FAQ

Star Citizen is a space sim MMO from Cloud Imperium Games (CIG), crowdfunded since 2012. You fly ships, walk around stations, cities and planets, and earn a living through trade, mining, salvage, combat and more, in one shared universe with no loading screens between space and the ground.

It is still in alpha: it is playable, but expect bugs, crashes, wipes and big changes between patches.

Sources: RSI: What is Star Citizen? · Star Citizen Wiki

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1. Create a free RSI account at robertsspaceindustries.com. Enter a referral code at sign-up for the 50,000 UEC bonus (see referral code).
2. Buy a game package. This is what gives you access to the game.
3. Download and install the RSI Launcher, sign in, and install the LIVE game on an SSD.
4. Launch, create your character and pick a starting location.

Sources: RSI KB: Create an RSI account · RSI Download

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No. Making an account is free, but you need a game package to play. The exception is Free Fly events, when anyone with an account can play for a limited time.

Sources: RSI Pledge Store

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• Wake up in your hab, open the mobiGlas (F1) and pick up a few easy contracts, for example deliveries.
• Learn the basics: F to interact, the ASOP terminal to call your ship, and asking ATC for landing and take-off clearance.
• Get a weapon and armour from a store and carry a medpen.
• Ask in the Obsidian Squad Discord: we run new-player flights.

Sources: Star Citizen Wiki: New player guide

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The cheapest package is all you need. In October 2026 RSI sells one standalone package, the First Flight Pack: the Aurora Mk II, six months of insurance, 10,000 UEC and the game, plus 30-day loaners of a mining, salvage and cargo starter ship. It lists at $60 and is often on sale.

Every ship can also be bought in game with aUEC, so you don’t need a bigger pack. You can upgrade your starter later.

Sources: RSI Pledge Store: game packages · Star Citizen Wiki: Pledging

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Only if it says so. Star Citizen and Squadron 42 are sold separately (the First Flight Pack is Star Citizen only). You can add Squadron 42 later from the store, or buy a combo pack.

Sources: RSI KB: Squadron 42 download

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Buying anything on the RSI store is called a pledge, because the money funds development. In practice it is a purchase: the item shows up in My Hangar on the website and in game.

Sources: Star Citizen Wiki: Pledging

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No. Every flyable ship in the game can be bought or rented in game with aUEC, so ships on the store are a shortcut and a way to support development. Your skills, friends and an org matter more than your hangar.

Sources: Star Citizen Wiki: Pledging

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• UEC (United Earth Credits) is account currency, for example from the referral bonus or a game package. It is kept for the finished game.
• aUEC (alpha UEC) is the in-game money you earn and spend now. It can be wiped.

New characters start with some aUEC, and UEC on your account is not paid into your aUEC wallet.

Sources: Star Citizen Wiki: UEC

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When you melt a pledge, its value becomes store credit. You can spend it on most store items, but not on Warbond pledges or physical items, and it can’t be withdrawn as cash.

Sources: RSI KB: Store credit

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RSI usually allows refunds of new pledges within 30 days, as long as you haven’t changed them (melted, upgraded or gifted). Open a ticket with RSI Support. Melting is not a refund: it gives store credit only.

Sources: RSI Knowledge Base

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Yes, most pledges can be gifted once from My Hangar, if they were bought with real money or are giftable. After that, the ship stays with the person who received it. Never buy accounts or ships from strangers: it breaks the Terms of Service and scams are common.

Sources: Star Citizen Wiki: Pledging

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A Free Fly is a limited-time event, often around Invictus Launch Week (May) and the IAE ship show (November), when anyone with an RSI account can play and try a set of ships. Some events also give owners rentals or loaners. Look for news on the RSI site and Spectrum.

Sources: Star Citizen Wiki: Free Fly · RSI Comm-Link

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• PTU (Public Test Universe) is a separate server and install where upcoming patches are tested. Waves open first to subscribers and concierge, and then to all backers.
• Evocati is an invite-only, NDA-bound test group that sees builds first.
• Tech-Preview is a short test of a single tech, such as server meshing.

Progress on test servers doesn’t carry over to LIVE.

Sources: Star Citizen Wiki: PTU

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Copy your account to the PTU on the RSI website (Account → Public Test Universe), then pick the PTU channel in the RSI Launcher and install it. It needs a lot of extra disk space. Report bugs on the Issue Council.

Sources: Issue Council

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Squadron 42 is a single-player story campaign set in the same universe. In August 2026 CIG moved its release from 2026 to Q2 2027. It isn’t downloadable yet. You can wishlist it on Steam.

Sources: RSI KB: Squadron 42 · Squadron 42 on Steam

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32 GB RAM and an NVMe SSD make the biggest difference. There is no Mac, Linux or console version.

