Space Engineers is Keen Software House's block and voxel sandbox, on Steam Early Access from 23 October 2013 and fully released on 28 February 2019. You build ships, stations and rovers from large grid blocks 2.5 metres per edge or small grid blocks at 0.5 metres, and anything you build can be ground down, shot apart or flown into a mountain. The vanilla Star System holds eight bodies, and their ore rules set the whole progression: platinum appears only on moons and asteroids, uranium only on asteroids.
This walkthrough takes you from your first session to endgame content. Each phase has specific goals, priorities, and milestones. New to the game? Start with our beginner's guide first.
Quick Progression Summary
| Phase | Area | Focus | Build | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Start | EarthLike | Large and small grid building basics | Hydrogen launch vehicle | 1-2 hours |
| 2. Early | Moon | Ore refining and assembly mastery | Hydrogen launch vehicle | 3-5 hours |
| 3. Mid | Mars | Thruster and gravity flight + gear | Atmospheric mining ship or Hydrogen launch vehicle | 5-10 hours |
| 4. Late | Pertam | Build optimization | Atmospheric mining ship | 5-10 hours |
| 5. Endgame | Triton | Min-max | Atmospheric mining ship or Combat gunship | Ongoing |
See our maps guide for detailed area breakdowns.
Phase 1: Getting Started (EarthLike)
120 km across at 1.0 g, with breathable air at 1 atm reaching 14.4 km up and 3.5 percent ore coverage. Silicon, magnesium, iron, cobalt, nickel, gold, silver and ice are all here; platinum and uranium are not.
Level/Difficulty: Starting world Key Rewards: Iron, silicon, cobalt, lake ice, breathable atmosphere
What to Do in EarthLike
- Learn Large and small grid building. Large grid blocks measure 2. Spend your first session getting comfortable with this.
- Pick Hydrogen launch vehicle as your starting build. See our builds guide for why.
- Uranium has not spawned on planets or moons since version 1.189. Nuclear reactors, railgun sabots, artillery shells and rockets all depend on it, so a planet locked base is permanently on solar, wind and hydrogen.
- Acquire your first equipment upgrade: Grinder or whatever's available.
- Clear all main content before moving on.
Phase 1 Checklist
- Understand Large and small grid building fundamentals
- Hydrogen launch vehicle selected and functional
- EarthLike main content cleared
- Ready for Moon
Phase 2: Early Game (Moon)
19 km across at 0.25 g with no atmosphere whatsoever, so atmospheric thrusters and wind turbines are dead weight. Ore coverage is only 1.4 percent, but it carries platinum, which no planet does.
Level/Difficulty: First trip off world Key Rewards: Platinum for Thruster Components and Jump Drives
What to Do in Moon
- Work on Ore refining and assembly. The Refinery converts ore to ingots at fixed yields, 70 percent for iron, 40 percent nickel, 10 percent silver, 1 percent gold and uranium and 0. This system becomes critical from here on.
- Farm for Grinder if you haven't already. It's the key upgrade for this phase.
- Platinum appears on moons and asteroids but never on planets, and Thruster Components need it. Ion Thrusters and Jump Drives are therefore gated behind leaving the surface, so plan the Moon run before designing anything for deep space.
- Complete all objectives before pushing to Mars.
- Consider whether Atmospheric mining ship might suit your playstyle better than Hydrogen launch vehicle.
Phase 2 Checklist
- Ore refining and assembly integrated into gameplay
- Grinder acquired
- Moon fully cleared
- Ready for Mars
Phase 3: Mid Game (Mars)
120 km at 0.9 g with a full 1 atm atmosphere 14.4 km deep that contains no oxygen. Atmospheric thrusters and wind turbines work there; your lungs do not, and the wiki steers you toward solar rather than wind.
Level/Difficulty: Mid game colony Key Rewards: 4.1 percent ore coverage, the richest planetary surface in the game
What to Do in Mars
- Master Thruster and gravity flight. Atmospheric Thrusters do nothing in vacuum, Ion Thrusters do almost nothing in atmosphere, and Hydrogen Thrusters work everywhere at the worst fuel cost. This unlocks a new layer of gameplay.
- Start working toward Hand Drill. It's the best equipment and becomes accessible around now.
- The Basic Refinery cannot process silver, gold, uranium or platinum. Hauling those ores home while you still only own a Basic Refinery is the most common wasted expedition in survival saves.
