IMHO rename game name to cruisers online.

Each Class has the same stock ships. The game has gotten 2 T5 Cruisers that weren't stock: Excelsior and now Odyssey. The game has gotten 2 T5 Science Vessels that weren't stock: Nebula and D'Kyr. For Escorts we know the T5 Andorian ship is coming - we've all seen the drawings - and ThomastheCat hinted fairly strongly in a podcast that a T5 Akira might be in the horizon too. Yes, the Escorts might be coming a little slower but, as I said above, Trek is a Cruiser-centric IP, and always will be.

For PvE, you really won't see any difference so why complain? You can fly the enterprise F as a tac captain no problem. You can spacebar your way through a mission in PvE that it doesn't matter except from a visual standpoint sto pve ftw yo

You've got a new ship, and you're free to fly it in PvE with no detrimental effects on you.

For PvP...

LoL at cruiser fleets trying to pvp

Cruisers work fine in PvP as well.

12th vs Angry Clowns
Hakaishin No-Tractor Montage
12th vs Random ROFL Pugs

And to be fair, Odyssey (while definitely not recommended for Tacs) would make an amazing PvP healer.

yeah that flew over your head. as an escort pilot, id like to see some new variations at end game. i like the odyssey and think its looks cool, but i do think that there needs to be some newer escorts. there is no whining about this- its just a simple fact- escorts need some visual love:p

ST being a cruiser centric IP is very true- a T5 akira would be nice, as it would be more of a smaller cruiser type escort focused on fighting- i think as escorts go, that could probably be the way. larger than the small escorts but a bit beefier. i just wish escorts got some visual loving like the cruisers. sci ships need that love too:p

Gah, sorry, this is really off-topic actually, but STO's actually quite a bit more diverse.

If you showed up for a fleet in EVE without a battleship, HAC, Stealth Bomber, or whatever was doctrinal for that particular group, fleet command would send you home with a pink slip telling your corporation you were a disgrace to the alliance. Seriously.

WE DID?!?

/lol

* Red emphasis added by me.

Limited time only $250 on average via the C-Store or ~40,000 holiday races on average.

We have had no new Escort hulls since the game launched. The Prometheus and Defiants were all ships that existed at game launch. There is no amped up Fleet Escort type ship with an Engineering slant like the Excelsior is for Cruisers.

While I do not believe that the Odyssey should be a cruiser, I think that they need to take a serious look at providing Escorts in game, just like they have provided Cruisers and Science ships. I have been stuck in the same Fleet Escort since April 2009.

You guys do realize that this was intended from the outset to be a new class of ship for a new Starship Enterprise, right? And all the previous Enterprises have been, at least in their own time (I'm looking at you, NX-class), considered heavy cruisers?

I'm not saying you're right to want brand new science and tactical ships - I would be happy to see them myself, especially a new science class.

But this is the Enterprise we're talking about. The flagship of a Starfleet that, despite current appearances, is devoted more to exploration and humanitarian efforts than conquest. To me, the Odyssey-class, and the Bortas-class, for that matter, are both exactly what they should be - epitomes of their individual cultures' goals. The Federation on helping others and on defense, and the Empire on making stuff go boom.

Sure, one Odyssey may have a hard time taking on a solo Bortas. I'm willing to admit that possibility. But, to go along with the example of EVE Online that was brought up upthread, not everyone has to - or indeed should - be bringing a ship-of-the-line for a fleet fight. You need support, logistics, scouts... and in my mind, the point at which the Odyssey will excel for you PVP types may well end up being in that support/logistics role. It ain't glamorous as flying a glass-cannon Defiant on suicide run after suicide run, but it's just as important.

Insofar as PVE goes, I look forward to bringing this ship up against Borg. I suspect it will cause many of them to go "kaboom" and keeping my allies alive just that much longer.

Let's have a race. Take your Odyssey against an STF Elite Cube and I'll take my dreadnought.

I'll place money I'll live just as long, and deal >3x your overall damage.

My current wager is 25mil. Take me up on that?