Economy & Mining
Two currencies run the game: Bits, the everyday money, and Bytes, the one you spend on conveniences. You see both in the header.
Bits
Bits pay for almost everything. They come from:
- Your miner, ticking away on its own.
- Emptying other hosts' miners while you are hacked in.
- Bits Packages that drop from successful hacks (open them in ITEMS).
- Missions, the daily login reward and Nexus cycle rewards.
They go on component upgrades, shop items and, later, corporation research.
Bytes
Bytes are the premium currency, but you are not locked out of them: buy them with Bits in the shop, or win them from Nexus cycles. They pay for things like the Hex Map Package, the Nexus Rush Protocol and rushing corporation builds.
Mining
Your Miner component earns Bits over time, even while you are offline. You have to claim them, from HOST on your own miner or with Collect Miner on a host you have cracked. A higher Miner level earns faster and holds more.
- There is a cap on how much a miner holds: claim it before it fills, or the extra is wasted.
- Claiming another host's miner steals its stored Bits, and leaves a line in its log. See Bounces & Logs.
- Keep your own miner claimed, or someone else will.
Daily Login
Log in each day and claim the daily reward: it climbs from day 1 to day 7, then starts over. Miss a day and you do not lose your place, you just pick up where you left off.
Spending
- Upgrades: the main Bits sink, climbing with each level. See Host Components.
- Shop: log cleaners, Hex Map Packages and more, in the ITEMS page. See Items & Inventory.
- Corporations: creating one, and later research and crafting. See Corporations.
When You Get Hacked
Someone who cracks you can empty your unclaimed miner and read your files. You never lose levels, components or items. The worst case is Bits you left sitting in the miner.