STO....

About a week ago I made the choice to purchase the Star Trek Online Lifetime subscription. The sale price was less €100 making it a €199.99 total. I've noticed that they are doing this sale more frequently or at least it seems to be every few month's. It used to be longer in an almost bi-yearly event.

Buying this subscription is a very personal game/play-style thing. All the research in the world can't decide for you. It's all down to personal preference. My view on buying this sub is as a value to my gameplay. I wasn't buying it just because I had the cash and could. I felt the game has reached a level where I am now spending so much time with it that it's one of my main games and worth it long-term.

I'd been watching video's and reading blogs all about the benefits. In my usual pedantic over thinking way I took my time until I realised it was a week or so until the end of the sale. So a decision needed to be made and the best way to do that with the details I had was to create a pro and con list. Whittling it all down to cost and time vs reward(s). Real world vs in game. So the con's list is shorter but more all encompassing.
It's easy to say that with all the rewards it's worth it. There are a massive amount of rewards. The longer you have the rewards the better the purchase feels is also a reason to purchase(imo). But I had to weigh up things like, was I playing the game enough to warrant it, was the time I did put into the game used meaningfully and would these extras benefit my casual style. In the end the list of pro's vastly outweighed the con's. With the added bonus of the longer I'm into the game the more benefit I get and in turn the more it pay's me back as more comfortable gameplay within the universe. And I do enjoy the game. I do put in the time, even as a casual player.

The list of benefits (Lifetime sub and Veteran rewards) that I ended up compiling:

A Lifetime Subscription to Star Trek Online includes:

1x Additional Character Slot
30x Bonus Inventory Slots (added as you level)
60x Bonus Bank Slots (added as you level)
20x Bonus Account Shared Bank Slots(Already applied if gold account/previous sub)
2x Additional Bridge Officer Slots (added as you level)
500 ZEN each month
Increased energy credit storage limit
800 Dilithium Refinement every 24 hours
1x Captain Retrain Token per rank
Access to Veteran Rewards (which I listed below)
Priority login
Access to test server
Play as a Liberated Borg or the Talaxian race
Access to the Captain’s Table – a special area restricted to Lifetime Subscribers and Veterans

Veteran Rewards details form the larger list:

FREE Full Respec x4
A 5% Skill Point and Officer Skill Point Boost
Ship Upgrade Token (claimable once per account)
1000 Dilithium Refinement Every 48 Hours (Doff Mission)
FREE Character Slot x2
FREE Mugato Companion
FREE Android Bridge Officer
FREE Vice Admiral Ship Token 
FREE Access to The Captain's Table
FREE Ship "Firework" emote
FREE Extra Ship Slot x3
FREE Costume Slots (set of 2)
FREE Costume Piece - Veteran Badge
FREE Costume Piece - Special Veteran Uniform Option
FREE Exclusive Uniform Variant
FREE Exclusive Costume Piece (Fed): "Jupiter" Uniform Variant
FREE Exclusive Costume Piece (KDF): Shoulder Cape
FREE Exclusive Costume Piece (Rom): Romulan Admiral Uniform
FREE Faction Specific EV Suit
FREE Exclusive Starship "Material"
FREE Exclusive Veteran Starships
- Manticore Heavy Destroyer (Fed)
- Duvqu' Heavy Destroyer (KDF)
- Dinaes Heavy Destroyer (Rom)
- Chimera Heavy Destroyer (Fed)
- Peghqu’ Heavy Destroyer (KDF)
- Daeinos Heavy Destroyer (Rom)
FREE Unique Small Crafts - Captain's Yacht (Fed), DujHod Chariot (KDF) and Commander's Gig (Rom)

I've not regretted the decision to buy it; In fact I was surprised to have gotten even more extra's.
Holographic duty officer versions of the original series bridge crew as well as two versions of holographic Leeta. Whats not to like!!

