Cryptic has introduced a list of gameplay features that have been in high demand. Firstly, to make the game more challenging STO now has a difficulty slider for missions. 'Normal' is the standard setting, 'Advanced' is aimed at frequent players who fancy something a little harder then usual, and 'Elite' is for those who want the ultimate challenge. The higher the setting, the greater the reward.     

Players who choose Advanced or Elite mode will have to deal with the new Injury system. If a character is incapacitated during a battle, a short debuff will be applied to their stats. The debuff ranges from Minor to Major to Critical, and they stack. These injuries vanish after 30 minutes, but this is the death penalty players were crying out for, making defeat something to really avoid now rather than being a mere annoyance.    

Auto Fire is another feature that players wanted right from the start, and Cryptic has granted their wishes; All weapons can now be set to fire by themselves, leaving players to concentrate on tactical positioning rather than having to spam the 'fire all weapons' button.   

New high-end weapons have also been added to the game at Admiral level, and a selection of items have been added to the C-Store including a new Federation ship design, new Federation playable species and two new Klingon bridge designs.