BlockFactory:Portal of the Ancient

The Portal of the Ancient: platform and pillars

The Portal of the Ancient is how creatures come into your world. It stands as a ruin about 20 blocks from the bunker. Rebuild it, then feed it materials, and it summons Goblins, Golems and Outlanders. Each creature arrives trapped in a crystal, as an item you use as a crafting ingredient.

Rebuilding the portal is the first big goal of the game, and the goal tracker on the HUD walks you through it. Your first research building needs two Goblins, and the Outlander Test Site needs an Outlander.

The Portal of the Ancient has nothing to do with the Great Portal, a separate and much larger ruin further out.

Rebuilding the ruin

The ruin is rebuilt in four phases. The portal only takes what the current phase still needs.

Phase	Materials
1 Foundation	200 Stone, 100 Stone Brick
2 Pillars	100 Stone Brick, 60 Iron Plate
3 Arch	80 Iron Plate, 60 Copper Plate, 30 Iron Gear
4 Rune Ring	60 Copper Plate, 60 Iron Gear, 100 Coal

Everything in the list can be made in Epoch 0. Ways to deliver:

• By hand: crouch and use the portal with the stack in your hand.
• Deliver from inventory: this button in the portal's window hands over everything the phase needs from your inventory. It works the same way for the calls later.
• Belt: a belt that points into the portal.
• Grabber: a grabber that puts into the portal.

When a phase is complete, the new parts rise out of the ground. After phase 4 the portal is restored and ready to call creatures.

Calling creatures

In the portal's window you choose the call: Goblin, Golem or Outlander. The choice stays until you change it, so the portal can be automated. Every item you put in fills the essence bar of the selected call. The portal only takes items that fit the call; the rest stays on the belt. Each call keeps its own bar when you switch.

Call	Takes (essence per item)	Essence	Special	Unlocked by
Goblin	Every item with a Gob value, at that value (plates, gears, cables, bricks, belts, cartridges, animal products …)	150	–	Start
Golem	Stone Brick (1), Concrete (1), Steel Plate (3), Steel Beam (7)	300	Also needs 1 Golem Core as its heart	Golemcraft
Outlander	Every item with a Gob or Gol value, at that value; Stone, Wood, Coal, Iron Ore and Copper Ore at 0.5	150	Each item kind fills at most 10 % of the bar	Start

• The Gob and Gol values are the same as at the research centers; see Research.
• Outlanders need variety: with at most 10 % per item kind, a full bar needs at least ten different kinds of items. The window shows how much of each kind's share is used.
• Golems need a heart: when the bar is full, the portal waits for one Golem Core.
• If the last piece would overfill the bar or an item's share, the surplus essence is lost.

Summoning

When the bar is full and the output has room, the summoning begins. It takes 20 seconds while the runes and the portal surface glow. Then the creature lies in the output slot:

Call	Item
Goblin	Trapped Goblin
Golem	Golem
Outlander	Trapped Outlander

Take it with the Take button, by crouching and using the portal with an empty hand, or with a grabber. The output holds up to 10 creatures of one kind. The bar starts filling for the next creature while a summoning runs. The materials are used up, so the portal competes with research for your products.

Rising prices

Every creature of the same kind costs 5 % more essence than the one before, up to double the starting price. The Outlander's 10 % share per item kind grows with it. The count is kept per kind for the whole world: summoning many Goblins does not make Golems more expensive.

Creatures of this kind summoned so far	Price	Goblin / Outlander	Golem
0	100 %	150	300
1	105 %	157.5	315
10	150 %	225	450
20 or more	200 %	300	600

Hob-Goblins

Hob-Goblins do not come from the portal. You make them from a Trapped Goblin in a Fabricator after the research Hob-Goblin Construction. See Goblins.

More portals

The research Ancient Rites (Epoch 4) lets you craft your own Portal of the Ancient: 50 Stone Brick, 20 Rune Slate, 5 Golem Core. It is 7 × 7 blocks. A new portal starts as a ruin and has to be rebuilt through the same four phases before it can call creatures. Several portals can summon at the same time.

See also

• Getting Started
• Goblins
• Golems
• Outlanders
• The World