Okay, not so much like that. More like this:
As you can see, I have something of a plethora of bridge officer candidates. What can I say, I have have a hard time saying “no” to virtual applicants.
I could sell off the extra ones – but they are worth so little, and there are so many of them on the exchange, I’m not sure its worth the time it would take to list them. But then again, inventory space is always at a premium for a pack rat like myself!
The other option is, of course, upgrades. Because the officers are so cheap, laying ahold of one to train the “rare” mark II or III version of a skill is relatively simple. Not to mention that if you have a buddy who can train that skill as a player character, they can train the bridge officer and then trade them right back to you! No, the real reason to upgrade is the passive attributes, which are greater at each level.
Even then – I’m not sold. After all, for the best efficiency, you need an entirely Saurian/Borg/Human bridge crew (only these three races grant passive bonuses to space combat), and a ground crew that is all but those three races – usually with nothing but Betazoid Science officers. And I’m just not into that. Not only am I a big fan of Jacques Ellul (who famously noted that Efficiency is currently humanity’s true god), but I’m a roleplayer. I’m not here for the stats, people.
Long story short though, it is pretty sad. Here is what I currently have in my slots vs. what is available…
Engineering:
1 x Purple, 1 x Green, 1 x White vs. 5 x Blue
Science:
1 x Blue, 1 x White vs. 2 x Purple, 5 x Blue
Tactical:
1 x Purple, 1 x Green, 1 x White vs. 2 x Purple, 7 x Blue
Given that without spending Zen, you get a standard of 10 officers, with the ability to purchase new slots at $1.25 a pop, up to maximum of 54, according to the wiki. Which I’m not keen on doing.
So, the TL:DR of all this is simple. I have to be willing to say goodbye to some old friends if I want to upgrade. As a roleplayer, and a pack rat, that’s a double whammy. How do I give up the science officer I started with 45 levels ago, who has been with me through thick and thin and still functions just fine!
I probably need to just put my big boy pants on and fire some peeps. Because I’m betting other players don’t have this issues like this…
Harbinger Zero 