Type-6 TransporterTrading

The Type-6 Transporter is where most trading careers begin: a cheap, light medium freighter that carries ~110 tonnes, jumps well laden, and lands at most stations, all for under a million credits. It's the affordable step up from a starter ship into real cargo hauling, and it teaches the rhythm of the trade — buy low, jump, sell high — without risking much.

It's modest in every way: light defences, modest speed, and a hold the bigger freighters dwarf. But its good laden range makes profitable routes efficient, and its low price means early profits compound fast into a better ship. The Type-6 isn't a ship you keep — it's the one that gets you started and funds whatever comes next. As a first freighter, it's a quiet classic.

Four things make the Type-6 a fine first freighter:

• Cheap and rank-free. Under a million credits — an affordable first real cargo ship anyone can buy.
• Good laden jump range. Makes profitable routes efficient, so early earnings come quickly.
• Medium-pad access. Lands at most stations, including outposts — few route restrictions.
• Decent capacity for the price. ~110 tonnes is enough to earn real money while you learn and save.

A sub-million-credit, rank-free medium freighter with good laden range earns its 65, but ~110 t and light defences cap it as a starter.

The 65/100 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

Among medium traders the Type-6 is the budget starter. Everything else carries more, but all cost several times as much. For a first freighter that earns real money cheaply, the Type-6 is the sensible entry point — then you graduate.

Other classes — what you scale up to

The Type-6 is rung one of the trading ladder. The natural upgrades are the Type-8 (medium) or a Type-9 (large) once you've built capital. Its job is to earn your first real trading fortune cheaply, then hand off to a bigger hold.

At ~867k Cr the Type-6 is cheap, with no rank gate, and a full trade fit stays around 6M Cr all-in — a profitable first freighter for very little.

It's a pure starter pick. Early trading profits in a Type-6 compound quickly into a Type-8 or a large freighter; the Type-6's role is to get you trading affordably and fund the upgrade.

A cheap medium-pad trade fit that keeps a small shield. Initial is buy-only; A-rated is the trade baseline; Engineered maximises laden range and basic survivability.

Buy the hull (~867k Cr) on its stock E-rated cores — power plant, thrusters, FSD, life support, power distributor and sensors — with the stock 4C fuel tank. The hull ships on its default Lightweight Alloy bulkheads, which cost nothing and stay on for the life of the build.

Spend the optionals on cargo only: two size-5 racks plus one size-4 rack fill the hold. The buy-only fit carries no shield yet.

Every utility mount stays empty (—), and so do the remaining optionals — no shield, booster, point defence, heat sink or scanner until you start A-rating.

A-rating priority for a starter freighter:

• 1FSD → 4A — The Type-6's good laden range is its strength; A-rate it. ~1M Cr
• 2Thrusters → 4A — Escape interdiction while you learn. ~800k Cr
• 3Power Plant → 3A — Power for a shield and modules. ~800k Cr
• 4Shield Generator → 4C bi-weave — A size-4 slot turns to a fast-regen bi-weave; survive a pirate long enough to flee. ~500k Cr
• 5Power Distributor → 3A — Sustain boost. ~600k Cr
• 6Utilities → 0A Shield Booster + point defence/heat sink — Cheap defensive multipliers on the three mounts. cheap

Bulkheads stay Lightweight Alloy. A trader's enemy is mass, not raw armour — don't pay the weight penalty for Military Grade plate. Keep the stock alloy; speed and range are what keep this hull alive.

The trading engineering pattern on a starter freighter. Felicity Farseer (maxed) carries the FSD; pin blueprints for remote G1→G5 application.

Recommended order

• 1FSD Increased Range first to exploit the good laden range.
• 2Thrusters to escape interdiction while you learn.
• 3Small bi-weave shield and a booster for basic protection.
• 4Fill the rest with cargo racks.

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

The Lightweight Alloy bulkheads carry a G5 Lightweight roll engineered — trimming hull mass to squeeze out the laden range rather than adding plate the Type-6 can't afford to haul. Engineered, it carries ~110t with a strong laden range, for almost nothing — a profitable, efficient first freighter. Its hold and defences stay modest; its job is to earn your first fortune cheaply and fund a bigger ship.

• Exploit the laden range — efficient routes build your bankroll fastest.
• Keep a small shield; the Type-6 is lightly built and pirates target cargo.
• It's a starter, not a keeper — upgrade to a Type-8 or Type-9 as capital grows.
• Its good speed helps it flee interdiction — A-rate thrusters.