Dominion Lock Box
By PWE_BranFlakes @ January 22, 2013 at 12:00pm
Jem’Hadar Heavy Escort Carrier
Although a tense peace now exists between the Dominion and the primary powers of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, conflicts between these civilizations are not unheard of. Whether these skirmishes are brought on by simple miscommunication or by willful dissention from their respective authorities, the outcome is rarely in favor of those that would dare to stand against the Dominion’s fearsome Jem’Hadar warriors and their formidable warships.
To further complicate matters, a large portion of the Jem’Hadar bred in the Alpha Quadrant during the Dominion War have chosen to defy their “gods” in the Gamma Quadrant and support the separatist cause of the True Way. Other Jem’Hadar soldiers have chosen to offer their obedience and service to the “New Link” – a collection of Changelings who have cut ties with their former True Way allies and adopted the planet of Orias III as their new homeworld.
Jem’Hadar Fighters
This fragmentation of the Dominion’s forces in the Alpha Quadrant, and the resultant battles that dot the stars this side of the Bajoran Wormhole, have led to a great number of derelict (yet salvageable) Dominion warships floating adrift at sites of former battle. Enterprising members of the Lobi Crystal Consortium have taken it upon themselves to retrieve and refurbish these impressive vessels. While their primary purpose has been selling them back to the Dominion at deep discounts in order to garner favorable negotiations for trading interests in the Gamma Quadrant, the sheer volume of ships has also allowed them to offer them up for acquisition to interested parties of the Alpha Quadrant.
Veterans of the Dominion War know all-too-well the impressive abilities of these powerful vessels having faced them in many devastating engagements. Starfleet and the Klingon Empire both recognize the benefit that even one Dominion warship could mean to whichever faction that employs them as a weapon of war, and must jealously seek them out even if only for the purposes of keeping them out of enemy hands.
——–
Dominion Coordination Protocol, “Fleet Maneuver Gamma”
You can barely have a conversation about space combat with a fan of Star Trek without a reference to the amazing space battles seen in the Deep Space Nine episodes, “Changing Face of Evil” and “Sacrifice of Angels.” In the epic battles depicted in this and other episodes of the Dominion War, we witnessed the wholesale destruction that could be wrought by the Dominion’s fearsome warships. The ship models created by the talented crews working on the TV shows at the time created threatening and deadly-looking vessels that have become iconic enemies of the Star Trek franchise.
It should come as no surprise that a great number of the developers here at Cryptic Studios count Deep Space Nine episodes among their favorite Star Trek series – especially the episodes featuring the epic conflicts of the Dominion War. As such, we’ve had the notion of introducing more of the Dominion’s warships as playable starships ever since the successful roll-out of the Jem’Hadar Attack Ship more than a year ago. We’re excited to finally get the chance to put these powerful and enjoyable vessels into the hands of players with the launch of the Dominion Lock Box.
Jem’Hadar Dreadnought Carrier
Players familiar with past lock boxes know that we pride ourselves on offering some of the most unique and interesting gameplay options as ship mechanics attached to the highly-sought-after grand prizes, and the Dominion Lock Box is no exception to that rule. Players that receive the Jem’Hadar Heavy Escort Carrier will find themselves piloting one of the hardiest and heavy-hitting escorts that have yet to be seen in Star Trek Online. In addition to the ship’s impressive stats (which will be detailed in an upcoming Dev Blog), the ship boasts a single carrier bay that will come pre-equipped with Jem’Hadar Fighters as well as the Dominion Coordination Protocol console. This universal console will allow the use of a powerful attack pattern known as “Fleet Maneuver Gamma” which increases the damage, flight speed and maneuverability of all nearby allies while granting them temporary immunity to a wide variety of perception and maneuverability debuffs.
