Asteroid Survival Guide: What You Need To Know

The asteroid formerly known as Club Never Die, has set numerous world records since it was bought by the avatar known as "Neverdie". It was sold to a knew owner and has since changed names to F.O.M.A.

While it is under new management, many of the important details remain the same. I would like to take this opportunity to share what I know so that if you have never been up there, you will be more appropriately prepared for what awaits!

First you should be aware any serious expedition to the asteroid requires serious investment since a low budget trip is almost certainly doomed to fail. The fee charged by Mindark to teleport one way to the rock is 25 PEDs. So just out of the chute you are talking 50 PEDs before even mining or hunting.

Next you should be aware that the bombing radius for mining and surveying is halved to around 25m or so. This means it will take more bombs to search the same amount of ground. Though the alluring aspect of this is that finds are harder to get... But the sizes of ore deposits are much larger on average than you see on Calypso. So when running with amps you will find globals and hofs much easier to get. But beware it is not uncommon to drop a hundred amped bombs and find nothing!

Another important detail to be aware of is that every dome has it's own resources that can be found, as well as different mobs or in some cases no mobs present. Some finders are better at finding certain ores so it is important to choose your finder wisely for the domes you intend to mine.

One major lesson: the auction house doesn't work well up there for selling ores or crafted components. If you don't have enough peds to mine a bunch and return to planet yourself to sell your stuff you will either have to TT your finds or wait on a trader to show up if there isn't one already.

If you intend to craft up there, bring some of the materials you need because obtaining a supply up there is not always easy. Also you need to beware of unscrupulous traders since they do exist. It is normal for prices offered to be a little lower than on planet because of the teleport cost as well as the fact it takes time for these people to make available convenient trading.

Up until the release of VU 10, apartments on CND were a valuable tool as they were required if you wanted storage. But since they added storage terminals the values of apartments tanked badly. They may be a good investment now but only if they introduce new uses for them.

There are shops but it can be time consuming to find what you need. As a rule of thumb make sure all your equipment needs are filled before going up.

If you opt to use the storage remember: the asteroid storage is not connected to planetary storage and many times I've left without grabbing stuff I needed!

It is my hope this simple guide will help you in your new adventures. I do not know when or if spacecraft have been reinstated, but I am sure we will all benefit from lower transport costs from competition.

I wish you all good luck and an ATH!