[STO] Preparing for upcoming Duty Officer changes.

At the moment, there seems to be a change on Tribble/Public Test Server that Cryptic/PWE is planning for Season 7. In short, there's going to be a Dilithium charge for certain Duty Officer functions.

• General Recruitment (the basic DOFF pack) - 1,000
• Reassign Underperforming Officers (crunch 5 into 1 of the next higher quality)
• Common - 500 (600 at race specific vendor)
• Uncommon - 2500 (3000 at race specific vendor)
• Rare - 5000 (6000 at race specific vendor)

Now, one thing I'll have to say is that these numbers are not final. Season 7 is not live yet for one, but on top of that? Its possible they'll be adjusted in the future. Whether it'll be higher or lower, its hard to say, but I'd be surprised if they stay the same. Now, looking at this, I can really sympathize with casual players. As a result, Dilithium-earning activities should become more popular.

The following is speculation, and is not guaranteed. Follow at your own risk.

If you have alts or lower-level members in your fleet, I strongly recommend stocking up on DOFF packs via the General Recruitment assignment. The Federation Junior Officer Cadre has five common DOFFs, and will prove to be very helpful for the lower level folks. While this is something to good in general, the added Dilithium cost means a Fleet or friend will be all the more helpful for now.

Now, that aside? I think that the value of the packs will likely go up. Right now might be a good time to buy, before the general playerbase finds out about the change. In most MMORPGs, most players do not visit the official forums, nor do they make use of the test server. As such, being a good inventory of Duty Officer Cadres and Mini-Packs might well be advised.

• You will have DOFF resources for your characters.
• They can be transferred using account storage.
• Your Fleet and friends might need DOFFs.
• Their market value on the Exchange should go up, as they'll be less convenient to obtain. So buy early to avoid the rising price, or sell at a profit.

Adapting to the new reality

• If you have a Recruitment focused character for the purpose of obtaining and selling DOFFs, then load them up, and make sure they can get Contraband to delivery to Security Officers.
• Familiarize yourself with Recruitment Missions via the DOFF system.
• Be sure to find a strategy for obtaining Dilithium you're happy with.
• If you're patient, remember you can attempt to ride the highs and lows of the Dilithium Exchange. Buy Zen when the Z:D rate is relatively low, buy Dilithium when the Z:D is relatively high.
• If you're a subscriber or have a Lifetime account, keep in mind you can buy Dilithium using your stipend. Sometimes your "spare change" will be enough to make a difference!
• If you want some extra Zen, remember Perfect World Entertainment has offers for Zen by watching commercials, filling out surveys, buying special offers, etc. Always read first, and always make sure you're aware of what you're doing! While these can be a source of extra Zen, by nature there are some strings attached. The higher the Zen payout, one can assume the greater the strings.
• Don't panic! These changes don't affect core gameplay, so if you don't care about Duty Officers or the systems tied to them, it really won't affect you. Moreover, they don't diminish the value of the Duty Officers you already have.

Overall, just recognize that changes are coming. If you've got the time and inclination, start reading through the Test Servers forums. Load up Tribble, read up, be sure to give feedback, and overall educate yourself about what to expect for Season 7. The more you know, the more prepared you can be for the upcoming changes, and the sooner you, your friends, and your fleet can make the most of the new update. While people are stunned by the changes, you'll be ready and handling it with aplomb.

I will hopefully be doing a followup to this. Downloading Tribble!