First and foremost: I’m not disappointed in the new T6 versions of the Star Trek’s iconic line of starships.  I don’t regret buying them.  But it’s clear that regardless of the impressive design work on the new versions, they do not represent the next generation in terms of starship capability.

To be honest, the new T6 versions of the fan-favorites are ‘just good enough’ that it will keep the RP’ers and diehard series fans engaged enough to drop another $30 for a ship they’ve already bought 2-3 times before.  I’m one of them.

As pointed out earlier in today’s PriorityOne Podcast by SarcasmDetector, of the few redeeming qualities of the T6 variants is that they are marginally less expensive than the existing T5-U ships they ‘replace’, and they look pretty sweet.  I have to agree.

Sarcasm gave a good clinical review of the numbers and I hope he continues to provide reviews.  I like his honest impressions, and for the most part he’s right on the money.

My first impressions come from actual hands-on experience with each in-game.

I purchased the bundle primarily because of the D’deridex and the Galaxy skins.  While the underlying mechanics of the T5 versions are unremarkable, my hope was that the new ships + the classic skins would make viable ships in game.  The Lt.Com tactical seat and hybrid eng/command seat were a step in the right direction.

Andromeda Exploration Cruiser [T6] aka The Enterprise-D

I didn’t work on my build at first, but focused on the space-barbie aspect.  Sadly the Galaxy-X skin can’t be used.  I’m sensing another Cryptic ‘just-good-enough fan offering’ coming soon.

After a few minutes I had a worthy Enterprise-D in orbit, loaded with phasers and quantum torpedoes.  As I mentioned in a nearlier post, this configuration included the new Universal Console – the Molecular Cohesion Nullifier.  It’s passive bonus to max sub-system power levels works as intended, although I never had a chance to fully experience the offensive capabilities at close range.

I should point out that power management is not my strong suit.  Even with my limited understanding though, I had no difficulty in maintaining 100+ in all subsystems across the board during combat after a few tweaks.  With a balanced power setting the cruiser was surprisingly nimble and I had little difficulty in Advanced and Elite STF’s.

This is the only ship from the Icon set that I was able to test with a full set of consoles.  The bonuses were meager, and I really didn’t see the value of the saucer sep or the antimatter spread in PvE.  Definitely not a ‘must-have’ unless you’re looking for the costume set. Update: All of the costume options are included – you do not have to buy or pre-own anything.

From a DPS standpoint (’cause it’s all about the DPS now) my first few runs were 11-13K.  I’m sure with my limited skill-set I could push this to 25K+.   In the hands of a good pilot that could be doubled for sure.

My impression: In the hands of a tanker, this ship has a lot of potential, but…*

D’Khellra Warbird Battlecruiser [T6] aka the Double-D or D’deridex

While taking a break from the Delta Recruit missions, my next attempt at space-barbie was to set-up the Romulan addition.  Again focusing on a nearly identical build but plasma in flavor, the T6 DD was a surprisingly nimble ship.  The bonus of the Battle Cloak and a Lt.Com Sci seat easily makes this ship my favorite of the three iconic ships in the set.

I’m a firm believer in Gravity Wells, especially with slower cruisers.

My initial impressions were that the D’Khellra was underpowered, even with the console bonuses.  Several runs and feedback from DPS-10K, I had her doing more damage than the Andromeda.

If I were to use any of the three on a semi-regular basis, the D’Khellra would be my first choice.

Negh’Tev Heavy Battlecruiser [T6] aka the Negh’Var

This was a surprising adventure. let down.  Let down in that I didn’t own the original Negh’Var, so I didn’t have access to the skin.  While I like the ship, the thought of dropping even more money for the skin wasn’t in the cards.

Turns out I was wrong – I did have access to all of the Negh’ Var skins.  Unsure why my initial experience in the tailor didn’t populate with the options – but – my bad to have assumed the worse.  TY to Thomas for pointing it out.

Surprising, in what happened next.

After messing with the consoles and bridge officers, I ended up joining a private ISA without swapping out the rest of my space gear.  Playing Space-Barbie can be dangerous is you’re not paying attention.  Mark X uncommon gear for an ISA.  Ugh.  Worst of all, it’s in this butt-ugly KDF ship I have no experience with and the team is made up of DPS’ers.

First off I should never have volunteered.  This was DPS team and there are minimum expectations for your performance that should be met.  As the map loaded I was going to make my apologies during the WFP interlude and beg forgiveness.  I’d bail and take the penalty to prevent them from wasting their time.

Lucky me and the WFP call was ignored.  One player whines about WFP and bails, but the other three remain.  No point in bailing, so I stayed and gave it my best shot.

Here’s the surprise: 15.6K with mark X uncommon gear.  Maybe it was part desperation, part insane flying so as not to let down the team, or I had three really good teammates.  Ok – three AWESOME teammates doing 25+K.

Maybe there’s a build in this one I can work with after all 😉

Ouch – wasn’t planning on writing another long-ass post.

From a performance perspective the existing line of Intel ships and the Guardian Cruiser stand out as better options for purchase.  While these are the first T6 ship with fleet-variants available for purchase, after playing with them this weekend I doubt I’ll upgrade them further.  I have better ships now that will undoubtedly be better with fleet versions.

These are vanity ships, BUT if you’re into Space Barbie role-playing, these are worthy T6 options for the post-DR reality of Star Trek Online.