The Type-9 Heavy is Lakon Spaceways' large freighter class. This ship is built to transport large cargos, a job it does very well, but it doesn't stand up well in a fight, although adding a fighter bay improves its combat capability considerably - in the right hands!
— In-Game Description
The Type-9 Heavy is a heavy freighter and the largest of the five freighters manufactured by Lakon Spaceways. It has the second largest maximum cargo capacity of any ship available, behind only the Imperial Cutter, but can be purchased at a fraction of the Cutter's cost, does not require any rank and can also fit a smaller class Shield Generator. Although generally lacking in offensive capabilities, the Type-9 is a bulky yet capable ship best suited for trading or mining and with the potential of class 8 shield generators and cell banks as well as high armor values; it can be surprisingly durable.
Overview
The pilot's station is located in the front center of the ship's canopy, with two co-pilot seats below the pilot on either side parallel to each other. The canopy has one of the largest views in the game with a near 180° view of the outside, with some visibility even below the ship and directly above; which can be quite useful in various situations and is especially helpful for VR players.
The weapon hardpoints are located as follows: two class 2 hardpoints situated on top of the ship and one more on the bottom of the ship making them excellent for turreted mounts, and two class 1 hardpoints situated on either side of the canopy, identically to the Type-7. Two of the utility mounts are on top of the ship, near the hardpoints while the other two at the back; below the ship.
The Type-9 shares the worst maneuverability in the game with the Type-10 Defender, and also has one of the lowest base speeds. Combined with its large size the ship has extreme difficulty in shaking smaller ships from its blind spot and evading enemy fire (using a Fighter Hangar could help mitigate this). It has five weapon hardpoints to defend itself. Equipped with medium sized turrets, they can force enemy ships to operate with caution and give the Type-9 a chance to escape. Unlike its lower-tier options in the Type-6 and Type-7 the ship is better at defending itself and can often take care of small and medium ships making trading far less risky and often more profitable as it can often deal with the incoming enemy events, gaining bigger payouts. However, the low maneuverability makes avoiding interdictions almost impossible, so keep in mind you'll often be forced to fight incoming ships, which can be problematic for time-sensitive missions; or for simply maximizing profit per hour. It also makes normal supply mission a death sentence, since you will be unable to dodge the incoming powerful foes, and they can easily defeat a T-9.
As a trading ship, the T-9 has the second best cargo capacity behind only the Imperial Cutter. However, this is only a difference of 4T of cargo. Furthermore, the T-9 can downgrade to a class 5 Shield Generator, while the cutter can only equip a minimum of class 6. Thus if wishing to trade with a shield, the T-9 has the best cargo space in the game. Because of the Cutter's very high repair and rebuy prices and the Type-9's interdiction vulnerability, going shieldless in either case is not recommended.
The Type-9 has actually seen some niche use as a combat vessel. Although its low number of hardpoints makes its offensive damage lacking; when engineered and turreted they can deal decent damage. The biggest advantage the ship has is its dual Class 8 compartments which allow both a max level Shield Generator and Shield Cell Bank; which can often make taking the ship down difficult without engineering. However, while this is possible on paper the issue is that having both cell banks and a shield generator; along with Shield Boosters is rather difficult with the ship's Power Plant. Engineering or a Guardian Hybrid Power Plant, as well as power management, are mandatory for this strategy to function. Because of the low number of hardpoints and low speed, the weapons and engines will draw less power, meaning there is more power for systems. Furthermore, this makes it advisable to upgrade the system's capacity with engineering for the power distributor.
Its four utility slots are good for Shield Boosters and can help with a lower grade of shield. Chaff Launchers are not advisable, as the ship is often too large and slow of a target for them to be effective. Point-Defence Turrets also don't work too well as the large body will cut off half of the turrets range and the low maneuverability will make it impossible to face the turret in the right direction in time; thus an ECM would be a better fit for the T-9.
Another upside is its low cost means NPC pirates will generally fly similarly priced ships, usually flying Cobras or Vipers and will rarely fly Fer-de-Lances or Alliance Chieftains etc; which can all be outclassed unless upgraded by the Type-9. In open play this strategy also functions well as few players would expect a heavy freighter to exhibit offensive powers, they can be given a nasty shock if they were expecting an easy mark. It doesn't function well as a bounty hunter or Pirate, however, as its poor maneuverability and speed make interdictions difficult to perform, as well as its slow speed making it very difficult to catch up to ships.
