The Borg Cube is a Grade 4 Epic Battleship for the Independent faction, built at Shipyard level 28. It is a combat ship built around one job: its Cutting Beam wears down hostile hull between fights, so it works as a grinding and utility ship as much as a straight brawler. If you farm hostiles for parts and resources, the Borg Cube speeds that grind up. Its upgrade requirements are unusual: every tier from 2 to 18 needs a Borg Data Node, which you claim from Gifts after reaching an Operations level or tiering up specific ships.
How to get the Borg Cube
Building the Borg Cube takes 100 blueprints and a Shipyard at level 28. Once you have both, the build costs 900,000 Tritanium and 240,000 Dilithium, and it finishes in 7 days 12 hours. After the build, every tier-up needs Shape Memory Alloy, which comes from the Borg tab in the Refinery, plus the matching Borg Data Node listed in the upgrade requirements below.
The Borg Cube also has a Ship Commission in the Ascension research tree. It is unlocked by a Borg Cube Commission Approval, which you get by researching the U.S.S. Enterprise, D4 or Augur Ship Commission.
Borg Cube ability
The Borg Cube’s ship ability is Phase Discriminating Amplifier, and like all ship abilities it is always active. It powers the Borg Cutting Beam, which deals hull damage to non-Armada hostiles outside of battle. At ship level 1 the beam deals 23,000 base hull health point (HHP) damage; by level 90 that figure climbs to roughly 35 billion. The damage is reduced against player targets, and it drops by 10% per level when you aim at a ship above your own player level. In play this is a between-battles tool: sit next to a hostile, fire the beam, and it strips a chunk of hull before you commit to a full fight, which is what makes the grind faster.
| Ship level | Cutting Beam base HHP damage |
|---|---|
| 1 | 23,000 |
| 10 | 36,000 |
| 25 | 164,000 |
| 40 | 5,100,000 |
| 45 | 8,000,000 |
| 90 | 35,000,000,000 |
Borg Cube active abilities
The Borg Cutting Beam is the ability you trigger yourself. You charge it by dealing HHP damage in regular combat, and the higher the Borg Cube’s tier, the more damage it takes to fill the charge. Docking drains the charge, so keep the Cube out in space between fights. Destroying a target with the beam awards Technological Distinctiveness, more for higher-level targets, and you spend it in the Support tab of the Borg Cube Refinery. The beam cannot be used against player stations, alliance starbases or Armada targets.
Two more active abilities come from refits. Field Repairs instantly restores 25% of the ship’s HHP when used out of combat while undocked, which saves trips home between hostiles. The Transwarp Drive refit lets the Cube warp instantly to another system, powered by Transwarp Manifolds from a daily chest in Gifts (the same resource the Borg Sphere uses for its own transwarp).
Stats and tiers
These are base values; research, buffs and officers raise them in play. Health (displayed) is the shield and hull average the game shows on the ship card.
| Tier | Warp (speed / range) | Impulse | Cargo (protected) | Shield HP | Hull HP | Health (displayed) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2.8 / 30 | 100 | 20,000 (1,000) | 15,000 | 70,000 | 42,500 |
| 9 | 4.4 / 180 | 100 | 59,000 (4,900) | 510,510 | 756,000 | 633,255 |
| 18 | 9.5 / 1,650 | 100 | 130,000 (12,000) | 330,000,000 | 360,000,000 | 345,000,000 |
Weapons and firing pattern
Warm-up is the round a weapon first fires; cool-down is the number of rounds between shots after that. The Cutting Beam described above is the ship ability and is separate from these four standard weapons, which do the work inside combat. Values shown are at max tier 18.
| Weapon | Type | Shots | Warm-up | Cool-down | Damage | Crit chance | Crit damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Energy | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3,608,000–4,400,000 | 10% | 150% |
| 2 | Energy | 3 | 1 | 2 | 7,216,000–8,800,000 | 10% | 150% |
| 3 | Kinetic | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3,608,000–4,400,000 | 10% | 150% |
| 4 | Kinetic | 3 | 1 | 2 | 7,216,000–8,800,000 | 10% | 150% |
The mix of Energy and Kinetic weapons means the Borg Cube does not lean on a single damage type, so a defending ship cannot fully counter it with one kind of mitigation.
