Star Citizen Corsair Guide: Crew, Cargo, Weapons & Price

The Drake Corsair is a large expedition ship that combines heavy forward weapons with 72 SCU of cargo space, vehicle transport, crew habitation, and enough range for extended travel.

In Alpha 4.10, its strongest use is not a specialized exploration mechanic. The Corsair works best as a large PvE-oriented multi-role ship for players who want to move between ship combat, bunker missions, surface operations, cargo recovery, and longer trips without changing vessels. Its main compromises are equally clear: slow rotational handling, heavy dependence on keeping targets ahead of the ship, and a patch-dependent co-pilot weapon arrangement that remains awkward in multi-crew combat.

Corsair Specs in Alpha 4.10

SpecificationCurrent Alpha 4.10
Manufacturer	Drake Interplanetary
Role	Expedition
Cargo	72 SCU
Maximum cargo container	32 SCU
Crew stations	4
Beds	4
Stock forward guns	4 × S4 M6A + 2 × S5 M7A
Defensive turrets	2 manned + 1 remote, each with 2 × S2 guns
Stock missiles	8 × S3 Arrester III
Shield	1 × S3
SCM speed	190 m/s
NAV speed	1,025 m/s
Quantum fuel	8.10 SCU
In-game purchase price	6,224,400 aUEC
Rental price	155,610 aUEC
RSI standalone price reference	$250

Current Alpha 4.10 game data supports the Corsair's 72 SCU cargo grid, four crew stations, four beds, 190 m/s SCM speed, 1,025 m/s NAV speed, and 8.10 SCU quantum-fuel capacity. Its secured cargo grid can accept containers up to 32 SCU.

What the Corsair Is Good At

Drake classifies the Corsair as an expedition ship, but its current value comes from combining several practical capabilities rather than dominating one exploration loop.

The rear hold carries cargo, mission equipment, or a ground vehicle. The ship has living space for a four-person crew. Its forward weapons give it considerably more direct offensive capability than most players expect from an explorer, while its range and interior make it suitable for sessions that involve several locations or mission types.

That combination makes the Corsair particularly useful for PvE contracts followed by ground content. A player can fight on the way to an objective, land near a bunker or surface facility, deploy a vehicle, store FPS equipment aboard, recover cargo or loot, and continue to another destination without returning immediately to a station.

It is much less convincing when judged as a dedicated hauler or dogfighter. The Corsair carries useful freight, but 72 SCU is not enough to make cargo its primary economic advantage. Its weapons are heavy, but the hull does not have the agility to chase small fighters effectively.

Weapons and Combat Capability

The Corsair's defining combat feature is its forward battery.

The stock Alpha 4.10 configuration contains four Size 4 M6A laser cannons and two Size 5 M7A laser cannons facing forward. It also carries eight Size 3 Arrester III missiles.

Defensive coverage comes from two manned side turrets and one remote rear turret, each equipped with two Size 2 Badger repeaters.

That layout strongly favors targets the Corsair can keep ahead of the cockpit. Large NPC ships, slower opponents, and targets approaching through predictable vectors allow the pilot to bring substantial forward damage onto one point. The situation deteriorates against agile ships that repeatedly leave the firing arc.

Current data lists rotational limits of approximately 26 degrees per second of pitch and 20 degrees per second of yaw before boost. A light fighter that stays off the Corsair's nose can therefore force the larger ship to spend much of an engagement trying to reacquire the target.

The Corsair is consequently better at creating damaging firing windows than maintaining constant pressure on anything around it.

Current Co-Pilot Weapon Behavior

The Corsair's physical weapon layout should be separated from who currently controls those weapons.

CIG's original 2019 Corsair Q&A stated that the pilot controlled all six forward weapons by default, while leaving open the possibility of delegating them to another station in the future. That source is useful for the ship's original design intent, but it should not be treated as a current Alpha 4.10 control specification.

Current community observations describe different behavior when the co-pilot station is occupied. A June 2026 Corsair discussion reports that the lower pair of forward Size 4 guns can move from pilot control to the co-pilot, while the same seat is also involved with the rear remote turret. Players in that discussion describe a conflict where using the co-pilot for the turret does not simply return those forward guns to the pilot.

