Technologies

The base game technology tree − Click to enlarge.

Researched tech bonuses.

Technologies are series of research projects that provide various enhancements. Some technologies unlock new items or recipes, while others provide bonuses.

Most technologies can be researched in labs by consuming science packs of various types. For example, the Logistics technology can be unlocked by placing 20 automation science packs into labs while the technology is selected for research. Besides, some technologies will automatically unlock after meeting specific conditions, without consumption of any science packs.

Infinite technologies

While most technologies in Factorio are either one-off or have a finite, relatively small number of levels available, a few are "infinite", meaning the player can research as many levels as they can afford. All of them unlock bonuses to existing technologies, never new structures or abilities. The per-level bonuses are constant for a particular infinite technologies and, like finite research bonuses, are additive within a single technology. They are subject to diminishing returns; thus, the per-level and per-science pack contributions from very high levels of infinite technologies will eventually provide only marginal improvements.

All base game infinite technologies levels require space science packs, and are also the only technologies that do. As such, they are late-game technologies intended primarily for players who wish to continue playing and expand their factory past the nominal victory condition of launching a rocket.

Infinite technologies are identified in-game by a small ∞ infinity symbol shown in the top right corner of the research technology's card in the research screen.

Most infinite technologies are continuations of ordinary multi-level technologies; the "infinite" mechanic becomes effective once the player reaches the card initially labeled with N - ∞ in the research tree. In the base game, only the two artillery-related technologies (artillery shell range and shooting speed) are infinite-only; for these, 1 - ∞ is shown before any levels in them are researched. In either case, once the first infinite level is researched, the card label switches to the one discussed above.

Pricing formulas

The price of all infinite technologies is generated in a mathematical progression; for the majority of technologies, the progression is geometric, mostly in powers of 2. Two technologies - mining productivity and follower robot count - use an arithmetic progression instead.

The table below summarizes for all infinite researches their first infinite level, the cost of the first few infinite levels, the cost formula and the per-level bonus.

We denote by N the current level of the research, by F the final non-infinite level of the research (hence F+1 is the first "infinite" level) and by P[N] the price of the research at level N.

Technology	Category	Bonus	Science Packs	F+1	P[N]	P[F+1]	P[F+2]	P[F+3]	P[F+4]	P[F+5]	...
Mining productivity	Productivity	+10% Mining productivity		4	2,500 × (N - F)	2,500	5,000	7,500	10,000	12,500	+2500
Physical projectile damage	Weapon Damage	+40% Bullet damage +70% Gun turret damage +40% Shotgun shell damage +100% Cannon shell damage		7	1,000 × 2^(N - F - 1)	1,000	2,000	4,000	8,000	16,000	×2
Stronger explosives		+50% Rocket damage +20% Grenade damage +20% Land mine damage		7	1,000 × 2^(N - F - 1)	1,000	2,000	4,000	8,000	16,000	×2
Refined flammables		+20% Fire damage +20% Flamethrower turret damage		7	1,000 × 2^(N - F - 1)	1,000	2,000	4,000	8,000	16,000	×2
Energy weapons damage		+70% Laser damage +70% Electric damage +30% Beam damage		7	1,000 × 2^(N - F - 1)	1,000	2,000	4,000	8,000	16,000	×2
Artillery shell range	Non-Damage Weapon Bonus	+30% Artillery shell range		1	1,000 × 2^N	2,000	4,000	8,000	16,000	32,000	×2
Artillery shell shooting speed		+100% Artillery shell shooting speed		1	1,000 + 1,000 × 3^(N - 1)	2,000	4,000	10,000	28,000	82,000	×3 then - 2,000
Follower robot count		+25 Maximum following robots		5	1,000 × (N - F)	1,000	2,000	3,000	4,000	5,000	+1,000
Worker robot speed	Other	+65% Worker robot speed		6	1,000 × 2^(N - F - 1)	1,000	2,000	4,000	8,000	16,000	×2

Space Age

The table below summarizes all the infinite technologies in Space Age. Some are unique to Space Age, while some have their price and/or effect changed from the base game.

