Progress in Solarpunk runs on two separate tracks that climb at the same time. The Research Table opens most of your buildings, decor, farming gear, and animal pens, while the Tradebot hands out blueprints for power and electronics that automate your floating island. Each track advances in tiers, and every tier only opens after you pay a specific material cost.
Quick answer: Finish every research in a tier’s list, then pay the tier-up cost. The Research Table needs 1x Build-Hammer + 1x Beeswax for Tier 2, 1x Iron Bar for Tier 3, 1x Copper for Tier 4, 1x Wheat for Tier 5, 1x Sunflower for Tier 6, and 1x Corn for Tier 7. Tradebot blueprints tier up with 1x Silicon (Tier 2), 1x Cobalt (Tier 3), and 1x Algae/Circuitboard (Tier 4).
How Research Table tiers work in Solarpunk
You begin at Tier 1 and move up one step at a time. Each tier holds a fixed set of items, and you spend the listed materials at the Research Table to unlock each one. Advancing to the next tier costs a separate gate material that you pay only once. There is no skipping ahead, so the current list has to be fully cleared before the game lets you tier up.
Cotton is the main early bottleneck. You start with only a handful of seeds, and Cloth feeds into beds, the Map, and the Airship Dock. Plant and harvest Cotton every day so you always have Cloth ready for research that needs it.
Tier 1 to Tier 3 Research Table unlocks
The first three tiers cover survival basics, navigation, and your first airship connection. The Map shows up as a Tier 2 research and costs 2x Cloth to craft, while the Airship Dock at Tier 3 is the gateway to the wider island ring.
| Research | Requirements | Tier |
|---|---|---|
| Rain Collector | 2x Wood | 1 |
| Well | 3x Stone, 2x Wood, 2x Sticks | 1 |
| Chest | 2x Wood | 1 |
| Beehive | 2x Wood | 1 |
| Bed | 2x Wood, 2x Sticks, 1x Cloth | 1 |
| Tier 2 Unlock | 1x Build-Hammer, 1x Beeswax | — |
| Deco Tables & Chairs | 5x Wood, 2x Sticks | 2 |
| Deco Plants Pack (Medium) | 3x Leaf, 2x Bricks | 2 |
| Furnace | 3x Stones | 2 |
| Map | 2x Cloth | 2 |
| Bottle | 2x Glass | 2 |
| Tier 3 Unlock | 1x Iron Bar | — |
| Airship Dock | 5x Wood, 5x Iron, 5x Cloth | 3 |
| Storage Shelves | 3x Wood, 2x Sticks | 3 |
| Signs & Map Markers | 5x Wood | 3 |
| Magnetic Fishing Rod | 1x Cloth, 1x Iron, 1x Stick | 3 |
| Deco Couches & Carpets | 2x Cloth, 4x Cotton, 2x Wood | 3 |
| Deco Plants Pack (Small) | 1x Brick, 2x Leaf | 3 |
| Wax Briquette | 2x Beeswax, 2x Cloth | 3 |
| Tier 4 Unlock | 1x Copper | — |
Note: Researching the Airship Dock is not the same as building it. You still have to construct the dock and collect the Crashed Airship Component before flight is possible.
Tier 4 to Tier 7 Research Table unlocks
The later tiers move toward farming, animals, and cooking. Wheat, Sunflower, and Corn act as the gate materials here, so keep those crops growing alongside Cotton to avoid stalling at a tier-up.
