Finally!... A Damned Expedition. Shame its a rerun.. but Ill take it.
I wish it was going to be a “rerun”, because those have a 5* in the threshold rewards. Instead, Shan said that this will be a “flashback”, which has not (yet) had that:
So this expedition flashback will follow the same rules that applied the last time we ran an expedition event (hybrid event Auld Lang Syne) - meaning no timer on a ticket and no RNG when criting a VP node.
As for the rewards structure, this flashback was adapted to be in line with what has been done in events recently.
Detective Data will not be part of the rewards however.
🖖
"In the short run, the game defines the players. But in the long run, it's us players who define the game." — Nicky Case, The Evolution of Trust
It occurs to me that with The Professor involved, this is technically "The Game's Afoot 2" Flashback. It also occurs to me to offer a quick primer for players who have never done an Expedition.
Expeditions are basically Skirmishes for crew instead of ships. (Or, rather, Skirmishes are Expeditions for ships instead of crew.) The most notable difference is that you cannot use a crew member in the event if they are assigned to a shuttle or a Voyage, so plan accordingly. My personal strategy is to complete a ticket, then send out shuttles. Leave the game alone until the shuttles return, then complete another ticket. This helps me stave off event burnout, too.
Your crew will fatigue after each use, as they do in the Gauntlet. Featured and Bonus crew (The Professor, Data & La Forge variants) will fatigue ten percent per node. Everyone else will fatigue at twice that pace. Ergo, you can use Featured & Bonus crew twenty times per ticket and everyone else just ten times.
As they fatigue, their stats will decrease, both base and proficiency. So too will the value of trait bonuses per node.
You have to complete the first mission to unlock the next, and on each difficulty to unlock the next highest. Once you have unlocked a mission/difficulty, it will remain unlocked for the duration of the event, so you only have to start from the bottom once. The best approach is to unlock everything with your first ticket, and on subsequent tickets, start with Mission 5 on Epic and work your way backward. That way as your crew fatigues, they're facing less difficult node skill levels.
You must crit a node in order to earn VP; just clearing it is insufficient. During the original run of this event, only Featured Crew were guaranteed VP for crits. Bonus crew had a higher chance of earning VP. In subsequent Expeditions, all crits were guaranteed VP. It remains to be seen which rules will be in place for this Flashback.
Just going through each ticket once for the max VP was usually sufficient to clear thresholds. However, that was before threshold rewards were expanded. It remains to be seen what the rewards table will look like. If the current schema is used, you will almost certainly have to grind it out for additional VP per ticket, or purchase additional tickets.
Most importantly, you will fatigue along with your crew! Pace yourself! Expeditions are the most accessible events for players to chase rank because a lot of players hate the format and will bail early. The key to competing is to repeat missions once you've claimed the maximum VP and grind it out to earn lesser VP per node. Most players are unwilling to do that, giving the advantage to those who will.
I have not read though all the messages yet this might have been mentioned. But it looks the bonus crew fatigue is 5% not the 10% you mentioned. Everything else you said on fatigue seems right👍
Edit: all you need to do is change ten percent to five percent and everything else is right
Even with knowing we won’t be suffering under the old Hardcore Mode rules, this might be the first event in years where I don’t bother to clear the 130k VP threshold. I know it won’t be worth it to buy tickets to chase the top 1500 - I might as well save those resources to spend on event packs the following week - and I strongly doubt the free tickets would get me to any of the higher reward tiers. I don’t need a second Dr. La Forge and don’t feel that hours of grinding for a few hundred honor. How far I go depends on the rest of the threshold rewards - if it’s worth power-leveling Scrooge Data and thawing the likes of Dr. La Forge or if o should ignore the event completely.
I sincerely doubt it will even be necessary to buy extra tickets. There's a lot of attrition in Expeditions. Players become impatient and bail early. Look no further than this very thread with some of our regulars already saying they're unlikely to stick it out or even bother at all. I have no real interest in a 1/5 T'Pol and I don't need any Doctor La Forge so I may be threshold and out myself.
