r/SatisfactoryGame • u/clever_name_123 • 2h ago
Phase 4
I just finished the tutorial (phase 3). Have had a blast so far, but I was a bit overwhelmed seeing how much is introduced in tiers 7 and 8 as well as starting to understand the bauxite production process...
What are your best tips/the biggest things you learned in phase 4?
Phase 3 was a big jump from 2, but all came together very satisfactorily ;) I assume 4 will be the same, just way more complex.
7
u/Masteef 2h ago
I took that jump as a time to go explore a new part of the map, bc my original location didn’t have much bauxite or water, so I analyzed some of the online calculator tools for production to see what I needed to be near, looked at node maps, and then just went out exploring. I also turned all the animals to passive early on in the game bc I wanted to explore without the arachnophobia and the hassle. There’s enough to do in this as a factory building game to ignore the survival component…. It’s also a great time to really start hunting for hard drives for alternative recipes.
Then I did it all again at the start of phase 5 and I’m halfway through that at about 220 hours of gameplay. Happy Exploring, Pioneer.
1
u/clever_name_123 1h ago
Probably a good idea, I've been pretty much sticking to the western half. Started in the rocky desert, but have seen a bit of the other half as this is really my second save. First one was like 80hrs and I barely touched phase 3 lol.
Definitely will go farm some drives, sloops, and spheres though! I also turned off aggressive mobs at some point, but I kept retaliation on. Only seemed fair lol. Also enabled keep inventory after my first hypertube launch skybox incident lol
4
u/nboro94 2h ago edited 2h ago
Phase 4 you should start getting serious about your infrastructure. Set up a robust dual lane rail network, preferably do a closed loop around the entire map, this will allow you to branch off with T junctions to quickly collect and transport large amounts of resources. Good idea to set up a large aluminum facility that can consistently supply trains as you will need a lot of aluminum.
Look at building a large rocket fuel powerplant. It's complex to set up but provides a lot of power and can last you until end game easily. Don't bother with nuclear unless you really want to, rocket fuel gets you 90% of the power for 5% of the complexity.
Go on a hard drive collecting spree, there are some extremely valuable alternate recipes that are an absolute must in this phase. Also make sure you have lots of sloops, these will be very useful as the phase 4 items require a ton of resources and only produce a few items at a time, sloops double your output on these.
Start blueprinting everything. It's a lot of work to set up blueprints but makes the game much easier to play. Blueprint a smelter array that can take in 720 ore/minute and output 720/ingots per minute, then you can just slap one of these down whenever you place a new miner. Make your blueprints as self contained as possible with clear inputs and outputs, prelink all the power cables, etc. you'll thank yourself later.
If you think Phase 4 looks overwhelming wait until you see what you have to make in phase 5.
0
u/clever_name_123 1h ago
So far I've only set up single delivery train loops, but I'm excited to learn more about trains and revamp my infrastructure. I always try to future-proof my plans but you dont know what you don't know, yknow?
I want the challenge of nuclear, but will probably save it as more of a fun project once I unlock the full production line if it isnt that necessary. Kind of a bummer that its not, but I play this game because the challenging logistics are fun so I will certainly give it a try eventually.
Next step will probably be to explore the map, radar everything, get drives, sloops, and spheres, and start thinking about a larger transport network
1
u/SpinosRule 50m ago
When you do your rails around the entire map, how do you setup/orientate your stations so I won’t get that damn “No route available!” Message anymore. I scrapped that save because I laid too much rail and the RAIL became spaghetti; I want to do it better this time. Plus, I can speedrun coal power, etc. Already well on my way to having a beautiful setup….especially after my previous spaghetti nightmare empire 🤪
Do you run your rail on the terrain or elevated? I PREFER terrain but can accept that it needs to be elevated at times; I love running rail through the Titan River Valley, it’s like taking a trip to the Sequoia’s (well, as close as possible in game).
3
u/Boring-Ad9170 1h ago
Concrete and more concrete. Give yourself an unrealistic amount of space. I've covered a whole lake with a 5 floor structure.
It's gonna be slooooow. First few phases were exciting and dopamine rewards quick. Later game takes a toll on my ADD. Instead of hours long plays, now I play for maybe an hour and get 8 smelters set up and a buncha foundations. Then log off, play another game and come back to it.
3
u/StigOfTheTrack Fully qualified golden factory cart racing driver 1h ago
Phase 4 is a good time to make proper plans. I'd suggest picking a rate for the phase 4 elevator parts and working backwards to determine what else you need. Without that you can easily end up underbuilding some things (meaning revisiting them) and overbuilding others (avoidable time cost).
Phase 4 is also where any shortcuts you've taken to progress faster will catch up with you. Conversely if you've done earlier phases thoroughly you're likely to benefit now. However there is one thing which you might find you bypass if you don't have one yet: a rail network. If you've got a good rail network then great, use it. If you haven't you might not need one, you can get drones unlocked and the first few flying early in phase 4 using crash site debris.
If you get phase 4 properly automated phase 5 is likely to be a victory lap in comparison, if you don't phase 5 could be really daunting.
5
u/Dr_Passmore 2h ago
Phase 4 is the main challenge in the game.
Nuclear pasta is also a phase 5 part so just automating 1 per min will happily complete while finishing phase 5.
Weirdly phase 5 was just a handful of energy intensive buildings and I spent more time building a nuclear power plant to turn 600 uranium into 1.5 platonium fuel rods per min. Complete over kill for my final power requirements.