Tek Ciphers
A Tek Cipher is an item that goes into an open port on a module. The game's description is the same for all of them: "Attaches to an open module port."
Attaching one
- The module must be identified and have an empty port. Quality and rarity do not matter.
- Attaching is permanent. A cipher cannot be removed.
- The module gains the cipher's bonus and its rating, and grows by one cell: the cell the port points at.
- If the module is fitted, the larger shape must still be legal where it sits. If not, the cipher is refused and not used up.
A cipher's bonus is not scaled by the module's quality, and it stacks like any other fitted bonus. A turret-stat cipher on a turret affects only that turret.
The ciphers
| Cipher | Tier | Bonus | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Syn | Common | Thrust +20% | 150 |
| Vel | Common | Max velocity +12% | 175 |
| Ark | Common | Sensor range +13% | 200 |
| Rho | Common | Armor HP +10% | 225 |
| Mux | Common | Cargo capacity +4 | 250 |
| Nyx | Common | Turret damage +12% | 275 |
| Erg | Common | Heat dissipation +16% | 300 |
| Ceph | Common | Signature radius -12% | 325 |
| Drux | Uncommon | Drone output +15% | 350 |
| Thal | Uncommon | Turret range +10% | 375 |
| Pah | Uncommon | Missile damage +15% | 400 |
| Ohd | Uncommon | Armor kinetic resist +8% | 450 |
| Boz | Uncommon | Mine damage +15% | 475 |
| Ur | Uncommon | Barrier HP +25% | 500 |
| Kor | Rare | Turret crit chance +13% | 550 |
| Zar | Rare | Drone bandwidth +1 | 600 |
| Lucky Cigarettes | Rare | Salvage luck +15%. This is the safe cipher. | 650 |
The safe cipher
Lucky Cigarettes is more than a salvage bonus. A module with it in any port is kept when the ship is lost, whether the module was fitted or in the cargo hold. Faction-quality modules are the exception: they are destroyed regardless. See Ship loss.
Harmonics
A harmonic turns a Normal module into a Harmonic one, with a set of bonuses of its own.
To make one:
- Take a Normal-rarity module that is identified and not Faction quality.
- It must have exactly as many ports as the recipe has ciphers. Every recipe uses two, so the module needs exactly two ports.
- Fill every port with the recipe's ciphers.
- The module's type must be the one the recipe names.
- Use a Cipher Key that carries that harmonic.
The harmonic's bonuses apply while the module is fitted, and a harmonic adds 1,000 to the module's rating.
| Harmonic | Ciphers | Module type | Bonuses | Effect, in the game's words |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thermal Barrier | Erg + Ur | Shield | Max heat +43% | Barrier HP per heat |
| Hull Meld | Ohd + Rho | Armor | Max hull +33% | Armor per hull |
| Optic Transformer | Ceph + Ark | ECM | Heat dissipation +16%, max heat +23% | When stationary +400% sensor range |
| Prime Cascade | Nyx + Vel | Turret | Fire rate 15% faster, tracking +26% | On full reload +300% turret crit chance for 5s |
| Salvage Shroud | Mux + Mux | Utility | Max hull +35%, salvage luck +20% | On harpoon -70% signature radius for 10s (30s CD) |
| Swarm Sustainer | Drux + Erg | Drone | Drone speed +22%, drone endurance +50% | On kill: +30% drone endurance for 10 seconds |
| Trace Amplifier | Pah + Ark | Missile | Missile homing +34%, missile speed +21% | Missile range per sensor range |
| Veiled Dispersion | Boz + Syn | ECM | Mine trigger radius +29%, max speed +14% | On mine deploy cloak for 15s (30s CD) |
| Vent Override | Vel + Syn | Propulsion | Max heat +40% | On drift +200% heat dissipation for 10s (20s CD) |