Chemistry batch planner: distillations, flask limits, and safe recipes

Abiotic Factor chemistry has two separate jobs. The Distillation Bench turns raw items into named Distillations. The Chemistry Bench then combines three Distillations, in a fixed order and ratio, into a coating, tincture, or flask. Treating those steps as one process makes it hard to see whether the real bottleneck is raw material, Distillation output, or the Chemistry Bench's flask capacity.

This page covers the production step. It does not list an item as a source for a Distillation unless that input can be checked on the current Chemistry page. Use the in-game GATEPal Chemistry record to confirm discoveries after a patch.

What the two benches actually do

The Distillation Bench has an input flask on the left and an output flask on the right. The Chemistry Bench has three input flasks. Each Chemistry Bench flask holds no more than 8 units of one Distillation, so the largest ingredient number in a recipe determines whether multiple copies can be made at once.

Three-flask workflow

Verified starter recipes

These recipes are useful examples because they show three different ratios. Keep the ingredient order shown in the table.

The batch limit is the smallest whole number produced by dividing 8 by each ingredient quantity. Speedy Tincture can therefore run four recipe batches: the three flasks hold 8 Vigorous, 8 Fizzy, and 4 Void, producing twelve tinctures because each batch yields three. Acid Coating can only run once because a second batch would require 12 units in every flask.

Use the Chemistry Batch Planner when you want the site to calculate the limiting reagent and missing quantities. The tool uses the same static recipe ratios and does not send inventory data to a server.

Plan a batch from the target backward

Start with the output count, not with whichever Distillation has filled a storage slot. For a target of three Speedy Tinctures, one recipe batch is enough. Multiply ingredient quantities by batches, not finished items:

For a target of five Speedy Tinctures, whole recipe batches mean making six. Load 4 Vigorous, 4 Fizzy, and 2 Void for two batches in one bench cycle. One batch would yield only three; a third cannot be produced by loading a partial ratio. Do not fill a flask past 8 or assume the bench carries an overfilled remainder automatically. If you do load the maximum 8 / 8 / 4, expect twelve tinctures rather than four.

Avoid Unstable Flask mistakes

The official Chemistry reference documents two failure paths. A wrong order or wrong ratio among three Distillations creates an Unstable Flask. Combining two Distillations with Noxious Sludge also creates one. The failed mix causes a small explosion at the bench and knocks the player back.

Use this check before turning the valve:

1. Read the recipe from left to right.
2. Match that order to the three physical input flasks.
3. Count the units in each flask rather than estimating from the liquid level.
4. Confirm that each number is an exact multiple of the recipe ratio.
5. Remove Noxious Sludge unless the intended result specifically calls for it.
6. Leave room around the bench so a failed mix does not knock the player into another hazard.

If a mix fails, stop. Empty or correct the inputs before repeating it. Adding more material to an unknown combination only increases the cost of the same mistake.

Storage that matches the recipe process

One general chemistry crate hides the production state. Three small storage groups make shortages visible:

Do not count a raw item as if it were already a Distillation. Its yield depends on the specific source item. Distill first, collect the actual output, and only then update the batch count.

Choosing an output

Chemistry stock is most useful when it answers a planned problem. A Speedy Tincture belongs in a route plan where movement matters. A Curative Tincture belongs in a medical supply plan. A coating belongs with the weapon that will use it. The official Chemistry page also notes that a weapon can hold only one coating at a time; applying another replaces the first.

Coatings begin with their own durability and lose durability along with the weapon. Upgrading the weapon at an Enhancement Bench does not remove the coating. Those rules make it sensible to apply a coating shortly before the weapon's intended run rather than using it merely to clear storage.

Recovery checklist

The reliable loop is short: verify the raw source, distill it, count the named reagent, load three flasks in recipe order, and store the output for a specific job. That process is slower than guessing once, but much faster than replacing rare inputs after repeated failed mixtures.