The problem with suggestions like these is it won't happen, so its pointless to suggest.

Look at the game mechanics, all the guaranteed hits in the game. Who is going to sit down and rebalance the to hit mechanics of all the abilities? Nobody is. Its not going to happen, they can't find the time to fix science, whats the chance they can go through everything.

If you believe in failure before even trying then what's the point of even getting out of bed in the morning? I really care for this game and as such I will never stop trying to put forth ideas that could enhance it.

The Yo-Yo tactic is at the heart of the problem. It allows an escort to keep in motion and therefore keep thier high defense value in play.

If you decrease thier shields/hull points but increase thier defense for moving then the Yo-Yo tactic will only work better for them defensively, even if they are weaker and will take more damage when finally hit.

Do all that and give them even more damage capability will just increase the imbalance.

My 2 ec for what its worth

The yo-yo tactic is completely useless when anything within range can tractor it at will. Escorts already suffer from lack of tractor breaking BOFF skill slots and to further decrease their hull and shields will make them more of a liability to fly than they already are. They wanna make my day (Cryptic), let them gift escorts with an inherent ECM ability to go with that maneuveribility to help ensure that tractor-mine spawning healboat cruisers they're trying to kill arent able to tractor it 100% of the time it's in range. I LIKE tanking in my escort because I cant stand the gutless wonders Cryptic made of most cruisers.

You're forgetting about the Chel'gret and the Tor'kaht. Those two ships are destroyers (look at their maneuverability and tactical ability ,both of those are too high for battlecruisers, but too low for escorts, and their hull is too high for an escort), if not by name, then at least by theory.

The only problem with your class change-up is that the destroyer name has already been taken by the Nausicaan Scourge Destroyer. Which is basically a slightly modified Patrol Escort (but a NASTY ship, I don't know why I don't see more of them).

Tractor beam breaking BOff skills... yeeeeah in PvP when I try to tractor an escort, nine times out of ten they simply hit PH and keep on walking... even if I "tractor mine spam" in my heal-boat cruiser.

And I beg to differ on your ending statement. Cruisers are not "gutless wonders", they are "toothless whales". Big difference. My cruiser can stand ballz deep in a FUBAR situation and give no craps, whilst most of my escorts would usually have to get the hell out of dodge. Gutless? No. Toothless? Alas yes...

Yea im not sure where he got escorts have tractor issues what with omega and ap doffs no to mention a backup polarize hull just in case i find that i have to subnuke a escort to hold his squirly arse down....cruisers while can tank had their teeth pulled somewhere around season 3 or 4.

but sadly cryptic wouldnt know balance if it hit them in the face!

You do realize that BOFF station setups have nothing to do with the Captain class, right?

I've said it elsewhere, I'll say it here. I'm sick to death of everything in this game spamming tractor beams. In the entire 47 years of Star Trek, we've seen a tractor beam used in combat a grand total of once, perhaps twice (Enterprise D grabbed the Stargazer in the midst of a Picard Manuever in "The Battle," and the Defiant grabbed a Vor'cha class cruiser... I think the episode is "The Way of the Warrior").

That's IT. Almost 50 years of shows and movies and at most TWO instances of tractors being used in combat (and in neither case did it do any damage).

They're FAR too commonplace in STO, and they shouldn't be doing damage.