Officer badges in Star Trek Fleet Command are the promotion resource for Rare and Epic officers. There are three types, Command, Science and Engineering, and each promotes only officers of its own class. Command badges are the bottleneck most players hit first. You get badges from Battle Pass milestone 20, the Klingon, Federation and Romulan faction stores, Minor Commendations, event stores, armada chests and the Officer Badge Choice Token, all covered below, along with which officers to spend them on. Commendation Ranks are a different thing: they are faction relationship tokens and do not promote officers, while the Minor Commendation is the one you trade for badges.
What officer badges are in Star Trek Fleet Command
Officer badges are a promotion resource. You spend them to promote your Rare and Epic officers past the rank gates where shards and credits alone stop being enough. There are three types, one for each officer class: Command, Science and Engineering.
Badges come in slowly and most players hold only a handful at any time, so they act as a soft cap on how many strong officers you can fully rank up at once. Command badges are the type most players run short on first.
The three officer badge types
Each badge type matches one officer class, and it only promotes officers of that class. You will need all three as your roster grows, because a good crew usually mixes classes.
| Badge | Promotes | Examples of officers that need it |
|---|---|---|
| Command badge | Command class officers | James T. Kirk, Khan, Gorkon |
| Science badge | Science class officers | Spock, Bones, Carol Marcus |
| Engineering badge | Engineering class officers | Kerla, Nero, Stonn |
An officer’s class is shown on their portrait and on their page in the officer index, so you always know which badge a promotion will ask for before you commit to it.
How to get Command badges in Star Trek Fleet Command
Command badges come from seven places: the Battle Pass at milestone 20, faction stores, Minor Commendations from the Discovery refinery, the Apex Outlaw event store, Rare and Epic armada chests, one-time faction loyalty packs, and the Officer Badge Choice Token from the U.S.S. Kelcie Mae. Only the Battle Pass and the faction stores are dependable enough to plan around. Everything else is a bonus on top.
The Klingon faction store is the fastest route if you want Command badges specifically, because Klingon reputation unlocks Command first, ahead of Engineering and Science.
| Source | Which badges you get | How dependable |
|---|---|---|
| Battle Pass, milestone 20 | One of each: Command, Science, Engineering | Guaranteed, every pass |
| Faction stores | All three, in a set order per faction | Controllable, costs reputation |
| Discovery refinery commendations | Whichever type you pick | Targeted but slow |
| Apex Outlaw store, via Eclipse heist tokens | Random | Supplements the faction store |
| Armada chests: Rare G4, Rare G5, Epic | Random | Occasional drop, not guaranteed |
| Faction loyalty packs | Mixed | One-time only |
| Officer Badge Choice Token (U.S.S. Kelcie Mae) | Whichever type you pick | One per Kelcie Mae tier, first time only |
The badge description in game says badges are earned by defeating roaming ships and taking part in events. Treat hostile grinding as an occasional extra rather than a supply line: the stores, the Battle Pass and targeted commendations are what you can plan around.
Where each badge source comes from
Battle Pass
The Battle Pass is the most consistent guaranteed source. Reaching milestone 20 on a standard Battle Pass hands you one of each badge type. Because a new pass comes around on a regular cadence, this is the one badge income you can actually plan around.
Faction stores
Faction stores are the most controllable source. You spend faction reputation on badge packs, and you can also hand-pick the exact badge you want using Minor Commendations earned from the Discovery refinery. The game describes Minor Commendations as exchangeable in the Federation, Klingon and Romulan faction stores for Command, Science and Engineering badges. Each faction unlocks its three badge types in a set order as your reputation with it climbs:
- Federation: Science first, then Command, then Engineering.
- Klingon: Command first, then Engineering, then Science.
- Romulan: Engineering first, then Science, then Command.
If Command is what you are short on, work Klingon reputation. The faction reputation guide covers how to raise it. Federation makes you clear Science before Command opens up, and Romulan puts Command last of the three.
Events and event stores
Events pay out badges in their reward tracks, and event stores stock badge packs you buy with event tokens. The one to know is the Apex Outlaw store: Thursday Stella events hand out Eclipse heist tokens, and you spend those tokens in the Apex Outlaw store on badge loot. The badge you pull there is random, so it supplements the faction store rather than replacing it.
Armada reward chests
Rare G4 and G5 armada chests, along with Epic armada chests, can contain officer badges. The drop is occasional, not guaranteed, so treat armada badges as a bonus on top of the fighting. Pull every chest you earn, since the badges cost you nothing extra once the armada is done.
Faction loyalty packs
As you raise your standing with a faction, you unlock one-time Loyalty Packs that include officer badges among their rewards. These are a solid early boost, but because each pack is a single purchase, you cannot lean on them for a steady supply.
Officer Badge Choice Token
The Officer Badge Choice Token lets you claim your choice of Command, Science or Engineering badges. You earn it as a bonus gift in the Territory Refinery the first time you reach each ship tier of the U.S.S. Kelcie Mae. Because you pick the type, spend every one on Command unless another class is holding up a promotion you need now.
