Factory Foundations: Power & Resource Loops

TL;DR - Key Points

Power death spiral is real — factories that lose power stop producing batteries, which starves Thermal Banks, causing total base shutdown
Amethyst is your bottleneck — early game revolves around amethyst components (~6/min production); mine every bed you find
4 Thermal Banks per PAC output — this ratio keeps power stable when running full production lines
Switch to battery power ASAP — SC Wuling Batteries deliver 30x the energy density of raw Originium Ore
Hydro Mining Rigs save 110+ power — switch Wuling mining to hydro-rigs to free grid capacity for advanced turrets and forges
Never pull without 60K Oroberyl — 120-pull budget guarantees your featured 6★; soft pity starts at pull 65
Use the 60+10 pull loop — pull 60 per banner to get a Headhunting Dossier for 10 free pulls next rotation
Supply orders auto-fulfill — every minute, outposts consume stock and reward Convention Certificates for free pulls and materials
24/7 offline production — let storage fill before logging out to maximize idle gains

The Power Problem: Why Bases Collapse

Every new commander hits the same wall. You build a beautiful production chain: miners feeding refineries feeding packaging units. It runs for ten minutes, then everything stops. Power hits zero. Thermal Banks shut down. Your factory becomes expensive decoration.

The Death Spiral Explained

Power loss in Endfield cascades faster than you expect:

Power drops below demand — facilities begin brownout
Shredding/Packaging Units stop — no new batteries produced
Thermal Banks run dry — they need batteries (or Originium Ore) to generate power
Total shutdown — zero power means zero production means zero power recovery

Recovering from a death spiral requires manual intervention: you must queue raw Originium Ore deliveries to Thermal Banks while production is offline, then restart everything manually. Prevention beats resurrection every time.

Fuel Type	Power Output	Burn Duration	Energy Density
Raw Originium Ore	+50	8s	1.0
LC Valley Battery	+220	40s	4.4
HC Valley Battery	+1100	40s	22.0
SC Wuling Battery	+1500	40s	30.0

Power Layout Rules

Rule 1: Maintain the 4:1 ratio. Run 4 Thermal Banks for every production output line you operate. (For deeper power-grid math, see our AIC throughput breakdown.) This covers the power draw from refining, packaging, and material processing, even during peak load with multiple Forges of the Sky active simultaneously.

Rule 2: Keep one bank on backup. Dedicate at least one Thermal Bank to a direct Originium miner connection. When battery production stops, this line keeps minimum power running for basic shredders and packaging units for manual recovery.

Rule 3: Use Relay Towers, not direct connections. Relay Towers extend your power grid up to 80m from any powered source. Place them on high ground for line-of-sight coverage. Electric Pylons then wirelessly beam power to nearby facilities.

Rule 4: Reverse building works. Place an unpowered Relay Tower past your current grid, then build backward toward your base. When the chain connects, everything powers on simultaneously.

Rule 5: Avoid corrosion zones. Areas marked with corrosion deal 2% durability loss per hour to unprotected structures. Factor this into long-term placement decisions.

Rule 7: Convert to Hydro Mining in Wuling. A single Fluid Pump (10 power) supplies 3 Hydro Mining Rigs, saving ~110 power map-wide compared to electric rigs. Critical for freeing grid capacity for combat turrets and zipline networks.

Upgrade Priority (AIC VR Simulator)

Power unlocks always come first. This sequence minimizes early-game pain:

Priority	Upgrade	Why
1	Power I	Every facility needs it
2	Logistics (All)	Unlocks item control ports, conveyor belts
3	Field Stash	Faster item pickup, less travel time
4	Pylon Relaying	Extended power range from Relays
5	Depot Bus	More storage connections per depot

Combat and Exploration upgrades matter later. Power and logistics form your automation backbone.

Resource Loops: From Scarcity to Surplus

Early Game (Authority <18): Amethyst Economy

Your first priority is amethyst components at roughly 6 units per minute. This material gates gear crafting, AIC upgrades, and early progression.

