Star Citizen 4.3.1 is live now and brings several major updates: the Scientists’ area called the Science Wing in the Onyx Facilities, a new Heavy Utility Armor suit, the VOLT “Fresnel” LMG, and two new medical ship variants from Roberts Space Industries. Alongside those additions, this patch also targets stability, performance, and fixes for mission and environment issues. You can read the full official Patch notes for full details.
Patch 4.3.1 overview
Patch 4.3.1 focuses on expanding content and improving systems rather than introducing completely new core mechanics. According to CIG, the scope includes:
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Onyx Facilities expansion through the addition of the Science Wing.
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New gear: Heavy Utility Armor, VOLT Fresnel LMG, plus visual updates to existing weapons.
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Ship updates: medical-role ship variants (Apollo Triage, Apollo Medivac).
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Adjustments in flight tuning, environmental and mission location fixes.
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Progress in medical gameplay: MedGel canisters, injury and respawn changes.
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Improvements to stability and performance, especially in asset streaming and mission environments.
CIG also mentions better handling of mission contracts and loot distribution tied to the new content. Known issues are listed in support channels where some mission paths or mission pickup points are being refined.
Onyx Facilities Science Wing
The Science Wing is the new third wing added to the Onyx Facilities, expanding the abandoned Associated Science & Development (ASD) labs spread across moons in the Stanton system. According to the official description, these are light security, often forsaken research sites. The deepest point in the new wing is Dr. Jorrit’s Lab, considered one of the darkest sections.
Entry to the Science Wing aligns with mission contracts or investigation contracts given by Arken Mallor. Players receive hooks to explore ASD labs as part of ongoing event-oriented content.
Core activities include:
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Exploring environmental hazards in lab spaces.
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Interacting with consoles and scientific devices to gather data or investigate anomalies.
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Navigating deeper, darker sections with more risk.
Loot from the Science Wing is part of higher-tier pools. Players can expect rare or desirable gear (including weapons and parts) and scientific loot tied to consoles. Because of risk and reward, players may revisit this wing repeatedly.
New Armor Set
The new armor introduced in 4.3.1 is the Heavy Utility Armor. It is utility armor with “heavy” status. It is intended to be more protective and durable, with trade-offs in mobility and signature or visibility.
The patch notes do not list full numeric values for each armor piece, but the categorization implies that Heavy Utility Armor provides:
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Increased durability over lighter utility armor sets.
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Higher protection against environmental hazards and damage.
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Possibly higher heat load or penalties in mobility or detection due to its weight.
Acquisition is via loot drops in the Science Wing or similar ASD lab mission content, and possibly through vendors once blueprints or stock are made available. Community Hub posts by CIG note that Heavy Utility Armor and the VOLT LMG are featured content in 4.3.1 PTU.
A summary:
| Piece | Class | Traits | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heavy Utility Armor (Full Set) | Heavy Utility Armor | High durability, higher protection, trade-off in mobility/signature | Loot in Science Wing / ASD labs or vendor drop as blueprint in 4.3.1 content |
New Weapons and Attachments
The headline new weapon in 4.3.1 is the VOLT “Fresnel” LMG. Its features according to official documentation:
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Manufacturer: VOLT.
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Type: Light Machine Gun (LMG) intended for sustained suppressive fire.
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Key characteristic: As the weapon heats up, it trades rate of fire for raw stopping power. When nearing overheat, it is said to unleash more powerful, energy-blast like damage. High magazine capacity is balanced by a hefty reload time.
Other weapon updates:
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Existing Behring Laser Cannons get art and geometry refactors to improve visuals.
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No new quantified attachments, but the new LMG is expected to utilize existing attachment and mod systems (optics, grips, etc.), as per usual behavior in similar weapon additions.
Availability: The VOLT “Fresnel” LMG appears in Science Wing / ASD lab loot pools and possibly via blueprint or vendor paths once unlocked. It is featured in promotional content such as Virtue’s Descent bundle which includes matching armor set and the LMG.
New Ship in 4.3.1
The new ships introduced are the RSI Apollo Triage and Apollo Medivac variants. These are medical ships from Roberts Space Industries.
