Payload Conveyor

The Payload Conveyor is a specialized transport block introduced in Mindustry in Version 6.0. It functions as a conveyor that can carry full payloads — including units and buildings — rather than just items. Payload Conveyors appear in the build menu alongside other logistics structures and are used where mobile or compact placement of units/blocks is required within a base or on a moving platform.

Payload Conveyors can hold certain living or mechanical payloads such as Arkyid and Vela, and in later builds they can also host full blocks placed on top of them. From Build 128 onward the payload capacity for blocks was increased to allow a 3×3 arrangement of carried blocks, and in Build 134 blocks placed on payload conveyors are rendered and updated in place: turrets will fire, factories will produce, and other functional buildings will operate while sitting on a payload conveyor. This makes payload conveyors useful not only for moving units but also for creating mobile or temporary production and defense platforms.

Practical notes and behavior:

• Capacity: As of Build 128 the payload conveyor supports up to a 3×3 footprint of carried blocks. Specific unit compatibility includes at least Arkyid and Vela (added in Build 127).
• Functionality: Blocks carried on payload conveyors are drawn and receive game updates (they act as if placed normally); turrets will target and shoot, and production buildings will process while on the conveyor (changed in Build 134).
• Costs and acquisition: The copper cost was reduced from 20 to 10 in Build 134, making Payload Conveyors cheaper to craft.
• Use cases: Place turrets or factories on payload conveyors to create moving defenses, mobile factories, or compact multi-function platforms. They are also useful for staging units or for combining with other logistics to reposition functional blocks.
• Placement considerations: Because carried blocks are updated in-place, power, item, and liquid requirements still need to be satisfied for those blocks to function; plan conduit and power routing accordingly.
• Legacy description note: The in-game description references magnetic behavior and zero-G usability; this text originates from an earlier design where payload conveyors were intended for zero-gravity asteroid sectors and remains as legacy description text.

Development history highlights:

• Introduced in Version 6.0.
• Build 127 added compatibility with Arkyid and Vela.
• Build 128 increased block payload capacity to 3×3.
• Build 134 enabled drawing and updating of blocks on payload conveyors and lowered copper cost from 20 to 10.

Use Payload Conveyors when you need mobile or compact placement of active buildings or to move specific units within a base; they allow functionally active blocks to be transported while continuing to operate, enabling creative defensive and logistical designs.