Pine Heights is one of the first areas you’ll need to unlock and it contains exclusive materials needed for progressing the game such as Red Crystals.
However, you can’t access everything right away as you need to restore the area first from pollution. Let’s see how to do it.
Where to Find Pine Heights
Before you can clean up the pollution, you actually have to find the place. If you are standing in the starting area of the Meadows, just head northwest.
It is just a short walk away. You will know you are in the right place when you see the landscape covered in glowing red Noxious Slime.
How to Remove Slime and Restore Pine Heights
To Restore Pine Heights in Lightyear Frontier, use your Vacuum Harvester to collect water from any nearby source and spray that water with the Irrigation Hose at all Noxious Slime puddles in the area.
This will remove the puddles. Keep exploring the area removing puddles until the meter on top reaches 100%. This will mean you’ve completely restored Pine Heights and can now find various new resources including Red Crystal and Red Crystal Dust.
Keep in mind that as you progress in the game, restoring other areas will be more tricky as you’ll need to remove various forms of pollution. However, Pine Heights is a starter area and thus extremely easy to clear.
The Secret to Making Resources Spawn
Here is a detail that frustrated me during my first playthrough. Reaching 100% on the restoration meter does not instantly spawn your loot. If you start looking for crystals right away, you will find absolutely nothing.
You must head back to your camp and go to sleep in your tent. The game requires a full daily reset for the environment to heal. When you wake up the next morning and head back to the newly restored zone, all the fresh vegetation and minerals will be waiting for you.
What You Unlock in Pine Heights
Now that the zone is clean and a new day has started, you can finally harvest what you came for. The area is packed with fresh items that are required for your first tier of mech upgrades.
You will now find Red Crystals, Red Crystal Dust, Coal, and Rabbage growing throughout the region.
Final words
And that’s all you need to know on how to restore Pine Heights. With the new resources gathered, you’re able to craft new items and explore new areas of the map. I love how satisfying it feels to watch a polluted landscape turn into a thriving ecosystem.
What’s the next area you’re visiting? Feel free to share your early-game experiences in the comments below.