November 7, 2026
Coming back to Star Trek Online after a few years away was shockingly not that hard. I figured I'd have to relearn everything, but it was like riding a bike. The shortcut keys, the interface, all of it came right back, like I'd never left. One thing I knew I wanted was a new ship, and I figured it was a good chance to share how I go about picking one, for anyone who's curious.
I'm not going to get into the different ship types and their pros and cons. There are tons of guides out there, including on this site. What I'll give you is my perspective and the steps I tend to follow.
For me it was easy: I wanted an Escort. I've always loved speed and cannons. The community calls Escorts "glass cannons" because their hulls are weak, so I knew I needed the strongest hull I could find. Just so you know what you're giving up, some cruisers sit well above 50,000 hull at level 60, while most escorts land in the 30,000s to low 40,000s, going by the official ship announcements. Numbers shift over time and the level cap has moved up, so treat them as a rough guide and check in-game.
The best place to compare ships in-game is ship requisitions. Go to any starbase, talk to the Ship Vendor, and you'll get a screen listing every ship. Set the filters for what you want. I went with Escort, and either Tier 6 or Fleet Tier 6.
A quick word on those two, since they confuse people. Fleet ships have more hull, more shields, and an extra console slot. The trade-off is that Fleet ships don't have the fifth Starship Mastery level, so they don't unlock the starship trait that the regular Tier 6 version does. Traits carry from ship to ship, so some players unlock the trait on the regular version and then fly the Fleet one.
Then I started clicking through ships one by one. The game doesn't let you add them to a compare list or a favorites list, so I grabbed a piece of paper and wrote down the names of the ones that caught my eye. If pen and paper isn't your thing, the ship pages on the STO wiki have comparison tables showing hull, bridge officer seating, weapon slots, and whether the ship can equip dual cannons. That last one matters if you're a cannon person like me.
Hull was my number one priority, so I simply looked for the Escort with the strongest hull.
You may find two ships with similar hulls. Or one has a stronger hull and the other is a little weaker but has more weapon slots. Bridge officer seating is worth a look too, since a good setup can make a ship feel very different. There's really no wrong choice if you're playing for fun. Figure out your priorities, find a ship you like flying, and let those decide.
Currency may be the biggest factor for you, and that's fine too. Ships can come from the Zen Store, from Fleet Ship Modules, or from lockboxes and the Exchange. If you already own the Zen version of a ship, the Fleet version gets much cheaper. One more tip: you don't need to bother with Tier 5 ships anymore, unless you want a particular console or the ship's look for your Tier 6.
Once you've settled on a ship, buy it and outfit it with gear, bridge officers, and the rest. This is probably where most players have the hardest time. Generally you want your DPS as high as you can get it, so anything that improves Critical Damage (CrtD) and Critical Hit chance (CrtH) is your friend.
On my Escort, I also look at anything that improves survivability. The less I explode, the more damage I deal. If you're playing a tank, flip that: focus on surviving first and let damage come second.
That's my process. Hopefully it saves you some time and a few sheets of paper.