Site Frontier:Limited Availability Units
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What are Limited Availability Units?
Limited Availability Units (LAU) are units that can only be destroyed a certain of times before they are expended. These are different from the Permanent Units described on the Buying and Selling Units page.
Getting Limited Units
Purchase Lists
You may buy up to 10 charges of a limited use unit from the era of 3055 or higher per purchase list cycle. The price is a small fraction (around 10%) of the unit's regular price.
Rent-A-Mech
Limited Units are obtained at the Rent-A-Mech in the Commercial District of the Spaceport and are bought with C-Bills. Rent-A-Mech units are sold with only 1 charge, which means you can be destroyed once in the unit before losing it. Keep in mind that XP is for permanent Units and C-Bills is generally used to buy non-permanent stuff like LAUs.
Important Commands
| Note: These commands must be done from within Rent-A-Mech in the Spaceport. |
- look interface - The Rental Terminal is an object, so you have to look at it. This will show you the units availible for rental.
- rent <unit> - Rents a unit from the list for "One-Time" use
- return <unit> - Returns a unit from your list. Note that you don't get a refund for returning units.
Obtaining Limited Availability Units from Data Caches
LAUs may also be obtained through the discovery of data caches.
Salvaging Limited Availability Units
When LAUs are used in combat and are destroyed, they remain on the map until someone comes along and collects it to salvage it at base. Refer to the Salvaging Units page for more details.
Underground Events
When an underground event happens, you are reward with LAUs in eras above 3050 tech for your efforts in combat. Refer to the Underground page for more details. Following the underground event, you will be able to scrounge around the map for more salvageable units, not necessarily of the 3055 era.
What's the difference between a Limited Availability Unit and a Permanent One?
Limited Availability Units (LAUs) can be used an infinite number of times, but each time the pilot dies in the unit, he loses a "charge" of that current unit. Enemies can steal the destroyed unit for themselves or the pilot (or a faction mate) can recover it by Salvaging the unit.
See our section on Buying and Selling Units for more information on permanent unit ownership.
Why use Limited Availability Units?
Summarily: Because they're cheap and easily obtained. New players can easily come in and start fielding units that are close or on par with the units being fielded by the more experienced players. The downside is that it only takes one death before you're out a unit and have to go find another.
Additionally, the units in eras above 3050 are only available as Limited Units.
