Thanks for the feedback, Pete! I’ve spent at least an hour in each of the ships you mentioned, and I pretty much agree with your assessments 100%.
The Defiant, ACR-45, and the D7 are all perhaps “weak-ish” in their own ways, and that’s by design. As you say, not every ship has to be “easy”. We might get a little spoiled in ships with regen weapons, large torp-spreads, and get-out-of-jail-free cards like xwarp… I’d say those three ships in particular really just depend on a player’s preference and play style. I think I could get any one of them up pretty high on the scoreboard, for whatever that’s worth…
I feel pretty good about where the Excel and the Keldon are. I had a lot of fun flying both, but a second opinion would certainly be welcome.