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[Top 15] Star Trek Online Best Ships (From Early Till Late Game)

With an eye towards value and power, this list will give you all you need to know to hit the late game in Star Trek Online! Thanks to changes made to the game, you can stay with the same ship after the tutorial all the way to the end game so you can fly your favorite ship from day one! This list has been made with a broad audience in mind, from newbie to grizzled veteran, so everyone can learn something new! The top 15 ships in Star Trek Online also include ships that will let you pilot the same starships as Captain Picard, Captain Sisko, and Captain Janeway so let’s make it so.

15. Romulan Legacy Elite Starter Pack - T6 Malem-Class Light Warbird

Relive the Balance of Terror!

How to get the Malem Class: (Only available for Romulan characters) 2,000 Zen ($20.00) in the C-Store

Number 15 on our list is actually one of the Elite Starter Packs, which gives you access to a unique bridge officer, a uniform, and a discounted T6 starship! This option is best for those inclined towards pointy ears and cloak and dagger, as it’s affordable, gives you a great torpedo ship, and a borg bridge officer.

Thanks to the Singularity warp core mechanics, which give you five additional powers to use and an experimental weapon slot, the Malem is very good as a torpedo ship. Thanks to the power of reputation-based torpedoes such as the Neutronic and Biomolecular, you can quickly build an affordable ship that can handle any content. 

Battlecloak allows you to enter and exit combat at will, which is powerful for players who are looking to maximize their ambush bonuses! Despite recent nerfs, covert operative bridge officer traits still stack their bonuses high enough to get this ship on the top 15 list. Torpedoes themselves are easier to get into now as well, making it a good starter ship.

Are you a fan of the Balance of Terror from The Original Series? Then this ship is for you! The Malem comes with the classic skin line for free, so the Malem is an excellent entry point for Romulan characters. Thanks to the changes to the game, the ship will level up with you, unlocking additional weapon and console slots as well as increasing the hull amount. Another bonus is that anyone can use Romulan ships, no matter the faction, so if you like the look or like the sound of zipping around the battlefield, this is the ship for you!

• Level 65: Hull 40500 (scaling)
• 4 fore and 3 aft weapon slots plus 1 experimental weapon slot
• Shield Modifier 0.9
• Hull Modifier 0.9
• Turn Rate 18
• 3 Tactical, 3 Engineering, 4 Science console slots
• Unique Console: Warhead Module Plasma (part of the Stealth Fighter Set)
• Commander Tactical, Ensign Tactical, Lieutenant Engineering, Lt. Commander Science, Lt. Commander Universal-Pilot

What makes the T6 Malem great

• Low-cost entry-level ship that progresses with you! At only $20 for the starter pack, it’s effectively a $10 sale for a normal T6 ship.
• Romulan ships have Singularity Warp Cores. These warp cores give you five distinct powers which augment the ship’s abilities.
• Battle Cloak lets you move in and out of combat easily. Are you taking more hits than you can handle? Pull out the old Romulan “run away!” and cloak up! It can also be used to give you powerful ambush bonuses when built for.
• Pilot specialized seating. It isn’t a fully specialized ship, like others on this list, but for an entry-level ship it does the job well enough. Pilot seating gives you added flexibility, with great bridge officer powers like Attack Pattern Lambda which gives you a chance to confuse enemies!
• Cross-faction, meaning anyone can use it from any of the factions.
• An easy way to get a powerful starship trait that works well with any other cannon build.

How To Get the T6 Malem

• The easiest method by far is to purchase the Romulan Legacy Starter Pack for $20.00.
• If you don’t want the other goodies and don’t mind spending another $10.00, you can buy the Malem directly from the C-Store for $30.00.

14. Klingon Defense Force Elite Starter Pack - Kor-Class Bird of Prey

Fight on, Dahar Master!

How to get the Kor Class: (Only available for KDF characters) 2,000 Zen ($20.00) in the C-Store

Number 14 on our list is another one of the Elite Starter Packs, which gives you access to a unique borg bridge officer, a uniform, and a discounted T6 starship! Like the Romulan Starter Pack, this is another great option for those who prefer to raise the d’k tahg in victory!

The Kor, unlike its Romulan counterpart, comes with a standard set of equipment, so no fancy powers. But what sets this ship apart is the much more flexible universal seating. Like all Birds of Prey in Star Trek Online, the Kor has full universal bridge officer seats. This means that you can slot in any power that you want, from a torpedo build to cannons to even turning it into a mini-tank.

The Kor comes equipped with the Withering Barrage starship trait, which extends the duration of Cannon: Scatter Volley. This is a key trait for those who use cannons, as it is one of the few ways to actually keep the buff going. It also comes with raider flanking, meaning that if you attack the enemy from behind, you’ll do bonus damage. In addition to all these goodies, it also has an Enhanced Battle Cloak, giving you the same bonuses that the Romulan Malem has.

Its universal console is the Warhead Module-Quantum, which functions very similarly to the Romulan console. It’s part of the Stealth Fighter Set, which is an average set in terms of usefulness and also comes with the Induction Coils, which greatly increase your ship's power settings for 15 seconds.

Pretty handy, right?

If you want to follow in the footsteps of the Dahar Master himself and face an armada of Jem’hadar, then this is the bird of prey you definitely need to check out!

• Level 65: Hull 37125(scaling)
• 4 fore and 2 aft weapon slots plus 1 experimental weapon slot
• Shield Modifier 0.825
• Hull Modifier 0.8
• Turn Rate 23
• 4 Tactical, 3 Engineering, 3 Science console slots
• Unique Console: Warhead Module Quantum
• Commander Universal, Lt. Commander Universal, Lt. Commander Universal-Pilot, Lieutenant Universal

What makes the T6 Kor great

• Cheap entry level ship that levels with you! At only $20 for the starter pack, it’s effectively a $10 sale for a normal T6 ship.
• The Kor has extreme flexibility for a ship, letting you essentially make any build you want.
• It has access to a ton of four skins for free upon purchase of this pack, giving you a lot of costume options to customize your ship.

How To Get the T6 Kor

• The easiest method by far is to purchase the Klingon Defense Force Starter Pack for $20.00.
• If you don’t want the other goodies and don’t mind spending another $10.00, you can buy the Kor directly from the C-Store for $30.00.

13. Federation Elite Starter Pack - T6 Reliant-Class Advanced Light Cruiser

Beware of any nearby Mutura Nebula!

How to get the Reliant Class: (Only available for Starfleet characters) 2,000 Zen ($20.00) in the C-Store

Number 13 on our list is yet another one of the Elite Starter Packs, which gives you access to a unique borg bridge officer, a uniform, and a discounted T6 starship! Like the first two, this is another great option for those who prefer to boldly go where no one has gone before!

Unlike the Malem and the Kor, the Reliant is a cruiser, which makes it significantly more durable than either of the raiders. Based on the venerable Miranda frame, the Reliant acts as an excellent entry-level ship for new players who want to get into tanking, or old players looking for something classic-looking. A great bonus for this ship is the sheer number of customization options. Nine total, by far the most in the entire game. Players have made versions through customization that look like whole new starship classes themselves.

Its starship trait is Evasion Specialist, which is unfortunately nowhere near as valuable as Withering Barrage, as shields are generally seen as being not worth the effort. When a Borg Sphere is slapping drain shields on you, there’s not a whole lot that this trait can do for you.

That said, it is still very durable, has reasonable flexibility, and can run a typical Aux2Bat build—a method of cooldown reduction that works best on ships with a lot of engineering bridge officer positions. The addition of all the cruiser commands, such as Weapon System Efficiency and Attract Fire, gives it further benefits here.

The console it comes with, Potential Energy Entanglement, is a reasonable choice for those just starting out with tanking. It has a clickable power which reduces enemy damage output by 80% in a cone in front of you while also increasing your flight speed and turn rate for 20 seconds.

Plus, who doesn’t want to reenact The Battle of the Mutara Nebula?

Whether it be giving Khan his second chance at revenge or creating a unique design with all the many quality parts, the Reliant is as reliable as its name suggests for either new or veteran players.

• Level 65: Hull 51750 (scaling)
• 4 fore and 4 aft weapon slots
• Shield Modifier 1.1
• Hull Modifier 1.1
• Turn Rate 11
• 3 Tactical, 4 Engineering, 3 Science console slots
• Unique Console: Potential Energy Entanglement
• Lt. Commander Tactical, Commander Engineering, Ensign Engineering, Lieutenant Science, Lt. Commander Universal-Pilot

What makes the T6 Reliant great

• The Reliant is an excellent starter tank for the price tag, giving you durability, speed, and decent firepower. 
• Pilot specialized seating.  Unlike the Kor and Malem, the Reliant struggles to take full advantage of it due to the tanking nature of the ship.
• It has access to six skins for free upon purchase of this pack, giving you a lot of costume options to customize your ship. With all the ships, it has a total of nine unique skins to customize with!

How To Get the T6 Reliant

• The easiest method by far is to purchase the Federation Elite Starter Pack for $20.00.
• If you don’t want the other goodies and don’t mind spending another $10.00, you can buy the Reliant directly from the C-Store for $30.00.

12. Vanguard Support Carrier

Victory comes with lots of fighter support!

How to get the Vanguard Support Carrier: 3,000 Zen ($30.00) in the C-Store

Number 12 is finally something that isn’t a Starter Pack! The Vanguard Carrier is part of the Support Carrier bundle, which includes a direct duplicate for each of the factions. The Federation, Klingon and Romulan Support Carriers have the same stats and come with their own versions of the unique support pets. These ships are fantastic for players who want that “fleet command” style of play, where they deploy an armada of ships to attack enemies or repair allies.

Carriers hold a unique position in Star Trek Online where the ship itself is not the center of combat power. Rather, the pets do the lion's share of the damage. The pets that come with the Vanguard are reasonable entry levels for Carrier gameplay, being the Jem’Hadar Support Frigates and the Jem’Hadar Fighter Squadron. The key things here are the squadron level pets, as these do higher damage than their single fighter counterparts. The Support Frigates will use Transfer Shield Strength 1 (or higher, depending on the rarity of the pets) on you, giving you added defensive buffs. What sets the Vanguard apart from the other Support Carriers, however, is the Wingmen.

All Jem’Hadar Vanguard starships in Star Trek Online come with a pair of Jem’Hadar Wingmen. These two ships each have three clickable abilities: the Polaron Strafing Maneuver (damage), the Structural Reinforcement Maneuver (hull healing), and the Divergent Shielding Maneuver (shield healing). This gives you a built-in ship feature that none of the other carriers can compete against, making the Vanguard the best choice.

The starship trait is Relaunch and Repair, which gives you a reduction on captain ability cooldowns and 25% health regeneration to self and pets in space every time you launch a carrier pet. This only applies to launched pets, so clickable console pets don’t count. For a “free” trait, this isn’t terrible, but it isn’t amazing either. 

Equipped with a Command specialization Lt. Commander slot, the Carrier can function as a really incredible torpedo platform when combined with the pets. If using squadrons in both hangars and the Wingmen offensively, you can direct a withering amount of firepower at a target or entire area of space if you have the right traits and powers equipped. Some players have managed to get so much damage squeezed onto these ships that they effectively delete Borg Cubes.

The console it comes with, High-Energy Communications Network, is a buff/debuff console centered around pets. It is okay, but is better replaced by far superior consoles like D.O.M.I.N.O. (from the Bajoran Interceptor) and others.

Victory is life! ...especially when you’ve got an entire fleet at your back!

• Level 65: Hull 56250 (scaling)
• 3 fore and 3 aft weapon slots
• Shield Modifier 1.25
• Hull Modifier 1.3
• Turn Rate 5
• Unique Console: High-Energy Communications Network
• 2 Hangar Bays
• Lt. Commander Tactical, Lt. Commander Engineering, Commander Science, Lt. Commander Universal-Command

What makes the T6 Vanguard Support Carrier great

• Best Support Carrier in the group, with a strong Wingmen feature that increases damage and healing.
• Ship that is extremely durable and excels at centering fleet formations during Task Force Operations.
• When pushed to its limits, it can produce huge damage through its pets. 
• Can function as a Science Carrier, giving you options like Gravity Well or DoT damage builds to augment the pet firepower.

How To Get the T6 Vanguard Support Carrier

• The easiest method is to purchase it directly for $30.00 in the C-Store.
• If you like the Carriers and want the rest to complete the faction set, there is the Cross Faction Support Carrier Bundle for 10,000 Zen($100.00). 

11. Multi-Mission Reconnaissance Vessel

For when the Vesta gets the Besta love.

How to get the Multi-Mission Reconnaissance Explorer: 3,000 Zen ($30.00) in the C-Store

Number 11 is similar to the Carriers in the sense that all of the factions have identical setups, with the exception of the Romulan version that has a battle cloak. The Recon Explorer remains the best ship for entry-level science builds, thanks to its powerful bridge officer seating and the ever-important Temporal specialization.

Temporal specialization is the best spec for builds that rely on DoTs, as it has complimentary bonuses thanks to the passives and secondary deflector. While the Recon Explorer doesn’t have a fully committed Temporal specialization, it’s enough to make the ship worthy of this list.

Science ships like the Recon Explorer don’t rely on their weapons like most ships do, and instead use bridge officer powers to do massive area damage to targets. A well-equipped science ship is capable of obliterating an entire map of enemies with the push of a button. Most of these techniques involve a power called "Gravity Well" which pulls targets in, then couples that with Temporal specialization powers like Channeled Deconstruction and Entropic Cascade.

Like all science ships, it possesses Subsystem Targeting, which is a nice little bonus alongside Sensor Analysis and a Hangar Bay. The thing that makes the Recon Explorer worthy of the list is the tactical bridge officer slots, giving it the ability to run a science-torpedo build. These types of builds are absolutely devastating, throwing out gravity wells and torpedo spreads.

The starship trait is Heavy Tachyon Mine which will deploy a Heavy Mine that does heavy shield penetrating damage and leaves a temporary trail of shield damaging radiation. As starship traits go, it’s not remotely viable for the late game, but can be fun in the early game. 

The console it comes with, the Radiation Bombardment Matrix, is a buff/debuff console that reduces damage resistance and flight speed. It isn’t useful for science builds, as it doesn’t give the same level of bonuses or utility as other consoles, like the Plasma Storm console.

For anyone who happens to enjoy the Star Trek: Destiny novels, the Recon Explorer line of ships does come with the Vesta costumes, letting you customize the vessel to look like the U.S.S. Aventine. It does cost additional money, however, to unlock the skin as it is not free.

• Level 65: Hull 42750 (scaling)
• Shield Modifier 0.95
• Hull Modifier 1.4
• Turn Rate 12
• 4 Tactical, 2 Engineering, 5 Science console slots
• Unique Console: Radiation Bombardment Launcher
• Secondary Deflector
• 1 Hangar Bay
• Lt. Commander Tactical, Lieutenant Engineering, Commander Science, Lt. Commander Universal-Temporal Operative, Ensign Universal

What makes the T6 Multi-Mission Reconnaissance Explorer great

• A tough science ship with a high turn rate and tactical focus.This lets you build a science-torpedo ship, which is one of the most powerful in the game.
• Affordable entry-level ship while still being effective in the late game. Can compete with higher-cost ships.
• One of the most customizable ships, competing against the likes of the Reliant.

 How To Get the T6 Multi-Mission Reconnaissance Explorer

• If you like the Recon Explorer and want the rest to complete the faction set, there is the Cross Faction Multi-Mission Explorers Bundle for 12,000 Zen ($120.00) or the T6 Starfleet Multi-Mission Explorers Bundle for 6,000 Zen ($60.00).

10. Narendra Support Cruiser

The Probertise that could have been.

How to get the Narendra Support Cruiser: 3,000 Zen ($30.00) in the C-Store

Number 10 is our first full-specialization ship on the list, and our first traditional cruiser! Unlike the Reliant, which is a small and zippy ship, the Support Cruiser fits the lumbering behemoth vibe. The Support Cruiser is also available for the KDF, though it does not come in Dominion or Romulan flavors.

The Support Cruiser is unique in being the only of the Cruiser class ships with full Temporal seating. This means it gets the powers typically reserved for temporal science ships, such as Offensive Coordination (a speed buff), Defensive Coordination (a healing buff), and a Support Configuration (exotic damage buff). 

This means that you can actually turn the Narendra into a respectable science platform. Between the built-in Commander/Temporal-Operative seating and the Lt. Commander Science, you can double up on Gravity Wells, Entropic Cascades, and torpedoes. The weakness of the ship when built this way is that it lacks the necessary Lt. Commander Tactical bridge officer to maximize this power.

