I ran into some more possibly interesting info tidbits in my quest to roll up a new newb so I thought I'd share... I'd say these are observations of an Intermediate builder.. due to I didn't have them when I was a newb, and, I still have a lot of questions that I don't know the answers to.
First, Roms are going from my Least favorite choice to my Favorite choice. One reason is that they have Racially Restricted Boffs with a very useful Space Trait.
It also must be a Fed Rom, due to, that way it can fly the most ships in the game - tied with Klingons and the races that can fly Klingon ships. Fed Roms and Klingons can fly all Fed ships PLUS their own Racially Restricted ships..
So, for example, not only can a Fed Rom fly all Warbirds, it can fly all Fed/Starfleet ships, too - whereas a KDF Rom can only fly KDF Warbirds - which is a way smaller selection of ships.
Reman Feds are my second choice due to they offer a useful Space Trait of their own, and, I can also use Rom Boffs... Those Reman Boffs are expensive, and, I'd only want to go Reman if I was going to take advantage of their Space Trait/Boffs which I currently don't. So they are currently my #2 choice.
Human Feds would be tied for #2 due to they have a useful Space Trait and are Starfleet. Being Starfleet gives you fairly active queues that can be nice as a newb, and, as a Fed (can they even be anything else?) I can fly more ships. Humans of course have no special Racial ships - they just get to fly whatever ships their allegiance is with, Fed or KDF - this is assuming you can even join KDF as a Human..
Klingon Feds would be next due to they can not only fly Fed ships.. as with Roms/Remans, they can fly the ships of their race, too. (I am assuming.. I don't know this first-hand. But I do know that Rom/Reman Feds can fly both Rom and Fed ships, so.... it seems like a safe assumption). Klingons don't have anything useful for me in Space as far as Traits, go, though... so... actually.... I might go Alien (from the Klingon character creation screen choices).. just so I can fly Klink ships and Fed ships, plus, I get an extra Personal Space and Ground Trait choice.. Or maybe Gorn.. They have to be good Ground toons.. Plus, they're Gorn!
I'm sticking with Fed due to all my toons can share all Fed rewards. Fed has the most ships and the most shareable ships. We just had that Fed-only shuttle giveaway.. Fed even gets better newb PVEs (Federation Fleet Alert). STO is pretty Fed Focused. KDF is kinda The Red Headed Stepchild. Besides maybe being able to better RP being a Bad Guy.. I dunno what being KDF does for you. You can't even turn in Contraband...!
Now.. having said all that about KDF, I have to say that the toon I play the most of lately, by far, is KDF... Due to my KDF Fleet needs a lot more help with Provisioning the new Colony Fleet Holding than my Fed fleets do. And I like scoring high on Leaderboards : D
Oh, and, I have to announce that T6.5 ships have (fairly recently..) arrived. The new Miracle Worker ships... Not only do they have an extra console Slot (12), but, for the first time, we see a Universal console slot. They also have 60k (in my shopping window) hps.. As compared to, what? 57k? Tops? from earlier ships? I saw a lot of tanks with ~ 53k. 53k...57...now 60? 10..11..and now 12 consoles?
I mean come on, there are tons of TEN console ships and 10 console/53kish hp tanks still for sale as a T6.. 12 consoles? A Universal console slot? 60k hps? That's a T6.5...
I just happen to be in the market for Tanks, too.
My new Rom Warbird is going to be a Miracle Worker, baby...
Also.. It seems at least slightly useful to pick out your T6 the same time as you're planning your new build to get a better idea of what stats need boosting more than others due to what that ship's particular console layout is. I mean, for example, if you never flew an Escort before you might be shocked to find out the ship you gotta have has 5 Tac consoles but only 2 Eng. It might make a difference in what you choose from the Skill selection screen. Or maybe the T6 has a Console or Starship Trait you want to take advantage of via Skills.. I already know what ship I want to fly with my level 10 toons, so, picking out a T6 and a couple of alternates wasn't too hard. Just a thought, to try and avoid console/trait-shock later on when you 'wished you woulda known sooner'.
Anyway... some additional thoughts from me as an Intermediate Builder, to you. May they be useful and bear fruit. And be mostly accurate! : D
It's not about making an 'optimal' toon and all the 'right' choices.. But, it's always good to know more. I'm currently in crit-monkey tank build mode, and, haven't tried that many ships. Your perspective will vary. Awhile back when I was rolling up a new toon all I wanted was to be blue and have antennae come out of my forehead : ) That guy is in Lukari set and Iconian set and Fleet MK XIV gear now and I've played him as much as any of the others I got to 60. The above is my latest attempt at some min/max, and, build-regret-control..