Nearly any ship in the game can be built into an effective PvP ship, but some offer more benefits than others. As a wise person once said, "There are no bad ships, only bad builds."
Additionally, it is highly recommend that you read the PvP Basics section of this site prior to participating in a match, even with a good build.
Do you like fast moving escorts that deal high damage to targets in their forward arc? Check out the Dogfighter section.
Are you more into larger capital ships and cruisers, and intending to take more damage while dishing out damage in a wider arc around your ship? Check out the Cruiser section.
Do you enjoy space magic builds and would like to see your enemies disabled and slowed, making them easier for your team to defeat? Check out the Sci/Control section.
Would you rather focus on healing teammates, clearing debuffs off of them and helping them stay alive longer? Check out the Healers section.
This site is intended to provide information and options to consider, but not to complete your builds for you - I have no way of knowing exactly what gear each reader has access to, what their piloting style is, or every niche build idea that someone may have in mind.
In fact, many players may not even know what their own piloting style or favorite builds are until they have tried some things, and that's where this guide comes into play.
If players are able to survive longer and experience what it is like to have enjoyable PvP matches, working as a team within the limitations of their builds and budget, they can fine tune their piloting as well as come up with new and interesting build ideas to try out. I'd encourage anyone of any skill or budget level to give this a try and if you find it enjoyable once you've made an appropriate effort, start theorycrafting and testing your own build ideas and techniques.
However, do not enter a PvP match without giving your build a proper effort - that is a sure way to end up frustrated or disappointed. You must come in prepared, and even your strongest PvE tanks will not survive this game mode, but that does not mean it is impossible, just that you need to think outside the box and learn about ship building ideas that you may have never used before.
This is the common term for high speed builds, usually utilizing dual beam banks and focusing on dealing the maximum amount of forward-facing damage. Traditional "dog fighting" techniques apply here, staying behind enemies, keeping them in your sights, and trying to deal enough damage to take them down with little consideration paid to other factors.
Of course, any PvP build must have its own self-healing and high resistances to survive, so here are some basics to check off your list:
Here's a link to an immediate build sample if you just want to copy some icons and go.
These builds are generally less maneuverable than "dogfighters," and therefore must rely on weapons with wider firing arcs like Beam Arrays to deal damage. They benefit from a more relaxed flying style and generally higher hull capacities, which benefits survivability, but like any PvP build they must still be quick enough to avoid trouble.
Here are some things generally required for this type of build:
Here's a link to an immediate build sample if you just want to copy some icons and go.
Science builds in PvP are more focused on holding, slowing, and disabling enemies than traditional damage methods (like from ship weapons). Most science builds have multiple universal consoles that provide various effects, such as Tholian Webspinner (holds enemies) or Aakar's Vengeance (subsystem disable). That is in addition to their bridge officer abilities, tools like Gravity Well (especially with Temporal Anchor), Tyken's Rift, or Very Cold in Space all can slow and manipulate the battlefield. A good science build swing a match in their favor quite easily if left unchecked.
Science builds are generally a more advanced playstyle that requires a lot of testing, practice, and knowledge of game mechanics otherwise left unused. Here is a short list to help:
Here's a link to an immediate build sample if you just want to copy some icons and go.
This unique playstyle requires you to take a birds-eye view of the battlefield, paying attention not only to your teammates' health, but what debuffs they might be dealing with. You will be responsible for clearing disables, science control effects, and tactical effects like Suppression Barrage from your teammates, especially if they are unable to clear them alone.
Since all PvP builds have rapid self-healing, you will be providing healing in addition to that - and teammates with high healing and high resistances can be made nearly indestructible by having a second person dedicating their own healing to them.
An important consideration for any healer is that you must have enough self-healing to be able to cast your external heals without having to use them on yourself, except when absolutely necessary. This means many healer builds rely on traits for self healing, then dedicate their bridge officer abilities to healing teammates via Engineering Team, Hazard Emitters, or through consoles like Protomatter Field Projector and Reiterative Structural Capacitor.
Here's a link to an immediate build sample if you just want to copy some icons and go.
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