Lightyear Frontier puts you in the space boots of an aspiring Exofarmer destined to make a new life on a distant alien planet by living off the land. To do that you need to gather resources and build yourself a sustainable farm, and that requires getting all Mech upgrades in Lightyear Frontier.
There are many to unlock over the course of the game, and if you’re wondering how to, here’s our handy guide for how to get your Mech into peak performance.
How to Upgrade Your Mech in Lightyear Frontier
First of all, to be able to make any upgrades to your Mech at all, you first need to build an Upgrade Depot on your farm. The recipe for this will unlock in the Build Menu soon after getting your farm started with a Homestead. Note that you’ll need to first build an Assembler machine to make one of the parts.
To build an Upgrade Depot, you’ll need the following resources:
- 24 x Stone (gathered with Spike Saw)
- 4 x Aluminum Rods (found in Pine Heights and The Meadows; gathered with Spike Saw)
- 4 x Aluminum Frames (built with an Assembler; Aluminum Rods required)
Once you’ve picked a spot and built your Upgrade Depot, you’ll be able to plug your Mech into it and view all the possible upgrades for it. While some you’ll be able to get soon enough, others will require a lot of work to achieve.
If there’s a particular upgrade you want to track as you gather resources, you can press ‘F’ to ‘Create Mission’, seen at the bottom of the Upgrade Menu.
All Mech Upgrades in Lightyear Frontier & How to Unlock
The Mech Upgrade menu functions much like a skill tree, as you’ll need to unlock and complete the first tier of upgrades before moving on to the next. Each upgrade has particular resources and items you need to craft in order to unlock them, so the more you expand your farm with all available machines and crops, the easier it’ll be to achieve all of these upgrades.
These upgrades don’t just make crop-building easier, they’re also required to help restore every area of the map, which in turn unlocks new resources for you to make use of. So prioritize getting these unlocked as often as possible.
- Oil Presser – Makes all types of Oils from grown crops.
- Assembler – Makes items including Lenses, Parts, Electronics, Wire, Frames, Batteries, and Power Cores.
- Grinder – Grinds all types of Crystals to make Crystal Dusts.
- Furnace – Smelts all types of Ores and Crystal Dust to make Glass and Bars.
There are three categories of upgrades – Farming, Gathering, and Traversal. We’ve listed all of them below by category and tier, along with the necessary resources/items required to unlock.
Farming Upgrades
| Upgrade | How to Unlock |
|---|---|
| Seed Shooter Lock-On | 5 x Aluminum Rod 5 x Plant Oil |
| Lock-On Targets I | 2 x Clear Lens 2 x Aluminum Electronics 1 x Power Core |
| Lock-On Targets II | 2 x Blue Lens 2 x Iron Electronics 1 x Power Core |
| Lock-On Targets III | 2 x Yellow Lens 2 x Steel Electronics 1 x Power Core |
| Upgrade | How to Unlock |
|---|---|
| Irrigation Hose Hydro Splash | 5 x Aluminum Parts |
| Hydro Splash Size I | 6 x Blue Crystal Dust 5 x Iron Parts |
| Hydro Splash Size II | 6 x Yellow Crystal Dust 5 x Steel Parts |
| Upgrade | How to Unlock |
|---|---|
| Water Tank Capacity I | 18 x Polyberry Oil |
| Irrigation Hose Range I | 3 x Red Lens |
| Water Tank Capacity II | 6 x Blue Crystal 3 x Zappertwig Oil |
| Water Tank Capacity III | 6 x Yellow Crystals 18 x Honeybottle Oil |
| Upgrade | How to Unlock |
|---|---|
| Irrigation Hose Power I | 10 x Red Crystal Dust 9 x Rabbage Oil |
| Irrigation Hose Power II | 5 x Iron Parts 2 x Red Lens |
Gathering Upgrades
| Upgrade | How to Unlock |
|---|---|
| Spike Saw Power I | 5 x Aluminum Parts |
| Spike Saw Power II | 5 x Aluminum Electronics 18 x Caroot Oil |
| Spike Saw Damage I | 3 x Aluminum Rod 5 x Rabbage Oil 1 x Power Core |
| Spike Saw Power III | 5 x Iron Parts 2 x Iron Electronics |
| Spike Saw Damage II | 3 x Iron Bar 5 x Chromaize Oil 1 x Power Core |
| Spike Saw Damage III | 3 x Fractalite Bar 5 x Lumbloom Oil 1 x Power Core |
| Upgrade | How to Unlock |
|---|---|
| Inventory Capacity I | 5 x Aluminum Electronics |
| Vacuum Harvester Power I | 5 x Copper Wire 9 x Caroot Oil |
| Vacuum Harvester Range I | 3 x Red Lens |
| Vacuum Harvester Power II | 2 x Blue Lens 2 x Steel Electronics 2 x Battery |
| Vacuum Harvester Width I | 1 x Iron Frame 9 x Zappertwig Oil |
| Inventory Capacity II | 5 x Battery |
| Vacuum Harvester Width II | 1 x Steel Frame 9 x Wax |
| Inventory Capacity III | 5 x Fractalite Bar 5 x Battery |
Traversal Upgrades
| Upgrade | How to Unlock |
|---|---|
| Pathmaker | 5 x Aluminum Electronics 4 x Aluminum Frame 9 x Polyberry Oil |
| Field Plow | 10 x Aluminum Rod 5 x Iron Frame 6 x Chromaize Oil |
| Upgrade | How to Unlock |
|---|---|
| Thruster Boost I | 50 x Rabbage Oil 1 x Power Core |
| Thruster Boost II | 25 x Lumbloom Oil 5 x Spring 1 x Power Core |
| Upgrade | How to Unlock |
|---|---|
| Sprint Speed I | 36 x Caroot Oil 5 x Copper Wire |
| Sprint Speed II | 36 x Coilvine Oil 5 x Spring |
That concludes our guide for all mech upgrades in Lightyear Frontier and how to get them. We hope you found this helpful, and let us know how you’re enjoying the game so far.
Be sure to check out all of our other guides for Lightyear Frontier, such as all creatures found in the game.
