The Aegis Reclaimer is a heavy salvage ship designed around multiple work areas, dedicated salvage equipment, defensive positions, and a substantial industrial interior. Its official RSI crew specification is 5, but that does not automatically mean five players are required for every salvage operation.

The current RSI Ship Matrix lists Crew Size 5. Separately, the community-maintained Reclaimer implementation record displays a 5–12 crew range, 12 total crew stations, and 3 beds. These figures describe different fields and come from different source layers.

For practical salvage, the more useful question is how many players can keep flight, salvage, material handling, and support work moving without constantly interrupting one another.

Our editorial estimate is two to four active players for a workable core salvage operation. A fifth player allows broader role coverage, while larger groups can provide additional defensive, engineering, and logistical support. These are practical workflow assessments, not official CIG minimum or recommended crew figures.

Reclaimer Crew Numbers at a Glance

Crew Metric	Current Value	Source and Meaning
RSI Ship Matrix Crew Size	5	Official first-party crew specification
Extracted Crew Range	5–12	Community implementation data
Total Crew Stations	12	Community implementation summary
Beds	3	Community implementation summary
Practical Core Salvage Crew	About 2–4 active players	LTI Hangar editorial estimate
Solo Operation	Possible, but workload-heavy	Practical workflow assessment

RSI currently lists the Reclaimer as Flight Ready and assigns it the Heavy Salvage role. Its published specifications include 420 SCU of Cargo Capacity, dimensions of 160 × 120 × 55 meters, SCM Speed of 110 m/s, Afterburner Speed of 870 m/s, and Crew Size 5.

The community implementation record displays 4.10.2-LIVE.12881860 as its data version when checked on October 23, 2026. This is the implementation-data reference used throughout this article, not a claim that the same number has been independently confirmed as the latest complete client build.

Why Does RSI List Crew Size 5?

The current RSI Ship Matrix publishes Crew Size 5 for the Reclaimer. This is the appropriate figure to use when describing its official high-level crew specification.

It should not automatically be rewritten as a hard minimum, a maximum, or a rule that five players must be present before salvage can begin.

Crew Size is a specification field. Whether a smaller group can perform a particular gameplay loop is a separate question.

A Reclaimer operation can involve flying to a target, positioning the hull, operating salvage equipment, organizing recovered materials, and responding to threats. A crew can distribute those responsibilities, but not every position needs to be occupied during every operation.

The official crew figure helps communicate the ship's intended scale. It does not, by itself, establish the minimum number of players needed for a specific salvage task.

What Does the Community Crew Range of 5–12 Mean?

The community implementation record exposes the Reclaimer's crew field as 5–12. This is an implementation-derived value, not a second official RSI Crew Size figure.

The range provides additional context for the ship's broader multi-station architecture. It does not establish that CIG requires at least five players or that twelve players are necessary to use the ship's salvage capabilities effectively.

For practical planning, use the range as a separate data field and build the crew around the work your group intends to perform.

Why Does the Reclaimer Have 12 Crew Stations?

The community implementation record's Crew & Medical summary lists 12 total crew stations, including pilot, co-pilot, turret, engineering, and bridge positions.

A station count describes the positions represented in the ship's implementation. It does not mean every position must be occupied before the ship can operate.

Some responsibilities become more relevant in particular circumstances. Defensive coverage may be more valuable in dangerous space, for example, while a lower-risk operation may benefit more from assigning additional attention to industrial work.

The useful distinction is between the ship's available station coverage and the number of players needed for a particular operation.

Why Does the Reclaimer Have 3 Beds?

The same community implementation summary lists 3 beds.

Bed count describes the current interior implementation. It is separate from RSI Crew Size, the extracted crew range, and the total station count.

For reference, the current source layers report:

• RSI Crew Size: 5
• Community implementation crew range: 5–12
• Community implementation crew stations: 12
• Community implementation beds: 3

None of these figures independently proves a hard minimum or maximum for a particular salvage activity.

What Jobs Need to Be Covered During Salvage?

The following five categories are useful for practical crew planning. They are an editorial way to divide the workload, not an official CIG crew assignment chart. The best division depends on the target, the current stage of salvage, and the risks involved.

1. Flight and Positioning

The pilot handles navigation, approach, and positioning around the target.

The Reclaimer is a large industrial vessel, so a poor approach can create additional repositioning work. RSI lists its dimensions as 160 × 120 × 55 meters, SCM Speed as 110 m/s, and Afterburner Speed as 870 m/s.

The RSI Ship Matrix also publishes Pitch Max of 11°/s, Yaw Max of 11°/s, and Roll Max of 14°/s. The community implementation record reports the same rotation rates.

