Getting Started in Satisfactory 1.2

This guide gives you a clean route through the opening hours of Satisfactory Update 1.2 without pretending your first factory needs to be a permanent megabase.

Complete the HUB onboarding

Tier 0 is the onboarding sequence. Build the HUB and complete its upgrades in order. The upgrades progressively unlock core equipment and factory buildings, including the Smelter, Constructor, Conveyor Belt, Miner Mk.1, Storage Container and Space Elevator.

Automate the basic materials

Once miners, smelters and constructors are available, establish simple production for iron plates, iron rods, wire, cable and concrete. These materials are repeatedly needed for construction and milestones.

A starter iron line you can build

Once the Miner Mk.1, Smelter, Constructor and basic conveyor parts are unlocked, a useful starter module is one Miner Mk.1 on a normal-purity Iron Ore node at 100% clock speed, supplying 60 Iron Ore/min. Split that into two Smelters, each taking 30 Ore/min and producing 30 Iron Ingots/min. The incoming Mk.1 belt can carry the full 60 items/min; branch it into two feeds before the Smelters.

Send one Smelter's 30 Iron Ingots/min to one Iron Plate Constructor for 20 Iron Plates/min. Split the second Smelter's 30 Iron Ingots/min between two Iron Rod Constructors, each consuming 15 Ingots/min and making 15 Rods/min. The full line therefore produces 20 Iron Plates and 30 Iron Rods per minute when machines run continuously, assuming sufficient electricity and no backed-up outputs.

Build order

1. Place a Miner Mk.1 on a normal iron node and connect its power.
2. Run one Mk.1 belt towards two Smelters and divide the ore supply with a splitter.
3. Set both Smelters to the standard Iron Ingot recipe.
4. Connect one Smelter to the Iron Plate Constructor and the other to two Iron Rod Constructors through a splitter.
5. Send the finished plates and rods into separate Storage Containers. Check that each machine has steady input, power and clear output.

This is a calculated starter arrangement using one Miner, two Smelters and three Constructors, not a downloadable, in-game-tested blueprint. It can be expanded later for Screws and Reinforced Iron Plates. A normal node is important: an impure node with the same miner provides only 30 Ore/min at 100% clock speed.

Recipe references: Smelter, Iron Plate and Iron Rod on the official Satisfactory Wiki.

Build for expansion, not perfection

Tier 1 Base Building unlocks foundations. Start placing important production on a grid, but leave room for later expansion rather than trying to create your final factory immediately.

Use early power as a stepping stone

Biomass-based power supports the opening factory. Keep enough fuel available for reliable operation, but avoid unnecessary early expansion while you are still working toward stronger power options.

Use Tiers 1 and 2 to establish the factory

Tier 1 includes Base Building, Logistics and Field Research. Tier 2 Part Assembly unlocks the Assembler and Smart Plating, the first Project Part. Other Tier 2 milestones add useful equipment and faster logistics.

Start Project Assembly

The Space Elevator becomes available through the Tier 0 onboarding. Automate Smart Plating once Part Assembly is unlocked and begin progressing Project Assembly rather than treating it as a one-off manual crafting job.

Prepare for coal

A good early target is reliable construction-material production, organised logistics and enough Project Assembly output to move into the next tier group. You can then expand around coal power and steel instead of overbuilding around temporary early systems.

Continue your progression

Continue to the Satisfactory Tiers, Milestones & Space Elevator Guide.

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