⛏OreFactoryGuideFIELD MANUAL // UNOFFICIAL← ALL GUIDES
ROLE GUIDEMINER // HANDLER // OFF-SITE

Ore Factory Squad Employees, Handlers & Off-site Contracts

Hire by the role shown in your current UI, test one assignment at a time, and keep employee work separate from warehouse robots.

Updated September 4, 2026
Official Ore Factory Squad scene with workers at an active dig site
Official game scene used for system identification. It does not prove a specific employee route, wage, assignment, or production rate.

START HERE

Choose the job before the worker

  • Hire a Miner when extraction is the bottleneck.
  • Hire a Handler when material movement is the bottleneck.
  • Use Off-Site Contracts only when the employee can leave without breaking the current factory loop.
  • v1.0.9 improves Off-Site Contract availability and adds an employee-return notification.
  • Read the current hire screen for wages and duration instead of planning around an old fixed number.

What each system proves

SystemConfirmedDo not assume
Miner employeea launch employee typeevery resource, property, or vehicle works automatically
Handler employeea launch employee type; v1.0.5 included a stuck-worker fixthe worker can operate every pallet or machine workflow
Off-Site Contractan employee can leave and return after a successful job; v1.0.9 notes availability, endgame balance, and return notification changesfixed success, time, reward, or daily ore
Warehouse Robotpart of pallet automation with Palletizer and Drop Zonethe same behavior as a Handler employee

Before hiring

Open the current employee interface and record what the save actually displays:

Original field-manual diagram connecting employee management with mining, processing, detection, and warehouse systems
ORIGINAL EDITORIAL: an OreFactoryGuide progression diagram generated from a mechanics brief rather than copied game UI. It illustrates system relationships but does not prove an exact unlock level, roster, wage, assignment route, or Off-site Contract result.
  1. Role and tooltipConfirm Miner or Handler and the stated job.
  2. Current costUse the displayed hire price and any recurring charge.
  3. Unlock stateRecord the level, property, or system that made hiring available.
  4. Assignment limitsCheck available targets and warning text before confirming.

Hiring the first employee should satisfy the You're Hired achievement condition. The achievement does not require a fixed candidate name.

Safe Off-Site Contract test

EDITORIAL TEST METHOD

  1. Capture the offer: job name, displayed duration, requirements, expected reward, and any success information.
  2. Capture the employee: role, visible attributes, current assignment, and availability.
  3. Send one worker: check whether cash, items, local availability, or status changed.
  4. Verify return: record success or failure, actual reward, employee state, the v1.0.9 return notification if it appears, and achievement progress.
  5. Repeat before generalizing: one job proves only that offer and result.

Handler not unloading or dropping crates

FIX A STUCK HANDLER

Patch first: confirm the game is at least v1.0.5. That patch specifically fixed Handlers getting stuck near Miner vehicles.

A later recurrence can still have a different cause. Treat the fix note as a first check, not proof that every Handler report is solved.

  1. Confirm the employee is assigned locally and is not away on an off-site contract.
  2. Read the current assignment target and make sure it still exists.
  3. Clear physical access around the Miner vehicle, unload point, pallet, and destination.
  4. Remove a blocked destination pallet or full output before blaming pathfinding.
  5. If the UI offers a safe unassign and reassign action, retest one worker with one target.
  6. Save the exact version, location, assignment, and obstruction state before reporting a reproducible bug.

Numbers to read from your current hire screen

This page intentionally does not publish fixed numbers for:

Related systems

Contracts and Pallet PackerKeep product contracts separate from employee assignments.Warehouse automationUnderstand Robots, Palletizer, and Drop Zones.

Sources