Unlike science ships, the Narendra comes with full cruiser commands.

The starship trait is "History Will Remember," which is finally a trait that’s generally always worth slotting until you’re able to afford the lock box or premium ships. This starship trait gives you a scaling buff depending on enemies defeated, which increases your resilience. It grants 30% All Damage, 30% Hull Regen, 30% Maximum Hull, and 30% Threat Generation (when the threatening stance is active) at maximum stacks.

This is a powerful trait that has a lot of utility for any ship on this list.

The console it comes with, Temporal Trajectory Shifter, is a single target console that "steals" time, increasing Firing Speed by 50%, Ability Cooldown by 20%, and Defense Rating by 50 while stealing 33.3% Firing Speed, 1% Ability Cooldown per second, and -50 Defense Rating from the target.

The Narendra is based on Andrew Probert's original concept sketches for the U.S.S. Enterprise D, eventually being turned into the Ambassador class. All fans of this classic design will have to pick this ship up!

• Level 65: Hull 60750(scaling)
• Shield Modifier 1.0
• Hull Modifier 1.35
• Turn Rate 7
• Unique Console: Borrowed Time
• Molecular Deconstruction Beam
• Lieutenant Tactical, Ensign Tactical, Commander Engineering/Temporal-Operative, Lt. Commander Science, and Lt. Commander Universal

What makes the T6 Narendra Support Cruiser great

• A unique cruiser that combines tankiness and science powers.
• The high hull modifier combined with the starship trait makes it one of the tankier starships on this list.
• Full Temporal specialization adds additional options when in combat when used together with Cruiser Commands.

How To Get the T6 Narendra Support Cruiser

• If you like the Narendra and want the KDF version as well, the Cross Faction Support Cruiser Bundle for 4,000 Zen/$40.00 is available.

9. Arbiter Battlecruiser

The Defiant: now in nacelle form!

How to get the Arbiter Battlecruiser: 3,000 Zen ($30.00) in the C-Store

Number 9 is a classic in Star Trek Online. The Arbiter (and the Avenger before it) have long been the #1 pick for most people when it comes to recommending a ship for newer players. Being one of the very few Federation starships that can equip a cloaking device console and a battlecruiser makes it ideal in a DPS-heavy environment! There is a KDF variant in the Mogh that comes with a cloaking device.

The Arbiter pulls from the older days of Star Trek Online when "battlecruisers" were Klingon only, giving them high-hitting and high-durability ships compared to Starfleet's usually "just durable". Nowadays, it’s obsolete next to the other ships on this list, but it still gets a top 15 spot due to a few factors.

Battlecruisers come with most of the normal Cruiser Commands, with the exception of Attract Fire. As these are not designed as tanks, they do not get the tanking bonus ability of a typical cruiser. Instead, the Arbiter can do what only escorts used to be able to! It can equip dual heavy cannons. Thanks to this, and the five forward weapon slots (another thing that used to be unique), the Arbiter is capable of dishing out high levels of DPS, even to this day.

With the Intelligence specialization, the Arbiter is able to fit the coveted Override Subsystem Safety bridge officer power, giving the ship a tremendous boost to power levels, which in turn increases its firepower.

The starship trait is the Emergency Weapon Cycle, also known as the most common starship trait in the game. It’s used on every energy weapon build and even on most tank builds simply because it’s so good. The trait increases the Firing Cycle Haste by 20% and reduces Weapon Power Cost by 50% for 30 seconds every time you use Emergency Power to Weapons, which a majority of non-science builds have.

For a first-time ship buyer, you can’t go wrong with the Arbiter.

The console it comes with, Ablative Hazard Shielding, passively increases your Shield Resistance and Shield Regeneration. The activable gives your ship Secondary Shields, which act similar to Temp HP. It then gives you another shield when the Ablative Hazard Shielding buff ends. It’s useful against non-Borg or other enemies that don’t have shield-stripping powers.

Among the first of the Cryptic-made designs in the new T6 lineup, this is a classic ship that includes the Avenger skin for free on purchase!

• Level 65: Hull 56250(scaling)
• 5 fore and 3 aft weapon slots
• Hull Modifier 1.25
• Turn Rate 9
• 4 Tactical, 5 Engineering, 1 Science console slots
• Unique Console: Ablative Hazard Shielding
• Can Equip Dual Heavy Cannons
• Can Equip Cloaking Device Console
• Lt. Commander Tactical-Intelligence, Ensign Tactical, Commander Engineering, Lieutenant Science, Lt. Commander Universal

What makes the T6 Arbiter Battlecruiser great

• It has the perfect weapon setup of 5 forward and 3 aft weapon slots, ideal for maximal energy weapon damage.
• One of the best starship traits in the game for direct energy weapon builds.
• It is naturally tanky for a battlecruiser, letting you throw more energy into doing damage instead of survival.
• It's an excellent newbie ship that’s easy to learn and modify to suit your needs.

How To Get the T6 Arbiter Battlecruiser

• If you like the Arbiter and want the KDF version as well, the Cross Faction Battlecruiser Bundle for 6,000 Zen/$60.00 is available.

8. Alita Heavy Strike Wing Escort

For when the normal Akira just isn't enough.

How to get the Alita Class Heavy Strike Wing Escort: 3,000 Zen ($30.00) in the C-Store

Number 8 is the venerable Alita Class, which has recently been changed into what’s called a "Strike Wing Escort". This means it has a hangar bay in addition to the normal weapons loadout and abilities of the Escort subclass of ships.

It might seem odd to place this ship above the Arbiter, but I’ll explain my reasoning here. The Alita is similar in many ways to its offensive profile, though it comes with the Experimental Weapon Slot and the Hangar Bay, giving it just a bit more flexibility in terms of what it can do. Anyone who has played the game will probably be thinking, "Well, not that much!" 

Aha, but then, we have Superior Area Denial. For those who don’t know, this starship trait is an extremely powerful buff to fighters that gives them Cannon Rapid Fire and Beam: Fire at Will and reduces their damage resistance rating by -30, which is the same as slapping Attack Pattern: Beta 1 on them. This means that if you equip a fighter squadron on the Alita and have this trait, you could be seeing as much as a 15% DPS increase just from that Hangar Bay alone!

This isn’t newbie-friendly, however, as the trait is difficult to get. However, that doesn’t mean that you have to have the traits to make this ship good! Instead, you can easily focus on pure energy weapon damage and get great results, comparable to ships later on in this list.

Strike Wing Escorts are relatively new to Star Trek Online and aren’t nearly as popular as their Flight Deck Cruiser big brothers.

With the Pilot specialization, the Alita is able to equip things like Attack Pattern: Lamba, however because of the seating being shared with engineering, people tend to not use the Pilot skills in favor of the needed engineering bridge officer slots. 

The starship trait is Coordinated Assault, which is the opposite of Superior Area Denial. Your pets' Beam: Overload and Cannon: Rapid Fire abilities deal a lot of single-target damage. It isn’t as good as Superior Area Denial, since Star Trek Online isn’t structured around huge boss battles, but it’s still useful for Carriers or people who use pets.

The console it comes with, Destabilized Tachyon Emitters, is unfortunately terrible and should be replaced by any number of better consoles like the Assimilated Module or similar.

Star Trek: First Contact debuted the original Akira class, which has long been a fan favorite, and now thanks to the Alita, players can enjoy the ship with all the power and grace of the original movie.

• Level 65: Hull 48000(scaling)
• 4 fore and 3 aft weapon slots
• Shield Modifier 1.06
• Turn Rate 15
• 5 Tactical, 3 Engineering, 2 Science console slots
• Unique Console: Destabilized Tachyon Burst
• Commander Tactical, Lieutenant Tactical, Lt. Commander Engineering-Pilot, Lieutenant Science, Lieutenant Universal

  What makes the T6 Alita Heavy Strike Wing Escort great

• Heavy firepower, with some builds pushing past half a million DPS.
• It comes with an excellent Carrier trait that is useful for single target damage.
• Some flexibility with the bridge officer seating lets you switch up builds.
• This ship has six skins available, giving it many customization options for players.

How To Get the T6 Alita Heavy Strike Wing Escort

• If you like the skins and want all the versions as well, the Akira Bundle for 6,000 Zen/$60.00 is available.

7. Terran Cygnus Battlecruiser

Big D has been upgraded, Terran style!

How to get the Terran Cygnus-Class Battlecruiser: 3,000 Zen ($30.00) in the C-Store

Number 7 is the Terran version of the Galaxy Class, the Cygnus. The Cygnus is a far better version than the Andromeda. The Cygnus fits the general profile of top-end Star Trek Online ships—it has a lot of forward guns; it has full specialization seating; and it has bridge officer flexibility. It isn’t quite enough to get it into the top 5, though, and I’ll explain why.

The Cygnus has the unique position of being the only full-time temporal specialization battlecruiser with five forward weapon slots. The other available option, the Paladin, only has four, making it a worse version of the Cygnus. The Cynus also has huge hull values, making it far easier to tank with.

This unusual arrangement is usually glossed over by players since the Cygnus doesn’t have the full Commander science bridge officer seating that would be needed to turn it into a science damage boat. Instead, most players use the Commander engineering bridge officer seat for all their engineering powers and turn the Lt. Commander Universal into another tactical item or into science.

Still, the added feature benefits of being a full temporal specialization ship are quite handy, sharing the same benefits as the Narendra. It lacks the same capacity to function as a "light" science ship due to the limitations of its seating, but it makes up for that more than enough by having sheer firepower through traditional means.

With the five front weapons, it can output the same damage as the Arbiter while being significantly tankier and having the bonus features of the Temporal specialization and the Lieutenant Tactical Command, which gives you access to Concentrate Firepower II. By using this power, and switching your Lt. Commander Universal to Science for a Gravity Well, you can pump out a huge amount of torpedo damage onto a target group of helpless enemies.

Or you can go the traditional directed energy weapon route and let the beams do the lion's share of damage!

With the full Temporal specialization and split Command specialization, you have a lot of options for what you want to do with this ship. The Temporal and Command abilities can be used for tanking or DPS; the choice is yours!

The starship trait is Controlled Aggression, which really wants to make this ship use science powers as it buffs Control Expertise every time you use a Temporal Operative power or a Universal Console clickable. The buff is pretty good too, as it scales based on the control expertise you already have. However, I wouldn’t necessarily put it on the Cygnus, unless I really wanted to try out a science build using the Galaxy skin for flavor.

It’s better suited for a pure science ship, as we’ll see later in the list.

The console it comes with, Destabilized Dimensional Rip, is a weird one! It gives phaser, radiation, and exotic particle generator buffs, which seems to want to encourage a hybrid directed energy/science power build. The clickable creates a rift in front of you that "banishes" enemies and causes radiation damage while the rift itself expands, swallowing up more enemies. The clickable is pretty handy if you are tanking and things are getting spicy.

The Cygnus comes with all of the Galaxy Class skins, letting you fly around in Jean Luc Picard’s Enterprise D, but for those adventurous of spirit, it also has additional costumes that can be used to customize your ship!

• Level 65: Hull 68625(scaling)
• Shield Modifier 1.525
• Turn Rate 6
• 3 Tactical, 5 Engineering, 3 Science console slots
• Unique Console: Destabilized Dimensional Rift
• Lieutenant Tactical-Command, Lieutenant Tactical, Commander Engineering-Temporal Operative, Lieutenant Science, Lt. Commander Universal

What makes the T6 Cygnus Battlecruiser great

• Flexible firepower options, ranging from directed energy weapons to torpedos to some science (if building that way).
• This is a highly durable tanking ship, able to sit there and soak up a ton of damage.
• Full specialization means it can take advantage of the Temporal Operative features, adding even more flexibility.
• Universal seating means you can go for more damage or more tanking or more science, depending on your needs.

How To Get the T6 Cygnus Battlecruiser Battlecruiser

• If you like the Terran line of ships, there is a bundle available, the 12th Anniversary Terran Bundle, for 17,500 Zen ($175.00).

6. Suliban Flight Deck Assault Carrier

Enterprise has a thing or two to say about how annoying these can be!

How to get the Suliban Flight Deck Assault Carrier: 3,000 Zen ($30.00) in the C-Store

Number 6 is finally here, and what do we have? The Suliban Assault Carrier! The Sublian FDAC (what a mouthful) is probably the best entry for anyone looking to get into the higher firepower carriers. Outside of gamble box ships, the Suliban is the most effective at the role. Between the 5 forward and 3 aft weapon layouts and the 2 hangar bays, the ship also has a Battle Cloak, giving you basically the best of all worlds in a single package.

The only thing that could make this ship even better, pushing it into the top 3, would be if it had full specialization seating. Alas, we do not obtain perfection with this ship and instead have to settle for "really dang good." Still, it does come with unique pets that do a fair amount of damage.

FDAC type ships are hyper-geared towards energy weapon builds or torpedo builds, and this is because they have a Commander bridge officer seating in their Lt. Commander Tactical slot. This gives them Concentrate Firepower III, massively increasing torpedo damage potential. However, you don’t have to do this and can instead slap dual beam banks on it and beat the Arbiter, Cygnus, and Alita in damage thanks to the presence of two Hangar Bays.

If you remember from our Number 12 spot, the Vanguard Carrier, squadrons make a huge difference in damage, so if you can get those on this ship, you’ll be able to handily destroy anything you come across. An added bonus is having a Battle Cloak, which gives you ambush bonuses when you decloak on targets. Combine it with pets and a big alpha strike, and you’ll tear through anything unfortunate enough to look at you funny.

This class of ship is widely considered among the best outside of specialized science builds, as it can do insanely huge DPS and tank heavy hits at the same time. With the Universal bridge officer seating, you can increase your tankiness or throw it all into offense, really amplifying just what you can do with this. It also comes with two cruiser commands, the Shield Frequency Modulation and the Attract Fire command.

The starship trait is the Majority-Minority, which buffs you based on the number of allies versus enemies that are around you. The trait puts a damper on the otherwise incredible stuff this ship brings you, as it's fairly terrible and should be replaced with better traits like the Arbiter’s.

The console it comes with, the Universal-I.F.F. Manipulator, gives you a 10% critical severity bonus to weapons and a 50% bonus reduction to engineering bridge officer cooldowns. The clickable is an AOE conflation combined with a targeted "force retarget". Basically, it will make your targeted enemy fire on its friends, which then causes it to taunt all its nearby friends for six seconds. As far as tanking stuff goes, this is a hard pass.

The Suliban FDAC only has one skin, but if you’re a fan of Archer’s adventures in Star Trek: Enterprise, this will surely bring back memories of the long road!

• Level 65: Hull 58500(scaling)
• Shield Modifier 1.3
• Hull Modifier 1.0
• 3 Tactical, 5 Engineering, 2 Science console slots
• Unique Console: I.F.F. Manipulator
• Romulan Battle Cloak
• Lt. Commander Tactical-Command, Lieutenant Tactical, Commander Engineering, Ensign Science, Lt. Commander Universal

What makes the T6 Suliban Flight Deck Assault Carrier great

• They are among the best ships in the game in terms of Flight Deck Carriers outside of the gamble box ships.
• You have a battle cloak, five forward weapon slots, and two hangar slots for pets, giving you excellent forward firepower.
• It lends itself well to torpedo builds or dual beam builds thanks to Concentrate Firepower 3 being available.
• It has a Lt. Commander universal bridge officer slot, giving you more flexibility. 

How To Get the T6 Suliban Flight Deck Assault Carrier

• If you like the FDAC line of ships, there is a bundle available, the Cross Faction Flight Deck Assault Carrier Bundle for 6,000 Zen/$60.00.

5. Titan Science Destroyer

It's another Enterprise!!

How to get the Titan Science Destroyer: 3,000 Zen ($30.00) in the C-Store

Finally, the top 5! And who better than Another Enterprise to take fifth place?The Titan represents the only non-gamble-box T6 Science Destroyer available to players. Science Destroyers have a special feature that lets them switch between two different attack modes: Tactical Mode and Science Mode.

The Tactical Mode switches the ship from a typical science vessel into a Destroyer class starship, giving it a Commander tactical and experimental weapon, +2 turn rate, 10% speed, and 10 interia. This makes it a very effective destroyer type ship with excellent control powers through the Lt. Commander Science and Lt. Commander Universal.

While in Science Mode, the ship switches to a Commander Science Bridge officer, who grants it Secondary Deflectors and the standard Sensor Analysis and Subsystem Targeting. This disables the experimental weapon, however, so keep that in mind. Science mode is your standard "space magic" end-game science vessel that can throw out high DPS through Gravity Wells combined with other temporal powers granted by the Lt. Commander Universal-Temporal Operative seat.

