Type-8 TransporterTrading

The Type-8 Transporter is Lakon's modern medium freighter, and it quietly rewrote the rules: it carries over 400 tonnes — more than the larger, large-pad-only Type-7 — while fitting on a medium pad that lands at the vast majority of stations. For a trader who values flexible docking, that combination is transformative.

It's also tougher and faster than the old freighters, with enough optional space to keep a real shield alongside its big hold. It can't match the large super-haulers' raw tonnage, and at ~35M Cr it's pricier than the budget mediums — but as the most cargo you can land on a medium pad, on a modern, durable hull, the Type-8 has become the default medium trader for good reason.

Four things make the Type-8 the best medium hauler:

• Over 400 tonnes on a medium pad. More cargo than the large Type-7 — and it lands where the Type-7 can't.
• Medium-pad flexibility. Docks at the vast majority of stations, including many outposts — far fewer route restrictions.
• Tough and modern. More durable than the old freighters, with room for a real shield.
• Good speed for a freighter. A 340 m/s boost helps it escape interdiction better than the lumbering big haulers.

Lands the most cargo of any medium-pad hull — ~406t behind a real shield, no rank gate — but carries only about half a Type-9 or Cutter, capping its trading ceiling.

The 76/100 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

The Type-8 tops the medium-pad traders on cargo by a wide margin — it carries more than twice a budget Type-6 and far more than the versatile Pythons and Kraits. For a dedicated medium hauler, nothing else comes close on capacity.

Other classes — the large freighters

The large freighters out-haul the Type-8 by two to three times, but all need a large pad. Notably, the Type-8 carries more than the large-pad Type-7 while landing far more flexibly — making it the smarter mid-tier buy unless you specifically need a large hold.

At ~34.8M Cr the Type-8 is mid-priced — pricier than budget mediums but far cheaper than the big freighters — with no rank gate. A trade fit keeps the all-in cost around 52M Cr.

It's the sensible default medium trader: more capacity than anything else its size, flexible docking, and a durable modern hull, all for a fraction of a large freighter's cost. For most traders who value pad flexibility, it's the smart pick.

A high-capacity medium-pad trade fit that keeps a shield. Initial is buy-only; A-rated is the trade baseline; Engineered maximises protected cargo and laden range.

Buy the hull and fill the three biggest optionals with cargo racks — a 7E and two 6E — with a 6E shield generator over the hold (a plain class-6 generator buy-only, not yet a bi-weave).

The hull keeps its stock Lightweight Alloy bulkheads — on a trader you never want heavier armour eating jump range and cargo mass, so this slot stays as-bought through every state.

Core internals stay buy-only and E-rated: the class-5 plant, thrusters and FSD, the class-4 distributor.

One 0E shield booster goes on the first utility; the other three utility mounts and the smaller optionals (sizes 5, 5, 4, 2, 1) stay empty until the A-rated pass.

A-rating priority for a medium hauler:

• 1FSD → A — Laden jump range for route efficiency. ~5M Cr
• 2Thrusters → A — Escape interdiction; the Type-8 is quick for a freighter. ~5M Cr
• 3Power Plant → A — Power for shields and modules. ~5M Cr
• 4Shield Generator → 6C bi-weave — Swap the plain class-6 generator for a fast-regenerating bi-weave over the big cargo hold. ~3M Cr
• 5Power Distributor → 4A — Sustain boost. ~4M Cr
• 6Utilities → 0A shield boosters — A second booster (two total) reinforces the hold, with point defence and a heat-sink launcher on the spare mounts. ~1M Cr
• 72A Shield Cell Bank — Fills the size-2 optional; one recharge keeps the bi-weave up through a sustained interdiction. ~1M Cr
• 81H Guardian FSD Booster — The size-1 slot takes a Guardian booster (+4 LY flat), not a surface scanner — this is a trader, not an explorer. Guardian mats

The trading engineering pattern: range, mobility and defence. Felicity Farseer (maxed) carries the FSD; pin blueprints for remote G1→G5 application.

Recommended order

• 1FSD and thrusters to G5 first for range and the ability to escape trouble.
• 2Bi-weave shield and boosters to protect the big medium-pad hold.
• 3Low-Emissions plant and lightweight non-essentials for efficiency.
• 4Fill the rest with the biggest cargo racks.

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

Engineered, the Type-8 hauls ~406t on a medium pad behind a real bi-weave, quick enough to escape trouble — the most flexible high-capacity trader in the game. The Lightweight-engineered hull adds integrity at almost no mass cost, the 2A cell (Thermo Block) keeps the shield up through an interdiction without cooking the ship, and a 1H Guardian FSD Booster lifts laden range to ~36 LY. It carries half a super-hauler's load, but lands almost anywhere and survives far better than a Type-9.

• Exploit the medium pad — it's the Type-8's edge: more cargo than a Type-7, landing where big freighters can't.
• Run it shielded; its depth easily fits a bi-weave alongside 400+ tonnes.
• It's the smart mid-tier trader for most — only choose a large freighter if you need maximum tonnage on large pads.
• Its good speed genuinely helps it escape interdiction — A-rate thrusters.