Introduction

In the X Rebirth Universe, ships comprise a large part of the game. They can Trade, they can Mine and they can also Fight. They are crewed by NPCs and may use drones, with upkeep missions generated to help guide their acquisition. There are a variety of ways to acquire ships.

Stats for ships

Performance statistics presented in the child pages for different ship classes are based on the attached spreadsheet Rebirth_4.00_Ship_Stats_v11.xlsx(updated, 26.03.2016). Capital ship weapon stats used within that spreadsheet are also presented here.

What are Ships?

Ships are spacecraft that players see or use while travelling around the X Universe in their personal ship (currently the Pride of Albion AKA Albion Skunk). Most are specialized in different ways.

Briefly, each ship can fall under one of these categories: Civilian ships, Drones, Small/Medium ships, and Capital ships. Simoon wrote a guide for capital ships for Rebirth v3.00 (link) and although it is a little outdated now (although semi-updated for 3.5), it may be interesting background with that caveat in mind.

Advantages of Small/Medium ships are higher in-zone speed and lower cost, but come with the disadvantages of weaker defences and cargo restriction (although this isn't consistently an issue). Advantages of Large/Extra Large ships typically include sturdier defences, greater storage capacity, shorter travel times between zones/sectors*, and the option of ships that can carry two or all four cargo types. The downsides of using the biggest, strongest ships compared to smaller Large ships include slow overall delivery times** and the potential for all their cargo space not being needed for a given run.

 * Facilitated by point-to-point boosting within a sector, and a Jumpdrive for inter-sector travel.
** Caused by reduced maneuverability and boost speed, as this is a standard multiplier of slower base speeds.

Ship construction materials

Depending on the faction that owns the shipyard, ships are composed of varying collections of wares, and more types are used than for station construction.

Ware	Medium ships			Large / Extra Large ships			TOTAL WARE USES	Total excluding DLCs
	Albion/DV/HoL	Argon	Teladi	Albion/DV/HoL	Argon	Teladi
Energy Cells*	x	x	x	x	x	x	6	4
Fusion Reactors*	x	x	x	x	x	x	6	4
Podkletnov Generators	x	x	x	x	x	x	6	4
Plasma Flow Regulators*				x	x		2	2
Reinforced Metal Plating*	x	x		x	x		4	4
Bio-Optic Wiring*				x			1	1
Food Rations*	x		x	x		x	4	2
Microchips	x		x	x		x	4	2
Scanning Arrays	x		x	x		x	4	2
Bio-Electric Neuron Gel					x		1	1
BoFo		x			x		2	2
EM-Spectrometer		x			x		2	2
Plasma Pumps		x			x		2	2
Teladianium			x			x	2	0
TOTAL WARE TYPES	7	7	7	9	9	7	-	-

* Wares that are also used for station construction.

Supplemental notes:

• The Albion/HoL Sanahar Large trade ship uses Medium ship wares (no PFRs or B-OW). 
• As can be seem above, all Teladi ships uses the Medium ship wares (like the Sanahar).
• The Teladi Overwatch shipyard produces Energy Cells, Podkletnov, and Food Rations.
• While the "Total" columns do not show demand, they hint at the significance of the relatively rare RMP and FRs. 

Ship classification

By Class

Ships are often classified by their "class". Here are the classes currently used:

1. XS
2. S
3. M
4. L
5. XL

Small Ships are always XS/S/M-sized ships while Capital Ships are always L/XL-sized ships. If you're unsure, look at the ship's details to see whether the ship has a jumpdrive (or fuel in its cargo). If Yes, the ship is L/XL; if No the ship is S/M (or lesser). All drones are XS

By Purpose

Ships are specifically designed and can complete the following purposes: (see the ship's Encyclopaedia entry for specialisation, if any)

1. TRADE with stations
2. MINE materials
3. FIGHT hostiles

4. BUILD stations

Some capships are multi-role. Whilst their efficiency may be reduced for their assigned role, other needs (eg defensibility, cargo requirements etc) may suit <player> better for the particular situation

By Availability

Different ships are available to different Star Systems' shipyards. While any suitably-sized dock can /modify/ a ship (eg equip drones or repair), only certain docks can build /specific/ ships. Ship designs are faction-specific.

1. Albion
2. DeVries
3. Omicron Lyrae
4. (DLC: TO) Fields of Opportunity
5. (DLC: HoL) Home of Light

By Appearance

All ships (other than <playership>) may exist as NPC ships and carry out commands designed by the game.

1. Albion
2. DeVries
3. Omicron Lyrae
4. Maelstrom
5. (DLC: TO) sectors
6. (DLC: HoL) sectors

List of Ships Available

(Sorted by Ship Class)

XS Ships

• Construction URV
• Cargolifter URV
• Interceptor URV Mk1
• Interceptor URV Mk2
• Intrepid URV Mk1
• Intrepid URV Mk2
• Overrun URV Mk1
• Overrun URV Mk2
• Assault URV
• Beholder URV
• Traitor URV
• Shield Matrix URV
• And also various Civilian ships (AKA Mass Traffic)

S Ships

• assorted fighters (needs expansion or link)

M Ships

• Gigurum (all 4 variants); used throughout the Universe unless stated otherwise
• Mercancias (all 4 variants); used in DeVries
• Nyanae (all 4 variants); used in Omicron Lyrae
• Toucan (all 4 variants); used in Fields of Opportunity
• Some fighters (needs expansion or link)

L Ships

• Rahanas (all 6 variants)
• Sanahar
• Fedhelm
• Sequana
• Midir
• Onil
• Boann
• Light Sul
• Heavy Sul
• Balor
• Styrvok (all 6 variants)
• Stromvok
• Hermod
• Lepton
• Xenon K

XL Ships

• Construction Vessel
• Scaldis
• Taranis
• Arawn
• Succelleus
• Olmekron
• Fulmekron
• Gangrene Chaser
• Xenon I