Fleets are the guilds of Star Trek Online. The guys over on mmojunkies.tv mentioned in STO Radio podcast 1.4 that fleets would have seven customizable ranks. They’ve even put up their choices and logo for Nova Fleet already.
Googling around, it looks like fleets are popping up all over the place. I don’t know if this is normal for other MMOs that haven’t launched yet, but it doesn’t surprise me. Star Wars: The Old Republic might have a larger, more passionate (i.e., fanboy) base than Star Trek, but there is an inherent structure and deep lore to the Trek universe–beyond just its military ranking–that makes such organizing easier and more contextually relevant.
If I were designing a fleet, I’d go in a different direction than STO Radio and base it on modern naval organization. The game isn’t released, and I’m not in the closed beta (yet … cough, cough) so none of this factors in how privileges relate to ranks, but here goes:
| Fleet Commander | The highest authority in the fleet has ultimate control over the fleet, its resources, and its composition. (i.e., guild leader) |
| Task Force Commander | Task force commanders control shared fleet resources and rank. (i.e., guild officer, promotions, and banking) |
| Task Group Commander | Task group commander is the lowest strategic rank in the fleet and has the authority to recruit new captains into the fleet. (i.e., guild officer, recruiter) |
| Squadron Commander | A squadron is a small group of complementary vessels. The squadron commander has experience with all vessel classes and can coordinate a diverse group of vessels to achieve complex objectives. (i.e., guild veteran, raid leader) |
| Flotilla Commander | A flotilla is a small group of similar vessels (i.e., cruisers, escorts, or science vessels). The flotilla commander is an expert with one vessel and may be responsible for training captains in the optimal use of their individual vessels. (i.e., guild veteran) |
| Captain | The fleet captain is a full, permanent member of the fleet. (i.e., guild member) |
| Acting Captain | While the acting captain is the true commander of his own vessel, his position in the fleet is probationary or temporary. (i.e., guild recruit) |
Like the modern navy, I don’t envision static arrangements of ships into flotillas, squadrons, etc. Fleet rank may imply authority when grouping with individual rank breaking ties. Of course I would expect consensus to overrule simple rank based on player skills and the challenges at hand.
I just get more excited every moment I think about this game coming out. My usual goal of moderating expectation is completely out the airlock! Please, Cryptic, do not disappoint!