The U.S.S. Dauntless is an Epic grade 4 Interceptor from the Independent faction, and it unlocks once your Shipyard reaches level 45. It is built to farm hostiles on its own: its Seek and Destroy ability hunts nearby non-Armada targets automatically while passive buffs raise its damage and loot. If you want a ship that grinds while you handle other things, the Dauntless is a strong pick. Its best crew is built for fast hostile kills and loot, since Seek and Destroy does the targeting for you.
How to get the U.S.S. Dauntless
The Dauntless needs 200 blueprints and a Shipyard at level 45 before you can build it. The build cost is 100,550 4★ Common Refined Gas, 258,010,000,000 Tritanium, 52,000,000 Dilithium, and 178,750 4★ Common Refined Crystal, and construction takes 77 days and 12 hours. Those figures put it firmly in late-game territory, so line up your refining and resource stockpiles well before you start the build.
Upgrades run on U.S.S. Dauntless Parts plus a set of core items. Warp Cores and Quantum Drive Cores for tiers 2 through 15 become claimable as your Operations level rises, starting at Operations 48 for the Tier 2 Warp Core and ending at Operations 70 for the Tier 15 core. U.S.S. Dauntless Prototype Data feeds the ship’s research in the Aggregation research tree.
U.S.S. Dauntless ability
The Dauntless carries a set of passive abilities that are always active. Active Sweep raises its base damage against non-Armada hostiles while Seek and Destroy is running, scaling from 145,000% at level 1 to 1,200,000% at level 75. Active Apex Barrier adds a flat 40,000 Apex Barrier against those same targets during Seek and Destroy. Aft Expansion increases loot dropped from hostiles and Outposts, growing from 3% at level 1 to 225% at level 75, and Aggregation Plunder adds a flat 200% to Reclaimed Loot from Aggregation hostiles. The plain read: the more you level the ship, the harder it hits hostiles and the more it brings home.
| Ship level | Active Sweep damage (during Seek and Destroy) | Aft Expansion loot |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 145,000% | 3% |
| 10 | 266,500% | 30% |
| 25 | 466,500% | 75% |
| 40 | 666,500% | 120% |
| 75 | 1,200,000% | 225% |
U.S.S. Dauntless active ability
Seek and Destroy is the ability that defines this ship. You activate it, and the Dauntless automatically hunts non-Armada hostiles until the duration ends or you switch it off, always going for the nearest target first. It ignores revenge hostiles, and it cannot run during Wave Defense or Arena. Leveling the ship and its research raises the weapon damage, critical damage, isolytic damage, Apex Barrier, and loot you earn while it is active. That is what makes the Dauntless a hands-off grinder: set it loose in a system and it clears targets without your input.
Each activation spends Dauntless System Scans, so your daily supply of scans sets how much hands-off hunting you get. The Star Racer refit below adds 100 scans to that daily amount.
Stats and tiers
These are base values; research, buffs and officers raise them in play.
| Tier | Warp (speed / range) | Impulse | Cargo (protected) | Shield HP | Hull HP | Health (displayed) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 / 150 | 110 | 500,000 (30,000) | 113,990 | 149,815 | 131,902.5 |
| 8 | 7.75 / 210 | 110 | 1,450,000 (100,000) | 482,908 | 566,497 | 524,702.5 |
| 15 | 9.5 / 1,000 | 110 | 3,000,000 (270,000) | 3,587,972 | 3,800,979 | 3,694,475.5 |
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 values below are at max tier 15.
| Weapon | Type | Shots | Warm-up | Cool-down | Damage | Crit chance | Crit damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kinetic | 2 | 1 | 2 | 169,572–202,783 | 10% | 150% |
| 2 | Kinetic | 2 | 1 | 2 | 169,572–202,783 | 10% | 150% |
| 3 | Energy | 3 | 1 | 1 | 43,889–52,931 | 10% | 150% |
| 4 | Energy | 3 | 1 | 1 | 43,889–52,931 | 10% | 150% |
The two kinetic weapons carry the bulk of the Dauntless’s punch, while the energy pair fires more often for smaller hits.
