How to Use Drones in Satisfactory | Drone Transportation Guide

Satisfactory has a unique way of introducing new problems that you will never see coming on your first playthrough. Most of them revolve around being forced to get other raw resource nodes that are extremely far away from your initial base. You’ll get introduced to transportation tech trees like driveable explorers, trains, and the best out of all of them, drones. These drones are the pinnacle tech or resource transportation methods, and here’s how you can use them in Satisfactory.

How to Use Drones for Resource Transportation in Satisfactory

To use drones for transportation, you need drones and drone ports. These will take a lot of resources, so you want most of the resources used to craft these drones and ports automated efficiently.

Here are the resources needed to craft a single drone:

• 4× Motor
• 10× Alclad Aluminum Sheet
• 1× Radio Control Unit
• 2× AI Limiter
• 1× Portable Miner

Here are the resources needed to craft a drone port:

• 20× Heavy Modular Frame
• 20× High-Speed Connector
• 50× Alclad Aluminum Sheet
• 50× Aluminum Casing
• 10× Radio Control Unit

Most of these resources, especially Radia Control Units and Aluminum Casing, are difficult to automate at a high output rate. So, until you have enough resources, you should hold off on using drones and drone ports.

Once you have the materials, build a drone port and build a drone on the drone port. Connect the drone port to a power line and do the same to the other planned drone port locations. Place an input if you want this specific drone port to deliver items to its destination and vice versa.

Once these are done, you still have to worry about refueling your drones so they can fly. There are various fuel types to feed your drone, but you should always go for the most efficient one in your current setup. When you have the fuel ready, here’s how to set up the drones for infinite fuel.

Drones Fueling Setup Guide in Satisfactory

When facing the drone port, you’ll see two inputs and an output. One of the inputs will have a fuel icon on top of it, and this is where the “fuel” is placed. Connect your fuel source to the input. This means that if you are using any liquid fuel, you need to package them first before drones can use them.

However, at this point in the game, you want to have an automated Battery production line and feed all your Batteries to the port. Use a splitter when inserting the conveyor belt into the drone’s port input so you can use one line of Batteries for multiple drone ports.

This is where things get tricky because if your fuel is in one location, it may be difficult to provide fuel to the other Drone Port locations. The trick is to make your main base the only source of fuel and have all your drones visit the main base. If you put a conveyor belt line on all the drone ports’ fuel input (use a splitter and make one belt for all the drone ports), they should automatically refuel when needed.

This means that your whole drone port setup should have multiple drone ports in the main base (basically an airstrip), and each drone port should be connected to a destination port where you want some resources transferred.

An example of this setup is:

• The main base has five drone ports, all getting fuel.
• Each drone port in the main base will cater to a different drone port in another location.
• When the drone returns to your main base, it automatically deposits all the acquired resources and refuels when needed.

The reason why there are multiple drone ports in the main base is to make sure of the following:

• To avoid the resources getting clogged or jammed.
• Get more types of goods that will not rely on multiple Smart Splitters in one line.
• It’s a foolproof way of unlimited fuel (as long as you have enough fuel in one area).

The first reason should be enough to entice you to make multiple drone ports. Most players will transfer resources to use in a production line. If you clog those drone ports, you’ll destroy your whole production line, so it is best to make multiple ports and drones.

Turbofuel is good enough for your first few drone ports, but once you have 20+ or more in the main base, you want Rocketfuel or Batteries at a high output rate. These are the best sources of fuel unless you want to challenge yourself and fuel your drones with radioactive Uranium Fuel Rods. Make sure to name your ports so the drone ports don’t get confusing when you open the map. I suggest naming them for their use or describing them as “Port – Packaged Nitrogen Gas to the main base.”