The excelsior was balanced before the fleet system was finalized. Now that the assault cruiser retrofit is out both it and the Excelsior need fleet versions.

Thankfully the devs have hinted there will be another wave of fleet ships added when questioned about the option of a fleet excalibur class. Im really hoping this happens when season 7 hits.

I can only dream of the day when it does (and also hope it'd get the fleet module discount).

If the game doesn't see me fit to win a bug over these next few days, at least getting a Fleet Excelsior in the near-future would be SO nice.

To my eyes the best looking cruiser I'n the fleet

I have had much enjoyment out of mine and
Find myself wanting to fly it even though I have
Much more powerful ships

It was the most powerful ship I'n space when
Launched and kept the title for decades until the ambassador
Class took it's place.

Made into a mockery I'n this game but still my
Favorite ship

To each their own.

Amazingly the CMDR version of the ship actually keeps up with Elite STFs just as well as the RA version, the only problem is that due to the lower hull and 1 less science console it can't stay in a fight for as long. In fact it does so well I am tempted to fully build it and use it from time to time.

But I think the Excelsior should get a fleet version, if Starfleet has stuck with it for 200 years that has to mean something and one would expect fleets to build them after a few design changes (Preferably uni ensign and new tac/sci console, preferably tac as 2 sci consoles are enough for decent tanking)

Before adding newer content, I think they need to fix a lot of the current bugs they have. I also agree, as much as I am not an excelsior fan, I fleet version would be nice considering how useful that ship is. However if you get your Fleet Excelsior, I want my Fleet Assault Cruiser. Deal?

(btw, that match between your excel and my oddy was epic XD)

I guess I'm odd in actually liking the look of the Excelsior class. It always kind of made me think of what happened when starfleet designers tried to make a Hotrod starship!
Huge low profile engineer hull, oversized nacelles, all it needs is the chrome trim! My main wish for it, apart from a possible fleet version, would just be an authentic bridge for it. The one from the Voyager flashback episode ideally, as I think that was its best looking iterration.

Deal.

I'd even accept no BOFF changes for a Fleet Excelsior (though it'd be nice), just the extra hull, shields, one more console, and possibly more Transwarp choices, along with the 75% fleet module discount.

If I HAD to say:

Cmdr Eng.
Lt. Eng.
Lt. Cmdr Tac
Lt. Sci
Ensign Sci

I don't want a tactical officer there as much, because that'd basically make it a D'kora in BOFF layout and potentially console layout as well. So a sci is more preferable IMO. And there's the always obvious and P2W method of making it a universal.

Well if it were up to me I'd say deal, sadly it's not but I'll still say deal

Indeed it was

It's not so much that transwarp has fallen by the wayside as it has that the transwarp concept has changed to one that many proponents of the traditional definition of "transwarp" don't recognize, and one that posits a different method of travel from the one that Star Trek usually uses.

All the way up until that Voyager episode where Paris turns into a fishman, "transwarp" basically meant "Going Really Really Fast", so fast you were everywhere at once. Theoretically, you could make ANYTHING go to transwarp if you glued a fat enough engine to its ass.

As with many of Star Trek's changes, you can blame the Borg. They were the first race in the series to use "transwarp space" and "transwarp conduits". As that concept developed, "transwarp" evolved from "Go Really Really Fast" into "Take A Shortcut".

So, by the time Voyager was done and that whole business with Borg transwarp hubs and whatnot was established, the relationship between Star Trek's many travel systems was like so:

Impulse Drive = Walking
Warp Drive = Driving
Quantum Slipstream = Pedal to the metal
Transwarp = Getting On The Freeway/Taking An Express Train

Now, as of STO, Transwarp is hearthstones and teleports, where ships use special doohickeys to open up an "on-ramp" to a galactic freeway that only has "off-ramps" at various specific points. And in concept, the contemporary definition of transwarp is closer to the "space gate" concept that other sci-fi settings, like Mass Effect, Freespace, X, Stargate, Babylon 5 etc. use.