Crew slots and officer bonus
| Ship level | Officer slots |
|---|---|
| 5 | 1 |
| 10 | 2 |
| 20 | 3 |
| 30 | 4 |
| 40 | 5 |
| 45 | 6 |
| 55 | 7 |
The Dauntless also boosts the attack, defense and health stats of the officers you crew on it. The bonus is identical for all three stats and steps up as your officer power on the ship climbs.
| Amount | Bonus |
|---|---|
| 1,500 | 50% |
| 3,000 | 100% |
| 4,875 | 150% |
| 6,750 | 200% |
| 9,000 | 250% |
| 12,000 | 300% |
| 16,500 | 350% |
| 22,500 | 400% |
| 30,000 | 450% |
| 45,000 | 500% |
U.S.S. Dauntless refits
The Dauntless has one refit you can unlock with ship shards.
| Refit | What it does |
|---|---|
| Star Racer | Costs 120 shards to unlock. Increases the base positive Federation, Romulan and Klingon reputation points gained from defeating hostiles with the Dauntless by 300%, and increases the daily Dauntless System Scans you receive by 100. |
Star Racer turns the Dauntless into a reputation farmer as well as a loot farmer. If you are working on faction reputation, it is the first shard target for this hull.
U.S.S. Dauntless upgrade cost by tier
Tier-up costs as listed for each tier, with the upgrade time. From tier 10 the Tritanium and Dilithium costs switch to Σ-Tritanium and Σ-Dilithium.
| Tier | Upgrade cost | Upgrade time |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 4.3T Tritanium 1.1B Dilithium 2.25M 4★ Common Refined Crystal 1.27M 4★ Common Refined Gas 616K 4★ Uncommon Refined Crystal 3,305 U.S.S. Dauntless Parts |
8d 8h |
| 3 | 11.8T Tritanium 3.28B Dilithium 4.45M 4★ Common Refined Crystal 2.51M 4★ Common Refined Gas 1.2M 4★ Uncommon Refined Crystal 676K 4★ Uncommon Refined Gas 365K 4★ Rare Refined Crystal 5,500 U.S.S. Dauntless Parts |
16d 16h |
| 4 | 28.6T Tritanium 10.1B Dilithium 2.51M 5★ Common Refined Crystal 1.41M 5★ Common Refined Gas 6,610 U.S.S. Dauntless Parts 1 Quantum Drive Core Tier 4 |
27d 18h 40m |
| 5 | 61.5T Tritanium 19.5B Dilithium 3.51M 5★ Common Refined Crystal 1.97M 5★ Common Refined Gas 1.08M 5★ Uncommon Refined Crystal 8,880 U.S.S. Dauntless Parts |
41d 16h |
| 6 | 105T Tritanium 35.1B Dilithium 2.32M 5★ Common Refined Gas 1.26M 5★ Uncommon Refined Crystal 711K 5★ Uncommon Refined Gas 10,770 U.S.S. Dauntless Parts |
55d 13h 20m |
| 7 | 161T Tritanium 56.2B Dilithium 1.8M 5★ Uncommon Refined Crystal 1.01M 5★ Uncommon Refined Gas 462K 5★ Rare Refined Crystal 14,340 U.S.S. Dauntless Parts 1 Quantum Drive Core Tier 7 |
69d 10h 40m |
| 8 | 264T Tritanium 98.9B Dilithium 1.27M 5★ Uncommon Refined Gas 582K 5★ Rare Refined Crystal 327K 5★ Rare Refined Gas 18,470 U.S.S. Dauntless Parts |
90d 6h 40m |
| 9 | 495T Tritanium 201B Dilithium 743K 5★ Rare Refined Crystal 418K 5★ Rare Refined Gas 23,230 U.S.S. Dauntless Parts |
111d 2h 40m |
| 10 | 29.3M Σ-Tritanium 2.94M 6★ Common Refined Crystal 1.65M 6★ Common Refined Gas 53,305 Σ-Dilithium 27,425 U.S.S. Dauntless Parts 1 Quantum Drive Core Tier 10 |
138d 21h 20m |
| 11 | 43.8M Σ-Tritanium 3.37M 6★ Common Refined Crystal 1.9M 6★ Common Refined Gas 934K 6★ Uncommon Refined Crystal 89,750 Σ-Dilithium 32,770 U.S.S. Dauntless Parts |
180d 13h 20m |
| 12 | 75.6M Σ-Tritanium 2.18M 6★ Common Refined Gas 1.08M 6★ Uncommon Refined Crystal 606K 6★ Uncommon Refined Gas 148K Σ-Dilithium 38,140 U.S.S. Dauntless Parts |