Crew slots and officer bonus
Officer slots open as the ship levels up, from a single slot at level 5 to a full seven-officer bridge at level 85.
| Ship level | Officer slots |
|---|---|
| 5 | 1 |
| 10 | 2 |
| 20 | 3 |
| 35 | 4 |
| 50 | 5 |
| 65 | 6 |
| 85 | 7 |
The ship also boosts the stats of the officers you crew on it. On the Borg Cube the attack, defense and health bonuses are identical, and they step up the same ladder as you invest in the ship.
| Amount | Bonus (attack / defense / health) |
|---|---|
| 32,000 | 450% |
| 64,000 | 900% |
| 104,000 | 1,350% |
| 144,000 | 1,800% |
| 192,000 | 2,250% |
| 256,000 | 2,700% |
| 352,000 | 3,150% |
| 480,000 | 3,600% |
| 640,000 | 4,050% |
| 960,000 | 4,500% |
Borg Cube refits
The Borg Cube supports refits that change how its Cutting Beam and defenses behave. Each costs 120 shards, and the ship refit list compares them with other ships’ refits.
| Refit | What it does |
|---|---|
| Binary Cutter Refit | Doubles the maximum charge of the Borg Cube’s Cutting Beam, letting it hold two charges instead of one. |
| Borg Cube Transwarp Drive | Costs 120 shards to unlock. Increases the Borg Cube’s HHP by 350% and lets it instantly warp to another system. Also unlocks a daily chest of Transwarp Manifolds (max 24,000) in Gifts to power the jump. |
| Field Repairs | Costs 120 shards to unlock. Adds the Field Repairs active ability: out of combat and undocked, instantly repair 25% of the ship’s HHP. |
| Borg Cube Simulacrum | Costs 120 shards to unlock. Increases Critical Mitigation against players by 500 and against Academy Training Drones by 40,000 at the start of combat. Critical Mitigation reduces the critical damage you take after all other bonuses; every 500 points raises the critical damage you can absorb by 1%. |
Borg Cube upgrade requirements
Each tier-up needs one Borg Data Node of that tier, claimed from Gifts once you meet its requirement. Meeting the requirement for a later node also grants the earlier ones, so you never get stuck on a node you skipped.
| Borg Cube tier | How to claim the Borg Data Node |
|---|---|
| 2 | Reach Operations level 31 |
| 3 | Reach Operations level 36 |
| 4 | Upgrade the Augur, U.S.S. Enterprise or D4 to Tier 3 |
| 5 | Upgrade the Augur, U.S.S. Enterprise or D4 to Tier 6 |
| 6 | Upgrade the K’Tinga, Valdore or U.S.S. Kelvin to Tier 6 |
| 7 | Upgrade the U.S.S. Newton, Korinar or Pilum to Tier 6 |
| 8 | Upgrade the Tribune, U.S.S. Enterprise-A or Hegh’ta to Tier 4 |
| 9 | Upgrade the Tribune, U.S.S. Enterprise-A or Hegh’ta to Tier 8 |
| 10 | Upgrade the Vor’Cha, Corvus or U.S.S. Northcutt to Tier 6 |
| 11 | Upgrade the U.S.S. Crozier, Quv’sompek or Sanctus to Tier 6 |
| 12 | Upgrade the D’deridex, U.S.S. Enterprise-D or Rotarran to Tier 4 |
| 13 | Upgrade the D’deridex, U.S.S. Enterprise-D or Rotarran to Tier 8 |
| 14 | Upgrade the Negh’Var, Minerva or U.S.S. Akira to Tier 9 |
| 15 | Upgrade the U.S.S. Titan, Kos’Karii or Velox to Tier 9 |
| 16 | Upgrade the Scimitar, U.S.S. Enterprise-E or Krencha to Tier 6 |
| 17 | Upgrade the Scimitar, U.S.S. Enterprise-E or Krencha to Tier 18 |
| 18 | Upgrade the Scimitar, U.S.S. Enterprise-E or Krencha to Tier 18 |
Any one of the three listed ships is enough, so the Borg Cube’s tier follows whichever ship line you are already building.
