Recycling

When ships or defenses are destroyed in a battle, a debris field with part of their metal and kryptonite is left at the coordinates. Discovered spy probes leave debris too. On the Galaxy map, debris fields are marked in blue. The Recycle mission lets you collect the resources in them.

Only the Recycler can harvest a debris field. A recycling fleet may not contain any other ships – only at alien planets are Scanner ship units allowed as well. Part of the cargo space goes to fuel, so send enough recyclers 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.
• Recyclers accelerate very slowly. Even short trips therefore take longer than you might expect (Flight model).
• If the field is already empty when you arrive, you get a "Recycling failed" message and the fleet returns without cargo.
• You cannot recycle debris fields at planets of players you have an IP match with (IP Match).
• 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 Debris Field Week in the event rotation, extra debris fields appear that are meant just for you – they are marked in orange on the map (Debris Field Week). The perfect time for lots of recyclers.

Data disc fragments at the aliens

Debris fields at alien planets can contain fragments of data discs. If you send Scanner ship units along or on their own to recycle, your chance of finding them rises considerably (Data discs).