- This area is the main skill check. If you can clear it, you're ready for late game.
- Start investing in Oxygen, hydrogen and life support for the tactical depth you'll need going forward.
Phase 3 Checklist
- Thruster and gravity flight mastered
- Hand Drill acquired or in progress
- Mars fully cleared
- Ready for Pertam
Phase 4: Late Game (Pertam)
60 km across at 1.2 g with an atmosphere only 1.6 km thick, which makes it the hardest launch in the game. Ore coverage is 0.3 percent and ice sits underground beneath oases and discoloured sand.
Level/Difficulty: Advanced Key Rewards: Iron and nickel in bulk, and a genuine test of a lifter design
What to Do in Pertam
- Finalize your build. You should be running Atmospheric mining ship or Hydrogen launch vehicle with optimized gear.
- Hand Drill should be your primary. If you don't have it yet, prioritize getting it.
- Atmospheric thickness matters far more than density. Every atmospheric body sits near 1 atm at sea level, but the shell is 14.4 km on EarthLike and Mars, 3.9 km on Triton, 1.6 km on Pertam, 1.15 km on Europa and 0.6 km on Titan.
- Block damage and repair optimization starts here. Small improvements compound into massive advantages.
- Farm this area for the resources needed to push into Triton.
Phase 4 Checklist
- Build fully optimized
- Hand Drill upgraded to max
- Pertam fully cleared
- Ready for Triton
Phase 5: Endgame (Triton)
80 km at 1.0 g with breathable air in the valleys, surface ice lakes and 3.5 percent ore coverage. It holds every ore except platinum and uranium, which no planet has anyway.
Level/Difficulty: Mid to late game Key Rewards: The most complete single planet ore spread, plus easy surface ice
What to Do in Triton
- Triton tests everything. Come prepared with your best build and gear.
- Reactor fuel maths is blunt: 1 kg of uranium ingot yields 1 MWh. A Large Reactor at its full 300 MW output burns a kilogram every twelve seconds, which is why nobody leaves them idling.
- The endgame loop: run Triton, optimize gear, push harder content.
- Experiment with Combat gunship for a fresh take once you've mastered the standard builds.
- This is where Block damage and repair mastery separates good players from great ones. See our tips guide for advanced strategies.
Phase 5 Checklist
- Endgame content on farm
- Best-in-slot gear acquired
- Triton fully cleared
- Ready for challenge content
Common Progression Mistakes
- Mining platinum ore while only owning a Basic Refinery, which cannot process it at all
- Building a large grid rover where small grid at 0.5 metre blocks would have been powerable and mobile
- Fitting only Atmospheric Thrusters, then stalling out a few kilometres up, or far lower on Titan and Pertam
- Planting Wind Turbines on the Moon, which has no atmosphere for them to work in
- Prospecting planets for uranium, which has not spawned there since version 1.189
Key Tips for Smooth Progression
- Uranium has not spawned on planets or moons since version 1.189. Nuclear reactors, railgun sabots, artillery shells and rockets all depend on it, so a planet locked base is permanently on solar, wind and hydrogen.
- Platinum appears on moons and asteroids but never on planets, and Thruster Components need it. Ion Thrusters and Jump Drives are therefore gated behind leaving the surface, so plan the Moon run before designing anything for deep space.
- The Basic Refinery cannot process silver, gold, uranium or platinum. Hauling those ores home while you still only own a Basic Refinery is the most common wasted expedition in survival saves.
- Atmospheric thickness matters far more than density. Every atmospheric body sits near 1 atm at sea level, but the shell is 14.4 km on EarthLike and Mars, 3.9 km on Triton, 1.6 km on Pertam, 1.15 km on Europa and 0.6 km on Titan.
- Reactor fuel maths is blunt: 1 kg of uranium ingot yields 1 MWh. A Large Reactor at its full 300 MW output burns a kilogram every twelve seconds, which is why nobody leaves them idling.
For more advanced strategies, see our tips & tricks guide.
More Space Engineers Guides
- Space Engineers Space Engineers Overview
- Space Engineers Best Builds
- Space Engineers Tier List
- Space Engineers Beginner's Guide
- Space Engineers Tips & Tricks
- Space Engineers Weapons Guide
- Space Engineers Combat Guide
- Space Engineers Boss Guide
- Space Engineers Maps & Locations
- Space Engineers Crafting Guide
- Space Engineers Classes & Characters
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