It doesn't take long before Talos-II starts teasing you with routes you can't open. You spot a chest, a side path, maybe a puzzle room, then a Blight Core or a busted rock wall says no. That's the moment Industrial Explosives stop feeling optional. If you're serious about exploration, or even thinking about smoother progression with Arknights endfield boosting in mind, you'll want this production chain unlocked as soon as the game lets you. The catch is that Endfield doesn't hand explosives to you through combat or shops. You've got to build the process yourself through the Automated Industry Complex, and yeah, the first setup takes a bit of work.
Unlocking the right base tech
The first step is simple, but you can't skip ahead. Keep moving through the main story until you obtain the Basic Expansion Core. After that, upgrade your base to Basic AIC Level II. That single upgrade matters because it opens Packaging Technology, which is the thing standing between you and explosive crafting. Once it's available, place a Packaging Unit in your base. That machine is where the finished explosives are made, so everything else in the chain eventually feeds into it. A lot of players hit this point and wonder if they missed a merchant somewhere. You didn't. This is one of those systems the game wants you to build out properly.
What you need for each explosive
Each Industrial Explosive needs 1 Aketine Powder and 5 Amethyst Parts. On paper, that doesn't sound too bad. In practice, the early grind can be annoying if you're collecting by hand. Aketine usually starts with field gathering, especially around places like Valley Pass, but that gets old fast. The better move is to set up Planting Units and a Seed-Picker so the resource keeps coming in on its own. Then send the harvested material into a Shredding Unit to turn it into Aketine Powder. Amethyst takes a few more steps. Mine the ore first, refine it into Amethyst Fiber, then process that fiber in a Fitting Unit to get the parts you actually need. It looks like a long chain at first glance, but once you lay it out, it's pretty easy to follow.
Why automation matters so much
You can absolutely craft explosives by dropping materials into the Packaging Unit yourself and waiting for the ten-second timer. It works. It's also the slowest way to handle something you'll use all game. Conveyors change everything here. Feed your Shredding Unit output and your Fitting Unit output directly into the Packaging Unit, and the whole setup starts feeling less like crafting and more like a proper factory line. As long as your power supply holds, you'll keep building a stockpile in the background while you go do missions, explore ruins, or chase down side objectives. That's the real win. Instead of stopping every time a wall blocks you, you just carry enough explosives and keep moving.
Why it pays off later
The further you get into Endfield, the more often the game expects you to revisit old areas, crack open hidden routes, and clear environmental blocks without fuss. Having explosives ready saves time, plain and simple. It also makes exploration feel better because you're not marking obstacles on the map and promising yourself you'll come back later. If you like keeping your progression efficient, it helps to plan ahead, and some players also use services from U4GM for game items or currency support while focusing their own time on building cleaner production lines. Either way, getting this factory running early is one of those choices that keeps paying you back for hours.
