Imperial ClipperMining

Mining is slow, stationary work that makes you a target for pirates — and the Clipper answers that not by fighting but by leaving. Its two large and two medium hardpoints carry a mining suite (lasers plus the core tools), its internals fit a refinery, limpet controllers and an ore hold, and when a pirate interdicts a laden Clipper, its class-leading speed lets it simply boost away with the haul intact.

The catch is that it does nothing in mining better than a dedicated rig. Four hardpoints is tight for a full core-and-laser kit, the internals step down sharply after the first two slots so the ore hold is only middling, and the large-pad footprint blocks the outpost refineries some commanders sell to. It mines competently and stylishly, but the Python out-defends it, the Type-8 out-hauls it for less, and the capital miners dwarf its hold. Fly it to mine if you already own one for trading or rank; don't buy it as a miner first.

Three things shape the Clipper as a miner — one good, two limiting:

• Speed is the defence. The fastest large hull in the game outruns the pirates that pin laden miners, so it survives the exposed minutes of a session by escaping, not slugging it out.
• Only four hardpoints. A full core kit (laser, seismic launcher, sub-surface missile, abrasion blaster) uses every mount, leaving no room for a defensive gun — one reason it runs rather than fights.
• Modest, top-heavy internals. The class-7 and class-6 slots are good, but the layout drops to 4·4·3 after that, so the refinery, limpets and ore racks all compete and the practical hold stays middling.

Class-leading large-hull speed (300/380, ~460 boost) and a cheap ~21M Cr/Imperial Baron entry carry it; a middling ~190t ore hold and large-pad-only access cap it at mid-pack.

The 70/100 headline is a verdict against the mining 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 mining specifically. The role column is the maximum cargo capacity in tonnes — though practical ore capacity is lower once the mining suite (refinery, limpet controllers) is fitted.

Same class — large-pad miners

Among large miners the Clipper sits mid-pack, tied with the Type-10 and behind the dedicated and capital rigs. It out-flies all of them, but they out-haul or out-specialise it. Its niche is being fast and cheap — not the best big miner, just the quickest off the mark.

Other classes — the medium-pad miners

Tellingly, several medium miners outscore the Clipper while landing at outposts it can't. The Python carries more, fights and uses three large mounts; the Type-8 hauls far more for less. The Clipper's only advantage over them is raw pace — useful for fleeing, not for filling the hold.

At ~21.1M Cr the Clipper is cheap for a large hull, gated only by the modest Imperial Baron rank. A mining fit — tools, refinery, limpet controllers, ore racks and a defensive shield — brings the all-in figure to around 45M Cr, undercutting the Python and the capital miners.

Low cost is the real draw here: the same hull mines, trades, fights and explores, and it pairs naturally with an Imperial-rank journey. But for a buyer choosing a ship to mine, the savings don't outweigh a Python's defence or a Type-8's far larger hold per credit. Treat mining as a bonus the Clipper does adequately, not a reason to own it.

A complete mining fit for laser and core work that relies on speed, not guns, for safety — the full tool kit uses all four hardpoints, leaving none for a weapon. Initial is a working buy-only miner; A-rated is the mining baseline; Engineered focuses on speed, shield and heat — the mining tools themselves are not meaningfully engineered.

Earn Baron, buy the hull (~21M Cr), and fit the buy-only mining suite. A 1D Mining Laser and 1D Abrasion Blaster take the two large mounts; a 2B Seismic Charge Launcher and 2B Sub Surface Displacement Missile fill the mediums — all four hardpoints spoken for — with a Pulse Wave Analyser on a utility mount to find the rocks.

Below decks the loop runs on a 4E Refinery, collector and prospector limpet controllers and a Detailed Surface Scanner, with ore racks in the big class-7 and class-6 optionals. Core modules stay stock E-rated at this stage, and the hull rides on its factory Lightweight Alloy bulkheads — the lightest plate the Clipper carries and exactly what a speed miner wants, at no extra cost.

Buy-only deliberately leaves the defensive slots empty — no shield generator in the class-4 slot, no shield boosters or heat sink on the spare utilities. A buy-only Clipper carries no shields, so it mines on speed alone until the A-rated step adds the bi-weave buffer.

A-rating priority for a fast, escape-based miner:

• 1Thrusters → A — Speed is the Clipper's defence; A-rate first so it always outruns interdiction. ~4M Cr
• 2Power Distributor → A — Mining lasers pull WEP continuously while limpets and boost drain it too; A-rate now, then later roll Charge Enhanced with Cluster Capacitors for sustained laser fire without dropping the SYS that feeds the shield. ~4M Cr
• 3Power Plant → A — Run tools, limpets and shield together. ~4M Cr
• 4Shield Generator → 4C bi-weave — A buffer for the seconds before you escape. ~3M Cr
• 5Shield boosters ×2 → 0A — Stack raw MJ onto the bi-weave so the escape window survives a few hits. ~1M Cr
• 6Frame Shift Drive → 5A — Relocate between rings and reach distant sell markets. ~5M Cr
• 7Refinery + limpet controllers → A — The heart of the mining loop. ~3M Cr

Mining engineering is light and focuses on the ship, not the tools — the mining hardware itself isn't meaningfully engineered. Felicity Farseer (maxed) carries the FSD; pin blueprints for remote G1→G5 application.

Recommended order

• 1Thrusters first — the Clipper's speed is its identity and, full of mining tools, its only defence.
• 2Low-Emissions plant keeps heat down across long mining sessions.
• 3Bi-weave buffer and boosters for the seconds before you boost clear.
• 4Leave the mining lasers, limpet controllers and refinery stock — they don't benefit meaningfully from engineering.

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

Engineered, the Clipper mines a ~190t hold at over 450 m/s — lightweight bulkheads shed mass while dirty drives add thrust, and the Charge Enhanced distributor keeps the mining laser fed without starving the shield. Armour stays at the stock 270: the hull plate is kept deliberately light, not stacked, because a speed miner banks on the getaway, not the tank. It works a ring and simply leaves when a pirate comes, ore aboard. It carries less than the Python and far less than the capital miners, and its full hardpoints mean it can't fight; speed and low cost are why you'd mine in one at all.

• A full core kit uses all four hardpoints — you can't carry a defensive gun, so plan to outrun pirates, not fight them.
• A-rate thrusters and the distributor first; speed is the Clipper's only protection once the mounts are full of tools.
• Don't engineer the mining tools — they don't benefit; engineer the ship's speed and defence instead.
• Large-pad-only: sell ore at large stations, not the outposts some miners refine at.
• For more ore, defence or suite depth, the Python, Type-8 or a capital miner all beat it — fly the Clipper to mine only if you already own one.