Commander Tomalak is the Romulan commander from Star Trek: The Next Generation, played by Andreas Katsulas, who keeps meeting Picard across the Neutral Zone. In Star Trek Fleet Command he is a Rare Romulan Command officer: as captain he raises Armor Piercing, Shield Penetration and Accuracy by 100% while cloaked, and on the bridge he adds weapon damage against Klingon targets worth 25% of crew Attack at rank 1, rising to 500% at rank 5.
Tomalak at a glance
| Detail | Tomalak |
|---|---|
| Rarity | Rare |
| Faction | Romulan |
| Class | Command |
| Synergy group | Pride of Romulus |
| Captain ability | Patient Tactician: +100% Armor Piercing, Shield Penetration and Accuracy while cloaked |
| Officer ability | Death Over Disgrace: damage vs Klingons equal to 25% to 500% of crew Attack |
| Below-decks ability | None |
| Traits | Captain, Manipulative |
| Shards to rank 5 | 524 |
Tomalak: the Romulan officer for cloak builds and Klingon hunting
Tomalak is a rare Command officer from the Romulan faction, built around two specific jobs: punishing Klingon targets and rewarding ships that fight from cloak. Players who chase him usually want his officer ability, which adds a large amount of weapon damage against Klingon enemies once he climbs the ranks.
He belongs to the Pride of Romulus group and pairs naturally with other Romulan and Duras-family officers. If you fly cloaking warbirds or spend time fighting in Klingon space, he earns a place on the bench.
This guide covers his abilities, his character traits and what they cost, his shard requirements by rank, and the crews where he actually fits.
Commander Tomalak in Star Trek: background
Commander Tomalak is a recurring Romulan adversary from Star Trek: The Next Generation, played by Andreas Katsulas. He first appears in “The Enemy” (2366), commanding a D’deridex-class warbird that crosses the Neutral Zone to recover the crew of a downed Romulan scout ship, the Pi, on Galorndon Core.
Later that same year, in “The Defector,” he runs an elaborate trap around the defector Alidar Jarok and a faked military build-up on Nelvana III, then backs down only when the Enterprise-D arrives with Klingon support. Deanna Troi sums him up after their first meeting by sensing great hostility behind his smile.
He returns in an alternate timeline in “All Good Things…” aboard the warbird Terix, again facing Picard across the Neutral Zone. Across his appearances he favors manipulation and traps over open battle, which is the personality the game leans into.
Role in STFC
Tomalak is a combat officer with a narrow specialty, so his value is conditional rather than general. The officer ability only affects Klingon enemies, and the captain ability only fires while the ship is cloaked. Outside those two situations he does very little, which makes him a situational pick instead of a default captain for every fight.
Inside those conditions he hits hard. A fully promoted Tomalak on the bridge of a cloaking warbird, fighting Klingon targets, adds a heavy layer of weapon damage that few rare officers can match for that matchup.
Captain ability and officer ability
Captain ability: Patient Tactician
While Tomalak is captain and the ship is cloaked, he increases Armor Piercing, Shield Penetration, and Accuracy by 100%, as of the latest data. Those are the three weapon penetration stats, so the buff helps a cloaked attacker land more hits and push damage through hull and shields. It does nothing while the ship is uncloaked, which ties him to Romulan warbirds and other ships that can cloak before a fight.
Officer ability: Death Over Disgrace
On the bridge, Tomalak adds weapon damage against Klingon targets equal to a percentage of his crew’s total Attack. The bonus grows sharply with each promotion, which is why ranking him up matters so much for this role. Here is the per-rank progression, current as of the latest update:
| Rank | Damage vs Klingons (of crew Attack) |
|---|---|
| 1 | 25% |
| 2 | 35% |
| 3 | 75% |
| 4 | 175% |
| 5 | 500% |
At max rank the bonus reaches 500% of total crew Attack against Klingon targets, which turns him into a serious anti-Klingon weapon. The jump from rank 4 to rank 5 is the biggest step, so he is far stronger fully promoted than he is partway there.
Where Tomalak shines
Three situations make him worth fielding:
- Fighting Klingon hostiles and armadas, where his officer ability applies to every enemy on the field.
