Type-6 TransporterMultipurpose

Multipurpose is the role where one hull tries to cover trading, mining, light combat and a bit of exploration, and the Type-6 is the cheapest medium ship that can dabble in all of them. Its eight optional internals take a couple of cargo racks, a small bi-weave shield, a hull reinforcement and a detailed surface scanner at once — and re-role by swapping those optionals: fill them with racks for trading, mining tools and a refinery for ore, or a fuel scoop for exploration. On a medium pad it reaches almost every station, and a light 155t hull on a size-4 FSD gives a fair jump for the price.

The catch is that every dimension is small. Two small hardpoints fit only a self-defence gun pair — there is no medium or large mount, so it cannot fight anything it can't outrun. The hold is capped at size-5 internals (~110t all-cargo, far less with a shield fitted), a fraction of a Type-8's ~406t. And a ~90 MJ base shield on a hull with no military slot means the plan against trouble is always to flee. The Type-6's case is simple: sample every role cheaply, learn which one pays for you, then bank the profit toward a hull built for it.

Four things make the Type-6 a workable budget generalist:

• Cheapest medium do-everything hull. Under a million credits with no rank gate — the most affordable medium chassis that can try every role.
• Re-role by the optionals. Eight optional slots swap between cargo racks, mining tools plus a refinery, or a scoop and scanners — one hull, many jobs.
• Medium-pad and a fair jump. Reaches almost every station and lands at outposts; a light hull on a size-4 FSD jumps well for the price.
• Light and nimble. Quick to line up and quick to high-wake away when an interdiction goes wrong.

The cheapest, lightest medium multirole — a fair jump and a genuine hold for under a million credits, but two small guns, size-5-capped internals and a ~90 MJ shield keep it a budget dabbler that does a little of everything and none of it at scale.

The 44/100 headline is a verdict against the multipurpose 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 multipurpose specifically, split by landing-pad class. The Max cargo column is maximum cargo tonnage — a proxy for internal room; the rating is the same 1–100 suitability verdict used across the site.

Same class — medium multipurpose ships

8 medium-pad multipurpose hulls carry a rating, led by Python (86). Every same-pad rival lands where this one does — the direct field to shop.

Other classes — the capital all-rounders

The large-pad multipurpose field (10 rated), led by Anaconda (88) — bigger pads and bankrolls. They out-muscle this hull on the numbers, but sit a pad class away.

Other classes — the small all-rounders

The small-pad multipurpose field (4 rated), led by Cobra Mk V (80) — cheaper hulls and tighter pads. They undercut this hull on the numbers, but sit a pad class away.

At ~867k Cr the Type-6 is cheap, with no rank gate. A working multirole fit — two self-defence guns, cargo racks, a small bi-weave shield, a hull reinforcement and a scanner — brings the all-in figure to around 7M Cr, less than a bare Python hull.

That low cost is the whole point: it lets a commander try every role for the price of one cheap hull, then compound the profit into a purpose-built ship. For maximum capability in any single role, a dedicated hull wins easily; for sampling them all for almost nothing, nothing is cheaper.

A budget do-a-bit-of-everything fit — a self-defence gun pair, a useful hold, a small shield and a fair jump on the cheapest medium hull in the game. Initial is buy-only; A-rated is the all-round baseline; Engineered leans into range and mobility since the Type-6 lives on running, not fighting. Re-role by swapping the optional internals: more cargo for trading, mining tools plus a refinery for ore, or a fuel scoop and scanners for exploration.

The buy-only state is deliberately bare: take the hull (~867k Cr) on its stock E-rated core internals and fit the one thing a generalist needs from the start — a gimballed small Multi-Cannon for self-defence — plus a single 5E Cargo Rack to start earning. The bulkheads stay the hull's stock Lightweight Alloy — free with the chassis, and the right plate for a hull that lives on jump range, so there's nothing to buy here.

Everything else stays empty at this stage. The second gun, the shield booster, chaff and heat-sink utilities, the bi-weave shield, the second and third cargo racks, the hull reinforcement and the detailed surface scanner are all left off the buy-only sheet — they come with the A-rated pass.

It barely earns as a generalist yet; the point is to get the hull and a defensive gun cheaply, then A-rate the plant and distributor so the full fit runs without browning out.

The A-rated pass also fills out the multirole kit — the second gun (a small Pulse Laser), a 0A Shield Booster, chaff and heat-sink launchers, a 4C bi-weave shield, more cargo, a hull reinforcement and a detailed surface scanner — alongside the core-system upgrades, in this priority:

• 1Power Distributor → 3A — Guns and boost need a charged capacitor; A-rate first. ~600k Cr
• 2Power Plant → 3A — Run the guns, shield and utilities together. ~800k Cr
• 3FSD → 4A — Reach more of the galaxy and keep the laden jump respectable. ~1M Cr
• 4Shield Generator → 4C bi-weave — Survive an interdiction long enough to flee. ~500k Cr
• 5Thrusters → 4A — Reposition and escape when a fight can't be won. ~800k Cr

The bulkheads stay the stock Lightweight Alloy throughout — a light hull spends nothing on plate, banking that mass on jump range, shield and cargo instead. There's no military slot on this hull.

Multipurpose engineering leans on range and mobility, since the Type-6 escapes trouble rather than fighting it. Felicity Farseer (maxed) carries the FSD; pin blueprints for remote G1→G5 application.

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

Engineered, the Type-6 carries a modest hold behind a small shield, defends itself against one attacker and jumps ~32 LY laden — a passable generalist for almost nothing. The engineering stays lightweight throughout: G5 Heavy-Duty on the stock Lightweight Alloy bulkheads, an Increased-Range FSD and Dirty Drive thrusters to protect the range and mobility it lives on. Its two hardpoints and size-5 internals cap what it can carry or fight; its job is to earn cheaply and fund a real ship.

• Run it as a flee-first generalist — two small hardpoints defend, they don't win fights.
• Keep a small bi-weave shield and a booster; the Type-6 is lightly built and pirates target laden haulers.
• A-rate the distributor and plant so the guns, shield and utilities run together without browning out.
• Engineer range and mobility first — the FSD and thrusters are what get you home and out of trouble.
• Re-role by swapping the optional internals — cargo for trading, tools for mining, a scoop for exploration.
• It's a starter, not a keeper — bank the profit toward a hull built for the role that stuck.