New to the game? Learn how to be a profitable asset without dying 1000 times. Yes, this guide DOES contain spoilers.
Choosing a Class and Delegating Tasks
While you can go “balls to the walls” during your play-through and all go into the building blind to get loot, this isnt the best idea. Not only do you open yourself up to being blind to monsters and potentially missing loot, but if everyone dies in the building: you just lost all your loot and a day (or more)s worth of work. This is generally why players will take on various roles in order to maximize success.
Mission control
This player is the eyes of your operation as they usually wont leave the ship and will be parked at the terminal/camera for the duration of your stay on the moon. They can see everything within a certain radius of your general location and also spot loot, monsters, vents, turrets, and mines before other players can. They also have the ability to temporarily disable turrets and open/close doors using the ships terminal. Given this player is your lifeline of information, making walkie talkies a priority is important as to maintain this line of communication given this is how they will be communicating with you. In the later portions of the game you also want to invest in a radar extender which will act as another player and allow mission control to look wherever it is placed much like you would a normal player. This is how mission control is able to determine if there are monsters camping around the buildings main entrance or see additional threats outside the ship.
The things on camera look as follows:
- Blue dots/triangles are your team mates
- Greenish yellow triangles are treasures. Bee balls|Hives and apparatuses (building power supply) will also show up as this color
- Red dots are monsters/creatures
- a LARGE red dot is a worm
- slim rotating rectangles with red triangles are turrets. The red swiveling triangle is its range of detection
- green boxes are open doors or active turrets (you will know its an active turret if the box is above a swiveling shape)
- red boxes are closed doors or disabled turrets
- thick blue lines are doors that lead outside
- thin blue lines are internal doors inside of buildings
- red lines are vents
To disable turrets or unlock/lock doors within the building, all you as the mission control need to do is type the code you see on the screen (for example lets just say “B3” is what you see on screen) into the terminal and it will cause the action to happen. Locked doors and disabled turrets will appear as red boxes and open ones (or active turrets) will appear as green. Be aware turrets only stay disabled for few seconds so only disable them on an “as needed” basis since they will reactivate shortly after you kill their power. You do not need to go through a submenu in the terminal to cause these actions to happen. You just open it and type the code in.
Its also handy in the later game to have a teleporter which are controlled by focusing your camera on a player and then pressing the red button on the desk. Doing this will recall the player back to the ship, dead or alive. Regardless, being teleported makes you drop all your loot including gear like walkie talkies so only use this to retrieve a body (doing so gets you money and reduces fines) or if a player is in some serious danger due to monsters. It is also valuable to use for the “beeball strat” (more on this later).
However, despite being away from active danger mission control still isnt “safe” given monsters can (and will most times) get into the ship come night time or during an eclipse. The most common suspect for this are Eyeless dogs. Its important for Mission control to periodically check their own to see if any creatures are in the area and close the doors of the ship or crouch and stay very silent and still if any are in the area. Eyeless dogs are usually what will get in your ship and only attack if they can hear you since they really dont have eyes. If you crouch down and stay out of their way they wont attack you and you can bail or close the door again when it leaves. Keep in mind though that the door has a time limit since it will only stay closed for a short amount of time (usually long enough to lure monsters away from the front or leave).
The most optimal set-up for mission control (that I have at least found) is to have:
- The computer terminal located directly behind where mission control stands for easy access to the terminal (while still allowing mission control to move in/out of that area)
- A radar extender placed at the entrance of a building in order to have visual and know if a monster is camping
- The ships horn located on the left of the main screen beside the table to reduce the need to move around the ship
- Backup walkie talkies in case 1 is lost or someone dies
Looters
These are your players who are actively out collecting scrap from the buildings. They will be in the most danger and have the most monster encounters given they are actually out “in the thick of it” but they will be the ones getting you the goods so you dont get executed by the company. A big part of being a looter is dealing with monsters which is a later section but another big part is being able to gather the loot. Something you will notice quickly is that you only have so much space in your inventory and that everything you carry has a weight to it which will slow you down the more you have. So its important to prioritize certain items over others when taking loot back to the deposit point for the mule to retrieve it and for navigating.
