As a Tactical Captain flying an L4 Intrepid and considering an upgrade to a Fleet version, one thing that has been bothering for quite some time is that the Tactical BOff station on the Fleet Nova is superior to that on the Fleet Intrepid (at least, according to STOWiki):

L4 Intrepid: Lt. Tac

L3 Nova: Ens. Tac

Fleet Intrepid: Lt. Tac

Fleet Nova: Lt. Cmdr. Tac

My personal opinion is that the Fleet Intrepid should be the one with the Lt. Cmdr. Tac station upgrade, because in Trek canon, the Intrepid was dubbed as an Exploration Cruiser, with Helmsman Tom Paris even quoting "This ship was built for combat performance, Harry, not musical performance". OTOH, the Nova was a much smaller Science Vessel for very short planetary research missions, as per VOY: Equinox.

So the question is, why does a small science vessel intended for quick planetary surveys have one more Tac BOff power than the larger and longer range Intrepid?

Well, to be fair, the Fleet versions of the three 'show' ships all keep the same exact BOFF layout. Defiant, Galaxy, and Intrepid all are exactly the same.

The Fleet Nova probably has that Lt. Cmdr tactical for variety's sake and also giving a Fed sci ship a 3rd level tac power for torp spread, or BO3, Omega 1, etc. This also didn't let it be a re-skin essentially of something like the Recon science or something similar.

Same kind of reasoning why the Excelsior has a Lt. Cmdr tac, so it's not a carbon copy of another cruiser at the same level.

reason for this thread: OP is not using the ideal ship probably...reason for him having tthe intrepid class...he likes the looks. Instead of simply changing the ship that would most likely fit his gameplay, he sticks with a ship because of its looks.
best ship choice for him, if he wants to stick with a sci vessel...vesta, or one of the temporal ships.

PS: there are many other players that like the intrepid and fleet intrepid just the way it is. it is not inferior to the nova...it is different, build for something else. If you pick up ships just based on looks, you will most likely allways endup with an inferior ship, compared to some other ship.

Yes, it's true I'm fond of the Intrepid-class for the looks, as Voyager happens to be my favorite series (heretical, I know).

I also quite like the sensor analysis and subsystem target inherent in all science vessels, and my current playstyle makes good use of them. So not being able to use Torp Spread III for me isn't a major loss.

No need for the third-person snark, baudl - I'm not a dedicated PvPer who has to optimize and homogenise everything, and it's not like I'm demanding for a Cmdr Tac, either.

I would not put much stock in what someone who was kicked out of Starfleet says.


Because the Nova class spaceframe was originally intended for the Defiant,
http://memory-beta.wikia.com/wiki/Defiant_pathfinder
I guess Cryptic took that as a clue the Nova could be built more in line with her tactical roots.

The thing is... the Novas design was based on one of the first "Guns on a warp core" designs (Something Starfleet rejected on principle, then built the defiant and Prommy...) whereas the Intrepid was designed for exploration...

Sounds like the old Gal vs Negh argument to me...

Sounds legit, thanks.

I think I'll stick with my Intrepid - I've gotten used to SA and Subsystem Targeting anyway.

I'm just going to say this, take it as you will.

Y U NO FLY ESCORT??

Tactical captain + escort = lots of dead things.

Escorts are optimized for usage by tactical captains. You have FOMM, APA3, GDF, and TR. Combine those with a TT1, CRF1, APB2/APO3, you can do an INSANE amount of damage in that 30 second period that APA3 is going. You also have high movement speed (crap misses you a lot, esp if you have your defense score maxed out), high maneuverability (hence why DHCs are a favorite on most escorts), and a huge number of tactical consoles and tactical BOff slots. All of that basically turns you into a flying nuke. Crap go boom.

THAT out of the way, if you insist on a science ship, I would just say go with the Nova. It can do a lot more damage overall, despite it's appearance.

The T5 show ships (Galaxy, Defiant, Intrepid) are also the heaviest invested into their respective disciplines, each having 8 powers of their type, which is even reflected in the Defiant's ship description, Tactical Escort.

That being said, I think it is pretty nifty they gave the Fleet Nova a LTC Tac seating.

I'm fairly positive he is not interested in optimized builds, ship and class combos. Some people enjoy different aspects of the game. I respect that.
As he said, he likes the intrepid design...good enough for me.