Star Trek Online....

Missions, events, TFO's in general, patrols, EC and Dil earned. Fun had. 

The more things change the more they stay the same. The game has a good balance, at least in my eye, in regard to gameplay and paying for items. The more I see STO being talked about online the more I see one-line comments about it being 'pay to win' and 'bad' because of it. It's not and it isn't. It's free, give it a try and see for yourself on the platform of your choice(PS,Xbox,PC). Just because you can pay doesn't mean you should. The number of players I see in bought ships that explode regularly and/or have no clue of anything about the TFO they're in.... is getting ridiculous. I'm a casual underdog kind of player. If one of my lesser alts in a T5 with basic mark 12 gear is the sole survivor 5 seconds after a TFO starts there's something wrong with how players see STO as 'pay to win'. Especially while 'lesser' ships from events etc are the mainstay workhorse that get casual TFO's done. The quiet casual majority.

Before I pay something into a game(any game) I play the game, especially if it's free. I consider it an investment and I'm not casual about that. So the game gives me joy/fun etc... So of course I'll pay into it to get more out of it. Like me buying the Life-time benefits a few years into playing the game! 

I'm just scratching my head trying to understand players that whip out the credit card and then in a TFO fall flat on their face.... They must be disappointed?   

My gameplay has been fun. Both on PC and Xbox. As I said, I've done missions, events, TFO's in general, patrols, earned EC and refined Dil. Enjoyment it solo and with my wife; Who now has herself bought into the lifetime life.  

For the first time I checked out the KDF lifetime 'special' station. It's very Klingon and I like it a lot!