Analyzing Our “Pretty Starter” T6 M’Chla Refit

Good day, Joe and STO! Welcome back to the blog. Today, I want to look at a T6…or rather, “T6”, ship we’re getting as part of the KDF Recruitment Event (running January 26th through February 25th, 2021, at least for a first run).

One look at the ship and we see it’s a gorgeous redesign of the Discovery-era M’Chla, the original of which comes in the Discovery Operations Pack or is available separately for 3,000 Zen.

DIRECT COMPARISON: Original to Refit

If we look at the stats we see a bit of a different beast in the Refit than its original version. Let’s compare the two on most things that matter in a build:

• Weapon Slots
  • Pilot M’Chla: 4 Forward/2 Aft + Experimental Weapon
  • Refit M’Chla: 4 Forward/2 Aft + maybe an Experimental Weapon (waiting on official confirmation)
• Console Slots (base version)
  • Pilot M’Chla: 4 Tactical/3 Engineering/3 Science (10 total)
  • Refit M’Chla: 4/3/2 (9 total, -1 Science)
• Bridge Officer total slots and Specialization Type:
  • Pilot M’Chla: 13, Pilot Specialization on 2 seats
  • Refit M’Chla: 12, no Specialization seats
• Cloak Type
  • Pilot M’Chla: Battle Cloak
  • Refit M’Chla: Enhanced Battle Cloak
    • I believe this is the first time a FREE ship has come with an Enhanced Battle Cloak, not counting the Tier 5 B’Rel one can get at Level 62 (but is technically a C-Store ship and was only a token ship as a Veteran before they raised the level cap to 65, necessitating new level-up rewards).
• Similarities
  • Starship Trait unlock
    • NOTE: This is a FREE Withering Barrage with the Refit M’Chla, just level up the Starship Mastery to Tier 5 on each character that wants it. This ALONE makes it worth unlocking. Withering Barrage is a must-have trait for Cannon: Scatter Volley-based Cannon builds.
  • T6 Scaling (can be used in the early levels up through the end game)
  • One Universal console.

So we see that the Pilot M’Chla is generally superior to the Refit M’Chla except for the Cloak type…but is that the whole story?

BETTER COMPARISON: Tier 5

Since the T6 Refit M’Chla doesn’t quite match up to a full Tier 6 Bird of Prey, let’s look at comparing apples to nearly-ripened apples by comparing to the T5 B’Rel Bird of Prey, which is free (per character) at Level 62 OR account-unlocked from the C-Store for 2,500 Zen).

• Weapon Slots
  • T5 B’Rel: 4 Forward/2 Aft + Experimental Weapon
  • Refit M’Chla: 4 Forward/2 Aft + maybe an Experimental Weapon (waiting on official confirmation)
• Console Slots (base version)
  • T5 B’Rel: 3 Tactical/3 Engineering/3 Science (9 total)
  • Refit M’Chla: 4/3/2 (9 total, -1 Science +1 Tactical)
• Bridge Officer total slots and Specialization Type:
  • T5 B’Rel: 11
  • Refit M’Chla: 12
• Similarities
  • Enhanced Battle Cloak
    • I believe this is the first time a FREE ship has come with an Enhanced Battle Cloak, not counting the Tier 5 B’Rel one can get at Level 62 (but is technically a C-Store ship and was only a token ship as a Veteran before they raised the level cap to 65, necessitating new level-up rewards).
• Differences
  • T6 Refit M’Chla has a Starship Trait unlock.
  • T6 Scaling (can be used in the early levels up through the end game)
  • T6 Refit M’Chla comes with one Universal console (Enhanced Induction Coils, nothing fancy but still it’s a free console).

So we see the free T6 Refit M’Chla has more similarities with a T5 B’Rel than a similar T6 ship of its own line. The biggest advantage I see is the extra BOFF ability slot over the B’Rel’s.

GLORIFIED STARTER SHIP CONFIRMED…

Jem’Hadar characters got a “bug ship” in the form of a T5 “Jem’Hadar Escort.” It’s the same model as a Jem’Hadar Attack Ship but has slight differences from its Attack Ship variant.

The M’Chla is confirmed by Ambassador Kael as a “pretty starter ship.” It has some advantages over putting you in a T5 ship (Starship Trait unlock, a Universal console, Enhanced Battle Cloak) but disadvantages over a full-fledged T6 (1 fewer console slot and BOFF slot before T6-X upgrade, which would make up for the console slot but that’s still against a traditional T6).

…BUT IS IT?

On initial inspection, I thought this was an extremely weak ship. Now that I’m writing this and doing a little research, I’m not so sure.

True, a T6 Kor Bird of Prey or the Refit M’Chla’s namesake would be strictly better (by a single console, and on the M’Chla another BOFF seat and Specialization) and each has a Fleet version that’s strictly strictly better (is that a thing?).

…But this isn’t trying to be a Kor or a M’Chla. It’s trying to be, in essence, a “T6 starter ship” that probably won’t have much operational difference to a regular T6 raider/Bird of Prey. STO’s space combat is more about your piloting and skill in using abilities well and less about your equipment (though you want it as maxed out on Mark level and quality/rarity as best as possible). Your skill in getting around a map, getting into position on enemies, your traits, etc., will mean more than the loss of a console slot and perhaps a BOFF ability slot. You’ll eventually want a Kor or original M’Chla, but as you get used to how a T6 Bird of Prey operates, this is good enough.

And it’s free and account wide. Can you really argue?

I hope everyone enjoys the KDF Recruit Event for which this is a reward!