Satisfactory Biomes: All regions, resources & best starting location

❘ Updated: 2024-09-13T13:45:02

Coffee Stain Studios

The place you start your journey in Satisfactory 1.0 is crucial for a successful factory, but which starting location is the best on this game’s map, and where can you find all those ores?

Other than this open-world factory builder crashing on launch and a Plugin SML error popping up, most Satisfactory players have only had issues with choosing the best starting area or finding a specific ore.

Although the game takes place on one large map, there are four starting areas to choose from, each with its pros and cons, especially when you consider the ore nodes surrounding your base. So, here’s the best starting location along with all the game’s biomes and resources.

All biomes & resources

Starting Biomes

Grass Fields (Start 1)
- Available Resources: Limestone, Coal, Caterium
Rocky Desert (Start 2)
- Limestone, Caterium, Iron, Copper, Bauxite, Raw Quartz,
Northern Forest (Start 3)
- Limestone, Iron, Copper
Dune Desert (Start 4)
- Iron, Copper, Coal, Limestone, Caterium

All other biomes

Southern Forest
- Copper, Raw Quartz
Blue Crater
- Iron, Crude Oil, Sulfur
Abyss Cliffs
- Coal, Sulfur
Swamp
- Copper, Limestone, Iron, Caterium, Bauxite, S.A.M
Titan Forest
- Copper, Limestone, Iron, Bauxite, Raw Quartz
Maze Canyons
- Coal, Limestone, Iron
Desert Canyons
- Limestone, Iron
Spire Coast
- Crude Oil, Caterium, S.A.M
Crater Lakes
- Coal
Red Bamboo Fields
- Coal, Limestone, Bauxite
Lake Forest
- Crude Oil
Red Jungle
- Coal, Uranium, Raw Quartz, Bauxite, Limestone
Eastern Dune Forest
- Raw Quartz, Limestone, Uranium
Western Dune Forest
- Caterium, Limestone, S.A.M
Snaketree Forest
- Limestone, Iron
Jungle Spires
- Iron, Limestone, Caterium, Sulfur, Bauxite

Which starting map area should you choose in Satisfactory?

There are four areas you can begin your save file in: Grass Fields, Rocky Desert, Northern Forest, and Dune Desert. Overall, the best starting location on Satisfactory 1.0’s map is the Rocky Desert.

There’s something to be said about each area, and players will find certain locations useful and others not as worthwhile. We’ll explain why the Rocky Desert is the best, and what the other areas have to offer or why they don’t work.

1. Rocky Desert

Even though the Rocky Desert doesn’t sound too appealing, it’s by far the best place to start if you want a successful factory. First off, you get a great amount of open and flat space, which is perfect for building solid and clean foundations to place your machines.

Although it seems like there’s a lack of greenery, you still get a ton of flora to make into leaves, which can be used to make Biomass for powering your builds. You also get a great balance of resource types when you’re looking for different versions of Pure Ore Nodes.

Essentially, the Rocky Desert will offer you a lot more than you may realize, and you cannot go wrong with it as your first, third, or 10th try at Satisfactory.

2. Grass Fields

Any Satisfactory beginner will probably flock to the Grass Fields after seeing the game recommend it to new players. Sure, it’s a nice environment to learn the tutorial, but you won’t get a ton of open, flat areas like the Rocky Desert.

There are a decent amount of useful resources nearby such as Iron for Screws, or Copper for Copper Sheets, but it starts to lack when you’re attempting to find rarer types of resources that are more abundant in other locations.

Try this one out if you’re fresh to Satisfactory and are going through the tutorial, but I would eventually make a new save to start in the Rocky Desert.

3. Northern Forest

The Northern Forest is a place better suited for more experienced players, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good spot for them. You’ll barely find a flat, open plain in this forest, so you’ll inevitably struggle to find clear space for your factory.

Despite there being an abundance of Leaves and Wood to create Biomass, and a diverse array of resources, anyone who likes to build organized factories won’t find many good spots here.

You should try this spot out if you’re looking for something new after hours of playing in the previous two areas, but you may quickly fall back to the incredible Rocky Desert after finding no solid space to build.

4. Dune Desert

Unfortunately, I wouldn’t recommend starting a new Satisfactory game in the Dune Desert, whether you’re a new or old player. Sure, you’ll find a lot of flat space in the dunes, but you’ll struggle to collect enough resources to survive.

This location is very challenging despite the many mining spots available, but you’ll rarely find any flora that you can use to create Biomass. The toughest aspect of this area is keeping the lights on in your factory by feeding your power generators.

There’s nothing wrong with a bit of a challenge for veteran players, but you’ve been warned. The Dune Desert can provide a ton of space, but it’s lacking in unique types of resources so you’ll find yourself traveling far and wide for them.

Hopefully, this explanation of the best and worst starting locations in Satisfactory 1.0 helped you choose where to begin! If you’re just starting out, we also recommend you check out our guide on finding Hard Drives and how to make a Coal Generator.