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Mercury Class

Pilot starships, a new generation of highly agile Escorts and Raiders.

Pilot tree

The Pilot Specialization tree.

Pushing the upper limits of starship maneuverability.


The Pilot Specialization is a Captain Specialization released with Delta Rising as a Secondary Specialization. It was expanded into a full Primary Specialization later, with the release of Season 10. Players trained in this specialization can improve the Turn Rate, Flight Speed and Defense of their starships.

Specialization Pilot icon
Common icon

Pilot
Space Skill

While the Pilot specialization is active, you will gain a 10% increase to your Starship Turn Rate.

This bonus increases by a small amount for each point spent in the Specialization.

(You must have at least 1 point spent in this Specialization to gain this bonus.)

Scaling bonus:

  • QueueSpace +10% base +1% turn rate per point spent (maximum of 40%)

Tiers Overview

Available by default.


  Title Details
Spec pilot t1 maneuvering thrusters icon Maneuvering Thrusters I Space Skill

While at Full Stop, or if your engines are Offline, you are still able to utilize your ship's maneuvering thrusters as if the ship retained a small portion of its base speed and turn rate.

  • Retain 25% of Base Speed while Engines Offline
  • +5 Turn Rate while Stopped
Spec pilot t1 maneuvering thrusters2 icon Maneuvering Thrusters II Space Skill

While at Full Stop, or if your engines are Offline, you are still able to utilize your ship's maneuvering thrusters as if the ship retained a small portion of its base speed and turn rate.

  • Retain 50% of Base Speed while Engines Offline
  • +10 Turn Rate while Stopped
Spec pilot t1 attack pattern expertise icon Attack Pattern Expertise I Space Skill

Activating any Attack Pattern Bridge Officer Ability grants your starship an increase in survivability, represented as temporary hitpoints. Activating an additional Attack Pattern while already under these effects will refresh the pool, not stack them.
(Not triggered by Attack Pattern Alpha)

  • When activating Attack Patterns: __ Temporary Hit Points for 15 sec
Spec pilot t1 attack pattern expertise2 icon Attack Pattern Expertise II Space Skill

Activating any Attack Pattern Bridge Officer Ability grants your starship an increase in survivability, represented as temporary hitpoints. Activating an additional Attack Pattern while already under these effects will refresh the pool, not stack them.
(Not triggered by Attack Pattern Alpha)

  • When activating Attack Patterns: __ Temporary Hit Points for 15 sec
Spec pilot t1 back her off! icon Back Her Off! Space Skill

Your defense and maximum speed are increased while moving in Reverse. (Only recommended in short bursts.)
(Not triggered by Attack Pattern Alpha)

  • +2.4 Flight Speed while in Reverse
  • +20% Defense while in Reverse
Spec pilot t1 eat my dust icon Eat My Dust I Space Skill

When an attacker fires upon the rear arc of your ship, you gain a stacking bonus to your defense, making your ship harder to hit.

  • When damaged on your rear arc, gain +2% Defense for 20 sec (stacks 5 times, triggers max once per 2 seconds)
Spec pilot t1 eat my dust2 icon Eat My Dust II Space Skill

When an attacker fires upon the rear arc of your ship, you gain a stacking bonus to your defense, making your ship harder to hit.

  • When damaged on your rear arc, gain +4% Defense for 20 sec (stacks 5 times, triggers max once per 2 seconds)
Spec pilot t1 desperate flight icon Desperate Flight I Space Skill

As the hull of your ship takes increasing amounts of damage, your flight speed and turn rate will rise higher and higher. This bonus is not applied until your Hull is below 80% capacity, and caps out when you are at 20% Hull.

  • As Hull Decreases, Turn Rate and Speed Increase:
    • Bonus begins at 80% Hull
    • Up to 10% max Bonus at 20% Hull
Spec pilot t1 desperate flight2 icon Desperate Flight II Space Skill

As the hull of your ship takes increasing amounts of damage, your flight speed and turn rate will rise higher and higher. This bonus is not applied until your Hull is below 80% capacity, and caps out when you are at 20% Hull.

