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Beginner's Guide: Getting Started, Copper, Mech & Power

Mindustry is a factory/defense sandbox where you harvest materials, build conveyors and turrets, and automate tasks with simple logic. This beginner guide covers the core early-game concepts you need to start a sector run: getting copper, basic construction and defenses, simple logistics, and a gentle introduction to logic.

Start objectives and mode

  • Sectors mode is the progression mode that unlocks content permanently for your account. Items unlocked in multiplayer, waves, sandbox, or freebuild do not carry over into Sectors.
  • Choose an easier planet (many guides recommend the more defense-focused starting maps) if you want a gentler introduction. Check the campaign map for recommended start points.
  • The UI shows difficulty modifiers (fog of war, disable pause, AI behavior, visible enemy spawns). Difficulty can be changed during the campaign.

Early priorities

  1. Secure a steady copper income. Copper is the primary beginner material: most drills, conveyors, and basic turrets need it.
  2. Build a basic defense to survive early waves.
  3. Automate item flow from drills to your core so you can build higher-tier structures.

Mining and mech basics

  • Tap a single ore tile to order your mech to mine. The mech mines with a laser and carries mined ore.
  • If an ore tile is within the core’s pickup range, mined items automatically go to the core. Otherwise, items fly onto your mech.
  • A mech can carry only one item type at a time. The mech stops mining when its inventory is full and moves slower while carrying ore.
  • To drop items from your mech: on mobile tap-and-hold near the mech; on desktop drag from the mech to the recipient (core, building, or empty ground to discard). Recipient blocks will highlight if they accept the item.

Basic resource flow

  • Place drills on ore deposits to extract materials. Most drills are 1x1 and target a specific ore (except adaptive drills which can mine multiple ores).
  • Conveyors move items from drills to storage or production buildings.
  • The core has a storage limit per item; use conveyors and containers to manage inventory for building and unlocking.

Typical early build order

  • Drill on copper patch(es).
  • Conveyors to the core or to a small storage.
  • One or two basic turrets near the core for defense.
  • Power sources as needed (early game often uses small coal or solid fuel generators depending on map resources).
  • A battery can smooth power spikes from defenses and production.

Basic defenses and turrets

  • Start with the earliest turret available (the first turret you unlock in campaign is suitable for early waves). Use appropriate ammo: graphite and silicon are common good early ammo types for certain turrets.
  • Place turrets to cover the approach to your core; use walls to funnel enemies if needed.
  • Batteries and power management are important: insufficient power disables turrets.

Unlocking and progression

  • To unlock new buildings in Sectors, you must have the required materials in your inventory. Unlocks then apply across all play modes.
  • Unlocking everything in Sectors requires high-tier resources late in the tech tree; early play focuses on copper, lead, and basic alloys.

Introduction to Mindustry Logic (automation)

  • Mindustry Logic is a simple, assembly-like scripting language used to automate factories, control turrets, and print messages.
  • Logic blocks include Processors (different sizes with different instruction throughput), Memory cells and Banks (for storing lists/numbers), Message blocks, Buttons, and Displays.
  • If you’re new to logic:
    • Use the in-game visual editor (accessible by the pencil icon) for an easier, graphical way to build scripts—this is beginner-friendly and works well on mobile.
    • Learn simple instructions first: set, print, printflush, read/write memory, and basic jumps.
    • Processors can import code from the clipboard or let you add instructions one by one.
  • Logic tutorials typically cover variables, jumps, sensors, printing, memory access, unit control, and advanced control flows in stages. Start with simple tasks like sending a message from a block or toggling a turret.

Practical beginner tips

  • Always secure at least one reliable copper source early; many blocks depend on it.
  • Keep an eye on power. Add batteries and generators before your defense becomes power-starved.
  • Use mech mining to supplement early ore until conveyors and drills are established.
  • When learning logic, begin with small, testable scripts (print messages, toggle a pump or sorter) and use the visual editor if you’re unfamiliar with programming concepts.
  • Save extra materials for unlocking essential mid-tier buildings in Sectors so progression continues smoothly.

This guide gives the fundamentals to get started: gather copper, set up basic logistics and defenses, and begin automating with Mindustry Logic. From here, expand your resource network, upgrade turrets and production, and learn more logic constructs to scale your factories.