Solarpunk: Increasing Airship Range – Trader Bot Upgrades, Materials & New Islands

With your first airship in Solarpunk, you’ll initially only reach a small part of the floating island world. For more distant resources, new animals, and the winter islands, you need to increase your range step by step. However, the airship upgrades you need don’t come from the regular Research Table — you get them through specific trade orders with the Trader Bot.

This guide covers how to build your first airship, how Trader Bot upgrades work, which materials you should set aside, and what to do if your flight range doesn’t increase despite a completed trade.

Airship Research and Range Upgrades Are Separate

Two different systems work together in airship progression:

• The Research Table unlocks the Airship Dock, and with it the ability to build your first airship.
• The Trader Bot then hands out the upgrades that increase your airship’s range.

So further Research Table tiers don’t automatically improve your flight range. Once your airship is built, further progress depends mainly on the trade orders at the Trader Bot.

Not every trade with the Trader Bot rewards you with a Blueprint. Certain orders give you an airship upgrade instead. Blueprints and range upgrades are separate rewards within the same trading system.

Unlocking and Building Your First Airship

Before you can reach the Trader Bot and unlock new range, you need an Airship Dock and your first airship of your own. Getting there takes five steps that build on each other.

1. Get the Research Table to Tier 3

The Airship Dock becomes available at the Research Table once you’ve reached Tier 3. Advancing to that tier requires an Iron Bar. Once Tier 3 is unlocked, you can start researching the Airship Dock.

2. Research the Airship Dock

To research the Airship Dock, you need:

• 5× Wood
• 5× Iron
• 5× Cloth

These materials only unlock the blueprint at first. Only after that can you actually build the dock at your base. The actual construction requires significantly more resources.

3. Build the Airship Dock

For the finished Airship Dock, you need:

Material	Amount
Wood	40
Iron	20
Cloth	3

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Place the dock on a clear, ideally straight stretch of island edge. Part of the structure needs to extend past the edge, so you can’t place the dock in the middle of the island or in tight or built-up spots.

4. Find the Crashed Airship Component

For your first airship, you also need the crashed airship component. It’s located in an airship wreck on elevated terrain near the lake on your starting island.

The path to the wreck isn’t directly accessible. Bring your Build-Hammer and some wood, and build a few stairs along the cliff edge to reach the higher area. Then interact with the wreck to move the airship component into your inventory.

Without the crashed airship component, you can’t finish your first airship. A built dock and the normal crafting materials alone aren’t enough.

5. Craft Your First Airship

Then open the Airship Dock’s interface. For your first airship, you need:

Material	Amount
Iron	10
Cloth	3
Crashed airship component	1

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Once it’s finished, you can leave the starting island for the first time, explore the islands within your initial range, and reach the Trader Bot. From there, you get your later range upgrades through its trade orders.

Finding the Trader Bot and Getting Airship Upgrades

The Trader Bot sits on its own island within your airship’s initial range. Open the map and fly to its icon. It’s the hub for your later airship and energy progression.

At the Trader Bot, you trade set resources for different rewards. The orders unlock one after another and can give you, among other things:

• Blueprints for energy, electronics, and automation
• new Trader Bot tiers
• airship upgrades for more range
• a completion reward after the final trade orders

The trade order is fixed. You can’t jump ahead to a later airship upgrade — you first need to complete the deliveries that come before it.

First Range Upgrade with 32 Copper

The first major range upgrade requires 32 Copper. You’ll find copper on the first reachable resource islands and can mine it there with a pickaxe.

Bring the 32 copper to the Trader Bot and complete the matching trade. You won’t get a regular Blueprint from this — you get the upgrade for your airship instead.

Then fly back to your Airship Dock. The trade alone doesn’t expand your flight radius yet.

Installing the Airship Upgrade at the Dock

Every range upgrade you receive also needs to be activated at the Airship Dock:

1. Fly the airship back to your dock.
2. Dock the airship fully.
3. Open the dock’s interface.
4. Select the available airship upgrade.
5. Highlight the upgrade and confirm it with the upgrade button.

After installation, the flight radius shown on the map expands. Only now can you safely reach more distant island groups.

Most common mistake: A lot of players complete the trade at the Trader Bot but never open the dock menu afterward. As a result, the old range stays active even though the upgrade has already been unlocked.

