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Puzzle #62 ·

The answer was

Cluster Grenade

Compare direct inputs, not the whole supply chain

How to read this puzzle

An upgraded item does not necessarily share its predecessor’s direct ingredients. Grenade and Cluster Grenade show why the recipe column compares a single crafting step rather than tracing every raw material through the factory.

Start this worked example with Grenade. The six signals below show what that guess tells you about the answer.

Example guessGrenadeValues below belong to the guess. Signals point toward the answer.
Crafting tab
Combat Same crafting tab
Recipe
2 direct inputs 0 shared · target has more inputs
  • Iron Plate ×5Not in target
  • Coal ×10Not in target
Made in
Assembler Exact machine set
Craft time
8 s Exact
Recipe unlock
Nauvis Same recipe unlock
Stack
100 Exact

From the clues to the answer

  1. Keep the five exact properties

    Grenade matches Combat, Assembler, an eight-second craft time, Nauvis unlock, and a stack of 100. The recipe is the only column that misses. Those exact values are useful constraints; a dark recipe cell does not mean the opening guess was unhelpful.

  2. Understand why no ingredients overlap

    Grenade uses five Iron Plates and 10 Coal. Neither is a direct ingredient in Cluster Grenade. Instead, the answer takes seven finished Grenades, five Explosives, and five Steel Plates. The coal and iron needed to manufacture those grenades belong to an earlier crafting step and are not compared here.

  3. Use the input count

    The feedback says the answer has more input types than Grenade’s two. Cluster Grenade has three and preserves all five exact non-recipe properties. Checking those three direct inputs resolves the difference without abandoning the combat capsule family.

Take this into your next puzzle

A recipe with no overlap can still be an upgrade of your guess. Look for recipes that consume the guessed item itself, and count distinct direct inputs rather than units or raw materials.

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