Asteroid Harvesting
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Asteroid Harvesting
Asteroid Harvesting lets commanders send Orbital Refineries to mine ore fields that appear on the galaxy map. Harvesting unlocks from Realm 2. Asteroids are map fields — not expedition nodes or pirate drops.
Finding asteroids
- Asteroid fields spawn in habitable systems (up to 2 fields per system, typically in outer slots).
- New fields appear in galaxies at Realm 2+ (Realm 1 galaxies do not spawn new fields).
- After a field is fully depleted, that slot stays empty for about 12–24 hours, then can receive a new field.
- Fields are visible on the map when they spawn. A moon Sensor Tower system scan can reveal composition and yield intel — it is not required to launch a harvest.
Related: Expeditions (nebula runs are a separate system).
Ore size & density
Each field rolls a base ore from its realm, then multiplies by density and a small variance (about ×1.0–1.4).
Base ore by realm
| Realm | Base ore |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1,000,000 |
| 2 | 10,000,000 |
| 3 | 100,000,000 |
| 4 | 1,000,000,000 |
Density tiers
| Tier | Multiplier | Approx. spawn weight |
|---|---|---|
| Sparse | ×1 | ~30% |
| Normal | ×2 | ~45% |
| Dense | ×4 | ~20% |
| Ultra Dense | ×8 | ~4% |
| Hyper Dense | ×400 | ~1% |
Hyper Dense fields are rare jackpots (especially in Realm 4).
Composition
Each field has a rolled mix of 2–5 ores from steel / quartz / iridium / silicium / elerium. Asteroids do not yield gas.
Composition follows the system's Common Deposit and Rare Deposit (visible on the system overlay / scout reports):
- The system's common deposit is always present and makes up most of the yield
- The system's rare deposit is often included (~70%) at 9–10%; other rares that appear stay at 3–5% (hard-capped at 10% / 5%)
- Remaining slots are filled with other unlocked ores at random (rares from Realm 2+, elerium from Realm 3+)
- Systems whose common deposit is gas still roll steel/quartz for asteroids (no gas yield)
Example: A steel + elerium system might spawn steel 72% / quartz 20% / elerium 8%, or a leaner steel 91% / elerium 9% field with only two ores.
Idle growth (Realm 2+)
Untouched fields (never mined) can slowly grow while idle:
- Must sit idle at least ~24 hours since last update
- About +5% ore per growth period (can stack across ticks)
- Growth can promote the field to a higher density tier when ore crosses the next tier’s minimum
- Growth is capped (roughly 3.5× the spawn maximum for that realm/density path)
Once anyone starts mining, idle growth stops for that field.
Uncollected Ultra Dense — leaving the system
Fields that reach Ultra Dense or Hyper Dense and are never mined do not stay forever — otherwise quiet regions would fill with permanent max-size jackpots as idle growth promotes every slot.
- Idle growth keeps refreshing the field while ore is still increasing
- Once growth stops (the field is at its size cap) and nobody has started mining, the field leaves the system after about 3 days of sitting unchanged
- The slot then restarts the normal empty cooldown / respawn cycle
- Starting a harvest (even a small one) counts as claimed for this rule — partially mined fields use the usual leftover-ore cleanup instead
Example: A Dense field grows until it promotes to Ultra Dense and hits its ore cap. If no Orbital Refineries arrive within roughly three days after growth stops, the jackpot drifts out of the system so a fresh field can appear later.
How to harvest
Requirements
- Realm 2+
- Orbital Refinery ships (the only harvest-capable hull)
- A free harvest mission slot for that asteroid (you cannot run two of your own harvests on the same field at once)
Recycler and Advanced Recycler collect debris only — they cannot harvest asteroids.
Mission flow
- Select an asteroid on the map and launch Orbital Refineries.
- The fleet travels, then harvests in ticks until cargo is full, the field is depleted, or the cycle limit is reached.
- The fleet returns with resources.
Harvest ticks
Tick length scales by realm (defaults about 5 / 3 / 2 minutes for Realms 2 / 3 / 4), with class and research floors:
- Most classes: tick floor around 3 minutes
- Industrialist / Guardian: floor around 1 minute
- Advanced Resource Extraction: about −1% tick interval per level (cannot go below 30% of the base interval)
Maximum ticks per mission (before ship cycle caps) are higher in later realms (about 8 / 12 / 16 for R2 / R3 / R4), further improved by Debris Mastery. Each Orbital Refinery also has a ship harvest cycle limit (catalog default 15).
Speed & cargo
- Each Orbital Refinery contributes harvest speed (catalog 3,000 ore per tick per ship).
- Only the first 2,000,000 refineries in a fleet count toward speed; extras still add cargo.
- Speed also rises from Advanced Resource Extraction, monuments, and Guardian class bonuses.
- Cargo uses all ships’ cargo capacity (including Galactic Commerce bonuses).
Ore converts to resources with Industrial Supremacy / Planetary Engineering efficiency bonuses where applicable.
Contested systems
In contested / vulnerable alliance systems, harvest yields can be reduced (siege income factor, typically about half). See Territory Siege / Alliance Territory.
Practical tips
- Scout Hyper Dense and Ultra Dense fields early — they are rare, and unclaimed Ultra Dense+ fields leave the system about 3 days after idle growth stops.
- Bring enough cargo; missions end when holds fill even if ore remains.
- Don’t expect Recyclers to mine — use Orbital Refineries only.
- Sensor Tower intel helps pick valuable compositions before you commit travel time.
- Idle growth rewards patience on untouched fields in R2+, but claim capped Ultra Dense jackpots before they drift away.