Deck Conn Tier List Hub
Launch-week rankings for systems and opening tactics — living documents, not gospel.
Tier lists on a day-two wiki are a service and a hazard. Deck Conn launched September 1, 2026 with almost no public review corpus. These rankings exist so a new captain can make a first upgrade and a first intercept without staring at a blank CRT. They will move when Updates say they should.
Two lists live here:
- Systems Tier List — reactor appetite versus payoff for sensors, propulsion, weapons, defenses, batteries, fuel, and auxiliary power.
- Tactics Tier List — opening postures for quiet investigation, loud intercept, kite, and escort-home.
Read Ship Systems and Combat before you treat a letter grade as a build order. A tier is a recommendation under a doctrine, not a cheat code.
How we grade during launch week
S, A, B, C, D on this wiki means:
- S — still useful when power is ugly and information is worse.
- A — first-class if you can feed it.
- B — situational; shines on the right order.
- C — works in standalone drills, struggles on long patrols.
- D — looks impressive, taxes the reactor, or fights the stated design.
We grade from the official feature list and from how command games in this family punish greed. We do not grade from invented DPS sheets. If a patch publishes numbers, the list will cite them.
How to use a tier without wrecking a ship
- Pick a doctrine on the power planner.
- Open the list that matches the decision (upgrade versus intercept).
- Ignore any S-tier that your crew cannot operate yet.
- Re-check after a capture changes what you can afford to escort.
- Come back after the next note on the Updates Hub.
If two options share a letter, prefer the one that keeps sensors and the drive alive. Deck Conn’s fantasy punishes captains who buy a bigger gun and go blind.
What we will not rank yet
We will not publish a crew-name tier until the game’s roster is documented beyond “promote your crew.” We will not publish an enemy-ship tier from trailer silhouettes. We will not copy an unrelated MicroProse list and search-replace the title. When those facts exist, they belong on Players or a future child page, not as filler here.
Related reading
New players should still start at Getting Started. Campaign captains should keep the campaign walkthrough next to these lists. Anyone shopping the Steam page can read the review first so they know whether they even want a meta.
A tier list is a flashlight. It is not the conn.
If you only came here because other wikis have a tier page, still read Ship Systems once. Ranking a bus you cannot find on the glass is cosplay. The launch UI names BUS, REACTOR, BATTERY, AUXILIARY, HELM, FTL, and SENSORS. Use those words when you argue about S-tier, or you are ranking a different game.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers captains actually search for after launch.
Are these Deck Conn tiers final?
No. Launch-week lists. Follow Updates and the child pages when patches land.
Should I always buy S-tier systems?
Only if your reactor and crew can feed them. See Ship Systems and Crew.
Is there a character tier list?
Not yet. The published design talks about crew promotions, not a public roster of named fighters.
Do tiers differ in multiplayer?
There is no multiplayer. One captain, one ranking.