System Colonisation

ED Trailblazers

System Colonisation lets you claim star systems with player-led, free-form expansion in the galaxy. The Bubble is no longer static. The System Architect manages colonial development. Colonization can be done by a solo commander, group or faction. The beta version is currently playable, launched on 26 Feb 2025.

Claim

Colonisation ship

System colonization is a player-driven way to expand the Bubble and colonise new systems Claiming a system is first come, first serve. The player must find an unpopulated system within 16 light years. You can scan a star system in advance to see the number of slots that are available for construction. Some systems are more valuable for construction. The player must purchase a claim with credits from a Colonisation Contact (CC). The CC is a member of a faction in a populated system in The Bubble. A Colonisation Beacon must be deployed in that system within 24 hours. If this is not done within the time limit then the claim is revoked. If you failed twice then you must wait 3 days until you can make another claim. The Beacon costs 25 million credits. You cannot claim multiple systems at the same time. A primary starport can be selected and placed in a pre-determined location.

Then a Colonisation Ship (CS) arrives in the system. It is bigger than a Drake-Class Carrier. The player must deliver a list of items to the CS which depends on the starport type. It is a hub to work on in the system. Logistics is key to build a starport by transporting materials into the system. The starport appears in partial construction and will be finished after the weekly server tick. The primary port must be deployed (built) within 4 weeks. If it's not done within the time limit then all progress is lost. Claim will be revoked and any commodities will be lost. You'll be locked out of making another claim attempt for 3 days. The station under construction appears as an abandoned starport with inactive vendors and services.

Once the primary starport is built, the colonization beacon becomes a nav beacon. A new Colonization Contact will appear in the completed starport. You'll have the option to claim and colonize another system by contacting the Colonization Contact. There is no limit for how many systems you can be the Architect, assuming you met the initial conditions per system. You could build basic systems and daisy chain your way towards your favorite system. You can make it your home as the main system.

Construct

File:Space Depot ED.jpg

Space Depot

The player who completed the primary starport becomes the System Architect. The architect has direct influence in placing existing assets, starports, planet ports, settlements and other facilities. There's a plethora of tools to work with. The architect has a certain number of actions to deploy construction sites and locations. Each facility costs commodities and materials to build. There is no time limit for building additional facilities. When construction is finished, the station services will be available after the weekly server tick.

The Architect can leave the system in whatever state and return later. Once the system architect moves on, the system development stays as it is with an active BGS. You stay the System Architect of all your colonies forever. You can return to edit, add more to one of your old colonies. There are no colony upkeep costs

Facility location

Example of slot usage

Important note: As of current game version, when selecting a construction slot and after giving confirmation, there is no guarantee that the starport/facility will be constructed in the selected slot. There seem to be bug that, regardless of the slot that was selected by the player beforehand, the facility may be placed in a completely random slot. Even ignoring this bug, from testing, it seems that no matter the slot selected, there is no insurance of where the station will be placed. You did not miss click.

Example: if you selected slot 1 for construction, but slot 0 is empty, the construction will be put in the first empty slot which is slot 0 (result from testing, see "Example of slot usage" image on the right).

There is currently no undo option. Every construction project, when confirmed, (except for the primary) are permanent. There is currently no way to remove/move or otherwise modify the construction project.

In the image on the right, the rightmost slot was selected, but the construction began in the leftmost slot, which was slot 0. The second construction on the right is still placed in slot 0, as vertical slot order for moons is inverted.

Colony Tech Tree

A chart illustrating the upgrade paths and building requirements for colony development.

The tech tree image shows the beta 1 version (Feb 2025) of the building requirements for a colony.

Each construction adds or substracts the following: Population Increase, Max Population, security, tech level, wealth, standard of living, development level.

Spreadsheets & Guides

Recommended spreadsheets:

• Colonization Construction Details (By DaftMav). (reddit post).
• Colonization construction dependencies
• Colonization Build Tree by CMDR VanionBB
• System Colonisation Guide (official)
• The Pilot's Handbook in the Codex has tutorial information about colonization.

