PythonTrading

The Python is the trader that doesn't need an escort. It carries ~294 tonnes on a medium pad — a solid load — but its real distinction is that the same hull is a tough, three-large-hardpoint warship. Where a Type-9 or Type-8 must run from pirates, a combat-fitted-then-cargo-loaded Python can simply turn and destroy them. It defends its own cargo.

It carries less than the dedicated Type-8 and costs more, so for pure tonnage it isn't the pick. But its blend of solid cargo, medium-pad flexibility, strong shields and the option to fight back makes it the safest active hauler — and because it re-roles to combat, mining or exploration, one Python can be a trader that becomes a warship the moment a pirate makes a mistake. A classic, versatile choice.

Four things make the Python a fine defensible trader:

• It defends its own cargo. Three large hardpoints and strong shields mean it can fight off pirates a dedicated freighter must flee.
• Solid cargo on a medium pad. ~294 tonnes landing at most stations — a good load with flexible docking.
• Strong shields and deep internals. It tanks interdiction comfortably and has room for a big hold plus defences.
• Total versatility. The same hull trades, fights, mines or explores — one ship, many jobs.

A 72 led by best-in-class medium-pad defensibility — strong shields and three large hardpoints — limited by mid-pack ~294t cargo, slow 234 m/s hull, and ~55.3M Cr price.

The 72/100 headline is a verdict against the trading 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 trading specifically. The role column is the maximum cargo capacity in tonnes — the headline number for bulk hauling.

Same class — medium-pad traders

The Type-8 out-hauls the Python and costs less, so for pure capacity it wins. But the Python is the only medium trader that can comfortably fight off pirates and re-role to anything — the defensible, versatile choice for valuable or dangerous runs.

Other classes — the dedicated freighters

The large freighters out-haul the Python two to three times over, but all need a large pad and most can't defend themselves. The Python's niche is the defensible medium: enough cargo to earn, the teeth to keep it, and the flexibility to do anything else.

At ~55.3M Cr the Python is pricier than the dedicated medium freighters, with no rank gate. A defensible trade fit — cargo plus shields plus a few engineered guns — brings the all-in figure to around 90M Cr.

Its versatility offsets the cost: the same engineered Python trades, fights, mines or explores, so one hull replaces several. For pure hauling, the cheaper Type-8 is the value pick; for a do-everything ship that also hauls well and defends itself, the Python justifies its price.

A defensible trade fit: a solid hold, strong shield and enough guns to fight off pirates. Initial is buy-only; A-rated is the trade baseline; Engineered balances cargo, protection and teeth.

Buy the hull and fill the three class-6 optionals with stock 6E Cargo Racks — ~200t of buy-only hold to start earning.

The hull ships with stock Lightweight Alloy bulkheads — leave them. A trader wants mass low for laden jump range, not armour plate, so Lightweight Alloy is the right plate all the way through.

Keep the stock E-rated cores (7E Power Plant, 6E Thrusters, 5E Frame Shift Drive, 4E Life Support, 7E Power Distributor, 6E Sensors) and the 5C Fuel Tank; they fly the laden hull off the line.

Leave the three large hardpoints, all four utility mounts, and the smaller optional slots empty (—) until you can afford the A-rated kit — buy-only, the Python carries cargo but neither shields nor guns.

A-rating priority for a defensible hauler:

• 1Power Plant → 7A — Power for guns, shields and modules. ~9M Cr
• 2Power Distributor → 7A — Sustain the guns and boost while laden. ~7M Cr
• 3Thrusters → 6A — Move the laden hull and reposition in a fight. ~7M Cr
• 4Shield Generator → 6C bi-weave — Tank interdiction while you turn to fight. ~5M Cr
• 5FSD → 5A — Laden range for route efficiency. ~6M Cr

Mount the three large hardpoints — twin 3C multi-cannons plus a 3C beam — with twin 0A shield boosters, a chaff and a heat-sink on the utilities, and slot a 3A SCB and a 2D hull reinforcement in the small optionals. Bulkheads stay Lightweight Alloy: the bi-weave, boosters and SCB carry the defence, so spend no mass on heavy plate.

A hybrid trade-combat engineering pattern. Felicity Farseer (maxed) carries the FSD; pin blueprints for remote G1→G5 application.

Recommended order

• 1Plant and distributor to G5 so it sustains guns and shields while laden.
• 2Thrusters and FSD for mobility and route range.
• 3Bi-weave shield Reinforced (G5) plus Heavy Duty boosters to tank interdiction.
• 4Overcharged multi-cannons (one Corrosive) so it kills the pirates that try it.

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

Engineered, the Python hauls ~294t behind a 1,100 MJ bi-weave and three large guns, with the Lightweight Alloy bulkheads carrying a G5 Advanced (lightweight) roll plus a heavy-duty 2D hull reinforcement — ~380 armour for almost no mass, so laden range still reaches ~26 LY. A trader that turns and destroys pirates rather than fleeing. It carries less than the Type-8, but no medium hauler is safer on a dangerous route, and none re-roles so completely.

• Keep the guns — the Python's edge over pure freighters is fighting back; don't strip them for a little more cargo.
• Power plant and distributor must sustain guns while laden — A-rate them.
• For pure tonnage, the cheaper Type-8 carries more; choose the Python for defensibility and versatility.
• It has combat, mining and multipurpose manuals too — the same hull does it all.