Satisfactory 1.0: 14 Essential Tips for New Pioneers

Last Updated: November 6, 2025

At its core, Satisfactory is a first-person game about logistics on a galactic scale. As a pioneer for the delightfully dystopian FICSIT Inc., you are dropped onto an alien planet with a simple mandate: build, automate, exploit, and ship. It can feel like a spreadsheet brought to life in a stunning 3D world, a puzzle of managing conveyor belt speeds, power grids, and production ratios. Yet, it remains one of the most compelling and tactile building games ever made. The synchronized hum of a perfectly balanced production line is your ultimate reward.

With the game now fully launched in its 1.0 version, there has never been a better time to clock in for your first shift. But getting started can be daunting. To help you achieve maximum efficiency and avoid early burnout, we've compiled 14 essential beginner tips to guide you on your journey to factory greatness.

1. Build on Foundations from Day One

It's tempting to place your first machines directly on the planet's grassy surface, but this is the most common rookie mistake. As soon as you unlock Foundations in the HUB, use them for everything. Foundations provide a flat, level surface and, most importantly, a grid system that makes aligning machines, walls, and conveyor belts infinitely easier. For perfect, map-wide alignment, hold the CTRL key while placing your first foundation to snap it to the world grid. This simple habit is the key to building organized, expandable, multi-level factories.

2. The Object Scanner is Your Lifeline

Don't just wander aimlessly looking for that next iron vein. Your Object Scanner is an indispensable tool from the very beginning. Hold the 'V' key to open the selection wheel and choose the resource you're looking for. The scanner will then pulse, guiding you toward the nearest node. Use it constantly in the early game to find the essential Iron, Copper, Limestone, and Coal you need to expand.

3. Automate the Basics, Then Your Building Materials

Your first goal is to stop hand-crafting basic components. Set up automatic production for Iron Plates, Iron Rods, and Copper Wire immediately. Once those are running, your next priority should be automating the materials you need to build your factory, like Concrete, Copper Sheets, Reinforced Iron Plates, and Rotors. Funnel these items into storage containers so you always have a supply on hand.

4. Escape the Biofuel Grind Immediately

Hand-feeding Biofuel Burners with leaves and wood is a rite of passage, but it's a tedious chore you must escape as soon as possible. As soon as you unlock Coal Power in Tier 3, make it your absolute top priority. Find a coal node near a source of water, set up Miners and Water Extractors, and build a dedicated, self-sustaining power plant. A stable, automated power grid is the foundation upon which your entire factory empire will be built. Always build more power capacity than you currently need; you'll be thankful later.

5. Embrace "Good Enough" Early On (The Spaghetti Principle)

Your first factory is going to be a mess. You'll have conveyor belts clipping through each other, assemblers crammed into odd corners, and a power grid that resembles a tangled ball of yarn. This is perfectly normal and absolutely fine. In the early game, your goal is progress, not perfection. Focus on automating the components you need to unlock the next Tiers in the HUB. You can, and should, tear it all down and rebuild it better later. Don't let the pursuit of a perfect layout paralyze you from the start.

6. Leave Plenty of Room for Expansion

Whatever space you think you need for a production line, double it. Or triple it. You will inevitably need to add more machines, reroute belts, or integrate new resources. Building everything tightly packed together from the start will force you into major demolition projects later. Spacing things out gives you the flexibility to grow and adapt.

7. Go Vertical to Save Space

Planet Massage-2(A-B)b is vast, but good, flat building space can quickly become a premium. Don't be afraid to build up. Use Stackable Conveyor Poles and Conveyor Lifts to move resources between floors. A vertical factory is not only space-efficient but also fantastic for organization. For example, you can have all your smelting on the ground floor, constructor work on the second, and complex assembly on the third.

8. Your M.A.M. is a Second, Crucial Tech Tree

The HUB provides your main progression path, but the Molecular Analysis Machine (M.A.M.) is just as important. It contains a separate research tree that you advance by feeding it items found through exploration, like alien organisms, Power Slugs, and mysterious artifacts. The M.A.M. is where you'll unlock critical upgrades like the Blade Runners for faster movement, the Explorer vehicle, and game-changing Smart Splitters.

9. Hunt for Hard Drives to Find Alternate Recipes

The map is dotted with FICSIT crash sites. Each one contains a Hard Drive that, once researched in the M.A.M., gives you a choice of three alternate production recipes. These are incredibly powerful and can dramatically improve your factory's efficiency by allowing you to craft items with fewer or more common resources. Craft a Xeno-Zapper, pack some healing items, and go on an adventure—it’s always worth it.

10. Build a Centralized Storage "Mall"

In the early to mid-game, building a centralized storage hub—often called a "mall" by the community—is a game-changer. This is a dedicated area where you divert a small amount of every basic and intermediate item you produce into clearly labeled storage containers. When you need 200 Concrete and 50 Rotors for a new project, you can simply grab them from your mall instead of waiting for them to be crafted or running across the map.

11. Always Match Your Belts to Your Miners and Machines

As you unlock faster Miners and better recipes, you'll need faster conveyor belts to handle the increased output. A Mk.1 Miner on a pure node produces 120 ore/min, but a Mk.1 belt can only carry 60 items/min, creating a bottleneck. Always check your production and consumption rates to ensure your belts aren't holding your factory back. Use the 'N' key to search for items in the build menu and check their recipes to see the required rates.

12. Master the Blueprint Designer for Rapid Expansion

One of the best quality-of-life features in the game is the Blueprint Designer. This special building allows you to design and save a segment of your factory—like a perfect 4-constructor manifold—as a blueprint. You can then stamp down this entire pre-built design in a single click, saving an enormous amount of time when scaling up your production lines. Use it early and often.

13. Don't Ignore Combat and Exploration

The alien world isn't uninhabited. You'll frequently encounter hostile wildlife like charging Hogs and fire-spitting Alpha Spitters. Always carry your Xeno-Zapper (and upgrade to the Rebar Gun as soon as possible). Exploring is essential for finding pure resource nodes, Power Slugs, and Hard Drives, so learn to dodge, strike, and survive.

14. Hand-Crafting is a Last Resort

The core loop of Satisfactory is automation. If you find yourself spending more than a few moments hand-crafting an item at the Craft Bench, stop and ask yourself: "Can I build a machine to do this for me?" The answer is almost always yes. Your time as a pioneer is far better spent designing a new production line or exploring the planet than it is manually clicking to create Iron Plates. Automate everything.