Tal at a glance
Tal is a Rare Engineering officer in the Romulan Patriots officer group. He pairs with Charvanek and the rest of the Burning-themed Romulan crew, but his Captain Maneuver also gives him a niche of his own: a flat damage bonus when fighting Battleships.
If you play Romulan or you’re building around the Burning condition, Tal is a useful piece without being a chase officer. His Officer Ability stacks extra Hull damage on targets that are on fire, which is exactly what the rest of his group wants to do.
This guide covers who Tal is, what his abilities do, where he earns a seat, and what to think about before ranking him up.
Star Trek background
Tal is a Romulan officer from Star Trek: The Original Series. He appears in the third-season episode “The Enterprise Incident,” which aired in 1968 and centers on a Federation plan to steal a Romulan cloaking device. Tal holds the rank of sub-commander and is the first officer on the Romulan flagship, second to its commander.
Most of the episode keeps him on the bridge of the Romulan ship while his commander interrogates a captured Spock. When Spock and Kirk pull off the theft of the cloaking device and beam back to the Enterprise, Tal is the one who orders the pursuit. He doesn’t catch them. The Enterprise activates the stolen device and slips back into Federation space.
Jack Donner played Tal in the original episode. Decades later, the same actor returned to the franchise in Star Trek: Enterprise as a Vulcan priest. He’s one of a small handful of performers to appear in both the 1960s show and its early-2000s prequel. None of that changes how Tal plays in STFC, but it’s worth knowing if you want to track down the source material.
Tal’s role in STFC
In Star Trek Fleet Command, Tal sits in the Engineering class and the Romulan Patriots officer group. His role is twofold. He boosts damage against Battleships from the captain seat, and he adds extra Hull damage to enemies that are already Burning when he sits as a bridge officer.
That makes him a hybrid piece. The Captain Maneuver leans toward PvE, since Battleship-class hostiles are common in the galaxy. The Officer Ability leans toward crews built around the Burning status, which is the central mechanic for the entire Romulan Patriots group.
Tal’s abilities
Captain Maneuver: Loyal Officer
Loyal Officer increases Weapon Damage by 20% when Tal is captain and your ship is fighting a Battleship. The bonus is a flat 20% at Rank 1, and it doesn’t change with promotion. That’s the figure to plan around. Putting Tal in the captain seat doesn’t give you more damage at Rank 5 than at Rank 1.
Use this where Battleships are the target: faction grinds against Battleship-class hostiles, mission lines that send you at them, and systems where Battleships fly thick. If you’re going after Explorers or Interceptors, put a different officer in the captain seat. The bonus simply doesn’t apply.
Value current as of the latest game data.
Officer Ability: Resistance
Resistance reduces the opponent’s Hull Health by a cumulative percentage each round while that opponent is Burning. The ability also carries a level cap: it applies against other players and against Hostiles up to level 60. Above that, the effect drops off.
The percentage scales with promotion. Values current as of the latest game data:
| Rank | Hull damage per Burning round |
|---|---|
| 1 | 5% |
| 2 | 6% |
| 3 | 7% |
| 4 | 8% |
| 5 | 10% |
Two things matter here. First, the damage is cumulative: each round of Burning adds another tick of Hull loss. Second, the effect only fires while the target is actually Burning. Tal does nothing on his own. He needs a crewmate who applies Burn to start the chain. That’s the whole reason he sits in a Burning-themed group.
Where Tal shines
Battleship farming runs
Anywhere your faction grind, mission progress, or daily reset sends you against Battleship-class hostiles, Tal in the captain seat pulls his weight. The 20% Weapon Damage bonus is straightforward and applies to every shot, so the more Battleships you fight, the more value you get out of the seat.
Burning crews on Romulan ships
The natural pairing. Drop Tal on the bridge as an officer alongside a crewmate who applies the Burn status. Each round the target keeps Burning, Resistance shaves another slice off its Hull. That stacks on top of whatever damage the rest of your crew is dealing through the normal combat loop.
Lower-tier hostile clearing and same-band PvP
Resistance is capped at Hostiles level 60 and under, so it tunes well to early- and mid-game content. If you’re running a Burning crew against players in your level band, or working through low- to mid-level hostiles, the ability does real work. At higher tiers of hostile (top-end Armadas, Borg content, end-game systems), the cap stops it from applying.
How to get Tal
Tal is a Rare officer, which means he shows up across a handful of standard sources rather than being locked behind one specific event. The usual paths are the Romulan faction store when his shards rotate through, premium and standard recruit chests where Rare officers can drop, and periodic events or token offers that bundle Romulan Patriots shards.
The exact mix shifts. Check the current store and event rotations in-game rather than budgeting around any single source.
Crew synergies
Tal’s synergy bonuses, contributed when he sits on the bridge with other Romulan Patriots officers, are 20% to Command-class officers, 10% to Engineering-class, and 20% to Science-class. The two 20% bonuses make him useful as a passive supporter under a Command- or Science-class captain whose own Maneuver is the main damage driver.
The straightforward crew shape is a Romulan Patriots captain, with Charvanek as the obvious lead, plus two other Romulan Patriots officers on the bridge. Tal slots in as one of those officers, contributes his synergy bonuses, and applies Resistance whenever the target is Burning. If your captain seat comes from a different group, Tal can still ride along for the Burning interaction, but you give up the synergy stack.
A note on placement. Tal’s Captain Maneuver only pays out from the captain seat, and his Officer Ability only pays out from the officer slots. Pick the role based on which fight you’re going into. You can’t get both bonuses out of him in the same battle.
Frequently asked questions
Is Tal worth ranking up?
If you’re running a Romulan Patriots Burning crew, yes. Each promotion adds another point of cumulative Hull damage per Burning round, and the jump from Rank 4 to Rank 5 (8% to 10%) is the biggest single increase in the chain. If you don’t have a Burning crew built or you don’t fight many Battleships, his rank-up priority drops.
Where do you get Tal shards?
The Romulan faction store, recruit chests, and any current event that includes Romulan Patriots shards. The mix shifts, so the in-game store and event tab are the sources to check.
Is Tal good against other players?
His Officer Ability applies in PvP when your crew is running Burning. The Hull damage piece doesn’t care about the opposing player’s level. The Captain Maneuver, by contrast, only fires against Battleship-class opponents, so it limits his usefulness as a captain in player fights where the other side isn’t in a Battleship.
What ship is Tal best on?
Any Romulan ship that benefits from Burning damage is a fit. Tal carries no ship-type restriction beyond Battleship for his captain seat, so the bridge slot matters more than the hull underneath.
Does Tal work outside the Romulan Patriots group?
His Officer Ability still fires, as long as the target is Burning. You give up the synergy bonuses, though, so he’s less efficient outside his own group. He’s also less interesting outside a Burning-focused build, because the ability does nothing without Burn on the field.
Should you chase Tal?
Tal is a clean, focused officer. He doesn’t carry a fight on his own, but in the right Burning crew or against the right Battleship-heavy target, he adds steady, predictable value. He’s worth picking up if you play Romulan, and worth ranking up if you’re committed to a Burning build.
