After completing the Space Elevator’s second project phase, Tiers 5 and 6 become available (Satisfactory Guide: Successfully complete Space Elevator Phase 2) . The demands on your production rise sharply and can be overwhelming, especially for first-time players. Many new concepts and materials are introduced, including oil and petroleum products, and with Tier 6 also locomotives. We recommend taking it slowly and unlocking the key areas step by step. Today we’ll focus on Tier 5 and show you how to integrate these new elements into your base—or take the opportunity to start fresh.
Satisfactory Tier 5 Guide: Unlock the Jetpack and use fuel
The first Tier 5 milestone isn’t complicated and offers a great mobility upgrade. You should unlock it first—there isn’t much else in this milestone anyway.
Complete with:
- 50x Motor
- 1000x Cable
- 1000x Iron Plate
With these modest costs you unlock both three new inventory slots and the Jetpack—a perfect combination to get this milestone done.
You still need to craft the Jetpack yourself (5x Motor, 10x Steel Pipe, 25x Iron Plate, 50x Wire) and equip it. It requires fuel to operate. At this stage we recommend Solid Biofuel. If you have already unlocked the Dimensional Storage for your inventory, stash the fuel there so you won’t run out while traveling and can reach hard-to-access areas. Later you can switch to Packaged Fuel, which offers a higher energy density.
Satisfactory oil processing: extract crude oil and produce plastic, rubber, and fuel
Next you’ll handle oil as a new resource, since the following milestones require parts that only come from it. This part is complex—take it step by step and at your own pace.
Complete with:
- 50x Motor
- 100x Encased Industrial Beam
- 500x Steel Pipe
- 500x Copper Sheet
Completing this category lets you scan for Crude Oil, extract it, and refine it into various products. As in real life, oil is used for many different things and is one of the most important resources in the game.
At its core, you’re aiming for three products: Plastic, Rubber, and Fuel. Place an Oil Extractor on a suitable Crude Oil node. The process is similar to mining ore, except it’s a liquid. Connect pipelines and send the oil to a Refinery.
In the Refinery you produce Rubber and Plastic. This generates Heavy Oil Residue as a by-product. With the right recipes, you can convert that into Fuel. This supplies many parts of your factory with a new energy source, for example Packaged Fuel for the Jetpack or dedicated generators.
Satisfactory Logistics Mk. 4: faster belts, lifts, and the Truck
A new milestone also brings improvements to your logistics. You’ll need a working Rubber production line for this.
Complete with:
- 200x Rubber
- 300x Encased Industrial Beam
- 400x Modular Frame
This milestone adds few but very helpful upgrades. You unlock Conveyor Belts Mk. 4 and Conveyor Lifts Mk. 4. Use them wherever needed to relieve bottlenecks in your production lines. It’s not strictly necessary, since Tier 4 already brought the big jump to Mk. 3, which is often sufficient.
You also unlock the Truck, an upgrade over the Tractor. Learn more in our transport guide: (Satisfactory Transport Guide: Conveyor Belts, Vehicles, Trains, and Hypertubes) .
Packaging liquids in Satisfactory: canisters, transport, and efficiency
Packaging liquids makes your factory much more efficient and becomes especially important with oil production. It also lets you handle different fuels more easily and use them across your factory.
Complete with:
- 200x Plastic
- 400x Steel Beam
- 1000x Copper Sheet
This milestone unlocks the Packager and the Empty Canister recipe. Unlike un-packaged liquids, packaged fluids can be transported via conveyor belts. You can package almost anything—from Water and Fuel to later Sulfuric Acid.
The main purpose of packaging is safe, scalable transport. Pipelines aren’t always the best solution, since you need Pumps (and thus power) for elevation changes. Packaged fluids are often more effective over long distances, whether moved by inventory, Truck, conveyor belts, or trains. Some equipment, like the Jetpack, only accepts packaged fuels.
Satisfactory Fuel Generator: fuel power and large fluid storage
Unpackaged Fuel is valuable too. It enables another upgrade to your power production. With this you round off Tier 5 and can gradually replace your earlier coal power.
Complete with:
- 100x Motor
- 100x Encased Industrial Beam
- 200x Rubber
- 200x Plastic
Alongside the larger fluid storage, you unlock the Fuel Generator. This lets you store produced Fuel efficiently and use it to significantly boost your power grid. A single unit outputs up to 250 MW, far more than the 75 MW from a Coal Generator. The setup takes planning and patience, but later you can repurpose coal for other uses.
You can now also scan efficiently for Caterium nodes. You may already have discovered them via the MAM. It’s worth peeking into the late game and researching further. Unlocks include the Zipline, Smart Splitter, and improved power poles.
Conclusion on Satisfactory Tier 5: Use oil, plastic, and fuel wisely
Tier 5 marks a new era in Satisfactory and will have you rethink some of your existing production lines. With oil, you gain access to more key materials and a powerful source of Fuel for much higher power output. Add the Jetpack and faster conveyors to expand your production exactly where it matters.
With a rented Satisfactory server you’ll reach the oil age even faster. Exploring milestones and discovering new aspects of the game is especially fun with friends.
