Ground-based vehicle mining offers a profitable and approachable way to gather valuable mineral nodes without needing a full-sized mining ship. Whether you’re running solo in a Greycat ROC or teaming up with a friend in the ROC-DS, this gameplay loop is simple, satisfying, and highly portable.

🛠️ What You’ll Need

🚚 Option 1: Greycat ROC (Solo Vehicle)

• • 1-person ground mining vehicle

  • Small mining laser arm

  • 0.8 SCU internal storage crate

  • Great for quick solo runs and tight cargo ships

🚜 Option 2: Greycat ROC-DS (Duo Vehicle)

• • 2-person vehicle (driver + gunner)

  • Stronger turret-mounted mining laser (can fracture tougher nodes)

  • 2.0 SCU of storage (larger external crate)

  • More power, more space — but not ideal for true solo play

    • Laser is turret-mounted, needs second person to operate effectively

    • Can technically be soloed with effort, but inefficient

🛸 Support Ship (Required):

• • Must carry the ROC or ROC-DS

  • ROC: Fits in Cutlass Black, Nomad, Freelancer, etc.

  • ROC-DS: Larger footprint; needs Freelancer MAX, Carrack, MSR, C2, or similar

🪨 What You’re Mining

You’re targeting small mineral nodes found on planetary and moon surfaces — often in clusters.

💎 High-Value Resources:

• • Hadanite (most profitable)

  • Aphorite

  • Dolivine

🧪 How It Works

1. Land: Find a planet or moon with mineables (Lyria, Daymar, Aberdeen, etc.)

2. Deploy: Lower your ROC or ROC-DS and head out on the surface.

3. Scan: Use onboard scanners to locate gem nodes.

4. Fracture:

   • ROC: Use front-mounted arm laser

   • ROC-DS: Gunner controls turret laser — much more powerful

5. Extract: Broken gems are vacuumed into your crate.

6. Recover & Sell: Return to ship, stow the ROC/DS, and sell at nearest trade terminal.

📦 Sell for Profit

• No refinery needed — just head to a trade kiosk (e.g., Area18, Lorville, Port Olisar)

• Simple, fast, and risk-reward depends mostly on survival and crate recovery

💡 Pro Tip: If you die, your crate is left behind — and it’s a pain to recover. Don’t get greedy.

🌍 Where to Mine

🪐 Top Locations:

• • Aberdeen: Great spawn density, especially Aphorite

  • Lyria & Daymar: Best known for Hadanite clusters

  • Ita & Magda: Balanced mix, fewer players

📸 Scan Strategy:

• • Zoom across flat terrain using short-range scanner sweeps

  • Look near boulders, rocky ridges, and outcroppings

💰 Why ROC or ROC-DS Mine?

• Good Solo Income: Especially in short sessions

• Low Barrier to Entry: Cheaper than ship mining

• Highly Portable: Requires only a small-to-mid-size ship

• ROC-DS = Group Scaling: Stronger laser, more storage — perfect for 2 players

  • Can fracture rocks a ROC can’t touch

  • Also ideal for working with a Prospector support ship

⚠️ Key Considerations

• ROC-DS is NOT Solo-Friendly: The turret laser can’t be aimed from the driver seat. You’ll need to get out and manually operate it (slow and awkward).

• Cargo Limits: Even 2 SCU fills fast — plan your runs.

• No Refinement Step: What you mine is what you sell.

• Travel Risk: Most losses come from falling, crashing, or being attacked in transit.

• ROC-DS May Struggle With Terrain: Bigger vehicle, lower agility.