There’s a special kind of calm when you stand on the prow of your first hand-built mothership and watch an enemy fighter dissolve in your turret arcs. Era One gives you that feeling over and over: the game hands you cubes and systems, then asks you to invent a purpose for them. It’s a sandbox RTS that leans hard on modular, resource logistics, and tactical fleet engagements — and yes, it has the emotional pull of a good space opera. If you’re new, this Era One guide will get you from “I have a lot of cubes” to “my fleet is not messing around” without the usual overwhelm.
The simplest truth: Era One is a ship-building RTS
At its heart Era One is two things in one: a base/ship construction sandbox and a real-time tactical commander sim. You assemble your capital hull out of modules — crew quarters, power plants, factories, docks, turrets and more — and every module affects power, logistics and combat capability. That modular freedom is the joy: you can create a city-ship, a fortress, or a nimble carrier. But with freedom comes responsibility: poorly balanced power grids or missing logistics loops will make your proud creation implode under fire. Treat your mothership as both a city and a war machine.
First 30 minutes in Era One — what to do (the fast checklist you’ll actually follow)
When you load a game, forget perfection and aim for stability. Your immediate goals are: secure a steady resource income, build a reliable power source, and add basic defenses.
Start by placing a compact reactor/solar power array close to where your construction hub will be. Next, assemble a mining/harvest module or queue a small harvester fleet to gather raw materials — Era One leans on scavenging and resource nodes rather than abstract income. Once you have power and incoming materials, slot in a basic recycler/fabricator to turn raw ore into hull blocks and components. Finally, add a couple of turrets and at least one hangar or drone bay so you can field fighters for scouting and defense. These core steps stop your base from stalling while you learn the rest.
How Era One module system actually works
Think of modules as Lego with functionality. Each cube you attach can be inert hull or an active module that consumes/produces power, provides crew capacity, gives weapons, or handles logistics. Placement matters: reactors and power conduits should be central to reduce loss; weapon arcs and sensor modules go on edges where they have line-of-sight. Some modules increase maintenance and crew requirements, so balance utility with sustainability. The community and early previewers emphasize that beginner mistakes often come from stacking expensive active modules without a supporting power and supply network.
Design philosophy — three simple rules that make good ships
- Power first — always oversize your early power generation by a little; reactors and solar don’t weigh much and give you headroom for weapons.
- Keep logistics tight — clustering factories and storage reduces transfer delays and makes your production more predictable.
- Layered defenses — mix turrets, point defenses and a few fighters rather than one massive gun. Layering beats single-system failure.
These are guidelines, not commandments. Experimentation is part of the fun — but follow them early and you’ll avoid the “my ship spontaneously exploded” learning curve many players mention in the Steam community.
Era One Economy & progression — what to prioritize first week
Early progression is the tug of war between growth and vulnerability. Prioritize the following, in order: stable resource lines (mining/scavenging), basic production (fabricators, hull and ammo), reliable power, and then weapon/defense upgrades. Don’t chase a single “big gun” until you’ve automated supply chains — a battleship with no ammo is a floating paperweight.
Also look for outposts or salvage opportunities: Era One rewards players who can extend supply via remote mining and captured wrecks, and those resources scale your options later on. Prebuilt modules and blueprints you find or reverse-engineer often beat crafted gear early, so keep a salvage cruiser or salvage drone active.
Combat & tactics — you’re a fleet commander, not a lone pilot
In battle your mothership is rarely a solo dueler; you command squadrons and micro generators. Use fighters and drones to screen and absorb incoming fire, and reserve capital-grade weapons for targets of opportunity. Sensors are critical: without adequate sensor suites you won’t spot missile volleys or ambushes. Position your main fire arcs so turrets are supported by power nodes and protected by smaller point defenses that eat missiles and torpedoes.
Tactical tip: force engagements on your terms by using scouts to probe enemy layouts, then concentrate fire on their logistics or power modules to cripple their ability to retaliate. Era One’s fights reward targeting subsystems rather than just HP bars.
UI & camera — learn the view keys early
Era One mixes close-up construction with zoomed out fleet command. Learn the zoom and sensor shortcuts — you’ll be toggling between designing small assemblies and overseeing fights across kilometers of space. Community guides and videos show that players who habitually use the sensor (strategic) view have far better situational awareness. Practice switching camera layers until it becomes reflex.
Co-op, mods and community tips
The game launched into Early Access with a strong community and active dev engagement; check the Steam discussions for patch notes and experimental settings (players often share “module cap” tips and creative design ideas). If you play co-op, delegate roles: one player focuses on production/logistics while the other pilots the combat wing — collaboration reduces micromanagement stress and accelerates growth. Workshop or mod support is likely to expand; once you’re comfortable with the base game, explore community blueprints for inspiration.
Common beginner mistakes and how to avoid them
Beginners frequently underpower their ship, over-specialize on weapons, or scatter production across too much hull. To avoid that: build a compact heart for power and logistics, treat each weapon as a consumer that needs supply, and test your designs with a small skirmish before scaling up. Backups are cheap — an extra battery array or hangar drone can save an entire campaign.
Era One asks you to think like an architect and fight like an admiral. Start with a tidy, functional core: power, mining, production, and a couple of fighters. From there, expand deliberately: add cargo loops, sensor towers, hangars and layered defenses. Watch a few early-access videos to see how other players solve the same problems (you’ll learn advanced tricks from every playthrough) and then make your own glorious mistakes — that’s how the best motherships are built.