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Star Citizen features numerous manufacturers of ships, weapons, armor, and vehicles. Drake Interplanetary is a manufacturer that designs, creates, and distributes its own ships within the Star Citizen universe. Drake's unconventional design allows the ships to take on a robust design that utilizes cheap materials. This creates a target audience that focuses towards military and pirate usage.

This guide will highlight the best ships created by Drake and how they best function in each of their roles. Drake creates many ships for different activities within the game, each ship here focuses on one of the main careers players can engage with - whether that be bounty hunting or long-range cargo hauling.

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Drake Buccaneer

Star Citizen Drake Buccaneer

The Buccaneer is a light fighter designed and created by Drake to run alongside the Cutlass and Caterpillar crafts. As well as this, its range is purposefully made to support the Herald.

This ship can be maintained with primitive resources and is cheap to restock and refuel due to the purposeful design by the creators.

The pilot has access to a size 4 Gatling, 2 size 3 repeaters, and 2 size 1 ballistics. These weapons alone give the Buccaneer the capability to take on ships larger than itself, especially when piloted by experienced players.

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The Buccaneer also comes equipped with 4 size 2 rattler missiles allowing for combat engagement at a slightly longer range.

The design here is unique but does translate the Drake design language well with references to the Cutlass seen throughout the fuselage.

Drake Caterpillar

Star Citizen Caterpillar

The Caterpillar is widely regarded as one of the best Cargo ships in Star Citizen. With a cargo hold of 576 SCU, only the C2 Hercules is better in total storage of all the ships available.

However, the Caterpillar also excels in its defensive capabilities with 2 size 6 turret mounts and additional pilot weapons. These are purely a defensive measure, as the Caterpillar should not be used to take on high-level targets.

This is more than enough firepower to fend off pirates and criminals alongside its 4 shield generators and strong armor.

As the game develops, the Caterpillar will become a more versatile ship with its modular compartments. These can be used for a range of activities and will be fully changeable with the persistence update in 3.18.

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The unique design of the caterpillar really makes it stand out from other cargo ships, as well as its own Drake line. The standard red color scheme looks awesome but can be changed with a few other options to really personalize the look and feel of the ship.

Drake Cutlass

Star Citizen Drake Cutlass Black

The Cutlass is one of the most iconic ships in Star Citizen. As one of the more expensive starter ships, this craft is capable of almost any career in the game.

Whether it’s mid-level bounty hunting or simple delivery missions the Cutlass can facilitate any mission in the verse.

The Cutlass comes in a few variants. The “Cutlass Red” is the medical model and features built-in medical beds for injured players in the verse. The Blue is the police variant that excels in bounty hunting and mercenary missions. The addition of bounty holds will become more helpful in the future when this feature is implemented. The Steel is a dropship variant that features additional seating for other players.

Finally, the Cutlass Black is the standard model that is a “jack of all trades” and is great for those entering Star Citizen for the first time.The pilot has access to 4 size 2 repeaters as standard that are attached to a size 3 gimbal mount. These can be switched out for size 3 weapons without a gimbal. The Black also comes with a turret for another player to use that really adds to the ship’s firepower.

The Cargo hold found at the rear of the ship and has 46 SCU of space, making it a viable option for trading and cargo hauling alongside other missions.

Drake Corsair

Star Citizen Drake Corsair

The Corsair is one of the newest ships in Star Citizen. Its design has been compared to the Imperial Shuttle from Star Wars due to its folding wings. The Asymmetric design really stands out from other ships in the game and creates a unique feeling when flying.

This ship is extremely versatile. With a large fuel tank, range, firepower, and storage the Corsair has extreme potential that few other ships share - as an exploration ship, these features are essential for its success.

With 72 SCU of cargo, there are plenty of opportunities to make money fast whilst exploring the verse. The weaponry and shields aboard the Corsair give it the opportunity to compete with some of the deadliest craft. This can give players the opportunity to complete Ver-High Risk Target (VHRT) bounties.

The overall design of the internals is incredibly immersive with low-hanging wires and dim lighting to create a dystopian feel.

Drake Vulture

Star Citizen Drake Vulture

The Drake Vulture is another new addition to Star Citizen. In the 3.18 update players will have access to an entirely new gameplay loop… salvaging.

This will allow players to scrap old ship hulls and sell/repurpose the material for a profit. The Vulture is one of two ships in the game that can partake in this new gameplay loop.

Although the ship can be piloted alone, it does help to have another player in the cargo hold managing the material salvaged from the dead ships.

For those looking to make the most out of the Vulture. It is best to target the areas that are most well-known for space combat. This is where there will be a high volume of destroyed ships ready for salvage.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the most profitable way to make money in Star Citizen, however, it is an exciting new way to experience the game and take a break from the standardized mission template.

Star Citizen is available on PC.

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