The heaviest loot is usually the large Axel/gear or the engines. These might not be the most expensive (at least compared to some of the later items) but they will be the most cumbersome to carry. Given they are pretty large and take up both hands, you should pick these up last and fill up your inventory with items that are more valuable but smaller and then save your last slot for that large object.
As for item priority; generally the most important items to get/take back first are the most valuable ones which size does not always determine.
The priority list of large items goes as follows:
- Cash Registers (over 100 credits)
- Fancy Lamps (has a fluctuating value that can become over 100)
- Paintings (also has a fluctuating value that can become over 100)
- Apparatuses (around 60ish)
- Large Axles (between 40-50)
- V-type Engine (can be a roulette between 20 and 60)
- Bottles: around 20ish
In the early game you will most likely encounter Axles, bottles, apparatuses, engines first. There are also beehives or “beeballs” that are worth a lot found around the map, however these should be the LAST things you get since the bees will chance you to your ship and if you dont go off world right away, will also kill you.
Smaller items are a bit trickier since there are more of them and while some are high hitters, most others are not.
Smaller items to prioritize are:
- gold bars (which can get to be 200 credits, but also weigh you down a lot)
- golden cups
- hair dryers
- toy robots
- Laser Pointers
- wedding rings
- Magic 7 Balls
- teeth
- bells
- perfume bottles
- and rubber duckies
All of these items experience value fluctuation so they wont always be heavy hitters. But when you are choosing between an item thats worth 20 and 80 money: you go with the 80 first and go back for the 20 later if you have time. The goal is to get ALL the loot you can but if you cant: you gotta go with the values. You generally find these more valuable items in mansions or deeper inside of buildings.
Generally all looters should have a walkie talkie to communicate with mission control and some usually might carry weapons like a stop sign, zap gun, or stun grenades to deal with monsters.
As a brief note for “Looters” since that page hit the character limit: your loot drop off point should be right outside of the building either near the ladder or outside the door. This way the mule can get it faster.
Mules
Mules, much like looters, are going to be the people bringing home the scrap and getting money for the team. Its generally a good idea to have these people actively going back and fourth retrieving and dropping off scrap given not only can it take awhile to go from the ship to the building location depending on the map, it will also allow for the looters to have more time to gather things to sell.
The loot value delegation is the same as what can be found in the “looters” section so if you have not read that breakdown, go do so since its the same. Highest value loot should take priority over lower-value loot, especially if going back to the base is dangerous or the ship itself is far away.
As a Mule your biggest issue will be with mobs after 3PM (like forest keepers, worms, Baboon Hawks when in groups and eyeless dogs) alongside stepping into the range of beeballs. Most of these issues can be avoided if you pick up most of the loot during the first half of the day however if the moon you are on is eclipsed or it gets after 5pm (3 is when some monsters begin coming out but 5 is really when it ramps up) you will need to be careful with taking items back. You can pick up items from dead team members along with their corpses but make sure this isnt at the cost of yourself given there will then be 2 dead bodies.
How do I choose a class?
If you are paranoid and hate danger but like watching and directing others: you are going to do well as mission control.
If you like sticking your face into danger or like exploring: you probably want to be a looter
If you get frustrated with your team mates because they keep collecting a bunch of loot and then die to a monster so nothing gets taken back (or only 200/1000 gets taken back because everybody else was out looting and only taking back what they get at the end when there is no time)… or you like danger but not a lot… the mule class is for you.
Choose a class that works the best for you and what you like doing. Its also good to switch off every once and awhile since sitting and the terminal the entire time can be boring for some.
