Test Scores

As a byproduct of how skills are tested (See Dice Mechanics), you can effectively assign a "score" to different actions in the game that should give you a pretty good indicator of their relative effectiveness. Please note that these are "base scores" and can't take into account talents, buffs, traits, etc... (Please also be aware that the actual mechanics of the game are not fully documented, so this page is based on THEORY crafting derived from the information provided primarily on this wiki, and may not include all important factors, but I have done my best, and I have personally used these theories as guidelines to successfully take multiple games to late eras on impossible.)

Disclaimer: Guide

This page should be treated as a guide on one method that can be used to compare different aspects of the game when making decisions and comparing options/potential builds. Please note that wile I make a best effort to ensure the information here is correct, this page is not an official mechanics page and is not necessarily always maintained or immediately updated. Additionally, my analysis is often based on my best understanding from playing the game or gathered from this wiki, not from any kind of insider information, source code, etc. If something on this page conflicts with information on an official page, there's a good chance the other page is correct, and this guide simply hasn't been updated. However, since the principles should remain true with some tweaking or adjustments, I have retained this page as a guide. "Test Scores" is not a game mechanic, they are simply away of APPROXIMATING the expected performance for a specific test to allow comparing apples to apples. Please also be aware that these scores (at least as presented) are not necessarily a "complete picture" and do not attempt to take into account special circumstances like buffs/debuffs/etc. so please do not consider them definitive indicators of performance without taking such things into consideration. This guide is largely "theorycraft," meaning that real world factors may not be included, and should be considered in conjuction with this tool. It is possible to modify these formulas to take such things into account, but it's left to the reader to decide how situationaly specific they want to calculate these scores, and to make any necessary adjustments to the models presented here when doing so. I've done my best to explain the basis for my reasoning wherever possible, and have tried to include references and examples to assist anyone in such endeavors, but ultimately whether or not doing so for any given aspect is worth the investment of time is entirely up to the reader. I have personally used these principles to design winning strategies on impossible difficulty, and they have proven quite useful when applied correctly, so I have shared this tool with the wiki in the hopes others may find it useful as well.

Basic Idea

All skill tests are the result of rolling a number of "Strong Dice" (succeed 4/10 times) and a number of "Standard (or Weak) Dice" (succeed 2/10 times) and counting the successes. Since this can be simplified to an Expected Value (or "average" result) of 0.4 successes per Strong Die, and 0.2 successes per Standard Die, you can weight the dice counts accordingly to give an "average" score that should give some idea of how strong a character or ship is in those tests. And since +% bonuses increase the number of dice rolled, the score can simply be multiplied by that bonus to get a final adjusted score, meaning a score of 10.0, with a +15% bonus tacked on, would be adjusted to 11.5 (= 10.0 * 1.15).

For example, a Captain with 30 Charisma, flying a ship with a 10 Command Pool, would typically roll 10 Strong Dice (the pool), and 15 Standard Dice (1/2 Captain's Charisma). This would result in an average of 4 successes from the Strong Dice and 3 successes from the Standard Dice, or an average of 7 successes. If we were to assign this captain a Score for his Command tests, we would use the formula: .4*Command+.1*Charisma (.2 * 1/2 * Charisma = .1*Charisma), which in this case would equal 7 (.4*10 + .1*30).

We should also take note that a Captain with 10 Charisma and 15 Command Pool would have the same score (.4*15+.1*10=7) and same number of average successes. Now it's much easier to see that both captains are basically equally good at Command Tests, which can GREATLY assist us in our efforts to make effective design choices. (Is it better to have Priority A in Attributes or Skills, for example...)

It is also worth noting that the first captain, who is rolling more actual dice (25 total dice), while being capable of more possible successes (max 25) is also more likely to get a more "average" result (because of the law of large numbers ), whereas our second captain, who is rolling fewer dice (20 in all), will have more deviation from this average score (more "extreme" results, with more highs and lows balancing each other out over time, instead of a greater number of "average" results drowning out the outliers) and lower maximum potentials (Max 20). This also means that +% bonuses (which increase the number of dice being rolled) will also decrease the deviation (produce results closer to the Expected Value more often, and fewer extreme results) for the same reason, as well as increasing the maximum potential successes.

