Campaign

The Mindustry Campaign in Version 6.0 and 7.0 is an expansive 'gamemode' that serves as a storyline. Players start in a small sector and must slowly capture more and more territory in the face of the enemy. Over time, they can research new blocks, unlock advanced materials, and begin fighting back enemy bases, eventually conquering entire planets.

It is recommended to complete all major sectors in the campaign before advancing to Custom Games or Multiplayer, to gain fundamental knowledge of how to build a base from scratch.

## Gameplay

When starting the campaign for the first time, you will be prompted to choose which planet to begin in, although they can be switched at any time.

Serpulo is the planet that the Mindustry campaign takes place on for most of its history. It is more expansive and is in line with most multiplayer servers, but has a weaker balance and less polish due to its age. For players that return to Mindustry, this planet is recommended for being familiar.

Erekir is a new planet added in the latest major update, Version 7.0. Although there is less content, the gameplay is much more structured and combat-focused, which is highly recommended for new players and those who enjoy other RTS games. In addition, it is more polished and balanced.

### Tech Tree

The **Tech Tree** is an interface where you can research new blocks to place down and expand your conquest of each planet. The resources you have across all controlled sectors contribute to a global items pool that can be spent on the tech tree.

Some items need to be "researched". To do this, produce the item using one of your item-producing blocks.

Each planet will have its separate tech tree, and any items that are shared between planets, such as Graphite, will not carry over.

### Sector Mechanics

*Unless stated otherwise, all information below applies to both planets.*

#### Overview

Sectors are defined as the 'levels' of the Campaign. Each available Sector is either unoccupied or has an enemy base; unoccupied sectors require surviving waves to capture, while the opponent's Cores must be destroyed to obtain enemy base sectors. Broadly, they can be categorized into **landing zone sectors**, which are pre-defined maps that unlock more items in the tech tree (indicated with a grey border), as well as **numbered sectors** that are procedurally generated and optional for completion. *Numbered sectors are absent on Erekir*.

They are further categorized as either regular sectors or enemy bases. Regular sectors involve the player surviving a set number of waves before the sector is captured, at which point no additional enemies will come unless under some circumstances. Enemy base sectors have a base belonging to another faction, which must be destroyed to capture it. On Serpulo only, enemy base sectors can send extra attack waves to adjacent captured sectors, threatening to remove them from your control.

At any point (but preferably when the sector is captured), you can launch a Core to a new sector, taking resources from the departure sector's Core to start the process. Launching into sectors requires certain conditions:

* Any sector is able to land on a landing zone sector.
* Numbered sectors can only be launched from adjacent sectors, regardless of whether they are a landing zone sector or not.
* If the departure sector is away from the currently active sector, a random valid sector will be used to source the launch instead.

When launching on Serpulo, you will be asked to select a type of Core equal to or lower than the departure sectors, or a Core schematic that comes with pre-made blocks. A custom loadout is also available that allows you to start with up to half of the Dore's storage of each item; these are all taken from the departure sector and can be limited in the case of insufficient resources. On Erekir, Dore schematics are disabled and loadouts are fixed.

#### Background Sector Calculations

Sectors continue to produce resources and defend against waves in the background. Since it is not possible to render tens of sectors in-game, Mindustry uses an algorithm to calculate these details instead. Item gain and spending are calculated in minute-by-minute batches.

For defending against waves on Serpulo, the algorithm uses this method to determine survivability.

* A path for Ground Units is carved along the map. This is the shortest route for a Dagger to reach the Dore.
* Each enemy wave is assigned a value based on the power of each unit. turrets along the ground route that have ammo add power values to the player's side.
* A repair contribution is calculated for all menders along the ground route, this repair is subtracted from the enemy attack. The attackers do not get a repair value calculated.
* Damage caused by enemy waves is randomised based on the similarity between both sides' power values. The repair contribution from menders will repair some or all of the damage.
* If an enemy wave overpowers the defense in value, the sector is lost.
* Sectors that show full survivability without a plus sign **are not completely safe against loss**.
* Units add to the player's power level no matter where they are located on the map.

