OUT TO THE BLACK

Asteroids drift through every part of the galaxy. There are hundreds of them at any moment, ranging from tiny chunks the size of your ship to massive tier-11 monoliths the size of a Concordium command station. Every asteroid is mineable. Every asteroid contains both materials (used for building structures) and fuel (used for engines and shields).

To mine an asteroid: cycle your weapon to the mining laser (W until you see the green beam icon), point your ship at the rock, and hold fire (Space). The beam latches on. Materials and fuel drops fly into your hold automatically as long as you maintain the beam.

Larger asteroids hold more resources, both per hit and in total. A tier-1 (smallest, ~10 unit radius) yields a few units of each resource and depletes quickly. A tier-11 (largest, 160 unit radius) yields hundreds of units and takes a real session of work to strip. The economy rewards going after big rocks — but big rocks attract more attention.

Asteroids come in 11 size tiers, from 1 (smallest) to 11 (largest). The tier determines mining yield, structural mass (which affects collision damage), and how many structures can be built on it.

• Tier 1–2 (radius 10–25) — "Pebbles." Mineable but low yield. Found everywhere. Good for quick fuel top-offs.
• Tier 3–4 (radius 40–55) — "Stones." The bread-and-butter mining target. Decent yield, low collision risk.
• Tier 5–6 (radius 70–85) — "Boulders." High-value mining targets. Buildable (5 structures max on tier-5; 6 on tier-6).
• Tier 7–8 (radius 100–115) — "Cores." The most desirable real estate in the galaxy. Big yield, lots of structure slots, expensive to defend.
• Tier 9–11 (radius 130–160) — "Behemoths." Faction monuments. A claimed tier-11 with the maximum 11 structures is a fortress.

Mass scales with tier. A tier-1 has a mass between 50 and 150 units; a tier-11 has 51,200 to 153,600 units. Remember the collision formula from the combat page: damage = mass × relative speed. Big asteroids hurt big.

The HUD shows a white-outlined arrow pointing toward the largest unclaimed tier-5+ asteroid in your view. This is your "best target" indicator. Follow the arrow when you're looking for high-value mining or buildable real estate.

The mining laser produces two resource types, both dropped as floating items the moment they leave the rock:

• Materials. Used to construct structures (ANTI-AIR turrets and the planned BASE/MINE/FACTORY/FENCE/SHIELD types). Stored in your ship's cargo hold up to the Storage stat cap. Persistent across deaths in your bank, but the 50% on your ship at death-time drops.
• Fuel. Used for engines AND shield regeneration. Your fuel tank capacity scales with the Fuel stat. Fuel is what keeps you alive in combat — see the combat page for the fuel/shield mechanic.

The split between materials and fuel from a single mining laser pass is roughly even, though it varies by asteroid. A productive mining circuit refills your fuel tank as a free side-effect of stocking up on building supplies. You don't have to choose between fighting-ready and building-ready — mining does both at once.

Pro tip: Always mine before disengaging from a contested area. Even a single second of laser contact on a tier-1 rock can drop enough fuel to keep your shields online for the trip home.

The harpoon attaches to asteroids the same way it attaches to ships. The rope tensions; the asteroid follows. You can tow rocks of any tier, though the bigger ones drag harder and burn more fuel to move.

Why would you tow an asteroid? Three reasons:

• Mining in safety. Tow a tier-5 asteroid out of a contested area into your faction's home sector before mining. The rock keeps its full yield; you mine in peace.
• Build-site positioning. The asteroid you want to build on isn't always where you want your base. Tow it into formation with your other claimed rocks.
• Offensive ramming. A heavy tier-8+ rock under tension is a battering ram. Drag it through enemy formations or into enemy structures. Damage scales with the asteroid's mass and your towing speed.

Towing is a commitment. While the rope is connected, your weapon slot is locked to harpoon — you can't fire bullets or use the mining laser. Enemies who notice you towing will close. Don't tow through dangerous space without backup.

Large unclaimed asteroids can fragment when hit hard enough — by bullets, by mining laser drilling, or by collision. A tier-5 asteroid that fragments breaks into 2-3 tier-3 chunks; a tier-8 might break into several tier-6 pieces; a tier-11 can produce a debris field of large chunks scattered across the engagement area.

Fragmentation is mostly a hazard during combat. A bullet stream meant for an enemy that hits a passing tier-7 rock can shatter it into a cloud of fast-moving tier-5 pieces, and those pieces will then collide with everything nearby. Skilled pilots use this as a battlefield-shaping tool — a well-timed shot into a passing big rock can wreck a chasing fleet.

Claimed asteroids are immune to fragmentation. Once an asteroid is claimed (by you or any faction), it stays intact regardless of damage. This is one of the strategic reasons to claim mid-tier asteroids: they become reliable cover and reliable structure platforms that an attacker can't simply blast apart.

Your HUD displays multiple direction arrows. The most useful for mining is the white-outlined arrow — it points toward the largest unclaimed tier-5+ asteroid currently in your view range. Follow it for high-value mining or for prime build real estate.

The arrow updates in real time as you move and as other players claim rocks. If the arrow disappears, there are no tier-5+ unclaimed asteroids in range. Either move to a new area or settle for a smaller target.

Other HUD arrows include:

• Gold ring — the hit-list target's position (see combat).
• Faction-colored markers — teammates and known enemies.
• Galaxy map (minimap) — a wide-angle view of nearby ships, asteroids, structures, and gravity events.

Mining isn't passive farming. It's an active activity with risk-reward tradeoffs. A few patterns experienced miners follow:

• Circuit mining. Identify 4-6 mid-tier asteroids in your home sector. Mine each one in turn, never lingering. The rotation lets shields rebuild during transit and makes you a harder target to predict.
• Crowd-source the best rocks. Follow the white-outlined arrow into the contested middle of the galaxy. Risk death; reap full tier-7+ yields.
• Strip-mine at events. During Blood Moon Purge or 3x-gravity storms, hostile traffic concentrates in specific regions. The opposite regions become temporarily quiet — and full of asteroids. Use the chaos as cover for fast mining runs.
• Bank materials in structures. Once the BASE structure ships (planned), materials in storage will be safer than materials on your ship. For now, hoard structures by building them — each one is materials you can't lose to death.

The leaderboard rewards combat XP heavily, but the players who sustain top-10 rankings are usually the ones who balance combat with steady economic income. A pilot who only fights gets rich slowly and dies expensively. A pilot who only mines never climbs. The hybrid is where the money is.

• Building & Claiming — what you do with all those materials
• Combat — the fuel/shield mechanic that makes mining a survival tool, not just an economic one
• Galaxy Events — how gravity cycles change which asteroids you can reach safely
• Survival Tips