The Prime: Swarm Refinery is a new feature in Star Trek Fleet Command, but it is not available to free-to-play players.
In this exciting video game, Star Trek Fleet Command (STFC), players can put their tactical abilities to the test.
The game follows the Kelvin chronology of the classic Star Trek series, and hence, you can discover iconic characters like Spock, Kirk, Uhura, and McCoy while progressing in the main story arc.
STFC’s developer, Scopely, introduces new content, officers, ships, and areas to the game from time to time. These updates keep audiences motivated to play the game.
Scopely recently announced a new feature called the Prime: Swarm Refinery, which has been quite controversial.
Refinery in STFC
A Refinery processes Raw Materials, such as raw Ore, Crystal, and Gas. These materials are used to upgrade your ships, which will make them more powerful.
Refine Isogen can be used to help your alliance control territories, and Refine Mycelium can be used to perform power jumps for your Discovery ship.
You can refine Biominerals to receive Parsteel, Tritanium, or Dilithium, which are the main resources in STFC. Players can also refine Raw Latinum into Latinum, and Inert Nanoprobes can be refined into charged Nanoprobes or active Nanoprobes.
It is noteworthy that you have to upgrade your Refinery regularly, however, these upgrades require materials.
Star Trek Fleet Command: Prime Swarm Refinery
Scopely introduces new content to STFC in the form of game updates. With update 48, which was released on Tuesday, 8 November 2022, they introduced a new ship, new officers, and 30 new missions, among other things.
They also introduced a new research system called Prime: Swarm Refinery. This system increases the quantity of Parsteel, Tritanium, and Dilithium received in the Swarm Refinery by 500 percent.
It also increases faction reputation and tokens gained from the Daily Faction Event by 100 percent.
Although it is a great feature, it has been quite controversial. The Prime: Swarm Refinery Node can only be acquired through the in-game store and the Swarm: Prime Particle can also only be purchased from the store.
There are many currencies in STFC, however, the Prime: Swarm items can only be purchased with real-life money, which has caused controversy, especially for free-to-play players.
Primes usually require buying a unique item from the store, or acquiring a material of a certain level or rarity that most players do not, and cannot, access.
The faction tribute research, for instance, requires 2000 6-star materials per level. It is unknown whether anyone in STFC can mine and refine that amount of materials. For at least the vast majority, the only way to procure it is by purchasing it from the in-game store.
However, several primes are accessible to players, as they only require 4-star materials. Many players obtained these materials as they scrapped D3, Mayflower, and Legionary ships.
Unfortunately, primes are a way to get players to spend money. Free-to-play players may get access to them eventually, but it can take years for the primes to eventually be free.
How to scrap a ship
Players can scrap some of their ships to get 4-star materials, which can be used in the Prime: Swarm Refinery. In order to scrap a ship, you need to at least be on level 20 and have access to the Scrapyard.
You should keep in mind that scrapping a ship permanently destroys it, and this action cannot be undone. Scrapping rewards are determined by the ship type, level, and the level of your Scrapyard.
The rewards that you obtain vary, however, you can expect to receive resources, blueprints for the scrapped ship type, ship experience points, and ship components.
What are the resources used for?
As previously mentioned, you will receive a 500 percent increase for Parsteel, Tritanium, and Dilithium in the Prime: Swarm Refinery. These resources have unique objectives, which are:
| Resource | Description |
| Parsteel | It is mainly used to construct buildings within your base. It is quite easy to get, and you will likely have more than enough Parsteel in almost every stage of the game |
| Tritanium | This resource is used to construct ship hulls and bulkheads. Unlike Parsteel, it is difficult to acquire, and players will generally begin to feel the lack of the resources in the mid-game phase |
| Dilithium | It is the rarest resource in STFC, and the lack of it is quite apparent from the beginning. Dilithium is used to construct high-level buildings and ships |
Can Prime: Swarm Particles be obtained from in-game activities?
Unfortunately, the only method gamers can use to acquire Prime: Swarm Particles is purchasing it with real money from the in-game store.
This means that there is no possible way of farming it in STFC. Moreover, it also indicates that free-to-play players cannot acquire the Particles. Allegedly, the price for Prime: Swarm Particles is $99.