Hi,
New PS4 player with my Federation science captain main toon just reaching rank 30 and tier 4. My long term plans for the toon was to buy a T6 Pathfinder Long Range science vessel to go with the idea of deep space scientific exploration. However, I just got a free Long Range science vessel for reaching tier 4. Same ship basically. Cryptic wanted $60 dollar for a T4 Pathfinder skin. Twice as much as what it would cost to buy the T6 Pathfinder.
Looking at the stats, I feel I could move my Tier 4 weapons and equipment over to the T6 if I were to purchase it and the T6 version would play quite similar to the T4 version.
Questions:
- Is the $60 dollars for the Tier 4 Pathfinder nothing more than a very expensive costume or is that buying an upgrade to a T6 ship?
- Since I want variety in my ships to keep me interested in end game, would you agree that T6 and T4 versions of the Long Range science vessel are too similar for gameplay / piloting?
- Would it be better to get a Multi-Mission Explorer vessel or maybe a Scryer Intel Science vessel for variety? How do either of those ships play for a science build versus regular build. What is Intel all about? Been seeing posts referring to pilot and intel ships and no idea what they are about.
- With my T4 Long Range vessel, if I upgrade it to XII uncommon to rare weapons and equipment and set up correct corresponding crew skills, would it be viable for most of end game stuff, including advance and elite? Depending of course on how well I can fly it.

Thank you for any replies. I don't mind spending money on ships but trying to avoid getting too similar ones or ones that don't play too well. No way to return a ship I don't like.
Comments
T4 ships are almost-endgame quality. Compared to the t6 zen-store Pathfinder-class, the t4 zen-store Bellerophon loses two science consoles, two bridge-officer powers and some versatility in power choice, and more than 50% of its hull strength. You could play it at end-game. If you're competent and have good gear, you could do excellently. But it would be much more difficult.
Comparing it to the Fleet t6 Intrepid-class, you're losing a further 10% shield and hull strength, and a tactical console slot. Note, this ship is priced quite differently, and does not come with the Pathfinder skin, the ship trait or the Aero Shuttle console.
The other two ships you mention, the t5 Multi-Mission and t6 Intel Science vessels, are interesting choices. The MMSV is unique for its Aux Phaser Cannons. When played as a science vessel, it is like most others, but the aux phasers give it the ability to play as an escort-hybrid, running guns off aux power and ignoring weapons power. The Intel Science Vessel is, I believe, regarded as the best widely-available science ship in the game. It is, however, still a science ship, meaning it plays the same as any other science ship in many regards.
What I would recommend is playing to level 60, messing around with your free level 40 ship, any event ships that are released before you make a decision (Winter event is soon...), and any Mirror Universe ships you can get to play with. Then, spend your Zen knowing better what you want from your ship. Definitely play all three major classes of ship (escort, cruiser and science vessel). Once you've done that, if the answer isn't clear to you, come back to the forums and ask. We're here to help.
When I went to customize my T4 Long Range Science vessel, they gave 5 choices of preset skins. Last one was the Pathfinder skin. I picked it and when I went to save it, it said I need 6000 zen to get the skin. I just went back on line to check my statement and they want 5500 zen for the T4 Bellerophon and 6000 zen for the T4 Pathfinder in the customize presets. This is for a free ship that I picked. No idea why so high or what it entails as no description is provided as to what you would be purchasing for $55 or $60.
Great idea so to playing the ships! I have 3 Fed captains with each one assigned to either an escort, cruiser or science vessel. Plus my Klington captain is using a Bird of Prey for now and Romulan captain has no choice so far but Romulan Warbirds. So hopefully I will have an idea what I want. So far, liking all 3 types of vessels.
Thanks for the information. I will be back if I can't figure it out later on.
Try going to the C-Store to see the price of the T6 ship by itself.
At Level 30, yeah, it's nothing but a costume. At Level 50, it becomes a full-on tier 6 ship.
Yes and no. Yes in that both of these ships, and the entirety of the "science" ship line, all are geared around one "basic" task, completing the mission through the liberal application of science.
No in that the various statistics, power slots, etc. dictate what you can do with the ship. Some ships, like the Multi Mission Explorers, can play differently based on what you slot into the universal slots (Engineers with heals keeps you and/or teammates alive longer than tacticals with BFaW and AP-B, which causes things to blow up faster...)
At the end of the day, look over the stats (hull, shield modifiers, turn rates, special powers if you mess with them, etc.) and see what ship(s) you want to fly. Personally, I'm flying a Nautilus Sci dressed up in TOS skin, which I've configured to have pretty much the exact same set of BOff powers, etc. that I flew on my Pathfinder which was a slight tweak of what I flew on my Vesta (Multi Mission Explorer) which was built off of my T5 Luna... Mainly because all these ships fit my desired playstyle more than some of the other offerings (like the engineering-heavy Nebula or kinda-engineering-heavy Dauntless).
Oddly enough, I haven't messed with the intel or temporal powers that I could play with on my Pathfinder or Nautilus, which could drastically mess with my playstyle...
There are those who can play "endgame" stuff with their T4, or even a T2 and T1. However, that takes an awful lot of skill and/or assistance from teammates. Sticking with T5 (upgraded) or T6 ships is usually in your benefit, lots more BOff slots and console spaces to buff your ship with...
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