Sandustry Tech Tree & Recipes
Research is the game's progression spine. Costs run from the 20-gold Shaker to the 7,500-gold Synthesizer VERIFIED (official WIP range 20–7,500). Spend gold wisely — production and logistics first.
Recommended Unlock Order
Community consensus COMMUNITY: Refinement 1 → Logistics 1 → Filter → Pipes → Tools → Refinement 2 (Slag Press) → Drones.
| Step | Node | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Refinement 1 | Unlocks the Shaker — your first gold. |
| 2 | Logistics 1 | Conveyors; the start of automation. |
| 3 | Filter | Separate gold from residue. |
| 4 | Pipes | Move fluids (water, steam, lava). |
| 5 | Tools | Upgraded digging / handling. |
| 6 | Refinement 2 (Slag Press) | Opens the lava gold line. |
| 7 | Drones | Late-game automated hauling. |
Key Recipes
| Input | → | Output | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Sand + 1 Water | → | 2 Wet Sand | Mix stage. |
| Wet Sand (Shaker) | → | 1 Gold + Residue | ~4 wet sand per gold. |
| 1 Burnt Slag (≥25-block drop on Press) | → | 1 Gold + 1 Spore | Second gold line. |
Scope of the Tree
The official roster covers 55 pixel materials, 34 buildings, and 21 tools VERIFIED. The research tree itself spans the 20-gold Shaker at the open to the 7,500-gold Synthesizer at the cap — and completing it all is the Final Schematic achievement.
Achievements as a Progress Bar
There are 16 achievements VERIFIED. The standout is Final Schematic (complete the whole tree) — only about 0.5% of players globally reach it COMMUNITY. That number shows both the tree's size and how many fall before the 7,500-gold Synthesizer. Full tracking on the Achievements Roadmap.
Research-node costs are also listed on the official Sandustry wiki; treat our community-mapped order as a build recommendation.