Cryptic Studios' first major content update for Star Trek Online recently launched, new items added to the C-Store and new perks for "lifetime" subscribers

Cryptic Studios recently launched its first major content update for Star Trek Online; as we announced earlier this month, "Season One: Common Ground" introduces new PvP and PvE gameplay, offers more customization options and adds new skills, including the long-awaited "respec" ability. For a complete list of new features and gameplay changes, check out the official Season One: Common Ground page at the STO Web site.

In addition to the content introduced in Season One, Cryptic recently added a few new items to its C-Store (the in-game micro-transaction shop). For example, players now have the ability to choose a new species; Federation Tellarites, the hairy-looking, argument-loving, politically-minded aliens from the planet Tellar Prime. And for those of you who bought a lifetime subscription to STO, Cryptic just announced a handful of new "lifetime subscriber perks" are now available for redemption! Learn more about the new C-Store items and the lifetime subscriber rewards after the jump, including Cryptic's reward redemption instructions.

Players can always view the complete list of items available in the C-Store by visiting this link, which includes details about each item and screenshots, if applicable. As explained on the Web site, you can purchase C-Store items in-game by clicking on the "triangle icon" along the right-hand side of your mini-map, then clicking the "Visit the C-Store" menu item.

The "Playable Federation Tellarite" item costs 200 Cryptic points and allows players to create male and female Federation-affiliated Tellarite characters, which include two inherent traits: "Pig-Headed" offers 30 percent resistance to holds, 40 percent resistance to slows and 50 percent resistance to placates, with a chance to become enraged and gain a 20 percent damage buff for a short time, while "Sturdy" provides a 10 percent resistance to physical damage, 10 percent resistance to kinetic damage and 10 percent resistance to knockback.

The C-Store also offers the new "Retrain" item for 400 points, which gives ship captains the ability to respec their skill builds. According to Cryptic's description, Retrain is a "type of 'token' [...] purchased at the account level, but is used by a single captain," and that "a single captain can fully retrain once per token." The Retrain item can only be used to respec ship captains, not Bridge Officers. Again, for more information about these and other C-Store items, visit the C-Store listings page at the official site.

Finally, lifetime subscribers will be happy to learn that Cryptic recently unlocked a few exclusive rewards to redeem. Lifetime subscribers can currently obtain the following items, according to this announcement page:

The Captain's Table - A special area exclusive to lifetime subscribers. See below to learn how to claim this perk.

Exclusive Costume Option - An insignia available only to lifetime subscribers. Automatically applied to your account. Just visit a tailor in-game to add it to your current captain.

"Career Officer" Title - Show off that you're committed to Starfleet or the KDF for the duration. Automatically applied to your account. To display the title, just visit your Captain's status menu in-game.

Forum Goodies - Change the color of your username and show off a special title. See below to learn how to claim this perk.

Instructions for obtaining these rewards are provided in the aforementioned link; the "Captain's Table" is available under the "Special Unlocks" tab in the C-Store and the "Forum Goodies" can be accessed via the usergroup setting option in the forums. Cryptic said it will introduce more rewards for lifetime subscribers in the future, "like the new chat channel," after they leave the testing phase. To learn more about Star Trek Online, visit ZAM's STO portal site for news, previews and information.