Labs
Labs are your production side of the business. Build one at an airport you control and it makes product on its own, even while you are away, dropping it into the stash there for you to fly out and sell. The Lab tab unlocks at Level 16.
What you can make
There are four products, each unlocking deeper into the game and worth more than the last:
| Product | Unlocks at | Build cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weed | Level 16 | $5,000 | Cheap and steady, the place to start. |
| Cocaine | Level 25 | $20,000 | High value. |
| Meth | Level 34 | $40,000 | Strong value, lighter units. |
| MDMA | Level 36 | $60,000 | High value. Needs a European safe house at the airport. |
Building a lab
To build, a few things have to line up:
- You must be at the airport, and you build it where you currently are.
- You have to control that airport: your influence has to lead there, ahead of any rival. If you do not control it yet, fly missions in to push the rivals back first (see the Map and Rivals tab).
- You pay the build cost for that product, and you can have one lab of each product per airport.
You can run as many labs as you can fund, spread across different airports.
How production works
- A lab finishes a batch every 3 hours and drops the units straight into the stash at its airport.
- It keeps producing while the app is closed, banking up to 8 batches (about 24 hours) for you to collect when you come back. While you are playing it just keeps going.
- There is no limit on how much can pile up in the stash, so product is safe until you move it.
Upgrading
Each lab has three tiers. Upgrading makes each batch bigger but also raises the upkeep. A weed lab, for example, goes from 2 units a batch at tier 1, to 4 at tier 2, to 8 at tier 3. Upgrade costs climb with each tier, so grow a lab once it is reliably paying for itself.
Upkeep
Every lab charges a running cost each time a batch finishes, taken from your cash automatically. The bigger and higher-tier the lab, the higher the upkeep.
Boosting production
Three things make your labs produce more, and they stack:
- Fortify the airport. A lab at a FORTIFIED airport (your influence at 75+) makes one extra unit per batch.
- Control more territory. Holding lots of airports lifts production across all your labs (a bonus that kicks in once you control a large network).
- Assign a Logistics Chief. A crew member in that role stationed at the lab's airport speeds it up, and more of them stack up to a cap. See the Crew & Smugglers guide.
Selling what you make
Lab output sits in the stash at the lab's airport. To turn it into cash, hit Dispatch on the lab and send it to a buyer, either flying it yourself or handing it to a smuggler. You do not even need to be at the lab to send a smuggler. From there it is the usual trading flow. See the Cargo guide for dispatching and the Economy guide for where to sell it.