Fast path
Start with Titanium, Copper, or Quartz before chasing rarer batches that do not remove the current blocker.
Topic center
Materials should unlock progress, not sit in storage.
Use this center when the blocker is a named material, a recipe cost, or a rare run that should become one clear next unlock.
Best fit
Open this page when you already know the material and need the shortest way to turn it into the next useful craft, build, or route improvement.
Starter batch
Titanium should fund one real improvement
Use this when storage, base function, or the first build step is the main goal.
Support batch
Quartz and glass should fix visibility or build flow
Use this when the next block is lighting, observation, or a simple craft dependency.
High value
Rare runs only make sense when the route does
Use this when the route, loadout, and stop rule are already clear enough to justify the detour.
Good fit
Use this center when a named craft cost is already controlling the next session.
Leave for map
If the route is still unclear, switch to Map first and come back after the path is safe enough.
Material lanes
Choose one lane, solve it, then stop farming.
Turn basic ore into stable progress
Use these when Titanium, Copper, or Quartz are the real blocker and the next craft is already named.
Only push rare runs when the return is obvious
If the batch is harder to get than to use, the route probably needs a better stop rule first.
Spend the batch on the next blocker, not the next pile
Move into builder, storage, scanner, or base pages once the material question is solved.
Material map
One material, one job, one next page.
Titanium
Best when the run needs structure, storage, or a first base improvement.
Copper
Best when power, scanners, or early support systems are the real friction.
Quartz / Glass
Best when crafting visibility, room support, or a small utility unlock is next.
Rare routes
Best when the value is high enough to justify a safer loadout and stricter stop rule.
Material help
What this center should decide before the player farms another batch.
Materials matter when they unlock something useful right away. This center should make it obvious whether the next stack should go to tools, a base, better safety, or a stronger route.
- Farm only for a named spend.
- Stop once the next useful unlock is covered.
- Turn the batch into progress, not storage clutter.
- Collecting materials without a clear next use.
- Choosing a rare route when a safer one would do.
- Saving the batch too long and forgetting the reason it was farmed.
- Open Resources for the farming loop.
- Open Upgrade Planner when the batch is ready to spend.
- Open Material priority if several materials all want the same spend.
Materials depth
What the materials center should tell players before they keep farming.
A material page is only useful if it turns a named item into a clear payoff decision. The reader should know what the item unlocks, whether it is worth another run, and which page to open next if the batch is already enough.
- Pick the material that unlocks the next system fastest.
- Use the page to compare current payoff against the next trip cost.
- Treat rare batches as a route decision, not just a storage problem.
- Farming a material without knowing what it unlocks first.
- Keeping a page open that never says why the item matters.
- Overusing the same route when a different shelf would solve the next step.
- Open Materials Database for shelf-style lookup.
- Open Material priority for the next best batch choice.
- Open Route Planner if the farming loop itself is the blocker.
Material decision
Do not farm a batch unless the spend is already named.
This center matters when the item has a clear job. If the next unlock is already obvious, the page should point you to the fastest spend. If the spend is still vague, it should tell you to stop farming and switch to a better planning page.
| If you have... | Spend it on... | Open next |
|---|---|---|
| Titanium | Structure, storage, or first base progress | Base Planner |
| Copper | Power, scanners, or support systems | Copper guide |
| Quartz / Glass | Visibility, room support, or small utility unlocks | Quartz / Glass |
| Rare batch | Only when the route is already worth the risk | Route Planner |