Relay Network
The Relay Network is Bconomy's infrastructure system. You build Bays full of Modules that keep working on their own: one makes BC, one turns items into Salvage, one cools the others down, and one cuts your action cooldowns. Almost everything in the Network is paid for with Salvage, which the Network itself produces.
It unlocks at the Missing game reference: unlockRequirement rank. Players who have Ascended at least once have it unlocked already.
How the parts connect
The Network has four kinds of Bay. You can own one of each.
| Bay | Takes in | Produces | What the output is for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Refinery | Items you commit to it | Salvage | Fuel, Modules, Research, Upgrades and the Network Store. The Refinery is where the whole Network gets its currency. |
| Mint | Nothing required. Optional Salvage fuel | BC, plus a Work boost while fueled | BC goes to your balance, or partly to your Faction or personal Vault. Fuel powers the Work Amplifier and Work cooldown cuts. |
| Recovery | Salvage fuel (required) | Charge | Charge gives your Fish, Hunt, Explore and Mine actions a chance to cut their cooldowns, and can bank surplus quest finds. |
| Cooling | Cryo Gel | Cooling supply | Lowers heat on your Mint, Refinery and Recovery Bays once they pass half heat. |
Three things apply to every Bay that produces something (Mint, Refinery and Recovery):
- Heat. Running a Bay builds heat. A hot Bay slows down. Cooling Bays and DX Coolant bring heat back down.
- Operating mode. Each Bay runs Off, Underclocked, Normal or Overclocked. Higher modes produce more, make more heat and burn more fuel. See operating modes.
- Improvements. Relay Research improves the whole Network at once. Bay Upgrades improve one Bay. Both cost Salvage plus items.
The Salvage loop
Salvage is the thread that ties the Network together:
- The Refinery turns items into Salvage.
- Salvage is spent on more and better Modules, on Relay Research, Bay Upgrades and the Network Store.
- Salvage also fuels the Mint (for the Work boost) and the Recovery Bay (required for it to work at all).
- Better Modules make the Refinery produce more Salvage, and the loop grows.
If Salvage runs short, everything else in the Network stalls with it. A steady Refinery comes first. See Salvage for every source and use.
Bays and Modules
- Buying a Bay. Each Bay costs a basket of Relay items such as Relay Frames, Signal Matrices and Solar Panels. Each new Bay costs more than the last. From the third Bay on, it also costs Salvage. Missing ingredients can be crafted automatically during the purchase.
- Order. Bays unlock in a fixed order: Mint, Refinery, Cooling, then Recovery.
- Modules. A Bay does its work through Modules. You craft each Module from items and Salvage, and level it up from 1 to 15. Higher levels produce more and run cooler.
- Module limits. The Mint has no Module limit. Refinery, Cooling and Recovery Bays start with 5 Module slots, raised by the Module Capacity Expansion upgrade.
- XenoServer. The XenoServer Special installs a Module without its item cost. On a Mint it is completely free; on other Bays it also halves the Salvage cost.
- Pausing. Individual Modules can be paused without selling them.
The idle rule
The whole Network runs at full speed for Missing game reference: relayIdleTime after your last Relay action. After that it stops producing until you come back. Time away past that window is not paid back later.
Any Relay action restarts the window, such as claiming, depositing or changing a mode. The Hypervisor Prestige Perk extends the window.
Where to start
- Buy your first Bay (the Mint) and a few Modules. It starts making BC straight away, with or without fuel.
- Buy the Refinery and commit cheap crafted items. Claim the Salvage regularly.
- Spend early Salvage on Refinery Modules and levels, so Salvage income grows.
- Research Bay Telemetry (exact numbers) and Overflow Cutoff (stops the Refinery wasting items when its buffer is full) early.
- Add Cooling once heat starts slowing your Bays, then Recovery when you play actively and want shorter cooldowns.
Related systems
- Work action: the Mint's Work Amplifier and Work cooldown cuts.
- Loot actions and quests: the Recovery Bay's cooldown cuts and Quest Bank.
- Factions and Vaults: the Mint can route part of its BC to your Faction or personal Vault.
- Gemeralds: late Recovery Modules and upgrades cost Gemeralds, and Transmutation converts them.
- Leaderboards: the daily and weekly Refined leaderboards reward top refiners with DX Coolant, Salvage and XenoServers. See Refinery#Top refiners.