Type-7 Transporter - what role will fit for this ship?

Martind Forlon · Jul 22, 2018

With playing my 2nd account I decided use different path as on my first and I just purchased T7. Searching in FD store I found only 3? paints which little surprised me at first. But I use this ship for some time now, it work decent for cargo missions (where T6 is not enough), but the ship size (large pad needed) is something what is highly limiting. I however want to keep this ship and search some decent role. The best I can figure out at this moment are:

passenger liner (hehehe, this ship however looks as really big NO for this)
mining ship. With three lances and one mine launcher (+ion .. to save distro draw and add better chance to escape) plus some from guardian tech to increase shield it can have decent defense ... still compared with Clipper it looks worse (except rank lock).

Some ideas? (I just do not want accept idea that this ship is JUST a stepping stone for T9)

p.s. to have this ship for medium pad size would be nice, but it may not fit to the game balance. So atm I search for a role for ship we have now

Maymo · Jul 22, 2018

Martind Forlon said:
With playing my 2nd account I decided use different path as on my first and I just purchased T7. Seaching in FD store I found only 3? paints which little surprised me at first. But I use this ship for some time now, it work decent for cargo missions (where T6 is not enough), but the ship size (large pad needed) is something what is highly limiting. I however want to keep this ship and search some decent role. The best I can figure out at this moment are passenger liner (hehehe, this ship however looks as really big NO for this) and mining ship. With three lances and one mine plus some from guardian tech to increase shield it can have decent defense ... still compared with Clipper it looks worse (except rank lock).

Some ideas?

(p.s. Have this ship medium pad size would be nice, but it may not fit to game balance. So atm I search for a role for ship we have now)

It’s a bit of a marmite ship the T7. I personally love it...

Forget the whole medium pad thing, it’s far less of a problem than people make out...
It’s got the cargo/passenger prowess of a Python for a fraction of the price and it’s a good looking ship with great handling.

It works well in its basic cargo role.
It outperforms both the Orca&Beluga in a bulk passenger role.
After a recent buff it’s beginning to be used by some people for exploration.

The mining changes coming at the end of the year could see the T7 shine even more.

Eriseley · Jul 22, 2018

Since it can only fit small mining lasers, it's kind of a waste for a miner. You just have a ton of space that will take forever to fill.

Cargo and passengers are where it's at. If you engineer some hull plating for the size 2 and 3 slots, you can fit the 5 and 6 size slots for basically any cargo or any passenger mission. Or you can load up even more defense including a shield, in which case you might not be able to do absolutely any cargo mission and probably couldn't do first class passenger stuff, but are good otherwise.

Maymo · Jul 22, 2018

It’ll take a class 3 shield, provides about the same strength as a Cobra with a 4A. Chuck a few boosters on and add the military grade composite if you’re worried about it...
Also recommend a heat sink if you’re planning to do planetary work, she cooks near gravity...
That’ll give you 3x5 & 3x6 to play with, you can do a lot of damage with that...

PanTast · Jul 22, 2018

The type 7 is a splendid ship. Very agile in supercruise - no chance to loose an interdiction. It has a good jumprange, decent cargo capacity. And it can carry 54 first class passengers with shields. Its a good investement

o7

Vardaugas · Jul 22, 2018

You can also make an explorer out of it. Kinda like camping out with a big caravan.

CMDR Zadian Lichtfrost · Jul 22, 2018

Martind Forlon said:
…
Some ideas? (I just do not want accept idea that this ship is JUST a stepping stone for T9)
…

It is dirt cheap.
It handles quite nicely in SC.
It has decent jump-range.
It can carry quite some amount of cargo.

It is what it is, a disposable cargo ship.
It can be used as an exploration ship as it has ok-ish jump-range, good cockpit visibility and good SC handling and can carry enough modules.

But in the end it's a cheap, disposable cargo ship. Fly it shieldless with d-rated modules to reduce the re-buy.

CMDR Maymo said:
…
Forget the whole medium pad thing, it’s far less of a problem than people make out...
…

It depends on where in the bubble it is used. On the edges of the bubble a lot of the higher paying cargo missions require the ability to land on outposts. If it is used as a bulk cargo ship, then it's not a problem as the pilot can decide where to land, but that might result in having to do more jumps to get to a suitable destination and restricts the choices.
If the pilot is not interested in missions at the edge of the bubble, then it might not be a problem at all.

