Industrial Explosives in Arknights: Endfield are crafted items made from aketine powder and amethyst parts using a Packaging Unit. They are required for the Produce Industrial Explosive quest and for opening blocked paths, breaking red‑veined rocks, and triggering devices when no explosive barrels are around.
Quick answer: Unlock Packaging Tech (Basic AIC II), gather aketine and amethyst, process them into aketine powder and amethyst parts, then combine both in a Packaging Unit to craft Industrial Explosives.
Industrial Explosives recipe and basic requirements
Industrial Explosives are produced in your factory network, not found as normal loot. To make them, you need:
- Packaging Unit (unlocked via Packaging Tech under Basic AIC II)
- Aketine Powder, made from aketine plants in a Shredding Unit
- Amethyst Parts, made from amethyst ore via Refining Unit → Fitting Unit
- Enough power and wiring to keep all machines running
The core crafting ratio in the Packaging Unit is:
- 1 Aketine Powder + 5 Amethyst Parts → 1 Industrial Explosive
How to unlock the Produce Industrial Explosive mission
There are two main story hooks that lead you into bomb crafting:
- Temporary Shelter progression: Advancing the story to Temporary Shelter can trigger a message from Andre that unlocks the Produce Industrial Explosive quest.
- Refugee camp project route: Completing Project: Refugee Camp 1, raising the local Sub-PAC to level 2, and finishing the Lucky Carrot task (restoring the area stock distribution) can also grant an exploration mission focused on Industrial Explosives.
For the exploration‑mission route, you need roughly Authority Level 14 (not 15) to access it. If you are stuck with rock barriers and no clear instruction, check NPC messages on your in‑game phone; an owl NPC can send a message that includes the relevant blueprint and pointers.
How to unlock Packaging Tech and the Packaging Unit
The Packaging Unit is mandatory for bomb crafting, so you must unlock its tech node first.
- Advance the story until you obtain access to the Basic AIC II row of the AIC Factory Plan (this follows the early quest "Paving the Way").
- Open the AIC Factory Plan and spend a Basic AIC Index on the Packaging Tech node under Basic AIC II.
- Unlocking Packaging Tech grants the Packaging Unit facility, plus one free unit you can place immediately.
Once unlocked, open the Factory placement menu at Temporary Shelter or another base and place the Packaging Unit close to a Sub-PAC so it can easily connect to power and belts.
Where to find aketine and how aketine farming works
Finding aketine in the world
Aketine is a spiky plant used for explosives and other processing recipes. You can gather your first samples in the Valley Pass region:
- Look along the Abandoned Trail path in Valley Pass.
- From the Temporary Shelter fast travel point in the valley, walk along the nearby path and look for distinctive aketine bushes.
Enemies patrol some of these spots, so be prepared for combat as you collect a few plants.
Building an infinite aketine farm
Once you have at least one aketine plant, you can turn it into a self‑sustaining supply using gardening machines from the AIC tree.
- Unlock the Planting node in the Processing section of Basic AIC II using a Basic AIC Index.
- This grants:
- Seed-Picking Units
- Planting Units
The basic loop works like this:
- One aketine plant enters a Seed-Picking Unit and is turned into 2 aketine seeds.
- Seeds go into Planting Units, which grow new aketine plants.
With careful belt routing, you can create a small closed loop that duplicates aketine indefinitely.
Example aketine loop layout
A simple infinite aketine setup can be arranged like this:
- Feed the first wild aketine into a Seed-Picking Unit.
- Split the two output seeds:
- Seed A goes into Planting Unit 1, which harvests back into the Seed-Picking Unit. This maintains the loop.
- Seed B goes into Planting Unit 2, whose output is sent toward processing (for aketine powder or storage).
Over time, the “extra” side constantly generates more aketine that you can divert into Shredding Units for powder.
How to get aketine powder
Aketine Powder is created by shredding raw aketine in a Shredding Unit.
- Place a Shredding Unit in your factory area, ideally close to the aketine farm’s output.
- Connect it to power using nearby pylons or wiring.
- Feed harvested aketine into the Shredding Unit’s input belt or directly from storage.
- The unit converts aketine into Aketine Powder.
For a very early setup, you can skip automation and manually move aketine into the Shredding Unit through your inventory. Later, connect the output of a Planting Unit directly to the Shredding Unit so aketine plants are shredded automatically into powder.
How to get amethyst parts
Amethyst Parts are the second ingredient for Industrial Explosives and come from a simple ore → fiber → parts chain.
