Flat terrain in Satisfactory makes construction easier without the hassle of uneven surfaces. Rocks and boulders are basic environmental features in Satisfactory, yet they can complicate matters by obstructing building sites or blocking paths to new biomes and hidden collectibles.
You can’t build on them, forcing you to clear them out or find ways to work around them. This article reveals the best ways to remove rocks and boulders to improve workflow in Satisfactory.
How To Remove Rocks and Boulders in Satisfactory
The game features a range of rocks and boulders that can be mildly annoying or full-on barriers to your construction goals. Each type of rock or boulder has a unique appearance, so you can identify which can be cleared and which should be avoided or built around.
Cracked boulders are the most obvious candidates to clear out. These large rocks have visible fractures running through them, a clear sign that they are destructible. They are found in areas blocking key resources or construction spaces. Smaller rocks don’t have visible cracks but can still be removed.
Now that you know what to expect, let’s talk about how to remove the destructible rocks and boulders. The tool you’ll want is the Nobelisk Detonator, which allows you to unlock and use explosives.
This tool lets you break down all kinds of rocks and boulders, except the uncracked ones. The Nobelisk detonator and its explosives are tied to the sulfur research tree in the MAM. Here’s how you can unlock them:
- Locate sulfur nodes in the world and mine them. Sulfur is a key ingredient for many explosives and is necessary to progress through the research chain. You can also find sulfur deposits by scanning with your resource scanner.
- Once you’ve gathered ten sulfur, the next step is to unlock Black Powder, which is required to craft explosives. This will require you to gather 50 sulfur and 25 coal. Once unlocked, black powder can be crafted in the Equipment Workshop or an assembler.
- After unlocking Black Powder, the next step is unlocking the Nobelisk Detonator, which allows you to craft and use Nobelisk explosives. This requires:
- 50 Black Powder
- 100 Steel Pipes
- 200 Cables
Since steel pipes are only accessible after Tier 3, you’ll need to have reached a certain level of technological progress in your factory before being able to craft the detonator and explosives.
Once unlocked, you can craft red Nobelisk Charges, which serve as explosives to remove cracked boulders. While more advanced Nobelisk variants are available through further research, the basic charge is sufficient for terrain demolition. Here’s how you can use Nobelisk Explosives:
- Craft several basic Nobelisk charges at the Equipment Workshop. These charges are your ammunition for the detonator.
- Equip the detonator in your equipment slot, and press the reload button (R) to load a charge. If you've crafted variants, you can hold the button to switch between different charge types.
- Aim the detonator at the rocks or boulders you want to destroy, and press the left mouse button to throw a Nobelisk charge. Holding down the button increases the throwing distance.
- The charge will stick to whatever it hits. You can throw multiple charges and detonate them simultaneously by pressing the right mouse button. This will trigger a chain of explosions.
Nobelisk charges are effective against cracked rocks and flora and environmental hazards like gas pillars. However, use them wisely, as they can obliterate trees and bushes without providing any resources. They are also effective in combat, inflicting damage on hostile creatures.
In contrast, uncracked large boulders are a different story. These massive rock formations have smooth, unbroken surfaces and cannot be destroyed. They are permanent fixtures in the game’s terrain and can be pretty frustrating when they sit in the middle of an ideal building location. You’ll often find these boulders in open areas or near key resources.
Unfortunately, they are indestructible, so you’ll need to work around them by building foundations over or around the obstacle. The most efficient way to manage indestructible boulders is by building foundations.
Foundations can overlap with the terrain, covering rocks and creating a level surface for building. A four-meter foundation works well for rising above uneven ground, making it easier to align machinery and ensure your factory runs smoothly. Investing in the Base Building milestone early on will help you deal with difficult terrain and boulders that can’t be removed.
What creative designs have you come up with to work around uncracked boulders? Comment down below!