star trek ship power rankings

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From TOS to Picard: 40 most powerful Star Trek spacecraft, ranked

It's Enterprise vs. Borg cube time. From the Captain Kirk days to Deep Space Nine, Enterprise to Picard, we've ranked all the greatest ships. Resistance is futile!

This is what we call Enterprise reporting ...

Belt up: We've ranked 40 iconic Star Trek ships, probes and shuttles from the (relatively) least powerful to the (overwhelmingly) most powerful. 

Our rankings are based on specs culled from StarTrek.com and Memory Alpha. The crafts have been assessed for their speed, size and ability to assert their will via either weaponry or overall world-destroying power. Craft from both the prime and Kelvin timelines were eligible for consideration, provided they belong to the Star Trek canon, which extends from the original Star Trek TV series to CBS All Access' Star Trek: Picard .

Warp speed ahead for the rankings! 

(Disclosure: CBS is CNET's parent company.)   

40. SS Botany Bay

Viewed on the screen of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) from the prime timeline of Star Trek  the original series, the fun-sized Botany Bay is a pre-warp, 20th-century DY-100 class vessel from Earth. It's most famous for its de-facto captain, the genetically modified strongman Khan Noonien Singh, better known in Captain Kirk-speak as " KHAAAAN! "  

39. Phoenix

The Phoenix may be a primitive ship, but it's über - important. Per the Star Trek canon, and as seen in Star Trek: First Contact , Zefram Cochrane's and Lily Sloane's refashioned nuclear missile is the first Earthling craft to use warp drive -- and achieve  first contact  with an E.T. species, the Vulcans.    

38. Friendship 1

As we learn in a Star Trek: Voyager  episode, this deep-space probe is launched in 2067 -- or, four years after the Phoenix's game-changing flight. It represents Earth's early desires to seek out new worlds and new civilizations. 

37. USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-J)

This 26th-century, Universe-class Federation starship, called a "distant relative" of the Enterprise (NX-01), is glimpsed in the Star Trek: Enterprise  episode, "Azati Prime." 

Owing to its presumed advanced tech, it should vie for a top spot on this list. But it's at the back of the pack because, one, it is only briefly glimpsed, and, two, a time-traveling Captain Jonathan Archer is told the Enterprise-J exists in a possible future timeline.   

36. Galileo (NCC-1701-7)

What this Class F shuttlecraft of the prime-timeline's Enterprise lacks in photon torpedoes, it makes up in significance: It is the focal point of the beloved Star Trek original-series episode, " The Galileo Seven ," the original prop from which was on display at the official visitor center for NASA's Johnson Space Center. 

35. USS Raven (NAR-32450)

The remains of this Federation starship are seen in the Star Trek: Voyager  episode, "The Raven." In better days, the exploration vessel was the home -- and workplace -- of the Borg-studying scientists Magnus and Erin Hansen. Per StarTrek.com, the couple and their young daughter, Annika, the future Seven of Nine , are considered "perhaps the first [humans] to be assimilated" by the Borg.

34. Deep Space Nine

On one hand, Deep Space Nine, the setting for the same-titled TV series, is just an old Cardassian mining station. On the other hand, it's an old Cardassian mining station that, by Season 4 of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , is retrofitted with 5,000 photon torpedoes. Klingons beware.

33. USS Defiant (NX-74205)

Don't let its waffle-iron looks fool you. This Federation ship is tricked out with a Romulan cloaking device, and is built for Borg battles. The Defiant is adept at taking out Jem'Hadar warships, and, from a storyline perspective, opening up Star Trek: Deep Space Nine . It also adds spunk to Star Trek: First Contact .   

32. La Sirena

This is the lone entry from Star Trek: Picard . According to Memory Alpha, this newcomer, captained on the show by Cristóbal Rios, is a Kaplan F17 Speed Freighter, a class of civilian ships equipped with shields, phasers -- and a whole lot of hologram capabilities. 

31. USS Franklin (NX-326)

Like other Freedom-class starships, the Franklin is small, but tough. The 22nd-century craft is equipped with cannons, torpedoes, stealth technology, and, in the Kelvin timeline of  Star Trek: Beyond , seat belts. In the flick, Captain Kirk and crew salvage the rusted-up, long-lost Franklin, and use its warp 4 power to get from the planet Altamid to the Starbase Yorktown.   

30. Enterprise (NX-01)

In much of the Star Trek universe, warp 5 power and a cargo-only transporter bay won't get you far. But in the 22nd century setting of Star Trek: Enterprise , this Starfleet ship, capable of carrying a crew of nearly 100, is a triumph of Zefram Cochrane's theories of space travel.

29. Sh'Raan

The Vulcans may be better known for logic than combat ships, but the pre-Federation years are a salty time, and Spock's forerunners are ready to throw down in this Star Trek: Enterprise -era craft with warp 7 power.

28. USS Shenzhou (NCC-1227)

Introduced in Star Trek: Discovery , the Philippa Georgiou-captained Shenzhou is a Walker-class Federation starship of the 23rd century. It's possessed of cannons, phasers, torpedoes -- and bad luck. Following a mutiny, it's destroyed in 2256's Battle of the Binary Stars. 

27. Sarcophagus

The Sarcophagus is a 23rd-century Klingon ship. It's larger than the Shenzhou, which it encounters in the Star Trek: Discovery  pilot. Its most impressive feature is its most unique feature: Its armor is a patchwork of caskets containing the remains of Kilngon warriors. 

26. Jem'Hadar warship

You can't tell the story of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine  without the Dominion, and you can't tell the story of the Dominion without its military branch, the Jem'Hadar, whose battleships can defy tractor beams and compromise an opponent's shields.

25. USS Prometheus (NCC-71201)

As seen in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , this Nebula-class Federation ship is a floating science experiment. Its lofty goal: to reignite a dead sun. It gets the job done.

24. USS Excelsior (NX-2000)

The vessel that ably serves Captain Hikaru Sulu in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country  is the first Federation craft to feature transwarp drive. It would rank higher here, save for the apparent ease with which Scotty disables its bells and whistles in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock .

23. D7-class battle cruiser

At 748 feet long (228 meters), and with the capacity for a crew of 430, this Klingon ship is the largest of its era. Per StarTrek.com, it is also the "pinnacle of combat warships in the 23rd century." It'd rank higher here, except, well, even cooler stuff came along in the 24th century. 

22. Scimitar

This Reman-made ship from Star Trek: Nemesis   is stocked with enough disruptor banks (52) and photon-torpedo bays (27) to impress, but its real power lies in its ability to convert itself into a thalaron weapon , similar to a nuclear weapon but far more devastating.

21. Vor'Cha-class attack cruiser

A mainstay of the Star Trek universe, this powerful, heavily armed Klingon craft is nearly as long as a Galaxy-class Federation starship, a la the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) of Star Trek: The Next Generation .  

20. USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A)

This Constitution-class starship is essentially a replica of the original, iconic Enterprise. 

First seen blasting off in the prime timeline of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home , the Enterprise-A also appears in the Kelvin timeline of the J.J. Abrams-era Star Trek films. There is no known distinction between the Enterprise-As of the two timelines.  

19. USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-B)

This 23rd-century, Excelsior-class Federation starship is a sleeker version of the Constitution-class Enterprise of the prime timeline. In Star Trek: Generations , Captain Kirk is aboard the Enterprise-B when it's damaged by the Nexus ribbon -- and Kirk is swept away (and presumed dead). 

18. USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), prime timeline

So, sure, the Enterprise of the original Star Trek series (of the original Star Trek timeline, natch) would lose a drag race with, say, the USS Voyager (NCC-74656), but speed isn't everything. The Constitution-class vessel is part warship, part science lab -- and all kinds of iconic. 

17. USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), Kelvin timeline

According to Gizmodo, the Kelvin timeline's Enterprise is more than twice the size of the prime timeline's Enterprise. Storyline-wise, however, the craft is still the product of the 23rd century, so it can't really kick it at more than warp 8.

16. Romulan warbird

In Star Trek: The Next Generation , Captain Jean-Luc Picard and crew, no strangers to swank and size, are in awe of this baby -- and for good reason. Per StarTrek.com, the Romulan warbird is "the largest and most powerful of Romulan spacecraft." 

15. Negh'Var warship

In the 24th century, this Klingon craft is the flagship of its fleet. It runs more than 2,250 massive feet long.

14. USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D)

This 24th-century, Galaxy-class Federation starship is the star of Star Trek: The Next Generation , Captain Jean-Luc Picard's ride is bigger and faster than the Constitution-class Enterprise of the prime timeline. With 250 photon-torpedo bays, it's also better equipped to battle the Borg than its 23rd-century counterpart. 

13. USS Voyager (NCC-74656)

Captain Kathryn Janeway's relatively puny ship from Star Trek: Voyager  gets the edge over the Enterprise iterations we've covered so far, because it's smarter and faster. Powered in part by Borg technology, Voyager can cruise at warp 9.975.

12. USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-E)

This Sovereign-class craft, captained by Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: First Contact , Star Trek: Insurrection  and  Star Trek: Nemesis , was voted the best-engineered Federation ship (prime timeline) in a StarTrek.com fan poll. With quantum torpedoes and the ability to quickly dispatch a Borg cube, it's easy to see why.

11. USS Vengeance

This is a scary-powerful vessel from Star Trek's Kelvin timeline. As related in  " Star Trek: Into Darkness ," the Vengeance was developed off the Federation grid -- and with the help of Khan. The Vengeance is the one-and-only member of the Federation's Dreadnought battleship class.

10. The whale probe

There is no defeating this massive, cylindrical, power-sucking, starship-disabling, ocean-vaporizing threat from Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home . There is only placating it with what it wants to hear: whales.

9. USS Discovery (NCC-1031)

There is nothing else quite like the namesake ship of Star Trek: Discovery . The Federation Crossfield-class starship is distinguished by a propulsion drive that allows it to jump (or, spore jump, if you prefer the technical term) from realm to realm. When last seen in the Season 2 finale, the ship had time-jumped nearly 1,000 years into the future . 

8. Xindi probe

This Xindi-dispatched probe from Star Trek: Enterprise  is a pure beam of destructive force. In a 22nd century attack on Earth, it wipes out more than 7 million people from Florida to Venezuela.

After this 20th century Earth probe melds with the E.T. probe, Tan Ru, it turns into a judgmental little bugger that wipes out at least 4 billion people across four planets. Captain Kirk and company encounter it in the Star Trek  original-series episode, The Changeling . 

6. "The Doomsday Machine"

In " The Doomsday Machine ," the Star Trek  original-series episode from which this nameless alien ship/lifeform sprang, we learn that "that thing" literally eats planets and everything else it finds, fueling itself with the resulting rubble.

5. Krenim temporal weapon ship

The promise -- or, rather, threat -- of this Star Trek: Voyager  craft is awesome: Possessed of timeline-changing power, the ship, we're told in the episode, "Year of Hell," can "erase [an] entire species from time." 

4. Species 8472 bioship

This craft is organic -- heavily armed and fortified organic. In Star Trek: Voyager , a Federation-Borg team-up is the only thing that can stop hundreds of these vessels from destroying pretty much everything they encounter. .

3. The Narada

This time-traveling Romulan mining ship is arguably the most significant ship in the Star Trek universe. 

In the 2009 Star Trek  film, the Narada launches an attack on the USS Kelvin, and prompts Captain Kirk's father, First Officer George Kirk, to take his dying ship on a suicide mission. The resulting collision with the Narada is so massive it creates a whole new timeline -- the Kelvin timeline.

In the new timeline, the devastating Narada destroys the planet Vulcan. 

2. The Borg cube

Such is the dark legend of this inscrutable spacecraft that fans routinely debate which is more powerful: Star Wars' vaunted Death Star ... or Star Trek's Borg cube . 

Before your next debate, consider this: The Death Star just wants to blow you up. The Borg cube, like the Borg itself, can blow you up, but it may just slice you up in bits instead -- the better to steal your technological soul.

1. V'Ger

As seen in Star Trek: The Motion Picture , V'Ger is a force-field cloud of destruction driven by an old Earth probe, Voyager 6.

That it wipes out Klingon Bird-of-Prey ships and a Federation space station without any apparent effort is one impressive thing. That it spans 7.6 billion miles (or 82 astronomical units) in diameter is another. Craft like this are not defeated; they can merely be managed. Hopefully.

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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.

Ship Strength Calculator

Some time ago I began a thread on rec.arts.startrek.tech in which we attempted to rank the various classes of starship against each other. This was intended to come to some sort of consensus on all those arguments about which starships "kick ass", which are "wimpy", how Defiant would fare in battle against one of the Enterprises, and so on. Originally we simply assigned overall strength values to each class, but I have since expanded this to examine ships in each of seven categories :

Beam Weapon Power

Rates the strength of the phaser, disrupter, or other beam weapons carried. The figures for phaser power output are calculated with respect to the Galaxy class so as to make them internally consistent with the strength indexes. The Galaxy class numbers in turn are loosely based on (but are a little more conservative than) the numbers generated from the "Power" section (accessed via the blue button below). A ship gets one point for every 50 TeraWatts of beam power.

Torpedo Power

Rates the strength of the torpedo armament. I have come up with a whole slew of different torpedo tube systems, somewhat based on canon but mostly on speculation. The tubes are rated against each other according to how many torps they can fire per second, like so :

For burst fire systems, the rate is the overall average - so a Type 3 burst fire can fire 10 rounds simultaneously every 5 seconds, giving it am average rate of 2 per second. The reason the Federation has many more torpedo systems than the others is partly a result of the fact that we've seen many, many more Federation classes than we have of any other species, but also a reflection of the fact that the Federation seem to rely on torpedo fire far more than most others do.

The relative strength of torpedoes carried is shown here :

There is a slight canon basis to this; for instance the fact that the quantum torpedo is 2.7 times as powerful as a photon is in line with the DS9 TM's suggestion that Quantums are rated at 50 isotons compared to the photons 18.5 isotons. However, note that the 50 isoton quantum explosion is generated by a 21.8 isoton matter-antimatter "trigger", and depending on the percentage of this energy which is used up in starting the quantum reaction, the Q-torp could have a yield up to about 70 isotons.  Also note that these figures are directly contradicted by at least one episode of Voyager which indicates that the photons carried by that ship have a 200 isoton yield. However, I had to pick some ratio and 2.7 seemed as good as any.

Micro torpedoes are mentioned in the DS9 TM, and are carried by smaller ships like shuttles. I assume that other races have Micro torpedoes, and that all micros are 1/50th the power of normal torpedoes.