Further, be aware that when comparing scores, having a score even just 1 full point higher means that "on average" you will succeed 1 more time and therefore win, so scores are not proportionally comparable. (A score of 50 vs. a score of 49 will win, on average, as much as a 2 vs 1 contest; and a score of 2 isn't twice as powerful as a score of 1, it's just 1 point higher.) Also, be aware that most dice tests use HUGE pools of Dice (usually well in excess of 20 dice are being rolled, even in the early game, and easily hundreds of dice can be rolled in late game Ship Combat), so the deviation from "average" should be relatively small making a score difference of just 1.0 fairly significant and 2.0 or 3.0 almost overwhelming.

However, the MAIN reason "Scores" are useful is because some actions (like Crew Combat and Ship Combat) involve fairly complex dice pool formulas that can be greatly simplified and MUCH MORE easily compared using a score formula. (I especially use these scores when comparing potential combat officer builds, as I'll explain below...)

Crew Combat

Crew Combat is comprised of 6 types of contested skill test actions: Ranged, Melee, or Grenade Attacks, and their corresponding Defenses (Grenade and Melee defense are technically the same). This information comes from the Crew Combat page, but only discusses the pool test components, see that page for other considerations.

Summary

Crew Combat Summary	Attack	Defense
Ranged	.4*(Weapon's Acc + Talent Bonus Accuracy + Pistol/Rifle Skill) + .1*(Strength/Quickness)	.4*(Evasion + Armor Dodge/StealthDodge) + .1*(Wisdom/Quick + Stealth/Tactics)
Melee	.4*(Weapon's Acc + Talent Bonus Accuracy + Blade Skill) + .1*(Strength/Quickness)	.4*(Blade + Parry) + .2*(Evasion/StealthDodge) + .1*(Strength/Quickness)
Grenade	.4*(Talent Bonus Accuracy(~6) + Blade/Pistol/Rifle Skill) + .1*(Quickness)	.4*(Blade + Parry) + .2*(Evasion/StealthDodge) + .1*(Strength/Quickness)

• For the Attack Formulas Strength/Quickness is the relevant stat as determined by the weapon being used (each weapon indicates which stat is used)
• For Stealth Dodge, remember to use the LESSER of your stealth skill, or the armor's stealth dodge rating to determine the value of StealthDodge
• For all other stat pairs (like Stealth/Tactics) use the higher of the two values.

The scores calculated here can simply be increased by any +/- % effects you might have. Ie: Ranged Attack could be written ( .4*(Weapon's Acc + Talent Bonus Accuracy + Pistol/Rifle Skill) + .1*(Strength/Quickness) ) * ( 1 + Total % Bonus/Penalty )

Attack

• Ranged: .4*(Weapon's Acc + Talent Bonus Accuracy + Pistol/Rifle Skill) + .1*(Strength/Quickness)
• Melee: .4*(Weapon's Acc + Talent Bonus Accuracy + Blade Skill) + .1*(Strength/Quickness)
• Grenade: .4*(Talent Bonus Accuracy(~6) + Blade/Pistol/Rifle Skill) + .1*(Quickness)

Defense

• Ranged: .4*(Evasion + Armor Dodge/StealthDodge) + .1*(Wisdom/Quick + Stealth/Tactics)
• Melee: .4*(Blade + Parry) + .2*(Evasion/StealthDodge) + .1*(Strength/Quickness)
• Grenade: .4*(Blade + Parry) + .2*(Evasion/StealthDodge) + .1*(Strength/Quickness)

Examples

• The pure combat classes (Soldier, Pistoleer, Swordsman) will max out with a 27 Weapon Skill and 15 in Evasion. So, assuming stats of 20, and A5 Weapons and A5 Light Armor (Interweave Armor), this would give them...
  • Atk ~16 (more for snipers, slightly less for blades and shotguns).
  • Def: 10.8 (5 vs. Melee/Grenades for Soldier, Around 6.2 for Pistoleers - since pistols grant Parry, and 18.2 for Swordsmen w/A5 Blades).

• Assassins max at 13 Blades, 7 Evasion, 22 Stealth. So Assuming C6 Stealth Armor, this gives them...
  • Atk: 10.4 (Melee Atk)
  • Def: 12.6 (12.4 Melee defense)

• Snipers Max at 22 Rifle, 9 Evasion, 11 Stealth. So giving them an A5 Sniper Rifle and A5 Stealth Armor gives...
  • Atk: 15.2
  • Def: 11.1 (4.2 Melee Def)

Final Notes

As you can see, most pure classes end up with much higher Atk than Def, and remember how a single point of difference in a contest makes a significant difference in chance of winning? This is why Heavy Armor is usually considered the ideal defense at high levels, evading just isn't really an option any more... Unless...

