Crystal Blocks

Crystal Blocks are a terrain tile type used on planets and maps that feature crystalline or thorium-crystal themed biomes (notably on Erekir and related maps). They function as environmental tiles that appear in place of regular ground and can contain special ore variants such as Crystal Thorium Ore. As an environmental block, Crystal Blocks are not a building or item themselves but affect where you can place structures, what resources drills can extract, and how units and pathing interact with the map.

Crystal Blocks commonly appear in high-tier regions and are associated with late-game resource nodes. Drills placed on Crystal Block tiles that contain ore will yield the corresponding crystal ores used for advanced crafting and high-end tier production. Because these tiles are part of the map terrain, they can be walked or driven over by units unless the specific map overlay makes them impassable; they do not store items or energy like cores or storage buildings.

• Drilling: Crystal Block tiles that host ore behave like other drillable tiles; use appropriate drills to extract Crystal Thorium or other crystal ores present on the tile. Higher-tier drills and liquid boosts increase extraction rate.
• Building placement: Placeable blocks can be constructed adjacent to or on Crystal Blocks where allowed by the map. Some payload/environment overlays and campaign map mechanics treat crystal tiles specially when generating resources or placing objectives.
• Map interaction: Crystal Blocks are part of planet tilesets (for example Erekir’s tileset lists Crystal Thorium Ore). They influence map aesthetics, resource distribution and route planning for conveyors and unit paths.
• Strategy: Secure and defend crystal-rich patches early when playing on maps that contain them because their high-value ores feed late-game factories, unit assemblers, and core supplies. Use efficient drill setups and item conveyors to move extracted crystals to cores or processors.
• Limitations: As a non-building environmental tile, Crystal Blocks do not provide storage, power, or unit spawning bonuses. Any special behavior (such as being associated with campaign-exclusive mechanics) depends on the specific sector or map definition.

Use drills and transport infrastructure to convert crystal patches into steady input for advanced constructors, unit upgraders and interplanetary logistics when playing on maps or planets that include Crystal Blocks.