Weapon Range / Accuracy

Attempts to rank the ships according to how well they can use the weapons they have. Basically, the rule I followed was bigger and newer ships have the room for better fire control systems than older or smaller ships.

Shield Strength

Is one of those that is ranked just according to how ships seem to fare on screen. Each 2,700 TeraJoules of shield capacity gets one point.

Hull / Armour

One of the most complicated sections! The hull figures are now composed of several different elements - hulls can be different thickness' - light, standard or heavy. They made of Monotanium, Duranium, Duranium/Tritanium alloy, Kelindide, Variethiel or Bioarmour and can be single or double layered. And the effectiveness of the structural integrity field is also taken into account.

Monotanium was mentioned in a Voyager episode and is presumably an earlier variation on what I call the "Numberanium" type metals. I have used it for the TOS-era ships, and it counts for 0.625 points. Duranium is used for the TOS-movie era ships and counts for 1.25 points, while the Duranium/Tritanium alloy is mentioned in the TNG TM for modern ships and gets 6.25 points.

Kelindide is mentioned in the DS9 TM as being one of the major materials in the hull of DS9, and I have used it on all the Cardassian ships. It gets 3.75 points. Variethiel is an invention of my own and is the material the Dominion uses in its ships (hey, I had to call it something!); it gets 6.875 points. Bioarmour is used on 8472 and Breen ships, since these have been mentioned as using living ships, and is worth 18.75 points. Outer and inner hull layers have been mentioned several times in TNG, justifying their inclusion. Basically, double hulls double the strength.

Hull thickness is another multiplier - light hulls divide the strength by 4, standard leave it alone, heavy double it.

Then, there is the level of Structural Integrity Field - low, standard or high. Low SIF multiplies the strength by 2, standard by 8, high by 16.

Extra strength can then be added for either polarised, high density or ablative armour. Polarised armour is mentioned as being used by Enterprise in the new series, High density armour is an invention of mine, and basically covers any armour that isn't polarised or ablative. Ablative armour is, as we all know, used on the Defiant and other modern Fed ships. Points are added per cm of armour - 25 points per cm of polarised, 100 per cm of HD, or 150 per cm of ablative.

All this sounds very complex, but it's essential if you're not going to have modern shuttles with ten times the hull strength of old battleships just because they're newer. I think the system works well, and I'm very proud of it!

Is based on a direct comparison of the maximum rated speed of the class, in multiples of lightpseed. For warp factors up to 9 the formula Speed = Warp factor ^ (10/3) is used; for speeds above 9 the formula detailed on the "Warp Scales" sci-tech entry is used. No account is taken of how long the top speed can be maintained.

Combat Agility

This is another area that has been fairly heavily modified. You would not believe the stuff I've gone through to come up with a system that can allow shuttles very high agility without giving them absurdly high strength - it's something I've been working on for literally a year or more now! In the end, after playing with logs and god knows what else I settled on just taking the cube root of the agility number. This still makes the shuttles more powerful than I would like - instead of a good shuttle weighing in at around 50, I'd prefer it to be 5 or 10.

All of these factors are scaled so that the Galaxy class starship comes out at 1,000 in each category. This makes it easy to compare one class with another in any category - you can tell at a glance that an Akira has about one third of the shield strength but five times the agility of a Galaxy. Note that the categories do NOT relate to each other - if a ship has 1,000 in phasers and 1,000 in torpedoes it does not mean that these two weapons are of equal strength to each other, just that they are both equal to their Galaxy class equivalents.

The categories are then weighted to give an overall strength according to the formula :

Strength = [(2xPhasers + 2xTorps + 0.75xRange/accuracy + 1.5xShields + 0.5xHull + 0.5xspeed)/ 7.25 + Agility (1/3) ] x (1000/1010)

The idea of this is that some factors are obviously more important than others - I know many will disagree with how much more important, but I don't think there really can be any 'right' or 'wrong' about this so I've just how weighted them according to my 'feel' of how important they are. The final (1000/1010) factor is a fudge which brings the strength of the basic Galaxy class down from 1,010 to 1,000. While the distribution of strengths between the various categories is pretty much my own choice, the overall strength indices mostly emerged from the consensus in the debate on RAST.

The idea of the overall strength index is that one vessel of strength 1,000 would be an even match for two vessels of strength 500, or three of strength 333 - and so on. Note that this is not intended to take account of factors such as the luck or skill of the crews involved - hence pulling some fancy technobabble trick with the main deflector to disable your enemy (the kind of thing Janeway used to do to defeat the Borg every year) does not count towards your strength index.

This list applies to the Trek universe in 2375, i.e. around the end of the Dominion war. I have generally assumed that ships which pre-date this time have received upgrades to their major systems to bring them broadly up to date. Hence, although we have been seeing the Miranda class since the USS Reliant in Star Trek II, I assume that the Mirandas we see in modern Trek have DS9-era shields, weapons and sensors. Typically I rate such vessels as being slightly behind modern ships of equivalent size and purpose, since there is presumably a limit to how much you can do with upgrades. I have also assumed that there has been a fleet-wide program to modify the shields of Starfleet vessels in order to make them effective against the Dominions weaponry.

Lastly, the numbers of ships. Starfleets size is a big bone of contention - not so long ago some claimed that there could be less than a hundred capital ships in the fleet, but recent DS9 eps have shown this as a nonsense. For discussion of the size of Starfleet, see my Articles section. The numbers of specific classes are loosely - very loosely - based on the frequency we see those classes at during the show. Non-federation powers are ranked so that their fleets come out with roughly the sort of strength that I feel they have relative to the Federation.

I know this is all terribly arbitrary, but it's been fun - and frustrating - to do, and I think overall it holds up moderately well. Naturally, I'm sure you'll disagree but hey, it would be dull if we had nothing to argue about!

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.

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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.

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Federation starship classes

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The following is a list of starship classes operated by the Federation .

Background information

Because of the strong connotations with the real world United States Navy, Star Trek: The Original Series Producers Gene Roddenberry and Robert H. Justman (a World War II navy veteran himself) had imbued Starfleet with ( The Making of Star Trek , p. 112, et al. ; These Are the Voyages: TOS Season One , 1st ed, pp. 28-29; see also in this respect: Aircraft carrier ), it came hardly as a surprise that the US Navy ship class naming convention was also followed for the vessels of Starfleet. This convention has it that a class is named after the first, or lead, vessel authorized by US Congress, which is not necessarily the one first laid down, launched, completed or commissioned (formally taken into service), and after which the British Royal Navy for example name their ship classes. While not canon , it can serve as a potential real-world rationale why there are Constitution -class vessels with lower registry numbers than the lead vessel USS Constitution . Nonetheless, in his influential " The Case of Jonathan Doe Starship " article, then fan and future Star Trek alumnus, Greg Jein , had postulated an alternative theory for the discrepancy, albeit equally non-canon.

Additionally, while it is highly unlikely that all alien races follow the same naming convention as Starfleet does – even on present-day real-world Earth, the US Navy convention is far from being universal – there is a real-world counterpart for this as well. The defense organization NATO uses a variant of the US/British class naming convention for ship types of their adversaries, particularly those of the former Soviet Union, who themselves classified their vessels according to project number, such as – where a Star Trek related example is concerned – their Project 705 / Alfa -class submarines .

• Earth starship classes
• Unnamed Federation starships

External links

• Star Trek Ships: Expanded - UFP: Starfleet and Prehistory at The STArchive
• Ship class at Wikipedia
• 1 Daniels (Crewman)
• 3 Jamaharon

Star Trek Ranks & Podcast

From @enterprisenxtra.

Episode Ranks

There are many reasons why I love Enterprise. And sure at the top of that list is probably the fact that I was lucky enough to appear in an episode. But despite some idiotic fan criticism about the ship being too advanced and canon being violated, I truly love the fact that from a production standpoint it achieved the impossible. 

Production designer Herman Zimmerman and crew created a ship that very closely aligned with the original series that aired 35 years prior. If you just think about it for two seconds, Kirk's Enterprise looks and feel way more advanced than Archer 's. (There are a few nitwits out there that can't see this, but that's their loss.)  But i digress. 

So what’s the number one Enterprise episode? Maybe In a Mirror, Darkly and its visit to the Mirror Universe? Or an alternate reality gem like Twilight or E2 ? Maybe an episode from one of the epic Season 4 trilogies featuring the Augments or Vulcans or Romulan/Andorians?

Check out the final rankings below.

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Theory by Flatfingers

Design commentaries on computer games... mostly.

Sunday, July 15, 2007

Comparative rankings of starships in star trek.

Primary sources: Memory Alpha Ex Astris Scientia (general info) Ex Astris Scientia (ship lengths) Star Trek vs Star Wars.net: Volumetrics

Other sources: Daystrom Institute Technical Library Star Trek: A Call To Duty Trekmania: The Fleet

Federation : "Individual lives have value." Ships are balanced offensively/defensively and have large power plants and redundant systems. Klingon : "Glorious battle assures immortality." Ships are strong offensively and are highly maneuverable, but at the expense of defenses and support systems. Romulan : "Subterfuge cloaked in mystery sheathed in deception." Ships are well-powered with good support systems, but speed and firepower suffer, requiring ships to be larger (more massive) to carry more weapons. Borg : "Identical cogs in a perfect machine." Ships are fast, strong and survivable (through regeneration), but become too big to be maneuverable. They are also dependent on centralized command and control. Cardassian : "Winning is everything." Ships mount a lot of offense, but require a lot of bulky power systems to do the job, reducing maneuverability and space for other systems. Ferengi : "There's no profit in dying." Ships are fast, maneuverable, and have good active defenses. They're somewhat underpowered offensively when alone, but they can be dangerous in numbers. Jem'Hadar : "My life for the Founders." Balanced offense and defense like Federation ships, but virtually no support systems. Species 8472 : "Enough pure energy can solve any problem." Species 8472 ships are essentially maulers: single-weapon ships where all systems exist to support the weapon. Breen : "#%$& $*&#@ #@^&." Not much is known of Breen design philosophy, but it seems to emphasize energy/power systems. So Breen ships tend to have good support systems to power their energy weapons. Gorn : "I'm tougher than you are." Their ships would have basic offense and support systems, and they'd be painfully slow, but they'd be so massively armored that taking one down would be a real challenge. (Note: There are no Gorn ships in canon Star Trek... but there should be. ) )

This is fantastic. I'm thrilled you took the time to rank these out. I've wondered how well the Defiant could--theoretically--replace the firepower of a Galaxy Class starship in the face of the Dominion threat, and you've provided an invaluable and plausible foundation for continued analysis. Well done!

Star Trek Ship Names Ordered by Class – From TOS to Picard

By: Author Brad Burnie

Posted on Published: September 23, 2021  - Last updated: November 9, 2022

Share the Universe!

For those who consider themselves as die-hard fans of the popular sci-fi Star Trek universe, you may already know that Star Trek’s 24 th century has some astounding array of Starfleet ships that we can stare at with admiration. Star Trek has had strong starships designs since the very beginning. Let’s dig a bit deeper to know more.

The history of Star Trek dates back to 1966-1967 with The Original Series Season 1. All this began when a writer and former Air Force pilot, Gene Roddenberry , wanted to make a science fiction TV show that featured characters that show humanity at its best.

Since then, there has been no looking back as Star Trek has become one of the most popular sci-fi television shows of all time. While it has been entertaining its audience for decades and is globally known for its genre of science fiction, it’s also known for it’s the great space battles with different alien species.

Over the years, the show came up with dozens of iconic starship designs, many of which are even known to people who don’t follow Star Trek. The idea behind the creation of these ships was to represent the diversity of various races, cultures, and factions. So, whether it’s the TOS ( The Original Series ), Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) , Deep Space Nine (DS9), Voyager, or Picard , the show has always lived up to the expectation of producing some vast fleets that demonstrated the abilities at their best.

If you have to rank these astonishing ships, what do you think? Which are the most powerful ships of all? Not sure about the answer? No problem, here we are, revealing a list of 30 most powerful Star Trek ship names today.

From TOS to Picard, we’ve covered and presented some of the powerful Star Trek ships . Their rankings are based on specifications, including speed, size, and power. So, are you ready and excited to know their names? Let’s begin!

See awesome great details in this book Ships of the Line on amazon.

List of Powerful Star Trek Ship Names Revealed

30. ss botany bay.

Built in the late 20 th century by the United States of America, this DY-100-class sleeper ship played a great role in helping Khan Noonien Singh and his group to escape Earth after being defeated at Eugenics Wars . You can explore the nuclear power of this ship and know more about it by watching the prime timeline of Star Trek – TOS.

29. Phoenix

Phoenix, an Earth spaceship, was constructed during the mid-21 st century. The interesting fact about this ship is that it used to be a nuclear missile. Yes, Lily Sloane and Zefram Cochrane later converted this missile into a prototype spaceship. Isn’t it amazing? That’s not it; it is also known to be the first human-made spacecraft launched from Earth to travel faster than the speed of light by using warp-drive technology.

28. Friendship 1

You will come across this Star Trek ship name in a Star Trek: Voyager episode. Launched in 2067 by the United Earth Space Probe Agency, four years after the Phoenix’s game-changing flight, this deep space probe came to find other species. The Friendship 1 ship’s exquisite feature is that it contained a lot of scientific, technological, and cultural information that helped to seek out new worlds and new civilizations.

27. USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-J)

You can get a glimpse of this starship in the “Azati Prime” – The Star Trek: Enterprise episode. It bags one of the top spots in the list as it boasts some of the advanced technologies. However, it is not that popular due to two reasons – one, it just has a brief glimpse, and second, a time-traveling Captain said that the Enterprise-J exists in a possible future timeline.

26. Galileo (NCC-1701-7)

Assigned to the USS Enterprise in the 2260s, Galileo was a Class F shuttlecraft and bore the name of the great astronomer and mathematician of all time. They first used a telescope – Galileo Galilei. However, this craft was lost near Taurus II in 2267, at the time of the Murasaki Effect investigation. It was then replaced with the same numbered craft that was dubbed as the ‘Galileo II.’

25. USS Raven (NAR-32450)

This Federation exploration vessel was the home and the workplace of Magnus and Erin Hansen, the Borg-studying scientists. Check out its remains in the Star Trek: Voyager episode, “The Raven.”

24. Deep Space Nine

While this isn’t technically a ship, its a space station, we though it was important to include. There are two sides to this. On one side, it is simply an old Cardassian mining station for the same-titled TV series. While on the other hand, the same mining station is modified and reconstructed into a battle station with 5,000 photon torpedoes in Deep Space Nine – Season 4 of Star Trek.