Mining amethyst ore
- Locate amethyst ore near the Bridge Approach around The Hub.
- Use mining rigs or manual mining to gather ore and route it back toward your core factory area (near the Core AIC).
Refining amethyst ore into fiber
- Place a Refining Unit near your ore logistics.
- Feed Amethyst Ore into the Refining Unit.
- The unit outputs Amethyst Fiber.
Converting fiber into parts
- Place a Fitting Unit and connect it to power.
- Feed Amethyst Fiber into the Fitting Unit’s input.
- The Fitting Unit outputs Amethyst Parts, ready for bomb production.
In many layouts, the Refining Unit, Fitting Unit, and Shredding Unit sit close to the Core AIC so you can centralize mining and processing.
How to craft Industrial Explosives in the Packaging Unit
With aketine powder and amethyst parts prepared, you can finally assemble Industrial Explosives.
- Confirm that Packaging Tech is unlocked and a Packaging Unit is placed and powered (commonly near a Sub-PAC at Temporary Shelter or another base).
- Interact with the Packaging Unit and open its production panel.
- Select the Industrial Explosive recipe.
- Feed in:
- Aketine Powder
- Amethyst Parts
Each cycle consumes aketine powder and amethyst parts at the recipe’s ratio and produces one Industrial Explosive after a short timer.
On a minimal setup, you can hand‑carry both materials into the Packaging Unit whenever you need a few bombs. For heavier use, you can connect the Packaging Unit by belts to a depot bus or an unloader that supplies amethyst parts automatically, and then manually top up aketine powder as it is usually the rarer component early on.
Setting up an automated “infinite bombs” factory
Once your base is more mature and you have gardening unlocked, you can route everything into a compact explosives line that runs on its own.
Basic automated explosives chain
A straightforward layout looks like this:
- Aketine farm:
- Seed-Picking Unit → Planting Units in a loop to duplicate aketine.
- One Planting Unit’s output goes to a Shredding Unit for aketine powder.
- Amethyst line:
- Mining rigs on amethyst ore → belts → Refining Unit (ore → fiber).
- Refining Unit → Fitting Unit (fiber → parts).
- Fitting Unit → depot or directly to the Packaging Unit.
- Packaging:
- Shredding Unit output (aketine powder) and amethyst parts both feed into a Packaging Unit.
- Packaging Unit continuously crafts Industrial Explosives while inputs and power are available.
This configuration converts a single wild aketine plant plus an amethyst vein into functionally infinite explosives, limited only by power and ore supply.
Power considerations
Industrial production can strain your early power grid. If you run into shortages:
- Unlock a power‑focused AIC node that grants Thermal Bank–type facilities.
- Place a Thermal Bank in your base and feed it originium ore (Regum/oregnum ore in some UI text) to convert raw ore into additional energy.
- Connect Thermal Banks and other generators to your Sub-PAC and local pylons with wires so all processing machines stay powered.
Keep an eye on AIC production and consumption readouts; if your aketine farm and amethyst chain share the same small power grid, you may need more generators or a more efficient layout.
How to equip and use Industrial Explosives
After collecting crafted bombs from the Packaging Unit, you must equip them as a utility before use.
- Open your utility or tool selection wheel (the Easy Tool wheel).
- Highlight the Bomb (Industrial Explosives) slot and confirm to equip it.
- On keyboard, hold the appropriate modifier key (for example, R in some PC defaults) to switch your utility to the bomb.
- Aim at the target (red‑veined rock, blocked cave, explosive node, or laser connector) and throw the bomb to detonate and clear or trigger the object.
Portable explosives are used anywhere the environment expects an explosion but does not provide a barrel, including story gates, secret areas, and certain exploration puzzles.
Produce Industrial Explosive quest progress and rewards
For the named main‑story quest that introduces this system, your objectives follow the same overall path:
- Reach Temporary Shelter and read Andre’s message to unlock the quest.
- Gather some aketine in Valley Pass.
- Research Packaging Tech under Basic AIC II and place a Packaging Unit at your factory.
- Use the Refining Unit and Fitting Unit near the Core AIC to convert amethyst ore into Amethyst Parts.
- Use a Shredding Unit to turn aketine into Aketine Powder.
- Combine aketine powder and amethyst parts in the Packaging Unit to craft at least one Industrial Explosive.
- Equip the bomb on the Easy Tool wheel to complete the objective.
Completing the quest grants 25 Oroberyl, T-Creds, and Intermediate Combat Records, alongside permanent access to bomb crafting for future exploration.
