As you jump into Astroneer for the first time, you might expect to get iron pretty quickly. After all, it's extremely common in Minecraft, and that's certainly a trendsetter for survival games. However, Astroneer subverts that expectation by making iron a bit more difficult to find. Rather than delving into the first cave you find, you'll need to build a base, get a rocket, and embark on a journey to an entirely new planet. Daunting stuff, indeed. This guide will cover everything that you need to know to get iron in Astroneer, including details on how you can take that giant leap into space.
How To Find Iron In Astroneer
Before you can get iron, there's a lot of work to be done. When you first start Astroneer, you will be on the Earth-like planet of Sylva. The environment is mostly safe, so your main concern should be getting to grips with the main mechanics, such as Oxygen and Power. In these early stages, you should focus on small adventures to get the few items that you need to progress. For example, you need a Large Printer to build the Small Shuttle, so gather plenty of Compound. You should also focus on getting Resin, which will allow you to make Platforms for your base, which are needed to power your printers and other facilities.
Related: Astroneer: 10 Things You Need To Reach A Planet Core
When you have your printers set up, you need to gather Aluminium and Ammonium. These allow you to build the Small Shuttle and Solid-Fuel Thruster, which you can use to travel between planets.
How To Get Aluminium In Astroneer
Aluminum is made by smelting Laterite, a raw metal found in caves on Sylva. Laterite can be found in abundance underground, so you shouldn't need to travel far to find it. Its red/blue tint gives it a defining texture that makes Laterite easy to spot. Once you have some Laterite, head back to your base and construct a Smelting Furnace. This takes two pieces of Resin and one piece of Compound, which are found all over Sylva. Insert the Laterite into the Smelting Furnace and wait until it has been completed to get your first piece of Aluminium. Repeat this a few times until you have four pieces, which is enough for the Small Shuttle, the Solid-Fuel Thruster, and the Soil Centrifuge, which you'll need to get Ammonium.
How To Get Ammonium In Astroneer
Ammonium is much easier to find, as it can be made in the Soil Centrifuge. The Centrifuge uses soil to make a range of natural resources, so it is a very useful tool when you need specific items for crafting. To get Ammonium, you need to fill two small canisters of soil and empty them into the Centrifuge.
Small Canisters can be built using one piece of Resin, so they are easy to get your hands on. When you have Small Canisters in your backpack, simply dig some dirt to fill them up. You will know when the canisters are full thanks to the green light on top of them.
Attach the canisters to the Soil Centrifuge to empty the soil, which will allow you to make a piece of Ammonium. You only need one piece for the Solid-Fuel Thruster, so leave it at that for now.
How To Build A Rocket In Astroneer
When you have three Aluminium and one Ammonium, you can build a Rocket. There are two parts to a rocket, as mentioned earlier: the Small Shuttle and the Solid-Fuel Thruster. These are made at the Large and Small Printers, respectively. Once you have built both pieces, you need to attach them to the Landing Pad, which is the circular platform that comes with your base at the start. Put the Small Shuttle on the Landing Pad, and then attach the Solid-Fuel Thruster underneath. Once completed, you will be able to travel to another planet. To get iron, you need to head to Novus.
What To Do When You Reach Novus
When you touchdown on Novus, it's time to go digging. Like Laterite on Sylva, Hematite is found underground in caves. To get iron, you need to smelt Hematite in a furnace, so you have a few options here. You can either gather loads of Hematite and then shuttle it back to your original base on Sylva, or make a new base on Novus. The latter is certainly the best option, but it does mean repeating a few of the early beginner's steps again. Make sure that you avoid those pesky beginner's mistakes though. Here is a quick list of the things that you will want to get started on Novus:
- Oxygenator (Insert it into the Small Shuttle)
- Printers
- Small Generator
- Smelting Furnace
- Soil Centrifuge
- Tethers
With those items, you should have everything that you need to get a working remote base on Novus. When that is set up, you can hop back and forth between Sylva and Novus as needed, giving you easy access to iron whenever you want. When you have your Smelting Furnace set up, simply insert the Hematite and wait until your first piece of iron is complete.
What To Build With Iron In Astroneer
When you have your first pieces of iron, you should build the Medium Shredder. You can use the Shredder to turn Debris, which is commonly found around every planet in Astroneer, into Scrap. You can then exchange Scrap for other useful items at the Trading Platform, which will allow you to gain access to other materials, such as Wolframite and Titanite, easily. You can also use iron as an ingredient for the Atmospheric Condenser, which can be used to obtain gases such as Hydrogen, Nitrogen, and Sulfur.
Next: Astroneer: 10 Things You Should Always Bring To A New Planet