23. USS Defiant (NX-74205)

Built for Borg battles, this amazing Federation craft was armed with a cloaking device that was lent from the Romulan Star Empire. It is known to be one of the successful warships that you can see for yourself in Star Trek: Deep Space Nin e as well as Star Trek: First Contact . Also know for it’s “mining” capabilities in games.

22. La Sirena

Memory Alpha states that this newcomer Star Trek ship is a Kaplan F17 Speed Freighter, a class of civilian ships equipped with phasers and shields but a whole lot of hologram capacities. Not to forget, it is the only entry from Star Trek: Picard.

21. USS Franklin (NX-326)

This ship is small, but at the same time, tough, just like other Freedom-class starships. You can see this 22 nd -century ship in the Kelvin timeline of Star Trek: Beyond, seat belts. It is equipped with stealth technology, cannons, and torpedoes, and its warp four power was used to get to the Starbase Yorktown from the planet, Altamid .

20. Enterprise (NX-01)

In the 22nd century of Star Trek: Enterprise , you can see how this starship has the potential to carry a huge crew of almost 100 people. It is remembered as a victory of Zefram Cochrane’s theories of space travel.

19. Sh’Raan

Even though the Vulcans are known better than combat ships for logic, the pre-Federation years have seen Spock’s forerunners ready to throw down in Sh’Raan – the Star Trek: Enterprise -era starship that was capable of Warp 7 power.

18. USS Shenzhou (NCC-1227)

This Walker-class Federation USS starship was introduced in the 23 rd century, and you can see it in Star Trek: Discovery. It had everything, including phasers, cannons, and torpedoes, but unfortunately, it got smashed in the Battle of the Binary Stars that occurred in 2256.

17. Sarcophagus

Bigger than the Shenzhou, Klingon starship of the 23rd-century can be witnessed in the Star Trek: Discovery pilot. One interesting feature of the Sarcophagus is that its armor contains the remains of Klingon warriors in the form of a patchwork of caskets.

16. Jem’Hadar Warship

Simply put, it’s all interconnected when we talk about this warship. The story of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is incomplete without the Dominion, and the story of Dominion is incomplete without the Jem’Hadar warship, i.e., its military division.

15. USS Prometheus (NCC-71201)

This Nebula-class Federation USS starship is in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine . It was introduced as a floating science trial. It not only gets the job done but is also famous for its magnificent goal of reigniting a dead sun.

14. USS Excelsior (NX-2000)

It is featured in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country as the first Federation starship having trans-warp drive. This 23rd-century ship was operated by Starfleet and served Captain Hikaru Sulu , who commanded the Excelsior from 2290 to at least 2320.

13. D7-class Battle Cruiser

This Klingon starship is considered the largest of its era as it was 748 feet long and had 430 crew members. Although many other cooler introductions came along in the 24 th century, this starship still holds a higher rank. It is also termed as ‘ the pinnacle of combat warships in the 23rd century ’ as per StarTrek.com.

12. Scimitar

This Reman-made ship boasts about a lot of things. Featuring in Star Trek: Nemesis , it is loaded with photon-torpedo bays and disruptor banks. Additionally, Scimitar can convert itself into a Thalaron weapon. It is similar to a nuclear weapon but has far more destructive attributes than the latter.

11. Vor’Cha-class Attack Cruiser

This was yet another heavily armed Klingon starship used during the middle and later part of the 24 th century. It was almost as long as a Galaxy-class Federation craft and was similarly used as the backbone of the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance fleet in the mirror universe.

10. USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A)

Have you seen the original iconic Enterprise? USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A) is a Constitution-class starship that is essentially a replica of it. It was first featured in the prime timeline of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home . Additionally, it also appears in the Kelvin timeline of the J.J. Abrams-era Star Trek films.

9. USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-B)

USS Enterprise-B is a polished version of the prime timeline’s Constitution-class Enterprise. This Excelsior-class Federation starship was introduced in the 23rd century and can be seen in Star Trek Generations .

8. USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), Prime Timeline

The USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) was a 23rd century Federation Constitution-class starship launched in 2258. Officially Federation was a flagship, this starship was operated by Starfleet. Unfortunately, it was destroyed during the planet Altamid battle in 2263.  

7. USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), Kelvin Timeline

This starship was introduced in the 23rd century, so it has the potential of more than warp 8. In fact, it became the first Federation starship to start a five-year mission under the command of Captain James T. Kirk . It is said to be more than double the size of the Prime Timeline’s Enterprise.

6. Romulan Warbird

Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew were awestruck by this Romulan Warbird for obvious reasons in Star Trek: The Next Generation . According to StarTrek.com, it is considered to be the largest and the most powerful Romulan spacecraft.

5. Negh’Var Warship

Negh’Var Warship was the largest class of starship, running more than 2,250 massive feet long. This powerful starship was operated as the emperor’s flagship in the Klingon Empire during the late 24 th century.

4. USS Vengeance

Designed and developed by Khan Noonien Singh and Section 31, Star Trek: Into Darkness reveals how scary this 23rd-century starship is. From Star Trek’s Kelvin timeline, this ship was specifically created for combat and was commissioned in 2259. It has very assassin type feel.

3. The Whale Probe

You cannot stop boasting about the exquisite features of this starship – the Whale Probe. Featured in the Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home , defeating it is out of the question as it is a massive, power-sucking, starship-disabling, and ocean-vaporizing craft that visited Earth in 2286 to contact members of the humpback whale species.

2. Xindi Probe

We can define this starship as a pure beam of destructive force. Seen in Star Trek: Enterprise, this Xindi Probe not only attacked Earth in the 22nd century but also successfully killed more than 7 million people from Florida to Venezuela leaving complete destruction in it’s wake.

Nomad starship was designed by Dr. Jackson Roykirk and served in the first part of the 21st century. It was created with two goals: to create a ship that could function as an accurate thinking machine while using logic and find new lifeforms in interstellar space. This powerful starship had the potential to clear out at least 4 billion people from four different planets. You can see how Captain Kirk and his team face it in the Star Trek TOS episode, The Changeling.

Wrapping It Up

See awesome great details in this book Ships of the Line on amazon . There are more powerful Star Trek ships in addition to this list. The Doomsday Machine, the Krenim Temporal Weapon Ship , the Species 8472 bioship , the Narada , the Borg Cube , and V’Ger are undoubtedly powerful Star Trek ships featured in different timelines. The high-tech development and their powerful specifications have made them the most powerful ships of the Star Trek era.

Brad Burnie is the founder of Starships.com. He loves all video game genres. In his spare time, he loves reading, watching movies, and gaming

Star Trek Ranks, Explained

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Starting with the original series, Star Trek has adopted a quasi-military series of ranks and protocols for its characters. Starfleet is ostensibly a peaceful organization dedicated to exploration and diplomacy, but things can get dangerous on the final frontier. A functioning chain of command is necessary in the event of trouble to ensure that everyone operates at peak efficiency.

It's a bit of a paradox, since Starfleet officers also tend to be rugged individualists, but it makes a good deal of sense and over time has become an indispensable part of the franchise. A given character's rank speaks volumes about their comparative age, their position onboard, and their relationship with the other members of the crew. As with most things Star Trek, rank insignia has evolved over time. Here's a breakdown of Starfleet's ranking system in descending order from the lowliest cadets to the most powerful admirals.

Updated January 18, 2024 by Robert Vaux: Star Trek's ranking system is very stable at this point, and very little tends to change. The article has been updated to include a brief list of prominent members of each rank, along with the series and seasons they held it. It has also been updated to conform to current CBR guidelines.

9 Cadets Are Officers in Training at Starfleet Academy

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Star Trek: Voyager's Tuvix actor Tom Wright shares his opinion on whether Janeway made the right decision about his character's fate.

Cadets are typically students at Starfleet Academy , spending time onboard a starship as part of their training. They hold no rank and must obey the orders of any crewmen. They're often issued temporary badges or communicators and usually have a supervisory officer to watch over them. Cadets in the 23rd century wear badges with a distinctive black backing. Cadets in the 24th century wear distinctive uniforms denoting their status.

In Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, the Enterprise is used as a training vessel, with the crew consisting almost entirely of cadets. Wesley Crusher formally joins Starfleet Academy starting in Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 4, Episode 9, "Final Mission," and spends most of his subsequent appearances at that rank. Similarly, Nyota Uhura joins the Enterprise as a cadet in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, as does Sylvia Tilly in Star Trek: Discovery.

8 Enlisted Personnel/NCO Are Starfleet's Worker Bees

While officers attend Starfleet Academy, the rank-and-file personnel attend the 24th-century equivalent of boot camp. They become the anonymous crew working in the background, performing the countless tiny tasks required to keep a starship running. Their ranks include both enlisted crewmen and petty officers (the equivalent of sergeants) who often play supervisory roles. They typically lack any insignia on their uniforms, though chief petty officers in the Next Generation era sometimes have a black pip or similar marking.

Enlisted personnel often serve as The Original Series ' infamous red shirts : doomed to die in the name of plot exposition. The Next Generation introduces perhaps Starfleet's best-known enlisted man. Miles O'Brien runs the transporters on the Enterprise-D, and later becomes Chief of Operations on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine .

7 Ensigns Hold The Lowest Rank

Every star trek series, ranked.

Some Star Trek shows are better received than others, but they all boldly push the franchise forward in some way.

Ensigns are the lowest-ranking officers on Starfleet vessels. Cadets typically receive the rank of ensign immediately upon graduation from Starfleet Academy. While they technically have command authority, they're usually assigned menial tasks beneath the attention of the senior officers. Like NCOs, they lack insignia on their uniforms in The Original Series era. With The Next Generation and later series, ensigns receive a single gold pip on their collar. They're often lumped into the red shirt category.

Harry Kim is probably the franchise's most famous (or infamous) ensign, failing to receive a single promotion through Star Trek: Voyager's seven seasons , despite serving with distinction on the bridge. The Original Series' Pavel Chekov also begins his Starfleet career as an ensign, though he advances at a faster rate. Of course, the four main characters in Star Trek: Lower Decks are ensigns, though they all receive a promotion to lieutenant, junior grade at the beginning of Season 4.

6 Lieutenant, Junior Grade Have More Responsibility Than Ensigns

The next step up the ladder is lieutenant, junior grade. These are officers with more authority and responsibility than ensigns, but who still require seasoning before taking higher command positions. Medical personnel typically receive the lieutenant, junior grade rank after graduating, which reflects their extended training time. The Original Series uses a single dashed bar on the uniform sleeves to denote them, though Strange New Worlds has retconned that with a connected colored bar. T he Next Generation and later series note the rank with a second black pip in addition to the ensign's colored pip.

Both Julian Bashir and Ezri Dax hold the rank of lieutenant, junior grade when they begin their duties on Deep Space 9, though Ezri receives hers as a field promotion in Season 7, Episode 3, "Afterimage." Geordi La Forge starts as a lieutenant, junior grade too, as does Mr. Worf. B'Elanna Torres receives the rank on a provisional basis when she joins the crew of the Voyager, and the Lower Decks crew are all promoted to lieutenant, junior grade in Season 4, Episode 1, "Twovix."

5 Lieutenants Lead the Away Teams and More

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When J.J. Abrams helped reboot Star Trek in 2009, elements of the film seemed borrowed from The Academy Years, a discarded Original Series era movie.

Lieutenants have advanced to the point where they can take on considerable responsibilities. They may lead away teams or control key systems, and they often appear among the bridge crew or even as department heads. The Original Series notes them with a single bar on the uniform sleeve, while Strange New Worlds adds a second thinner bar above the lieutenant, junior grade's insignia. The Next Generation uses two colored pips on the collar — a method emulated by subsequent series.

Worf spends most of The Next Generation's later seasons as a lieutenant (he's promoted to lieutenant commander during the events of Star Trek Generations ) while Ro Laren is promoted to lieutenant shortly before her defection to the Maquis in The Next Generation Season 7, Episode 24, "Preemptive Strike." Lieutenants often occupy the helm position, including Hikaru Sulu in The Original Series, Keyla Detmer in Star Trek: Discovery , and Erica Ortegas in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds .

4 Lieutenant Commanders Head up Departments

Lieutenant commanders hold positions of senior responsibility onboard a starship, even serving as executive officers or de facto captains on small ships. One larger ships, they often serve as the head of specific departments such as science and engineering. In The Original Series , the rank is designated with two stripes on the sleeve — one thick, one dashed — which Strange New Worlds adjusts to two thick colored bands. The Next Generation and subsequent shows note lieutenant commanders with two colored pips and one black one.

Montgomery Scott holds the rank of lieutenant commander in The Original Series , acting as Chief Engineer and even commanding the Enterprise when Kirk and Spock are away on missions. Similarly, Geordi La Forge rises to the rank of lieutenant commander in The Next Generation , joining Data and Deanna Troi at the position, though the latter eventually advances to commander. Worf and Jadzia Dax are both lieutenant commanders when they begin their romance on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine . Lastly, the original Number One — Una Chin-Riley on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds — is a lieutenant commander.

3 Commanders Aid and Can Take Over the Captain's Dutires

After star trek: discovery, the 32nd century should be the franchise's new frontier.

Star Trek Discovery avoided a host of potential continuity issues by leaping 900 years into the future. The franchise as a whole should follow suit.

Commanders are usually the ship's executive officers, "Number Ones," who assist the captain in their duties and step up in the event the captain is incapacitated. Commanders are often viewed as captains in training, and ultimately destined for a ship of their own in the future. In some cases, commanders are the head authority on smaller ships or space stations. Chief medical officers often hold this position as well. They're delineated by two thick bands on their sleeves in The Original Series era and three colored pips on the collar in The Next Generation and later.

Mr. Spock holds the rank of commander during the events of The Original Series , serving double duty as chief science officer as well. He's been followed by the likes of William Riker on The Next Generation and Seven of Nine on Star Trek: Picard . In addition, Beverly Crusher and Leonard McCoy both hold the rank of commander, while Deanna Tori is promoted to commander in Season 7, Episode 16, "Thine Own Self." Ben Sisko also begins his tenure on Deep Space 9 as a commander before being promoted to full captain at the end of Season 3.

2 Captains Command Starfleet's Various Starships

The captain serves as the commander of a starship, with the entire crew ranked beneath them. This affords them a great deal of autonomy, but also equal amounts of responsibility. Starships must often face dangers alone in the far depths of space. It falls to the captain to make the final call when lives are at stake. Occasionally, captains can be found in other duties, such as commanding a star base or holds an administrative position on Earth. Captains are delineated by three stripes on their sleeves in the Original Series era — two thick, one dashed — which Strange New Worlds slightly alters to a single thin band sandwiched between two thicker ones. The Next Generation era uses four full pips on the collar.

