Good day, Joe and STO‘ers! My excitement level is through the roof!
It’s actually been through the roof for a bit over a week.
I mean…when the game’s Community Manager, out of the clear blue, asks for your shipping address?
Just…
I just…
Any 90’s kids remember when Kimberly fainted at learning the identity of the White Ranger?
That took me a few minutes to recover.
Me…small time blogger, getting the Community Manager’s attention for STO?
The whole next week, I was super excited. What’s in the mailbox? What’s in the mailbox? WHY CAN’T IT GET HERE NOW!?
Well, I got it. And yes, I expected it to hype the 11th Anniversary.
But to get the attention of the studio to do something about it? Can I use a GIF a second time?
“GET ON WITH IT! WHAT WAS IN THE (MAIL)BOX!?“
Well, this was (my address and some shipping info intentionally hidden):
AND INSIDE THE PACKAGE!?
Sheesh, the impatience!
….
You sat down?
You sure?
K. Here it is, to celebrate House Reborn and the 11th Anniversary…
So my Klingon is practically non-existent aside from “Qapla’!”, “Jol’ychu!”, “petaQ”, and “Guy’cha!”…and two of those are insults. :p
So I’ll assume it’s meant to be this, more or less…
Daaaaang! That fire, the upside-down Klingon symbol, the Gates of Gre’thor, the Klingon-like font! I feel pulled into this instantly.
If you’re not familiar, the newest update House Reborn picks up where the House Shattered episode “Partisans” left off. After J’ula attempted to unite the Great Houses against J’mpok and Aakar by displaying their attack on Khitomer, the Great Houses instead have split. Some favor removing J’mpok, others seek their own way. J’ula has retreated to Boreth to seek the wisdom of the monks and find a way to reunite the Great Houses, finishing the work her brother T’Kuvma started.
After seeking the wisdom of the monks on Boreth, take a journey to Gre’thor to find among the dishonored the one who should lead the charge against J’mpok. You might find a few surprising (and I feel, welcome) characters along the way if you’ve not played through or read about or watched a video of the episodes yet. 🙂
To get a feel for the kind of dishonorable souls in Gre’thor, this book contains stories of 3 certain dishonored Klingons: Dar’Uhk; A’Hoz; and Rolurgh.
Whoever did all the work on the Klingon-like English font did a great job. This feels like a Klingon story that, while not told in its “original Klingon,” still feels like such even in English. 🙂
NICE! I WANT TO LEARN OF THESE DISHONORED!
Well…here’s the thing. The booklet isn’t publicly available. Sad face, I know. It’d be a great $3.99 print-on-demand, I think, to add to STO’s lore. Plus, I tend to like physical books more. 😉
But you don’t have to pay a single dime. Perfect World Entertainment and Cryptic Studios have their official STO page where they make their in-game announcements and post blogs with stories related to upcoming or current storylines or product offerings (“lore blogs”). You can find all three stories below:
I’M FIRED UP! WHERE IS ALL THIS IN STAR TREK ONLINE?
(EDIT 2/2/2021) Along with House Reborn, Cryptic has remastered some older Klingon episodes. One such episode is “Afterlife,” which also takes you to Boreth and the “Klingon Hell” of Gre’thor. I can’t give away where they are, but fight on through and you may notice some familiar NPCs from the book/lore blogs along the way. (Thanks to Twitter user @TheKeetsTweets for pointing this out to me!)
Plus, these tales give a good feel for Gre’thor before hitting the 2 new episodes tied to the Klingon Civil War arc.
You can access the two new Featured Episodes of the update directly at the top of your Mission Journal under…uh…Featured Episodes (duh… 😉 ). If you’re new, I’d recommend going to the “Klingon Civil War” arc to catch the opening episodes “The Centre Cannot Hold,” “The Khitomer Discord,” and “Partisans” first.
- As of the time of writing this entry, “The Khitomer Discord” may be bugged and progression may be difficult or impossible beyond a certain point. The realities of a live service game, breaks can happen when you least expect them! If you’re unable to progress, I don’t think anyone would blame you for catching the rest on a playthrough video on YouTube. 😉
The two new episodes are titled “Knowledge is Power” and “Leap of Faith” (in that order).
I Play Federation Characters. Do I HAVE to make a Klingon to play those episodes?
No, actually. Aside from the revamped episodes being Klingon-only, the Klingon Civil War (and most of the STO story, in reality) can be played by any character of any faction or alliance. Jump in at the same place, the Klingon Civil War arc at the bottom of your Mission Tracker, and start from there! (You may have to click “Skip” on quite a few episode listings starting near the top and working down to the end.)
(Though there is a Klingon Recruit event going on. I’d suggest doing that for some account-wide unlocks and to experience the game in a different light, especially as space Ambush and ground Melee kills are part of your progress as a Recruit. We tend to like Ranged weapons and hassle-free combat as players, so it’s been good to get out of my comfort zones.)
WORTH THE TIME
While I’m sure some won’t believe I’m saying this freely of my own volition, I’ll say it now that this is in no way a suggestion from anyone at PWE and/or Cryptic to say what I’m about to say.
To be honest, I didn’t particularly care for the gameplay of “Knowledge of Power,” but it was a good story. It sets the scene for “Leap of Faith.”
“Leap of Faith,” though, I think has made me a Klingon fan.
So yeah, do yourselves a favor: Play the “Klingon Civil War” arc (bottom of your Mission Journal), then go do the Featured Episodes. They’re all kinda long, not gonna lie, but the quality is amazing! (I think it feels better playing as a Klingon, but it’s an MMORPG. Play as whoever and whatever you like!)
This Spring I believe is the planned finish of the Klingon Civil War story arc, so don’t go away thinking this is quite over.
But for now…To Boreth and TO GRE’THOR!!!
(PS: If you can’t get enough of Gre’thor, the Klingon Defense Forces-exclusive episode “Afterlife” in the Fek’Ihri Return arc features a revamped visit. It takes places before “Leap of Faith” in the STO timeline.)
(Special thanks to Perfect World for providing a physical copy of the lore blogs linked above. Aside from my wanting to do a blog post, no consideration was given or offered for the views expressed in and content of this post. I just love STO. Anyone who’s read this blog from Day 1 should know that. 🙂 )
Joe and STO 