DolphinPassenger

The Dolphin is Saud Kruger's smallest liner, and it brings the family's luxury touch to a budget, small-pad hull. It carries up to ~42 economy passengers (or a few premium VIPs in first-class and luxury cabins), runs cooler than any other ship, and — crucially — carries the same dedicated-liner comfort bonus as the Orca and Beluga, so its passengers pay premium and rate their trips highly despite the modest size.

It lands at any outpost, costs barely a million credits, and is comfortable and easy to fly — the ideal first passenger ship, or a cheap, flexible runabout for solo VIP missions. It can't match the larger liners' capacity, so for volume work it's outclassed; but for an affordable, cool, comfortable entry into passenger careers, or premium small-cabin runs to out-of-the-way outposts, the Dolphin is a delightful little liner.

Four things make the Dolphin a lovely budget liner:

• Dedicated-liner comfort bonus. The same Saud Kruger luxury as its big siblings — premium pay and happy passengers per seat, on a tiny hull.
• Cheap and small-pad. Barely a million credits, landing at any outpost — the accessible, flexible passenger ship.
• Coolest-running ship in the game. Comfortable, low-heat travel that suits a relaxed liner.
• Premium-capable. First-class and luxury cabins let it run high-paying VIP missions despite its size.

A small-pad dedicated liner with the full Saud Kruger comfort bonus and sub-1.2M Cr access, held to 80 by a modest ~42-economy cabin count that loses volume work to the bigger liners.

The 80/100 headline is a verdict against the passenger role's priority-ordered factors. Each factor carries a weight (its share of 100); this hull earns part of each based on how it performs against the whole field. The points sum to the rating.

Both tables rate ships for passenger work specifically. The role column is the maximum economy passenger capacity — but note that dedicated liners earn comfort bonuses that raise payouts above raw cabin count.

Same role — dedicated liners

Among dedicated liners the Dolphin is the cheap, flexible entry. The larger liners carry far more, but all cost vastly more and need bigger pads; the Dolphin brings the same comfort bonus on a hull that lands anywhere for a million credits. The budget liner of choice.

Other classes — the converted and cheap options

Converted ships fit more raw cabins but lack the comfort bonus, earning less per seat. The Dolphin's dedicated-liner status plus its tiny price and small-pad access make it the best cheap, flexible passenger ship — ideal for starting out or for premium small runs.

At ~1.12M Cr the Dolphin is cheap, with no rank gate, and a full liner fit stays around 10M Cr all-in — an affordable, comfortable passenger ship for very little.

It's the value entry into passenger careers: cheap to buy and fit, flexible to fly, and — thanks to the comfort bonus — a real earner per seat on premium small-cabin missions. The ideal first liner before scaling up to a Lynx or beyond.

A cheap dedicated-liner fit mixing economy seating with a premium first-class cabin, plus a bi-weave shield and a strong FSD. Initial is buy-only; A-rated is the liner baseline; Engineered maximises range and exploits the Dolphin's exceptional cool-running thermals.

Buy the hull (~1.12M Cr) on its stock E-rated cores and its default Lightweight Alloy bulkheads — the lightest hull plating, and free at purchase — then fit just the two economy cabins (the 5E and 4E Economy Passenger Cabins) for affordable headcount.

Everything else starts empty: all four utility mounts, the 3C bi-weave shield, the 4C First Passenger Cabin and the spare size-2/size-1 internals are left as — until the A-rated pass adds them.

A-rate the FSD and thrusters first for range and mobility.

A-rating priority for a budget liner:

• 1FSD → 4A — Range to reach scenic destinations. ~2M Cr
• 2Cabin mix — Economy cabins plus a 4C First Passenger Cabin for VIP fares. ~2M Cr
• 3Shield Generator → 3C bi-weave — Passenger safety. ~1.5M Cr
• 4Thrusters → 5A — Mobility and escaping interdiction. ~1.5M Cr
• 5Power Plant → 4A — Power for cabins, shield and modules. ~1.5M Cr
• 6Power Distributor → 3A, Life Support → 4A — Boost reservoir and endurance; drop Sensors to 3D to save mass. ~1M Cr
• 7Utilities — fill all four mounts — 0A Shield Booster, Chaff Launcher, point defence and a heat-sink launcher; chaff and heat sink break gimbal locks and dump heat when interdicted. Keep the stock Lightweight Alloy bulkheads — no bulkhead spend. cheap

The passenger engineering pattern on the coolest-running hull. Felicity Farseer (maxed) carries the FSD; pin blueprints for remote G1→G5 application.

Recommended order

• 1FSD Increased Range to reach scenic destinations.
• 2Dirty thrusters for mobility; Low-Emissions plant deepens the Dolphin's class-leading cool running.
• 3Bi-weave shield and a booster for passenger safety.
• 4Cabins aren't engineered — just fit the right classes.

Approximate progression across the three states (figures are representative, not exact rolls):

The bulkheads stay Lightweight Alloy throughout; the engineered G5 Lightweight blueprint shaves ~50% of hull mass to feed that ~52 LY jump. Engineered, the Dolphin carries ~42 happy passengers in cool comfort, lands anywhere, and earns premium rates thanks to the liner bonus — with all four utility mounts (booster, chaff, point defence, heat sink) to shake interdictions, all for a fraction of the bigger liners' cost. Its small capacity caps volume work; for affordable, flexible, comfortable passenger runs, it's a gem.

• Mix in a premium cabin — the comfort bonus plus a luxury fare earns well despite the small size.
• Its small pad reaches outposts the Orca and Beluga can't — a real flexibility edge.
• Exploit the cool-running plant for relaxed, comfortable travel.
• It's a starter and a flexible runabout; scale up to a Lynx or Orca for volume.