The U.S.S. Franklin-A is a grade 4 Uncommon Explorer in the Augment faction, built as a dedicated Swarm hunter. Its always-on ability multiplies damage against Swarm hostiles and Swarm Armadas, so its job is clearing Swarm content rather than general PvP. You unlock the build at Shipyard level 35. If you still run Swarm dailies and armadas, it earns its slot; outside that fight, it is a specialist.
How to get the U.S.S. Franklin-A
The Franklin-A needs 200 blueprints and a Shipyard at level 35 to build. The blueprints come from Advanced Data Cores, one core per blueprint. The base build cost is 20,000,000 Tritanium, 300,000 Dilithium, 300 3★ Common Refined Crystal, 30 3★ Uncommon Refined Crystal, and 50 3★ Common Refined Gas, with a base build time of 165 days. Those figures are base values; your buildings and research shorten the time and change what you actually pay. Because it is a retrofit of the original Franklin, the full build also calls for specialized parts beyond raw resources, including a Frequency Modulator, a set of Franklin warp components, and the Alpha, Delta and Omega retrofit keys. Gather those alongside the standard materials before you expect to finish the ship. The Franklin-A is not scrappable, so it will not feed a scrap chain later.
U.S.S. Franklin-A ability
The ship ability is Swarm Hunter, and it is always active. When the Franklin-A fights Swarm hostiles or Swarm Armadas, its damage rises by 3,500% at ship level 1 and scales to 500,000% at level 60. Against anything that is not Swarm, the bonus does nothing, which is why this ship lives or dies by how much Swarm content you run. The multiplier grows quickly as you level the ship, so a high-level Franklin-A turns Swarm targets into fast kills. In practice, that scaling is what lets a maxed Franklin-A take on higher Swarm Armada levels that would stall a general-purpose Explorer.
Stats and tiers
These are 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 | 2.6 / 75 | 100 | 3,500 (100) | 27,000 | 45,187 | 36,093.5 |
| 6 | 3.2 / 105 | 100 | 9,120 (170) | 53,190 | 45,187 | 49,188.5 |
| 12 | 3.6 / 165 | 100 | 24,000 (550) | 120,000 | 45,187 | 82,593.5 |
The Franklin-A leans on its shields. Shield HP climbs from 27,000 at tier 1 to 120,000 at tier 12, while hull HP stays flat at 45,187, so most of the survivability you gain from tiering up sits in the shield bar. Cargo and warp range also grow with each tier, which helps when you chase Swarm targets across systems.
Weapons and firing pattern
Warm-up is the round a weapon first fires; cool-down is how many rounds pass between shots after that. These are the weapons at max tier 12.
| Waffe | Typ | Shots | Warm-up | Cool-down | Damage | Crit chance | Crit damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (phaser) | Energie | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4,500–5,400 | 10% | 150% |
| 2 (torpedo) | Kinetic | 2 | 1 | 2 | 9,000–10,800 | 10% | 150% |
| 3 (torpedo) | Kinetic | 2 | 1 | 2 | 9,000–10,800 | 10% | 150% |
The two kinetic torpedoes carry most of the Franklin-A’s damage, firing every other round for 9,000 to 10,800 each at max tier, while the energy phaser fires every round for a smaller hit.
Crew slots and officer bonus
The Franklin-A opens officer slots as it levels up.
| Ship level | Officer slots |
|---|---|
| 5 | 1 |
| 10 | 2 |
| 15 | 3 |
| 30 | 4 |
| 45 | 5 |
The ship also boosts your officers’ attack, defense and health as it progresses. Those three bonuses are identical at every step, so the ladder below applies to all three.
| Amount | Bonus |
|---|---|
| 500 | 35% |
| 1,000 | 70% |
| 1,625 | 105% |
| 2,250 | 140% |
| 3,000 | 175% |
| 4,000 | 210% |
| 5,500 | 245% |
| 7,500 | 280% |
| 10,000 | 315% |
| 15,000 | 350% |
U.S.S. Franklin-A skin
The Franklin-A has a ship skin, the U.S.S. Terror, that adds extra damage against Swarm Armada targets on top of the base ship. A skin is cosmetic plus a stat perk; it does not change how you build or crew the hull. If you grind Swarm Armadas at scale, the Terror skin is a reason to keep pushing this ship.
