Finishing Milestones 5 and 6 opens up many new ways to expand your factories and craft advanced components. From here on, the game ramps up significantly in difficulty, and you’ll need to focus on how to link your production lines, supply enough power, and transport all materials to where they’re needed. To keep everything under control and prepare for the next stages, you’ll first need to complete another Space Elevator phase. This ensures you’re ready for the next step in Satisfactory. We’ll show you how to handle it and then unlock Tiers 7 and 8.
Preparing Satisfactory Space Elevator Phase 3: Power, Trains, and Oil
Phase 3 doesn’t look too complicated at first glance, since you’ve already produced one of the required components for Phase 2. The other two, however, are much more complex and need large factories you’ll have to build first.
For Phase 3 you need:
- 2500x Versatile Framework
- 500x Modular Engines
- 100x Adaptive Control Units
Because you’ll need key resources and lots of power, you should expand both aspects in your world. We recommend getting familiar with trains to transport materials from distant locations to your factory (Satisfactory Trains Guide: Freight Cars, Signals & Stations) . You don’t have to use them, but they can save you a lot of running around.
You’ll also need plenty of power for everything. Use Fuel produced from Oil. If you already have some alternate recipes, we recommend a loop using Heavy Oil Residue, Plastic, and Rubber to generate up to 300% more Fuel (Satisfactory: The 10 Best Alternate Recipes for Efficient Factories) .
Versatile Framework production for Space Elevator Phase 3
What was the most time-consuming part in Phase 2 is now likely the least exciting aspect of this Space Elevator phase. You should already have a Versatile Framework production line, so there isn’t much to add here. If you want more details, check out our guide (Satisfactory Guide: Successfully complete Space Elevator Phase 2) . In the end, you just need to wait patiently for the 2500 units.
We can recommend a few alternate recipes that make production easier. The best is a combination of Cast Screws and Bolted Iron Plate leading into Bolted Frame. This lets you produce Modular Frames—a key component of Versatile Framework—more simply and efficiently. You can leave Steel Beams as-is; the alts aren’t really worth it there.
Crafting Modular Engines for Phase 3: Motors, Rubber, and Smart Plating
Things get more complex with the Modular Engine, which is made from three parts. You’ll need more space and power, but you only have to produce 500 units. We’ll first look at production without alternate recipes.
- Motors: The basis here is Iron Ore, Copper Ore, and Coal. You’ll assemble Rotors and Stators into Motors. Many intermediate steps should look familiar and aren’t too hard; they just take more space.
- Rubber: Even though it needs a fourth base resource in the form of Crude Oil, Rubber is probably the easiest aspect of Modular Engines. You can also convert any remaining Heavy Oil Residue into Fuel.
- Smart Plating: You’ll need Rotors here as well. Smart Plating is a Phase 2 component of the Space Elevator and shouldn’t be difficult, since you already produce Rotors for Motors. The other part is Reinforced Iron Plates, which are straightforward.
Conveniently, many of these three steps overlap and feed into each other. This lets you produce everything more efficiently and chain it in a large factory. If you break it down into smaller steps, it quickly feels much less daunting.
Producing Adaptive Control Units: Computers, Automated Wiring, and Heavy Modular Frames
This unassuming item is actually the most involved part of the Space Elevator’s third phase. You need to produce four different components to assemble the Adaptive Control Unit in a Manufacturer. Again, break the work into intermediate steps to make it feel less intimidating. Just like with Modular Engines, there are overlaps that lend themselves to a big, centralized factory. You only need 100 units, which is very manageable.
- Automated Wiring: You’ll know this from Phase 2; it’s predefined. Start from Copper and Steel to make Cables and Stators.
- Circuit Board: A relatively simple part. You need Plastic and Copper Sheets to craft Circuit Boards. Both should be no problem to produce. As with Rubber for the Engines, you can generate Fuel from the Plastic chain.
- Computer: Surprisingly straightforward, since Circuit Boards are already covered. Cables come from Copper, and Plastic is already part of the Circuit Board line.
Heavy Modular Frames are definitely the most demanding part of the ACUs. They bring together many steps that barely overlap with the other three components. It can be worth producing them separately and then transporting them.
We recommend a mix of alternate recipes to make life easier:
- Cast Screws
- Encased Industrial Pipe
- Heavy Encased Frame
- Iron Pipe
Conclusion: Unlock Tiers 7 and 8 in Satisfactory with efficient factories
Space Elevator Phase 3 can look very tough and complex at first. But if you split the parts into their individual components, you’ll quickly notice that most lines are fairly simple. You likely already have many of them, or can scale them up easily. This is also where alternate recipes shine, simplifying several processes. In the end, it’s up to your setup which alts are worth using.
Prepare for finishing the third Space Elevator phase with one of our servers or team up with your friends in the world of Satisfactory. It’s much more fun together, and everyone can focus on a different part of the phase.