All Materials for the Range Upgrades

Four trade orders at the Trader Bot reward you with an airship upgrade. These orders don’t give a Blueprint — instead, each gives an upgrade item that you then need to install at the Airship Dock

Resource Needed	Amount	Note
Copper	32	First confirmed range upgrade.
Eggs	6	Available from well-cared-for chickens.
Truffles	10	Continuously produced by happy pigs.
Algae	30	Only becomes accessible later in the game.

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Set these resources aside early. Eggs and truffles are also used in cooking, while copper and algae are useful for other building and production steps as well.

Which Islands Become Reachable with the Upgrades?

Every installed range upgrade expands your flight radius on the map. This lets you reach island groups that were previously outside your flight boundary. Only there will you find further resources, plants, and animal species.

Progress	New Key Content
First airship	Trader Bot and nearby islands around the starting island
First range upgrade	Further copper islands as well as islands with Wheat and Quartz
Medium range	Pigs, Truffles, and Cobalt
Extended range	Sheep and additional resource islands
Maximum range	Winter islands and plants found there, such as Paprika

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Airship range is therefore one of the most important progression keys in the game. If you’re missing a certain plant, animal, or ore, it’s often not because of a rare spawn, but because of an island group you haven’t reached yet.

Best Order for Fast Progression

Following this order keeps airship upgrades from getting stuck waiting on missing animals, food, or trade resources.

1. Get the Research Table to Tier 3.
2. Research and build the Airship Dock.
3. Collect the crashed airship component on the starting island.
4. Craft your first airship and visit the Trader Bot.
5. Gather at least 32 copper on the nearby islands.
6. Unlock the first range upgrade at the Trader Bot.
7. Install the upgrade at your home Airship Dock.
8. Secure Wheat and Quartz on the newly reachable islands.
9. Keep Chickens, Pigs, and later Sheep continuously cared for.
10. Don’t use up all your Eggs, Truffles, and Algae on cooking or selling.

Resources You Should Keep in Stock

A common progression blocker happens when rare or slowly produced resources get spent directly on other projects. So set up a separate stockpile for the Trader Bot early on.

• Copper: Reserve at least 32 units for the first upgrade.
• Eggs: Keep chickens continuously fed and watered, and set several eggs aside.
• Truffles: Don’t use all your truffles on dishes like Vegetable Skillet or Vegetable Pizza.
• Algae: Keep some of your first finds for later trade orders.

A dedicated storage chest next to the Airship Dock or the Trader Bot area helps you avoid accidentally building or cooking away your reserved materials. Many progression blockers aren’t caused by rare resources, but by important trade materials getting accidentally cooked or built into something else. A separate storage chest often saves you several exploration trips later on.

Airship Range Isn’t Changing

If you’ve completed an airship trade but the map still shows the same flight radius, check the following:

• The airship must be fully docked.
• The upgrade must be selected or highlighted in the dock menu.
• The upgrade button must then be confirmed separately.
• Check whether you actually received an airship upgrade and not just a Blueprint.
• Save and reload the game if the button stays grayed out despite meeting the conditions.

Frequently Asked Questions About Airship Upgrades

Where Do You Upgrade the Airship in Solarpunk?

You get the range upgrades you need through specific trade orders at the Trader Bot. You then activate them through the Airship Dock’s interface.

What Does the First Range Upgrade Cost?

For the first range upgrade, you need to hand over 32 Copper to the Trader Bot. You then install the upgrade you receive at the Airship Dock. Only after that does your flight radius expand.

Why Am I Not Getting a Blueprint from the Trader Bot?

Not every trade order rewards you with a Blueprint. Some deliveries unlock an airship upgrade or a new Trader Bot tier instead. Blueprints and range upgrades are therefore separate rewards.

Where Do I Find the Crashed Airship Component?

The crashed airship component is located in an airship wreck on an elevated part of the starting island. Use the Build-Hammer to build several wooden stairs to reach the wreck, then interact with it.

Why Can’t I Place the Airship Dock?

The Airship Dock needs to sit on a clear island edge and partly extend past it. Remove any blocking buildings or plants and choose the straightest, most open edge you can for construction.

How Do I Reach the Winter Islands?

The winter islands require your later airship progression. Complete the relevant Trader Bot orders and install the upgrades you receive at the dock. Also make sure you have the hull and weather/storm resistance improvements before flying out to the outer winter regions.

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You can find more Solarpunk guides in our Solarpunk overview. There, we collect all our current guides on research, islands, animal care, resources, and other game mechanics.