I believe that the improvements needed the most are the following in order.
1. Introduce new event types. Currently we have 2.5 event types. Galaxy, faction, and I have given a half of an event type to expedition as it is so rarely used. These types can be mixed into hybrid events but any hybrid is truly only a mini galaxy event. We need diversity to keep the game fresh and enjoyable. Over the last few months, many of the high level players and SPENDERS that I am friends with have stopped competing in events only completing thresholds. Some have left altogether. Let's give the players a reason to re-engage.
2. Fix the fully fused behold issue. Once again this is an issue that should be in DBs best interest. Players who have fully fused many of their crew do not want to spend real money to airlock crew received from a behold. Many of us save up to purchase a crew pack. Give us value for our money. I think that if you receive a fully fused behold, you should receive a citation. This reflects value and a reward for spending in the past and fully fusing so many crew. This should be easy to code and would generate a large surge in sales as people will no longer be cautious about getting nothing for their money.
3. Event rewards need to be restructured especially squad and FLEET rewards. There are many more players than when the game originally launched and rewards should be adjusted accordingly. The rewards for the top players should not be copies of the event crew but legendary citations. More people would PURCHASE event packs and compete for rank if there were something of true value at the end of the competition. I have placed in the top 5 and what did I receive for all my effort? Crew I already had and needed to be able to get there. Quite a let down. Squad rewards are a complete joke. I get more replicator rations out of a single voyage than I get for top squad rewards. This needs to be looked into and adjusted. Stellar Ice has been doing a great job of compiling fleet standings for several months now. This should be done in game and fleets should be rewarded for working together to achieve greatness. Perhaps the fleet rewards should be special offers. The higher your fleet places the better your special offer. ($9.99 for 5* citation offer?) Done correctly fleet rewards could be a revenue stream.
This is a great game and many improvements have been made over the last couple of years. I would like to see it remain around for many more. In order for it to remain DB needs to make money and players need a reason to spend.
1. Events:More Re-runs, mega events which incorporate re-runs, emphasis on utilizing predominately existing crew and incorporating relevant pack-only crew into future re-runs. There are many other suggestions for improvements to events and additional event types which I am in favor of. Perhaps by emphasizing re-runs, it might give DB some time to work on other aspects of the game and give all players more access to, immortalizing, and use for existing crew.
2. Honor: It has finally been explicitly stated that the honor rate for dismissals will not change. Despite previously being told that our feedback would be considered, it seems exactly none of it has so far swayed DB's views on the matter. As of yet an alternate plan for addressing the concerns on honor rates brought up by the community has not been offered. The ongoing honor rate discussion did indicate an overwhelming consensus that some change would make sense, yet it has failed to alter the dismissal rates from what they were from before it was officially implemented. I encourage everyone with an opinion on the matter to calculate their current honor debt and to consider some of the previous discussion.
It is the dismissal values relative to the citation costs for the 4* and 5* crew that are particularly problematic.
The following is one example of the costs of the current honor rates. Another, more difficult to track and interdependent with other factors, would be player loss through burn out and frustration. Most people who have been participating in the honor discussion understand that DB needs to make money and are invested in their success.
As such, I'd like to suggest two alternate strategies for reducing the number of duplicates from packs and events. Fewer duplicates means fewer dismissals, which provides an upstream work around for the unreasonably low dismissal value relative to the cost of equivalent rarity citations.
2.a Reducing Duplicates from Packs: Implement some form of the many suggestions which have been offered. Such as making all FF beholds offer either an equivalent citation or a refresh option. The refresh would either be free or a very reasonable cost with multiple currency options (credits, merits, or dilithum). Additionally, packs should not reward 4* or 5* crew outside of beholds, unless it was guaranteed not to be an already FF crew.
2.b Reducing Duplicates from Event Rewards: One possible way of restructuring event rewards to specifically address the honor and duplicates issue among others: Threshold:Crew and Ranked:Honor.
Which could look something like this, though the concept is still in development and in need of feedback.
3. Quality of Life Improvements: Some of these have been asked about for a long time, others more recently. It's still just three if I make them subsections right?...
3.b Competent Crew for Voyages: As has been suggested previously elsewhere and earlier in this thread, there should be an option or a default mechanic that your highly trained crew doesn't just get distracted and run out of antimatter. Instead of a "system failure" it could be replaced by a prompt from your first officer, letting you know you are out of antimatter and need to extend or recall the voyage at that point. In addition to choosing to extend a voyage, players could also spend some Dilithium at the beginning so that they leave with more antimatter. In this way players could simply opt in to spend for longer voyages both proactively and as needed. No more babysitting the end of the voyage, no more being held hostage if your mission fails and you don't have enough dilithium to refill it.
3.c Warp Cadet Missions: As it is for other missions, in order to warp the cadet missions, you'd have to level the necessary crew required and clear those nodes. For all the other missions we warp, we aren't required to keep the crew which those missions required in our active roster. This would free up some crew slots, reduce burn out from repetition, and save a bit of time doing dailies. Those who wanted to run the missions could of course still do so.
3.d Forum Signal to Noise: Too many useful, relevant and thoughtful threads and posts get buried. Please give us a way to up vote, or organize in some way, such that the community can keep civil discussions and ideas floating above the abyss of mere negativity and complaint that consumes these forums from time to time. This might also help minimize some of the redundant and miscategorized threads.
Comments
1. Introduce new event types. Currently we have 2.5 event types. Galaxy, faction, and I have given a half of an event type to expedition as it is so rarely used. These types can be mixed into hybrid events but any hybrid is truly only a mini galaxy event. We need diversity to keep the game fresh and enjoyable. Over the last few months, many of the high level players and SPENDERS that I am friends with have stopped competing in events only completing thresholds. Some have left altogether. Let's give the players a reason to re-engage.
2. Fix the fully fused behold issue. Once again this is an issue that should be in DBs best interest. Players who have fully fused many of their crew do not want to spend real money to airlock crew received from a behold. Many of us save up to purchase a crew pack. Give us value for our money. I think that if you receive a fully fused behold, you should receive a citation. This reflects value and a reward for spending in the past and fully fusing so many crew. This should be easy to code and would generate a large surge in sales as people will no longer be cautious about getting nothing for their money.
3. Event rewards need to be restructured especially squad and FLEET rewards. There are many more players than when the game originally launched and rewards should be adjusted accordingly. The rewards for the top players should not be copies of the event crew but legendary citations. More people would PURCHASE event packs and compete for rank if there were something of true value at the end of the competition. I have placed in the top 5 and what did I receive for all my effort? Crew I already had and needed to be able to get there. Quite a let down. Squad rewards are a complete joke. I get more replicator rations out of a single voyage than I get for top squad rewards. This needs to be looked into and adjusted. Stellar Ice has been doing a great job of compiling fleet standings for several months now. This should be done in game and fleets should be rewarded for working together to achieve greatness. Perhaps the fleet rewards should be special offers. The higher your fleet places the better your special offer. ($9.99 for 5* citation offer?) Done correctly fleet rewards could be a revenue stream.
This is a great game and many improvements have been made over the last couple of years. I would like to see it remain around for many more. In order for it to remain DB needs to make money and players need a reason to spend.
This^^^ All of it.