Project Eden Guide: From Salvage Gyro to Your First Eden Frame
Data Status
- Covers the Update 5: New Horizons (June 25, 2026) Project Eden questline
- Sources: official Channel37 announcement + community-verified quest walkthroughs (Neoseeker: First Roots, Ugly Work)
- Grinder output rates (Oil per scrap) are not published anywhere yet — we don't guess numbers; verify in-game
TL;DR - The Whole Chain
Salvage Gyro → land at both silos (Eternal Flame south, Dead Breath north) → scan the two Recovery Grinder blueprints → feed the Grinder electricity + scrap to make Oil → pipe Oil to the Fabricator for Stainless Steel → sail to Pishion → build the Eden Frame - Small (50 Stainless Steel) + Farming Platform (8 more) → plant an Organic Seed → First Roots complete.
No Gyro yet? Start with the Salvage Gyro unlock guide — everything below depends on it.
Update 5 finally gives your deliveries a visible payoff: Eden, a stepped garden rising out of the ocean. But the path there runs through three updates' worth of systems, and the game doesn't spell out the dependency chain. This guide does — with every material count.
Quick Navigation
The Dependency Chain (Why You're Stuck)
First Roots appears in your quest log automatically the first time you boot the game after Update 5. It looks simple — build an Eden Frame at a new location. Then you check the recipe and hit the wall: 50 Stainless Steel, and your Fabricator won't make Stainless Steel without Oil.
- Eden Frame needs Stainless Steel ×50
- Stainless Steel needs Oil piped into the Fabricator
- Oil comes from the Recovery Grinder (there's no other reliable source)
- Recovery Grinder blueprints are split across two silos ("Ugly Work" quest)
- Both silos can only be entered by landing the Salvage Gyro — no ladders
So the real Step 1 is Update 4 content: unlock the Salvage Gyro (three blueprint towers, skill tree level 14, 3 points). Done that? Continue below.
Ugly Work: The Two Silo Blueprints
The quest starts when you reach either silo — they sit at the northernmost and southernmost points of the map, and you'll need both:
Southern silo: Eternal Flame
Holds the first Recovery Grinder blueprint.
Northern silo: Dead Breath
Holds the second blueprint.
Gyro is mandatory: the blueprint rooms have no ladder access. You land the Gyro on specific ledges/platforms to get inside. Bring Petrol — it's a long round trip between the map's two extremes.
Recovery Grinder Setup
Crafting Cost
- Alloy Frame ×3
- Connector Ports ×2
- Filtering System ×1
- Cooling Radiator ×1
- Reactive Core ×1
Running it takes three things: electricity, an Oil tank hooked up to catch the output, and scrap thrown inside. The Grinder converts scrap into Oil — which finally gives all that junk you've been dismantling a late-game purpose (the Dismantle Tool pays off one more time).
Exact Oil-per-scrap rates aren't published anywhere we could verify, so we won't invent them — budget more scrap than feels reasonable and check your tank levels in-game.
Oil → Stainless Steel
With Oil flowing, connect a cable from the Oil supply to your Fabricator — Stainless Steel becomes craftable once the Fabricator has Oil. You need at least 58 Stainless Steel for the full First Roots build (50 for the frame, 8 for the farming platform), so set up the production line before you sail to Pishion, not after.
Power planning: Grinder + Fabricator + your base is a real load. If cables and capacity are getting messy, the Power Grid Calculator does the routing math.
First Roots at Pishion
Sail to Pishion — the new map location just northeast of the Last Listener Station. Then build, in order:
1. Eden Frame - Small
Stainless Steel ×50 · Connector Ports ×3 · Storage Cylinder ×2 · Compression Pump ×1
2. Farming Platform
Stainless Steel ×8 — snaps onto the frame's walkway.
3. Power + Water
Wind Turbine or Solar Panels for power, and a Water Purifier connected to a Water Pump.
4. Plant a seed
The item must be labeled Organic and Seed — Memory items won't work. The quest completes as soon as the seed takes root.
What Eden grows into from here is committee-driven — as restoration seeds return from orbit, the garden expands. The full system overview is in our Update 5: New Horizons guide. And if you're still working on getting humans to orbit in the first place, that pipeline is the Lazarus Complex.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does the First Roots quest start?
It starts automatically the first time you boot the game after Update 5 (New Horizons, June 25, 2026). The quest sends you to Pishion, a new map location just northeast of the Last Listener Station.
How do you get Oil in The Last Caretaker?
Build the Recovery Grinder. Its two blueprints are inside the southern silo (Eternal Flame) and the northern silo (Dead Breath) — both require the Salvage Gyro to reach, since the blueprint rooms have no ladder access. The Grinder needs electricity, an Oil tank, and scrap, and it grinds scrap into Oil.
What does the Eden Frame - Small cost?
50 Stainless Steel, 3 Connector Ports, 2 Storage Cylinders, and 1 Compression Pump. The Farming Platform that snaps onto its walkway costs another 8 Stainless Steel.
Do I need the Salvage Gyro for Project Eden?
Yes, in practice. Making Stainless Steel needs Oil, Oil needs the Recovery Grinder, and both Grinder blueprints sit in silos that can only be entered by landing the Salvage Gyro on their platforms.
How does First Roots end?
Plant a seed in the Farming Platform on your Eden Frame. The item must be labeled Organic and Seed — not a Memory item. The quest completes as soon as the seed takes root.
Related Guides & Tools
Salvage Gyro Unlock Guide
Step 0 of this whole chain — all 3 blueprint towers.
Update 5: New Horizons Overview
Everything else the June 2026 update added.
Power Grid Calculator
Cable math for the Grinder + Fabricator production line.
Lazarus Complex Guide
The other half of the endgame: getting humans to orbit.
Missing the Gyro?
Everything in this chain gates on it. Three towers, three scans, 3 skill points.
Salvage Gyro Guide →