Exocraft

The subject of this article is from the Echoes update.
The information from this article is up-to-date as of 13 February, 2024.

Exocraft are planetary exploration vehicles.

Summary[]

20200411110508 1 — Five land Exocraft with their respective Geobays

Exocraft are planetary exploration vehicles which, with the right technology, can locate specific Points of Interest, mine basic resources or engage in combat with Sentinels and some fauna.

Six Exocraft are available, and can be used to explore any planet or moon. These vehicles require fuel to move. (Example: Organic Elements such as Carbon or Oxygen for the Nomad).

Exocraft become available initially by building their respective geobays. To do this, you must first unlock a blueprint, either through use of an Exocraft Terminal in a base on a planet, or via the research room in the Space Anomaly.

General Characteristics[]

Able to move at high speed.
Mineral and plants can be smashed without losing Health. However, you cannot obtain resources by smashing.
It also gets caught in terrain and indestructible objects.
There is no damage from falling from a height. It's perfect to jump off a mountain top on a planet with steep terrain and slam into the ground after a tremendous fall.

Combat[]

Can't be attacked by predators. However, it can be damaged by Hazardous Flora.
Among the Sentinels, it is difficult to recognize the drone type. It is recognized by the Sentinel Quad and Sentinel Mech and is also attacked.
If the vehicle is damaged while boarding, the vehicle's technology may fail (the Exosuit will not fail).
In addition, since the Exocraft and the Exosuit shares.the same amount of health, if the shield strength and remaining amount of the exosuit are high, it will be less likely to cause a failure of the vehicle while boarding.

Item Management & Collection[]

There is an Inventory for each vehicle. It will be a mobile warehouse for ground use. The operable range of the item case is within a radius of 50u from the vehicle.
The power of the Mining Beam on the Exocraft is strangely high. Modules can be used to further increase the power of the laser.
Of the resources collected during boarding, the main ones, such as Ferrite Dust, are placed in the vehicle's Inventory (they are discarded when there is no space to enter).
- Of the resources collected during boarding, by-products such as Geodes will be placed in the Inventory in the other tab if there is no room in the vehicle.

Exploration Aids[]

Can be equipped with radars, it will be possible to search for Point of Interest on the planet. There is no limit to the number of times a search can be performed.
You will be able to go to the building you want to find every time you play, cheaply and easily.

Other[]

All current status of the vehicle will be saved and is applied when you summon it for the second times.
Even if you leave it on the planet, it will not be lost or corroded.
Each vehicle has its own concept of fuel. If you run out of fuel, the Exocraft is rendered immobile.

Acquiring[]

As revealed in the Exocraft Technician, most of the exocrafts seem to have been developed by the Vy'keen long ago. The vehicles themselves seem to have already been completed somewhere. The player can obtain vehicles using the Geobay. Basically, you get the vehicle by learning and creating a geobay.

Learning Geobay[]

You can learn all types of geobays on the Construction Research Station, which requires Salvaged Data. The amount of Salvaged Data required is about 10 pieces of one vehicle model. It is on the higher side among building parts. Be aware of the opportunity to buy them, if you are distracted by the small building parts, you will tend to delay obtaining an exocraft.

You can learn it for free in the Secondary Mission: Exocraft Technician, Dreams of the Deep, and A Trace of Metal, but these are missions that occur when certain conditions are met. Depending on the player, this may be a long way off, and you won't be able to learn these missiond until you've completed each stage

As of v4.08, it's probably best not to rely on the missions. In general, it is recommend learning them in the order you like, starting with the Space Anomaly. However, A Trace of Metal contains new equipment that can only be obtained in this sub-mission. If you like the Minotaur, you might want to prioritize it.

Building the Geobay is the same as a Portable Refiner. Just build it in the field from the Build Menu when you have the materials. It can be installed even if it's not a base. If you dismantle it, all the materials will be returned.

Summoning[]

Each vehicle can be summoned in each Geobay. If the vehicle is not already on the planet or star system, it will appear when you place the Geobay. If a vehicle is already on another location, placing the Geobay will not automatically make the vehicle appear. It will appear if you interact with the blue panel in the Geobay with no extra costs.

After summoning a vehicle, delete the Geobay when you are done with it. All the materials used to place it will be returned.

Note - You cannot place a vehicle within an another one's or a Planetary Settlement. In other words, you cannot summon a vehicle in such a location using this method.

