Alchemy Factory does not explain everything upfront, and many mechanics only make sense after experimenting for a while. This guide answers the most common beginner questions, explains systems that are easy to overlook, and breaks down money, fuel, space, and upgrades in a way that actually helps you plan ahead. Numbers mentioned here ignore upgrade bonuses, so your results may vary slightly depending on your progression.
Alchemy Factory Beginner Guide Wiki – Hidden Tips
Basic Things You Should Know First
Before searching for answers elsewhere, always check the in-game manual. It is far more useful than it looks and updates automatically as you unlock new mechanics. You can open it using the O key, and it highlights unread entries, making it easy to catch up when something new appears. Many automation tools and quality-of-life systems are explained there earlier than most players realize.
Short Answers to Common New Player Questions
• “Is the shop really this small?”
No. Early on, you will unlock the ability to buy new land plots. The first expansion is usually for vehicle storage, but additional plots can later be purchased for factory expansion. It is usually better to wait until your income stabilizes before buying many plots.
• “Why is the shop layout so awkward?”
As you progress, you unlock upgrades for tools, backpacks, belts, gloves, and construction equipment. Construction upgrades are especially important, as they allow you to remove walls, rebuild floors, and completely redesign your shop layout.
• “I’m tired of manually stocking shelves.”
Very early in the game, you unlock the catapult. This allows automatic shelf filling and is a major step toward automation. The in-game manual explains optimal placement and usage.
• “Automation helped, but I still run back and forth constantly.”
At the fourth dash tier, you unlock the automatic cash register. This removes one of the biggest time sinks in the game and allows you to focus on production instead of customer handling.
• “How do I automate buying logs and stone?”
Trade portals unlock around the same stage. Coins delivered to them are automatically exchanged for resources. This allows full automation loops where goods are sold, coins are processed, resources are purchased, machines craft items, and catapults restock shelves.
• “Farming seeds is exhausting.”
Basic fertilizers unlock at Tier 4, but they are inefficient even after recent updates. Manual planting is often better until Tier 5, where advanced fertilizers finally make full farming automation worthwhile.
Non-Obvious but Extremely Important Features
Almost every machine, conveyor, or object has alternate shapes. Press T to change shape and explore the options. Many players miss this entirely, even late into the game.
Examples include:
• Inclined conveyors can change direction
• Platforms have multiple height variants
• Asymmetrical machines can be mirrored
• Chests can become pass-through buffers or vertical storage
• Dividers and filters can be rotated sideways
Checking shape options regularly often unlocks better layouts without needing more space.
Money Basics and How the Economy Really Works
Money is not an abstract value. Coins are physical objects, and the number shown on the screen is what you are physically carrying. Early on, this does not matter much, but later it becomes a core logistical challenge.
There are three main ways to earn money:
• Direct shop sales
• Completing story and daily tasks
• Selling goods through trade portals
Shop Sales Tips
Customers do not buy randomly. Each customer has a hidden shopping list, and they will only buy specific items. Reputation directly affects customer volume and buying power, so maintaining a clean and functional store matters more than overstocking everything.
Shelf capacity also matters. Some items stack poorly but are bought in bulk, while others stack well but sell slowly. For example:
• Mortars fit only six per shelf but are often bought in larger quantities, so multiple shelves are useful
• Small wooden gears stack heavily but sell fast, meaning more catapults feeding a single shelf is better than multiple shelves
Task Orders and Why They Are Worth Doing
Task orders often pay between 130% and 200% of market value, making them far more profitable than regular sales. However, orders can include any unlocked product.
Because of this, you should avoid unlocking new items unless you are ready to automate their production. Missing a high-value order because you cannot produce the item in time can significantly slow progress.
A good setup includes:
• A dedicated chest for task goods
• A buffer feeding catapults so shelves refill quickly after large orders
Trade Portals and Selling at a Loss
Some items sell for less than market value through portals, which seems bad at first. However, customer flow is limited, even at maximum reputation. Portals allow you to offload massive quantities of goods that would otherwise sit idle, effectively converting surplus production into steady income.
Loans exist, but they are rarely worth it unless you are rushing progression. Passive income eventually outpaces most early shortages.
Handling Money as a Physical Resource
Efficient factories use exchange portals to control coin denominations.
A practical early setup looks like this:
- Coin buffer after the cash register to prevent overflow
- Exchangers converting copper into single silver coins
- A silver buffer for research, portal stones, and manual purchases
- Re-exchanging silver back into copper for factory distribution
Coins can stack up to 50 per conveyor tile, meaning large sums can get stuck unused if not managed properly. Controlled denomination flow keeps your factory responsive.
Fuel Efficiency and What You Should Actually Burn
Fuel efficiency depends on both heat value and production cost.
Key observations:
• Boards offer excellent heat-to-cost efficiency early on
• Charcoal and coal powder offer better raw heat but require space and production time
• Coal becomes worthwhile once blast furnaces unlock due to higher heat demand
• Advanced fuels are situational, not universally better
Before blast furnaces, boards are usually the most practical option. Afterward, coal becomes necessary due to sheer consumption rates.
Using Drawings Effectively
Drawings allow you to save machine setups using B, F, T, and H. Small builds are rarely worth saving, and huge builds are difficult to place later. Medium-sized production chains are ideal.
Reusable setups like soap production or intermediate crafting lines benefit the most from drawings.
Multi-Storey Construction
Even with multiple plots, space eventually becomes a problem. Vertical construction is the real solution.
Stairs and vertical conveyors make multi-floor factories simple to manage. Three floors are common by mid-game, and expanding upward is far cheaper than buying distant plots.
Relics and Extra Upgrade Points
At Tier 5, relic crafting unlocks along with the Shaper and Altar of Knowledge. Relics convert experience into additional upgrade points, but crafting them is extremely expensive.
The key issue is that relics consume resources without directly returning money. Selling relics recovers value, while studying them consumes it permanently.
A balanced approach works best. For example, studying one relic for every three sold keeps progression steady without bankrupting your factory.
Alchemy Factory rewards planning far more than speed. Understanding automation, money flow, space management, and fuel efficiency early allows you to scale smoothly without constant rebuilds. This guide does not cover everything, but it addresses the most common pain points that slow players down.