I came up with this idea in another thread, and thought I'd let people look over it. In short: T6 is when we get to upgrade out ships.
Legendary Ships
The game, and some of the game's fans are too hung up on ship classes and tiers. On the one hand, most people want to fly their favorite ships at the maximum level, be it a Prometheus or a Defiant or a TOS Constitution.
On the other hand, there are people who's sense of immersion is broken if X class can defeat Y class. X simply can't defeat Y, it's impossible!
But good captains accomplish impossible things in their ships. A Constitution can't possibly defeat V'ger, but Enterprise did. A single Galaxy-Class couldn't possibly defeat the hulking vessel that had just destroyed 39 ships without a scratch at Wolf 359, but Enterprise-D did. A single Intrepid-Class that had trouble dealing with the Kazon couldn't possibly blow up half the Borg Collective, but Voyager did. A Soverigen could not defeat the Scimitar, but the Enterprise-E did.
And these are strategic and tactical considerations. Starfleet responded to rising tensions with the Cardassians by sending the Enterprise, because the name alone sends a message.
Enterprise, Defiant, Voyager, Rotaran, Lakota . . . ships that, for whatever reason, far exceed the rest of their kind. These ships are more than just a list of specs, a class, and an NCC number. They're legends.
Tier 6: Legendary Status
By the time you reach T6, your captain, ship, and crew have been through a lot together. They are legends in the fleet: your crew are paragons of honor, and your ship is seen as a symbol of hope.
Because of this, Starfleet allows you to confer Legendary Status on one of your ships.
Legendary Status is a T6 upgrade. It functions just like any other upgrade: more weapons, consoles, powers, ect . . . but that's only an in-game representation of what makes a ship truly great.
Maybe your ship is a testbed for new and unique technology, like the Defiant's cloak or the Lakota's refits. Maybe it represents the skill of your crew, the finest in all Starfleet, like with the Enterprises. Maybe it just represents your captain's spectacular leadership, like the Rotaran under Martok, a beat-up old B'Rel with a demoralized crew. You can say your warp core's powered by Chuck Norris roundhouse kicks, if that's what you want.
The point is, Legendary Status doesn't have to represent anything particular . . . just whatever makes your ship capable of overcoming impossible odds.
Making Legends
Characters should be able to confer Legendary Status on a single ship for free upon reaching T6. Like the Enterprise under Kirk, that ship becomes their ship. If the ship is a light cruiser, it would become an escort. If it's a B'Rel, it will become a BoP.
I won't go so far as to say what each particular upgraded class' stats should look like. I'm no theorycrafter. Ideally, each class would have different layouts or special abilities native to that class. Science ships and research science would be different.
Promoting another ship to Legendary Status should carry a steep cost. It would have be large enough that you'd need to grind for it. I suggest Starfleet merits / Honor as the currency, because that's what makes the most sense. Of course, if the current tier system is any indication, making sense isn't required (seriously, a refit Connie is less powerful than a K'ting'a? They premiered in the same movie!)
This will give players the chance to upgrade their ships, and fly whatever ship they want. It's also an acknowledgment that there's more to these ships than just their class: they are characters who play a part in our avatar's stories.
It will make a player's ship feel important. That's what the game really needs, I think.
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