Officers #4: Hostile Grinding Officers

Having the right officers on the bridge will reduce the hostiles effectiveness and make your ship last longer. High end Cadets work great, but if you have Pike and Moreau even at entry level, they will out perform a topped out cadet crew.

Updated to include the TNG grinding officers:

It is also important to understand how the math works with the hostile grinding crews and why it is important to level them up as soon as you can. Below is a chart showing the max effective weapons reduction of Chen and T'Laan when using Pike and Moreau. Most players will refer to these loadouts in shorthand as PMC or PMT to indicate Pike, Moreau and either Chen or T'Laan.

If going after Mining ships, Fed and Rom mining ships are Energy (use Chen) while Klingon mining ships are Kinetic (use T'Laan)