A dedicated pilot can manage movement while another player continues a separate industrial task.

2. Salvage Operation

The current RSI Ship Matrix lists two remote turret positions equipped with Baler Salvage Heads.

The community implementation record provides more detail about these positions, listing ReadyGrip Tractor Modules and Trawler Scraper Modules for both Baler heads. Those equipment details are implementation-derived and should be attributed to that data source rather than presented as a separate official RSI specification.

These positions provide the equipment around which the industrial operation is organized. A second player can help keep flight and salvage responsibilities separate instead of requiring one person to abandon one task whenever the other needs attention.

3. Material and Cargo Handling

Recovered material creates a separate workload. Someone may need to organize cargo, keep work areas usable, and prepare the load for transport or unloading.

This is an operational responsibility, not a claim that the ship has a dedicated cargo-handler station.

When one player handles flight, salvage, and cargo alone, those jobs become a serial workload. Another player can introduce useful parallelism by taking responsibility for one task while the other continues with a different job.

4. Defense

The current RSI Ship Matrix lists:

• One manned Size 5 turret.
• Six remote weapon turrets.
• Seven M2C “Swarm” defensive entries.
• Two remote turret positions equipped with Baler Salvage Heads.

The community implementation record separately exposes seven PDC/PDT entries. Seven PDC/PDT entries do not mean seven player-operated gunner positions.

Defensive staffing should reflect the environment. A group expecting threats may benefit from assigning a player to defensive coverage, while a lower-risk salvage operation may have different priorities.

The Reclaimer has substantial defensive equipment, but raw weapon counts do not guarantee survivability or replace sound positioning and threat assessment.

5. Engineering and Ship Support

Engineering and bridge positions form part of the community implementation record's station summary.

A dedicated support player may be useful when the group wants broader coverage, particularly when defensive or ship-system responsibilities compete with industrial work. The need for that role depends on current mechanics and the circumstances of the operation.

A larger crew can provide more support options, but additional players do not automatically increase salvage output.

One-Player Reclaimer: Possible, but Work Happens Sequentially

One player can operate the Reclaimer's core salvage loop, but the workload is difficult to keep moving efficiently.

The solo operator may need to:

• Fly and position the ship.
• Operate salvage equipment.
• Return to flight controls when repositioning is needed.
• Manage recovered materials and cargo.
• Respond to interruptions elsewhere aboard the ship.

Each job change can interrupt another responsibility. The main limitation is not simply the number of empty stations; it is the time lost switching between tasks.

For players who prioritize a lower-friction solo salvage workflow, the Drake Vulture is our editorial recommendation. The Reclaimer becomes more attractive when its industrial scale is useful enough to justify the additional operating overhead.

For a deeper analysis, see the Star Citizen Reclaimer Solo Guide: Can You Use It Alone?.

Two-Player Reclaimer: Separate Flight from Salvage

A practical two-player arrangement is:

• Player 1: Flight and positioning.
• Player 2: Primary salvage work, with both players helping with material handling when needed.

The main advantage is that flight and salvage can begin to happen in parallel. Repositioning no longer necessarily requires the only salvage operator to abandon every industrial task.

This does not mean two players double the ship's output. It means the group has more flexibility to keep separate responsibilities moving.

Two players are below RSI's published Crew Size of 5, but that official figure is not, by itself, proof that a two-person salvage operation is impossible.

Three-Player Reclaimer: Add Flexible Industrial Support

A three-player group can separate another part of the workload:

• Player 1: Pilot and positioning.
• Player 2: Primary salvage operation.
• Player 3: Material handling, additional salvage work, or flexible support.

The third player is most valuable when used to address the current bottleneck. If cargo handling is interrupting salvage, that player can help organize material. If industrial work is the priority, they can contribute there instead.

This arrangement gives a small group more flexibility without requiring it to staff every available station.

Four-Player Reclaimer: Keep Core Jobs Separate

A four-player group can keep more responsibilities distinct:

• Player 1: Flight and positioning.
• Player 2: Primary salvage operation.
• Player 3: Additional salvage or industrial support.
• Player 4: Cargo, logistics, defense, or ship support.

The fourth player gives the group room to cover another responsibility without immediately pulling someone away from flight or the main salvage task.

Assignments should still respond to the situation. A lower-risk operation may benefit more from cargo support, while a higher-risk route may justify additional defensive coverage.

LTI Hangar's estimate of two to four active players refers to core workflow convenience. It is not an official CIG minimum or recommended crew count.

Five-Player Reclaimer: Match the Official Crew Size

Five players align with the RSI Ship Matrix Crew Size of 5.

