Reinforced Liquid Router

The Reinforced Liquid Router is a utility block that evenly distributes liquids among all of its side outputs. It was added in Build 136 and serves as an upgraded fluid routing component for complex piping systems. Its internal liquid buffer is 150 units (increased from 30 units in Build 147), allowing it to hold a substantial amount of fluid to smooth flow and prevent temporary backpressure.

Functionally, the Reinforced Liquid Router takes incoming fluid and averages it across every connected side direction rather than preferring a single output. Because of its larger internal buffer, keeping some fluid stored inside the router prevents upstream blocks from becoming clogged by redirected outputs; this is particularly helpful with factories or units that both consume and produce liquids as part of their processing chains.

Placement rules interact with special liquid tiles and deep water. When placed on a Deep Water tile, the router requires that at least one of the four orthogonal adjacent tiles (not counting the corners) is a shallow water tile or a non-liquid tile. The same adjacency requirement applies if the router is placed on tiles of Slag, Tar, Arkycite, or Cryofluid: at least one orthogonally adjacent tile must be shallow water or non-liquid. These constraints prevent placing the router entirely surrounded by deep or hazardous liquid floor types.

Practical usage and strategy:

• Use the router where you want equal distribution of a liquid to multiple consumers (for example, feeding several reactors, cryofluid coolers, or oil processors).
• Keep the router partially filled; a constant fluid level inside it prevents other blocks’ outputs from being routed into and clogging the router, which is useful for multi-step factories that both need and produce liquids.
• Because it averages outputs, the router is excellent for balancing networks where multiple consumers must draw similar amounts without manual valve control.
• Combine with pumps and overflow routes to prioritize critical consumers: place pumps on lines to force flow direction when equal splitting is not desired.
• Observe the tile-placement restrictions on Deep Water, Slag, Tar, Arkycite, and Cryofluid floors — plan layout so an adjacent shallow water or non-liquid tile is available, or avoid placing the block directly on those special tiles.
• The larger buffer compared to the earlier version makes it more tolerant of transient demand spikes and reduces the need for frequent pump cycling.

The Reinforced Liquid Router is primarily a passive balancing tool rather than an active valve; use it where predictable even distribution and intermediate buffering are more important than directional control.