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« on: June 06, 2012, 07:43:46 PM »
First, so as not to waste anyone's time, the purpose of this guide is to help NEW STF players that are looking to run STF's for the FIRST time on NORMAL difficulty. Have you been playing for a while, but just never did the STFs, and don't want to be called 'Noob'? Or are you a returning player, and aren't familiar with the F2P changes? Then read on as this is for you. Although I've found that most STO players are friendly, all it takes is for one person to berate you, tell you to 'L2P', and take all the fun out of it. For all you veterans STFers out there, feel free to just move along... nothing new here. (But feel free to add suggestions/corrections to this thread. )
Also, this guide is not intended to go into detailed strategies and tactics. There won't be long laundry lists of things to bring. Just the bare essentials and the basics of what to do. For more advanced strategies, there are other more in-depth guides such as these:
Elite STF Guide
Basics
What are STFs?
"Special Task Force" (STF) missions are the end game 5-man team missions in STO. They involve the Borg, and are broken into 6 missions: "Infected" space and ground, "Cure" space and ground, "Khitomer Accord" space and ground. If you are new, I recommend starting out with the Space missions, Infected being the easiest (least likely to fail). Space missions take an average of 15-30 minutes to complete depending on the team. Ground missions take an average of 25-35 minutes to complete depending on the team.
Why do I want to run STFs?
They are part of the content in STO. As someone who is always looking for new content, it's an obvious thing to try out. They actually can be quite fun (at least the first several times you run them). Also, you can get some decent gear and gear sets by running them. (More on this later). Also, depending on the gear that you get, there are also Costume unlocks available. And, of course, there are accolades and title unlocks as well. And don't forget, you get dilithium too.
How do I get the missions?
STF's are no longer stand alone missions. Instead, they are accessed through the que system. You have to be at least level 44. Click the PVE que icon under your minimap, select the mission you want to play, and 'join' the que. It requires 5 people to start. You can also form a private instance if you have 4 other friends. Both Fed and Klingon can join the que, and in contrast to most other missions in the game, cross-faction teaming IS allowed. WARNING: If this is your first time running an STF, please DO NOT que up for Elite versions of them. You are sure to get some grief if you enter an elite version, and you don't go prepared knowing what to do. Elite STFs are not the same as regular missions set on elite difficulty. They require a high level of teamwork to complete, and are more than just beefed up borg. Do yourself (and the others on your team) a favor and run the normal versions a few times first to get a feel for what's involved.
What's the 'Objective'?
For each STF, there is a primary objective and an Optional objective. Completing the primary is what gets you your reward. The optional objective is usually timed, having to complete a certain task within a certain time limit for success. Successful completion of the optional objective will get you a chance at additional rewards. Details about the objectives for each STF is found below.
A word about gear.
For Normal difficulty missions (which is what this guide is about), gear is not critically important. Uncommon mark X gear or better will suffice. Of course, the better the weapons, the faster the mission will go. All the space missions are fairly heavily dependent on DPS, so the more ships using cannons, the faster the missions will go. A nice guide for building an escort for STFs can be found here.
For ground missions, make ABSOLUTELY sure you bring a remodulator with you, and equip it. Not bringing one is a SURE FIRE way of getting <facepalms> from your team mates, and also probably a few 'choice' comments and complaints as well. This is easily preventable if you replicate one (for free) from your ship replicator. Also, bring a stack of Large Hypos. And make sure you have a good kit. There is absolutely NO reason NOT to have at least at a minimum a rare Mark IX kit. They are available from a vendor at DS9 for energy credits (No dilithium needed). I actually recommend getting all of them for your class, and keep them handy to switch in/out.
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