You can also summon an exocraft from the Quick Menu when on foot. Although it is a single menu item, there are multiple conditions for use. It can only be used when one of the following three types are met:

If the vehicle is within 4500u range of the player's location.
If the vehicle is in the same planet or star system.
If at least a Geobay of the corronsponding vehicle is placed.

Exocraft Summoning Station[]

An Exocraft Summoning Station is a structure that can be placed even if it is not placed in a base. If it is in the star system, you can call an owned vehicle. In other words, with this method, you must first place an Exocraft Summoning Station on the field. After calling a vehicle, "delete" the summoning station that you have finished using. You can collect it in your item case. You can reuse it the next time you place it.

Note - You cannot place a vehicle within an another one's or a Planetary Settlement. In other words, you cannot summon a vehicle in such a location using this method.

Orbital Exocraft Materialiser[]

If there is a freighter with an Orbital Exocraft Materialiser in the star system, you can call an owned vehicle. In other words, this method requires the following two things in advance:

Install an Orbital Exocraft Materialiser in your freighter base in advance.
Before calling a vehicle, call a freighter first.

Note - Freighters that do not have the corresponding Hyperdrive technology installed for red, green, or blue star systems cannot be called to RGB (red, green, blue) star systems. In other words, vehicles cannot be called using this method in such star systems and freighters. In addition to the above two points, there is another prerequisite depending on the star system.

This is the most complicated method. It involves four elements: the geobay for ownership, the freighter base parts, the freighter technology, and the color of the star system), but once the freighter maintenance is complete, it is the simplest and easiest to use method, since you only need to call the freighter first.

Types[]

Roamer[]

20170316234719 1 — The Roamer in action.

Technology - 28 (including 3 Supercharged Slot)
Cargo - 40

The first one, but its performance is not poor. It is a little plain compared to other vehicles, but it is easy to use scanners, Mining Beam, and Hazard Protection. It can be used as a general-purpose vehicle at the beginning, and later as a good support for Starships and other vehicles.

Mobility[]

Other than the capacity of the booster, there are no particularly outstanding points. It is inferior to the Nomad or Pilgrim as a means of ground transportation, but it is still much faster than walking. It can run at 16.0u/s, but when upgraded with Adjacency Bonus in mind, normal running is about 30.0u/s. By allocating the supercharge slot to the engine and applying boost while at full speed, it can run at around 40.0u/s.

Its speed drops significantly in water. Also, the body is a little heavy, so it tends to lose speed when running normally uphill. Try to get through it with a longer boost time. On the other hand, it is easier to gain speed on downhill slopes, and can reach speeds comparable to the Nomad. The natural undulations are transmitted to the suspension, giving it a four-wheel drive feel. In other words, it is easily affected by the terrain.

It has excellent mobility on planetary surfaces. It can climb nearly vertical cliffs with boost jets. It is not well protected from adverse environments while riding. Although it reduces the wear of the Hazard Protection system, it does not completely nullify it. If you want to eliminate wear, you need to add technology that supports the four environments.

As of v4.08, 28 slots are required in the "Technology" column to put all of the "Technology & Modules for Ground-Based Vehicles". The Nomad and the Pilgrim is two slots short, so each player has to decide what to set up normally (or package some of it and replace it as needed).

Nomad[]

Technology - 26 (including 3 supercharge slots)
Cargo - 30

It floats slightly and runs on the planet's surface. Even if it stops on a slope, it will not slide down on its own. It seems to have good grip performance when directly below. The only vehicle that can run on water, and it is the second fastest after the Pilgrim.

Mobility[]

Even without upgrade, it can run at about 17.7u/s. If you upgrade it to the maximum considering bonuses, it will be about 33.7u/s. If you allocate the supercharge slot to the engine and boost while at full speed, you can run at around 44.6u/s. Its light weight makes it easy to jump over multiple undulating terrains with a big jump. However, its boost capacity is small. Leave a little extra power when you use it.

Its speed doesn't drop even near water, so it's strong in any environment. It's equally popular with the Pilgrim as a means of high-speed land transportation. Depending on the mission, planets with almost no land are often assigned, but this will get you there faster than the Nautilon. At the very least, upgrading the engine modules will increase your travel speed and make it more comfortable.

