How to Take Out Biter Nests

Biters are an enemy in Factorio that can decimate your entire factory in seconds. As the game progresses Biters will expand their bases and further encroach on your territory. Luckily, you can take out their bases to halt their expansion and progress, as well as keep your factory out of harm's way in Factorio.

• How to Take Out Biter Nests
  • Using the Tank
  • Killing Biter Nests From Long Range

How to Take Out Biter Nests

Biter Nests are not to be messed with early game. While your pistol or machine gun will be good for stopping small swarms of Biters from attacking your pipelines, bringing the fight to their home turf is a different story.

The best way to take out Biters is to use Laser Turrets and Artillery from a distance. We recommend building out your electricity grid with either steam, solar, or nuclear power and then slowly bringing power poles toward the Biter Nests.

Be aware that Biters have pretty good vision so you won't be able to get too close before they start attacking the poles. So, as you build closer, start dropping down some laser turrets around each pole to properly defend it.

Laser Turrets require 150 Red, Green, Blue, and Military Science to research at the Lab.

This will work for small nests, but as the game progresses and biters become bigger and more powerful, you'll need something heavier.

Using the Tank

You can build a Tank in Factorio and it's probably your best mid-game option for taking out Biter Nests. It comes equipped with three weapons that all take different ammo but are incredibly effective at taking out mid-game Biter Nests. The integrated submachine gun, flamethrower, and cannon are all viable to rid the area of nests. It also uses fuel like every other moving vehicle in the game.

To craft the Tank you will need 50 Steel Plates, 15 Iron Gear Wheel, 10 Advanced Circuits, and 32 Engine Units.

Below are the ammo types needed for each part of the Tank:

• Cannon: Explosive Cannon Shells, Cannon Shell, Uranium Cannon Shell, Explosive Uranium Cannon Shell
• Submachine Gun: Firearm Magazine, Piercing Rounds Magazine, Uranium Rounds Magazine
• Flamethrower: Flamethrower Ammo

Stock up your tank with the appropriate ammo, and drive it to nearby Biter Nests to start destroying them. The large health pool of the Tank mixed with its powerful cannon should be enough to destroy the mid-game Biter Nests, just ensure you have enough ammo on you and restock when needed.

You can also use throwable items like Grenades and Poisons from the Tank if you're stuck in a bind.

Killing Biter Nests From Long Range

Once you're able to build Artillery, you can take a slightly different approach. Set up the Artillery somewhere it can be defended easily. Build your Artillery, drop some Laser Turrets, and build some walls around them. Once you shoot off an Artillery strike, all biters in the area will come after it.

Build your power poles inside of the walls, if the Biters take those out, your Laser turrets will not function and become useless.

Artillery takes a long time to reload, so the Laser Turrets and walls will buy you time to strike another Biter Nest. The Artillery has an incredibly long range, so it doesn't have to be close to the nests.

Looking for more Factorio guides? See:

• Beginner's Guide and Tips
• Helpful Keyboard Shortcuts
• Starter Base Guide
• Combat Basics

Up Next: How to Get Started With Trains

PreviousHow to Defend Your BaseNextHow to Get Started With Trains

Top Guide Sections

• Beginner's Guide and Tips
• Helpful Keyboard Shortcuts
• Starter Base
• Combat Basics

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Initial Release: Aug 14, 2020

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