For fans of farm and building games, or even just those who enjoyed My Time at Portia, My Time at Sandrock is the latest early access game that offers a unique spin on normal workshopping and farming. Taking place in the arid desert town of Sandrock, players will have to face unique challenges as they make a life for themselves in the desert.
Conserving water, dusting sand off their machines, and braving the dangerous but lucrative sandstorms that blow through town are but a few new dynamics players will have to navigate in their new Sandrock workshop. While learning how to combat these new challenges, it’s important to know what tools and machines to prioritize to ensure players can have the easiest start they can in My Time at Sandrock.
9 Recycler
Thankfully, the game makes this one difficult for players to overlook, as it’s one of the first things players will be tasked with building while learning how to play the game. Nevertheless, players will quickly find out how indispensable the recycler really is early on, as it’s the only way to convert pieces of scrap into different, usable materials.
This is especially useful for obtaining things like copper bars early on, before players have access to the mine and furnace that would let them smelt copper items more readily.
8 Furnace
Another machine players will find themselves needing almost right away is the furnace. In addition to allowing players to smelt copper and bronze bars, other essential materials like bricks, glass, and ceramics can only be obtained through smelting at the furnace.
Not only can some smelt-able items sell for a good source of gols, but plenty of others will be needed to complete commissions, story quests, and other tools and machines. Without a furnace, players are sure to hit a plateau early on, as it will be almost impossible to progress without one.
7 Crane
The very first large commission players will be tasked with after setting up shop in Sandrock is also one that players should prioritize as early as they can. While players will be able to make do with obtaining ores and metals through recycling scrap, the sooner the player finishes and installs the crane in the scrapyard, the sooner they’ll gain access to the abandoned ruins.
There, players can explore through the levels of the mine, all while gathering valuable copper, tin, scraps, and data disks they can use to unlock new and more advanced machinery.
6 Any Weapon of Choice
While Sandrock is an easy place to stay safe so long as you keep your distance from certain creatures, combat will be inevitable. In some cases you’ll need weapons for classic cases of self-defense, such as the flocks of Rocket Roosters around the player’s workshop, or their eventual treks through more hazardous ruins like the Breach.
However, even without a hint of danger, players will still need a weapon of some kind to obtain materials like animal skin and leather, which they’ll find no shortage of uses for in commissions and crafting alike.
5 Bronze Pickhammer
The pickhammer is one of the first tools players will acquire while starting their new life in Sandrock, using it to pick apart scrap piles and gather valuable ores and stone. As players progress further, they’ll soon discover that there are certain ores and scrap pieces they won’t be able to break with their starter tool, and this is where the bronze pickhammer comes in.
While it’ll take some work to get all the materials to craft one, the bronze pickhammer is more than worth the trouble as it’ll allow players to get better scrap as well as mine more ores.
4 Bronze Axe
Similarly, upgrading the axe players use as soon as possible will also aid their progress. While the basic axe players start the game will allow them to break up simple wooden scrap piles, any player trying to break apart higher quality scrap or acquire hardwood at all will need a bronze axe to do so.
Hardwood will be needed for a great deal of work stations and machinery as the player expands their workshop, ranging from everything between cat houses and chef stations, making hardwood an incredibly important resource as players take their workshop to the next level.
3 Feather Duster
Sandstorms are a fact of life in a town like Sandrock, and it was named for good reason. Over time, machines and work tables will have sand accumulate at their base, slowing down and even lowering the efficiency if left unchecked.
Luckily, builders have a tool that’ll allow them to dust off their machines and have them working like new in no time. After purchasing the blueprint from the commerce guild, players should try to carry a feather duster on them as soon as possible to dispel the sand the desert blows in.
2 Grinder
Not all of the resources players need early on will be obtainable with just a recycler and furnace. Pipes, wires, and other materials necessary for crafting and commissions will have to be made through a grinder, which can be unlocked by talking to Qi at the research station in exchange for three data discs.
After building one at their assembly station, builders will be able to accept a much wider range of commissions, as well as important builds and quests that’ll allow the player to progress through the story.
1 Processor
Similarly, players should invest in acquiring a processor as soon as possible. Much like the grinder, the processor is necessary for crafting a wide range of materials players will often need for commissions and larger builds. If the player finds themselves needing boards, metal sticks, and plates, they should head over to the research center as soon as possible to get the blueprint.
Once they do, players will have a much easier time progressing through the early-game quests as they build machines, fulfill commissions, and use their new tools to explore and make the most out of their time at Sandrock.
My Time at Sandrock is available in Early Access for PC.