Almost everything you build in Stationeers goes up in stages, and almost every stage asks for a particular tool. For this article all of the game's build steps have been counted (version 0.2.6428). That shows which tools you really need and how often.
How building and deconstruction work
Every structure has a sequence of build stages. The first is the kit you place. Each further stage asks for material – two iron sheets, for example – and often a tool. The tool is not used up.
Deconstruction runs in reverse, stage by stage. Each stage has its own deconstruction tool, usually a different one from the building tool. The first stage gives you the kit back. Which stage needs which tool is shown on every device page in this wiki under "Building and deconstruction".
The seven tools of the build steps
| Tool | builds (stages / structures) | deconstructs (structures) | of which first stage | Energy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Welding Torch | 193 / 167 | – | – | gas canister |
| Screwdriver | 79 / 70 | 11 | 6 | – |
| Wrench | 21 / 21 | 250 | 149 | – |
| Crowbar | 6 / 6 | 111 | 40 | – |
| Hand Drill | – | 383 | 346 | battery |
| Angle Grinder | – | 249 | 167 | battery |
| Wire Cutters | – | 92 | 69 | – |
Three things stand out:
- Building is done almost entirely with the welding torch and screwdriver. The wrench joins in for pipes, furnaces and heat exchangers, the crowbar only for doors.
- Deconstruction is mostly the hand drill's job. It removes the first stage in 346 structures and gives the kit back.
- The wire cutters are for cables, burnt ones included.
These seven tools plus the labeller fill the Tool Belt with its eight slots – and cover every build stage in the game.
Battery use when deconstructing
Every deconstruction stage carries a consumption value for the tool in the game data, between 0 and 2000 for the hand drill and the angle grinder. For battery tools that number does not matter, though, according to the game code: they draw a flat 1000 J from the cell for every completed stage, whether the stage asks for 1 or 2000. Holding the mouse button alone costs nothing with the drill or the grinder, because neither has a base draw.
| Cell | Capacity | Deconstruction stages per charge |
|---|---|---|
| Battery Cell (Small) | 36,000 J | 36 |
| Battery Cell (Large) | 288,000 J | 288 |
| Battery Cell (Nuclear) | 2,304,000 J | 2304 |
A worked example: a device with three deconstruction stages costs 3 · 1000 = 3000 J. With the small cell from the starting kit you can take down twelve such devices. An almost empty cell still manages one last stage, because the tool only checks whether the cell is completely empty.
The consumption value does matter for the welding torch, though: there it decides how much gas a stage costs.
Gas for the welding torch
The Welding Torch burns whatever is in its canister. According to the game code it needs a fuel for that – Methane, Hydrogen, liquid alcohol or hydrazine. The flame burns in a small chamber of its own, 1 litre, which only gets gas from the canister. The oxidiser – Oxygen, Nitrous Oxide or ozone – therefore has to be in the canister too. The canister in the starting kit holds 100 mol of volatiles and 50 mol of oxygen.
Gas is used in two ways:
- While the torch is on, 0.01 mol per tick, so 0.02 mol per second – even when you are not welding.
- For every finished welding stage, an extra consumption value · 0.01 mol. A value of 0 counts as 100.
| Consumption value | Stages | Gas per stage | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 (counts as 100) | 84 | 1 mol | frames, furnaces, airlocks, printers |
| 1 | 30 | 0.01 mol | satellite dishes, hangar doors, power pylon |
| 10 to 100 | 8 | 0.1 to 1 mol | cryo tubes, station batteries |
| 500 | 24 | 5 mol | rocket fairings, deep miner |
| 1000 and 1500 | 47 | 10 to 15 mol | engine mounts, telescope |
A worked example: the starting canister with 150 mol is good for a little over 100 welding stages at 1 mol each, as long as you close the torch in between. A Steel Frame has two such stages for its steel sheets, so that is about 50 clad frames. Ten minutes left open for nothing cost 600 · 0.02 = 12 mol. For rocket building at 10 mol per stage the same canister is empty after 15 stages.
A hot flame pays off: according to the game code the torch works with a speed factor of 1.2, and with 1.5 if the flame is above 3000 °C.
If you do not want to refill gas canisters, take the Arc Welder. The game data list it as a substitute for the welding torch, and it runs on a battery – but needs a lot of it (see below).
Substitute tools
Many tools have a substitute in the game data that may be used anywhere instead of the original:
| Original | Substitute |
|---|---|
| welding torch | arc welder, Mk II arc welder, emergency arc welder |
| hand drill | Mk II Drill, emergency drill |
| wrench | Mk II Wrench, emergency wrench |
| angle grinder, crowbar, screwdriver, wire cutters | one Mk II and one emergency version each |
| duct tape | Mk II duct tape |
The Mk II tools need tier 2 of the Tool Manufactory. The emergency tools have no recipe.
Power values of the battery tools
According to the game code, the values UsedPowerPassive and UsedPowerActive from the game data are joules per tick (0.5 s), like all power values in the electrical system. The passive value runs while the tool is switched on (On) and has power; the active one is added while Activate is 1. Drill, grinder and arc welder have no switch and draw nothing when idle.
| Tool | Consumption according to the game code | a small cell (36,000 J) lasts |
|---|---|---|
| Arc Welder | 2000 J per tick while welding, plus 1000 J per finished stage | 9 s of continuous welding |
| Flashlight | Low Power 40, High Power 50 J per tick | 7.5 or 6 minutes |
| Advanced Tablet | 20 J per tick, 22.5 J with a chip | 15 minutes |
| Handheld Tablet, Labeller | 10 J per tick | 30 minutes |
| Cable Gun | 5 J per tick, plus 1000 J per laid segment | 1 hour switched on |
| Hand Drill, Angle Grinder | 1000 J per finished deconstruction stage | 36 stages |
For the tablet, for example: 36,000 J / 10 J = 3600 ticks, so 1800 s. The arc welder is far above everything else: a large cell lasts 72 seconds of continuous welding, a nuclear one just under 10 minutes. Switch tablet and flashlight off when you do not need them – they draw power in your pocket too.
Cold worlds add a loss: below 0 °C a cell loses extra charge according to the game code, at most 50 J per tick – the colder and the denser the air, the more.
Tools for special jobs
- Labeller – names devices, the basis for IC10 by name
- Handheld Tablet – measuring device with cartridges, see Tablet and cartridges: portable meters for air, networks and plants
- Duct Tape – patches leaks in suit and helmet and repairs damaged items, solar panels and rovers; one roll covers 100 % damage in total
- Fire Extinguisher (Reusable) – fire extinguisher with a liquid canister
- Spray Gun – paints everything that is paintable
- Cable Gun – lays cable from a supply slot
- For mining: Mining Drill, Pickaxe, Ore Detector and Mining Charge
Next
- Suit and equipment: what you wear on your body – belts and backpacks compared
- Tablet and cartridges: portable meters for air, networks and plants – the tablet as a measuring device
- Build costs of whole projects: Build cost calculator
- All tools: Tools