Orbital Facilities

The system map shows all potential locations for a orbital facility. You can select the location and choose a facility to be deployed. Deliver goods and once that's finished the facility will be deployed. There are multiple tiers for orbital facilities. The big spaceports such as the Ocellus take a lot of effort. A supporting economy with small and mid-tier facilities are needed to unlock the large-tier facilities. The available orbital facilities are from ED: Horizons. Here's a list of facilities that can be built:

Orbital facilities

Facility	Type	Economy	Location	Tier	Requires	Landing pad	Construction Points Cost	Construction Points Reward	Initial Population Increase	Max Population Increase	System Economy Influence	Security	Tech Level	Wealth	Standard of Living	Development Level
Coriolis	Starport	Colony	Orbital	2	First station	Large	Tier 2: 3	Tier 3: 1	1	0		-2	1	2	3	2
Asteroid Base	Starport	Extraction	Orbital	2	First station	Large	Tier 2: 3	Tier 3: 1	1	0		-1	3	5	-4	7
Ocellus	Starport	Colony	Orbital	3	First station	Large	Tier 3: 6		5	1		-3	6	7	5	8
Orbis	Starport	Colony	Orbital	3	First station	Large	Tier 3: 6		5	1		-3	6	7	5	8
Commercial Outpost	Outpost	Colony	Orbital	1	First station	Medium		Tier 2: 1	0	0		-1		2	5
Industrial Outpost	Outpost	Industrial	Orbital	1	First station	Medium		Tier 2: 1	0	0			3			2
Criminal Outpost	Outpost	Colony	Orbital	1	First station	Medium		Tier 2: 1	0	0	Contraband	-2		2
Civilian Outpost	Outpost	Colony	Orbital	1	First station	Medium		Tier 2: 1	0	0		-1		1	1	1
Scientific Outpost	Outpost	Hightech	Orbital	1	First station	Medium		Tier 2: 1	1	0			3
Military Outpost	Outpost	Military	Orbital	1	First station	Medium		Tier 2: 1	1	0		2
Satellite	Installation		Orbital	1	First station	Medium		Tier 2: 1						1	1	1
Communication station	Installation		Orbital	1	First station	Medium		Tier 2: 1				1	3
Space farm	Installation		Orbital	1	First station	Medium		Tier 2: 1			Agricultural				5	1
Pirate base	Installation		Orbital	1	First station	Medium		Tier 2: 1			Contraband	-4		3
Mining outpost	Installation		Orbital	1	First station	Medium		Tier 2: 1			Extraction			3	-2
Relay station	Installation		Orbital	1	First station	Medium		Tier 2: 1			Hightech	1				1
Military	Installation		Orbital	2	Small/Medium/Large Military Settlement	Medium	Tier 2: 1	Tier 3: 1			Military	6
Security Station	Installation		Orbital	2	Relay station	Medium	Tier 2: 1	Tier 3: 1			Military	8			3	2
Government	Installation		Orbital	2	First station	Medium	Tier 2: 1	Tier 3: 1				2			6	2
Medical	Installation		Orbital	2	First station	Medium	Tier 2: 1	Tier 3: 1			Hightech		3		5
Research station	Installation		Orbital	2	Small/Medium/Large Scientific Settlement	Medium	Tier 2: 1	Tier 3: 1			Hightech		8			2
Tourist	Installation		Orbital	2	Small/Medium/Large Tourism Settlement	Medium	Tier 2: 1	Tier 3: 1			Tourism	-3		6		2
Bar	Installation		Orbital	2	First station	Medium	Tier 2: 1	Tier 3: 1			Tourism	-2		2	3

Planetary facilities

You can fly around on a planet and choose a custom location to build a facility. Rotate and place facilities on a planet with a holographic view. The available slots for additional development are predetermined by the system. After choosing a facility there will be a ground-based construction site. Deliver all the goods then the planetary facility will appear. The available planetary facilities are from Odyssey and Horizons. Some facilities give population buffs.

