Starbase – how to refuel your ship (Laborer)

As you begin venturing into deep space and complete asteroid mining runs, you’ll notice your fuel may be running low. Replacing your fuel rod is not the most obvious thing in the world, especially if you’re new to Starbase. In this guide, we will show you how to refuel your ship and replace the fuel rod, and even craft new ones, in the space exploration game of Starbase.

For other beginner guides, you can check out our guides on asteroid mining and ore types, how to sell ore, and accessing the auction house. All of these basic tasks will help you better understand Starbase.

How to refuel your ship in Starbase

To refuel your ship in Starbase, you will first need to understand how you know it’s time to refuel. If you look at the screens while you’re piloting your ship, you will notice one on the top left labeled FuelChamberFuel. When this bar is getting low, it means you are running low on fuel. Luckily, the starter ship (Laborer module) comes with a few backup fuel rods. Let’s dive into how to replace those fuel rods.

Locate the Generator Fuel Chamber Tier 1 on the Laborer ship. It is directly behind the pilot seat. You will notice a Fuel Rod sitting in the chamber, with a meter on the front of it, signifying how much fuel is in it. Point your mouse at the fuel rod, and hit the “E” key on your keyboard. Move your mouse somewhere else, and drop the fuel rod by pressing “E” again.

Next, head to the back of your ship and locate the four fuel rod racks. Luckily, the starter ship comes with four backup fuel rods. Look at one of the fuel rods and press “E” again to take it out of the rack. Take it back to the Generator Fuel Chamber. Right-click on your mouse, and drag your mouse to align the fuel rod with the chamber. When you have it lined up, press “C” to enable snap mode. The rod should snap into the chamber, assuming you have it aligned properly. Press “E” again to drop it into the chamber.

Note: if you are having trouble aligning it, you can also use the “Z,” “X,” and “Y” keys to rotate along the Z, X, and Y-axis. For some players, it may be easier to turn objects using these keys rather than right-clicking. Now, you can place the empty fuel rod back in the rack or dispose of it in space.

How to get fuel rods in Starbase

You can craft new full fuel rods by researching them in the technology tree. Press “K” to open the research window and navigate to the basic tab. On the fourth row, you will notice Fuel Rods as the fourth option. You will need to meet a few prerequisites and have enough research points before researching this. You can get more research points by crafting other objects.

Now, you can open your crafting window by pressing “I” and navigating to the crafting tab. Under Power, you should now see the option to craft Tier 1 Generator Fuel Rods. A full fuel rod requires the following materials:

• Nhurgite: 83.00 kv
• Vokarium: 34.57 kv
• Ajatite: 69.14 kv
• Bastium: 34.57 kb

You can craft these fuel rods and insert them using the steps outlined above. Now you know how to refuel your starter ship in Starbase!

How to refuel propellent in Starbase

Another thing you will run out of from accelerating and cruising is propellant. Luckily, you can refill this at any of the refill stations around the space station. Fly your ship over to a refill station or Ore Storage tower, tether to the resource bridge, and purchase any amount of propellant.