Combat Suitability[]

Of all ground-running vehicles, this is the one with the turret facing down the most. In other words, it has the fewest blind spots at close range. If you want to fight Sentinels with a vehicle, this Nomad is the best choice, or so it seems, but it's not. As of v4.08, the Mounted Cannon is at risk of self-destruction. There is no benefit to firing at the ground at close range. If you accidentally fire the wrong weapon, you will receive heavy damage.

The damage from an accidental hit is so powerful that it can instantly wipe out a shield (possibly ignoring defense) even if the cannon is not buffed and the shield is buffed (199% in testing), and it also reduces the attack power by 1. It would be better to remove it by packaging it as a module, which would also help prevent operating errors.

Pilgrim[]

Pilgrim is another light Exocraft. Like Nomad, this one has 16 inventory slots and comes with the Exocraft Acceleration Module pre-installed. Pilgrim is the only two-wheeled member of the Exocraft family. With full upgrades in place, it is the fastest of any Exocraft on land. It is the most land-based member of the exocraft family, having a much shorter boost cooldown and being able to take huge leaps, but crawling while in water.

Colossus[]

7C6F26A2-16B9-4CE4-931C-CA8642C77C89 — Closeup of the Colossus exocraft

Technology - 30 (including 3 supercharged slots)
Cargo - 50

A super large vehicle like an armored vehicle. According to the story of the Exocraft Technician, it seems that it was a vehicle to take multiple people on a fierce battle in the history of the work. Even in the era of the main part of the play, it seems that it is considered an honorable, longing item.

It looks good but the lowest speed. It is not suitable for moving on board. The best one is an item case. There are 50 cargo slots from the beginning. This amount is super expensive for Starship and Freighters.

Mobility[]

The acceleration is slow, the inertia are strong and the pilotability is poor. If you do not upgrade, you can drive at about 11.9u/s. If you upgrade the engines, the normal driving will be about 22.8u/s. At the time of boost injection, it is about 34.4u/s. The supercharge slot is assigned to the engine system and the boost at the full speed will be around 40.0U/s.

The above is the highest speed. At the field, it is immediately affected by the undulation, and the speed drops to about 30.0u/s at best, and if the hit is bad, the speed is reduced to about 20.0u/s. The falling speed can be recovered by boost injection, and the boost capacity is large. But badly, the recovery of this boost amount is clearly slow.

Because of the giant body, the stride before and after is wide, and it is easy to fall into the ground clebass. The hidden problem is the brake performance. Even if the accelerator is released, it continues to slip, and even if you apply a full brake, about 12.0u/s will remain, but it will still stop after the brake continues to be applied. In general, it is completely unsuitable for transportation, but if you use it, it seems better to jump off while turning a sudden turn in the target point.

It is a little strong on the waterside (for tire driving vehicles). Because of its large inertia, it is a short-distance shallow water, so you can cut it down as it is. If the depth and length are completely submerged, it will still be super low. The situation that can be used is quite limited.

Dragonfly (Not Released)[]

Dragonfly is an outdated and unreleased hovercraft vehicle containing 16 slots that was recently extracted by the save editor. The original preview of the Dragonfly had the appearance of a smaller version of the Nautilon but with no headlights, whereas the old version of the Nautilon looked like a rocket submarine and performed very differently. In the end, the present day Nautilon took the model from the classic Dragonfly and the Dragonfly was unpublished, hidden alongside the remaining exocraft, but with no corresponding garage in existence. As of now, the only way to retrieve this vehicle is to copy and paste the locations of one of the other exocrafts that are visible.

Minotaur[]

Minotaur is a mechanical walker containing 28 slots that can be used to safely explore all planets, performing mining, combat, and exploration tasks. It has an independent jetpack, and is with the pre-installed Environment Control Unit - it is immune to all planetary hazards. The Minotaur's standard mining laser can be upgraded to a Minotaur Bore if desired, enabling the alteration of terrain on planets similar to the function of a Multi-tool's Terrain Manipulator. Also it is amphibious, and can mine underwater. The Minotaur can act independently as a support unit with the Minotaur AI Pilot upgrades. It can also deploy stun projectiles for combat. Further enhancements can be acquired with the Liquidator upgrades, including a flamethrower.

See: Minotaur

Nautilon[]

Nautilon is the only non-terrestrial Exocraft. It is a submersible vehicle that is designed for underwater navigation, combat and mining. It can be summoned to any ocean on the planet, as well as docked at underwater buildings. It has 28 inventory slots and its own special drive, the Humboldt Drive.

