Loftia unlock order: stations, tool tiers and districts

What unlocks first in Loftia?

The Project Station unlocks first, and everything else stacks on it. It is the one station you are given rather than build, and its level-1 recipe list covers the Hammer, the Refining, Cooking, Tailoring and Carpentry stations, the Watering Can, the Collector Rod and the first solar panel.

Build in this order if you want the fewest dead ends:

1. Hammer — Screws 5, Plastic Discards 5. It clears the debris on your island, which is where scrap wood and metal scraps come from.
2. Refining Station — Screws 5, Scrap Wire 3. It converts that debris into Plank and Metal Plate.
3. Cooking Station — Metal Scraps 5, Scrap Wire 5, Clay 5. Cooking starts the Dew loop through the Shipping Bin.
4. Tailoring Station — Screws 10, Plastic Discards 10. Clothing is the cosmetic side, so it can wait a session.
5. Carpentry Station — Screws 10, Scrap Wood 10. Furniture recipes live here.

All five are Project Station level-1 recipes, so nothing above needs an upgrade first. The story hand-off that puts the Project Station on your island is in the quest order, and the materials are listed in crafting.

What changes at Project Station level 2 and 3?

Each level adds recipes that need the previous tier’s output, which is why rushing feels bad: a level-2 recipe that wants a Metal Plate assumes you already refine.

Project Station level	What it adds
Level 1	Hammer, Watering Can, Collector Rod, Refining / Cooking / Tailoring / Carpentry stations, Small Solar Panel, Battery Lv.2
Level 2	Medium Solar Panel, Small Wind Turbine, Small Hydro Station, Small Biofuel Station, Advanced Watering Can, Battery Lv.3, Basic Habitat, Beehive, trellises, Seed Maker, Hammer Lv.2
Level 3	Hydrofarm, Rail Boots, Locator, Collector Rod Lv.2, Battery Lv.4, Medium Wind Turbine, Medium Hydro and Biofuel stations, Recycler, Hammer Lv.3

Two consequences are worth planning around. The energy line upgrades on the same station as everything else, so a bigger battery competes with furniture and tools for the same refined materials. Trellises, the Beehive and the Basic Habitat all sit at level 2, which makes that tier the point where farming and pets stop being purely decorative.

How do you get station levels and tool upgrades?

Tools and recipe tiers come from research bundles. Bundles are researched at stations around the map — Community Farms, Central Lake, Overgrowth and the Museum — and each station holds a different set. Completing one pays out the recipe or item it lists: the Central Lake fish set hands over the Hammer Lv.2 recipe, and the Museum sets carry Rail Boots, the Collector Rod Lv.2, the Seed Maker and Hammer Lv.3.

The station levels come from those same bundles. Craftcore at Central Lake carries the level-2 upgrade, and the Museum’s opening page carries level 3 — the same cluster that holds Rail Boots. Reaching level 2 also wants a Battery Lv.2 in place first, and that battery is itself a level-1 recipe: Battery, Scrap Wire 10 and Mushroom Leather 2.

Either way the gate shows in the recipe list before you reach it: the Seed Maker is a level-2 recipe, the Collector Rod’s second tier and Rail Boots sit at level 3, and Hammer Lv.2 and Lv.3 need the station level first. Owning the materials is not enough until the level is open.

When do tools stop being the basic version?

Tools upgrade at the Project Station, and the second tier needs the first: Hammer Lv.2 is Hammer plus Rattan 10, Copper Scraps 10 and Rubber 2, and Hammer Lv.3 adds Electronic Scraps, Rust Resistant Alloy and Lignin. The Collector Rod follows the same pattern at level 3, and the Advanced Watering Can replaces the starter can at level 2.

That means an upgrade is never a straight purchase. It is a station level plus refined inputs plus the old tool. Check the recipe finder for the exact chain before you spend a Copper Bar on furniture.

When do the Hanging Gardens and Gridfall open?

Both districts are part of the main story, which Qloud describes as four chapters across Loftia City, the Hanging Gardens and Gridfall. The Gardens open at the end of the City chapter, past the Airtram Station, so the gate is a quest step rather than a separate purchase.

Traversal items follow the districts: the Glider’s Propeller for higher flight, Bounce Shoes for the Gardens, and Rail Boots for Gridfall’s rails. Rail Boots are a Project Station level-3 recipe, so the station tier gates how freely you can move once you arrive. District summaries are in the region guide.

Do proficiencies gate anything?

Proficiencies level per activity and pay out Perk points, and the cap is far past Level 5. Qloud lists Farming, Crafting, Cooking and Fishing among the tracks, and describes choosing which Perks to invest in.

Perks are the part of progression that is not a recipe: extra Adventure time and a faster solar charge are both on the list. Spend them on the activity you actually repeat.

What should you not do early?

Do not refine a rare input into a level-2 material before the station level exists, and do not buy cosmetic clothing with Dews you need for a Building Permit. The permit raises how much you can place, which is what makes the station chain fit on your plot at all; the make money guide covers the Dew side, and housing covers placement.