1. Early Game Design Principles
Before you have 50,000 credits and max research, your ships must follow three rules:
- Keep it under 15 modules — Small reactors can't handle more, and you can't afford a Medium Reactor yet
- Specialize immediately — Even at the start, a dedicated miner beats a multi-role ship. Build one ship per job
- Mass budget: under 50 tons — Light ships turn faster, accelerate faster, and cost less. Heavy = expensive = dead
2. "Tadpole" — First Mining Ship 🐸
Role: Manual mining, asteroid belt operations. Your first purpose-built ship after the tutorial. Replace the tutorial ship ASAP with this.
| Slot | Module | Mass | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reactor | Small Reactor | 5t | 2,000 |
| Engine | Basic Thruster ×2 | 4t | 1,600 |
| Mining | Mining Laser Mk I | 3t | 1,500 |
| Cargo | Small Cargo Hold | 2t | 800 |
| Cargo | Small Cargo Hold | 2t | 800 |
| Cooling | Basic Radiator ×2 | 4t | 1,200 |
| Defense | Point-Defense Turret | 2t | 1,800 |
| Utility | Basic Scanner | 1t | 600 |
| Structure | Light Hull Frame | 3t | 500 |
| Total: 26t | Cost: ~10,800 credits | |||
Build notes: Place both radiators on opposite sides of the hull, facing outward. The PD turret goes on top for 360° coverage. Cargo holds should be centered for balanced mass. This ship mines efficiently and can survive a single Drone encounter.
3. "Mule" — Budget Hauler 🐴
Role: Transporting ore from mining sites to your refinery. Build this as soon as you have Drill Nodes.
| Slot | Module | Mass | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reactor | Small Reactor | 5t | 2,000 |
| Engine | Basic Thruster ×1 | 2t | 800 |
| Engine | Retro Thruster ×2 | 3t | 1,200 |
| Cargo | Medium Cargo Hold | 5t | 2,000 |
| Cargo | Medium Cargo Hold | 5t | 2,000 |
| Cargo | Small Cargo Hold | 2t | 800 |
| Defense | Point-Defense Turret | 2t | 1,800 |
| Cooling | Basic Radiator | 2t | 600 |
| AI | Basic Hauler AI | 1t | 1,000 |
| Structure | Light Hull Frame | 3t | 500 |
| Total: 30t | Cost: ~12,700 credits | |||
Build notes: Retros are critical — a loaded Mule with 3 cargo holds is heavy and needs stopping power. No mining laser — this ship only transports. Set the Hauler AI route from your Drill Node cluster to your refinery.
4. "Wasp" — Cheap Combat Ship 🐝
Role: Drone defense, Scout interception, light escort. Your first combat-capable ship — build it by hour 8-10 when alien activity increases.
| Slot | Module | Mass | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reactor | Medium Reactor | 10t | 5,000 |
| Engine | Basic Thruster ×3 | 6t | 2,400 |
| Weapon | Plasma Cannon Mk I | 4t | 3,000 |
| Weapon | Plasma Cannon Mk I | 4t | 3,000 |
| Defense | Point-Defense Turret | 2t | 1,800 |
| Defense | Light Shield Generator | 3t | 2,500 |
| Power | Small Capacitor | 2t | 1,500 |
| Cooling | Extended Radiator ×2 | 6t | 2,000 |
| Structure | Reinforced Hull Frame | 5t | 1,200 |
| Total: 42t | Cost: ~22,400 credits | |||
Build notes: The Medium Reactor is worth the cost — it powers both plasma cannons simultaneously without brownout. The capacitor handles burst fire. With 3 thrusters, the Wasp out-turns any enemy in its weight class.
5. "Ant" — Dual-Role Miner/Scout 🐜
Role: Exploration + light mining in unknown territory. When you need to scout a new system but also want to grab any rare ore you find.
| Slot | Module | Mass | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reactor | Small Reactor | 5t | 2,000 |
| Engine | Basic Thruster ×2 | 4t | 1,600 |
| Engine | Retro Thruster ×2 | 3t | 1,200 |
| Mining | Mining Laser Mk I | 3t | 1,500 |
| Cargo | Small Cargo Hold | 2t | 800 |
| Scanner | Advanced Scanner | 2t | 2,000 |
| Cooling | Extended Radiator ×2 | 6t | 2,000 |
| Defense | PD Turret | 2t | 1,800 |
| Structure | Light Hull Frame | 3t | 500 |
| Total: 30t | Cost: ~13,400 credits | |||
6. Upgrade Path for All Three
Once you have 50,000+ credits and Drill Node passive income flowing, upgrade in this order:
- Tadpole → upgrade Mining Laser to Mk II (faster mining = more income)
- Mule → add a second Small Reactor (redundancy for long hauls)
- Wasp → add Missile Pod (now you can kill Scouts before they transmit)
- All ships → upgrade radiators to Extended (cooler = safer)
Ready for more? Mining Ship Builds · Combat Ship Blueprints · Ship Building Masterclass