  • As Hull Decreases, Turn Rate and Speed Increase:
    • Bonus begins at 80% Hull
    • Up to 20% max Bonus at 20% Hull
Spec pilot t1 reckless abandon icon Reckless Abandon Space Skill

Activating Evasive Maneuvers now grants you brief immunity to all movement-impairing effects. This includes any of the following effects: Slow, Root, Hold, Engines Offline, Repel

  • When using Evasive Maneuvers: Immune to Movement-Impairing Effects for 2 sec

Unlocks after choosing 5 abilities from this specialization.


Officer Training R&D School Unlock:

  • 10 points spent - unlock:

  Title Details
Spec pilot t2 rock and roll icon Rock and Roll
"Active"
Space Skill

Send your ship into a roll, evading most incoming attacks and rendering your ship temporarily impervious to incoming damage.

  • Immune to All Incoming Damage
  • +100% Flight Speed
  • Immune to Slow
  • Turn Rate set to Zero
Spec pilot t2 all shook up icon All Shook Up I Space Skill

After executing the "Rock and Roll" maneuver, your ship remains more difficult to hit with weapons for a short duration.

  • +10% Defense for 10 sec, after using Rock and Roll
Spec pilot t2 all shook up2 icon All Shook Up II Space Skill

After executing the "Rock and Roll" maneuver, your ship remains more difficult to hit with weapons for a short duration.

  • +20% Defense for 10 sec, after using Rock and Roll
Spec pilot t2 magic carpet ride icon Magic Carpet Ride I Space Skill

After executing the "Rock and Roll" maneuver, you retain a large turn rate bonus for a short period of time.

  • +10% Turn Rate for 10 sec, after using Rock And Roll
Spec pilot t2 magic carpet ride2 icon Magic Carpet Ride II Space Skill

After executing the "Rock and Roll" maneuver, you retain a large turn rate bonus for a short period of time.

  • +20% Turn Rate for 10 sec, after using Rock And Roll

Unlocks after choosing 10 abilities from this specialization.


Starship Trait Unlock:

  • 15 points spent - unlock:

  Title Details
Spec pilot t3 turn the other cheek icon Turn the Other Cheek I Space Skill

Taking damage applies a temporary boost to Shield Hardness on the opposite facing from the one damaged. (All four facings may be enhanced at the same time.)

  • On Damage: Reduces Damage to Shields by 5% to Opposite Shield Facing
Spec pilot t3 turn the other cheek2 icon Turn the Other Cheek II Space Skill

Taking damage applies a temporary boost to Shield Hardness on the opposite facing from the one damaged. (All four facings may be enhanced at the same time.)

  • On Damage: Reduces Damage to Shields by 10% to Opposite Shield Facing
Spec pilot t3 turn the other cheek3 icon Turn the Other Cheek III Space Skill

Taking damage applies a temporary boost to Shield Hardness on the opposite facing from the one damaged. (All four facings may be enhanced at the same time.)

  • On Damage: Reduces Damage to Shields by 20% to Opposite Shield Facing
Spec pilot t3 thick of it icon Thick of It I Space Skill

Whenever "Turn the Other Cheek" becomes active on all four of your shield facings at the same time, you are granted a brief period of complete damage immunity. May only occur once every 30 seconds.

  • Immunity to All Damage for 2 sec
Spec pilot t3 thick of it2 icon Thick of It II Space Skill

Whenever "Turn the Other Cheek" becomes active on all four of your shield facings at the same time, you are granted a brief period of complete damage immunity. May only occur once every 30 seconds.

  • Immunity to All Damage for 4 sec
Spec pilot t3 danger zone icon Danger Zone Space Skill

You gain a bonus to your damage output for each Foe within 2.0km of your ship. This bonus can stack up to 10 times maximum. (Does not apply to Mines, Turrets or Targetable Torpedoes)

  • +2% Bonus All Damage per Foe within 2.0km
Spec pilot t3 wing man icon Wing Man Space Skill

Extends the effects of "Danger Zone" to count allies as well. You gain a bonus to your damage output for each Friend or Foe within 2.0km of your ship. This bonus can stack up to 10 times maximum. (Does not apply to Mines, Turrets or Targetable Torpedoes)

  • +2% Bonus All Damage per Friend or Foe within 2.0km
Spec pilot t3 scratch the paint icon Scratch the Paint Space Skill

You become immune to one Warp Core Breach, as long as this is active. Being hit by a Warp Core Breach removes the effect, but it automatically refreshes after some time has passed.

