Ships are designed with one or more roles to determine their functionality and potential in the universe. Some roles can have special tools or equipment which is used for careers.
Each ship has a role assigned to it, in the case of the “multi-role” group they often have two to reflect their nature, this role is a clarification of what each ship is designed for. The role gives an overview of what is expected minute by minute, hour by hour for each cycle of play for such ship whereas the trade group rather defines a cycle day by day.
Through in-game customization, the boundaries between these roles can become blurred. For example, you can modify a Gladius to have heavier weapons, better armor, and more durable components to a point, but it will still be a light combat ship, not a medium. While we already see it very competitive in good hands against a base mid-battle ship, it might be safer to consider other mid-battle ship options in several cases.
This is only a small sampling of the roles currently available among Star Citizen's variety of ships and vehicles, and it is not, and will never be, an exhaustive list. Over time, additional roles will be introduced, and existing roles will be expanded and more detailed. For this article, we wanted to provide you with a brief introduction to some of the ways of playing that we want Star Citizen ships and vehicles to offer you.
Additionally, these roles are the starting points for each ship, based on their original design and default equipment. Via the enhancement and customization systems, we hope to provide you with a wide variety of options for players to modify the performance and possibilities of each ship, improve them, whether in the functionality of their intended roles, or in other cases, that they perform well beyond the limits of what the designers of these ships had in mind. Want a modified Hornet for racing? How about a stealthy Buccaneer? While not every ship is as versatile as others, one day we look forward to introducing you to the tools that will allow you to make your ship unique.
Ship roles
Fighters and bombers
Bomber
Heavy Bomber
Stealth Bomber
Corvette
Destroyer
Dropship
Snub Fighter
Light Fighter
- 125a
- Arrow
- Aurora LN
- Aurora MR
- Blade
- Blade (vanduul)
- Defender
- Gladius
- Gladius Valiant
- Hawk
- Khartu-Al
- Mustang Delta
- Pirate Gladius
- Reliant Tana
- Talon
- Talon Shrike
Medium Fighter
- Category:Human ships
- Cutlass Black
- Cutlass Black Best In Show Edition
- Cutlass Black Best in Show 2950 Edition
- F7A Hornet
- F7C Hornet
- F7C Hornet Wildfire
- F7C-M Super Hornet
- F7C-M Super Hornet Heartseeker
- Glaive
- Glaive (vanduul)
- San'tok.yāi
- Scythe
- Scythe (vanduul)
Heavy Fighter
Heavy Combat Fighter
Stealth Fighter
Frigate
Gunship
Heavy Gunship
Transport Gunship
Stealth
Other military uses
Interdiction
Military
Minelayer
Transport Military
Career ships
Heavy Construction
Medium Data
Expedition
- 600i Executive-Edition
- 600i Explorer
- Carrack
- Carrack Best in Show 2950 Edition
- Carrack Expedition
- Constellation Aquila
- Freelancer DUR
- Odyssey
Exploration
Industrial
Prospecting and Mining
Heavy Mining
Passenger
Pathfinder
Racing
Medium Refuel
Heavy Refuelling
Medium Repair
Heavy Repair
Reporting
Light Salvage
Heavy Salvage
Light Science
Heavy Science
First responder and hospitals
Medical
Support - Medical
Transport and cargo
Cargo
Medium Cargo
Light Freight
- 135c
- Aurora CL
- Avenger Titan
- Avenger Titan Renegade
- MPUV Cargo
- Mustang Alpha Vindicator
- Nomad
- Reliant Kore
Medium Freight
- Constellation Andromeda
- Constellation Taurus
- Cutlass Black
- Cutlass Black Best In Show Edition
- Cutlass Black Best in Show 2950 Edition
- Freelancer
- Freelancer MAX
- Hull A
- RAFT
Heavy Freight
Multi-Role - Light Carrier ships
Transport
- Artemis
- C2 Hercules Starlifter
- Caterpillar
- Caterpillar Best In Show Edition
- Caterpillar Pirate Edition
- Mule