The ship has a 4 forward and 3 aft weapon layout, which is unusual for a science vessel. Even in Science Mode, it still retains the 4 forward weapons, making it extremely effective as a science-torpedo build. In fact, barring the later Trailblazer, which is a recent addition to the game, the Titan is the best science torpedo boat out there that isn't a gamble box.

It is only because of the Trailblazers' full specialization seating that the Titan doesn’t make it higher on the list of science ships.

The starship trait is It’s Another Enterprise! When you activate a Fleet Support ability, it will summon the faction's flagship onto the battlefield for 90 seconds. On face value, this sounds terrible. However, if you are trying to build an "Armada" type carrier, this trait is hilariously effective, giving you an added 30k DPS on average.

The console it comes with, Opening Salvo, is an excellent clickable console that does different things depending on what mode you use. In Science Mode, the torpedoes will knock subsystems offline for X number of seconds, with X depending on your control expertise. In Tactical Mode, it fires off a continuing spread of photon torpedoes, which don’t do a lot of damage if the targets have shields, but they can work well together with shield draining or control abilities.

Fans of the Star Trek: Titan novels know this is a must-have and anyone who enjoys the Lower Decks will jump for joy like Boimler at the sight of this beauty warping into the battlefield!

• Level 65: Hull 49500(scaling)
• Shield Modifier 1.325
• Turn Rate 13
• 4 Tactical, 2 Engineering, 4 Science console slots
• Unique Console: Opening Salvo
• Experimental Weapon
• Tactical Mode and Science Mode
• Lt. Commander Tactical, Ensign Tactical, Lieutenant Engineering, Commander Science (Commander Tactical when in Tactical Mode), Lt. Commander Universal-Temporal Operative

What makes the T6 Titan Science Destroyer great

• It is unique among the ships on this list for its ability to switch between Destroyer and Science vessel roles. That added flexibility means you can easily adapt the ship to any mission profile.
• Excellent forward firepower when in Destroyer mode, comparable to the Arbiter with the Experimental Weapon slot (and depending on what Experimental Weapon you use).
• A console is useful when combined with torpedoes to mass disable enemy ships caught in a Gravity Well.
• It comes with multiple skins that you can use to customize your ship even further.

How To Get the T6 Titan Science Destroyer

4. Clarke Multi Mission Command Cruiser

Compact, has a hangar, full command ship status, what more could a dad ask for?

How to get the Clarke Multi-Mission Command Cruiser: 3,000 Zen ($30.00) in the C-Store

At number four, we have the Clarke Multi-Mission Command Cruiser! Bringing it all the way back to our earlier list, this ship is from the same family of craft as the Reliant. However, it is far superior to its earlier brother in that it is a full-specializing ship, has better overall stats, better bridge officer seating, and a hangar bay.

The Clarke takes everything that the Reliant does and simply makes it way better. It’s the first of the new type of Multi-Mission Command Cruisers and serves a new role as a fleet anchor during task force operations. It comes with a Lt. Commander Universal station in addition to the Commander Engineering-Command specialization, letting you throw out the potent command abilities.

The Command specialization gives you a building buff that, once at 100%, will let you activate one of three powerful group-wide buffs. These are Turn the Tide (a huge damage resistance and regeneration buff), Against All Odds (a huge damage and weapon power cost reduction bonus), and Battle Preparation (instant recharge of all bridge officer powers). This gauge charges every time someone on your team uses an ability.

Despite being such a tiny ship (it’s just a little bigger than the Defiant), it has good punch and team utility. With the Hangar Bay and the balanced cruiser loadout, it can handle all task force operations in the game. The new Multi-Mission Cruisers do not come with all the typical cruiser commands, but they do come with the crucial Weapon System Efficiency command for energy DPS builds, which will reduce your power draw when firing weapons.

The starship trait, Greater Than The Sum, works off of command bridge officer abilities and Emergency Power to Auxiliary to grant yourself and nearby allies scaling +2-20 power levels and restores scaling maximum hull and maximum shields. Not terrible, but better suited for a supporting role, which this ship does well at.

The console it comes with, Genesis Seed, is unusual for a Cruiser. It increases Drain Expertise and Radiation Damage, neither of which is something a cruiser will typically use (barring perhaps the Cygnus and Nerandra). The clickable is alright; it does scaling damage to up to 10 enemies and explodes after 30 seconds. Useless for anyone who isn’t using a Control build.

If you enjoyed the Reliant or any of the Miranda variants and wanted to take it to the next level, this is the ship for you!

• Turn Rate 9.5
• Unique Console: Genesis Seed
• Lieutenant Tactical, Commander Engineering-Command, Ensign Engineering, Lt. Commander Science, Lt. Commander Universal

What makes the T6 Clarke Multi-Mission Command Cruiser great

• The latest and greatest in new classes of ships, it’s a command specialization cruiser with a hangar bay! This makes it outright better than any of the normal command specialization cruisers in a DPS role.
• Lt. Commander Universal gives you added flexibility in how you set up your ship, though most will double up on the tactical station to maximize firepower.
• The ship comes with the same skin selection as the Reliant, letting you customize the vessel to your heart's content with 9 total skins.

How To Get the T6 Clarke Multi-Mission Command Cruiser

• It also comes in the New Genesis Bundle for 7,500 zen/$75.00.

3. Gagarin Miracle Worker Battlecruiser

The OG "yes, buy this."

How to get the Gagarin Miracle Worker Battlecruiser: 3,000 Zen ($30.00) in the C-Store

At Number 3, we have the arguable replacement for the venerable Arbiter as the "go-to newbie ship". The Gagarin It has the coveted 5 forward and 3 aft weapon layout, the even more coveted full specialization Miracle Worker bridge officer seating, and a universal console slot which will let you put any console there.

The Gagarin has been out for some time now, and many players have turned it into a beast of a ship that still retains a high level of DPS and durability. It has also been able to keep up with later releases of dual specialization ships or even some of the gamble box ships.

The Miracle Worker specialization gives the ship access to Innovation Effects: Instinctive Rerouting (Bonus to All Subsystem Power), Containment Layering (Temporary Hull based on Max Hull), Heisenberg Decoupling (Secondary Shields based on Max Shields), Plasma Conduit Purge (Self-Targeted AOE Plasma Damage-over-Time), Ingenious Solutions (Bonus to Recharge Speeds for Bridge Officer and Captain Abilities), Barclay Maneuver (Photonic

As you can see, these are excellent little bonuses, and the best part is that you can activate them at will so long as you input the right combination of bridge officer abilities. The combo works like this: Tactical, Engineering, or Science will pop up in a three-icon sequence. Just use the powers in the sequence provided to activate the innovation that the RNG has given you!

All Miracle Worker ships are amazing for energy weapon builds, as the native Miracle Worker bridge officer powers dramatically boost the damage output of beams and cannons. Powers like Narrow Sensor Bands, Energy Weapons: Exceeded Rated Limits, and Mixed Armaments Synergy can give you monstrous DPS very quickly. Timing it right can result in powerful burst cycles capable of obliterating anything in your path.

As a battlecruiser, it can equip a cloaking device console, which can be interesting if you’re trying to sneak around. It also comes with Weapon System Efficiency (we like this one), Shield Frequency Modulation, and Strategic Maneuvering.

The starship trait, Entwined Tactical Matrices, is one of the better traits out there for ships that have limited tactical bridge officer slots. It applies to Fire at Will 1 and Scattery Volley 1 when you use a Torpedo Spread. However, when you use Fire at Will 1 or Scatter Volley 1, it will apply Torpedo Spread 1 instead. So, by using any one of those powers, you get the effect of two. Handy huh?

The console it comes with, the Refracting Energy Shunt, gives you passive power transfer levels (good) and engineering readiness (also good). Its actual clickable ability, however, is underwhelming at best, providing a narrow arc-scale proton damage attack that will at best chip the paint on the enemy ship.

Based on the Discovery ship of the same name, the Gagarin comes with the original Shepard class skin, letting you relive those final moments of the namesake ship and change history!

• Hull Modifier 0.95
• Turn Rate 7.5
• 3 Tactical, 5 Engineering, 2 Science, 1 Universal console slots
• Unique Console: Refracting Energy Shunt
• Innovation Effects
• Cyclical Quantum Slipstream Drive (faster Sector Space travel)
• Lt. Commander Tactical, Lieutenant Tactical-Miracle Worker, Commander Engineering-Miracle Worker, Ensign Science, Lt. Commander Universal

What makes the T6 Gagarin Miracle Worker Battlecruiser great

• A highly affordable ship that can reach top-end DPS with pretty minimal effort. Despite the nerfs to Miracle Worker, it still stands as the best specialization to have.
• A truly excellent directed energy weapons platform, you would be hard pressed to find anything wrong with this ship.
• The Universal console slot gives you added options compared to regular starships.
• Innovation mechanics can be very powerful if you know how to use them.

How To Get the T6 Gagarin Miracle Worker Battlecruiser

• It also comes in the Discovery Operations Pack for 12,000 zen ($120.00).

2. Terran Trailblazer Science Warship

The new "yes, buy this." Now with more guns!

How to get the Terran Trailblazer Science Warship: 3,000 Zen ($30.00) in the C-Store

Here we are! Star Trek Online's top two ships!It was a close call between them, and really, depending on how you play the game, #1 and #2 can be easily switched out for you. For the average player, though, I’m sticking with this decision to put the Trailblazer as our Number 2 winner. This thing is nasty-it comes with 4 forward weapons, 3 aft weapons, a secondary deflector, full command specialization, and a built-in Agony Phaser Lance!

It’s basically the Galaxy-X in science ship form! The only thing it’s missing is a hangar bay, at which point it would be entirely interchangeable with our #1, the Lexington, for any role. As it is, this ship is hilariously overtuned. The ship even comes with split specialization in the form of both Miracle Worker and Command Specialization, though its Miracle Worker only makes it up to Lt. rather than something beefier like Lt. Commander.

Still, it’s hard to look at this thing and not want to run away in terror at the potential of it. Which is the point, given it's a Terran ship!

With the now familiar Lt. Commander Universal, you can turn this thing into a dedicated sci-torp build, a regular torpedo build, a directed energy weapon build, a pure science build, or even a hybrid directed energy weapon-science build! Compared to the rest of the ships on this list, it easily surpasses the vast majority given all these options.

The full command specialization gives us the regular goodies you’d expect to see from ships like the Clarke while also letting you squeeze in Narrow Sensor Bands and Mixed Armaments Synergy thanks to the Lieutenant Miracle Worker. On top of that, if you build with phaser damage in mind, you can turn the Phaser Lance into a nice built-in burst damage option. This thing can do it all!

It can even cloak, thanks to changes to the Cloaking Device Console. So we have a souped up Terran version of Voyager that can blow up the bad guys in a dozen different ways, cloak, and scream across the battlefield at crazy speeds. Yep, sounds Terran alright.

The starship trait, Weaponized Exotic Particles, gives you a bonus to your Exotic Particle Generators when you use any of the firing buffs, such as Fire at Will, Torpedo Spread, or Mine Dispersal. This isn’t actually a bad trait for this particular ship, as it is so incredibly flexible.

The console it comes with, Decentralized Immunity, increases critical severity by 12%, shield capacity by 15%, and its clickable summons an "Immunity Drone." This drone makes you totally immune to all damage for up to ten seconds, though it can be destroyed by enemy fire. This is an amazing tanking console since a majority of the NPCs don’t target pets very well. I highly suggest using this if you tank at all.

The Voyager episode "Living Witness" gave us our first taste of Warship Voyager. The Terrans, however, are the ones to perfect it. If you want a beast of a ship that can rip through anything and everything that Star Trek Online throws at you, this is the pinnacle outside of gamble box ships, and even then, it’s comparable.

• Level 65: Hull 51750(scaling)
• Hull Modifier 1.15
• Unique Console: Decentralized Immunity
• Inspiration Mechanic
• Agony Phaser Lance
• Sensor Analysis
• Subsystem Targeting
• Lt. Commander Tactical, Lieutenant Tactical-Miracle Worker, Ensign Engineering, Commander Science-Command, Lt. Commander Universal

What makes the T6 Trailblazer great

• There is a ridiculous amount of firepower that can be gained through energy weapons, torpedos, science abilities, or a combination of these.
• A built-in Agony Phaser Lance (a miniature Galaxy-X!) combined with Sensor Analysis and Subsystem Targeting.
• An Inspiration Mechanic that gives you all the benefits of a cruiser, while being a science ship.
• Ideal destroyer weapon layout, despite not being a destroyer.
• Almost cruiser-level hull values with very high shield values.
• Excellent tactical and science console layout.
• Amazing console for tanking.

How To Get the T6 Trailblazer

• It also comes in the 12th Anniversary Terran Bundle for 17,500 zen/$175.00.

1. Terran Lexington Dreadnought Cruiser

For all your flagship needs; now comes with Nebula mission pod and phaser lance! Deathgliders not included.

How to get the Terran Lexington Dreadnought Cruiser: 3,000 Zen ($30.00) in the C-Store

And finally, at long last, we have our big winner: the Terran Lexington Dreadnought Cruiser. This will probably be a bit of a controversial choice over the Trailblazer, but I chose it because there tends to be more players flying around in cruisers compared to science ships, and as a "newbie" ship, it’s pretty much impossible to get this thing wrong. The only thing that sucks about this ship is the 4 forward and 4 aft weapon layout.

If it had 5/3, it would literally be perfect. However, we’ll deal with the near-perfection of the cruiser class instead! Coming in with a built-in Agony Phaser Lance, Hangar Bay, Cruiser Commands, and full Miracle Worker specialization, this ship takes the Gagarin and amps it up to 11. Despite the 4/4 layout, it still does monstrous damage with some extremely high parses that I’ve seen in this exact ship.

Not even the legendary, everyday Terran version!If that doesn’t say "most impressive," I don’t know what does!

In addition, it has a split specialization with Intelligence, giving you access to Override Subsystem Safeties II, which is incredibly powerful when combined with Miracle Worker bridge officer powers. Throw in Narrow Sensor Bands and the rest and you’ve got a burst cycle very few things can survive for long.

Much of what makes the Gagarin so good applies to the Lexington, but with the added bonus of the Hangar Bay and Phaser Lance. While neither is particularly noteworthy, they are additional DPS sources and count in my assessment of the Number 1 spot. To add insult to injury, the vastly larger Lexington is actually 0.5 times faster at turning than the Gagarin, tossing a little bit of straw to break the camel's back in terms of just how good this thing is.

Not to beat a dead horse, but this is just a flat out better Galaxy-X. For those wondering why I didn’t include the Legendary Galaxy-X on this list, this ship is why. It’s better priced, has better stats, and has the far superior Miracle Worker full specialization. It’s just better. Sorry, Gal-X fans.

In typical Terran fashion, they took a concept and just added more guns to it until they ran out of room.

As before, it has a Lt. Commander Universal to just throw down in any direction you need to while also packing a Lt. Commander Tactical. It's not even a split station, it’s a pure full tactical, which is great for a ship like this. Unlike the Trailblazer, you can’t quite omni-everything in it, but it’s still an excellent ship in every respect. The only difference between this ship and the Trailblazer is purely in its role.

This was designed as an energy weapon cruiser, whereas the Trailblazer was built as an energy weapon/torpedo science ship. It can’t squeeze on a good torpedo build, but that’s alright. It more than makes up for it in withering damage output.

The starship trait, Dimensional Modulation, gives you +3–30% bonus weapon damage for 10 seconds whenever you use a Miracle Worker bridge officer power or Directed Energy Modulation that scales with nearby foes. This is insanely good when you are outnumbered! While the conditions cannot be controlled (making it suboptimal in situations where you are not outnumbered), it is still extremely powerful when combined with all of the other ships' abilities.

The console it comes with, Multi-Directional Artillery Barrage, is perhaps the only other possible disappointment. While the 20% bonus to projectile damage and 7.5% bonus to healing capacity are alright, the torpedoes themselves do minuscule damage. Even the 25% bonus damage doesn’t justify slotting it with a two-minute recharge. Unless you are doing a theme build or attempting something whacky with bonus damage values, I would not slot this.

Star Trek Online’s flagship class in the Odyssey line has an outstanding ship that easily eclipses the majority of the ships on this list. The Lexington is the current pinnacle of non-promo cruisers, with a little bit of everything and a whole lotta phasers ready to vaporize. It’s all the more fitting for those who wish to replay some of Star Trek Online’s history, living in the moments of the Enterprise F when it first came to us in the Mission: The Odyssey Class at the helm of a truly mighty vessel.

