Satisfactory has already thrown some serious challenges your way, but Tier 8 raises the bar yet again! You’ll need to bring together everything you’ve learned from earlier milestones, and you should already have several key factories and production lines running to make things at least a little easier. Our advice: take it slow—there’s no need to rush. Check the MAM for alternate recipes or research paths that might simplify certain parts. Things now come thick and fast, with big goals and even bigger systems to unlock. From nuclear power to the Particle Accelerator, this is where Satisfactory really ramps up!
Satisfactory drone transport: move goods by air with Drone Ports
Tier 8 starts off relatively harmless, since you can probably already produce many of the required items. This is where the last stretch of Tier 7 comes into play to produce things like the Radio Control Unit.
Cost to complete:
- 50x Radio Control Unit
- 100x Alclad Aluminum Sheet
- 200x Aluminum Casing
- 300x Motor
This unlocks drones, another way in Satisfactory to transport your goods. They function similarly to the Truck or Tractor, only in the air. Assign them to different Drone Ports so they can fly from A to B. Drones are powered by Batteries, can reach speeds of up to 252 km/h, and are the fastest transport method in the game. They’re a strong alternative to trains or conveyor belts.
Satisfactory nuclear power guide: Nuclear Power Plant, fuel rods, and waste
Let’s move from the easiest to the toughest part of Tier 8. With this, you can finally step into the nuclear age—at a steep price!
Cost to complete:
- 50x Supercomputer
- 200x Heavy Modular Frame
- 1,000x Cable
- 2,000x Concrete
In Tier 7 you unlocked your Hazmat Suit, which now comes into play. You can search for uranium and kick off power production with nuclear energy. But it’s not as simple as flipping a switch—the entire process is extremely complex and demands a lot of forethought.
The foundation is the Nuclear Power Plant, a new machine in your arsenal. Just like in real life, you must cool fuel rods with water and deal with waste products that remain radioactive. We’ll cover nuclear power separately in more detail. It’s arguably the best power source in the game, but it carries significant risks. We recommend continuing with Turbofuel or Rocket Fuel for now—more on that in another article (Satisfactory Sulfur Research: Locations, Nobelisk, Fuel, and Weapons) .
At the same time, you also unlock a new part for the next Space Elevator phase. You need 200x Magnetic Field Generators, so start producing them now.
Satisfactory aluminum guide: Resource Well Pressurizer, nitrogen gas, and fluid logistics
More aluminum-based recipes are now available and are important for some later recipes. You’ll also gain access to other resources that may look familiar.
Cost to complete:
- 50x Radio Control Unit
- 200x Aluminum Casing
- 400x Alclad Aluminum Sheet
- 3,000x Wire
This section ties into several production lines across the game. For example, you unlock Gas Storage if you didn’t already do so via Sulfur research. It also includes components for the nuclear reactor, including the Cooling System and Fused Modular Frames for upcoming recipes.
Another key addition: you can now prospect for water, crude oil, and nitrogen gas. Yes, you know these resources already, but with the Resource Well Pressurizer you can tap resource wells (the geyser-like nodes) to extract them more effectively and boost your output. Nitrogen gas is especially important for crafting several other components. We recommend building a dedicated factory in the Blue Crater—there you’ll find nitrogen along with many other critical resources.
Satisfactory Mk.3 Miners: maximum ore extraction and Turbo Motors
Next up is pushing your ore extraction even further to squeeze the maximum out of your production lines.
Cost to complete:
- 50x Fused Modular Frame
- 100x Supercomputer
- 1,000x Steel Pipe
The new Mk.3 Miners can extract up to 480 items per minute on a pure node. Use them to upgrade iron, coal, or copper to scale up production. Mk.3 Miners are costly, so place them strategically: they require not only Fused Modular Frames but also Turbo Motors, which you also unlock here.
You’ll also unlock the Thermal Propulsion Rocket, another Space Elevator part. You’ll need 250 of them to access Tier 9.
Satisfactory Particle Accelerator: particle enrichment, uranium, and plutonium
The final Tier 8 milestone packs a punch: alongside the Particle Accelerator you unlock some of the most important late-game recipes. You’ll need everything you’ve set up so far to proceed.
Cost to complete:
- 50x Turbo Motor
- 100x Fused Modular Frame
- 200x Cooling System
- 2,500x Turbo Wire
The Particle Accelerator is one of the coolest machines, but it’s also tricky to handle. Its many recipes draw different amounts of power, which can be confusing at first. Still, it’s essential if you intend to go deeper into nuclear power. Here you unlock many recipes for processing uranium and plutonium further, allowing you to make effective use of your waste products. More recipes arrive in Tier 9 to close the loop.
You also unlock Nuclear Pasta here, the last Space Elevator part you’re still missing. That means you’ll need to work with the Accelerator at least in part. It requires Copper Powder and Pressure Conversion Cubes—both are new recipes within this milestone as well.
Lastly, you unlock the production of Nitric Acid, which you can make from nitrogen gas, water, and iron plates. You’ll also need it for uranium processing and Rocket Fuel. If you’ve already researched sulfur, this won’t be new—but Nitric Acid is used in many alternate recipes, too.
Conclusion for Satisfactory Tier 8: challenges, drones, and nuclear power
Difficulty in Satisfactory spikes again with Tier 8, because you now have to handle nuclear materials. It’s the best source of power, but it’s also complicated, opaque, and requires patience. Some things—like drone transport or the Mk.3 Miners—make life a bit easier. You’ll also unlock crucial parts for the next Space Elevator phase to prepare for Tier 9.
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