Star Citizen 3.18 Mining Guide

Star Citizen has some of the best gameplay loops to ever exist in any game out there. But, there is even one thing that is better than the rest, which is mining. To help you understand everything in detail about it, we have here a Star Citizen 3.18 Mining Guide. So, let’s get started!

From Bounty Hunting to Cargo Hauling, you will find some of the most interesting gameplay loops, as well as missions here in Star Citizen that are enhanced with the 3.18 update. There are a ton of opportunities for the players to utilize and select a path onward. 

You can’t probably jump on all of those and test them out if you want to be known as a great player, but you do have to master some of those to begin making a profit. Even if you are a beginner who has just started out in the game, you do have to make a profit out of something to purchase items, equipment, and ships. 

Just like that, Mining in Star Citizen 3.18 is considered one of the best things you can do to earn some cash and make a great living. For that, you will need to choose between ship mining, vehicle mining, and ground mining and then go to the steps of doing mining in the game. Let’s get into the details of each of those things in detail.

Best Ships for Mining in Star Citizen 3.18

When it comes to mining and ships, there are quite a few that you can truly utilize in the game. Yes, we know that there are tons of ships altogether in the game that you can pick from but it doesn’t mean that all of those are great for mining, but rather it is quite opposite of that

The best ships so far for mining in the game are ARGO Mole and Prospector. Both of them have their own pros and cons, depending on the player’s choice of what they are looking for in a good mining ship.

Prospector

This one is great for players who are getting started with mining and don’t want to go out with their friends. Here, the pilot or driver will be controlling everything and will do the whole process alone. 

The base module of the prospector is quite lacking and you will have to upgrade it with time in order to utilize it properly. You can upgrade the ship to equip a mining arm that makes it quite easier for you to go for the quantanium rocks mining for maximum profit.

Mole

A mole is quite the other side of the coin when matched with Prospector, but that doesn’t mean it is better, rather it means it is as good as a mole but meant for some other task in mind. When players are looking for more money through mining, this is quite an incredible pick because of its multi-crew capabilities.

Prospector was good for single people, while Mole is good with multiple crew members who are there to help you through thick and thin.

There are two mining arms here in the Mole that allows you to do the mining process twice as fast and it is divided among two operators. There is also a bigger cargo space here in the mole that allows you to get better profit and lower the travel distance. 

Best Vehicles for Mining in Star Citizen 3.18

Just like Ship Mining, there is Vehicle Mining that requires you to have a ground vehicle like the Greycat ROC. The ROC stands for the Remote Ore Collector, meaning you don’t have to sit in the vehicle to do Mining, rather it can be done through a remote. 

It is quite like the HoverQuad when it comes to operation. It can do two types of processes, enabling you to mine, as well as extract the ores, which is similar to the process occurring from the ships. 

But, ships are the expensive option, while Vehicles are the cheaper option. The drawback here is that you will be needing a ship to store the ROC or carry it around. A good one for carrying or storing purposes would be the Drake Cutlass and even the Drake Cutter because both of them have exceptional storage space for the vehicle.

You will have to use the manual controls to remove the materials that you got through your Vehicle and it could take you a bit longer in contrast to when you are doing the same thing on a Ship. 

You essentially don’t have to do this alone, rather other players can do the whole process for you without you having to waste your time. It could be the other way around where thieves can come and steal the mining loot from your vehicle. So, beware of who is coming near you in the area. 

This is a Star Citizen 3.18 Mining Guide after all and not all people have the option of Buying a luxurious Ship for Mining, a Vehicle for Mining, or both of those options. Therefore, we will be mentioning On Foot Mining as well and for those, you can just buy the budget-friendly Multi-Tool.

On Foot Mining in Star Citizen 3.18 using Multi-Tool

In order to do mining and gain the materials, the third and final method is to use the Multi-Tool and do the on-foot mining. Multi-Tool comes with various attachments that you can utilize when doing Mining or Salvaging.

It is great for the players who don’t have the budget for the Ships or Ground Vehicles and they can just get the attachment for their Multi-Tool and start doing the Mining Process. 

