Ok so, the delightful, shiny, new retrofit defiant got the nerf recently. Instead of 2 tactical commander slots, it now has 1 commander, 1 LTC, and 1 ensign.
Now, normally, I guess that'd be ok, except that the ensign slot is pretty much useless at the level needed to get this ship. Bare with me here...
Ensign level Tac skills have Tactical Team.... and all the rest are beam-centric skills. Considering that the majority of escort players use all cannons in the front (and generally all turrets in rear) it makes an ensign tac slot just about useless, especially since Tactical Team is probably already the first skill on your tac BO's.
Ok, that said, here's a couple suggestions:
Get rid of the tac slot and replace it with a universal ensign slot. Then we can atleast find something useful to put in that place.
OR
Add a new skill to ensign level tacs. Perhaps a maneuver or attack pattern skill or something specific to cannons like a cannon overload or something of that nature.
Having something that is actually useful to a ship of this level would be very much appreciated.
Thanks Devs!
Sov

Comments
Ensign tactical skills are pretty beam obsessed. Especially when you have more than one tactical officer with more than one ensign level ability.
Anyway, I think I prefer your idea of a universal ensign slot: it has the potential for greater variety. Of course, that will disappear whenever the min/maxers get a hold of things.
hi sovereign
Cannon Overload - Same deal as beams in essence
Fire at will - This used to work with turrets I believe, not sure if it still does. Dont see why fire at will has to remain specific to beams and really, the narrow arc of cannons would make FAW extremely niche compared to beams.
Problem solved...
Make it so!
We Raptor Captains have always had to deal with the extra Ensign Tactical slot, and given how much more variety the Federation has, it's a small price for yall to pay to have a cloaking device.
EDIT: Also there are a lot of ideas getting thrown around in the Tribble forums for new ensign level powers, so who knows what they will add.
You do realize not everything has to do with PvP right?
Oh, and yes, I do use cannons, it actually give's me a nice edge if you use a good combo. Like this T2 example:
Fore Weapons
- 1 Phaser Cannon (It has a 180 arc, and gives better damage than a Phaser beam.)
- 1 Phaser Duel Cannon (45 firing arc, but it has a high DPS rate.)
- 1 Quantum Torpedo (really, any torpedo would work here)
Aft Weapons
- 1 Phaser Beam Array (This works well with the current Fore Weapons because of the 360 arc. It also stacks well with Beam Fire at Will.)
This really is a great set up for me since my Main Tactical BOF has Torpedo High Yield II because I use the cannons to not only weaken the targets shields, but they work so well that they do a nice amount of damage as well. The shields are pealed back quickly and I use High Yield Torpedo II to finish off the target. Rarely will I need to use that ability twice... RARELY.
Now I know I'm going off topic, I apologize, I just thought it was redundant to have an escort and not use the high DPS cannons that were MEANT for that class.
Thats the problem with Klingons, they only think of PvP when it comes to getting us nerfed. >.> Rather than having the thought of, "oh wait, this might make things less balanced for PvE."
Again, agree with that completely. At T4, the game is hard enough, but now escort captains are forced to fight with one hand tied behind their back, so to speak.
You still can stick with your fleet/advanced escort to have other ensing (so kinda universal choice), and use MES as cloaking device in them...
Dont blame cryptic about YOUR choice to play the Defiant, someone has to get that ensing tactical, and fleet and advanced already has theirs.
And dont even start with the universal slot...
Klingons were crying about the 3rd tactical ensing since the game launched, nothing has changed...i dont think repeated QQ about this issue will change that now.
The only reason we got stuck with an ensign slot is because klingons QQ'd in the first place.
As for MES, its not even viable to use it as a cloak, it doesn't work since it got nerfed.
Actually, we can blame Cryptic, especially if we were using Escorts before the Nerf.
OH, and where do you find a cloaking Device?I heard there was one for Fed, but I can't seem to find one.
If you actually were on tribble to test stuff, you would know the MES is working there....but its alot easier to QQ on forums with half the informations, instead testing the stuff alone. And no, it was not because klingon QQ, it was because people (both feds and klingos) thought that dual commanders on all ships are little OP, and the T5 retrofits wouldnt be balanced with old T5 ships. Klingons have not the man power to actually QQ about something, so it gets noticed.
So again, get your informations first.
I have been on tribble and no, MES still does not work effectively to merit actually using it, let alone as a cloak.
Personally, I don't even care that the ship has a cloak, I'm just asking for something useful at the ensign level for the ship. It not in anyway an unreasonable request.
You're not going to accomplish anything here with that attitude.
Yes, I do think of things in terms of PvP balance; because until they make is so that you can't Zerg the target in space STFs the PvP balance is the only thing worth worrying about (change the death rules of STFs and we'll talk; and don't tell me that Elite PvE missions are hard).
It has T5 stats, the dual Commander stations had no counter on the Klingon side. Now the ship has the same potential as the Raptor, so if you think it sucks then the Klingons have been b***h slapping Fed groups with a similar ship.......go figure huh?
Mask Energy Signature - a (currently) useless power in PvP (and possibly PvE)
Thats what I was saying earlier. Its absolutely useless in PvE, too.
Ahhhh... So it's not a cloak per say, which would be useful... I don't see why that would warrent a nerf of that magnitude. They should send out a MINOR Nerf since it's a minor power. Not a MAJOR Cut the arm off an escort and give them a cute little power trade off.
Obviously you didnt try it on tribble (aka test server), else you wouldnt say its useless..it works like cloak, and exactly as cloak on MES III, it just doesnt drop your shields !!. Just remember my words when season 2.0 hits, and everyone will use it.
The 2 Commander slots were a failure in balancing the ship. Making the ensign slot universal would again be a failure in balancing the ship. And I am not talking about balancing against Klingons, I am talking about balancing it against other tier 5 ships. Why fly an Advanced Escort or Fleet Escort if you can have the same BOs as they have, plus cloak, plus better maneuverability?
The real solution is more ensign level tactical powers. Snix said that this is something they plan post season 2.
My only problem with the Defiant is that it has cloak instead of just being the toughest escort. That's what I found the most iconic about the Defiant - it took hits like no other ship of her size.
When I started STO I trained one of my BOffs with that skill.
its basically an invisibility power that only works when no-one is looking (ah-la Mystery Men)
that BOff is now neglected, unwashed and unfed in the dark corner of the ship.
That was my other suggestion in my OP. If a universal slot isn't an option, then give us more ensign skills. If they do, then I'm happy.
Problem is, in-game, the Defiant is far more fragile than we've seen in the TV series.
Though, the new model updates are really fantastic.
We need to use all the BOF's to their full potential, and with nerfs like this, it's not getting better, it's getting worse.
No. 2 ensign powers. It was originally geared to have 2 commander slots, which would give an extra commander level power.
But the Ensign skill pool is devoid of anything but beam powers and tactical team.
Very valid points, and I'd agree, however, I'm not here to point fingers at the Devs or lay blame. I'm simply looking for a better solution than what they currently have in place.