While exploring the alien planet of Lightyear Frontier for some hard-to-get minerals, a player might notice what seems like the ruins of an ancient alien civilization. Exploring those ruins and finding all the alien artifacts hidden therein will grant the player some interesting rewards. But where are all those alien ruins located, and what are they really for?
Not every alien-looking building in Lightyear Frontier contains alien artifacts that can unlock something. Leaving the player’s own constructions alone, the subterranean alien base at the center of the game is part of a completely different questline, which new players shouldn’t worry about for the time being. This is the same structure hidden by that purple-lighted door that is shown after each region is unlocked.
Lightyear Frontier: Best Base Locations For Camp
Building a homestead is essential for success in Lightyear Frontier, and these locations will serve players the best.
Where Are All The Alien Ruins In Lightyear Frontier?
There are seven alien ruins in Lightyear Frontier that contain alien artifacts. Below is a map of their precise location.
Even if there are precisely seven unlockable regions in Lightyear Frontier, the distribution of the alien ruins is not quite as straightforward. The alien ruins are located in these regions:
- Pine Heights
- The Meadows
- Yellow Forest
- Two in Edge Cliffs
- Lowland Plains
- Tornado Rock Isle
It’s usually fairly easy, once players find an alien base, to collect all the artifacts there present. The trick to doing so is to listen for the shimmering sound made by those purple rocks (not to be confused with the game’s red and blue crystals). Inside those rocks, which can be broken with the mech’s Spike Saw or on foot with the P.I.C.K. Axe, are the alien artifacts. It also helps to know that the vast majority of artifacts are inside the walls of those ancient ruins, if not immediately outside or above.
Lightyear Frontier: What To Do With Alien Artifacts
Collecting all the artifacts in a given alien ruin immediately unlocks the blueprint for a new alien decoration, which can be built near a homestead to improve its coziness score. These can be traditional furniture, like the Strange Table and Chair, or more unique decorations, like the Strange Fountain.
These decorations aren’t necessarily better than what is otherwise available to the player. That said, they are a good way to use noxious spores, a material dropped by noxious weeds and slime as they invade and destroy the player’s crops. This material isn’t used for much more than building alien decorations, making those items practically free.
In no particular order, those are the craftable decoration items unlocked by uncovering the artifacts inside each alien ruin:
- Strange Table
- Strange Chair
- Strange Fountain
- Strange Vase
- Strange Fence
- Strange Signpost
- Strange Lamp
Players should note that the alien door base at the center of the game’s map isn’t really an alien ruin, meaning that it doesn’t hide any alien artifacts. Instead, this door hides a secret ability that unlocks the final area of the game. Unlocking this door doesn’t do anything else right now, but it seems like it will be only the first step in a series of quests once the game comes out of early access.
Lightyear Frontier
- Released
- March 19, 2024
- Developer(s)
- Frame Break , Amplifier Studios
