With the increase of Star Trek Online’s level cap from 50 to 60, we felt it was only natural to introduce a new tier of starships. In addition to the normal features you’d expect from a higher tier starship (hull hit points, an additional console slot, etc.), we are also adding several unique features to this tier of ships such as: an additional bridge officer ability slot, access to Specialist Bridge Officer seats, Starship Mastery, and a Starship Trait. However, these are only some of the unique aspects to these ships. So, without further ado, here is an explanation of what makes Tier 6 ships so special.

Stat Improvements

Tier 6 ships gain stat improvements that you would expect from a new tier of starship. These ships gain an additional console slot, an additional bridge officer ability slot, and a sizeable amount of additional hit points. A new feature of Tier 6 ships is that their hit points increase as the captain levels up.

Each time your captain gains a level beyond 50 (up to level 60) the starship’s hit points will increase. These ships are intended to grow with the captain. This feature allows Tier 6 starships to be available at level 50 without making them have more hit points than Tier 5 ships do at that level.

Example: At level 50 your Tier 6 starship might have 35,000 hit points, while at level 60 it will have 40,000.

Specialist Bridge Officers

We really wanted this tier of starships to stand out and offer some unique features not found anywhere else. These ships can (but don’t always) have hybrid bridge officer seats that can slot Specialist Bridge Officers. These special officers have access to two complete pools of bridge officer abilities. One of these pools is a complete suite of all new bridge officer abilities, while the other is an existing profession: Tactical, Science or Engineering. It’s important to note that while these ships don’t always feature a Specialist Bridge Officer seat, all of the Tier 6 ships launching with Delta Rising will feature at least one of these special seats.

That said, we’re not quite ready to fully reveal the new {REDACTED} Bridge Officers. You can expect to get a full reveal of this new type of Bridge Officer in the very near future! Stay tuned!

Starship Mastery

Another interesting aspect of Tier 6 ships is the new Starship Mastery system. This system represents your captain and crew mastering the starship and discovering its full capabilities over time. All Tier 6 ships have the ability to become more powerful as the captain gains Skill Points. This allows the starship to effectively “Level Up”.

Tier 6 starships start at level 0 and progress to level 5 as the captain plays the game normally. At each level (up to level 4), the starship gains a new passive ability that provides a sizeable boost to a stat like damage resistance, critical hit chance, or hit points. These passive abilities are specific to the ship that has unlocked them and each starship within a given category shares the same package of passive abilities.

Example: All Battlecruisers have the same four passive abilities in their Starship Mastery.

Starship Traits

Upon reaching Starship Mastery level 5 a Starship Trait will be unlocked. This special trait can be slotted into any of your four Starship Trait slots. This is a new set of trait slots that will be available to all characters upon achieving level 50. These special traits add powerful effects to your starship or your existing captain and bridge officer abilities. Since Starship Traits can be slotted, they can be used while flying any starship you own even if they are not Tier 6.

New Mechanics

One of our goals with Tier 6 ships is to have the ability to introduce new game mechanics with some ships. We’d like to be able to offer new gameplay through new types of starships found in this tier. Some Tier 6 ships will be very much what you’re used to. You’ll see Cruisers, Battlecruisers, Escorts, Raptors, etc. However, you’ll also see new takes on these existing ship types like the {REDACTED} ships being introduced in Delta Rising!

QA

Q: Is my ship’s hit points based on my captain’s current level or the amount of Skill Points I’ve earned while flying the ship?
A: Tier 6 starship hit points scale as your captain levels up. The value is based entirely upon your captain’s current level and scales based on that.

Q: Are my Skill Points split between my starship and my captain?
A: Your captain and starship gain Skill Points simultaneously. There’s no splitting or loss of Skill Points.

Q: If I unlock Starship Mastery passive powers on one ship category, do other ships within the same category have the passive powers unlocked?
A: Starship Mastery passive powers are unlocked on a per-ship basis. Since they represent a captain and crew’s affinity with the ship they must be unlocked for each ship you own.

Q: What’s up with all the {REDACTED}?!
A: We’re committed to revealing everything regarding Delta Rising (except the story). All will be revealed in time. Stay tuned, more will be revealed over the coming weeks.

We’re super excited to reveal these new starships. We’ll be talking about the specifics and stats of these new ships very soon, so keep an eye out!

DISCLAIMER: All features mentioned above are still in development and are subject to change!

Regards,

Phil “Gorngonzolla” Zeleski
Systems Designer
Star Trek Online