Catalysts
Catalysts are AE2 upgrade cards used in the Dimensional Matter Assembler's 4 upgrade slots. They modify the machine's performance — speed, energy cost, failure chance, and bonus drop chance — but also affect heat generation.
Catalyst Families
There are 4 families with 3 tiers each (T1 → T3), plus 1 creative catalyst:
| Family | Primary Effect | Heat Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Matterflow | Reduces energy cost | Increases heat production |
| Chrono | Increases speed | Increases heat production (highest) |
| Overflux | Reduces failure chance | Decreases heat production (cooling) |
| Quantum | Increases bonus drop chance | Increases heat production |
| Dimensional | All bonuses, instant crafting | Resets temperature (Creative only) |
Detailed Stats
Matterflow — Energy Efficiency
Reduces the energy cost of DMA recipes.
| Tier | Energy Effect | Heat Multiplier | Buffer Multiplier |
|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | −10.0% Energy Cost | ×1.5 heat | ×10 buffer |
| T2 | −25.0% Energy Cost | ×2.0 heat | ×100 buffer |
| T3 | −50.0% Energy Cost | ×3.0 heat | ×1000 buffer |
Chrono — Speed
Increases processing speed.
| Tier | Speed Effect | Heat Multiplier | Buffer Multiplier |
|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | +25.0% Speed | ×2.0 heat | ×10 buffer |
| T2 | +62.5% Speed | ×3.5 heat | ×100 buffer |
| T3 | +125.0% Speed | ×5.0 heat | ×1000 buffer |
Warning: Chrono catalysts produce the most heat. Stacking 4× Chrono T3 will result in extreme heat generation. Always use adequate coolant!
Overflux — Stability
Reduces failure chance and cools the machine.
| Tier | Failure Effect | Heat Multiplier | Buffer Multiplier |
|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | −10.0% Failure Chance | ×0.5 heat (cooling!) | ×1 buffer |
| T2 | −25.0% Failure Chance | ×0.0 heat (no heat!) | ×1 buffer |
| T3 | −50.0% Failure Chance | ×-1.0 heat (active cooling!) | ×1 buffer |
Tip: Overflux catalysts are the only ones that reduce heat generation. They can be combined with Chrono catalysts to offset thermal penalties.
Quantum — Bonus Drops
Increases chance of bonus item drops.
| Tier | Bonus Effect | Heat Multiplier | Buffer Multiplier |
|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | +10.0% Bonus Drop | ×1.75 heat | ×1 buffer |
| T2 | +25.0% Bonus Drop | ×2.5 heat | ×1 buffer |
| T3 | +50.0% Bonus Drop | ×4.0 heat | ×1 buffer |
Stacking Rules
Soft Cap
When stacking multiple catalysts of the same type:
| Stacked Count | Effectiveness |
|---|---|
| 1× | 100% |
| 2× | 175% |
| 3× | 225% |
| 4× | 250% |
4-Stack Synergy Bonus
If you fill all 4 upgrade slots with the same catalyst, a special synergy bonus activates:
| Family | Synergy Bonus | Heat Penalty |
|---|---|---|
| Chrono 4× | ×2.0 additional speed multiplier | ×1.5 additional heat |
| Matterflow 4× | ×0.5 additional power discount | ×1.5 additional heat |
| Quantum 4× | (Reserved for future use) | ×1.5 additional heat |
| Overflux 4× | Standard stacking | ×1.5 additional heat |
Exploit Protection: The DMA enforces a minimum processing time of 1 second (20 ticks). Stacking Chrono catalysts beyond this cap will only increase the heat multiplier without further reducing processing time.
Dimensional Catalyst (Creative)
The Dimensional Catalyst is a creative-mode only item that combines all effects:
- ⚡ Instant Crafting
- 💰 No Energy/Resource Cost
- 🎁 100% Bonus Drop
- ✅ Never Fails
- ❄️ Resets Machine Temperature
Crafting (DMA Recipe)
Requires all four T3 catalysts + Cosmic String Component Matrix + 10,000 mB Transcending Matter. - Energy: 500,000,000 AE - Time: 10,000 ticks (8.3 minutes)
Heat Multiplier Calculation
The total heat multiplier is calculated as:
totalHeatMult = 1.0
for each catalyst in upgrade slots:
totalHeatMult += max(0, catalyst.staticHeat / 100.0)
if 4-stack synergy active:
totalHeatMult *= 1.5
This multiplier is applied to the base heat generation rate (+1 HU every 2 ticks).
Example: 4× Chrono T3 catalysts:
- Base: 1.0 + (4.0 × 4) = 17.0 → × 1.5 synergy = 25.5× heat generation
- That's +12.75 HU/s instead of the base +0.5 HU/s!
Catalyst Item IDs
| Catalyst | Registry ID |
|---|---|
| Matterflow T1 | ufo:matterflow_catalyst_t1 |
| Matterflow T2 | ufo:matterflow_catalyst_t2 |
| Matterflow T3 | ufo:matterflow_catalyst_t3 |
| Chrono T1 | ufo:chrono_catalyst_t1 |
| Chrono T2 | ufo:chrono_catalyst_t2 |
| Chrono T3 | ufo:chrono_catalyst_t3 |
| Overflux T1 | ufo:overflux_catalyst_t1 |
| Overflux T2 | ufo:overflux_catalyst_t2 |
| Overflux T3 | ufo:overflux_catalyst_t3 |
| Quantum T1 | ufo:quantum_catalyst_t1 |
| Quantum T2 | ufo:quantum_catalyst_t2 |
| Quantum T3 | ufo:quantum_catalyst_t3 |
| Dimensional | ufo:dimensional_catalyst |
See also: DMA · Progression