AIC CONVERGER PRIORITY: BELT & PIPE LOGIC

On the surface, the Arknights: Endfield Automated Industry Complex (AIC) system looks like your standard factory builder. You’ve got your belts, your pipes, and your ratios. But once you start scaling up to high-tier production, the “Endfield twist” reveals itself.

If you’ve ever had a perfectly calculated line suddenly clog for no reason, or noticed that one belt consistently ignores another, you’ve encountered the Converger logic. Today, we’re doing a deep dive into why these systems are “stateful” and how you can master the hidden priority mechanics to build a flawless base.

TL;DR - Key Points

• Converger priority is hierarchical — splitters beat belts, belts beat direct building outputs
• Stateful placement matters — manual builds create different priority than blueprint pastes
• Blueprints reset internal logic — always blueprint-paste complex logistics for consistency
• Direct building outputs lose — give machines a buffer belt/pipe before the converger
• 0.5 u/s threshold — converger only pulls low-priority sources below this speed
• Color coding is inverted — silver=converger for belts, orange=converger for pipes
• Overflow gates use priority — design secondary outputs that only activate when main line backs up
• Debug with blueprints — if a build acts weird, save and re-paste to reset state

The Basics: Identifying Your Logistics

Before we get into the heavy theorycrafting, let’s look at the “design accents.” Hypergryph has a specific (if slightly confusing) color language for logistics. Knowing these at a glance will save you hours of debugging.

• Belt Convergers: Silver markings.
• Belt Splitters: Orange markings.
• Pipe Convergers: Orange markings.
• Pipe Splitters: Silver markings.
• Logistics Ports: These “hold” items rather than teleporting them; they share the same throughput as the base belt/pipe.

AIC & PAC Building Limits

One of the most common reasons for a build failure is hitting the logistics cap. Here is the breakdown of how many logistics buildings (splitters, convergers, bridges) you can place per area:

Pro-Tip: “Base” belts and pipes don’t count toward this limit, but specialized buildings like the Forge of the Sky and Depot Bus do, even if the game lets you place them past the cap initially.

What Does “Stateful” Actually Mean?

In most factory games, a system is stateless — it behaves the same regardless of how you built it. Endfield is stateful. This means the system’s behavior can change based on the order of placement, whether you moved a building, or even if you placed it manually versus using a blueprint.

The Power of the Blueprint

If you’re copying a complex setup (like the famous PWM automated battery systems) and it’s not working, it’s likely because you built it piece-by-piece.

• Manual Placement: The system decides priority based on which connection you made first.
• Blueprint Placement: This is the only way to ensure consistency. Blueprints place logistics items first, then belts/pipes, forcing the internal logic to reset to a “standard” state.

The Secret “VIP List”: Understanding Converger Priority

The Converger is the heart of your automation, but it doesn’t treat everyone equally. When multiple inputs try to merge into one output, the game follows a strict Priority Hierarchy.

If you use a Blueprint, the Converger will always pull from inputs in this order:

1. Top Tier: Splitters
2. Mid Tier: Belts, Bridges, and Control Ports
3. Bottom Tier: Direct Building Outputs (Reactors, Crucibles, etc.)

Why Your Factory is Clogging

This priority logic is the “silent killer” of efficiency. If you connect a Splitter and a Building Output to the same Converger, the Splitter will cycle its items while the building is completely blocked out.

The Converger will only pull from a lower-priority source if the higher-priority source is moving at less than 0.5 u/s. This is why your Sewage or Xircon Effluent pipes often clog — if the main line is full, the building simply can’t “push” its waste into the system.

Advanced Usage: Flow Regulators and Overflow Gates

Once you understand that Convergers are biased, you can use that bias to your advantage.

1. The Overflow Valve

By using the priority system, you can design “gates” that only allow items through if the main line is backed up. This is essential for managing secondary products that would otherwise stall your entire AIC.

2. Flow Regulation (The “3 u/m” Trick)

By manipulating belt length and empty spots, you can create a self-limiting input. This allows you to fully utilize rare materials like Hetonite without over-consuming them, essentially “throttling” the belt speed through logic rather than just hardware.

3. Automatic Power Leveling

The most advanced players are currently using Converger logic to create Self-Correcting Power Systems. These systems can detect a power outage, trigger an emergency generator ramp-up, and then slowly “test” the power grid by dropping levels one by one until a stable equilibrium is reached. For a worked mega-base built around exactly these priority rules, see our Endgame Blueprints Part 8 mega-base example.

Final Takeaway: The Golden Rules of Endfield Logistics

If you want to be the best “plumber” in Talos-II, follow these three rules:

• Never connect a building directly to a Converger if the output line is busy. Give it a buffer belt/pipe first.
• Debug with Blueprints. If a build is acting “weird,” save it as a blueprint, delete it, and paste it back down.
• Check your colors. Remember that Orange is a Splitter for belts, but a Converger for pipes.