Most Star Trek series use a captain as the main character, starting with James T. Kirk in The Original Series . Their ranks include Jean-Luc Picard, Kathryn Janeway, Christopher Pike, and Carol Freeman. In addition, many lower-ranking characters eventually attain the captain's chair, such as Will Riker, Tuvok, and Mr. Spock. Both Ben Sisko and Michael Burnham become captain after several seasons of climbing the ranks, a change from most Star Trek series which tend to begin with their captains in place.

1 Admirals Possess The Greatest Rank and Come to Represent Starfleet Itself

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Admirals are Starfleet's major movers and shakers, placed in charge of entire fleets or overseeing vital operations. As flag officers, they no longer serve onboard starships, though they can claim command of one if circumstances dictate. James T. Kirk takes control of the Enterprise as an Admiral in both Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , while both Kathryn Janeway in Star Trek: Prodigy and Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: Picard are the authority on their respective vessels.

In addition to giving successful captains a cushy desk job, Star Trek often uses admirals as stand-ins for Starfleet itself: either aiding the crew in their endeavors or standing in their way when they go against protocol. They're delineated by a wide variety of methods, and hold varying ranks within the admiralty, such as Vice Admiral and Commodore, that shift from project to project.

The Star Trek universe encompasses multiple series, each offering a unique lens through which to experience the wonders and perils of space travel. Join Captain Kirk and his crew on the Original Series' voyages of discovery, encounter the utopian vision of the Federation in The Next Generation, or delve into the darker corners of galactic politics in Deep Space Nine. No matter your preference, there's a Star Trek adventure waiting to ignite your imagination.

Star Trek: Every Starfleet Starship Class Ranked Worst To Best

There have been so many out there, but which of Starfleet's finest ranks as the best of the best?

Throughout the history of Star Trek, one of the most exciting things to see has been the various designs of the ships that are used in the various fleets. From the smallest scout ships to the largest colony transports, watching these beauties fly through space has been a high point of Star Trek's history, time and time again.

While not every design has been as kindly received as others, very few of them are without merit. This list is targeting Starfleet only, as there are many additional Federation ships that will populate another list - and Section 31 will most definitely be receiving its own list as, in one episode alone, they displayed a small fleet of their own.

These ships will sort the Excelsiors from the Grissoms, the Enterprises from the Voyagers, and rank each of them based on aesthetics, usefulness and how memorable they actually were on screen. While many of these ships will have seen combat from time to time, not all of them have distinguished themselves as such. The ships of Wolf 359 displayed that Starfleet did not always keep the bigger picture in view.

With sixty five entries, this one may take a pot of coffee but sit back, relax and enjoy the starship porn as every class of ship in Starfleet is ranked from worst to best.

67. Kobiashi Maru

This vessel featured in the no-win scenario that Starfleet cadets had to undergo in order to test their ability to handle this kind of pressure. It was designed by John Eaves and Alex Jaegar, based on original blueprints for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and the novel The Kobiashi Maru.

Alex Jaeger stated that the look of the Kobiashi Maru for Star Trek was based on their initial ideas for the Excelsior - the variant of the Armstrong type ship. It was to have been effectively the same ship, though retrofitted for cargo passage.

As the ship has only ever been seen in a situation where it requires aid - that does not suggest that it is the strongest vessel in the fleet!

Writer. Reader. Host. I'm Seán, I live in Ireland and I'm the poster child for dangerous obsessions with Star Trek. Check me out on Twitter @seanferrick

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Which Star Trek Captain Has the Best Managerial Technique?

It’s impossible to be objective when selecting your favorite Star Trek captain. It requires making a call wrapped up in sentiment and timing. Which captain did you first encounter? Which one best reflected back to you the person you wanted to be? It’s easier to try to attempt a clear-eyed consideration of which one would be the best boss. Sure, there are captains sure to take you on wild adventures, but would you enjoy the ride if your life depended on their decision-making? On the flip side, there are captains that could get the job done without really inspiring that much enthusiasm, the Starfleet equivalent of a decent boss who clearly spends the back half of every shift with an eye on the clock.

It’s a worthwhile thought exercise, and one at the heart of Star Trek: Discovery , which focuses not on a captain but Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green), a science officer struggling to work her way back from a snap judgment that ended with her in disgrace. Burnham has so far served under several captains, and the series has depicted the effect this has had on both her and the officers around her. (And, thus, has more entries below than any other version of Trek .) We considered the captains featured in various film and TV branches of the Star Trek universe, including Star Trek: Lower Decks ’ animated captain, and tried to rank them based on who would provide the best work experience — and who would be most likely to bring you back home in one piece.

12. Captain Philippa Georgiou, Mirror Universe (Michelle Yeoh)

Seen in: star trek: discovery.

Managerial style: Imperious and unforgiving, though that description is complicated by the fact that being imperious and unforgiving is baked into her main mirror universe job as emperor of the Terran Empire. (Or, more accurately, her job as Imperial Majesty, Mother of the Fatherland, Overlord of Vulcan, Dominos of Qo’noS, Regina Andor, Philippa Goergiou Augustus Iaponius Centarius.) There, she fought for and won the top spot in a kill-or-be-killed system in which might makes right, and deception and backstabbing are the norm; to that end, she expects those working under her to understand the rules of the game. In other words, she’s awful. But, on the other hand, she really seems to enjoy being awful, not to mention the fringe benefits of having clawed her way to the top (fine food, sex slaves, etc.). Those who can get on her murderous wavelength might also have a good time — for as long as it lasts.

Key career moment: When the always adaptive Emperor Georgiou made her way from the mirror universe to the prime Star Trek universe she used the opportunity to save the day after getting thrown into a battle between the Federation and the Klingons. But this wasn’t a simple heel-face turn; as always, it was more a matter of calculation than altruism. The move won her freedom from those who knew her true origins and earned her a spot in the Federation’s super-secretive deep-state operation Section 31. What could possibly go wrong?

Would she be a good boss? Put simply, working for this Philippa Georgiou, at least in the mirror universe that made her, would mean constantly fearing for your life as part of a pitiless, fascist organization hell-bent on conquering the universe with little regard for its employees’ quality of life. (Actually, when it’s all spelled out like that, it sounds like a pretty easy transition from corporate America.)

11. Captain Gabriel Lorca (Jason Isaacs)

Managerial style: In a word, cryptic. After she’s accepted aboard the Discovery following her mutinous turn against her mentor Captain Georgiou (the prime universe one, not the evil dictator; more below), Michael Burnham spends much of Discovery ’s first season trying to figure out what’s up with her new captain, a man fond of fortune cookies and averse to bright lights and chairs. Pro: Lorca took a chance on her when no one else would. Con: He also seems kind of evil. That likelihood aside — and it’s eventually revealed that, spoiler ahead, he made his way to the prime universe from the mirror universe after somehow taking the original Lorca’s place — he commanded the Discovery with curiosity, a sure hand, and an apparent sense of fairness. Shame about all the murder and scheming.

Key career moment: The season one episode “Into the Forest I Go” captures every side of Captain Lorca as he bravely goes into battle against Klingons, questionably decides to risk the health of a crew member (and with him, the whole crew) to win the battle, then takes everyone into the mirror universe to further his scheme of galactic conquest. It’s quite a journey, and one that reveals his true self at the end.

Would he be a good boss? No, but serving under Lorca would never be boring.

10. Captain Christopher Pike (Jeffrey Hunter)

Seen in: star trek: the original series.

Managerial style: Glum as hell. Some behind-the-scenes info: Jeffrey Hunter’s Captain Pike was supposed to be the protagonist of the original Star Trek series. NBC passed, but gave Gene Roddenberry the unusual opportunity to make a second pilot, this one featuring the now-familiar classic series cast (with only Leonard Nimoy’s Mr. Spock sticking around). But Roddenberry wasn’t done with Pike or the original pilot. It became central to the two-part episode “The Menagerie,” which recounts Pike and the Enterprise ’s adventures on Talos IV, home to the Talosians and their reality-bending psychic powers. Hunter’s a fine actor, but it’s not hard to see why NBC was reluctant to green-light a series focusing on Pike, who’s introduced complaining about the burden of command. “You bet I’m tired,” he tells the ship’s doctor. “Tired of being responsible for 203 lives. Tired of deciding which mission is too risky and which isn’t and who’s going on the landing party and who doesn’t. And who lives … and who dies.” He sounds ready to boldly curl up in a fetal position.

Key career moment: The signature moment for this incarnation of Pike comes at the end of the episode when, having been burned and disfigured beyond recognition, he’s allowed to return to Talos IV and live out his days in the unreal paradise he rejected years before, even though he already seemed pretty much over reality as we know it from the start.

Would he be a good boss? Spock and the others seem to respect him, so perhaps his doubts don’t interfere with his ability to command, even if working under him seems like it would make for a pretty weary trudge through the cosmos.

9. Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula)

Seen in: star trek: enterprise.

Managerial style: Archer’s chill, which is both his greatest strength as a leader and occasionally his greatest weakness. A former Boy Scout, lifelong water-polo enthusiast, and caring dog owner, Archer sometimes seems like he’s happy enough to be exploring the stars but might be even happier if he was just hanging out and shooting the breeze with some pals. This might be more impression than reality; Star Trek lore has him going on to become a decorated admiral and to be regarded as one of the greatest explorers in the early days of Starfleet and he certainly does a lot of exploring during the show’s four-season run. But Scott Bakula rarely plays him as a man who has greatness in his future. Archer usually seems a little annoyed that the Enterprise ’s adventures have cut into his downtime. He’s not as melancholy as Jeffrey Hunter’s Captain Pike, but he occasionally seems just as checked out. Nonetheless, he was always good in a crisis, and could be a surprisingly shrewd diplomatic. It just always seemed to take a major event to stir his interest.

Key career moment: In the second-season episode “A Night in Sickbay,” Archer hangs out with his ailing dog Porthos when he should be tending to his diplomatic duties. It borders on dereliction of duty, even if it is pretty endearing. It’s also a pretty good encapsulation of how Archer’s mind works.

Would he be a good boss? Sure. Probably. Why not? He’d be okay enough.

8. Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine)

Seen in: star trek , star trek into darkness , star trek beyond.

Managerial style: If you like predictability, order, rules, regulations, and military precision, the last place you’d want to be is the Kelvin Universe Enterprise under the command of James T. Kirk. Chris Pine’s just-getting-started Kirk is young, impetuous, and brilliant — but mostly young and impetuous. It’s smart work, playing like the Kirk we know from the original Star Trek run before any of the rough edges had gotten sanded off. Pine’s Kirk is a lot of fun to watch, but it also seems like serving under him would be terrifying most of the time.

Key career moment: Forced to choose between rescuing an alien race and violating the Prime Directive in the opening scenes of Star Trek Into Darkness , Kirk barely seems to consider it a choice at all. It’s just the first of many times he breaks the rules over the course of the film (plus its predecessor and successor). Sure, it all works out (even if Kirk does briefly wind up dead later in the movie), but it could have gone horribly wrong. This Kirk commands from the gut, occasionally while listening to Beastie Boys. He’s cool and fun, but…

Would he be a good boss? … Do you really want to work for a Starfleet captain best described as “cool” and “fun” while exploring the furthest reaches of a dangerous universe?

7. Captain Carol Freeman (Dawnn Lewis)

Seen in: star trek: lower decks.

Managerial style: Directness defines Captain Freeman’s command style. She knows exactly what she wants and she’s not afraid to ask for it, sometimes forcefully. She’s no-nonsense but not in a power trip–y way. She just wants things to run smoothly even if experience has taught her that it never does. (Or, at least it never does onboard the second-tier U.S.S. Cerritos , the California class starship she commands.)

Key career moment: Commanding a ship on which her gifted-but-rebellious daughter, Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome), is serving as an ensign has been a continual challenge for Captain Freeman, forcing her to balance her duties as captain against her concerns as a mother. She’s mostly opted to model good behavior for her daughter by following the rules of Starfleet. In Lower Decks ’ third-season premiere, Mariner and her pals take desperate, and illegal, measures to clear Captain Freeman of a crime she’s been wrongly accused of. Ultimately, the system works, making Mariner’s misadventures unnecessary. Mother/Starfleet knows best.

Would she be a good boss? Probably. She’s terse but fair and clearly knows what she’s doing. But as the head of a ship prone to animated high jinks, it’s tough to judge Captain Freeman against other Star Trek captains. Her informed, steady-handed command doesn’t always work in her favor when dealing with some of the cartoonish absurdity the Cerritos keeps encountering. On the other hand, nothing truly terrible ever happens to those under her command, so serving on the Cerritos would likely be one of Starfleet’s safer assignments.

6. Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner)

Seen in: star trek: the original series , star trek: the motion picture, star trek: generations.

Managerial style: You’re probably better off working for the slightly older Kirk played by William Shatner in Original Series and its accompanying film series. (Okay, he’s significantly older in the film series.) This Kirk hasn’t lost the spirit evident in the younger Kirk, only it’s now tempered — at least a bit — by experience. Working for this Kirk isn’t without dangers of its own, particularly if you’re wearing a red uniform. He’s perfectly willing to send an away team into danger. Just as often, however, he’s the one leading the team, and it’s hard to underestimate the esprit de corps created by a leader willing to put himself in harm’s way mission after mission. Prepare to work hard, and maybe die, but feel like you’re part of a mission that could change the universe for the better.

Key career moment: Prepare also to listen to speeches. Kirk is a man of action and a man of romance, but above all, he’s a man of ideals who’s willing to go to great lengths to protect those ideals. But first, he’ll try to persuade his opponents with words. In “The Omega Glory,” for instance, Shatner’s Kirk lectures the primitive residents of a planet whose development paralleled Earth until it took a wrong turn on the glories of the U.S. Constitution, and he does it one emphatic syllable at a time: “We. The People …” Etc.

Would he be a good boss? Chances are you’d love working for Kirk up to the moment he got you killed.

5. Captain Philippa Georgiou, Prime Universe (Michelle Yeoh)

Managerial style: Collegial but firm, the prime universe Georgiou might rank even higher on this list if we had a large sample of what she was like as a captain. In the early episodes of Discovery she appears to be competent, respected, quick on her feet and close to her crew, especially Michael Burnham.

