Amidst rumors that the next playable races for Star Trek Online will be the Romulans (with the Jem’Hadar, Dominion, and Cardassians all to come at some point in the future) an official update has been released regarding STO’s first major content patch, Common Ground, which is scheduled to be released somewhere between March 18th and March 31st.

See below for the official patch notes:

Season 1: Common Ground Fact Sheet
Our latest content update, Season 1: Common Ground, is releasing shortly. Here’s just a bit of the updates we have headed players’ way.

Lifetime Subscriber Perks
We’ve put together a special thank you package for our Lifetime subscribers:

• Classified Access Codes – A free C-store item.
• The Captain’s Table – A special social area exclusive to Lifetime subscribers, available to both Federation and Klingon captains.
• Special In-Game Title – “Career Officers” are those who’ve joined Starfleet or the KDF for the long haul.

PVP Updates

• Wargames – Federation players can now participate in PvP against one another to better prepare for the dangers of the battlefield.
• New PvP Map – Explore “Shanty Town,” a brand new Ground Assault map available for both Klingon and Federation players.

Customization

• Off-Duty Uniforms – Experience Risa in style! Starfleet officers will have the option to change into off-duty outfits to enjoy more casual attire.
• New Stances and Hairstyles – Further customize your Captain by changing his or her hairstyle, or adopting two brand new stances: Stern and Relaxed.

Ships

• A New Klingon Battle Cruiser – The K’Tanco Battle Cruiser has been made available to Klingon Lieutenant Commanders.
• Klingon Ship Customization – Use the ship tailor to customize your Bird of Prey or Raptor.
• Respec Is Here – Unhappy with your Captain’s loadout? Use the respec tool to change things up.

Missions

• New Fleet Actions Everywhere!
• The Big Dig – Available in Romulan space.
• DS9 Under Siege – The True Way has attacked and boarded DS9. Repel the invasion to save the day.
• Klingons Can Play, Too – Klingon Captains may now access the Crystalline Entity, Big Dig and Breaking the Planet Fleet Actions

Skills

• New Skill: Starship Attack Vectors – Improve your ship’s accuracy and critical hit chance.
• New Skill: Combat Maneuvers – Improve your ship’s evasion and turn rate.
• New Skill: Starship Battle Strategy – Improve your ship’s critical hit severity and damage resistance.

In The C-Store

• New Bridge Variants – All new ways to update your Bridges’ look, available for a low price in the C-Store for both Federation and Klingon ships.
• Federation Ship Variants – New takes on your old favorites, available for a low price in the C-Store.