Star Trek Online can be a little intimidating, considering its' age. When I first started, I was very much unknowledgeable about the game and made some mistakes. I make this guide for new players to know what everything is and what they should do. This is a guide for new and returning players to STO that need some heads up.
Note: For more questions, please consult the STO Wiki (https://stowiki.net) to help you get started. (Also, there are 2 STO Wikis, the Fandom and the .Net, but for an ad-free and cleaner mobile design, go to the .net. (The .net is the "New STOWiki")
I. Character Creation
When you first start STO, you will have to create a character. You can choose 1 of 6 factions: Post-Nemesis Starfleet, TOS Starfleet, Discovery Starfleet, the Klingon Defense Force, the Romulan Republic, and the Dominion. I would recommend choosing one of the three Starfleet factions, as most of the game's content is centered around that. The only one I'd advise against is the Dominion, as that is a faction for players who know what they're doing. Note: TOS and DIS Starfleet will join 2409 after completing their tutorial and first arc. Dominion and Romulan Republic will have to choose between KDF and Starfleet for their "allegiance" (basically what ships you get and what specific missions you get. But, in the end, choose the one you want.
The next thing you will choose is your species. This will be dependent on your faction. This has some minor changes with traits between one and the other, but I would recommend choosing which one you want. Some species cost money (Klingons on FED, Caitians/Ferasan, Joined Trill (not to be confused with Unjoined Trill, or "Trill"), Cardassian, and Reman*), and some cost a Lifetime Sub (play the game before you buy that!!!) but you have to create a character to access the Zen Store before you can create these. If you can not find a specific one, like Denobulan or Xindi-Primate, you can choose Alien and toy around with that. Most people will recommend alien due to more choice, but in the end STO is a game about choices, and it's up to you.
After this, you will choose your career. While these 3 (Engineering, Tactical, and Science) have slight advantages (Tactical for Damage, Engineering for Survivability/"Tanking" and Science for Healing, Exotic (space magic) and Buff /Debuff (positive and negative impacts)) it really comes down to you. If you want to be like Picard, Riker, Janeway, and Sisko? Tactical. Want to be like Scotty, LaForge, B'Elanna, or O'Brien? Engineering. Want to be like Spock, Jadzia, T'Pol or Stamets? Science. In the end, it comes down to you.
After that, name your character and ship! Some names are restricted, like "Enterprise", "Excelsior", or "Titan", but other than that most names are fair use.
II. Tutorial and Missions
After this, you will have to play the tutorial. All factions (except for Dominion which doesn't have one) will require you play their tutorial at least one. While you may want to jump right into the deep end, I would recommend playing these as they give you a sense of the game. Once you play the respective faction's tutorial, if you create a new character in that SAME faction (if you played the KDF tutorial you cannot skip the TOS tutorial unless you've already played the TOS Tutorial) you can skip it, although I would recommend you not as these provide more experience off-the-bat, 2000 free Energy Credits (basically the currency in STO) and some helpful equipment.
NOTE: If you create a character on a faction undergoing a recruitment event, you must play that factions tutorial. We'll talk about those later.
After you play the Tutorial, I would recommend playing all the missions. This may take 1-2 weeks, or up to a month, depending on how you spend your time, but this will help you get more gear and prepare you for end-game content. There are also side-missions, but those are not part of the main plot.
III. Gear, BOffs, Skills and Abilities, and Starships.
While playing through the game, you will encounter gear. Gear is equipment to equip on your character. I would recommend putting on the highest level gear you have and can put on, and within those ones that give you boosts or ones that give the most protection/damage/etc. Some gear can be acquired for money, earned through events, or bought. I will talk about those later on.
NOTE: There is bound-to-character gear, which can't travel through your account nor be traded or sold. Bound-to-account can be transferred to other toons in your account (account is your client and your toons), but not to other people. If gear doesn't have this, it can be sold or traded.
BOffs, or Bridge Officers, are the NPCs who accompany you on away missions and have special abilites for your starship when put into a Bridge Officer Slot (or "Stations"). When you complete the tutorial or the first or second arc, you will earn 4 bridge officers. As you level up by completing missions, you will earn the ability to have more BOffs. These are not to be confused with DOffs, who complete Personnel Assignments to earn you various equipment, tools, or equipment, or personnel you can activate to get various bonuses.