Key career moment: But not apparently close enough to stop Burnham from committing a mutinous act that she deems necessary to prevent a war with the Klingons. Whether this is a failure on Georgiou’s part — a missed chance to take a key suggestion from a subordinate — or overzealousness on Burnham’s remains a question left open by Georgiou’s subsequent death.

Would she be a good boss? It seems like she would, especially since her death continues to haunt Burnham throughout the series. On the other hand, maybe listen to your trusted shipmate when she says she knows what she’s talking about?

4. Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks)

Seen in: star trek: deep space nine.

Managerial style: Firm, fair, and perpetually distracted. Burned out on Starfleet life after losing his wife in the Battle of Wolf 359, Sisko only reluctantly takes command of Deep Space Nine, a space station located close to a galactic hot spot near a wormhole and, until shortly before he assumed command, ruled by the Cardassians. But Sisko soon finds himself drawn into the leadership of the station and the politics of the region when the spiritual leader of nearby Bajor names him the Emissary of the Prophets. It’s all a lot to balance, even before new adversaries start to show up from the Gamma Quadrant — and on top of it all, Sisko has to serve as a single father to a teenage son. Maybe that’s why he sometimes seems so overworked. He’s a fine, inspiring leader, but he also has a lot on his plate, running a space station while also acting as the first line of defense against enemies known and unknown — and maybe serving as messiah to a whole race of people. Many Deep Space Nine stories require Sisko to be reactive rather than proactive, whether dealing with a tavern keeper running a black market under his nose or the outbreak of a full-scale war. Strong and competent, Sisko could handle anything, but the series made him handle an awful lot.

Key career moment: Deep Space Nine introduced shades of moral grayness to Star Trek only suggested by its predecessors, never more than in the course of the protracted Dominion War arc, a dangerous conflict in which Sisko sometimes had to cheat and bend the truth for the greater good. Brooks’s performance always suggested that Sisko did a lot of soul-searching before making any decision, but once made he never looked back, the mark of a strong leader if ever there was one.

Would he be a good boss? Chances are that, apart from the occasional curt acknowledgment, you might only talk to him once or twice as he moved from one crisis to another. Still, you’d end up respecting the hell out of Sisko.

3. Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart)

Seen in: star trek: the next generation, star trek: generations, star trek: nemesis, star trek: picard.

Managerial style: Picard manages like a benevolent but firm god. Speaking in an authoritative voice (the accent helps), his every directive sounds as if handed down from above. But there’s a difference between having the trappings of authority and having the record to back it up, and from his first outing on the Enterprise — in which the decision to separate the starship’s saucer section showed just how many lives were depending on him making the right choices — he makes it clear how seriously he took his job and how seriously he expects others to take theirs.

Key career moment: In some respects, the definitive Picard moment can be found in Star Trek: The Next Generation ’s final episode, “All Good Things …” in which Picard, for the first time, joined his senior staff for their regular poker game, with an expression of regret that he’d never gotten around to it before. Except in rare moments, Picard always holds himself at a distance as captain, even if Stewart’s performance always emphasizes the complex, passionate human beneath the commanding exterior. He stays remote by design and it worked, but that choice isn’t without consequences.

Would he be a good boss? Picard would be an awe-inspiring boss in every sense. You’d learn a lot working with him, even if you never felt like you truly knew him.

2. Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount)

Seen in: star trek: discovery, star trek: strange new worlds.

Managerial style: In sharp contrast to Hunter’s Pike, Anson Mount plays Christopher Pike as a man who’s just happy to be out among the stars with shipmates he considers to be more like friends than co-workers. Where on Discovery, Pike was reminiscent of a cool camp counselor who just wants everyone to have a good time — as long as they follow the rules and listen to his orders — Strange New Worlds has layers of soulfulness and empathy only glimpsed before. (Maybe learning you’re headed to a horrific fate does that?) In moments of crisis, Pike comes off as unshaken but commanding, and willing to use force against his enemies when necessary. He’s easygoing until circumstances force him to be otherwise. Then he’s not. He carries himself around his crew with authority while still radiating concern. This is a self-assured, modern captain who cooks an amazing gumbo and doesn’t worry that his subordinates will lose respect if they see him wearing an apron.

Key career moment: In Strange New Worlds ’ first-season finale, Pike believes he’s found a workaround to avoid the accident in which he’ll sacrifice his well-being to save others. Then Pike is visited by an older version of himself who confirms that, yes, he can escape maiming before taking the captain on an It’s a Wonderful Life –like tour of the future created by his attempt to escape his fate. It’s not pretty and it means others will suffer in his place. So, of course, he resigns himself to his destiny without telling anyone. Always the greater good with this guy.

Would he be a good boss? Working for Pike seems like a dream, honestly. He seems like the kind of boss who’d teach you new skills and then suggest unwinding with a game of ping-pong that he wouldn’t try all that hard to win (though he totally could if he wanted to). Two seasons into Strange New Worlds, and the series keeps revealing new layers of competence and compassion. Call him No. 2 with a bullet (or a phaser blast, if that makes more sense).

1. Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew)

Seen in: star trek: voyager.

Managerial style: Democratic, at least up to a point. Forced to navigate an unexplored quadrant of the galaxy while commanding a crew made up of enemies forced to work together in an attempt to find their way home, Janeway has the highest level of difficulty of any of the captains on this list. She rises to the occasion by hearing out all points of view, reconciling opposing stances when possible, working toward compromise, then ultimately making an informed decision after listening to her crew. Stuck in an impossible situation, she stays coolheaded and thoughtful no matter how trying the circumstances become.

Key career moment: The biggest challenge faced by Janeway and the Voyager crew comes not in the form of hostile races or dwindling supplies — though those don’t help — but from the many moments that invite them to abandon their principles. In the second season’s “Alliances,” Janeway seeks a way to sidestep conflict with the Kazon (sort of the Gamma Quadrant’s dollar-store version of the Klingons). She considers first an alliance with a Kazon faction, then teaming up with the Trabe, a seemingly much more civilized race. Then, despite the wishes of a faction of her officers, she ultimately rejects both choices when she learns the Kazon can’t be trusted and that the Trabe are just as bad in their own way. It might mean taking longer to get back home, or maybe never getting home at all, but she remains determined that her crew hang on to their best selves no matter what.

Would she be a good boss? Yes. Janeway would be the sort of boss you might have to complain about behind her back, but she’s also the sort of boss you’d end up naming your first child after.

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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.

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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.

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Starship (Power and Subsystems)

• VisualEditor
• View history
• 2.1 Weapons
• 2.2 Shields
• 2.3 Engines
• 2.4.1 Abilities affected
• 3 Efficiency and performance skills
• 4.1 Console
• 5 Full impulse
• 6 Regeneration and EPS
• 7 References

Overview [ | ]

In the game subsystems for a starship are split into four sections: Weapons , Engines , Shields and Auxiliary . These subsystems share an overall basic amount of 200 subsystem power that all starships have, and increasing the power level of one subsystem will reduce it in another. Players are able to use presets to quickly reconfigure the ships power levels to focus on specific areas or balance power between more than one subsystem, even whilst in combat.

The highest a player can manually set any of their subsystems is 100. The lowest a player can set these systems is 15. The exception to this rule is running at Full Impulse which will lower all systems except engines to 5.

Subsystems, power and abilities [ | ]

Weapons [ | ].

The Weapons subsystem affects the potency of your starship's energy weapons. Increasing or decreasing power into this subsystem will have either a positive or negative effect on the damage modifier of the energy weapon. This subsystem does not affect Torpedo Launchers or Mine Launchers .

If a player has 100 power in this subsystem it will allow each of your ships energy weapons to cause 100% of their innate damage. It then scales with the following formula:

Equivalently:

Thus, every additional point of power applied to this subsystem will increase overall damage of each weapon by 0.5%; an increase of 10 points will increase the multiplier by 5%, and so forth. Likewise, every point below 100 will lower damage by the same amount.

The weapons subsystem power level is normally capped at 125 power. This cap can be increased by certain items and abilities, such as Enhanced Induction Coils and EPS Power Transfer . Any extra power in this subsystem beyond this cap will not increase damage, but it does act as a power loss buffer. A few examples:

While NPCs' energy weapons are affected by increased and decreased power levels, including hangar pets , NPC energy weapons do not actually drain weapon power upon use; only player weapon fire drains weapon power. [1]

Shields [ | ]

The Shields subsystem controls how effective your Ship Shields are at regenerating, as well as how much damage is negated by your shields. It does not affect how much shield strength your shield facings have.

• Shield Regeneration: For every point of power in the shield subsystem, your shields will regenerate 2% of the regeneration rate stated on your shield array tooltip. Thus, 50 power into this system represents 100% of this shield regeneration value. See the Shield Regeneration skill for more ways to increase this value.
• Shield Hardness: For every point of power in the shield subsystem, your shields will negate 0.2% of the damage they take. Thus, 50 power into this system represents 10% damage negation. See the Shield Hardness skill for more ways to increase this value.

Engines [ | ]

Power into the Engines subsystem will modify your starship's speed. Having 50 power in this subsystem will allow the ship to move at its base speed. Every extra point of power applied to this subsystem adds an additional 2% speed. As an example, running 100 power into engines will increase your base speed by 100%. For every point of power below 50, your base speed will be reduced by 2%. Increasing your starship's speed will also increase your starship's defense rating.

Additional power to engines does not affect warp travel; it is strictly impulse engine power.

If your starship is kept in reverse for more than 10 seconds, it will incur a Reverse Power Drain debuff, adding another stack each subsequent second, up to 25 stacks. Each stack will reduce all power levels by 1, for a maximum of -25 in each power system, -100 power total. Reverse Power Drain can be prevented with the Non-Linear Progression trait, but cannot be reduced by your Drain Expertise skill or other sources of Power Drain resistance. Once you are no longer in reverse (even if stopped), all stacks are removed immediately, and your power levels will be restored pursuant to your Power Transfer Rate .

Auxiliary [ | ]

The Auxiliary subsystem affects Science bridge officer abilities as well as your starship's cloak stealth and cloak detection (also known as Starship Perception ) and if applicable, the potency of your cloaking system in space combat . Each point of Auxiliary Subsystem Power has the following effect:

• Each point increases your Starship Stealth by 1.
• Each point provides a 1% Recharge Time Reduction for hangar pets .
• Each point above 50 will increase the potency of Science abilities by 2%.
• Each point below 50 will decrease the potency of Science abilities by 0.6%.
• Each point above 50 will increase your starship's base Stealth Detection Rating by 2% (4% with the Starship Perception skill unlock).
• Each point below 50 will decrease your starship's base Stealth Detection Rating by 2%.

In addition, Engineering abilities that use the Auxiliary subsystem, such as Auxiliary to Structural, are affected by the power level in the Auxiliary subsystem.

Abilities affected [ | ]

Efficiency and performance skills [ | ]

Performance skills give a direct increase to the ship subsystem power levels. While the mathematical calculations for performance skills are not known, they provide additional power for every rank of the skill e.g. having Defensive Subsystem Tuning and [Shield Subsystem Performance] would yield +8 more power to the Shields subsystem.

Efficiency works by increasing your subsystems power based on how much power is already in that subsystem. If a player has the efficiency skill for engines and decided the run the engines at a flat 25 power, the efficiency trait and skills would boost this. Efficiency provides a much larger bonus to power when the subsystem is run at a low power level. See the following table:

This table, which uses the engine subsystem as an example, demonstrates the effectiveness of Warp Core Efficiency, Offensive Subsystem Tuning, and the Engine Performance skills at various power levels.

Power customization [ | ]

Console [ | ].

Players are able to cycle between four power presets by pressing the Right button on the D-Pad:

• 100 Weapons, 50 Shields, 25 Engines, 25 Auxiliary
• 50 Weapons, 100 Shields, 25 Engines, 25 Auxiliary
• 50 Weapons, 25 shields, 100 Engines, 25 Auxiliary
• 50 Weapons, 25 Shields, 25 Engines, 100 Auxiliary

Players are able to manually alter these presets if they wish using the power section of the GUI (graphical user interface) and switching the view mode to "3". In this view mode, players can move the sliders up and down to change power levels. The additional green bar present at the top of the some of the subsystems is the bonus power granted to that subsystem through the Efficient trait , performance skills and efficiency skills.

To lock a preset so it cannot be moved when changing other subsystems power, click the small lock button at the top of the bar. To save the preset, click the save button, and to restore defaults click the restore button.

Full impulse [ | ]

When a player enters into full impulse mode (default key: Shift + R), their starship automatically routes all available power to its engines and drastically reduces power to the rest of its subsystems.

• Engines: 100
• Auxiliary: 5

Full Impulse also applies a bonus modifier to speed, and running engines at 100% power without full impulse active will still be slower than if the player was at full impulse. The speed at which the power is rerouted, and therefore the time it takes to reach the maximum speed attainable at full impulse, is affected by EPS, which is explained below in the Regeneration and EPS section of the article.

It is highly recommended that players do not use full impulse to enter combat due to how drastically it reduces Weapons and Shields subsystems. If a player enters combat at full impulse, they will only be causing 10% of their energy weapons' base damage (excluding Mine and Torpedo Launchers) and will have little or no shield regeneration or hardness.

Until power is rerouted, the player's damage caused at 10% of their original value will be negligible and all enemy ships' shields and hull will be able to out-repair the damage caused by the player. There is a small delay before subsystem power is rerouted back to the original values the player had them set to before entering full impulse. This delay does not appear to be affected by EPS consoles.

This effect can be negated by the Simplified Plumbing skill in the Miracle Worker specialization tree .

Regeneration and EPS [ | ]

This only affects power being transferred from one subsystem to another, and will not recharge weapon power lost to weapon drain faster than normal.

References [ | ]

• ↑ CrypticSpartan comments on Weekly Questions Megathread - November 11, 2019
• 2 Playable starship
• 3 Phoenix Prize Pack

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20 best episodes of star trek in tv history, ranked.

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Every Soong Character Brent Spiner Plays In Star Trek

Star trek guest star had 1 big problem with cardassian role on ds9, a ds9 classic sisko episode owes a weird debt to batman.

• The best Star Trek episodes balance social messaging with entertaining genres like comedy, horror, and romance.
• "Far Beyond the Stars" reflects on Star Trek's power to change societal attitudes about racial equality.
• "Darmok" is a profound story about communication and cultural connection.

With hundreds of episodes across 11 different TV shows, it's a tall order to pick just 20 of the best Star Trek episodes of all time. For almost 60 years, the Star Trek franchise has held a mirror to contemporary society with powerful stories that challenge audiences to do better. While that approach can sometimes run the risk of being too worthy, the best episodes of every Star Trek TV show strike a perfect balance between social messaging and populist entertainment.

