Beach response now has its own station, vehicles and mission progression. Do not copy the US lifeguard setup.
Verified purchase facts: 17 October 2026
The UK game purchase screen lists a Lifeguard Station at 100,000 credits or 35 coins. Its market lists type 118 Lifeguard Quadbike at 10,000 credits or 10 coins, with a maximum of two crew, and type 119 Lifeguard 4x4 at 20,000 credits or 15 coins, with a maximum of four. Both display Lifeguard Training. The market does not display their minimum dispatch crews.
The Inland Rescue Boat and Rescue Watercraft extensions each cost 15,000 credits or five coins and take three days on the observed Extensions tab. Their trailers cost 25,000 and 10,000 credits respectively. Each has separate training and towing requirements; an extension price does not include its trailer. Starting parking and bay upgrade prices remain unverified.
What changed
The official release log records UK Lifeguard Stations on 23 September 2026. This is newer than the original guide’s July evidence baseline. Treat the standalone station as a distinct branch of the UK coastal system, not merely another name for the older Lifeboat Station beach extension.
The current UK mission records distinguish Lifeguard Quadbikes, Lifeguard 4x4s and a Lifeguard Trailer Extension. These names matter when shopping and building alarm rules. A generic search-and-rescue 4x4, a fire L4V and a lifeguard 4x4 should never be assumed interchangeable because they share a body style.
A verified progression you can test
- Beach patrol (878): one Lifeguard Station and a Beach POI; dispatch one Lifeguard Quadbike OR Lifeguard 4x4. Published duration is 30 minutes and average credits 10,000.
- Missing child on beach initial search (879): two Lifeguard Stations and a Beach POI; requires one Lifeguard Quadbike AND one Lifeguard 4x4.
- Swimmer in difficulty close to sea cave (881): one Lifeguard Station, one Lifeguard Trailer Extension and one Rescue Station; requires one Inland Rescue Boat OR Rescue Watercraft. It produces one patient, with 50% transport and 5% critical-care probabilities.
Recommended commissioning sequence
Begin by choosing a beach region that ordinary ambulance resources can reach. Inspect the station’s live vehicle market and extension menu; record its current price, initial staff and parking limits before purchase. Those live details are preferable to importing figures from US help articles or from the pre-release forum proposal.
Build a small response capable of satisfying both vehicle-specific beach tasks and a second simultaneous call. Add the trailer capability when its carrier, crew and patient response are all ready. A station that owns a boat but cannot dispatch the towing combination has bought storage, not operational coverage.
After the second station, retest the missing-child mission: it demonstrates why an either/or patrol rule is not a universal lifeguard rule. Keep separate presets for the patrol, the two-vehicle search and the watercraft response.
Read the economics properly
The 10,000-credit patrol is a timed commitment. It should not be compared with a short rescue solely on its headline reward. For an earning-focused account, measure how long the vehicle remains occupied, whether another beach call waits, and what support remains available while the patrol runs.
Check category filters as well as names. Beach patrol currently appears under Ocean Rescue Missions in the official record even though its prerequisite is a Lifeguard Station. If a guide, filter or extension excludes it by assuming every lifeguard task has the Lifeguard Missions category, that is a data interpretation error.
Sources and further reading
Latest editorial change: Added an answer-first summary, action checklist and related planning/reference link. Detailed source dates remain independent.
Official sources establish game rules; practical build orders and planning examples are TKB recommendations. Follow the UK game’s current requirement panel where a later update differs.