What to produce:

Amethyst Components — primary output target
Buck Capsule C — trade at Stock Bills for Convention Certificates
Amethyst Parts — store excess; this becomes a mid-game bottleneck

What NOT to do: burn through all your amethyst on the first gear craft. Amethyst Parts are the scarce resource that will slow you down at Authority Level 18.

Plant preference: Use Yazhen (Wuling) over Buckflowers for 2x carbon output multiplier when producing Dense Carbon Powder for late-game Xiranite synthesis.

Mid-Game (Authority 18+): Ferrium and Battery Saturation

Authority Level 18 unlocks Ferrium, which shifts your production priorities. Ferrium is mandatory for LC Valley Batteries and high-tier Molding Units. The transition to Ferrium requires reorganizing your AIC layout to accommodate parallel refining lines, as Ferrium’s processing time is significantly higher than Amethyst.

Why batteries matter: The energy density leap is dramatic:

Raw Originium Ore: 1.0 energy density (+50 power, 8s burn)
LC Valley Battery: 4.4 energy density (+220 power, 40s burn)
HC Valley Battery: 22.0 energy density (+1100 power, 40s burn)
SC Wuling Battery: 30.0 energy density (+1500 power, 40s burn)

One Packaging Unit output feeds 4-6 Thermal Banks depending on your total power draw. This ratio is why battery production becomes your most critical operation mid-game.

Battery production chain:

Mine Ferrium ore
Refine to Ferrium Ingots at refining units
Package at Packaging Units (produces LC Valley Batteries)
Feed Thermal Banks (replaces raw Ore consumption)

Late Game: Cuprium, Xiranite and Xircon Synthesis

The current endgame centers on Xiranite Components, synthetically produced in the Forge of the Sky using Stabilized Carbon and Clean Water.

The Stabilized Carbon chain (most complex v1.2 logistics challenge):

Yazhen Cultivation — Wuling Yazhen provides 2x carbon output vs basic Buckflowers
Shredding and Grinding — Plants into Carbon Powder, then combine with Sandleaf Powder for Dense Carbon Powder
Stabilization — Refine Dense Carbon Powder into Stabilized Carbon for the Forge

Cuprium and the Xircon Dependency

In the Wuling endgame, Cuprium serves as the biological and industrial catalyst for high-density power.

The Cuprium→Xircon chain:

Refining: 120 Cuprium Ore/min produces 60 Cuprium Parts and a mandatory Sewage byproduct
Xircon Reactor: Sewage feeds into Expanded Crucibles (2.5x efficiency of standard) to synthesize Xircon from Sewage, Xiranite, and Clean Water
SC Wuling Batteries: Xircon is the primary ingredient for SC Wuling Batteries (+1500 power)

The “Depot Clog” Risk: If the AIC depot fills with Cuprium Parts, refining halts, stopping Sewage production. This kills the Xircon chain and collapses the SC Wuling Battery grid.

Prevention: Use Yazhen Syringes as a resource sink. Producing 6 syringes/min consumes 120 Cuprium Ore, ensuring continuous Sewage flow for the battery grid even when industrial demand for gear components is low.

Belt and Storage Best Practices

Use Protocol Stashes. These dump items directly to shared storage, eliminating long return belts between production zones.

Build with splitters and bridges. Splitters parallelize processing across multiple machines. Belt Bridges let conveyor lines cross without interference — never let belts merge and split at the same junction, or everything jams.

Watch belt saturation. Overloaded belts slow the entire chain. If you see items piling up at a merge point, your input rate exceeds processing capacity. Add parallel lines or reduce input.

Depots buffer, they don’t route. A common mistake is treating depots as routing hubs. They’re storage, not logistics processors. Route materials directly between machines; use depots for overflow and Stock Bill fulfillment.

Stock Bill Economy: Maximizing Yield

Outpost supply orders auto-fulfill every minute, consuming AIC depot stock and rewarding Convention Certificates and Stock Bills.