Sources: RSI KB: Minimum system requirements

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Yes, an SSD is required. Plan for 150 GB or more for LIVE, more again for a PTU install, and leave room for the Windows page file (at least 10 GB on an SSD).

Sources: RSI KB: Game and launcher requirements

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• Update your graphics drivers and close background apps.
• Use Vulkan if it is stable for you, and turn on upscaling (DLSS, FSR or TSR).
• FPS is lower in cities and busy servers. That is server- and CPU-limited, not just your GPU.
• After a patch, delete the USER folder and shader cache.

Sources: Star Citizen Wiki: Performance tweaks

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Ship shops such as New Deal (Lorville), Astro Armada (Area18) and the stations’ dealers sell ships for aUEC. Many ships can also be rented for a day or more at rental counters, which is a cheap way to try one. Ships bought in game are lost in a full wipe.

Sources: Star Citizen Wiki: Ship shops

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If your ship is destroyed, you file a claim at an ASOP terminal or in the mobiGlas. You pay a claim fee and wait a timer (shorter for small ships), then the ship comes back with its default parts. Pledged ships come with a set insurance term. Expedite to pay more for a shorter wait.

Sources: Star Citizen Wiki: Insurance

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LTI is Lifetime Insurance: the ship’s insurance never runs out. Right now insurance terms barely matter in game, because claims are cheap and short. LTI is a nice extra, not something to pay a lot for.

Sources: Star Citizen Wiki: Insurance

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A CCU (Cross-Chassis Upgrade) turns one pledged ship into a more expensive one, for the price difference. The ship keeps its original insurance, so an LTI ship stays LTI. People chain CCUs, often using Warbond upgrades, to save money. Use a CCU planner to plan chains.

Sources: Star Citizen Wiki: Cross Chassis Upgrades

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Melting (reclaiming) a pledge returns its value as store credit and removes it from your account. Buyback lets you get a melted pledge back. Buying back with store credit needs a buyback token, given out once a quarter (January, April, July, October) and they don’t stack. Some pledges, such as Squadron 42 and discounted packs, can’t be bought back, so read the warning before you melt.

Sources: RSI KB: Pledge buyback tool

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Ships are stored at the location where you last left them. Check the ASOP or fleet manager screen for its location. If it says destroyed, file an insurance claim. If a ship is stuck, ask for a claim or use the “retrieve” option at the terminal. Pledged ships are delivered to your home location.

Sources: Star Citizen Wiki: ASOP

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A wipe resets in-game progress: aUEC, items, and ships bought in game. CIG wipes only when it needs to, for example after big database or economy changes. In February 2026 CIG said no more full wipes are planned for now, only targeted ones where needed. Patch notes always say if there is one.

Sources: Star Citizen Wiki: Wipe

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Pledged ships, items and paints on your account are always kept and come back after a wipe. Long-Term Persistence (LTP) also often keeps things earned in game, including aUEC, between patches, but CIG says aUEC can be reset at any time and is never refunded.

Sources: Star Citizen Wiki: Long-Term Persistence

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At 22 October 2026 LIVE is Alpha 4.10.2 (released 9 October 2026), with Long-Term Persistence kept from 4.10.1. Always check the patch notes for the current version.

Sources: RSI: Alpha 4.10.2 patch notes · RSI Status

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Start with box-delivery and cargo-hauling contracts and bounty contracts for low-level targets, or FPS (hand) mining in caves. These need little or no extra kit. Then save towards a ship for the job you enjoy. The Trade and Missions pages in our Data Hub help you plan.

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There are three types: FPS mining with a hand-held multitool, ROC mining with a small ground vehicle, and ship mining (Prospector, Golem, MOLE). You scan a rock, keep the laser power in the green zone without overcharging it, break it, and collect the ore. Then sell it or refine it at a station refinery. See our Mining page for where each ore spawns.

Sources: Star Citizen Wiki: Mining

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Salvage ships (Vulture, Fortune, Reclaimer) scrape hull material off wrecks and turn it into Recycled Material Composite (RMC). Some can also take whole parts. You sell RMC at trade terminals. Find wrecks from salvage contracts or by scanning, or salvage your own kills.

Sources: Star Citizen Wiki: Salvaging

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Buy goods at a trade terminal, load the ship with the freight elevator, fly to where they sell for more, and sell them. Hauling contracts pay you to move other people’s cargo, with no money at risk. Watch out for pirates around popular routes. Our Trade page shows prices and routes.

Sources: Star Citizen Wiki: Trading

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Take a bounty contract from the mobiGlas Contract Manager, starting with low-rank targets. Bounty contracts let you kill a criminal NPC (or player) without getting a crimestat. Your reputation with the bounty-hunter guild goes up and unlocks harder, better-paying contracts.

