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Speedrun Guide

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Introduction

This is a beginners’ guide on how to speedrun Factorio. Any intermediate Factorio player should be able to follow this guide and launch a rocket in under 4 hours. Getting the “There is no spoon” achievement should be easy following this guide.

The guide is a step-by-step suggestion on what to build and in what order.�It uses direct resource feeding in every build. Every build starts with increasing iron and copper miners, etc. This is an easy way to make sure your build runs at full capacity all the time.

This should teach you the basic flow of a speedrun. To go even faster you just have to build more of everything faster. But that’s for you to design later.

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Map

This guide can be run on any map.

Using very high resource settings is recommended.

To get the “There is no spoon” achievement there are a few important settings to use:

  • Pollution: Diffusion ratio → 0
  • Starting area size → max
  • Do not change any other settings under enemy tab

Doing otherwise may make the achievement harder or disable it.

Example map string: https://pastebin.com/AHf7uz31

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General Note on Research

Some research can be delayed, therefore they are colored in the research queues and repeated as a frequent reminder until the latest possible time if applicable.

  • Automation
  • Logistics
  • Electronics
  • Fast Inserter
  • Logistic Science
  • Steel Processing
  • Steel Axe
  • Automation 2
  • Adv. Material Proc.
  • Engine
  • Fluid Handling
  • Oil Process.
  • Plastics
  • Advanced Electronics
  • Sulfur Processing
  • Chemical Science
  • Battery
  • Modules
  • Productivity Modules 1
  • Toolbelt
  • Lab Speed 1
  • Lab Speed 2
  • Flamables
  • Concrete
  • Lab Speed 3
  • Logistics 2
  • Railway
  • Speed Modules 1
  • Adv. Oil processing
  • Lubricant
  • Electric Engines
  • Robotics
  • Construction Robots
  • Worker Robot Speed 1
  • Worker Robot Speed 2
  • Adv. Electronics 2
  • Adv. Material Processing 2
  • Production Science
  • Low Density Structures
  • Utility Science
  • Rocket Fuel
  • Productivity Modules 2
  • Speed Modules 2
  • Productivity Modules 3
  • Speed Modules 3
  • Rocket Control Units
  • Effect Transmission
  • Rocket Silo

Mandatory Order

Optional Order

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Frequent Mistakes - and how to avoid

  • Connect power plants properly (water, fuel, poles)
  • Limit chests for mall, steel furnaces, robot frames
  • Green chips setups: don't forget the yellow inserters
  • Sulfur priority: into chemical science first, sulfuric acid second
  • Don't forget to automate prod1 modules after bots
  • Buffers are required for:
    • stone and bricks
    • all steel builds
    • both red chips builds
    • robot frames
    • chemical, production, utility science
    • blue chips and modules
    • LDS, RCU, rocket fuel
  • All tanks in the first oil build required are: �2 petroleum, 8 light, 1 heavy oil
  • Stock up on intermediates before handcrafting (especially oil-related buildings)
  • Check oil levels before rocket fuel, if low go for cracking
  • Building using bots:
    • Avoid mixed miners. On Nefrums seed: stone mixed into power plant coal and coal mixed into circuits copper
    • Ensure all roboports are connected to power and existing network
    • Builds that are copied from map view often need additional power poles. In particular power plants and miners
    • Check that remote builds are completely covered by roboports (in particular mining, power plant, rocket parts, long belts)
    • Wait until the build queue for bots is low before giving them new orders
  • Prod1s into assemblers for chips in “big green”, �blue chips, production and utility science and labs
  • Prod3s into rocket silo
  • Red circuits, LDS, RCUs: Make sure all output belts are connected

General hint:

Take the time to double and triple check every setup before moving on

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Useful Links:

32

14

7

9

(11)

7

13

15

16

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

29

28

30

31

8,

10,

12

(10)

25

32

32

(15)

(21)

(13)

(29)

(7)

(17)

(14)

(17)

(17)

(25)

(28)

(28)

(25)

(22)

(22)

(11)

(17)

(9)

(11)

(14)

(17)

(15)

(24)

(24)

(18)

(18)

(16)

(10)

Numbers in parentheses have only a mention in the text but no screenshot on the respective page in most cases.

Positions of Roboports:

11

(20)

(20)

(20)

(27)

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Burner phase

Mine rocks and build burner miners, start with iron.

Try to keep handcrafting �as much as possible.

Number of burner miners:

  • 10 on iron
  • 6 on copper
  • 16 on coal
  • 4 on stone

35�19�1

10

1

1

1

2

10

20

1

On the right you’ll find a heads up what’s needed next

Crafting list

Research Queue

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Power and lab

Keep burners fueled. �Start crafting science packs and go chop down trees.

Return when crafting is done.

Build a small powerplant �and put down the lab.

