Every battle leaves wreckage behind. Destroyed ships turn into a debris field that floats above the planet where the fight took place. With the Reclaimer and the mission Salvage you can collect this scrap and bring it home as resources - whether you won the battle, lost it or only watched.
How debris is created
- When ships are destroyed in combat, 30 percent of their ferrite and crystal cost becomes debris. Helion is not recovered.
- Destroyed ships of both sides count, attacker and defender alike.
- Destroyed defenses leave no debris.
- Example: a lost Warden Frigate costs 20,000 ferrite and 7,000 crystal and leaves 6,000 ferrite and 2,100 crystal behind.
- Several battles at the same planet add up their debris in one field.
The field is shown in the star system, on the galaxy map and on the planet page. The battle report also lists the debris each battle created.
How long a field lasts
A debris field disappears 72 hours after the last battle that added to it, at base speed. On faster universes the time is shorter, because it scales with the universe speed. Each new battle at the same place starts the countdown again. The remaining time is shown next to the amount, so you can see how urgent a salvage run is.
The Reclaimer
Only the Reclaimer can collect debris. It needs Shipyard 4 plus the research levels Drift Drive 6 and Deflector Theory 2, and costs 10,000 ferrite, 6,000 crystal and 2,000 helion.
- A Reclaimer holds 20,000 resources. Cargo Logistics raises that by 5 percent per level.
- It is the slowest ship in the game, so plan for long flights. See Fleets.
- A salvage fleet needs at least one Reclaimer and starts with an empty hold. Other ships may fly along as escorts, but only the Reclaimers' hold counts for the scrap.
How salvage works
Send your Reclaimers to a planet with a debris field and choose Salvage.
- When the fleet arrives, it collects as much as its Reclaimers can carry. If the field is larger, ferrite and crystal are taken in proportion and the rest stays in the field.
- First come, first served. The fleet that arrives first takes its share, and a later fleet may find nothing left and fly home empty.
- If the field decays before your fleet arrives, the trip is in vain.
- You receive a salvage report, and the fleet brings the scrap home.
Salvage is not hostile. You can clear fields above any planet, including your own and those of your allies, and it is allowed even under new player protection.
Tips
- Send Reclaimers soon after a big battle. Whoever arrives first takes the scrap.
- After defending your planet, salvage the debris above it - part of the attacker's fleet becomes your resources.
- Compare the field with your hold first. One Reclaimer carries 20,000, so small fields need only one.
- Escorts add no salvage capacity, so a fleet of Reclaimers alone is usually all you need.