Sandleaf looks like a throwaway tier‑1 plant, but it sits at the base of several important production chains in Arknights: Endfield. Once Power Plateau opens up in Valley IV, it becomes one of the first natural resources you can both gather in the field and fully automate in your AIC.
Sandleaf basics: what it is and why it matters
Sandleaf is a 1★ Naturals item tagged as a plant. In the world, it appears as a coarse, sand‑textured leaf cluster growing around Power Plateau. In the factory, it behaves more like ore: you push it through different units to convert it into powders, seeds, and basic industrial feedstock.
At a high level, Sandleaf supports three main roles:
- Raw natural resource gathered in Valley IV’s Power Plateau area.
- AIC crop that can be planted and looped for infinite supply.
- Processing input for Carbon and Sandleaf Powder, which then feed heavier grinding and component lines.
The Hannabit Circuit’s wilderness‑crafting flavor text isn’t just lore. It hints that early industrialization in Endfield leans heavily on plants like Sandleaf instead of purely synthetic materials.
Sandleaf location in Valley IV (Power Plateau)
Sandleaf doesn’t show up immediately in Valley IV. It is concentrated in the Power Plateau region, around the Plateau Trunkway and nearby infrastructure.
| Region | Zone | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Valley IV | Power Plateau | Sandleaf gathering area once the zone is unlocked |
| Power Plateau | Plateau Trunkway | Primary Sandleaf route, includes multiple clustered nodes |
The route through Power Plateau includes a finite set of Sandleaf nodes. A complete pass in the Plateau Trunkway and surrounding area yields 17 Sandleaf, starting from a cluster of five on the eastern side and ending near the United Parking Lot with a smaller group.
Progression into Power Plateau is not tied to a specific calendar date. It is tied to story and account progress; players typically reach this area after clearing the second major boss and raising Authority to the low‑mid 30s. If Sandleaf nodes are missing from your map, advancing the main mission line further into Valley IV is the gating factor.
Unlocking Sandleaf farming in the AIC
Field runs are fine early on, but the real value of Sandleaf appears once the AIC can grow and recycle it without additional inputs. That hinges on the Planting and Seed‑Picking units.
Unlock Planting and Seed‑Picking Units
Step 1: Reach the point in progression where the Basic AIC II plan is available. This plan expands the factory’s research and building options beyond the starter set.
Step 2: Open the AIC research tree and move to the Processing branch. Locate the Planting node tied to Basic AIC II.
Step 3: Spend 1 Basic AIC Index to unlock this Planting node. This single research unlocks both the Planting Unit and the Seed‑Picking Unit, which are required for any crop loop, including Sandleaf.
Once these facilities are unlocked, they can be placed like any other AIC building and wired into belts and the Automation‑Core.
Building an infinite Sandleaf planting loop
The efficient setup is a closed loop where Sandleaf feeds seeds, seeds feed plants, and part of the output is diverted into storage or further processing.
Core loop layout
Step 1: Place one Planting Unit and one Seed‑Picking Unit next to each other on the factory grid. Keep them close so belts stay short and easy to debug.
Step 2: Build a Transport Belt from the Seed‑Picking Unit’s output to the Planting Unit’s input. This leg moves Sandleaf Seeds into the planter so it can grow new plants.
Step 3: Build a second Transport Belt from the Planting Unit’s output back into the Seed‑Picking Unit’s input. This leg returns harvested Sandleaf to be broken down into more seeds.
Step 4: Manually insert one or more Sandleaf into the Seed‑Picking Unit to seed the loop. After the first pass, the system feeds itself, and no extra Sandleaf is required to sustain the cycle.
With this layout in place, Sandleaf circulates indefinitely between seeds and plants. The only thing missing is a way to siphon off a share of the harvest for your Depot.
Feeding Sandleaf from the loop into your Depot
The Automation‑Core acts as a splitter and routing point for factory outputs. Wiring the planting loop into it lets you farm Sandleaf passively while still preserving seed flow.