Crew for the U.S.S. Franklin-A
As an Explorer built for Swarm combat, the Franklin-A wants a bridge that raises weapon damage and critical hits, since the ship ability already handles the Swarm multiplier. Officers that boost kinetic damage or critical-hit chance get the most out of the twin torpedoes. Because the best picks change with the meta, check the Officer Tier List for current recommendations, and expect crews to shift as new officers arrive.
The U.S.S. Franklin-A in Star Trek
The original U.S.S. Franklin (NX-326) appears in Star Trek Beyond as an early Starfleet vessel lost near the planet Altamid, where Jaylah lived aboard the wreck before Kirk’s crew repaired it to escape Krall. The Franklin-A is a game-original design with no screen counterpart. In Star Trek Fleet Command’s story, Starfleet recovers the Franklin after 2263, refits the salvaged ship, and rebuilds it to modern standards to fight the returning Swarm. Its volumetric wavelength amplifier, the in-game reason it tears through Swarm clusters, is invented for the game.
U.S.S. Franklin-A build cost by tier
Build and repair costs for every tier, carried over from the previous version of this page.
| Ebene | Build cost | Build time | Repair time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stufe 1 | 20.000.000 Tritanium 300.000 Dilithium 50 3★ Allgemeines Gas 300 3★ Gewöhnlicher Kristall 30 3★ Ungewöhnlicher Kristall |
165d | 23h 20m |
U.S.S. Franklin-A ship XP needed by level
Experience required to reach each level, with the health and shield bonuses that come with it.
Stufe 1
Stufe 2: 8.000
Stufe 3: 12.000
Stufe 4: 20.000
Stufe 5: 29.000
Resources to max out a U.S.S. Franklin-A
Gesamtbaukosten*
- 71.905.000.000 Tritanium
- 1,182,910,000 Dilithium
- 914 3★ Gemeinsam Gas
- 234 3★ Ungewöhnlich Gas
- 357 3★ Seltene Gas
- 8,722 3★ Gemeinsam Kristall
- 238 3★ Ungewöhnlicher Kristall
- 239 3★ Seltener Kristall
- 24,400 4★ Gemeinsame Gas
- 18,440 4★ Ungewöhnliches Gas
- 6,740 4★ Seltenes Gas
- 1,440 4★ Episch Gas
- 168.720 4★ Gewöhnlicher Kristall
- 2.520 4★ Ungewöhnlicher Kristall
- 3.663 4★ Seltener Kristall
- 2,391 4★ Epischer Kristall
Gesamtbaukosten (spezialisiert)*
- 12.000.000 Frequenzmodulator Mk
- 1 Franklin Warp Interlock Mk
- 1 Franklin Warp Conduit Mk
- 1 Franklin Warp-Relais Mk
- 1 Franklin Warp-Regulator Mk
- 1 Franklin Warp-Injektor Mk
- 1 Franklin Warp Containment Mk
- 1 Franklin Kettspule Mk
- 1 Franklin Warp Core Mk
- 1 Franklin-A Alpha Nachrüstschlüssel
- 1 Franklin-A Delta-Nachrüstschlüssel
- 1 Franklin-A Omega Nachrüstschlüssel
Erfahrung insgesamt: 169,108,000
*Kosten und Zeit sind nur Basiswerte. Sie sind spielerspezifisch und basieren auf Gebäude und Forschung.
Is the U.S.S. Franklin-A worth it?
For its grade band, the Franklin-A is a specialist rather than an all-rounder. If Swarm hostiles and Swarm Armadas are part of your routine, the Swarm Hunter multiplier makes it one of the fastest ways to clear that content, and the Terror skin pushes it further. If you have moved past Swarm, the ship sits idle, since its ability does nothing elsewhere. Chase it if you are actively farming Swarm, and skip it if you are not.