Planetary facilities

Facility	Type	Economy	Location	Tier	Requires	Landing Pad	Construction Points Cost	Construction Points Reward	Initial Population Increase	Max Population Increase	System Economy Influence	Security	Tech Level	Wealth	Standard of Living	Development Level
CIvilian planetary outpost	Outpost	Colony	Surface	1	First station	Large		Tier 2: 1	2	0		-2			3
Industrial planetary outpost	Outpost	Industrial	Surface	1	First station	Large		Tier 2: 1	1	0		-1		2
Scientific planetary outpost	Outpost	Hightech	Surface	1	First station	Large		Tier 2: 1	1	0		-1	5			1
Planetary Port	Port	Colony	Surface	3	First station	Large	Tier 3: 6		10	10		-3	5	5	6	10
Small agricultural settlement	Settlement	Agriculture	Surface	1	First station	Medium		Tier 2: 1	0	0	Agricultural				3
Medium agricultural settlement	Settlement	Agriculture	Surface	1	First station	Medium		Tier 2: 1	0	0	Agricultural				6
Large agricultural settlement	Settlement	Agriculture	Surface	2	First station	Medium	Tier 2: 1	Tier 3: 2	0	0	Agricultural				10
Small Extraction Settlement	Settlement	Extraction	Surface	1	First station	Medium		Tier 2: 1	0	0	Extraction			2
Medium Extraction Settlement	Settlement	Extraction	Surface	1	First station	Medium		Tier 2: 1	0	0	Extraction			5
Large Extraction Settlement	Settlement	Extraction	Surface	2	First station	Medium	Tier 2: 1	Tier 3: 2	0	0	Extraction		1	7	-2
Small Industrial Settlement	Settlement	Industrial	Surface	1	First station	Medium		Tier 2: 1	0	0	Industrial					2
Medium Industrial Settlement	Settlement	Industrial	Surface	1	First station	Medium		Tier 2: 1	0	0	Industrial					5
Large Industrial Settlement	Settlement	Industrial	Surface	2	First station	Medium	Tier 2: 1	Tier 3: 2	0	0	Industrial			2		8
Small Military Settlement	Settlement	Military	Surface	1	First station	Medium		Tier 2: 1	0	0	Military	2
Medium Military Settlement	Settlement	Military	Surface	1	First station	Medium		Tier 2: 1	0	0	Military	4
Large Military Settlement	Settlement	Military	Surface	2	First station	Medium	Tier 2: 1	Tier 3: 2	0	0	Military	6				2
Small scientific settlement	Settlement	Hightech	Surface	2	First station	Medium	Tier 2: 1	Tier 3: 1	0	0	Hightech		3			1
Medium scientific settlement	Settlement	Hightech	Surface	2	First station	Medium	Tier 2: 1	Tier 3: 1	0	0	Hightech		6			1
Large scientific settlement	Settlement	Hightech	Surface	2	First station	Medium	Tier 2: 1	Tier 3: 2	0	0	Hightech		10			2
Small tourism settlement	Settlement	Tourism	Surface	2	First station	Medium	Tier 2: 1	Tier 3: 1	0	0	Tourism	-1		1
Medium tourism settlement	Settlement	Tourism	Surface	2	First station	Medium	Tier 2: 1	Tier 3: 1	0	0	Tourism	-1		2
Large tourism settlement	Settlement	Tourism	Surface	2	First station	Medium	Tier 2: 1	Tier 3: 2	0	0	Tourism	-1		5
Extraction hub	Hub		Surface	2	Small/Medium/Large Mining Settlement	X	Tier 2: 1	Tier 3: 1			Extraction			10	-4	2
Civilian Hub	Hub		Surface	2	Small/Medium/Large Agricultural Settlement	X	Tier 2: 1	Tier 3: 1				-3			3	2
Exploration hub	Hub		Surface	2	Communication Station	X	Tier 2: 1	Tier 3: 1			Tourism	-1	6			2
Outpost hub	Hub		Surface	2	Space farm	X	Tier 2: 1	Tier 3: 1				-2			3	2
Scientific hub	Hub		Surface	2	First station	X	Tier 2: 1	Tier 3: 1			Hightech		10
Military hub	Hub		Surface	2	Military	X	Tier 2: 1	Tier 3: 1			Military	10
Refinery hub	Hub		Surface	2	First station	X	Tier 2: 1	Tier 3: 1			Refinery	-1	3	5	-2	7
High tech hub	Hub		Surface	2	First station	X	Tier 2: 1	Tier 3: 1			Hightech	-2	10	-2
Industrial hub	Hub		Surface	2	Mining outpost	X	Tier 2: 1	Tier 3: 1			Industrial		3	5	-4	2

