I would prefer

CMDR Eng
LTC Eng
LT Uni
LT SCi

4 Eng Console
2 SCi Consoles
2 Tac Consoles

1 universal that can tac or sci to up the total to 9 consoles

well, all the suggestions ive seen so far seem to make the ent-f the new preferred healer, so kdf will *need* this ship aswell then i guess.

Give it the Voquv layout to show its "adaptability" to any situation, lol.

That's a very powerful layout. If it would have such a BO layout, it would need some serious downsides.

ive heard the same, "star cruiser" feel....maybe a uni slot, but i dont think it'll be a ltcm uni...lt at most.

either way im sure we'll see a ton of them everywhere when its released.

they do need to get on a klingon equivevant, or let every fed cruiser have a cloak and dual heavies...oh wait a minute....hrm....

Why? You practically gain the same potency out of the Excelsior Refit and the MVAE Prometheus in term of stronger non-speciality bridge officer station.

Would the LtC universal being a LtC tactical be overpowered? Or a LtC science? Not really.

The universal slot would be there to offer choice... but once you're in combat, there's only so many powers you have access to, and so many powers your captain's build in the first place can efficiently support.

I could get aboard with a slight change to my proposed

CMDR Eng
LT ENG
LT TAC
LT SCI
ENS UNI
ENS UNI

4 Eng Consoles
2 SCI Consoles
2 Tac Consoles

and a 4th console spot that would be universal.

I think this would help balance the fact it loses a LTC Eng so the 9th Console would be universal

Lolwut?

Commander Engineering
Lt.Cmdr Tactical
Lt.Tactical
Lt.Science
Ensign Engineering

You get a Cruiser with the ability to use APB2, 2xFAW2 or 2xBO2 and 2xTT1. Variations with BO3, FAW3 and even APO1 would be possible. Add your standard Sci powers and a full Eng Commander and you can deal very serious sustained damage while suriving pretty well cause your a cruiser after all with pretty decent shields and hull. Zombie Cruisers FTW.

Commander Engineering
Lt.Cmdr Science
Lt.Tactical
Lt.Science
Ensign Engineering

A Cruiser with the ability to cast TSS3 or HE3? Hello new imba healer. Oh look over there, Era wants to try you out for a ride.

I am not so sure. You're still losing out one Engineering Team 3 and have more trouble fitting Aux2SIF, run into more cooldowns problem with the lower tier skills. 3 Engineering Ensigns are always a downside.

I am not convinced that TSS3 or HE3 are so much better than TSS2 and HE2, if you have to pay with a ET3 for it. You simply have less ability to react to sudden spikes if you have to rely on the science heals, and more gaps in your healing rotation.

And as such, I am still not even sure it beats the Star Cruiser healing ability.

We'll see what we get. No doubt a new Klingon Flagship could use a similar layout.