Electricity & Automation

Power isn't required to survive, but it unlocks the automation that turns a base from a chore into a machine.

The curve

• Solar Panel (T3, Glass x15 + Steel Screw x2) is the first taste — cheap, but a small, weather-dependent trickle.
• Biofuel Generator (T4, Steel Ingot x20 + Electronics x12 + Copper Wire x40 + Steel Screw x20 + Glass x2) is the reliable workhorse once you can feed it: loud, thirsty for Biofuel Can, but consistent day or night.
• Wind Turbine (T4, Aluminium Ingot x25 + Gold Wire x25 + Copper Wire x35 + Electronics x8 + Carbon Fiber x5 + Steel Screw x20), Flat Solar Panel and Water Wheel (both T4) are location-dependent complements — wind needs weather, water needs a river or waterfall — that stack alongside a Biofuel Generator instead of replacing it.
• Basic Battery Rack (T4, Platinum Sheath x6 + Copper Wire x16 + Refined Wood x10 + Electronics x4 + Titanium Plate x2) and the Advanced tier bank the surplus so intermittent sources don't leave gaps overnight.
• Crude Oil Generator (T5, Aluminium Screw x100 + Plastics x50 + Steel Ingot x50 + Electronics x40 + Titanium Plate x35 + Carbon Fiber x30) and Nuclear Reactor (T5, Titanium Plate x80 + Electronics x80 + Inert Uranium Ingot x60 + Active Lithium x50 + Carbon Fiber x40 + Compounds x30) are the industrial tier — high, steady output for a base running several electric benches at once, at a materials cost to match.

The electric benches, and what they cost

• Electric Carpentry Bench (Steel Ingot x60 + Iron Ingot x40 + Electronics x20 + Composites x10 + Steel Screw x10) and Electric Masonry Bench (Concrete Mix x100 + Steel Ingot x60 + Electronics x20 + Composites x10 + Steel Screw x10) are the steepest of the set — plan a dedicated smelting run before either.
• Electric Textiles Bench (Steel Ingot x30 + Steel Screw x18 + Concrete Mix x15 + Electronics x8) and Electric Stove (Copper Wire x40 + Aluminium Ingot x20 + Glass x12 + Composites x10 + Electronics x10 + Steel Screw x8) are noticeably cheaper — good first electric-tier upgrades if you're gating on materials.
• All four craft faster and often cheaper per item than their manual T2/T3 equivalents — the real payoff isn't lighting, it's throughput.
• Fabricator (Aluminium Ingot x40 + Electronics x30 + Concrete Mix x30 + Steel Screw x30 + Carbon Fiber x8) and Material Processor (Electronics x60 + Aluminium Ingot x30 + Titanium Plate x3 + Steel Screw x12 + Carbon Fiber x8) turn raw ore and scrap into refined materials and components at a rate hand-crafting can't match.
• Electric Furnace (Concrete Mix x80 + Electronics x60 + Steel Ingot x30 + Steel Screw x8 + Glass x4) is the electric-tier smelting upgrade — steep on Concrete Mix specifically, so time it after a dedicated concrete run.
• The Electrolytic Oxygen Synthesizer and powered pumps automate O2 and water for a base instead of manual refills.

Crew doctrine

• Generators are loud and draw predators — cluster them behind walls with the rest of your infrastructure, not out in the open for convenience.
• Wire a Battery Rack in before your first storm — a generator that runs dry overnight is a base full of spoiling food by morning.
• Power the economy (Material Processor, Fabricator, electric benches) before you power decoration — lighting a base is the last upgrade, not the first.
• Electronics, Steel Ingot and Concrete Mix gate nearly everything on this list — stockpile all three before starting a build, rather than discovering the shortfall halfway through.