Supply Crate

Beacons are colored beams of light which mark the location of a supply crate that slowly descends from the sky. The colour of the beacon indicates the survivor level required to access the contents of the crate. Each crate contains an apparently random selection of offerings (from raw resources to weapons to building components) and higher-level beacons generally contain more valuable loot, scaled to the level requirement. Beacons and their associated supply crates look alien in nature, and their source is unknown.

Behavior

Beacons spawn in set locations, although their density varies between regions, with more dangerous or difficult to access areas often reported to receive more supply drops. A beacon spawn point will randomly spawn beacons of all possible colours, with higher-level colours being rarer than lower levels; beacons will stop spawning if a structure is placed too close.

When a beacon first spawns, a large, tangled web of lights is visible at the very top. This indicates that the supply crate has not yet reached the ground. The supply crate will take a few minutes to fully descend; from a distance it can be seen as a bright orb moving down the beacon, while up close the shape of the actual crate can be seen. When the supply crate hits the ground, the tangled web of lights atop the beacon disappears, and the beacon appears as a somewhat shorter spire of light which tapers towards the top. The supply crate drops with 100 health and slowly decays over time, and bursts apart when its health reaches 0 or when it is looted by a player. It is not known whether a supply crate with low health contains fewer or less valuable items than it would have if reached earlier.

Although extremely useful, there are several hazards associated with beacons. It is not advisable to stand directly in the beam of light as the supply crate descends because if it hits the player, the player falls through the ground into water, and either drowns or must swim to the sea in order to escape. (This is almost certainly a bug as the ground graphics appear 'inside-out' when this happens. Bug present as at 179.4) Additionally, a beacon lights the surrounding area brightly, and this light disappears abruptly when the supply crate is looted or de-spawns, potentially leaving a player who had relied on this light blind or disoriented. Finally, beacons on PvP servers draw other players, who will generally fight each other for the crate's contents.

Some beacon spawn points are over water and the player must tread water to loot the crate. Others are obstructed by trees (eg, a central point on Craggs Island). If a supply crate has already descended to the level of the trees, clearing the trees will not make it reach the ground, and it is not possible to access the loot. The crate *will* descend to the ground if the trees are cleared before it reaches the treetops.