{ "version": "2026-05-27", "patch": "Alpha 4.8", "verified": false, "fullName": "Planetary Alignment Facility", "shortName": "PAF", "note": "PAFs are Hathor Group ground installations — decommissioned alignment relays now squatted by outlaw NPCs. Headhunters route mission contracts through them, so they show up flagged as 'Pyro' in some mission data, but the destination POIs themselves are in Stanton (Daymar + Aberdeen). Sources: starcitizen.tools, RSI Community Hub, MMOJugg + GGWTB loot guides, MMOPIXEL rep guides, YouTube clear walkthroughs (Loud Guns, Tactical Advance et al). Last cross-check: 2026-05-27.", "overview": { "lede": "A Planetary Alignment Facility (PAF) is a ground installation that once beamed targeting data to a Hathor Orbital Laser Platform. The Hathor Group is gone — the lasers are dormant, the PAFs are decommissioned, and outlaw crews have moved in. They're the top solo armor farm in the 'Verse, the canonical destination for Headhunters illegal contracts, and one of the densest FPS dungeons CIG has shipped.", "what": "Each Hathor orbital laser is supported by THREE ground PAFs spread across its target moon — the three-station triangulation is the in-fiction reason there's always a I/II/III. The full Hathor ledger is 4 OLPs + 12 PAFs across two moons. All sites are flagged in-game as decommissioned and have no civilian services; they exist purely as combat + loot content.", "control": "PAFs are not faction-owned. The patrolling AI is generic outlaw mercenaries. The Headhunters faction overlay comes from mission contracts (they pay for runs to PAFs), not from POI ownership — anyone willing to take fire can walk in.", "approach": "PAFs are surface compounds, not space stations. You set down on the moon ~1 km out to dodge turret aggro, then approach on foot or via ground vehicle. There is no armistice zone, no rep-gated door, and no hangar pad. Exterior turrets engage automatically at ~600 m; NPCs open fire on sight.", "services": "None. No refuel, no repair, no restock, no cargo terminal, no medical, no hab. PAFs are pure FPS loot dungeons with mission objectives layered on top. Bring everything you need in your ship.", "tiers": "PAF-I / PAF-II / PAF-III within the same group share the same base template — community guides claim density and reward scale with tier number, but the wiki text is template-identical across all three. Treat tier deltas as folk wisdom, not canon." }, "criticalCorrection": { "label": "DATA NOTE", "headline": "PAFs are in Stanton, not Pyro.", "detail": "Several community trackers and our own mission database tagged PAFs as 'Pyro' content because Headhunters issue most of the contracts from Pyro stations (Ruin, Endgame, Checkmate). The destination POIs themselves are on Daymar (Attritus + Lamina) and Aberdeen (Ruptura + Vivere) — both moons sit in Stanton. Expect a Pyro→Stanton jump on every Headhunters PAF contract." }, "groups": [ { "name": "Attritus", "olp": "Attritus OLP", "moon": "Daymar", "parentPlanet": "Crusader", "system": "Stanton", "facilities": ["Attritus PAF-I", "Attritus PAF-II", "Attritus PAF-III"], "notes": "Closest PAF cluster to Crusader operations. Featured in the popular 'PAF-2 Hathor on Daymar' YouTube tutorial — used as the community benchmark for the keycard chain." }, { "name": "Lamina", "olp": "Lamina OLP", "moon": "Daymar", "parentPlanet": "Crusader", "system": "Stanton", "facilities": ["Lamina PAF-I", "Lamina PAF-II", "Lamina PAF-III"], "notes": "Same moon as Attritus — Daymar can chain Attritus + Lamina PAFs in a single fuel cycle. Watch for overlap with other crews." }, { "name": "Ruptura", "olp": "Ruptura OLP", "moon": "Aberdeen", "parentPlanet": "Hurston", "system": "Stanton", "facilities": ["Ruptura PAF-I", "Ruptura PAF-II", "Ruptura PAF-III"], "notes": "Hurston-side cluster. Longest QT chain from Pyro contract boards — bring fuel margin or stage at a Hurston station first." }, { "name": "Vivere", "olp": "Vivere OLP", "moon": "Aberdeen", "parentPlanet": "Hurston", "system": "Stanton", "facilities": ["Vivere PAF-I", "Vivere PAF-II", "Vivere PAF-III"], "notes": "Same moon as Ruptura. Aberdeen weather can fog the approach — drop quantum early and run nav-aided." } ], "facilities": [ { "name": "Attritus PAF-I", "group": "Attritus", "moon": "Daymar", "tier": "I", "uuid": "a6e6d91f-e36a-4fae-a0e9-f422d4388a77", "tag": "Entry tier — common starter run." }, { "name": "Attritus