Cargo Tier List

Cargo's role in the income pipeline

Cargo determines how much ore each drone carries per trip. Trip value in Mine a Planet scales with what you haul multiplied by ore value at your current planet tier. Mining power fills the hold; cargo defines the ceiling on each payout.

Cargo is often underrated early because weak mining masks the problem — drones never fill large holds anyway. Once lasers improve, cargo frequently jumps from B-tier to S-tier overnight. Players who ignore haul size hit income walls even with fast mining and multiple drones.

S-tier: cargo solves the wall

Cargo is S-tier when drones leave deposits with partially filled holds while mining could have extracted more. You are literally leaving money on the planet surface.

Cargo is S-tier when adding mining power increases dig speed but hourly income barely moves. The pipeline is capped by haul size, not extraction.

Cargo is S-tier in multi-drone mid game. Parallel drones compete for the same deposit; larger holds mean fewer wasted trips and higher burst value per delivery.

• Partial holds after full mining time
• Mining upgrades stop moving hourly income
• Three or more drones on shared deposits

A-tier: steady cargo investment

Cargo sits at A-tier when holds fill most cycles but evolution is approaching. Raising cargo before ore value spikes prevents a post-evolution stall where new ore value meets old haul limits.

Cargo stays A-tier while speed is still mediocre. Larger payloads already raise trip value; faster trips multiply that gain later. Cargo first, speed second is a common mid-game pattern.

B-tier through D-tier cargo traps

Cargo is B-tier early when lasers cannot fill even small holds. Fix mining first; cargo purchases return little until extraction catches up.

Cargo is C-tier when players buy speed to rush tiny payloads. You complete more trips per hour but each trip remains cheap — a classic false efficiency.

Cargo is D-tier when hoarding currency for a single massive cargo spike instead of incremental upgrades. Steady cargo growth smooths income; lottery-style saving delays every other bottleneck fix.

Cargo and offline income

Offline earnings approximate active cycles. Low cargo means each simulated offline cycle returns less cash even if mining and speed are strong. Before long offline sessions, verify holds are large enough relative to your best ore tier.

Balance cargo with speed for offline: high value per trip times many trips per hour equals strong offline payouts. Cargo alone without reasonable cycle frequency underperforms a balanced build.

Use the income calculator with your actual cargo and ore values to preview hourly gains before spending on a big cargo tier unlock.

If morning offline payouts disappoint despite good mining, cargo is the usual suspect — your simulated trips completed, but each carried too little value for the ore tier you farmed overnight.