But that’s not the only Dominion vessel on its way! The fearsome Jem’Hadar Dreadnought Carrier will also be appearing in the Lobi Crystal Store alongside the introduction of the Dominion Lock Box. This full carrier (with two hangar bays) is the first Tactically-focused assault carrier we’ve introduced, allowing players yet another unique combination of options in space combat gameplay. Along with a double compliment of Jem’Hadar Fighters as hangar bay items, this carrier will also come with the Dominion Command Interface console which can analyze a target’s weaknesses and broadcast that information to all nearby allies. The enemy afflicted with this weakness will find their damage resistance and defense diminished, while also having a single subsystem flagged as Vulnerable. If enough damage is dealt to the target while under this affect, the vulnerable subsystem will be knocked offline for several seconds. When equipped in conjunction with the Dominion Coordination Protocol, it enhances “Fleet Maneuver Gamma” with additional effects, including a boost to allies’ defense and accuracy.
Both of the above consoles can be fitted on any Jem’Hadar vessel, including the Jem’Hadar Attack Ship.
Jem’Hadar Attack Ships
As another added bonus for owners of a Jem’Hadar Attack Ship, there will now be a Hangar item available for use exclusively for the Jem’Hadar Dreadnought Carrier that will allow this ship to launch a wing of Jem’Hadar Attack Ships. Scaling quality levels of these items will be available for purchase from the Shipyard Store, Dilithium Store, or Fleet Store only if you have obtained the Jem’Hadar Attack Ship through a prior promotional event. Additionally, obtaining either the Jem’Hadar Heavy Escort Carrier or Jem’Hadar Dreadnought Carrier will unlock a new material that can be used on existing Jem’Hadar Attack Ships.
Yet another set of Mirror Universe Vessels will also be making an appearance in the Dominion Lock Box. A Mirror Universe Advanced Escort or Mirror Universe Patrol Escort will be made available to Federation players, while KDF players will gain access to a Mirror Universe Vo’quv Carrier. Both vessels will come with special Mirror Universe material unlocks, and an I.S.S. registry prefix unlock (or A.K.S. for Klingon players) which can only be used on mirror universe vessels.
Complete stats and information on all of the above ships and any special consoles or equipment they come equipped with will be published in a Dev Blog that will appear in the next few days.
Mirror Universe Patrol Escort, Vo’quv Carrier, and Advanced Escort
Apart from these starship offerings, each Dominion Lock Box will also have a chance of containing a number of additional interesting, fun and rewarding prizes.
As a variation on an ongoing theme from previous lock boxes, we have yet another Cross-Faction Console package up for acquisition. This time around, we’re offering Federation players the chance to obtain a Bio-Neural Warhead torpedo launcher, while members of the KDF can get their hands on a Nadeon Detonator console for the first time, which can upgrade all standard torpedo types to create a Photonic Shockwave upon impact.
One of several Very Rare Dominion Duty Officers may be found within a Dominion Lock Box. Each of these officers comes with the “Resolve” Trait, as well as many of them being either Jem’Hadar or Vorta and therefore having the unique traits associated with each of their species (“Shroud” and “Telekinesis” respectively). Additionally, every one of these impressive officers will come standard with a new, unique Active Roster Power that you can use to improve the performance of your ship or away team.
Instead of a new variant on the numeric boost pools seen in previous lock boxes, we’ve decided to offer a fun new activity as a way to earn Bonus Dilithium Ore, as one of the possible prizes in the Dominion Lock Box. By obtaining a Dilithium Mining Claim, players will be able to send a subspace hail to Isihl – the proprietor of the Dilithium Asteroid Mining Event – and obtain a special daily mission. This mission allows access to a special “Rich Dilithium Ore Vein” that, upon completing the Dilithium Mining Mini-Game once, will reward up to 5,000 Dilithium Ore with a minimum prize of 2,500. In order to facilitate the ease of use of these Mining Claims, they can also be used to Transwarp directly to Isihl’s asteroid from anywhere in Space or Sector Space. Opening a Dominion Lock Box will give you a chance to get one of two types of Mining Claim packages: The VIP Customer Package will include ten (10) Mining Claims, while the Preferred Customer Package includes six (6) Mining Claims.