On Erekir, sectors cannot be switched while you are actively attempting to capture one, meaning that no background algorithms for defense apply, only those for per-minute production.

#### Numbered Sector Generation

All numbered sectors on Serpulo can be replicated through the editor's **Sector Generate** function with the seed 0. Most aspects of a map stay consistent with the seed, except for:

* The generation of Scrap has a 25% chance of appearing.
* The generation of ruins with Derelict blocks.
* The arrangements of enemy base defenses that are not part of the Core.

### Imports and Exports

*This only applies to Serpulo.*

The Launch Pad, unlocked after defeating Extraction Outpost, can be used to transfer resources across sectors.

Launch Pads use power to fire a bundle of 100 items max per 20 seconds, equating to 300 items a minute at maximum. Imports and exports are summarised as per-minute values in the background and in-game, a sector receives imports in minute intervals.

## Factions

*Main Article: Lore and Factions*

Mindustry supports up to 6 pre-defined factions, of which four are involved in the campaign: **Sharded,** **Crux,** **Derelict,** and **Malis**. Each team has a colour scheme that is applied to certain blocks, namely Cores, Containers, Vaults, Force Projectors, and the lights on units.

### Sharded

The player team is canonically known as **Sharded**. Initially starting dormant in Ground Zero, a sudden event awakens the only Core and sets it on a mission to claim its ground against the enemy. It dons a yellow-orange colour scheme.

### Crux

The enemy team on Serpulo is canonically known as **Crux**. It is the dominant force and is likely responsible for many past events such as the Biomass Synthesis Facility breach. It dons a red colour scheme.

Usually, player teams have a unit cap based on the number and quality of Cores. In all gamemodes in Serpulo maps except for PvP, Crux has a unit cap equal to the 32-bit integer limit of 2147483647.

### Malis

The enemy team on Erekir is known as **Malis**. It holds most of the sectors here, but its lore is mostly unknown.

In all gamemodes in Erekir maps except for PvP, Malis has a unit cap equal to the 32-bit integer limit of 2147483647.

### Derelict

**Derelict** is an NPC team. Unlike with Sharded and Crux, Derelict's blocks are Hard-coded not to function at all and the team has a unit cap of zero. This team is typically assigned to ruins and fallen structures. Enemy structures will be converted to this team and randomly destroyed once all hostile Cores are gone.

Derelict structures can be deconstructed for free Resources or 'reclaimed' for Sharded by slightly deconstructing and then reconstructing them.

## Tips

*Tips here apply exclusively to Serpulo*.

### General

When launching, your loadout should be as plentiful as possible. Pack everything in - You will never know what may happen until you experience it.

Survival sectors function much like typical Mindustry games. For sectors that have minimal threat, you can simply let the game do the capture in the background, as your time is better spent on other things. As long as you see that the sector fully survives all waves in the background, you can leave it be.

If you find that certain ammunition is too difficult to manufacture on-site, prioritize Extraction Outpost to unlock the Launch Pad. Launch lots of resources into a sector undergoing capture. Blast Compound is a great material to ship as it is used in several powerful turrets (i.e. Swarmer) and can be loaded in Air Units for destructive landings.

For power, RTG Generators are one of the most reliable power sources. They are efficient, conservative on fuel use, and can be easily tiled for massive amounts of energy, while using thorium brought from the loadout. Make sure you have lots of Phase Fabric to construct them.

Never be satisfied with your defence. Most of the time, wave progression has massive spikes such as suddenly spawning in Tier 4 units. Build lots of Mono, Poly , and Mega to accelerate your building and automate your basic resources.

Thorium is the best mid-game wall material, as it is a mineable ore, high health, and not used in too many items for this stage of the game. Put it in front of Plastanium Walls for tanking bullets so the Plastanium Walls only take laser hits.

Powerful, reliable turrets such as the Cyclone, Spectre , or Lancer are the best options for defense, while later on, the Foreshadow will guarantee prolonged survival.

Finally, take down enemy attack bases as soon as possible, especially in the case of Nuclear Production Complex. They will eventually overtake you and the new waves are mandatory for recapture.