Skills and Abilities are player abilities and bonuses you get while leveling up. Skills help you specialize your starship and "toon" (character) and gives you access to BOff Abilities. There is also Specializations which are unlocked at level 51 and give you even further buffs. These also tie in with BOff Abilities and Seating, which are clickable icons to give your ship special boosts. Player Abilities are clickable icons that give the player special boosts. Ship Abilities are basically Player Abilities but for your starship. Item Abilities are boosts given to you by an equipable device to boost your experience.
Starships are the things you fly while in space and are part of your gaming experience. Starships can benefit you in combat or serve as "space barbie" which is the cosmetics sector. There are 7 tiers: Small Craft, T1, T2, T3, T4, T5, and T6.
Small Craft: Also called "Shuttles", you are required to fly small craft in various missions, like "The Vault".
T1: Tier 1 is the first starship type. You will get a T1 ship after completing the tutorial. Other T1 ships can be bought with in-game currency like Dilithium.
T2: The second starship tier for levels 10-19. You will get a T2 ship once you level to Lieutenant Commander or Centurion. Other T2 ships can be bought with in-game currency.
T3: The third starship tier for levels 20-29. You will get a T3 ship once you level to Commander (KDF and UFP) or Subcommander (Romulan Republic). You will also get one by completing the mission "Temporal Ambassador." Others can be acquired with in-game currency.
T4: The fourth starship tier for levels 30-39. You will get a T4 ship after you level to Captain (KDF and UFP) or Commander (Romulan Republic). Others can be acquired with in-game currency.
T5: The fifth starship level. You will get one at level 40 and hang on to it until Level 61 (assuming you don't have Lifetime). Dominion players will automatically earn an "advanced" T5 ship. After Level 61, you will get another T5 ship, but this one advanced, like the Dominion one. T5 Ships can also be acquired for in-game currency or through "Lockboxes" (I will talk about those later, but I DO NOT recommend getting a T5 that way.) T5 ships the first ships to appear in boxes, and can be bought off of the exchange.
NOTE: Advanced T5 Ships and T6 Ships have Starship Mastery, which will unlock a certain "Trait" for your starship.
T6: The sixth starship level. You do not get one for free off-the-bat, but can either buy them, earn them through events (most commonly Summer, Winter, and Event Campaign), or earn them through Lockboxes, Promotional Packs, or Phoenix Prize Packs (All 3 of these involving gambling, and the 2 former cost real money. I would not recommend any of these as a viable way of getting a T6 ship. All Lockbox and Promotional ships may be bought on the exchange (if there), or acquired by participating in the Event Campaign. Phoenix Prize Pack ships usually are not full-spec and most other event ships can be bought in Mudd's Market. If buying from Mudd's, Remember Rule of Acquisition 3, Never pay more on an acquisition than you have to, get them on sale!)
IV. Leveling and End-Game Content
Leveling will unlock certain content. For the whole list, go to Rewards at the STO Wiki. I will just be describing the important stuff unlocked here.
Level 1 (UFP)/4 (KDF)/ 10 (RR): Transwarp: Transwarp is basically a shortcut so you do not have to travel through Sector Space ("main overworld" of STO). You may know Transwarp from the Borg, as they heavily utilized it.
Level 2: Patrol: These are missions you can play to "grind" for gear or Dilithium. Some story missions will have you play these as content.
Level 5/ Level 10 (RR): PVP: PVP is Player vs Player content. While no mission will have you put against another player, you may join a PVP match against other layers.
Level 11: Duty Officers: Duty Officers can handle a range of assignments, boost your level in commendations like Diplomacy, or go on active duty to give your ship more bonuses/buffs.
Level 15: R&D: R&D is basically the crafting in STO. R&D also has something to do with Duty Officers. R&D will help you craft Upgrade Kits to improve the level of a pre-existing piece of gear, or create new gear entirely.
Level 50: Slipstream and Reputations. Slipstream is the ability to travel at increased warp speeds in sector space. Slipstream lasts for 30 seconds usually, but can last longer on other ships like a Miracle Worker ship. Reputation is a system that allows you to get more gear and traits, using Marks earned in TFOs (Task Force Operations). Some reputations give you Bridge Officers, like Task Force Omega, or other things like Species with the Remans unlockable in [the New Romulus reputation] (https://stowiki.net/wiki/Reputation:_New_Romulus).
NOTE: This also also the level where you can first participate in Red Alerts
Level 51: Specializations: A Specilazation is like a skill, but more specialized to you and your ship. Most T6 Ships have a Commander-level Specialization, and all have a specialization seat. Specializations can help in both space and ground combat. You have a primary specialization, which grants you their passive buff and all purchased abilities, while secondary specializations only go for purchased abilities in the first two tiers. Points can be earned via events or post-65 leveling.
