In the ongoing battle to safeguard the sanctity of the timelines, talented officers from all different disciplines are undergoing specialized training to understand and manipulate the flow of time itself, and the occasionally malleable relationship between cause and effect.

Although these officers’ understanding of temporal mechanics could be applied to time travel in a broader sense, the Temporal Accords prevent them undertaking from large-scale incursions of this nature. Instead, the Temporal Operative uses this knowledge to cause more subtle fluctuations in localized causality, primarily manifesting in the form of a mechanic known as “Entropy” which they generate on foes, then consume to improve subsequent effects. By properly applying and consuming this unique resource, Temporal Operatives can cause enemy technology to essentially rot from the inside out, causing damage and limiting their ability to raise an effective defense.

Training a Temporal Operative

Upon the release of Agents of Yesterday, existing Bridge Officers will now have the ability to train in this new Specialization through the use of Specialization Qualifications.

The availability of new Bridge Officers that have Temporal Operative training will be limited, but the Temporal Agent Bundle contains six (6) Temporal Operative Specialization Qualifications to get your existing Bridge Crew into the habit of manipulating space-time in no-time!

Once granted the Temporal Operative specialization, Training Manuals for Rank I and Rank II Temporal Operative abilities will be available for purchase from any Bridge Officer Training store. Rank III abilities can be unlocked by advancing in the Temporal Operative Captain Specialization tree, and then created using the new Officer Training R&D School.

Temporal Operative Abilities

Localized tricks of causality, glimpses into alternative quantum realities, the speeding and slowing of time itself – these are the tools and tricks that the Temporal Operative brings to aid you in combat. This specialization presents a strong emphasis on science-leaning tactics with a focus on dealing exotic damage, controlling foes’ movements and stripping their defenses.

The new Entropy mechanic is unique to Temporal Operative Bridge Officers. Many of their abilities will be classified as either a Builder or a Consumer, with Builders adding one or more application of Entropy to the foe(s) affected, while a Consumer will remove Entropy on a target in order to enhance its effects in one or more ways. Entropy is source-specific, meaning that your Consumers cannot benefit from the Entropy applied by to your foe by a teammate. A new UI element will prominently display the amount of Entropy currently applied to your foe(s) in all times. Each foe may have up to a maximum of five (5) applications of Entropy present, per source.

The damage dealt by Temporal Operative abilities is classified as Physical, since it deals with the destruction of matter at a sub-atomic level through processes such as decay and rot. This damage, unless specifically designed to influence shields, will instead ignore them entirely. For this reason, the actual damage dealt by a Temporal Operative ability may at first glance appear lower than other alternatives, but may actually end up out-performing those alternatives.

The following section will give a brief explanation of each of the abilities offered to Temporal Operative Specialists. Please be aware that the details of each ability are subject to change, as we continue to review and tune them based on both internal testing, and player experience and feedback gathered from the Tribble Test Server.

GROUND:

Degeneration Afflict a single foe with a Physical DOT that grows over time Very quick cooldown, allowing frequent re-application Builder: Adds +1 Entropy on last tick

Entropic Contagion Afflict a single foe with a Physical DOT which lashes out every few seconds to deal damage to other nearby foes Builder: If no other foes are not nearby, each attempt to lash out instead adds +1 Entropy to the primary target

Chronometric Diffusion Create a field at the foe’s location which reduces Run Speed and Outgoing Damage to all foes within it Builder: Each foe in the field has a chance of receiving +1 Entropy every second they remain within it

Causal Entanglement Toggle ability centered on self which weakens the shield hardness and damage resistance of all foes within its radius For each affected foe in range, the effects to all foes are magnified Builder: Any foe within range when the effect ends (or is turned off) receives +3 Entropy

Uncertainty Burst The targeted foe, and all of their allies within 15m, are instantly teleported in a random direction, facing a random direction, and are Confused for several seconds Builder: All effected foes receive +1 Entropy

Recursive Affliction Target a single foe with a Mark that will ‘store’ a portion of incoming damage dealt to them, then apply that amount of damage again to them when the duration is complete Builder: +1 Entropy to the afflicted foe if the Mark runs its full duration

Spread Decay A quick blast of Physical Damage, only usable against a foe that has at least one Entropy Builder: Any additional foes in range will have Entropy applied to them equal to what the primary target originally had Consumer: Removes all Entropy to increase damage dealt

Chronoplasty Reverse the effects of recent damage, restoring your health Although the amount healed is enhanced by Entropy applied to nearby foes, this power does not Consume Entropy (it remains in play)

Temporal Narcosis Afflict a single foe with a long-lasting Physical DOT which will periodically have a chance to either Confuse, Slow, Root or Disable them Consumer: Removes all Entropy to increase duration

Paradox Bomb Create an unstable anomaly at the target’s location which will pull nearby foes towards its epicenter for a few seconds before violently exploding Consumer: Foes with Entropy will find it more difficult to escape the anomaly’s pull, and will take additional damage from the explosion, which removes all Entropy

