Star Citizen’s Persistent Universe runs on aUEC, an alpha test currency that lets Cloud Imperium Games balance the economy without touching the UEC players have tied to their accounts for the live release. In the 3.x patch cycle, that economy has become functional enough to buy, insure, and upgrade ships entirely through in-game earnings. The catch is that every credit and every ship exists inside an alpha test, which means progress can persist across patches or be reset when the studio needs a clean slate for testing.
What changed
The key shift across the 3.x patches has been Long Term Persistence. CIG has worked to carry over mission progress, aUEC balances, and in-game purchases such as ships, armor, and weapons between major builds. When Long Term Persistence is enabled, active players should expect their aUEC and acquired ships to remain after a patch unless the studio announces a wipe. Wipes still happen, sometimes limited to aUEC and in-game items, sometimes broader, and they are announced in advance. Pledged ships bought with real money are never removed by a wipe.
Ship purchasing itself is now available at three major dealers in the Stanton system: New Deal in Lorville on Hurston, Astro Armada in Area18 on ArcCorp, and the Crusader Showroom in Orison on Crusader. Some smaller dealers and event-specific vendors also appear, but those three are the persistent anchors. Every ship bought with aUEC comes with lifetime insurance and a warranty, so if the hull is destroyed it can be reclaimed at an ASOP terminal.
How it works
aUEC is earned by taking missions from the mobiGlas Contracts Manager. Delivery, bounty hunting, mercenary work, mining, and cargo hauling all pay in aUEC. The exact payouts change as CIG tunes the economy, so no static table is reliable across patches. aUEC is separate from UEC, the currency that will be used when the game launches. aUEC is also separate from REC, which is earned in Arena Commander and used to rent equipment for that mode.
To buy a ship, travel to a dealer. New Deal in Lorville is the largest, with a showroom floor that includes ships such as the Constellation Phoenix and the Hammerhead, and terminal access to a much wider catalog. Astro Armada in Area18 has no showroom floor in the same way, but its terminals carry specialist and alien manufacturers. The Crusader Showroom in Orison focuses on Crusader Industries hulls and also sells ship weapons and ordnance.
Purchasing can be done two ways. Show-floor ships have a podium with an AR panel that displays the name, description, your balance, and the price. Hold F to confirm. For the full catalog, use the dealer terminals, which sort ships by manufacturer. Once you select a ship, confirm the purchase; it is then delivered to an ASOP terminal for retrieval. CIG emphasizes that in-game ship sales are final and cannot be reversed by support, so checking the ship on the showroom floor or renting it first is the safer path.
Not every ship is available at every dealer, and some hulls are intentionally withheld from in-game purchase. Recent releases are typically added after a delay, limited-edition ships may remain pledge-only, and a few hulls are locked behind future campaign rewards. The terminal inventory is the only authoritative list for the current patch, so prices and availability should be checked in-game rather than assumed from older guides.
Rentals are also available at some dealers. Renting lets you test a hull and its loadout for a fraction of the purchase price before committing a large aUEC balance. This is especially useful for multi-crew ships or specialized hulls whose handling you may not enjoy. Rentals are time-limited, so plan the test around a specific mission type rather than a casual sightseeing flight.
Build path
The right ship depends on the income loop you want to run. Star Citizen is not a single-role game; a hull optimized for one activity will be inefficient or useless in another. The categories below are broad, and individual models within each category handle differently, but they provide a starting point for where to spend your first big aUEC purchase.
For general mission running and light multipurpose work, starter and small-medium fighters with cargo capacity are the usual recommendation. The Aurora and Mustang lines are common starting points, while the Avenger Titan offers a step up in firepower and a modest cargo hold. These hulls let you run delivery contracts, low-level bounty missions, and small cargo runs without specializing too early.
For combat-focused loops such as bounty hunting and mercenary work, look at dedicated fighters. Light fighters such as the Gladius and the Hornet line are agile and well armed for their size. Heavier fighters such as the Vanguard series trade some agility for range and durability. These ships are poor haulers, but they earn aUEC quickly in combat zones once you can survive the incoming fire.
For cargo hauling and trading, you need a hull with a real cargo grid. Small haulers such as the Hull A or Freelancer MAX can move moderate quantities of goods with lower overhead. Larger hulls such as the C2 or M2 Hercules move far more cargo but require bigger landing pads, more fuel, and often a crew. The profit per run scales with volume, but so does the risk if you are intercepted.
For mining, the Prospector is the standard single-seat mining ship. It carries a mining laser, saddlebags for ore, and the equipment needed to fracture and extract rocks. Mining is one of the calmer early aUEC earners, though it still requires learning scan signatures, fracture mechanics, and commodity prices.
For multi-crew cooperative play, medium and large ships open up different loops. The Constellation line can haul, fight, and explore with a small crew. The Redeemer is a gunship built around crewed turrets. Capital-class hulls such as the Hammerhead or 890 Jump are more organizational tools than solo earners. Buying one of these before you have a regular crew or a stable income source is usually a mistake.
A sensible progression is to keep your first pledged or rented starter ship, earn a few hundred thousand aUEC, rent a hull for the loop you want to try, and only purchase after you have confirmed the handling and earning rate fit your playstyle. Spending everything on one large ship early on leaves you with no flexibility if that loop is nerfed in the next patch or simply bores you after a week.
Ground vehicles are sold at the same dealers and follow the same aUEC rules, but they are not a substitute for a ship. A vehicle can help with planetary surface missions, but you still need a ship with a suitable vehicle bay or ramp to transport it. Budget for both only after your main ship is earning reliably.
What it means
The 3.x economy is real enough to plan around but still alpha enough to treat cautiously. Your aUEC balance and in-game fleet matter for the current patch cycle, not as a guaranteed permanent account state. That shapes how aggressively you should spend. If a wipe is announced or suspected, hold off on major purchases. If Long Term Persistence is active and you have a stable income loop, buying a ship is a sound way to expand your options.
Because CIG continues to tune mission payouts, fuel costs, and ship prices, the most profitable loop in one patch may not be the most profitable loop in the next. The safest long-term investment is therefore not a specific hull but a versatile small or medium ship that can switch between combat, delivery, and light cargo as the economy shifts. Until the game leaves alpha, flexibility beats specialization for any player who is not already committed to a single crew or role.
The buyer’s logic is straightforward: match the hull to the loop, rent before you buy, and keep enough aUEC in reserve for repairs, fuel, ammunition, and cargo. Star Citizen’s economy is not yet balanced for launch, but the systems are in place. For a player entering the 3.x Persistent Universe, the first milestone is not owning the biggest ship on the lot; it is owning a ship that reliably earns more than it costs to operate.