The U.S.S. Defiant is a grade 4 Epic Interceptor with no faction allegiance, and it unlocks at Shipyard level 35. It works as an Armada support ship: its ability reinforces your other ships in Armadas and lifts the rewards you pull from Jem’Hadar Solo Armadas, and it can cloak once you unlock the right refit. For players grinding Solo Armadas, it earns its spot in the dock.
How to get the U.S.S. Defiant
Building the Defiant takes 100 blueprints and a Shipyard at level 35. The build costs 24,150,000 Tritanium, 2,025,000 Dilithium, 3,840 3★ Common Refined Crystal, and 1,245 3★ Common Refined Gas, and it runs 34d 12h to finish. Blueprint offers rotate through events and stores, so check what is live when you are ready to collect them rather than counting on any one channel.
U.S.S. Defiant ability
The Defiant’s ship ability is Resourceful Approach, and like every ship ability it stays on without any input from you. It reinforces your other ships against Armadas based on your Defiant research, raises the Edict rewards you earn while flying the Defiant, and increases the Bajoran Badges and Credits you collect from the Defiant Amplified Claim. It also unlocks buffs that make the ship stronger against Jem’Hadar Solo Armadas. The reward boost starts at 250% at ship level 1 and climbs to 750% at level 60, so the ship pays back more the further you level it. In play, the Defiant is a support and farming ship for Solo Armada players rather than a front-line brawler.
U.S.S. Defiant active ability
The Defiant also carries two abilities you trigger yourself. Ship Cloaking hides the ship from view; the cloak drops when its timer runs out, when you enter combat, when you begin mining, or when you dock at a station. Armada Reinforce sends the Defiant to back up other ships in an Armada, improving their combat performance based on your Defiant research. Both run on cooldowns that shorten as the ship tiers up. Cloaking has to be unlocked through a refit before you can use it, covered in the refits section below.
Stats and tiers
These are base values from the current game data; research, buffs, and officers raise them in play. The Defiant tops out at tier 12 and level 60.
| Tier | Warp (speed / range) | Impulse | Cargo (protected) | Shield HP | Hull HP | Health (displayed) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4.3 / 50 | 100 | 35,000 (500) | 50,000 | 55,000 | 52,500 |
| 6 | 4.8 / 120 | 100 | 35,000 (500) | 135,813 | 149,395 | 142,604 |
| 12 | 5.4 / 460 | 100 | 35,000 (500) | 599,984 | 659,982 | 629,983 |
Cargo stays small across every tier, which fits its job. This is a combat and Armada ship, not a hauler.
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 12.
| Weapon | Type | Shots | Warm-up | Cool-down | Damage | Crit chance | Crit damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phaser Cannons | Energy | 4 | 1 | 2 | 130,906–222,962 | 5% | 125% |
| Phaser Beam Emitter | Energy | 1 | 1 | 1 | 65,453–83,611 | 3% | 115% |
| Torpedo Launcher | Kinetic | 1 | 4 | 4 | 523,622–677,401 | 10% | 150% |
The Phaser Cannons carry the steady damage with four shots a round, while the Torpedo Launcher is the heavy hitter: one slow kinetic shot with the highest crit chance and crit damage on the ship.
Crew slots and officer bonus
The Defiant opens officer slots as it levels, reaching a full seven-officer bridge at ship level 55.
| Ship level | Officer slots |
|---|---|
| 5 | 1 |
| 10 | 2 |
| 20 | 3 |
| 30 | 4 |
| 40 | 5 |
| 45 | 6 |
| 55 | 7 |
The ship also boosts the officers you crew on it. Attack, defense, and health all step up by the same ladder, so the amount below applies to each of the three stats.
| 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. Defiant refits
The Defiant’s headline refit turns on its cloak.
| Refit | What it does |
|---|---|
| U.S.S. Defiant Cloaking | Enables cloaking for the Defiant and increases base weapon damage by +350%. It also gives a 66% base chance to hide your name and alliance data from enemy Battle Reports. Costs 120 shards to unlock. |
A cosmetic ship skin is available for the Defiant as well, which changes its look without touching its stats.
