The Independent Trader is a neutral Survey-class hostile in Star Trek Fleet Command, a lightly armed civilian ship with no faction of its own. It roams open space in two separate level bands, 39–55 down in the lower systems and 60–71 far out in deep space, and it only ever appears as a Survey hull. It drops Broken Survey Parts, with a little Tritanium and Dilithium at the lowest level. Because a Survey ship barely fights back, almost any warship takes it down.
How to beat the Independent Trader
The Independent Trader only spawns as a Survey ship. Survey hulls sit outside the combat triangle that governs Interceptors, Battleships, and Explorers, and they hit softly, so you do not need a specific counter class here. Any warship you can field will beat one, and an Interceptor usually gets the fastest kill thanks to its speed and accuracy. Nothing changes as you climb the levels except how much health the target has, so there is no hull to swap between fights.
For crew, bring a captain that boosts weapon damage against hostiles and fill the other seats with officers that add damage or survivability. At the low end of the range the classic cadet trio, Cadet Kirk as captain with Cadet Spock and Cadet Uhura, still gets the job done, but by the higher levels you will want stronger picks. Check the Officer Tier List for current recommendations, since the best crews shift with the meta.
Where to find the Independent Trader
The Independent Trader clusters in neutral systems. The lower band, levels 39 to 55, sits in warp 49 to 230 space and spreads across a wide list of systems. The higher band, levels 60 to 71, is far out in deep space at warp 1000 to 1500, in a much smaller set of systems. Match your warp range to the level you want before you set out.
| Level | Warp | Systems |
|---|---|---|
| 39 | 49 | Fect, Grajoel, Halenview, Levie Minu, Livi, Mak’Nino, Nikola, S’Vona, Sileo, Stradania, Tovla, Wyte, Yreva |
| 40 | 49 | Fect, Grajoel, Halenview, Levie Minu, Livi, Mak’Nino, Nikola, S’Vona, Sileo, Stradania, Tovla, Vita Nova, Wyte, Yreva |
| 41 | 49 | Alpha Nerra, Fect, Grajoel, Halenview, Hannlaw, Harrizon, Levie Minu, Livi, Mak’Nino, Nikola, Perralon 472, S’Vona, Sileo, Stradania, Tovla, Vita Nova, Wololo, Wyte, Yreva |
| 42 | 56 | Alpha Nerra, Fect, Glacii, Grajoel, Hannlaw, Harrizon, Laynso, Levie Minu, Mak’Nino, Mayush-yush, Nikola, Perralon 472, S’Vona, Stradania, Vita Nova, Wololo, Wyte, Yreva |
| 43 | 56 | Alpha Nerra, Beta Nerra, Fect, Glacii, Grajoel, Hannlaw, Harrizon, Hilo, Laynso, Levie Minu, Mak’Nino, Mayush-yush, Nikola, Odin, Perralon 472, S’Vona, Stradania, Verin, Vita Nova, Wololo, Wyte, Yreva |
| 44 | 56 | Alpha Nerra, Beta Nerra, Fect, Glacii, Grajoel, Hannlaw, Harrizon, Hilo, LSP-539, Laynso, Levie Minu, Mayush-yush, Nikola, Odin, Perralon 472, S’Vona, Stradania, Verin, Vita Nova, Wololo, Yreva |
| 45 | 70 | Alpha Nerra, Beta Nerra, Ezla, Fect, Ganzin, Glacii, Grajoel, Hannlaw, Harrizon, Hilo, LSP-539, Laynso, Levie Minu, Mayush-yush, Neo’Tek, Odin, Perralon 472, Petandria, Stradania, Toen, Verin, Vita Nova, Wasen, Wololo |
| 46 | 80 | Alpha Nerra, Beta Nerra, Ezla, Ganzin, Glacii, Hannlaw, Harrizon, Hilo, LSP-539, Laynso, Mayush-yush, Neo’Tek, Odin, Perralon 472, Petandria, Toen, Verin, Vita Nova, Wasen, Wololo |
| 47 | 85 | Alpha Nerra, Beta Nerra, Ezla, Ganzin, Glacii, Hannlaw, Harrizon, Hilo, LSP-539, Laynso, Mayush-yush, Neo’Tek, Odin, Perralon 472, Petandria, Reeka, Toen, Unas-Tol, Verin, Wasen, Wololo |