Tachyonic Conversion Instantly drain the shields of all foes within a medium radius around yourself, restoring your own shields by an amount relative to those drained from foes Consumer: Foes with Entropy will lose more shields from this ability, which in turn will restore a greater amount to yourself





SPACE:

Channeled Deconstruction Initiate a damaging Physical DOT on the target which grows larger over time The foe must be kept in range and within your targeting arc for the effect to continue Builder: Adds 1 Entropy every few seconds

Entropic Cascade Afflict a single foe with a Physical DOT which lashes out every few seconds to deal damage to other nearby foes Builder: If no other foes are not nearby, each attempt to lash out instead adds +1 Entropy to the primary target

Chronometric Inversion Field Create a field at the foe’s location which reduces Flight Speed and Outgoing Damage to all foes within it Builder: Each foe in the field has a chance of receiving +1 Entropy every second they remain within it

Shared Fate Toggle ability centered on self which weakens the shield hardness of all foes within its radius while simultaneously draining a moderate amount of shields from them For each affected foe in range, the effects to all foes are magnified Builder: Any foe within range when the effect ends (or is turned off) receives +3 Entropy

Heisenberg Amplifier The targeted foe, and all of their allies within 5km, are instantly teleported in a random direction, facing a random direction, and are Confused for several seconds The teleport will not function on very large or stationary foes, but the Confuse will Builder: All effected foes receive +1 Entropy

Recursive Shearing Target a single foe with a Mark that will ‘store’ a portion of incoming damage dealt to them, then apply that amount of damage again to them when the duration is complete There is currently a hard cap on the amount of damage that can be stored Builder: +1 Entropy to the afflicted foe if the Mark runs its full duration

Entropic Redistribution A quick blast of Physical Damage, only usable against a foe that has at least one Entropy Builder: Any additional foes in range will have Entropy applied to them equal to what the primary target originally had Consumer: Removes all Entropy to increase damage dealt

Causal Reversion Instantly reverse a moderate amount of Hull Damage Although the amount healed is enhanced by Entropy applied to nearby foes, this power does not Consume Entropy (it remains in play)

Rapid Decay The targeted foe is afflicted with a Physical DOT that also reduces their Damage Resistance Rating by a considerable amount Consumer: Removes all Entropy to increase the duration

Timeline Collapse Create an unstable anomaly at the target’s location which will pull nearby foes towards its epicenter for a few seconds before violently exploding Consumer: Foes with Entropy will find it more difficult to escape the anomaly’s pull, and will take additional damage from the explosion, which removes all Entropy

Gravimetric Conversion Instantly drain the shields of all foes within a medium radius around yourself, restoring your own shields by an amount relative to those drained from foes Consumer: Foes with Entropy will lose more shields from this ability, which in turn will restore a greater amount to yourself



GROUND RANK Ability Name Build/Consume ENS LT LTC CDR Degeneration B I II III Uncertainty Burst B I II III Spread Decay B/C I II III Chronoplasty C* I II III Entropic Contagion B I II III Chronometric Diffusion B I II III Causal Entanglement B I II III Temporal Narcosis C I II III Tachyonic Conversion C I II III Paradox Bomb C I II/III Recursive Affliction B I II/III SPACE RANK Ability Name Build/Consume ENS LT LTC CDR Channeled Deconstruction B I II III Heisenberg Amplifier B I II III Entropic Redistribution B/C I II III Causal Reversion C* I II III Entropic Cascade B I II III Shared Fate B I II III Rapid Decay C I II III Gravimetric Conversion C I II III Chronometric Inversion Field B I II III Timeline Collapse C I II/III Recursive Shearing B I II/III

*These powers scale up with Entropy, but do not remove it from Foes.

Q&A

Q: What ships/seats allow the use of Temporal Operative abilities in Space?

A: In order to utilize the Temporal Operative space abilities, you must be flying a starship that has a Hybrid Temporal Operative Bridge Officer seat. They are not usable in “Universal” Profession seats, or existing Specialist Bridge Officer seats. Many of the starships that will have these new seats have already been announced as part of the Temporal Agent Bundle, but we have not yet released their stats. Keep your eyes on our website for those announcements!

Q: I need more details about these abilities! These blurbs don’t explain their full functionality!

A: This Dev Blog is purposefully designed to be only a high-level review of the concept for each ability, as they are still in the midst of tuning and iteration. Specific details for each can be reviewed on the Tribble Test Server, once this feature is ready for public testing. We will endeavor to respond to feedback regarding each ability, including potential balance concerns, throughout the coming weeks leading up to the release of this feature on Holodeck. Q: Will you be adding Temporal Operative Bridge Officer Seats to any existing Starships? A: We have no plans to do so at this time. Q: Why can’t my Temporal Operatives just use Time Travel to solve (insert every problem imaginable)? A: Because that wouldn’t be very fun! ;) Jeremy “BorticusCryptic” Randall

Staff Systems Designer

Star Trek Online