Level 52: Admiralty: Admiralty is basically Duty Officer assignments but with ships. You have the ships you own, plus any admirality ships acquired (via Phoenix Prize Packs, U.S.S. Sally Ride, Level 10, etc.). You can earn 1x use ships from assignments or other methods. 1x use ships can only be used one time. There are also chain assignments like Tour of Duty which provide bonuses when the last one is completed.
Level 60: Endeavors: These are missions that can be completed daily to get more energy credits, perks, etc. Universal Endeavors can be completed once every two to three days and give the most perks.
Once you reach Level 65, you may want to get a T6 ship as the content spikes in difficulty. And it doesn't help that you reach Level 65 in the arc with the Vaadwaur, one of the most formidable opponents, so you may want to consult STO BETTER or STO League.
There are also Events, which if you participate in them for the required period of time, you can earn gear, experience, or even starships. There are calendar events, which always happen near the same dates, and recruitment events, which provide bonuses for completing tasks on a new character created during that time. Recruitment times and factions are indicated by a the faction(s) undergoing a recruitment event shining when you first log on (character select screen.)
NOTE: Recruitment event times are NOT the time to complete the recruitment. All it is is the time to create the recruit. Once you get the transponder, you can progress the recruitment at your own pace.
There is also the event campaign, which awards you with one of the following: 1500 Lobi, a Promo/Lock Box ship (not from the current year), or 2 T6 Vouchers. The T6 Vouchers will give you 2 ships from the Zen Store claimable as many times as you want (how to do this is access the Zen Store, search up the ship you want, and press the button that says something like 100% Off. If you want to reclaim it on a different character, go to that same ship and press "claim.") The Promo/Lock Box ship will give you 1 ship from a promo box or lock box for use on 1 CHARACTER on your account. (This one of the recommended ways of getting them as this does not cost substantial amounts of money.) The 1500 Lobi can be used to get you items from the Lobi store.
V. Currency and Economics
There are various different in-game currencies, and it's important to know the difference.
Dilithium is a currency which can be used to buy Phoenix Prize Packs, ships, equipment, vanity shields (shields equippable in the "appearance" section that change the look of your starship) and more. Dilithium can also be exchange for...
Zen is currency usually attainable by paying real money or in-game dilithium. Zen can be used to purchase ships, equipment, species, bridge officers, and master keys, which unlock Lock Boxes. Lock Boxes can earn you various items, like ships (rarely, do not expect a ship if unboxing a Lock Box, get those on the exchange ot via the event campaign), equipment, and the like. Zen can also get Promo Packs during a promotional period, which give you DOffs/R&D Material, and a small chance of a T6 ship (again, do not expect a ship if unlocking a promo pack, get them on the exchange or via the Event Campaign). Both Lock Boxes and Promo Packs award...
Lobi, spendable at the Lobi Crystal Consortium, can get you gear, equipment, or ships. You can acquire these from Lock/Promo Boxes or the Event Campaign. You may know Lobi from the Voyager Pilot, where Quark tries to sell Harry Kim these crystals.
Energy Credits, or EC, are spendable at the Exchange. You can buy or sell items at the exchange. For example, if you want a Rare Gorn Bridge Officer, and it costs x EC, you can spend x EC to get it. However, if you do not have x amount of EC, you can recycle non-needed items from your inventory or sell some items on the Exchange. Once you buy an item from the exchange, it will appear in your mailbox.
Salvage is a currency used in re-engineering items. For example, if you have a phaser with the modifier [Dmg] (damage), and you want one with [CrtD] (Critical Severity), you can use salvage to potentially get that modifier. Salvage can be earned by "salvaging" equipment.
Last, and least, is Gold-Pressed Latinum, or GPL. GPL doesn't have much value, unlike in main Star Trek, and is mostly used for getting cosmetic items with no real value. GPL can be earned by playing Dabo and duty officer assignments, among other things.
VI. FAQs
How do I join?
It's simple! Go to https://www.playstartrekonline.com/en/ and press the big blue button that says play.
Do I have to pay real money?
Absolutely not a penny. Even items in the Zen store can be earned by grinding Dilithium for the Dilithium Exchange.
What should I avoid doing?
Avoid doing stuff like mixing weapon types on ships or putting random consoles on your ships. While this may not matter in the early-game, it could potentially hinder your performance in the late game.
Help, this guy just offered my an invite to a fleet! What is that and what should I do?
