Fastest early method: produce Wet Sand, process it with a Shaker, filter Gold downward into Collector blocks and route Residue to separate storage.
What Gold does
Gold unlocks Research and is one of the main early-to-mid-game progression materials. Officially, Gold can come from the Shaker, Kinetic Press and Flowers. The Shaker route is available first and teaches the logistics needed by the later chains.
The first Gold loop
- Mine Sand into a controlled input buffer.
- Let it contact Water to form Wet Sand.
- Move Wet Sand onto a Shaker.
- Place a Filter after the output to separate Gold from Residue.
- Send Gold into Collector blocks and Residue into its own buffer.
Why the Collector matters
Gold only counts toward the player's bank when stored inside Collector blocks. One solid Gold pixel is worth one currency. The official Gold page also notes that Liquid Gold is worth twice as much and can be stored in Collectors, making it useful later when storage density matters.
Build output separation first
Gold is very dense and falls to the bottom of mixed piles, which helps filtering. Do not rely on density alone: a full Residue area can still back up into the Shaker. Give each output a dedicated path and add an overflow pocket that remains reachable.
- Gold path ends in Collector blocks.
- Residue path has room for later burning.
- No output bin can block the Shaker mouth.
- The Wet Sand feed can be stopped during maintenance.
Later Gold sources
The Kinetic Press converts Burnt Residue into more Gold and Seed. Wet Seeds can grow into Flowers in Planter Boxes, and harvested Flowers provide Gold and Amethelis. Treat these as extensions of the same chain rather than replacements for good output logistics.
Troubleshooting
Gold exists but the balance does not rise
Check whether it is physically inside Collector blocks. Gold in ordinary storage or on a conveyor is not banked.
The Shaker stops
Inspect both outputs. The visible Gold path may be clear while Residue is piled against the processor.
The Water pool empties
Wet Sand consumes Water. Reduce the feed rate and build the renewable system described in the Infinite Water guide.
Official sources
Official Gold reference · Official Beginner's Guide · Official Research reference