Dealing with the Quota
The quota is the amount of scrap (or at least value of scrap in relation to money) you have to collect in order to keep playing the game and to not be executed by the company. This quota will start at 130 and gradually increase each time you meet it till you no longer can, then you die.
A good way to start out in the early bits of the game is to focus a lot on gathering resources on the easy moons like Experimentation and Vow and stockpile as much loot as you can till the last day (day 0). On day 0 go back to the company planet and ONLY sell enough to make the quota and keep all of the extra loot in the ship. Not only will this loot not go away between quota amounts, it will also act as a cushion of protection in case you happen to get a moon with a really unfair terrain generation (like rocks across the latter to get into buildings, mines everywhere, turrets everywhere, massive voids to nowhere with a crap ton of treasure behind them, etc) or have unfair monster spawning (like a slime or thumper directly behind the entrance door). You can also periodically sell off this scrap to buy additional resources when you need to. The quota amount is partially influenced by how much you are able to collect. So this is a good way of keeping it artificially low which is especially true when RNJesus decides to look down upon you and spit directly in your eyes.
You can determine item amounts by scanning them with your right click. If you have multiple items within a pile and you scan the pile, you will get the amount for everything in that general area in a total. For this reason, have 2 piles: the pile you count out as equaling or slightly going over the quota located near the door, and everything else located in the back of the ship. Its also handy to remember that items sell at different percentages throughout the 3 days. You get the full value of an item if you wait till day 0 (the end) to sell what you need to. If you sell earlier than that you will get money, just not the full amount the item is worth. At the beginning of the week this amount is at 30% value and it will gradually get higher till it hits 100%.
As you progress through the game the quota will get higher and higher as you complete more of them. There isnt a cap to them that I know of but once it gets to 1000, this is usually when this “hoarding” approach becomes useful.
Its also REALLY important to note that the amount of days you get DOES NOT change as your quota amount gets higher and higher. Remember when you are deciding to travel. Losing a day in this game already kind of sucks to begin with given thats less loot you get. This usually happens if all of you die (you loose everything like scrap in the ship and you get charged ontop of that) or if you leave early to go somewhere else because of horrible weather conditions keeping you from being able to do everything or just happen to get horrid RNG luck. But in early game you can recover pretty easily. In late game, this can mean missing the quota.
Do not go to planets with crappy weather if you can help it
DO NOT GO TO AN ECLIPSED PLANET OR STORMY ONE (you will get zapped if you have metal on you)
Do not attempt to go back and fourth from company to planets, go to company at the end of your 3 days
Do not sell the items you bought back to the company (they are not worth anything and you lose resources)
Beeballing
Circuit Bee Hives (or “Beeballs” as my friends affectionately call them) are probably one of the most valuable loot you can get early game coming in between 90 and 100 a pop. However, this is a very high risk high reward item since… its quite literally a bee hive. Beeballs are only something I recommend you grab before you leave the moon since the Bees will ruthlessly pursue you until they can reclaim the hive (either via you dropping it or them killing you). And unlike a lot of loot, this involves a pretty specific set of strategy in order to obtain. You should only do this if the beeball is near your ship.
To “beeball” efficiently you will need at least 3 players:
- The “Grabber” (the person running with the ball)
- The “Bait” (the person to act as a lure for the bees)
- And the “Door man” (the person to close the ship doors as soon as the grabber is inside)
It is possible for you to do this with less people but this is the split that we have found has the most success associated with it. It is also important to note that circuit bees are immune currently to stun weapons so you will be heavily relying on speed for this operation. Shovels and stop signs also dont do anything to them either.
To begin, choose 3 of your players to act as the aforementioned roles above. Make sure whoever is the “grabber” and “bait” have a full stamina bar before you execute the plan given if you dont, the bees will catch up to you and kill you both.
