The Tantalus Field is an Epic Forbidden Tech, a ship artifact built for player-versus-player fights. Its headline effect pairs a large hull health bonus with steadily rising damage against other players, and later tiers stack on Apex Barrier and Isolytic damage in PvP. If you live in territory battles and open-space brawls, this is one of the strongest offense pieces you can chase.
What Tantalus Field does
The piece starts as a survival tool and grows into a PvP weapon. Its first buff is a hull health boost that runs from 250% at unlock to 3,000% at max tier and level, so your ship soaks far more punishment in a fight. As you tier it up, three more player-focused buffs come online: extra damage against players, a large Apex Barrier value against players, and a scaling Isolytic damage bonus against players.
| Buff | Unlocks at tier | Unlock value | Max value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Increases hull health | 1 | 250% | 3,000% |
| Increases damage against players | 3 | 200% | 3,500% |
| Increases Apex Barrier against players | 6 | 1,000 | 7,000 |
| Increases Isolytic damage against players | 8 | 10% | 100% |
Every buff on this piece targets other players, so its value is entirely in PvP. Against NPC hostiles or armadas it does nothing, which makes it a specialist rather than an all-rounder. All values are current as of the latest game data.
How to get Tantalus Field
You unlock Tantalus Field in the Forbidden Tech refinery using Epic Forbidden Fragments, the rarity currency for Epic pieces. Before you can slot any Forbidden Tech onto a ship, you also need Forbidden Tech Fusion Rods, which open the Forbidden Tech slots and let you remove a piece later; you earn Fusion Rods in the refinery and the store. The refinery is the hub for all of this, so most of the work is gathering the right fragments and rods rather than hunting a single reward.
Upgrading Tantalus Field
Two tracks raise the piece. Tiers, bought with tier-up materials, raise the level cap and switch on the later buffs at the tiers shown above. Levels, bought with level-up materials, scale each active buff toward its max value. You climb from tier 1 (level cap 5) to tier 12 (level cap 60).
| Ebene | Level cap | Kosten |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Starting tier, no cost |
| 7 | 35 | 32 Forbidden Tech Reactor, 9,900 Forbidden Tech Tier-Up Catalyst |
| 12 | 60 | 32 Forbidden Tech Reactor, 11,500 Forbidden Tech Tier-Up Catalyst |
Reaching max tier costs 352 Forbidden Tech Reactor and 161,550 Forbidden Tech Tier-Up Catalyst in total. Leveling all the way to 60 costs 1,856 Forbidden Tech Reactor and 1,305,350 Forbidden Tech Protomatter across every level. Reactors gate each upgrade attempt, and Probability Devices raise your upgrade chances if you want smoother progress.
Best ships and uses for Tantalus Field
Put Tantalus Field on the ship you take into PvP. Because every buff reads “against players,” it belongs on a battleship or interceptor crew you fly in territory captures, retaliation runs, and open-space duels, not on a miner or a hostile grinder. The hull health buff alone helps that ship survive longer, and once the damage and Isolytic buffs come online the same ship starts hitting much harder in a mirror match against another player.
Tantalus Field in Star Trek
The Tantalus Field comes from the Mirror Universe, first seen in the classic Star Trek episode “Mirror, Mirror.” In that darker reality the device sits hidden in the captain’s quarters aboard the ISS Enterprise, and Mirror Spock uses it to make rivals vanish without a trace. Its origins are murky even in canon, said to be taken from an alien laboratory, and whoever holds it can erase an enemy from existence at the touch of a control. That reputation, a quiet tool for removing anyone in your way, is exactly why the game frames it as forbidden and dangerous to own.
Is Tantalus Field worth it?
If PvP is your game, Tantalus Field is worth chasing, and the hull and damage buffs pay off even at mid tiers. If you mostly grind hostiles, mine, or run armadas, spend your Forbidden Tech resources elsewhere first, since none of these buffs touch that content. For dedicated fighters, taking it toward max tier is a strong long-term goal.