A five-player group has more room to separate flight, salvage, material handling, and support responsibilities. One possible arrangement is:

• Player 1: Flight and positioning.
• Player 2: Primary salvage operation.
• Player 3: Additional salvage or industrial work.
• Player 4: Material handling and logistics.
• Player 5: Flexible defense, engineering, or bridge support.

This is an example rather than a mandatory arrangement. The fifth player can move between responsibilities depending on the target, cargo load, and risk.

Five people also do not automatically occupy all twelve crew stations listed in the community implementation summary. Crew Size and station count remain separate fields.

What About Six to Twelve Players?

A larger crew can provide additional coverage for remote weapon positions, the manned turret, engineering or bridge responsibilities, cargo handling, and operational support.

These additional players are most useful when the operation has enough independent work to justify their involvement. Once the main industrial tasks are covered, extra crew may contribute more through defense, specialization, and redundancy than through a direct increase in salvage output.

A larger group may suit a coordinated organization or a higher-risk operation. It should not be treated as the default staffing target for an ordinary salvage session.

Reclaimer Crew Size Compared

Active Players	Practical Assessment
1	Possible, but flight, salvage, and cargo work compete for the same player's time
2	Flight and salvage can begin to operate in parallel
3	Adds flexible material-handling or industrial support
4	Makes it easier to keep core jobs separate
5	Matches RSI's published Crew Size and supports broader role coverage
6–12	Adds scope for defense, engineering, logistics, and specialization

This is an editorial comparison of workflow options, not an official CIG staffing requirement.

Does More Crew Always Mean More Profit?

No. A larger group may complete more work in a given period, but the result depends on the target, the recovered material, travel time, cargo handling, interruptions, current prices, and how the proceeds are divided.

More players do not guarantee proportionally greater salvage output or higher earnings per person.

A crew should be chosen around its intended workflow and risk, not an assumed profit multiplier. There is no universal Reclaimer crew size that guarantees the best aUEC-per-hour return.

Should You Fill the Turrets Before Adding Salvage Crew?

That depends on the operating environment.

In a lower-risk area, an extra player may be more useful supporting industrial work or material handling. When operating in dangerous space, defensive coverage may become a higher priority.

The RSI Ship Matrix lists the Reclaimer's manned Size 5 turret, remote weapon turrets, and M2C “Swarm” defensive entries. The community implementation record separately lists seven PDC/PDT entries. Those systems add defensive options, but their presence does not guarantee the ship will survive every engagement.

Assign crew according to the risk and the workload. Do not fill weapon positions simply to match a station count.

Reclaimer Crew Guide Verdict

The current sources provide four distinct crew-related figures:

• RSI Ship Matrix Crew Size: 5
• Community implementation crew range: 5–12
• Community implementation crew stations: 12
• Community implementation beds: 3

The official Crew Size remains 5. The other figures provide additional implementation context and should not be presented as official RSI specifications or converted into mandatory player counts.

For practical salvage, the key improvement comes from distributing work that would otherwise happen sequentially. Two players can separate flight and salvage responsibilities; three or four can provide more consistent coverage for material handling and support. Five players align with the published Crew Size and allow broader role coverage.

Our recommendation is about two to four active players for the core salvage workflow, with additional crew when the operation benefits from greater defensive, engineering, or logistical coverage. This is an editorial estimate, not an official CIG minimum or recommended crew number.

For broader specifications, cargo, prices, and ownership considerations, see the Star Citizen [Reclaimer](https://ltihangar.com/products/reclaimer-standalone-ship) Guide.

If the Reclaimer fits your group's intended gameplay, you can also explore [Reclaimer](https://ltihangar.com/products/reclaimer-standalone-ship) ship and upgrade options.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Reclaimer's official crew size?

The current RSI Ship Matrix lists Crew Size 5. The separate 5–12 range comes from community implementation data and should not be described as an official RSI crew specification.

Can two people use a Reclaimer?

A two-player crew can divide flight and salvage responsibilities, reducing the role switching associated with solo operation. This is a practical workflow assessment, not an official CIG recommended crew size.

How many crew stations does the Reclaimer have?

The community implementation record's Crew & Medical summary lists 12 total crew stations, including pilot, co-pilot, turret, engineering, and bridge positions. This is separate from RSI's published Crew Size 5.

How many beds does the Reclaimer have?

The community implementation record lists 3 beds. Bed count describes the interior implementation and should not be used to infer Crew Size or the number of players needed for a salvage run.

What is the best practical crew size for Reclaimer salvage?

LTI Hangar's editorial estimate is two to four active players for a workable core salvage operation. Two players introduce useful parallelism, while three or four provide more flexibility for cargo and support work. Five aligns with RSI's published Crew Size and allows broader role coverage.