Star Trek Online Season 13 “Escalation” Now Available On PC – Introduces New War Games System

Today, Perfect World Entertainment announced Season 13 – Escalation is now available on PC for their free-to-play MMORPG Star Trek Online.  The new season includes a new featured episode continuing the Tzenkethi War story arc, improvements to matchmaking, class-specific set gear, and the new War Games system, which allows players to team up in competitive PvE scenarios.

Here is how Perfect World describes the Season 13 storyline:

The war against the Tzenkethi rages on with the arrival of Season 13 – Escalation. The Lukari are on a journey to rediscover their ancient home world and the secrets it contains, though an unexpected intervention by the Tzenkethi may put a damper on their homecoming. Political intrigue, exploring a bustling city and fantastic action set pieces all take place in the latest featured episode, “Mirrors and Smoke.” In the new episode  captains will travel with the Lukari to New Kentar and defend the planet from the Tzenkethi.

New trailer for Escalation

New War Games System

Escalation introduces the new “War Games” system into Star Trek Online, allowing captains new ways to compete with one another by pitting two teams of five players against each other in competitive PvE scenarios. Players join forces to solve puzzles and race through the galaxy earning valuable rewards, including class-specific ships. To optimize this new type of queue, a new Player Potential System has also been introduced to match players of similar skill.

There are two modes for the new War Games System:

  • “Core Assault” – A space-based 5v5 Convergence-class scenario, where two flights of captains compete to cross the finish line in a space station based in the Adelphous System.
  • “Binary Circuit” – A ground-based 5v5 Gauntlet-class scenario where captains will solve puzzles and complete various challenges in a Borg Co-operative Cube.

New Screenshots

Star Trek Cruise Contest

Captains can celebrate the release of Season 13: Escalation by entering a contest to win a six-day cruise across the Atlantic. From now through May 5, players can visit the Star Trek Online blog to participate in this sweepstakes. One winner will be selected to receive an ocean-view cabin for two on Star Trek: The Cruise II, a six-day voyage hosted by George Takei and other Star Trek actors. In addition, the winner will be granted every starship currently available in the C-Store of Star Trek Online’s PC version. For more information on Star Trek: The Cruise II, please visit startrekthecruise.com.

Season 13 – Escalation for the PC is available now. To download and play Star Trek Online today for free, visit www.startrekonline.com. Season 12 was recently added for console players and Season 13 will be added at a later date.

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There is literally NOTHING “Star Trek” about that promotional illustration. There has not been a single good Star Trek game since “Judgment Rites”.

Eh… that’s not really true or fair. TNG: A Final Unity was a really great PC game and Bridge Commander was a really good sim-like game. What’s sad is that if the rights would go to a solid developer like Bioware or CD Projekt Red to make a good expansive Trek game with high stakes. The first 2 Mass Effect games are essentially Star Trek and actually make so many Trek references it’s been a shame we’ve never gotten a high quality game of that caliber.

Star WARS. Guess about right given the last pic posted in the article has an Imperial Stormtrooper in it. I enjoy Star Trek. I enjoy Star Wars. I enjoy Battlestar Galactica. But unlike Reese’s peanut butter cups mixing the chocolate and peanut butter together does not make “two great tastes that go great together.” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJLDF6qZUX0) Star Trek should play to its strengths–hope Discovery follows this. How about letting Trek be TREK instead of a pale imitation of another franchise?

This doesn’t look like Star Trek to me. Star Trek is about peaceful exploration and problem solving, not shooting each other…..

Would love a Trek themed Colonizer. STO…bleh…used to play it…but bleh.

Apparently, in order to be “Star Trek” you cannot fight back to defend yourself. Nothing in the game promotes a strike first mentality.

But I guess you cant defend yourself… Even though there were pleanty of TOS episodes where the Enterprise and crew did plenty of things that were not “Star Treky”

“I would rather die on my feet than live on my knees.”

It does promote the “strike first mentality”, and this last episode is the best example. We, as a Starfleet officers interfere on the internal issus of the Kentari, and kill a loooooot of the members of one faction of a civil war just beacose we simpatize with the other faction.

Hello prime directive?

Look, Star Trek Online can be Star Trek if you use canon ships, dont ever play any of the official missions, and focus (first by a lot of selection) on good Foundry Missions. Only way to play this game and make it about Star Trek.

@CaptJWAmick – “Apparently, in order to be “Star Trek” you cannot fight back to defend yourself.”

Nobody said anything remotely like that, but hey, thanks for the straw man fallacy!

well, if the war fighting mentality works for the Cosmo Navy (in the new Yamato 2202 series), then in the 24th century UFP, F*rt-on the PD I guess?

~Pensive’s Wetness

No Straw-man fallacy. But, please, bury your head. All you “True” trek fans get bent out of shape over the most idiotic of things.

Star Trek is about story and dreaming. As is all SciFi. Your beef with Trek is that it has evolved from dull and uninteresting to exciting (and I’m not talking about JJTrek).

I agree Trek is about story and dreaming not formulaic same old, same old. I loved TNG Best of Both Worlds, but it also ruined a lot of Trek. The _________________, an unstoppable alien force with special ability(ies), bent on conquest, is targeting the Federation. The Federation is getting crushed by the _____________________. After losing several battles our heroes finally outsmart the enemy and through pluck, determination and ingenuity (with a dose of TNG-esque technobabble) the Federation overcomes the ________________. Same with Wrath of Khan–loved it, but it also ruined a lot of Trek. ____________________ has a vendetta against Capt. ______________ or Starfleet or the Federation. ________________ will stop at nothing to avenge his ____________________. __________________ is unstoppable, but _________________ is not as smart and resourceful as he thinks he and is outsmarted by our heroes through a combination of smarts, inqenuity, pluck, and determination. Oh, and the Enterprise explodes or crashes at some point (again, loved Search for Spock where this had some emotional heft but now it is dropped in willy nilly to generate some “stakes”). All in all it is lazy storytelling–action/adventure formula. I’d love some story and dreaming. TOS had plenty of action/adventure but it also had a healthy dose of real science fiction instead of the playing the same trope all over again. That’s my two cents.

2 new queues and a 10 minute mission: Season 13!
After all the nonstop wars and topping it off with the Iconians, we get a tiny period of “New Dawn” peace and right back to “Escalation”.

They’ve also just about burnt through all the canons ships and on-screen content they can sell you, even the Enterprise-J. Now they trying to sell the stupid pirate raider ships i.e. from TNG Gambit.

At this point, they’re just continually lowering the bar so it’s time for this chinese-owned, cash-grab game to just die and go away

I 100% agree. The endless Star Wars got tiring for me probably around the first real update I think 2 or 3 years ago? Anyway, this needs revamped in a big way. Playing as the Federation is no different than playing as the Romulans or Klingons – you fight, fight and fight some more. They took away the real exploration side of things when you could go off the grid and scan stars, collect particles, answer distress calls…

Now, it’s just shoot, shoot, shoot and kill, kill, kill even AS the Federation. That’s not what Starfleet or the Federation is about. The endless “invasions” and “wars” got real tiring real fast. I effectively rolled my eyes about my trillionth battle in. And how do you advance in this game? KILL! Kill Borg, kill Romulans, kill Klingons… become and Admiral, and kill some more!

Pointless drivel. This isn’t Star Trek anymore – it’s Star Wars. If I wanted a Star Wars game, I’ll go play Battlefront.

I’d love another time travel season set in the movie universe. Post TMP, after the Enterprise B was launched.

Ugh no thanks, video games suck anymore. I’ll stick with my Atari 2600 thank you very much. Space Invaders anyone?