The Jellyfish is a grade 2 Rare Federation Explorer, a fast scout hull you can build once your Shipyard reaches level 12. Its ability boosts whatever Captain Maneuver you put on it, so it works best as an early carrier for a strong captain rather than a front-line brawler. Defenses are thin for its tier, which suits a science vessel, and its warp speed and range make it handy for reaching systems a little further out. For a newer player it makes a cheap, quick Explorer with one useful trick.
How to get the Jellyfish
You build the Jellyfish at the Shipyard once it hits level 12. The build takes 75 blueprints and costs 60,000 Tritanium, and it finishes in 18 hours. Tritanium is an early refined material, so the cost is easy to cover by the time your Shipyard is level 12, though the 18-hour timer is long for an opening-tier ship and worth starting overnight. The game Daten does not tie the blueprints to a single source. Blueprints for older ships like this one rotate through in-game offers and stores, so check what is currently available rather than assuming one fixed channel.
Jellyfish ability
The Jellyfish carries one ship ability, Pilot Recognition, and it is always active. It raises the effectiveness of the ship’s Captain Maneuver, starting at 15% at ship level 1 and climbing to 70% at level 35. In practice the ship multiplies whatever your captain already does, so it pays off most when you seat an officer whose Captain Maneuver you actually want more of. A weak captain gets a bigger weak effect; a strong one gets a real lift. Because the bonus scales with ship level, the Jellyfish rewards leveling: at 70% it noticeably sharpens a good captain’s effect in early hostile runs and skirmishes.
Stats and tiers
Base values from the current game data; research, buffs and Offiziere raise them in play.
| Ebene | Warp (speed / range) | Impulse | Cargo (protected) | Shield HP | Hull HP | Health (displayed) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2.5 / 14 | 110 | 4,500 (100) | 1,310 | 570 | 940 |
| 4 | 2.8 / 17 | 110 | 9,120 (130) | 2,020 | 570 | 1,295 |
| 7 | 3.1 / 21 | 110 | 20,500 (200) | 4,960 | 570 | 2,765 |
The shield pool grows steadily across tiers, but the hull sits at 570 the whole way, which is why the Jellyfish reads as fragile once an enemy chews through its shields. Warp range climbs from 14 to 21, giving it more reach for early exploration, and the cargo hold grows a long way, so it can haul more than its combat role suggests.
Weapons and firing pattern
Warm-up is the combat round a weapon first fires; cool-down is how many rounds pass between shots after that. These values are at max tier 7.
| Waffe | Typ | Shots | Warm-up | Cool-down | Damage | Crit chance | Crit damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waffe 1 | Energie | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1,204–1,471 | 10% | 150% |
| Waffe 2 | Energie | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1,204–1,471 | 10% | 150% |
Both weapons are energy and fire every round from the first, so the Jellyfish puts out steady, predictable damage without long warm-ups. Energy weapons pair naturally with shield-piercing officers and research if you take it into fights.
Crew slots and officer bonus
The Jellyfish opens officer seats as it levels up.
| Ship level | Officer slots |
|---|---|
| 5 | 1 |
| 10 | 2 |
| 20 | 3 |
| 30 | 4 |
| 35 | 5 |
The ship also raises your officers’ stats as it progresses. Attack, defense and health all get the same bonus, so the ladder below applies once to all three. The number on the left is the total officer stat value, and the percentage is the boost the ship adds at that step.
| Amount | Bonus |
|---|---|
| 60 | 25% |
| 120 | 50% |
| 195 | 75% |
| 270 | 100% |
| 360 | 125% |
| 480 | 150% |
| 660 | 175% |
| 900 | 200% |
| 1,200 | 225% |
| 1,800 | 250% |
Crew for the Jellyfish
Because Pilot Recognition amplifies the Captain Maneuver, the captain seat is where this ship earns its keep. Put your best captain-maneuver officer in the chair and let the ship boost that effect. The two bridge seats then support whatever you are using the Jellyfish for, whether that is grinding hostiles for loot or moving cargo at speed; officers that add weapon damage or crit help if you fight, while protected-cargo officers help if you haul. The right pick depends on your roster and the current meta, so for up-to-date choices see our Officer Tier List. Crews shift as new officers arrive, so treat any single recommendation as a starting point rather than a fixed answer.
The Jellyfish in Star Trek
The Jellyfish comes from the 2009 Star Trek film. It was a small, advanced scout craft flown by the elder Spock, who used it to carry red matter in a bid to stop the supernova that threatened Romulus. When the plan failed, both the Jellyfish and Nero’s mining ship were pulled through a black hole into the past of an alternate timeline, where Nero captured the vessel. Its curved arms and translucent shell earned it the “Jellyfish” nickname among fans. In the game it stands in as a fast Federation Explorer built around that same idea of a nimble, high-tech science ship.
Is the Jellyfish worth it?
The Jellyfish fits the early game. Its captain-boosting ability is an unusual and useful trait at grade 2, and the growing cargo hold gives it some flexibility for a combat hull. The flat 570 hull means it will not survive tough fights, and it falls behind once you reach grade 3 and 4 ships. Build it if you have a strong early captain to amplify or want a fast Explorer on the cheap, and keep it as a light utility ship rather than a main. Players already past the opening tiers can safely skip it.