As I had already been a paying subscriber when the game came out first, my free to play account still had Gold benefits. So that in turn had already applied the 20 slot shared bank(which I took for granted). That was the only item that was a crossover. At 1000 zen for 10 shared bank slots I bought 2 lots of 10 to make myself  "feel" better about that. With so many max characters (for now) churning out dilithium I have no problem exchanging it for Zen for the likes of the bank slots.

Claiming the rewards is easy and in retrospect it's good that you have to visit a few places to get all the rewards (pet dealer on DS9, android from the Doff vendor etc). They're not all handed out to you there and then, even if the first login blinds you with notifications.

Copied from the support page, claiming is easy:

• Title: All character titles are set through the Character Status screen. If you are using the default keybinds, press “U” to bring up this menu. From there, double-check that your character is chosen from the left column, and then click the “Edit Record” button towards the bottom to change your title.
• Full Respec: Each character on your account will earn a Full Respec/Retrain Token. To perform a respec, visit a Skill Trainer available to your faction. Please note that this reward does not respec Bridge Officers and a single character can fully retrain only once per token.
• Costume Pieces: Speak with any Tailor NPC to select the awarded costume pieces. Keep in mind that these will be listed under the Uniform outfit option, not Off Duty or Formal Wear.
• Skill Point and Officer Skill Point Boost: This is a passive buff that will be permanently active on the character. Be aware that the boosts gained from different Veteran Rewards do not stack, you will only receive the benefit of the greatest earned boost.
• Ship Slots/Character Slots/Costume Slots: After the different slots are unlocked there is nothing further you need to do to claim them. To view how many Ship Slots a character has, speak with any Ship Selection NPC. Available Character Slots can be viewed from the character selection menu. Speaking with any Tailor NPC will show you how many Costume Slots are available on a character.
• Ship "Firework" emote: Federation characters can claim this by interacting with the large ship hologram in the Shipyard on Earth Spacedock. Klingon characters can claim it from the Barracks located next to the Skill Trainer and Fleet Ambassador on Qo'noS. Romulan characters can claim it from New Romulus Command on New Romulus.
• Faction EV Suit: Claim this faction-specific EV Suit from the same console interact where the 300 day firework reward is found.
• The Captain's Table: To access this special zone, look for the white glowing anomaly near Earth Spacedock (Fed) or Qo'noS (Klingon). Simply fly up close and interact with the anomaly to transfer to the Captain's Table.
• Captain's Yacht (Fed)/DujHod Chariot (Klingon)/Commander's Gig (Rom): Speak with a Starship Requisition NPC to claim the vessel. It is considered a Small Craft, much like other shuttles, and requires the special token awarded at 400 subscribed days.
• Vice Admiral/Lieutenant General Ship Token: Speak with a Starship Requisition NPC to claim a Vice Admiral (Fed) or Lieutenant General (Klingon) ship. For Federation characters, this token can be used to claim an Exploration Cruiser Retrofit, Long Range Science Vessel Retrofit, or Tactical Escort Retrofit. For Klingon characters, this token can be used to claim a B'rel Bird-of-Prey Retrofit, Varanus Fleet Support Vessel, Marauder Patrol Cruiser, or Kar'Fi Battle Carrier.NOTE: If you discharge the ship claimed with the token you will not be able to claim a new one.
• Android Bridge Officer: Visit the Bridge Officer vendor and look under the Special Officers tab.
• Mugato Companion: This non-combat pet can be claimed by speaking with a special vendor on Deep Space Nine. If you discard the pet by accident you can speak with the vendor again to claim a new one.
• Unique Duty Officer Assignment: Speak with the Assignment Officer at Starfleet Academy or Klingon Academy to access this special mission. This two-day assignment will allow you to refine 1,000 Dilithium Ore into 1,000 Refined Dilithium. This Dilithium is in addition to your daily refinement limit of 8,000.
• Exclusive Starship Material: Speak with a Ship Customization NPC and select the "Veteran" Material from the drop-down menu on the right side of the window.
• Exclusive Veteran Starships: Speak with a Starship and Shuttle Requisitions NPC to claim the ship. If you accidentally discharge it speak to the same NPC to receive another token to claim it again.