Civilization: Beyond Earth Walkthrough: Resources

Civilization: Beyond Earth created by Firaxis Games.
Images used for educational purposes only.

Civilization: Beyond Earth Walkthrough Listing

Resources constitute the lifeblood of many colonies in Civilization: Beyond Earth. Appearing as clumps of natural objects on the map, resources typically provide extra bonuses when improved by a worker, and may allow you to purchase advanced units and buildings that would otherwise be unavailable. Resources must be within the boundaries of your colony for improvement, so you may have to purchase tiles to snag ‘em.

Below is a listing of the resources in Beyond Earth, as well as what they’re used for. There are three different kinds: Basic, Strategic, and Artifact.

Basic Resources

The lowest of the low, Basic Resources are exactly what they sound like. They typically don’t do a whole lot when improved besides give you a little bonus above and beyond what the tile already provides. Nevertheless, it’s wise to take advantage of their boons when you have a free Worker.

Algae

• Yield: 1 Food
• Location: Coasts
• Requires: Work Barge (Planetary Survey, Tier I)

A common water-bound resource that appears as a floating green scum. Algae is used to construct the following units and buildings:

• Biofuel Plant (Biology, Tier III)

Basalt

• Yield: 1 Production
• Location: Grassland, Plains, Desert, Tundra, Hills
• Requires: Quarry (No techs required)

A rocky resource of limited value.

Chitin

• Yield: 1 Food
• Location: Forest, Hills, Grassland, Plains, Desert
• Requires: Paddock (No techs required)

Om nom nom.

Copper

• Yield: 1 Energy
• Location: Grass
• Requires: Mine (No techs required)

A handy Energy-builder that looks oddly like stacked logs.

Coral

• Yield: 1 Culture
• Location: Coast
• Requires: Work Barge (Planetary Survey, Tier I)

The other thing that appears in watery tiles.

Fiber

• Yield: 1 Production
• Location: Grassland, Plains, Desert
• Requires: Plantation (No techs required)

Everybody needs clothing.

Fruit

• Yield: 1 Food
• Location: Forest, Grassland, Plains
• Requires: Plantation (No techs required)

Less questionable om nom noms.

Fungus

• Yield: 1 Food
• Location: Plains, Desert, Hills, Forests
• Requires: Plantation (No techs required)

Hmmm. Alien shrooms. Questionable. Fungus is used to construct the following units and buildings:

• Growlab (Biology, Tier III)

Gold

• Yield: 1 Culture
• Location: Grassland, Plains, Desert, Hills
• Requires: Mine (No techs required)

Everybody loves it.

Resilin

• Yield: 1 Production
• Location: Forest
• Requires: Paddock (No techs required)

Ride ‘em bugboy. Reslin is used to construct the following units and buildings:

• Bionics Lab (Bionics, Tier III)

Silica

• Yield: 1 Science
• Location: Hills, Plains, Desert, Tundra
• Requires: Mine (No techs required)

The resource of choice for rougher terrain.

Tubers

• Yield: 1 Food
• Location: Forests, Desert, Tundra
• Requires: Plantation (No techs required)

I said, ‘om nom nom’.

A clump of Firaxite on the world map.
Firaxite is integral to Supremacy players.

Strategic Resources

A step up from the basics, Strategic Resources play a more active role in the formation of your colony. These resources are much more often used to purchase units and buildings, and in some cases will allow you to purchase the most powerful upgrades available. You can also trade Strategic Resources with other players, making them valuable diplomatic tools. Make an effort to stockpile these things.

Firaxite

• Yield: None
• Location: Forest, Marsh, Grassland, Plains, Desert, Tundra, Snow, Hills
• Requires: Firaxite Mine (Robotics, Tier III)

Firaxite is the resource of choice for players who pursue the Supremacy Affinity. It’s the easiest of the three Affinity-centric resources to locate, as it appears on virtually every patch of land in fair abundance. Firaxite is used to construct the following units and buildings:

• Sabr (Synthetic Thought, Tier III)
• Neurolab (Cognition, Tier III)
• Holosuite (Cognition, Tier III)
• CNDR (Tactical Robotics, Tier III)
• Optical Surgery (Mechatronics, Tier III)
• Hypercore (Hypercomputing, Tier IV)
• Angel (Neural Uploading, Tier IV)
• Bioglass Furnace (Bioengineering, Tier IV)
• Deep Space Telescope (Orbital Automation, Tier IV)
• Carvr (Autogyros, Tier IV)

Floatstone

• Yield: None
• Location: Plains, Desert, Tundra, Hills
• Requires: Floatstone Quarry (Terraforming, Tier III)

Floatstone is the resource used most by players who pursue the Purity Affinity. It’s the rarest of the three Affinity-centric resources, as it appears on comparatively few types of tiles. Floatstone is used to construct the following units and buildings:

• LEV Plant (Mechatronics, Tier III)
• LEV Tank (Mobile LEV, Tier III)
• Holomatrix (Civil Support, Tier III)
• Mantle (Field Theory, Tier IV)
• Rocktopus (Designer Lifeforms, Tier IV)
• Aegis (Surrogacy, Tier IV)
• LEV Destroyer (Tactical LEV, Tier IV)
• Skycrane (Astrodynamics, Tier IV)

