Have you had a chance to check out Star Trek: Lower Decks: The Badgey Directive on the App Store or Google Play? The Badgey Directive gives you a chance to help Beta Shift as they face the beta version of one of the biggest antagonists on Star Trek: Lower Decks, Badgey the evil A.I. And, thanks to the fact that they’re trapped inside the holodeck, this time, it’s virtual.
The Badgey Directive
The Badgey Directive begins with Captain Freeman explaining to Beta Shift that they’ll be participating in a holodeck training program that will require them to earn “Merit Points.” Unfortunately, a beta version of Badgey traps our Lower Decker heroes in the holodeck and begins to subject them to a series of “tests.”
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Each of these episodes recreates a plot from a classic Star Trek series, including Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Animated Series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek: Enterprise. The Beta Shifters are thrust into these scenarios and are forced to endure holographic reenactments.
Badgey’s Dangerous Idle Game
As mentioned above, the game’s fundamental mechanic is the collection of points. These points are earned from “simulations,” or holodeck recreations of familiar Star Trek locations. The locations are from across the Trek universe. They include the Genesis Planet from Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and Kaminar from Star Trek: Discovery. Each simulation affords a certain number of points after a set amount of time. The interval duration and amount of points can be reduced by leveling up a simulation. This is accomplished by collecting dilithium crystals and simulation-specific isolinear chips.
At first, these points are retrieved manually, by tapping. However, unlocking designated characters and bringing them to a specific level will allow you to automate this process. In addition, each character is associated with a specific simulation, and leveling the character up will result in an exponential increase in the number of points earned from that simulation. Paying attention to these multipliers can provide an advantage.
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Once the simulations are automated, the “idle” in “idle game” comes into play. After closing the game for at least fifteen minutes, returning to play will come with the option to double the points earned in your absence by watching an advertisement. This strategy is key to reaching point goals and progressing through the main game’s 57 currently released episodes.
One of the first characters you’ll unlock is Lieutenant Commander Steve Stevens, aka “Ransom’s little buddy.” Unlike the majority of characters you’ll unlock in The Badgey Directive, Stevens offers a multiplier for all simulations. By prioritizing the leveling up of Stevens, more points can be earned more quickly. Prioritizing other universal multipliers, like the Beta Shifters and Captain William T. Riker, is also advisable.
Event Holodeck
In addition to the main holodeck, The Badgey Directive provides additional opportunities through the secondary “event holodeck.” While the fundamental mechanics in the event holodeck are the same, the characters, currency and simulations are event-specific. This means at the start of each event, you begin on the lowest of the lower decks, just like those you’ll be competing against. However, the rewards earned from these events offer permanent upgrades for the main game.
There are three events each week. Two are mini-events that take place on weekdays. The first runs from Monday afternoon through Tuesday. Originally an event based on “I, Excretus” entitled “A Little Holo-Day,” this was more recently replaced with an event based on “Grounded” entitled “Verugament Predicament.” The second weekday event runs from Wednesday through Thursday. Entitled “Fair Haven,” it is based on the extra-long running holodeck program designed by Tom Paris on Voyager.
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The third event has the longest duration, running from Thursday through Monday. This event alternates each week and may feature seasonal storylines (like the Santa-starring December event, “Miracle on Ventax 34”). Furthermore, the game is updated on a regular basis with new weekend events. However, if you do play the game consistently, you will notice some repeats.
Event Tips
In order to best succeed at the main game, you’ll want to be sure and participate in the events. Part of this is the acquisition of the resources that are unlocked by reaching the event’s point goals. These resources will be invaluable to leveling up your characters and simulations. But perhaps even more appealing are the rewards for the highest-scoring individuals in the crew to which you are assigned upon first logging into the event.
Pay close attention to the event tip that is displayed upon entering the event holodeck. Each event features different combinations of simulations and characters, sometimes including event-exclusive variations, like the young versions of Doctor T’Ana, Mariner and Boimler in the “Little Rascals” event. As such, it’s important to adapt your strategy accordingly.
The top 20 ranking crewmembers will unlock a particularly rare character hologram from a classic Trek series (or a ship model, or an artifact like a T88). These characters will populate the holographic Cerritos bar at the bottom of the main game’s screen. While ranking in the top 20 is challenging, these rewards are rare and can vastly improve your score.
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Event rewards also include Latinum. It may be tempting to spend this Latinum on Dilithium in the main game. Instead, saving it for resources in an event with a particularly appealing “top 20 reward” is a winning strategy.
Five-Year Mission
Eventually, you may catch up with all of the episodes currently available for the main holodeck. If this transpires, you’ll want to be sure and continue to play while you wait for fresh episodes to arrive. This is because reaching milestones in the number of holographic crew members you have on each simulation will still net you resources like Dilithium and chips.
Further, continuing to level up characters and simulations as you wait can put you in a position to breeze through goals for new episodes. However, once universal multipliers like Stevens and the Beta Shifters have been leveled up, it makes sense to make an effort towards keeping your crewmembers’ levels as even as possible. This will ensure you are seldom stymied by the necessity for a certain crewmember being a certain level in order to automate a simulation.
Finally, keep an eye on the official social media channels for The Badgey Directive. These are regularly updated with information about the rewards being offered for the currently ongoing event. They also deliver tips about how to rank up that are guaranteed to make the Redshirts jealous.
Star Trek: Lower Decks: The Badgey Directive is available for free download now.
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