The Admiral’s Log: My Journey Through ‘Star Trek Online’ – Part XXIV

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

A Return to Task Force Operations 

​One thing that a lot of people don’t know about me, is that I am actually quite the naval history buff. I love learning about the history of ships that have served, and of course, about all the battles they’ve fought in because naval combat is downright fascinating. It’s simply a violent form of art since so much thought and care goes into how these giant vessels battle one another on the water and my love of this style of combat and everything that goes into it, extends far beyond the real world and into the science fiction realm as well.
 
Because I’ve seen some beautiful and stunning battles in space throughout the years, the kind that were clearly influenced by our own world and our own naval history and that’s also why I’m such a fan of Star Trek Online. For the combat in this particular game, allows for the user to either go the quick route and put together a powerful arsenal, the kind the that will quite literally rip an opponent to shreds, or allow for the player to take their time in combat, and work out a little strategy to defeating their opponents and by now I’m sure you’ve figured out, that the latter option is where my mind tends to thrive.
 
There’s just something supremely satisfying about being able to carefully take your time to defeat your opponent and look for weaknesses in their shields or their attack style and while I know Trek stands for more than just mere combat and conflict, it’s hard to not dive bow first into battle infested waters and scheme your way to explosive victory. So, as I continue to explore this game and all it has to offer, I realized it was high time to dig deeper into what kinds of combat situations are available in this game and that prompted me to return to the world of Task Force Operations, where combat is king.
 
Now, I’ve spoken about TFO briefly before in The Admiral’s Log, specifically how it’s entertaining to me since I’m not required to join a fleet temporarily and that there’s no need to coordinate an attack in multiplayer fashion and having that freedom actually made round two of TFO quite liberating and downright fun because once the mission got underway, I was able to assess the situation and formulate my own combat strategy and man, that made for some satisfying combat to say the least, since I was able to strike where needed, intercept incoming light vessels before they could cause any harm and face off against incredible odds in Borg themed missions.
 
However, what truly made me enjoy TFO this time around, was the temporary addition of The Battle of the Binary Stars from Star Trek: Discovery, wherein I was placed in a ‘simulation’ of this all-important battle, and even given an early 23rd Century vessel to fit in properly. And man, it was just cool to re-live Federation history and take part in one of the bloodiest battles of the Klingon/Federation War and do my part to have a little more success than Starfleet did the first time around and this was truly a mission that required strategy and patience to accomplish the goals the game outlines for you.
 
If anything, these TFO missions are starting to become quite addicting, and I’m already planning to dive into more in the weeks to come, because they truly satisfy a need in my mind since they allow for the player to enjoy whatever style of combat suits them best and I really am hoping that the creators of the game, add new historical TFO missions to the game down the line. Because let’s be honest, who wouldn’t want to take part in the Battle of Wolf 359? Or the First and Second Battle of Chin’toka? Or help Captain Sisko punch the Defiant through enemy lines to complete Operation: Return? In the meantime however, I’ll simply delight myself with more battles against the Borg, or take part in combat laden rescue missions because this part of the game really is a blast to say the least and it will do a fine job of keeping me busy for the next couple of weeks until ‘Mirror of Discovery’ arrives on consoles…

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