Follow the rich spots

Move your laser across the surface and watch for green markings. These temporary spots multiply your yield, from 2× up to a rare 5×. Shift your aim before they disappear instead of burning the same patch indefinitely. Sell the raw materials or keep them for your own industry.

A different orbit view of the asteroid surface and its 5× yield spot; the laser is disengaged.
A different orbit view of the asteroid surface and its 5× yield spot; the laser is disengaged.

Keep the laser under control

Firing heats the laser; releasing the trigger lets it cool. Work within the heat gauge’s green band for better extraction. Hold the beam too long and it overheats, shutting down until it cools sufficiently. Timing short pauses is part of the mining minigame, alongside choosing where to aim.

Laser mining heat management: Overheated lockout and 2×/5× yield spots.
Laser mining heat management: Overheated lockout and 2×/5× yield spots.

Cut out what matters

Marked veins open a precision cutting challenge. Trace the ore’s outline and avoid fracture lines to recover better specimens. Sell precious metals and unusual ores at an Outpost’s Assay Office for credits. Very rarely, a vein also yields an intact module or progress toward a ship-hull blueprint. As your operation grows, put mining ships and drones to work too. Luck can also reward your mining with exceptionally valuable finds.

Mining drones launch from their carrierGAMEPLAY
Mining drones launch from their carrier