The Planet Crafter drops you alone on a dead world with a single objective: make it breathable. You build heaters, drills and greenhouses to push a terraformation index through oxygen, heat, pressure and biomass stages until the sky changes colour and rain falls on ground that was bare rock when you landed.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mining drill | S | Early game resource gathering before automated extraction is available. | Hand tool for breaking ore deposits, the bottleneck on everything you build in the first few hours. |
| Heater | A | Opening the heat stage and unlocking everything gated behind it. | The first terraformation machine most players build, raising temperature and starting the index moving. |
| Oxygen unit | A | The middle stretch where suit oxygen limits how far you can explore. | Pushes breathable atmosphere upward, eventually removing your dependence on suit tanks entirely. |
| Vegetube | B | Biomass progression and stabilising food supply for long building sessions. | Grows plants that feed the biomass stage and provide food without hunting or scavenging. |
| Ore extractor | B | Mid game onward, when hand mining stops keeping pace with construction. | Automated mining that pulls resources continuously so you can build instead of gathering. |
S-Tier: Mining drill
Hand tool for breaking ore deposits, the bottleneck on everything you build in the first few hours.
| Attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
| Tier | S |
| Best For | Early game resource gathering before automated extraction is available. |
| Key Mechanic | Terraformation index |
| Recommended Build | Heat rusher |
How to get it: Available from mid-game onward. See our walkthrough for the exact progression point.
Best builds using Mining drill: Pairs naturally with Heat rusher thanks to how their stat scaling lines up.
A-Tier: Heater
The first terraformation machine most players build, raising temperature and starting the index moving.
| Attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
| Tier | A |
| Best For | Opening the heat stage and unlocking everything gated behind it. |
| Key Mechanic | Oxygen and heat stages |
| Recommended Build | Oxygen specialist |
How to get it: Accessible in the early-to-mid game. Check our maps guide for the location.
Best builds using Heater: Pairs naturally with Oxygen specialist thanks to how their stat scaling lines up.
A-Tier: Oxygen unit
Pushes breathable atmosphere upward, eventually removing your dependence on suit tanks entirely.
| Attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
| Tier | A |
| Best For | The middle stretch where suit oxygen limits how far you can explore. |
| Key Mechanic | Resource mining and crafting |
| Recommended Build | Biomass gardener |
How to get it: Accessible in the early-to-mid game. Check our maps guide for the location.
Best builds using Oxygen unit: Pairs naturally with Biomass gardener thanks to how their stat scaling lines up.
B-Tier: Vegetube
Grows plants that feed the biomass stage and provide food without hunting or scavenging.
| Attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
| Tier | B |
| Best For | Biomass progression and stabilising food supply for long building sessions. |
| Key Mechanic | Base power management |
| Recommended Build | Wreck looter |
How to get it: Found in later areas. Our walkthrough covers when you can access this.
Best builds using Vegetube: Pairs naturally with Wreck looter thanks to how their stat scaling lines up.
B-Tier: Ore extractor
Automated mining that pulls resources continuously so you can build instead of gathering.
| Attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
| Tier | B |
| Best For | Mid game onward, when hand mining stops keeping pace with construction. |
| Key Mechanic | Wreck exploration |
| Recommended Build | Automation builder |
How to get it: Found in later areas. Our walkthrough covers when you can access this.
Best builds using Ore extractor: Pairs naturally with Automation builder 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 Landing site
- Heater → Your first real upgrade, available early
- Oxygen unit → Mid-game upgrade with good scaling
- Mining 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.
- Heat is the first gate and everything else waits behind it. Put your opening resources into heaters rather than storage or comfort, because the index thresholds unlock the machines that make later stages fast.
- Check our tier list for how equipment rankings affect overall build effectiveness.
More The Planet Crafter Guides
- The Planet Crafter The Planet Crafter Overview
- The Planet Crafter Best Builds
- The Planet Crafter Tier List
- The Planet Crafter Walkthrough
- The Planet Crafter Beginner's Guide
- The Planet Crafter Tips & Tricks
- The Planet Crafter Combat Guide
- The Planet Crafter Boss Guide
- The Planet Crafter Maps & Locations
- The Planet Crafter Crafting Guide
- The Planet Crafter Classes & Characters
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- Rust Weapons Guide: survival game with similar mechanics
- ARK: Survival Evolved Weapons Guide: survival game with similar mechanics