• Level 65: Hull 61875(scaling)
• Shield Modifier 1.15
• Hull Modifier 1.375
• Turn Rate 8
• 4 Tactical, 5 Engineering, 2 Science, 1 Universal console slots
• Unique Console: Multi-Directional Artillery Barrage
• Innovation Mechanic
• Quantum Slipstream Drive (faster Sector Travel)
• Lt. Commander Tactical, Lieutenant Tactical-Intelligence, Commander Engineering-Miracle Worker, Ensign Science, Lt. Commander Universal

What makes the T6 Terran Lexington Dreadnought Cruiser great

• Like the Trailblazer, ridiculous amounts of firepower can be gained through energy weapons.
• Agony Phaser Lance (a miniature Galaxy-X!) and a Hangar Bay were built in.
• You use the Innovation Mechanic that gives you bonuses based on the powers you use.
• It has huge natural hull values, making it among the tankiest in the game for its price tag.
• Excellent tactical layout, with full capacity to take advantage of its Miracle Worker and Intelligence Bridge Officer abilities.

How To Get the T6 Terran Lexington Dreadnought Cruiser

And there we have it! These are the top 15 best ships for players in Star Trek Online! This represents a budget-friendly list, so players don’t have to worry about trying to gamble to get one of those impossibly difficult uber-end-game ships. You can pilot any of the classic vessels from the shows to great effect! One of the wonderful things about Star Trek Online is that you can make any ship work; it just takes a bit of elbow grease.

You may also be interested in:

[Top 10] Star Trek Online Best Ground Weapons

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Star Trek Online Starship Comparison

By @dabelgrave.

You can easily compare ships. Filter by Tier and Faction, and select which group of stats you wish to see. By default, all tiers for all factions are shown. You can also filter by category, and compare up to four of categories at a time.

These results are queried directly from this Google spreadsheet (which contains additional info and formatting): http://bit.ly/STOShips .

Have you found missing or incorrect stats? Tell me about it on the STO Forums .

Join 'The Phoenix Division' today. Contact @daBelgrave in Star Trek Online.

Guide to Star Trek Online Tier 4 Captain Ships: Exploration Cruiser, Tactical Escort, and Long-Range Science Vessel

Captain, perhaps the most famous and prestigious rank in the Federation. It’s the reason most people joined Starfleet to begin with, the possibility of someday ascending to the rank of Captain and finding yourself in command of one of the Federation’s most iconic vessels.

You’ve paid your dues, schlepping around the galaxy in lowly Miranda-class Light Cruisers and strangely-shaped Olympic Research Science Vessels , it’s time to move on to the top of the line, the Cadillacs of Starfleet, the Tier IV Exploration Cruiser, Tactical Escort, and Long-Range Science Vessel.

Exploration Cruiser

The Exploration Cruiser really needs no introduction. Anyone who’s ever seen an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation is familiar with the Galaxy-class Enterprise-D. A formidable starship with impressive weaponry and a massive crew, the Exploration Cruiser is truly one of the most awe-inspiring ships in the fleet.

Check out the full stats for the Galaxy, Celestial, and Envoy class ships:

Minimum Rank: Captain

Crew: 1,000

Weapons: 4 Fore, 3 Aft

Device Slots: 4

Bridge Officer Stations: 1 Lieutenant Tactical, 1 Lieutenant Engineering, 1 Commander Engineering, 1 Lieutenant Science

Console Upgrades: 2 Tactical, 2 Science, 3 Engineering

Turn Rate: 5

Impulse Modifier: 0.15

The Exploration Cruiser has one of the worst turning rates in the entire fleet. All cruisers are sluggish turners, but this massive behemoth definitely does not turn on a dime. It can be difficult to line up weapons with small firing arcs or get turned around in time to grab loot that has fallen behind you.

The Exploration Cruiser is one of the most impressive ships in the fleet in terms of sheer firepower and damage-bearing potential, but it is more of a tank than a sports car, for sure.

Tactical Escort

Another ship instantly recognizable to fans of Star Trek: Deep Space 9 is the U.S.S. Defiant. This Defiant-class escort was specially designed to counter the threat of the encroaching Borg, and was for a time considered to be the most heavily-armed ship in the Alpha Quadrant.

On Deep Space 9, the Defiant is equipped with a cloaking device. Sadly, it’s equivalent ships in Star Trek Online, the Defiant, Vigilant, and Gallant class ships, do not.

Full Tactical Escort stats:

Weapons: 4 Fore, 2 Aft

Device Slots: 1

Bridge Officer Stations: 1 Lieutenant Tactical, 1 Commander Tactical, 1 Lieutenant Engineering, 1 Lieutenant Science

Console Upgrades: 2 Engineering, 2 Science, 3 Tactical

Turn Rate: 17

Impulse Modifier: 0.20

The Tactical Escort was designed for one purpose: to deliver massive amounts of damage as quickly as possible. Escort-class ships are the only ones in the Federation capable of equipping cannons , and a very popular loadout for these gunboats is four forward-facing cannons and two 360-degree turrets in the back. That way, the Tactical Escort’s Captain can deliver insane amounts of pain before zipping off to line up another attack run.

These fast-moving, heavily-armed vessels are truly a force to be reckoned with.

Long-Range Science Vessel

We’ve seen the iconic ships from both Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space 9, so it seems only reasonable that the third Tier IV ship should be the most recognizable ship from Star Trek: Voyager.

Captained by Kathryn Janeway, the Intrepid-class U.S.S. Voyager was lost in the Delta Quadrant for seven years, its adventures cataloged in the television series that bore its name.

The Long-Range Science Vessel comes in three variations: The Intrepid, Discovery, and Cochrane classes. Full stats:

Weapons: 3 Fore, 2 Aft

Device Slots: 2

Bridge Officer Stations: 1 Lieutenant Tactical, 1 Lieutenant Engineering, 1 Lieutenant Science, 1 Commander Science

Console Upgrades: 2 Engineering, 2 Tactical, 3 Science

Turn Rate: 12

The U.S.S. Voyager spent years out of contact with Starfleet, unable to rearm or call for reinforcements when needed. She had to survive on her own, and with such a well-equipped ship, it’s no wonder her crew made it back in one piece.

With multiple science stations, some much needed tactical and engineering upgrades, and an impressive turn rate, overall speed, and shield capacity, the Long-Range Science Vessel has what it takes to go toe to toe with even the toughest of enemies.

Now that you’ve reached the rank of Captain, you’ve finally earned the right to command some of Star Trek Online’s coolest and most-recognizable ships.

Only the rank of Rear Admiral lies ahead, and along with it comes some of the most massive and awe-inspiring ships ever seen in the Star Trek universe.

This post is part of the series: Star Trek Online Guide to Ships

Whether you’re looking for information on tier 2, 3, 4, or 5 ships in Star Trek Online, our complete guide has got you covered. Check out full ship stats, and see which ships are available at Lt. Commander, Commander, Captain, and Admiral Ranks.

• Ultimate Guide to Ships in Star Trek Online
• Guide to Ships in Star Trek Online: The Tier 1 Light Cruiser
• Guide to Ships in Star Trek Online: Tier 2 Vessels
• Guide to Ships in Star Trek Online: Tier 3 Vessels
• Guide to Ships in Star Trek Online: Tier 4 Vessels
• Complete Guide to Tier 5 Vessels in Star Trek: Online
• Star Trek Online Ship Customization Guide: Light Cruiser

• 1 Ship Overview
• 2 Advanced Hull Editing
• 3.1.1 Non-playable Federation Ships
• 3.2.1 Non-playable Klingon Empire Ships
• 3.2.2 Gorn Hegemony
• 3.2.3 Orion Syndicate
• 3.2.4 Nausicaan Mercenaries
• 3.3 Romulan Star Empire
• 3.4 Cardassian Union
• 3.5 The Dominion
• 3.6 Borg Collective
• 3.7 Privateer Ships

Ship Overview [ ]

Star Trek Online provides the player with command of a starship which is to some degree customizable. Each new rank will reward the player with access to a new vessel. Players also have the option of purchasing additional ships with either energy credits or dilithium. It is possible to purchase each type of ship available to each rank. There are three categories of vessel for ranks up to Admiral and specialized vessels at the rank of Admiral. These ships are often referred to by tier, a Lieutenant's vessel is a Tier I, a Lieutenant Commander vessel is a Tier II, etc. STO provides a free ship for each 10 levels advanced up to Rear Admiral. There are no free Vice Admiral ships currently available, but are purchasable with Zen from the C-Store Ships category.

Access to a vessel gives you access to all 3 hull types, purchasing a Lieutenant Commander Science Vessel will allow you to render your ship as a Nova hull, Aurora hull, or Quasar hull. Additional modifications can be purchased with Zen from the C-Store and applied in ship customization.

Advanced Hull Editing [ ]

At various stations you may speak to an officer to customize your ship's appearance.

Current ships [ ]

United federation of planets [ ].

• Danube Class Runabout
• Captain's Yacht
• Class F Shuttle
• Delta Class Shuttle
• Yellowstone Runabout
• Peregrine Attack Fighter
• Stalker Stealth Fighter
• Constitution
• Constitution (Refit)
• Prototype Dreadnaught Cruiser
• Kelvin Timeline Heavy Command Cruiser
• Kelvin Timeline Intel Dreadnaught Cruiser

Non-playable Federation Ships [ ]

Klingon empire [ ], non-playable klingon empire ships [ ].

• D7 Battlecruiser

Gorn Hegemony [ ]

• Varanus support vessel

Orion Syndicate [ ]

• Orion Raider

Nausicaan Mercenaries [ ]

• Siphon Frigate

Romulan Star Empire [ ]

• Bird of Prey

Cardassian Union [ ]

• Groumall freighter

The Dominion [ ]

• Jem'Hadar Attackship
• Jem'Hadar Battleship

Borg Collective [ ]

• Borg Sphere

Privateer Ships [ ]

• Type VII Commercial Laboratory
• 2 Constitution

• More to Explore
• Series & Movies

Most Powerful Star Trek Ships, Ranked

What is the most feared ship in the entire galaxy?

How do you quantify starship power in the Star Trek universe ?

Is it the armament? The speed? The shields? The sheer size of a vessel? Or perhaps it’s the captain and crew at the helm?

We believe it’s all of those things and more, so we took 46 of the most noteworthy Star Trek starships and placed them in a head-to-head battle.

Which iconic ship came out on top? Find out below.

Warp ahead for our rankings of the most powerful Star Trek ships ever.

Star Trek: 8 Most Powerful Federation Starships, Ranked

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Star Trek: Best Movie Villains, Ranked

Star trek: most iconic klingons, ranked, star trek: 10 starfleet admirals who went rogue.

The Star Trek franchise is an extremely long-running one, with so many shows and movies that it can be hard for fans to keep track of everything that has happened. This becomes even truer when trying to discuss the most powerful ships that have been seen in the franchise.

The Star Trek movies have quite a few great villains, but which one is the best?

Between different timelines, leaps into the past and future, and mysterious vessels like the Borg cube, the Star Trek franchise has portrayed some incredible space-faring vessels. But the Federation starships are almost always the ones that triumph in the end. These ships have gotten pretty powerful over time, showing that no matter how much things change , they stay the same.

Updated on March 9, 2024, by Chris Harkin: The Star Trek franchise is ever-growing, despite there being a cinematic lull, several shows continue onwards as the franchise continues exploring many new eras and re-treading ground on some old ones. As such, the Federation is likely to continue releasing new ship brands, continuing to boldly go where no man has gone before. As the franchise continues to update, particularly with more futuristic capabilities attached to new classes of Starship, this article will continue updating and growing to signify the changes in the long-running franchise.

8 Inquiry Class

Active from the 2390s onward.

• Appeared In Star Trek: Picard (6 Episodes)

Heavy cruiser ships that were introduced only recently in Star Trek: Picard, the Inquiry Class are one of the newer brands of Federation Starship. Considered the new cream of the crop, these ships were the fastest available to Starfleet at the conclusion of the 24th Century.

Coming with a generally similar design to many previous classes of Starfleet class ships, the Inquiry Class contained the USS Zheng He and other ships that opposed a Borg Cube in 2401 and were shown at other points throughout Picard , proving them to be the main body of Starfleet's major active ships at that time.

7 Prometheus Class

Active from 2370s to 2380s.

• Appeared In Star Trek: Voyager (2 Episodes)

One of the strangest designs seen in a Starfleet vessel, the Prometheus Class ship, was seen in Voyager as a highly classified experimental ship that only four people in all of Starfleet knew how to command and control. Not only was this ship brutally fast, but it could also split into pieces.

The Prometheus Class, though it doesn't seem to have become common, was capable of splitting into three pieces, each capable of attacking enemies independently. Capable of surpassing speeds of warp 9.9 and featuring regenerative shielding, this class was highly unusual but also incredibly useful.

6 Akira Class

Active from 2370s to 2400s.

• Appeared In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (9 Episodes)
• Appeared In Star Trek: First Contact

The Akira Class of Federation Starships is a mighty one, and unlike most starships under Federation control, it was made with the thought of war in mind. During production, the hostilities with the Cardassian Union prompted the creation of a speedy battleship. However, during the creation of the Akira Class, the Federation became more aware of a potential Borg invasion and sped things up.

Brought into service in 2368, the Akira Class has been seen in Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: First Contact . Examples of this ship type include the USS Akira, USS Geronimo, and even the USS James T. Kirk. Major differences from other Federation ships include a high number of torpedo bays and a large shuttle bay, which enabled the Akira Class ships to be fighter carriers.

5 Defiant Class

• Appeared In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (68 Episodes)

The Defiant Class and the USS Defiant also had an intriguing build history. Initially, these ships began construction during the Borg threat, but when this was lessened, they were put away until the Dominion threat became a fresh problem for Starfleet. Despite initial design flaws, DS9 ’s Miles O’Brien was able to fix the USS Defiant enough to make it ready on a high level.

This caused the Federation to start building more ships to follow the USS Defiant, and thus the Defiant Class was born. These ships are small, highly powered, and heavily armed. They remain warships, the first ones ever created by Starfleet, and were introduced in the year 2371.

4 Galaxy Class

Active from 2360s to 2400s.

• Appeared In Star Trek: The Next Generation (All Episodes)
• Appeared In Star Trek Generations

As if the Galaxy Class needed any more praise, the USS Enterprise-D ship flown by Captain Picard and his amazing crew throughout Star Trek: The Next Generation was a member of this class. The many achievements of Picard and his crew boil down to their tenacity, but the strength of the Galaxy Class Federation starships is not to be ignored.

A well-used ship by the Federation during the heavy losses of the Dominion War , the Galaxy Class is a heavy capital ship class that came into being in the mid-2360s. Unlike some of the Federation’s other most impressive and powerful ships, the Galaxy Class managed to be an all-in-one, with the capability to wage war, but a crew tasked with preventing it. Discovery and war, speed and majesty, the Galaxy Class has it all.

3 Sovereign Class

• Appeared In Star Trek: Picard (5 Episodes)
• Appeared In Star Trek: Insurrection & Star Trek: Nemesis

The Sovereign Class was a follow-up to the Galaxy Class in many ways. This includes the fact that Picard’s follow-up ship, the USS Enterprise-E, was a member of the Sovereign Class. Judging solely from the ability of the Enterprise-E to take down the Borg Cube it destroyed in Star Trek: First Contact , it is safe to say the Sovereign Class was a worthy update to the Galaxy Class.

Star Trek introduced fans to some fascinating alien species, but the Klingons are one of the most popular with viewers

Smaller in design and released in the early 2370s, the Sovereign Class was a major upgrade from previous classes in terms of warfare, including photon and quantum torpedoes as well as a large volume of phaser banks.

2 Curiosity Class

Active from the 2390s onwards.

• Appeared In Star Trek: Picard (4 Episodes)

This ship has only recently made its entrance into the Star Trek universe. The Curiosity Class was introduced in Star Trek: Picard as the new wave of Federation starships. Released initially in 2389, ships such as the USS Curiosity and the USS ibn Majid are included in this class, which was primarily meant to replace the aging Galaxy Class vessels.

A mix between a heavy cruiser and an explorer ship, the Curiosity Class will be able to do everything that the previous main Enterprise ships were. Ready for diplomatic missions, discovery missions, and if all else fails, combat missions as well, the Curiosity Class is the next generation of Starfleet technology, which pushes beyond anything seen in Star Trek outside the new seasons of Discovery .

1 USS Vengeance (Dreadnought Class)

Active 2259 (alternate timeline only).

