Intelligence Officers

Bridge Officer Specialization: Intelligence

The Delta Quadrant is a vast frontier of unexplored space, ripe for exploration and the acquisition of new knowledge and discoveries. Among the primary tenets being outlined by Operation Delta Rising is the need for an increased focus on the gathering and use of any and all available information that could aid in defending against the various aggressors of this untamed region of space. This task has been delegated to the various Intelligence agencies of each of the major Alpha and Beta Quadrant species, bringing these organizations into the forefront of their combined efforts.

Intelligence Specialists have always been present in each of the major factions, but have rarely served aboard starships as permanent fixtures, until now. The techniques and tools of these somewhat clandestine operatives are now being made available to trusted captains via the addition of Intelligence Specialist Bridge Officers. Once serving aboard your vessel, they will use their training to undermine the effectiveness of enemies, while assisting their allies in resisting similar tactics.

Profession vs. Specialization

Before explaining some of the exciting new features of Intelligence Specialists, it’s important to explain some of the terminology behind them. The Intelligence designation in Star Trek Online will be known as a “Specialization,” while the previous categories of Tactical, Engineering and Science are known as the officer’s “Profession.” Bridge Officers will be capable of belonging to both a single Profession and a single Specialization.

In this way, every Intelligence Specialist may sometimes be referred to as a hybrid officer, and their ability options will include the full selection of those available to both their Profession and their Specialization. While Intelligence will be the only Specialization offered with the launch of Delta Rising, the system has been created in such a way as to support introducing additional Bridge Officer Specializations in future updates.



Hybrid Bridge Officer Seats and Ability Restrictions

As detailed in our previous blog, a limited selection of Tier 6 Starships will possess specialized hybrid bridge officer seats at the launch of Delta Rising. An Intelligence Specialist must be seated in one of these hybrid seats in order to be able to utilize their new Intelligence abilities in space combat situatons. However, they may also be seated in traditional Bridge Officer seats that match their Profession, and still make use of all of the abilities traditionally available in those same seats. This allows an Intelligence Specialist to serve aboard any starship, albeit with a limited subset of abilities while in space.

Existing “Universal” seats do not allow for Specialization abilities to be used.

This restriction does not apply to ground combat scenarios, and as such, Intelligence abilities can be used without restriction by any Specialist you have as a member of your away team.



Training and Re-Training

With the release of Delta Rising, Bridge Officer Trainers throughout the galaxy will be updated to include a full selection of Rank I and Rank II Intelligence Specialist abilities. By interacting with these existing NPCs, the abilities currently trained by any Intelligence Specialist can be swapped out at the expense of a small amount of Energy Credits, as well as the Expertise used to train any new abilities up through their available ranks.

This level of customization will allow any Intelligence Specialist to fulfill the exact role you wish them to fill, rather than being constrained to the limitations of a single set of abilities. Want to keep Beam: Overload handy in your Tactical Station, but wish to experiment with the new Intelligence abilities? As long as your ship is equipped with a hybrid Tactical/Intelligence Seat, this option can be easily arranged.

Rank III abilities will be obtainable in-game for Captains that seek the additional customization and effectiveness of these high-end options. Information on unlocking those options will be included in a future Dev Blog.

Intelligence Abilities

The abilities used by Intelligence Specialists are thematically focused on undermining the effectiveness of enemies. The use of stealth and control abilities, coupled with a few other risky and inventive maneuvers, gives this specialization a unique feel that complements the existing Professions rather than duplicating or deprecating them.

The following section will give a brief explanation of each of the abilities offered to Intelligence Specialists. Please be aware that the details of each power are subject to change, as we continue to review and tune them based on both internal testing, and player experience and feedback gathered from the Tribble Test Server.




