Arales Bloodmoon: STO Light Cruiser

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

STO Light Cruiser

Light Cruiser:

Rank: Lieutenant
Tier: 1
Type: Cruiser
Hull: 10,000
Standard Shields: 2,500
Shield Modifier: 1
Weapons: Fore: 2; Aft: 1 can equip dual cannons.
Crew: 200
Bridge Officers: 1 Ensign Tactical, 1 Ensign Engineering, and 1 Ensign Science
Device Slots: 2
Consoles: Tactical: 1; Engineering: 1; Science: 1
Turn Rate: 11.4
Impulse Modifier: 0.20
Inertia rating: 50
Cost: 8,000(Dilithium)

This article is about the playable ship. For the NPC vessel see Federation Frigate.

The Federation Light Cruiser is a Lieutenant (Tier 1) level cruiser and the first starship that players of the Federation faction have access to. New players are given command of a Light Cruiser on completion of the tutorial. Since Season 6 they can also be purchased for 8,000(Dilithium).

Although a very basic ship, the Light Cruiser is versatile and maneuverable, having the highest turn-rate of any Federation cruiser. It is also one of three Federation cruisers able to equip Dual Cannons.

Variants

Miranda class

The Miranda class starship has been in service since at least 2285. The version available in Star Trek Online is of the Reliant subtype (with a "rollbar" atop the saucer housing the photon torpedo launcher and main deflector). There are other Miranda variants in Star Trek canon, such as the Lantree configuration (lacking the rollbar) and the Saratoga configuration (also without the rollbar, but with additional sensor pods on the sides of the hull). Neither of them can currently be created through ship customization.

Centaur class

The Centaur class is based on the Excelsior class, built in the 2370s from salvaged components in response to the Dominion threat. It has a main saucer section with two aft nacelles at the end of its down-swept pylons. Out of the three sub-types for the Light Cruiser, it is arguably the one that mostly resembles a Cruiser style ship.

ShiKahr class

The ShiKahr class is similar to the Miranda in appearance though it sports a bulkier hull design. The class is most likely named after the Vulcan city ShiKahr.

Performance
While the light cruisers lack the distinguishing features of cruisers, escorts, and science vessels, they combine certain elements of those classes, and can be customized to fill whichever role the captain desires. For example, they can mount dual cannons, a feature of escort ships which does not carry over to the higher tiers of cruiser types (with the exception of the Federation Dreadnought Cruiser and Avenger Battle Cruiser).

Early on in the game, the overall equipment on board a ship (such as consoles and devices) have little influence on how the ship performs - it is the Bridge Officers' powers and player skill that best determines how well a ship will perform. Different styles of weapons (Beam Arrays, Turrets, Torpedos or Mine Launchers) create different tactics between players.