The Ultimate Combat Captain? (Skills A, Stats B)...

• Skills: +10 Evasion, +10 Blades, +3 Stealth
• Stats: 30+4 Quickness, 30 Wisdom, 20+1-2 Fortitude, 14+1 Strength, 14 Charisma & Resilience (Or 14 base Fortitude and 20 Charisma if you prefer)
• Jobs: Assassin 15, Swordsman 18, Spy 11 (Start with Assassin (and Hitman Rush), get Spy 1 for Disappearing Act, then Swordsman to 5 for Bravery Line, Strength of Steel, and Flash Fury - and you're pretty much running on all cylinders by lvl 8, pick up Flash Fury at 12 to become a death machine and Slashing Retreat at 15 for impenetrable defenses (your +10 evasion is keeping you safe to this point). Grab Swordsman 8 and Skewering Thrust - by lvl 17 to complete your combat mastery - after that, it's all gravy)
• Maxed Skills: Blades 24+10, Evasion 13+10, Stealth 17+3 (Pistols 3, Electronics 6)
• Equipment: Surefire X4 (A5 Pistol), Eagle Kukri (A5 Offhand - unless better contact/salvaged off-hand blade is available), Nightfall Mesh (C6 Stealth Armor), Thraul Injector
• Talents:
  • OnInit: Bravery Line, Hitman Rush, (Stalker)
  • Attack: Flash Fury, Slashing Retreat, Skewering Thrust
  • Recovery: Strength of Steel
  • Engage Stealth: Disappearing Act
  • Extra (Pick 9): Targeted Killing, Gut the Leadership, Unauthorized Access, Data Haul, Cloak and Dagger, Close Observation, Scouring Search, Stealth Op, High Stakes, Secrets Unbound, Balanced Blade, Bladesman Rally
• Scores:
  • Atk: Melee 19.0 [vs. Def <6 for all but blade wielders who cap around 19] (7.8 with pistol, which is still effective against 0-evassion targets like a combat medic or non-combat crew in row 3)
  • Def: Melee/Grenade 25.2, Ranged 20.2 [vs. enemy Atk Scores in the vicinity of 16 as demonstrated earlier]
  • Initiative: 21-37 (+Buffs of up to +7 more)

Tactics:

• Once you have Slashing Retreat, put the Captain in Position 1, otherwise Position 2 so you can activate Disappearing Act
• Round 1 (This Captain will almost always get 2-3 moves before the enemy gets even one, so use those to set up your buffs and possibly remove an enemy):
  • Unless there is an enemy officer or captain present, Bravery Line will Trigger +3 Init, +15% Crit, +15% Parry (remember not to give your other fighters onInit talents so that your captain can max their initiative)
    • Enemy Officers will cause an Assassin captain to trigger Stalker instead
  • Unless already stealth from Assassin Captain Trait Stalker, we'll need to initiate stealth to max our crits, so Slashing Retreat, Disappearing Act (14 init spent, for 1 Attack, +2 Init, +33% Crit, +50% Parry/Dodge, +10% Armor)
  • You now have: +5 Init, +48% Crit, +65% Parry/50% Dodge and +10% Armor, so from here, actions depend on how much init you have:
    • 1-2 or 9+: Flash Fury - Costs 6, hits with +25% Pierce, +25% Crit (That's 73% chance of Crit Now) - If Medic (or other desireable) in pos 3, hit Pos 2 to "juggle" Pos 2 & 3 and expose them to your blades (just in case your target survives), otherwise attack Pos 1 to juggle/soften 1 & 2 so that your Skewering Thrust can finish both. Avoid attacking enemy Bladesmen until last if possible, they're not a threat and are much harder to hit, but you can also knock them into Pos 3 where they have to waste actions moving back up (assuming the first 2 positions stay occupied...)
    • 3-8: Skewering Thrust - Costs 12 (so don't use below 3 unless you are about to end combat and don't mind triggering the drop below -10 init penalty), hits pos 1 & 2 with +10% Acc/Dmg/Crit(58% Crit) Moves you back to Pos 1 so you can Slashing Retreat when the buff wears off (if needed)...
• Round 2 (Assuming any are still alive)
  • Hitman Rush (Or Bravery Line) Triggers for +2 Init (+7 Total), +25% Acc, +10% Crit (That's +58% crit total/73% with enemy officer present, so 83%/98% with Flash Fury attacks)
  • Continue attacking based on remaining Init as above, using Strength of Steel as/if needed. (Pro-tip, leaving 1 enemy, demoralized/stunned if possible, around at he end so you can get back all lost HP/Morale is en extremely important strategy - considering they won't be able to hit you - you'll easily out-heal any damage they might manage to hit you with)
• Maintain Slashing Retreat and Disappearing Act to keep your defenses and crit Maxed out, and you'll be impossible to hit, while delivering repeated devastating kukri blows against almost no defense for very little init...
• The obscene Parry is there to prevent grenades mostly, but also pretty handily shuts down enemy bladesmen which can give other builds more grief