Indeed, the Star Trek franchise's secret weapon is that the format enables writers to tell stories from a variety of genres, which is one of many reasons why Gene Roddenberry's vision endures to this day. The best episodes of Star Trek can be mini-movies, outlandish comedies, horror stories, or doomed romances. Across all these disparate genres, Star Trek 's best episodes are defined by a hopeful vision for the future, and a message of peace, love, and understanding between alien cultures.

The Complete Star Trek Timeline Explained

From James T. Kirk to Jean-Luc Picard, from Kathryn Janeway to Michael Burnham, we're breaking down the full chronological timeline of Star Trek.

20 "Species Ten-C"

Star trek: discovery, season 4, episode 12.

Star Trek: Discovery often struggled to live up to its potential, but "Species Ten-C" is one of its finest hours . Star Trek is at its best when it's about the lead characters trying to form a connection with strange new life. This is particularly apparent in "Species Ten-C" in which the USS Discovery go beyond the Galactic Barrier to negotiate with the enigmatic aliens behind the Dark Matter Anomaly. Heavily riffing on Denis Villeneuve's 2016 movie Arrival , the scenes where Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) try to piece together the mystery of Species Ten-C are compuslive viewing.

Star Trek: Discovery

*Availability in US

Not available

Star Trek: Discovery is an entry in the legendary Sci-Fi franchise, set ten years before the original Star Trek series events. The show centers around Commander Michael Burnham, assigned to the USS Discovery, where the crew attempts to prevent a Klingon war while traveling through the vast reaches of space.

Star Trek: Discovery was never tired of telling people to " connect " with each other, but it has actual meaning in "Species Ten-C". It's only by finding a common language that the USS Discovery crew can avert a catastrophe. As an hour of TV, "Species Ten-C" is the perfect distillation of Discovery 's strengths, and adds one of the strangest ever alien creations to the Star Trek canon.

19 "Year of Hell"

Star trek: voyager, season 4, episodes 8 & 9.

"Year of Hell" puts the crew of the USS Voyager through the wringer in ways that the franchise had never done before . Pitted against the tyrannical temporal scientist Anorax (one of Kurtwood Smith's four Star Trek roles ), Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and the crew of Voyager are pushed to the very brink. The time travel elements of "Year of Hell" mean that audiences know none of the damage done to characters like Lt. Tuvok (Tim Russ) will be permanent, but the strength of the performances means that the anguish still feels real.

Star Trek: Voyager

The fifth entry in the Star Trek franchise, Star Trek: Voyager, is a sci-fi series that sees the crew of the USS Voyager on a long journey back to their home after finding themselves stranded at the far ends of the Milky Way Galaxy. Led by Captain Kathryn Janeway, the series follows the crew as they embark through truly uncharted areas of space, with new species, friends, foes, and mysteries to solve as they wrestle with the politics of a crew in a situation they've never faced before. 

"Year of Hell" is a grueling Star Trek: Voyager movie that gets to answer the question of what happens when our heroes lose. With such a high death toll, and impossibly high stakes for the entire space-time continuum, it's one of the more ambitious of Voyager 's two-parters. It's not the sort of thing that fans want from a Star Trek show every week, but for a two-part epic, it really works and gives the Voyager cast a chance to flex their acting muscles.

18 "Those Old Scientists"

Star trek: strange new worlds, season 2, episode 7.

At its core, "Those Old Scientists" is a joyous celebration of what it means to be a Star Trek fan . Transporting Ensigns Boimler (Jack Quaid) and Mariner (Tawny Newsome) to the 23rd century version of the starship Enterprise allows Star Trek: Strange New Worlds to explore the idea of fandom and legacy. In the wrong hands, Boimler and Mariner's hero worship of Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) and his crew would be grating, but writers Bill Wolkoff and Kathryn Lyn never lose sight of how that impacts the Strange New Worlds characters.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

A spin-off of Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is a television series that takes place before the events of the original series and follows Captain Christopher Pike as he mans the helm of the U.S.S. Enterprise. The show focuses on this previous crew of the Enterprise as they explore the galaxy with returning characters from Discovery.

"Those Old Scientists" is a warm and funny treatise on what it means to meet one's heroes. One of the best scenes in the episode is the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds characters' recognizing their own heroes, a joyous way to honor the legacy of previous Starfleet legends. "Those Old Scientists" is warm, funny, and has a touching story to tell about legacy and the pressures of living up to the expectations of others. It's also packed full of jokes that reward multiple rewatches, making it an instant classic.

17 "The Trouble With Tribbles"

Star trek: the original series, season 2, episode 15.

Occasionally, and generally to its detriment, Star Trek forgets that it's allowed to be funny. There's a long tradition of the Star Trek comedy episode that begins with David Gerrold's "The Trouble With Tribbles" back in 1967. The classic Star Trek: The Original Series episode finds Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) dealing with a grain crisis. While that sounds painfully dull, Gerrold's script introduces the Tribbles, cute fluffy aliens that breed incessantly. So embedded in the cultural zeitgeist is "The Trouble with Tribbles" that it surely inspired the plot of Joe Dante's Gremlins .

Star Trek: The Original Series

Star Trek: The Original Series follows the exploits of the crew of the USS Enterprise. On a five-year mission to explore uncharted space, Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) must trust his crew - Spock (Leonard Nimoy), Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy (Forest DeKelley), Montgomery "Scotty" Scott (James Doohan), Uhura (Nichelle Nichols), Chekov (Walter Koenig) and Sulu (George Takei) - with his life. Facing previously undiscovered life forms and civilizations and representing humanity among the stars on behalf of Starfleet and the United Federation of Planets, the Enterprise regularly comes up against impossible odds and diplomatic dilemmas.

"The Trouble With Tribbles" doesn't have the thematic heft or dramatic stakes of other classic Star Trek episodes, but its cultural impact transcends all of that. David Gerrold's classic comedy is one of a handful of Star Trek episodes that has entered the popular imagination , breaking through into wider cultural conversations. Almost everyone knows what a Tribble is, even if they couldn't point to Sherman's planet on a star chart.

Star Trek: Discovery Explains Season 5’s Tribble Is Not A Threat

A Tribble was sighted aboard the USS Discovery, which should be alarming, but Star Trek: Discovery season 5 explains this Tribble is no trouble.

16 "Lower Decks"

Star trek: the next generation, season 7, episode 15.

"Lower Decks" is one of the standout episodes in Star Trek: The Next Generation 's final season . As well as inspiring Mike McMahan's Star Trek: Lower Decks , the episode also provides a new perspective on TNG 's cast of characters , courtesy of the USS Enterprise-D's lower deckers. Centering on a group of lowly ensigns, "Lower Decks" reveals the harsh realities of what it means to be a Starfleet officer. By allowing an audience to get to know Ensign Sito Jaxa (Shannon Fill) before she is brutally killed by the Cardassians, TNG puts the old redshirt trope to bed once and for all.

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Star Trek: The Next Generation is the third installment in the sci-fi franchise and follows the adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew members of the USS Enterprise. Set around one hundred years after the original series, Picard and his crew travel through the galaxy in largely self-contained episodes exploring the crew dynamics and their own political discourse. The series also had several overarching plots that would develop over the course of the isolated episodes, with four films released in tandem with the series to further some of these story elements.

The lack of the series regulars in "Lower Decks" may put people off, but in reducing their presence, the episode gets to provide an outsider's perspective . Audiences love Commander William T. Riker (Jonathan Frakes) but to the officers that serve under him, he can sometimes be a cruel taskmaster. Lt. Worf (Michael Dorn) may be a stoic Klingon warrior, but his mentorship of Ensign Sito allows him to show his vulnerable side. The final scene where Worf lets his guard down and shares a drink with the Lower Deckers is profoundly moving. It's the perfect way to keep the characters fresh in TNG 's home stretch.

15 "Scorpion"

Star trek: voyager, season 3, episode 26 & season 4, episode 1.

There are a lot better Star Trek episodes that deal with the difficult decisions faced by a Starfleet captain than "Scorpion". However, Star Trek: Voyager 's season 3 finale is the closest the show ever got to recapturing the thrill of watching Star Trek: The Next Generation 's "The Best of Both Worlds" . "Scorpion" is a hugely important two-parter in the development of Voyager , as it introduces the groundbreaking Species 8472 villains and debuted Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine. While Seven would endure far longer than Species 8472, they were still a landmark Star Trek creation.

"Scorpion" is a great Star Trek episode because it reveals that the franchise's heroes are fallible and capable of making mistakes . Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) makes a deal with the Borg Collective, because she understandably believes that Species 8472 pose a huge threat to the galaxy. The rug pull that Species 8472 were simply defending themselves is devastating and defines Janeway's mission going forward, as she seeks to atone for her mistake by ultimately bringing the Borg Collective to their knees.

9 Versions Of The Borg In Star Trek

So many versions of the Borg Collective exist in Star Trek, from TNG's original cybernetic villains to Voyager's offshoots and Picard's revivals.

14 "The Last Generation"

Star trek: picard, season 3, episode 10.

Star Trek: Picard 's finale was the final Star Trek: The Next Generation movie that the cast deserved, a fitting send-off that brought their characters' stories to a satisfying conclusion. "The Last Generation" is bigger than any Star Trek finale before or since ; an apocalyptic battle for survival that ultimately boils down to a father's love for his son. While Admiral Janeway weakened the Borg in the Star Trek: Voyager finale, it's only right that Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) gets to finish the job, resolving his decades-old trauma in the process.

Star Trek: Picard

After starring in Star Trek: The Next Generation for seven seasons and various other Star Trek projects, Patrick Stewart is back as Jean-Luc Picard. Star Trek: Picard focuses on a retired Picard who is living on his family vineyard as he struggles to cope with the death of Data and the destruction of Romulus. But before too long, Picard is pulled back into the action. The series also brings back fan-favorite characters from the Star Trek franchise, such as Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton), Worf (Michael Dorn), and William Riker (Jonathan Frakes).

"The Last Generation" is everything fans could want from a final Star Trek: The Next Generation movie . There's the strong familial bond between Picard and his crew, thrilling action sequences such as the Enterprise's flight through an exploding Borg Cube, bags of humor and wit, and a handover to the Next Generation 's next generation. The only reason that Star Trek: Picard 's finale isn't higher on the list is that, as the conclusion of a ten-part story, it lacks the standalone appeal of other classic Star Trek episodes.

13 "Living Witness"

Star trek: voyager, season 4, episode 23.

"Living Witness" is an inventive episode of Star Trek: Voyager that brilliantly questions the role of Starfleet in the Delta Quadrant . Awakening in a museum in the far-future, the Doctor (Robert Picardo) is horrified to discover that the history of Voyager doesn't reflect his own experiences. "Living Witness" is an incredibly smart Star Trek episode about how unreliable narrators shape our understanding of history. Although "Living Witness" is a star vehicle for Robert Picardo, the rest of the Star Trek: Voyager cast also get their chances to shine.

"Living Witness" was the only episode of Star Trek: Voyager to be directed by Tuvok actor Tim Russ.

Star Trek: Voyager could sometimes take itself too seriously, so it's refreshing to see the cast let their hair down and play exaggerated versions of their characters. The comedy inherent in these exaggerations helps to emphasize the inaccuracies created by a lack of rigorous historical research. "Living Witness" is a classic Star Trek episode that uses a brilliant sci-fi concept - the futuristic museum - to discuss a huge philosophical point about understanding the past.

Star Trek: Voyager’s 15 Best Doctor Episodes

Star Trek: Voyager's holographic Doctor was one of the series' most popular characters, with a cadre of stellar episodes focusing on him.

12 "The Devil in the Dark"

Star trek: the original series, season 1, episode 25.

Nothing quite sums up the core ethos of Gene Roddenberry's vision like Star Trek: The Original Series season 1, episode 25, "The Devil in the Dark." An episode about the importance of not judging other species by appearances, "The Devil in the Dark" is remarkable for making an audience care about a pile of rocks. It's testament to the power of Leonard Nimoy's performance as Spock that the scene where he mind melds with the Horta doesn't feel remotely ridiculous .

"The Devil in the Dark" has the dubious honor of being the only Star Trek episode that has no female speaking parts, something that Gene Roddenberry noted in a letter to writer Gene Coon after he reviewed the episode.

"The Devil in the Dark" establishes many elements that would go on to become Star Trek tropes in the decades that followed. From setting the framework for Star Trek episodes set in caves to the central idea of seeing beyond appearances to discover the emotional truth of apparent foes, "The Devil in the Dark" cements much of the franchise's core ethos. It's also a tremendous showcase for William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and DeForest Kelley as Kirk, Spock, and McCoy.

11 "The Measure Of A Man"

Star trek: the next generation, season 2, episode 9.

After a bumpy first season, "The Measure of a Man" is when Star Trek: The Next Generation starts to come into its own. An early showcase of Brent Spiner's abilities as an actor, "The Measure of a Man" puts the focus on Data, as he's forced to fight for his individuality. A hugely influential episode, Data's fight for his rights would later be echoed in the struggle of Star Trek: Voyager 's Doctor and Seven of Nine's battle to be accepted by Starfleet. Tackling huge themes like individuality, and what it means to be human, "The Measure of a Man" is a classic Star Trek morality play .

Writer Melinda Snodgrass was an attorney, and she used her experiences in the legal profession to write "The Measure of a Man".

Fighting Starfleet's desire to study Data's android body in more detail is Captain Picard, which gives Patrick Stewart an incredible opportunity. The courtroom setting is perfect for Stewart's background on the stage, and he appears to relish the opportunity to deliver big speeches about humanity. The central performances and philosophical questions are just two of many reasons that "The Measure of a Man" continues to be so influential on Star Trek .

Besides playing Data and all of his siblings in Star Trek, Brent Spiner portrayed the android's creator as well as various other Soongs in history.

10 "Balance of Terror"

Star trek: the original series, season 1, episode 14.

Another hugely influential Star Trek episode is "Balance of Terror", which had a considerable bearing on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 1. One of Captain Kirk's best episodes , "Balance of Terror" depicts a Starfleet vessel facing off against a Romulan Bird-of-Prey for the first time in a century. While "Balance of Terror" rightly gets plaudits for its tense submarine movie-style atmosphere, there's also much richer material in this classic Star Trek episode.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds ' season 1 finale, "A Quality of Mercy" replayed the events of "Balance of Terror" but with Captain Pike in command of the USS Enterprise.