Start researching Automation.

  1. Automation
  2. Logistics
  3. Electronics
  4. Fast Inserter
  5. Logistic Science

10

1

1

1

2

10

20

1

15

20

24

100

70

4

6

2

Crafting list

Research Queue

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First half iron lane

Start crafting and go chop enough wood �for the rest of the run, ca. 200.

As soon as automation finishes craft a few assemblers to make gears and wire and handfeed plates to them.

Build half an iron line, feed coal from a chest. �Automate gears and belt.

Add a temporary small science setup, �handfeed copper plates into it.

15

20

24

100

70

4

6

2

4

8

2

10�40

Crafting list

Research Queue

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Power is low!

Extend the powerplant.

Automate coal for smelting.

4

8

2

10�40

30

20

48

120

6

12

20

6

2

Crafting list

Research Queue

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Green circuits

Build more iron and then copper smelting.

Add an overflow buffer for iron.

Automate green circuits, add an overflow buffer.

Automate inserters and miners.

Keep sci fed with copper.

Limit gear chests to a few stacks.

30

20

48

120

6

12

20

6

2

  1. Steel Processing
  2. Steel Axe

5

10

5

5

40

Crafting list

Research Queue

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Double power

Add 5 more boilers �to the powerplant.

5

10

5

5

40

17

1

28

2

Crafting list

Research Queue

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Automate red/green sci

Remove the mini science and automate red/green science

  • 9 red science
  • 10 green science
  • 30 labs

17

1

28

2

  1. Automation 2
  2. Advanced Material Proc.
  3. Engine
  4. Fluid Handling
  5. Oil Process.

30

48

10

15

10

25

Crafting list

Research Queue

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Mall

Build another iron line.

Build some gears and combine �with green circuits on a belt.

Automate most of the basic construction materials.

Limit output chests to a �few stacks (1-4 slots).

Steel for lvl 2 assemblers �follow on next slide.

30

48

10

15

10

25

  1. Plastics
  2. Advanced Electronics
  3. Sulfur Processing
  4. Chemical Sci.
  5. Battery

30

56

8

28

7

Crafting list

Research Queue

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Steel and bricks

Build steel and brick smelting. �15 miners each. Double input �belts for the steel smelter to �allow us to upgrade it later.

Automate steel furnaces. Limit the chest! �Connect steel to assembler2s.

Upgrade to assembler2s:

  • Copper wire
  • Inserters
  • Miners
  • Pipe
  • Red/Green sci

30

56

8

28

7

  1. Modules
  2. Prod Mod 1
  3. Toolbelt
  4. Lab Speed 1
  5. Lab Speed 2

1

20

Crafting list

Research Queue

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Another powerplant

Build a standard 20 boiler power plant. It needs 18 coal miners connected (Don’t put them all on one side of the belt, one side can only carry coal from 15 miners max).

Connect water!

Fill up the coal for the smelting belt to a full belt (30 miners).

1

20

  1. Logistics 2
  2. Railway
  3. Speed Mod 1
  4. Flamables
  5. Concrete

3

8

3

Crafting list

Research Queue

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Red circuits

Upgrade the steel smelter with steel furnaces, add 15 more miners to it.

Build an iron smelter (30 miners), add 2 pipe and one gear assembler.

Build a copper smelter (30 miners) and 7 GC plus 3 wire assemblers.

Build 8 refineries and 3 plastic plants.

Build 18 red circuit assemblers.

3

8

3

  • Toolbelt
  • Lab Speed 1
  • Lab Speed 2
  • Flamables
  • Concrete

1

1

Crafting list

Research Queue

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Blue science

Fetch water and add a sulfur plant, mix sulfur and red circuits on a belt.

Output gears and pipe onto a belt and drag it next to the steel belt.

Build the blue sci and connect the output to the labs. Add a buffer

Start researching towards construction bots.

1

1

  1. Adv. Oil Proc.
  2. Lubricant
  3. Elec. Engines
  4. Robotics
  5. Const. Robots

5

12

Crafting list

Research Queue

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Batteries and lube

Build acid and batteries, spaghetti a belt of iron and copper to it. Connect batteries to the same belt as steel. Make sure not to starve sulfur for chem sci.

Switch the two bottom refineries to advanced oil.

Add tanks to all outputs to make sure nothing backs up. Make sure the tank connections touch. Light oil will be used to make rocket fuel later.

Build one lube plant.

5

12

  • Toolbelt
  • Lab Speed 1
  • Lab Speed 2
  • Flamables
  • Concrete

1

20

10

Crafting list

Research Queue

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Bots

Build more engines and electric engines, connect green circuits from the red circuit build.

Build frames and an output chest, limit the chest to 8 stacks to be used for yellow sci. Handfeed 3 stacks of green circuits into the chest. Place the construction bot assembler and a roboport.

