Soooo with only a day left to decide... I think I've found a winner. Well, 2..
They're from the same series so I thought I'd look at buying a bundle. They only come in a 10k megabundle..
They're both from the Pilot Escort series. At first look I preferred the Science Pilot Escort due to the console and trait are about perfect for my playstyle...
However, the Tactical flavor preserves my delicate balance of Tactical BO (that sounds Wrong..) powers.. It preserves my entire build and then gives me a couple of extra consoles and abilities as far as that goes. OH and, also very important, it has 3 Engineer console slots and the Science version has 2. I could use an extra Engineer console slot... I only have 2 now.
I think what is probably best for me is to get the Tactical version and save up for the Science version and then swipe the console and trait from the Science version for use with the Tactical version.
What I like about the Pilot series is that it matches me pretty decent at this point. It has a higher than normal shield rating and I concentrate on my shields more than my hull in my build. And it has a nice turn rate that I like. The bells and whistles match me pretty good too (traits/consoles). I also like that I get another torpedo (weapons) slot up front. I lose a rear weapons slot, but, I think I don't care.
The only red flag is Weapons power. Instead of the usual 15 power to weapons and 5 to engines they have 10 to both. Which means I lose 5 weapons power. Which means... ummm.. I'm not entirely sure, actually.. I don't know what 5 extra engine power does for me (as compared to what I have right now) either.
Escort Carriers also look entertaining. Might have to try one of those at some point too.
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The Science Pilot escort might work for me if I can just tweak my Tactical BO powers chain (...lol) to be as satisfying with 1 very nice power less.
With diminishing returns I'm not sure how much more resistance the extra Engineering console will give me, and, my power transfer rate is already good.
On the other hand, extra shield size on a shield focused build with a ship that has a shield modifier bonus, and, having more shield drain on a shield drain specced build might be good too.. And then I get the trait and console I want, too..
That only leaves the thing with Weapons and Engine power..
hmmmmmm