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D2D

Spending resources

What this does

A stockpile that just sits there is dead weight. Exotic Physics does not pay your crew, and a hold full of Ore wins no contests. This is the spend side of the ledger — four ways to burn raw resources into something that lasts: harden a Lighthouse, sharpen a specialist, gamble on a heavy haul, or cash out at the broker. Each is a hold-versus-spend call, and the numbers below are exact.

Prerequisites

  • A stockpile worth spending. See the resource loop for where Ore, Salvage, Biotech, Exotic Physics, and Echo Fragments come from.
  • To donate or post upgrades you must hold a Lighthouse. Win a seat first via the Wardenship guide.
  • Everything here runs through slash commands; there is no home-base room for these sinks yet.

Step-by-step walkthrough

Lighthouse upgrades (Warden-led)

As Warden you post a goal that citizens fund, then install it once filled. /lighthouse upgrade post takes an upgrade_id (e.g. local_fog_damper); when the goal is full, /lighthouse upgrade install lands it, and /lighthouse upgrade cancel pulls an open one (donors get 75% of credits back). Each upgrade category drinks a specific resource — match your stockpile to the slot you need:

Upgrade categoryResource consumedTier 1 / Tier 2 cost
FogExotic Physics15 / 40
WeatherBiotech20 / 50
DefenseOre + Salvage15 + 10 / 40 + 25
NetworkEcho Fragments10 / 30

(Every tier also costs credits and parts; wildcard spires cost credits and parts only, no raw resource.)

Specialty crew training

/training start takes a crew member and a routine. The specialty routines push a crew toward their archetype and cost raw resource on top of credits — each runs 90 minutes for 250 credits:

RoutineArchetypeResource cost
Ballistics MasteryGunner10 Ore + 5 Salvage
Flux HandlingEngineer12 Exotic Physics
Biotech ImmersionMedic8 Biotech
Echo SensitivityNavigator6 Echo Fragments
Weather InstinctsPilot8 Biotech + 4 Exotic Physics

The cheaper credit-only routines (Combat Drills, Field Exercise, Specialty Course) cost no raw resource — reach for those when your stockpile is thin.

Resource expeditions

The big gamble. /extract expedition takes a contractable and a build, debits a fixed launch kit of 5 Salvage + 3 Ore + 1 Exotic Physics up front, and pays 3–5× a normal run’s yield. It needs an active claim you hold or are permitted on, and is capped at one launch per claim per cycle. Spend the kit when a rich target is worth the multiplier.

The salvage broker

When a resource has no better use, sell it. /stockpile convert takes a resource and amount and pays a flat 10 credits per unit, capped at 500 units per day across all resources combined. It is the floor price — hold anything you might spend above; dump only the true surplus.

What “success” looks like

Your stockpile drops and something concrete appears: a goal embed your citizens can fund, a crew member ticking through a training timer, an expedition counting down, or a pile of credits where the surplus used to be. Check totals any time with /stockpile view.

Common gotchas & troubleshooting

“You don’t hold a Lighthouse. Claim one with /lighthouse claim first.” Upgrade posts, installs, and cancels are Warden-only. Win a seat through the Wardenship guide before you can spend on upgrades.

Insufficient resource on a training routine. The specialty routine needs raw resource you do not have — top up first, or run a credit-only routine instead.

Launch kit insufficient. You cannot afford the 5 Salvage + 3 Ore + 1 Exotic Physics kit. The launch is blocked before anything is spent; gather the kit or sell down elsewhere first.

Cadence cap reached for this cycle. That claim already launched its one resource expedition this cycle. Wait for the cycle to roll, or launch from a different claim.

“Daily conversion cap reached…” You hit the 500-unit broker limit for today across all resources. Convert the rest tomorrow.

“Insufficient <resource>: …” at the broker. You asked to convert more units than you hold. Check /stockpile view and lower the amount.