Guide to the Tier 1 Light Cruisers in Star Trek Online: Miranda, Centaur, and ShiKhar Class

Guide to the Tier 1 Light Cruisers in Star Trek Online: Miranda, Centaur, and ShiKhar Class
Page content

Aside from the ships that played a starring role in their various Star Trek series and films over the years (The U.S.S. Enterprise, U.S.S. Enterprise D, U.S.S. Defiant, and U.S.S. Voyager), the Miranda-class Light Cruiser is probably the most famous Starfleet ship design. It has appeared in numerous Star Trek films (most notably as the U.S.S. Reliant, which does battle with Kirk’s Enterprise in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan after being commandeered by Khan Noonien Singh), 3 episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, an episode of Star Trek: Voyager, and 23 different episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space 9.

Commander Benjamin Sisko is the first officer of the Miranda-class U.S.S. Saratoga at the battle of Wolf 359. The Saratoga seems to have a knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, as a different ship with the same name was among the first to be disabled by the probe in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.

The point is, the Miranda is a very recognizable ship to anyone with even a passing familiarity with the Star Trek universe, and it’s no surprise that Cryptic chose it and its fellow Light Cruiser variants to be the first ship you command after emerging from the tutorial mission in Star Trek Online.

Check out the full stats for the Miranda, ShiKahr, and Centaur-class Light Cruisers:

Light Cruiser Stats

She’s not the fastest or the strongest ship in the fleet, but the Light Cruiser is one of the most reliable.

  • Star Trek Online Miranda Class Light Cruiser

    Minimum Rank: Lieutenant

  • Crew: 200

  • Weapons: 2 Fore, 1 Aft

  • Device Slots: 2

  • Bridge Officer Stations: 1 Ensign Tactical, 1 Ensign Engineering, 1 Ensign Science

  • Console Upgrades: 1 Tactical, 1 Engineering, 1 Science

  • Turn Rate: 11.4

  • Impulse Modifier: 0.20

Captaining Your Light Cruiser

Star Trek Online Light Cruiser

The Light Cruiser is fully customizable, and its very possible to achieve a very unique looking ship by taking advantage of the excellent ship customization options provided in the game. To customize your ship, you’ll need to speak to Dirz Raxx in the shipyard at Earth Spacedock. He’s standing on the left side as you enter.

As the first ship in the game, the Light Cruiser is a fairly versatile boat. She can equip any Mark I or II weapons you come across, including cannons. This versatility should allow you to get a sense of what kind of tactics you prefer in space combat, and that will help you when it comes time to choose between the three different Tier II ship types.

Captains who enjoy equipping heavy armaments like Dual Cannons and Dual Phaser Beam Banks that fire

ShiKahr Class Configuration

in a small forward arc may want to consider the Escort for their Tier II ship.

If you find yourself equipping a heavy shield and going toe to toe with multiple foes, then you may wish to consider the Cruiser when you reach Lieutenant Commander.

Or, if you find yourself leaning heavily on your Bridge Officer abilities that disable opponents and increase the effectiveness of your own ship, the Science Vessel may be a good fit.

The cool thing about the Light Cruiser is that you can use it to try out all the different roles before committing to your first ship with a more narrow combat focus when you are promoted to Lieutenant Commander.

She Can Do it All

If you find yourself not enjoying your first ship, or discover that it is a little lacking in terms of overall capabilities, don’t sweat it. You’ll find yourself promoted and on to your Tier II ship before you know it.

Star Trek Online Light Cruiser in ActionThose who purchase Star Trek Online from Gamestop will likely never even see the Light Cruiser, as their first ship will be the class Constitution-class cruiser made famous by Star Trek: The Original Series.

Basically, your first ship in Star Trek Online is a sturdy and capable jack of all trades type ship. She can take a little bit of punishment, dish out some of her own, and when taken care of properly, should bring you home just about every time. About the time you discover you are beginning to master all of the Miranda-class features, you will find yourself moving on to bigger and better things.

If you’re interested in higher-rank ships in Star Trek Online, be sure to check out the rest of the guide.

This post is part of the series: Star Trek Online Guide to Ships

Whether you’re looking for information on tier 2, 3, 4, or 5 ships in Star Trek Online, our complete guide has got you covered. Check out full ship stats, and see which ships are available at Lt. Commander, Commander, Captain, and Admiral Ranks.

  1. Ultimate Guide to Ships in Star Trek Online
  2. Guide to Ships in Star Trek Online: The Tier 1 Light Cruiser
  3. Guide to Ships in Star Trek Online: Tier 2 Vessels
  4. Guide to Ships in Star Trek Online: Tier 3 Vessels
  5. Guide to Ships in Star Trek Online: Tier 4 Vessels
  6. Complete Guide to Tier 5 Vessels in Star Trek: Online
  7. Star Trek Online Ship Customization Guide: Light Cruiser