Economy

All facilities are interlinked with the system economy. The facility types that you place dictate the economy in that system. Mining facilities means the local economy will be a mining economy. Same for agriculture etc. This determines the goods for construction and economic output such as high-tech or agribusiness. The economic progression requires smaller locations first to support large locations. The ports bring in population and economic drive. An anarchy system has reduced security.

Factions

SC is seamlessly connected with Powerplay and the Background Simulation. Unpopulated systems are unaligned. A newly colonized system only has the faction from which the colonisation claim was purchased. So if you buy a claim from a preferred faction then it will be brought over to your system. If a different Powerplay faction conquers the system then the architect remains in control of the system development and resources. The architect stays the same forever. Your faction would lose influence in the system. Anyone can enter the system.

While colonising a system you can push your chosen Power into that system. Expand your Power's influence and create a new civilization. Each system has an associated value. Every system is unique to some extend which is represented in system colonisation. This can influence your system of choice. Built-up systems can influence the political state of the game based on the facilities.

System colonization is primarily PVE (player versus environment). Players cannot blockade, attack or destroy a colonized system.

Ownership

The controlling minor faction owns the facilities. Some minor factions are allied with a major faction (Alliance, Empire, Federation). The Powers influence and exploit the systems, but don't actually own them. Many ships in a system are owned by a minor faction. Attacking them decreases your reputation with the minor faction. The architect places and manages the facilities in a system. The architect can technically be the owner by allying with a controlling minor faction.

Expansion

Expanding The Bubble with colonies can have a galaxy wide effect. For example new trade routes for traders, new hubs for explorers that you can use as a home base before going into deep space. By having mini-Bubbles with various economies you can haul goods faster to build new colonies. Long-range colonization in deep space means going back to the Core Systems for goods is a long trip.

Naming facilities

Primary ports must be completed before they can be renamed via the system map. Facilities are named by the existing ED naming system. A new name can be generated up to 5 times. 5000 ARX can be spent for a custom name of a facility with infinite renames. Commander name is displayed in the system.

Rewards

The Architect amasses rewards via a regular credit payment from each system under your control. This is derived from the number and scale of facilities in the star system. These payments are issues weekly and can be redeemed by visiting an Administration contact. The weekly payment value increases when you accumulate more systems. A galactic levy is placed on your earnings if you earn more than 5 million credits. Players also receive a small discount on ships and outfitting when purchased in a system with 10 or more facilities.

Statistics

Brewer Corporation released official figures on the initial colonisation rush on 13 March 3311 (2025):

• 26,684 - Claims have been made
• 13,165 - Systems have been colonised
• 24,037 - New starports and outposts have been built
• 14,216 - Surface installations have been established
• 983,599,593 - Units of cargo have been delivered to construction sites

Development

Since 2019, there was speculation about a new feature such as Base Building. System Colonisation was unveiled during the Frontier Unlocked #10 livestream on 30 October 2024. Frontier's Arthur Tolmie said in Frontier Unlocked #1 (January 2024) that this new feature will be released "this year". It was delayed to early 2025.

Beta

The Trailblazers update featuring the System Colonisation beta was released on 26 February 2025. What you do during the beta stays in-game. Frontier will check that it works correctly, including the tools, make adjustments while gathering data and feedback from players. During the beta, you can only start from the Bubble and expand from the systems.

Videos

• File:Planet Coaster 2, Elite Dangerous and more from Planet Zoo! - Frontier Unlocked -10
• File:Elite Dangerous - Frontier Unlocked Highlight - System Colonisation
• File:Elite Dangerous - System Colonisation Q & A
• File:Elite Dangerous - 2025 Roadmap

Gallery

• Space Depot
  Space Depot
• Space Depot closeup
  Space Depot closeup
• 
  Colonisation Ship
• 
  Trailblazers key art