TerraBite Buildings Guide: All Structures, Costs & Contamination

TerraBite has ten buildings in Phase 1 prototype — eight available from the start and two unlocked through research. Each structure has specific terrain requirements, deposit rules, resource costs, and contamination behavior. This guide is the official reference table plus placement strategy for every structure.

Use the Guides hub for topic-specific depth, or play TerraBite with the build menu open on a selected tile.

Complete buildings table

Values below are generated from the live game config — rates shown per second at level 1.

How to read the table

Build cost — resources spent immediately on placement from your global stockpile. Energy costs respect your storage cap.

Production and consumption — per-second rates at building level 1. Upgrades multiply production via level multipliers. The in-game build menu displays per-minute rates for readability.

Contamination — per-second effect on the building's tile while operational. Negative values mean cleanup (Bio-Reclaimer). Positive values mean pollution (Salvage Station, Water Extractor, Geothermal Tap). Neutral means no direct tile effect (Eco Seeder handles adjacent tiles separately).

Building by building

Solar Array

Primary early Energy source. Valid on Barren Wasteland, Exposed Bedrock, and Industrial Ruins. No deposit required. Neutral contamination. Efficient Photovoltaics research adds +20% output. First build priority on almost every map — see Energy guide.

Salvage Station

Highest Materials output (0.5/s) but requires Industrial Ruins (or compatible terrain with ruins flag) and a materials deposit. Adds +2 contamination/s — plan cleanup. Details: Materials guide.

Water Extractor

Water from wetland and forest aquifers. Requires water deposit. Adds +1 contamination/s. Essential before Bio-Reclaimer scaling — Water guide.

Bio-Reclaimer

Produces Biomass (0.35/s), consumes Water and Energy, reduces contamination −0.5/s on tile. Works on wasteland, wetland, forest, and toxic sectors without deposits. Core restoration building — Biomass guide.

Data Relay

Produces Data (0.12/s) from ruins/rock with data deposits. Requires ruins flag plus data deposit. Neutral contamination. Powers research — Data guide.

Battery Node

No production. Adds +50 Energy cap per node. Neutral contamination. Build when Solar Arrays waste output at cap.

Material Depot

Passive Materials (0.2/s) on wasteland, ruins, or rock. No deposit required. Neutral contamination. Slower but flexible — Materials guide.

Water Reservoir

Supplemental Water (0.15/s) on wetland, wasteland, or forest. No deposit. Neutral contamination. Lower output than extractors — Water guide.

Eco Seeder (research unlock)

Requires Ecological Seeding research (400 Data). Build cost includes 10 Biomass. Consumes minor Energy and Water. Reduces contamination on adjacent revealed tiles — not its own tile's primary effect. Area restoration tool — Contamination guide.

Geothermal Tap (research unlock)

Requires Geothermal Analysis research (350 Data). Strong Energy on Exposed Bedrock only (0.2/s). Adds minor positive contamination rate. Mid-game power alternative to Solar sprawl — weigh against cleanup costs.

Terrain and deposit requirements

Build menu entries lock when requirements fail. Common lock reasons:

• Tile not revealed (must scan first)
• Wrong terrain type
• Missing deposit (Salvage, Water Extractor, Data Relay)
• Missing research (Eco Seeder, Geothermal Tap)
• Insufficient resources

The tile inspector confirms terrain label, deposit type, and contamination before you open the build menu.

Valid terrain summary

Contamination-aware placement

Buildings with positive contamination effects:

• Salvage Station — +2/s (highest)
• Water Extractor — +1/s
• Geothermal Tap — minor positive rate

Buildings that reduce contamination:

• Bio-Reclaimer — −0.5/s on own tile
• Eco Seeder — adjacent tile reduction over time

Neutral buildings do not directly change tile contamination but still enable economy that funds cleanup elsewhere.

Upgrades

All buildings support upgrades to level 5 with scaling production and Material/Energy upgrade costs. Upgrade from the tile inspector when a building is selected and operational. Upgrades multiply production — they do not change contamination rates or terrain rules.

Opening build order (typical)

1. Solar Array 2. Salvage Station or Material Depot (when Materials dip) 3. Water Extractor (when aquifer found) 4. Data Relay (when signal found) 5. Bio-Reclaimer (when Water stable) 6. Battery Node (when Energy caps) 7. Eco Seeder / Geothermal Tap (post-research)

Adjust for your map's terrain distribution — rock-heavy maps delay Water; wetland-heavy maps delay Salvage.

Strategic roles (quick reference)

• Solar Array — Primary early-game energy source with low ecological impact.
• Salvage Station — Materials from ruins and debris; increases local contamination slightly.
• Water Extractor — Water production on wetland and forest tiles with aquifers.
• Bio-Reclaimer — Consumes water and energy to produce biomass and reduce tile contamination.
• Data Relay — Data from ruins and rock sectors with TERRA archive deposits.
• Battery Node — Increases maximum energy storage capacity.
• Material Depot — Passive materials storage and modest production.
• Water Reservoir — Supplemental water storage and slow production.
• Eco Seeder — Research-gated; reduces contamination on adjacent sectors over time.
• Geothermal Tap — Research-gated; strong energy on rock tiles with minor contamination.

Using the build menu in-game

Select a revealed tile, open the inspector, and click build to launch DEPLOY STRUCTURE. Each card shows name, net output summary, build cost, and lock reasons when requirements fail. Compare live menu data against the table above when planning — values match the same config source.

Close the menu without building if you are scouting costs; selecting a different tile refreshes available options based on that sector's terrain and deposits.

Version notes

Ten buildings, no combat structures, no multiplayer shared bases. Progress and building instances save via localStorage every 30 seconds — no cloud backup in Phase 1 prototype.

Related: Beginner guide, Resources overview, restoration game loop.

Return to the Guides hub or play TerraBite.