How to Get Airship Upgrades in Solarpunk

TL;DR

• Airship upgrades in Solarpunk come from the Traderbot, not from crafting or research.
• Every upgrade requires completing specific Traderbot trades in a fixed order — you cannot skip ahead.
• After each airship upgrade trade, you must fly home and press the Upgrade button at your Airship Dock. The range will not expand without this step.
• Level 2 Airship — Trade 32x Copper to Traderbot after completing the earlier trades: 4x Watermelon, 12x Cotton, 20x Beeswax, 10x Watermelon.
• Level 3 Airship — Trade 6x Eggs after completing: 5x Silicon, 10x Wheat, 20x Cloth, 10x Bread.
• Further upgrades continue through Truffle x10 and Algae x30.
• Traderbot trades that give Airship Upgrades do not give a Blueprint — they are separate from blueprint progression.
• The white circle on your map shows your current travel range. It only grows after you confirm the upgrade at the dock.

How to get airship upgrades in Solarpunk is the central question behind all mid-game and late-game progression. The Airship is not just transport — it is the gate that controls when you can reach Wheat, Quartz, Copper, Eggs, Cobalt, and every outer island resource. Without upgrades, your travel circle stays small and everything beyond it is locked out. This guide covers every upgrade, the full Traderbot trade sequence, and the most common mistakes that leave players stuck with a range that never grows.

How Airship Upgrades Work in Solarpunk

Airship upgrades expand the white travel circle shown on your map. When you first build the Airship, that circle is small. It covers only a handful of nearby islands — enough to reach Traderbot but not the Wheat islands, Cobalt, or the outer island rings.

Upgrades do not come from the Research Table or from crafting. They come exclusively from specific trades with the Traderbot, the floating trading station north of your starting island. The trades must be completed in a strict sequence. You cannot hand in the 32x Copper trade, for example, until the four trades before it are done.

There is also a critical step that many players miss entirely: completing a Traderbot upgrade trade does not automatically expand your range. After each upgrade trade, you must fly back to your Airship Dock and press the Upgrade button there. Only then does the travel circle on your map grow. If your range looks unchanged after a successful trade, this is almost always the reason.

Where to Find the Traderbot

The Traderbot is on a small floating island directly north of your starting island. It is reachable from your first flight with the base Airship. You do not need any upgrades to get there.

When you land, you will also find an Energy Workbench on the same island. Repair it as soon as possible. This is the Traderbot Blueprint research station where all electronics and automation items are unlocked using Blueprints earned from trades.

The Full Traderbot Trade Sequence for Airship Upgrades

Here is the complete known trade sequence, in order. Trades marked as Airship Upgrades give you the upgrade item — all other trades give a Blueprint for the Energy Workbench research station.

• 4x Watermelon → Blueprint
• 12x Cotton → Blueprint
• 20x Beeswax → Blueprint
• 10x Watermelon → Blueprint
• 32x Copper → Airship Upgrade (Level 2)
• 5x Silicon → Blueprint (also unlocks Blueprint Tier 2 with 1x Silicon separately)
• 10x Wheat → Blueprint
• 20x Cloth → Blueprint
• 10x Bread → Blueprint
• 6x Eggs → Airship Upgrade (Level 3)
• 20x Carrot → Blueprint
• 20x Sunflower → Blueprint
• 20x Cobalt → Blueprint
• 32x Glass → Blueprint
• 2x Raspberry Muffins → Blueprint
• 10x Truffle → Airship Upgrade
• 30x Algae → Airship Upgrade

Note: Airship upgrade trades do not give a Blueprint. Do not confuse them with blueprint trades. They are a separate reward type.

Level 2 Airship Upgrade: 32x Copper

The first major Airship upgrade is the most important gate in the early game. It opens up the second ring of islands, which is where Wheat and Quartz are found.

Trades You Must Complete First

Before Traderbot will accept the 32x Copper trade, you need to complete four earlier trades in order:

• 4x Watermelon — Grow Watermelons from seeds found on outer islands or from early exploration.
• 12x Cotton — Harvested and farmed on your starting island. This is why a steady Cotton farm matters so much early on.
• 20x Beeswax — Collected from Beehives over time. Build multiple Beehives as early as possible so Beeswax accumulates while you focus on other tasks.
• 10x Watermelon — A second Watermelon trade. Keep your Watermelon farm running to have this ready without a long wait.

How to Get 32x Copper

Copper is found on a Copper island within your starting travel range — the island north of the starting island near the Traderbot area usually has a Copper deposit accessible from your Level 1 range. Mine it with a pickaxe and bring back at least 32 pieces. Copper does not need to be smelted before trading — raw Copper ore is what Traderbot wants.

Confirming the Level 2 Upgrade at Your Dock

After the 32x Copper trade, Traderbot gives you an Airship Upgrade item. Fly home immediately. Walk to your Airship Dock workbench and interact with it. You will see an Upgrade button — press it. The white circle on your map will now expand to cover the second ring of islands. If you skip this step, nothing changes no matter how many trades you complete.

What Opens After the Level 2 Upgrade

The second ring is where mid-game progression truly begins. These are the priority resources to collect on your first flights after the Level 2 upgrade:

• Wheat — Found on the eastern and western islands. Around 7 plants total. Collect every seed and start farming immediately.
• Quartz — Found on the same second-ring islands. Smelt Quartz in your Furnace to make Silicon. Silicon is the gate material for Traderbot Blueprint Tier 2 and also the next Traderbot trade item (5x Silicon).

Do not fly home with only one of these. Grab both Wheat and Quartz on the same trip whenever possible. Quartz is easy to overlook when Wheat feels more urgent, but Silicon is needed almost immediately after.