• Appeared In Star Trek: Into Darkness

The USS Vengeance, seen in Star Trek: Into Darkness , is a very special case. Despite the technology being old in comparison to many ships in The Next Generation and other shows , this was one of the few Federation ships ever made purely for war. With the unholy pact that Khan made, helping to design this ship, and his heightened intellect, Starfleet was able to secretly create one of the largest and the single most destructive forces in Starfleet's history .

Whether this is actually more powerful than the starships created over a hundred years later is hard to say for certain, but Starfleet has yet to put any ship together that is so brutally focused on combat. The capability of this ship to be armed and operated by a single man is also a terrifying notion. It enables one person to go rogue and operate one of the more deadly forces in the universe alone. If not for the quick thinking that enabled the crew of the rebooted Enterprise to destroy it from within with a huge payload of torpedoes teleported to the inside, this ship might never have been beaten .

The higher-ups of Starfleet command often pose a challenge to Star Trek's main characters. Not all the series' admirals play by the rules.

• Movies & TV

The 7 best Star Trek ships ranked from worst to best

I n the vast universe of Star Trek , spaceships are as iconic and diverse as the characters themselves, each with its own story, technology, and purpose. Among these, the Starfleet vessels, with their sleek designs and advanced capabilities, stand out as the heroes of the cosmos, with the most famous of them all being the USS Enterprise - a name shared by multiple ships across the series, symbolizing exploration, diplomacy, and sometimes, thrilling battles.

These ships are equipped with warp drives for faster-than-light travel, deflector shields for protection, and transporters that can beam crew members instantly across space. Imagine zipping across galaxies in a ship that's part luxury cruiser, part advanced research lab, and part peacekeeping force. That ship is working overtime at all times!

But Star Trek isn't just about the good guys' shiny vessels - it also gives us a peek into the fascinating designs of alien fleets, each reflecting the culture and values of their civilizations. Take the Klingon Warbirds, for example, with their aggressive, bird-of-prey appearance, symbolizing the warrior spirit of their people. Their ships are armed to the teeth, ready for battle at a moment's notice. On the other hand, the Borg Cube, a massive, cube-shaped ship, represents the Borg Collective's relentless pursuit of perfection through assimilation. Imagine a giant, space-faring beehive, with drones working in unison to achieve a common goal - a terrifying sight for everyone else.

Then there are the special ships, the ones that defy norms and bring a touch of mystery and magic to space travel. The USS Voyager, with its sleek, aerodynamic design, stands out for its epic journey home from the far-flung Delta Quadrant, displaying the resilience and ingenuity of its crew. And let's not forget the Romulan Warbirds with their cloaking devices, making them the ultimate space ninjas, lurking in the shadows before striking.

Why don't we take a look at the 7 best ships in the Star Trek universe and see where they rank against each other?

7. USS Defiant (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)

Kicking off our stellar lineup at number seven is the mighty USS Defiant, a real little powerhouse that punched well above its weight class. Unlike the sprawling, floating cities we're used to in the Star Trek universe, the Defiant was more like that scrappy underdog in the movies who's small but surprisingly tough. It came onto the scene in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and quickly turned heads because, let's face it, we hadn't seen anything quite like it in Starfleet's repertoire.

This ship wasn't built for leisurely cruises across the galaxy or making friends with new alien species - it was designed with one thing in mind: punching enemy ships in the face... with their phasers and photon torpedoes. What makes the USS Defiant stand out, besides its knack for getting into interstellar scuffles, is how it showed us a different flavor of Starfleet.

Typically, we see Starfleet as the spacefaring equivalent of explorers and diplomats, but with the Defiant, we got a glimpse of their "don't mess with us" side. It was the go-to ship when the Federation needed to flex its muscles, especially during the tense moments of the Dominion War. The Defiant was like that one friend you call when you're in a pinch and need to get out of trouble - reliable, tough, and always ready for action.

So, while it might not have the size or the iconic status of some of the other ships in our lineup, the USS Defiant earns its spot for showing us that sometimes, being small and feisty is just as important as being big and bold.

6. Klingon Bird-of-Prey

Imagine a ship that looks like it's ready to pick a fight just sitting there, and that's before anyone even hits the cloaking button. This feisty ship in the Klingon fleet swoops into the sixth spot on our list, and here's the lowdown on why it's perched right there.

First off, the Bird-of-Prey is like that one friend we all have who's always ready to jump into adventure (or mischief) at a moment's notice. It's not the biggest or the fanciest ship zipping around the galaxy by any means, but what it lacks in size, it makes up for with pure attitude and a sneaky trick up its sleeve: the cloaking device. This gadget lets the Bird-of-Prey play intergalactic hide-and-seek like a pro, popping out of nowhere and giving everyone a good scare. It's the ship's party trick and, let's be honest, it never gets old.

But, despite its swagger and sneakiness, the Bird-of-Prey is a bit like a one-trick pony. It's got the surprise attack down and can do it effectively almost every time, but in the grander scheme of things, it's a bit of a supporting character in the star-studded saga that is Star Trek. It's essential, no doubt, showing us the rough and tough side of the various species in space and teaching us a thing or two about the Klingon way of life (which, spoiler alert, involves a lot of honor and a healthy dose of good old-fashioned boldness).

In the vast expanse of space opera that is Star Trek, the Bird-of-Prey flaps its wings with gusto but ultimately flies in the mid-range, making it a memorable yet not the top-tier starship in the franchise.

5. USS Voyager (Star Trek: Voyager), Intrepid Class

Imagine being stranded 70,000 light-years away from home, in a part of the galaxy where no one knows your name, and your only ride is the USS Voyager. That's exactly what happened to Captain Janeway and her crew in Star Trek: Voyager , and boy, did it make for one wild space road trip. Voyager isn't just a ship - it's the little spacecraft that could, zipping across the Delta Quadrant and proving that with a bit of Federation ingenuity and a lot of coffee, you can face anything.

Now, why does Voyager sit at number 5 on our star-studded list of ships? For starters, this intrepid vessel was a blend of a science lab on steroids and a cozy home for its diverse crew. It wasn't the biggest or the toughest kid on the block, but it packed a punch with tech like the Emergency Medical Hologram (aka the sassiest doctor in space) and those nifty bio-neural gel packs.

But what really sets Voyager apart is its spirit. Stranded far from the safety of Starfleet, the crew didn't just survive; they thrived, embracing the true spirit of exploration. They encountered strange new worlds and civilizations, all while keeping a steady course for home. It's that blend of high-tech wizardry, unwavering determination, and a dash of homesickness that makes Voyager not just a ship but a testament to the human (and Vulcan, and Talaxian, and Ocampa...) spirit.

So, while it might not top the list, Voyager earns its stripes as the little ship that took a 75-year journey and turned it into one of the greatest adventures in the final frontier.

4. Borg Cube

Picture a giant, flying metal Rubik's Cube in space that doesn't want to play games but instead assimilates entire civilizations. Yep, terrifying - and that's the Borg Cube for you. Ranked at number 4 in our Star Trek ship lineup, this hulking mass of technology is the stuff of sci-fi nightmares, and here's why it's more than just a big, scary box.

The Borg Cube isn't your typical, sleek spaceship with flashy lights and a fancy paint job. It's a massive, utilitarian cube that means business – the business of turning everyone and everything into Borg. It's a spaceship so big and powerful that it doesn't bother dodging attacks - it just plows through space, assimilating advanced technologies and civilizations like a cosmic vacuum cleaner. Its sheer size and the fact that it can repair itself mid-battle make it a formidable and terrifying foe. The Borg Cube isn't just a ship - it's a floating fortress of doom that brings a whole new meaning to the phrase "resistance is futile."

But here's the real kicker: the Borg Cube is a collective of minds. Think of the scariest group project you've ever been part of, but instead of sharing Google Docs, you're sharing thoughts, feelings, and strategies with thousands of others. This collective intelligence makes the Borg Cube not just a tough nut to crack in a space battle but also a fascinating symbol of Star Trek's exploration of identity, community, and the loss of individuality.

It's not just its size or firepower that puts the Borg Cube at number 4 - it's the terrifying efficiency and unity with which it operates, challenging the very ideals of freedom and individuality that the Federation holds dear.

The Borg Cube stands out as a chilling reminder of what could be if unity and technology were to take a dark turn.

3. USS Enterprise-D ( The Next Generation ), Constitution class

The USS Enterprise-D is not just a starship that's more than a vessel zipping through space - it's also a cozy, floating high-tech home and it's the Star Trek ship I grew up gawking over on the TV. Thank you, dad! It's the pride and joy of Star Trek: The Next Generation .

This isn't your typical cramped and clunky spaceship. The Enterprise-D is like the luxury cruise liner of the galaxy, complete with spacious living quarters where you can stretch your legs, holodecks for virtual vacations (because who doesn't want to escape to a tropical beach or a snowy mountain during a long space voyage?), and all the cutting-edge scientific gadgets you could dream of. It's the kind of place where you'd love to live, not just work.

There are plenty of reasons for the Enterprise-D to sit cozily in our 3rd spot in this ranking. For starters, it's a symbol of peace and exploration, embodying the very essence of Starfleet's mission. The Enterprise-D isn't just about showing off Starfleet's military might; it's about building bridges, discovering new worlds, and spreading good old human (and alien) values.

Plus, under the command of the impeccable Captain Jean-Luc Picard, the ship and its crew tackled some of the most thought-provoking and complex issues in the galaxy, all while making it look easy. It's like the ship had a knack for making the vast, mysterious universe feel a little more like home, and we viewers definitely felt that while watching TNG . Among all of the amazingly schemed and thought-up Star Trek ships, the Enterprise-D stands out as a beacon of what the future could hold - a place where adventure and comfort go hand in hand.

2. USS Enterprise ( Strange New Worlds ), Constitution class

Oh, the USS Enterprise from Strange New Worlds is a ship with quite the story to tell, and it lands at number 2 on our list, as it should. This version of the Enterprise is not your granddad's starship, but she's got that classic vibe with a modern twist, making her a standout star in the Star Trek universe.

Let's talk about why this beauty holds such a prestigious spot. Strange New Worlds t akes us back to the roots of Star Trek, blending the old-school charm with shiny new tech, and the Enterprise is at the heart of it all. She's sleek, she's got lines that could make a comet blush, and she's packed with the kind of gadgets that would make even the most seasoned space explorer go "whoa."

But it's not just her looks or tech; it's the spirit of adventure she embodies, the promise of new horizons, and the thrill of the unknown. This Enterprise doesn't just travel through space - she sails through adventures, weaving through star-studded storylines with the elegance of a ballet dancer in zero gravity.

And then there's the crew, the lifeblood of the ship. They're a mix of fresh faces and familiar names, each adding their own flavor to the legacy of the Enterprise. Under the command of the ever-so-unfairly-handsome Captain Pike, this ship and her crew tackle the unknown with a kind of optimistic attitude that's as refreshing as an ice-cold drink on a hot summer day. They face moral dilemmas, cosmic mysteries, and the occasional space anomaly with a blend of courage, humor, and a dash of that good ol' Starfleet diplomacy.

In Strange New Worlds , the Enterprise isn't just a ship - she's a character, full of heart and soul, representing the very essence of exploration and the enduring spirit of Star Trek. And that, my friends, is why she's cruising at the impressive number 2 spot.

1) USS Discovery ( Discovery ), Crossfield class

And here we have the USS Discovery taking the top spot in our Star Trek ship showdown.

What makes this starship stand out from the rest, you ask? Well, for starters, it's like the Swiss Army knife of spacecraft in the Star Trek universe. Introduced in Star Trek: Discovery, this ship isn't just another floating piece of metal - it's packed with some of the most jaw-dropping tech you'll see this side of the Milky Way.

First off, let's talk about the spore drive – Discovery's pièce de résistance . This isn't your grandma's warp drive - it's a game-changer that lets the ship jump across vast stretches of space in a literal blink of an eye. Imagine you could teleport from your couch to your favorite pizza place in seconds, but instead of pizza, it's galaxies. This tech alone puts the Discovery in a league of its own, allowing it to zip around like no other ship in the fleet, dodging danger and exploring the unknown at a pace that would make even the Enterprise jealous.

But it's not just the fancy tech that gives the USS Discovery its charm. It's also about the crew and their adventures, giving us a fresh take on the Star Trek saga. The ship and its team are at the heart of some pretty intense space drama, dealing with everything from intergalactic wars to complex moral dilemmas. It's this blend of cutting-edge science fiction and compelling storytelling that makes the Discovery not just a ship, but a character in its own right, leading the charge into new territories both literally and figuratively.

So, when you think about it, it's no wonder the USS Discovery takes the top spot – it's bold, it's brave, and it's a bit of a show-off, but we love it for that.

Each of these ships holds a unique place in the Star Trek universe, contributing to its rich narrative and the exploration of philosophical and moral dilemmas. They are all so much more than just vessels - they are characters in their own right, representing the hopes, fears, and aspirations of both their fictional creators and the fans who follow their journeys.

As Star Trek continues to evolve, these ships remain timeless icons of a future where humanity reaches for the stars.

This article was originally published on bamsmackpow.com as The 7 best Star Trek ships ranked from worst to best .

25 Best Star Trek Ships, Ranked

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One of the most popular sci-fi television shows of all time, Star Trek , has been enthralling fans for decades. In recent years, the property has come back with a vengeance. The Prime timeline is in full effect, and multiple spinoffs have made their way to Paramount+.

While Star Trek is known for its big idea sci-fi, it also features some great space battles. The starships of Star Trek are some of the most powerful in all sci-fi, armed with powerful weapons and great designs. From the well-known vessels like the USS Enterprise to the lesser-known ships that appeared for an episode or two, these ships are as powerful as they are cool.

Updated January 22, 2024, by Joshua M. Patton: The Star Trek universe is vast, with nearly 60 years of history behind it, and with that longevity comes dozens or hundreds of vessels. From the physical filming models used through the 20th century to the all-digital models used in the 21st, these ships are basically characters themselves. If the ships don't "feel" real, then Star Trek doesn't work. This article has been updated to match CBR's current formatting standards and include more information about Star Trek's best ships.

25 The Krenim Time Ship Is a Unique Vessel in Star Trek Lore

Starship details at a glance, star trek: prodigy's connection to voyager, explained.

Star Trek: Prodigy is a new series with new characters in the universe, but the series is directly connected to Voyager through characters and ships.

Star Trek captains go too far at times , something Voyager' s Captain Janeway was known for. However, there was sometimes good reason for that. The Delta Quadrant was a dangerous place, and Janeway dealt with amazing threats. The most dangerous, even more powerful than the Borg or Species 8472, was the Krenim Time Ship.

The vessel was out of synch with time, which kept the crew from aging while also making the ship itself invulnerable to attack. The Krenim Time Ship's main weapon didn't destroy planets; it erased them from the timeline. On top of that, it was armed with powerful chronometric torpedoes and energy weapons. The Krenim Time Ship was a nearly unstoppable weapon made to change history.

24 The Species 8472 Bioship Was Unlike Any Ship That Came Before It

Since their introduction into Star Trek canon, the Borg have had their run over the galaxy, able to destroy entire Federation armadas with only one ship. That is until they opened a portal into fluidic space and met Species 8472. This alien race proved a threat unlike any other to the cybernetic collective, as they could destroy Borg ships with relative ease. Biogenetic in nature, the ships of Species 8472 were as resistant to technological attack as the individuals themselves — rendering conventional weapons, transporters, and force fields useless against them.

The Species 8472 bioships could also emit incredible energies in tandem, destroying Borg ships as easily as the Borg destroyed others. When the crew of the USS Voyager formed an alliance with the Borg to fight them, Command Chakotay said he believed the ship itself might be alive. The ship was designed by Steve Burg and was one of the earliest fully computer-generated models used in Star Trek .

23 The Galor Class Warship Was the Face of the Cardassian Fleet

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's Sisko and Gul Dukat for one of sci-fi's greatest rivalries . The Cardassians were the show's main villains for much of its run and fans got used to seeing their mainline battleship, the Galor class. This vessel was the backbone of Cardassia's fleet, spearheading its conquest of worlds throughout the Alpha Quadrant after it aligned with the dreaded Dominion.

The Galor wasn't a new ship, but she was a powerful one. The ship wasn't heavily armed compared to something like a Galaxy -class, but its forward disruptor array was extremely powerful. A Galor could do massive damage to targets and could take a beating like few other ships.

22 The Jem'Hadar Fighter Was a Scarab-Like Fighter That Packed a Wallop

Jem'Hadar Fighters were the mainline vessel of the Dominion Fleet. The Jem'Hadar were a very powerful Star Trek race , and their ships matched their might. Extremely sturdy, their ships could survive a crash landing on a planet and still be flyable with minimal repairs. Armed with phased polaron disruptors, the Jem'Hadar Fighter 's weapons could easily pierce the shields of Starfleet vessels in the early days after their first confrontation.

