Krait Mk IIMining

Mining is a slow, stationary business that turns you into a pirate magnet — and the Krait Mk II answers that with firepower. Its three large hardpoints mount the full mining toolkit (lasers, sub-surface missiles, a seismic charge launcher for core work, an abrasion blaster), its internals carry a refinery, limpet controllers and a useful ore hold, and crucially it keeps the shields, a gun and a ship-launched fighter to destroy the pirate that interdicts you mid-session rather than running.

On a medium pad it reaches most stations and ring systems, and a strong bi-weave plus an SLF wingman mean it survives the exposed minutes of cracking a motherlode. It carries less ore than the Python, a stripped Type-8 or any capital miner — cargo is the price of its combat slots — but no other medium pairs a complete mining suite with this much self-defence. For mining valuable cores in pirate-prone rings, the Krait Mk II is the defended choice.

Four things make the Krait Mk II a strong miner:

• Mounts every mining tool. Three large hardpoints fit lasers, sub-surface missiles and a seismic charge launcher for laser and core mining at once.
• It fights back hard. Keep a large gun and a strong bi-weave and the pirate that interdicts you dies — the Krait's defining edge over softer miners.
• Brings a fighter. A ship-launched fighter bay adds an SLF wingman — an extra gun, or a distraction while you finish a rock.
• Medium-pad and rank-free. Reaches most stations and ring systems; anyone with the credits can fly one.

A medium-pad miner that uniquely keeps a gun, a ~1,000 MJ bi-weave and an SLF, lifted by excellent slot fit and survivability but capped by a ~150-190 t ore hold that trails every larger miner.

The 84/100 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 — medium-pad miners

Among medium miners the Python out-hauls and out-tanks the Krait, and the Type-8 holds far more ore for less — but neither fights pirates the way the Krait does, and neither brings a fighter. The Phantom out-ranges it but mines and defends worse. For mining dangerous cores while killing what comes for the haul, the Krait Mk II is the combat pick of its class.

Other classes — the dedicated and capital miners

The capital miners and the dedicated Type-11 out-haul the Krait or out-specialise it, but all need a large pad and most can't defend themselves. The Krait Mk II's niche is the medium pad plus genuine combat and a fighter — the miner you take into pirate-heavy rings and want to be interdicted in.

At ~46M Cr the Krait Mk II is cheaper than the Python, with no rank gate. A full defended mining fit — tools, refinery, limpet controllers, ore racks, a strong bi-weave, a gun and a fighter bay — brings the all-in figure to around 97M Cr, with a ~4.8M Cr rebuy.

You pay for survival, not tonnage: the same hull also fights, hauls or explores when you drop the mining set. For pure ore per credit a Type-8 or capital miner is cheaper; for a miner that kills its hunters and re-roles on demand, the Krait earns its keep.

A complete mining fit for laser and core work that keeps a gun, a strong shield and the option of a fighter for self-defence. Initial is buy-only; A-rated is the mining baseline; Engineered focuses on defence, mobility and heat — the mining tools themselves are not meaningfully engineered.

Buy the hull and fit a single 1D Mining Laser on the first large mount — that lone laser is the only hardpoint the buy-only state carries.

Bulkheads stay the stock Lightweight Alloy the hull ships with; a miner keeps mass down for jump range to distant rings, so there is nothing to buy here. With the shield bay still empty, the buy-only Krait is unshielded — work quiet rings until the A-rated pass stands up its defence.

Leave the other two large mounts, both medium mounts, all four utilities and the bi-weave shield bay empty (—); the seismic launcher, sub-surface missile, abrasion blaster, gun, shield, refinery and limpet controllers all arrive in the A-rated pass.

Core internals stay stock E-rated — the distributor and plant get A-rated next — and a single 6E ore rack fills the size-6 bay; every other optional is left unfitted until you upgrade.

A-rating priority for a defended miner:

• 1Power Distributor → 7A — Mining tools and limpets are power-hungry; A-rate first. ~6M Cr
• 2Power Plant → 7A — Run tools, limpets, shield and a gun together. ~9M Cr
• 3Shield Generator → 6C bi-weave — Survive the exposed minutes of cracking a core. ~5M Cr
• 44A Refinery + 3A limpet controllers — The heart of the mining loop. ~3M Cr
• 5Thrusters → 6A — Reposition and fight when pirates arrive. ~7M 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

• 1Engineer the ship for defence and mobility — bi-weave shield, boosters, thrusters — not the mining tools.
• 2Low-Emissions plant keeps heat down during long mining sessions.
• 3FSD Increased Range for reaching distant hotspots and hauling ore home.
• 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 Krait Mk II mines a ~130t hold (two racks, Expanded Capacity) behind a ~1,000 MJ bi-weave, with a G5 corrosive multi-cannon to kill the pirates that come for the haul and a Charge Enhanced distributor that keeps the lasers and shield topped through a long core crack. It carries less than the Python or the capital miners, but none of them mines this defended on a medium pad.

• Keep a gun, a strong bi-weave and the SLF — the Krait's edge is killing the pirates that hunt laden miners.
• Don't engineer the mining tools — they don't benefit; engineer the ship's defence and mobility instead.
• A-rate the distributor and plant so lasers, limpets and a gun all run together.
• For pure tonnage the Python, a Type-8 or a capital miner holds more; choose the Krait for survival and a fighter.