### Attacking Bases

*Main article: Attack*

Units that are great in the campaign are the Nova, Horizon, Zenith, Antumbra, Quad, Arkyid, Corvus, Omura , and Toxopid. Each of these units has either great range, mobility, or damage which are essential in Player vs Enemy situations.

If you have unlocked the Overdrive Projector and Overdrive Dome, these are essential for your unit construction. Plastanium Conveyors can also help with the insane Silicon costs of high-tier units.

Make sure you prioritise killing off any enemy Core ships and Mega as they can become incredibly problematic later on; they can rebuild and repair structures respectively. Once all Cores are eliminated, you win. Killing off Cores also reduces the number of enemies spawned in waves.

Some of the most dangerous bases are balanced around relying on exports to produce everything. Use a wireless or unloader setup connected to your Core and make sure your material imports are enough. Knock them down quickly - the waves are fast and deadly, and you may encounter multiple Tier 5 enemies within the first 20 waves. Launch heaps of Silicon and Titanium, as well as whatever your units need for building.

The Foreshadow and Spectre are some of the most dangerous enemy turrets; destroy them by commanding swarms of Quad or Arkyid. Pack Blast Compound into their inventory for death damage that may just take out the Core. If multiple Cores are bunched together, Tier 5 units are crucial.

A note for those attack sectors that have an enemy base adjacent to it, attack sectors have infinite waves, each getting harder and harder until a guardian comes. Prioritize these bases next to captured ATTACK sectors as this can help keeping your sectors safe. If you fail, don't worry. The waves will reset, and they will recapture the base, allowing you to attack again.

### Unattended Sector Defense

* Turrets and Menders have to be near the path taken by an enemy ground unit to count towards defense, the required range is roughly the range of the turret/mender + 8 tiles. Units can be anywhere.
* For turrets, only damage, fire rate, and number of shots per volley contribute to defensive power and range only counts to the extent that it allows the turret to hit the attack path. Area damage and fancy effects like Arc's boosted damage against wet units do not contribute. Turrets with high direct damage per second like Duo, Scorch, Salvo, and Fuse tend to give the most value. Boosts from liquid and overdrive do count.
* Ammo, power, and Phase Fabric (for overdrive) supply are not accounted for, it is the state of the turrets when you leave that map that matters, so you can cheese the algorithm by building large numbers of turrets like Salvo with a grossly inadequate ammo supply.
* Menders are extraordinarily important to have a long-lasting defense and are probably the weak point of most player's defenses. Without menders, the defense will be gradually ground down and the algorithm doesn't understand that buildings can be rebuilt (except to the extent that rebuilders are also repairers and so contribute repair rate). You benefit from having many more Menders in unattended defense that would be useful in active defense and their placement does not need to make sense.
* It is worth noting that most of the fancy abilities of guardians such as long range and high regeneration rates are not accounted for in unattended defense, hence certain guardians are much more easily beaten unattended. However, if you leave the map after the guardian has already spawned it gets an enormous multiplier to its attack power.

### Core Schematics

You can save Schematics with a Core in them. When launching into a new sector, you can then choose that schematic to start with. Core schematics have a certain eligible size:

* Core: Shard schematics can be up to 13x13
* Core: Foundation schematics can be up to 14x14
* Core: Nucleus schematics can be up to 15x15

It is recommended to have the following in a late-game Core schematic:

* RTG Generators.
* Turrets attached to the Core.
* Mono and Poly production.
* Vaults.

### Other

It might be useful to dedicate a certain sector for all of your exports. If you have multiple sectors with Launch Pads and are tired of constantly setting them, an export sector using Unloaders will save a lot of time. The large amount of space in Salt Flats is a great place to store and export resources, which can be kept up using Differential Generator or Impact Reactor power.

## Future Content

The Mindustry campaign plans to have extra planets and their names of them are present in the source code. They are:

* Tantros, a blue, watery planet originally meant for V7 before being replaced by Erekir.
* Asteroid sectors Gier, Notva, and Verlius, zero-gravity areas also originally meant for V7 before being cut. Gier and Notva are close to Erekir and are dark grey clusters, while Verlius is an icy cluster isolated from the rest of the system's planetary objects.
* The Sun. This is unlikely to be implemented.