| Research | Requirements | Tier |
|---|---|---|
| Glass Materials | 5x Glass, 16x Wood | 4 |
| Iron Tools | 5x Iron Bars, 1x Pickaxe | 4 |
| Basic Home Decor | 2x Wood, 2x Cloth | 4 |
| Farming & Animal Decoration | 5x Wood, 2x Wheat | 4 |
| Deco Shelves & Dressers | 5x Wood | 4 |
| Deco Outdoor Bushes & Plants | 16x Leaf | 4 |
| Tier 5 Unlock | 1x Wheat | — |
| Animals Basic Pack | 5x Wheat | 5 |
| Deco Plants Pack (Large) | 5x Bricks, 10x Leaf | 5 |
| Decorative Books | 5x Cloth | 5 |
| Trashcan | 1x Wood, 1x Stick | 5 |
| Foodbasket | 1x Egg, 1x Sheep’s Milk, 1x Truffle | 5 |
| Tier 6 Unlock | 1x Sunflower | — |
| Growbox | 2x Wood | 6 |
| Decorative Plates & Pots & Pans | 2x Iron, 1x Brick, 1x Stick | 6 |
| Cooking | 5x Brick, 2x Iron, 2x Sticks | 6 |
| Deco Outdoor Furniture | 5x Cloth, 5x Wood | 6 |
| Seedspack | 1x Raspberry, 1x Cotton, 1x Wheat, 1x Carrot, 1x Sunflower | 6 |
| Pig Shelter | 5x Carrot, 5x Wood | 6 |
| Better Animal Feed | 1x Animal Feed, 2x Sunflower | 6 |
| Tier 7 Unlock | 1x Corn | — |
More tiers sit beyond Tier 6 on the research side, so the climb continues past these listed unlocks as long as you keep the gate crops stocked.
Tradebot blueprint trades in Solarpunk
Blueprint research lives in the device that sits in front of the Tradebot. Each research costs a Blueprint, and you earn Blueprints by completing trades. Watch out for one detail: trades that upgrade your Airship level do not give back a Blueprint, so treat those as separate goals rather than blueprint progress.
| Trade | What it gives |
|---|---|
| 4x Watermelon | Unlocks Tier 1 – Energy Workbench |
| 12x Cotton | Blueprint |
| 20x Beeswax | Blueprint |
| 10x Watermelon | Blueprint |
| 32x Copper | Airship Research Upgrade Level 2 |
| 5x Silicon | Spend 1x more Silicon for Tier 2 |
| 10x Wheat | Blueprint |
| 20x Cloth | Blueprint |
| 10x Bread | Blueprint |
| 6x Egg | Airship Research Upgrade Level 3 |
| 20x Carrot | Blueprint |
| 20x Sunflower | Blueprint |
| 20x Cobalt | Blueprint |
| 32x Glass | Blueprint |
| 2x Raspberry Muffins | Blueprint |
Tradebot blueprint research and tier-up costs
Blueprint research follows the same tier structure as the Research Table. You unlock everything in a tier, then meet the next tier’s gate material to keep going. The blueprint track covers your power grid, automation, and advanced docking.
| Blueprint research | Tier | Tier-up cost |
|---|---|---|
| Energy Workbench | 1 | — |
| Solarpanel | 1 | — |
| Weather Station & Switch | 1 | — |
| Battery | 2 | 1x Silicon |
| Energy Furnace | 2 | 1x Silicon |
| Animal Transport | 2 | 1x Silicon |
| Advanced Dock | 2 | 1x Silicon |
| Sensor & Logic Block | 2 | 1x Silicon |
| Lights Pack | 3 | 1x Cobalt |
| Postbox | 3 | 1x Cobalt |
| Transport Drone | 3 | 1x Cobalt |
| Windmill | 3 | 1x Cobalt |
Tier 2 needs 1x Silicon, Tier 3 needs 1x Cobalt, and Tier 4 needs 1x Algae (Circuitboard). Silicon comes from quartz after the first airship range upgrade, and Cobalt comes from later islands after another range push. Save those single items instead of spending your only one on crafting, or you will block the tier-up entirely.
How to confirm a tier or blueprint unlocked
An unlock has worked when the new research shows up in the table’s menu. After you reach Tier 2, items like the Map, Furnace, and Bottle appear as craftable options. Once you research a blueprint, the matching building or device drops straight into your crafting menu.
When a tier-up will not trigger, there are only two common causes. The first is an unfinished list, since every item in the current tier has to be researched before the game lets you spend the gate material. The second is missing the gate item itself, such as not having the Build-Hammer and Beeswax ready for Tier 2 or the single Silicon needed to move blueprints to Tier 2.
With your Cotton supply handled and crops cycling on a daily schedule, both tracks become a matter of staying ahead on materials. Keep your seeds planted and your trade stock topped up, and each higher tier opens as soon as you hand over the right item.