Borg Cube upgrade cost by tier
Resources for each tier-up, with the upgrade time. Tritanium and Dilithium switch to Σ-Tritanium and Σ-Dilithium from tier 14.
| Tier | Upgrade cost | Upgrade time |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 96.9M Tritanium 1.88M Shape Memory Alloy 400K Dilithium 675 3★ Common Refined Crystal 610 3★ Common Refined Ore 70 3★ Battleship Parts |
5d 13h 20m |
| 3 | 232M Tritanium 2.52M Shape Memory Alloy 863K Dilithium 2,935 3★ Common Refined Crystal 2,640 3★ Common Refined Ore 130 3★ Battleship Parts |
11d 2h 40m |
| 4 | 1.27B Tritanium 3.76M Shape Memory Alloy 3.33M Dilithium 7,750 3★ Common Refined Crystal 7,205 3★ Common Refined Ore 230 3★ Battleship Parts |
18d 12h 26m |
| 5 | 2.62B Tritanium 7.34M Dilithium 4.74M Shape Memory Alloy 10,880 3★ Common Refined Crystal 8,665 3★ Common Refined Ore 1,220 3★ Uncommon Refined Ore 1,080 3★ Uncommon Refined Crystal 330 3★ Battleship Parts |
27d 18h 40m |
| 6 | 12.9B Tritanium 46.5M Dilithium 8.26M Shape Memory Alloy 173K 4★ Common Refined Ore 48,565 4★ Common Refined Crystal 16,930 4★ Common Battleship Parts |
37d 53m |
| 7 | 32.2B Tritanium 176M Dilithium 11.9M Shape Memory Alloy 299K 4★ Common Refined Ore 84,205 4★ Common Refined Crystal 82,900 4★ Uncommon Refined Ore 39,550 4★ Common Battleship Parts 10,720 4★ Uncommon Battleship Parts |
46d 7h 6m |
| 8 | 132B Tritanium 625M Dilithium 17M Shape Memory Alloy 546K 4★ Common Refined Ore 153K 4★ Common Refined Crystal 151K 4★ Uncommon Refined Ore 99,750 4★ Common Battleship Parts 42,420 4★ Uncommon Refined Crystal 41,120 4★ Rare Refined Ore 27,140 4★ Uncommon Battleship Parts |
60d 4h 26m |
| 9 | 607B Tritanium 3.9B Dilithium 24M Shape Memory Alloy 263K 4★ Common Refined Crystal 257K 4★ Uncommon Refined Ore 220K 4★ Common Battleship Parts 72,360 4★ Uncommon Refined Crystal 70,580 4★ Rare Refined Ore 60,410 4★ Uncommon Battleship Parts 19,850 4★ Rare Refined Crystal 8,320 4★ Rare Battleship Parts |
74d 1h 46m |
| 10 | 1.57T Tritanium 14.5B Dilithium 33.4M Shape Memory Alloy 426K 5★ Common Refined Ore 120K 5★ Common Refined Crystal 114K 5★ Common Battleship Parts |
92d 14h 13m |
| 11 | 4.47T Tritanium 37B Dilithium 44.7M Shape Memory Alloy 665K 5★ Common Refined Ore 242K 5★ Common Battleship Parts 202K 5★ Uncommon Refined Ore 187K 5★ Common Refined Crystal 68,880 5★ Uncommon Battleship Parts |
120d 8h 53m |
| 12 | 9.88T Tritanium 82B Dilithium 55.9M Shape Memory Alloy 980K 5★ Common Refined Ore 348K 5★ Common Battleship Parts 298K 5★ Uncommon Refined Ore 276K 5★ Common Refined Crystal 99,100 5★ Uncommon Battleship Parts 83,800 5★ Uncommon Refined Crystal 79,400 5★ Rare Refined Ore |
166d 16h |
| 13 | 20.8T Tritanium 167B Dilithium 82.2M Shape Memory Alloy 1.53M 5★ Common Refined Ore 569K 5★ Common Battleship Parts 462K 5★ Uncommon Refined Ore 429K 5★ Common Refined Crystal 162K 5★ Uncommon Battleship Parts 130K 5★ Uncommon Refined Crystal 124K 5★ Rare Refined Ore 34,860 5★ Rare Refined Crystal |
222d 5h 20m |
| 14 | 123M Shape Memory Alloy 954K Σ-Tritanium 705K 6★ Common Refined Ore 495K 6★ Common Battleship Parts 200K 6★ Common Refined Crystal 67,815 Σ-Dilithium |
255d 13h 20m |
| 15 | 172M Shape Memory Alloy 1.72M Σ-Tritanium 988K 6★ Common Refined Ore 638K 6★ Common Battleship Parts 282K 6★ Uncommon Refined Ore 279K 6★ Common Refined Crystal 181K 6★ Uncommon Battleship Parts 119K Σ-Dilithium |
294d 10h 40m |