Crew for the U.S.S. Defiant
Crew the Defiant for its role rather than for raw damage. As an Armada support and Solo Armada ship, it wants a bridge built around Armada performance and the officers tied to your Defiant research, plus whatever survivability keeps it alive through longer Armada fights. Because the best picks shift as new officers arrive, check the Officer Tier List for current recommendations. Crews change with the meta, so treat any single lineup as a starting point.
U.S.S. Defiant crews
Captain: Picard
Officer: Geordi
Officer: Beverly
Crew Slots
Officer Bonus(ATTACK / DEFENSE / HEALTH)
The U.S.S. Defiant in Star Trek
In canon the Defiant (NX-74205) was a small, heavily armed warship the Federation designed after the Battle of Wolf 359 to fight the Borg. The prototype handled so much firepower that it strained its own frame, and the project stalled until the Dominion threat gave it a purpose. Assigned to Deep Space Nine under Captain Benjamin Sisko, the Defiant became the station’s front-line defender and carried a Romulan cloaking device, unusual for a Starfleet vessel. It fought through much of the Dominion War and stood in for a ship far larger than its size suggested.
U.S.S. Defiant build cost by tier
Build and repair costs for every tier, carried over from the previous version of this page.
| Tier | Build cost | Repair cost | Build time | Repair time | Cargo | Protected cargo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | Tritanium 24.2M Dilithium 2.03M 3★ Common Refined Gas 1,245 3★ Common Refined Crystal 3,840 |
2.13M Tritanium 150K Dilithium |
34d 12h | 23h 20m | Base: 35,000 | Base: 500 |
Resources to max out the u.s.s. Defiant
- 3,201,430,252,000 Tritanium
- 58,433,190,000 Dilithium
- 5,495 3★ Common Gas
- 385 3★ Uncommon Gas
- 21,800 3★ Common Crystal
- 1,125 3★ Uncommon Crystal
- 67,370 4★ Common Gas
- 23,280 4★ Uncommon Gas
- 3,195 4★ Rare Gas
- 222,385 4★ Common Crystal
- 87,980 4★ Uncommon Crystal
- 17,475 4★ Rare Crystal
- 42,735 5★ Common Gas
- 18,205 5★ Uncommon Gas
- 2,665 5★ Rare Gas
- 141,820 5★ Common Crystal
- 60,420 5★ Uncommon Crystal
- 8,840 5★ Rare Crystal
- 4,725,079 Ablative Armor Parts
- 62,105 4★ Common Interceptor Parts
- 33,090 5★ Common Interceptor Parts
- 26,270 4★ Uncommon Interceptor Parts
- 14,910 5★ Uncommon Interceptor Parts
- 2,000 4★ Rare Interceptor Parts
- 450 3★ Interceptor Parts
Specialized Parts
- 2,818,902 Plasma Conduits
- 1 Isolinear Optical Chip T2
- 1 Isolinear Optical Chip T3
- 1 Isolinear Optical Chip T4
- 1 Isolinear Optical Chip T5
- 1 Isolinear Optical Chip T6
- 1 Isolinear Optical Chip T7
- 1 Isolinear Optical Chip T8
- 1 Isolinear Optical Chip T9
- 1 Isolinear Optical Chip T10
- 1 Isolinear Optical Chip T11
- 1 Isolinear Optical Chip T12
Total Experience: 169,108,000
U.S.S. Defiant video
Is the U.S.S. Defiant worth it?
For its grade 4 band the Defiant is a specialist. It shines for players who run Jem’Hadar Solo Armadas and want a ship that reinforces the fleet and boosts Armada rewards, and the cloak adds a useful trick once the refit is unlocked. It is not scrappable, so it stays in your dock as a long-term Armada tool rather than a feeder. If Solo Armadas are part of your routine, it is worth the build; if they are not, you can skip it.
