How to unlock Labs in A Universal Time starts in the Desert, where you farm meteorites for Camelite Fragments to craft your first AUT Labs Key Card. Update 5.0 introduces a structured AUT 5.0 Labs guide loop with Reputation, tiered sectors, and a path that ends in Space Dimension access for late-game crafting.
What is the Labs system in AUT 5.0?
The AUT update 5.0 Labs system is a progression hub that ties exploration, crafting, and endgame specs together. Labs gate powerful recipes and materials behind a key card ladder and Reputation. Inside, an early conversation with the Cafeteria NPC sets expectations and points you toward quests and exchanges that convert your field work into real upgrades.
Think of Labs as a three-door hallway: Green Sector (Analytics) for unlocking recipes and turning in materials, Yellow Sector (Refinery) for crafting unlocked components and items, and Red Sector (Gateway) for stepping into the Space Dimension. Your goal is simple but layered: raise Reputation, upgrade your key card, and open each door in order.
How to Get Into Labs
Your first milestone in this AUT 5.0 Labs guide is the Lab Key Card.
Head to the Desert and search for meteorites.
Salvage meteorites to obtain Camelite Fragments AUT.
Use those fragments to craft the Lab Key Card.
Enter Labs and speak with the Cafeteria NPC to start the onboarding tasks.
At this stage you only have access to Green Sector (Analytics). That is intentional. Analytics teaches the loop, lets you preview recipes, and—crucially—becomes your first Reputation faucet.
How Reputation and Key Card Upgrades Work
To move beyond Analytics, you need Reputation. Here’s how to farm Reputation AUT without wasting time:
Material exchange at Analytics: Trade Camelite Fragments, Cosmic Remnants, and Crystalline Cores for Reputation. This turns your Desert runs into steady progression.
Return Lost Equipment Crates: Pick up crates scattered across the Desert and deliver them to the Storage NPC for a quick Reputation boost.
As Reputation climbs, you can upgrade your Labs Key Card. Higher key card levels unlock Yellow Sector (Refinery) first and, with further upgrades, Red Sector (Gateway). This laddered access is the backbone of Labs: gather, exchange, upgrade, repeat.
AUT Labs Sectors Explained
Green Sector (Analytics): Your starting room. Here you unlock recipes, exchange materials for Reputation, and pick up crafting-related quests. Treat Analytics as a planning table that turns your field resources into progress.
Yellow Sector (Refinery): Once your key card qualifies, Refinery allows you to craft materials and items you have already unlocked in Analytics. It is where your planning becomes tangible upgrades.
Red Sector (Gateway): The final door. Gateway opens a Wormhole that grants AUT space dimension access. Crossing that threshold moves you into late-game territory and the resources tied to it.
Space Dimension and Late-Game Materials
With Gateway unlocked, you can enter the Space Dimension for rarer drops such as Nuclear Star, used in late-game crafting and advanced specs. This is the payoff for careful Reputation routing. Even here, the Desert loop remains relevant, since Camelite Fragments continue to feed crafting and Reputation needs back in Labs.
Practical Route and Tips
Front-load fragments: Keep salvaging meteorites even after entry. Camelite fuels both crafting and Reputation exchanges.
Bank easy Reputation: Prioritize Lost Equipment Crates for quick turn-ins at Storage NPC, then top up at Analytics.
Upgrade on schedule: Spend Reputation to raise your Labs Key Card as soon as thresholds unlock Refinery and then Gateway.
Loop intelligently: Alternate Desert farming with Analytics exchanges to avoid stalls when a recipe or sector gate appears.
These steps cover AUT Labs sectors explained end to end and keep your momentum toward Space Dimension without dead time.
Final Thoughts
Mastering how to unlock Labs in A Universal Time is about executing a clean loop: Desert meteorites for Camelite Fragments, craft the Lab Key Card, convert field resources into Reputation at Analytics, upgrade the card to reach Refinery and finally Gateway, then farm the Space Dimension for late-game materials. Follow this route and you will unlock crafting depth, stronger specs, and the endgame paths that define AUT 5.0.