Upgrade all of the chests in �the mall to provider chests, also �at the assembler for steel furnaces.

Automate power poles anywhere there is copper and place the only storage chest there. �Tell the bots to gather some wood.

Set up 2 prod module assemblers.

1

20

10

  1. Worker Robot Speed 1
  2. Worker Robot Speed 2
  3. Advanced Electronics 2

60

Crafting list

Research Queue

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All the power

Copy-paste the power plant built �earlier 3 times, adding up to a total of 4.

Add 18+ coal miners to each powerplant.

Connect water!

Make sure everything is in roboport range.

Put boilers in a provider chest.

Start researching towards �yellow and purple sci.

60

  1. Adv. Material Processing 2
  2. Production Science
  3. Low Density Structures

Crafting list

Research Queue

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More smelting

Copy-paste 2 steel smelters �(with buffer chests) and 5 �normal smelters. �2 for iron and 3 for copper.

Put this build close to ore patches with plenty of space next to it.

Blueprint miners and connect them to the smelters. Each smelter needs a full belt of ore (30 miners).

Also connect a full belt of coal.

  • Toolbelt
  • Lab Speed 1
  • Lab Speed 2
  • Flamables
  • Concrete

30

Crafting list

Research Queue

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Big green circuits

Use the three copper and two iron lines to make green circuits. Buffer all the green circuits so we can drain 4 belts of circuits later. Add prod1s to green circuit assemblers (not wire though!) for better ratio.

Build a few assemblers and copy-paste them and let the bots build the rest.

Continuously check if the bots are short on anything. And craft it for them.

30

  1. Utility Science
  2. Rocket Fuel
  3. Prod Mod 2
  4. Speed Mod 2
  5. Lab Speed 3

5

24

12

Crafting list

Research Queue

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Big oil

Build 24 refineries and 1.5 belts of plastics.

Connect coal. You can use the overflow from coal from both smelting lines.

5

24

12

  • Toolbelt
  • Lab Speed 1
  • Lab Speed 2
  • Flamables
  • Concrete

Crafting list

Research Queue

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Big red circuits

Blueprint another smelter and copper miners. Turn it into two belts of copper wire (10 AM2).

Build 60 red circuits assemblers and add an output buffer.

Leave some space between green and red circuits so we can spaghetti through more belts later.

  • Toolbelt
  • Lab Speed 1
  • Lab Speed 2
  • Flamables
  • Concrete

30

Crafting list

Research Queue

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Modules and blue circuits

Build 16 module assemblers (8 prod1, 8 speed1) and 28 blue circuits assemblers (with two prod1 modules inside them).

Connect the red and green circuits and get acid from the battery production.

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Purple science

Direct feeding purple sci.

Build one print and copy-paste it.

Get the stone and bricks belt from the starter base. Add 3 stick assemblers to the starter base to get half a belt of sticks, mix this with red circuits. Connect a full belt of steel. Connect prod modules to the inside of the output belt.

Connect everything to the labs and add prod1s to the labs.

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LDS

Build 2 more copper smelters and mix the half belt of plastics with steel.

Build 40 LDS assemblers and add an output buffer.

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Yellow science

Yellow sci is very simple. Just add a mixed LDS and blue circuits belt.

Pick up 400 frames from the buffer chest at the bot production and handfeed half a stack (25) to each assembler.

Cut the electric engine belt and add a buffer chest to get the 200 we need to make the silo later.

Connect yellow to labs. And double the amount of labs.

30

  1. Prod Mod 3
  2. Speed Mod 3
  3. RCU
  4. Effect Transmission
  5. Rocket Silo

20

Crafting list

Research Queue

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Rocket fuel

Use the buffered light oil �to make rocket fuel.

Build ~40 rocket fuel assemblers.

20

Crafting list

Research Queue

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RCUs

Build 64 RCU assemblers.

Connect speed modules and blue circuits.

If you have enough purple science (1600) �you can switch all module assemblers to speed modules.

14

Crafting list

Research Queue

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Prod3s, concrete, silo spot

Feed 100 blue and red circuits and 80 prod1s to make 20 prod 2s. Make the 4 prod3s for the silo from those.

Make 1000 concrete from 500 bricks and 100 iron ore. Can be built anywhere there is water.

Prepare a spot for the silo and route all rocket components there.

Craft beacons. Place them and put speed1s into them.

If red, green or blue sci is low, add speedmodules to it.

14

1

Crafting list

Research Queue

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Rocket launch

Craft the rocket silo and immediately put all 4 level 3 prod modules in it.�

(You can help the silo prepare a bit faster by picking up components and putting them in the silo manually, since the blue inserters are not quite fast enough to keep up.)

Hit launch!

Congratulations!

Submit the run on speedrun.com/Factorio!