Star Trek Online is settling into the routine of MMOG cycling. The never ending cycle of develop, deploy, get eviscerated on the forums, make changes, appease few, upset many, repeat. The lightning rods of late are the death penalty (or lack thereof) and the addition of a difficulty slider for missions. Both offer new twists to the game and while one harkens to games of yesteryear (death penalties), the other (difficulty slider) is a relatively new angle for MMOGs. Are they good, bad, or both?

Part of me applauds Cryptic for creating almost a meta-game out of dying. At least now after a wipe, we can all compare injuries. “I got a major,” only to be upped by “bah, I’ve got two criticals.”

• Continue reading Till Death Do Its Part - Death Penalties & Difficulty Sliders in STO