Tundra kopion
Details
- Diet
- Carnivorous}}
- Habitat
- Elevated grasslands and tundras of microTech
AI Overview
Compiled by AI from community sources — may be incomplete or inaccurate; verify before relying on it.
A white-pelted, snow-dusted regional variant of the kopion — a fast, pack-hunting carnivore that lives in the elevated grasslands bordering microTech's snowy lowlands, prized by hunters for its valuable horn.
Appearance
The tundra kopion is one of several regional kopion subspecies, told apart by its pelt: a pale, near-white coat marked with dark cloud-like patches or spots. This coloration camouflages it against the snow-fringed grasslands it inhabits and is the easiest field marker for distinguishing it from other kopion variants. Like all kopions it is a fast, four-legged predator built for endurance across harsh biomes.
Sources:starcitizen.toolsstarcitizen.toolsdoctrine.substack.com
Behavior & temperament
Kopions are pack animals that move faster than a sprinting player, and the broader species is described as an aggressive, agile predator — hostile creatures that will charge once engaged rather than flee. Field accounts of the tundra variant are more nuanced: hunters have found packs clustered and largely stationary on open plains (often around a kill site), showing only mild territorial vocalizations and frequently failing to retaliate when the hunt opens, which makes them low-threat if approached carefully. They are crepuscular, most active at dawn and dusk within microTech's roughly 28-hour day, and the game actually tracks this activity cycle. Packs cluster in small groups (commonly 3-5, with larger gatherings seen), shelter on the leeward side of terrain during storms, and tend to avoid the immediate vicinity of active mining facilities.
Sources:starcitizen.toolsdoctrine.substack.comtoxigon.comrobertsspaceindustries.com
Where to find
The tundra kopion lives exclusively on microTech (Stanton IV), in the elevated grasslands and tundra immediately bordering the snow-covered lowlands — treeless, low-shrub temperate terrain rather than the deep-frozen poles. Reported spawn hotspots include: - The valley running roughly between orbital markers 13 and 18 (cited as the most reliable area). - Brown surface patches near orbital marker 5, and brown patches around microTech's equator — these mark soil/lichen changes where kopions forage, not just texture variation. - Open plains broken by patches of forest near the Shubin mining facilities (e.g. SM0-10/13/18); one journal logged a pack ~16.5 km from SM0-18 on a heading of about 216 degrees. Note that active mining operations seem to suppress spawns within ~1.5 km. Be aware they share habitat with Boreal Grazers, which can cause misidentification.
Sources:starcitizen.toolsdoctrine.substack.comtoxigon.comstarzen.space
Diet
Carnivorous, like the parent species. In the field they are observed foraging over the lichen-rich brown-soil patches of microTech's tundra, and packs are often found gathered around a kill.
Sources:robertsspaceindustries.comtoxigon.comdoctrine.substack.com
Variants & subspecies
The tundra kopion is one of multiple regional kopion subspecies, each adapted to a different environment and identifiable by pelt. Documented relatives in the game world include the Cave Kopion and the Irradiated Kopion (which yields an Irradiated Kopion Horn). Rapid evolution into environment-specialized variants is a defining trait of the species.
Combat & danger
Threat level is generally low if you engage from range before the pack closes, but kopions are fast (faster than a sprinting player) and can charge aggressively once provoked, so melee is risky against their quick stomp/charge attacks. They go down quickly to precise fire: in one logged hunt a Kastak Arms Scalpel sniper rifle dropped six of a nine-member pack with a single shot each, while an ArcLight pistol needed roughly 5-6 rounds per kill on the rest. Recommended loadout leans on a sniper (e.g. Scalpel, or an Arrowhead) for clean one-shots plus an armor-piercing sidearm (e.g. S71) for follow-ups; a double-shot setting is suggested for less experienced hunters.
Loot & drops
Each tundra kopion can be harvested for a Tundra Kopion Horn — one horn per animal (a nine-kopion pack yielded nine horns). The horn is a unique blend of bone and naturally occurring carbon nanomaterials; properly processed it aids bone regeneration far more successfully than lab-grown material, which makes it a valuable trade commodity sold across the galaxy. Market value sits around 13k-15k aUEC per horn: community guides quote roughly 12.8k at Wikelo, ~13.2k at Rayari (reputation-gated), and up to ~14k on the black market, while UEX lists a 15k aUEC baseline with bulk discounts. Horns cannot be bought from vendors — they must be harvested from kills.
Sources:starcitizen.toolsdoctrine.substack.comtoxigon.comuexcorp.space
Hunting & harvesting tips
- Hunt at dawn or dusk in microTech local time to match the crepuscular spawn window; one successful pack hunt was logged around 22:30 Stanton IV time in clear weather. - Glass the open plains between orbital markers 13-18 and the brown lichen patches near orbital 5 / the equator; use a medium-range scanner and thermal/scanner mode to pick out body heat at distance. - Stay clear of active mining facilities, which suppress nearby spawns; if spawns fail, flying up and diving back to terrain (or holding at a ridge for a spawn reset) is a community-reported reset trick. - Engage from range to drop animals before the pack reaches you, and bring a quiet ground vehicle (Greycat ROC) plus storm-rated armor/regulators for the cold-weather terrain. Sell horns in moderate batches to avoid terminal issues.
Lore & discovery
The kopion is indigenous to Ashana (Nul V), where it evolved to survive severe conditions across many biomes. It is a fast, carnivorous animal that breeds prolifically — about twice per Standard Earth Year, with litters of roughly 5-10 young. On its harsh homeworld most pups die to predation, starvation, or exposure, but on gentler colonized worlds — where people deliberately introduced kopions to farm their valuable horns — most pups survive, and the species has turned invasive across multiple star systems. Human horn-harvesting is thus the direct cause of its spread. The kopion (and the Maroc) debuted as a new huntable species in Star Citizen Alpha 3.23, with dedicated mercenary/hunting missions to cull them; the canonical Galactapedia entry was published 7 June 2025.
Sources:robertsspaceindustries.comapi.star-citizen.wikistarcitizen.toolsrobertsspaceindustries.comrobertsspaceindustries.com
Trivia
- The whole kopion population on worlds like microTech exists only because humans imported them for horn-farming — it is a self-inflicted invasive species, an ecological cautionary tale built into the game's lore. - Despite being "carnivorous" canid-like predators, the Galactapedia oddly tags the kopion with plant-animal hybrid traits, hinting at unusual biology. - microTech's ~28-hour day-night cycle directly drives kopion spawns, making it one of the creatures whose availability is time-of-day dependent. - Pelt color is a full taxonomy system: tundra (white with dark spots), cave, and irradiated variants each look and spawn differently.
Sources:robertsspaceindustries.comstarcitizen.toolsdoctrine.substack.com
Drops
Some data from starcitizen.tools (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).