The Meridian is a grade 3 Rare survey ship from the Independent faction, and its whole purpose is mining Isogen. Its Isogen Mining ability multiplies the mining bonus the ship gets on Isogen nodes, so it pulls that resource far faster than a general-purpose miner. You unlock the build at Shipyard level 25. The build takes 100 Meridian blueprints, 1,620,000 Tritanium and 56,600 Dilithium. If your account is working through the Origin Sector and needs a dedicated Isogen hauler, the Meridian earns its slot.
How to get Meridian blueprints
The Meridian needs 100 blueprints, and the build unlocks once your Shipyard reaches level 25. The base build costs 1,620,000 Tritanium and 56,600 Dilithium, and construction takes about 12 days and 8 hours. Blueprint sources rotate over time, so check your current events and faction offers for where the Meridian is available on your server. Because the build alone is a multi-day commitment before you even start tiering it up, it helps to have the blueprints collected and the resources banked before you queue it, so the shipyard is not tied up waiting on you.
| Requirement | Meridian |
|---|---|
| Blueprints | 100 |
| Building | Shipyard level 25 |
| Build cost | 1,620,000 Tritanium, 56,600 Dilithium |
| Build time | 12d 8h |
| Max tier / level | Tier 9 / level 45 |
The blueprint count is the whole unlock: once you hold 100 and your Shipyard is at 25, the build button opens. Tiering the ship up afterwards is the long part, and it pulls in Isogen-side materials such as Iso-Emulsion and two Meridian warp parts, listed under the resources needed to max it out further down.
Meridian ability
The Meridian’s ship ability is Isogen Mining. It increases the Mining Bonus the ship gets from its Mining Laser whenever it is mining Isogen. The bonus is always active and scales with ship level, from 2,000% at level 1 up to 4,300% at level 45. In play that means every hour the Meridian spends on an Isogen node returns far more of the resource than the same node would give a standard survey ship, which is why it is the ship you send to Isogen and nothing else.
| Ship level | Isogen Mining bonus |
|---|---|
| 1 | 2,000% |
| 10 | 2,225% |
| 22 | 2,725% |
| 25 | 2,875% |
| 40 | 3,900% |
| 45 | 4,300% |
Isogen is the resource that gates a lot of Origin Sector progression, feeding research and refined materials you need as your account grows past the early galaxy. A ship that mines it several times faster turns a slow grind into a manageable one, so leveling the Meridian pays for itself the more Isogen your account consumes. Its bonus does nothing for other resources, so keep it parked on Isogen and use general survey ships for gas and ore.
Where the Meridian mines and what the Isogen is for
1-star Raw Isogen sits in Isogen mines in some level 25+ systems, and 2-star and 3-star Raw Isogen come from Isogen mines in the Origin Sector. Scavenger Lairs in the Origin Sector also drop all three grades. Refining Raw Isogen gives Isogen for your alliance plus Iso-Emulsion, and the 2-star and 3-star grades add Progenitor Alloy.
Iso-Emulsion is where the Meridian pays off a second time. You refine it into Iso-Resin in the Territory Capture refinery, and Iso-Resin completes some Territory Capture research. Upgrading the Meridian raises how much Iso-Resin you earn per refine, so tiering the ship helps even on days it sits in dock. The Territory research guide covers the research that spends it.
Stats and tiers
These are base values in the current game version; research, buffs and officers raise them in play. The pattern to notice is cargo: it climbs from 87,000 at tier 1 to 760,500 at tier 9, which is what lets a maxed Meridian sit on a rich Isogen node for a long haul before it fills up. Protected cargo also grows, and that share of the hold survives if another player destroys the ship while it mines, so higher tiers protect more of a long run.
| Tier | Warp (speed / range) | Impulse | Cargo (protected) | Shield HP | Hull HP | Health (displayed) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1.9 / 20 | 75 | 87,000 (1,200) | 4,267 | 7,383 | 5,825 |
| 5 | 3.0 / 45 | 75 | 260,000 (2,700) | 21,600 | 7,383 | 14,491.5 |
| 9 | 4.7 / 95 | 75 | 760,500 (9,000) | 63,281 | 7,383 | 35,332 |
Base mining speed also rises with tier, from 6 at tier 1 to 6.8 at tier 5 and 8.5 at tier 9, before the Isogen Mining bonus is applied on top.
