block-disassembler

The Disassembler is a late-game production block that consumes slag and power to randomly produce one of several useful materials (Sand, Graphite, Titanium, Thorium) according to built-in probability weights. It was added in v6.0 and tuned in later updates; its build requires Thorium and Plastanium in current builds and it has relatively high health and energy draw compared with basic refineries. Because its outputs are stochastic, the Disassembler is best viewed as a high-throughput supplemental source rather than a guaranteed primary supplier.

When placed, a Disassembler consumes slag at a steady rate (recent builds increased the consumption slightly) and converts that resource into the item pool. The relative chances favor Sand Floor most heavily, with lower but meaningful chances for Graphite and Titanium and an increased chance for Thorium in modern builds. Over time players discovered it can generate Thorium even in sectors that lack Thorium ore, provided Thorium is available in the starting loadout or imported to cover build costs; this makes it particularly useful for fueling Thorium Reactor setups on resource-poor maps.

Practical usage and strategic notes:

• Use Disassemblers as supplements to dedicated production lines rather than sole producers. Their random output can cause shortages of specific materials (notably Titanium for cryofluid chains), so keep backups or parallel refineries for critical inputs.
• Disassemblers pair naturally with Thorium Reactor power: they can churn out Thorium for fuel and Titanium that feeds Pooled Cryofluid production, making compact reactor-Disassembler clusters attractive. A single Disassembler at full rate can, on average, produce enough Thorium and Titanium to support multiple reactors and a Cryofluid Mixer, but results vary due to randomness.
• Sand Floor yield is slightly higher on average than a Pulverizer’s but comes with much greater power and scrap (slag) cost per second; use Disassemblers when you need bulk Sand Floor and have ample slag and energy.
• If you can convert Disassembler Sand Floor into Phase Fabric (with Thorium in a Phase Weaver) and Silicon (with Coal in a Smelter/Crucible), you can leverage its outputs into advanced materials. Combining Phase Fabric and Silicon production with an Overdrive Dome can massively boost scrap refinery throughput.
• Graphite output is less essential early, but it can supplement or replace Coal-based Graphite production and provides useful turret ammo — particularly for weapons like Ripple and Spectre that benefit from graphite shells.
• Because of the block’s cost and vulnerability, protect Disassemblers: they are expensive to build and can severely impact operations if destroyed or starved of slag/power.

Balance/history highlights: Disassemblers were introduced in v6.0. Subsequent updates reduced build time, adjusted build costs (removing Graphite and Surge Alloy from cost while adding Thorium and Plastanium), and increased the Thorium weight among outputs. Health and slag consumption were also tweaked across builds. These changes aimed to integrate Disassemblers into late-game economies while tuning their throughput and risk profile.