Daily cap: ~2.8 million Stock Bills through optimized production.

Valley IV exports:

Canned Citrone C — most efficient Valley IV export. Consumes Amethyst ore without depot overcap; sellable at all three outposts.

Wuling exports:

Yazhen Syringes — preferred Wuling export. Max profit when sold alongside SC Wuling Batteries.
Xiranite Components — essential for gear but less efficient for bills due to 10:1 Xiranite consumption ratio.

Offline production: Empty Protocol Stashes and saturate battery lines before logging out. Factory runs at 100% utilization during offline period, filling depot bus with sellable goods.

Smart Pulls: Gacha Without the Regret

Metric	Value	Carry-Over
6★ base rate	0.8%	N/A
Soft pity start	Pull 65	Yes
Soft pity rate	+5% per pull	Yes
Hard pity (any 6★)	Pull 80	Yes
Featured guarantee (Spark)	Pull 120	No
5★ guarantee	Every 10 pulls	Yes

Version 1.1 Pull Bonuses:

30-Pull Milestone: 10 “Urgent Recruitment” pulls (do not advance pity or spark)
60-Pull Milestone: “Headhunting Dossier” = 10 free pulls for next banner

The 60+10 Loop: Pull 60 times per rotation to secure the Dossier, getting 70 pulls for the price of 60 on the next banner. Maximizes Arsenal Ticket accumulation for weapon gacha.

What carries over between banners:

5★ per 10-pull counter
80-pull hard pity progress
Soft pity progress (pulls 65+)

What resets between banners:

120-pull featured guarantee (spark)
Banner-specific permits
Any unspent Oroberyl (obviously)

Weapon banners operate under completely different rules using Arsenal Tickets earned exclusively through character pulls:

6★ Operator: 2,000 Tickets
5★ Operator: 200 Tickets
4★ Operator: 20 Tickets

Metric	Value	Carry-Over
6★ weapon guarantee	40 pulls	No
Featured weapon guarantee	80 pulls	No
Pity between issues	N/A	No

Nothing carries over between Issues. Save tickets for a full 80-pull commit.

Pull Budget: The 60K Rule

Never commit to a banner without 60,000 Oroberyl. This covers 120 pulls (12 × 10-pulls), guaranteeing your featured character regardless of pity position — and you can model the spend with the pity calculator.

Pulling with less means accepting the risk of walking away empty-handed at 100+ pulls with nothing to show for it. The community has burned resources on this mistake enough times to make it a golden rule.

Pull Priority (v1.2 Meta)

Operator	Element	Role	Key Strength
Zhuang Fangyi	Electric	Hypercarry	Sustained DPS, high Ultimate uptime
Tangtang	Cryo	Enabler	Immobilizes all enemies (incl. bosses)
Laevatain	Heat	AoE DPS	Massive wave-clear, Heat RES ignore
Yvonne	Cryo	ST DPS	Single-target burst, boss phase skip
Gilberta	Nature	Buffer	Arts Susceptibility, gravity-based CC

Zhuang Fangyi is the strongest operator by a wide margin. Her Sunderblade setup provides consistent burst windows supportable by 4★/5★ enablers, making her F2P-friendly.

Optimal team compositions (1+1+1+1 model: DPS + Enabler + Buffer + Flex):

Electric Hyper: Zhuang Fangyi (DPS), Arclight (Enabler), Perlica (Buffer), Gilberta (Flex)
Heat AoE: Laevatain (DPS), Wulfgard (Enabler), Akekuri (Buffer), Ardelia (Healer)
Cryo ST: Yvonne (DPS), Tangtang (Enabler), Gilberta (Buffer), Xaihi (Support)

Physical teams (Endministrator + Chen Qianyu) remain viable for Sustainless clears.