Weapons and firing pattern
Warm-up is the round a weapon first fires; cool-down is how many rounds pass between shots after that. The Meridian carries a single energy weapon, the Pulsed Phaser, which is a survey ship’s only real defense if something catches it mining.
| Weapon | Type | Shots | Warm-up | Cool-down | Damage | Crit chance | Crit damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pulsed Phaser | Energy | 1 | 1 | 1 | 12,112–14,801 | 10% | 150% |
Crew slots and officer bonus
Crew slots open up as the Meridian gains levels.
| Ship level | Officer slots |
|---|---|
| 5 | 1 |
| 10 | 2 |
| 20 | 3 |
| 30 | 4 |
| 35 | 5 |
| 40 | 6 |
| 45 | 7 |
The Meridian also boosts the stats of the officers you seat on it. Its attack, defense and health bonuses are identical, and they step up as the ship’s total officer stat pool grows.
| Amount | Bonus |
|---|---|
| 200 | 30% |
| 400 | 60% |
| 650 | 90% |
| 900 | 120% |
| 1,200 | 150% |
| 1,600 | 180% |
| 2,200 | 210% |
| 3,000 | 240% |
| 4,000 | 270% |
| 6,000 | 300% |
Meridian refits
The Meridian has one refit, unlocked with 60 refit shards. It leans into the ship’s mining role rather than combat.
| Refit | What it does |
|---|---|
| Meridian Mark II | Unlocks additional Isogen Refinery options. Costs 60 Meridian Mark II Shards. |
A ship skin is also available for the Meridian if you want to change its look.
Three research projects target the Meridian directly. Meridian Fortification and Meridian Capacity each increase its base protected cargo, and Isogen Scanners increases its base mining rate on all grades of Isogen. If the Meridian is your main Isogen miner, these are worth queuing alongside the ship’s tier-ups.
Crew for the Meridian
Because the Meridian exists to mine, crew it for mining output and cargo safety rather than combat. Officers that raise mining speed shorten each run, and officers that increase protected cargo keep more of your Isogen if you get hit while gathering. In hostile or contested space, protected-cargo officers matter more than raw speed, since a faster fill does you no good if a rival empties the hold. On safe nodes inside your own territory, lean toward mining speed to clear the node quicker. Since the best mining officers change as new ones release, check the Officer Tier List for the current picks. Crews shift with the meta, so treat any single lineup as a starting point rather than a fixed answer.
The Meridian in Star Trek
The Meridian is a Star Trek Fleet Command original rather than a ship from any of the shows or films. Its in-game story ties it to the ECS cargo haulers of the 22nd century, the plodding Earth freighters that supplied mining outfits and independent traders long before the Federation ran mining fleets of its own. The game frames the Meridian as a modern rebuild of that lineage, assembled during the Isogen rush in the Origin Sector, with an Iso-Resin hull refined using Bolian and Suliban extraction techniques. That fictional history is why it reads as the workhorse Isogen miner of that region.
Meridian build and repair cost
Tier 1 build and repair costs and times, with the ship’s starting cargo.
| Tier | Build cost | Repair cost | Build time | Repair time | Cargo | Protected cargo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | 1,620,000 Tritanium 56,600 Dilithium |
17,841 Tritanium 2,249 Dilithium |
12d 08h 48m | 2h 08m | Base: 87,000 | Base: 1,200 |
Meridian ship XP needed by level
Experience required to reach each of the first five levels at tier 1.
Tier 1
Level 1: 0
Level 2: 800
Level 3: 1,000
Level 4: 1,400
Level 5: 1,700
Resources to max out a Meridian
- 466,620,000 Tritanium
- 124,105,600 Dilithium
- 602 3★ Common Gas
- 784 3★ Uncommon Gas
- 41 3★ Rare Gas
- 1,128 3★ Common Ore
- 1,815 3★ Uncommon Ore
- 167 3★ Rare Ore
- 3,776 4★ Common Gas
- 2,132 4★ Uncommon Gas
- 593 4★ Rare Gas
- 86 4★ Epic Gas
- 3,776 4★ Common Ore
- 2,132 4★ Uncommon Ore
- 593 4★ Rare Ore
- 86 4★ Epic Ore
- 15,914 3★ Survey Parts
- 1,302 4★ Uncommon Survey Parts
- 1,175 4★ Common Survey Parts
- 300 4★ Rare Survey Parts
- 225 4★ Common Survey Parts
(Specialized Parts)
- 815,346 Iso-Emulsion
- 1 Meridian Iso Warp Interlock
- 1 Meridian Iso Warp Regulator
Total Experience: 2,561,700
Is the Meridian worth it?
If you are mining Isogen at Shipyard 25 or beyond, the Meridian is the ship built for the job, and its always-on bonus makes it far more efficient at that one task than a general survey ship. It is not scrappable, so it stays in your dock as a dedicated miner rather than turning into feeder parts later. Anyone farming Isogen in the Origin Sector should build one.
