The Ceti Eel is an Uncommon Chaos Tech, a combat artifact you slot onto a ship to hit armadas and hostiles harder. Its main effect raises base weapon damage against Group and Solo Armadas, from 50% at unlock to 600% at max, with a second effect covering hostiles and armadas that scales from 5% to 400%. It belongs on an armada or grinding crew and earns its place if you run armadas often.
What Ceti Eel does
Both of the Ceti Eel’s buffs unlock at tier 1 and then scale with the item’s level. The headline effect is the armada one: base weapon damage against Group and Solo Armadas starts at 50% and reaches 600% once the piece is at max tier and level. The second effect is broader but smaller, adding base weapon damage against hostiles and armadas as it climbs from 5% to 400%.
| Buff | Unlocks at tier | Unlock value | Max value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base weapon damage vs Group and Solo Armadas | Tier 1 | 50% | 600% |
| Base weapon damage vs Hostiles and Armadas | Tier 1 | 5% | 400% |
Both numbers apply to base weapon damage, so they stack on top of your crew and ship bonuses instead of replacing them. On an armada ship the 600% line is the reason to chase this piece; the hostile line is a free extra for the same crew when it grinds between armada runs. Values are current as of the latest game data.
How to get Ceti Eel
The Ceti Eel is Chaos Tech, so it runs on the Chaos Tech economy rather than the standard Forbidden Tech fragments. You open a Chaos Tech slot, or clear a piece out of one, with Chaos Tech Fusion Rods, which come from the Continuum refinery or the store. The piece itself is assembled from Chaos Tech Fragments, which you exchange into Chaos Tech materials in the Continuum refinery. You earn those fragments when you pick up excess Chaos Tech shards.
Upgrading Ceti Eel
Two tracks raise the Ceti Eel. Tiers run from 1 to 6, and each tier up lifts the level cap using Chaos Tech Tier-Up Catalyst. Levels run from 1 to 30 and scale the buff values, paid with Chaos Tech Reactor and Chaosmatter. Since both buffs are already active at tier 1, tiering up here is about raising the level cap so the values can keep climbing toward 600% and 400%.
| Tier | Level cap | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | 5 | Starting tier, no cost |
| Tier 4 | 20 | 8,500 Chaos Tech Tier-Up Catalyst |
| Tier 6 | 30 | 11,200 Chaos Tech Tier-Up Catalyst |
Reaching max tier costs 43,100 Chaos Tech Tier-Up Catalyst in total. Taking the piece from level 2 to level 30 costs 26,475 Chaos Tech Reactor and 63,200 Chaosmatter. Both Chaosmatter and Chaos Tech Reactor come from defeating Assimilated El-Aurian hostiles and exchanging their loot in the Continuum refinery.
Best ships and uses for Ceti Eel
The game files this piece under its Hostiles filter, but the values point squarely at armadas: 600% against Group and Solo Armadas dwarfs the 400% general line. Put it on the ship your armada crew flies, whether you run Solo Armadas or team armadas. That same ship doubles as a hostile grinder between runs, where the second buff adds damage across your hostile grinding rotation. There is little reason to spread it onto a miner or a support ship; its whole value sits on the ship that fires at armadas.
Ceti Eel in Star Trek
The Ceti Eel comes straight from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. It was one of the few native creatures on Ceti Alpha V, the barren world where Khan Noonien Singh and his Augments were exiled. The eel’s larvae crawl into a victim’s ear canal and settle around the brain, leaving the host open to suggestion before the mature eel kills them. Several of Khan’s people died this way, including his wife. When the U.S.S. Reliant arrived, Khan used the eels on Commander Chekov and Captain Terrell to force their obedience, then seized the ship to hunt Kirk. Bolting that creature onto a starship as a weapon is a grim nod to how Khan wielded it.
Is Ceti Eel worth it?
If you run armadas, the Ceti Eel is a strong Uncommon pickup: a 600% base weapon damage buff against Group and Solo Armadas is a big number for a low-rarity piece, and it doubles as a hostile-damage boost on the same crew. Level it on your main armada ship and leave it there. If you never touch armadas, spend your Chaos Tech materials elsewhere first.