Compare crawler capacity and overload.

Understand what you are buying

Crawlers are stationary production support. They cannot accompany a fleetsave, so budget them as vulnerable local infrastructure rather than mobile fleet. The official class FAQ lists Collector as required for construction, with Shipyard 5, Combustion Drive 4, Armour Technology 4 and Laser Technology 4. The base unit cost is 2,000 metal, 2,000 crystal and 1,000 deuterium. Confirm the current technology tree before starting a large queue.

Start with a planet that already has meaningful mine output and reliable power. A crawler bonus on weak mines is small, while its energy requirement still needs funding. Build in batches so you can verify the displayed gain before repeating the purchase across the account.

Calculate the working limit

The standard active-count limit is 8 × (Metal Mine level + Crystal Mine level + Deuterium Synthesizer level). Before Lifeform class enhancement, a Collector with an active Geologist has 10% more working capacity. Rock’tal Collector Enhancement can increase that capacity bonus; read the allowed working count in your account. This is not a multiplier from economy speed. Collector’s 50% crawler-output improvement is also not a 50% increase in the number that can work.

Keep three quantities distinct: crawlers owned, crawlers allowed to work, and the production bonus actually realized. A separate 50% crawler-production cap is documented in the official 22 July 2026 PTS 13.0.0-r5 changelog. That is test-server patch evidence, not a fresh measurement of every live universe; confirm the current bonus row in your account. More working capacity does not guarantee more income once that bonus ceiling is reached. Lifeform changes can make the ceiling relevant earlier; inspect the current bonus row rather than blindly filling the count limit.

Stop before extra spending stops helping

Without lifeform modifiers, a Collector at 150% workload gains 0.045% per active crawler before the cap. Thus 1,111 yields 49.995%; 1,112 reaches the 50% ceiling if the mine-based limit permits it. This is an arithmetic illustration, not a universal recommended fleet size. Enhanced efficiency, operating settings and your working limit change the useful number.

If raising the workload or building another batch does not raise the crawler production row, stop and check the cap. Do not assume a production enhancement is broken merely because a capped output remains unchanged. If the higher workload only draws more power, reduce it to the lowest setting that preserves the desired output.

Measure the marginal return

In the worked 640-crawler example, moving a Collector from 100% to 150% workload adds 9.6 percentage points of baseline crawler production and 32,000 energy demand. It does not add 50% to the entire planet’s total income. If your relevant mine base were 100,000 metal/hour, the uncapped extra crawler metal would be 9,600/hour before other applicable effects. Repeat for crystal and deuterium, then subtract any extra fusion fuel.

Price the extra energy infrastructure as part of the crawler investment. If you use satellites, include replacement exposure in the decision. If you use fusion, compare a shared Energy Technology upgrade with local reactor levels. There is no reason to overcharge simply because the slider allows it.

Add crawlers in verified batches

1. Read mine levels, working limit, current crawler count, energy balance and production bonus on one planet.
2. Check that the next batch fits the active limit and still produces a useful gain below the bonus cap.
3. Fund the energy supply and reserve replacement resources before starting the batch.
4. Compare the resource screen at 100% and at the intended Collector workload. Record net deuterium, not just gross mine output.
5. Recheck after mine upgrades, class changes, Geologist expiry and lifeform changes. Then repeat only where the result is worthwhile.

Three limits, three separate questions

Crawlers are stationary ships that support local mining. Collector is required to build them under the standard class rules; another class can operate crawlers already owned, with its applicable non-Collector effects. The classic unit costs 2,000 M, 2,000 C and 1,000 D and requires Shipyard 5, Combustion Drive 4, Armour 4 and Laser 4.

Baseline working capacity is 8 × (Metal Mine + Crystal Mine + Deuterium Synthesizer levels). Collector with an active Geologist has 10% more before Lifeform class enhancement. The class's 50% output improvement is a different effect; it does not mean 50% more units may work. See the class FAQ.

• How many are owned?
• How many are allowed to contribute under the mine-based working limit?
• How much of their potential production survives the production ceiling and power constraints?

Work through one planet

Example: mines 30/25/25 total 80 levels. The base active limit is 640; with Collector and Geologist it is 704. The table uses the baseline bonus of 0.02% per crawler, Collector’s ×1.5 output, and no lifeform effects. All rows assume sufficient energy and stay below the 50% bonus ceiling.

Overload buys output at a worse marginal power rate

The no-Lifeform baseline is 0.02% of the relevant mine base per working crawler at 100%, multiplied by 1.5 for Collector. At Collector 150%, one crawler contributes 0.045% before the production ceiling. It does not add 0.045% to the final already-boosted planet total.

The overload increments add 10% of the 100%-setting output for another 20% of its baseline energy. At 150%, output is 1.5 times the 100% result while power is twice as high. That does not make overload automatically bad: spare or efficient power can justify it. It does mean a power-constrained planet should compare its net return, not simply select the largest number.

The production ceiling can arrive before the count limit

The official July 22, 2026 PTS r5 changelog explicitly records restoring a 50% mine-production cap. That source is PTS evidence, not a new measurement on every live universe. Use the current Resources bonus and energy rows when deciding how many units or what workload is useful.

With no Lifeform effects, Collector at 150% gives 1,111 × 0.045% = 49.995%; the 1,112th crawler would cross a 50% ceiling if the count limit permits it. A UI rounded to 50.00% can conceal that small difference, so use actual output as well as the printed percentage. Class enhancement, Ion Crystal Modules and other relevant effects change the useful count; do not apply this number as a universal target.

If the production row stops increasing while energy demand rises, a higher workload is buying no additional mine income. Use the lowest available setting that retains the desired output. Do not assume an efficiency technology is useless merely because production is capped: an independent energy reduction can still matter. Exact Lifeform stacking is covered separately; the baseline table here deliberately excludes it.

Count the retained resources

For 640 Collector crawlers, 100→150% adds 9.6 percentage points of the relevant mine base and 32,000 energy demand. With bases of 100,000 M, 60,000 C and 30,000 D per hour, the uncapped extra gross production is 9,600 M, 5,760 C and 2,880 D per hour.

Now price the power that actually supplies those 32,000 units. Additional fusion fuel reduces net Deuterium; satellite supply adds destruction and replacement exposure; a shared Energy Technology upgrade may help several planets. The linked power example shows how positive metal-equivalent income can still worsen the Deuterium fuel balance. If power is short, compare the whole planet before and after, because reduced mine production can outweigh the crawler gain.

Recheck after a mine upgrade, class change, Geologist expiry, energy bonus expiry or a Lifeform change. Do not copy one planet's working count and workload to every colony without comparing its mines, power and actual return.