So this expedition flashback will follow the same rules that applied the last time we ran an expedition event (hybrid event Auld Lang Syne) - meaning no timer on a ticket and no RNG when criting a VP node.
As for the rewards structure, this flashback was adapted to be in line with what has been done in events recently.
Detective Data will not be part of the rewards however.
With all these changes, I fail to see how this qualifies as a Flashback except as a classification reason not to tack Detective Data onto the thresholds. That's especially disappointing given the history of the event. Data was a rank reward the first time, and pack only the second. Why not throw us the bone and put him in the thresholds? Feels kinda unfair to Detective Data and those of us who have wanted another chance to earn him in an event.
Data was a rank reward the first time, and pack only the second. Why not throw us the bone and put him in the thresholds? Feels kinda unfair to Detective Data and those of us who have wanted another chance to earn him in an event.
I'd rather have another star on Professor Moriarty. Either way, though, DB needs to seriously rethink this event and put some incentive for older players to want to play this event.
So much scrolling through the crew selection screen. What are the odds that favorited/event crew could sort to the top of the list?
Zero? 😕
oh no, that's going to be horrible. I can't imagine the pain of scrolling through 200 crew looking through one for each ticket holy crap this sounds like torture without auto-sorting. back to the pain of the first skirmish with trait bonuses for each ship battle. my head hurts.
So this expedition flashback will follow the same rules that applied the last time we ran an expedition event (hybrid event Auld Lang Syne) - meaning no timer on a ticket and no RNG when criting a VP node.
As for the rewards structure, this flashback was adapted to be in line with what has been done in events recently.
Detective Data will not be part of the rewards however.
With all these changes, I fail to see how this qualifies as a Flashback except as a classification reason not to tack Detective Data onto the thresholds. That's especially disappointing given the history of the event. Data was a rank reward the first time, and pack only the second. Why not throw us the bone and put him in the thresholds? Feels kinda unfair to Detective Data and those of us who have wanted another chance to earn him in an event.
"... DB needs to seriously rethink this event and put some incentive for older players to want to play this event."
Yeah, life gets REALLY GD boring when one is one of those folk that have 700 or so mindless FF/FE minions at their beck and call. (like Brainless Spock maybe???)
Well, life isn't always fair.
I'm really, really, just teasing you ...
(... but maybe you should delete all your existing accounts and start from scratch again if you desire to combat that nagging ennui! LOL LOL )
Remember: it's just a game, not a matter of life and death!
After some thought it occured to me... There is only one purple (Dr. La Forge) so if he is the threshold reward who will be the ranked purple? Same if it is switched, if La Forge is ranked who will be the threshold purple? After considering this it isn't too unimaginable that they put La Forge as the ranked purple and Detective Data in the threshold...
After some thought it occured to me... There is only one purple (Dr. La Forge) so if he is the threshold reward who will be the ranked purple? Same if it is switched, if La Forge is ranked who will be the threshold purple? After considering this it isn't too unimaginable that they put La Forge as the ranked purple and Detective Data in the threshold...
...considering Data made a debut in Picard
Here is to hoping that happens.
I share your hope, but Shan was fairly clear in her last statement:
After some thought it occured to me... There is only one purple (Dr. La Forge) so if he is the threshold reward who will be the ranked purple? Same if it is switched, if La Forge is ranked who will be the threshold purple? After considering this it isn't too unimaginable that they put La Forge as the ranked purple and Detective Data in the threshold...
...considering Data made a debut in Picard
Here is to hoping that happens.
I share your hope, but Shan was fairly clear in her last statement:
I hope at least T’pol is Command Medical combo cause I am feeling very underwhelmed by this event. Give me a reason to do a tedious awful expedition event DB. Something.
After some thought it occured to me... There is only one purple (Dr. La Forge) so if he is the threshold reward who will be the ranked purple? Same if it is switched, if La Forge is ranked who will be the threshold purple? After considering this it isn't too unimaginable that they put La Forge as the ranked purple and Detective Data in the threshold...
...considering Data made a debut in Picard
Here is to hoping that happens.
