Satisfactory MAM Guide: Research, Hard Drives & Best Recipes

Alongside the standard milestones, Satisfactory lets you research various elements of the planet to unlock new recipes. At the same time, you can find hard drives in the world and use them for alternate production methods to save resources. Both become increasingly important as you progress. So once you have completed Tier 1, we recommend taking a look at the MAM (Satisfactory Tier 1 Guide: Expanding your factory, power & logistics) . It can feel a bit overwhelming at first, but here you’ll learn which aspects to focus on initially.

Satisfactory MAM explained: function, build cost and benefits

Once you finish Field Research in Tier 1, you unlock this building for your base. MAM stands for Molecular Analysis Machine, and it lives up to its name: it can analyse and research almost everything you can discover on the alien planet.

Build the MAM with:

• 5× Reinforced Iron Plates
• 15× Cable
• 45× Wire

The MAM interface is divided into different sections that focus on specific areas. You can research step by step to unlock particular aspects of Satisfactory. It’s worth checking back regularly to see which upgrades you can complete. Some very important parts of the game can only be unlocked here. Whenever you discover a relevant material, it will be added to the MAM.

The MAM is also used to recover found hard drives and thereby unlock alternate recipes. Hard drives can be found all over the map; there are 118 in total. You are always offered two recipes to choose from, one of which you can select at that moment. As you progress through milestones, new recipes become available.

MAM research trees in Satisfactory: overview and benefits

Let’s take a closer look at what you can actually research. Depending on your progress and exploration, you may already have unlocked some of these research trees. Otherwise, you’ll discover them later.

• Hard Drives: Unlock alternate recipes.
• Alien Megafauna: Helps you better understand the planet’s fauna.
• Alien Technology: Focuses on technologies previously unknown to you.
• Caterium: A later branch linked to Caterium Ore.
• Mycelium: Everything to do with mushrooms.
• Nutrients: Collect plants that provide healing/food and research them.
• Power Slugs: Strange lifeforms essential for overclocking/underclocking.
• Quartz: A mid/late-game mineral with important recipes.
• Sulphur: Focuses on explosive items and additional weapons.

A nice touch: the MAM gains more decorative elements the further you research – a neat indicator of progress.

MAM research priorities: what to unlock first

With so many options, you’ll be wondering what’s worth unlocking first and what to focus on as you play. Much depends on your playstyle, but these must-have researches pay off particularly well:

• Blade Runners: Footwear crafted from Quartz that makes you run faster and jump higher. One of the best upgrades in Satisfactory!
• Parachute: In the Mycelium tree. Negates fall damage and lets you glide briefly.
• Inhaler: Unlockable across multiple branches. Recipe for a healing item that restores your health.
• Rebar Gun: In Alien Megafauna. A weapon against the local wildlife.
• Smart Splitters: Improved splitters that distribute items more efficiently and support filter rules.
• Overclocking/underclocking: In the Power Slugs tree. Precisely regulate machine performance – ideal for power optimisation.
• Nobelisk: Unlockable with Sulphur. Explosive charges for obstacles; later variants with gas, electric or nuclear material.
• Inventory slots: In Alien Megafauna, Quartz and Sulphur: each grants +6 slots – always useful.
• Zipline: In the Caterium tree. Lets you traverse along power poles – one of the best mobility options.
• Dimensional Depot: In Alien Technology. Works like shared remote storage with additional slots/features.
• Geothermal Generator: In the Caterium tree. Generates power via geysers – ideal as a supplementary power source.

Best alternate recipes from hard drives: efficient production

With found hard drives, the MAM offers alternate recipes that can make your production chains noticeably more efficient. Which ones are worthwhile depends on your infrastructure. Because the selection is random, you’ll sometimes need patience. These early alternatives are especially strong:

• Cast Screws: Produce screws directly from Iron Ingots (no Iron Rods).
• Iron Wire: Produce Wire from Iron instead of Copper.
• Inventory slots: Partly unlockable via hard drives as well – more space is always good.
• Fused Quickwire: Improved recipe for Quickwire using Copper and Caterium.
• Iron Pipe: Pipes directly from Iron instead of Steel; costs more iron but saves coal.
• Pure Iron/Copper Ingots: Use water to “purify” ingot production and increase output (from Tier 5).
• Solid Steel Ingots: Steel Ingots from Iron Ingots instead of iron ore (from Tier 3).
• Wet Concrete: Augments Concrete production with water for higher efficiency (from Tier 3).

Tip: Collect Power Slugs early to bridge bottlenecks via overclocking until you find the right alternate recipes.

Conclusion: MAM research and hard-drive recipes in Satisfactory

You should never neglect MAM research, as it makes the game much easier, unlocks new items and streamlines recipes and production lines. Some branches deliver extremely useful kit – from greater mobility and weapons to extra inventory slots. Rent your own Satisfactory server from us and explore the alien planet with friends. Split up research priorities to reach your goals even faster.