lukewarm take: the maximum rank a character could be should be Captain

Correct me if i'm wrong but I don't recall a single time where we play the game from anything but a captain's perspective. Admiral work is almost entirely desk-work, but that wouldn't make for a very good Star Trek game. the way we play the game-commanding a ship, going on away missions, being diplomatic, spearheading major tactical and strategic endeavors-is what captains would be doing.

If STO had actual admiral gameplay, we'd probably be sending the Enterprise into an unwinnable battle and then blame Shon for the ship losing one and a half nacelles and the chevron being destroyed, generating an endless string of bad ideas to make ourselves look good.

does it make any sense for Starfleet to have thousands of fleet admirals gallivanting through the galaxy, chasing borg ships and wiping out every tholian, gorn, and alien-of-the-week they come across? that doesn't seem very starfleet to me.

on top of that, Captain is always viewed as the pinnacle of a starfleet career.

and going back to earlier missions as a fleet admiral and being talked down to like an ensign by someone who's 3 ranks below you just feels wrong.