Sandustry beginner guide

The loop you actually run

Steam’s own description is the route card: mine a destructible world, wet sand, sift Gold, then spend that Gold on research so conveyors, filters, drones, pipes, and pumps can take over. The official beginner page adds two currencies you will feel immediately. Gold unlocks Research. Fluxite unlocks inventory upgrades on tools such as the Grabber and Flamethrower.

1 Sand+1 Water=2 Wet Sand

That doubling is why you do not hose an entire dune. Put Sand into a small pool, scoop Wet Sand out, and keep a dry reserve. Dry Sand on a Shaker produces nothing. Community and official Shaker notes agree: only Wet Sand belongs on the screen.

First Gold without a pretty factory

Dig a horizontal sand trench, not a vertical shaft. Loose piles collapse and bury the exit. Haul or vacuum the Sand into a one-tile wetting channel. Official Water density is 100. Gold density is 300, so once the Shaker runs, Gold wants to sit under lighter junk. Give it a pit or a Collector.

• Research Shaker for 20 Gold as soon as you can scrape a handful of flakes.
• Place the Shaker on a diagonal so incoming Wet Sand lands on the high tile.
• Belt or drop Residue away from the wetting pool immediately.
• Do not buy ten Shakers. Buy Logistics at 30 Gold when hand-carrying costs more time than digging.

Official Shaker text and community timing both land near a 1-in-4 Gold pixel. If a run feels worse, the feed is usually a dry heap or a clogged output, not a hidden secret recipe.

Residue is the other product

The official pixel is Residue. Community guides still say Slag. Same leftover. If you ignore it, it buries conveyors and contaminates Wet Sand. Burn it with a Flamethrower or a controlled lava trickle, then send Burnt Residue into a Kinetic Press when that node is unlocked. The Press also drops spores for later Planter Boxes.

Do not invent a smelter loop on day one. Copper Ore, Liquid Copper, and several heat buildings still sit as thin or redlink pages on the official wiki. Your first factory is sand, water, Gold, Residue, then Fluxite.

What the first 100 Gold should buy

Fluxite is a separate wallet. The official beginner page says spend early Fluxite on Grabber capacity so you can move larger chunks by hand before belts exist. Demo Hotfix 8 added a Hydro Sponge Grabber upgrade that only works above ground. Do not plan an underground sponge line around it.

When to stop expanding the pit

If the Shaker starves, you need more Wet Sand, not another screen. If Gold is fine but the floor rises, you need a Residue burn lane. If water disappears, Sand is drinking the pool; refill from a lake, melted Ice, or burned Snow. Steam’s about text already warns that steam rises and can rain back down. Cover or vent heat before it cooks the wetting tank.

Once Logistics is down, switch to the automation page. Once you have petals and Redsand, switch to Fluxite. Vaults and artifacts are a third axis: Steam says you can chase ancient boons instead of maxing logistics. That is optional content, not the first-hour pass.

A concrete first session

Start on the surface sand, not in a heroic shaft. Cut a two-tile trench along the shore so collapsed piles fall sideways instead of onto your head. Fill a crate or a tiny Block hopper with dry Sand. Build a three-tile tank one screen away from the waterline. Drop Sand in, add Water until the pixels darken into Wet Sand, and stop. You now have a buffer. Carry or belt that Wet Sand onto the high corner of a Shaker the moment you can pay 20 Gold.

While the first flakes fall, spend time on exits, not on decorations. Leave a hover lane. Dump Residue downhill, away from the tank. If you already own a Flamethrower, paint a one-tile burn strip instead of igniting the whole beach. The moment you have 30 more Gold, buy Logistics and replace the walking with a single belt. That is a complete first session. Vaults, flowers, and drones can wait until this loop survives a five-minute walk.

If the demo taught you to rocket a lake for water, unlearn it for Early Access. Official physics still lets rockets and napalm boil water, but steam rain and snow burn are the sustainable answers. Hotfix 8 also told rocket fans to stop treating Redsand as free explosive fill. The beginner factory is boring on purpose: tank, belt, diagonal, pit, burn strip.

Achievements hint at the same order. Gold in the Bin is a Collector problem. First Bloom is a plant problem. Flux It Up is an Emanator problem. Critter Catcher is optional wildlife. None of those fire if the Shaker is starved. Build the dull line first.

Frequently asked questions

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