Artifact Exchange Vaults

[Optimistic Cynic]

Are they only able to be used once? They seems to work one time, and after that the green lock symbol is lit and I cannot interact with them.

[Lindy Bomber]

Correct. Eventually it will resent, but I don't know what triggers that.

[Optimistic Cynic]

Its been a week IRL, and who knows how many hours in-game. I'm thinking it doesn't like the treasures I'm carrying, but if that is the problem than I would expect being able to access the vault but the three options to be grayed out, signifying I do not have anything it wants.

Ah well, I'm not hurting for money, its just annoying :)

[Optimistic Cynic]

Actually, I just sold the treasure I was going to try and put in the vault, and now the green lock light has turned to a red lock light. I think they really need to work on the UX for this feature.

[Unlucky]

Originally posted by Optimistic Cynic:

Its been a week IRL, and who knows how many hours in-game.
...
Actually, I just sold the treasure I was going to try and put in the vault, and now the green lock light has turned to a red lock light. I think they really need to work on the UX for this feature.

It is probably a certain amount of in-game time then... Those things can really get you a significant amount of money if you have the items and they probably didn't want people to abuse them for too much cash all at once. (Edit: Oh, duh! Obviously because you could just exchange your new item back to it and get an even better one right away every time if it let you. That's why it locks up...)

Though for the life of me I can't even remember how to even get the items they need, so that point may already be moot?...

[BlackWater]

I used to trip over these things, but i had a deep space encounter, right above my main base planet, deep sea king i think it was, I shoulda parked my freighter right by it, anyhow, i was gifted a relic bone, but the venders don't want to give hardly anything for it, so i want to try one of these vaults, you think I have found any since I actually WANT to encounter one? of course not.

[Masque]

From what I remember, when I used to use them, they only work once. I made the mistake of thinking they were multi-use, so I built a whole base next to the place -- and then discovered this fun fact. I've been told they reset, but I've never spent the time to see if and when this happens.

I quit using them for the same reason as others here. They typically have all options greyed out, whether I offer them Salvageable Scrap, Dino bones, or even stuff I dig up at the Alien Ruins. So I don't know what the heck they even want any more.

It's a fun little thing if it works, but totally unnecessary when I can spend an hour on a Salvageable Scrap planet and fill enough of my inventories with purples and yellows anyway.

[Johnny in the Clouds]

Originally posted by Optimistic Cynic:

Are they only able to be used once? They seems to work one time, and after that the green lock symbol is lit and I cannot interact with them.

Here's how the Archives Work:

• Different planets or systems have different Archives. They can be found as random encounters or using exocar scanners or arguably convenient maps purchased from the map maker at space stations.
  
  
• Some accept Biological Samples, Treasures, Fossils or other various types. The catalogue lists the sample types or hover over the item you carry to see what type it is.
  
  
• Each item you try to submit must match the Archive's Request.
  
  
• When you interact with the machine to exchange an item you will be presented with three choices of items to exchange, but only your matching artifacts, treasures, samples, relics etc of the type you are carrying in your suit or ship inventory will be acceptable. If your items do not match the archive type the options will not be selectable and greyed out.
  
  
• The preferred items must be present in your current ship or suit inventory and possibly your freighter inventory. They can not be in your storage crates. Also if using the freighter to carry your exchangeable items the freighter ideally should be present in the system and have the Matter Beam Transfer tech installed. You might use a hauler to store relics and treasures etc just for the job and call on it when you find an archive,
  
  
• The archives will always exchange your relic, treasures, samples. fossils etc for something better and equivalent in units or higher in value. This can only be done once at each kiosk.
  At each giant Archive Library there are 3 kiosk locations (with terminals) to choose from and each accept an item you carry, once only.
  
  
• The yellow entry terminals are found on the main platform kiosk and at the other 2 kiosk locations under the main structure of the Archive on the ground. The kiosk on the main platform runway typically has two terminals. So if there are several players using them simultaneously each can be operated.
  
  
• Once the kiosk on the top platform has been used the terminals become locked. It accepts no more items until a reset over time. However, now you have exchanged your item for something new, you can choose to sell it or jump to another kiosk below and immediately exchange it again, twice more. In this way a stage 3 blue relic could become a, purple value relic, then a 1st stage yellow high value relic which can be in the millions of units. However it is often more efficient to use an archive bringing 3 purple items and exchange each for high value yellow items and sell those.
  
  
• So don't always discard every low value fossil, relic or treasure you dig up as these could be worth millions in exchange,
  
  
• If the selection of terminal entries appear greyed out then that usually means you are not carrying matching relics types, Seek a different Archive elsewhere in the appropriate system or swap the relics in your inventories for the correct types, I've not checked if archives are different on different biomes in the same system (possibly they are when hopping planets) but it is easier to hop systems anyway usually, as it is easy to mark archives with base computers for quick access or use the Anomaly to jump to space stations stations,
  
  
• The process can be extremely lucrative for anything you might dig up. You can hunt deliberately for items to exchange using your frigate explorer or use other maps or scanners. Frigate explorers can be teleported to, from the bridge of your freighter in a new system and quickly pinpoint a ruin to dig at. Store your collected item digs and exchange them in batches at appropriate archives.
  
  
• Typically you might mark an archive to return to with a base computer or a signal beacon with a coloured icon and can easily find or return to them later.