This is player-reported Live behavior rather than a current official CIG specification. It should therefore be treated as patch-dependent and may change again.

The practical consequence is more important than the historical configuration: adding a player to the co-pilot seat does not currently guarantee a cleaner or stronger combat workflow. A second crewmember may contribute more by handling engineering, repairs, mission coordination, cargo, or ground operations unless the crew specifically wants to work around the current cockpit weapon assignment.

Defense and the Alpha 4.10 Cooler Issue

The Corsair currently uses one Size 3 shield generator. Combined with the ship's limited rotational speed, this reinforces a combat style built around choosing firing angles and controlling engagements rather than remaining exposed while trying to turn with faster attackers.

In PvE, predictable target movement often gives the Corsair enough time to keep heavier ships inside its forward arc. PvP is less forgiving. A faster opponent that reaches the Corsair's flanks or rear reduces the value of the main battery and can force the pilot into a prolonged attempt to bring the nose back onto target.

Alpha 4.10 also has a Corsair-specific known issue that should not be mistaken for intended ship balance.

RSI's current Star Citizen Alpha 4.10 Known Issues page states that the Corsair's coolers may be more flammable than intended. This is a documented bug affecting current engineering gameplay, not evidence that unusually fragile coolers are a deliberate Corsair characteristic.

Cargo and Vehicle Transport

The Corsair has 72 SCU of secured cargo capacity, with support for containers up to 32 SCU.

That is enough for mission freight, supplies, recovered cargo, loot, and moderate trading, but cargo is only one use for the rear bay. The same physical space can also carry a ground vehicle.

CIG's original Corsair Q&A described this as a cargo-space-versus-vehicle-storage trade-off. That is the safer way to understand the bay than assuming a vehicle simply subtracts a predictable number of SCU while leaving the rest of the 72 SCU grid fully usable.

A rover occupies physical space that would otherwise be available for cargo operations. Actual usable combinations depend on the vehicle, container sizes, access space, and whether the crew still needs room to move through the hold.

For bunker and surface missions, that compromise is often worthwhile. The Corsair can land away from hostile defenses, deploy a ground vehicle, carry weapons and armor for the away team, and still provide enough storage for mission items or recovered material.

Players primarily interested in freight should look at cargo-focused alternatives instead. The Corsair's bay is valuable because it supports different missions, not because 72 SCU makes it an especially efficient hauler.

Can You Solo the Corsair?

Yes. The Corsair is currently practical to fly solo, but a solo pilot assumes the workload of a much larger ship.

Community-observed current behavior indicates that with the co-pilot seat unoccupied, the pilot can use the full forward battery. Because that control arrangement has changed before and is not defined by a current CIG specification, it should be considered patch-dependent rather than a permanent Corsair feature.

For routine PvE, travel, bunker support, cargo recovery, and vehicle transport, one player can still use much of what makes the Corsair attractive.

What the solo pilot cannot avoid is workload.

There is nobody else aboard to handle repairs or engineering problems while the pilot remains at the controls. Cargo loading, equipment management, ground missions, navigation, landing, and recovery all fall to the same player. The two manned defensive turrets also remain unused.

A practical crew breakdown is:

• 1 player: workable for PvE, travel, bunkers, vehicle transport, and general mission use.

• 2 players: useful when the second player focuses on engineering, repairs, cargo, or away-team duties; the current co-pilot weapon assignment can make the cockpit combat role awkward.

• 3–4 players: allows the crew to use more turret coverage and distribute ship, engineering, and ground responsibilities.

These are practical gameplay estimates, not official minimum-crew requirements. Current ship data provides four crew stations and four beds.

Living With the Corsair

The Corsair's interior supports the idea of using the ship as a mobile base rather than simply a combat cockpit attached to a cargo bay.

Four beds and dedicated crew spaces make longer multi-player sessions practical, while the rear hold gives the crew somewhere to keep mission equipment, containers, and vehicles. That is useful when a session involves several different activities instead of a repeated station-to-mission loop.