| 16 | 231M Shape Memory Alloy 3.06M Σ-Tritanium 1.18M 6★ Common Refined Ore 788K 6★ Common Battleship Parts 344K 6★ Common Refined Crystal 338K 6★ Uncommon Refined Ore 223K 6★ Uncommon Battleship Parts 208K Σ-Dilithium 98,660 6★ Uncommon Refined Crystal 91,180 6★ Rare Refined Ore |
383d 8h |
| 17 | 359M Shape Memory Alloy 8.76M Σ-Tritanium 1.35M 6★ Common Battleship Parts 612K Σ-Dilithium 517K 6★ Uncommon Refined Ore 511K 6★ Common Refined Crystal 380K 6★ Uncommon Battleship Parts 146K 6★ Uncommon Refined Crystal 138K 6★ Rare Refined Ore 38,910 6★ Rare Refined Crystal 23,580 6★ Rare Battleship Parts |
498d 3h 33m |
| 18 | 483M Shape Memory Alloy 10.9M Σ-Tritanium 1.62M 6★ Common Battleship Parts 742K Σ-Dilithium 640K 6★ Common Refined Crystal 457K 6★ Uncommon Battleship Parts 183K 6★ Uncommon Refined Crystal 173K 6★ Rare Refined Ore 48,760 6★ Rare Refined Crystal 28,300 6★ Rare Battleship Parts |
648d 3h 33m |
Best crew for the Borg Cube
As a Battleship, the Borg Cube rewards a bridge that pushes weapon damage and helps it survive the return fire, since Battleships are strongest against Interceptors and take extra punishment from Explorers. Build the crew around a captain who raises weapon or critical damage, backed by officers that boost damage or shield mitigation. For current picks, check our Officer Tier List, and remember that the best crew shifts as the meta changes.
For Cutting Beam work there is a dependable crew built around the beam itself. Jirali as captain adds one extra Cutting Beam charge, and her officer ability raises the Technological Distinctiveness you loot from beam kills on hostiles by 300% at rank 1 up to 500%. Naga Delvos on the bridge raises the beam’s base damage against players. Phlox belongs below decks, where he makes charging the Cutting Beam more efficient. Naga Delvos is also worth a captain’s seat on travel runs, since her captain’s maneuver adds 100% cost efficiency to the Transwarp jump.
The Borg Cube in Star Trek
In canon Star Trek, the Borg Cube is the signature warship of the Borg Collective, a massive geometric vessel crewed by thousands of assimilated drones and built with heavy redundancy so damage to one section barely slows it. Cubes drove the assault at Wolf 359 and the attack on Earth in Star Trek: First Contact, and their ability to adapt to weapons made them among the most feared ships in the galaxy. The ship you build in the game is a different thing: an Ex-Borg reconstruction of a dormant Cube, re-engineered so a normal crew can run it and stripped of the power to assimilate its targets.
Is the Borg Cube worth it?
For a Grade 4 Epic, the Borg Cube pulls above its weight because the Cutting Beam keeps mattering long after you outgrow the ship’s raw stats. It is worth chasing if you grind hostiles for parts and want that grind to go faster, and it stays useful as a utility ship well past the point where you would retire a normal Grade 4 hull. Players around Shipyard 28 and up get the most out of it.
Borg Cube FAQ
What are the Borg Cube upgrade requirements?
Each tier needs a Borg Data Node plus Tritanium, Dilithium, Shape Memory Alloy, refined ore and crystal, and Battleship Parts. Tier 2 and 3 nodes unlock at Operations 31 and 36; from tier 4 on, the nodes come from tiering up faction ships such as the Augur, U.S.S. Enterprise and D4.
How many blueprints does the Borg Cube need?
100 blueprints and a level 28 Shipyard.
How do you charge the Borg Cutting Beam?
Deal HHP damage in regular combat. Higher Borg Cube tiers need more damage per charge, the Binary Cutter refit and Jirali each let it hold an extra charge, and docking empties the charge.
