Satisfactory Tier 3 Guide: Coal Power, Truck Transport and Steel Production

After familiarising yourself with many of the Tier 2 unlocks such as the Assembler, the AWESOME Sink and the Chainsaw, you’re ready for your next project. For Tier 3 and 4 you must first start building the Space Elevator and complete at least Phase 1. That’s all that’s possible at this stage anyway. Build the basic framework and finish the first phase, then you can progress into Tier 3. This tier revolves around coal, improved materials, your first proper excursions, and faster transport across the map.

Coal power in Satisfactory: Efficient energy production with water and Miners

Coal will become one of your most important resources, as it lets you generate far more power to expand your factory. Once your Coal Generators are on the grid, your production can scale up significantly, handily outclassing your previous Biomass Burners.

Cost to unlock:

• 150x Reinforced Iron Plates
• 50x Rotors
• 500x Cable

For your first coal power plant, pick the right location. We recommend building on the coast or near deep water, because burning coal requires not just the resource from the ground, but also water. Ideally, find a spot with direct access to at least two coal nodes and water close by. That sets you up perfectly for expanding your power network.

You’ll want to mine coal with a Miner Mk.2 to ensure adequate throughput. You should already be familiar with that system. Water is a bit trickier. You’ll need Water Extractors, which can only be placed in deep water. They float at the surface and can pump water over long distances using the new Pipelines.

To start with, build around five generators, depending on your needs. Each produces 75 MW, more than twice as much as a Biomass Burner’s 30 MW. You can then dismantle those burners or repurpose them elsewhere.

Pro tips for stable coal power:

• Plan for water demand: a Coal Generator requires a continuous water supply. Use multiple Water Extractors and distribute flow across generators.
• Mind elevation changes: place Pipeline Pumps on inclines to keep flow stable.
• Use separate power circuits with their own switches to avoid full-grid outages if coal or water briefly runs low.
• A Miner Mk.2 on a normal coal node yields plenty for multiple generators — scale your logistics cleanly with Conveyor Belts and Smart Splitters (if researched).

Automating truck transport: routes, stations and fuel management

This milestone unlocks a Truck to help you move resources over long distances. You’ll also get a few extra inventory slots on top.

Cost to unlock:

• 25x Modular Frames
• 100x Rotors
• 200x Cable
• 400x Iron Plates

With Trucks unlocked, you can drive them yourself or run them automatically. Both are handy if you have remote outposts or you’re simply scouting for resources.

With the Truck Station you can link stations and create routes. Stations will load and unload your Truck when transporting specific materials. Record the route once by driving it manually and stopping at each station, then switch the Truck to autopilot.

Just remember the Truck consumes fuel, so it’s not entirely free to run. Decide whether an endless line of conveyor belts is more costly than letting a Truck do the job. Both are valid transport methods, and Trucks are often underestimated. Stations can refuel your Truck automatically — just ensure there’s enough fuel in the system.

Starting steel production: Foundry, Steel Beams and Steel Pipes

Steel is one of the most important resources for the mid to late game and is unlocked with Tier 3. It gives you another fundamental material that feeds into many downstream items.

Cost to unlock:

• 50x Modular Frames
• 150x Rotors
• 500x Concrete
• 1000x Wire

This Tier 3 step unlocks the Foundry, a new building and an upgraded smelter. It enables alloys, combining two ores into a new material. For Steel, that’s a combination of Coal and Iron Ore.

From the resulting Steel Ingots you can craft many items, with the two most important being Steel Beams and Steel Pipes. We recommend a setup with two Foundries and two Constructors that immediately turn ingots into these parts. Both Beams and Pipes are used in a huge number of recipes in upcoming milestones. Use a Smart Splitter to divide ingots (if available), as Steel Beams consume more ingots than Steel Pipes. From Steel Beams you can then craft Versatile Frameworks, for which you’ll also need Modular Frames.

Practical tips for clean steel setups:

• Keep input balance (Iron + Coal) steady so your Foundries don’t stall.
• Plan enough conveyor capacity and add buffer containers to smooth out fluctuations.
• Later, consider alternate recipes (e.g. using Petroleum Coke) to ease bottlenecks and boost efficiency.

Safety and exploration: Xeno-Basher and inventory upgrade

The final Tier 3 step focuses on defence and is perfect for your first proper exploration of the Satisfactory map. Here you unlock the Xeno-Basher, your first “real” weapon, along with a few extra inventory slots — always welcome.

Cost to unlock:

• 100x Reinforced Iron Plates
• 600x Iron Rods
• 1500x Wire

The Xeno-Basher is for defending against hostile creatures. The planet’s fauna isn’t exactly friendly to an intruder like you — you may already have been attacked. You can set creatures to passive in the options, but that’s not the intended experience.

Crafting:

• Xeno-Basher: 5x Modular Frames, 25x Iron Rods, 500x Wire, 2x Xeno-Zappers
• Xeno-Zapper (each): 10x Iron Rods, 2x Reinforced Iron Plates, 15x Cable, 50x Wire

Craft the Xeno-Basher at an Equipment Workshop to get a reliable weapon for self-defence. For longer trips, consider bringing Medicinal Inhalers and later protective gear (e.g. the Gas Mask) once available.

Conclusion: Mastering the Tier 3 milestones

With Space Elevator Phase 1 complete, you can dive into Tier 3, where everything centres on deeper automation and new resources. Generate more power than ever with Coal Generators and kick off steel production. You can also bridge long distances with Trucks and head into combat with the Xeno-Basher.

All in all, Tier 3 is a major milestone, especially enjoyable with friends. Rent one of our servers for Satisfactory and dive into the game’s coal age together!