Amp Economics

Understanding weapon and mining amplifiers — how they change your cost structure, when they boost profitability, and when they’ll drain your PED card faster than a Cosmic Hornet swarm.

Weapon Amps

How Weapon Amps Work

A weapon amplifier is an attachment that adds extra damage to your weapon’s output. Unlike enhancers (which go into tier sockets), amps attach to a weapon’s amp slot and function as a separate damage source.

Key mechanics:

• An amp can add up to 50% of your weapon’s maximum base damage as bonus damage
• If the amp’s damage exceeds 50% of your weapon’s max damage, the excess is wasted
• Amps have their own decay rate — they wear down with every shot
• Limited (L) amps break when their TT reaches 0; Unlimited (UL) amps can be repaired

How Amps Affect Your Cost Structure

Every shot with an amped weapon costs:

Total cost/shot = Weapon decay + Weapon ammo + Amp decay + Amp ammo (if applicable)

Effect on DPP (Damage Per PED)

The critical question: Does the amp improve your DPP?

• If the amp’s damage contribution per PED of its cost is higher than your weapon’s base DPP → amp improves efficiency ✅
• If the amp’s damage contribution per PED of its cost is lower → amp worsens efficiency ❌

Most well-matched amps improve DPP because they add significant damage for relatively low additional decay.

Common Weapon Amps

[!NOTE] The A10x series are Unlimited (UL) energy amplifiers manufactured by Omegaton. They can be repaired indefinitely. Their repair cost is at TT value (no markup on repair), making them cost-effective for long-term use despite high initial purchase prices.

Matching Amp to Weapon: The 50% Rule

[!IMPORTANT] An amp can only contribute up to 50% of your weapon’s maximum base damage. Always check this before buying an amp.

Example:

• Your weapon does 10-20 damage (max = 20)
• 50% of 20 = 10
• An A101 (adds 3 damage) → fully utilized ✅
• An A102 (adds 7 damage) → fully utilized ✅
• An A103 (adds 10 damage) → exactly at the cap ✅

Mining Amps (Finder Amps)

How Mining Amps Work

Mining amplifiers attach to your Finder tool and increase the potential size of claims you discover. They don’t guarantee better finds — they increase the upper bound of what’s possible per drop.

Key differences from weapon amps:

• Mining amps significantly increase cost per probe drop (often 2-10x)
• They increase the variance of your results (bigger potential wins, but also bigger potential dry streaks)
• Mining is already high-variance — amps amplify both the highs and the lows

Amp TT Cost vs. Expected Return

[!WARNING] Mining amps are not for beginners. The cost-per-drop increase means you burn through PED much faster during dry streaks. A 100-drop run with a medium amp can cost 400 PED — and return only 300 PED if luck is bad. You need a bankroll large enough to absorb variance.

Understanding Depth and Finder Relationship

Your finder has a maximum search depth based on its stats and your skills:

Effective Depth = Base Finder Depth × (1 + Skill Modifier) × (1 + Depth Enhancer Modifier)

Resources spawn at various depths. If your finder can’t reach a resource layer, it doesn’t exist for you. This means:

1. Shallow finders — Can only find common surface-level resources
2. Mid-depth finders — Access to more resource types
3. Deep finders — Access to rare, high-value resources at extreme depths

Mining Amp Level Progression

When Amps Are Worth It

Hunting: Bigger Mob HP → Amp Is More Efficient

The efficiency argument for weapon amps follows a simple pattern:

Small mobs (10-50 HP):

• You already kill them in a few shots
• Amp adds overkill damage (wasted on last shot)
• The amp decay cost per mob is proportionally high
• Verdict: Usually NOT worth it ❌

Medium mobs (100-500 HP):

• You need many shots to kill
• Amp reduces shots needed significantly (saves ammo + weapon decay on those shots)
• Amp decay is spread over more meaningful damage
• Verdict: Often worth it with proper matching ✅

Large mobs (500+ HP):

