The Legendary Pilot Warship represents an incredibly powerful addition to Starfleet's armada. A synthesis of lessons learned from years of conflict, the Legendary Pilot Warship also draws inspiration from the original U.S.S. Defiant and the modifications made to that ship by Deep Space Nine Strategic Operations Officer Worf, Chief of Operations Miles O'Brien, and Captain Benjamin Sisko. Equipped with five forward weapons, pilot maneuvers, a cloaking device, and a quantum warhead module, the Legendary Pilot Warship is ready to reprise its role in history as one of Starfleet's most invaluable starships.
The Legendary Pilot Warship includes a few improvements over the design of the previous T6 version of the ship, the Valiant Tactical Escort. These include a more aggressive 5/3 weapon loadout, and the addition of the “Pilot Maneuvers” ship mechanic. The Experimental Weapon slot has been removed in this new version of the ship.
The Legendary Pilot Warship is very quick and maneuverable, and with the inclusion of a Cloaking Device console and Phaser Quad Cannons, seems designed for entering combat unseen, firing off a devastating barrage of surprise attacks, deftly avoiding enemy fire while positioning for the next volley through the use of Pilot Maneuvers which grant temporary immunity to damage along with quick bursts of speed in any direction.
This build uses easily-obtained equipment, including only standard gear and pieces which can be obtained through Fleet Holdings and/or mission rewards. See below for upgrade suggestions using more difficult-to-obtain gear.
Clearly, upgrading gear to Mark XV and Epic quality will provide the best results. However, see the Suggested Upgrades section below before heavily investing in gear you may be replacing before long.
The Legendary Pilot Warship would be extremely well-suited to a cannon-based build as it has a very front-loaded weapon layout and is maneuverable enough to easily maintain targetting on opponents.
The Legendary Pilot Warship's ability to cloak is almost unique among Federation ships, and with all three pieces of the Stealth Fighter Set included with the ship and included in this build, that cloak is upgraded to a battle cloak which can be used in combat.
As noted previously, the Legendary Pilot Warship is an excellent platform for a cannon build. In keeping with Starfleet norms, this build will use phasers.
Using the Quantum Phase Torpedo Launcher and Quantum Phase Dual Heavy Cannons from the "Sunrise" mission in the Future Proof arc with Console - Universal - Quantum Phase Converter enables the three-piece bonus from the Quantum Phase Catalysts set. This increases Accuracy and shield drain, as well as enabling the Quantum Destabilizing Beam ability, which deals additional phaser damage and transfers power from enemy ships.
Using the Trilithium-Enhanced Phaser Turret from the New Frontiers mission "Beyond the Nexus" with Console - Engineering - Reinforced Armaments provides the two-piece bonus from the Trilithium-Laced Weaponry set which increases flight speed and weapon fire rates.
The Elite Fleet Intervention Protomatter Deflector Array provides additional Impulse Expertise, as well as bonuses to Weapon Specialization and Shield Penetration to make this build even more deadly.
The Bajor Defense Hyper-Impulse Engines provide bonuses to flight speed and turn rate, in addition to a phaser damage bonus when used with the shield from the Bajor Defense set.
The Bajor Defense Covariant Shield Array provides bonuses to shield capacity and regeneration, in addition to a phaser damage bonus when used with the engines from the Bajor Defense set.
The tactical console slots are filled with five Vulnerability Locator [+Pha] which can be purchased from the Fleet Spire holding.
Note: You can also use Console - Tactical - Energetic Protomatter Matrix Infuser [+Pha] from the Fleet Colony holding. This will increase defense at a small cost to overall DPS. Mixing the two types of consoles to maximize offense while providing a comfortable amount of defense is also an option.
The bridge officer seating of the Legendary Pilot Warship allows the use of a somewhat advanced type of build commonly known as Aux2Bat. This involves using two copies of the Engineering skill "Auxiliary Power to Emergency Battery" to reduce cooldowns and cause all bridge officer abilities to be usable more often.
Note that for this approach to be effective, you should slot three Technician Deck Officers into active space slots, of the best quality you can find. They should also have the ability "Bridge Officer power recharges reduced by x% after activating Auxiliary Power to the Emergency Battery." This will allow all of your Bridge Officer abilities to be used more frequently, which can dramatically increase DPS as well as provide increased defense through uptime on engineering and science abilities.