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.
Your choice of equipment defines your damage output and playstyle. This guide ranks every major option, explains what makes each one strong, and tells you which builds they pair best with.
Equipment Rankings
| Equipment | Tier | Best For | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hand Drill | S | The first hours on any body, and precise digging where a ship mounted Drill would carve out far too much. | The handheld mining tool every survival start ships with. |
| Grinder | A | Recycling the starting drop pod, stripping cargo ship encounters and undoing misplaced blocks. | Breaks blocks back down into their components. |
| Survival Kit | A | The opening minutes of a survival start, before a real Refinery and Assembler exist. | A combined respawn point, small assembler and stone processor. |
| Refinery | B | Everything past the first hour, and mandatory before any rare ore run is worth making. | The full refinery, running at roughly twice the speed factor of the Basic Refinery and the only version that processes silver, gold, uranium or platinum. |
| Artillery Turret | B | Base defence and ship engagements at ranges where a Gatling Turret cannot reach. | One of the free Warfare 2 additions in update 1. |
S-Tier: Hand Drill
The handheld mining tool every survival start ships with. It cuts voxel terrain and pulls ore into your inventory, and it is the only option until a Drill block exists on a working grid.
| Attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
| Tier | S |
| Best For | The first hours on any body, and precise digging where a ship mounted Drill would carve out far too much. |
| Key Mechanic | Large and small grid building |
| Recommended Build | Atmospheric mining ship |
How to get it: Available from mid-game onward. See our walkthrough for the exact progression point.
Best builds using Hand Drill: Pairs naturally with Atmospheric mining ship thanks to how their stat scaling lines up.
A-Tier: Grinder
Breaks blocks back down into their components. It is your salvage tool, your demolition tool and the only way to recover material from a wreck or a mistake.
| Attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
| Tier | A |
| Best For | Recycling the starting drop pod, stripping cargo ship encounters and undoing misplaced blocks. |
| Key Mechanic | Ore refining and assembly |
| Recommended Build | Hydrogen launch vehicle |
How to get it: Accessible in the early-to-mid game. Check our maps guide for the location.
Best builds using Grinder: Pairs naturally with Hydrogen launch vehicle thanks to how their stat scaling lines up.
A-Tier: Survival Kit
A combined respawn point, small assembler and stone processor. 100 kg of stone yields 3 iron ingots, 0.24 nickel, 0.4 silicon wafers and 1.4 gravel, and it cannot touch ore of any kind.
| Attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
| Tier | A |
| Best For | The opening minutes of a survival start, before a real Refinery and Assembler exist. |
| Key Mechanic | Thruster and gravity flight |
| Recommended Build | Refining station |
How to get it: Accessible in the early-to-mid game. Check our maps guide for the location.
Best builds using Survival Kit: Pairs naturally with Refining station thanks to how their stat scaling lines up.
B-Tier: Refinery
The full refinery, running at roughly twice the speed factor of the Basic Refinery and the only version that processes silver, gold, uranium or platinum. It accepts four Speed, Yield or Power Efficiency modules.
| Attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
| Tier | B |
| Best For | Everything past the first hour, and mandatory before any rare ore run is worth making. |
| Key Mechanic | Oxygen, hydrogen and life support |
| Recommended Build | Survival rover |
How to get it: Found in later areas. Our walkthrough covers when you can access this.
Best builds using Refinery: Pairs naturally with Survival rover thanks to how their stat scaling lines up.
B-Tier: Artillery Turret
One of the free Warfare 2 additions in update 1.200, a long range large calibre turret whose shells have real travel time and bullet drop rather than hitscan behaviour.
| Attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
| Tier | B |
| Best For | Base defence and ship engagements at ranges where a Gatling Turret cannot reach. |
| Key Mechanic | Block damage and repair |
| Recommended Build | Combat gunship |
How to get it: Found in later areas. Our walkthrough covers when you can access this.
Best builds using Artillery Turret: Pairs naturally with Combat gunship thanks to how their stat scaling lines up.
Equipment Progression Path
The order you should acquire equipment as you progress:
- Starting gear → Enough to clear EarthLike
- Grinder → Your first real upgrade, available early
- Survival Kit → Mid-game upgrade with good scaling
- Hand Drill → Best-in-slot, aim for this by late game
- Upgrade to max → The power spike from max upgrades is enormous
Equipment Tips
- Always upgrade your primary equipment before diversifying. One strong option beats three mediocre ones.
- Match your equipment to your build's stat priorities for maximum scaling.
- 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.
- Check our tier list for how equipment rankings affect overall build effectiveness.
More Space Engineers Guides
- Space Engineers Space Engineers Overview
- Space Engineers Best Builds
- Space Engineers Tier List
- Space Engineers Walkthrough
- Space Engineers Beginner's Guide
- Space Engineers Tips & Tricks
- Space Engineers Combat Guide
- Space Engineers Boss Guide
- Space Engineers Maps & Locations
- Space Engineers Crafting Guide
- Space Engineers Classes & Characters
Similar Games
If you enjoy Space Engineers, check out these related guides:
- Terraria Weapons Guide: sandbox game with similar mechanics
- VRChat Weapons Guide: sandbox game with similar mechanics
- Garry's Mod Weapons Guide: sandbox game with similar mechanics
