Aven Colony Trophy Guide & Road Map

Aven Colony
Aven Colony Trophy Guide

Road Map

Overview:

Estimated trophy difficulty: 3/10 (Personal opinion) (Platinum Difficulty Rating)
Offline trophies: 49 (37, 9, 2, 1)
Online trophies: 0
Approximate amount of time to Platinum: 16-20hrs (Estimated Time to Platinum)
Minimum number of playthroughs: 4 - 1 full playthrough of the main story, 2 playthroughs of specific missions + 1 clean-up run in Sandbox mode.
Number of missable trophies: None, due to Mission select and Sandbox mode.
Glitched trophies: No
Does difficulty affect trophies?: Yes, you have to finish 1 mission on Insane and the entire campaign on Normal or a higher difficulty.
Do trophies stack?: No
Do cheat codes disable trophies?: No cheats available.
Additional peripherals required?: No.

Introduction:

Aven Colony was released on July 25, 2017 and is a City-Building/Strategy game in the vein of Sim City. You must establish a colony and maintain various resource producing facilities as well as the demands and requirements of your colonists. Overall it is an enjoyable experience to play through and a relaxing 100%. I also want to give credit to The Governor for his initial guidance on trophies and save/reload techniques mentioned within this guide.

Important Notes:

The game can become very unstable once you have a large population of colonists (700+) and/or a very expansive colony. This can also be a huge issue when trying to build or upgrade any structure that displays an overlay (Expedition Map, Drone Hubs, Water Pumps, Lightning Towers etc.). You may experience extreme game slow down or even crashes at this point.

It has also been reported that the game may delete your auto save if it crashes, it is a good idea to make frequent manual saves so you do not lose major progress if this happens.

A new patch is supposed to be coming but the developers haven't given a specific date for its release at this time. An update to this guide will be made with any confirmation of issues or positive progress in game stability.

"Save Farming"

As you fulfill trophy requirements you can cut down on a lot of time by making a save prior to performing a certain action then reloading to add to the count. I am unsure exactly how this works but to be safe I utilized an additional save slot after then reloaded the original save to ensure progress was recorded. I have not confirmed if that extra save step is required, better safe than sorry. This will make earning trophies such as Farm Life, Solar Tycoon, Sorry, We Don't Serve Miners & Rescuer much less time intensive.

DLC

There is currently a single DLC available in some countries, that is called "Cerulean Vale" but isn't worth the money because it is poorly balanced and miles harder than the others so will only succeed in hindering your progress towards the .

Walkthrough:

Step 1: Normal Playthrough of each campaign mission

Simply playthrough each of the offered campaign missions to complete the majority of the trophies. Most non-story related trophies will come naturally without even trying for them. All of the campaign missions seem to act as tutorials through progression with each mission incorporating previous lessons learned. Nothing is overly challenging and consistent use of the save/reload function can be used to adjust methods if something goes wrong or to proactively fulfill trophy requirements as you play.

Some general tips for success throughout this playthrough are as follows:-

- Air Filters are your best friend, because you will need to consistently be placing these as you expand your colony. Air Quality seems to be the number one complaint of your colonists throughout the entire game.

- Enable Drone Auto-Repair through the Colony Control Menu. This can be acquired after you build your first Research Center. Your drones will automatically repair all structures within their range. This option can be expensive and deplete your available funds, you should ensure you have a steady Nanite flow prior to enabling it.

- Each time you expand your Construction Drones, consider placing a Scrubber Drone, Police Drone and Lightning Tower as well all clustered together. This will ensure the maximum protection as you expand your colony.

- When first placing an Immigration Center, make sure you enable High Priority Staffing to maximize the number of Immigrates per trip. Also, consider building more than one so you can increase the number of colonists at your disposal. Just ensure you keep up with Housing demands and Employment within your facilities.

- To keep your colonists healthy and happy you will have to build Hospitals as well as a Chemical Plant to produce Nanomedicines and Plague Vaccines.

- Don't enable the "Consumer Goods" option in the Mill, these are used to distribute within the Retail Centers. Your Nanite be quickly reduced to zero and never recover. The developer has said that a future patch will make it much clearer how much this option is affecting your economy.