"Balance of Terror" also has an astute point to make about prejudice and racism, as some Enterprise crew members let their historic hatred of Romulans impact their relationship with Spock. This would have been particularly pertinent in the decades following World War 2, and is still relevant now. Not only that, but while Star Trek: The Original Series had a reputation for its disposable "redshirt" characters, "Balance of Terror" kills off a minor character and gives the death some genuine dramatic heft.

9 "Duet"

Star trek: deep space nine, season 1, episode 19.

An early indicator of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's promise, "Duet" is a powerful two-hander between Major Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor) and a suspected Cardassian war criminal, played by Harris Yulin. Kira's determination to prove that Aamin Marritza is actually Gul Darhe'el is compellingly played by Nana Visitor, and Harris Yulin proves to be an incredible foil. The moment where he tells Major Kira that for him, genocide is " a day's work " is utterly chilling.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, also known as DS9, is the fourth series in the long-running Sci-Fi franchise, Star Trek. DS9 was created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller, and stars Avery Brooks, René Auberjonois, Terry Farrell, and Cirroc Lofton. This particular series follows a group of individuals in a space station near a planet called Bajor.

"Duet" is one of Major Kira's best DS9 episodes , but it's also demonstrable of what made Star Trek: Deep Space Nine so unique. There was a darker tone to DS9 's treatment of morality, and Marritza's motivations for pretending to be Gul Darhee'l are fascinating to pick apart. "Duet" is a powerful statement about the need to punish war criminals, and whether true justice can ever be found for historical horrors.

Harris Yulin played Cardassian Aamin Marritza in one of DS9's best early episodes, "Duet", but there was 1 problem Yulin had with his Star Trek role.

8 "Yesterday's Enterprise"

Star trek: the next generation, season 3, episode 15.

"Yesterday's Enterprise" is an incredible episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation that takes place in an alternate timeline where the Federation is still at war with the Klingon Empire. TNG never did a Mirror Universe episode , so this is the closest that they come to giving audiences the USS Enterprise-D's darkest timeline. The cause of the timeline being changed is the disappearance of the USS Enterprise-C, commanded by Captain Rachel Garrett (Tricia O'Neill). The Enterprise-C was supposed to be destroyed above a Klingon colony, proving to the Empire that the Federation fought with honor.

A younger Rachel Garrett, played by Kacey Rohl, will appear in the upcoming Star Trek: Section 31 movie on Paramount+.

"Yesterday's Enterprise" is an episode about destiny and personal sacrifice that also gives Denise Crosby's Lt. Tasha Yar a more meaningful death . By accepting their fate and returning through the temporal anomaly, the crew of the USS Enterprise-C sacrifice themselves for the future peace of the galaxy. Sacrificing the needs of the one for the needs of the many; there's nothing more Star Trek than that.

7 "The Best of Both Worlds"

Star trek: the next generation, season 3, episode 26 & season 4, episode 1.

"The Best of Both Worlds" is the gold standard of Star Trek 's season finales, ending on the greatest cliffhanger of all time. Revealing the full extent of the Borg threat. "The Best of Both Worlds" assimilated Captain Jean-Luc Picard and turned him against his former crew. "The Best of Both Worlds" is widely regarded as the moment when Star Trek: The Next Generation finally escaped the shadow of TOS , and it's easy to see why. The blockbuster stakes are like nothing that Star Trek: The Original Series could have achieved .

Between parts 1 and 2, rumors emerged that Patrick Stewart would be leaving Star Trek: The Next Generation , which only helped to promote TNG 's season 4 premiere even further.

By establishing the high-stakes season finale, "The Best of Both Worlds" changed the game for the Star Trek franchise. While the resolution may not live up to the set-up of the first episode, the assimilation of Picard, and the Battle of Wolf 359 had a lasting impact on the Star Trek universe. The iconic cliffhanger ending, where Riker orders the Enterprise to fire on its former captain, continues to be influential to this day.

6 "In The Pale Moonlight"

Star trek: deep space nine, season 6, episode 19.

Some of the best episodes of Star Trek question the cost of maintaining the utopian ideals of Starfleet and the Federation . This is best realized in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "In the Pale Moonlight", which forces Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) to make a very tough call. At the height of DS9 's Dominion War , Sisko realizes that the Federation needs an ally like the Romulan Star Empire, and he'll stop at nothing to convince them to join the war effort.

"In the Pale Moonlight" was named after the quote from Tim Burton's Batman movie.

Sisko breaks several Starfleet regulations and actively engages in criminality in his attempts to convince the Romulans to join the Federation Alliance. However, Sisko's actions are done in pursuit of the greater good, proving that Gene Roddenberry's binary vision of a peaceful utopia is a great idea in theory, but doesn't always hold in practice. By upturning Star Trek 's core ethos, "In the Pale Moonlight" demonstrated how important it was to preserve Roddenberry's utopia by whatever means necessary .

One of the greatest Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episodes, "In The Pale Moonlight," owes its title to Tim Burton's 1989 Batman movie.

5 "The Visitor"

Star trek: deep space nine, season 4, episode 3.

More than any other Star Trek show, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine explored the realities of balancing family duty with a commitment to Starfleet. The most powerful depiction of family and fatherhood in all of Star Trek is "The Visitor" , which depicts an entire alternate timeline in which Jake Sisko (Cirroc Lofton) loses his father. While there's a strong sci-fi idea at its heart; a man scattered across time due to a temporal accident, "The Visitor" is really about the way that grief can take over our lives.

The balance of high-concept sci-fi with emotional realism in "The Visitor" is something that all the best Star Trek episodes aspire to, but rarely achieve.

Jake Sisko's obsession with answering the question of what happened to his father completely changes the course of his life. Jake turns his back on a promising career as a writer to pursue his father across time, building to a devastating sacrifice. The older Jake Sisko is the best of Tony Todd's Star Trek roles , as the actor responds beautifully to the script. The balance of high-concept sci-fi with emotional realism in "The Visitor" is something that all the best Star Trek episodes aspire to, but rarely achieve.

4 "The Inner Light"

Star trek: the next generation, season 5, episode 25.

"The Inner Light" is another Star Trek episode that beautifully balances a high-concept sci-fi idea with something deeply profound and human. Captain Picard's encounter with an alien probe allows him to live through the dying days of an extinct civilization as Kamin, a humble iron weaver on the planet Kataan. It's never made clear whether Kamin was a real person, or if he was an amalgam of experiences assigned to Picard. Whatever the truth, Picard's experiences as Kamin have a profound effect on him, represented by his Ressikan flute.

"The Inner Light" has so many layers to it, making it one of the most thematically rich episodes of Star Trek ​​​​​​​ of all time.

Kamin's ambiguity gets more compelling when rewatching "The Inner Light", because it casts doubts on Picard's assertions that he never wanted a family. If Kamin is a simulation specifically designed for Picard, then the iron weaver's loving family reflects something Jean-Luc felt he could never have . "The Inner Light" has so many layers to it, making it one of the most thematically rich episodes of Star Trek of all time.

3 "City on the Edge of Forever"

Star trek: the original series, season 1, episode 28.

"City on the Edge of Forever" is an astonishing episode of Star Trek: The Original Series that still holds up nearly 60 years later. It's a classic butterfly effect conundrum, with Kirk and Spock traveling back to 1930s America to stop Dr. McCoy changing the course of history. However, "City on the Edge of Forever" is so much deeper than that, as it quickly becomes a romantic tragedy. Joan Collins' Edith Keeler is the most important of Captain Kirk's love interests , because you genuinely believe in their romance.

"City on the Edge of Forever" is a romantic tragedy that taps into the unique responsibilities of being a Starfleet officer to heartbreaking effect.

So it's devastating when it becomes apparent that Kirk's love interest and the march of history are on a collision course with each other. The climax of "City on the Edge of Forever", when Kirk is forced to stop Bones from saving Edith's life, is devastating. Kirk's inability to look at the accident is an astute acting choice by William Shatner, who turns in one of his finest Star Trek performances. "City on the Edge of Forever" is a romantic tragedy that taps into the unique responsibilities of being a Starfleet officer to heartbreaking effect.

2 "Far Beyond The Stars"

Star trek: deep space nine, season 6, episode 13.

"Far Beyond the Stars" is a powerful depiction of racism that doesn't rely on the usual Star Trek allegories. Directed by Avery Brooks , Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's finest hour reflects on how far society has come since TOS tried to depict a racially diverse future, and how far it still needs to go to achieve it. "Far Beyond the Stars" doesn't shy away from racial slurs, or gut-wrenching violence to make the point that the dark days of segregation may be gone, but racist attitudes still persist.

It's often said that the past is another country, but in Star Trek terms, the racist 1950s are another planet for Captain Sisko.

In 2024, "Far Beyond the Stars" has lost none of its power, which says a lot about how far from reach Gene Roddenberry's utopia still is . It's often said that the past is another country, but in Star Trek terms, the racist 1950s are another planet for Captain Sisko. "Far Beyond the Stars" dispenses with the sci-fi allegories to give us an unblinking representation of racist violence in America's recent history, which proves that Star Trek 's message of acceptance and understanding is still as vital as ever.

1 "Darmok"

Star trek: the next generation, season 5, episode 2.

"Darmok" is the greatest episode of Star Trek of all time, because it's a profound mediation on communication and commonality. While it's technically a remake of Star Trek: The Original Series ' "Arena", retooled for Shakespearian actor Patrick Stewart, "Darmok" has much more to say about the need to find common ground. Star Trek always relies heavily on the universal translator technology, so "Darmok" flips that on its head by introducing the Tamarians, an alien species whose language doesn't reflect the universal dominance of American English .

The quest for deeper cultural understanding and relating to species that are unlike our own is pure Star Trek...

It's revealed that Star Trek 's Tamarians communicate via culturally specific metaphors. Therefore, Picard, Data, and Counselor Troi have to properly understand Tamarian culture to translate their language. The quest for deeper cultural understanding and relating to species that are unlike our own is pure Star Trek , which is why "Darmok" represents the franchise's finest hour in its near-60 year history.

All episodes of Star Trek are available to stream on Paramount+.

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Ranking college football's 10 winningest teams in 2024

James parks | jun 7, 2024.

• Georgia Bulldogs
• Ohio State Buckeyes
• Penn State Nittany Lions
• Notre Dame Fighting Irish
• Oregon Ducks
• Texas Longhorns
• Alabama Crimson Tide
• Missouri Tigers
• Florida State Seminoles
• Kansas Jayhawks
• Liberty Flames
• UTSA Roadrunners
• Tennessee Volunteers

College football is set to embark on a historic season in 2024. Not only has the transfer portal and NIL revolutionized the game, but major conferences will embark on a huge realignment shift and the College Football Playoff is set to expand to 12 teams starting this postseason.

Now, as we move into the summer preseason and look ahead to fall camp, we got our first look at the full 134-team college football rankings after ESPN unveiled its annual Football Power Index poll , giving fans a closer insight into how the nation's top teams are expected to perform.

Among those predictions was an updated look at the win totals for every team in the FBS ranks. What school came away with the highest win projections for the 2024 season?

College Football Teams with Highest Win Total Predictions in 2024

10. tennessee/utsa.

8.6 wins. Big Orange steps back into the ring of SEC contenders with QB1 Nico Iamaleava at the helm of an offense that boasts elite receiver skill, a promising ground attack, and an experienced line. UTSA is the favorite in the AAC title race, returning a star backfield but making a big change at quarterback.

9. Kansas/Liberty

8.7 wins. The index's projected favorites in the Big 12 and Conference USA title races, respectively. Kansas should be one of the more dynamic offenses in its expanded conference, with Jalon Daniels back under center alongside lead rusher Devin Neal and some quality receiver talent, as should Liberty, with quarterback Kaidon Salter returning to school.

8. Florida State

8.8 wins. The Seminoles remain the favorites in what looks like a more open ACC title race, and that's thanks to Mike Norvell's work in the transfer portal in response to a roster exodus this offseason. DJ Uiagalelei steps in at quarterback, Roydell Williams at tailback, and Malik Benson at wide receiver, while Marvin Jones, Jr. is an upgrade at the edge rushing position.

7. Missouri

9 wins. Something of a step back for Mizzou after winning 11 games and the Cotton Bowl a year ago. Eli Drinkwitz gets much of his offensive core back -- Brady Cook at quarterback and Theo Wease and Luther Burden at receiver -- but he loses running back Cody Schrader, pieces on defense, and coordinator Blake Baker, who left for LSU this offseason.

9.3 wins. It's not often you see the Crimson Tide projected at under 10 wins, but the changeover from Nick Saban to Kalen DeBoer remains a giant open question, arguably the biggest in college football history. DeBoer benefits from the effects of Saban's recruiting genius, in addition to returning skill like quarterback Jalen Milroe, but can he tailor a defense as well as he has offenses during his career? His life in the SEC depends on it.

10 wins. Heading into the SEC at just the right time, the Longhorns bring tremendous momentum from last season -- including a win at Alabama, a Big 12 title, and the school's first playoff appearance -- in addition to quarterback Quinn Ewers, who returns alongside elite transfer prospects at wide receiver like Isaiah Bond and Matthew Golden.

4. Penn State/Notre Dame

10.1 wins. These are two schools that should benefit hugely from the expanded College Football Playoff. Penn State, third fiddle to OSU and Michigan in the Big Ten the last few years, returns offensive experience and important pieces on defense. Notre Dame has one of the nation's top secondary units and promising transfer additions at QB and WR, but faces a longer road to a national title not being in a conference.

3. Ohio State

10.2 wins. Ryan Day scored elite transfers at needed positions like safety Caleb Downs, quarterback Will Howard, and tailback Quinshon Judkins, among others, and returns important starting experience on the defensive line, running back, and wide receiver with a clear path to the national title. But there's a road game at Oregon and a date with Michigan that will be important tests for OSU's playoff-worthiness.

10.3 wins. The favorite in the SEC once again, the Bulldogs are in pole position to win what would be their third national title in four years. They return important experience on both sides of the ball, including at quarterback, and bring on notable transfers at skill positions that will help weather what looks like a much harder schedule than in years past.

10.8 wins. Heading into the Big Ten, the Ducks are already considered a favorite to win the conference title thanks to a pair of physical lines and what looks like college football's best wide receiver rotation, boasting perimeter speed that will shock B1G defenses this fall. And with veteran quarterback Dillon Gabriel steering the ship after a blockbuster transfer.

More college football from SI: Top 25 Rankings | Schedule | Teams

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JAMES PARKS

James Parks is the founder and publisher of College Football HQ. He previously covered football for 247Sports and CBS Interactive. College Football HQ joined the Sports Illustrated Fannation Network in 2022.

