Dual Photon Warheads is a Rare Forbidden Tech built for hostile grinding on Interceptors. It stacks survivability first, adding Armor, Shield Mitigation, and Dodge against hostiles from the moment it unlocks, then layers on Hull Health, piercing, accuracy, and a large damage bonus against Q’s Trial targets as you tier it up. If Interceptors carry your hostile farming, this one earns its slot early and keeps paying out.
What Dual Photon Warheads does
The first buff is the one you feel immediately. At tier 1 it raises Interceptor Armor, Shield Mitigation, and Dodge against hostiles by 100%, and that figure climbs to 1000% at max tier and level. Those three defensive stats are what keep an Interceptor in a fight long enough to finish it, so the piece starts working the day you unlock it rather than making you wait for a late-tier payoff.
The rest arrives in stages. Hull Health opens at tier 3, piercing and accuracy against Q’s hostiles at tier 6, and the damage bonus against Q’s Trial hostiles at tier 8.
| Buff | Unlocks at tier | Unlock value | Max value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interceptor Armor, Shield Mitigation, and Dodge against hostiles | 1 | 100% | 1000% |
| Interceptor Hull Health | 3 | 100% | 1800% |
| Interceptor Shield Piercing, Armor Piercing, and Accuracy against Q’s hostiles | 6 | 100% | 800% |
| Interceptor Damage against Q’s Trial hostiles | 8 | 250% | 2500% |
Read the split carefully before you plan around it. Two buffs apply to hostiles broadly, so they help on any Interceptor grind. The other two are written against Q’s hostiles and Q’s Trial hostiles specifically, which means the piercing, accuracy, and damage numbers only show up in that content. Values are current as of the latest game Daten.
How to get Dual Photon Warheads
Unlocking happens in the Forbidden Tech Raffinerie. Because this is a Seltene piece, the currency you need is Rare Forbidden Fragments, which the game describes as coming from Q’s Trials and from special rewards. There is no way to buy the assembled artifact outright; you collect fragments and convert them.
Slots are a separate problem. Forbidden Tech Fusion Rods unlock Forbidden Tech slots on your ships and also remove a piece once it is installed, and you get those from the Forbidden Tech refinery and the Store. Plan for rods alongside fragments, since an unlocked artifact with nowhere to sit does nothing. If you end up with surplus parts, the game hands back Forbidden Tech Credit Pieces, which exchange for Forbidden Tech Credits in the refinery.
Upgrading Dual Photon Warheads
Two tracks run side by side. Tier ups raise the level cap and switch on the later buffs at the tiers listed above, and they are paid for with Forbidden Tech Reactors and Forbidden Tech Tier-Up Catalysts. Levels then scale the values you have already unlocked, paid with Reactors and Forbidden Tech Protomatter. The piece caps at tier 12 and level 60.
| Ebene | Level cap | Kosten |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | No cost (starting tier) |
| 7 | 35 | 32 Forbidden Tech Reactor, 4,200 Forbidden Tech Tier-Up Catalyst |
| 12 | 60 | 32 Forbidden Tech Reactor, 4,900 Forbidden Tech Tier-Up Catalyst |
Taking it from tier 1 to tier 12 costs 352 Forbidden Tech Reactor and 57,000 Forbidden Tech Tier-Up Catalyst in total. Levelling from 2 to 60 costs another 1,856 Forbidden Tech Reactor and 475,975 Forbidden Tech Protomatter.
Reactors are the constant drain across both tracks, and the game points you to Daily Goals and the Store for them. Upgrade attempts are not guaranteed, which is what Probability Devices exist for: they raise your Forbidden Tech upgrade chances and come from rewards and the Store. Catalysts come from the refinery and the Store, Protomatter from Q’s Trials and the Store.
Best ships and uses for Dual Photon Warheads
Every buff on this piece is written for Interceptors, so it belongs on whichever Interceptor does your hostile killing. Schlachtschiffe and Explorers get nothing from it. Put it on the ship you actually grind with rather than the one with the best raw stats, since the defensive buffs are what let you chain kills without repairing.
The Q’s Trial buffs push it further toward players who run that content regularly. If Q’s Trials are part of your routine, the tier 6 and tier 8 unlocks are worth chasing to the top. If they are not, treat the first two buffs as the reason you equipped it and tier at a comfortable pace. For general hostile farming, our hostile guide covers target selection and crew choices that pair with it.
Dual Photon Warheads in Star Trek
Photon torpedoes are Star Trek’s standard heavy ordnance, carried by Starfleet ships from the original series onward and matched by comparable weapons across the Klingonisch and Romulan fleets. Dual Photon Warheads itself is a game original rather than a piece of screen canon. Its story comes from the Ralnag, whose design philosophy in the game’s own telling is that one of anything is one too few: no single-barrel firearms, no single-bladed knives, and warheads built to do twice the damage. The name borrows the familiar Starfleet weapon; the doubling is the Ralnag’s contribution.
Is Dual Photon Warheads worth it?
Yes, if Interceptors carry your hostile grind. The tier 1 defensive buff makes it useful immediately, which is unusual for Forbidden Tech, and the Rare rarity keeps the fragment cost reasonable next to Episch pieces. Players deep in Q’s Trials should take it to tier 8 and beyond. Everyone else can park it at a comfortable tier and still get real value.