Ground:

Feign Disintegration
Convince the enemy of your untimely demise by simulating the effects of a being vaporized by incoming fire, similar to the technique employed by Section 31 operative Luther Sloan (DS9 7x16). Masked by this ruse, you will gain an impenetrable short-duration Stealth, increased speed, and an Ambush bonus.
Frictionless Particle Grenade
Lob an explosive that will cover the area in an extremely slippery substance. Enemies hit by the substance will have their damage resistance debuffed, and any foes entering the area have a periodic chance to be knocked prone.
Harmless
The targeted foe is no longer able to target you for a decent duration. While in effect, the user also generates no threat toward the foe (if an NPC).
Incite Chaos
By scrambling the target’s neurological inputs, you can force them to fire upon their allies. Any allies they strike will subsequently become confused, thus spreading the chaos.
Neurolytic Hypo Injection
This volatile chemical compound must be injected from melee range, and will completely incapacitate any foe for a short duration. When they emerge from their stupor they will remain confused for some time after. These effects are enhanced if applied from a Flanking position.
Photonic Decoy
Spawn a duplicate in a flanking position near your foe. Nearby NPCs will be taunted into attacking this new target.
Resonant Tachyon Stream
A tachyon carrier beam allows the shield capacity of the targeted enemy to be stolen and applied to your own defenses.
Site-to-Site Ensnare
Fire a long-distance tagger that will then initiate a site-to-site transport, bringing your foe to your location. Because of the sudden unexpected transport, they will be disoriented for a very short duration, but damaging them may break this effect.
Sonic Suppression Field
You are able to muffle the sounds generated by your actions, causing you to appear less threatening to nearby combatants to the point that they may ignore you entirely. While active, you will also deal additional damage to enemies you are Flanking.
Subspace Anesthizine Mine
Deploy a stealth mine near your current location, nearly imperceptible to foes. If triggered, it will release a cloud of anesthizine gas, slowing and reducing the damage output of any nearby foes. Those unfortunate enough to be caught in the cloud also have a chance of being thrown into a coughing fit, unable to act or move.
Tripwire Drone
A small drone is deployed toward the targeted foe’s location, whipping out with energy tendrils in all directions as it moves. These have a chance to trip and ensnare any foes they encounter. Upon reaching its destination, or maximum distance, the drone will explode and deal additional kinetic damage.




Space:

Electromagnetic Pulse Probe
This slow-moving probe will travel toward your target’s current location. The probe emits a debilitating field as it moves, periodically disabling any foes it comes in contact with. Upon reaching its destination, it will explode in a shockwave of electromagnetic energy, damaging and disabling nearby foes.
Energy Weapons : Surgical Strikes
Activating this ability will cause your beam and cannon weapons to fire more accurately for the duration of the buff, benefit from increased Accuracy and Critical Hit Chance. However, they will also fire more slowly while this is in effect.
Evade Target Lock
The victim of this ability will have their accuracy drastically reduced against the user. Additionally, the ship that uses this ability will be seen as an invalid target for all nearby mines and targetable torpedoes.
Intelligence Team
Intelligence Team grants the target (or yourself) a short duration Cloak, while simultaneously reducing the amount of threat the target generates against all nearby enemies. It will also remove the "Expose Vulnerability" debuffs that can be inflicted by enemy Intelligence starships.
Ionic Turbulence
Create a hazardous cloud at the targeted location. Foes caught in this hazard will have their damage resistance reduced, as well as their movement capabilities. Additionally, lingering in the cloud has a chance to cause affected ships to briefly spin out of control.
Kinetic Magnet
Resonate the enemy’s hull, causing them to take greater damage from all kinetic sources. This resonance will also draw in all nearby mines and targetable torpedoes, regardless of their allegiance.
Override Subsystem Safeties
Temporarily increase the maximum power thresholds on all subsystems. The bonuses gained by this ability fade quickly over the duration. Once the effect ends, a random subsystem will be shut down for a short duration. Higher ranks of this ability will reduce the offline time.
Subnucleonic Carrier Wave
This ability is capable of removing beneficial effects from nearby foes and playing havoc with their ability cooldowns. The effects of this power are far weaker than those of Subnucleonic Beam, but it is capable of affecting up to 5 nearby foes simultaneously.
Torpedo : Transport Warhead
Upgrade your next torpedo attack, and beam a warhead directly to the command decks of your targeted foe. After a short fuse timer, the explosion will occur, completely bypassing shields and granting a small chance for a random subsystem to go offline.
Viral Impulse Burst
Multiple nearby foes will receive a speed increase, but their turn rate and throttle controls will be disabled. The culmination of these effects is that foes will end up "running away" from the user, giving them an opportunity to regroup.
Subspace Beacon
Place a beacon at your current location. As long as you remain within a limited distance of this beacon, you may trigger the ability a second time to instantly jump to its location. Activating a jump, or moving more than the maximum distance away, will cause the beacon to expire. Although the beacon is destructible, it has a high stealth value.





