Inventory System
ASTRA has three storage systems: Ship Cargo, Equipment Slots, and Bank. Understanding the difference is key to survival.
Ship Cargo
Your ship's cargo hold contains items you carry through space:
- Resources - Mined ores, ice, gas, and refined materials
- Spare Equipment - Weapons, tools, engines, etc. not currently equipped
Each item has a volume that takes up cargo space. Different ships have different cargo capacities — from 8 slots on a Sparrow to 250 on a Mammoth.
Cargo Expanders
Equip Cargo Expander utilities to increase your ship's cargo capacity:
| Cargo Expander | Bonus |
|---|---|
| T1 | +5 slots |
| T2 | +12 slots |
| T3 | +25 slots |
| T4 | +50 slots |
Accessing Ship Inventory
Press I at any time to open your inventory panel. You'll see:
- Equipped slots at the top — items currently installed on your ship
- Cargo items below — spare equipment and resources in your hold
Inventory Filters
Use the filter buttons to quickly find items:
| Filter | Shows |
|---|---|
| ALL | Everything in your cargo |
| E | Engines |
| W | Weapons |
| T | Tools (mining) |
| S | Shields |
| U | Utility |
| R | Resources |
Item Actions
- Equip (▲) — Install equipment to a compatible slot
- Discard (×) — Permanently delete an item from your inventory
Discarded items are gone forever! There is no confirmation dialog.
Equipment Slots
Each ship has typed equipment slots (ENGINE, WEAPON, SHIELD, TOOL, UTILITY, DRONE). You can only equip items to matching slot types. See Ships for slot counts per ship class.
Bank Storage
The Bank is secure, shared storage accessible only at space stations. Items in your bank:
- Cannot be lost on death
- Have unlimited capacity
- Are accessible from any station in the universe
Accessing the Bank
- Dock at any station
- Open the Station menu
- Select "Bank"
Bank Transfers
At stations, you can transfer items between your ship cargo and bank:
- Ship → Bank — Store valuable items safely
- Bank → Ship — Retrieve items for use
Station Convenience
When docked at a station, you can equip items from both your ship cargo AND your bank directly. No need to transfer first.
Store rare equipment in your bank when venturing into dangerous constellations. If you die, equipped items and ship cargo can be lost!
Death Penalties
What you lose on death depends on the constellation's threat level:
| Threat Level | Credits Lost | Equipment Drop | Ship Lost? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green | 5% | None (safe) | No |
| Yellow | 10% | 20% chance per item | No |
| Red | 15% | 35% chance per item | YES — permanent |
In Red threat zones, your ship is permanently destroyed on death. You'll respawn with a free starter Sparrow, but your ship and all cargo are gone. Bank items are always safe.
Threat Levels
Threat level is dynamic, based on recent kill activity in the constellation:
| Kills/Hour | Threat Level |
|---|---|
| 0-2 | Green |
| 3-5 | Yellow |
| 6+ | Red |
Important: T1 and T2 constellations are capped at Yellow threat — they can never reach Red.
Loot Drops
When a ship is destroyed, it drops a loot container with some of the pilot's credits, resources, and equipment:
- Containers last 1 hour before despawning
- The killer has exclusive access for the first 60 seconds
- After 60 seconds, anyone can pick it up
- Press E near a container to open the loot modal
Item Flow
| Action | Destination |
|---|---|
| Mining resources | Ship Cargo |
| Buying on marketplace | Ship Cargo or Bank |
| Crafting items | Ship Cargo |
| Unequipping items | Ship Cargo |
| Selling on marketplace | Removed (credits gained) |
| Marketplace orders fulfilled | Bank (if offline) |