You won’t get very far in The Alters without mining raw materials to craft modules, gear, and food. That means mining the five primary resources: Metals, Minerals, Organics, Enriched Metals, and Rapidium. While you can find all of them in finite shallow deposits or small patches, the best way to stock up is to install mining outposts over deep deposits that allow you and your Alters to mine all day long. Read on to find out how to find and mine resources in The Alters.
How do I find resource deposits?
First of all, you need to make sure you have the gear you need to make use of an Outpost if you find one, so craft a Mining Outpost and a pack of Pylon Components for 30x Metals each. You’ll need to source these from shallow deposits and loose debris.
You’ll spot resource deposits in a new area by looking for shaded areas on the map. Once you go there, you’ll see an icon appear above the ground that will also be marked on the map. You won’t be able to just locate the actual vein right away though. For that, you’ll need to open the tool wheel and locate the Sensors. By default you get 6, and each has a 6ft range.
Place them in any shape you like from triangles to hexagons, and once you connect them all you’ll be able to look down and see what’s beneath you. The darker red the display is, the closer you are to the vein. Holding down X or E will cause the sensors to pulse at the cost of 1 bar of suit energy, revealing waveforms that move toward the location of the vein. Often the veins are blockaded by destructible walls or anomalies, and you’ll need to remove them first. When you locate the vein, a grey icon will appear and allow you to place a Mining Outpost on it. Find it in the tool wheel under the construction icon to do so.
How do I mine resources?
Once you have an Outpost in situ, you need to connect it to your base. So open the tool wheel and navigate to construction, and select Pylons. You have two to begin with, Teleport and Standard, and later you’ll be able to research Hub Pylons with a much greater range.
You need to install Pylons periodically all the way along the path back to the base. Initially they’ll have a 30 metre range, which is pretty decent and you’ll often need no more than three to get the job done. A green line means you have a strong connection, so place them according to that. Bear in mind you can also connect Pylons to other Pylons, which will often make your life easier. Note that until you connect an Outpost to your base, you won’t be able to use it to mine, fast travel, or recharge your suit battery.
And now you know all there is to know about finding and mining resources in The Alters.