Sources: Star Citizen Wiki: Bounty hunting

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Quantum travel moves you quickly between planets and stations. Open the starmap (F2), set a route, line up the ship with the marker, then hold B to spool and jump. You need quantum fuel. Tip: enter Nav mode first. Gravity wells and big objects can stop you short, and Interdiction ships can pull you out.

Sources: Star Citizen Wiki: Quantum travel

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Stanton and Pyro are the core systems, linked by a jump point, and more (such as Nyx) are being added in stages. Check the current patch notes. Stanton is the safe, lawful place to start. Pyro is lawless and dangerous, so go with friends.

Sources: Star Citizen Wiki: Star systems

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CrimeStat (CS) is your wanted level, from 1 to 5, for crimes like attacking players, trespassing or stealing. With a CrimeStat, security and bounty hunters can attack you. Minor fines can be paid in the mobiGlas. A higher CrimeStat can be removed by hacking at a security post (risky), or you serve the sentence in Klescher prison if you are caught.

Sources: Star Citizen Wiki: CrimeStat

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Your sentence counts down while you are online. You can shorten it by mining in the prison and handing in the merits, or doing prison tasks. Some players escape through the caves. Your ships and items are still waiting for you.

Sources: Star Citizen Wiki: Klescher Rehabilitation Facility

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You respawn at your registered medical bed: your home city or station, or a hospital, or a ship’s med bed if you set it as your spawn point. You respawn without the items you were carrying. You can go back to your body to loot it. Use a medical beacon to call for help before you bleed out.

Sources: Star Citizen Wiki: Death

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Injuries affect body parts and get worse at higher tiers (Tier 3 to 1). Use a medpen or a medical device and check your status in the mobiGlas health app. Too many medicines cause overdose. Severe injuries need a med bed or a hospital.

Sources: Star Citizen Wiki: Medical gameplay

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An organisation (org) is a player group like a guild or clan. Orgs plan operations, crew big ships together and help new players. You can be in several orgs, but you only have one main org.

Sources: Star Citizen Wiki: Organizations

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Use the Join the Squad page, then apply to our org on RSI and say hello in our Discord. We welcome brand-new players.

Sources: Obsidian Squad on RSI · Obsidian Squad Discord

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If you enter a player’s referral code when you create your account, you get 50,000 UEC on your account. Our code is STAR-FR7J-DSW4, or use this sign-up link. You must add it when creating the account or within 24 hours after. RSI can’t add it later. It costs you nothing, and the person who referred you earns referral rewards when you buy.

Sources: RSI KB: Referral programme FAQ

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Spectrum is RSI’s official forum and chat. It has patch news, the official forums, and every org’s channels. It is also used in game for chat.

Sources: RSI Spectrum

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Server meshing splits one universe across many servers. Each server runs part of the universe, so one shard can hold far more players. Static server meshing went LIVE with Alpha 4.0 in December 2024, linking Stanton and Pyro. CIG is working towards dynamic meshing, where servers move with the players.

Sources: Star Citizen Wiki: Server meshing

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A shard is one copy of the universe. Players on different shards can’t see each other. Choose a shard and region in the launcher’s menu, and join friends by partying up before you load in.

Sources: Star Citizen Wiki: Shard

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Big patches come about every few months, with smaller point releases (like 4.10.1, 4.10.2) between them. Each goes through Evocati and PTU first. The roadmap and Comm-Links show what is coming.

Sources: RSI Roadmap · RSI Patch notes

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Error 30000 means you lost the connection to the server, usually because the server crashed. Wait a moment and log in again. You normally come back at your last location. If it keeps happening:

• check RSI Status (our live copy of RSI's own status page),
• delete the USER folder,
• verify the game files in the launcher,
• turn off any VPN.

Sources: RSI KB: Error code 30000

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Character Repair, on the RSI website under Account Settings, resets your character to fix being stuck in a broken state or in an endless loading screen. It is a last resort and can’t be undone: you keep aUEC, ships and stored items, but may lose items you are wearing or carrying. Don’t log in for 30 minutes or so after it is done.

Sources: RSI KB: Character repair

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Close the game and launcher. Delete StarCitizen\LIVE\user (it holds settings and keybinds, so export your controls first) and the shaders folder under %LOCALAPPDATA%\Star Citizen. Then verify the files in the launcher. It fixes many crashes after a patch.

Sources: RSI KB: Error code 30000 (USER folder steps)

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Check your firewall and antivirus, check free disk space, and make sure the install path has no special characters. Then reinstall the launcher. If you have router problems, try opening the ports TCP 8000 to 8020 and UDP 64090 to 64110.

Sources: RSI KB: Game and launcher requirements

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Report game bugs on the Issue Council (and vote on existing reports). For account, billing and pledge problems, open a ticket with RSI Support. For quick help with the game, ask in our Discord.

Sources: Issue Council · RSI Knowledge Base

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