Sol One Walkthrough: The Campaign in Ten Stages
A stage-by-stage Sol One walkthrough, from the first breath on Mars to the rocket that takes you home, with the checkpoints that keep a run alive.
Sol One does not have chapters. It has a goal — build a rocket and leave — and a set of systems that must be standing before that goal is reachable. A walkthrough is therefore less a sequence of levels and more an order of operations.
This is that order, in ten stages. Each stage has a checkpoint: a condition that should be true before you move on. If the checkpoint is false, the next stage will be harder than it needs to be.
Stage 1: Land and read the situation
Goal: understand your starting inventory and immediate surroundings.
You arrive with a suit, a tank and limited supplies, alone on a planet. Before you build anything:
- Read every HUD element. Know which bars are falling.
- Look at the terrain. Note the nearest rises, the flat ground and any visible structures.
- Open the inventory and the build menu. Learn what you can make with what you have.
- Find the sun. The day-night cycle is real; you have limited daylight.
Checkpoint: you know your oxygen budget in minutes and you have picked a base site.
Water is the resource that gates the base. A site near ice and reasonably near ore saves hours later. Do not settle for a beautiful view.
Stage 2: Build the first sealed room
Goal: a pressurized volume you can breathe in.
The opening is a pressure problem. A room, a seal and an airlock turn the planet's atmosphere from a threat into a wall.
- Build the smallest room that fits a life-support unit and a bed.
- Seal it properly. A gap is an atmosphere leak and a dust leak.
- Build the airlock. It is the only way in and out, and it is what makes the seal reusable.
- Do not take the helmet off until the room reads breathable.
Checkpoint: you can stand inside, helmet off, with the oxygen bar stable.
The pressurized base guide→ covers the seal and airlock details; this is the stage where that system matters most.
Stage 3: Power the life support
Goal: continuous oxygen production.
A habitat without power is a tent. The first power source and a battery are what turn the room into a home.
- Build the first generator or solar array.
- Add a battery. Generation without storage is daylight-only.
- Connect the oxygen producer. It must run at night.
- Check the load. If the battery drains before dawn, you have too little generation or too much load.
Checkpoint: the base holds atmosphere through a full night with the producer running.
The fabricator is the biggest early load. Build it only when the grid has a night's margin, or it will eat the oxygen budget.
Stage 4: Solve water
Goal: a water supply that does not depend on the starting inventory.
Ice is the source. The chain from ice to usable water is the base's second life-support loop.
- Locate an ice deposit. Mark it.
- Build the extraction and processing needed to turn ice into water.
- Store water in a tank, not just in your inventory.
- Keep a reserve for the suit and for the crops.
Checkpoint: water production meets daily demand with a surplus going into storage.
The water guide→ covers the chain; the resources guide→ covers where ice sits in the wider material map.
Stage 5: Food and the first greenhouse
Goal: a food supply that does not run out.
Food is the loop's slowest resource because it is biological. A crop takes time.
- Build the first growing bed.
- Plant, and keep the seed stock. Every crop is also a seed.
- Do not eat the first harvest. Plant it.
- Add a second bed before the population of one needs it.
Checkpoint: food production is positive and seed stock is held back.
The food and farming guide→ covers the eat-or-plant decision in detail.
Stage 6: Research
Goal: unlock the fabrication tier.
Research is the progression clock. Samples and data points feed a bench and a tree; the tree gates what you can build.
- Build the research bench as soon as the base can spare the power.
- Collect samples on every field trip, not just the ones you need.
- Spend early points on fabrication and life-support nodes.
- Do not chase comfort nodes before the base is stable.
Checkpoint: the fabricator tier is unlocked and the bench is running.
Stage 7: Expand the base
Goal: a workshop, storage and a suit room.
With life support stable, the base can grow. The order that works:
- Storage. Containers for ore, stock, food and rocket material.
- Fabrication room. The fabricator and its input stock.
- Suit room. A small pressurized space at the airlock for tanks and helmets.
- Second bedroom or rest area. Rest is a life sign; a bed is not a luxury.
- Exterior lighting and beacons. Night work and navigation.
Checkpoint: the base runs for two days without intervention.
Stage 8: Vehicles
Goal: the Crawler, and a second location.
The Crawler changes the scale of the game. Build it when the base can spare the fabrication time.
- Fabricate the Crawler.
- Build a charging point at the base.
- Drive a route to the ice and ore sites; confirm it is passable.
- Load a spare tank, water and a container, and treat the vehicle as a mobile depot.
Checkpoint: you can do a full resource run and return with daylight to spare.
The rover guide→ covers cargo planning and storm procedure.
Stage 9: Points of interest and the wider map
Goal: salvage, story and the materials the base cannot make.
The map holds crashed ships, earlier landing sites and abandoned bases. They are the game's exploration layer and a source of parts.
- Pick one POI, not five.
- Go with cargo space and a return trigger.
- Salvage what the base needs; leave the rest.
- Read the environmental story. It is the game's narrative.
Checkpoint: one POI cleared, and its salvage integrated into the base.
The rocket needs material the base may not produce. When that moment comes, the POIs stop being tourism and become supply lines.
Stage 10: The rocket
Goal: build the rocket and leave.
The final stage is a programme, not a build. The rocket guide→ covers it in full; the walkthrough-level summary:
- Readiness. Base stable for days, power margin, water reserve, food positive.
- Stock. Bulk structural material, plus the small electronics that are easy to under-buy.
- Fabricate. Batch the parts; schedule around the grid.
- Assemble. A dedicated area with power and clear ground.
- Launch. Crew supplies loaded, base stable, save made.
Checkpoint: the rocket leaves. That is the campaign.
The order matters more than the speed
Every stage depends on the one before it. A player who skips water to build the fabricator spends the next day repairing the oxygen loop. A player who skips research to build the rover runs out of things to build.
The fastest route through Sol One is the careful one: small base, stable loop, then scale.
FAQ
How long is the walkthrough? No playtime estimate has been published. The pace depends on how much base you build before the rocket.
Can I skip stages? You can try, but the dependencies are real: power needs a sealed base, fabrication needs power, the rocket needs fabrication.
What is the hardest stage? The first three. Pressure, seal and power are where most runs fail.
Do I need to clear every POI? No. Clear the ones that supply what the base or the rocket needs.
What should I do after the rocket? Unconfirmed. The game is a sandbox; a second run with a better base design is the obvious answer.