Cave Kopion
Details
- Diet
- Carnivorous
- Habitat
- Hurston, Bloom
AI Overview
Compiled by AI from community sources — may be incomplete or inaccurate; verify before relying on it.
A rust-pelted, cave-dwelling variant of the invasive Kopion predator that stalks the sand caves of Hurston and the moon Bloom in territorial packs, prized by hunters for its harvestable horn.
Appearance
The Cave Kopion is a four-legged, hound-like predator distinguished from other Kopion variants by its rust-colored pelt, which acts as natural camouflage against the earthy reds and browns of cave walls. It has notably green eyes. Like all Kopions, the different regional subspecies are told apart primarily by their pelt coloration; the rusty coat is the Cave variant's signature.
Behavior & temperament
Kopions are territorial pack animals. A typical group runs 8 to 10 individuals, though packs as large as 18 and lone animals have been observed. They are fast-moving and react aggressively when their habitat is intruded upon — a single Kopion may be manageable, but a roused pack is dangerous to unprepared explorers. In combat they rely on melee: biting, slashing with claws, and lunging/pouncing attacks rather than ranged threats.
Sources:starcitizen.toolsstarcitizen.toolsrobertsspaceindustries.com
Where to find
Cave Kopions inhabit the sand caves of Hurston (Stanton system) and its moon Bloom. As the name implies, they are a subterranean variant — you locate them by exploring the cave/cavern systems on those bodies rather than on the open surface. (Note: some third-party "guides" list microTech/Daymar/Aberdeen spawn spots, but the canonical habitat for the Cave variant specifically is Hurston and Bloom; the microTech tundras host the separate Tundra Kopion.)
Diet
Carnivorous. The broader Kopion species is a fast, meat-eating predator; on its native world most pups die young to predation or starvation, but on tamer worlds where humans seed them they thrive and readily turn invasive.
Sources:starcitizen.tools
Variants & subspecies
The Cave Kopion is one of several regional Kopion variants introduced together. Confirmed siblings include the Tundra Kopion (pale, mottled, thicker hide for icy biomes such as the microTech tundra) and a plains/savanna form. Each variant also yields its own horn item, and there are processed horn variants in the data such as the Irradiated Kopion Horn. The genus originates from Ashana in the Nul system (Nul V) and has spread/been introduced across multiple systems.
Sources:starcitizen.toolsstarcitizen.toolsstarcitizen.toolsapi.star-citizen.wiki
Combat & danger
Threat is moderate for a prepared hunter and significant for an unprepared one. Danger comes from numbers and speed rather than any single animal — packs swarm, close distance quickly, and attack in melee with bites and pounces. Recommended approach from the community: bring a firearm (shotguns are favored for the close cave quarters and pack spread), keep mobile so pounces overshoot, use cave entrances and choke points as bottlenecks, and carry medpens. Lone animals can be skittish.
Sources:starcitizen.toolstoxigon.com
Loot & drops
Killing a Cave Kopion lets you harvest a **Cave Kopion Horn**. In lore the Kopion horn is a unique blend of bone and naturally occurring carbon nanomaterials that, once processed, aids bone regeneration far more effectively than lab-grown substitutes — which is why the horns are a sought-after commodity for collectors and xenobiologists. The horn is a harvestable trophy rather than a shop-bought good: as of the latest tracked patch it has no official NPC buy/sell price and shows no active trade offers on commodity trackers. Player-to-player marketplace listings have ranged widely (roughly 120K–300K aUEC per unit), so treat any aUEC figure as a player-market estimate, not a fixed in-game value.
Sources:starcitizen.toolsstarcitizen.toolsuexcorp.spacefinder.cstone.spaceuexcorp.space
Hunting & harvesting tips
Bring a flashlight (caves are dark) and a close-range weapon. Move slowly and crouch as you approach so pounces miss, and fight near entrances to funnel the pack. Spawn numbers are inconsistent — server hopping or relogging can reset the spawn table — and horn drops are not guaranteed on every kill, with "pristine"-quality horns being the hardest to obtain. Light/medium armor for mobility and a few medpens are the practical loadout.
Sources:toxigon.comstarcitizen.tools
Lore & discovery
Kopions debuted in Star Citizen Alpha 3.23 (2024) as part of the creature-hunting feature, arriving as a set of three regional variants (Cave, Tundra, and a plains form) alongside another new creature, the Marok. The genus is native to Ashana (Nul V) and has become invasive across multiple systems, reproducing in large litters of roughly 5–10 young about twice per standard year. The Cave Kopion is the cave-adapted form; rarely encountered by ordinary citizens, it is valued by xenobiologists and collectors for its rarity and its specialized environmental adaptations. This is an in-game, live creature (not concept-only) — a wiki gallery image is labelled "Cave Kopion 4.3.0 Bloom," confirming it remains in the game into the 4.x patch cycle.
Sources:starcitizen.toolsstarcitizen.toolsrobertsspaceindustries.comrobertsspaceindustries.com
Trivia
- The horn's real "value" is medical: processed Kopion horn outperforms lab-grown material for bone regeneration, which is the in-universe reason humans deliberately introduce (and then have to control) Kopions on new worlds. - Because pelt color is the main way to tell variants apart, the Cave Kopion's rust coat is effectively both camouflage and identification badge. - Despite frequently being farmed, the Cave Kopion Horn has at times had no functioning sell loop in the live game, making it more of a hunter's trophy than a reliable income source.
Drops
Some data from starcitizen.tools (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).