Step 1: Position your grabber and bait on opposite sides of the beeball and your doorman directly by the ship door buttons. If you have a 4th player and a teleporter, have the camera set on the “bait” player and the teleporter button ready to use. Bait and Grabber players should empty their inventories and leave all equipment such as walkie talkies in the ship to avoid equipment loss
Step 2: The grabber will grab the beeball and run directly to the ship. Meanwhile, the bait should also make their way back to the ship but change their path to be non-linear or longer than the grabber. The bait should not be following directly behind. Due to there being 2 players present near the beeball the bees will sometimes attack only the bait player, giving the grabber a head start, or sometimes attack both. If you are the bait, try your best to grab the swarms attention even if only temporarily.
Step 3: As soon as the Grabber crosses the door threshold the door man should close the ship doors immediately. The bees cannot break through doors but will continue to follow you, even if the door is closed. The bait should try their best to make it to the ship but if they do not cross into the threshold, this is to be expected and ignored.
Step 4: If you have a teleporter, teleport the bait inside of the ship (this can be done either by the doorman or a 4th player). Alive or dead, their body is still valuable to you. And after you do this or if you dont have a teleporter: activate the ships engine and fly away off moon. The bees will not follow you into space or return if you land again.
Some versions of this method do not involve a bait player. This is fine. But this is generally what I have found to be most useful in my play-throughs. I would not recommend doing this in single player.
Dealing with Monsters (and Traps)
Circuit Bees: The best method of dealing with them is to simply not interact with them at all and they wont bother you. The only time they will interact with you is if you get too close to their hive or if you steal it outright. If you do neither, they wont go after you
Manticoils: they do nothing, they are just kinda there. They pose no threat to you
Spore Lizards: These mods are terrified of people and will mostly just put on displays of dominance meant to lure you away, but most of the time they wont ever attack you unless you corner them. If you look or run at them they will usually run away from you
Hoarding Bug: These will only usually get angry if you take their scrap metal (Which will usually be sitting directly in front of them or somewhere in the room. If you bonk them a couple times with the stop sign this will usually kill them if they become violent. But they usually wont mess with yo unless you take their stuff or corner them. But bopping them with the stop sign is a good method to get rid of or kill them
Snare Flea: These will grab onto your face and cause you to drop all your items kind of like a facehugger. If one of your party members gets attacked by one, hit them once with a shovel or stop sign. This will cause them to detach and run away. If you are being attacked, keep hitting “scan” (right click) to find an item to hit it with (like a shovel or a stop sign). If you dont have one of these, you are screwed. The best way to avoid them though is to look up since they are pretty visible once you are looking for them.
Baboon Hawk: If there is 1, hit it with a sign or shovel. It will leave. If it attacks keep beating it and make your way back to the ship if possible. If there is a group of them, run like hell.
Hygroderes (green blob thing): Just dont touch it. Literally sidestep it. It cant hurt you if you are not standing in it. It moves slow and can be lured away with the boombox.
Bunker Spiders: They deal a lot of damage but cant really get ontop of railings or higher ledges. If you are above where they are on the floor, they cant get you. Stand on a railing and beat it to death. You can also just avoid them by the railing strat
Brackens: DO NOT STARE AT THEM OR CORNER THEM. They are ambush predators and usually wont attack if you give them quick glances and ruin their ambush. However, the best method of dealing with them is leaving the area as looking at them too long will piss them off and not looking at them will result in them snapping your neck.
Thumpers: They are like the spider in the sense they cannot get you if you are on railings or higher objects that put you above their level on the floor. The same “beating them to death” strat works. However, they are also only efficient when running in a straight line. Trip them up by making sharp turns and going paths that are not linear in nature.
Coil-Heads: Use SCP 173 logic. Always have at least 1 player looking at them at all times. If not, they will move at lightning speed and kill you quickly. You cant kill them, but they cant do anything if you look at them
The Jester: Leave. Just leave. Do not attempt to zap it. it makes it worse. Once it finishes winding itself up you stand no chance. Leave while you can.