  • Immunity to Kinetic Damage from Warp Core Breach, once per 60 sec
Spec pilot t3 impulse drafting icon Impulse Drafting I Space Skill

Adds a Defense Bonus to each stack of Danger Zone, increasing your Defense for each Foe within 2.0km (and Fried, if "Wing Man" is active).

  • +1% Defense Bonus added to each stack of "Danger Zone"
Spec pilot t3 impulse drafting2 icon Impulse Drafting II Space Skill

Adds a Defense Bonus to each stack of Danger Zone, increasing your Defense for each Foe within 2.0km (and Fried, if "Wing Man" is active).

  • +2% Defense Bonus added to each stack of "Danger Zone"

Unlocks after choosing 15 abilities from this specialization.


Officer Training R&D School Unlock:

Starship Trait Unlock:


  Title Details
Spec pilot t4 bob and weave icon Bob and Weave When an enemy misses you in combat, you take the opportunity to hit them back, right where it hurts. Critical Severity is increased for each stack of "Bob and Weave" (up to 10 max). A successful Critical Hit removes all built up stacks of this buff.
  • When missed, gain +2% Critical Severity for 30 sec (stacks up to 10 times)
  • All stacks removed on successful Critical Hit
Spec pilot t4 lone wolf icon Lone Wolf I
"Active"
Take on the role of the Lone Wolf, single-handedly defeating the gathered foes and conquering the odds. Any players on your team that are within 10km will automatically Placate foes near them when you activate this, making you the only valid target in range for a short time. To survive the inevitable onslaught of incoming fire, the Lone Wolf gains increased Defense and automatic Shield Redistribution for the duration of this ability.

The Placate effect granted to allies is Fragile to their own damage, it will wear off quickly.

  • Self: +25% Defense for 10 sec
  • Self: Distributes shield strength to shields receiving damage for 10 sec
  • Team: Placate Foes within 10km for 10 sec (Placate removed if Foe takes __ Damage)
Spec pilot t4 lone wolf2 icon Lone Wolf II
"Active"
Take on the role of the Lone Wolf, single-handedly defeating the gathered foes and conquering the odds. Any players on your team that are within 10km will automatically Placate foes near them when you activate this, making you the only valid target in range for a short time. To survive the inevitable onslaught of incoming fire, the Lone Wolf gains increased Defense and automatic Shield Redistribution for the duration of this ability.

The Placate effect granted to allies is Fragile to their own damage, it will wear off quickly.

  • Self: +50% Defense for 10 sec
  • Self: Distributes shield strength to shields receiving damage for 10 sec
  • Team: Placate Foes within 10km for 10 sec (Placate removed if Foe takes __ Damage; 8,416.3 at Level 60)
Spec pilot t4 shield scraping icon Shield Scraping I Flying at high speed into the shields of an enemy will drain their shield capacity and reduce their shield's resilience to incoming damage. The magnitude of both effects will scale with the speed at which you scrape against them. You may scrape against enemies once per second, but any enemy recently scraped will be immune to further scraping for 10 seconds.
  • -__ damage to All Shield Facings
    • (scales up to -__ @ 100% Throttle)
  • Increases damage to Shields by 10% for 10sec
    • (scales up to 10% @ 100% Throttle)
  • Affected Foe immune to Scraping for 10sec
Spec pilot t4 shield scraping2 icon Shield Scraping II Flying at high speed into the shields of an enemy will drain their shield capacity and reduce their shield's resilience to incoming damage. The magnitude of both effects will scale with the speed at which you scrape against them. You may scrape against enemies once per second, but any enemy recently scraped will be immune to further scraping for 10 seconds.
  • -__ damage to All Shield Facings
    • (scales up to -__ @ 100% Throttle)
  • Increases damage to Shields by 20% for 10sec
    • (scales up to 20% @ 100% Throttle)
  • Affected Foe immune to Scraping for 10sec

Pilot Officers

Any Tactical, Engineering or Science Bridge Officer can be trained in Pilot specialization by using the [Specialization Qualification - Pilot]. Said item is unlocked for crafting in the Officer Training R&D School once 10 points have been spent in Pilot Specialization, or may be purchased from the Exchange.

Common Pilot Specialist Bridge Officers can also be purchased from Bridge Officer Requisition Officer for a modest dilithium fee.

Bridge Officer Abilities

See main article: Bridge officer and kit abilities -> Pilot Abilities

Space is the only playground of a Pilot. These officers focus their efforts exclusively on combat maneuverability in zero-gravity environments.

