The Eight Multi-Tool Types — Traits and How to Choose
Your multi-tool handles mining, combat, and scanning all at once. Like starships it splits into types (eight) and classes (C–S) — but what actually drives performance is class and slot layout, not type. This page covers that structure and where each special tool comes from.
For the starship side, see The Nine Starship Types and Classes.
Upgrading class, expanding slots, and the acquisition route for each special tool are covered in Multi-Tool Classes and Acquisition.
The eight multi-tool types
| Type | Damage | Mining | Scan | Character |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pistol | Lowest | Medium | High | Common, few slots (9–18) |
| Rifle | Low | Lowest | Low | Common, many slots |
| Experimental | Medium | Medium | Highest | Scan-focused, rare |
| Alien | Medium | Low | Very high | Rare |
| Royal | Medium | Medium | Highest | Special — Sentinel Pillar |
| Sentinel | High | Low | High | Special — Harmonic Camp |
| Atlantid | Low | Highest | High | Special — Monolith |
| Voltaic Staff | High | Low | High | Special — you build it |
Ranked by stat:
- Damage: Sentinel / Voltaic Staff > Alien > Experimental / Royal > Rifle > Atlantid > Pistol
- Mining: Atlantid > Pistol > Experimental / Royal > Alien > Sentinel / Staff > Rifle
- Scanning: Experimental / Royal > Alien > Pistol > Sentinel / Staff / Atlantid > Rifle
“Royal” and “Exotic” are the same type (Exotic is the in-game label, Royal the common name). And there is no “Runic” multi-tool type — that word shows up as the Runic Lens (tech preinstalled on Atlantid tools) and as a staff component style, which causes a lot of confusion.
Reading the stats
- Damage — raises all weapon damage, and it applies to the mining beam too, so it speeds up mining.
- Mining — how fast the beam breaks resources.
- Scanning — increases the radius of your quick scan. A wider radius tags more creatures and plants per scan, which means much more units and nanites from discovery uploads.
There’s an important practical conclusion here: damage affects mining speed more than the “mining” stat does. In the wiki’s own timing test, the same object took ~8s with a C-class Pistol, ~6s with an S-class Pistol, and ~5s with an S-class Sentinel — class and damage drove the result, while a mining-speed module at +6% vs +20% showed no measurable difference.
A practical order for beginners
- Replace the starter tool early. It’s a C-class Pistol with 8 slots and 0% on all three bonuses.
- Scanning is your early income. A high-scan tool (Experimental, Alien) tagging creatures and plants pays for everything else.
- Chase class before type. You need S-class before you can expand toward 60 slots.
- Check the supercharged slot layout — it matters more than the type’s bonus.
- If you want a special tool, go to its one specific source (see the table above).