Put an Officer version of this build (without OnInit talents of course), or a Doctor/Combat Medic/Zealot in Heavy Armor in position 2, a Doctor/Combat Medic/Military Officer w/Heavy Armor and Pistol in Pos 3, and a Bounty Hunter/Xeno Hunter/Exo-Scout w/Sniper Rifle in Pos 4 (Hunter's Challenge is great for shutting down the last opponent so you can heal your team back up to full before ending combat).

The above team coupled with a Boarding ship tactic can DEVASTATE ships many times its size (seriously, your ship is just a Captain delivery system, build it accordingly), and all your boarders get to leave behind crazy "gifts" after successful boardings too, even when launched from ship range 3 (where you don't get access to the entire crew's skills after a successful boarding attempt). Additionally, constantly boarding over and over with the same team will quickly level up your captain and key officers with all the extra crew combat...

One final note: Please FEEL FREE to put 10 points into Command instead of Blade, it was put into Blade here to illustrate score extremes, and demonstrate the extremes needed to make evasion a viable defense in the late game. (Doing this only costs you 4.0 Melee Atk, and 4.0 Melee/Grenade Def which can make hitting swordsmen tougher, but you'll still defend fine.)

This is a surprisingly fun captain to play by the way, feel free to try it. And though you do need to get the Assassin unlock for best results, starting as a Spy works well enough too... See my Melee Captain Playthrough guide for a more detailed breakdown of how to play this kind of captain (and a more well balanced version of this captain).

Ship Combat

Ship combat is comprised of 3 skill test actions as described in Ship Combat, Attack, Defense, and Range Change (with sub divisions based on the Range Indicator and Boarding/Escaping). Therefore, when deciding how to build your ship, you can consider the following scores when making decisions about which component, crew, etc. to choose...

Please Note: ship combat pools are limited by the ship and its components. Each Pool will have a score that looks something like Pilot (16/13). For the purposes of the following formulas, the LOWER of the first number or second number (13 in this case, but a pool of 8/12 would use 8) should be used, as having crew in excess of 100% does not contribute to ship combat (except to provide a "buffer" against losses.)

Summary

Ship Combat Summary	Long Range (4-5)	Short Range (1-3)	Bonuses
Attack	.4*(Weapon Acc + Speed + Nav) + .2*(Gun + Tactics*)	.4*(Weapon Acc + Agility + Pilot) + .2*(Gun + Tactics*)	+25% for firing at optimal range +X% from Engine Score comparison
Defense	.4*(Speed + Higher of Pilot/Elec) + .2*(Lower of Pilot/Elec + Command)	.4*(Agility + Higher of Pilot/Elec) + .2*(Lower of Pilot/Elec + Command)	+10% if closer than optimal range for weapon +15% if further than optimal range for weapon +X% from Engine Score comparison
Range Change	.4*(Speed + Nav) + .2*(Elec + Tactics)	.4*(Agility + Pilot) + .2*(Elec + Tactics)	+X% from Engine Score comparison
Board	.4*(Speed + Nav) + .2*(Command + Tactics)	.4*(Agility + Pilot) + .2*(Command + Tactics)	+X% from Engine Score comparison
Escape	.4*(Speed + Nav) + .2*(Elec + Command)	.4*(Agility + Pilot) + .2*(Elec + Command)	+X% from Engine Score comparison

• Tactics only applies a bonus to Attack if the Gunnery Pool is at least 100%. (Gunnery greater than 100% has no extra effect.)