I share your hope, but Shan was fairly clear in her last statement:
After some thought it occured to me... There is only one purple (Dr. La Forge) so if he is the threshold reward who will be the ranked purple? Same if it is switched, if La Forge is ranked who will be the threshold purple? After considering this it isn't too unimaginable that they put La Forge as the ranked purple and Detective Data in the threshold...
...considering Data made a debut in Picard
Here is to hoping that happens.
I share your hope, but Shan was fairly clear in her last statement:
*snip*
Detective Data will not be part of the rewards however.
😢
And now I feel like a dunce cause I missed that.... Double whammy as I've also been chasing Detective Data... Oh well
Ditto on the chasing. 🖖
Would it really be difficult for them to make it not a flashback...as far as I remember the past 3 or 4 events that were replays were flashbacks instead of reruns....and I finally have a handle on my resources to be able to actually get to 400k now!
I don't suppose there's any chance we'll have bonus crew sorted at the top? It would make expedition vastly more pleasant if we could get rid of all that scrolling through crew...
After some thought it occured to me... There is only one purple (Dr. La Forge) so if he is the threshold reward who will be the ranked purple? Same if it is switched, if La Forge is ranked who will be the threshold purple? After considering this it isn't too unimaginable that they put La Forge as the ranked purple and Detective Data in the threshold...
...considering Data made a debut in Picard
Here is to hoping that happens.
I share your hope, but Shan was fairly clear in her last statement:
*snip*
Detective Data will not be part of the rewards however.
😢
And now I feel like a dunce cause I missed that.... Double whammy as I've also been chasing Detective Data... Oh well
Ditto on the chasing. 🖖
Would it really be difficult for them to make it not a flashback...as far as I remember the past 3 or 4 events that were replays were flashbacks instead of reruns....and I finally have a handle on my resources to be able to actually get to 400k now!
It's not difficult, they've done it for years, the excuse is not making any new crew, which might be expensive, but that doesn't mean they can't put some crew at 400k if they want to.
They started doing flashbacks to save on art and design resources when they announced their next product. I'll let you draw your own conclusions.
After some thought it occured to me... There is only one purple (Dr. La Forge) so if he is the threshold reward who will be the ranked purple? Same if it is switched, if La Forge is ranked who will be the threshold purple? After considering this it isn't too unimaginable that they put La Forge as the ranked purple and Detective Data in the threshold...
...considering Data made a debut in Picard
Here is to hoping that happens.
I share your hope, but Shan was fairly clear in her last statement:
*snip*
Detective Data will not be part of the rewards however.
😢
And now I feel like a dunce cause I missed that.... Double whammy as I've also been chasing Detective Data... Oh well
Ditto on the chasing. 🖖
Would it really be difficult for them to make it not a flashback...as far as I remember the past 3 or 4 events that were replays were flashbacks instead of reruns....and I finally have a handle on my resources to be able to actually get to 400k now!
It's not difficult, they've done it for years, the excuse is not making any new crew, which might be expensive, but that doesn't mean they can't put some crew at 400k if they want to.
They started doing flashbacks to save on art and design resources when they announced their next product. I'll let you draw your own conclusions.
Ah ok I didn't know that, that's a bummer but I guess I should be glad expeditions aren't dead....just been in a coma
After some thought it occured to me... There is only one purple (Dr. La Forge) so if he is the threshold reward who will be the ranked purple? Same if it is switched, if La Forge is ranked who will be the threshold purple? After considering this it isn't too unimaginable that they put La Forge as the ranked purple and Detective Data in the threshold...
...considering Data made a debut in Picard
Here is to hoping that happens.
I share your hope, but Shan was fairly clear in her last statement:
*snip*
Detective Data will not be part of the rewards however.
😢
And now I feel like a dunce cause I missed that.... Double whammy as I've also been chasing Detective Data... Oh well
Ditto on the chasing. 🖖
Would it really be difficult for them to make it not a flashback...as far as I remember the past 3 or 4 events that were replays were flashbacks instead of reruns....and I finally have a handle on my resources to be able to actually get to 400k now!
