Sandustry Beginner Guide
Sandustry throws a lot of physics at you at once — sand that falls, water that flows, and a factory loop that only pays off when each step feeds the next. The first hour comes down to one simple loop: dig Sand, wet it into Wet Sand, shake it for Gold, then spend that Gold on the research that removes your next bottleneck.
The Core Loop
Every run follows the same shape: mine raw material, process it into Gold, and reinvest that Gold into permanent research so your next factory is faster. Treat your first session as practice — nothing is wasted because research carries forward.
The habit that slows new players most is building flat. Shakers are the game's whole engine, and they only separate Gold cleanly when placed diagonally. Flat spam wastes throughput.
Your First Gold Line
Set up this line and you have a working income before you research logistics.
| Step | What To Do |
|---|---|
| 1 | Dig Sand from Sandsoil terrain |
| 2 | Combine Sand with Water into Wet Sand (1+1 = 2) |
| 3 | Place a Shaker diagonally and drop Wet Sand across it |
| 4 | Collect the Gold that falls through |
| 5 | Keep the Slag — burn and press it later for a second payout |
Early Research Order
Research is your permanent progression. Buy in this order and you never stall.
| Priority | Research |
|---|---|
| 1 | Refining 1 (Shakers) |
| 2 | Logistics 1 (Conveyors & Launchers) |
| 3 | Filters |
| 4 | Pipes, Pumps & Vents |
| 5 | Tools (Flamethrower, Vacuum) |
| 6 | Refining 2 (Kinetic Slag Press) |
| 7 | Drones 1 |
| 8 | Planter Boxes & Lights |
Early Tips
Unlock Logistics 1 as soon as manual hauling becomes the bottleneck — not before you have stable Wet Sand. Never discard Slag; the press line is often your second-largest Gold source. Use S to descend, R to toggle build mode, X to remove, and Shift for marquee select and launcher-outlet skip.