles the first two days. I maintained around 150. The third day, I stopped the extra shuttles and reward boosts and only used a few time boosts. I stayed about 200 or so. The last day I just ran shuttles as normal. I ended just over 250. Generally my goal is to stay around 1000, but I anticipated heavy fighting and went extra hard at the start. I still have 30 tokens and 100 time boosts. I simply spent several months not using them and have (had) a grand stockpile.
I don't know, I just feel better saving up than spending, because I tend to spend recklessly. And keep in mind, that merits total is AFTER spending like 1K thawing various Picards/Kirks last week, buying up several 250 merit faction items leveling up Wrathful Kirk last night, and having spent several hundred in the last 24 hours refreshing Gauntlet match ups. But that is kind of my point, I love saving up because when I get the need/desire to do something, I want to be able to do it. I spent like 3K this week and I did so without fear, because I knew I had them. Not saying it is optimal strategy, but it works for me, and I'm doing OK for myself.
-EDIT-
I also just spent 50K Honor on a 5* citation 36 hours ago.
And that is just through daily playing, monthly card, and campaigns. I don't buy offers.
There are plenty of regrets the game poses on how things could have been done better, perhaps part of me is trying to help others who can make a quicker change than I ever did, I don't think I was being overly pressurising, certainly not my intention, just giving another side of the coin on the bottlenecks to come. Sanoa already mentions they have enough merits to get by and feel confident I'm at a position whereas I feel 1k is ample probably could get by on half that but then I would feel a bit more tentative. Now that could be down to place in progression or just differences on how we play the game.
I get the feeling Sanoa's need for such a vast merit stash is and will continue to diminish in need for it, they can always monitor their weekly monthly spending if needs be to find out for sure. But the question they should be perhaps asking is there much need between 9k and 8k or 7k will I need to spend more than 2k at any given time without the chance to replenish from dailies events gauntlets etc and to my mind the answer is no.
I think at this point the conversation should end, no? Events are getting tougher and tougher without badgering people who are quite happily bumbling along enjoying themselves and getting what they want from the game into switching up their strategy.
I think you are using a different conversation that happened on another day I’m talking about different possible uses and methods of resource management to aid your desired goals in the game whatever they may be, and not necessarily competing competitively in an event. Plus there is no such thing as suboptimal play there’s human play or illegal bot play.
And I repeat I was sharing my views on their comments nothing more.
My reserve merits level is 5k, which is more than enough to buy any number of faction store items and unthaw a large number of crew on short notice. When I reach 10k, I buy merit packs until I get back to 5k.
In any case, I don’t think it is quite fair to say that buying merit packs “won’t get you anywhere.” I did some rough math to work out the honor per year from merit packs.
Assumptions
-All daily missions granting merits are completed.
-An average daily yield of 300 merits from gauntlet battles (four wins per round yielding an average of 100 merits total per round, with only three rounds fought every day instead of the theoretical max of 6 without dil revives). I believe this to be quite conservative for many people, as it’s not tied to gauntlet rank - just stringing together a dozen individual wins across an entire day.
-An average of 150 honor per merit pack. The absolute minimum is 75 (three 1*s) and the realistic maximum is 300 (three 3*s), though more is possible (150 assumes three 2* crew drop). I also believe this to be slightly conservative, as the drop rates for 2* and 3* crew are higher than for 1* and it doesn’t account for the occasional 4* that is already immortal.
-A 5,000 merit reserve is subtracted from the total merits earned - this assumes someone starting from nothing at all, rather than already having a reserve built up.
-Other than not counting 4*/5* crew in my honor-per-merit-pack figures, I assume all crew are airlocked for honor. Anyone needing to fill out their 1*/2*/3* crew ranks will of course get less honor than is calculated.
-I did not subtract merits spent on thawing crew - everyone’s mileage may vary here and I couldn’t begin to estimate this for the whole population of players.
Results
-215 merits per day from missions
-300 merits per day from the gauntlet
-7500 merits per month from the free campaign track
-8800 merits per month from the premium campaign track
-merits available to spend per month on packs: 17,950 (free campaign) or 26,750 (w/premium campaign)
-minimum guaranteed honor per year: 21,600/32,400
-maximum realistic honor per year: 86,400/129,600
-average honor per year: 43,200/64,800
Depending on RNG when it comes to who you airlock from your merit packs, you’re probably looking at one extra citation per year. It doesn’t seem like a lot, but that’s one mega event legendary you don’t have to DYC. Add in the straight honor drops from completing all daily missions, and now you’re at least at two citations and maybe three with some love from RNGesus. It’s not much but it adds up over time.
Then, with the chance for useful 4*/5* crew drops, I would think this means a lot more to newer players scrabbling to put together a collection of useful 5* crew than the veterans looking to bleed off excess currency. I know I was happy early on with the crew I managed to assemble but can only dream about how much easier certain things would have been if I had an extra leg up like this.
Great breakdown!
And this is why discussions like this need to happen. It can start with discussing someone's specific play choices, but it can be used as a jumping-off point into deeper strategy discussions that can be beneficial to the player base at large.
According to the drop rates listed in the merit pack one pack drops 6,7269 stars on average btw. (taking 5*s also into account which likely will not be turned into honor, but their probability is microscopic anyway). So that equals 168 honor per pull.
If we take that line of thought a bit further, then there is no point in completing all the daily missions (73k honor per year) or clearing all campaign reward tiers (36k honor per year on the free track, an additional 48k honor per year with the premium track). Perhaps there is even no point in being in a fleet that can clear all the activity rewards every day (a max of 208,050 honor per year)...between an honor begold and citations, you couldn’t immortalize one 5* crew in a whole year of membership in a super-active fleet. Why bother, right?
Hey, if that style of play works for you, more power to you. This is a game and everyone should have fun playing it. Giving up on getting citations that could make my crew better in favor of watching currencies pile up to infinity isn’t my idea of fun, but to each their own.
lol.
Low probability !== zero probability
I've definitely had three 5* drops from merit pulls, potentially a fourth, in Mirror Kirk (550 honour as RNG used to hand him out like candy in begolds for me), Momma Troi and Interfaced Barclay.
I've also had several 4*s drop, and whilst the honour-per-pack isn't oodles it does accrue over time.
Each to their own, but I personally enjoy merit pulls.