General rules:

Complete the New Horizons beginner banner first (20% discount, free 6★, free weapon)
Commit to one DPS per type (AoE + single-target) — don’t split resources
Skip weapon banners until your operator roster is solid
Spark discipline: Strictly adhere to the 120-pull budget rule

F2P Resource Budget

At launch, free-to-play players can access approximately 135+ free pulls from these sources:

Pre-registration rewards: 20 pulls
Awakening Sign-in event: 12 pulls
New Horizons banner (discounted): 40 pulls
Authority level-ups: 40 pulls
Quests, exploration chests, Etchspace Salvage: ongoing

Orobe yield from exploration chests ranges from 15-60 per chest. Etchspace Salvage alone generates 1,800 Oroberyl + 10 permits per run.

The Complete Beginner Path

Here’s the progression path from your first mining rig to your first Stock Bill trade:

Phase 1: Power Foundation (Hours 1-5)

Place 4 Thermal Banks + 1 backup Originium miner
Unlock Power I and Logistics upgrades in VR Simulator
Build first Relay Tower chain from PAC outward

Phase 2: Amethyst Loop (Hours 5-15)

Mine amethyst deposits exclusively
Run amethyst component production at ~6/min
Stockpile Amethyst Parts for mid-game transition

Phase 3: Battery Production (Hours 15-30)

Transition from raw Originium to LC Valley Battery-fed Thermal Banks
Build dedicated Ferrium refining and battery production line
One Packaging Unit feeds 4-6 Thermal Banks

Phase 4: Stock Bill Economy (Hours 30+)

Stock Canned Citrone C (Valley IV) and Yazhen Syringes (Wuling) at outposts
Supply orders auto-fulfill → Convention Certificates
Target 2.8M Stock Bills daily cap

Phase 5: Hydro Conversion (Authority 25+)

Convert Wuling mining to Hydro Mining Rigs (1 Fluid Pump → 3 Rigs)
Save ~110 power map-wide for advanced turrets and forges
If pumps stall mid-line, see our water pump ratio fix

Phase 6: Smart Pulls (Ongoing)

Save Oroberyl until 60K minimum (120-pull spark guarantee)
Use 60+10 pull loop for maximum Dossier generation
One AoE DPS + one single-target DPS = complete roster

Simple layouts beat complex ones that don’t work. A functioning factory with basic belt routing outperforms a masterpiece that collapses on the first power spike. Build, test, iterate.

Common Mistakes That Cost You Hours

No power backup — always keep one Thermal Bank on a dedicated Originium line
Burning amethyst early — it’s the primary early-game bottleneck; spend carefully
Crossing belts without bridges — merge conflicts jam entire chains
Skipping AIC upgrades — max Power Index before investing in combat
Using Originium for power when batteries exist — batteries are exponentially more efficient
Building in corrosion zones — 2% durability loss per hour adds up fast
Pulling without a budget — 60K Oroberyl minimum or don’t pull at all
Treating depots as routing hubs — depots store; belts route
Hydro-rig backpressure — route sewage through Treatment Units; untreated sewage halts all dependent production
Ignoring Protocol Capacity — each mining rig tier costs capacity; plan your build budget
Offline clog bugs — Xircon fluid ratios may fail on login; verify production chains after each session start
Not using the 60+10 loop — missing Dossier milestones wastes free pulls

Final Thoughts: Build for Stability, Not Speed

Version 1.2 has bridged the gap between basic resource extraction and advanced synthetic manufacturing. The Power Death Spiral — once the primary cause of base abandonment — is mitigated by SC Wuling Batteries and Hydro-Industrial rigs.

Priority order for current Endministrators:

Hydro-Conversion — migrate all Wuling/Qingbo mining to hydro-rigs
Spark Discipline — 120-pull hoarding for meta-defining operators
Closed-Loop Logistics — automated sewage-to-clean-water feedback loops

Stable power first. Resource loops second. Gacha pulls only when you can afford the guarantee.

That’s the order of operations. Deviate at your own risk.

Have questions or want to share your factory layout? Join the discussion on the Endfield Hub community channels. Check back for more Endfield guides, meta analysis, and factory optimization strategies.

FACTORY FOUNDATIONS: POWER & RESOURCE LOOPS