Iron stick

Iron stick is a basic intermediate item used in early and mid-game construction recipes. It represents a simple metal component produced from iron plates and appears in several crafting chains where short, rigid connectors are required. Iron sticks can also be obtained from some world objects and by casting recipes added later in expansions.

Planet discovery Fulgora ruins now also drop iron sticks when mined, allowing players to craft electric poles early in a run without relying on recyclers. Casting recipes for iron sticks were introduced in the Space Age expansion, providing alternative production methods once required technology and infrastructure are available.

Crafting time and production behavior follow the standard game mechanics for items. The tooltip for a recipe shows a clock symbol and a number that represents the Time in seconds required to craft one unit at crafting speed 1. The player crafts items at speed 1, so a recipe that shows 10 seconds requires 10 seconds when hand-crafting. Assembling machines operate with different crafting speed multipliers; for example, Assembling machine 1 has a speed factor of 0.5, which doubles the apparent time per item on that machine compared with the player. Modules can alter crafting speed, increasing or decreasing production time depending on their effects and tradeoffs.

• Iron sticks are used in early electrical infrastructure and other simple constructions; obtaining them from Planet discovery Fulgora ruins speeds early pole placement.
• Casting recipes added in the Space Age expansion enable high-throughput production of iron sticks once the necessary casting buildings are unlocked.
• When planning a production line, take into account the recipe Time shown in the tooltip and the crafting speed of the assembler you use; Assembling machine 1 produces items at half the rate implied by the base Time value.
• Modules that modify crafting speed should be considered for balancing throughput versus energy use and pollution when scaling iron stick production.

This article summarizes the iron stick’s role and sourcing changes from world loot and expansions and notes the relevant production timing mechanics for practical factory planning.