Ship recovery

Derelict ships and ships disabled or destroyed in battle can be recovered to gain a usable but damaged ship. Recovered ships will gain one or more damage mods. Ships not recovered may be salvaged instead.

Ships from allied fleets cannot be recovered in the post battle recovery options but may still appear as derelicts on the strategic map after a battle, which can be recovered. Exploration derelicts and Remnant cannot be recovered unless the player has the Technology skill Automated Ships.

Post-battle recovery

Ship recovery GUI

After a battle, if the player does not retreat or leave prematurely, some disabled or destroyed ships can be recovered at no cost (beyond the supplies needed to repair them). Ships have a random chance to be recoverable; this is higher for the player's own ships, and can be increased to effectively 100% with certain skills or hullmods.

Ships count as "almost always recoverable" if they either:

• Are piloted by the player.
• Are piloted by an officer. AI Cores fulfill this condition for automated ships.
• Have at least one S-mod (including S-mod of a built in hullmod).
• Have the Reinforced Bulkheads hullmod. This also applies to enemy ships.
• Have the special built-in Rugged Construction hullmod. This also applies to enemy ships.
• Player has the Hull Restoration skill.

If a ship is not recovered it will be salvaged for metals, supplies and fuel instead, and any weapons and fighters installed will be recovered. Damaged ships sell for very little (often less than the salvage rewards), so if the player does not intend to use the ship themselves they should not recover it.

Derelict ships

Derelict ships found drifting in space also have a chance to be recovered. If not, the player may opt to salvage them.

Derelicts can sometimes be found when scavenging debris fields.

At least two versions out of date. Last verified for version 0.8.1a. Please refer to Version History and update this page.