AETHUS Prospecting: Bench Setup, Geode Mining, and Upgrades

AETHUS prospecting extracts valuable raw gems, deepstone, and ancient artifacts from collected geodes by using a specialized laser at the Prospecting Bench. Players load mineral samples into the station, rotate the rock, and chip away outer layers before attempt counters run out.

Constructing the Prospecting Bench

Operating the prospecting system requires fabricating and placing a dedicated Prospecting Bench inside your base. The blueprint requires several intermediate manufactured components, including a servomotor, advanced electronics, and hardened glass created inside a Superheating Kiln using silica, foucer crystals, and oxite.

Placing the bench inside an active module draws operational current from your shared outpost power network. Setting up the station inside a Manufacturing Hub reduces component construction costs across connected machinery. Once placed, interact with the bench to open its dedicated sample loader. The station only processes items stored directly in your personal inventory, so take any raw geode clusters out of shared cargo bays before activating the interface.

Geode Varieties and Resource Extraction

Exploration beneath the surface exposes various mineral nodes that drop raw geodes when mined with drills or lasers. Basic deposits such as Kalynite and Kaloxite nodes populate the upper cliff areas, while dense veins of Tangrite, Jaspite, and Vitaglass appear across the Lost World. When planetary tremors strike, depleted veins regenerate across the biome, shifting active deposits and providing fresh samples. Players can trigger this replenishment cycle on demand by launching a Quakemaker charge into the ground.

Certain specialty geodes come from alternative collection methods outside direct rock blasting. For instance, players who learn how to fish can cast anti-gravity lures into swamp pools around Lambda to pull up swamp geodes and ancient bones alongside regular catches.

Bench Minigame Mechanics and Core Splitting

Loading a sample into the Prospecting Bench launches an interactive extraction view rather than standard instant crafting. The sample appears as a rough three-dimensional rock floating in the viewport. Your goal is to clear away outer layers of crust and expose the internal core where the concentrated mineral sits.

Using the workstation laser consumes one attempt each time you fire into the rock face. Baseline equipment allows a restricted number of shots per sample, typically between six and eight attempts. Rotate the specimen fully before firing to locate glowing internal seams beneath the exterior crust.

In the Steam community guide by Euchale, the recommended technique involves waiting for dust particles to settle after each strike, then aligning the targeting reticle inward at a diagonal angle toward the core. Stripping away fifty percent or more of the surrounding material before running out of attempts produces high-grade payouts, including Sky Sapphires, Dust Rubies, and Deepstone. Stopping short leaves lower yields or broken debris.

Station Upgrades and Yield Improvements

Improving your extraction success depends on terminal purchases available at the outpost upgrade kiosk. Spending credits on suit and tool augmentations directly expands your margin for error during delicate laser passes:

1. Prospecting Lens: Adds two additional laser strike attempts per geode, raising your ceiling to ten attempts per sample for 30,000 credits.
2. Gem Extraction Chip: Permanently raises the baseline chance of discovering intact rare gems within processed crusts by 10%.
3. Cargo Drone Adjustments: Configures collection filters through the customization kiosk so automated drones ignore plain sandstone debris while gathering dropped geode pods.

Investing in these terminal perks ranks among the best upgrades for funding late-game projects. Refined gems command high payouts at the surface trade post, transforming raw underground samples into the operating capital needed for advanced atmospheric gear and deep-layer access keys.