Type-11 ProspectorTrading

The Type-11 Prospector is Lakon's dedicated miner, but it has the bones of a decent hauler: ten unrestricted optional internals, a strong base shield, a 367 m/s boost and medium-pad access with no rank or permit gate. Pack the free slots with cargo racks, keep a bi-weave shield, and it runs a ~256 t load to and from stations the large freighters can't reach — faster and safer than most.

For trading specifically, though, its mining pedigree is a handicap. Two of its size-5 internals are locked to a limpet controller and a fighter bay — slots a pure hauler would fill with cargo — and four of its eight hardpoints are locked to mining tools, leaving only a medium and three small mounts free for deterrent guns. The result is a hull that carries less than its size suggests, on a short laden range, for a premium ~66M Cr price. It trades on speed and reach, not tonnage or value.

Three things shape the Type-11 as a trader — two help, one hurts:

• Speed and shields. A 367 m/s boost and ~275 MJ of base shield make it far more survivable than a bare freighter — it tanks a hit and boosts clear of interdiction where a Type-9 is prey.
• Medium-pad reach. Docks at outposts and surface ports the large-pad barges are locked out of, with no rank or permit gate — wide market access off the shipyard floor.
• Locked internals cap the hold. One size-5 slot only accepts a limpet controller and another only a fighter bay, so ten cargo-eligible slots become effectively fewer — ~256 t behind a shield, below what a same-pad Type-8 (~406 t) or Python (~294 t) carries.

A fast, shielded, wide-reaching medium hauler capped by a mining hull's locked slots, short laden range and premium price — competitive on speed and access, well short on cargo and value.

The 60/100 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.

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

Same class — medium trading ships

9 medium-pad trading hulls carry a rating, led by Type-8 Transporter (76). Every same-pad rival lands where this one does — the direct field to shop.

Other classes — the bulk freighters

The large-pad trading field (10 rated), led by Panther Clipper Mk II (98) — bigger pads and bankrolls. They out-muscle this hull on the numbers, but sit a pad class away.

Other classes — the small-pad haulers

The small-pad trading field (5 rated), led by Cobra Mk IV (52) — 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 for trading that price is hard to justify. A Type-8 hauls ~406 t for ~35M Cr and a Type-9 hauls ~790 t for ~72M Cr; the Type-11 lands between them on price while carrying less than either.

A trade fit avoids costly combat engineering, so the all-in figure is dominated by the hull itself. The value case only closes if you already own the ship for mining and want a fast, shielded hauler without a second purchase.

A defended medium-pad trade fit built on the Type-11's speed and shields. Initial is a buy-only starter with a shield from day one; A-Rated is the trade baseline; Engineered maximises protected cargo and laden pace. The catch is structural — two of its size-5 internals are locked to a limpet controller and fighter bay, so cargo tops out near ~256 t behind a shield.

Buy the hull, drop a stock 5-class shield generator into a size-5 internal, and fill the three size-6 slots with 6E Cargo Racks — ~192 t of protected hold from the shipyard floor. Leave the cores at their bought class-1 rating for now; the ship flies and trades immediately.

The hull ships with stock Lightweight Alloy bulkheads — no armour purchase needed; a hauler trades plating for mass. The hardpoints stay empty — four are mining-locked and a bulk hauler forgoes guns on the other four — and the smaller cargo slots, the utility mounts and the shield boosters all wait for the A-rating pass. The buy-only fit is a plain, shielded bulk runner.

A-rating priority for a defended hauler — protect the cargo, keep it fast, and stretch the laden range:

• 1FSD → 5A — The Type-11's short laden range is its weakest trading trait; A-rate it first. ~9M Cr
• 2Thrusters → 5A — Speed is the trader's main defence against interdiction. ~7M Cr
• 3Shield Generator → 5C bi-weave — Fast-regenerating shields to survive a hit and boost clear. ~5M Cr
• 4Power Plant → 6A — Run the shield, boosters and distributor together. ~8M Cr
• 5Power Distributor → 7A — Sustain boost so a laden hull can keep running from trouble. ~10M Cr

With the core A-rated, add the defensive kit: two 0A Shield Boosters to the utility mounts, plus a point defence turret and a heat sink launcher in the last two. Fill every unrestricted internal with Cargo Racks — ~256 t behind the shield. Leave the limpet and fighter slots empty; they can't take cargo, and a trade run needs neither. Keep the stock Lightweight Alloy bulkheads.

Trade engineering on the Type-11 is about laden range, speed and survivability. Cargo racks aren't engineered; the cores, shield and boosters are. Pin blueprints for remote G1→G5 application.

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

Engineering lifts boost past 420 m/s, more than doubles shields and stretches the short laden range — the three upgrades that matter most for a fast, defended hauler. Cargo doesn't grow with engineering; the ~256 t ceiling is set by the hull's locked slots, so no blueprint recovers what the limpet and fighter internals cost. The stock Lightweight Alloy bulkheads stay light so laden jump range holds up.

• Don't buy a Type-11 to trade — buy it to mine. As a trader it's a capable second job for a hull you already own, not a first-choice freighter.
• The limpet and fighter internals can't hold cargo; leave them empty on a trade fit rather than fighting the restriction.
• A-rate the FSD before anything else — the short laden range is the biggest brake on trade efficiency.
• Speed and shields are the whole defensive case: submit to an interdiction, tank the first hits, and boost to high-wake out.
• Medium pad is a real advantage — more selling options and shorter runs than any large barge that out-hauls it.