Chart of Intelligence Specialist Abilities By Rank


Ground

Ability Display Name
ENS
LT
LT CDR
CDR
Resonant Tachyon Stream I II III
Frictionless Particle Grenade I II III
Harmless I II III
Sonic Suppression Field I II III
Incite Chaos I II III
Photonic Decoy I II III
Site-to-Site Ensnare I II III
Subspace Anesthezine Mine I II III
Neurolytic Hypo Injection I II III
Tripwire Drone I II/III
Feign Disintegration I II/III

Space

Ability Display Name
ENS
LT
LT CDR
CDR
Viral Impulse Burst I II III
Override Safety I II III
Evade Target Lock I II III
Intelligence Team I II III
Subspace Beacon I II III
Kinetic Magnet I II III
Ionic Turbulence I II III
Electromagnetic Pulse Probe I II III
Subnucleonic Carrier Wave I II III
Transport Warhead I II/III
Surgical Strikes I II/III


Intelligence Specialist Bridge Officers

Alongside the launch of Delta Rising, we will be adding White/Common quality Intelligence Specialists to the existing Bridge Officer Recruitment vendors stationed on major social maps. Players that have reached at least level 50 can freely acquire these specially-trained hybrid officers in various Professions and Species.

We intend to make higher-quality Specialist Bridge Officers available through various in-game methods, but the specific details are still in flux. More precise details will become available as we near the launch date for this expansion.



Q&A

Q: Can my existing Bridge Officers be trained in this new Specialization?
A: Not at the time of the release of Delta Rising. We are investigating internally if this additional functionality can be added at some point in the future, but cannot commit at this time.

Q: How will an Intelligence Specialist behave in a non-hybrid Bridge Officer seat, if they are currently trained in Intelligence abilities?
A: Any Intelligence abilities will be grayed out in this scenario. You will need to re-train the officer in non-Specialist abilities, in order to field a full complement of Space Abilities while not using a hybrid seat.

Q: Since Intelligence Specialists have access to two sets of abilities (Profession and Specialization) does this mean they can have 16 abilities, instead of 8?
A: Specialist Bridge Officers may still only have a total of 8 active abilities at any point in time – 4 ground, 4 space. The addition of a Specialization allows them to mix and match these abilities as they see fit, but never exceed the number of abilities that are available to other Bridge Officers. Only the number of choices for training is expanded.

Q: I need more details about Intelligence abilities! These blurbs don’t explain their full functionality!
A: This Dev Blog is purposefully designed to be only a high-level review of the concept for each ability, as they are still in the midst of tuning and iteration. Specific details for each can be reviewed on the Tribble Test Server, once this feature is ready for public testing. We will endeavor to respond to feedback regarding each ability, including potential balance concerns, throughout the coming weeks leading up to the launch of Delta Rising.


Jeremy “BorticusCryptic” Randall
Systems Designer
Star Trek Online

The Kobali are under attack. The only thing standing between them and total annihilation is the Alpha Quadrant Alliance. Can you save the Kobali and discover the mysteries of their homeworld?

The Kobali Adventure Zone is a persistent adventure zone for players starting at level 54. Players will be able to bring two of their bridge officers to the surface, and players can team together without losing their bridge officers. We’ve taken the scalability and team-friendly elements of our battlezones and combined them with a fleshed-out, personal storyline to give players content unlike anything they’ve seen in Star Trek Online.





