Panther Clipper Mk IIMultipurpose

“Multipurpose” asks a hull to fight, haul, explore and re-tune between them, and the Panther answers only half the brief. Its twelve optional internals — two of them class 8 — make it the deepest-holding ship in the game, and it mounts two large, four medium and four small hardpoints with six utilities for a genuine self-defence battery. As a hauler that can also shrug off a pirate, it is unmatched. As an all-rounder, it is a barge asked to do a fighter's and an explorer's jobs.

The problems compound. It masses 1,200 t, cruises at 181 m/s and boosts at only 250 — the slowest large hull, ponderous to turn and impossible to disengage. Its class-7 Frame Shift Drive dragging that mass gives the worst jump range in the role, ruling out exploration. And at ~287M Cr it is the priciest hull in the game, so re-roling it — the entire point of a multipurpose ship — costs more than owning a dedicated hull for each job. The Anaconda does everything the Panther does at capital scale and jumps ~78 LY doing it; the Python and the versatile mediums do most of it faster and far cheaper.

What the Panther does bring to a multirole brief:

• The deepest hold in the game. Two class-8 internals plus deep racks give ~1,048 t of cargo — more than the Cutter (~794 t) or Anaconda (~470 t), and room for any role's full module set.
• A real self-defence battery. Two large and four medium hardpoints mount multi-cannons and lasers together, and six utilities carry a full shield-booster stack.
• It tanks. A tough purpose-built frame and a class-7 shield make it hard to gank even laden — survivability is a genuine strength.
• Rank-free. Unlike the Cutter, anyone with the credits can fly one.

It owns the deepest hold in the game (~1,048 t), but a class-7 FSD dragging a 1,200 t hull, self-defence-only firepower, the slowest large-hull handling and the highest price in the game hold it near the bottom of the multipurpose field — an elite super-freighter, a poor generalist.

The 44/100 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.

Every table rates ships for multipurpose specifically, split by landing-pad class. The Max cargo column is maximum cargo tonnage — a proxy for internal room; the rating is the same 1–100 suitability verdict used across the site.

Same class — large multipurpose ships

10 large-pad multipurpose hulls carry a rating, led by Anaconda (88). Every same-pad rival lands where this one does — the direct field to shop.

Other classes — the medium all-rounders

The medium-pad multipurpose field (8 rated), led by Python (86) — cheaper hulls and tighter pads. They undercut this hull on the numbers, but sit a pad class away.

Other classes — the small all-rounders

The small-pad multipurpose field (4 rated), led by Cobra Mk V (80) — cheaper hulls and tighter pads. They undercut this hull on the numbers, but sit a pad class away.

At ~287M Cr the Panther is the most expensive hull in the game — though, unlike the Cutter, it needs no rank or permit. A full multirole fit (guns, a strong shield, cell bank, hull reinforcement and cargo) pushes the all-in figure past 350M Cr, and every stored role module set adds more.

For versatility that price is almost impossible to justify. A whole Python costs less than a tenth as much and does most of the role better; an Anaconda gives capital-scale all-round capability for well under half. The Panther's cost is only defensible if you already own one to haul and want a single hull that also carries guns.

A balanced multirole fit on the game's largest freighter — a real gun battery, a deep shield, an enormous cargo hold and re-tunable internals. Initial is buy-only; A-rated is the multirole baseline; Engineered lifts defence and mobility. It does every job at capital scale except jump far, and it costs a fortune to re-fit.

Buy the hull on its stock Lightweight Alloy — no bulkhead spend on day one. Mount a pair of large multi-cannons and two medium pulse lasers for a self-defence battery, and fit a class-7 shield generator so a fortune in cargo isn't defenceless.

Fill the class-8 slots with cargo racks — the deep hold is the only reason to fly this hull multirole. Leave the medium and small mounts and the deeper internals for the A-rated pass.

A-rate the plant and distributor early; the gun battery and shield draw more than stock cores can feed.

A-rating priority for a defensible all-rounder:

• 1Power Distributor → 7A — Guns and boost drain the class-7 distributor fastest; A-rate it first. ~15M Cr
• 2Power Plant → 8A — Run ten guns, a big shield and a cell bank together on a class-8 plant. ~25M Cr
• 3Shield Generator → 7C bi-weave — Survive an interdiction in a vast, slow hull that cannot run. ~12M Cr
• 4Weapons + shield boosters — Fill the medium and small mounts, and stack four Heavy-Duty boosters across the utilities. ~10M Cr
• 5Thrusters → 8A — Recover what agility a 1,200 t hull can; it stays slow. ~20M Cr
• 6Frame Shift Drive → 7A — Claw back what jump range the heavy hull allows between systems. ~18M Cr

Engineering targets the whole ship — defence, mobility and the gun battery. Felicity Farseer (maxed) carries the FSD; pin blueprints for remote G1→G5 application.

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

Engineered, the Panther fights behind a ~1,300 MJ shield, carries ten guns and hauls a hold nothing in the field can match. But the numbers that define a generalist barely move: jump range tops out near ~20 LY, boost stays around ~290 even with Dirty Drives, and the hull remains ponderous. It becomes an excellent armed super-hauler — not an excellent all-rounder.

• Cargo is the only reason to fly this hull multirole — keep both class-8 slots for racks unless a fight demands reinforcement.
• Keep guns and a heavy shield: with six utilities the Panther defends its load better than any medium all-rounder.
• Don't expect to explore — the class-7 FSD on a 1,200 t hull caps jumps near ~20 LY; keep the legs short.
• It's slow and large-pad-bound — no outpost access and no disengaging, so win the fight or don't start it.
• For genuine versatility an Anaconda or Python does more for a fraction of the price; buy the Panther for hauling, not for the multirole badge.