What this is about
Crew mining pays off because the work can be split – not because there are more lasers. The gain sits in the time nobody spends waiting: while one is mining the next is already finding the rock after next.
Preparation
- Decide the ships: who mines, who searches, who hauls? The ships’ slots are in MOLE and Prospector.
- Check comms before launching.
- Fix the drop-off point beforehand – otherwise half the crew stands around at the end.
- Ore containers empty, modules set.
Tasks and roles
Four tasks worth separating:
- Scout. Flies ahead, scans, reports rocks with position and assessment. He is the reason a crew is faster.
- Mining. Sits at the laser, manages power and modules. Talks little, works calmly.
- Cargo. Takes over as soon as the container is full and runs to the refinery. Without him mining waits for the return trip.
- Security. Only worthwhile from three people on: watches, reports contacts. In unsafe areas this is not a luxury role.
Equipment
On a ship with several mining stations different lasers and modules can be aboard at once – that is the real advantage over solo. Fitting every station the same gives it away. Which combinations the data supports is in mining heads.
On a multi-crew ship not everyone operates everything. These functions concern the mining stations; whoever does not have them flies or scans.
| Game action | Default keyboard/mouse | Default joystick | Trigger |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fire Mining Laser (Toggle) | Mouse left | Button 1 | toggle |
| Switch Mining Laser (Toggle) | Left Alt + Mouse left | Button 2 | toggle |
| Increase Mining Laser Power | Mouse wheel (axis) | Button 3 | single press |
| Decrease Mining Laser Power | not bound by default | Button 4 | single press |
| Increase / Decrease Mining Laser Power | not bound by default | not bound by default | axis |
| Activate Mining Module (Slot 1) | Left Alt + 1 | not bound by default | single press |
| Activate Mining Module (Slot 2) | Left Alt + 2 | not bound by default | single press |
| Activate Mining Module (Slot 3) | Left Alt + 3 | not bound by default | single press |
| Toggle Laser Beam (High / low) | Left Alt + 4 | not bound by default | toggle |
| Jettison Cargo | Left Alt + J | not bound by default | single press |
| Toggle Scanning Operator Mode | V | not bound by default | toggle |
| Activate Scanning | Mouse left | not bound by default | hold |
| Increase Scanning Angle | Mouse wheel up | Button 3 | single press |
| Decrease Scanning Angle | Mouse wheel down | Button 4 | single press |
Game default binding, game version 4.10.0-hotfix (55227). If you rebound it yourself, your binding applies.
Anything marked “not bound by default” you have to bind yourself in the game settings – we do not guess a key.
HOTAS/HOSAS: the joystick column is the default binding of ONE stick. On two sticks you assign pitch, yaw, roll and lateral strafe yourself – which axis a manoeuvre needs is listed in the HOTAS / HOSAS section.
Sequence
- Fly out together. Not separately, or you wait for each other in the area.
- Scout ahead. He reports the first rock before the miner arrives.
- Mining starts, the scout keeps searching. That is the rhythm.
- Cargo takes over. As soon as a container is full, not only at the end.
- Keep calls short. “Rock, 2 km, towards the planet, good” is enough.
- Break off together. If one has to leave, the crew goes back together.
- Goal
- Set up a crew so that no station is waiting.
- Preparation
- Two to four players, at least one multi-crew mining ship, optionally a cargo ship. Comms agreed.
- Task
- Fly a full cycle with a fixed role split. One observer notes who waited how long. Then swap roles and fly the same cycle again. Compare the waiting times.
- Success criterion
- In the second cycle nobody waits longer than in the first.
- Partner
- required
- Functions needed
- Fire Mining Laser (Toggle)
- Switch Mining Laser (Toggle)
- Increase Mining Laser Power
- Decrease Mining Laser Power
- Increase / Decrease Mining Laser Power
- Activate Mining Module (Slot 1)
Risk and reward
A crew is more conspicuous than a single ship and stays in one place longer. In exchange it can defend itself or at least be warned. The return does not scale with the number of people: two with clear roles beat four doing the same thing.
What comes out in the end is decided by the market. Prices are in the OMC trade hub with their measurement date – not here.
Typical mistakes
- Everyone mining. Then it is solo mining side by side.
- No scout. Mining waits between rocks – exactly the time the crew wanted to save.
- Cargo only at the end. A full container blocks the mining.
- Forgetting comms discipline. Someone chatting during fracturing gets expensive.
- Never swapping roles. A crew where only one can scan fails when he is missing.
Next step
There is a template for preparing a crew operation in Mission Control: mining run. What pays off and what does not is in risk and reward.