Over time, the efficacy of the ship's weapons and shields went down after Sisko and his crew captured one to be studied. Still, a group of Jem'Hadar Fighters was still dangerous to just about any single ship in the allies' repertoire. The ship was designed by Jim Martin, influenced by Rick Sternbach's Egyptian-scarab flavored designs. John Eaves also did the mockup of the full ship that appeared in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 5, Episode 2 "The Ship."

21 The D'deridex Class Warbird Revealed How the Romulans Upped Their Game

Star trek: insurrection's first villains help the movie make better sense.

Star Trek: Insurrection failed to land like the filmmakers wanted, but the inclusion of regular The Next Generation villains would've helped it soar.

Star Trek: The Next Generation showcased powerful threats , including the return of the Romulans. The main vessel of the Romulan Star Empire's fleet, D'deridex-class Warbirds were massive vessels that dwarfed some of the largest ships the Federation put to space. Powered by a forced quantum singularity, these battlecruisers were armed to the teeth with multiple disruptor arrays and photon torpedo tubes.

Like most Romulan vessels, D'deridex-class Warbirds were equipped with cloaking devices, which was a pretty scary proposition — a vessel with the size and power of a D'deridex being able to sneak behind enemy lines undetected and wreak havoc is something any good commander would fear.

20 The Narada Is a Mining Vessel That Doubles as a Warship

As seen in the first of three Star Trek reboot movies starring Chris Pine in 2009, The Narada is a Romulan vessel from the late-24th century. After pursuing Ambassador Spock through a black hole, it arrives in the middle of the 23rd century and continues its relentless vengeance mission against the Federation and its allies.

Though it's a fairly safe bet that in its own time, The Narada is not an exceptionally powerful ship when compared to its peers, that's not the case in the 23rd century. Shortly after its arrival it destroys an entire planet (as well as a starship or two) and it's more than deserving of a place on this list. While not mentioned in the film, subsequent materials and the novelization revealed this ship was made from repurposed Borg technology, which is why it was so powerful.

19 The Excelsior Class Eventually Replaced the Original Constitution Class

Ship design was always important to Star Trek 's success , and Connie set up the most common design: primary saucer hull connected to the secondary hull, which contained the engines and power systems. The Excelsior was designed to replace the Connie , taking advantage of years of research and development. The Excelsior was built around the new transwarp drive, dubbed "the Great Experiment" by Starfleet, but the project's failure meant it would be years before the Excelsior replaced the reliable Constitution Class.

The Excelsior was an improvement on the Connie in every way — better sensors, better computers, and better defenses. The ship was armed with multiple phaser batteries and torpedo launcher, allowing the ship to cover itself with 3-D firing arcs at nearly every angle. The Excelsior would eventually fulfill its destiny of becoming the main heavy cruiser of Starfleet. It remained in use for over a hundred years, forming the backbone of Starfleet through the Dominion War and beyond, as the class got another refit in the late 2390s/early 2400s.

18 The Miranda Class Starship Was a Versatile Vessel for Starfleet

The Miranda Class starship is the backbone of the Federation fleet for a reason. First introduced in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , it has since appeared in many movies and television series tied to the franchise. The ship itself has a solid array of weaponry, if nothing truly out of the ordinary, and it can more than hold its own against standard classes of enemy ship.

A fun fact about the ship's design is that it was actually meant to be the other way round, but Wrath of Khan producers looked at it upside down. When the error became clear, they decided they preferred it that way. The repurposed Constitution class design was used to save money since the film had a slim budget.

17 The Sarcophagus Was a Klingon Ship of the Dead

Why klingons look different from discovery to strange new worlds.

Strange New Worlds revisits Starfleet's aversion to genetic modification, but the Klingons in the series may be a product of that outlawed science.

The terrifyingly named Ship of the Dead or the Sarcophagus is actually used to transport the preeminent Klingon House of T'Kuvma. The ship was more than 200 years old, and the bodies of slain Klingon warriors are entombed on its hull. It serves as the main ship for their forces during the Federation-Klingon War depicted in Star Trek: Discovery .

The ship packs a heck of a punch and has guns capable of turning the entire surface of a mid-sized, habitable planet into a barren wasteland. It also has spectacular cloaking abilities and is around three times bigger than even the biggest ships in the Federation fleet. It's a truly intimidating leviathan to come up against.

16 The Jem'Hadar Battleship Was Larger Than the USS Enterprise-D

The Jem'Hadar Battleship was the largest vessel in the Dominion fleet and the most feared, which is saying something considering just how powerful Jem'Hadar vessels are. Armed with multiple polaron disruptor batteries and torpedo launchers, the Jem'Hadar Battleship was not just one of the most powerful Dominion vessels but one of the most powerful vessels in the galaxy.

Extremely hard to damage, a Jem'Hadar Battleship taking the field was met with apprehension. Twice the size of a Galaxy- class and three times as powerful, no ship that any of the allies fielded could hurt it in a one-on-one battle.

15 The Curiosity Class Was a Small, but Mighty, Advanced Starfleet Vessel

Star Trek: Picard was chock-full of nostalgic moments and exciting developments as it charted new territory in the 24th century. Without a doubt, the arrival of William Riker and the USS Zheng He at the head of a Federation fleet was one of those pulse-pounding moments viewers cheered for. It also was one of the most massive assemblage of vessels seen in Star Trek .

Primed to save Captain Picard from a Romulan fleet that was threatening to destroy him, the USS Zheng He had an imposing appearance. A new, Curiosity class vessel, Riker touted the Zheng He as “the toughest, fastest, most powerful ship Starfleet ever put into service.” Although it was never seen in action, it’s reasonable to assume it’d be more advanced than any ship that came before it.

14 The Akira Class Vessels Were Fast, Sleek Fighters

The Akira Class was commissioned in the 2370s and was part of the Federation's initiative to field more ships with the main purpose was fighting. It was basically a torpedo boat that had its dorsal weapons pod armed with a large amount of fore and aft torpedo tubes.

The Akira Class even has port and starboard tubes, almost unheard of on Starfleet ships. Like most Starfleet vessels, it also is armed with phasers. The Akira also had fore and aft launch bays, making it an ideal launch platform for Starfleet attack ships. Fast and maneuverable, it could bring a disproportionate amount of power to bear for its size. The ship got its name from the anime film, Akira .

13 The Jem'Hadar Battle Cruiser Was a Near Unbeatable Ship

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The Jem'Hadar Battle Cruiser was the larger cousin of the Jem'Hadar Fighter and a formidable vessel in its own right. Not seen until after the Cardassian-Dominion alliance, these large cruisers were armed with the standard polaron beam disruptor batteries that made Dominion ships so powerful, as well as multiple torpedo tubes.

Extremely durable vessels, even one Jem'Hadar Battle Cruiser was considered a substantial threat to Deep Space Nine even after its massive weapons upgrade. They often anchored Dominion lines in battle and could take down even the most powerful allied vessels single-handedly.

12 The Reman Warbird Was a Nemesis to the USS Enterprise-E

Star Trek: Nemesis was a divisive film to fans of The Next Generation , but one thing that was undeniably awe-inspiring was the power of the Reman warbird, the Scimitar . Armed to the teeth, the ship had fifty-two disruptor banks and twenty-seven photon torpedo bays, which allowed it to lay waste to the Enterprise-E and several other ships with ease.

The Scimitar was also heavily armored, able to withstand double the damage other ships could. Its cloaking technology has Geordi LaForge’s stamp of approval as “perfect,” and its thalaron radiation weapon could strip a planet of life in seconds.

11 32nd Century Federation Fleet Is Sleek and Near Magical

Star Trek: Discovery turned its narrative on a dime at the end of Season 2 by transporting its crew from the Kirk era to almost one thousand years in the future. Here, the Federation has been decimated by a phenomenon called “The Burn,” during which all dilithium in the galaxy grew inert and devastated the ships that used them. Using "programmable matter" the nacelles and some saucer sections could appear detached from the main hull.

However, the crew of the Discovery was treated to a tour of a shipyard filled with ships of the 32nd century, including the USS Nog and the USS Voyager-J . Although these ships weren't seen in action, it can be assumed nine hundred years of technological advancement would make them the most sophisticated and powerful ships on this list.

10 The Prometheus-Class Was a Multi-Attack Vessel

How a set fire led to star trek: voyager's funniest episode.

A fire damaged the bridge set on Star Trek: Voyager, the writers went to the holodeck for 'The Bride of Chaotica,' one of series' funniest episodes.

Starfleet's subtle change into a more war oriented power was heralded by multiple new warship designs. This war fleet was first meant to defend against the Borg, but the Dominion's threat kept them making ships made for war, including the Prometheus class. However, this ship wasn't just kitted out with the latest in weapons and shield technology.

The Prometheus class was created around multi-vector attack formation. The ship split into three, and was suddenly three times the threat it was before. The USS Prometheus could single-handedly destroy a D'deridex class ship with multi-vector attack mode, using only phasers. That's a powerful ship and a great weapon in Starfleet's arsenal.

9 The Defiant Class Was Starfleet's First Warship

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is amazing , and it got better when the USS Defiant arrived. The Defiant class was originally designed to fight the Borg and was brought out of mothballs to counter the Dominion threat. Armed with four phaser cannons, three phaser banks, and four forward and two aft quantum torpedo launchers, the Defiant packs a tremendous wallop for a ship of its size.

The Defiant Class had powerful deflectors and ablative armor to make them extremely hard to damage, but their speed and maneuverability also make them very hard to hit. Able to destroy smaller vessels with a few shots with phaser cannons, the Defiant Class turned the tide of the war with the Dominion.

8 The Sovereign Class Signified Starfleet's Turn Towards the Militaristic

The most powerful vessel in Starfleet, the Sovereign class takes all the lessons Starfleet learned and puts them into practice. More powerful after a class-wide refit, the Sovereign class boasted sixteen phaser arrays, a forward quantum torpedo launcher, three forward photon torpedo launchers, and six aft photon launchers.

The Sovereign class was built for a wide variety of missions, like the Galaxy before it, but Starfleet made sure to arm it with the latest in weaponry, allowing it to hold its own against even the most powerful enemy vessels without needing reinforcements.

7 The Borg Cube Is Simplistic and Terrifying

The Borg cube is easily the most powerful ship encountered by any of the Alpha Quadrant powers. Armed with a variety of powerful beam weapons, torpedo launchers, and tractor beams, a Borg cube was more than a match for fleets of ships. In fact, it could destroy multiple ships before they could even scratch it. As the Borg assimilated new species and technology, their vessels were consistently being updated but the basic shape stayed the same.

Equipped with regenerative shielding and the adaptive technology that make the Borg so formidable, the only way Borg cubes have ever been defeated was with computer-based trickery, knowledge from when Captain Picard was assimilated, or future technology. Much from Star Trek' s past holds up , including the power of a Borg Cube.

6 The Shrike Was a Sinister Vessel for Even More Sinister Villains

Star Trek: Picard gave viewers several amazing ships, and one that grabbed fans' attention was the Shrike. Commanded by the changeling Vadic, this warship had an eye-catching design, with four claw-like protrusions extending forward from its body, giving it a fierce, insectoid look. It was also armed to the teeth.

Vadic allowed the Titan to scan them, revealing the Shrike 's armament comprising forty isolytic burst warheads, eighty-eight plasma torpedoes, two hundred thirty-six photon torpedoes, eighteen anti-matter missiles, twenty pulse wave torpedoes, and an unknown number of directed energy weapons. On top of that, the Shrike was equipped with a portal weapon, which could transport ships it engaged through space into more vulnerable positions.

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‘Subspace Rhapsody Star Trek’ Musical Episode, a Track-by-Track Breakdown with Lyricist Kay Hanley (EXCLUSIVE)

Kay Hanley takes us where no one has gone before on the Star Trek prequel series 'Strange New Worlds'

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In its near 60 year existence, sci-fi stalwart Star Trek  through its many incarnations has continued to push the creative envelope, most recently having done so on the Paramount+ prequel streaming series Strange New Worlds , which features the musical episode “Subspace Rhapsody.”

With a script by Dana Horgan and Bill Wolkoff, and lyrics and music by, respectively, Kay Hanley and Tom Polce (both of Letters to Cleo), the plot has the starship Enterprise under the command of Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) encountering a fold in subspace that results in the crew sharing their private thoughts via song. While it starts off amusing, the revelations eventually turn painful and then dangerous.

“The conceit of this episode,” Kay Hanley tells  Woman’s World  in an exclusive interview, “is that they’re observing musical theater rules where you sing what you can’t say, and as soon as you start singing, it’s like the truth really comes out. We were given a script by Bill and Dana and really bought it, the whole idea of a subspace fold with the music. But it was easily the most challenging songwriting job I’ve ever had. It was so hard and I ripped my guts out writing these songs, but at the same time it was so  much fun.”

What follows is an exclusive track-by-track breakdown of full-on musical episode “Subspace Rhapsody.”

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“status report”.

PERFORMERS:  Anson Mount (Captain Pike), Jess Bush (Christine Chapel), Christina Chong (La’an Noonien-Singh), Ethan Peck (Spock)

PLOT ELEMENTS:  The crew is starting to break into song while simultaneously informing Captain Pike that everything is normal.

KAY HANLEY:  It had the most  Star Trek  vocabulary; all of the mechanical stuff that the casual fan is not going to know how to write, so we really needed an assist from the writers on making sure that the correct terminology was being used in the lyric, and it was great.

“Connect to Your Truth”

PERFORMERS:  Rebecca Romijn (Number One), Paul Wesley (James T. Kirk)

PLOT ELEMENTS:  Based on what she’s learned, Number One informs Kirk how he should interact with his own crew as he goes forward.

KAY HANLEY:  This was the Gilbert and Sullivan tribute and obviously the most Broadway of the songs, which was perfect because Rebecca is a musical theater person. A song like that has to have some levity to it in order to really pull it off. If you did a real Gilbert and Sullivan song where they were being really earnest, I don’t know if  that would’ve worked, as it needed Rebecca’s lighter touch. The only reason to do that song is because Rebecca was singing it; she had the vocal and  comedy chops to do it.

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“how would that feel”.

PERFORMER:  Christina Chong (La’an Noonien-Singh)

PLOT POINTS:  La’an pleads with herself to open up and be free emotionally to express her feelings developed for Kirk in an alternate timeline, while recognizing her inability to “color outside the lines.”

KAY HANLEY:  As we were going, the script was in first and second draft, but we knew what had just happened with Rebecca’s character kind of just being so open and free with an “I don’t care” attitude. And Lon is the complete opposite — she can’t tell Kirk how she feels, because she might embarrass herself or would be breaking the social contract of living in this world, which ups the stakes even more for her.

I was actually thinking of my sister a lot while writing that song. We’re Boston people, very sort of parochial and polite and, as my father used to say, she wouldn’t tell you if her coat was on fire. My sister was always obsessed with coloring inside lines. She would outline in our coloring books — she would outline the lines in dark crayon and then  color. So I was thinking a lot about her.

“Private Conversation”

PERFORMERS:  Anson Mount (Captain Christopher Pike), Melanie Scrofano (Marie Batel)

PLOT POINTS:  Through singing, Pike is forced to admit that in some ways he’s closed off emotionally from Captain Marie Batel of the  USS Cayuga , who he’s been dating.

KAY HANLEY:  This is when everyone starts to realize that the situation could be  really  bad and that the singing that has infected our ship is  not  adorable anymore. It’s not funny, it’s dangerous.

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“keeping secrets”.

PERFORMERS:  Rebecca Romijn (Number One)

PLOT POINTS:  The importance of keeping confidences is shared — via song — by Number One to La’an.

KAY HANLEY:  “Keeping Secrets” is the only song that was edited for time in the episode and I thought it worked beautifully. Tom and I loved the challenge of creating a song with a twist. We think Una is giving La’an a pep talk about keeping her feelings in check, but she’s really warning her younger self. Rebecca really sold that emotional turn with subtle heartache.  Such  a fan of her acting.

“I’m Ready”

PERFORMER:  Jess Bush (Christine Chapel)

PLOT POINTS:  A developing relationship with Spock is abandoned by Christine Chapel, whose song announces to him and everyone else that she’s leaving the Enterprise  to join the fellowship offered by Dr. Roger Korby.