Step 1: Choose one of the Planting Unit’s free output ports that is not already feeding back into the Seed‑Picking Unit.
Step 2: Build a new Transport Belt from this output to the Automation‑Core. Make sure the direction is correct so Sandleaf flows outward, not back toward the planter.
Step 3: Confirm that the Automation‑Core is configured to hand off incoming items to the Depot. Once connected, roughly half of the Sandleaf produced will go to storage while the rest stays inside the loop as seed material.
This “one loop, one tap” pattern is enough for a stable, infinite Sandleaf supply in Valley IV. You can later duplicate the loop or add parallel planters if your downstream powder and Carbon lines outgrow a single farm.
AIC processing: what Sandleaf turns into
Once Sandleaf is flowing into the factory, three early‑game facilities can accept it directly. Each one produces a different output in two seconds, and they compete for the same feedstock, so prioritization matters.
| Facility | Input | Output | Rate per 2s |
|---|---|---|---|
| Refining Unit | 1 × Sandleaf | 1 × Carbon | 30 input / 30 output per minute |
| Shredding Unit | 1 × Sandleaf | 3 × Sandleaf Powder | 30 input / 90 output per minute |
| Seed‑Picking Unit | 1 × Sandleaf | 2 × Sandleaf Seed | 30 input / 60 output per minute |
The Shredding Unit chain stands out. One Sandleaf becomes three Sandleaf Powder in the same 2‑second window that other facilities use, which is a built‑in 3× multiplier on your raw plant yield. Because powder is a prerequisite for denser carbon powders and more advanced grinds, routing excess Sandleaf here first gives the highest long‑term value.
The Refining Unit, by comparison, converts one Sandleaf into one Carbon at equal throughput. That is still useful when a layout is carbon‑starved, but it is more efficient to build carbon output from powder‑based lines once those are online.
The Seed‑Picking Unit is non‑negotiable early in the loop’s life: it keeps your planting chain alive by turning harvested plants into seeds. Once the Sandleaf loop is stable and oversupplied with seed, you can shift more of the harvested plants into Shredding instead.
Industrial role of Sandleaf Powder and Carbon
Sandleaf’s processed forms are not just inventory padding. They feed directly into heavier industrial recipes in the AIC product catalog:
- Sandleaf Powder is a generic plant powder that can be pushed into grinding units and composite recipes. It can help form denser powders such as Dense Carbon Powder once combined with other inputs, and it supports a range of specialized ground‑material recipes.
- Carbon from Sandleaf can supplement or replace carbon derived from ores when building up basic stock for more advanced metallurgy chains.
The exact mix of recipes you unlock will depend on how far the factory’s AIC Products and Processing research branches have been pushed, but Sandleaf sits near the start of several of those trees. When the factory shifts from simple gathering and basic smelting into more complex parts and components, a robust flow of plant powder and Carbon keeps bottlenecks from sliding back to Valley IV.
Basic field vs. factory strategy for Sandleaf
Early on, Sandleaf functions as a scavenged plant. Later, it behaves more like a raw material embedded into your factory’s core.
- Before the AIC loop exists, clear Power Plateau’s Plateau Trunkway route regularly. Pick up all 17 Sandleaf per run and hang onto at least a few pieces to seed the farm once Planting and Seed‑Picking unlock.
- Right after unlocking Planting, sacrifice part of your field‑gathered stock to start the loop instead of shredding everything for powder. A single seeded loop quickly pays itself back.
- Once the loop is stable, route most of the surplus into Shredding Units for powder. Only divert Sandleaf into Refining Units when Carbon demand spikes and ore‑based chains cannot keep up.
That balance turns a 1★ Naturals plant into a quiet backbone for later manufacturing, without requiring constant attention or repeated runs through the same Valley IV path.
Handled this way, Sandleaf transitions from a one‑off story‑gated collectible in Power Plateau into a permanent, automated input for the AIC. The moment the planting loop and Shredding line are in place, it stops being something you have to think about and becomes part of the factory’s background hum, feeding powders, Carbon, and eventually the components that carry your operation past Valley IV.
