Satisfactory is an open-world, factory-building game that puts players in the shoes of pioneers exploring an alien planet as employees of FICSIT. There's a lot to learn when first stepping foot onto the massive planet and beginner players may be eager to know what to do first in Satisfactory. Indeed, some of the best things to do first can help players progress during those often head-scratching early-game days, whether that's what machines to set up first to get a foothold on automation, or learning the ropes of survival and exploration.
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It can also be especially challenging for players new to factory-building games to know where to begin and what to do first, but can also be handy for anyone just getting started. Fortunately, there are several things that new players can prioritize to help early Pioneer-life progress that much quicker and smoother.
9 Choose A Good Starting Area For The Hub
Get Quick Access To Early-Game Crafting Resources
Not only do new Satisfactory players get to choose their starting location on the planet, but also where to build their Hub on the map. While most starting Hub locations have advantages and disadvantages, so they can be tricky to pinpoint exactly, possibly one of the best Satisfactory starting areas for beginners in the Grassy Fields is near the large stone archway. It’s mostly free from hostiles and near early-game crafting materials like copper, iron, and limestone. Ores like coal are also not too far away.
Of course, the Grassy Plains are not without dangers and players should avoid building their Hub in areas with large, potentially hostile creatures and hazardous zones like gas.
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8 Focus On Upgrading The Hub
Complete Milestones To Unlock Machines, Materials, And Improve The Hub
While it might be tempting to explore the map far and wide, new players are best focusing on upgrading the Hub terminal in Satisfactory. By working through its various upgrade tiers, players can obtain new machines and crafting recipes that will make life as a pioneer easier and much more interesting. Once players complete the first six upgrades in Tier 0, they complete their basic Pioneer onboarding and can unlock things like the Equipment Workshop to craft other handy machines.
Players will then be able to work towards bigger objectives like building a Space Elevator, and gradually getting things like conveyor belts up and running in building their factories.
7 Explore The World Map
Locate Other Ores, Materials, and Places To Progress
In addition to upgrading their Hub and getting started with building, it's also a good idea to start exploring the landscape as soon as possible to discover more nodes and resources that become important as the game goes on, like coal and SAM Ores.
Exploring the world also helps get players used to the map and where to find things for future building locations, as well as being a change of pace from the building and crafting grind in the early stages. By upgrading the hub and progressing through its early tiers, players can also unlock other handy equipment like a map in Tier 1 Field Research to help with terrain navigation.
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6 Build A Portable Miner And MK1 Miner
Get Machines To Mine Nodes For You
Building a Portable Miner in Satisfactory is handy to help save on leg work for new players. Building and placing a Portable Miner on nodes like Limestone, Copper, and Iron enables the machine to mine up to 100 items before you need to collect them to restart it. When you're ready to upgrade to more mining machines like the MK1 miner, you can even re-use Portable Miners in their construction - all part of the company's focus on efficiency, of course.
Players can unlock the ability to build Portable Miners once they complete HUB upgrade six to complete their basic Pioneer onboarding. In the Q menu, players can then select and place the Equipment Workshop blueprint anywhere they want, providing they have enough resources.
5 Start Automating Everything
Make Machines Do The Work For You
Speaking of automation, players should start building as soon as possible to get machines working for them in different ways to multitask and free up time. For instance, players can build Smelters to turn ores into ingots, helping to automate the crafting process. This is especially helpful when large quantities of crafting materials are required. It's also worth building Constructors to automate single-ingredient parts, like Iron Plates, Iron Rods, and Screws as frequent early-stage materials.
In time, players can construct conveyor belts to automate resource transportation between buildings and coal generators.
4 Tame A Lizard Doggo
Get Randomly Generated Resources For Free And A HUB Companion
In Satisfactory, it's not just machines that can help players get resources or materials. Players can also find a critter called Lizzard Doggo to help them. Not only is Lizzard Doggo a cute Hub companion, especially for solo players, but players can also tame Lizard Doggo in Satisfactory so it can follow them around and live at their base. Once tamed, Lizard Doggo randomly generates all kinds of handy items for players at regular intervals, including ores, health consumables, various flora and fauna including alien organs, and components or miscellaneous items.
Indeed, it's not just common ores like limestone and copper. Lizard Doggo can also spawn other types like coal, sulfur, SAM Ore, and even end-game ores like Uranium.
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3 Learn How To Heal
Stay Alive When Attacked By Alien Hostiles
While not every alien life form on the planet is hostile, most are, and although it's best to avoid contact with alien critters in the early-game days, sometimes it's unavoidable. For instance, Fluffy-tailed Hogs tend to stalk necessary resources like nodes and hit like a battering ram when they attack. Satisfactory does have an auto-regen healing system that kicks in, but players can soon end up with a Death Crate if they're not careful.
To heal in Satisfactory, players can collect and consume various healing items discoverable from plant life in the environment, like Paleberries from some bushes, Beryl Nuts, and Bacon Agaric Mushrooms. Players can easily grab these while hunting for nodes and keep them in their inventories, just in case.
2 Build Blade Runners For Better Terrain Navigation
Run Faster And Jump Higher
Satisfactory has several unlockable tools to help make navigating its massive planet easier. As players progress, they can unlock Blade Runners in Satisfactory to travel around the world faster, jump higher, and reduce fall damage. As time goes on, players will also be able to unlock other equipment like a jetpack to increase mobility and traversal at heights.
Of course, it takes time to unlock this tech, but there are some things players can do when first starting Satisfactory to move around quicker. For instance, players can run faster by holding shift, followed by the C button to slide. This makes trekking back and forth for resources during the early game days a bit faster, plus helps players avoid hostiles.
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1 Build Foundations
Set The Stage For Factory Building And Simplify Building Processes
Foundations are the bread and butter of building factories in Satisfactory. They are another early-game item that players can unlock in Tier 1, and enable players to start placing the foundations of their future factories and things like coal generators in Satisfactory.
Many players praise the usefulness of foundations in building well-organized factories where constructions can snap into place and structure together more easily. There are a lot of different factory layouts to try in Satisfactory, and foundations can help make the process a lot more approachable.
Satisfactory
- Released
- September 10, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Coffee Stain Studios
- Publisher(s)
- Coffee Stain Publishing
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- Genre(s)
- Simulation, Sandbox, Base Building, Open-World, Management