The cost is time and movement. A larger interior means more distance between the cockpit, engineering spaces, exits, and cargo. A solo pilot dealing with a component problem cannot remain in the seat while another player fixes it.

Handling requires similar patience.

At 190 m/s SCM and with relatively slow pitch and yaw rates, the Corsair rewards deliberate approaches. Its large asymmetric wings also make clearance worth watching during landing and departure, particularly before the wings are moved into their landing configuration.

Pilots expecting a large ship that still behaves like a heavy fighter are likely to find the Corsair frustrating. It works better when flown as an expedition vessel with unusually heavy frontal firepower.

Corsair Price and Where to Buy It

In Alpha 4.10, the Corsair is available in game for 6,224,400 aUEC at New Deal in Lorville.

It is also listed for rent from Vantage Rentals in Lorville for 155,610 aUEC.

Renting is a useful way to evaluate this particular ship before spending more than six million aUEC. The specification sheet does not fully communicate how much its rotational speed, wing clearance, interior travel time, and cockpit weapon behavior affect regular use.

The Corsair's standalone RSI price reference is $250, but it is not a permanently available pledge ship. Current acquisition data marks its normal pledge availability as unavailable.

Corsair did temporarily return to the pledge store during Ship Showdown 2956, when CIG made all Top 16 competitors available for the duration of the tournament. That event has ended, so its Ship Showdown availability should not be treated as current store availability.

For third-party inventory, check the listing itself for current price, insurance, and availability rather than using the historical RSI price as a marketplace quote.

View current Corsair availability at LTI Hangar

Who Should Choose the Corsair?

The Corsair is a strong fit for players who want a large ship that can support several kinds of gameplay during the same session.

It makes the most sense for:

• solo or small-group PvE players who prefer engaging medium and larger targets;

• bunker and surface-mission players who want to carry a vehicle and equipment;

• crews that value cargo, habitation, combat, and travel capability in the same hull;

• players comfortable accepting large-ship handling in exchange for heavy forward weapons.

It is a weaker fit for anyone whose main priority is:

• fighting agile ships in PvP;

• maximizing cargo profit per trip;

• minimizing solo operating overhead;

• obtaining a polished co-pilot combat experience in the current patch.

The Constellation Taurus is the more natural direction when cargo and commercial utility matter more. The Constellation Aquila is the closer alternative for players who want an exploration-oriented Constellation. The Starlancer MAX deserves consideration when cargo capacity and long-duration multi-role utility are more important than concentrating so much combat capability into a forward battery.

The Corsair's case in Alpha 4.10 is therefore fairly specific. It is not the best hauler, fighter, or dedicated exploration platform. It is attractive because one hull can cover PvE combat, travel, ground operations, vehicle transport, and moderate cargo work without requiring a capital-scale crew.

If those activities regularly appear in the same play session, the compromises are easier to justify. If one activity dominates everything else you do, a more specialized ship will usually be the better purchase.

FAQ

How much cargo does the Corsair have?

The Corsair has 72 SCU of secured cargo capacity in Alpha 4.10 and can accommodate cargo containers up to 32 SCU. Its rear bay is also used for vehicle transport, so carrying a rover should be treated as a physical cargo-versus-vehicle-space trade-off rather than assuming all 72 SCU remains available alongside it.

How much does the Corsair cost in game?

The Corsair currently costs 6,224,400 aUEC at New Deal in Lorville. It is also listed for rent from Vantage Rentals in Lorville for 155,610 aUEC in Alpha 4.10.

What is the Corsair's RSI price?

The Corsair's standalone RSI price reference is $250. It is a limited-availability pledge ship rather than a permanently stocked item, and current acquisition data does not list it as normally pledge-available.

Is the Corsair an exploration ship or a gunship?

Its official role is expedition, but current gameplay gives it a combat-heavy multi-role identity. Its range, habitation, cargo bay, and vehicle support fit expedition use, while the six heavy forward weapons make PvE combat one of its most immediately useful capabilities.