Ore Extractors are a game changer in The Planet Crafter. While the ground is covered in minerals when the game starts, these minerals don't come back as the player mines them. However, an Ore Extractor provides an infinite supply of new minerals.
However, it's not always clear where players should put their Ore Extractors to get rare minerals. Not every location in The Planet Crafter that holds rare minerals works with Ore Extractors, and not every Ore Extractor can dig up rare minerals. That's why it helps to know how these machines work and how players can get the best use out of them.
Ore Extractor Basics
The first thing players should understand is the set of differences between the Ore Extractor T1 and T2.
- The Ore Extractor T1 unlocks at 155 μPa, and the T2 unlocks at 364.5 mPa.
- Aside from extracting minerals, Ore Extractors also generate heat and pressure.
- Players can only place Ore Extractors on sand or dirt, never on rocks or buildings.
- On the extractor's container screen, players can see which rare mineral is being extracted in a circle in the lower-right corner. If the extractor isn't mining a rare mineral, this will display iron.
- Both models will randomly extract common minerals like iron and magnesium no matter where they are. However, the T2 will generate more rare minerals than the T1 if it's in the right location.
- The T1 can hold up to 20 minerals while the T2 can hold up to 25.
- Of the rare minerals, the T1 can only extract aluminum, sulfur and iridium. The T2 can extract all of them.
- Currently, no extractor can produce pulsar quartz.
- Even if they don't produce rare minerals, an Ore Extractor or two near the player's main base will help cut down on resource trips.
- A third Ore Extractor, the T3, was introduced in the Lore and Automation update. Players can set it to extract just one type of mineral at a time, but it unlocks at an incredible 38.33 Pa, which makes it the last thing most players will unlock. In addition, the developers have indicated that they plan to modify this extractor in the next update.
The Map Information Rocket
Players can find microchips throughout the chests and shipwrecks that dot the landscape in The Planet Crafter and then decode them with the Blueprints Screen. This is how players get access to three GPS Rockets and the essential Map Information Rocket.
The GPS Rockets allow players to use the Mapping Screen and zoom out to different levels. The Mapping Information Rocket adds new symbols to this map, symbols that indicate where players can place T2 Ore Extractors to get rare minerals. As of Lore and Automation, this is what the map looks like:
Players can find rare minerals in more locations than what this map indicates, but these are the places where Ore Extractors can get an infinite supply. Keep in mind that many of these locations are caves and tunnels rather than on the surface.
The Planet Crafter is available now in early access on PC.