Liquid Router

Liquid Router accepts fluid inputs and routes liquid into adjacent directions whose fluid capacity (hydraulic level) is lower than its own, acting as a directional one-way fluid router with internal buffering. It holds a limited amount of fluid so it can temporarily store and release liquids rather than immediately passing them on. This behavior makes it useful for controlling flow priorities and preventing backflow into upstream pipes or machines.

Placement of Liquid Router has terrain restrictions when placed on certain liquid tiles. If placed in Deep Water, the four orthogonally adjacent tiles (excluding diagonals) must include at least one shallow-water tile or a non-liquid tile. The same adjacency requirement applies when placing a Liquid Router on Slag, Tar, Arkycite, or Cryofluid floor tiles: the four non-corner neighbors must contain at least one shallow-water or non-liquid tile. These rules prevent illegal placement in fully-surrounded deep/liquid terrain.

Practical usage and behavior notes:

• The router outputs fluid toward neighboring directions that have a lower current fluid level, enabling passive load-balancing and directional prioritization without explicit scripting.
• Because it stores fluid, a Liquid Router can act as a small buffer between producers and consumers, smoothing bursts of production and protecting upstream pipes from becoming clogged by downstream congestion.
• When a Liquid Router already contains fluid, incoming outputs from other blocks are less likely to become blocked inside the router; keeping routers partly filled is a reliable way to avoid jams in fluid networks and is particularly helpful for fluid crafters that consume fluids to produce other fluids.
• Exercise caution when using Liquid Routers with different fluids: routers can mix different fluids if flows converge, so design networks and routing logic to avoid unwanted contamination of production lines.
• Use multiple routers to build priority paths: arrange routers so the intended consumer always has a lower fluid level relative to alternate paths, forcing flow toward preferred destinations.
• Combine routers with pumps, valves, and junctions when precise control is required; routers provide passive directionality but do not actively force flow like powered pumps.

Liquid Router is therefore a strategic component for any mid- to late-game fluid infrastructure where you need directional control, buffering, and simple automated routing without constant power usage.