How can I realize it's full damage potential? Is there a particular reason why some people run 1 DBB instead of just 4 DHC? What should my Bridge Officers have? I want to be able to tank when needed, but primary focus is offensive capabilities. Any help for my noobish self is appreciated; thanks for your time.

You mean in PvP or PvE ? the reason for why majority of G-X pilots do not use 4xDHCs is because you spend only about 10-20% (depending how good you are) of your time facing your target in PvP..I mean if you try to face your target, like in escort.

I personally use 2xDHC, but just because I'm sure I can actually use them when I need.

Oh sorry, fail me, I mean PVP. Well, I manage to face my targets the majority of the time, I find that the forward firing works decent. But I don't do nearly as much damage as ships like the Negh'var or the Vor'cha, I was wondering what the optimum console set would be. I was wondering if there was an actual benefit to DBB besides the slightly better arc?

The Dreadnaught is tricky and deceptive in that it can fit DHCs, but no where in the manual does it mention that its a good idea. It is in fact a horrible idea. DHCs have such a narrow firing arc that using them to any positive effect would require you keep the front of your ship pointed at your target for a rather long time; fighting another cruiser isn't so hard, but an escort or science will avoid your front end like the plague since they know you have a Phaser Lance. If you're going to use DHCs, I suggest using only one, as this will help beat down a shield facing to prepare for a phaser lance. Otherwise, fit the Dread like you would any other cruiser... with a lot of beam arrays =P

If you're exceptionally good at tanking, you can use evasive maneuvers + reverse to keep a target in that narrow arc well enough, but that's a limited window. You can also use RCS consoles and things like Aux2Damp, but those are valuable Engineer slots that could be used for heals instead, so its risky. Feel free to experiment. I run the Borg set on mine, and the tractor beam is useful for lining up that perfect phaser lance / torpedo combo. Maybe that could be applied to the DHCs as well?