You’re getting close to the end of the main story in Satisfactory, because with Tier 9 you complete the last milestone currently in the game (Version 1.1). Here you’ll unlock a lot of useful things again, including improved conveyor belts, new transport options, and some of the final machines needed to produce late-game items. Many sections build on each other, so you should work through them from top to bottom. It’s not an easy task, but afterward you can build anything you want! We’ll look at how to finish Tier 9 and which practical items you’ll unlock.
Matter Conversion in Satisfactory: Unlock the Converter and Use SAM Efficiently
The materials for this first step are easy to obtain, since you already produce them for the Space Elevator. And with the Converter you get a truly fantastic machine for the game!
Complete with:
- 100x Fused Modular Frame
- 250x Radio Control Unit
- 500x Cooling System
The Converter (or Transmuter) is a very handy little machine you get in Tier 9. It lets you turn any ore into any other ore by adding Reanimated SAM. You may know this from MAM research (Satisfactory Alien Tech: SAM, Somersloop, Mercer Sphere & Depot) and now it finds its proper application. Two new metals also enter the picture: FICSIT Ingots and FICSIT Trigon. You’ll need these for the Biochemical Modeler, a component for Phase 5 of the Space Elevator.
You also unlock the production of Diamonds. Normally you compress them from Coal in the Particle Accelerator, but there are many alternate recipes as well. Diamonds are required for Time Crystals and Dark Matter Crystals.
Quantum Encoder in Satisfactory: Dark Matter and New High-End Items
Unlock the matter conversion section first, because you’ll need some of those components for the following milestones. Now you’ll deal with things like quantum encoding and dark matter.
Complete with:
- 50x Time Crystal
- 100x FICSIT Trigon
- 200x Turbo Motor
- 400x Supercomputer
Satisfactory now dives into very complex, physics-heavy processes. In the Quantum Encoder you can craft many high-tier items, but you’ll need Excited Photonic Matter. You can produce this in the Converter with no input material. Processing it results in Dark Matter Residue.
This new machine brings four new items to the game: Dark Matter Crystal, Superposition Oscillator, Neural Quantum Processor, and AI Expansion Server. The names alone are intense, and many of these items are needed for the following sections and for Phase 5 of the Space Elevator. Most are processed in the Quantum Encoder, which means dark matter residue is always produced. You’ll then use that residue for the crystals. The AI Expansion Server is arguably the most complex item, as it requires several other advanced components.
FICSIT Blueprints Mk. 3: Larger Blueprint Areas for Efficient Factory Building
To make your life easier, you should unlock this as well. Blueprints let you build factories modularly, and now you unlock the largest template.
Complete with:
- 100x Neural Quantum Processor
- 250x Time Crystal
- 500x FICSIT Trigon
- 500x Fused Modular Frame
This Mk. 3 blueprint has dimensions of 48 meters in every direction. That gives you plenty of room to plan and save important build templates so you can reuse them. You can of course use them in your single-player game, but also share them online. There are many places on the web where you can download and use blueprints.
Portals and Spatial Energy Regulation: Singularity Cell and Warp Drive
Transport routes become increasingly important, and you probably don’t want to run across the whole map all the time. Thanks to quantum mechanics, you can now simply teleport using Portals.
Complete with:
- 100x Superposition Oscillator
- 250x Turbo Motor
- 500x Radio Control Unit
- 1,000x SAM Fluctuator
First, you unlock the recipes for a Singularity Cell and a Ballistic Warp Drive, two of the most demanding components in the entire game. You’ll use the Warp Drive for Phase 5 of the Space Elevator, and it’s currently the item with the longest production chain in Satisfactory.
You’ll also unlock Portals, which require the Singularity Cell. There’s an Entrance Portal and an Exit Portal that let you teleport across the entire map. To maintain a persistent connection, you’ll need to feed in cells. One cell lasts only 30 seconds. At the same time, it consumes a lot of power. With this, you can connect distant factories and move across the map much faster.
Conveyor Belts Mk. 6 and Ficsonium: Peak Efficiency in Satisfactory
Finally, as is tradition in Satisfactory, you can boost your efficiency and wrap up the milestones with new conveyor belts and a new form of nuclear energy. The requirements aren’t quite as steep, but you’ll need to produce a lot of aluminum sheets and iron plates.
Complete with:
- 250x Time Crystal
- 250x FICSIT Trigon
- 5,000x Alclad Aluminum Sheet
- 10,000x Iron Plate
First you unlock the Mk. 6 variant of Conveyor Belts. These glow, making them much more noticeable than previous versions. Each segment requires one FICSIT Trigon and one Time Crystal to craft. They’re 20x more capable than Mk. 1 belts and can carry up to 1,200 items per minute. You can move 84 km/h on foot and up to 135 km/h with Blade Runners on them. Their white glow can be recolored, which provides a nice visual contrast.
You also unlock Ficsonium, a third approach to nuclear power and a way to process your nuclear waste. We already have a detailed guide on how to use nuclear power effectively (Satisfactory Nuclear Power Guide: Reactors, Fuel Rods & 0% Waste) .
Conclusion: Complete Tier 9 in Satisfactory Successfully
With Tier 9, you’ve now reached all milestones and unlocked almost all important machines, recipes, and items. For some, that means the game is “finished”; for others, the real fun begins as you expand your own factory empire. Either way, Tier 9 brings many complex innovations, from processing dark matter to quantum physics. At the same time, your work gets easier, for example with Portals, Blueprints, and Mk. 6 Conveyor Belts.
If you want to play Satisfactory from start to finish and reach Tier 9, then rent your own Satisfactory server from us and jump into the adventure. There’s a lot to discover along the way, and you can be proud of yourself for completing all milestones. But one huge challenge still awaits: Phase 5 of the Space Elevator.
