How to Find Key Biomes, Resources, and Artifacts

Build and seed scope: v0.5.7. A biome is a large region defined by its terrain and materials. Sandustry does not place every resource pocket or travel route at one universal coordinate.

You leave a thirsty Shaker line to hunt for Water, dig sideways through half a planet, and return to find that loose Sand drank the last puddle. Classic field work. Before exploring, wall off the factory feed, keep loose Sand away from stored Water, and mark the route home. Find one useful target at a time instead of trying to uncover the whole planet.

Understand What Changes Between Worlds

The starting area through the first portal uses randomized tiles joined through a fixed set of connections. A tile is one generated map chunk. The opening junction structure stays recognizable, but the terrain inside its tiles can change. Biomes also have fixed outer limits in this build. Areas beyond the opening tiles are fully procedural, so resource pockets, passages, and travel distances can vary.

Remember junctions, portals, and biome borders, but search each branch again in a new world. A note such as base → lower junction → right cave describes that save. It is not a promise for every seed.

Use This Repeatable Search Circuit

Unlock the Map and Minimap. The Tier 1 Map research costs 100 Gold in v0.5.7. The Minimap shows nearby terrain, and an active objective can add a yellow direction arrow.
Pick one target. Search for Water, Redsoil, Copper Ore, or an Artifact room separately. Random digging makes every wall look guilty.
Start at a known junction. Sweep one branch to its edge. Check the floor, ceiling, and side walls for a new color, material, or terrain shape.
Mark the result. Record the portal, chamber outline, hazard, or hard barrier. Leave a wide return tunnel so falling material cannot plug it behind you.
Backtrack before extending the tunnel. If the target is absent, return to the last junction and sweep its sibling branch. After the opening branches, pass through the first portal and repeat the perimeter search in the outer procedural area.

Search flow: Known junction → branch edge → biome seam → material check → mark route → return to junction → next branch.

Biome and Resource Field Marks

Target	What to Look For	Tool or Gate	If It Is Missing
Sand and Dirt	Look for loose tan Sand beside solid Dirt layers. Breaking Dirt releases more Sand.	The starting Shovel digs Dirt quickly. Stronger tools mainly speed up collection.	Dig a short vertical test shaft before roaming sideways. A thick Dirt layer provides both a route and more factory input.
Water	Look for blue pools in surface lakes or underground hollows. Inspect the floor before opening a pool because Water flows downhill into any gap.	An exposed pool needs no excavation research. The Tier 3 Fluids research unlocks Pumps and Pipes for safer transport. Natural Ice must be melted with Fire; the Tier 2 Flamethrower costs 400 Gold in v0.5.7.	Return to the last junction and inspect the next cave hollow. If there is no open Water, search frozen terrain for Ice and melt it into a prepared basin. Keep Sand away because touching Water converts both materials into Wet Sand.
Frozen region	White Snow, pale Ice, hanging ice shapes, and solid Frostbed mark cold terrain. Broken Frostbed releases loose Snow.	Normal digging tools break Frostbed. Ice cannot be excavated with conventional tools; melt it with Fire.	Trace the biome edge and check its upper and lower cavities. Do not waste rockets on Ice. Heat is the actual key.
Desert and Dunes	Watch for broad Dune fields and hard Limestone structures in desert terrain. Dug Dune releases loose Sunsand, which reforms into Dune when it stops falling.	Normal digging tools disturb Dune. Limestone is impervious to known tools in this build.	Skirt the upper or lower edge instead of boring through the middle of a Dune field. Use Limestone structures as landmarks, not quarries.
Redsoil and Redsand	Search for large compact red pockets, often at middle to lower depths. Breaking Redsoil releases Redsand.	Every regular digging tool works. The Shovel is slower on Redsoil than on Dirt, so a stronger tool helps with a large pocket.	Move one depth band lower and sweep left and right from the main shaft. If one side remains plain Dirt, test the opposite branch instead of widening the same empty tunnel.
Natural Fluxite	Fluxite occurs naturally in small deposits. If a patch is unclear, hover the upgraded Grabber over it; the Material Scanner displays more material information. Breaking Fluxite leaves a brief purple vapor cloud instead of a loose pile.	Normal excavation tools can dig Fluxite. The Tier 5 Flux Emanator later converts Voidbloom into a renewable factory supply.	Inspect exposed walls and biome seams rather than clearing whole chambers. Small deposits are easy to pass. If the natural supply runs low, work toward the Flux Emanator.
Mooncrystal	Look for small crystalline outcrops, often deep underground. Breaking Mooncrystal produces Moonhop, an extremely bouncy solid.	Normal digging tools work, but Mooncrystal is tough. Stronger tools reduce the excavation time.	Change depth and inspect the walls of open caverns. One empty deep branch does not rule out another outcrop elsewhere.
Copper Ore	Look for small copper-colored veins deeper underground, often embedded in a cave wall. Use the Material Scanner if the terrain is hard to identify.	A powered Drill or Laser is the practical answer. The Tier 5 Drill costs 2,500 Gold, uses Energy, and requires the Rocket Launcher and Florinol Battery. The Tier 5 Laser costs 5,000 Gold. The Void Gun causes only minor damage.	If the vein barely reacts, mark it and return with a powered tool. If no vein appears, descend another band and sweep both sides of the nearest deep junction.
Lava cavern	Glowing orange Lava in an underground hollow is the main warning. Assume any opening below its surface will become a drain.	Lava cannot be excavated, grabbed normally, or moved through Pipes. Freeze it with Snow to make Scoria, then break the Scoria into movable Cinder with a regular digging tool.	Search deeper cavern edges and build a catch pocket before breaching a chamber. If the direct approach threatens the travel shaft, enter through a higher side wall so gravity carries Lava away from the route home.

