Lightyear Frontier is a vibrant and laid-back intergalactic farming adventure that tasks you with building a new life on a distant planet. To do that, you have to make use of your farmer mech, which has a variety of very useful tools that all need upgrading. If you’re wondering how to go about it, here’s our handy guide to show you how to upgrade tools in Lightyear Frontier.
How to Unlock the Upgrade Depot in Lightyear Frontier
In order to make any upgrades at all to your Mech, you first need to unlock and build the Upgrade Depot on your designated farm. The recipe for this feature will naturally unlock in your Build Menu as you explore beyond the Meadows, gather resources such as Aluminum, and restore each area back to a healthy state.
Once you have the recipe available, while on your farm you can go to the Build Menu and find it under the Constructs – Essentials tab with the star symbol. The Upgrade Depot requires the following resources to build:
- 24 x Stone (use your Spike Saw to gather these)
- 6 x Aluminum Rod (found abundantly in Pine Heights and the SE section of The Meadows)
- 4 x Aluminum Frame (the Assembler is required to make these by using Aluminum Rods)
Once you have all of the above materials, find an open area of your farm to place the Upgrade Depot, as it’s relatively big. Once it’s built, you’ll be able to upgrade your Mech’s tools at any time, provided you have the proper resources for them. Remember to make use of the Merchant to obtain some that may be harder to get in the wild.
How to Upgrade Mech Tools in Lightyear Frontier
With your newly-furnished Upgrade Depot ready to use, it’s time to start upgrading any and all of your Mech’s tools that you can. It’s especially important because you won’t be able to restore many of the surrounding areas of the map without them, and of course, acquire higher-grade resources.
First, approach your Upgrade Depot while in your Mech and press ‘E’ to secure it in place. You’ll automatically eject from it, and can then walk to the other side to view the dashboard screen. The Upgrades and Customization menus will then pop up. While ‘Mech Upgrades’ are specifically for your tools, ‘Mech Customization’ is for making cosmetic changes to the Mech itself, whether it’s the Windshield, the Engine, or the Arms and Legs.
On the Upgrades Menu for your tools, they’re subdivided into three categories: Farming, Gathering, and Traversal.
‘Farming’ refers to your Seed Shooter, Irrigation Hose, and upgrading your Water Tank. ‘Gathering’ is for your Spike Saw, Vacuum Harvester, and increasing Inventory capacity. Meanwhile, ‘Traversal’ is for improving your Mech’s navigation, from Thrusters to Sprint Speed.
As you hover over each upgrade, a sub-menu will pop up on the right side of the screen, displaying what’s required for building them. Some of the resources are harder to find in the wild or require additional farm tools such as the Assembler and Grinder to make.
As soon as you have everything you need, simply go back to your Upgrade Depot, secure your Mech in place, and click and hold over your chosen upgrade to complete it.
That concludes our guide for how to upgrade your tools in Lightyear Frontier. We hope you found this helpful, and let us know if you’re enjoying the game so far. Does it feel like a breath of fresh air amidst the ongoing torrent of survival crafting games?
For more on the game, check out how to get Caroot Oil and Zappertwig Oil. We’ve also got a guide on all creatures in Lightyear Frontier.
