Sandustry Drones Building Guide
Digger and Hauler drones for bulk sand, slag, and overflow when belts and launchers are impractical.
Drones automate digging and hauling when Conveyors and Launchers would require heroic bridge builds across vertical pits. Digger Drones break and collect material at marked sites; Hauler Drones move piles between pads, chests, and drop zones. They complement—not replace—belts and Shakers in mid-to-late demo factories.
Digger drones
Diggers excavate Sand, RedSand, and mixed overburden within a work zone you define. They excel at widening pits while you focus on wiring logistics. Without filter outputs, diggers dump mixed piles that need Filters before wetting or shaking.
Set dig zones above Lava carefully—drones do not prioritize heat avoidance. Place Lights and mark hazard tiles so paths avoid Fire spread through Soil. Tool support from Tools and Weapons Priority still matters for manual cleanup.
Hauler drones
Haulers transport Slag, Burnt Slag, Amethelis, and bulk Sand between stockpiles and belt heads. Use them for vertical hauls where launchers would need three or more chained arcs. Throughput per hauler is lower than a well-fed belt—assign multiple haulers to slag overflow if burners lag (Gold and Slag).
Define clear source and destination pads one tile wider than the pile peak. Narrow pads cause drones to idle while piles spill sideways off the pad onto uneven terrain.
Power, pathing, and priorities
Drones need continuous power and unobstructed routes. Crossing water without bridges forces odd pathing that drops Sand into lakes, skewing your water ratios (Material Ratios). Build catwalks or relocate pads.
When diggers and haulers share lanes, prioritize haulers moving slag—slag backup stops shakers faster than sand shortage stops diggers. Manual priority toggles (as shown in preview builds) should favor refinery feed over distant stockpiling.
Drones versus belts
Belts win on steady, short routes—wet sand to shakers, gold to research. Drones win on depth, distance, and temporary projects like clearing a RedSand spike before fluxite upgrades (RedSand and Fluxite).
Cost research before scaling: drone tech often sits after basic logistics on the Research Priority Tier List. Building six drones with one belt feeding shakers is worse than two drones plus a proper wet sand belt.
Integration checklist
- Belt heads at pit rim for sand and wet sand.
- Hauler route from shaker slag output to burners.
- Filter side stream for drone-dug mixed piles.
- Overflow pit with lights for Amethelis and excess Burnt Slag.
- Pipe-fed wetting pool so drones are not your only water movers (Pipes and Pumps).
Lights and safety for drone zones
Lights extend how far drones pathfind in deep pits and expose Lava or Fire tiles that would otherwise surprise you during overnight automation. Place lights every few tiles on hauler routes; dark corners cause drones to take longer alternate paths that drop single sand pixels off-pad.
Scaling drone networks
Add haulers incrementally: one slag hauler per two shakers is a starting ratio in community notes, adjusted upward when burners sit far away. Diggers scale with redsand demand—not with gold shakers—because surface sand belts usually outpace manual mining before drones matter for sand itself.
Pad placement and pathing rules
Source pads belong on stable floor one tile wider than the widest pile you expect; destination pads need the same margin plus a clear approach from the belt head. Elevated pads without stairs force drones into long detours—keep routes flat when possible. If a drone crosses open Water, expect accidental wetting and ratio drift; bridge with platforms or reroute. Power lines to drone hubs should not share tunnels with sand belts you need to repair with X during jams.
Retiring drones when belts win
Once conveyors reach a pit rim reliably, hauler drones on that route become idle maintenance cost—reassign them to slag or redsand overflow instead of running parallel hauls. Diggers remain useful widening mines, but only while filter outputs or belt heads can absorb new material without mixed piles.
For factory-wide planning, read How to Get Gold and return to the Buildings Hub. Material behavior for hauled goods is on the Materials Hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the most common Sandustry questions.
Digger or Hauler drone first?
Haulers if slag or sand piles block shakers; diggers if raw material is far from belt heads. Most factories need haulers before large dig zones.
Can drones replace conveyors?
No for steady wet sand feeds—belts beat drones on short shaker routes. Drones supplement vertical and long hauls.
Why are my drones idle?
Blocked paths, narrow pads, or missing power. Check water crossings and pad width—see hauler section above.
Should drones haul Wet Sand?
Possible but risky—water contact en route creates uneven wetting. Prefer hauling dry sand to pipe-fed pools ([Sand and Wet Sand](/materials/sand-wet-sand/)).
When do drones unlock?
Typically mid logistics research—after basic belts and shakers. See [Research Priority Tier List](/tier-list/research-priority/) for order.