250d |
| 13 | 114M Σ-Tritanium 1.23M 6★ Uncommon Refined Crystal 692K 6★ Uncommon Refined Gas 324K 6★ Rare Refined Crystal 234K Σ-Dilithium 43,890 U.S.S. Dauntless Parts 1 Quantum Drive Core Tier 13 |
333d 8h |
| 14 | 158M Σ-Tritanium 820K 6★ Uncommon Refined Gas 384K 6★ Rare Refined Crystal 335K Σ-Dilithium 216K 6★ Rare Refined Gas 54,610 U.S.S. Dauntless Parts |
383d 8h |
| 15 | 271M Σ-Tritanium 564K Σ-Dilithium 452K 6★ Rare Refined Crystal 254K 6★ Rare Refined Gas 65,620 U.S.S. Dauntless Parts |
441d 16h |
The Quantum Drive Cores for tiers 4, 7, 10 and 13 unlock for claiming at Operations 51, 56, 61 and 67.
Best crew for the U.S.S. Dauntless
Because the Dauntless earns its keep by grinding non-Armada hostiles, the crew that suits it best raises weapon and critical damage and adds anything that speeds up kills or increases loot. Since the ship hunts on its own with Seek and Destroy, officers that reward sustained hostile combat get the most out of it. For current officer picks, check our Officer Tier List, and remember that the best crews shift as the meta changes.
If you run the Star Racer refit for reputation, one officer stacks directly with it. Ghalenar‘s officer ability raises Federation, Klingon and Romulan reputation from hostiles by 5% at rank 1 up to 20% at rank 5, which pairs with the refit’s 300% base increase on every Seek and Destroy kill.
The U.S.S. Dauntless in Star Trek
The Dauntless comes from the Voyager episode “Hope and Fear,” where it appears as a fake Starfleet ship built by an alien named Arturis to lure Voyager’s crew into a trap. Arturis blamed Captain Janeway for a decision that left his species open to Borg assimilation, and the ship’s quantum slipstream drive was the bait he engineered to strand the crew far from home. In the game’s telling, Starfleet recovers and studies the design, then turns it into a real vessel, keeping the slipstream drive that makes the Dauntless one of the fastest ships in the fleet and adding the automated targeting system that drives its in-game role. The U.S.S. Voyager is also buildable in the game.
Is the U.S.S. Dauntless worth it?
For a grade 4 Epic, the Dauntless does something no other ship at its level does: it farms hostiles without you steering it. If you spend a lot of time grinding for loot, faction reputation, and materials, the passive kills and loot bonuses make it a real time-saver. The build cost and 77-day timer are steep, so it rewards players who are already deep enough to feed it. Active grinders and anyone building toward Aggregation content should chase it.
U.S.S. Dauntless FAQ
What is the best Dauntless crew in STFC?
A hostile-grinding crew: officers that raise weapon damage, critical damage and loot against non-Armada hostiles. Add Ghalenar if you farm reputation with the Star Racer refit, and check the Officer Tier List for the strongest damage officers you own.
What does Seek and Destroy do?
It makes the Dauntless hunt the nearest non-Armada hostiles on its own until the ability ends or you switch it off. It skips revenge hostiles and does not work in Wave Defense or Arena, and each use spends Dauntless System Scans.
What shipyard level does the Dauntless need?
Shipyard level 45, plus 200 blueprints.
