Red Matter is an Epic Forbidden Tech built for player-versus-player combat. It raises your ship’s damage against other players by up to 1,500% and its hull health by up to 3,000% at max tier and level, with extra teeth for Federation ships. If you fight other players often, it ranks among the strongest offensive pieces you can slot, and it rewards a dedicated PvP ship.
What Red Matter does
Red Matter is an offense piece, and its headline effect is a flat boost to how hard you hit other players. That damage buff is live from the moment you unlock the item, and it climbs as you level and tier it up. Three more buffs come online at later tiers: more hull health, a conditional damage spike after your shields take a hit, and a Federation-specific damage bonus.
| Buff | Unlocks at tier | Unlock value | Max value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Increases damage against players | 1 | 100% | 1,500% |
| Increases hull health | 3 | 150% | 3,000% |
| Damage against players for 5 rounds after losing shield health to a weapon attack | 6 | 25% | 300% |
| Increases Federation ship damage against other players | 8 | 250% | 3,000% |
In play that pairs a large raw damage increase with a durability cushion, and the shield-loss trigger rewards ships that expect to trade fire, so a longer PvP fight squeezes more out of that conditional bonus.
How to get Red Matter
You unlock Red Matter in the Forbidden Tech refinery using Epic Forbidden Fragments, the currency tied to Epic-rarity pieces. Fragments come from Q’s Trials and from special rewards. You also need Forbidden Tech Fusion Rods to open a Forbidden Tech slot on a ship before anything can go in it, and rods come from the refinery and the store. Once the slot is open and you have the fragments, the piece unlocks and its first buff goes live.
Upgrading Red Matter
Two separate tracks raise Red Matter. Tiering up raises the level cap and unlocks the later buffs at the tiers listed above, so hull health arrives at tier 3, the shield-loss trigger at tier 6, and the Federation bonus at tier 8. Leveling up scales the values inside each buff. Red Matter caps at tier 12 and level 60.
| Tier | Level cap | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 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. Taking it from level 2 to level 60 costs 1,856 Forbidden Tech Reactor and 1,305,350 Forbidden Tech Protomatter. Reactors also gate each upgrade attempt, and Probability Devices raise your upgrade chances.
Best ships and uses for Red Matter
Red Matter belongs on a PvP ship, not a miner or a hostile grinder. Every buff points at fighting other players, so slot it on whatever ship you take into territory wars, open-space attacks, and fights over key systems. The tier 8 buff only helps Federation-faction ships, so if you run a strong Federation hull, that ship is the natural home for it. On a non-Federation ship the first three buffs still apply, but you leave the Federation bonus on the table.
Red Matter in Star Trek
Red matter comes from the 2009 Star Trek film. A single drop can collapse into a black hole, and the Federation turned to it as a last resort when a supernova threatened to destroy Romulus. Ambassador Spock piloted a ship carrying the substance to ignite a black hole and swallow the blast, but he arrived too late to save the planet. The same black hole pulled both his vessel and the Romulan mining ship Narada into the past, setting off the events of the film. In the game, that catastrophic power becomes a weapon you bolt onto a warship.
Is Red Matter worth it?
If PvP is your game, Red Matter earns its slot. The raw damage and hull buffs sit among the largest an Epic offense piece offers, and Federation players get a fourth bonus on top. It is a long grind to tier 12 and level 60, so commit it to your main battle ship rather than spreading Epic fragments thin. Players who rarely attack others can skip it.