What actually blocks your rocket — ranked
Factorio progression is nominally seven science packs in order, but runs do not stall evenly across them. These are the walls people actually hit, in the order they arrive.
| Rank | The wall | Why runs stall here | What gets you past it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | **Green circuits** | The mid-game bottleneck, and it is not close. Almost everything downstream — red circuits, blue circuits, modules — eats them, so an under-built green circuit line throttles the entire factory at once. | Mass-produce them far earlier and far wider than feels necessary. This is the one number to over-build. |
| 2 | **Oil processing** | The first genuinely new *kind* of problem: fluids, refining, and the plastic and sulfur that gate gray and blue science. Many players who were comfortable belting items stop here. | Get refining running before you need it, and accept that the first oil setup will be rebuilt. |
| 3 | **Power** | Steam carries you further than expected and then stops abruptly, usually right as modules and beacons arrive. | Bring nuclear online during yellow and purple science rather than after the brownouts start. |
| 4 | **The rocket itself** | The last stretch is logistics, not research: rocket fuel, low-density structures and rocket control units all at once. | Build the three feeder lines in parallel, not in sequence, then launch with a satellite aboard. |
The Big Picture — Seven Science Packs
Factorio's base campaign progresses through seven science pack colors. Each new color you produce and consume in your labs unlocks the next bracket of tech.
| Color | Name | Key Ingredients |
|---|---|---|
| Red | Automation | Gears, copper plate |
| Green | Logistic | Belts, inserters |
| Gray | Military | Shells, gun barrels, grenades |
| Blue | Chemical | Green circuits, sulfur, engines |
| Yellow | Utility | Batteries, red circuits, low-density structures |
| Purple | Production | Productivity modules, electric engines |
| White | Space | Produced by rocket launches |
Late-game research consumes all seven packs in parallel. Reaching that point means every ingredient chain has to be running steadily — which is when your factory starts looking like a real industrial complex.
What to Build at Each Stage
-
1
Red and green (early game)
Belts, assemblers, electric drills, steam power. Lock down basic parts automation.
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2
Gray and blue (mid game)
Chemical plants, oil refining, plastic, sulfur. Mass green-circuit production is the bottleneck.
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3
Yellow and purple (late game)
Red circuits, blue circuits, batteries, module factories. Many players bring nuclear power online here.
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4
White (rocket launch)
Build the rocket silo and feed it rocket fuel, low-density structures, and rocket control units. Launch with a satellite onboard.
The jump from gray to blue is steep. Oil processing (refine → crack → convert) and fluid handling enter the picture, and many players stall here. Aggressively oversize your station counts and throughput targets to push through.
Rocket Launch and Beyond
Loading the silo with parts and a satellite and launching completes the base campaign and unlocks white science. From there you can expand forever, or jump into the Space Age expansion and take the factory across multiple planets.
There are many ways to enjoy post-clear Factorio — build a pretty factory, finish every research, take on Space Age, dive into mods. The lack of a real "end" is one of the game's biggest strengths.
Pair With Factory Design
To progress efficiently, the main bus layout is essential. The bus pattern is covered in Main Bus Design, and the foundational early game is in the Beginner Guide.
★Honest Take: That White Science Moment
Honestly, the first time a launched rocket starts producing white science back at your labs is special. Dozens of hours of factory building have reached their final stage, and the relief plus pride is unique to this game. Factorio is worth seeing through to the end — and if you push on into Space Age, an even bigger industrial saga awaits.