CMDR Maymo said:
It’ll take a class 3 shield, provides about the same strength as a Cobra with a 4A. …

That can be a problem depending on the combat rank of the pilot flying the T-7. Some Elite NPCs can deal a lot of damage in a short period of time. With recent patches it got less of a problem as NPC ships are matched to ship the player uses and NPC ships interdicting T-7s are usually smaller ships.
It isn't the death trap it used to be anymore, but it doesn't really have adequate shields for it's lack of speed and maneuverability for more than jumping out as fast as possible.

Bigmaec · Jul 22, 2018

As said before, it's a good intermediate trader and a very good explorer too.

Stabby_Dave · Jul 22, 2018

I've currently got an A rated type 7 which I used for cargo until I got a T9. Now, I'm using it for mining 'till I can afford a Python, at which point I'll sell my Dolphin and use it for passenger runs.

MadDogMurdock · Jul 22, 2018

I've fitted out mine with Passenger Cabins - using it for in-Bubble Tourist Missions.

m0rl0ck · Jul 22, 2018

Martind Forlon said:
passenger liner (hehehe, this ship however looks as really big NO for this)

I was talking in game yesterday with a cmdr who said he had made hundreds of millions doing passenger runs in a t7. His tip (havent done many myself, dont like them) was to make sure and include some first class cabins for vip's.

But imo a t7 is what you fly until you can afford a t-9.

5AnaHalfHatsize · Jul 22, 2018

I made Elite Trader in my T7 doing sensitive supply missions, which seem to be sized specifically for a T7 - 6-8MCr to haul 240 -> 300 T for a single hop. And I wasn't hard up for cash, I had a conda and a Vette in the garage, the T7 was just way more fun.

You can have 300T cargo if you go sheildless with class 3 hull reinforcement.

But what I really like doing in my T7 (the "catch me if you can") is trade CGs in open.

It's a proper, even contest with anything trying to grab you out of supercruise and if you pack ion disrupter mines and mod your thrusters with G5 Dirty Drives you're really difficult to catch even if you lose the interdiction and have to wait out a full FSD reboot cycle.

Martind Forlon · Jul 22, 2018

Thx 2all! [up] ... very nice ideas here and I will try them.

askavir · Jul 22, 2018

It's a great as an exploration ship, if the exploration update in Q4 is any good, I'm planning on taking a T-7 for the Distant Worlds 2 expedition.

Muzz UK · Jul 23, 2018

Trader and Miner primarily though you can use it as an explorer it doesn't get super hot and engineered can make decent jump numbers plus carry all your shizz like fuel scoop, repair module and srv.

It's got little to no fire power so mines or missiles are your best defence option as you don't need sustained combat.

TheGrimCorsair · Jul 23, 2018

Armor the hell out of it, tune up the engines as much as you can, slap some collector limpet controllers on it, and take it out to a combat or bounty hunting CG and just rake in the crafting materials.

[Edit]

If you're feeling dirty, slap a couple of mine launchers on, high-cap with one having Resonance Cascade and the other Ion Disruptor, and include a pair of railguns for good measure, Super Penetrator on both if you trust the mines, one with that fancy effect that disrupts SCB's if you don't. Add even more rails if you *really* don't trust the mines.

RymdLazer · Jul 23, 2018

Got one specifically for mining. Now that my Krait took my Pythons multipurpose role the Python will become the miner and my T-7 will make me oodles of money hauling. I love its bulky aesthetics and it's fun to fly.

elkar · Jul 23, 2018

I have no strong feelings about this ship one way or other.

MPL3D · Jul 23, 2018

Type-7 does a very good job when it comes to explode, that's a perfect role for it

Just kidding, I hope you don't mind my sense of humor

Good luck with your T-7 setup!!

Marcinguy · Jul 23, 2018

I used to haul in my T7 but recently have been solely doing transport while regulating my Python to armed hauler status permanently. The key is the extra size 5 slot, giving you a total of 3 size 5 cabins as opposed to the Python which has 1 x4 and 2x5. I find I can have a nice mix of business and economic cabins and can pretty much load up on cheap transport missions wherever I go. Don't really bother with the VIP ones.

I'm really not missing much due to the no medium landing pad restriction either. After a bunch of engineering the T7 has turned into a nice little economy transport vessel. Small rebuy and decent speed after engineering the thrusters to G5. It's ugly as hell but gets the job done!