Checked on 21 October 2026 against Update 6.0 (build 0.10.0.653173), Steam app 1783560 by Channel37. Forum dates are UTC.

Short answer. Players describe shooting the glowing green Quantum Crystals off the spires of the Quarantine Stacks, north east of Lazarus [S5]. Other routes players describe are recycling Quantum Crystal Nuggets in the Recycler [S4], sending humans to space [S7], and running Neutronium and Plasma Gel through the Recovery Grinder [S11]. Channel37 names Quantum Crystal once in the sources read for this page: in Update 5.5, the Reactive Core requires it [S1]. Players say the Continuity Token needs one too [S9].

Where players find Quantum Crystals in The Last Caretaker

Except where a line names Channel37 or the community wiki, this section is player reports.

Shooting them off the spires

On the Steam forum (20 March 2026), Mozartscape wrote: "You find it in the quarantine stack area to the north east of Lazarus." [S5] On 21 March 2026, the same player gave a way to spot the area from Lazarus: "You are looking for the tops of mountains protruding from the sea." [S5]

FriendOwl (22 March 2026) answered how to get them down: "Shoot them down off the spires. That's what I did." [S5] In the same thread on 22 March 2026, mookie, DreadedOne and babyseal each replied that they had not thought of shooting them [S5].

The method is still being described after the release of Update 6.0. In the thread called The Jump, resechfamily (20 October 2026) wrote: "Just shoot them will the sniper rifle and pick them out of the water when they drop." [S6] Darke (20 October 2026) added: "you can just shoot them off the top of the pillars." [S6]

One video shows the catch. In Durandian's companion video, a shot knocks off just part of a crystal: "the bottom half of the all of the crystals are staying on the mountain while two little pieces of it are falling to the floor" ([2:00]) [S14].

Quest lines and caves

Darke (20 October 2026) wrote: "I ended up with 12 collected from around the place as part of doing the quest lines" [S6]. From memory of a replay a month earlier, during Update 5.5, Darke believed from memory that many are inside a tower in the Quarantine Stack questline, in a secret cave that opens once power is applied [S6].

The Update 3.5 notes (15 April 2026) say: "New rooms, caves, vents, secrets, and hidden areas were added across multiple locations" [S17]. Quarantine Stack Amen and Quarantine Stack Chorus are on that list [S17].

Two videos connect those caves to the crystals:

  • Chorus. Sgt DangerCow says the two stacks "both got new caves" ([0:03]) [S15]. For Chorus, the entrance is under the sea: "get yourself into the sea on this side of the pinnacle" ([0:09]) [S15]. Inside, the cave is "filled with the red octopuses" ([0:19]) [S15], and the creator says to "gather all of the new quantum crystals" there ([0:30]) [S15].
  • Amen. The same video says "you need to have powered up this station up here in order to gain access to the door" ([0:39]) [S15] and that a rock formation has to be blasted with "the O2 big grenade, because there's a rock formation you need to blast in the room there" ([0:54]) [S15].
  • Amen, second video. THEGAMINGTECH tries the room again with oxygen bombs after it "looks like there's been a cave in" ([1:01]) [S16]. After the blast the creator finds "some quantum crystal nuggets" ([3:57]) [S16].

Ore, nuggets and the Recycler

The community wiki (nugget page, last edited 16 February 2026) says "Quantum Crystal Nugget are obtained by mining Quantum Crystal Ore with the dismantle tool." [S4] It adds "Quantum Crystal Nuggets can be recycled in the Recycler to yield Quantum Crystals." [S4]

The wiki page for the crystal itself (last edited 17 September 2026) calls it a material of 0.7 Kg [S3] and says it is "sometimes awarded as a gift for delivering Humans to space or obtained by recycling Quantum Crystal Ore" [S3].

The competitor guide thelastcaretakergame.org cites an item listing for Early Access 0.8.5 that shows "much less Quantum Crystal Ore than other ores", mainly at Quarantine Stack Amen, The Spire of Exodus, Quarantine Stack Chorus and North Deep Intake Station [S19]. The guide labels that listing "not independently checked" [S19].

Other routes players describe

Sending humans to space

Little Red One (9 January 2026) wrote: "you get 1 quantum crystal per T4 human sent up" [S7]. The same post adds: "I also got 1 single quantum crystal when sending up 3 level 3 humans in the same pod." [S7] On 22 March 2026 the same player wrote that they were getting crystals this way "in the past" and did not know "if that is still the case after this last patch" [S5].

