Hi Guys - im a science officer and have picked science vessels at unlock stages so far, im about to pick my new Commander ship but the Research Vessel (Science) is as ugly as sin.

I was struggling near the end towards commander in my science vessel when in combat situations - if I picked a combat orientated ship, will this make it much easier and quicker to win fights? or is the enmy strength relative to the ship im using and not set in the mission?

Thanks

I agree the Research Vessel is as 'ugly as sin' (reminds me of a spermatoza...) but it does have a better turn-rate then the C-Store T3 Nebula, and because of this, makes a dandy missile-boat if you're into that kind of thing... (And my science character as a Cmdr. would could grab top score at Starbase 24 and Klingon Scout force with a properly configured default Science ship.... So Science ships can DPS if you know what you're doing...)

Enemies now scale with your level, and have nothing to do with the actual ship that you're flying... (which is one of the reasons why you should always upgrade to a ship current to your level... As why handicap yourself...)

The short version is that yes NPCs do ramp up more quickly then players those last couple of levels before a new ranks. It's difficult to compensate as a newbie. It's not so hard for veteran players.

Jumping to another ship may not be the solution for you. Cruisers are bigger and tougher, but they are not as nimble as Science Vessels. And Escorts are definitely more tactical, but they are also glass cannons (e.e. go fast. go splat. ).

Your new Tier 3 ship will definitely give you a big bump in capabilities. For a Science Vessel, it's another weapon slot in front, a Lt Commander Science slot, Lt Tactical and Engineering stations, more hull strength. You get a signification better tactical and survivability capabilities with the better Bridge Stations. They make a big different.

Note: I didn't like the Golf ball Science Vessels at first, but they eventually grew on me. I got to like the Horizon Class with the Hope Class nacelles.

IF you want a different type of T3 Science Vessel, you may look at the Nebula Class Science Vessel. It's a C-Store purchase, and it's nothing like the Golf ball ships. It's more a cruiser, it turns slower, has more crew and hull, but it has a Universal Ensign Station in place of the Ensign Science Station. You can go with a any BOFF to give you more flexbility instead of just the Science BOFF.