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Your primary goal inSatisfactoryis to construct the Space Elevator, then work towards delivering all the materials it requires throughout different project Phases. Within each Phase are different Milestones to complete, separated by Tiers, which will unlock core game features and upgrades.
After completing Phase 1 of the Space Elevator, you will unlock Phases 3 and 4, the former of which focuses on additional ways to power your factory and expand your production. Below, we’ll take a look at every Tier 3 Milestone, how to complete them, and some tips for progressing through this Tier.
Tier 3 Milestones
There are four Milestones available in Tier 3, mainly focusing onCoal and Steel. Tier 3 Milestones are unlocked after completingPhase 1 of the Space Elevator project, which also unlocks Phase 2.
Here are each of the Tier 3 Milestones and how to complete them.
Fluid Buffer
Scannable Resource: Coal
Coal Power is themost important Milestone of this Tier, providing access to theCoal-Powered Generator, which will greatly improve your factory’s power grid. Unlike Biomass Burners, which need fuel that is manually sourced,Coal-Powered Generators use coal and water to generate power, and these can both be producedendlessly.
Coal Power should be the first Milestone you unlock after reaching Tier 3, and you should focus on setting up a Coal-Powered Generator factory to switch your power grid over from Biomass Burners. Keep in mind that Coal-Powered Generators need both coal and water, so finding alocation that can provide bothis ideal.
Truck Station
+3 Inventory Slots
The Vehicular Transport Milestone unlocks your first vehicle, theTractor. As you expand your factory, you’ll need to start exploring more of the map to find additional ore nodes and collectible objects, so having a better way to get around is very useful.
With the Truck Station, you can also set up anautomated path for your Tractor to drive on, allowing you to have ittransport resourcesfrom various locations for you. This is helpful if you have multiple factories spread out.
New Shop Products
Completing the Basic Steel Production will unlock basicsteel-related materialsthat are necessary for new recipes, includingVersatile Frameworkrequired for Phase 2. Steel is made in the newFoundrymachine by inputtingcoal and iron ore.
After setting up Coal Power, Basic Steel Production should be the next Milestone you unlock. Getting an early start on steel production will make it easier to set up small-scale factories for Phase 2 parts later on.
+1 Hand Equipment Slot
The Enhanced Asset Security Milestone grants access to theXeno-Basher, a melee weapon that is astraight upgrade to the Xeno-Zapper. The Xeno-Basher makes tackling hostile wildlife a bit easier, which will in turn make exploration safer. The extra inventory and hand slots are also useful to have.
Goals And Tips For Tier 3
As mentioned above, your first goal after reaching Tier 3 is to unlock the Coal Power Milestone and set up a Coal-Powered Generator factory to supply power to the rest of your factory. The standard ratio for coal power isthree Water Extractors for every eight Coal-Powered Generators, which take 120 Coal per minute to fuel, ortwo Miners on normal coal nodes.
Once you’ve set up your coal power factory, you may start thinking about steel-based materials and the materials needed for Phase 2 of the Space Elevator. For now, you’ll have access toSteel BeamsandSteel Pipes, so setting up a small factory toproduce both of these itemswill help when expanding later.
Coal nodes needed for steel items tend to be far apart from one another, so it’s at this point thatexploration becomes more important. Luckily, you’ll have access to theTractorandXeno-Basherto make this process a bit easier.
TheExpanded Power InfrastructureMilestone in Tier 4 can also help whenexpanding your power gridto power distant factories.
While exploring, be on the lookout forPower Slugs,Mercer Spheres, andSomersloops. These collectibles will all help improve your factory in some way, fromoverclocking your machinesto providingremote storage access.