Durandian reports a poor return: "I sent like 12 babies to space" and received one crystal ([0:32]) [S14].

How humans are grown is covered on Growing humans and launches on Exodus and rocket launches.

Scrapping Quantum Duplicators and return pods

After Update 6.0, players in the Continuity Token thread suggested scrapping Quantum Duplicators and recycling return-pod modules for crystals; those posts are on the gate guide.

The Recovery Grinder

Trustee Nonebar Gaming put 50 Neutronium and 50 Plasma Gel through the Recovery Grinder ([8:01]) [S11]. The first pass gave "27 of the quantum crystals" ([9:51]) [S11], the second pass brought the count to "34 of the quantum crystals" ([10:19]) [S11], and the creator ended with "35 quantum crystal" ([11:00]) [S11]. The creator says hunting sharks is the way to get the Neutronium and Plasma Gel ([1:42]) [S11], and adds: "I'm not sure there's 35 quantum crystals on the whole map other than doing it this way" ([11:17]) [S11].

THEGAMINGTECH reports another run after saying "let's do Newtonium then" ([12:41]) [S12]: "50 L of oil" and "14 of the quantum crystals" ([13:03]) [S12]. That creator adds "I don't even know if that's still needed" ([13:09]) [S12].

What uses Quantum Crystals

Reactive Core (official)

The Update 5.5 patch notes (31 August 2026) say: "The Reactive Core now requires Quantum Crystal instead of Plasma Gel." [S1]

The sources disagree on the amount. The community wiki page for the crystal (last edited 17 September 2026) still lists the Reactive Core recipe as 6 Aluminium and 3 Titanium [S3], and says the crystal "was not used as a crafting material yet, until the Curiosity Wakes update." [S3] The competitor guide cites a 5 September 2026 revision of the wiki's Reactive Core page: "The wiki lists the current Reactive Core recipe as 3 Titanium, 1 Quantum Crystal and 6 Aluminium." [S19] The official line wins on whether a crystal is needed. The amount of 1 rests on that one competitor quote.

An older TheGamer table (capture date before 21 October 2026) lists the Quantum Duplicator and the Entanglement Lens with "Advanced Alloy Mesh x 1 Reactive Core x 1" [S21]. If that table is still current, those two items would need a crystal indirectly through the Reactive Core. Trustee Nonebar Gaming says crystals are "how I make it so I can build more of those uh duplicators and uh entanglement lenses" ([13:28]) [S11].

Continuity Token

Steps, power and recall for the Transfer Gate are on Transfer Gate and North Bastion. Four sources name Quantum Crystal as an ingredient:

  • blastingweevil (20 October 2026): "now you NEED Them to be able to make the token" [S6]. In a later reply the same player wrote of going back "to an area that i have picked clean for 4 nuggets" (20 October 2026) [S6].
  • THEGAMINGTECH, in a video titled "UPDATE 6 IS HERE", reads out the token's ingredient: "quantum crystal is going to be important again" ([5:59]) [S9].
  • The Other Games, in a video titled "The Final Caretaker Update 6 - Start", says "Quantum crystal. Yeah, okay." at the build menu ([15:34]) [S10].
  • The competitor guide says that during the Update 6.0 public beta one stream showed the Continuity Token as a quest item that "needs 4 Quantum Crystals" [S8], and says that "Only that one channel shows the recipe so far." [S8].

Channel37's Update 6.0 notes (19 October 2026) say "The Continuity Token can no longer be destroyed." (RC4) [S2] and "Continuity tokens now snap into place from a shorter distance so they no longer try to pass through objects." (RC5) [S2]. The amount of 4 is therefore one beta stream, relayed by a competitor, and should be checked in the build menu.

F.E.L.I.S. shell

Durandian says "You need these quantum crystals for making Felix" and "You need specifically four of them" ([7:38]) [S13]. OZGamerGDU, in an episode titled "Getting a companion", says the quest was "just been added in uh in update three" and says "you're going to need at least four of these quantum crystals" ([0:14]) [S18].

Durandian also says that recycling the finished unit returns no crystals, but admits "I did not test that to be honest" ([10:18]) [S13].

Sources and version

Checked on 2026-10-21 against Update 6.0 (build 0.10.0.653173)