Production lines in Satisfactory can get long and complex. With a bit of research, you can tailor certain chains and recipes so they not only use fewer resources but also cut down the number of steps. That’s where alternate recipes come in, which you unlock over time in Satisfactory. Some aren’t great, while others can transform your late-game factories. Here are the ten best picks right now.
Unlocking Satisfactory alternate recipes: Hard Drives and the MAM
You unlock recipes by researching Hard Drives in the MAM. There are 118 hard drives in total, letting you unlock 108 of the 113 recipes in the game. The rest come from various MAM research trees. Each hard drive offers two recipes to choose from, matching your current milestone.
You don’t have to choose immediately. You can leave the options in the MAM until you need them. That way they won’t repeat in the pool, and you’ll keep getting new recipes to pick from.
1. Cast Screws in Satisfactory: Screws without Iron Rods
Cast Screws are one of the first alternate recipes you can find, and they’re absolutely worth it because they remove an entire step. Normally you have to make Iron Rods first and then turn those into Screws, which takes up a lot of space in bigger factories.
Later on, the Steel Screws recipe can also be useful, letting you make screws from Steel Beams. It may look costly at first, but it can greatly simplify large-scale screw production.
2. Heavy Encased Frame: Best alternative for late milestones
One of the best recipes in the game, since you’ll need plenty of these heavy frames for late-game items. It’s better to make it easier from the start. Even though we just talked about screws, this alternate recipe uses no screws at all. Instead, it requires concrete, which is far easier to produce. You’ll even get more frames than with the default recipe. Avoid Heavy Flexible Frames—they offer little benefit.
3. Copper Alloy Ingot: Save copper with iron ore
This shines when you’re short on copper but have plenty of iron ore. You can combine both to create Copper Alloy Ingots. Since you can unlock this as early as Tier 3, it’s especially useful in the early game, particularly at locations with limited copper.
4. Heavy Oil Residue: Process oil efficiently from Tier 5
The next few recipes fit perfectly into a single production line and become available at Tier 5 with Oil Processing. You’ll refine Crude Oil into Heavy Oil Residue as usual, but you’ll also produce Polymer Resin. That resin is key to making other alternate recipes highly efficient. You also get three units of Heavy Oil Residue instead of one compared to the default recipe—effectively 300 percent output. You can then convert Polymer Resin into rubber and plastic.
5. Diluted and Packaged Fuel: Maximize fuel yield
These two pair beautifully. First, unlock Packaged Fuel, which uses Heavy Oil Residue together with Packaged Water instead of standard Fuel and Empty Canisters. Packaging is a bit fiddly, but it saves several steps overall.
With Tier 7, you get Diluted Fuel, and you no longer need to repackage. Just combine Heavy Oil Residue with water and you can make Fuel at scale. Both recipes let you process oil more effectively.
6. Recycled Plastic and Rubber: A loop for double output
The third oil-focused set are the Recycled recipes for rubber and plastic. They let you build a loop where you can make rubber from plastic and plastic from rubber by adding Fuel. The result is double the output. The Polymer Resin from point 4 also helps, making this combo even better.
7. Pure Ingots and Wet Concrete: More output with water
At Tier 5 you can unlock a range of alternate recipes that improve ore utilization. You can add water to any ore in the Refinery to produce more ingots. This works for everything from iron and copper to caterium and quartz. Even better, the aluminum recipe avoids producing silica as a byproduct.
You can also boost concrete by adding water for higher yields. You unlock this alternate recipe as early as Tier 3, but you can only use it from Tier 5 when water transport becomes available. Since water is practically free, these pure recipes are extremely valuable.
8. Sloppy Alumina: Aluminum without excess silica
Those aluminum ingots become even easier with this alternate recipe. Unlocked at Tier 7, it works similarly to the default Bauxite + Water route, but this time no extra silica is produced. That’s one less byproduct to handle. Silica isn’t particularly useful on its own, but the next alternate recipe might change your mind.
9. Silicon Circuit Board: Efficient circuit boards with silica
Alternatively, consider this recipe where silica plays a key role. Combine copper sheets with silica to make circuit boards. Pair it with Steamed Copper Sheet, which—like the pure recipes—uses water to increase output.
Circuit boards are also a key component for the final recipe below. They’re especially important in the endgame, so you’ll need lots of them.
10. Caterium Computer: Endgame recipe without cable clutter
The circuit boards above feed directly into computers, so your recipes should dovetail nicely. Computers are vital for many late-game items. The Caterium Computer not only cuts the cable clutter, it also works great with the Silicon Circuit Board. It also pairs well with Recycled Rubber from point 6.
Alternatively, you can use Crystal Computer, which combines circuit boards with Crystal Oscillators. Both are solid—choose based on whether you’re specializing in quartz or silica.
Conclusion: Alternate recipes for efficient factories in Satisfactory
Alternate recipes are a crucial part of Satisfactory, letting you simplify or otherwise expand your production lines. They’re highly situational, but the ones we covered should inspire ways to optimize your factories. For example, the oil recycling loop is incredibly strong once it’s set up.
You can also try new alternate recipes by renting your own Satisfactory server from us. Out of the 113 possible recipes, there are many more that can make your work in Satisfactory easier.