Many pilots have problems fitting through the entrance of Stations while they're first getting used to the Type-9, and it can, therefore, be expensive for a new pilot to get used to. A Standard Docking Computer can be useful for players who have trouble docking this ship, and it will usually dock the ship no slower than a normal player can, unlike other ships. It will also prevent Bounties/Fines from hitting other ships, which is quite hard to avoid in a T-9 even for veterans. It should also be noted that the Type-9 Heavy has better maneuverability when stopped; even though it isn't very useful in combat, it's handy for docking.
The Type-9 first appeared in the development diary videos and in some of the live streams done by Frontier. Later it appeared in the early Alpha stages and is one of the four ships that were in the first release of the Premium Beta.
On December 20, 3303, Lakon Spaceways released a revised model of the Type-9 known as the Type-10 Defender, which was commissioned by the Alliance to help counter the Thargoid threat. The Type-10 improves upon the Type-9's features by adding various combat-oriented improvements while sacrificing some cargo capacity.
Purchase Locations
| System | Station | Date Seen | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shinrarta Dezhra | Jameson Memorial | Always available | 10% discount, Founders Permit needed |
| Brestla | i Sola Prospect | Always available | 20% surcharge |
| Oduduro | Conrad Hub | May 10, 2018 | 15% discount |
| KP Tauri | Spedding Orbital | Mar. 13, 2018 | 15% discount |
| Caerus | Popov Hub | Mar. 13, 2018 | 15% discount |
| Ki | Binet Port | Mar. 13, 2018 | 15% discount |
| Wolf 406 | Hamilton Gateway | Mar. 12, 2018 | |
| Barnard's Star | Miller Depot | Mar. 13, 2018 | |
| Luyten's Star | Ashby City | Mar. 13, 2018 | |
| Huokang | Steiner City | Mar. 13, 2018 | |
| Ao Guang | H.G. Wells Plant | Mar. 13, 2018 | |
| Beta Trianguli Australis | Lunan Hub | Mar. 13, 2018 | |
| BD-15 447 | Good Enterprise | Mar. 16, 2018 | 15% Discount |
| Guathiti | Messier Port | Apr. 04, 2018 |
Outfitting
- Main article: Outfitting
All ships are highly customisable through the Outfitting menu of Station Services. Listed below is the default load-out for the Type-9 Heavy.
| Category | Default System | Default Rating | Default Class | Max Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small Hardpoint | Empty | -- | -- | 1 |
| Empty | -- | -- | 1 | |
| Medium Hardpoint | Empty | -- | -- | 2 |
| Pulse Laser (L) | F | 1 | 2 | |
| Pulse Laser (L) | F | 1 | 2 | |
| Utility Mount | Empty | -- | -- | 0 |
| Empty | -- | -- | 0 | |
| Empty | -- | -- | 0 | |
| Empty | -- | -- | 0 | |
| Bulkheads | Lightweight Alloys | I | 1 | 8 |
| Reactor Bay | Power Plant | E | 6 | 6 |
| Thrusters Mounting | Thrusters | E | 7 | 7 |
| Frame Shift Drive Housing | Frame Shift Drive | E | 6 | 6 |
| Environment Control | Life Support | E | 5 | 5 |
| Power Coupling | Power Distributor | E | 6 | 6 |
| Sensor Suite | Sensors | E | 4 | 4 |
| Fuel Store | Fuel Tank [x64] | C | 6 | 6 |
| Internal Compartments | Cargo Rack [x128] | E | 7 | 8 |
| Cargo Rack [x128] | E | 7 | 8 | |
| Cargo Rack [x64] | E | 6 | 7 | |
| Shield Generator | E | 6 | 6 | |
| Cargo Rack [x16] | E | 4 | 5 | |
| Cargo Rack [x8] | E | 3 | 4 | |
| Empty | -- | -- | 4 | |
| Cargo Rack [x4] | E | 2 | 3 | |
| Empty | -- | -- | 3 | |
| BDS | E | 1 | 2 |
- (L) = Loaned
- [x#] = Capacity
- BDS = Basic Discovery Scanner
Trivia
- The Type-9 Heavy length and width (117.4m, 115.3m) is comparable to the International Space Station.[1]
Videos
Gallery
References
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| NPC-only |
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| Ships marked with H can only be purchased and operated by players who pre-ordered Horizons. | |||||||||||||||||||||