• Many shots needed, amp damage is fully utilized every shot
• Reduced kill time means less healing needed
• Amp’s cost is a small fraction of total cycle cost
• Verdict: Almost always worth it ✅

Mining: Understanding the Depth/Finder Relationship

Mining amps are worth it when:

1. You have data — You know the area, the resources, and your typical return rates
2. High-MU resources exist at depth — The amp lets you access layers with valuable resources
3. Your bankroll supports variance — You can absorb 50+ drops of below-average returns
4. Claim MU is significant — If the resources you’re finding carry 120%+ MU, the amp’s cost is offset by markup income

Mining amps are NOT worth it when:

1. You’re exploring new areas — You don’t know if valuable resources are there
2. Resources have low MU — If everything you find sells at 101% MU, the amp is pure overhead
3. Your bankroll is thin — A bad streak with amps can wipe out your mining fund
4. You haven’t tracked baseline returns — Without unamped data, you can’t measure if the amp is helping

MU on Amp Itself Affects Break-Even

[!IMPORTANT] The markup you pay for the amp is a sunk cost that must be recovered through improved efficiency. Always factor amp MU into your calculations.

Example calculation — Weapon amp:

A103 amp: TT 8 PED, purchased at 125% MU = 10 PED
Net cost: 10 - 8 = 2 PED (this is the "cost of amping")
Amp lifespan: ~200 PED of damage dealt before TT reaches 0

If the amp adds 16 damage per shot and improves your DPP by 10%:
Over its lifespan, you cycle ~200 PED through the amp
10% efficiency gain = 20 PED saved in ammo/decay costs

Net gain: 20 - 2 = +18 PED ✅ (profitable)

Example calculation — Mining amp:

Mining amp: TT 20 PED, purchased at 130% MU = 26 PED
Net cost: 26 - 20 = 6 PED
Amp lifespan: ~100 drops before TT reaches 0
Additional cost per drop: ~3.5 PED (above unamped cost)
Total additional investment: 100 × 3.5 = 350 PED + 6 PED MU = 356 PED

If amped mining returns 95% vs unamped 94% (1% efficiency gain):
PED cycled with amp: ~850 PED total
Return improvement: 850 × 0.01 = 8.5 PED

Net result: 8.5 - 6 = +2.5 PED (barely profitable)

[!TIP] Mining amps are only clearly profitable when you’re specifically targeting high-MU resources in areas where you have historical data. The variance in mining makes it very hard to measure small efficiency gains over short runs. Most successful amped miners track returns over 1,000+ drops before drawing conclusions.

Summary Decision Matrix

2026 Update: ARIS Weapons & Amp Considerations

Hyperion Aurora Weapons and Amping

The Hyperion Aurora plasma weapons from ARIS (May 2025+) have their own amp interaction considerations:

[!TIP] Hyperion Aurora weapons are already among the most efficient (L) weapons in their class. Amping them typically provides excellent DPP because the base efficiency is high — the amp adds damage on top of an already efficient platform.

Oblivion Protocol Weapons and Amping

Oblivion Protocol melee weapons (fists, clubs) don’t use amps in the same way — melee weapons in EU generally don’t have amp slots. The Oblivion Protocol TC-110 at ~90% efficiency is already so efficient that amping isn’t a factor.

For the Oblivion Protocol GR-20 (L) ranged gauss variant:

• Max damage: ~50 → Max useful amp: ~25
• Recommended: A102 (8) or A103 (16)

Personal Pharmatrons (May 2026)

The v19.7.0 update introduced Personal Pharmatron items (103/106/109/120) — new healing and support tools from Hyperion Enterprises on ARIS. These are relevant to amp economics because:

• They replace or supplement traditional healing tools
• Lower healing cost per HP can offset the increased kill-time cost of amped weapons
• Available from ARIS Mindforce Division missions (Dr. Vera Santis in Ironhaven)

[!NOTE] As of May 2026, Personal Pharmatrons are still new and their long-term market pricing is stabilizing. Monitor auction prices before investing heavily.