It’s a Cryptic release tradition that prior to a big release, you let small tidbits of information out to build interest and momentum for the big reveal.  It’s annoying – especially when we are actually excited about the release.  Some of the feedback on the forums have been ho-hum, but when you consider there’s no cost to participate, they’re giving you a free character slot AND it opens the door for account wide access to free things, I have a hard time finding fault.

On top of that, they’ve added a third new STF: Gateway to Gre’Thor, a 5-man cross faction ground queue.

STO needs fresh blood.  STO needs to encourage players who were put off by the massive changes with DR to come back and give it another try.  Fingers crossed.

Here’s a recap of what we know so far, and what we’ve learned from today’s blog post:

• Delta Recruitment is a limited time special event designed to encourage existing players (and new players) to visit star Trek Online.  Delta Recruits can only be created during this event.
• I starts April 2nd and extends to April 21st (TY @Primar13)
• Each account will receive 1 free character slot.
• Players may choose any faction, and will have a mysterious temporal benefactor who will appear to them during their factions tutorial.
• Delta Recruits will get a list of goals to achieve with each story arc completed, giving them and all other characters on that account access to equipment, marks and other rewards (CONSOLES) as you complete the arcs.
• Some maps will have additional DR objectives
• Among the rewards is the Ship Mastery trait – Temporal Insight: This trait will proc a Damage Immunity when you use any Hull Heal on your starship.
• Delta Recruits get an inherent dilithium bonus for every kill – a bonus that’s extended to every member of the team they are a part of.best of all
• Finally, during the first six weeks of the seven-week Delta Recruit event, there will be server wide goals that only Delta Recruits can contribute to, but by accomplishing these goals, they unlock bonuses for the entire server for the whole of the next week of the event! For example, in the first week of the event, every Episode First Run that Delta Recruits complete will count towards the goal. How many First Runs they complete will determine the bonus of the week-long event running in Week 2. You will have either a 1.5x XP bonus, a 2x XP bonus, or possibly even a 2.5x XP bonus for the entire week!

I joke that this sounds to good to be true.  Its a bonus to team play.  It’s a chance to revisit the improved tutorials for all three factions.  Free stuff for EVERY CHARACTER ON YOUR ACCOUNT.  And they’re giving you the space to do it for free.

‘Nuff Said.

Here’s todays post from the main news section on ARC:

War is coming, and recruits are needed for the fight. It’s time to sign up to protect the galaxy from the Iconians.

Starfleet, the Klingon Defense Force, and the Romulan Republic have all kicked up their recruiting efforts. New captains in any of these factions will be known as Delta Recruits, and they bring with them the knowledge and capability needed to see to the future of the galaxy.

There will never been a better time to start playing Star Trek Online than during the Delta Recruitment event, which runs from April 2nd to May 21st. Characters made during this time will be Delta Recruits, and they will earn a host of new benefits and rewards to aid them in their leveling experience.

Delta Recruits are specifically designed to rapidly close the gap that exists between new characters and characters that have been in Star Trek Online for years. It’s the most new-player friendly the game has been in almost two years, and the perfect time to join the community of Star Trek Online.

Delta Recruits have a secondary responsibility, and that is to prepare themselves, their crews, and their entire factions for the coming Iconian War. A mysterious benefactor, an experienced captain traveling back in time, will contact all Delta Recruits during their faction’s tutorial and inform them of the opportunities not to be missed during their career. Each faction’s own temporal agency can confirm that what this person said is true, and will guide them using the Delta Recruit window, a new UI element that appears near the Mission Tracker.

Delta Recruits will be playing a parallel story to that of their chosen faction. They have a list of goals that they can achieve at any time, and completing these goals will see them rewarded with equipment, Marks, and other rewards beneficial not just to the Delta Recruit, but to all characters on the same account. Completing the story arcs of your chosen faction will reward you with a unique Starship Trait for all characters on your account: Temporal Insight. This trait will proc a Damage Immunity when you use any Hull Heal on your starship.

Delta Recruits can only be created during the Delta Recruit event. These recruits can be recognized by the Delta Symbol (∆) next to their names. All Delta Recruits will have an inherent bonus trait during the Delta Recruit Event of generating Dilithium Ore upon defeating enemies, a bonus which extends to your entire group. This trait will only be available during this event and will be gone once the Delta Recruitment event ends, so gather your Dilithium Ore while you can!

Additional rewards are gained by leveling up, playing through story content up through the Breen story arc, and finding special Delta Recruit objectives on certain mission maps. Many of the same things that players do while levelling their characters will earn Delta Recruits improved rewards!

Finally, during the first six weeks of the seven-week Delta Recruit event, there will be server wide goals that only Delta Recruits can contribute to, but by accomplishing these goals, they unlock bonuses for the entire server for the whole of the next week of the event! For example, in the first week of the event, every Episode First Run that Delta Recruits complete will count towards the goal. How many First Runs they complete will determine the bonus of the week-long event running in Week 2. You will have either a 1.5x XP bonus, a 2x XP bonus, or possibly even a 2.5x XP bonus for the entire week!

There’s far too many bonuses and rewards available to list them all here, so get ready to make your Delta Recruit (all accounts are getting one extra free character slot), and keep watching between now and April 2nd for more information.