- Do not overextend your colony, ensure you have the appropriate housing, staffing, protection, air quality and commuting distance as you expand.

During this step, you are guaranteed to get all of the story related and unmissable trophies that are required to progress the main storyline:

Chancellor!
Commander!
High Commander!
President!
Vanaar Champion
Sandy Gulch Champion
Azara Champion
Hyla's Champion
Tenari Champion
Arido Champion
Kelori Champion
Valley of Death Champion
Eden's Champion
A Thousand
United
Cleansed
Empowered
Shielded

Step 2: Miscellaneous Trophies

The majority of these trophies below will come naturally during the campaign missions, some will have to be focused on during certain situations. Each of the trophies within the guide will have suggested methods of completion as well as optimal missions if you have not acquired them by the end your initial playthrough.

The Upper Grade
Farm Life
Solar Tycoon
Sorry, We Don't Serve Miners
Blasted!
Fire Sale
Ellis Island
Jack of All Trades
Dark and Stormy Night
I'm Losing My Mine
Consumerism
Sol Survivor
Megalopolis
Park Ranger
Sugar Tooth
Booster Shot
Kid in an Elevator
Early Bird
All is Revealed
Rescuer
Expedition Tycoon
Lewis & Clark
Heisenberg
Rigged Elections
You Have Been Warned
Zombies!
The Great Depression

Step 3: Insane Mission, Campaign Mission Specific Trophies & Platinum

These can be done at any point in your playthrough. Once you feel comfortable with the game mechanics these trophies should not pose a serious problem. Refer to each of the trophies within the guide for specific requirements and tips for completion:

This is Madness!
Speed Runner
Arctic Expansion
Colony Irrigation

[PST Would Like To Thank TechStep for this Roadmap]

Colony Irrigation

Earn all of the trophies
Get all the other trophies, to obtain this one.
This is Madness!

Win a campaign mission on Insane difficulty
This can be done on any campaign mission you feel comfortable with but I managed it on Vanaar. You will be working with fewer initial resources, more colonist demands and frequent negative events. You will most likely have to complete all of the optional objectives to ensure you have a steady stream of income. Just take it slow and ensure you have Scrubber Drone/Lightning Tower coverage and this should not be too challenging. Refer to Speed Runner for a complete list of the primary and optional objectives, needed to meet the victory conditions.
Chancellor!

Attain the rank of Chancellor
Story related, cannot be missed.

Acquired at the end of the Sandy Gulch mission.
Commander!

Attain the rank of Commander
Story related, cannot be missed.

Acquired at the end of the Hyla's Crescent mission.
High Commander!

Attain the rank of High Commander
Story related, cannot be missed.

Acquired at the end of the Arido Mesa mission.
President!

Attain the rank of Expedition President
Story related, cannot be missed.

Acquired at the end of the Valley of Death mission.
Vanaar Champion

Complete the Vanaar campaign mission on Normal difficulty or higher
Story related, cannot be missed.

Acquired after completion of the Vanaar mission.

This mission is fairly straight forward as far as management goes. The victory condition is to build an Earth History Center and operate it for 1 Sol but you will have to complete required objectives to get there (you can build one, though it won't start counting unless you complete the prerequisite objectives). See Speed Runner if you are interested in seeing which objectives are required.
Sandy Gulch Champion

Complete the Sandy Gulch campaign mission on Normal difficulty or higher
Story related, cannot be missed.

Acquired after completion of the Sandy Gulch misison.

The overall objective is to work toward building an Expedition Center and recovering some Sand Worm corpses.
Azara Champion

Complete the Azara Falls campaign mission on Normal difficulty or higher
Story related, cannot be missed.

Acquired after completion of the Azara Falls mission.

Expand your colony towards the vegetative areas to sustain food sources, then expand Northwards to the unidentified objects. You will have to build a Stadium to complete victory conditions.
Hyla's Champion

Complete the Hyla's Crescent campaign mission on Normal difficulty or higher
Story related, cannot be missed.

Acquired after completion of the Hyla's Crescent mission.

Expand your colony quickly around the large lake in the center. Resources can be few and far between on this map so try not to waste time. The victory conditions will be to acquire and activate the alien artifact you come across while expanding.
Tenari Champion

Complete the Tenari Glacier campaign mission on Normal difficulty or higher
Story related, cannot be missed.