PAF-II", "group": "Attritus", "moon": "Daymar", "tier": "II", "uuid": "487c2c31-9525-45f0-a7d5-4e994caed45b", "tag": "Featured in the most-cited PAF clear video; benchmark for the keycard chain." }, { "name": "Attritus PAF-III", "group": "Attritus", "moon": "Daymar", "tier": "III", "uuid": "da9bd4ad-80eb-4553-a14a-3a94ba0768fd", "tag": "Community claim: highest density/reward in the Attritus group." }, { "name": "Lamina PAF-I", "group": "Lamina", "moon": "Daymar", "tier": "I", "uuid": "245620ae-9574-4f40-8597-0e0230f930a3", "tag": "Daymar second-fav after Attritus. Lower traffic = cleaner solo runs." }, { "name": "Lamina PAF-II", "group": "Lamina", "moon": "Daymar", "tier": "II", "uuid": "4fd0094a-7c05-481e-bb39-8ed17d7bbfac", "tag": "Mid-tier Daymar — standard template." }, { "name": "Lamina PAF-III", "group": "Lamina", "moon": "Daymar", "tier": "III", "uuid": "def703e1-d494-4870-b3e3-7b4409693ae4", "tag": "Late-Daymar pick when Attritus is contested." }, { "name": "Ruptura PAF-I", "group": "Ruptura", "moon": "Aberdeen", "tier": "I", "uuid": "8f72468e-c228-41aa-85ce-c21ff2549081", "tag": "Aberdeen entry — quieter than Daymar PAFs on busy shards." }, { "name": "Ruptura PAF-II", "group": "Ruptura", "moon": "Aberdeen", "tier": "II", "uuid": "1f0b749c-6cd7-4939-bede-e95f2b4b821f", "tag": "Mid-Aberdeen — standard template." }, { "name": "Ruptura PAF-III", "group": "Ruptura", "moon": "Aberdeen", "tier": "III", "uuid": "b82aecbe-cae0-4424-8305-abada59c44cd", "tag": "Highest-tier Ruptura. Bring backup armor." }, { "name": "Vivere PAF-I", "group": "Vivere", "moon": "Aberdeen", "tier": "I", "uuid": "3356ba92-8759-4ac9-ae21-03a4a99daa94", "tag": "Aberdeen second cluster — chain with Ruptura on a single fuel cycle." }, { "name": "Vivere PAF-II", "group": "Vivere", "moon": "Aberdeen", "tier": "II", "uuid": "8bf7e3b7-680e-4bff-9161-3d5c74241db3", "tag": "Mid-Vivere — standard template." }, { "name": "Vivere PAF-III", "group": "Vivere", "moon": "Aberdeen", "tier": "III", "uuid": "965357d4-3448-475e-974d-7d7fd154de91", "tag": "Late-Aberdeen pick. Aberdeen storms can hide approach." } ], "keycardChain": { "summary": "PAF loot is gated by a two-stage keycard chain. You scavenge blue cards from outdoor buildings, print red cards from blue-door garages, then use the red card to unlock the high-tier interior loot rooms in the central building.", "steps": [ { "stage": "1. EXTERIOR CLEAR", "what": "Approach from ~1 km out (on foot or buggy) to avoid turret + ship aggro. Clear 6-12 outdoor patrols, rooftop overwatch, and the perimeter turrets if you brought enough ammo. Keep an eye on the sky — incoming ships can mean other crews or reinforcements.", "tip": "Use cover and pace fire. Headshots only on the snipers — bodyshots waste mags on this many targets." }, { "stage": "2. BLUE KEYCARD SCAVENGE", "what": "Sweep the small open buildings around the perimeter for BLUE KEYCARDS. They sit on desks, in lockers, sometimes on dead NPCs. Grab two if you can — printer cooldowns mean you often need a backup.", "tip": "Don't bother with the central building yet — it's locked behind the red card." }, { "stage": "3. PRINTER → RED KEYCARD", "what": "Find a BLUE-DOOR GARAGE (vehicle bay with a printer console). Insert your blue card, wait for the print cycle, pull the RED KEYCARD from the output bin. Some PAFs spawn a red card directly inside the central building — if you find one early, skip the printer.", "tip": "Check the printer window before queueing — if another player's print is in progress, find a second printer instead of waiting." }, { "stage": "4. CENTRAL BUILDING UNLOCK", "what": "Use the RED KEYCARD on the central building's locked doors. Inside are Security, Maintenance, and a 'Supervisor Room' — each holds tier-rising loot. The Supervisor Room is the prize: heavy crates with named drops.", "tip": "Expect named 'Supervisor'-tier NPCs in the deepest rooms. Burst-fire and reposition; they hit hard." }, { "stage": "5. LOOT + EXTRACT", "what": "Crate priorities: BEIGE + ORANGE for armor (Antium pieces), GREEN for weapons (Parallax/Devastator). Tractor-beam the heavy crates so you can sprint with them. Run a backup armor set in your ship so you can swap into the looted Antium on the way out.", "tip": "Don't loiter for clean-up. Post-wipe servers see other crews land mid-extraction within 5-10 minutes." } ] }, "loot": { "armor": [ { "name": "Antium