New Dominion ships in Star Trek Online

Cryptic have added another of their lock-box thingies to Star Trek Online, which tends to mean they're introducing some new ship designs (as well as assorted other equipment that the boxes can contain). This time those new ships are Dominion designs, one from DS9, two new designs, plus the usual selection of new mirror universe variants of existing designs from the game. Here's the in-universe rationale for the sudden appearance of Dominion ships among the Federation and Klingon fleets:

Although a tense peace now exists between the Dominion and the primary powers of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, conflicts between these civilizations are not unheard of. Whether these skirmishes are brought on by simple miscommunication or by willful dissention from their respective authorities, the outcome is rarely in favor of those that would dare to stand against the Dominion’s fearsome Jem’Hadar warriors and their formidable warships.

To further complicate matters, a large portion of the Jem’Hadar bred in the Alpha Quadrant during the Dominion War have chosen to defy their “gods” in the Gamma Quadrant and support the separatist cause of the True Way. Other Jem’Hadar soldiers have chosen to offer their obedience and service to the “New Link” – a collection of Changelings who have cut ties with their former True Way allies and adopted the planet of Orias III as their new homeworld.

This fragmentation of the Dominion’s forces in the Alpha Quadrant, and the resultant battles that dot the stars this side of the Bajoran Wormhole, have led to a great number of derelict (yet salvageable) Dominion warships floating adrift at sites of former battle. Enterprising members of the Lobi Crystal Consortium have taken it upon themselves to retrieve and refurbish these impressive vessels. While their primary purpose has been selling them back to the Dominion at deep discounts in order to garner favorable negotiations for trading interests in the Gamma Quadrant, the sheer volume of ships has also allowed them to offer them up for acquisition to interested parties of the Alpha Quadrant.

Veterans of the Dominion War know all-too-well the impressive abilities of these powerful vessels having faced them in many devastating engagements. Starfleet and the Klingon Empire both recognize the benefit that even one Dominion warship could mean to whichever faction that employs them as a weapon of war, and must jealously seek them out even if only for the purposes of keeping them out of enemy hands.

The biggest new ship, is the sleek Jem’Hadar heavy escort carrier:

 

A Jem'Hadar warship design developed in the Gamma Quadrant after the end of the Dominion War, the Jem'Hadar Heavy Escort Carrier is a ship designed to complement the tactics of Jem'Hadar warriors. Often supported by a wing of Jem'Hadar fighters, the appearance of a Jem'Hadar Heavy Escort Carrier in a battle can turn the tide for the Dominion.

The Jem'Hadar Heavy Escort Carrier comes standard with a Dominion Coordination Protocol console. This universal console allows the use of "Fleet Maneuver Gamma," a powerful attack pattern that increases the damage, flight speed and maneuverability of all nearby allies while also granting temporary immunity to a variety of perception and maneuverability debuffs.

When used in conjunction with the Dominion Command Interface, "Fleet Maneuver Gamma" will also provide a bonus to allies' defense and accuracy. The Dominion Command Interface can be obtained by owning a Jem’Hadar Dreadnought Carrier.

The Jem'Hadar Heavy Escort Carrier comes standard with 1 hangar bay of Jem'Hadar Fighters. Jem'Hadar Fighters are armed with Polaron Pulse Cannons and can use Directed Energy Modulation I.

Even bigger, is the familiar design of the Jem’Hadar dreadnought carrier

 

A ship design introduced during the Dominion War, the massive Jem'Hadar Dreadnought Carriers were some of the most powerful ships ever created by the Dominion. More than twice the mass of a Federation Galaxy Class starship, the Jem'Hadar Dreadnought Carrier was first seen in the Alpha Quadrant by the crew of the U.S.S. Valiant in 2374. Later in the war, Dreadnought Carriers were used to destroy outposts and provide heavy support during the Battle of Cardassia.

The Jem'Hadar Dreadnought Carrier comes standard with a Dominion Command Interface universal console. The Dominion Command Interface can analyze a target's weakness and broadcast that information to all nearby allies. Enemies whose weaknesses have been targeted will have reduced damage resistance and defense and a single subsystem marked as "vulnerable." Enough damage to a vulnerable subsystem will knock it offline for several seconds.

The Jem'Hadar Dreadnought Carrier comes standard with 2 hangar bays of Jem'Hadar Fighters. Jem'Hadar Fighters are armed with Polaron Pulse Cannons and can use Directed Energy Modulation I. Owners of the Jem'Hadar Attack Ship (the ship must be unpacked) can also purchase Jem'Hadar Attack Ship hangar items in the Dilithium Store. These items are available for use exclusively with the Jem'Hadar Dreadnought Cruiser.

The Jem'Hadar attack ship, which is already available in STO, can also be loaded into the dreadnough carrier's hangers as a fighter.

They have also introduced a new Jem'Hadar fighter though, which comes with both carrier ships as a fighter, but is also available as a non-combat pet.

Continue reading after the jump for a look at the new mirror universe ships:

The Mirror Universe Advanced Escort looks more like our Prime Universe Patrol Escort, but has more of a science advantage in Bridge Officer Seating and Console Configuration.

The Mirror Advanced configuration includes the mirror version of the Dervish, Gryphon and Hermes class.

The Mirror Universe Patrol Escort looks more like our Prime Universe Advanced Escort, but has more of an engineering advantage in Bridge Officer Seating and Console Configuration.

The Mirror Patrol configuration includes the mirror version of the Cerberus, Phoenix and Prometheus class.

The Mirror Vo'quv Carrier favors Engineering Officer Seating and Console Slots more than the non-Fleet Prime Universe version does.

Find out more about the other items in the Dominion lock-box, here, and read up on the ship specs, here.