Much of what you do in Astroneer requires some trial and error, and if you’re particularly unlucky: deaths. There aren’t a ton of ways to die in the game right now, but the biggest is certainly dying from a lack of oxygen. Which is where filters come in.
Filters must be researched before you can craft them, so get your base up and running and get your Research Station ready. It’s time to science (research) your way to filters. Do note that there is no real indicator or requirement for getting specific research schematics — you’ll just have to research until you get the filter schematic.
Once researched, filters can be easily crafted in your backpack by using a single compound. What about from there, though?
What Filters Do
A staple of any planetary explorer or scientist’s kit, filters provide extra oxygen when you’re off a tether.
A filter, which as mentioned above only requires one compound to craft, can provide up to 80 total seconds of extra oxygen when you’re off your tether. One filter contains four small tanks and each tank provides 20 seconds of oxygen.
Essentially, filters make exploration less risky. Once you research and have them you neither have to stress as much about your oxygen tank nor worry about how close you are to tethers. As long as you have one compound, which is easy enough to find, you can keep making and using filters to keep your oxygen up without any fuss.
How to Use Filters
Perhaps a bit of good news: You don’t have to put filters on the shoulders of your backpack for them to work.
Once you craft filters and have them in your backpack they will automatically be used as your main oxygen supply, which means you’re not getting oxygen from an outside source (e.g. tethers, oxygen mines, etc). Filters will even be used before your primary oxygen tanks.
When you burn through all four tanks a filter will disappear from your backpack and you’ll have to make another one.
Oxygen management is the biggest survival factor in Astroneer for the time being, and filters make it super easy for you to survive in the wilds of space. Sure, you may get killed by some plants — but at least you won’t die from a lack of oxygen.
And if you’re looking to play Astroneer with some friends, makes sure to check out our guide on how to play Astroneer multiplayer on Xbox One and Windows.
Got any other survival tips for Astroneer? Do you think any improvements should be made to the filter system and how they affect Astoneer‘s gameplay? Sound off in the comments below!
