Panther Clipper Mk IIPassenger

The Panther Clipper Mk II is the game's largest freighter, and on paper that hull looks made for volume passenger work. In practice it is held back by a quirk of its slot layout: its two biggest optional internals — one class 8 and one class 7 — are cargo-locked, eligible only for cargo racks and fuel tanks, never passenger cabins. Every fare therefore rides in the size-6-and-smaller slots, and since passenger cabins cap at size 6 in any hull, the Panther fills to roughly 170 economy seats — comparable to the Anaconda and Type-9, and well short of the Cutter or Beluga. The biggest hull in the game carries a merely mid-field board.

Worse for the role, it is a Zorgon Peterson freighter, not a Saud Kruger liner, so it earns no passenger-comfort bonus: each seat pays standard fares, exactly like the Anaconda and Type-9. It is slow (181/250 m/s), ponderous to turn, large-pad-bound, and at ~287M Cr the most expensive hull in the game. What it does have is a genuinely tough frame — 620 base armour, a size-7 bi-weave and ten weapon hardpoints for deterrence — so it survives threatened routes better than an unarmed liner. That is the only axis where it leads.

Three things define the Panther as a passenger hull — and only one of them is a positive:

• Its two largest slots can't carry fares. The class-8 and class-7 cargo-locked optionals take only cargo racks or fuel, so the biggest hull in the game fills to a mid-field ~170 economy seats, not the record board its volume suggests.
• No comfort bonus. A Zorgon Peterson freighter earns standard fares only; a Beluga, Orca or Lynx makes far more per identical seat.
• It defends itself. 620 base armour, a size-7 bi-weave and 10 weapon hardpoints (2L·4M·4S) make it the hardest passenger hull to gank — the one genuine edge for running threatened routes.

The biggest hull in the game fills to a merely mid-field ~170-seat board because its two largest internals are cargo-locked, and as a Zorgon Peterson freighter it earns no comfort bonus, jumps poorly for its 1,200 t mass, is slow, large-pad-bound and the priciest hull in the game — a safe dual-use tourer, poor value bought for the role.

The 48/100 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.

Every table rates ships for passenger specifically, split by landing-pad class. The Cabin cap. column is total optional-internal capacity — room for cabins; the rating is the same 1–100 suitability verdict used across the site.

Same class — large passenger ships

9 large-pad passenger hulls carry a rating, led by Beluga Liner (95). Every same-pad rival lands where this one does — the direct field to shop.

Other classes — the medium tourers

The medium-pad passenger field (8 rated), led by Lynx Highliner (90) — cheaper hulls and tighter pads. They undercut this hull on the numbers, but sit a pad class away.

Other classes — the shuttle-class

The small-pad passenger field (2 rated), led by Dolphin (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, and it needs no rank or permit — but for passenger work that price buys nothing a cheaper hull doesn't do better. A cabin fit adds the suite (cabins across the size-6-and-smaller slots, a size-7 bi-weave, shield boosters, point defence), bringing the all-in figure past 330M Cr.

For tourism that is impossible to justify on its own. A Type-9 stacks the same ~170 seats for a quarter of the price, a Python or Krait Phantom reaches outposts the Panther can't, and a Beluga earns a comfort bonus on every fare. The Panther pays back only if you already own one for hauling and want a single armoured hull that also runs tourists on hostile routes.

A tourist fit for the game's largest hull: a mixed cabin suite, a size-7 bi-weave sized to the 1,200 t airframe, and a long-range FSD. Initial is buy-only (two economy cabins to start earning); A-rated is the liner baseline; Engineered trades mass for range and hardens the shield. Note the two largest internals are cargo-locked and cannot take cabins, so they carry racks, not fares. Cabin classes are swap-to-suit — economy for bulk, first/luxury for VIPs.

Buy the hull on its stock Lightweight Alloy — no bulkhead spend on day one — and fit a pair of economy cabins to start earning; buy-only, two size-6 economy cabins carry 64 fares while you save for the A-rated pass.

Leave the cargo-locked class-8 and class-7 slots empty or with cheap racks for now, and keep a class-7 slot open for the bi-weave shield — on a slow, valuable hull the shield is not optional.

Fill the remaining size-6-and-smaller internals with economy cabins; A-rate the plant and distributor before adding premium first/luxury berths.

A-rating priority for a heavy tourer:

• 1Frame Shift Drive → 7A — A 1,200 t hull laden with cabins jumps poorly; the FSD is the single biggest quality-of-life gain. ~18M Cr
• 2Shield Generator → 7C bi-weave — Sized to the heavy hull; keeps a full board of passengers safe through interdiction. ~14M Cr
• 3Power Plant → 8A — Runs cabins, a big shield, boosters and modules together. ~25M Cr
• 4Thrusters → 8A — The heavy hull needs every scrap of thrust to break an interdiction. ~20M Cr
• 5Power Distributor → 7A — Holds the ENG capacitor for boosting the loaded airframe out of trouble. ~15M Cr
• 6Cabins + shield boosters — Fill the size-6-and-smaller slots with a mixed board and stack four Heavy-Duty boosters on the utilities. ~10M Cr

Passenger engineering is all about the ship, not the cabins — cabins can't be engineered. Prioritise FSD range and shield strength on the heavy hull; Felicity Farseer (maxed) carries the FSD.

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

Engineered, the Panther carries a mixed board behind a ~1,100 MJ shield, breaks interdictions with 8A Dirty Drives, and claws its laden jump back toward ~28 LY with an Increased Range FSD and a Lightweight hull. But engineering cannot fix the structural limits: no comfort bonus, two cabin-locked slots, a slow airframe and a large-pad footprint. It ends up a safe, expensive tourer that a cheaper hull out-earns.

• Remember the two biggest slots are cargo-locked — don't buy the Panther expecting a record passenger board; it caps near the Anaconda.
• Keep the size-7 bi-weave and four Heavy-Duty boosters — on a slow, valuable, large hull the shield is the difference between a scare and a rebuy.
• A-rate the FSD and thrusters before premium cabins — range and escape speed are the real weak points, not seat count.
• It earns no comfort bonus, so run economy volume, not luxury — a dedicated liner out-earns it on premium fares every time.
• For cheaper seats a Type-9, for outpost reach a Python, and for premium pay a Beluga all beat it; choose the Panther only as a dual-use armoured hull you already own.