Sandustry tools
Sandustry tools are the handheld and drone items you bring into the pixel world. Steam names the Flamethrower and Rocket Launcher in the store copy. The official wiki adds Grabber, Shovel, Drill, Vacuum, Cryoblaster, Grappling Hook, Gun, Corraller, Digger, and Hauler. Official store copy, the Hooded Horse wiki roster, and Steam patch notes are the only sources for numbers on this page. Community names stay in the alias column.
Hands and heat
Grabber is the first upgrade target for Fluxite. Official beginner text says larger manual hauls beat a weak belt. Demo Hotfix 8 added Hydro Sponge on the Grabber; it only works above ground. Shovel opens dirt. Drill opens Stone and Crackstone.
Flamethrower is the documented ice cutter and Residue burner. It also ignites flowers, which Steam lists as a production path. Cryoblaster is the cold counterpart. Vacuum relocates jammed pixels. Grappling Hook is vertical travel.
Guns and drones
Gun is precision. Rocket Launcher is volume. Steam jokes that nothing mines faster than a rocket. Demo Hotfix 8 then nerfed rockets into Redsand, so do not plan a red quarry on explosives. Napalm on the launcher can boil water the same way the flamethrower does.
Digger and Hauler are the official drone pages. Use them after belts exist. Corraller is the critter tool, not a weapon. Flare Gun, Flashlight, Locator, and Laser remain official redlinks and are not slugs here.
| Name | Role | Unlock | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grabber | carry | Starting / Fluxite upgrades | Manual haul tool. Official beginner page recommends early Fluxite into Grabber capacity. Demo Hotfix 8 added a Hydro Sponge upgrade that only works above ground. |
| Shovel | dig | Starting | Early dirt and sand digger. Swap to Drill or explosives once you hit Crackstone. |
| Drill | dig | Research 2500 Gold | Needs Rocket Launcher and Florinol Battery. Uses Energy. Hard-rock digger. |
| Flamethrower | heat | Research 400 Gold | Official ice cutter and Residue burner. Also ignites flowers. |
| Cryoblaster | cold | Research 1000 Gold | Writes infinite Snow. Freezes Water and turns Lava into Cinder. |
| Vacuum | move | Research 2000 Gold | Relocates loose pixels out of corners and jammed belts. |
| Grappling Hook | travel | Tools research | Vertical travel between factory floors and vault shafts. |
| Gun | break | Research 1500 Gold | Precision breaker. Worse than rockets for volume, better on a Shaker deck. |
| Rocket Launcher | break | Research 2000 Gold | Volume mining. Demo Hotfix 8 nerfed it against Redsand. Also reignites hardened Florinol. |
| Corraller | critters | Research 1250 Gold | Capture tool. Lumlings released this way become a water source. |
| Digger Drone | drone | Research 2500 Gold | Autonomous mining drone. |
| Hauler Drone | drone | Research 3000 Gold | Autonomous transport drone for gaps you have not belted yet. |
| Sweeper Drone | drone | Research 800 Gold | Official tree drone. Earlier buy than Digger or Hauler. |
| Recon Drone | drone | Research 2500 Gold | Official exploration drone. |
| Flare Gun | utility | Research 150 Gold | Official tier-1 tool. |
| Flashlight | utility | Research 600 Gold | Official handheld light. |
| Laser | dig | Research 5000 Gold | Late Energy-hungry miner. |
| Locator | explore | Research 3000 Gold | Fill with Void Juice to scan for artifacts. |
| Recall Shard | travel | Research 4000 Gold | Official recall tool. Pairs with a Voidbloom-powered portal. |
| Void Gun | dig | Late tools | Official excavation tool on the main-page grid. |
| Volcanizer | heat | Utility tools | Official utility tool on the main-page grid. |
Fluxite upgrades versus research
Research spends Gold and unlocks the item. Fluxite spends on the item you already hold. Do not mix the wallets. Scanner-style Fluxite upgrades appear in community notes as a way to read combinations without alt-tabbing; treat those names as upgrade flavor until the official Upgrades page exists.
A small kit that covers Early Access
Grabber, Flamethrower, Vacuum, Grappling Hook. Add Drill when stone appears, Cryoblaster when you need plugs, rockets when you need a hole, Corraller if you actually want wildlife. Everything else is a specialization.
Frequently asked questions
What is the first tool upgrade?
Official beginner advice: Grabber capacity with Fluxite.
Can rockets replace flamethrowers?
No. Rockets open volume. Flamethrowers cut ice and burn Residue with far less collateral.
Are Digger and Digger Drone different?
The official tool page is Digger. Some homepage redlinks say Digger Drone for the pad. This roster keeps the existing page name.