I'm going to have to offer a contrary opinion on this: Fly what you're happy to fly.

Opinions are all well and good, but that's ALL they are - opinions. There are players who'll make the Aquarius work for them - some may even make it work well. Yes, it's a watered-down Defiant, but seriously, this game isn't about doing what everyone else thinks you should do. And since they're improving it's shields it could well be a more viable option anyway.

My ship of choice is usually a Fleet Rhode Island - far from the most powerful ship in the game and definitely not a high DPS producer, but it's my favorite trek ship, has been since I saw it in 'Endgame', and I'm not having anyone tell me I should be flying something else.

If you want to buy the Aquarius I say go for it, and play STO the way YOU want to play it.

Personally, I find it ugly. Additionally, it's just weak. The low hull hit points and shield modifier make it rather fragile and the 4/2 weapon layout gimps your damage. I'm not really sure what the thought process was when they decided on the stats for the Aquarius. With that said if you think it's cool looking you will still be able to do most anything in the game up to and including elite stf's, but you will do less damage then in pretty much any other escort and you will most likely be seeing the re-spawn button a lot.

Silly comment. The title is "So what's wrong with the playable Aquarius?", and we are telling him what is wrong with it.

It's ok, I don't mind getting other thoughts as well. In fact, if there's anyone out there who has the Aquarius and DOES make it work well, let me know how you do it. Thing is I know I could get a better ship (and do have them) I've just got a bunch of fleet credits burning a hole in my pocket lol, with not much else to do with them.

if you dont have it, buy the free Odyssey. it is pretty much one of the best cruisers out there, and costs the same. aka it is not a waste of money like the aquarius (even with the added hull it will probably be useless compared to other escorts, I suspect that added amount will only be enough so the ship wont be called junk anymore)

also, just to answer the question, what is wrong with the aqua: everything

It's not really an opinion, though... it's a fact based on the ship's stats, relative to other escorts.

For most ships, I'd say a small disadvantage in stats is worth it if you really like the ship itself. The Aquarius, however, has over 6,000 base Hull points less than the Defiant, only around 3/4 of the Defiant's shields at best, and one less aft weapons slot, while sharing the same turn rate and gaining no special abilities to make up for its lacking defenses.

It is receiving a shield boost in the next patch, but there are more problems with it than just its shields. What it really needs is a higher base turn rate, higher base speed, and higher base bonus defense. If it at least moved like a BoP, it might just be subpar instead of being abysmal.

In short, an objective look at the Aquarius shows it to be beyond just a little subpar.