In Solarpunk, you can farm algae with an Algae Drone and craft circuitboards using 10 algae + 5 copper + 5 cobalt. This unlocks Tier 4 tech for Skyturbines, Foresters, and Transport Drone inventory upgrades.
How to Farm Algae & Craft Circuitboards
Step 1: Get Your First Algae
Craft a Fishing Rod at the Crafting Table using 5 Sticks + 2 Stone + 4 Iron. Cast into any lake or pond, then pull the rod when the swimmer icon dips downward.
This gives you your initial Algae harvest.
Don’t use this first Algae for food—it’s purely a crafting material needed for blueprint tier-ups.
Step 2: Unlock the Algae Drone Blueprint
Go to the Research Table and research the Algae Drone blueprint.
The cost is 1 Electrical Component (crafted from copper + silicon). This unlocks the automated algae harvesting system.
Step 3: Build and Place the Algae Drone
At the Crafting Table, craft the Algae Drone using:
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10 Iron
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10 Silicon
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10 Copper
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10 Cobalt
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Unlocked Algae Drone blueprint
Place the drone directly adjacent to a lake or pond.
Connect it to power by wiring it to solar panels + batteries via copper cables.
Once powered, the drone will automatically patrol the water, harvesting algae into its internal inventory.
If the button is greyed out or drone won’t activate: Check that it’s powered and touching water. Unpowered drones produce nothing.
Collect algae by opening the drone’s inventory.
And transferring it to your storage.
Step 4: Gather Copper and Cobalt
You’ll need Copper and Cobalt to craft circuitboards:
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Copper: Mine copper ore from rocky outcrops, then smelt at a furnace
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Cobalt: Rare ore found in deeper caves or available via Tradebot exchanges
Cobalt is scarce—stockpile it early. It’s required for Tier 3+ blueprints beyond just circuitboards.
Step 5: Craft the Circuitboard
At the Crafting Table (or Energy Bench for advanced crafting), input the following:
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10 Algae (from your Algae Drone)
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5 Copper
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5 Cobalt
Output: 1 Circuitboard.
Use the Crafting Planner at the Research Table to trace full recipe dependencies if you’re missing intermediate items like Electrical Components.
Critical Mistakes to Avoid & Tips for Completion
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Burning your first Algae: Save it for the Tier 4 blueprint unlock (requires 1 Algae).
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Unpowered drone: The Algae Drone won’t harvest without electrical connection.
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Wrong placement: Must be adjacent to water—otherwise it produces zero algae.
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Running out of Cobalt: Cobalt is rare; gather it before Tier 3+ unlocks.
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Stockpile early: Aim for 20–30 algae and 15+ cobalt before crafting your first circuitboard.
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Use automation: Algae Drone eliminates manual fishing, freeing time for exploration.