Acquired after completion of the Tenari Glacier mission.

Just try to sustain and complete all objectives that are presented to you. You will find the Unity Artifact on the ground but will have to discover the Shielding Artifact via an Expedition Center for the victory requirements.
Arido Champion

Complete the Arido Mesa campaign mission on Normal difficulty or higher
Story related, cannot be missed.

Acquired after completion of the Arido Mesa mission.

Build a colony that can support 1,000+ immigrants. Just expand and build enough structures to house and employ 1,000 colonists but the hardest part will be keeping them all happy and productive until the end of the mission.
Kelori Champion

Complete the Kelori Strand campaign mission on Normal difficulty or higher
Story related, cannot be missed.

Acquired after completion of the Kelori Strand mission.

Below are the primary mission objectives that are required to achieve victory:

150 Buildings and 900 Power
Build 2 Expedition Centers
Destroy 10 Creep and Plague nests
Supply 5 Landing Sites (Victory)
Valley of Death Champion

Complete the Valley of Death campaign mission on Normal difficulty or higher
Story related, cannot be missed.

Acquired after completion of the Valley of Death mission.

Below are the primary mission objectives (as of the 1.04 patch) that are required to achieve victory:

Build 100 Buildings
Build 7 Plasma Turrets
Defeat all Zealot Groups (Expedition) - 7 will appear on the map
Build 2 Remote Outposts (Expedition)
Build 3 Remote Missile sites (Expedition)
Eden's Champion

Complete the Eden Crater campaign mission on Normal difficulty or higher
Story related, cannot be missed.

Acquired after completion of the Eden Crater mission.

Below are the primary mission objectives, that are required to achieve victory:

Create 100 Buildings
Build 5 Lightning Towers
Build 4 Plasma Turrets
Build an Expedition Center
Research Zorium Bombs
Defeat the 4 Guardians (Expedition)
Activate 4 Artifacts Simultaneously (You will have to activate all four at the same time, else they won't count)
Survive for 1 more Sol
The Upper Grade

Complete 100 building upgrades
You should be able to get this during normal play of the campaign. Most buildings in the game are able to be upgraded at an additional Nanite cost. Continue to build level 1 buildings and manually upgrade them until you receive this trophy. After that you can just build the highest level buildings to save time (the Nanite cost is the same as if you were to upgrade them from the lowest level).
Farm Life

Build 100 farming structures
This includes both Farms and Greenhouses but it might not come naturally during your campaign playthrough. The most efficient way to grind this out if you do not have it by the end of the game is to build lots of farms, then recycle them and build more - rinse and repeat.
Solar Tycoon

Build 200 Solar Panels
Solar Panels don't offer much power but they can be useful in a pinch since they are unstaffed structures. I personally never intentionally used them during normal play so had to grind them out by building some, then recycling and rebuilding them.
Sorry, We Don't Serve Miners

Build 100 Mines or Laser Mines
(1)
You will probably not have this legitimately by the end of the campaign so build and recycle a few mines in the last mission, rinse and repeat until the trophy pops.
Blasted!

Destroy 50 Creep Spores before they reach your colony
Build Plasma Turrets to shoot down Creep Spores but you need to build Research Center before they become available. This is cumulative through all missions and will most likely trigger while you are going for Sol Survivor. If you happen to not get this trophy by the end of the campaign, this can be achieved in Sandbox Mission mode by setting the "Environmental Events" option to "Extreme" to increase the frequency of Creep Spore attacks.
Fire Sale

Recycle 100 structures
Recycling structures will give back approximately 50% of the Nanites used to build them. You can earn this through normal play or just go on a recycling rampage after completing one of the campaign missions. Tunnels also count towards this so recycle them if you start coming up short on buildings.
Ellis Island

Accept 2000 immigrants
This will come by just playing the game. Just continue to accept immigrants through all campaign missions and you will have this by the final mission.
Jack of All Trades

Complete 100 trade contracts
Trade contracts are always available with a Trade Hub. This counts every time the ship cycles through other colonies and the colony ship, just have a trade vessel always cycling resources throughout the missions and you will achieve this early in the campaign.
Dark and Stormy Night