Given that they're changing the gameplay mechanics and the rewards schema, I don't see how it can be argued that it's a Flashback anyway. The distinction was supposed to be that a Flashback is identical to the first run, save a substitution for the rank reward 5*. That doesn't apply here.
After some thought it occured to me... There is only one purple (Dr. La Forge) so if he is the threshold reward who will be the ranked purple? Same if it is switched, if La Forge is ranked who will be the threshold purple? After considering this it isn't too unimaginable that they put La Forge as the ranked purple and Detective Data in the threshold...
...considering Data made a debut in Picard
Here is to hoping that happens.
I share your hope, but Shan was fairly clear in her last statement:
*snip*
Detective Data will not be part of the rewards however.
😢
And now I feel like a dunce cause I missed that.... Double whammy as I've also been chasing Detective Data... Oh well
Ditto on the chasing. 🖖
Would it really be difficult for them to make it not a flashback...as far as I remember the past 3 or 4 events that were replays were flashbacks instead of reruns....and I finally have a handle on my resources to be able to actually get to 400k now!
Given that they're changing the gameplay mechanics and the rewards schema, I don't see how it can be argued that it's a Flashback anyway. The distinction was supposed to be that a Flashback is identical to the first run, save a substitution for the rank reward 5*. That doesn't apply here.
That seems valid but I hope DB doesn't walk back and decide to play this event like they did the last time...the timer on each ticket was horrible and I also believe that back then the rare reward VP wasn't guaranteed
So.....
Just gonna leave this here to embody how I'm sure all of us feel at hearing that thought.
It occurs to me also that the event pack will consist of two 5*'s and only one 4*. That 4* will be in both threshold and rank rewards, so even if you didn't get him to 4/4 in 2016 or piece him together through packs since, there's still no real reason to chance getting yet another Doctor La Forge. I would have been tempted by some packs to chase a star or two for Data or Moriarity The Professor, but with them platooning the 5* slot, this seems like the least favorable pack odds. (Though if they were reduced to, say, 390 to account for depreciation, I'd definitely chance a couple of 'em!)
It occurs to me also that the event pack will consist of two 5*'s and only one 4*. That 4* will be in both threshold and rank rewards, so even if you didn't get him to 4/4 in 2016 or piece him together through packs since, there's still no real reason to chance getting yet another Doctor La Forge. I would have been tempted by some packs to chase a star or two for Data or Moriarity The Professor, but with them platooning the 5* slot, this seems like the least favorable pack odds. (Though if they were reduced to, say, 390 to account for depreciation, I'd definitely chance a couple of 'em!)
Right now I'm just hoping DB realises this is just really really bad PR for an event that could have brought smiles to a large number of players (nostalgia etc. etc.) ...
Maybe Data is not part of the rewards because they'll mail everyone a copy instead of the standard 150 Chronitons or Shuttle thingies for events?
I only have vague, ill-defined, and general feelings of dread when I think back to the last full expedition I participated in. I just remember it being a soul-crushing, seemingly-endless, self-driven anxiety trap. I distinctly remember having the feeling of "please Cthulhu, make it stop!" and then feeling sheer hopelessness when I won extra tickets, because it meant I had to keep going (I was new then and really couldn't afford to NOT participate)...
...and that was when threshold was only 130,000 VP. I'm not sure it has fully sunk in that to reach threshold this time it will require 350,000 VP.
I remember the Faction / Expedition hybrid on Christmas 2017, and Voyages were already a thing there. I couldn't even get my voyage to 8 hours because I needed literally all good crew for the expedition.
"Everything about the Jem'Hadar is lethal!" - Eris (ST-DS9 Episode 2x26 "The Jem'Hadar")
I remember the Faction / Expedition hybrid on Christmas 2017, and Voyages were already a thing there. I couldn't even get my voyage to 8 hours because I needed literally all good crew for the expedition.
Hopefully it will be better now. You have two years worth of newer Crew. But, at this point, I would not be surprised if they "adjust" the Missions to reflect the new Crew. Since it sounds like instead of this being a Rerun or a Flashback, they are just picking and choosing which parts of each to use.
It absolutely is not that much work to plug in an existing 5 🌟 if they are making other changes to the original format.
