Tier 1 PvP - The Miranda versus the B'Rel Bird-of-Prey

The introductory PvP Tier can be a harrowing experience for new players, especially those that join a Scenario having faced nothing but the early NPC squadrons you fight in the first few missions. The experience can be quite negative, as the difference in playstyle between PvE and PvP and between Klingons and Federation are quite staggering.

This post will focus more on the ships involved than on the actual tactics, because fitting a ship the right way for PvP is as important as knowing how to fly it.

First lets take the Miranda:

Hull: 10000
Shields: 3600 (Covariant MK1)
Turn Rate:11.4
Weapon Ports: 2 Forward, 1 Rear
Bridge Officer Slots: 1 Ensign Tactical, 1 Ensign Engineering, 1 Ensign Science

The shields come from one of the very early quests, so it is quite likely that a Fed player will have better shields by the end of T1.

Now the B'Rel:

Hull: 8000
Shields: 3600
Turn Rate: 23
Weapon Ports: 2 Forward, 1 Rear
Bridge Officer Slots: 3 Ensign Universal

You can clearly see that a B'Rel, while less resilient than a Miranda, is a more versatile ship. The B'Rel is also built from the start as a damage dealing vessel, using forward facing cannon and torpedo launcher and a rear turret. The Miranda on the other hand is handed to the player as a Cruiser, set up for broadsiding then turning to face the unshielded side of the target to let loose a torpedo. This does not work in PvP, where the B'Rel will fly circles around a Cruiser Miranda. A Miranda needs to hit hard and fast as well to be able to take out a B'Rel before the superior maneuverability of the Klingon ship takes its toll. Going the forward facing cannon/torpedo route with a turret behind is a good idea, same as going with 3 beam arrays and simply broadsiding the fragile BoP into submission. What you don't really want to do is combine the setups, like Cruisers do. You cannot effectively broadside with just 2 arrays and you cannot effectively burn down a BoP with a cannon up front and mines behind.

The next important difference is the Bridge Officer slots. The Miranda has 1 of each, meaning it can never really specialize in anything, while the Klingon Bird-of-Prey can field any combination of Bridge Officers. What that means for a Miranda Captain is that he needs to have a good balance of both offensive and defensive abilities, preferably PvP oriented like Polarize Hull, Engineering Team, Science Team, High Yield Torpedo, Jam Sensors etc.. and be ready to react to any situation. The BoP is usually more specialized, few go the Federation route and stick one of each type of Bridge Officers on their bridge.

Overall the matchup between ships really comes down to experience in flying the ship. New Klingons will struggle with the forward facing Bird-of-Prey while new Federation Captains will not know how to handle a fast moving, hard hitting target. They will join a Scenario fielding their PvE Bridge Officers and fittings and wonder why the Klingons tear them up.

The B'Rel Bird-of-Prey

The most recognizable Klingon ship has to be the standard Bird-of-Prey. This sleek silhouette chills the spine of any Captain as promise of short, bloody and all over the place violence - also known as "The Klingons are hailing us!" - looms over soon to be space-debris Federation ships.

It seems only natural then that the starter ships for new Klingon warriors should be the B'Rel Bird-of-Prey, the oldest and least powerful BoP model.

Do not let its age and limited weaponry fool you though. The B'Rel might not have the shields or hull of a Federation Miranda class Light Cruiser, but it packs a meaner punch, handles better and has a Cloak that allows it to close the distance easier. Unlike the later Birds-of-Prey, the B'Rel possesses only a normal Cloak, meaning it can only turn invisible out of combat. Later models have access to the Battle Cloak, allowing them to slip away even in the heat of ship to ship dogfighting if the situation turns against them.

As the Klingon Empire does not have access at the moment to any meaningful PvE content, the article will focus on flying a B'Rel in PvP, especially against the Federation Tier 1 ship - the Miranda.

Unfortunately, being less sturdy means that the BoP cannot employ the same tactics as successfully as the Federation starter ship. A Klingon Captain must make the most of the maneuverability of the B'Rel in order to win against an equally skilled Federation player. One cannot play the BoP as a Cruiser as in a broadsiding contest the Miranda wins hands down.

Instead the BoP must be flown as an Escort, sporting a rear Turret, preferably Phaser to counteract the Disruptor damage resistant shields of Federation players and a forward Dual-Beam or Cannon. Finally the standard torpedo launcher, be it Photon or Quantum, is an absolute necessity. The basic tactic is to get behind a Federation ship, under 5 kms, uncloak and start firing. Keep behind the target by using Evasive Maneuvers to counteract any sharp turns, reducing impulse speed to half to allow for better turning and if possible using a Tractor Beam I from a Science Bridge Officer to keep the weakened rear shield in your sights.

Between a Turret and a Heavy Cannon the targeted shield should drop instantly allow you to pop a High Yield Torpedo right into the exposed hull.

If the fight is not going your way, either hit Rotate Shield Frequency (Engineer only) and try to finish off your victim or switch full power to Engines, hit Evasive Maneuvers and get the hell out of there. The massive speed boost should allow you to clear the 10 km max weapon range before incoming fire tears your fragile BoP apart. If you manage to get out of range you will get out of combat and must cloak to slink away and repair your damaged ship.

All in all the B'Rel Bird-of-Prey is a versatile, if a little fragile, ship. Unlike the Miranda Light Cruiser, one must always focus on doing as much damage as possible before retreating as the shields and hull on a BoP do not last long enough for prolonged battles.