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

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

The Personal Endeavor System 

​There have been quite a number of changes made to Star Trek Online in the past year or so and each one of them have been in my opinion, for the better. For the new missions and stories have been the best the game has offered up to date, especially ‘Victory is Life’, and the Endeavor System was a welcome addition to the game as well, since it prompts the player to log on more often to try and earn more energy credits and Dilithium in order to build their dream ship or fleet, and I’ve been enjoying that a plenty since you never know what missions or tasks are going to show up on that list, since a recent update added new TFO tasks into the mix.
 
But something that hit PC before Console, because I’m an Xbox Trekker, finally arrived on console this past week, further enhancing our experience in game; the wondrous Personal Endeavor System. Now this new wrinkle to the proverbial fold, allows for multiple Endeavor Missions to get underway, since the ‘every other day’ tasks still continue along, while at the same time, new daily missions populate in your Endeavor roster. Now, I know what you’re thinking, that’s a grind of extraordinary magnitude, but I honestly don’t think so. Simply because, I’m not required to do it every single day, and if I don’t have the time, I don’t have the time. But, the benefit in my mind, is that, in the event I’m jonesing for a taste of this game, which is…often, I can log on and have something to do and that is just delightful. 
 
However, what matters more, is that the mix of missions and tasks is quite robust and dynamic since the first set of Personal Endeavors sent me all over the galaxy as I worked to dole out some Anti-Proton damage on the ground, thank you New Romulus for the assist there, before heading out to battle some Terran Empire and Tzenkethi ships. And what makes these missions so intriguing, is that, they offer you a chance to complete an Easy, Medium and Hard task with varying rewards based upon what you manage to accomplish and thus far, the rewards have been pretty handsome since there’s been plenty of Dilithium and energy credits to be found the longer I play, and along the way, I even had the opportunity to complete all of my Daily Endeavors in one single fell swoop.
 
Because I needed to bring down five Borg ships, drop twenty drones and dole out twenty-thousand units in Phaser damage and it just so happens that one of the opening missions of the Borg story arc took care of that no problem, and I thought it was quite cool to know that a single mission might handle some of these matters, and the real icing on the cake, is that I have to admit, some of these challenges are actually pretty daunting and who doesn’t love a challenge in this game? Plus, these missions have also managed to plunge me into some new TFO challenges that are cool as all hell, like the one pictured here entitled, ‘The Conduit’, since it forces you and others to face off against one hell of a Borg flotilla and I needed to make mention of this, simply because, the Borg do override your comm system in order to send their trademark and chilling message and that’s just epic.
 
In the end however, the new Personal Endeavor System is straight up just a ton of fun. It really does offer up wonderful new challenges and I love that these aren’t simple tasks that wrap up in a matter of minutes. These take some time and some dedication and what I’m loving the most, is that these missions do a fine job of keeping one busy as we wait for the next wave of story based missions to arrive, and as an added bonus, I forgot to mention that some of the XP rewards that come with this, help to strengthen your characters in various ways and when all is said and done, I’ll definitely be logging on more often to complete more of these because like a box of tribbles, you never know what you’re going to get. So, if you’ll excuse me, I think Admiral Quinn has a new set of missions for me to accomplish, and I’d like to pack in as many as possible before settling in to discuss a special event with all of you. Until then.  

---