Non-combat Jem’Hadar Fighter Pet
In honor of the Dominion’s favored use of Phased-Polaron weaponry, a new Hybrid Weapon Pack containing this unique energy type will be available in the Dominion Lock Box. These weapons contain the special effects of both Phasers and Polarons, while still benefit from equipment and powers that boost the effectiveness of Polaron weaponry (such as the Jem’Hadar Space Set). Players at any level will obtain a Very Rare / Purple quality weapon that is appropriate for their level, while Vice Admirals and Lieutenant Generals will also have a chance of finding Mk XII versions within these packs.
The Duty Officer Mini-Packs seen standard in previous lock boxes will be undergoing a slight modification for the Dominion Lock Box. In lieu of the Standard set of Duty Officers that were previously included as one possible prize, we’ve included a new Reinforcements Mini-Pack which will include the same Duty Officers that were previously available in the now-retired Doff Pack that bore the same name. The Gamma Quadrant Mini-Pack will retain its place as one of the potential prizes found in the Dominion Lock Box.
In addition to the prizes that can be found by opening the box, we’re also adding a few exciting new items to the Lobi Crystal Store.
For some time now, many players have been requesting the option to upgrade different types of existing gear into equipment that is more suitable for high-end content, such as that found in Special Task Forces or certain high-difficulty queued events like “No Win Scenario.” We’re happy to announce that the Dominion Lock Box is going to offer players the option of doing exactly that.
Non-combat Driclae (Romulan Anteater) Pet
Utilizing Lobi Crystal, players will now have the option of purchasing Jem’Hadar Equipment Upgrade Packs which will convert existing Mk XI versions of the Jem’Hadar Space Set, Jem’Hadar Ground Set, and Jem’Hadar Pistol, into improved Mk XII equipment. Each of these Equipment Upgrade Packs will require players to have obtained the Mk XI versions of this gear by playing through “The 2800” Featured Episode Series, and convert it into the upgraded equipment by accessing the Lobi Crystal Store. All of this upgraded gear is not only leveled up to Mk XII, but also has additional increases to its stats and enhancements, making all of it much more useful for conquering high-end content.
As an added cosmetic bonus, the upgraded version of the Jem’Hadar Personal Armor will now also come with a different default costume overlay that will more closely resemble the garb worn by Jem’Hadar soldiers. While not a true costume option, Federation players can display this cosmetic option simply by choosing the “Show Visuals” option on their personal armor, with the item equipped. Most Federation Bridge Officers will also be able to display this unique armor overlay.
In addition to utilizing these Upgrade Packs to make your existing Jem’Hadar Pistol and Rapid-Fire Rifle more effective, an entirely new Assault variant of these items is being added to the Lobi Crystal Store. The Jem’Hadar Wide-Area Minigun has a somewhat shorter range than a standard Assault Miningun, but boasts a 5-shot cycle as its primary fire that can hit up to 3 targets in a narrow frontal cone, while its secondary firing mode is a long-cycle spray of Polaron beams that covers a much wider area and can simultaneously impact up to 5 targets in a wide arc.
Jem’Hadar Wide-Area Minigun
All Jem’Hadar Weaponry comes standard with a nanostream converter which allows them to take advantage of unique consumable items called Nanoenergy Cells which were first made available as rewards from the mission “Second Wave.” These consumable items allow Jem’Hadar weaponry to take on additional properties, such as extra knockback, toxic damage, or shield penetration. Two new Nanoenergy Cells will become available on the Lobi Crystal Store with the introduction of the Dominion Lock Box, allowing Jem’Hadar weapons to now be capable of either reducing an enemy’s damage resistance (while simultaneously offering an additional chance to Expose the enemy), or stunning the target and removing all of their currently-active beneficial effects.
And what would a Lobi Crystal Store update be without a new variety of vanity pets to collect and enjoy? A Jem’Hadar Fighter Pet will be made available for use as in Space, while a variety of creatures from New Romulus will be making their appearance in a Ground Vanity Pet variety pack. Several variants of the Driclae (also known by some as “Romulan Anteaters”) will be up for grabs. Collect all of the variants yourself, or trade with friends to obtain the exact one that you prefer.