Due to the introduction of tesla weapons, the energy weapons damage technology is split into laser weapons damage and electric weapons damage.

Technology	Category	Bonus	Science Packs	F+1	P[N]	P[F+1]	...
Mining productivity	Productivity	+10% Mining productivity		3	1,000 × (N - F)	1,000	+1,000
Research productivity		+10% Lab research productivity		1	1,000 × 1.2^N	1,200	×1.2
Steel plate productivity	Recipe Productivity (no effect beyond level 30)	+10% Steel plate productivity +10% Casting steel productivity		1	1,000 × 1.5^N	1,500	×1.5
Low density structure productivity		+10% Low density structure productivity +10% Casting low density structure productivity		1	1,000 × 1.5^N	1,500	×1.5
Scrap recycling productivity		+10% Scrap recycling productivity		1	500 × 1.5^N	750	×1.5
Processing unit productivity		+10% Processing unit productivity		1	1,000 × 1.5^N	1,500	×1.5
Plastic bar productivity		+10% Plastic bar productivity +10% Bioplastic productivity		1	1,000 × 1.5^N	1,500	×1.5
Rocket fuel productivity		+10% Rocket fuel productivity +10% Rocket fuel from jelly productivity +10% Ammonia rocket fuel productivity		1	1,000 × 1.5^N	1,500	×1.5
Asteroid productivity		+10% Carbonic asteroid crushing productivity +10% Oxide asteroid crushing productivity +10% Metallic asteroid crushing productivity +10% Advanced carbonic asteroid productivity +10% Advanced oxide asteroid crushing productivity +10% Advanced metallic asteroid crushing productivity		1	1,000 × 1.5^N	1,500	×1.5
Rocket part productivity		+10% Rocket part productivity		1	2,000 × 1.5^N	3,000	×1.5
Physical projectile damage	Weapon Damage	+20% Bullet damage +20% Gun turret damage +40% Shotgun shell damage +100% Cannon shell damage		7	1,000 × 2^(N - F - 1)	1,000	×2
Laser weapons damage		+70% Laser damage		7	1,000 × 2^(N - F - 1)	1,000	×2
Artillery shell damage		+10% Artillery shell damage		1	1,000 × 2^(N - 1)	1,000	×2
Stronger explosives		+50% Rocket damage +20% Grenade damage +20% Land mine damage		7	1,000 × 2^(N - F - 1)	1,000	×2
Refined flammables		+20% Fire damage +20% Flamethrower turret damage		7	1,000 × 2^(N - F - 1)	1,000	×2
Electric weapons damage		+70% Tesla damage +70% Electric damage +30% Beam damage		4	1,000 × 2^(N - F)	2,000	×2
Railgun damage		+40% Railgun damage		1	1,000 × 2^(N - 1)	1,000	×2
Artillery shell range	Non-Damage Weapon Bonus	+30% Artillery shell range		1	1,000 × 2^(N - 1)	1,000	×2
Artillery shell shooting speed		+100% Artillery shell shooting speed		1	1,000 × 2^(N - 1)	1,000	×2
Railgun shooting speed		+15% Railgun shooting speed		1	1,000 × 2^(N - 1)	1,000	×2
Follower robot count		+25 Maximum following robots		5	1,000 × (N - F)	1,000	+1,000
Worker robot speed	Other	+65% Worker robot speed		7	1,000 × 2^(N - F)	2,000	×2
Health		+50 Character health		1	50 × 2^N	100	×2

Cumulative cost

As the price of most infinite technologies (specifically, those based on geometric progressions) increases very steeply, it may be a good idea for players to set realistic target levels for each of the infinite technologies they wish to pursue, and make their factory plans accordingly. To that end, the following properties of cumulative infinite research prices may be useful:

1. For infinite technologies whose underlying equation is a powers-of-two geometric series, the cumulative price of the first N - F infinite levels (skipping the first F level, so counting "infinite" levels only) is 2 × P[N] - P[F+1]; i.e., twice the price of the final researched level, less the price of the first "infinite" level.
   • As N increases, this is approximated well by 2 × P[N] = P[N+1], so the cumulative cost of researching to level N is about as much as researching level N+1.
   • If one decides a level M which one considers the "highest feasible" with their current science pack production capacity, expanding said capacity by a factor of X will allow about log[2](X) additional levels to be researched before the next level takes longer to research with the expanded capacity than level M + 1 would have taken with the pre-expansion production capacity.
   • For example, if one expands production capacity by a factor of 10, they will be able to research at least floor(log[2](10)) = 3 and at most ceiling(log[2](10)) = 4 additional levels in a given technology before the exponential increase in price negates the speed benefits of their ×10 capacity expansion.
2. The cumulative price of the first N - F levels of infinite technologies whose underlying equation is an arithmetic series is (N - F) × (P[N] + P[F + 1]) ÷ 2; i.e, N - F times the mean of the prices of the first and last "infinite" level. For the Follower robot count (research), an additional 900 × (N-F) need to be added.
   • Expanding production capacity by a factor of X, as above, will in this case allow an additional N × (X - 1) levels to be researched before the benefit of the expansion is wiped out (i.e., research progress speed drops to or below what it was pre-expansion).
3. The cumulative price of the first N levels of artillery shell shooting speed, the sole infinite technology whose underlying equation is a powers-of-three geometric series (equation type (2)) is 1.5 × P[N] - 0.5 × P[1]; i.e., 1.5 times the price of the final researched level, less half the price of the first level.

Note that these prices reflect research units, which will not be equal to science packs if productivity modules are used in labs. (In that case, the science pack requirement will be lower.)

Infinite research limits

Follower robot count is limited by the rate at which capsules can be thrown out. 2 Destroyer capsules can be thrown out per second, creating 10 robots per second. With a lifetime of 120s, this allows a theoretical maximum of 1200 robots to be deployed at once. This maximum is reached at level 50 and researching past that level will have no practical effect on the maximum number of deployed robots.

Space Age

All recipes have a maximum productivity of 300%. This was primarily done to prevent infinite resource exploits involving the recycler and its 25% return of input items. This cap puts a hard limit on the effectiveness of most infinite productivity researches. It can be researched past level 30, but it will have no practical effect.

Note that miners are not crafting machines that execute recipes, nor are labs. As such, mining productivity (research) and research productivity (research) have no limit.

The railgun turret's shooting speed is limited by its animation, which means it can't shoot faster than 0.845 times per second (once per 71 ticks). This shooting speed is reached at level 10 and researching past that level will have no practical effect on the railgun turret, however it will continue to increase the shooting speed of the hand-held railgun.

Infinite research breakpoints

While infinite research technologies can be leveled forever, there are certain breakpoints that provide a notable benefit by reaching a practical cap or greatly conserving resources. These may be important factory goals.

Productivity

Technology	Interesting breakpoints
Processing unit productivity	Level 13: Electromagnetic plants filled with legendary productivity modules reach the 300% productivity cap. Level 25: Electromagnetic plants reach the 300% productivity cap with no modules.
Low density structure productivity	Level 15: Foundries filled with legendary productivity modules reach the 300% productivity cap. Level 25: Foundries reach the 300% productivity cap with no modules.
Steel plate productivity	Level 15: Foundries filled with legendary productivity modules reach the 300% productivity cap. Level 25: Foundries reach the 300% productivity cap with no modules.
Plastic bar productivity	Level 10: Cryogenic plants filled with legendary productivity modules reach the 300% productivity cap. Level 15: Biochambers filled with legendary productivity modules reach the 300% productivity cap. Level 25: Biochambers reach the 300% productivity cap with no modules. Level 30: Cryogenic plants reach the 300% productivity cap with no modules.
Rocket fuel productivity	Level 10: Cryogenic plants filled with legendary productivity modules reach the 300% productivity cap. Level 15: Biochambers filled with legendary productivity modules reach the 300% productivity cap. Level 25: Biochambers reach the 300% productivity cap with no modules. Level 30: Cryogenic plants reach the 300% productivity cap with no modules.
Rocket part productivity	Level 20: Rocket silos filled with legendary productivity modules reach the 300% productivity cap. Level 30: Rocket silos reach the 300% productivity cap with no modules.
Mining productivity	Level 50: Big mining drills mining scrap saturate one side of a turbo belt. Level 110: Big mining drills mining scrap saturate an entire turbo belt.

