Laser Drill

Laser Drill is a high-end mining building used to extract ore from resource tiles at greatly increased throughput compared to basic drills. It functions as a powered extractor that requires a steady electrical supply and can accept a fluid booster to multiply its extraction speed. The Laser Drill is typically used in mid-to-late game production lines where dense, high-rate ore harvesting is necessary and where a consistent power and booster infrastructure can be maintained.

The Laser Drill consumes 66 power/sec while operating. It accepts a booster fluid input; supplying the booster at 4.8 units/sec yields a 2.56× speed multiplier. Without a booster it still mines, but at its baseline speed. The building also has a Reinforced option available as an upgrade or variant, which changes its durability/requirements (listed as Reinforced in some sources).

Extraction performance varies by resource and tile, with observed per-tile rates covering a range depending on the ore type. Higher-yield ore tiles show base extraction around 0.21/sec and boosted extraction around 0.55/sec, with peak per-tile maximums recorded as 1.92/sec (base) and 4.91/sec (boosted) for the most productive cases. Lower-yield tiles can register base rates down to about 0.12–0.16/sec and boosted rates down to about 0.32–0.40/sec, with corresponding lower maximums. These numbers imply that a Laser Drill placed on rich deposits and supplied with booster and full power can achieve multi-unit-per-second extraction on single tiles when stacked with multiple drills or when the drill reaches its boosted maximum throughput.

The Laser Drill also has an ammo profile used for its active laser (or related functionality): the ammo deals 2 damage and consumes 3 units/sec of its required ammo resource while firing.

Practical notes and tips for using Laser Drill:

• Ensure stable power: the constant 66 power/sec draw means Laser Drills should be placed near reliable power generation (steam, thermal, large reactors) or connected to buffered power storage to avoid stoppage.
• Use the booster pipeline: feeding the specified booster at 4.8/sec unlocks the 2.56× speed boost; setting up pumps and dedicated fluid lines to each drill or groups of drills is essential for maximum efficiency.
• Match drill placement to deposit richness: place Laser Drills on the best tiles available to maximize the benefit from their high boosted maxima; on sparse tiles they may be overkill relative to cheaper drills.
• Consider Reinforced variants for exposed locations where durability matters; the Reinforced option increases survivability at the cost of different construction requirements.
• When planning production throughput, account for the drill’s per-tile rates and the fact that boosted maxima can be several times the base output—this affects belt/duct sizing and downstream processing.
• If using the drill’s laser ammo functionality, provision 3/sec of the required ammo per active laser and note its 2 damage per hit for defensive or utility interactions.