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Clipper (budget)

5 slot combat ship with 12 hard points.

After deciding to give the new building knowledge/slot limit mode a try, this was a modified version of the second proper ship I built (since I lacked the Titanium to build a non-budget version at the time). It quickly cemented itself as the military arm of my fleet, by the time I reached the early Naonite areas I had four of these (one I gained from retrofitting a repairable wreck), three purely for combat and one kitted out for scouting/scanning sectors but still able to offer support in a combat role.
Despite being a budget version, it was very viable for combat, with one of these and a full price version being able to handle an early pirate shipyard handly. Once upgraded to the full version it remains viable right up to the early Naonite areas.
Both versions include a small section of framework that can be used to upgrade the ship slightly in whatever manner suits you.
Definitely worth upgrading to the full Titanium version as soon as you have the resources spare.