KAY HANLEY:  Tom went to Toronto and met with the cast before we started writing and he recorded everyone’s range; just had them sing “Happy Birthday” or whatever so that we had a sense of what their range was. So the thing that was exciting about writing the Chapel Song is that she sings more like I do. I don’t have this huge range, but she’s my kind of singer and we were able to write this really simple melody for her with attitude to burn and she just  crushed  it.  So  good!

And then there’s Spock observing this, which Uhura set up because she realized that if they can’t get more people to their emotional peak, they’re screwed, so she set him up.

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“i’m the x”.

PERFORMER:  Ethan Peck (Spock)

PLOT POINTS:  Emotionally devastated by Christine Chapel’s announcement that she’s leaving him and the starship, Spock has to recoup and realizes he needs to embrace his Vulcan philosophies and devote himself to the study of the universe and the pursuit of logic.

KAY HANLEY:  “Spock is such a part of our American television vocabulary that you really can’t just pop off and give Spock a broken-hearted love song. He’s half-Vulcan and half-human, so he’s not your average broken-hearted guy, but with that song, coming up with using a metaphor of a math equation, searching for Y and “I’m the X,” that felt like cracking the code for Spock. As soon as we had that, we could run with it and felt like we could really say some interesting things.

One thing I’ll say is that we never meant to have “I’m the X” bookend with “I’m Ready,” and the melody is exactly the same. Everything about that song just kind of happened very organically.

“Keep Us Connected”

PERFORMER:  Celia Rose Gooding (Uhura)

PLOT POINTS:  Uhura wrestles with her loneliness on the  Enterprise  and her role on the starship, ultimately reconciling herself with her job of keeping the crew united.

KAY HANLEY:  I’ve never cried while writing a song in my life until that song, really. i would go to Tom and sat down and we came up with the melody. We kind of felt like her station was almost like a temple, so we were thinking very churchy, but also sort of setting it up like a Greek tragedy or something like that. I was able to reach into a place inside to find that song that I’ve never been to before; it was an out of body experience and the closest thing to a spiritual experience as I will ever have writing a song. And then, of course, Celia — anything that I dreamed of for it to sound like, her singing was just 10 times what I imagined.

The writers gave me so much to work with for her character — like the fact that her family had been killed. And so when Spock leaves her alone because he’s wrestling with all of these human feelings, she’s left holding the bad to deal with everything and is, like, “Why am I always having to clean up the mess?” Again, thinking of my sister, who ultimately saves everybody and fixes everything. The writers just gave me so much to work with and then Tom’s musical arrangement was just incredible.

“We Are One”

PERFORMERS:  The full cast.

PLOT POINTS:  To disrupt the fold in subspace (also known as an improbability field), the entire crew needs — as well as the Klingons on their vessel, who break into a K-Pop act — to sing together, all about the joy they feel in working together.

KAY HANLEY:  I almost lost my mind writing that song, because everybody had to say something about their job and my head was just spinning. But we totally worked out what the finale was going to be and what everybody had to be singing. We knew that it had to get loud so that they could break the improbability field, and the Klingon thing got solved pretty early on. They wanted the Klingons to be singing opera or whatever and I was, like, “No,” and pulled up a video of my favorite K-Pop band at the time and said, “ These  are the Klingons!” We pitched the showrunners and they were, like, “Let’s do it!”

I have to say, I am  so  proud of this episode. My dad introduced me to  Star Trek ; it was a show we would watch together on Channel 38 WSBK in Boston when I was a little kid. He died in January, but he got to hear these songs, so it was really special that I got to have that with him before he died.

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Federation playable starship

• VisualEditor

There is a wide variety of Federation playable starships currently available in Star Trek Online for Starfleet , DSC Starfleet and TOS Starfleet characters. Most Federation ships are also available to Starfleet-aligned Romulan Republic and Dominion characters.

There are three specific types of starship (if carriers are attributed to one of the pre-existing types), and each starship has multiple variants and differing statistics depending on the type and tier of vessel. These details are explained on the starships' individual articles.

Note: Many of the Tier 6 starships have hull values that are at level 50, in contrast to most other ships which are valued at level 40. Thus comparisons are inaccurate unless all values are at the same level.

• 3 Destroyers & Warships
• 6 Battlecruisers
• 7 Science Vessels
• 8 Carriers & Strike Wing Escorts
• 9 Small Craft
• 10 Fleet Charts
• 11 Procurement
• 12 See also

Escorts [ | ]

At the forefront of the smallest skirmishes and the largest battles, you will find Federation Escort vessels. These smaller, more nimble craft are vastly more maneuverable and are built for one purpose and one purpose only. With the ability to equip cannons , these ships are designed to damage and destroy enemy vessels quickly and efficiently, and it is at this single role that they excel.

The Escort is a Tactical vessel, and any Captain with a thorough understanding of tactical warfare will be able to maximize the effectiveness of their vessel at the forefront of battle. With a small crew compliment typical for vessels of this size and role, the Escort class vessels are unable to man full medical facilities onboard, but with extensive armour and weaponry, coupled with its speed and agility, this is of minimal concern for astute Captains.

Raiders [ | ]

Destroyers & warships [ | ], frigates [ | ].

Frigates represent a unique combination of Cruiser capabilities, in a smaller, faster and more fragile package. They come with the Strategic Maneuvering and Weapon System Efficiency Cruiser Commands , and are able to benefit from Raider Flanking bonus as well. These nimble vessels are also similar to a Raider in that they boast an abundance of Universal BOff seats, can load dual cannons, and have similar weapon slot configurations.

Cruisers [ | ]

Federation Cruisers are the workhorses of fleets far and wide, and as such they are capable of filling a multitude of roles depending on their configuration. The Cruiser favours Engineering tasks with the bridge officer stations reflecting this, and is well suited for those Captains who have an in-depth understanding of Engineering functions and duties.

Despite their slow maneuvreability, Cruisers have Advanced Warp cores, and with the extra power produced are capable of withstanding large amounts of damage, extending their shields to nearby damaged vessels, and equiping multiple phaser arrays to in their bow and aft equipment bays. These vessels also have large cargo holds making them ideal for moving equipment or personnel on long journeys.

Battlecruisers [ | ]

Following the end of the Federation-Klingon War of 2405-2410 and the advent of the Alpha Quadrant Alliance formed between the United Federation of Planets, the Klingon Empire and the Romulan Republic, joint operations were prioritized by Starfleet. Based on after-action reports by its captains, Starfleet Command had the SCE develop the command battlecruiser at the San Francisco Fleet Yards.

The Allied militaries Starfleet, the Klingon Defense Force and the Romulan Republican Force developed three modular command battlecruiser starship classes each. The command battlecruiser was designed to function as mobile command center. Its advanced communications array was capable of relaying battle-critical information instantaneously. In addition, command battlecruisers were equipped with a technology allowing them to inspire Allied crews to improve combat performance.

All nine command battlecruiser starship classes were tier 6 vessels. Commanding officers required a minimum rank of vice admiral or its KDF/RRF equivalents, respectively, to attain command of such a ship.

Science Vessels [ | ]

The Federation Science Vessel is perhaps the most versatile and useful ship found on the front lines of combat, and can be configured to support other vessels in a variety of different ways. The Science vessel shines when it comes to scientific research and application with the majority of the Bridge Officer stations focussed to Science personnel. Captains with a deep understanding of Scientific research and theory will find themselves and their vessels sought on the battlefield for the multitude of tasks they are able to perform.

Although Science vessels are not the most powerful, indeed some may see them as the most vulnerable, they are not unarmed and can still be formidable vessels.

Carriers & Strike Wing Escorts [ | ]

Although their Bridge Officers slotting and consoles can be attributed to one of the pre-existing ship types, Carriers , Flight Deck Carriers and Strike Wing Escorts are relatively new additions to Starfleet and follow similar developments by the Klingons . They carry smaller vessels into combat via hangar bays which are capable of launching various different types of vessel, depending on the type of carrier, that are equipped by the player in the shipyard and deployed while in combat.

Small Craft [ | ]

Fleet charts [ | ].

The following are size charts, mostly player-made.

Size chart of playable and non-playable Starfleet ships from the ENT era to the TMP era. (See here for a chart of the canon ships at their correct sizes).

Size chart of playable and non-playable Starfleet ships from the TNG era to the PIC era.

Size chart of playable and non-playable refits of earlier Starfleet ships from pre-2409 STO.

Size chart of playable and non-playable new build Starfleet ships from pre-2409 STO.

Size chart of playable and non-playable refits of earlier Starfleet ships from post-2410 STO.

Size chart of playable and non-playable new build Starfleet ships from post-2410 STO.

Size chart of playable and non-playable starships of Alliance aligned factions of the 26th to 32nd centuries.

Recognition and size chart for Starfleet ships in 2411 STO.

For a key and notes on the player-made charts see here .

Procurement [ | ]

Most new ships can be purchased on Earth Spacedock from Lieutenant Laurel in Ship Requisitions, on Deep Space K-7 from Lt. Commander Dant Kroll in the Shipyard, and on Deep Space 9 from Eclia in the docking ring.

New vessels come with standard equipment and weapons, but players may wish to upgrade this immediately by purchasing items of a higher mark before undertaking missions. Better equipment can usually be found on the exchange , or purchased with Energy Credits or Dilithium from vendors.

See also [ | ]

• 2 Playable starship
• 3 Infinity Prize Pack - T6 Ship

Watch the First Ever ‘Strange New Worlds’ and ‘Star Trek: Lower Decks’ Cast Crossover

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The Big Picture

• The final season of Lower Decks features an extended finale episode, promising an exciting conclusion and growth for the characters.
• Season 3 of Strange New Worlds will feature a Vulcan episode and a Hollywood murder mystery.
• Despite challenges, the crossover episode between the two shows was a success, with a unique blend of tones and fun experiences for the cast.

Last year, two of the best Star Trek shows came together to maximize their joint sci-fi slay with an epic crossover episode between the adult animated series Lower Decks and the episodic prequel series Strange New Worlds . However, because that episode dropped during the industry-wide writers and actors strikes, press for such a momentous fandom occasion was sadly limited. Now, by a stroke of luck and timing, Collider can bring you the first shared interview between these two casts. Last week at San Diego Comic-Con, Editor-in-Chief Steve Weintraub was chatting with the Lower Decks crew ahead of their final season, when their live-action pals from the Enterprise decided to crash the party for an epic joint interview.

During their 30-minute conversation, Weintraub spoke to both casts about filming the crossover episode, working with Jonathan Frakes , and how Tawny Newsome and Jack Quaid were largely responsible for bridging the tone between the two shows . They also discussed the final season of Lower Decks , which will feature an extended finale episode , and what changes they had to make when they learned Season 5 would be the show's last. Season 3 of Strange New Worlds was also a hot point of conversation as Weintraub asked how they plan to top a crossover and a musical in the coming episodes.

The cast also teased Frakes’ highly anticipated return to the director's chair, which he has called the best episode he’s ever directed, as well as the teaser footage which sees five crew members turned into Vulcans . You can read the full conversation with Strange New Worlds ’ Ethan Peck , Rebecca Romijn , showrunners Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers , and Lower Decks ' Tawny Newsome , Jerry O’Connell , Noel Wells , and creator Mike McMahan in the transcript below or watch it in the video player above!

Star Trek: Lower Decks

Behind every great captain, is a crew keeping the ship from falling to pieces. These are the hilarious stories of the U.S.S. Cerritos.

COLLIDER: I am a huge fan of your series, and I'm really bummed that it's ending, but I'm also grateful that you guys got to make five seasons. It's like winning a lottery to make any show. Everyone watching this knows the show by now, but what can you tease about Season 5?

MIKE MCMAHAN: We've got some amazing Orion episodes. Noël, as Tendi, goes back to Orion for a little while, and you learn a lot more about Orion culture.

TAWNY NEWSOME: What do I do?

MCMAHAN: You do a lot of growing. You actually did a lot of growing last season.

NEWSOME: Growth and grappling.

MCMAHAN: Then Ransom is actually both equal parts dumbass and beloved commander, so as he's always been, but maybe more than ever before. We knew this was gonna be our last season pretty early, so instead of going out feeling final, it feels more like a fireworks show when they blast everything off at the very end. So it's like a huge celebration with everything I've been planning on doing put into one big party all season.

I’m so happy that you knew going in that this was going to be the end. How much did that allow for exponential character growth and lead everyone toward where they're ultimately going to go in the future?

MCMAHAN: We did not jump them ahead of where they are in the story. Instead, it feels like the end of a chapter. It feels like we're in chapter one of the story of Lower Decks. So it still feels like Lower Decks . It's still funny, it's exciting, it feels like it fits into canon, but it does feel like we've said something by the end of it. So, you could take the first five seasons and be like, “This is a full idea,” but it does not feel final , which I think is the best way for a comedy to be.

JERRY O’CONNELL: Wow, that was so well-put, Mike.

MCMAHAN: Thanks, guys.

O’CONNELL: He's a smart guy, our boss. He worded that perfectly.

NEWSOME: It’s like when you make a cheesecake, and then you put it in the fridge to chill. It firms, but it's not solid. You can still puncture it.

O’CONNELL: You can still puncture us!

NEWSOME: You can still puncture us.

O’CONNELL: It's funny, being a performer on it, I felt very satisfied with this season. I felt Mike did a great job.

How much does it cost for him to say that?

MCMAHAN: Too much.

O’CONNELL: It doesn't at all, really. To quote Tawny, “If I didn't have a good time, I would just be quiet.”

NEWSOME: [Laughs] That’s true.

O’CONNELL: It's really funny, I'm very proud as a performer, I'm very proud as an employee, but also, I'm really proud of my Lower Deck ers. I'm really proud of them.

NEWSOME: I’m proud, too.

Without spoilers, have you recorded all of Season 5? You're done?

NEWSOME: Yeah.

'Star Trek: Lower Decks' Season 5 Will End With an Extended Finale

What was it like reading that last script and seeing ultimately where it was all going to be going?

NEWSOME: I refused at first. I said, “If I don't end it, it won't end, and we can just live here forever.” Then they tackled me in my home and asked me to come down to the studio to do it, so eventually we did it. It was bittersweet but lovely.

MCMAHAN: You joke, but we did keep adding and adding and adding to the finale because nothing was ever satisfying enough and there weren't enough goodbyes to tell in a funny way. Ultimately, what we ended up with is a gigantic episode that's really fun.

Is it longer than a typical episode?

MCMAHAN: Oh yeah.

MCMAHAN: I think a lot of the season actually is. It's a big season.

NEWSOME: It's a double-stuffed Oreo of an episode, for sure.

O’CONNELL: It was really interesting working on the finale of a series and watching Mike's process because you did a version, you honed it, you did a version, you honed it. It's funny, by the time that I did my last recording, you really did a great job, Mike.

NOËL WELLS: I feel like when I first recorded the episode, we didn't know that it was the final episode, but then when we had to make some changes…

NEWSOME: We're reading it, going like, “Well, this sure sounds like the end.”

WELLS: We had to make changes to some things just to adjust to that.

MCMAHAN: Comedies that end, comedies that have a final episode, that's usually not anybody's favorite episode. On a serious level, on this , we may have broken that. This might be somebody's favorite episode. A lot of people's.

A lot of the episodes are like 25 to 30 minutes?

MCMAHAN: They want them at 22, but because we're on Paramount+, we can rob from some episodes and add to the others and be a little more flexible.

Do you know the running time of the last episode? Is it like 35?

MCMAHAN: We're still working on it. The last I saw—my editor and line producer would kill me—right now, we're, like, eight minutes longer than an episode usually is, which is like an entire other act, basically.

NEWSOME: That's gargantuan at a half hour.

MCMAHAN: It’s really big, and we're not done with it. So, I don't know. We'll see.

I have so many follow-ups to that. Was it hard coming up with the last shot? The last thing?

MCMAHAN: No, that was the easiest part.

NEWSOME: No, at first you didn’t have…

MCMAHAN: The last shot . The very last shot.

NEWSOME: Oh, I'm talking about the last scene . At first, you didn't have that. I remember, I was like, “I can’t believe we're not doing blah, blah, blah. Doing et cetera, et cetera.” And then you did it.

MCMAHAN: We added a couple of things at the very end, and… Oh, man.

WELLS: Our fans are here!

MCMAHAN: The Strange New Worlds gang banging on the window.

NEWSOME: Akiva Goldsman is banging on the window like one of his monsters in I Am Legend .

'Strange New Worlds' and 'Lower Decks' Cast Finally Reunite to Talk About the Crossover Episode

I loved, loved the crossover episode. So let's talk a little bit about that because I don't know if you guys have ever done an interview together.

ETHAN PECK: No, we haven’t.

