I don't believe there is a valent maud, or your combat level isn't high enough, you probably have it confused with the corvus maud.

there is a valent maud, and I'm pretty sure I've seen Chao in it. My hunch is that it require combat 8 though

Ugh... I think I remember Chao saying it required Trade 13; if it also requires Combat 8... just ugh. I mean, 56 cu is great and all, but not *that* great, IMO.

It exists, I fly one, as Shape and many others have witnessed. I even have a screenshot where I duel n00b with 56 luxury goods of cargo. These licence requirements are simply insane. And it's a catch-22, you need a good trade ship to get trade levels to get a good trade ship to get good trade levels to get...

Thx for the input guys. Chao, have you any idea as to why I am not able to purchase or "see" the valent maud?

scorp, have you checked all the valent stations, i dont think it's availible at all of them. Also, after you reached trade 13, did you undock and redock to update the station lists?

don't forget combat

Why do you need 'combat' and 'heavy weapons' experience in order to get items/ships that are only related to trade?

I don't have one but I *doubt that level 5 piloting license is close enough. You probably need level 8 if not 9.

I'm having this frustration with other factions as well. I've got trade 8 and +600 TPG and +700 Axia but I don't see any Marauders, nor even the TPG Atlases. What reasoning can there be for keeping these requirements secret?

wylfing: it's not that they're secret, it just that someone that knows hasn't posted the information.

ananzi: The Maud is not only related to trade. It is also, imho, the second best fighting ship in the game.

RelayeR: Yes, they are a secret. The game hides requirements until (a) you cross a faction threshold and (b) are within one license level for all of the license requirements. I can't think of a single good reason to hide information this way.

why do you need combat to fly a trade ship?

Because it's a bad idea to give easy targets a butt load of valuables to haul around. can you say pirate fodder?

i have heard the purpose of not-showing everything all at once is to provide for surprises

RelayeR when the cargo ship that has the most cargo capacity is also the best fighting ship, there is something wrong with ship design and balance. But I am not just talking about the maurauder, i also mean batteries, and mines.

The idea that witholding level requirements creates "surprises" is entirely mistaken. It creates frustration. Everyone already knows what ship types exist.

Now for a bit of data:

TPG Atlases require +700 faction (at least for non-UIT).

TPG Marauder requires +700 faction (for non-UIT) and combat level 4. It doesn't look like there are any trade level requirements.

"Everyone already knows what ship types exist"

i dont agree. when i am flying through space sometimes i see weird ships i had never heard of, like corvus specials. several of the websites with 'ship lists' do not list every variation. recently there was a thread about 'all the maurauders in the game', which left out some of the maurauders in the game. and people are not sure what levels they require.

i dont see how one can deny the 'surprise/mystery' factor this brings to the game. however i would like to see some of the 'frustration' eased, like maybe Hints from the factions about what you need to do , a whisper, 'get a few more combat licenses and weve got something special for you'.

I'm pretty sure the TPG Marauder requires Trade license 8, as well as combat license 4. Not 100% positive, but pretty sure.

ananzi: I can see keeping some ships "secret," like Corvus varieties and maybe a few others. But it makes no sense to keep license requirements for, say, the standard Valkyrie a secret.

In Progress says new ship varieties are coming, too, so this might become an even more frustrating issue. Actually, the more I think about it, 99% of the problem would go away if the requirements were still visible after you've met them (as others have already pointed out). That way, veterans could at least give advice instead of guessing.

TPG Atlases require +700 faction (at least for non-UIT).

TPG Marauder requires +700 faction (for non-UIT) and combat level 4. It doesn't look like there are any trade level requirements.

nope, 650.

I have both and my TGP is only 656.

Thanks for the correction to +650. The TPG Marauder almost certainly has Trade 8 requirement, too.

The Axia Marauder seems to need 7/-/-/8/- and +600 standing.