Combat

Technology	Interesting breakpoints
Physical projectile damage	Level 1: Gun turrets loaded with firearm magazines kill basic biters in 3 shots instead of 4; greatly conserves iron plates.
Stronger explosives	Level 2: Grenades destroy trees in one hit. Level 7: Rockets (yellow) destroy medium asteroids in one hit; greatly conserves rockets. Level 12: Rockets (yellow) destroy large asteroids in two hits; greatly conserves rockets. Level 16: Explosive rockets (red) destroy large asteroids in two hits with direct damage; greatly conserves rockets.
Laser weapons damage	Level 11: Laser turrets destroy small asteroids in one damage cycle.
Railgun damage	Level 2: Railgun turrets destroy all asteroid sizes in one shot; conserves ammo.
Railgun shooting speed	Level 10: Railgun turrets reach their effective maximum speed (this cap does not apply to the hand-held railgun).
Artillery shell damage	Level 9: Artillery shells defeat Nauvis spawners and Behemoth worms in one hit; conserves shells.
Refined flammables	Level 9: Flamethrower turrets require 90% less crude oil to destroy Behemoth Biters; greatly conserves fuel.

Trigger technologies

The technologies listed below are researched by the player performing certain actions (usually mining or crafting a specific item) instead of by using science packs in labs.

Nauvis

Technology	Research trigger
Steam power	Craft 50 iron plate
Electronics	Craft 10 copper plate
Automation science pack	Craft a lab
Steel axe	Craft 50 steel plate
Oil processing	Mine crude oil
Uranium processing	Mine uranium ore
Biter egg handling	Capture a biter/spitter spawner

Space

Technology	Research trigger
Space platform	Launch a space platform starter pack
Space science pack	Craft an asteroid collector

Fulgora

Technology	Research trigger
Recycling	Mine Fulgoran vault ruin
Holmium processing	Craft holmium ore
Electromagnetic plant	Craft 50 holmium plate
Electromagnetic science pack	Craft supercapacitor

Gleba

Technology	Research trigger
Jellynut	Mine jellystem
Yumako	Mine yumako tree
Heating tower	Mine copper stromatolite
Agriculture	Mine iron stromatolite
Biochamber	Craft 10 nutrients
Artificial soil	Craft 500 nutrients
Bioflux	Craft biochamber
Bacteria cultivation	Craft bioflux
Bioflux processing	Craft 25 bioflux
Agricultural science pack	Craft 100 bioflux

Vulcanus

Technology	Research trigger
Tungsten carbide	Mine big volcanic rock
Calcite processing	Mine calcite
Foundry	Craft tungsten carbide
Big mining drill	Craft a foundry
Tungsten steel	Craft a big mining drill
Metallurgic science pack	Craft tungsten plate

Aquilo

Technology	Research trigger
Lithium processing	Mine big lithium ice formation
Cryogenic plant	Craft lithium plate
Cryogenic science pack	Craft cryogenic plant

Achievements

Tech maniac Research all technologies.

• Completing infinite technologies of any level is not required for Tech maniac. All non-infinite levels of technologies that have infinite continuations are still required.

History

• 2.0.7:
  • Introduced trigger technologies (https://www.factorio.com/blog/post/fff-376)

See also

• Research
• Science pack