Commendations, Commendation Ranks and Merit of Honor
Several items in STFC share badge-like names but do different jobs, which is where a lot of confusion comes from.
| Item | What it is | Gets you badges? |
|---|---|---|
| Minor Commendation | Awarded by navies and exploratory corps across many factions. Exchanged in the Federation, Klingon and Romulan faction stores. | Yes: Command, Science or Engineering badges |
| Commendation Rank 2 to Commendation Rank 10 | Tokens the game calls a testimony of your relationship with a faction, one per rank. | No |
| Sigma, Lambda and Omicron Commendations | Used in special events. | No |
| Merit of Honor | Received from certain Epic Away Team assignments and used to complete research in the Away Teams research tree. | No |
| Trait Badge | Used to unlock Away Teams officer traits. | No |
| Loyalty Badge | Found in Daily Goal rewards and used to redeem Loyalty Chests in the Gifts section. | No |
If you are searching for a Commendation Rank, you are looking at your faction standing tokens, not a badge currency. The one commendation that turns into officer badges is the Minor Commendation. Merit of Honor looks like a promotion item but only feeds Away Teams research, and Loyalty Badges open the Loyalty Chest.
Why Command badges run out first
Look at the officers that cost the full 7 badges to max out. Of the eight heaviest officers listed further down this page, five are Command class: Kirk, Khan, Gorkon, Charvanek, and Alexander Marcus. Only two are Science and one is Engineering.
That imbalance is the whole problem. The game’s premier officers skew Command, so Command badges get spent faster than the other two types while all three arrive at roughly the same rate. Players who never think about badge type end up with a pile of Engineering badges and nothing to promote their Command bench with.
The fix is to stop treating badge income as one pool. Work Klingon reputation for Command, spend Discovery commendations on Command when you can target them, and let Science and Engineering accumulate from the Battle Pass on their own.
How to spend your officer badges
Because badges are scarce, the goal is to pour them into officers you actually fly, not to spread them thin. A simple way to decide:
- Rank up officers who sit on a crew you use every day, for hostile grinding, mining protection, PvP, or armadas.
- Favor officers whose ability scales hard at the top ranks, where the last promotion is the one that unlocks the big number.
- Save a surplus for premier officers. Newer high-end officers can need many badges just to clear tier one, so banking badges for a target like Janeway or Anorax beats dribbling them into filler officers.
- Hold badges rather than spend them on an officer you are only ranking up to finish a set.
Away Missions changed this math. Because an officer’s raw stats feed Away Mission payouts, it is now worth maxing strong officers who never touch your bridge. For Away Mission value, Health is the most useful stat, then Attack, with Defense the least impactful, so a high-Health officer can be worth badges even off the bench.
For current picks, check the officer tier list. The tables below cover a set of long-standing officers and the badges each needs to reach max rank. Current top-tier officers shift with the meta, so read this as a way to gauge badge cost rather than a live tier list: the heaviest 7-badge officers are a real commitment, so they should earn their place before you feed them.
Tier 1
| Officer | Badges to max out |
|---|---|
| Spock | 3 Science |
| Khan | 7 Command |
| Kerla | 3 Engineering |
Tier 2
| Officer | Badges to max out |
|---|---|
| Zhou | 1 Command |
| Kirk | 7 Command |
| Decius | 3 Science |
| Bones | 3 Science |
| Stonn | 3 Engineering |
| Nero | 7 Engineering |
| Gorkon | 7 Command |
Tier 3
| Officer | Badges to max out |
|---|---|
| L’Nar | 1 Engineering |
| Yuki | 3 Engineering |
| Yan’agh | 1 Engineering |
| Woteln | 1 Science |
| Carol | 7 Science |
| Vemet | 3 Science |
| Kumak | 3 Command |
| Charvanek | 7 Command |
| Marcus | 7 Command |
| Krell | 3 Engineering |
| Seven of Eleven | 7 Science |
| D’jaoki | 1 Command |
Officer badge FAQ
How do you get Command badges in Star Trek Fleet Command?
Reach milestone 20 on the Battle Pass for one guaranteed Command badge per pass, buy them from the Klingon faction store, or target them with Discovery refinery commendations. Apex Outlaw event loot and armada chests drop them at random.
Which faction store unlocks Command badges first?
Klingon. Klingon reputation opens Command badges before Engineering and Science. Federation opens Science first and Romulan opens Engineering first, so both make you wait longer for Command.
How many Command badges does Kirk need?
Seven to reach max rank. Khan, Gorkon, Charvanek, and Alexander Marcus each cost seven Command badges as well.
What are the three officer badge types?
Command, Science, and Engineering. Each promotes officers of the matching class and cannot be used on the other two.
Do officer badges drop from hostiles?
The game says badges are earned by defeating roaming ships and in events, but hostile drops are not a supply you can plan around. Use the stores, the Battle Pass and commendations for steady income.
Which badge type is the biggest bottleneck?
Command. Five of the eight most expensive officers on this page are Command class, so Command badges get used the fastest and tend to be the type you run short on first.
What is a Commendation Rank in STFC?
Commendation Rank 2 through Commendation Rank 10 are tokens that record your relationship with a faction. They are not officer badges and cannot promote officers. The Minor Commendation is the one you exchange for badges.
What is Merit of Honor used for?
Merit of Honor comes from certain Epic Away Team assignments and completes research in the Away Teams research tree. It does not promote officers.
Should I spend badges as soon as I get them?
No. Hold them until you know which officer earns the promotion. Spreading badges across officers you rarely fly is the most common way players waste them.
The short version
Command badges are the ones you will run out of, because five of the eight priciest officers on this page are Command class. Work Klingon reputation to buy them, take the guaranteed one from Battle Pass milestone 20, and aim your Discovery commendations at Command when you can. Let Science and Engineering pile up on their own, treat hostile drops as a bonus, and hold every badge until you know which officer has earned it.