A complete FAQ will be published soon that will include an item-by-item breakdown of the contents of the Dominion Lock Box as well as the items that will be added to the Lobi Crystal Store. We’re all certain you’ll enjoy the new offerings, and look forward to seeing you all in-game!
UPDATE: Read more about the new Dominion Lock Box and Lobi ships in Season 7 Dev Blog #31, and check out our new FAQ here.
caldannach @ May 17th, 2013 7:48AM
Want to buy more whiners for this forum. Love reading all the comments from people crying about not getting a ship from a lockbox. Ha ha ha! Its simple, dont buy the keys then? No one makes you buy them, they are not essential. So that means they are purely voluntary. Cryptic/PW dont care if you are upset about topics like this because they read these kind of comments now everyday. They must just look and gloss over them as soon as they see a whiner. The bottom line is, if you dont like teh way the game is running, stop playing and buying things, nothing will get their attention more than that. Whinging and crying and making yourself look a complete child on the forums because you opened 50 lockboxes when your friend opened 2 and he got the ship, doesnt make anyone at all bothered. Here is the world's smallest violin playing just for commenters like that. *plays extremely small violin between index finger and thumb*
lordgabe @ May 8th, 2013 5:31AM
Only got one grand prize and it wasn't my Well's so i'll get to opening these once i finish with Temporal :P but all looks fun and will open a few maybe when i get my 30keys from my legacy pack. Also cheer up guys these keep coming around so just buy keys when you can afford them or even just buy what you want off other players with EC(yea it'll be alot for the grand prizes and lobi stuff but hey they're rare).
maverick5191 @ Apr 14th, 2013 10:39PM
jesus, whats with all the cry babies? i only read the first page of comments on these boxes and its nothing but bitching and moaning about people not getting their way. if you dont like the system as is then dont play. could they make zen a little more affordable, definatly, is it gonna happen, probly not cause alll you people crying about all the money your spending makes it worth their time to not change anything.
bradhad @ Feb 14th, 2013 3:31PM
odd, i posted a long arse comment, but it won't show me it for some reason. ah well, on a shorter note; gambling in videogames= bad, making everything a carrier= bad (especially since i don't remember that dread in valiant being a carrier. at all.) constantly extorting your playerbase out of obscene amounts for little or no reward= bad, flooding your game with unfinished and imbalanced content= bad, completely ignoring your playerbase as long as they largely pay you those obscene amounts= bad but they'll continue to do so as long as people keep gambling
pardusian141 @ Feb 9th, 2013 12:14PM
Another lock box to bleed our pockets dry.....
asd886 @ Feb 5th, 2013 5:15PM
Aaaargh. Usually I don't do keys and lockboxes, because the outcome is random and when I spend real money, or more than a million of the in-game currency, I want a reward I can count on...but I have been waiting for some more Dominion ships to come out for ever, and the Dreadnought assault carrier just looks like so much fun... I'm completely torn between purchasing the keys or not >_<
johnyflash23
ok what u need to do is just save up EC and by the ship off the EX
oxironheart @ Jan 29th, 2013 12:57PM
i wanna play as part of the collective i mean the borg wanted seven back as unique and lets not forget lequitis cmon the theorys there i want a cube to fight the coming iconian threat.
vonrattus @ Jan 28th, 2013 8:40PM
I had enough when they expected you to pay real money to "unlock" a drop you win in-game, and this does nothing to draw me back to playing.
ridgelon13
You don't have to buy them with cash, you can exchange Dilithium for credits in the exchange.
valkwer @ Jan 28th, 2013 7:05AM
Personly I enjoy reading these absured comments from people who spend money to take part in something which outcome is random and then try to blame someone else for their loss. Yes I also buy keys from time to time, sometimes with real money, sometimes via the ingame exchange. Have I gotten what I wanted, in most cases no, but thats the risk and there is nobody to blame but myself that I spend the money. But it would be nice to see that the money goes into the development of STO. It would be nice for istance that changes in the groundsets or special armorsets show up with KDF-chars; plus that their questlines are more different from the Federation. I still wounder who pulled all those strings so that my orion privateer was able to just walz into a federation maxsec prison with guns and all?
