Lightyear Frontier Merchant Guide - Cover Image Merchant Ship on the Merchant Landing Next to Some Workshop Sheds

Lightyear Frontier Merchant Guide | How to Make Money

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Published: June 15, 2024 10:53 AM

This guide will tell you how to unlock the Lightyear Frontier Merchant and the best strategy for making the money you need to fuel your adventures.

You'll gather lots of resources in Lightyear Frontier, but you'll also have to buy certain Blueprints from the Merchant if you really want to trick out your Homestead with cool Decorations. In this guide, we'll tell you how to unlock the Merchant and how you can sell items to her to make tons of money!

Merchant Blueprints menu with the Tea Set item highlighted

How to Unlock the Lightyear Frontier Merchant

You can unlock the Merchant in Lightyear Frontier by building the Merchant Landing. The Merchant Landing requires the following items:

  • 10 Aluminum Rod
  • 8 Red Crystal
  • 10 Stone

Unfortunately, Red Crystal requires a stronger Spike Saw than you have by default. That means that you're going to have to build an Upgrade Depot first and upgrade your Mech with the better Spike Saw.

Once that's done, you'll need to restore the Pine Heights Region so Red Crystals will spawn there. Collect the Red Crystals you need from there (and the Aluminum from The Meadows) and you'll be able to place the Merchant Landing.

The Merchant arrives once per day and sticks around for a few hours before leaving. If you go to sleep in your Homestead, the Merchant will immediately leave if she's on the Merchant Landing.

The Economics Screen in Lightyear Frontier showing a variety of items and their prices

Best Way to Make Money in Lightyear Frontier

The best way to make money in Lightyear Frontier is by selling excess resources, especially farmed crops — but you shouldn't just sell your items at random.

Firstly, refined resources tend to sell much better than raw resources. As an example, 1 Aluminum Rod sells for $20 and 1 Aluminum Frame (which requires 2 Aluminum Rods) sells for $40. That may seem like there's no real difference, but there's another factor to consider: the Economics screen.

Lightyear Frontier has a simple Economics system where the value of items can go up or down. You may have a scenario where an Aluminum Rod sells for $16 but an Aluminum Frame sells for $48. You'll need to pay attention to the economics screen to see what makes the most sense to sell.

You also have to consider the fact that there are only so many resources that will spawn at a time. Once you've collected all of the available Aluminum, that's it — you won't really be able to get any more unless you get lucky with feeding Animals.

That's precisely why farming is the best method for making money. You can plant a large number of crops that can make you a ton of money while also saving you the trouble of running around the map hunting for other items.

You can also make a decent amount of money by finding and selling Treasures; these are unique items (such as fossilized bugs) that are often hidden in corners or small crevices throughout the world.


Thanks for reading our Lightyear Frontier Merchant Guide. Don't forget to look at our other guides below!

A photograph of TechRaptor Senior Writer Robert N. Adams.
| Senior Writer

One of my earliest memories is playing Super Mario Bros. on the Nintendo Entertainment System. I've had a controller in my hand since I was 4 and I… More about Robert N

More Info About This Game
Learn More About Lightyear Frontier
Game Page Lightyear Frontier
Developer
Frame Break
Platforms
Xbox Series X|S, PC
Release Date
March 19, 2024 (Calendar)
Genre
Simulation
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