New STO lockbox

-Lobi Crystals that will be accepted as currency at a vendor that sells new specialty items.

"To increase the already amazing value of the Ferengi Lock Box, the Lobi Crystal Consortium (still a wholly-owned subsidiary of Quark Enterprises) will be opening an outpost on Drozana Station to accept Lobi Crystals in exchange for new, unique items not available anywhere else! This fully-stocked retail outlet will feature both functional and cosmetic items. Our first shipment of inventory includes items ranging from a Ferengi Shuttle Pod to non-combat pets, but we will be working with our suppliers to get regular updates of merchandise you won't want to miss!"

So, these lockboxes contain an extra currency for use at the Lobi Crystal Consortium.
Im not sure is this is better or worse than the Cardi lock boxes.

Do you guys think this time around, people get more value out of the lock-box?

A little box can contain a whole ship or some new officers? I hope they put air holes in said box cause that would be kinda messed up =P

The boxes contain some pretty good stuff IMO. I do not play the game but hey, the stuff sounds cool.

It's just another money grab, the odds of getting something useful are crap just like on the old ones. STO is run by a bunch of jack wagons, can't believe they pulled this again. Well, maybe I can lol.

This is no surprise.  As has been said ad nauseum since the lockboxes were introduced, they are not going anywhere and will get worse as time goes on.

They ought to rename this game "Casino Online".

Some thoughts from the STO boards about the Lobi Crystals.
a definite scam
the prices are extrememly high and this comment was from a STO developer (JamJamz).
Lobi system= waste of resources
Its not gambling
It is gambling
Breakdown or money spent/items recieved

"For comparison, I just bought a year of WoW game time for $120. They release maybe $50 in pets, $100 in mounts, and $50 on an expansion every 18 months. The Ferengi jacket costs more than all of that to obtain at the average rate of Lobi crystal drops."

So, someone has stated that the Ferengi jacket, at current rate of Lobi Crystal drops via the lockbox, costs more than a years sub to WOW and some other items from their shop. Holy hell. Frengi Jacket-huge cost

Are there different grades of boxes?  The Cardi one had elite gold box that had a higher chance of dropping the ship.  Yes, its a FTP money grab with them selling the keys.

Originally posted by JYCowboy

Are there different grades of boxes?  The Cardi one had elite gold box that had a higher chance of dropping the ship.  Yes, its a FTP money grab with them selling the keys.

 

Yes there is a gold version. 

The impact of these go well beyond the items in the boxes though, for me its the boxes themselves and their drop rate.

Since they came out what thursday? I aleady have 20 lockboxes, sure they stack so their inventory impact isn't to bad either, but for everyone of those I could have gotten a drop I might have been able to use.

I just came back to this guy to check out the changes, I was a preorder/beta player, subbed for a while after launch but never really played much. Those 20 drops of lockboxes I have gotten could have been upgrades instead there useless cash shop ads.

Originally posted by evicton

Originally posted by JYCowboy

Are there different grades of boxes?  The Cardi one had elite gold box that had a higher chance of dropping the ship.  Yes, its a FTP money grab with them selling the keys.

 

Yes there is a gold version. 

The impact of these go well beyond the items in the boxes though, for me its the boxes themselves and their drop rate.

Since they came out what thursday? I aleady have 20 lockboxes, sure they stack so their inventory impact isn't to bad either, but for everyone of those I could have gotten a drop I might have been able to use.

I just came back to this guy to check out the changes, I was a preorder/beta player, subbed for a while after launch but never really played much. Those 20 drops of lockboxes I have gotten could have been upgrades instead there useless cash shop ads.

You're not missing out on potential upgrades, because they still drop normally.  The lockboxes also drop, and at a high rate.  They are annoying, but no big deal if you intend to discard them.

Originally posted by Rohn

Originally posted by evicton

Originally posted by JYCowboy

Are there different grades of boxes?  The Cardi one had elite gold box that had a higher chance of dropping the ship.  Yes, its a FTP money grab with them selling the keys.

 

Yes there is a gold version. 

The impact of these go well beyond the items in the boxes though, for me its the boxes themselves and their drop rate.

Since they came out what thursday? I aleady have 20 lockboxes, sure they stack so their inventory impact isn't to bad either, but for everyone of those I could have gotten a drop I might have been able to use.

I just came back to this guy to check out the changes, I was a preorder/beta player, subbed for a while after launch but never really played much. Those 20 drops of lockboxes I have gotten could have been upgrades instead there useless cash shop ads.

 

You're not missing out on potential upgrades, because they still drop normally.  The lockboxes also drop, and at a high rate.  They are annoying, but no big deal if you intend to discard them.

Unless the amount of drops you get lowers alot from levels 20-23 the amount of equipment I have been getting on a normal mission has gone down quite a bit since I started getting the lockboxes.