Helmet", "rarity": "Common", "where": "Beige crates, outer rooms", "notes": "White colorway is the most-dropped variant. Antium is currently the meta light/medium armor in 4.8." }, { "name": "Antium Core", "rarity": "Common", "where": "Beige crates" }, { "name": "Antium Arms", "rarity": "Common", "where": "Beige crates" }, { "name": "Antium Legs", "rarity": "Common", "where": "Beige crates" }, { "name": "Antium Heavy (full set)", "rarity": "Rare", "where": "Supervisor Room, orange crates", "notes": "Headline drop — Heavy variant is the reason most players run PAFs post-wipe." } ], "weapons": [ { "name": "Parallax Energy Assault Rifle", "type": "Energy AR", "where": "Green crates, security room" }, { "name": "Devastator Shotgun", "type": "Combat shotgun", "where": "Green crates, supervisor room" }, { "name": "Karna Rifle", "type": "Plasma AR", "where": "Green crates (less common)" }, { "name": "P6LR Carbine", "type": "Ballistic carbine", "where": "Green crates, security/admin" } ], "other": [ { "name": "Hathor archive data chips", "where": "Maintenance terminals", "notes": "Tradeable to Headhunters contacts for rep + small aUEC." }, { "name": "Mission objective crates", "where": "Per-contract spawn", "notes": "Required for hauling and recovery missions — won't spawn outside an active contract." } ] }, "loops": [ { "name": "Solo Loot Farm", "summary": "The headline loop — Antium armor extraction. ~15-25 minutes per run on a clean shard, ~40+ on a contested one.", "steps": [ "QT from any major port to Daymar or Aberdeen.", "Set down ~1 km out from the target PAF to avoid turret aggro.", "Approach on foot or buggy. Clear exterior NPCs + rooftops.", "Loot blue keycards from outer buildings.", "Print red keycard at a blue-door garage.", "Clear the central building's security/maintenance/supervisor rooms.", "Tractor the heavy crates back to your ship. Swap into looted Antium on extraction." ] }, { "name": "Headhunters Hauling / Illegal Courier", "summary": "Contract-driven loop. Pickup at a Headhunters contact (often Ruin, Endgame, or Checkmate in Pyro), drop at a PAF outdoor pad on Daymar or Aberdeen. ECN-flagged on accept.", "steps": [ "Take a hauling or courier contract from a Headhunters board in Pyro.", "Expect ECN flagging on jump transit — you appear on the network as a bounty target.", "Cross the Pyro→Stanton mesh boundary. Watch for desyncs around the jump point.", "Land at the contracted PAF, drop cargo at the outdoor pad or vehicle bay.", "Optional: clear the PAF for the loot loop while you're there.", "Extract via a Stanton port or run another contract back." ] }, { "name": "Smuggling", "summary": "Self-sourced contraband to a PAF buyer. Higher margin than contracts, you eat the buy-in. Confiscation risk if intercepted en route.", "steps": [ "Acquire contraband (WiDoW, e'tam, stolen ship components from asteroid base raids).", "Stage at a Pyro port to obscure origin, or fly direct from Stanton outlaw stops.", "Drop at a PAF outdoor pad — PAFs are not patrolled by UEE assets.", "Collect aUEC from the buyer NPC; bounce before bounty hunters arrive." ] }, { "name": "FPS Bunker-Clear Contract", "summary": "Headhunters mission boards issue straight clear contracts (eliminate-all, hostage-rescue, evidence-retrieval). Pay 80k+ aUEC per contract and stack with personal loot.", "steps": [ "Accept a clear contract from a Headhunters board.", "Run the keycard chain as part of the clear — kill two birds.", "Collect contract payout + personal loot on extraction.", "Repeat across the four facility groups to stack Headhunters rep." ] }, { "name": "Headhunters Rep Grind (Intro → Elite Contractor)", "summary": "Path from 0 → 95,250 rep. Phase 1 is hauling/courier (low rep), Phase 2 unlocks PAF combat contracts (mid rep), Phase 3 is high-stakes ECN combat (Elite Contractor).", "steps": [ "Phase 1: Chain low-rep hauling/courier contracts. Lots of small payouts, fast rep gain.", "Phase 2: PAF FPS-clear contracts unlock at mid-rep — densest rep per hour in the chain.", "Phase 3: Pyro-side combat ECN runs vs UEE bounty targets — finishing tier.", "Sustain: combat ECN runs + PAF FPS clears in rotation. Elite Contractor pays the best contract rates in Pyro." ] } ], "loadouts": { "smallShip": [ { "ship": "Drake Cutlass Black", "why": "Top pick. Big enough for armor + a buggy, small enough for rough Daymar/Aberdeen LZs, and disposable on hot