When players first startThe Planet Crafter, they need to make a set of buildings and machines toget the terraformation process started. All the minerals they need are scattered across the surrounding landscape, but there’s one exception: the Heater T1 needs iridium, and there’s none around.
Fortunately, while iridium isn’t just lying around, players can quickly find more than enough of the mineral to get their heaters up and running. Not only is there a large supply close to the standard starting location, there are also many other ways to get iridium inThe Planet Crafter.
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The Iridium Mine
From the standard starting location players should turn right andgo up the hill. From the top of this hill players should see a tall cliff to the left, and at one end of the cliff sand is falling off the side. Underneath the sand-fall is a cave entrance, and this cave is known to fans as the Iridium Mine. As the name suggests, this massive cave is full of iridium. Players can also use the coordinates in the lower-left corner of the HUD to navigate, and according to these numbers the entrance to the Iridium Mine is 943:35:920.
There are two other caves where players can find iridium.
The Meteor Crater
One ofthe alternate starting locationsis called “The Crater,” and during the early stages of the game this crater is full of smoke. At the center of the crater is a meteor that’s still glowing red, and players can mine incredible amounts of iridium from it. In fact, players can even find several iridium rods stuck in the sides and top of the meteor, and iridium rods normally take nine iridium rocks to produce.
However, at some point after the Lakes stage of terraformation this crater will fill in with water and the meteor will disappear, taking all its iridium with it. Be sure to visit the Meteor Crater at the southwest edge of the map before then.
Random Chests and Wrecks
Another way for players to get iridium is fromthe many shipwrecks and blue chestsscattered across the map. The contents of these chests are randomized based on the current Terraformation Index level, but no matter what the level is iridium and iridium rods are fairly common finds. In fact, a player’s first iridium supply could come from the shipwreck directly across from the standard starting location rather than the Iridium Mine.
Ore Extractors
Once players reach a pressure level of 155 μPa, they can unlockthe Ore Extractor T1. If players place this machine in the Iridium Mine or the cave in the Grand Rift, the extractor will produce iridium along with the more common minerals. The T2 model unlocks at 364.5 mPa, can hold more ore, and extracts rare minerals more often.
Iridium Meteors
Players who unlock the Launch Platform at 345 kTi can use it to launch several types of rocket. One of these, the Magnetic Field Protection Rocket, adds a 1000 percent multiplier to pressure generation. It also calls down a meteor shower, and all the meteors are full of iridium. Players can easily collect enough iridium from one shower to craft two or three more rockets.
