How the Expedition Works in Xterium — “Endless Distances,” Discoveries, and the Risk of Losing the Fleet

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What Is “Endless Distances”?
The reward depends on the fleet's points, not on the type of ships
What determines exactly what you'll find
Exactly how much is the reward?
Loss of the Fleet: When a "Black Hole" Swallows Ships
Slots: How Many Expeditions Fly at the Same Time
How long is the flight?
How to Apply This
Frequently Asked Questions
What to Read Next

The “Endless Distances” expedition involves sending a fleet into uncharted space in search of discoveries: resources, ships, dark matter, and stardust. It sounds like a lottery, but there’s a straightforward system at work: the more fleet points you send, the greater the reward—and the type of ship doesn’t matter. Let’s break it down step by step—the numbers are taken directly from the game’s code.

Where do these numbers come from? All values in this article are taken from the expedition code and game settings (find calculation and configuration files). Explanations in simple terms and tactical advice come from the player community (wiki, forum thread, authors: Storm22073, Shataev, Kara). For farming tips, see the guide “How to Farm the Expedition”.

What Is “Endless Distances”?

In the game, an expedition consists of four areas: “Endless Vastness” and three combat sectors (Ruins, Barbarians, and so on). This article focuses on “Endless Vastness”: a peaceful quest for loot without fighting bosses. Hostail’s combat sectors are covered separately in the article “Hostail’s Sectors and Bosses”].

In the game's code, this route is called "Endless Distances" and is the first one on the list of expeditions.

The reward depends on the fleet's points, not on the type of ships

The main rule: The value of a find is determined by the points of the fleet you sent. It doesn't matter which specific ships you sent—what matters is the total "value" of the fleet in points.

A single expedition run is divided into several sorties (by default, a single block of events that splits the fleet into parts). In each sortie, the game resolves a separate event: either a discovery or a failure. Your fleet’s points are divided equally among the sorties, and each sortie counts as its own discovery.

What determines exactly what you'll find

In each flight, one of the following events occurs:

Resources (metal, crystal, or deuterium) — the most common;
Fleet — discovered ships land on the planet;
Dark matter;
Stellar ore is a special, rare resource;
The loss of the fleet is an unfortunate event (more on that below);
The gift is available only during gaming events.

The chance of each discovery is a separate percentage that increases based on your research and expedition settings:

The chance of finding a fleet starts at a small base value (0.045 in the code) plus a bonus from research;
The chances of finding dark matter and stellar ore are provided by specialized research modules;
In the expedition settings window, you can allocate points to boost a specific chance—each setting point adds a multiplier to that chance (in the code, the boost step is `0.05`).

In other words, “luck” is actually something you can control: the more research you do and the more adjustment points you allocate, the higher your chances of making the discovery you’re looking for.

Exactly how much is the reward?

The value of the find on each sortie is calculated by multiplying the fleet points by the find type coefficient:

resources — the coefficient 0.03 based on fleet points;
dark matter — coefficient 0.16;
fleet — coefficient 0.025.

A luck multiplier is applied on top of this: usually 1, for a successful roll — 2, and for a rare jackpot — 5 (in the code, this is the set 1, 2, 5). The final result “fluctuates” slightly up and down at random (by about ±30%) so that the rewards aren’t all the same.

There’s one specific requirement for Star Ore: for it to drop at all, your fleet must have at least 100 points—there’s no point in sending a very small fleet to farm it.

Loss of the Fleet: When a "Black Hole" Swallows Ships

This is the most painful outcome. In the code, the loss of the fleet is a separate event with its own probability, and it works like this:

Up to player level 15, there are no fleet losses at all—the game is gentle on new players;
The "No Fleet Loss in the Infinite Reaches" booster (booster #25 in the code—ExpedBlackHoleNo) completely eliminates the chance of loss: with it, the chance of loss is zero;
If a loss does occur, however, it is not the entire fleet that is lost, but a portion of the group for that sortie (in the code, approximately one-twentieth of each ship type in that sortie, divided by the number of sorties).

An important detail: the very expedition settings that increase the chances of discoveries also raise the risk of losing your fleet (in the code, the step size for this risk is 0.125; it is higher than the step size for increasing discovery chances, 0.05). Therefore, “turning everything up to the max” isn’t always the best strategy. For tips on how to protect your fleet as a whole, see the guide “How Not to Lose Your Fleet”].

Slots: How Many Expeditions Fly at the Same Time

You can have multiple active flights at the same time—these are slots:

Initial number of slots — 1;
The “Simultaneous Expedition Mission” booster (booster No. 26 in the code—ExpedSlots) adds +1 slot;
Technically, the game supports up to 5 slots at the same time.

More slots mean more simultaneous expeditions, which means more finds in the same amount of time. This is one of the main ways to speed up farming.

How long is the flight?

The duration of the expedition is not fixed:

There is a time limit (410 seconds in the code); the flight does not last longer than that;
The baseline duration increases based on the number of flights already made on that route (experience), plus a small random component;
Engine speed reduces flight time: the higher the fleet's speed bonus, the shorter the flight, but not beyond a certain limit (flight time cannot be reduced to less than approximately 0.645 of the original value).

How to Apply This

Collect expedition research and allocate customization points—this directly increases your chances of making the discoveries you want.
Send a large fleet to earn points—the reward is based on points, not the number of ships. For stardust, you need at least 100 points per run.
Get the "No Fleet Loss" booster if you're flying a large fleet—it completely eliminates the "black hole."
Unlock additional slots—running multiple instances simultaneously significantly speeds up the loot drop rate.
Don't adjust your risk settings blindly: increasing your potential gains also increases your chance of loss.

Frequently Asked Questions

What determines the amount of the reward on an expedition? Based on the points of the fleet sent out. The type of ships does not matter—what matters is the total value of the fleet in points. A luck multiplier is applied on top of this (usually ×1, less often ×2, rarely ×5).

**Is it possible to lose your fleet in Endless Depths?** Yes, there is a "fleet loss" event. But it doesn't occur at all until the player reaches level 15, and the "no fleet loss" booster disables it completely. When a loss occurs, only part of the dispatched group is lost, not the entire fleet.

How many shipments can be processed at the same time? Starting out, you have one slot. The “Simultaneous Mission” booster adds one more slot, and the game supports up to five slots in total.

How can I increase my chances of finding a fleet or dark matter? Download the expedition's specialized research reports and invest points in the expedition settings—each point adds a multiplier to the chance of finding the desired item. But remember: those same settings also increase the risk of losing your fleet.

Why do you need 100 fleet points for stardust? This is a threshold in the game's code: if the fleet has fewer than 100 points when it sets out, stardust simply cannot drop. That's why they send a fairly large fleet to collect the stardust.