Space Abilities
Attack Pattern Lambda icon (Federation) Attack Pattern Lambda
All of your outgoing weapon fire will confuse enemy targeting sensors. This results in reduced Accuracy and Perception for foes hit with weapon fire, as well as a chance to Confuse them into being unable to tell friend from foe for a short time. While active, you also benefit from an increase to your own Accuracy and Perception.
Clean Getaway icon (Federation) Clean Getaway
Get out while you can! Initiate a sensor burst that will give you a small window to flee from an ongoing firefight, while briefly increasing your own flight speed to help make good on your escape.
Coolant Ignition icon (Federation) Coolant Ignition
Eject a trail of impulse engine coolant in your wake, which will ignite after several seconds. Although more effective at both slowing and damaging ships than standard Warp Plasma trails, Coolant trails are unable to do both simultaneously.
Deploy Countermeasures icon (Federation) Deploy Countermeasures
Release a swarm of target-masking probes that will instantly detonate any nearby torpedoes. Your ship will become temporarily immune to smaller projectiles that might slip through the probe swarm. Enemy small craft may also become Confused.
Fly Her Apart icon (Federation) Fly Her Apart
Activating this toggle will give your ship a speed that gradually increases the longer it is maintained, but will degrade your hull each second that passes. When the toggle ends, or is deactivated, you gain a damage buff that scales up with the amount of time the toggle was maintained.
Form Up icon (Federation) Form Up
Instantly jump into a formation position with the targeted ally. Both you and the targeted ally will receive a damage bonus as long as you remain within a short distance of one another for the duration of the ability.
Space Abilities
Hold Together icon (Federation) Hold Together
Regenerate your hull over time, while also removing hazardous debuffs from your vessel. This effect is increased by high speeds, so remaining at full Throttle grants a much larger effectiveness.
Lock Trajectory icon (Federation) Lock Trajectory
Expert control over thrust vectors allows you to send your starship into a controlled skid, maintaining its current trajectory and speed, but allowing it to turn freely.
Pilot Team icon (Federation) Pilot Team
Enhance the speed and turn rate of yourself or one ally within 10km. While used on the target, it also grants a short-term immunity to all movement-impairing effects.
Reinforcements Squadron icon (Federation) Reinforcements Squadron
Call in a squadron of small craft to aid you, or the targeted ally, in their current combat. These nimble allies will assist who ever they are designated to at the time of activation, and will continue engaging enemies in the area for up to 45 seconds, or until shortly after combat ends.
Reroute Reserves to Weapons icon (Federation) Reroute Reserves to Weapons
By shunting the impulse manifolds into your weapons arrays, the drain usually associated with energy weapon activation can pull from your Engine Subsystem instead of Weapons. While this effect is in place, the firing cycles of all active energy weapons will cycle more quickly.
Subspace Boom icon (Federation) Subspace Boom
Initiate a sudden and violent warp burst that sends out shockwaves in subspace. These distortions will deal minor damage to foes that scales up with your Throttle value at the time of activation. The area remains hazardous to travel for several seconds, inflicting defense and movement debuffs on any enemies caught in the region.


Pilot Starship

The following playable starships can be classified as Pilot Starships:


Pilot Maneuvers

All Pilot starships are capable of performing four special Pilot Maneuvers: Afterburners, Left and Right Barrel Roll, and Retrorockets.

Much like how players are able to perform active dodging/rolls on ground, these starships can perform these maneuvers by double tapping in the direction they’d like to perform a special maneuver. These maneuvers can be rebound to different keys, or activated manually from a UI element if the player so desires. After activating a Pilot Maneuver player will be briefly immune to damage.

Hybrid Seating

All Pilot Starships feature a Commander Pilot Bridge Officer seat. Some of these ships feature an additional, lower ranking Pilot BOff seating.

Other playable ships with Pilot BOff seat

See main article: List of starships with Pilot seating

A large number of playable Tier 6 starships come with either an Ensign, Lieutenant or Lieutenant Commander Pilot BOff seating. However, these ships lack the built-in Pilot Maneuvers, and are thus not considered to be Pilot Starships.


Captain Specializations
Primary & Secondary Secondary
Command OfficerIntelligence OfficerMiracle WorkerPilotTemporal Operative ConstableCommandoStrategist
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