- Cloak-based warbird builds, where the captain ability turns the opening volley from cloak into a high-penetration strike.
- Grinding or fighting in Klingon space, including PvP against Klingon players, where the anti-Klingon bonus stays relevant.
Away from Klingon targets and cloaked ships, his buffs sit idle, so he is a tool for specific jobs rather than an all-purpose captain.
How to get Tomalak and rank him up
Tomalak is a Romulan officer you build from shards. His shards have no single guaranteed source, so check the present faction store and event rotations for where his shards are available right now. Promoting him through his five ranks needs Officer XP, Romulan Credits and Command Badges alongside the shards, the standard currencies for officers in this part of the roster.
His shard cost per rank, as of the latest data, looks like this:
| Rank | Shards to promote into this rank | Officer XP | Romulan Credits | Command Badges | Max level |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 2 | 50 | 10,000 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 3 | 100 | 100,000 | 1,000 | 0 | 15 |
| 4 | 140 | 250,000 | 4,000 | 1 | 20 |
| 5 | 200 | 500,000 | 10,000 | 2 | 30 |
That comes to 524 shards from recruitment through max rank. Because his officer ability is weak at low ranks and only becomes strong at rank 4 and 5, plan to commit the full shard count if you want him for serious Klingon fights.
The full climb also takes 860,000 Officer XP, 15,000 Romulan Credits and 3 Command Badges.
Character traits
Tomalak has two character traits, unlocked in order: you finish the first before the second opens. The Captain trait comes first and is cheap; the Manipulative trait follows and costs much more, with its final level the heaviest single step.
| Trait | Trait XP per level |
|---|---|
| Captain (3 levels) | 1,500 / 2,700 / 3,800 |
| Manipulative (4 levels) | 7,650 / 6,000 / 7,000 / 8,850 |
Budget the Trait XP before you start. Reaching the top of the Manipulative trait costs 8,850 XP on the last level alone, so it is worth knowing the bill in advance rather than stalling halfway.
Synergies and crews
Tomalak’s group carries class synergy bonuses of Command 25%, Engineering 50%, and Science 50%, as of the latest data. In practice that means he returns the most synergy when seated with Engineering and Science officers from his own group rather than other Command officers.
His named synergy officers are Sela at 25%, B’Etor at 50%, and Lursa at 50%. Sela is Romulan like Tomalak, while B’Etor and Lursa are the Klingon Duras sisters, so a synergy-focused crew here mixes Romulan and Klingon officers. Beyond these three, keep crew choices tied to the job at hand: a cloaked attacker fighting Klingons wants officers that raise Attack and penetration so his two abilities have something to scale off.
Frequently asked questions
Is Tomalak any good in STFC?
He is good in his lane. Against Klingon targets and on a cloaked ship, a rank 5 Tomalak adds a lot of damage. For general combat, mining, or non-Klingon fights, other officers do more.
Where do you get Tomalak shards?
From shards tied to the Romulan side of the roster. Availability shifts with the game, so check the current faction store and event rotations rather than relying on an old source.
What ship is Tomalak best on?
A cloak-capable Romulan warbird. The captain ability only works while cloaked, so ships that can open a fight from cloak get the full penetration buff.
Who is Commander Tomalak in Star Trek?
Tomalak is a Romulan commander in Star Trek: The Next Generation, played by Andreas Katsulas. He faces Picard in “The Enemy” and “The Defector” in 2366 and again aboard the warbird Terix in the alternate future of “All Good Things…”, and he also appears inside the illusion Riker is trapped in during the 2367 episode “Future Imperfect” as well.
Is Tomalak worth ranking up?
If you fight Klingons, yes. His officer ability climbs from 25% at rank 1 to 500% at rank 5, so most of his value is locked behind full promotion. If you do not fight Klingons, the rank-up is hard to justify.
The bottom line on Tomalak
Tomalak rewards one playstyle and ignores the rest. If you fly cloaking warbirds or put real time into fighting Klingons, he is worth the 524 shards and the trait XP, especially once he reaches rank 5. If neither fits how you play, his buffs stay dark and your bench slots pay off more somewhere else.