Originally posted by Zekiah

It's just another money grab, the odds of getting something useful are crap just like on the old ones. STO is run by a bunch of jack wagons, can't believe they pulled this again. Well, maybe I can lol.

It's not just a money grab, it's a massive scam.

They are hiding behind the lie that CBS required "rarity" to approve release of these ships, so they can put them at a ridiculously low drop rates and then massively overcharge for their masterkey system.  Then they flood the game w/ lockboxes (and I do mean flood, in 6 hours of gameplay I've gotten +30 boxes).  To open those lockboxes would cost me ~$40.

I've been around marketing, it's a disgustingly dirty business, and this little ruse is as clear as day  This is the sort of backhanded halftruths companies use to twist a massive profit and make it seem like your helping your customers.  It's all smoke and mirrors.  Wait until they start releasing Romulan Birds of Prey that mirror the KDF's... complete w/ Battle Cloaks and Universal BO slots.

It may be the most disgustingly greedy and unethical system I have ever seen in a Western MMO.

Originally posted by evicton

I just came back to this guy to check out the changes, I was a preorder/beta player, subbed for a while after launch but never really played much. Those 20 drops of lockboxes I have gotten could have been upgrades instead there useless cash shop ads.

I installed the game this weekend and played for the first time since launch month, just to check it out too.  Yeah I got plenty of those stupid boxes, but not much in the way of even vendor trash drops.  I also wondered if these boxes were taking the place of real drops.  Those boxes wouldn't be as bad if you could at least recycle them for ECs, but they just take up space.

Considering those keys are $1.25 each (or $1.125 if you buy in bulk)...yeah total cash grab. 

Originally posted by Darth_Osor

I installed the game this weekend and played for the first time since launch month, just to check it out too.  Yeah I got plenty of those stupid boxes, but not much in the way of even vendor trash drops.  I also wondered if these boxes were taking the place of real drops.  Those boxes wouldn't be as bad if you could at least recycle them for ECs, but they just take up space.

Considering those keys are $1.25 each (or $1.125 if you buy in bulk)...yeah total cash grab. 

Highlighted for emphasis.  That is how you know these boxes are a flagrant cash grab.  Why drop free loot if you can charge your players for it?

Originally posted by ShardWarrior

Originally posted by Darth_Osor

I installed the game this weekend and played for the first time since launch month, just to check it out too.  Yeah I got plenty of those stupid boxes, but not much in the way of even vendor trash drops.  I also wondered if these boxes were taking the place of real drops.  Those boxes wouldn't be as bad if you could at least recycle them for ECs, but they just take up space.

Considering those keys are $1.25 each (or $1.125 if you buy in bulk)...yeah total cash grab. 

Highlighted for emphasis.  That is how you know these boxes are a flagrant cash grab.  Why drop free loot if you can charge your players for it?

They're not reporting the odds of winning either. Yes, very flagrant.

Did they at least stop with the message spam ?  Honestly Cryptic is walking a fine legal line, as to what consistitues gambling and game play. I think they've made just enough changes since the last fiasco , that they feel safe doing what they are currently doing. The worst part is the people that fork out the money for this game. People need to find a better cause to give your money to .

Originally posted by AG-Vuk

Did they at least stop with the message spam ?  Honestly Cryptic is walking a fine legal line, as to what consistitues gambling and game play. I think they've made just enough changes since the last fiasco , that they feel safe doing what they are currently doing. The worst part is the people that fork out the money for this game. People need to find a better cause to give your money to .

You can turn off the text spam but the graphic box spam litters your screen. Cryptic just can't get them to drop for loot fast enough.

Originally posted by Zekiah

You can turn off the text spam but the graphic box spam litters your screen. Cryptic just can't get them to drop for loot fast enough.

Seems like they are slowly moving toward all drops being a "lockbox" type item as well.  I predict we will see Klingon, Romulan, Reman, Hirogen, Borg, Deferi, Tholian et. al. lockboxes in the near future, filling the already limited storage space available... leading to a C-Store purchase of more inventory slots.

Total scam.

Maaaaybe it would be acceptable if instead of 1 key for 100 CP (or about 1.25$ like Darth_Osor said) or the 10 pack for 900 CP, if 1 key would be 10 CP, and the 10 pack being 100 CP. Or better yet, how the keys dropping randomly like the lockboxes or being able to buy them with EC instead of CP?!

Sucks, cause I really want that Marauder.

Originally posted by misterbeefy

Maaaaybe it would be acceptable if instead of 1 key for 100 CP (or about 1.25$ like Darth_Osor said) or the 10 pack for 900 CP, if 1 key would be 10 CP, and the 10 pack being 100 CP. Or better yet, how the keys dropping randomly like the lockboxes or being able to buy them with EC instead of CP?!

 

Sucks, cause I really want that Marauder.

F2P play means playing by the rules they establish and their prices. Good luck with that.