Ranked by what they gate
A resource tier list is not about rarity. It is about how much of the game the resource holds shut. The figures below come from the resource data: 144 entries with real weights and rarities.
S tier — the gates
| Resource | Weight | Rarity | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metal | 1.0 | Common | Gates the forge, guns and metal structures |
| Cementing Paste | 0.01 | Common | The entire stone tier, for almost no weight |
| Electronics | 0.01 | Common | Everything electrical, at hide weight |
| Polymer | 0.25 | Uncommon | Flak armor, guns and the fabricator |
Metal is the most important resource in the game. The data describes it as unrefined ore “mined from rocks usually found high on mountains, or in caves” — which is why the Ankylosaurus is the first serious tame. It weighs 1.0 and stacks to 300, so a metal run is a weight run.
Cementing Paste is the hidden king. At 0.01 weight it is lighter than thatch, it stacks to 100, and it gates every stone-tier structure. A tamed Beelzebufo produces it from the insects it eats, which turns a bug hunt into a building supply.
Electronics is the other weight miracle: 0.01 per unit, and nothing powered exists without it.
Polymer is the mid-game wall. Flak armor, fabricated guns and the fabricator all sit behind it, and organic polymer only stacks to 20 — a cave trip for polymer is a serious expedition.
A tier — the rare gates
| Resource | Weight | Rarity | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obsidian | 1.0 | Uncommon | Found underground; gates the best gear |
| Crystal | 1.0 | Uncommon | Lenses and electronics, same caves |
| Silica Pearls | 0.02 | Uncommon | Tek tier, and almost weightless |
| Oil | 0.2 | Uncommon | Gasoline and everything industrial |
| Black Pearl | 2.0 | Rare | Heaviest of the resources you haul in bulk; from the sea floor |
Obsidian and Crystal come from the same caves as the metal, at 1.0 weight each. Any base near mountains is near both, which is why mountain bases win in the long run.
Silica Pearls are the best trade in the A tier: 0.02 weight, gating tek-tier crafting, harvested from the water.
Black Pearl is the worst trade that still matters: 2.0 weight per unit — twice a metal ingot (1.0) — rare, and pulled from the bottom of the sea. Tek gear does not exist without it, so you carry it anyway.
B tier — the volume resources
These are the ones you burn by the thousand:
- Wood (0.5) and Stone (0.5) — the base, and the fuel for the forge.
- Thatch (0.02) — the starter structure, light enough to carry in bulk.
- Fiber (0.01) — lighter still, and it gates every early recipe.
- Hide (0.01) — the first armor, and it weighs nothing.
- Chitin (0.01) — early armor and the first real weapons.
- Pelt (0.5) — fur armor, which is the cold-region answer.
The pattern is deliberate: the resources you need in the largest volume weigh the least. Fiber and hide cost nothing to haul; wood and stone are the reason you tame a hauler.
C tier — situational
Salt, clay, sulfur, flint and sparkpowder all matter, but only for specific recipes. Grab them when a recipe asks, and do not build a run around them.
The refining chains
Some entries in the resource data are really steps rather than resources:
- Charcoal — created by burning wood, and the fuel for the cooks and the forge.
- Metal Ingot — created by refining metal ore in a forge, and the form every recipe actually wants.
- Sparkpowder — created by grinding flint with stone at a mortar and pestle, and the base of gunpowder.
The forge is the building that turns raw weight into useful weight. Ore is 1.0 per unit and a pain to move; ingots are what the recipes ask for, so every base needs a forge before it needs a warehouse.
How to read the weights
The weight column is the real tier list. A resource at 0.01 is one you carry by the thousand without noticing; a resource at 2.0 is one where every trip is a logistics problem. Cementing Paste at 0.01 gating the stone tier is the single best trade in the resource data, and Black Pearl at 2.0 gating tek is the single worst.