1. Never Craft AP or Tungsten Ammo
   Avoid AP ammo regardless of type—it consumes valuable Stardust. The damage boost (5% vs. 8%) is minimal and not worth it. Tungsten ammo is especially inefficient since it also requires acid, a rare and essential resource for almost all late-game crafting. Stick to steel ammo, which only costs iron and can be farmed passively.
2. Choose a Base Location Strategically
   Always build your base near a river and a Mist Event. Rivers support hydraulic generators and water pumps, enabling full automation for energy and water. Mist Events like the one above Blackfell provide steady XP, resources like acid and fuel, and are easy to farm.
3. Don’t Waste Star Chrum on Random Gambling
   While rolling at the Wish Machine can be tempting, it’s more efficient to spend Star Chrum on specific legendary blueprints. These offer powerful set bonuses, like the Besti set that grants +10% weapon damage and +20% reload speed when HP is above 70%.
4. How to Mass Produce Acid and Energy Links
   Focus your mimetic specialization upgrades on:
   • Sulfur Chemist: Converts sulfur + energy links into acid over time (best acid method).
   • Stardust Water Pump: Extracts acid from polluted water.
   • Precious Metal/Crystal/Microchip Refining: Allows crafting of high-value ingots to sell for energy links (gold ingots = 12,000 links).
5. Farming Rare Plants for Energy Links
   Look for red-aura plants while exploring—they drop rare types like cabbage, saffron, or bellflower, which sell for 800+ energy links each.
6. Focus Season Goals Early for Meme Points
   Complete seasonal goals to earn meme points and unlock:
   • Electric Drill & Chainsaw: Speeds up gathering significantly.
   • Rainwater Collection + Reverse Osmosis Filter: Automate clean water production.
   • Crop Automation: Power your food and brew production passively.
7. Never Calibrate Mid-Tier Weapons Heavily
   Save acid and aluminum by limiting calibration during the tier 4 phase. You’ll move quickly to tier 5, and all those resources will be needed for better gear and advanced base structures.
8. Delay Heavy Armor Calibration Until Necessary
   Tier 5 armor requires special plastic. Prioritize building infrastructure first. Once you’re stabilized, then calibrate your best pieces.
9. Blueprint Stars Matter—Don’t Ignore Them
   Collect fragments to upgrade blueprints. A 5-star armor blueprint provides significantly more base health. Always feed extra blueprints into the same family type to boost blueprint quality.
10. Leverage Set Bonuses Smartly
    Even individual pieces can offer critical passive buffs:

Shop now on Amazon!
Save up to 50% on top Gaming Gear:

Gaming Headset
Gaming Mice
Mechanical Keyboards
Game Controllers
Gaming Chair

• +10% damage from a single helmet
• +20% crit damage from high-stamina Falcon gear
• +HP boosts or damage scaling from heavy-duty gear

11. Automate Your Base With Deviants
    Assign Deviants to passive roles:

• Logging Beavers: Farm wood overnight
• Ore Diggers: Harvest tin, copper, sulfur, etc.
• Collectors: Gather miscellaneous materials like screws, water bottles, and jumborubes

Link all machines to switches for clean power control and efficiency.

12. Use Mal Ale & Food Buffs Effectively
    Brew Mal Ale with crops and wet fermentables—it sells for high value and gives +100 hydration and +1000 sanity. Fruit tea is a better alternative to sanity gummies: cheaper to craft, 50 hydration, 400 sanity.
13. Upgrade Weapons Only at Tier 3+
    Calibrate weapons only once you reach tier 3 or higher. Aim for calibration levels 3, 7, and 10 to unlock bonus effects. Skip heavy investment in earlier tiers—they’re quickly obsolete.
14. Use Set Bonuses with Wish Machine Weapon Synergies
    Many gear pieces synergize with specific weapon types. Check if your armor boosts “bounce,” “bullseye,” or “unstable bomber” from your weapon blueprint pool before investing.
15. Automate While You Sleep
    Don’t let your base go idle:

• Deviants can harvest while offline
• You can wake up to thousands of free resources
• A well-set base should produce acid, fuel, ammo components, and wood continuously

Use these strategies to maximize long-term progression, reduce grind, and dominate any difficulty tier.