There are several regions within the zone. The forward base in the Kobali City, where the civilians have been evacuated and the makeshift Kobali military has set up their last line of defense. The countryside outside of the city is dotted with the homes of the Kobali that preferred to live in more pastoral surrounds. Now these homes serve merely as cover between the Kobali and their assailants.





Further north, the land has been dug up and turned into trenches where enemy troops gather their main forces to continue their relentless assault upon the Kobali people. The presence of these trenches baffles Starfleet Intelligence; if the enemy’s goal was to conquer the Kobali, why go through the trouble of trench warfare when there are other ways for these forces to assault the Kobali City from the sky?

To the east are the mountains, once a place where the Kobali would take leisurely hikes and sleep beneath the stars. None of the Kobali dare go through the mountain pass now, for fear of what awaits them. Many Kobali scouts have been sent to investigate what is happening in the mountains, but none have returned. Some of the Kobali reports indicate that their enemy has set up an entire base on the mountaintop.






Players will be able to experience the story of the Kobali through several missions that take place in the persistent world. In between these stories, players can participate in the open missions that are constantly taking place in the zone. These open missions are set up to scale for the number of players in the area. This means the open missions can be completed alone or with a team, just like our battlezone content.



However, we have added a twist to these open missions. Each one has an “escalation” phase that can only be triggered by a team or extremely skilled solo players. This phase will offer a further challenge (and more rewards) and also will scale based on the number of players on the map.

We’re very excited for you all to experience the Kobali Adventure Zone. We encourage those who want to help refine it to log on to Tribble and give us your feedback!

Sean “Commander Ander” McCann
Content Designer
Star Trek Online

Introduction

Delta Rising will offer players in Star Trek Online the opportunity to fly a powerful new tier of starship, improve their gear to higher echelons of effectiveness, and advance to the ranks of Fleet Admiral or Dahar Master, all while exploring the mysteries and intrigues of an entirely new region of our galaxy.

But the opportunities for personal advancement do not end at gaining 10 new levels.

We are proud to introduce the Captain Specialization system as an additional avenue all level 50+ players will now have to advance the capabilities of their Captain, even long after they have stopped earning additional levels.

Overview

Captain Specializations are a new tier of advancement in which players will progress by earning and spending Specialization Points.

Each time the Captain’s Skill Point bar is filled, one Specialization Point will be added to the character, which can then be spent in any of their various Specializations. Although you will no longer be able to spend Skill Points in existing skills once you have reached level 50, all captains will keep earning them even after the character has reached level 60, allowing players to continue feeling a sense of progression long after they have stopped leveling up. Each time you fill the Skill Point Bar, you will earn another Specialization Point, which can then be spent to gain access to exciting new abilities and effects.

If an extremely dedicated Captain ever reaches the point where they would earn another Specialization Point, but have already purchased every Specialization Ability available to them, these surplus points will be automatically converted into Dilithium Ore.

In this way, earning Skill Points by defeating enemies and completing missions is no longer a pursuit intended only for players that haven’t yet reached the level cap. With the introduction of Captain Specializations, they will always remain valuable and rewarding.

Spend your Specialization Points wisely! Even though there is no limit to the number of Abilities you purchase within the various Specializations, allowing dedicated captains to potentially earn everything there is to offer, every choice made within this system is permanent. No options will be given to refund spent points, or remove an Ability that has already been purchased.

Terminology and Structure

All Specializations are comprised of a number of new components. In order to adequately explain the system, it’s important to understand the terms being used to describe each, and how they fit together.

Specializations belong to one of two classifications – Primary or Secondary.

At any point in time, a Captain may only set one Primary and one Secondary to active status.
Primary Specializations consist of a total of 30 Abilities, and have many Unlocks to earn.
Secondary Specializations consist of only 15 Abilities, and offer far fewer Unlocks.


Specializations are comprised of a combination of Abilities and Unlocks.