awesometific @ Jan 26th, 2013 8:55AM
Why doesnt the Jem'Hadar visual for the Upgrade Ground Set work on KDF characters? I normally just open these lock boxes on my Fed characters, but this time around I wanted to give my KDF General some lock box love. So I upgraded this set hoping to get a cool visual, but nope, doesnt work on KDF, Fed only. I guess at least I finally got a Mk XII ground set for him.
sjokruhlica @ Jan 25th, 2013 1:50PM
The Jem Space set upgrade is a joke. Don't waste your Lobi. 200 Lobi, and other than another 1.2% polaron damage boost, there's no real advantage. The shields still have 1000 less base capacity than the MACO XII. I was excited about this and expected better. Shame on you Cryptic.
belkin222 @ Jan 25th, 2013 1:28PM
Are add ship same able pick cloak ship had DS9. That interest warship able pick cloak ship real undermine support ship thouhgt.
dma1986
Wut?
pardusian141
It seems that this person took every other word or so out of their comment before posting it... It that person every word so of comment posting...
peuhope @ Jan 25th, 2013 8:35AM
Most of you are being absolutely delusional, these boxes have nothing to do with Cryptic, this company is now owned by PW, and these "lockboxes" which are referred to as orbs in forsaken world for example, are a mainstay for their updates. Content updates will be few and far between, like most PW games but there will be a steady increase of pay to win items available in the store, and more lockboxes. If you need anymore proof, take your heads from up your behinds, and look at perfect world and forsaken world, see how you like gameplay and pvp there and you'll see the direction STO is taking. They're both really good games, but you have to get used to how they run, STO will be the same in coming months. :)
collinstonpwe
for every problem u can find a solution. take a look at the eve community. at the end a choice of the way, how it can work, but it must be shared. noone shouldn't be primarily devoted defenseless, before he tried it...reduced consumption - point.
collinstonpwe
each opponent has a weak point. dependent from money could'nt be easier
collinstonpwe
each opponent has a weak point. so dependent on income could'nt be easier
collinstonpwe
each opponent has a weak point. so dependent on sales could'nt be an easier target.
rickdias5500 @ Jan 25th, 2013 4:41AM
yet another pew pew carrier, gee unoriginal. i am gona be hounst, i am not really gona waste my money on that. hmm NO. The game is flooded with that now , and has been for the last 9 months. if i want ships that poop out stupid bot ship and go pew pew i will play starwars.
jtrespeces @ Jan 25th, 2013 4:37AM
This is a cool game.
spielman1 @ Jan 25th, 2013 1:48AM
I think in general people are geting tired of the cost of it all in real money from what i have read and so am i. They need think of better way yes it is a bussiness and such and yes they need make money but not at the rate they are doing it. There is better ways to do it that are less costly and doesnt make it pay to play either. That system didnt work either and this system does work as far as play but there needs be better way of doing the lock boxes so all have a chance that fair for all to get the ship and just a few. The current system isnt fair at all i have a friend open 1 box had the ship old Galor i opened must been a thousand and nothing at all. Same will happen this system.
seraphantilles
I agree. As a Lifetime member I paid $250 to get this game in the beginning. Recently I used $80 of cubes to try to get the Bug Ship when it was last available. I knew many people who paid $15 or nothing and just got it with Dilithium or a few keys. Meanwhile I burned through over 50 keys and NOTHING. Yeah, I felt abused. I should've bought scratch-off lottery tickets at my local Liquor Store, oh, and a bottle of Vodka, and had a better chance at a good time.
hybanos87 @ Jan 24th, 2013 9:07PM
nice new stuff. but whats up with the negative coments. this keeps the game running and ive gotten a frieghter and wells class from the boxes i just dont get it if you spent mony on the boxes but didnt get the ship you wanted thats sad but you get lobi crystals which you can then go buy cool stuff with. like i got the whip and errings and the really awesome daul chronaton energy banks. all in all im happy to see all the new content keep up the good work
collinstonpwe
good work? where? there are definitely many other ways to keep a game running, might. but seems it's senseless with this dumb community to talk about. your comment shows it perfectly - thx. with guys like you sto never will be better. why should cryptic and pwe develop additional content for sto, while any consumers buy and buy and buy...? nice amusement.
