In this Star Citizen Week in Review for June 30th, 2025, Salty Mike discusses several impactful updates despite a relatively light news week. The major highlight is the 4.2.1 PTU patch wave 2 and subsequent hotfixes, which brought significant changes to resource gathering and salvaging, making salvaging potentially very profitable again. Some event missions, like the “protect ship” mission, are now functioning well, offering a combat-focused experience, although the cargo capacity rewards seem low compared to the overall event requirements. There were also some inconsistencies noted in backpack carrying capacities and inventory UI, but nothing too impactful. Importantly, the problematic groundlight turbulence effect, which had interfered with activities like mining on windy planets, was removed.
Thursday’s wave 3 PTU update introduced major changes to the Wiccolo missions, splitting ship rewards into specific missions so players can target the exact ship they want rather than relying on a random roll. This was widely praised, although the new crafting recipes involved in these missions received mixed feedback for lacking variety and overusing certain PvP-related items. New rare content like pure keranite and variations of Valikar pearls were added but remain inaccessible or bugged in the PTU, with reports submitted for fixes. Additionally, the Vault pistol was introduced, notable for its full-auto firing mode and high damage, effectively functioning as a powerful SMG without much visual flair yet.
Friday’s patch wave included updates to the Reclaimer, which now sports seven powerful PDC turrets, enhancing its defensive capabilities. Salty Mike expressed concerns that PDCs tend to be used offensively against players rather than strictly as missile defense, which could encourage solo flying of large ships—something not intended by the developers. The Wiccolo missions still lack clear ship descriptions, prompting players to rely on community-made resources for clarity. Overall, the week’s patches brought meaningful content and balance changes that are shaping the gameplay experience in notable ways.
Beyond patch notes, the video also covered a sneak peek of what appears to be the RSI Meteor, a ship resembling the Mantis but more combat-oriented and equipped with a large custom weapon. The referral program was revamped significantly to address community feedback: rewards will now be granted more consistently from the first referral, credit rewards increased from 5,000 to 50,000, and importantly, the old referral ladder will remain active alongside the new one. This change aims to satisfy both longstanding and newer content creators, though it mostly affects a small number of top-tier referrers.
Finally, the video touched on developer posts addressing turbulence removal and upcoming keybind menu redesigns, as well as cargo mission improvements that now categorize missions by cargo amount—a step towards better mission filtering but not a complete solution. Salty Mike also mentioned ongoing discussions about loot acquisition and game funding, expressing cautious optimism for future improvements. Despite feeling under the weather, he encouraged viewers to support the channel through subscriptions, merch, or donations, and promised to keep delivering weekly updates on Star Citizen’s evolving development.