Abilities must be actively purchased one at a time, at the cost of one Specialization Point each.
Abilities that have been purchased will only remain available while the Specialization is active.
Unlocks are earned automatically, based on the number of Abilities you have purchased within their associated Specialization.
Unlocks are available regardless of the active/inactive status of their associated Specialization.


At the time of launch for Delta Rising, we are introducing three Captain Specializations – one Primary and two Secondary.




Primary Tree: Intelligence Officer

Officers trained in this specialization are especially skilled at locating and undermining weaknesses in their foes, while simultaneously covering their own susceptibilities from enemy detection. They also specialize in Stealth tactics, and anticipating and exploiting tactical opportunities.

Purchasing the Abilities available in this Specialization will offer the following Unlocks:

Can Equip Intelligence Kit Modules (unlocked and purchased through the Delta Reputation)
Ability to train Intelligence Specialist Bridge Officers in Rank III Abilities
Starship Trait:
Predictive Algorithms
Activating any Weapon Enhancement Ability (such as Torpedo Spread or Beam Overload) will remove one Debuff from self, and grant a short-duration Accuracy boost.


The type of Abilities earned by Intelligence Officers tend to favor improving existing mechanics such as Flanking and Stealth, while also offering defenses against those same tactics. Any Captains that invest heavily in this Specialization will find themselves far more capable at blind-siding their opponents in both Ground and Space combat.

Here are just a few examples of the Abilities available in this Specialization:

Adaptive Target (Space):
Each time your attacks miss their target, you gain a stacking Accuracy boost.
Obliterate Defenses (Ground):
Chance to drastically reduce the Damage Resistance for several seconds of any foe you successfully Flank.
Opportunistic (Space+Ground):
10% Cooldown Reduction for all Captain abilities



Secondary Tree: Pilot

Although skilled conn officers are not uncommon, it is only an elite few that can truly be considered expert starship Pilots. These daredevils and thrill-seekers are known to push the upper limits of maneuverability for even the largest and most unwieldy of starships.

Purchasing the Abilities available in this Specialization will the following Unlock:

Starship Trait:
Pedal to the Metal
Gain a stacking damage bonus for each second you remain at high speed. All stacks are lost if your speed drops for any reason.

Pilots specialize in improving the Turn Rate, Flight Speed and Defense of their starships. Captains following in the footsteps of famous Pilots such as William Riker and Tom Paris will be able to choose from many Abilities (all Space), which include the following examples:

Attack Pattern Expertise:
Activating any Attack Pattern grants Temporary Hull which absorbs a fixed amount of all incoming hull damage, until depleted.
Desperate Flight:
Once below 80% Hull, Flight Speed and Turn Rate gradually increase as your hull is further depleted. This bonus caps out at 20% Hull.
Rock and Roll:
Your ship performs an animated roll maneuver, preventing all incoming damage for a short duration.



Secondary Tree: Commando

Warrior traditions, ceremonial martial arts and years of armed conflicts have all played their part in honing the capabilities of skilled personal combatants. Brave and unflinching ground troops are frequently the deciding factor in planetary conflicts, even if they sometimes end up overlooked in this age of massive space battles and galaxy-spanning wars.

Purchasing the Abilities available in this Specialization will the following Unlock:

Starship Trait:
Demolition Teams
While within short range of an enemy starship, periodically beam over clusters of explosives to their interior. After several charges are placed, they will be automatically detonated, dealing kinetic damage that bypasses shields.

The Commando Specialization offers Abilities that improve nearly every aspect of a Captain’s ground combat capabilities, ranging from weapon efficiency to improved survivability and maneuverability. Captains yearning for the glory of personal combat can earn Abilities (all Ground) that include:

Resilient Power Cells:
Reduce the cooldown on all weapon Secondary Firing Modes
Headshot:
Gain additional Critical Hit Chance while in Aim mode
Juggernaut Shielding:
Increased Shield Hardness and Max Shield Capacity

The Future of Captain Specializations

As mentioned earlier, we look forward to putting out additional Specializations alongside future updates. Our hope with this system is to revitalize the high-end content of the game by introducing new progression options for all players that can continue to feel rewarding long after levels have stopped being earned. We hope that this newfound sense of endless progression can simultaneously grant each player the opportunity to explore different choices as they continue to earn progress.