Read Hard Terrain Before Spending Ammo

Test a small patch when a wall refuses to move. Shatterstone ignores the Shovel but breaks with the Tier 3 Gun or another excavation tool. Crackstone ignores the Shovel and Gun; use the Rocket Launcher, Drill, Laser, or Void Gun. Stone is best handled with the powered Drill or Laser, while the Void Gun deals only minor damage. Completely indestructible bedrock is a world boundary. Route around it before industrial pride becomes an ammunition expense.

Tell Vault Landmarks from Artifact Rooms

Use vault landmark in your route notes for an enclosed or geometric ancient shell that you have not confirmed yet. It is a navigation label, not proof of an Artifact. If you expose only a broken wall with no controls, puzzle material, restricted area, or reward chamber, mark it as an ordinary ruin and keep searching.

An Artifact room is an active ancient puzzle area containing an Artifact reward. Possible signs include doors, buttons, red or green cable states, sensors, teleporters, contained Water or Lava, and a sealed reward path. Room types vary, so do not expect every chamber to contain the same devices.

In documented fluid-routing rooms, yellow cells mark the part of the chamber where Foundations or another permitted block can be placed. Use those cells to redirect falling Water or Lava, then watch the connected cables, targets, and doors for a state change. Inspect the whole chamber before firing or adding material because Artifact rooms can restrict tools, pipes, building, and automated hauling.

You may uncover a room while digging, but the repeatable late-game search uses the Tier 5 Locator. It costs 3,000 Gold in v0.5.7. Hold its use button while standing in Void Juice to charge it, then activate it to pulse a rough direction toward the nearest Artifact. Scan again after a major detour or depth change.

The Locator points toward the target, not necessarily toward an open doorway. If the indicated line meets bedrock, Limestone, or a protected room boundary, circle the outside and search for an entrance. Follow the direction first; choose the passable route second.

Recover a Search That Has Stalled

If every wall has looked the same for ten minutes, stop extending the tunnel. Return to the last portal or three-way junction, check the Map, then change either branch or depth—not both. Mark Copper Ore, Ice, a vault shell, or a Lava pocket that needs a later tool. A blocked target is future work, not failed work.

For a buried Artifact room, expose only enough terrain to read its outline. Find the entrance, controls, colored signals, permitted build cells, and reward path before moving puzzle material. If you lack the needed tool or the room does not react, preserve the chamber and return after more research. Sometimes the planet has not given you a puzzle; it has handed you a research bill.

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