How do you get Red Crystal Dust in Lightyear Frontier? From the name alone, you’ve likely assumed which common resource can eventually be turned into the one that you’ll begin to need after cleaning up a few biomes. And you’d be right. But how you go about turning Red Crystals into Red Crystal Dust isn’t as straightforward as you might expect. It’s not a complicated process, but it can be a lengthy one if you’re after it too early.
Think you need to turn those crystals into dust as soon as you’ve found them? That’s not the case. You might still need to know how to restore Pine Heights in Lightyear Frontier first. That’ll at least give you a solid source of crystals once you actually need them. With that done, you’ll then want to look into how to build the Merchant Landing. It’s the first step in making (and spending) space money.
How to get Red Crystal Dust in Lightyear Frontier
Red Crystal Dust is a byproduct of the Red Crystal node you can mine early on in Lightyear Frontier.
To turn Red Crystals into Red Crystal Dust, however, you need a crafting station you’ll only unlock quite a while after you first discover the resource – the Grinder.
To unlock the Grinder in Lightyear Frontier, you need to produce your first Copper Wire. That’s a whole other progression stage that requires a few more steps.
Once you’ve discovered Copper Wire and made four spools of the stuff, you’ll then need to mix it with Aluminium Rods and Stone to create the Grinder.
With that made, simply toss any Red Crystals you come across into the Grinder to make Red Crystal Dust.
To expedite Red Crystal Dust production, you’ll need to rely on feeding the animal nests in the areas Red Crystals typically spawn. This causes the nodes to replenish at a faster rate, making it possible to fill your bags with the stuff day after day.
The Grinder is too tall to sit under a Workshop Shed, so you can’t rely on the latter’s lucky production buff to churn out freebies from time to time. Luckily, a single Red Crystal generates two helpings of Red Crystal Dust. If you have more crystals than you can fit in a single Grinder, consider building additional Grinders to speed up production.
What are Red Crystals used for in Lightyear Frontier?
Red Crystals are eventually ground down into Red Crystal Dust in Lightyear Frontier.
This mid-game material is used to unlock the Irrigation Hose Power upgrade needed to have your Mech clean up later biomes. It’s also used to make the Colour Mixer and Weather Station, and used in the production of Red Glass.
Where to get Red Crystals in Lightyear Frontier
You’ll find Red Crystals in abundance up in the Pine Heights biome of Lightyear Frontier. The area also hosts Aluminium and Coal, but these are typically found at lower elevations.
Climb up toward the back end of the area and into the zones densely populated with small and large pine trees to find more and more Red Crystals.
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