Who Krell is
Krell is a Rare Engineering officer from the Klingon faction, part of the Blood & Honor officer group. Players pick him up for one of two reasons: a captain who punishes ships that chew through his shields, or a bridge officer who carries serious anti-Federation damage on the right crew.
This guide walks through what Krell does in plain language, when he is worth ranking up, and who he pairs well with.
Star Trek background
Krell first appears in “A Private Little War,” the nineteenth episode of Star Trek: The Original Series, season two, originally aired on February 2, 1968. Ned Romero played the role.
In that story, Krell is a Klingon agent operating on the planet Neural. He arms one faction of locals with flintlock rifles to upset a long-standing balance of power against the Hill People, who are friends of Captain Kirk. Kirk and McCoy raid the village forge, overhear Krell discussing improved weapons with the chieftain, knock him out, and grab one of the rifles to give to the Hill People. The episode is widely read as a Vietnam War allegory about superpower proxy intervention on a previously peaceful world.
Krell’s look is a deliberate return to the original first-season Klingon design seen on Kor in “Errand of Mercy,” with darker complexion and heavy upswept brows. In Marc Okrand’s Klingon language, the name is rendered “Qel.”
Role in STFC
In Star Trek Fleet Command, Krell sits in the Engineering class at Rare rarity, with the Klingon faction tag. His Blood & Honor group leans on a Hull Breach theme: officers who either trigger Hull Breach on opponents or amplify damage when the opponent is breaching. That makes Krell a niche combat pick rather than an economy or station-defense officer.
His officer ability is also conditional. Federation Contacts only matters when the opponent is a Federation ship, so he is not a default seat on every PvP crew. He earns his slot when you know the next fight is against Fed armadas, Fed-faction hostiles, or events that put Federation targets in front of you.
Captain maneuver and officer ability
Krell’s captain maneuver is called Retribution. When his ship loses Shield HP from a weapon attack, he has a 30% chance to deal a Hull Breach to the opponent for one round (as of the latest data). Weapons that fire multiple shots in a single attack only roll that chance once, not per shot.
That makes Retribution a reactive captain ability. It rewards taking hits, which is the wrong fit for a glass cannon. Stack defensive stats on the ship he captains so it can survive long enough to keep applying Hull Breach on incoming volleys.
His officer ability is Federation Contacts. When Krell sits on the bridge, the ship’s damage against Federation ships goes up by a percentage of the crew’s Defense stat. The percentage grows hard with rank.
Current as of the latest game data:
| Rank | Federation Contacts bonus |
|---|---|
| 1 | 25% of crew Defense |
| 2 | 35% of crew Defense |
| 3 | 75% of crew Defense |
| 4 | 175% of crew Defense |
| 5 | 500% of crew Defense |
The shape of that scaling matters. At lower ranks, Federation Contacts is a modest bump that probably will not change which crew you bring. At rank 5 it turns a defensively built ship into a real anti-Federation weapon, because every point of Defense is also feeding extra damage.
Where Krell shines
Krell has a small list of fights where he is worth bringing. He is strong in PvE matchups against Federation hostiles or Federation armadas, where his officer ability converts Defense into extra damage. He works as a captain on a tanky combat ship that expects to trade weapon hits, since Retribution wants the ship to lose shields in order to fire.
For newer and mid-game players grinding Klingon reputation or Federation faction missions, he is a reasonable Rare pickup if his shards happen to show up in stores you are already farming. He is not a top pick for Borg solo armadas, Romulan content, or matchups where the opponent is not Federation, because Federation Contacts goes dormant.
How to get Krell
Krell is a Rare Klingon officer, which puts him in the family of officers that have historically been available through faction crates, recruit tokens, and rotating events. Specific drop locations and rates change with each game patch, so check the current Klingon faction store and any active recruit event before chasing him.
Ranking him up follows the standard Rare officer shard schedule. He needs 32 shards for rank 1, 80 for rank 2, 176 for rank 3, 304 for rank 4, and 496 for rank 5. Max level rises from 5 to 30 across those ranks. Engineering Badges and officer XP are the other costs along the way.
Synergies
Krell’s group is Blood & Honor, which packs Klingon Engineering officers built around Hull Breach. Pairing him with other Blood & Honor names on the bridge picks up the group’s synergy bonuses for matching faction and class. The captain seat carries Command 15%, Engineering 7%, and Science 15% bonuses, so a Command-class officer in the captain chair pulls the most synergy from Krell when he sits on the bridge.
In practice, the strongest pairings depend on the ship and the opponent. For an anti-Federation hostile or armada crew, you want a captain whose maneuver scales with Defense, a strong Defense officer in the second seat, and Krell himself in the third bridge slot to convert that Defense into damage. The exact crew comp shifts with what is in the meta, so treat this as a starting point rather than a fixed answer.
Frequently asked questions
Is Krell worth ranking up?
For a Federation-content account, rank 4 and rank 5 are where Federation Contacts gets interesting, because the percentage of Defense climbs sharply at those ranks. Below rank 4 he is fine to leave at whatever level you got him to. If you do not play much Federation content, ranking him past rank 3 is hard to justify.
Where do you get Krell shards?
Krell shards have historically rotated through Klingon faction stores, recruit tokens, and limited-time events. The current source depends on the active event lineup, so check the in-game stores and the live event list for “Krell” before spending resources on crates aimed at him.
What ship is Krell best on?
Any Klingon Engineering ship that expects to trade weapon hits and survive several rounds, since Retribution needs the ship to lose shields. A ship with strong shield HP and defensive stats gets the most out of both his captain maneuver and his officer ability when you are running him as a bridge officer for the Defense conversion.
Is Krell good for Borg solo armadas?
No. His officer ability only triggers against Federation ships. Borg, Romulan, Klingon, and Independent opponents do not benefit. Use a different bridge officer for those fights.
Does Retribution trigger on every shot?
No. Retribution rolls once per attack, so weapons that fire multiple shots in a single volley only check the 30% chance one time. Plan for it as an occasional Hull Breach, not a guaranteed effect.
Bottom line
Krell is a focused Rare officer for Klingon Engineering players who want a Hull Breach captain and a sharp anti-Federation officer ability on the same card. He is not a generalist and he is not a tier-list staple. On the right ship against the right opponent, his Defense-to-damage conversion turns him into a specialist crew piece that earns his bridge slot.
