The Amazing Additions Of The Lightyear Frontier Automation Update

The Lightyear Frontier Automation update is finally here, and it’s brought along a massive catalog of changes and additions. The developers of Lightyear Frontier, Frame Break, made these changes and improvements in the hopes of improving gameplay flow. And they knocked it out of the ballpark with this update, without a shadow of a doubt.

The Lightyear Frontier Automation update arrived for players on March 5, 2026. It introduces a new method to crafting that doesn’t require you to run back and forth from crafter to crafter. This update also introduces many exciting other changes, so let’s not waste anymore time and dive right into it.

The Additions Of The Lightyear Frontier Automation Update

The Lightyear Frontier Automation update features a staggeringly large list of changes and additions to the game. So much so that it made my head spin when reading the patch notes of the latest update. To spare you the dizzy feeling, let’s focus on one thing at a time and start with the main attraction of this update, the automation.

The Automation Constructs

With the new automation constructs, you won’t have to worry about going back and forth from various crafting constructs anymore. The first automation construct you’ll unlock is the Automater, a construct you connect to other constructs to craft for you. You connect constructs via a Connector Pipe, and you can connect the following constructs:

• The Assembler
• Automated Water Pump (New)
• Automater Mark I/II (New)
• Combustion Generator Mark I/II/III (New)
• Compost Box
• Flower Press
• Fodder Oven
• Furnace Mark I/II
• Grinder Mark I/II
• Loom
• Feed Through Mark II
• Water Through Mark II
• Mineral Crusher
• Oil Mixer
• Oil Presser Mark I/II
• Sawmill
• Seed Extractor Mark I/II/III (Mark III New)
• Seed Splicer
• Silo Mark I/II
• Small Shed
• Storage Box Mark II
• Storage Shed
• Water Reservoir (New)
• Watering Drone Station Mark I/II

Once you connect the Automater to any crafting construct, you can select the recipe you’d like the construct to craft. Afterwards, feed the necessary ingredients into the Automater’s storage bin and witness the power of automation. You can also connect other constructs besides the Automater together with the various Connecter Pipes.

Connector Pipes come in various forms, including the standard Connector Pipe, the Spitter, and the Merger. Splitters allow you to split the output of a Connector Pipe into multiple directions. On the other hand, Mergers allow you to combine inputs from multiple Connector Pipes into one pipe for the output.

Another construct you can use in the Lightyear Frontier Automation update is the new Water Pump and Water Reservoir. With the Water Pump, you can pump water directly into Watering Drone Stations and Water Troughs using Connector Pipes. And if there’s too much water, you can use the Water Reservoir to store that water for later use.

The New Energy Mechanic And Fuel Overhaul

Frame Break noticed how much of a chokehold fuel had on our dear Exofarmers, and they’ve changed that in the Lightyear Frontier Automation update. They accomplish this with two methods; the first one is the new energy mechanic that you can use at Milestone Five. At Milestone Five, you’ll unlock the Combustion Generator, and you’ll earn more energy constructs with further Milestones.

The Energy Mechanic

To further improve the efficiency of your farm in the Lightyear Frontier Automation update, you can now use the energy mechanic. Advanced structures will now use energy, such as the Seed Maker Mark II, to gain bonuses while they operate. You can gain these bonuses when you meet or exceed the minimum required amount of energy.

If you’re wondering if you now need energy instead of fuel for your farm, don’t worry, it’s only there to give you bonuses. If you don’t have the required energy, the only thing you’ll lose is the 2.5x speed bonus. And if fuel is still a problem for you, then you can transition to solar energy for free fuel for your generators.

The Fuel Overhaul

The second and final method is the overhaul of the fuel system in the Lightyear Frontier Automation update. This change mainly affects your mech and drone stations, but they’re more significant than you’d think. You can now use drone stations without fuel, and can also utilize energy to boost their performance.

Your mech has also been affected by the fuel overhaul, possibly the most significant effect, in fact. You no longer need fuel to have your mech move, allowing you to explore further and easier than ever before. However, fuel gives you the ability to use your mod chips, thruster boosting, and increases your tool speed.

The Enhancements To Mech Movement

Alongside movement no longer needing fuel to work, movement for your mech has also received some love from Frame Break. The first of these improvements makes sliding slow you down much less. You can also cancel your slide at the right time to maintain your momentum with a well-timed press of your sprint button.

The second improvement allows you to thruster lundge when you run at full speed with a full thruster bar. Lastly, thrusters now break your falls much better, time to pull off those cool hero landings you’ve dreamed of doing.

The New Exofarmer Jetpack

The love movement isn’t exclusive to just mechs; Exofarmers are getting some movement options as well. That option comes in the form of the Exofarmer jetpack, a new inclusion to the Exofarmer’s core kit. You can use the jetpack to fly infinitely in your home areas and use it to give you a quick boost outside of them.

You can also use your various tools while using the jetpack, so it’s time to take your builds to new heights.

The New Milestone

With the release of the Lightyear Frontier Automation update, a new Milestone is now available for you to unlock. That Milestone is Milestone 12, the Solar Energy Milestone, which contains everything you need to keep your generators running for free. This Milestone features a massive list of additions, which include:

• Crafting Recipes
  • Lumtwig Oil (moved from Milestone 11)
• Constructs
  • Solar Generator
  • Automater Mark II
  • Automated Water Pump
• Mod Chip Recipes
  • Spike Saw Sweeping Strike Damage Level Three: Increases the damage of the Spike Saw Sweeping Strike by 15.
  • All Transform Mode Movement Speed Level Two: Increases the movement speed of all Transform Modes by 7.5%.
  • Trailblazer Boost Charges Level Two: Adds 2 additional boost charges to the Trailblazer Transform Mode.
  • Trailblazer Boost Recharge Level Two: Increases the boost recharge rate in the Trailblazer Transform Mode by 30%.
  • Water Efficiency Level Three: Reduces the water consumption of the Irrigation Hose by 15%.
• Parts Recipes
  • Irrigation Hose Mark VI
  • Seed Shooter Mark VI
  • Spike Saw Mark VI
  • Sprout Cannon Mark VI
  • Vacuum Harvester Mark VI
• Other
  • Farm Center build limit increased to four

Is That All For The Lightyear Frontier Automation Update?

The Lightyear Frontier Automation update has a massive catalog of additions and changes for our beloved mech farming game. But the Lightyear Frontier Automation update doesn’t stop at the major additions for the game. This update also features a separate list of bug fixes and slight adjustments to existing mechanics.

Not only that, but this update is also the last update Lightyear Frontier will receive before they start working on the 1.0 release. This means that the next update we see from Lightyear Frontier will be its 1.0 release. So, enjoy the Lightyear Frontier Automation update, because we’re in the homestretch to the 1.0 release.

Lastly, the Lightyear Frontier Automation update also marks the day that Lightyear Frontier joins the Coffee Stain family. And as part of them joining the figurative Coffee Stain family, Lightyear Frontier is included in the Coffee Stain Steam sale. This sale will last from March 6, 2026, to March 18, 2026.

With all of that out of the way, let’s not keep our friends from distant planets waiting; we’ve got shipments to deliver. So get in that mech and get to farming!

For more information on games and Lightyear Frontier, stay tuned with us.