its an engineer ability

and the enemy can shoot them down if they target them before they get to them too

Hmmm interesting... How do I get this abililty?

There is gameplay "kinda' like that. PvP ground combat accessed from the little carrot in your upper right hand corner. You and 4 random others join in combat in a ship enviroment vrs Klingons (or vice versa). There are no ship systems, and the goal is really to kill the enemy a'la Team Fortress, but it carries that intense 'person to person' combat that boarding a ship would entail. The teams most effective is when a MSgt makes a team, gathers his airmen and keeps them together moving, flanking, healing and attacking together.

It's an ability called "Boarding party" from an engineering bridge officer. This skill comes inate from an engineer or trained at Personel section at stardock.

It sends out shuttles and attack your selected target's crew and try to disable some subsystems(like weapon, shield, auxiliary and engine).

What Rogue said. It's a nice little skill; the shuttles fly off and if they don't get shot down land on the Ship. You don't see what they do from that point on, but they invade the ship, shut down a system, then you beam them back aboard (you'll see a transporter ring form around both ships when this happens). At that point there's a very good chance some subsystem on the enemy ship is down. Sometimes it's shields, sometimes weapons. I think my BPs shut down the impulse engines once. Anyways, the systems won't be down for long so take advantage of it. I usually keep my high yeild torps ready for when I beam the BPs back.

As others have said, you won't actually board the ship, but there are missions where you will. Those can be fun. There are also PvP missions where you can engage in ground combat with other players on a ship.

There are actually some missions where you disable a ship and bord it. Then fight or rescue someone...USS Kirk for example or a Hirogen Ship later. The BO ability is a nice feature..but the shuttles are sooooooo sloooooooow.....and on an escort with 50 people.....i really dont want to send 3 shuttles out..

Well in that webcast announcement of STO from the comic-con, he clearly said you would be able to board ships with your crew and fight , he further said something to the effect that you would be able to damage others ships by boarding them and damaging their systems


As far as this being a reality.........Who knows what the future holds?