These scores can simply be increased by any +/- % effects you might have. Ie: LR Attack could be written ( .4*(Weapon Acc + Speed + Nav) + .2*(Gun + Tactics*) ) * ( 1 + Total % Bonus/Penalty )

Attack

• Long Range (4-5): .4*(Weapon Accuracy + Ship Speed + Navigation) + .2*(Gunnery + Tactics*)
• Short Range (1-3): .4*(Weapon Accuracy + Ship Agility + Pilot) + .2*(Gunnery + Tactics*)

Note that (according to the Ship Combat page) Tactics is only added as long as the Gunnnery Pool is at or above 100%, which can lead to REALLY weird ship combat results where you suddenly struggle to hit enemies because you've lost some gunnery crew and your pool has dropped below 100%, only to suddenly be hitting all the time next round because a weapon has gone inoperative and lowered your max pool back below your current crew's capacity thus re-enabling the (often quite significant) Tactics bonus... So, if you were wondering, a pretty amazing tactic to disable the enemy's ability to hit you is to get weapons and talents that primarily target crew, rather than components (4 gunners trying to man 5 gunners worth of weapons will completely disable their ship's tactics dice, but 4 guns worth manning 3 operational guns will likely hit with those guns much more often...)

Further Note: The Gunnery pool part of this formula can have some VERY counter intuitive ramifications.
For instance: Having more guns (which increases the required Gunner Pool, and therefore the Gunner value if you're properly crewed) can significantly increase your attack scores. Even if those guns aren't ever fired due to Reactor Point or Range restrictions. So having more guns than you can use doesn't just give you backups in case some get damaged, it also somehow makes you better at hitting with the guns you DO use... And, having weapons with electronics requirements (like lances or railguns) can improve your ship's DEFENSE capabilities, even if you NEVER fire them...

Also note that the Tactics portion of this formula is not limited by any ship components, which can make Tactics a very desirable skill, especially later in the game where crew levels can far outstrip ship component scores.

Defense

• Long Range (4-5): .4*(Ship Speed + Greater of Pilot/Elec) + .2*(Lower of Pilot/Elec + Command)
• Short Range (1-3): .4*(Ship Agility + Greater of Pilot/Elec) + .2*(Lower of Pilot/Elec + Command)

Also note that the Command portion of this formula is not limited by any ship components, which can make Command a very desirable skill, especially later in the game where crew levels can far outstrip ship component scores. For instance, a max level Doctor with their 10 Command contributes more to ship defense than 5 extra Pilots and Navigators once the pools have been capped.

Range Change

• Long Range (4-5): .4*(Ship Speed + Navigation) + .2*( Electronics + Tactics)
• Short Range (1-3): .4*(Ship Agility + Pilot) + .2*( Electronics + Tactics)
  • Escape uses Command in place of Tactics
  • Boarding uses Command in place of Electronics.

Note that the special cases of Escaping and Boarding are basically range changes at extreme ranges (moving away at range 5, or moving closer at range 1), but can have extra bonuses on top of the normal range change bonuses. Additionally, Escape uses Command in place of Tactics, while Boarding uses Command in place of Electronics; but since Command is often lower than the pools it replaces here in the early game, Boarding and Escaping slightly more difficult than other Movement. However, since the Command Pool isn't capped by sip components, these actions can potentially become MUCH easier than other movement, especially by late game.

Example

A ship with the following pools would have the following scores (these are actual starting Juror stats from one of my games): Pilot 16/13, Gunner 19/15, Electronics 22/14, Navigation 20/17, Command 19, Tactics 10, Speed/Agility 24

• LRAtk: 21.4 to 22.2 = .4(24+17)+.2(15+10)+.4(firing weapon's Accuracy, varying from 2 to 4, giving a range of attack scores)
• SRAtk: 19.8 to 20.6 = .4(24+13)+.2(15+10)+.4(firing weapon's Accuracy, varying from 2 to 4, giving a range of attack scores)

• Def: 21.6 = .4(24+14)+.2(13+19) (Speed and Agility are equal, so range doesn't matter)

• LRMove: 21.2 = .4(24+17)+.2(10+14)
• SRMove: 19.6 = .4(24+13)+.2(10+14)

Be aware that there are other modifiers not present in these scores (like the relative engine bonuses, the optimal range bonuses, talents/buffs/debuffs, etc.), but they should give you a general idea when comparing ships under similar circumstances, or when deciding which modules to get, or crew to recruit.

