Type-10 DefenderAX Combat

Where an AX Chieftain dodges and a Krait kills fast, the Type-10 Defender simply endures. Lakon's bulk-freighter chassis reborn as a warship carries nine hardpoints (four large, three medium, two small), two military slots, eight utilities and the single highest armour base of any ship (1,044) — everything you need to stand in Thargoid airspace and not die. It is the premier anti-Xeno fortress: load the mounts with turreted Enhanced AX multi-cannons and a pair of Guardian Gauss, anchor it, and let armour and saturation do the work.

Its niche is the AX conflict zone and the scout swarm, not the solo Interceptor duel. The Type-10 is glacially slow, turns terribly and has feeble shields for its size, so it cannot reposition to dodge a Thargoid's heart phase or follow an interceptor's exhaust manoeuvre — it tanks the lightning and the caustic instead. With deep Guardian module and hull reinforcement it shrugs off the module-stripping shock that breaks lighter hulls, and its eight utilities feed a relentless heat-sink and caustic-sink supply. For AXCZ work, spire support and swarm-clearing, nothing out-lasts it.

Four things make the Type-10 the ultimate AX tank:

• The highest armour in the game. A 1,044 base — with Guardian and heavy-duty reinforcement, effective armour climbs past 6,000, enough to tank interceptor attacks others must dodge.
• Nine hardpoints. Four large, three medium, two small — loaded with turreted AX multi-cannons and Guardian guns, it saturates a whole scout swarm at once.
• Two military slots plus eight utilities. Guardian module/hull reinforcement against the lightning, and a deep utility suite for caustic sinks, heat sinks and a xeno scanner.
• No rank gate. Despite Federal associations it needs only credits — the most accessible heavy AX tank in the game.

Highest armour in the game (1,044 base, ~6,000+ engineered), nine mounts and eight utilities make it the AX endurance fortress; a 179 m/s, dreadful-turning hull caps it below the agile mediums.

The 86/100 headline is a verdict against the anti-Xeno 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 anti-Xeno combat specifically. The role column is the hardpoint loadout — the basis for an AX weapon suite. Evasion, hardening and heat management matter as much as raw mounts.

Same class — large-pad AX ships

The Type-10 is the armour-and-saturation specialist of the large AX class. The Cutter out-shields it and the Corvette out-guns it, both far faster — but neither matches its 1,044 armour or its nine mounts, and neither sits on a swarm as long. It ties the Corvette on rating while needing no rank gate, which makes it the most accessible large AX tank.

Other classes — the agile AX mediums

For AX specifically the agile mediums dodge the Thargoid attacks the Type-10 must simply tank, and many pilots rate them higher for that reason. But for a stationary, near-indestructible AX gun platform that out-lasts everything — clearing swarms and holding an AXCZ for an entire instance — the Type-10 is unrivalled. It is the choice when endurance and mount count beat mobility.

At ~125M Cr the Type-10 is a major purchase but carries no rank gate — the cheapest route to the toughest hull in the game. A full AX fit with nine AX/Guardian weapons, Guardian module/hull reinforcement and class-8 cores brings the all-in figure to around 346M Cr, with a rebuy near 17M; much of that is Guardian-tech unlocks rather than raw credits.

It is most worth the cost for committed AX pilots who fly conflict zones and swarms and want a platform that never needs to retreat. For fast solo Interceptor hunting the cheaper, more agile Chieftain or Krait is better value; the Type-10 is bought for what it uniquely does — survive and saturate.

Lakon offers a Type-10 'AX Combat' themed pre-built in some storefronts, aligned directly to its anti-Thargoid strength. The standard pre-built rules apply: stock modules sell for 0 Cr and cannot be stored or transferred, but engineering the stock cores in place preserves the free rebuy. Add AX/Guardian weapons and Guardian reinforcement to open slots and engineer the cores in situ — never strip the stock modules out.

A turret-saturation AX fortress: turreted Enhanced AX multi-cannons for no-aim swarm coverage, Guardian Shard and Gauss cannons for interceptor hearts, Guardian module and hull reinforcement in the military slots and optionals, and a deep caustic and heat utility suite. Initial is buy-only (AX and Guardian weapons are unlocks, so they appear at the A-rated state); A-rated is the combat-ready baseline; Engineered hardens the cores, mobility, heat and shield buffer — AX and Guardian weapons take no engineering.

The buy-only state is just the hull and its stock cores: at purchase you fit the E-rated Power Plant, Thrusters, Frame Shift Drive, Life Support, Power Distributor and Sensors, plus the stock 6C Fuel Tank. The hull keeps its free Lightweight Alloy bulkheads — 1,044 armour — until you can afford the Military Grade swap. A-rate the cores later.

Every hardpoint, utility, military slot and optional is left empty (—) at this stage. The turreted AX multi-cannons, Guardian Shard and Gauss cannons, Guardian module and hull reinforcement and the bi-weave shield all depend on Guardian-ruin and Tech-Broker unlocks, so they only arrive at the A-rated state.

Unlock Guardian and AX weapons at the relevant ruins and Tech Brokers in parallel — once they are available the empty slots fill out and even unengineered the Type-10 anchors a conflict zone.

AX-fitting priority for the fortress:

• 1Military Grade bulkheads — Swap the stock Lightweight Alloy for Military Grade Composite: base armour climbs from 1,044 to ~2,030 before a single reinforcement package. ~112M Cr
• 2Guardian reinforcement — Module and hull reinforcement in the military slots and optionals against Thargoid lightning; the Guardian HRPs also carry the caustic resistance the swarm chews through. material unlocks
• 3AX / Guardian weapons — Turreted AX multi-cannons for the swarm, Gauss and Guardian guns for hearts. material unlocks
• 48A Power Plant & 7A Power Distributor — Power and capacitor to run nine mounts and eight utilities. ~33M Cr
• 5Bi-weave & remaining cores → A — 8C Bi-Weave Shield buffer over the armour, plus 7A Frame Shift Drive, 5A Life Support and 4D Sensors. credits
• 6Caustic + heat utilities — Xeno scanner, caustic sinks, heat sinks, point defence. ~3M Cr
• 77A Thrusters — Recover the barest mobility a 1,200t hull allows. ~15M Cr

AX engineering hardens armour, mobility, heat and survival; AX/Guardian weapons have limited engineering. Felicity Farseer (maxed) carries the FSD; pin blueprints for remote G1→G5 application.

Recommended order

• 1G5 Overcharged plant and G5 Charge Enhanced distributor first — feed nine mounts and eight utilities.
• 2G5 Thermal Resistant bi-weave and G5 Thermal Resistant shield boosters — harden the buffer against Thargoid thermal.
• 3G5 Dirty Drive Tuning thrusters and a G5 Increased Range FSD for the barest mobility and relocation reach.
• 4Note: AX/Guardian weapons and Guardian hull/module reinforcement come from unlocks, not blueprints — the armour tank itself isn't engineered.

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

Engineered and Guardian-armed, the Type-10 is the toughest AX platform in the game — effective armour past 6,000 behind Heavy Duty Military Grade plate, nine mounts saturating a whole swarm, and deep module hardening against the lightning. It never becomes fast or nimble; it doesn't try. As an immovable, near-indestructible AX gun platform, nothing out-lasts it.

• Go mostly turret — the Type-10 can't hold fixed guns on an agile interceptor; reserve the Gauss for hearts.
• Tank on armour and Guardian reinforcement, not shields — the bi-weave is a buffer.
• Its niche is the swarm and the conflict zone; for fast solo Interceptor hunts a Chieftain or Krait is better.
• Accept the speed — it anchors and out-lasts; it never chases or escapes.