High-level role and characteristics:
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Role: Medical service ships for battlefield healing, triage and rescue operations. Medivac variant has enhanced armor and dual missile racks for higher survival under fire.
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Size class and crew: Larger than single-seat fighters; intended for organized teams or groups to operate effectively.
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Components: Medical beds, healing support, armor systems suited for medevac roles.
Access: Players who have pledged for Apollo variants can fly them; they are now present in the Persistent Universe with proper components in place. Rent or in-game use depends on ownership and whether variant is flyable in your region or fleet. Official communications via DevTracker confirm feedback gathering on Apollo Triage & Medivac since live release.
Economy and Balance Updates
Patch 4.3.1 includes several balancing changes:
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Payouts for contracts related to ASD / Science Wing content are tuned; riskier missions offer more reward.
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Costs for consumables like medical supplies, repair or refuel likely adjusted to match the new gear’s maintenance demand though exact numbers are not fully listed.
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Weapons including the VOLT LMG are balanced for overheating behavior, reload delays, and trade-off between sustained fire and damage spike as heat increases.
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Ship balance: the Apollo Medivac variant has improved armor to suit its medevac role in high-risk environments.
Missions and Locations
New mission paths and locations are part of 4.3.1:
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Contracts sending players into the Science Wing / ASD labs, including investigation missions and exploration of Dr. Jorrit’s Lab at the deepest level.
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Reputation hooks or mission reward chains tied to ASD content are now more significant.
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Environmental and mission location tweaks: hazard spawns and mission pickup points (inside labs) receive fixes to improve flow and reduce bugs.
Performance, Stability, and Networking
CIG specifies several improvements:
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Asset streaming and environment loading in research and lab spaces improved to reduce pop-in or lag.
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Mission instance behavior and client-server replication of mission states in these new areas refined.
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Improvements around respawn and medical gameplay; MedGel canisters introduced to allow deeper, more logical injury/resurrection system.
Bug Fixes and Known Issues
Major fixes in 4.3.1 cover:
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Ships and Vehicles: fixes for flight control and physics inconsistencies.
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Weapons & Items: reload issues, overheating miscalculations, visual glitches.
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Missions & Locations: mission pickup markers, lab interior traversal, map transitions.
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UI & mobiGlas: stabilization of menus, tooltip fixes, layout corrections in mission displays.
Known issues still being addressed:
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Some mission paths in Dr. Jorrit’s Lab are blocked or inconsistent.
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Asset streaming can still fail under high load or in certain graphics settings.
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Player inventory or pledge items in specific cases not appearing properly at home locations. Workarounds include restarting the client or checking status via DevTracker. Roberts Space Industries
Early Tips for the Science Wing
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Gear for durability (heavy armor, plenty of medical supplies) is highly recommended.
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Bring weapons that can handle sustained fights; the VOLT LMG is powerful but needs management of heat and reload.
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Be prepared for darker environments and navigation hazards; focus on console puzzles and interactables.
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Use mission contracts as guides — they often mark good extraction routes.
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Cooperate with others if possible — some encounters are tougher with groups under hostile conditions.
Why 4.3.1 matters right now
This patch fills in content gaps by offering renewed purpose for Onyx Facilities beyond the initial wings. The Science Wing provides new exploration, loot, and lore depth. Heavy Utility Armor and the VOLT LMG give players meaningful new choices in gear trade-offs. The Apollo medical ships open support roles that may change how groups approach combat and rescue operations. Stability improvements reduce friction during missions and lab exploration.
For short sessions, players can dive into new contracts, loot runs in Science Wing, and trial medical ships or new weapons. For groups, strategic use of Apollo variants and coordinating Assault / Support roles get more relevant.
Conclusion
Star Citizen 4.3.1 delivers expansions to the Onyx Facilities, bringing the Science Wing, new gear like Heavy Utility Armor, the VOLT “Fresnel” LMG, and the RSI Apollo medical ship variants. These additions not only extend asset libraries but meaningfully impact mission loops, group dynamics, and exploration. The economy and balance tweaks reinforce that risk now has better reward. For everyday players, it means new content to explore, new ways to equip, and fresh tools to engage with the environment. For those following development, 4.3.1 is another step in the ongoing evolution of content and systems in Star Citizen.