The same mining procedure is also done when you are caught and sent to prison for a while. You will have to do the Mining on foot by hand to reduce the time of the sentence. 

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Star Citizen 3.18 Mining Guide

Now that you know the three ways to Mine in Star Citizen, let’s talk about the process of Mining here in our Star Citizen 3.18 Mining Guide.

How to Mine in Star Citizen?

You will have to search for specific rocks, most notably the ones with the orange cracks. These are quite unusual rocks that you will find here in the game and are different from other regular rocks. They have more quantanium amount and that’s why they are so sought after.

As you are near the rocks, your screen will indicate on the right side that there is a specific percentage of quantanium available here. Your job is to find a rock that has a high amount of this material available because you have to look after the storage space as well. 

In case there is other ore available alongside the quantanium, it will fill up the space and the profit is going to be lower. After you start mining, there is a bar on the right side that shows you the power required to break that specific rock.

Your job is to balance the power between the colors and remain on the green side. After you finish the process, you will have to change the module used for extraction and then again use it on the core of the rock.

You will start putting them in the cargo and after a few rocks, you will completely fill in the space, especially when you have a starter mining ship like the Prospector. Therefore, we are telling you again in our Star Citizen 3.18 Mining Guide to focus only on the rocks that have a higher amount of quantanium available.

There are sometimes enemies which interrupt the mining process and you have to look out for them as well. Our recommendation is to stick with a few friends and do the process together in order to maximize the profits, reduce the time and keep yourself safe from outside interference.

Extracting Ore

After you are done with the process of mining, you have to change the module used for extraction and then again go with the same process, but on much smaller rock parts. You will be filling in the cargo hold and after a few of them on the Prospector, it will be filled.

Quantanium is a volatile thing and there is a short time in which you have to put it in the refinery. You can see the timer running out on the right side of the screen. In case the timer runs out and it reaches zero, then the Ship itself will explore. 

Don’t worry the timer isn’t that short, rather it is quite long. You will be getting a total of around 10 to 15 minutes in which you will have to take the quantanium you were mining and put it back in the refinery.

Refining the quantanium

In the massive world of Star Citizen 3.18, you will find some of the places or locations giving you the ability to refine quantanium. But, the good thing is that they are spread on nearly every planet, so there is nothing to worry about here. You will find some of the Refining Factories here;

• Long Forest Station MIC L2

• Shallow Frontier Station MIC L1

• Faithful Dream Station HUR L2

• Green Glade Station HUR L1

• Ambitious Dream Station CRU L1

• Faith Glen Station ARC L4

• Wide Forest Station ARC L1

• Lively Pathway Station ARC L2

After you are done with the Mining process, you have to take the Quantanium to a refinery. At these locations, you will find a good place to store your ship and then place the mined material in the refinery. Go down from there and transfer the resources. 

The process is lengthy and takes hours to complete the step. We recommend you go out for something else and do that while the process of refining quantanium is taking place.

After you are done with the process, you simply have to take out your cargo ship and bring it to the refinery. Just like you transferred the resources from the ship to the refinery, you can take the stuff from the refinery to the ship as well. 

Selling

Now that you have the refined material through mining ores and taking out quantanium. You have to bring that stuff here at the trading center. You will find them spread around the System on various planets or moons like New Babbage, Loreville, and even Area 18. These are some of the most famous ones, while you will find more spread around.

Come here to the Trading Center and sell the stuff you just got from all the processes. That’s it, you will receive the reward in the form of an aUEC ad it depends on how much you got or how effectively you got it. 

Final Verdict

Well, these are all the steps and details we could mention here in our Star Citizen 3.18 Mining Guide. Keep in mind that Mining is typically referred to as the best source to earn in Star Citizen, but in order to effectively do it, you will be needing a Mining Ship or a Vehicle. We recommend you stick with a Ship and a large Cargo Ship as well. 

If you have two of those, then you can maximize the profit and earn a ton of refined mine material to sell at the Trading Center. Even if you don’t have the resources, you can just start Mining on Foot and then step-by-step make your way to the top.