| 48 | 100 | Beta Nerra, Ezla, Ganzin, Glacii, Hilo, LSP-539, Laynso, Mayush-yush, Neo’Tek, Odin, Petandria, Reeka, Toen, Unas-Tol, Verin, Wasen |
| 49 | 110 | Beta Nerra, Demm, Ezla, Ganzin, Glave Gamma, Hilo, LSP-539, Neo’Tek, Odin, Petandria, Reeka, Toen, Unas-Tol, Verin, Wasen |
| 50 | 135 | Demm, Ezla, Ganzin, Glave Gamma, LSP-539, Neo’Tek, Petandria, Reeka, Toen, Unas-Tol, Wasen |
| 51 | 160 | Demm, Ezla, Ganzin, Glave Gamma, Molko, Neo’Tek, Petandria, Reeka, Toen, Unas-Tol, Wasen |
| 52 | 190 | Demm, Glave Gamma, Molko, Reeka, Unas-Tol |
| 53 | 190 | Demm, Glave Gamma, Molko, Reeka, Unas-Tol, W’jeff |
| 54 | 230 | Demm, Glave Gamma, Molko, W’jeff |
| 55 | 230 | Demm, Glave Gamma, Molko, Tiefurt, W’jeff |
| 60 | 1000 | Oconel, Orkan Alpha |
| 61–62 | 1000 | Laochra, Oconel, Orkan Alpha |
| 63–64 | 1000 | Curadh, Laochra, Oconel, Orkan Alpha |
| 65 | 1000 | Curadh, Krayn, Laochra, Oconel, Orkan Alpha |
| 66 | 1200 | Curadh, Krayn, Laochra |
| 67 | 1200 | Cliann, Curadh, Krayn, Laochra, Sepenthe |
| 68–69 | 1300 | Cliann, Curadh, Krayn, Sepenthe |
| 70–71 | 1500 | Cliann, Krayn, Sepenthe |
Rewards and what it drops
The Independent Trader is a survey-parts farm. It drops Broken Survey Parts, and the star tier scales with the level band: 4-star parts across levels 39 to 51, 5-star at 52 to 55, and 6-star from 60 to 71. At level 39 it also gives small amounts of Tritanium and Dilithium. Ship XP climbs steeply with level, so higher targets are the better choice if you are leveling a ship.
| Drop | What it is |
|---|---|
| 4★ Broken Survey Parts | Ship-part resource at the 4-star tier, dropped across levels 39 to 51 |
| 5★ Broken Survey Parts | The 5-star tier of the same part resource, dropped at levels 52 to 55 |
| 6★ Broken Survey Parts | The 6-star tier, dropped at the deep-space levels 60 to 71 |
| Tritanium | Common building material, dropped at level 39 |
| Dilithium | Upgrade currency used across the game, dropped at level 39 |
Independent Trader stats
Stats vary a little by spawn and climb steeply with level, so the jump from the low band to the deep-space levels is enormous. These three rows anchor the low, mid, and high ends of the range.
| Level | Total strength | Hull HP | Shield HP | Attack | Defense | Ship XP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 39 | 911,442 | 230,100 | 230,100 | 210,118 | 471,225 | 1,101 |
| 53 | 21,167,833 | 12,119,571 | 12,119,571 | 4,888,792 | 4,159,470 | 3,214 |
| 71 | 32,083,691,282 | 25,025,667,470 | 16,683,778,310 | 6,273,660,237 | 4,955,308,155 | 57,000 |
Independent Trader firing pattern
The Independent Trader carries a single Energy weapon that fires every round, so its damage is steady rather than spiky. There is no heavy volley to time your mitigation around; just repair through the chip damage on the longer fights at higher levels.
| Weapon type | Count | Damage per shot | Fires | Crit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 1 | 134,937–164,923 | Every round | 10% (1.5x) |
Is the Independent Trader worth grinding?
It is worth it if you need Broken Survey Parts or want easy ship XP. As a Survey target it fights back weakly, so it is a low-risk grind you can run with almost any ship. The one thing to get right is warp: the low band is close to home, but the 60 to 71 spawns sit at warp 1000 and up. Match your warp range, bring a warship, and it goes down fast.