Type-11 ProspectorExploration

The Type-11 Prospector was built by Lakon for one job — dedicated mining — and exploration is not it. What the hull offers a would-be explorer is space: ten optional internals, three of them size 6, that carry a size-6 fuel scoop, twin AFMUs, an SRV hangar, a bi-weave shield, extra fuel tanks and a surface scanner all at once, with room left over. For a pilot who already owns one and wants to tour the bubble's fringe, it will do the trip in comfort.

The problem is the number that matters. Exploration is decided almost entirely on engineered jump range, and the Type-11 is a 320 t hull on a class-5 frame shift drive — the same drive a 260 t Diamondback Explorer uses to reach ~68 LY. Dragging far more mass, the Type-11 tops out near ~45 LY fully engineered: level with a Python or an Orca, and behind every purpose-built explorer. No amount of engineering closes that gap; the hull was never meant to jump.

What an explorer can lean on here — and what it can't:

• Deep, redundant internals. Ten optional slots (three size 6) carry a size-6 fuel scoop, twin AFMUs, an SRV bay, spare fuel tanks and a scanner at once — module space few mediums match.
• Fast size-6 fuel scoop. Refuels quickly, so reach between scoopable stars is genuinely good — the one exploration strength the roomy hull actually buys.
• Medium-pad access and real shields. Docks at outposts the large explorers can't, and ~275 MJ of base shield rising past 500 MJ engineered protects planetary landings.
• Class-5 FSD on a 320 t hull. The decisive weakness: ~45 LY engineered is roughly half the field leaders and no engineering fixes it. Exploration lives on range, and this hull has none to spare.

Deep, redundant internals and a fast size-6 scoop give real reach between stars, but a class-5 FSD on a 320 t freighter hull caps engineered range near ~45 LY — the one stat exploration is decided on — so it lands mid-low.

The 55/100 headline is a verdict against the exploration 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 exploration specifically, split by landing-pad class. The Optional cap. column is total optional-internal capacity — room for scanners, AFMU and fuel; the rating is the same 1–100 suitability verdict used across the site.

Same class — medium exploration ships

9 medium-pad exploration hulls carry a rating, led by Mandalay (96). Every same-pad rival lands where this one does — the direct field to shop.

Other classes — the long-range flagships

The large-pad exploration field (5 rated), led by Anaconda (94) — bigger pads and bankrolls. They out-muscle this hull on the numbers, but sit a pad class away.

Other classes — the pocket explorers

The small-pad exploration field (9 rated), led by Diamondback Explorer (88) — cheaper hulls and tighter pads. They undercut this hull on the numbers, but sit a pad class away.

At ~66M Cr the Type-11 carries no rank or permit gate — just credits — but that is a great deal of money to spend on a ~45 LY explorer. A Diamondback Explorer costs under 2M Cr and jumps ~68 LY; an Asp Explorer is ~6M Cr and reaches ~62 LY. Bought purely to explore, the Type-11 is poor value per light-year.

The exploration fit is cheap to run once the hull is bought — no weapons or combat engineering, just cores, a fuel scoop, shields and a scanner — so the all-in figure is dominated by the hull itself. The case for flying it is almost entirely “I already own one.”

The whole exploration build on one screen. Initial is a jump-capable starter; A-Rated is the best buy-only expedition fit; Engineered is the long-range end state. The Type-11's problem is fixed: a class-5 FSD dragging a 320 t hull caps range near ~45 LY however hard you engineer it. The build leans on that hull's one asset — deep, redundant internals — and trims every core to save mass.

Buy the hull and get it jump-capable and self-fuelling from session one. Fit a size-5 fuel scoop in a size-6 slot so you never strand, a 5C bi-weave shield generator for safe landings, and a Detailed Surface Scanner in a size-1 slot to start earning mapping data.

The stock cores are enough to reach the fringe of the bubble — the hull ships with Lightweight Alloy bulkheads, so no armour purchase is needed. Everything else — the size-6 scoop, twin AFMUs, the SRV bay, the Guardian FSD Booster and the extra fuel tanks — waits for the A-rating pass. The buy-only fit is a bare touring starter, not an expedition ship.

A-rating priority for an explorer — range and reach first, comfort second:

• 1FSD → 5A (SCO) — The whole build; every light-year comes from here. ~9M Cr
• 2Fuel Scoop → 6A — The largest the hull takes; fast refuels stretch reach between stars. ~8M Cr
• 3Cores → D-rated — Drop power plant, thrusters, life support and sensors to lightweight D-rate to save mass for range. ~6M Cr
• 4Shield Generator → 5C bi-weave — A light, fast-regenerating buffer for planetary landings. ~5M Cr
• 5Guardian FSD Booster (size 5) — A flat range gain; unlocked at a Guardian site, not bought. unlock

With range and reach secured, fill the deep internals for self-sufficiency: twin AFMUs for module repair, a size-4 SRV hangar for exobiology and Guardian-site runs, a repair limpet controller in the hull's limpet-restricted slot, and a pair of spare fuel tanks in the smaller slots to widen the gap between scoopable stars — the one thing the roomy hull genuinely buys you. Leave the big slots deliberately under-filled where mass would cost range.

Exploration engineering on the Type-11 is almost entirely about range and weight. The FSD does most of the work; every core is trimmed for mass, and one engineer covers the biggest roll.

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

Engineering roughly doubles laden range from the stock hull and adds a Guardian booster on top, but the ceiling is fixed by the class-5 FSD and 320 t mass — ~45 LY is the practical wall. Lightweight cores and Lightweight bulkheads claw back mass; the size-7 power distributor the core slot forces on you is D-rated to shed as much weight as it can. The result reaches the bubble's fringe in comfort, but never the deep-black distances a dedicated explorer covers.

• Range is the ceiling — fit the FSD and Guardian booster first; nothing else moves the number.
• D-rate every core you can and go Lightweight; on a 320 t hull, saved mass is saved light-years.
• The size-7 power distributor the core slot forces is dead weight for exploration — run it at D-rate.
• Leave the biggest optional slots deliberately under-filled; capacity you don't need is just mass that shortens jumps.
• Flying it makes sense mostly if you already own one — buy a dedicated explorer if range is the goal.