I've been spending a little dil-earned Zen on Fed vessels, but I decided that my KDF toon needed some love too. This is for a tactical captain, and I'm looking for a ship which plays something like a Fedside escort. I have a 50-50 split between PvE and PvP, but call it mostly PvP. I've tried out BoPs, but I get kind of tired of the whole hit & cloak routine sometimes. I have also been trying out the mirror Qin, but that borked turning radius just messes up any engagement with Fed escorts. So, there are a few I'm considering:

1. Fleet Somraw Retrofit
This one would play very close to my current Qin, but I'm not sure about the turn pivot. Did they fix it on this one?

2. Fleet Scourge Destroyer
Seems like a pretty good option, but the Prometheus-style layout gives me a few doubts about its survivability.

3. Guramba
Decent too, and the lance would be handy in STFs, but the 9-console layout seems like it might be kinda outmoded in PvP.

4. Temporal Destroyer
This would take me ages to save up for, and doesn't have quite the tactical power of the others. Still, it's an option.

5. Breen Chel Grett
I'm going to be getting this for free anyway, but the layout doesn't seem to lend itself to anything special, and the turn rate means I'm probably going to have similar problems as my Raptors in getting DHCs on target.

Those are pretty much the 5 I'm considering. Thanks in advance for any advice and recommendations you have!

P.S. I know that the Jem bug is probably the best escort, but that is waaaay out of my league in cost.

Did you look into the Tor'Kaht?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVfWjPF39io

Here I was trying out the Norgh and the Fleet Qin. Nice ships. I really didn't find the an issue with the pivot flying the Qin. And the Qin is a beast in all the PVE events. The BoP not so much.

Cheers!

The Guramba is reliable in both PvP and PvE, though you might have a point regarding the consoles.

Haven't flown the fleetships.

I've heard the Chel Grett isn't great shakes at PvP, but works well enough for PvE.

Sure did, but I found it a little too slow on the turn for my liking.

Thanks for the advice. For the Qin, yeah, it was great in PvE. However, in PvP, about 30 seconds after a Bug/Defiant/Separated MVAM sets its sights on me, I have to run screaming for help from teammates, and I usually get ignored anyway. That neck sticking out from the hull really makes aiming DHCs difficult on those little escorts.

Yep, pretty much echoes my reservations about both ships. I just wish we could get a fleet version of the Guramba, and I'd jump into one in a heartbeat.

Have you considered a Kar'Fi? Great weapons, really great pets (besides the high spike DPS they do, they all have aceton field. lousy skill for a doff, great skill for pets to autofire), and pretty good boff slots (3+2 tac, 2 eng, 4+1 sci).

All you will need is kar'fi and the Breen for pve for klink. Need plasmonic leach, Orion slavers, and orion interceptors for kar'fi.

Breen is the new favorite ship....a better temporal destroyer!

Pvp...who knows!

The Fleet Somraw Retrofit will do you proud, its a good ship and is slightly different to the Temporal Destroyer (which I think by a millimetre is better).

I fly the Somraw as I just not got enough Lobi for the Temporal destroyer but it is remarkable that the ship can punch above its weight (to me at last).

Mine is armed with Antiproton weapons and the temporal warfare suite, Borg engine, deflector, console and Aegis shield.

Its a good ship turns well, takes some punishment and turns on a dine.

Cheers

Hmm, didn't take a look at the Kar'Fi. I did find its pets very irritating while in FvK. Could be an option.

As for the fleet Somraw, how was the turn pivot? I've heard that it was pretty off as well, but I could be wrong.

Thanks for all your help so far! Saving zen, little by little.....

Leave the som'raw in space dock, it's crap shield modifier and terrible pivot point makes it mediocre, it's only saving grace is its cloak. Not that it's a bad ship, the other ships are just better.

The fleet scourge actually has solid survivability and can be fitted with a fat shield tank. Its also the most maneuverable. It also has a really nice tac layout for damage. It's an undervalued ship by the community.

The breen and temp destroyer are both great ships that you'll more than likely run with identical BO layouts. So it's a choice between a little maneuverability and shields vs a little more DPS and hull. They give up damage over a scourge for control (gravity well). Best all-around PvE choice.

The garumba is a better version of the som'raw. Good all around ship. A little gimmicky which costs it a console slot, probably not as good as the others.

You can also put the Tor'kaht in there, it gives you a bunch of survivability for maneuverability and a DPS loss(still does good damage tho). I recommend it for folks who end up in a repair bay too often while flushing regular escorts. It can also utilize aux to batt tomfoolery.

I wouldn't say one is better than the others, they're all good ships and its a matter of choice. I'd probably go with a fleet scourge or a Tor'kaht if you PvP much, alternatively the garumba works well as a drain ship. For pure PvE I'd fly a breen ship.