MandalayMultipurpose

The Mandalay is best known as the SCO-era benchmark explorer, but its specification reads like a generalist's: four medium hardpoints, ten optional internals, four utilities and a light, fast, agile frame. That combination lets one hull explore the black, fight in a RES, haul cargo and run mission boards — all while travelling further and faster than almost anything in its class.

Where it differs from the classic medium multiroles is emphasis. The Python and Krait are heavier, tougher and built to fight first; the Mandalay is light, quick and built to travel first. As an all-rounder it trades a little durability for far more range and speed — an appealing balance for commanders who roam widely and fight occasionally.

Four things make the Mandalay a capable, distinctive all-rounder:

• Four medium hardpoints. More medium guns than most generalists — enough firepower to make the combat side of multirole work genuine, not token.
• Ten optional internals. Exceptional flexibility: cargo, cabins, mining kit or full expedition modules, with slots left for shields and reinforcement.
• Class-leading range and SCO speed. It reaches and crosses systems faster than any rival multirole — the whole bubble, and beyond, is within easy reach.
• Light and agile. High speed and nimble handling make it forgiving in a fight and quick on every errand.

Class-leading 85+ LY range, ten optionals and four gimballed mediums on a gate-free 16.5M Cr hull carry a 78, capped by a soft ~220 MJ shield and ~154 t cargo.

The 78/100 headline is a verdict against the multipurpose 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 the multipurpose role specifically. The role column is approximate maximum cargo — a fair proxy for the internal flexibility a do-everything hull needs.

Same class — medium multiroles

Among medium all-rounders the Mandalay is the fast, far-reaching outlier. The Python and Kraits beat it on toughness, cargo and firepower; nothing beats it on range or travel speed. Choose it if you roam widely and fight occasionally; choose a Python or Krait if combat and capacity come first.

Other classes — bigger and smaller all-rounders

Larger hulls add cargo and combat power at the cost of pad access and credits; smaller hulls add small-pad reach at the cost of room and range. The Mandalay's niche is doing the all-rounder job at the longest range and highest speed of any medium — a different kind of value to the tanky heavyweights.

The hull is around 16.5M Cr for Odyssey owners (non-Odyssey owners unlock it with ARX first). There is no rank or permit gate. A working multirole fit lands near 28M Cr; a fully engineered version sits around 45M+ depending on how combat-focused you make it.

Because it re-roles by swapping optionals, the Mandalay rewards engineering the cores once — especially the FSD — then changing the bay per job. Its low mass means even a loaded fit keeps usable range.

A balanced multipurpose fit that keeps the Mandalay's range advantage while giving it real teeth and a useful bay. Initial is buy-only; A-Rated is the all-rounder baseline; Engineered applies the house pattern with range and sustain prioritised. Re-role by swapping the optional internals — cargo racks for trading, a passenger cabin, mining kit, or scanners + AFMU + fuel scoop for the deep black.

Buy the hull — it ships with Lightweight Alloy bulkheads, which you keep: the Mandalay's whole case is range and speed, so the lightest case is the right call. Fit a 5E shield generator, a 4D hull reinforcement, a 0A shield booster and a couple of cargo racks (5E + 4E) — it's ready for mixed work immediately.

Arm three of the four mediums with 2F gimballed multi-cannons and the fourth with a 2F gimballed pulse laser; add two 1G small pulse lasers for shield-stripping.

Keep an SRV bay and a detailed surface scanner aboard so you can opportunistically explore and exobio between other jobs. The other three utility mounts and the support internals (shield cell bank, module reinforcement) stay empty until the A-rated pass.

A-rating priority for a fast, far-reaching all-rounder — range and sustain first:

• 1FSD → A (+ SCO) — The Mandalay's signature; A-rate and keep the SCO drive for range and travel speed. ~2.5M Cr
• 2Power Distributor → A — Feeds four mediums and boost — essential for the combat side. ~1M Cr
• 3Thrusters → A — Preserves the speed and agility that define the hull. ~1.5M Cr
• 4Power Plant → A — Headroom for guns, shields and utilities together. ~1.2M Cr
• 5Shield Generator → 5C bi-weave — Balanced, fast-recharging defence for a light frame. ~1M Cr
• 6Weapons & defensive fill — Swap the laser slot to a 2D gimballed beam, and use the free mounts for chaff, a heat-sink launcher and a Kill Warrant Scanner, plus a 3A shield cell bank in the bay. ~2M Cr

A balanced engineering pass that preserves range while adding teeth. Pin blueprints for remote G1→G5 application; visit engineers in person for experimentals.

Recommended order

• 1FSD Increased Range first — the Mandalay rewards it more than any rival multirole.
• 2Then thrusters and distributor to keep speed and sustain combat.
• 3Power plant Overcharged to run four mediums plus shields and utilities.
• 4Defences and weapons last, scaled to how much fighting you actually do.

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

The bulkheads stay Lightweight Alloy throughout; Heavy Duty G5 + Deep Plating roughly doubles effective armour without the Military-grade mass, so the laden jump still clears 85 LY. Engineering also lifts boost to ~420 m/s and roughly doubles shields — making the Mandalay the fastest, longest-legged generalist in its class, even with a combat or cargo bay fitted.

• Lean into the range: take the jobs and routes that punish slower, shorter-legged ships.
• Keep an SRV bay and scanners aboard permanently — the transparent floor makes opportunistic exobiology effortless.
• Accept the softer hull; play it as a fast skirmisher and traveller, not a stand-and-tank brawler.
• Lightweight life support and sensors recover even more of its class-leading range.