seraphantilles
No, what they are doing should actually be illegal, as it's basically a form of gambling that's obviously designed to simply SUCKER people out of money. It's really sad actually that it has come to this in our society -- that people, being short of any sort of good ideas, resort to trickery by offering a "chance" based game without telling the odds; that they use online gambling which should be illegal; that they enable players to dump hundreds or even thousands of dollars into a VIDEO GAME... waste of your life. Everybody do yourself a favor and delete it from your computer now.
zhazy @ Jan 24th, 2013 8:43PM
when will the jem'hadar attack craft be aviialable again..like put it on the lobi store or making it avialable at the 3 year anniversary. We liked the jem'hadar idea..don't get stingy but not making the attack ship avialable at some point in the near future
asardetemplari
They already announced the anniversary ships. No Jem'Hadar ATtack Ship.
bbaetens @ Jan 24th, 2013 4:51PM
Aaah a new lockbox, i wonder how much more new lockbox's we will see before the players stop sinking money into them? @cryptic close your forum for a bit or prepare for increased "why don't i get the ship from the box" threads lolz. it amazes me that there still plenty of players left willing to pay for zen and buy them keys, this game is good and all but ask your self wen are we gonna see some "real" content added to the game? and please don't say we got the romulans, face it that ain't worth shit, like the STF
naval10 @ Jan 24th, 2013 4:38PM
lets see if this time I will be able to get at least one good vessel, last time 30 keys and novessels at all...
stardestroyer001
I'm currently up to 65 keys and no frickin ship. :P
collinstonpwe @ Jan 24th, 2013 1:33PM
some lose sight of the eye, the more money for sto is not quality for sto - fact for over 3 years - not in p2p, lifetime oder now f2p and shop. neverwinter comes - since autumn 2012 and knocks violently on the door. in contrast, in champions and star trek online constantly the money-printing machines in the form of lockboxes were generated, to enlarge neverwinter's budget...^^
collinstonpwe
cryptic and pwe are the famoust studios, who called themselves close to community but ignore for over 3 years with basic criticism of game lack
collinstonpwe
this is worth an awesome award any many pleasent consumers, isn't it?
collinstonpwe
Unfortunately, with the knowledge of the high potential of STO; which no longer will be achieved, between lowbrow consumers and self-running lockboxes. that's the tragedy.
herjustinius @ Jan 24th, 2013 1:13PM
Looks like cool stuff in there, I'd like to get my hands on both fed mirror escort ships. As for keys, there's a few ways to get them. First is, buy zen and buy a pack of keys from the Z-store. This helps support the real life cost of this imaginary world we play in. Second possibility, save up dilith, trade for zen, buy keys from the Z-store. Third possibility, save up your energy credits and buy from the exchange. EC's are easy to get through selling loot and/or doing "tour the universe. Low level avi's team with and level up to a high level player, you'll get higher mark loot to sell. However there is NO call to make nasty comments about either the studio or other players, because of them.
nitewingnyc @ Jan 24th, 2013 12:42PM
i have to say that I have been one of the people that in the past have spent over 1,100 dollars on this game a month. I sat the deves need to do something and make the game less costly to get these new items ans ships before I leave the game and return to swtor.
ducklesworth
The game is free. Doesn't get less costly than that. If you have low-impulse control, that's not their problem.
crashdragon @ Jan 24th, 2013 11:45AM
Ah, just another reason not to sink money into PW. =3
spielman1 @ Jan 24th, 2013 11:34AM
I understand bussiness is bussiness but they need other options too for players that cant dump thousands of dollars into a game with no reward i literally spent well into 400 dollars to get a Galor class nothing i tred again with temporal lockboxes nothing at all. So this time im not even gonna try come on you dont need to make the darn things worth that much in money i say open 10 and you get one. More people probably spend money that way as in now it is viable for theme on there money and budget.
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