Sandustry Research Priority Tier List

Every Gold coin in Sandustry competes for the next Research node. Buy the wrong branch early and you stall for an hour moving sand by hand; buy the right sequence and conveyors feed diagonal Shakers while Slag burns toward a Kinetic Slag Press. This tier list ranks unlock priority for vanilla demo and Early Access progression (2026-08-13 on Steam, GOG, Microsoft Store, PC Game Pass). It assumes single-player and matches the loop in How to Play.

S-tier — Buy as soon as gold allows

Refining 1 (Shakers)

Non-negotiable first purchase. Shakers turn Wet Sand into Gold (~20–25% proc per pass) and Slag. Without Refining 1 you cannot scale income. Place shakers diagonally so gold falls through while slag slides off — flat rows waste throughput (How to Get Gold).

Logistics 1 (Conveyors and Launchers)

Second priority once manual hauling limits output. Conveyors move sand, wet sand, and slag; launchers lift streams vertically. Unlock when you can keep shakers fed for several minutes but walking eats your time. See Automation Basics for layout patterns.

Sandustry research and factory progression

A-tier — Next wave after the core line runs

Filters

Sorting prevents wrong materials jamming shakers or mixers. Priority rises when mixed streams appear — after logistics, before sprawling multi-product floors. Pair with Buildings filter rules.

Pipes, Pumps, and Vents

Fluid control for Water supply and steam handling. Buy when mixers starve or floods appear, not before your first stable wet-sand line. Deep reference: Water Management.

Refining 2 (Kinetic Slag Press)

Second gold stream from Burnt Slag. Defer until you reliably produce slag and can burn it (Slag Processing). Once slag piles grow, Refining 2 jumps to A-tier.

Tools — Flamethrower early

Tools branch includes Flamethrower, Vacuum, Cryoblaster, Grappling Hook. Flamethrower ranks high early: burns Slag to Burnt Slag, melts Ice, clears hazards. Many players unlock it before Drones. Full tool ranks: Tools and Weapons Priority.

B-tier — Situational but strong

Guns

Useful for combat pockets and alternative burn options. Not required for your first refinery floor. Elevate if artifacts gate progress (Artifacts and Puzzles).

Lights

Quality-of-life underground before deep digs. Buy before long S-descent sessions in Dig Deeper if you lack visibility.

Planter Boxes

Side systems and farming loops. Strong for completionists; skip while gold is tight.

C-tier — Defer until baseline automation works

Drones (Digger, Hauler)

Automation helpers that mine and carry materials. Seductive early, but expensive relative to fixing a broken wet-sand line. Unlock when conveyors already feed shakers and slag burn/press keeps pace. Drones multiply a working factory; they do not repair a missing Refining 1.

Recommended order summary

1. Refining 1 → Shakers online
2. Logistics 1 → Conveyors and Launchers
3. Filters → Clean streams
4. Pipes / Pumps / Vents → Stable water
5. Tools (Flamethrower) → Slag burn and ice
6. Refining 2 → Slag Press
7. Lights / Guns → As needed for depth or combat
8. Drones → After logistics mature
9. Planter Boxes → Optional side content

Track purchases on the Research Checklist.

Branch interactions

Refining + Logistics — Shakers without belts stall; belts without shakers move dirt. Always refine first.

Filters + Pipes — Filters fix solids; pipes fix fluids. Bottleneck determines order.

Tools + Refining 2 — Flamethrower supplies burnt slag; press converts it. Burn lane before press machine.

Drones + everything — Drones assume conveyors and research gates already solved.

When to break the tier list

• Ice biome blocks dig → Flamethrower or Cryoblaster moves up.
• Water starvation → Pipes before another shaker row.
• Slag backlog → Refining 2 and burn tools before cosmetics.
• Custom maps (Custom Maps) → Puzzle gates may force Guns or Lights earlier.

Gold efficiency tips

Do not research while starved for sand input. Expand Sandsoil mining (Materials) before buying duplicate tech. Use Production Ratio Helper when doubling shakers — extra shakers without water yield zero marginal gold.

Early Access note

Costs and node names may shift slightly at EA launch. Mechanics and dependencies (Shakers need Refining 1, Press needs Refining 2) are stable in public demos. Revisit this page after major patches listed on Demo Patches and EA Roadmap.