Protect the colony from 100 lightning strikes
Build Lightning Towers to protect your colony during the winter Sol seasons but the more towers you build, the more quicker this trophy will come. This will come naturally while completing the campaign and pursuing the Platinum.
I'm Losing My Mine

Deplete 10 Mineral Deposits
Depleting mines is when the Mine menu states there are 0 recoverable resources available. This can be Iron, Potash, Copper, Gold, Zorium or Potash. Do note that Laser Mines will deplete the materials faster but at the cost of 50% less resources per deposit. You can guarantee this trophy by not claiming victory in the first 3 or 4 missions, then simply waiting until all your mines are exhausted.
Consumerism

Build 10 Retail Centers
Retail Centers can be used to distribute consumer goods and make your colonists happy. Simply build 10 of these during one mission to achieve this trophy. This trophy is cumulative through all missions and does not have to be done within one colony.

Warning: Don't enable the "Consumer Goods" option in the Mill, else your bank account will be reduced to practically 0 and never recover. The developer has said that a future patch will make it much clearer how much this option is affecting your economy.
A Thousand

Get 1000 colonists in the same colony
Story related, cannot be missed.

You will get this by completing the Arido Mesa campaign mission.
Sugar Tooth

Manufacture 1000 Candy
You need both a Mill and Chemical Plant, before you can produce Candy. You can create Corn Syrup in the Chemical Plant using Corn and Water (make sure you have plenty of both available), then process them in a Mill to create Candy. This trophy will come very quickly, once you starting manufacturing things for your colony.
Kid in an Elevator

Enable 10 Social Policies or Powers simultaneously
Check the Colony Control Power and Polices tab to enable Social Policies. Not all will be enable at the start of the mission and require certain tasks to be unlocked so hover over each item to see what the requirements are. Even if you are not interested in actually using them, you can turn them all on then off again after achieving the trophy.
United

Activate a Unity Artifact
Story related, cannot be missed.

Acquired during the Hyla's Crescent mission, because it's part of the victory requirements.

The unidentified object is found on the ground and is retrieved by building a Construction Done Hub nearby and having a drone retrieve it but you will must have a vacant Alien Containment Structure available, else the Artifact can't be retrieved:
Cleansed

Activate a Cleansing Artifact
Story related, cannot be missed.

Acquired during mission Eden Crater, because it's part of the victory requirements.

You have to use the Expedition Center to retrieve the Cleansing Artifact but must have an empty Alien Containment Structure available so it can be stored.
Empowered

Activate an Empowerment Artifact
Story related, cannot be missed.

Acquired during mission Eden Crater, because it's part of the victory requirements.

You have to use the Expedition Center to retrieve the Empowerment Artifact but must have an empty Alien Containment Structure available so it can be stored.
Shielded

Activate a Shielding Artifact
Story related, cannot be missed.

Activating the Shielding Artifact is the victory requirement during the Tenari Glacier mission.

You have to use the Expedition Center to retrieve the Shielding Artifact but must have an empty Alien Containment Structure available so it can be stored.
Early Bird

Bring 20 units of Sandworm Meat back to the colony
Sandworm Meat can be collected during the Sandy Gulch or Valley of Death missions. You will need an expedition center to complete this objective. On the expedition map explore "Dead Sandworm" nodes then return the expedition ship to your colony. This should only take 2-3 nodes to collect the required amount for the trophy but do note that the trophy won't pop until your ships have returned to base and unloaded the Sandworm Meat.
All is Revealed

Reveal 95% of the fog on an expedition map
The Expedition Center is unlocked during the Sandy Gulch mission. The more Expedition Centers you have, the more ships will be at your disposal and the faster you will get this and the other expedition related trophies. The most efficient way to achieve this is to have one ship start on the outside of the map and set explore points clockwise toward the center. Have another ship start from the middle and trace the first ships points counter-clockwise to the outside. The Research Center will have speed and radar upgrades for your ships to achieve this fast. Simply uncover all of the fog on any map to get this trophy.