Also note that Atk is typically higher than Def in a balanced ship (due to Tactics being much easier to get than Command, weapon ACC bonus, and the fact that Atk gets a +25% bonus at optimal range - range 5 for torpedoes), and you can see why it's VERY difficult to get through combat without getting hit at least a few times in the first round, without going out of the way to build for Defense Score.

Final Notes

Here are some examples of how looking at a ship design's scores might help you make different decisions:

Using Torpedoes (with their generally higher gunner and Electronics requirements) instead of Missiles means you'll generally hit and evade more (Making Torpedoes much better for ships that wish to fight at range...

Consider:
3 Small Torpedo Dual-Laced Arrays (6 RP, +14 Accuracy ea, +9 Total Electronics, +36 Total Gunnery, 108-270 Dmg + 42-270 Void = 150-540) resulting in MUCH better Attack (+12.8 Atk Score with accuracy factored in) Defense (1.8 or 3.6 Defense Score), and more potential debuffs (3 attacks instead of 2, also better chance of at least one hitting to trigger talents, etc.)
Compared to 2 MEDIUM Aramech X2 Missile Batteries (6 RP, +16 Accuracy ea, +2 Total Electronics, +22 Total Gunnery, 262-460 Dmg + 32-100 Radiation = 294-560) which give only 10.8 Atk Score (with accuracy factored in), and 0.4 or 0.8 Defense;
Or even two MEDIUM Torpedo Mk2-Alphas (6 RP, +13 Accuracy ea, +6 Electronics, +26 Gunnery, 82-180 Damage + 34-110 Void Dmg = 115-290 / 10.4 Atk Score, 1.2 or 2.4 Def Score)

Consider:
Comparing a Nav Assist Module 3 (+4 Electronics, +6 Navigation) to a Targeting Assist Matrix 3 (+2 electronics, +6% Accuracy, +2% crit, and +5% damage)...
The +6 Navigation means +2.4 Atk at Long Range (And better ability to stay AT long range with an extra 2.4 Range Change Score), as well as 0.8 or 1.6 Def Score,
vs +6% Accuracy and 0.4 or 0.8 Def Score...
At +6% you'd need a base Score of of 40 to match the Nav Assist Module's Atk Bonus from Navigation (and since more Navigators also means more Tactics, it might need to be even higher). Depending on whether that +6% Accuracy is to the entire Atk role (in which case, 40 is a possibility), or just the weapon's Accuracy (in which case, I don't think any weapon comes close to the required 40 ACC.) this module could easily provide less attack bonus than the Nav Module. Additionally, the Nav Module reduces your Jump costs by 6 (a -3 Jump Cost instead of a +3). Of course, the TA Module applies its Accuracy bonus at all ranges, so if you're not planning on being a Long Range fighter, then the TA Module might be better; additionally the TA Module doesn't require you to increase your crew skills to fill a larger pool etc. etc. so there are other considerations, but hopefully this example shows how Test Scores can help you better decide which is better for YOUR specific build/circumstances.

Consider:
Pilot Assist Module 3 (+6 Pilot = 1.2 or 2.4 defense score depending on whether your Electronics or Piloting pool is larger) vs Defense Pattern Matrix 3 (+3 Electronics, +3 Pilot = 1.8 defense score)
The +5% defense could make a significant difference if you are Electronics based defense and already have high defense, but the Pilot Module also doesn't cost you +3 jump fuel, and assists you more while trying to move in closer for boarding...
On the other hand, if you don't have enough pilot skill in your crew to utilize the Pilot Assist Module, then the Defense Matrix might be better...

Consider: Once your pools are maxed, hiring Commanders/Military Officers (or even Doctors or Merchants) instead of Pilots/Navigators may serve you better.