Inside the ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Series Finale: The Last-Minute Coda, the Surprise Easter Eggs, and What Season 6 Would Have Been About (EXCLUSIVE)

SPOILER WARNING: This story includes descriptions of major plot developments on the series finale of “ Star Trek : Discovery,” currently streaming on Paramount+ .

Watching the fifth and final season of “ Star Trek: Discovery ” has been an exercise in the uncanny. Paramount+ didn’t announce that the show was ending until after the Season 5 finale had wrapped filming — no one involved with the show knew it would be its concluding voyage when they were making it. And yet, the season has unfolded with a pervasive feeling of culmination. 

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“I think there’s more to it than just, ‘Oh, it was a coinkydink!’” the actor says with a laugh, before explaining that she’s thinking more about subtext than direct intent. “I’ve gotta give Michelle her flowers. She has always asked the deeper questions of this story and these characters. Those questions of meaning and purpose led to questions of origin and legacy, and, yes, that is quite culminating.”

Martin-Green and Paradise spoke exclusively with Variety about filming the finale and the coda, including the surprising revelation about the origins of one of “Discovery’s” most memorable characters and what Paradise’s plans for Season 6 would have been.

“It’s the Most Complicated Thing I’ve Ever Seen”

Once the “Discovery” writers’ room decided the season would be organized around a search for the Progenitor’s technology, they also knew that, eventually, Burnham would find it. So then they had to figure out what it would be.

“That was a discussion that evolved over the course of weeks and months,” Paradise says. Rather than focus on communicating the intricate details of how the technology works, they turned their attention to delivering a visual experience commensurate with the enormity and complexity of something that could seed life across the entire galaxy.

“We wanted a sense of a smaller exterior and an infinite interior to help with that sense of power greater than us,” Paradise says. Inspired in part by a drawing by MC Escher, the production created an environment surrounded by towering windows into a seemingly endless procession of alien planets, in which it’s just as easy to walk on the walls as on the floor. That made for a daunting challenge for the show’s producing director, Olatunde “Tunde” Osunsanmi: As Burnham battles with the season’s main antagonist, Mol (Eve Harlow), inside this volume, they fall through different windows into another world, and the laws of gravity keep shifting between their feet.

“It’s the most complicated thing I’ve ever seen, directorially,” Paradise says. “Tunde had a map, in terms of: What did the background look like? And when the cameras this way, what’s over there? It was it was incredibly complex to design and shoot.”

Two of those planets — one in perpetual darkness and rainstorms, another consumed by constant fire — were shot on different parking areas on the Pinewood Toronto studio lot.

“The fire planet was so bright that the fire department got called from someone who had seen the fire,” Paradise says. “It should not be possible to pull those kinds of things off in a television show, even on a bigger budget show, with the time limitations that you have. And yet, every episode of every season, we’re still coming in on time and on budget. The rain planet and the fire planet we shot, I believe, one day after the other.”

Martin-Green jumps in: “Michelle, I think that was actually the same day!”

“It Felt Lifted”

The last time a “Star Trek” captain talked to a being that could be (erroneously) considered God, it was William Shatner’s James T. Kirk in 1989’s “Star Trek: The Final Frontier.” The encounter did not go well.

“I had my own journey with the central storyline of Season 5, just as a believer,” Martin-Green says. “I felt a similar way that Burnham did. They’re in this sort of liminal mind space, and it almost felt that way to me. It felt lifted. It really did feel like she and I were the only two people in this moment.”

It’s in this conversation that Burnham learns that while the Progenitors did create all “humanoid” alien species in the galaxy in their image, they did not create the technology that allowed them to do so. They found it, fully formed, created by beings utterly unknown to them. The revelation was something that Martin-Green discussed with Paradise early on in the planning of Season 5, allowing “Discovery” to leave perhaps the most profound question one could ask — what, or who, came first in the cosmos? — unanswered.

“The progenitor is not be the be all end all of it,” Paradise says. “We’re not saying this is God with a capital ‘G.’”

“There’s Just This Air of Mystery About Him”

Starting on Season 3 of “Discovery,” renowned filmmaker David Cronenberg began moonlighting in a recurring role as Dr. Kovich, a shadowy Federation operative whose backstory has been heretofore undisclosed on the show.

“I love the way he plays Kovich,” Paradise says of Cronenberg. “There’s just this air of mystery about him. We’ve always wanted to know more.” When planning Season 5, one of the writers pitched revealing Kovich’s true identity in the (then-season) finale by harkening back to the “Star Trek” show that preceded “Discovery”: “Enterprise,” which ran on UPN from 2001 to 2005.

In the final episode, when Burnham debriefs her experiences with Kovich, she presses him to tell her who he really is. He reintroduces himself as Agent Daniels, a character first introduced on “Enterprise” as a young man (played by Matt Winston) and a Federation operative in the temporal cold war. 

This is, to be sure, a deep cut even for “Star Trek” fans. (Neither Cronenberg nor Martin-Green, for example, understood the reference.) But Paradise says they were laying the groundwork for the reveal from the beginning of the season. “If you watch Season 5 with that in mind, you can see the a little things that we’ve played with along the way,” she says, including Kovich/Daniels’ penchant for anachonistic throwbacks like real paper and neckties.

“I didn’t know that that was going be there,” Martin-Green says. “My whole childhood came back to me.”

“We Always Knew That We Wanted to Somehow Tie That Back Up”

Originally, Season 5 of “Discovery” ends with Burnham and Book talking on the beach outside the wedding of Saru (Doug Jones) and T’Rina (Tara Rosling) before transporting away to their next adventure. But Paradise understood that the episode needed something more conclusive once it became the series finale. The question was what.

There were some significant guardrails around what they could accomplish. The production team had only eight weeks from when Paramout+ and CBS Studios signed off on the epilogue to when they had to shoot it. Fortunately, the bridge set hadn’t been struck yet (though several standing sets already had been). And the budget allowed only for three days of production.

Then there was “Calypso.” 

To fill up the long stretches between the first three seasons of “Discovery,” CBS Studios and Paramount+ greenlit a series of 10 stand-alone episodes, dubbed “Short Treks,” that covered a wide variety of storylines and topics. The second “Short Trek” — titled “Calypso” and co-written by novelist Michael Chabon — first streamed between Season 1 and 2 in November 2018. It focuses on a single character named Craft (Aldis Hodge), who is rescued by the USS Discovery after the starship — and its now-sentient computer system, Zora (Annabelle Wallis) — has sat totally vacant for 1,000 years in the same fixed point in space. How the Discovery got there, and why it was empty for so long, were left to the viewer’s imagination. 

Still, for a show that had only just started its run, “Calypso” had already made a bold promise for “Discovery’s” endgame — one the producers had every intention of keeping.

“We always knew that we wanted to somehow tie that back up,” says Paradise, who joined the writers’ room in Season 2, and became showrunner starting with Season 3. “We never wanted ‘Calypso’ to be the dangling Chad.”

So much so, in fact, that, as the show began winding down production on Season 5, Paradise had started planning to make “Calypso” the central narrative engine for Season 6. 

“The story, nascent as it was, was eventually going to be tying that thread up and connecting ‘Discovery’ back with ‘Calypso,’” she says.

Once having a sixth season was no longer an option, Paradise knew that resolving the “Calypso” question was non-negotiable. “OK, well, we’re not going to have a season to do that,” she says. “So how do we do that elegantly in this very short period of time?”

“I Feel Like It Ends the Way It Needed to End”

Resolving “Calypso” provided the storytelling foundation for the epilogue, but everything else was about giving its characters one final goodbye.

“We want to know what’s happening to Burnham, first and foremost,” Paradise says. “And we knew we wanted to see the cast again.”

For the latter, Paradise and Jarrow devised a conceit that an older Burnham, seated in the captain’s chair on Discovery, imagines herself surrounded by her crew 30 years prior, so she (and the audience) could connect with them one final time. For the former, the makeup team designed prosthetics to age up Martin-Green and Ajala by 30 years — “I think they were tested as they were running on to the set,” Paradise says with a laugh — to illustrate Burnham and Book’s long and happy marriage together.

Most crucially, Paradise cut a few lines of Burnham’s dialogue with Book from the original Season 5 finale and moved it to a conversation she has with her son in the coda. The scene — which evokes the episode’s title, “Life Itself” — serves as both a culminating statement of purpose for “Discovery” and the overarching compassion and humanity of “Star Trek” as a whole.

To reassure her son about his first command of a starship, Burnham recalls when the ancient Progenitor asked what was most meaningful to her. “Do you know how you would answer that question now?” he asks.

“Yeah, just being here,” Burnham replies. “You know, sometimes life itself is meaning enough, how we choose to spend the time that we have, who we spend it with: You, Book, and the family I found in Starfleet, on Discovery.”

Martin-Green relished the opportunity to revisit the character she’s played for seven years when she’s reached the pinnacle of her life and career. “You just get to see this manifestation of legacy in this beautiful way,” she says. “I will also say that I look a lot like my mom, and that was that was also a gift, to be able to see her.”

Shooting the goodbye with the rest of her cast was emotional, unsurprisingly, but it led Martin-Green to an unexpected understanding. “It actually was so charged that it was probably easier that it was only those three days that we knew it was the end, and not the entirety of season,” she says.

Similarly, Paradise says she’s “not sure” what more she would’ve done had there been more time to shoot the coda. “I truly don’t feel like we missed out on something by not having one more day,” she says. “I feel like it ends the way it needed to end.”

Still, getting everything done in just three days was no small feat, either. “I mean, we worked ’round the clock,” Martin-Green says with a deep laugh. “We were delirious by the end — but man, what a way to end it.”

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Who Played Burnhams Son In Star Trek: Discoverys Finale?

• Sawandi Wilson played Leto, Burnham's son in the Star Trek Discovery finale, continuing the family legacy in Starfleet.
• Leto is the only Captain's child to become a Captain himself, a first in the Star Trek universe.
• Star Trek Discovery season 5 ended with Burnham as a four-star Admiral, celebrating family and new beginnings on the USS Discovery.

Star Trek: Discovery jumped even further into Star Trek 's future in its series finale, offering a glimpse into the life of Admiral Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green), Cleveland Booker (David Ajala), and their son. At the end of Discovery season 2, Captain Burnham and the USS Discovery traveled to the 32nd century, where they began helping the Federation rebuild. After the devastation caused by the Burn, the Federation and Starfleet suffered heavy losses, but they were eventually able to bounce back, even reopening Starfleet Academy. Burnham and her crew brought new hope to the 32nd century, and Burnham's son seems poised to continue the family legacy.

In Star Trek: Discovery season 5, Captain Burnham and her crew embarked on an intergalactic treasure hunt for the powerful technology of the Progenitors. After Burnham decided that the power of creation was too much for any one culture to control, Discovery's crew went home to celebrate the wedding of Admiral Saru (Doug Jones) and Ni'Var President T'Rina (Tara Rosling).

While Discovery could have ended there, the finale included an epilogue that checks in with Burnham about 30 years later. Now a four-star Admiral, Burnham has settled down with Booker on Sanctuary Four and the couple share a son who followed in his mother's footsteps by joining Starfleet. But who plays the new character?

Star Trek: Discovery Season 6 Or Movie - Everything We Know

Star Trek: Discovery season 5 is the final season, but will Captain Burnham and the USS Discovery be back for season 6 or a Paramount+ movie?

Sawandi Wilson Played Michael Burnhams Son Leto In Star Trek: Discoverys Finale

Leto is named after booker's nephew who died when kwejian was destroyed.

In the epilogue after Star Trek: Discovery's season 5 ending , the recently promoted Captain Leto (Sawandi Wilson) arrives to transport his mother, Admiral Michael Burnham, to Federation Headquarters. Leto hugs his parents, before he and Burnham head off for one last mission on the USS Discovery. On the journey, Leto worries about his impending captaincy, but Burnham assures him that he'll do fine, telling him that he and his crew will one day see each other as family. Upon arriving at Fed HQ, Burnham reunites with Discovery and its sentient computer system, Zora (Annabelle Wallis), before setting off to deliver the ship to an important location.

As part of another Red Directive mission, Zora and Discovery must wait for the arrival of Craft (Aldis Hodge), which will connect Star Trek: Discovery with Star Trek: Short Treks season 1, episode 2, "Calypso."

Sawandi Wilson began his entertainment career as a breakdancer, appearing in 2010's Step Up 3D . Since then, he has popped up in episodes of Quantico, The Get Down, Law & Order: SVU, Bull, and The House of Flowers . Wilson had a minor role in Isn't It Romantic, starring Rebel Wilson, and he also co-starred in 2020's The Dinner Party . Most recently, Wilson appeared in an episode of Amazon Prime Video's Harlem as Marcus and two episodes of Prime Video's Dudes as Andrew. Sawandi Wilson is set to co-star in the upcoming Protector of the Gods, an afro-futuristic film trilogy written and directed by Kameko Tarnez.

Every Star Trek: Discovery Main Characters Ending Explained

What happened to Captain Michael Burnham & the USS Discovery crew in the Star Trek: Discovery series finale, and where did they end up afterwards?

Michael & Leto Burnham Made Star Trek Captain History

Leto is currently the only captain's kid to become a captain himself..

Throughout its long history, Star Trek has cycled through plenty of Starfleet Captains , but Burnham and Leto accomplished a Star Trek first. No other Captain's child has successfully risen to the rank of Captain themselves. Although Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) had a son, he followed in his mother's footsteps and became a scientist, before his tragic death at the hands of the Klingons. Star Trek: Picard season 3 revealed that Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) had a son who joined Starfleet at the end of the season, but remains a long way from becoming a captain.

Captain Benjamin Sisko's (Avery Brooks) son, Jake (Cirroc Lofton), was never interested in joining Starfleet, instead pursuing a career in writing. Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) have no children, nor does Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount). Lt. Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome), the daughter of Captain Carol Freeman (Dawnn Lewis), resists any kind of promotion, preferring to remain a Lower Decker. This leaves Leto as the only Captain's kid to have truly followed in his parent's footsteps, but Star Trek: Discovery came to an end before revealing the kind of captain he will be.

Star Trek: Discovery

Cast Blu del Barrio, Oded Fehr, Anthony Rapp, Sonequa Martin-Green, Doug Jones, Wilson Cruz, Eve Harlow, Mary Wiseman, Callum Keith Rennie

Release Date September 24, 2017

Showrunner Alex Kurtzman

Where To Watch Paramount+