Extraction
Extraction is how you secure progress. Getting yourself and your loot back to your vessel requires reaching a Selenite Teleportation Pad and paying the extraction fee. Until you extract, everything you've gathered is at risk.
The Key Concept
Extraction = Banking Progress
In MOONSTALKERS, extraction means something other than "leaving this world." The surface is persistent — extraction is about banking progress, not changing location.
When you extract:
- Everything in your inventory is secured in your vessel
- Your current state is saved — if you die later, you respawn from this moment
- Experience, contract completion, unlocked recipes all become permanent
- You can safely logout knowing your progress is locked in
Teleportation Pads
What They Are
Teleportation pads are fixed locations across the map — remnants of Selenite Corp's pre-collapse logistics network:
- Most are still functional, maintained by automated systems
- Occasionally serviced by Corp tech teams
- Vary in size: some can transport large loads, others barely operational
- Require payment in resources — Selenite's network isn't free
Pad Conditions
| Type | Location | Fee Level | Reliability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Premium Pads | Near Selenite facilities | Fair (standard) | Very high — always powered |
| Standard Pads | Scattered infrastructure | Higher than premium | Functional, occasional issues |
| Degraded Pads | Abandoned sites | Cheap | Risky — might fail mid-teleport |
Using a degraded pad creates a gamble: save on fees, but risk losing everything if the pad malfunctions.
The Extraction Fee
Fee Calculation
The fee is calculated based on:
- Mass Being Transported
- Gear + gathered resources. More stuff = higher fee.
- Distance to Your Vessel
- Your vessel's current orbital position affects transport cost.
- Network Congestion
- How many extractions are happening server-wide. Peak times cost more.
- Pad Condition
- Damaged pads charge more to compensate for energy loss. Degraded pads charge less but may fail.
Typical Fee Range
The fee is designed to be:
- Mid-tier resources equivalent to 20-30% of a decent haul
- Enough that you need to gather meaningfully before extracting
- Not so much that extraction becomes impossible
This creates the natural loop: gather → afford extraction → decide whether to bank or push for more.
Why You Can't Always Teleport
Extraction Pressure Mechanics
To prevent extraction from being trivial, several systems limit when you can use telepads:
1. Resource Requirements
You need sufficient resources to pay the fee. Early in a surface session, you simply don't have enough yet. This creates the natural loop.
2. Tidal Interference
Selenite teleportation technology is disrupted by tidal flux. Pads automatically shut down when:
- A flood is imminent (too much electromagnetic interference)
- Tidal surge is at peak (energy grid can't support teleportation)
- Atmospheric conditions are unstable
Forecast windows show when pads will be operational. You might have to survive 2-3 flood cycles before extraction becomes possible.
3. Pad Condition
Not all pads are equal — premium, standard, and degraded pads offer different tradeoffs between cost and reliability.
4. Carry Capacity
You can only transport what you can carry. This creates decisions:
- Extract now with what you have?
- Drop low-value items to pick up something better?
- Make multiple trips (expensive, time-consuming)?
The Extraction Moment
What Happens
- Reach a functional teleportation pad
- Confirm extraction (review fee, verify inventory)
- Pay the fee (resources deducted)
- Teleportation sequence (brief, can be interrupted by attack)
- Arrive in your vessel
- Progress saved — clone state updated, inventory secured
The Relief
Extraction should feel like genuine relief. You've:
- Survived the surface
- Gathered valuable resources
- Paid Selenite's toll
- Secured everything you worked for
This emotional payoff is essential to the game's loop. The tension of "at-risk" makes the release of "saved" meaningful.