Below are images of a fully uncovered map but they also show the first ship path from outside then the second ship path tracing it from the inside:
Rescuer

Rescue 25 lost explorers
(1)
Lost explorers on the expedition map appear as (+) nodes when discovered. There are barely enough lost explorers across all campaign missions to achieve this normally. The best method is to uncover 3-4 explorers then make a save, rescue them then reload - rinse and repeat but do note that the trophy won't pop until your ships have returned to base and unloaded the rescued explorers.
Expedition Tycoon

Keep 5 Expedition Centers operational simultaneously
(1)
Simply build 5 Expedition Centers during one mission, they do not have to be fully staffed but they do need to have sufficient power to function. Please note that you are unable to recycle Expedition Centers after they are constructed.
Lewis & Clark

Explore 50 points of interest on expedition maps
Points of interest on the expedition maps are marked as different objectives. I don't know if this is a glitch or not but any point you set on the expedition map (waypoint), will count toward points of interests. This might be a glitch but I achieved this very quickly, by setting random waypoints to clear the fog for the All is Revealed trophy.
Heisenberg

Distribute a total of 500 enhancers
Enhancers have to be researched in the Research Center prior to being made available for manufacture and distribution. Xenoglow is the most useful enhancer due to having no negative side effects and only using Xenosage to produce. After researching it, manufacture Xenoglow in the Chemical Plant and ensure you have a couple of Enhancer Dispensaries for distribution.
You Have Been Warned

Receive 10 warnings from Commissioner Veronika
You get warnings when you are low on food, water or air for your colonists. This will most likely occur during normal play since you are always getting yelled at for one thing or the other. To get this early on in the game, you can purposely deny your colonists access to food, water or clean air but no cleaning up the air is the fastest way.

Also, you can make life easier for yourself by ensuring the "Verbal Crisis Warnings" option is set to On (Options => Verbal Crisis Warnings => On).
Zombies!

Get 50 colonists infected by the plague simultaneously
When colonists get infected they will be listed as "sick" within the Colony Control panel. Make sure you disable Plague Vaccine distribution from all Hospitals so the illness will spread quickly. You can always save and reload after achieving this trophy. A Plague can only start, once either Plague Spores attack and aren't destroyed or when an infected expedition returns from destroying a Plague Spore nest.
The Great Depression

Have 200 colonists unemployed simultaneously
This can be done after completing of any mission where you have a large population prior to claiming victory, then recycle all buildings that require workers and keep doing this until 200 colonists are listed as unemployed. If you want to, you can make a save then reload after the trophy pops.

Sol Survivor

Survive for 50 sols in any mission
This can be done on any mission that you have stabilized and protected. The hardest part will be to ensure your colonist are at least 50% happy with you so they don't boot you out during referendums. Stop immigration and ensure all colonists are employed and happy. Speed the game to 8x and disable the "crisis" speed option in the options menu (Options => Crisis Speed => Off). This will take upwards to two hours to complete from scratch but doesn't have to be done in one sitting, thus you can save your game and come back later.

This can also be done in Sandbox mode with the following settings:

Map: Any
Starting Resources: High
Environmental Events: Off
Mission Objectives: Population Growth
Morale: Very High
Minerals: Extreme
Referendums: Off
Cargo Pods: Extra Resources
Resupply Pods: 3 Beacons
Expedition Difficulty: Easy
Megalopolis

Own 3 fully functional megastructures in the same colony simultaneously
When you have a large amount of Nanites and power available, build three Earth History Centers, Stadiums or a combination of the two. You can always save and reload after the trophy is achieved if you do not wish to keep the structures.
Park Ranger

Own 10 fully functional Parks in the same colony simultaneously
Build 10 parks in one colony. Parks never seem to offer much of a morale boost within the colony so you may not actually get this without specifically going for it but you can always save and reload after the trophy is achieved if you do not wish to keep them. This trophy is cumulative through all missions and does not have to be done within one colony.
Booster Shot

Enable a Colony Boost
Boosters are acquired, once you build a Level 2 Research Center and research the relevant options. After researching a booster, you will need an energy battery to enable them. These can be enabled though the Colony Control Powers and Policies tab ( then press until you hit the right tab). The following boosters will all count for this trophy:

Plasma Boost - Increases Plasma Turret firing speed.
Drone Boost - Increases drone construction, repair and recycling speed v2.5x.
Scrubber Boost - Doubles the effectiveness of all Scrubber drones.
Filtering Boost - Increases the effectiveness of all Intake Fans and Air Filters by 2.5x.
Rigged Elections

Win 5 referendum elections in a row with at least 90% of the vote
This can be done two ways, campaign missions or sandbox missions. The easiest method is to load up a sandbox map and set the referendum frequency to every Sol and all mission parameters to "easy". Maintain a very small population with minimal buildings and maximum staffing (Jobs filled 100%). Keep the colonists needs fulfilled and overall happiness over 90% over the course of 5 Sols.

Alternatively this can also be acquired while you are completing the Sol Survivor trophy requirements (Survive for 50 Sols) during campaign missions Hyla's Crescent, Tenari Glacier or Eden Crater. You are able to utilize the Unity Artifact to boost overall happiness to 100% during the end of the referendum year. The Unity Artifact will be recharged by the next referendum year.
Speed Runner

Complete Vanaar by the end of Sol 5 (in campaign mode at Normal difficulty or higher)
You have to fulfill upcoming objectives well before they are presented to you. If you follow this list you should have the mission completed prior to Sol 5. The most important part is to build your colony quickly to have the "Win a Referendum" Objective completed during Sol 3. Not all Export missions are required to achieve the victory conditions. If anything is going to screw you out of this trophy, it will the food related trade missions but especially the ones for Broccoli and Barley so build as many farms and greenhouses as you can afford. Taking advantage of the Potash bonus will also help you out so make sure you build a Potash Mine.

Also note that abusing the x8 Speed option can cause you to lose out on the trophy so only use it briefly whilst building something, then put it back to x1 speed. Building whilst paused (speed set to 0) can also save you valuable time later on.

Build a Water Pump
Build a Farm
Build a Wind Turbine
Build a Mine on Copper
Build a Geothermal Generator
Build an Outpost
Build a Nanite Processor
Build a Mini-Storage Depot
Build an Immigration Center
Build a Habitat
Build an Intake Fan
Build a Trade Hub
Grow 100 Melons
Export 100 Melons
Upgrade the Geothermal Generator
Upgrade the Construction Drone Hub
Build a second Construction Drone Hub
Pick up the Cargo Pod (The nearest one is on the far left of the map)
Export 160 Rice
Build a Storage Depot
Build an Energy Battery
Build a Lightning Tower
Construct 3 Additional Buildings
Upgrade a Farm (though not a Greenhouse, as those don't count)
Export 200 Broccoli
Build a Research Center
Research Cerulean Glow
Build a Chemical Plant
Manufacture 200 Cerulean Glow
Export 250 Barley
Export 200 Cerulean Glow
Win a Referendum (Get to 100 Population ASAP)
Import 300 Goldbloom (Requires 250 Barley)
Build another Geothermal Generator
Build a Bar & Grill
Construct 4 Additional Buildings
Build a Skyscraper
Research Entari Bread & Entari Oatmeal
Build a Mill
Export 350 Entari Bread (It takes 350 Wheat & Entari to make enough Entari Bread to fulfil the contract)
Scrubber Drones
Build a Police Drone Hub
Build a Retail Center
Build a Hospital
Mine 100 Zorium
Build a Zorium Generator
Export 500 Xenoglow (Research & Xeno Sage Required)
Build an Earth History Center
Keep the Earth History Center Functioning for 1 Sol

If you get stuck, use this video as a baseline (credit to tyler Randumbness):
Arctic Expansion

Reach a population of 350 colonists in Azara Falls by the end of Sol 5 (in campaign mode at Normal difficulty or higher)
Focus initially on building Immigration Centers to boost your colonists. Make at least 2-3 prior to entering Sol 2 and continue to expand ensuring all the colonists are employed and happy. You should aim to have at least 5 immigration Centers prior to Sol 3 to maximize incoming colonists. The hardest part, will be to make sure colonist don't boot you out during the Referendum year if they are not satisfied with your reckless immigration tactics.

You can make this easier by doing a speedrun on Cakewalk and taking note of all the objectives, then starting a new game on Normal and focusing on keeping everyone happy.