Recycling

When ships or defenses are destroyed in a battle, a debris field is left at the coordinates. In the Galaxy map you can spot it by the small grey rocks next to the planet. The Recycle mission lets you collect the resources in it.

Only the Recycler can harvest a debris field – normal transports cannot, unless you have a Synth node for it. Every recycler has a fixed cargo hold, so send enough of them to carry off the whole field.

Things to watch out for

• Debris fields belong to nobody: first come, first served. After big battles every minute counts – ideally, send your recyclers so they arrive shortly after your attacking fleet.
• If the field is already empty when you arrive, you get a "Recycling failed" message and the fleet returns without cargo.
• If you recently moved the planet you start from, recycling from there is locked for a while.
• Recyclers barely survive in combat. Do not send them into battles unprotected, and take them along when you save.

Debris without your own battles

During the Rubblefields event, extra debris fields appear across the universe – the perfect time for lots of recyclers (Events). Debris fields created by alien waves on your outpost can only be collected by you (Outposts).

Recycle better

The Synth network has its own recycling nodes (Recycling nodes): recyclers wait longer at the target, fly home faster when they are not full, sweep neighboring positions for debris – and even transports can collect debris. More cargo space and speed for recyclers can be found in Fleet nodes.