Level 3 Airship Upgrade: 6x Eggs

The second Airship range upgrade requires 6x Eggs traded to Traderbot. Before Traderbot will accept Eggs, you must complete four more trades after the 32x Copper gate:

• 5x Silicon — Smelted from Quartz in the Furnace.
• 10x Wheat — Direct Wheat trade. Have a surplus before handing this in.
• 20x Cloth — Made from Cotton at the Crafting Table. Keep your Cotton farm cycling.
• 10x Bread — Made from Dough in the Furnace. Each Bread requires 1x Dough, and each Dough costs 3x Wheat. That is 30x Wheat total just for this trade.

After all four trades are complete, Traderbot will accept the 6x Eggs for the Level 3 upgrade.

How to Get Eggs

Eggs come from chickens. You need to unlock Animal Basics at Research Tier 5 (costs 5x Wheat), build a Chicken Coop, Feeding Trough, and Water Trough, then lure a chicken home using Wheat and keep its Hunger, Thirst, and Shelter meters at 10/10. Eggs appear in the basket beside the Chicken Coop and the basket holds 4 at a time.

Do not cook your first 6 Eggs. This is one of the most common mid-game mistakes in Solarpunk. Save them entirely for the Traderbot trade. Once the Level 3 upgrade is confirmed at your dock, Eggs are free to cook and use however you want. For a full breakdown of the chicken setup, read our guide on how to lure chickens and get eggs in Solarpunk.

Confirming the Level 3 Upgrade at Your Dock

Same process as before. After the 6x Eggs trade, fly home and press the Upgrade button at your Airship Dock. The third ring of islands will open on your map.

What Opens After the Level 3 Upgrade

The third island ring contains the most important late-game resources:

• Carrots — Used to lure Pigs and needed for the 20x Carrot Traderbot trade.
• Sunflowers — Needed for Research Table Tier 6 and the 20x Sunflower Traderbot trade.
• Cobalt — The gate material for Blueprint Tier 3. Bring back more than one small stack when you find it.
• Pigs — Lured with Carrots. Bring Carrot seeds home and start farming before you try to lead Pigs back.

Further Airship Upgrades: Truffle and Algae

Two more Airship range upgrades follow the Level 3 gate, unlocking the outermost islands:

• 10x Truffle — Traded to Traderbot for the next upgrade after the Egg gate. Truffles are found on later islands.
• 30x Algae — The final known Airship upgrade trade. Algae is found in water areas on outer islands and is also the Tier 4 Blueprint gate material.

Algae serves double duty — it is both a Traderbot trade item and needed to advance Blueprint research to Tier 4. Do not spend your first Algae on crafting before checking whether either gate is next.

The Dock Upgrade Step — Do Not Skip It

This is worth repeating because it causes so much confusion. Every single Airship upgrade trade from Traderbot requires a follow-up step at your dock. The trade gives you the item. The dock applies it.

After every airship upgrade trade:

• Fly home to your starting island.
• Walk up to the workbench on your Airship Dock.
• Press the Upgrade button.
• Open your map and confirm the white travel circle has grown.

If you forget this step and wonder why the circle has not changed even after multiple trades, check your dock inventory first. The upgrade item will still be sitting there waiting to be applied.

Airship Upgrade Tips

• Start growing Watermelon early. Two of the first five Traderbot trades need Watermelon. Grow it in parallel with Cotton from the beginning.
• Build multiple Beehives. 20x Beeswax is the third trade. Beeswax production is slow. Two or three Beehives running from Tier 1 means you hit this trade without waiting weeks.
• Grab Quartz and Wheat in the same trip. They are on the same second-ring islands. Never make a separate dedicated Quartz flight if you can avoid it.
• Cover all Wheat gates before feeding chickens. You need at least 46x Wheat before Wheat can flow freely into Animal Feed. Spending it too early means the 10x Wheat trade and 10x Bread trade block you later.
• Save the first 6 Eggs. Always. No exceptions. Cook them after the Level 3 upgrade is confirmed, not before.
• Bring extra Cobalt when you find it. Cobalt is the Blueprint Tier 3 gate and also a Traderbot trade item. One small stack is never enough.
• Check your Traderbot preview. Traderbot shows upcoming trade requirements before they unlock. Use this to plan which crops to grow or which ores to mine before the next gate arrives.

All Airship Upgrade Trades at a Glance

Here is a clean summary of only the Traderbot trades that give Airship Upgrades, not Blueprints:

• Level 2 Airship — 32x Copper (after 4 Watermelon, 12 Cotton, 20 Beeswax, 10 Watermelon)
• Level 3 Airship — 6x Eggs (after 5 Silicon, 10 Wheat, 20 Cloth, 10 Bread)
• Level 4 Airship — 10x Truffle
• Level 5 Airship — 30x Algae

Each one must be followed by pressing the Upgrade button at your Airship Dock before the map range expands.

Final Thoughts

Airship upgrades in Solarpunk are a trade-based progression chain, not a crafting unlock. Work through the Traderbot sequence in order, never skip trades, and always confirm upgrades at your dock after each one. Plan your farm ahead of each gate — grow Watermelon and Cotton early, stockpile Beeswax from multiple hives, save all your first Eggs for the Level 3 upgrade, and never spend Wheat freely until all the Wheat gates are covered. Each upgrade opens a wider world with new resources and new progression paths. Get the dock step right every time and you will never be stuck wondering why your travel range has not changed. For a full walkthrough of the chicken and egg system that feeds into the Level 3 upgrade, check our guide on how to lure chickens and get eggs in Solarpunk.