"The truth is like a lion; you don't have to defend it. Let it loose; it will defend itself."
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This
I wish it was going to be a “rerun”, because those have a 5* in the threshold rewards. Instead, Shan said that this will be a “flashback”, which has not (yet) had that:
🖖
D'oh! *cheerleader voice* Math is hard!
I sincerely doubt it will even be necessary to buy extra tickets. There's a lot of attrition in Expeditions. Players become impatient and bail early. Look no further than this very thread with some of our regulars already saying they're unlikely to stick it out or even bother at all. I have no real interest in a 1/5 T'Pol and I don't need any Doctor La Forge so I may be threshold and out myself.
With all these changes, I fail to see how this qualifies as a Flashback except as a classification reason not to tack Detective Data onto the thresholds. That's especially disappointing given the history of the event. Data was a rank reward the first time, and pack only the second. Why not throw us the bone and put him in the thresholds? Feels kinda unfair to Detective Data and those of us who have wanted another chance to earn him in an event.
That's the point ... there is no reason to play this event unless you want T'Pol.
I'd rather have another star on Professor Moriarty. Either way, though, DB needs to seriously rethink this event and put some incentive for older players to want to play this event.
oh no, that's going to be horrible. I can't imagine the pain of scrolling through 200 crew looking through one for each ticket holy crap this sounds like torture without auto-sorting. back to the pain of the first skirmish with trait bonuses for each ship battle. my head hurts.
Amen
Yeah, life gets REALLY GD boring when one is one of those folk that have 700 or so mindless FF/FE minions at their beck and call. (like Brainless Spock maybe???)
Well, life isn't always fair.
(... but maybe you should delete all your existing accounts and start from scratch again if you desire to combat that nagging ennui! LOL LOL
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I share your hope, but Shan was fairly clear in her last statement:
😢
And now I feel like a dunce cause I missed that.... Double whammy as I've also been chasing Detective Data... Oh well
Ditto on the chasing. 🖖
Would it really be difficult for them to make it not a flashback...as far as I remember the past 3 or 4 events that were replays were flashbacks instead of reruns....and I finally have a handle on my resources to be able to actually get to 400k now!
It's not difficult, they've done it for years, the excuse is not making any new crew, which might be expensive, but that doesn't mean they can't put some crew at 400k if they want to.
They started doing flashbacks to save on art and design resources when they announced their next product. I'll let you draw your own conclusions.
Ah ok I didn't know that, that's a bummer but I guess I should be glad expeditions aren't dead....just been in a coma
Given that they're changing the gameplay mechanics and the rewards schema, I don't see how it can be argued that it's a Flashback anyway. The distinction was supposed to be that a Flashback is identical to the first run, save a substitution for the rank reward 5*. That doesn't apply here.
That seems valid but I hope DB doesn't walk back and decide to play this event like they did the last time...the timer on each ticket was horrible and I also believe that back then the rare reward VP wasn't guaranteed
So.....
Just gonna leave this here to embody how I'm sure all of us feel at hearing that thought.
Right now I'm just hoping DB realises this is just really really bad PR for an event that could have brought smiles to a large number of players (nostalgia etc. etc.) ...
Maybe Data is not part of the rewards because they'll mail everyone a copy instead of the standard 150 Chronitons or Shuttle thingies for events?
Now that would be something (hint, hint) ...
...and that was when threshold was only 130,000 VP. I'm not sure it has fully sunk in that to reach threshold this time it will require 350,000 VP.
How many tickets will it take to clear the 350k VP threshold, assuming we only do one full run for max VP on each ticket?
How many tickets will we get for free of we use them as soon as we get them?
Basically, I'm wanting to know if I'll need to buy extra tickets or grind harder to make threshold. Thanks in advance!
Hopefully it will be better now. You have two years worth of newer Crew. But, at this point, I would not be surprised if they "adjust" the Missions to reflect the new Crew. Since it sounds like instead of this being a Rerun or a Flashback, they are just picking and choosing which parts of each to use.
It absolutely is not that much work to plug in an existing 5 🌟 if they are making other changes to the original format.