REBECCA ROMIJN: We barely got to talk about it because of the strikes. We wanted to talk about it from the mountaintops, and we couldn't.

NEWSOME: We just talked to each other about it. We were like, “Pretty cool, right?”

HENRY ALONSO MYERS: Mike and I were on the phone a lot .

Fans loved the episode, I loved the episode. Let's talk a little bit about the planning stages. Was it difficult to do? What was it like for the cast? Let's get into it.

MYERS: We didn't know what we signed up for. We wanted to do something that was a merge. A crossover episode is a classic Star Trek element and we really wanted to do that, and we love their show so much. We thought this would be one that no one would expect. We knew it was also a challenge because we had to animate a huge section of it, and then we knew we were gonna have to work with all of the folks that we could bring over into our world. Honestly, we wanted to get everyone in it. We had time for about two of them to do live-action, but we really wished we could have found a way to absolutely have everyone there.

AKIVA GOLDSMAN: Here's the thing that nobody will tell you: it was really hard . Fundamentally, it seemed like, “Well, they'll just come over.” But it turns out that they're animated, and we're real, and we have different tones in our show. The integration of their tone and our tone was a full-on job.

MCMAHAN: But you know what? Everything I heard from both casts was, “This is the most fun we've had.” It was a synergistic effect. It was hard, but it was getting to have the most fun doing both shows at once that we couldn't have gotten separately, which I thought was really cool.

GOLDSMAN: Real costumes. They like that.

MCMAHAN: No, we have them recording costumes!

NEWSOME: And we got paid more, so that was fun.

WELLS: You got paid more?

GOLDSMAN: That was a secret. That part was quiet.

ROMIJN: It was really fun watching Jack and Tawny make these minute adjustments to fix tonally what was the divide between animation and real. It was really fun watching you guys.

NEWSOME: Thank you. All props also go to Jonathan Frakes for helping guide that so expertly.

ROMIJN: He massaged that a lot.

NEWSOME: I don't mind being told to tone it down when it's Jonathan Frakes. Most people, I’m like, “Mmm, disagree.”

MCMAHAN: Did he ever tell you to?

NEWSOME: No. [Laughs] He did say, “Go harder.” At one point, he said, “Please say the script.” He said, “The writers would really like for you to say the words on the page.”

MYERS: I gotta say there were a bunch of ones that we were like, “We're gonna use this one,” because it was fun and funny. There were things that we didn't expect. The way that Boimler walked? When Jack did that, we were like, “Well, we have to use that shot because he's actually doing the walk,” which he's never gotten to do in real life before, so I think it excited him.

NEWSOME: I've seen him do it. That's just how he walks.

The thing about that crossover episode is it's so nice when everyone loves something, and rather than tearing things down online, it's all like, “Oh, that's great.”

'Strange New Worlds' Season 3 Turns the Crew Vulcan

With Strange New Worlds and the upcoming season, you did a musical episode, which was phenomenal, and you did this crossover episode. What can you tease about the upcoming season?

GOLDSMAN: We’re doing Vulcans.

MYERS: In addition to seeing a lot of people become Vulcans who you wouldn't expect, we get to see other people on the ship behave in ways—some of them who might actually be present today—that you've never seen them do before.

GOLDSMAN: That's mostly Jerry.

I saw the five-minute clip of the cast getting turned into Vulcans and not being able to get back, and it was fantastic. What's interesting for the cast is that you are having to act like a Vulcan and you're not used to doing something like that. What was it like for you having your fellow castmates acting as Vulcans? Are they talking to you about, “How should I do this?”

ETHAN PECK: Well, I didn't appreciate being the half-Vulcan and being ostracized and criticized for that. But they did seek my advice a little bit, the actors. I spoke probably most thoroughly to Celia [Rose Gooding], who plays Uhura. It was really fun to see everyone turn into Vulcans. It was kind of shocking, too. And funnily enough, it made me feel like I belonged more to see more pointed ears. But then, of course, they were very offensive.

MYERS: Weirdly, the hardest part wasn't the performance—performance came very easily to them—it was the hair. The hair was the hardest part, but also to give each of them their own specific feel and look. Yes, they are Vulcans, but that doesn't mean they all act the same.

NEWSOME: Vulcans are not a monolith.

ROMIJN: They all have their own brand of Vulcan. That was pretty surprising and fun to play off of.

Where is that in the season?

MYERS: It's Episode 8.

Is it really? Oh, wow. When you're in the writers’ room, you're coming up with pie-in-the-sky ideas, and then it's about, “How do we get this on the page? How do we get this to be filmed?” Are there certain things in animation that are more expensive than others? And how much does that dictate how much you can do in an episode? With Strange New Worlds , you obviously have a budget for the season. Can you talk about where and when you want to deploy the big resources in an episode, and how much does that impact two other episodes when you go big in Episode 6?

MCMAHAN: Mine is easy because red costs a lot more. If you use red on screen, it costs twice as much. The ink is just really expensive. For us, it's just, “How many voices do we have in the episode? How many minutes do we have?” Every minute is just compounding for us, and every voice, we only have a certain amount of people we can have on the show. So, we use every penny.

WELLS: But the great thing about animation is that you can invent anything and go anywhere, and there is no cap on what your imagination can be.

MCMAHAN: We can put in a lot more aliens, we're not paying for prosthetics, and we can do a lot more ships. We're not building new sets. We're drawing all that stuff.

MYERS: We did spend a bit of time beforehand talking about what were the existing sets from Lower Decks that we could use. I remember having a long conversation with you about, “What angles on the ship already exist? Which ones can we use? If they go in this direction, can we see this? Can we see that?” And then there was a whole thing where the set that we built on the AR wall, which existed both digitally, practically, and also in an animated style, was probably the most interesting one because these are divisions that probably never have to work together and we had to get them all in line. So, that was challenging.

We spent a lot of time beforehand trying to decide where the money's gonna go big and where the money is gonna go small. It's more like we're gonna spend a lot on this episode for TBD reason like we have a creature effect that's really expensive, we have a visual effect that is gonna cost a lot of money because we're gonna be out in space for a while. That's one thing. If we are gonna take that away, we have to give something else, like maybe turn a lot of people into Vulcans, for instance.

O’CONNELL: This is crazy too. Ethan’s body makeup is…

GOLDSMAN: And the CG that we have to do afterwards.

O’CONNELL: I've seen the cost, and it's astronomical.

MYERS: That was all set up for the original deal that he made on the show, and we're not actually allowed to change it.

GOLDSMAN: We're doing it in real-time right now, which is really pricey.

NEWSOME: You look great.

MYERS: You wouldn’t believe the effects that this has.

When you think about the episodes you've done thus far in Strange New Worlds , what scene or sequence do you consider the toughest one to have pulled off?

ROMIJN: Personally, I think the most work I put in was a scene that you and I had in the third season. It's a sequence of scenes that we got to do together.

PECK: Oh, I remember.

O’CONNELL: You guys are being so shady.

ROMIJN: In Episode 8.

PECK: Mine might have been the sequence in which Spock has an anxiety dream and fights himself. I had to play both sides of the fight, obviously. That was pretty complicated.

Obviously, you can read something on the page, and you could be like, “Oh, this is really good.” Sometimes it turns out better than you expected, and sometimes not so much. For all of you guys, what is an episode that you are just so happy with the way it turned out in terms of it being better than you imagined and it’s one of your favorite episodes of Star Trek?

O’CONNELL: The crossover episode that we all did. I don't recall in recent memory anyone else doing that, and the tone was perfect. They really pulled it off. I gotta say, I was extremely doubtful when it was announced.

ROMIJN: When they pitched it, I couldn't understand how they could possibly make it work, and it totally worked. I'm gonna go with the crossover episode, as well.

NEWSOME: I wanna shoot some love your way, Rebecca. The trial episode.

ROMIJN: “Ad Astra per Aspera.”

NEWSOME: When that episode came on, I don't think I read it ahead of time or anything. I think I just heard, “Oh, they're doing a trial episode,” and as a lifelong Trek fan, we've seen a lot of trial episodes, and so I was like, “Sure. This will be good and fine and whatever.” I was really blown away because of the portrayal that you brought to it. Also, it's really hard to do trial episodes in Star Trek that still feel like there's something new to say or to discuss in that way, and I thought you guys really nailed it.

ROMIJN: Thank you. It was a beautifully written episode.

MCMAHAN: I think to some extent, every single episode goes through this process of, “I like this– Oh no, it's a disaster. Wait, an army of talented, amazing, passionate artists are making it better and better and better.” For me, once you get music into an episode, it's such a relief because that's where the heart comes from. You've edited it, and you've lived with all these lines. So, I can't think of a single episode where you don't go through waves of joy and panic and then ultimately are just so relieved that it's good and that you're telling a story and making people laugh, and being in space together. I don't know. It's great. Star Trek's great.

I’ve got good news and bad news. The good news is Strange New Worlds , you’re going to stay with me, but Lower Decks , you need to leave and do another interview.

Your show is one of my favorite things to watch. I love it so much. I'm so excited for Season 3. The thing a lot of people don't realize is that you were originally going to film Season 3, and then the strike happened. How did the scripts for Season 3 possibly change because of the extra time, or were they just locked?

GOLDSMAN: It's not quite as simple as it sounds because we were down, so we didn't actually have a lot of time. We had the time we had, then we stopped. Everything ground to a halt, and then we picked up again six weeks out of production. Really, what was problematic, or at least was unique, is the machine is typically really running six weeks out. When you're just six weeks out, everybody's getting it, and now we were starting all over again in terms of momentum six weeks out. So, it was energetically complicated, creatively annoying, but fundamentally, we made the episodes we planned to make.

One of the things about Season 2 is you really did it—the musical episode, the crossover. You were very ambitious. How ambitious is Season 3 compared to Seasons 1 and 2?

ROMIJN: Surprisingly ambitious. We didn't know how they were gonna push the envelope, and they did! We're really proud of some things in Season 3.

GOLDSMAN: It is amazing what you can do if you get polaroids of your cast and then offer not to put them on the internet. They will do things that are extraordinary.

PECK: Things you won't believe.

What can you tease without spoiling about Season 3?

PECK: The Robocop episode.

GOLDSMAN: The Star Wars crossover.

ROMIJN: The all the all-nude episode.

GOLDSMAN: I love that one.

PECK: The Godzilla episode’s gonna be great.

'Strange New Worlds' Season 3 Picks Up Immediately After Season 2

So Season 3, Episode 1, is there a big time jump from the last episode?

MYERS: No time jump at all. So, just almost an instantaneous pickup.

ROMIJN: Mid-battle.

Jonathan Frakes has said that he directed something in Season 3 that he considers his favorite thing that he's directed. I don't know if he's directed more than one episode.

MYERS: He directed one this season and one last season.

Can you say what episode number he directed?

MYERS: Episode 4.

When he said that out loud and announced that it was his favorite thing he's ever directed, were you like, “Yeah, he's probably right.” Because there must be something to this episode.

MYERS: That is a spectacular episode. I'm delighted with it.

ROMIJN: It was a really special experience. When he wrapped that episode, he and I were on the same flight going home that weekend, so we were at the airport, which was delayed by three hours, so I got to listen to him talk about, for three hours, how it was his favorite hour of television that he's ever directed.

What can you tease?

MYERS: It’s a very unique version of Kirk, one that we have not seen on the show before. All of our actors get to do things that we've never seen them do before.

GOLDSMAN: It's a Hollywood murder mystery. I think he’s said that, and if he hasn't, let us say it officially now. We are, as always, striving to create a different genre within ours, so there's a reason for it. It's not somebody having a dream, although we did once in the room have a thing about a dream and many Unas.

MYERS: That was the Godzilla episode.

GOLDSMAN: So, because of that, our actors get to do things that they haven't gotten to do previously. As you've been asking, and as Rebecca was saying, we do keep trying to push, because we were so delighted ourselves with the musical episode that we kind of were like, “Oh, fuck, what are we gonna do now?”

MYERS: It is like a genuine Star Trek episode. No one who knows and is familiar with Star Trek will say, “Oh, that doesn't feel like a normal episode.” They will be like, “Oh, I get it.” But it will surprise them.

How quickly during shooting are you able to let go and then turn it back on in the morning and how much is a piece staying with you the entire time?

ROMIJN: I'm able to let it go really quickly because I have kids who are there with me sometimes, and I gotta get home and make sure they're okay and make sure they're fed. You gotta be able to turn it off and on. But I think it's different for Ethan.

PECK: Well, I spend probably more hours as this character than I do as Ethan during the season, so I'd be lying if I said I wasn't altered a little bit. I do take a little bit of it home with me, which isn't so bad because he's a great guy, a person of integrity, a half-man of integrity. He's very aspirational and wants to be something pure, and I think that's beautiful. So, I'll take that home.

How much do you want to leave set wearing the uniforms and just go to Starbucks?

PECK: I would love to. All the time.

ROMIJN: I remember one time Melissa Navia’s family, her sister and brother-in-law and their kids came to visit us, and it was also during COVID, so we weren't really allowed to see anybody, but we all stepped outside on the street to go take a picture with them. We were just walking down the street in Mississauga in our uniforms. We were like, “This is weird.” It was awesome, though.

PECK: I would love to just go on a Starfleet field trip.

I personally think some viral stuff when you're filming Season 4 is just for all of you guys to go to the local supermarket in costume and just act like you're on an away mission, and just don’t acknowledge anybody, and let them film it.

MYERS: The problem is they wouldn't have money.

With currency, but in full costume.

GOLDSMAN: Do we own the idea? I'm just checking.

You can have it for free.

MYERS: That's very kind of you. Thank you.

When do you start filming Season 4?

MYERS: We start next year.

'Strange New Worlds' Season 4 Is Already In Development

Already knowing that Season 4 is coming up, are you writing on Season 4 already?

MYERS: We're in the room. We have the cards with the episodes, we know what they are, we know what the 10 episodes are going to be about. The network doesn't yet, but they will soon.

MYERS: We're excited for them to find out.

What is it like when you're in that blue sky in the writers’ room when anything is possible? Do you think about, “We want Episode 8 to go fucking big, so how do we save on these other three?”

MYERS: Yes. That is the conversation we have, but we don't look at it that way. We don't want every giant-budget episode to be back-to-back. We want to separate them because it takes some recovery time. Also, there are other things we can do in the meantime that also require a different kind of work. If there's one that is a romantic episode, we'll have that in one place and then we'll have a comedy and then we'll have a horror movie or a big space battle. We'll try to separate these with some space so that we're not doing everything hard altogether.

GOLDSMAN: Within reason, we start with all the kids being equal. So, we don't actually build with the idea of size as an organizing principle. Because remember, our show is a little different in that we rotate characters. We're an ensemble piece, but our lensing changes. Most typically, you hear it in the captain's log or the first officer's log, so you know who's walking you through the show, right? So fundamentally, in that way, just as we try to keep all the actors getting a shot, all the episodes get the same shot, and then as we lay them out creatively, some sort of go, “Oh, I could be big or small. Oh, I could only be big. Oh, I really need to be small.” Then we sort of move it around like that. But our show is pretty, again, within reason, evenly distributed where there's not a terrible swing between our most expensive episode and our least. They’re all right in the same strike zone.

At the beginning of Season 3, when you're in the writers’ room and you're figuring out the arcs, are you coming up with where Spock is in Episode 1 and where Spock is in Episode 10?

MYERS: Yes.

What can you tease about your character's journey in Season 3, from where it starts to where it goes?

ROMIJN: You get to see a lighter side of Una now that she no longer is hiding behind her shame of the Illyrian side of her character. You get to see a lighter side of Una.

PECK: At the beginning of Season 3, Spock is alive, and then he’s still alive at the end.

MYERS: Spoiler alert.

How much are you thinking in terms of, “We have a five-year plan, we have a seven-year plan,” or how much is it, because of the freedom of this show being able to do so many different things, just episode by episode and season by season?

MYERS: Episode by episode and season by season. We really try to treat everything like, “If this was our last episode, what would it be like?” We want to do the best version of everything. If this was all we got to do, what are the cool things that we will be really upset that we never got to do? We look at every season like that.

GOLDSMAN: And left to our own devices—which really means if Paramount will—we'll keep going into the TOS era, and we know how. That's the hope. But as Henry said, nothing is assured, so we come from a conservative place with great aspirations.

Both Strange New Worlds and Lower Decks are available to stream on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds follows Captain Christopher Pike (played by Anson Mount) and the crew of the starship USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) in the 23rd century as they explore new worlds throughout the galaxy in the decade before Star Trek: The Original Series.

Watch on Paramount+