See: Nautilon

Upgrading[]

Each vehicle is equipped with a minimum amount of technology from the start. However, it's only the bare minimum necessary to really "get it running". Speed-up and mining equipment can be learned and installed separately by each player.

It has the advantage of being able to use all the supercharge slots in the "technology" column immediately after obtaining it. In other words, any vehicle can be transformed into a reasonably fast means of transportation just by purchasing and adding three engine-related modules. It has more "cargo" space than a typical spaceship in its initial state.

Exocraft Core Technology Blueprints[]

Class	Technology / Upgrade	Effect
	Fusion Engine	Engine
	Icarus Fuel System	Generates energy during daylight hours
	E.Acceleration Module	Allows short bursts of speed
	E.Mining Laser	Mining Laser with no overheat
	E.Mining Laser Sigma	Ability to harvest tough minerals / +20% Mining Laser Power
	E.Mounted Cannon	Lobs explosives toward targets
	E.Signal Booster	Finds Resource Deposits & Depots / +100% Scan
	E.Signal Booster Tau	Finds Ruins & Monoliths / +100% Scan
	E. Advanced Signal Booster	Finds Abandoned Buildings & Drop Pods / +100% Scan
	Drift Suspension	Drift / +200% Forwards Grip / -34% Angular Grip
	Grip Boost Suspension	Sharp Turns / -50% Forwards Grip / +110% Angular Grip
	Hi-Slide Suspension	Slide / -50% Forwards Grip / -34% Angular Grip
	Air Filtration Unit	Protects against Toxic environments
	Neutron Shielding	Protects against Radioactive environments
	Megawatt Heater	Protects against Cold environments
	Thermal Buffer	Protects against Hot environments

Exocraft Core Upgrade Modules[]

Module Name	Stats Source	Module Improves
Module Name	Stats Source	Module Improves	Min	Max	Min	Max	Min	Max	Min	Max
Engine	1 / 1-2 2	Top Speed	1	3	3	8	8	15	10	15
Engine	1 / 1-2 2	Fuel Usage	1	5	5	10	10	15	15	20
Boost	1 / 1-2 2	Boost Power	10	20	20	35	35	55	55	70
Boost	1 / 1-2 2	Tank Size	10	20	15	30	30	50	50	60
Laser	1 / 1-2 2	Laser Power	₅	₁₀	₁₀	₂₀	₂₀	₃₀	₃₀	₅₀
Laser	1 / 1-2 2	Laser Efficiency	1	5	5	10	10	15	15	20
Cannon	1-2 2-3 / 3	Damage	5	10	10	20	20	30	30 (12)	40 (17)
		Rate Of Fire	1	5	5	10	10	15	15	20 (21)
		Weapon Efficiency	1	5	5	10	10	15	15	20

Notes:

1. Upgrade modules should be added adjacent to the core system where possible, to a maximum of three upgrades in a single exocraft. This is best achieved by arrangements in a 2x2 box, or as a slightly lower cumulative gain as a line of 3 vertically or horizontally adjacent to the core system.

Release history[]

Pathfinder - Introduced to the game.
NEXT - Improved Colossus speed and climb ability to enhance its performance.
NEXT 1.63
- Added Pilgrim and its blueprint for the Pilgrim Geobay can be purchased from the Blueprint Analyser.
- Increased the inventory size of all Exocraft.
- Increased the base speed of Colossus.
- Added Upgrade Modules for Exocrafts that can be purchased with Nanite Clusters from the Technician once their quest chain is complete.
- Expanded the Exocraft Quick Menu options to allow all owned and in-range Exocraft to be summoned, not just the current primary Exocraft.
- Added the ability to customise the Exocraft with unique paint, decals and boost particle options.^[1]
- Added specific technology to customise Exocraft handling, allowing drivers to spec their vehicles for grip or drift.
- Added a speedometer display to the HUD while driving an Exocraft.
- Fixed an issue where Exocraft with laser upgrades could still not mine resources that required an Advanced Mining Laser.
- Fixed an issue where Exocraft could not mine terrain resources.
Abyss - Added Nautilon
Beyond
- Added fully modelled cockpits / interiors for all the Exocraft and Nautilon Submarine.
- Fixed a number of issues where trees and rocks could not be run over by Exocraft.
ExoMech - added Minotaur exocraft, all other exocrafts no longer fully protect from elements without extra protection upgrades.
Expeditions - added Nomad and Minotaur Geobays as Community Expeditions reward.
Waypoint - Inventory sizes increased