The ghost girl: Leave the planet or die to get her to go away
The worm (Earth leviathan) They will move in a way that places you in the center of its mouth when it breeches. To avoid this, move in a non-linear way to through off the worm so it cant aim for the path you were walking. You are usually able to tell when this is about to happen since the ground will shake in a circle around you and you will hear worm sounds. Be sure to conserve your stamina for when its about to breech to remove yourself from the center. It cannot get you while in the ship or on buildings.
Eyeless dogs: Crouch on the ground and DO NOT MAKE SOUND. This includes footsteps, your voice, your walkie talkie, or picking up/dropping items. It cannot see or smell, but it can hear very well. If it can hear you, it will usually go away after awhile.
Forest Keepers: Avoid making noise and try to stay out of sight since they can hear and see you. You can also go into small spaces or raised spaces where the keeper cannot reach. The best method of dealing with them is avoiding them when possible.
Land mines: Just do not step on them and youll be fine.
Turrets: If you do not enter the radius it can see, it wont shoot you. Mission control can disable them with the terminal or dashing past them then rounding a corner will sometimes also work.
Steam: Just turn off the valve, you wont take damage from the steam itself
The rickety bridge: Just do not use it too much or if you are carrying heavy items. If you do and it begins to shake, try to not be in the middle of it when it falls. Middle is death but either far side will just result in you taking some damage but surviving.
Spider webs: Hit em with a shovel to get rid of them
Quicksand/mud: This is a color slightly darker than the ground. If you begin sinking back up as soon as you notice this. Do not go further in or attempt to swim. You will die.
Weather Conditions of Moons
You’ll probably notice on your terminal when you are picking which moon to travel to there is a little blurb stating what the weather is like on a planet. This weather actually does have some impact on how your play though will go.
“Normal”
This is what you ultimately want when you are going to a planet. No specific weather condition means that there are not extra environmental hurdles to worry about when visiting a planet. This usually means visibility is high, there are no additional weather related dangers like floods or lightning, and the mob spawn rate will remain consistent with how you would expect. Fewer mobs early day, more as it gets later and later.
“Snowy”
This isnt an official weather condition that applies to all planets or that changes very much. It is only seen on Dine, Rend, and Titan; 3 late game planets. But Snowy makes it not only somewhat hard to move at a fast speed when outside, but it also means your visibility is extremely minimal outside of preset paths. Your best case for navigation is following tracks on the ground or the preset light paths that are found on most snowy planets. Its similar to fog but with slightly more visibility.
Fog
This can happen to any planet and makes it nearly impossible to see anything that isnt directly in front of you. For this reason, if you can help it, the only planet okish to go to when foggy is experimentation given the path between the ship and the building is short and linear. Visiting March or Vow under these conditions is a bit tricky since not only can Forest Keepers see clearly in this condition, but it also obscures ledges and drop offs you can fall into on top of making it hard to generally navigate
Rainy
This will increase the instances of quicksand and mud on the planet which is hard to identify due to the color of the ground only varying slightly. They are avoidable but annoying to deal with.
Stormy
This will cause lighting to strike any players carrying metallic objects at semi-random intervals. You still can get struck randomly without carrying metal scrap, but if you are the chances of this happening increase a lot. While lightning is preceded by an audio cue its best to avoid this weather if you are able
Flooded
This condition will cause the planet to quite literally become flooded over the course of the day. It will usually begin with a small amount of standing water and gradually increase over the course of the day till the ground is no longer traversable. If you are carrying any metal objects that are heavy, like axles or bottles, these will cause you to sink faster so in the later hours of the day, you will either have to dump the heavy loot you have on you or try to deliver it earlier in the day
Eclipsed
Not only will this cause all of the night time monsters (such as eyeless dogs, worms, etc) to spawn at any point during the day, they will spawn more frequently. If it can be avoided: do not go to an eclipsed moon.
