Andy Billups at a glance
Andy Billups is a four-star Epic Federation engineer in Star Trek Fleet Command. He sits in the Interceptor Strike Team group and is built for one very specific job: cranking up Isolytic Cascade damage when you’re flying an Interceptor against a target that already has a Hull Breach.
The headline quirk is his captain ability, called Abdicated. It is exactly what it sounds like. Equip him as a captain and your ship gets nothing. Not less than other captains, nothing at all. He earns his keep as an officer in a bridge slot, not in the chair.
If you fly Interceptor-class ships and your crew can apply Hull Breach to enemy players, Andy Billups is a strong piece to slot in. If you don’t, he is a collector’s Epic with a great backstory and not much in-game use.
Star Trek background
Andarithio “Andy” Billups is the chief engineer of the USS Cerritos in Star Trek: Lower Decks. He is a Lieutenant Commander, voiced by Paul Scheer, and he runs Engineering for Captain Carol Freeman.
His backstory is one of the goofier bits of Trek canon. Billups was born a prince on Hysperia, a planet colonized by Renaissance-fair enthusiasts. His mother, Queen Paolana, raised him in a castle with a pet dragon named Fiddlesticks. He abdicated his birthright as Crown Prince to join Starfleet as an engineer. The Queen has not let it go and spends multiple episodes trying to scheme him back to the throne.
That backstory is the source of his captain ability name in STFC. He literally abdicated, so he refuses to take command. It is a fun touch even if it makes him unusable in the captain seat.
Role in STFC
In game terms, Billups is an Engineering-class officer with a single-purpose damage buff. The Interceptor Strike Team group exists to amplify Isolytic Cascade, which is a damage multiplier that multiplies all your damage, including Isolytic Damage and most research bonuses. Hull Breach is a debuff that some weapons inflict on the enemy. When both conditions line up, Billups makes the next round hit much harder.
That puts him squarely in late-game Interceptor PvP territory, alongside other Interceptor Strike Team officers and crews that focus on Isolytic Cascade. He is not a general-purpose officer. He is not for mining, faction grinding, armadas, or station defense. If your roster is not pointed at Interceptor combat with Isolytic Cascade tooling, he stays in the cupboard.
Captain ability and officer ability
Captain ability: Abdicated
“This officer does not have a captain’s maneuver. Equipping this officer as the captain of a ship provides no benefit.” That is the entire description. It is not a typo, it is not a placeholder, and it is not waiting to be patched in. Andy Billups is one of a small handful of officers in the game who deliberately have no captain effect.
The practical takeaway: never put him in the captain seat. Use him as an officer in one of the other bridge slots. If you accidentally captain him on a ship, you are giving up whatever captain effect you would have had from any other officer in that slot.
Officer ability: In Your Element
This is the ability you recruit him for. On round start, if Billups is on an Interceptor and the enemy player has Hull Breach, he increases your Isolytic Cascade damage for one round. The boost scales with his rank. As of the latest game data, the per-rank values are:
| Rank | Isolytic Cascade damage boost (one round) |
|---|---|
| I | 60% |
| II | 75% |
| III | 90% |
| IV | 110% |
| V | 130% |
Two things to keep in mind. First, the buff only triggers on round start, so it depends on getting Hull Breach applied early. Second, the trigger language calls out an enemy player, so this fires in PvP rather than against generic hostiles or armada targets. Build the rest of the crew around getting Hull Breach onto the opponent quickly and reliably.
Where Andy Billups shines
Three scenarios make him worth the bridge slot:
- Late-game Interceptor PvP where your crew already includes Isolytic Cascade tools. Billups stacks on top of the existing damage multiplier and converts an opponent’s Hull Breach into a meaningful damage spike.
- Tournament or event PvP that rewards burst damage. The one-round boost is large enough to swing a fight if you have set up the Hull Breach state.
- Bridge slot filler on Interceptor compositions where you would otherwise be running a generic damage officer. If you have him at a reasonable rank, he beats neutral filler in the right matchup.
He does not improve mining ships, station-defense crews, faction-rep grinds, or any of the early-to-mid-game work that most players are doing day to day. Treat him as a specialist tool, not a staple.
How to get Andy Billups
Recruitment for Epic Federation officers like Billups generally runs through the recruitment shard system and the current event and store rotations. Specific drop locations and event availability shift each cycle, so check the live event calendar, the faction store rotations, and the recruit pool to see whether he is in the current pool.
Total cost from recruitment to max rank is 1,500 shards. The per-rank breakdown to promote into each rank is 100 for Rank I, 100 for Rank II, 200 for Rank III, 300 for Rank IV, and 800 for Rank V. The Rank V wall is the biggest single jump, so if you plan to chase him to max, budget shards accordingly.
Synergies
Class synergy
Billups sits in the Interceptor Strike Team synergy group. The class synergy bonuses for Command, Engineering, and Science are currently listed at 0% per the latest in-game data, so there is no class-pairing math to worry about with him right now. If a future patch updates the group, that picture can change.
Synergy officers
The named officers in his synergy group are Gul Dukat, Garak, and Damar. The percentage bonuses for these pairings are listed at 0% as of the latest data, so naming the group is more of a flavor note than a crew-building rule. If you are already running those officers for other reasons, they are cohort-mates; you do not gain a measurable synergy bonus from pairing them with Billups today.
Character traits
Trait unlocks for Andy Billups follow the standard ladder. You must complete each trait before you can start the next one. XP costs per level, as of the latest data, are:
Engineer (3 levels)
| Level | XP |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1,500 |
| 2 | 2,700 |
| 3 | 3,800 |
Cautious (4 levels)
| Level | XP |
|---|---|
| 1 | 7,650 |
| 2 | 6,000 |
| 3 | 7,000 |
| 4 | 8,850 |
Specialist (9 levels)
| Level | XP |
|---|---|
| 1 | 10,000 |
| 2 | 4,000 |
| 3 | 7,000 |
| 4 | 10,000 |
| 5 | 15,000 |
| 6 | 23,000 |
| 7 | 42,000 |
| 8 | 68,000 |
| 9 | 107,000 |
Frequently asked questions
Is Andy Billups worth ranking up?
Only if you actively run Interceptor PvP crews that already include Isolytic Cascade tools and a Hull Breach setup. If you do, max rank gives you the 130% one-round damage boost, which is a real swing. If you do not, leave him at a low rank or skip him entirely.
Why does Andy Billups have no captain ability?
Scopely built the joke into the game. The canon character abdicated his birthright as Crown Prince of Hysperia to stay in Starfleet, so his STFC captain ability is called Abdicated and it does nothing. It is intentional. Use him as an officer, not the captain.
What ship is Andy Billups best on?
Any Interceptor. His officer ability only triggers when you are flying an Interceptor-class ship and your opponent has Hull Breach, so any Interceptor that fits your level and combat goals works. Build the rest of the crew around delivering Hull Breach reliably.
Where do you get Andy Billups shards?
Shard sources shift with each game cycle. Check the current event store, faction store rotations, and recruitment offers to see if he is available this cycle. There is no permanent farm for him.
Does Andy Billups work in armadas or against hostiles?
His officer ability calls out an enemy player, so it is a PvP-only effect. In armadas and against NPC hostiles, his ability does not trigger. He is effectively a neutral officer in those contexts.
Worth chasing?
Andy Billups is a niche pick built for one specific job in late-game Interceptor PvP. If you already have an Isolytic Cascade crew with a way to apply Hull Breach, slotting him in pays off and ranking him up pays off more. If you do not, he is a fun bit of Lower Decks fan service and a 1,500-shard distraction from the officers your current roster actually needs.