extracts." }, { "ship": "Drake Buccaneer", "why": "Faster solo-fighter alt — go when you don't plan to haul looted armor home." }, { "ship": "Aopoa Khartu-Al", "why": "Quiet ingress and great moon handling. Cargo is limited — bring it for FPS-only runs." } ], "mediumShip": [ { "ship": "MISC Hull-A", "why": "Clean cargo hauler. Best for non-FPS hauling-contract drops at PAF outdoor pads." }, { "ship": "Drake Cutlass Black", "why": "Doubles as cargo + FPS platform — accept a clear contract on top of the haul." }, { "ship": "Drake Caterpillar", "why": "Large illegal hauling capacity. Slow, fat, ECN-visible — pair with an escort or accept the risk." } ], "fps": [ { "slot": "Armor", "pick": "Medium", "why": "Balances run speed (lots of sprinting between buildings) and durability. Heavy is overkill." }, { "slot": "Primary","pick": "P6LR Carbine", "why": "Community pick for 4.8 PAFs — manageable recoil indoors, headshots quickly." }, { "slot": "Backup", "pick": "Karna or Demeco","why": "When you want raw punch in the supervisor room over rate of fire." }, { "slot": "Sidearm","pick": "P6LR Pistol / LH-86", "why": "Tight indoor backup. Don't sleep on it." }, { "slot": "Utility","pick": "4+ medpens, extra ammo mags, multi-tool w/ tractor attachment", "why": "Medpens for the supervisor pushes, ammo for the inner clear, tractor to move heavy loot crates." }, { "slot": "Spare Set", "pick": "Backup armor in your ship", "why": "So you can swap into looted Antium on the way out — saves you from re-arming after damage." } ], "quantum": { "size1": "Pyro → Stanton in 1-2 hops with margin. Stock fuel at any port before committing.", "size2": "Single-hop Pyro → Stanton with margin to spare. Worth the upgrade if PAF runs are your main loop." } }, "risks": [ "ECN alerts trigger the second you accept a Headhunters illegal contract — you appear on the Emergency Communications Network for opposing-faction players.", "Server-meshing boundary between Pyro and Stanton can drop you mid-route. Expect occasional 30k drops or quantum desync.", "Post-wipe griefing — PAFs are the top armor farm post-wipe, so the first 48 hours after a patch see heavy PvP at PAF sites. Run off-peak or accept the risk.", "Turret aggro starts before NPC aggro — don't set down inside 600 m unless you want your ship turned into scrap.", "Printer contention — if another crew is mid-print, you wait or find a second printer. Always grab two blue cards as a backup.", "Aberdeen weather can fog the approach. Drop quantum early and nav by HUD if your visual horizon disappears." ], "tips": [ "Always run with backup armor stashed in your ship — so you can swap into looted Antium on extraction without spending aUEC on a re-arm.", "Bring TWO blue keycards. Printer cooldowns kill solo runs that bring just one card.", "Daymar (Attritus + Lamina) and Aberdeen (Ruptura + Vivere) can chain on one fuel cycle within each moon. Don't try to chain across moons in a single run.", "Watch the central building's outer windows before entering — Supervisor NPCs visible through windows can sometimes be picked off from outside.", "Tractor-beam attachment on your multi-tool is a quality-of-life multiplier for heavy crate extraction.", "If a PAF feels camped, hop shards. PAFs are template-identical across groups — your time is better spent on a clean shard than fighting for a contested print." ], "patchHistory": [ { "patch": "4.1", "date": "2025-Q1", "change": "Hathor Group OLPs and PAFs introduced. Antium armor and Parallax weapons added as the marquee drops. Community nicknames this the 'Align and Mine' patch." }, { "patch": "4.2.1", "date": "2025-Q2", "change": "Headhunters rep leveling reworked — PAF FPS-clear contracts tuned as a primary rep-grind path to Elite Contractor." }, { "patch": "4.3.2", "date": "2025-10", "change": "'Pyro Must Burn' finale event (Frontier Fighters Finale) — three-phase storyline forced players to side with Headhunters or Citizens for Prosperity, with PAFs as staging objectives. This is the patch most responsible for the Headhunters↔PAF association in mission databases." }, { "patch": "4.7.1", "date": "2026-Q1", "change": "PAF loot tables retuned. Antium drop rates adjusted; Parallax variants rebalanced." }, { "patch": "4.8", "date": "2026-Q2", "change": "Current state. PAFs remain the top solo armor farm in the game. Post-wipe PvP density spiked — community advises off-peak runs." } ] }