• A Max Level Pilot gets 9 Tactics, 22 Pilot, and 11 Navigation, so with 100%+ pools...
  • +1.8 Atk
  • +0.0 Def
  • +1.8 Move/Board
• A Max Level Navigator gets 27 Navigation, 15 Tactics, so with 100%+ pools...
  • +3.0 Atk
  • +0.0 Def
  • +3.0 Move/Board
• A Max Level Doctor gets 5 Tactics, 10 Command, (27 Doctor) both of which have no pool limits, giving...
  • +1.0 Atk
  • +2.0 Def
  • +1.0/2.0/3.0 Move/Escape/Board
• A Max Level Merchant gets 9 Tactics, 11 Command, (22 Negotiate) both of which have no pool limits, giving...
  • +1.8 Atk
  • +2.2 Def
  • +1.8/2.2/4.0 Move/Escape/Board
• A Max Level Commander/Mil Officer gets 9 Tactics, 22 Command, (11 Intimidate or Pistols) both of which have no pool limits, giving...
  • +1.8 Atk
  • +4.4 Def
  • +1.8/4.4/6.2 Move/Escape/Board

So a Commander/MilOff gives as much Atk, much better Def, Escape and Board, and comparable Range Change (when your pools are all at 100+%) - but does so without limit/pool caps and throws in 11 Intimidate as gravy... Heck, even a Doctor is more useful to defense than an extra Pilot...

Consider:
Let's Compare an "Out Of The Box" Zartar Fang and Sword Battlecruiser (We'll assume full crew pools, 0 Tactics or Command - or rather equal Tactics and Command so we're just comparing hulls). Please be aware, this is not remotely a fair comparison given how many extra officers and crew the Battlecruiser can hold, but assuming you have the same small but expert crew, this isn't an entirely bad faith representation, just realize the Battlecruiser will have room to grow in this case that the Fang does not, the Battlecruiser also has more components and armor, etc, but at significantly increased cost and overhead - it also costs almost 3 times as much right out of the box, flys around slower, etc. So this comparison is primarily meant to demonstrate how Test Scores can be used to compare possibilities when making decisions...

• Zartar Fang ($535k, M2.4k)
  • Max Officers/Crew: 5/24
  • Hull: 1250, Armor 51%, Shld: 29%
  • Customizable Components: 1L, 5M, 10(9+1)S (see Core Slots by Mass and Scout Bridge)
  • Spd/Agi: 27/30, Fuel Range: 120 AU (120 Fuel Cap/1 Fuel/AU, 23 per jump, 14 per combat), 8 RP/6 when Moving
  • Pool Caps: Pilot 15, Ops 24, Gun 15, Elec 15, Nav 16
  • Scores:
    • LR/SR Atk: 20.2/21.0 (+1.2-2.0 depending on weapon, +0.2*Tactics)
    • LR/SR Def: 19.8/21.0 (+0.2*Command)
    • LR/SR Mov: 20.2/21.0 (+0.2*Tactics)

• Sword Battlecruiser ($1,300k, M9k)
  • Max Officers/Crew: 7/42
  • Hull: 2100, Armor 60%, Shld: 40%
  • Customizable Components: 3L, 12M, 14S (see Core Slots by Mass)
  • Spd/Agi: 9/9, Fuel Range: 51 AU (205 Fuel Cap/4 Fuel/AU, 63 per jump, 22 per combat), 8 RP/4 when Moving
  • Pool Caps: Pilot 26, Ops 50, Gun 38, Elec 35, Nav 27
  • Scores:
    • LR/SR Atk: 22.0/21.6 (+0.4-1.6 depending on weapon, +0.2*Tactics)
    • LR/SR Def: 23.0/22.8 (+0.2*Command)
    • LR/SR Mov: 21.4/21.0 (+0.2*Tactics)

In this particular example, the Fang would also have +35% added to each score (+25% to SRMove/Board) due to Engine Score comparison, effectively bringing these scores to the neighborhood of 28 + 0.27*Command/Tactics against the Battlecruiser. (However, the extra Command/Tactics from the MUCH larger crew and officer capacity of the Battlecruiser could easily offset this, needing only an extra 20 or so Tactics. or roughly 2 extra mid-level Navigators, to start reaching competing scores...) The Fang is also around 40% the price, has about 1/2 the crew overhead (less if you account for shorter planetary transits because of its speed), 1/4 fuel costs and can run 2-3 times as many missions in the same game time (ie, difficulty curve growth).

On the other hand, while the Battlecruiser costs 2.5 times as much, and around 4-5 times as much in overhead, it has alot more crew and officer capacity (so more potential tactics/command which will add to the above scores, more available talents, more potential diversity, more ability to absorb crew damage in combat, etc.), and more actual component slots so it has more growth potential and capacity for wider range of functions once fully upgraded (which will literally take 2-3years of just Drydock time, not to mention time to gather all that extra money)