Geothermal

• Yield: 2 Energy
• Location: Grassland, Plains, Tundra
• Requires: Thermal Well (Geophysics, Tier II)

A nice energy source that also serves construction purposes. Don’t be too quick to use it up, however, as you’ll lose your bonuses. Geothermal is used to construct the following units and buildings:

• Gaian Well (Terraforming, Tier III)
• Archimedes Lever (Seismic Induction, Tier IV)
• Xenodrome (Alien Ethics, Tier IV)
• Daedalus Ladder (Augmentation, Tier IV)
• Tectonic Anvil (Metamaterials, Tier IV)

Petroleum

• Yield: None
• Location: Marsh, Desert, Tundra, Snow, Coasts
• Requires: Petroleum Well (Chemistry, Tier II)

A relatively common liquid that’s well worth finding on the map, as it’s used in quite a few mid-game buildings. Petroleum is used to construct the following units and buildings:

• Lasercom Satellite (Orbital Networks, Tier III)
• Weather Controller (Climate Control, Tier III)
• Miasmic Condenser (Alien Ecology, Tier III)
• Biofactory (Organics, Tier III)
• Holomatrix (Civil Support, Tier III)
• Orbital Fabricator (Geoscaping, Tier IV)
• Planet Carver (Astrodynamics, Tier IV)
• Deep Space Telescope (Orbital Automation, Tier IV)
• All-Seer (Dark Networks, Tier IV)
• Orbital Laser (Cybernetics, Tier IV)
• Phasal Transporter (Cybernetics, Tier IV)

Titanium

• Yield: None
• Location: Grassland, Plains, Desert, Tundra, Snow, Hills
• Requires: Engineering, Mine (No techs required)

A semi-uncommon metal that’s useful in a lot of industrial projects. Titanium is used to construct the following units and buildings:

• Lasercom Satellite (Orbital Networks, Tier III)
• Weather Controller (Climate Control, Tier III)
• Alloy Foundry (Fabrication, Tier III)
• Orbital Fabricator (Geoscaping, Tier IV)
• Aegis (Surrogacy, Tier IV)
• Planet Carver (Astrodynamics, Tier IV)
• All-Seer (Dark Networks, Tier IV)
• Phasal Transporter (Cybernetics, Tier IV)

Xenomass

• Yield: None
• Location: Marsh, Grassland, Plains, Grassland, Plains, Hills
• Requires: Xenomass Well (Alien Sciences, Tier III), Alien Nests

Xenomass is the weird resource of choice for players who pursue the Harmony Affinity. It’s of middling rarity among the Affinity-centric resources owing to the number of tiles where it appears, though its rarity is bolstered a little by the fact that it can be spawned by Alien Nests. Xenomass is used to construct the following units and buildings:

• Xenofuel Plant (Alien Sciences, Tier III)
• Xeno Swarm (Alien Adaptation, Tier III)
• Miasmic Condenser (Alien Ecology, Tier III)
• Cloning Plant (Genetic Design, Tier III)
• Xeno Sanctuary (Alien Ethics, Tier IV)
• Xeno Cavalry (Alien Domestication, Tier IV)
• Microbial Mine (Synergetics, Tier IV)
• Rocktopus (Designer Lifeforms, Tier IV)
• Progenitor Garden (Artificial Evolution, Tier V)
• Xeno Titan (Alien Evolution, Tier V)

A Crashed Satellite on the world map.
Crashed Satellites can be exploited via expeditions.

Artifact Resources

Artifact Resources are special tiles that provide a somewhat random assortment of benefits. They must be investigated by Explorers with available expeditions. Explorers have a single expedition by default; if your Explorer runs out (and they will), you can give it a new expedition by returning it to one of your cities.

Alien Skeleton

• Yield: Random Alien unit
• Location: Forest, Marsh, Grassland, Plains, Desert, Tundra, Snow, Hills
• Requires: Available expedition (Explorers)

Typically found in areas where Aliens are abundant. Having Aliens under your control is nifty, but if you find an Alien Skeleton on an island, don’t waste the expedition. Unless you get a Drone you won’t be able to move the Alien over the water.

Crashed Satellite

• Yield: Random resources
• Location: Forest, Marsh, Grassland, Plains, Desert, Tundra, Snow, Hills
• Requires: Available expedition (Explorers)

Crashed Satellites appear randomly when a map is spawned, as well as when an Orbital Unit de-orbits. They’re often the subject of quests.

Derelict Settlement

• Yield: Random resources and / or Population
• Location: Forest, Marsh, Grassland, Plains, Desert, Tundra, Snow, Hills
• Requires: Available expedition (Explorers)

Derelict Settlements can be easy to mistake for improvements. Mind that they appear outside territorial boundaries.

Progenitor Ruin

• Yield: Free Affinity level
• Location: Forest, Marsh, Grassland, Plains, Desert, Tundra, Snow, Hills
• Requires: Available expedition (Explorers)

Aside from being both rare and awesome, Progenitor Ruins are also the subject of the Contact Victory Quest.

Civilization: Beyond Earth Walkthrough Listing