Usually, if you did not ask to be invited to a fleet, decline. If you accidentally accept, go to the "Roster" tab and click the button in the lower right hand corner that says "leave." You can learn more about fleets here.
I forgot my password to my account. Can someone help me?
Yes, contact Support in order to recover it.
My friend plays on Xbox and I play on PC. Can we play together?
I'm afraid not. You must be on the same platform to play together.
Wait, another of my friends plays on Steam and I play on Arc? Can we play together?
Yes, Arc and Steam are both PC, so they can play together.
I chose Pakled for my species, but I don't like it now. Can I change?
I'm sorry, but you must create a new character.
How do I change clothes?
Go to the tailor (uniform icon) and talk to him. There should be an word that says "Tailor". Press it.
I just turned Level 65 and now I can't beat the Vaadwaur! When I was Level 64 and below they were easy!
First, congratulations on max level. Second, I would recommend refining your build by using tools like the STO Wiki, STO BETTER and STO League, and looking into the possibility of getting a T6 ship (doesn't have to be full spec, although I'd recommend that too.)
How do I make a fleet?
You will need 4 other people to help you. Go to the fleet contact and create your fleet.
How do I travel to the system for my mission.? I'm in ESD and don't know what to press.
There should be a button that looks like someone beaming up. Press it and confirm. You'll be in the Sol System (or whatever system you are in). Press the button that looks like a vortex. You'll travel to sector space. There, you can either ramp the warp up or set a course.
What's the difference between Zone and Local Chat?
Zone chat is to talk to everyone in the are you are in, even in different zones. So, let's say you are in ESD. Everyone currently in ESD could see your comment. Local Chat is only for the people in your instance, so only the people right around you would see it.
What does the number on my weapon mean?
It means that's it's mark. Some marks are only equippable for some players. Once you reach Level 65, you can equip every mark.
I unlocked a ship from the very rare section of the Phoenix Prize Pack but can't get it, help!
Only Epic Tokens can get you ships. Don't worry, it's probably an Admiralty ship you can use in Admiralty once you unlock. And before you feel stupid, even I made that mistake before, so don't worry.
My favorite ship is the Galaxy class and I really want to get it. How can I get it?
I recommend searching up the Galaxy class or whatever ship you want on the wiki. Most of the time they will have it. I would get a T6 Variant, like the Cygnus or Andromeda.
What's the difference between Fleet and Regular Ships?
Fleet ships usually cost Fleet Credits and not Zen, and have a bit stronger stats, but miss out on consoles, traits, and account unlock. It's up to you. A lot of Zen ships are fleet-grade, meaning they don't have a fleet equivalent. I'd recommend looking into those first.
What is the "Lohlunat Festival?"
The Lohlunat Festival is the Summer Event. You can earn a free T6 ship from it.
Why can't I kill the Borg?
Get a Frequency Remodulator. They're free and useful against the Borg.
Some guy online said that an Alien was the best species to choose, but I want to be a Pakled. Should I choose the Alien?
While Aliens may be a tiny bit better, if you want to be a Pakled, be a Pakled! If you want to be an Andorian, be an Andorian!
I want to be an Aenar like Hemmer, but I can't find them. Can I be an Aenar?
While there may be no official Aenar, you can always make an Alien that looks like an Aenar.
Some guy online is offering me Zen at a cheaper price. Should I buy it?
No! Do not buy anything related to Star Trek Online from third-party sellers online. If you want a ship, either (if it's a Zen ship) buy it in the Zen store with Zen (buy Zen in the store or in the launcher), (if it's a Lobi ship) on the store or on the exchange, or (if it's a lockbox/promo ship) buy it on the exchange (or gamble, which I do not recommend.)
What about combat? What do I do?
You can read about combat here. Most of the things you'll need to know will be revealed to you during the tutorial.
What's "Crit"?
Crit, or Critical is a major hit to a vessel. Boosts to "Crit" will come in two forms: Crit Chance and Crit Severity. Crit Chance increases the possibility of scoring a major/critical hit to an enemy, while crit severity will increase the damage a critical hit does.
What tools can help me?
STO Better, STO League and STO Wiki are all really good tools to help you with STO. Don't worry if you don't know everything right away, you'll get better with time.
What do I do if one of my questions aren't on this list?
I would recommend searching your question up or reading about the topic on the wiki.
Anyways, I hope this guide is helpful to all your STO needs. Feel free to comment with any concerns or suggestions.
Edits: Some minor spelling and 2 questions added.
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