Hermes

Large capacity, fast pace, high endurance; the Hermes redefines Medium Freight for our increasingly fractured universe. True to form, RSI delivers opportunities for new endeavors with this small-crew, large-payoff hauler. Whatever it takes, wherever it takes you, the Hermes gets it done.

We asked the Vehicle and Gameplay teams a few questions about this new RSI medium hauler. Here are the answers, straight from the devs themselves.

While the Hermes is designated as Medium Freight, the term Blockade Runner has been used throughout its development. What does that mean?

A Blockade Runner is a cargo ship used to circumvent enemy forces surrounding a port or other heavily defended location. This suits the Hermes well, as it has a large cargo capacity, powerful main thrusters, and improved hull health and armor, making it ideal for safely transporting payloads to dangerous places.

With 288 SCU, how does its cargo capacity stack up against other medium haulers? What are its direct competitors, and what sets the Hermes apart?

It sets itself apart from other Medium Freighters, such as the Argo RAFT and MISC Hull B, as its cargo is stored internally rather than externally. Compared to the RSI Constellation Taurus and MISC Starlancer MAX, it provides much more capacity despite being physically shorter.

Where could the Hermes fit into an individual or group fleet?

Capable of carrying any standard cargo crate size from 1-32 SCU, the Hermes allows players to accept a wide range of hauling missions, either solo or part of a group. The size of the cargo hold also allows it to carry a wide range of non-standardised cargo easily, such as vehicles or mission rewards, that are awkward to pack into other ships, such as Valakkar fangs.

How does the Hermes compare to the Apollo in terms of performance and handling, and will Apollo paints be compatible with the Hermes?

Compared to the Apollo, the Hermes gains additional hull health, as well as higher SCM and NAV speeds, at the expense of lower accelerations.

Manoeuvrability is improved compared to the Apollo Triage, allowing for easier manoeuvres around stations and landing zones.

The Hermes is a separate chassis rather than an Apollo variant, so paints are not compatible between them.

What's the maximum container size you can fit into the interior cargo?

The Hermes is designed around 32 SCU containers, which can be loaded and stored inside it.

Does the cargo bay support standard containers only, or can it handle vehicles too?

Players are free to park any vehicle that fits through the rear ramp, which includes most vehicles up to and including the Tumbril Cyclone series.

What drove the design philosophy of the Hermes, and the short and wide cargo hold, compared to other haulers?

The design of the cargo bay is a function of the ship’s shape and the desire to keep the cargo bay metrics to standard SCU volumes, rather than min-maxing all the available space. Some older ships have taller cargo grids, but feedback from players has been that these are a challenge to manage, so for the Hermes, we tried to avoid that.

When the Hermes is fully loaded with cargo, do players still have clear access to components for Engineering gameplay?

Yes, the components are easily accessible throughout the ship, even when fully loaded, due to the remaining central floorspace in the main cargo grid. Of course, players can place additional unsecured cargo in that area, with the downside of impeding flow through the ship.

How does the tractor beam on rails work? Is it similar to the Scorpius’ turret?

Like the Scorpius' rail system, the tractor beam has two dedicated positions that players can move between.

Can the pilot handle all cargo operations solo, including controlling the tractor beam, or does efficient loading require a dedicated co-pilot?

The Hermes is fully soloable as you can fly and land the ship from the pilot seat, then jump over to either the co-pilot seat or the dedicated station in the rear of the ship, where you can control the tractor beam. Allowing you to move cargo back and forth until the job is complete, then setting off to the next job. With that said, things can be easier with a second player to aid you.

What's the Hermes' ability to fight back when intercepted during a cargo run?

The Hermes is not a dogfighter, its maneuverability doesn’t grant it that ability easily, but anyone caught in front of it will have to deal with four Size 4 guns firing at them - two from the pilot and two from the (optionally slaved) remote turret.