Although only a single Primary Specialization will be included with Delta Rising, we have already begun laying the ground work for an additional Primary Specialization to be released with an upcoming update. Future updates may also result in the conversion of an existing Secondary Specialization into a Primary Specialization, expanded to include additional progression options within that specialization.

The potential scope of this feature is immense. The opportunities for inventive designs, as well as the benefits it grants to players seeking out additional progression choices, are opening the doors to entirely new options of play styles. Future expansion of the system will only serve to enhance both of these aspects, as players continue to progress in the system long after the completion of their leveling process.

** All of the above details, especially those listed for Abilities, are subject to change prior to launch.

HMMMMMM I wonder which one Pyriel is going for ...

i may be rerolling the ol' BG

Early Release Upgrades

In last week’s blog (which can be found here), we provided an overview of the new Tech Upgrade system that will be coming with the release of Delta Rising, and now it’s time to put that to good use – we’re releasing part of the Tech Upgrade system early, so that you can upgrade your equipment in preparation for your journey to the Delta Quadrant!

The Tech Upgrade system allows you to use Tech Upgrades to improve the Mark of your gear, and has a chance to improve their quality (color) as well. For the pre-release of Delta Rising, we’re including Tech Upgrades as craftable gear, and you’ll be able to use Tech Upgrades to improve your gear to Mark XIII, ultra-rare (ultraviolet) quality! Mark XIV and epic (gold) quality will not be available until Delta Rising is released.

Naturally, upgrading your best endgame gear will be most effective if you use the best Tech Upgrades, so keep working on your R&D schools. Level 5 in an R&D school will allow you to craft Basic Tech Upgrades, level 10 will open access to Improved Tech Upgrades, and level 15 grants the ability to craft Superior Tech Upgrades. Focus on the school associated with the gear that you want to upgrade first – if you really want to improve your ship’s shields, work on your Shields R&D skill.






Mark XIII gear will give you a significant improvement over earlier Marks. By starting your upgrades now, you’ll have the opportunity to see just what this kind of gear can do by practicing in our existing queued events and missions. That way, when you visit the Delta Quadrant, you’ll be ready to tackle the new challenges that will face your ship and crew as you work your way to higher ranks and confront even tougher foes!

In addition, Research and Development Packs found in the C-Store now include Upgrade Accelerator items to improve your upgrade results.
Each pack includes four medium or large tech or research accelerators, randomly chosen.






New Upgrade Event

To help promote the new Tech Upgrade system, we’re holding a special event in three parts. Log in to Holodeck during the event and you’ll be able to claim bonus rewards to get a head start on upgrading your equipment.

You should speak with a special contact to acquire your reward. Starfleet officers speak with Lieutenant Shelby on Earth Spacedock, KDF officers speak with Commander Hugor on Qo’noS, and Romulan Republic officers speak with Lieutenant Tirar at New Romulus Command. In each case, you’ll find your contact at the appropriate ground equipment requisitions area.

From about 10 AM PDT on September 25 until 10 AM PDT on September 29, you can log in and speak to your faction contact to gain 3 superior ground gear tech upgrades, 3 superior shield tech upgrades, and 1 major tech accelerator.

From about 10 AM PDT on October 2 until 10 AM PDT on October 6, you can log in and speak to your faction contact to gain 3 superior science tech upgrades, 3 superior engineering tech upgrades, and 1 major tech accelerator.

From about 10 AM PDT on October 9 until 10 AM PDT on October 13, you can log in and speak to your faction contact to gain 3 superior beam tech upgrades, 3 superior cannon tech upgrades, 3 superior projectile tech upgrades, and 1 major tech accelerator.

Log in for all three Tech Upgrade events and you can claim all of the rewards! These items are bound to your character, but each character can claim their own set of the reward items.

We’ll see you in-game as everyone prepares for new dangers in Star Trek Online: Delta Rising!

this system of stuff has gotten out of hand

?