Quick answer: The Dimensional Depot is a shared, unlimited-range storage pool you unlock via the MAM — upload items from any Uploader, then build and craft directly from its contents anywhere on the map. A single Uploader starts at 15 items/min and 1 stack of capacity; four upgrade tiers each (46 Mercer Spheres total per tree, 92 for both) take it to 240 items/min and 5 stacks.
- free costs nothing
- cheap small cost
- setup needs preparation
- grind pays off slowly
- skip the thing to stop doing
Depot upgrades at a glance
| Tier | Speed result | Capacity result | Mercer Spheres | SAM Fluctuators |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Default | 15/min | 1 stack | — | — |
| 1 | 30/min | 2 stacks | 3 | 47 |
| 2 | 60/min | 3 stacks | 7 | 103 |
| 3 | 120/min | 4 stacks | 13 | 151 |
| 4 | 240/min | 5 stacks | 23 | 199 |
| Total per tree | 46 | 500 |
Maxing out both the speed and capacity trees costs 92 Mercer Spheres between them, which lines up with the video's estimate. Add the Manual Uploader feature (below) and the full Dimensional Depot tech tree costs roughly 97 Mercer Spheres in total — against a hard world cap of 298 Spheres, so there's comfortable room to max everything and still have spares for other alien tech.
A single Uploader can move at most 240 items/min once fully upgraded — if you need more throughput than that for one item, place a second dedicated Uploader for it rather than waiting on a fifth speed tier that doesn't exist.
What the Dimensional Depot actually does
Every Dimensional Depot Uploader you place feeds one shared storage pool. Drop items on a belt into an Uploader and, provided there's free space, they leave your factory and land in that pool instantly — accessible from any other Uploader, from the Build Gun, and from Crafting Benches anywhere on the map. The reverse works too: open a Depot Uploader's inventory panel and you can pull items out manually, which is exactly what saves a trip home after looting a crashed drop pod like the one above — grab what you need from storage instead of carrying it back on foot.
In multiplayer the depot pool is shared across every player, so it doubles as free-form central storage for a whole team. If you want dedicated, sorted storage on top of the Depot rather than instead of it, see our Central Storage guide for when the two are worth combining.
Unlocking and placing your first Uploader
The Manual Uploader: taking storage with you
The Manual Uploader lets you drag items from your inventory straight into the Depot, and pull them back out, from a small five-slot buffer — no belt required. It's what makes exploring practical: sink loot from a crashed pod on the spot, or grab spare Modular Frames from storage before a building run, all from the field.
You'll need at least one Dimensional Depot Uploader already built and fed before the Manual Uploader interface unlocks — it isn't available from a bare MAM unlock alone.
What's actually worth storing
Store anything you need repeatedly for crafting or building — not raw materials that are just passing through on their way to becoming something else. The video's rule of thumb: skip ores, empty canisters and DNA Capsules (they're transitional or sink-only), skip Space Elevator parts once that line is hooked up directly, and never park stacks of radioactive material in the Depot unless you're geared for it.
A dedicated outpost feed like this is the cleanest use case: instead of hauling ore home, upload it straight into the shared pool from wherever you're mining. Realistic budgets from the video: about 50 dedicated Uploaders for finished parts and fuels (accounting for tier upgrades like Packaged Fuel → Packaged Turbofuel → Packaged Ionized Fuel replacing each other over a save), another 12 or so for ammunition types, and 2-4x that for cheap, fast-consumed items like Concrete, Iron Plates, Rods and Screws — roughly 100 Uploaders and 100 Mercer Spheres in practice, leaving the other ~200 Spheres for everything else.
Dimensional Depot to the crafter
Depot contents are usable directly at the Build Gun and at Crafting Benches — you don't have to move anything into your personal inventory first. That's the "to the crafter" workflow: open a Crafting Bench anywhere, and it pulls ingredients straight from the Depot pool the same way it would from your own inventory, no belt or manual transfer needed.
The video calls out that build-menu resources pulled from the Depot render in a distinct light-purple tint so you can tell at a glance whether you're spending Depot stock or carrying it yourself; treat that as a video-only visual cue since the wiki page for the Uploader building doesn't document HUD colors. You can also toggle whether building draws from your inventory first or the Depot first — the video recommends leaving inventory-first on, so a full inventory doesn't force you to trash items when you pick up a resource node you didn't need.
Where to actually place your Uploaders
FAQ
How many items per minute does a Dimensional Depot Uploader move? 15/min by default, doubling with each of four research tiers up to 240/min fully upgraded.
How many Mercer Spheres does it take to fully upgrade the Dimensional Depot? 92 Mercer Spheres for both the speed and capacity trees (46 each), plus a few more for the base unlock and Manual Uploader — roughly 97 total against a world cap of 298, leaving plenty of room to max everything.
What does the Manual Uploader do and how much does it cost? It lets you upload and withdraw items from your own inventory (five-slot buffer) without a belt. It costs 3 Mercer Spheres and 17 Computers; sources disagree on the SAM Fluctuator cost (29 per the video, 47 per the wiki's cost table), so budget for the higher figure.
What should I store in the Dimensional Depot? Anything you need repeatedly for crafting or building — skip raw ores, empty canisters, DNA Capsules and anything only passing through on its way to becoming something else, and never park radioactive material there unless you're geared for it.
Where is the best place to put Dimensional Depot Uploaders? Stack one on every existing storage container for everyday convenience, and build dedicated multi-Uploader arrays for your highest-throughput items (five Uploaders cover up to 1,200 items/min). A hybrid of both beats either approach alone.
Do you need central storage with the Dimensional Depot? Not strictly, but a Depot Uploader caps at 240 items/min per item and can't be browsed visually the way a labeled container can — see our Central Storage guide for a design that combines both.
Sources
Upload speed (15/min base, doubling to 240/min across four tiers), the five-stack capacity ceiling, the 298-Mercer-Sphere world total, and the roughly 97-Sphere total tree cost were all cross-checked against the Dimensional Depot Uploader page on the current Satisfactory Wiki and matched the video within rounding. One number did not match: the video states the Manual Uploader costs 29 SAM Fluctuators, while the wiki's cost table implies 47 for that tier — both are reported above rather than silently picking one. The claim that Depot-sourced build resources render in a distinct purple tint could not be checked against the wiki, since that page documents the Uploader building rather than UI/HUD behavior, so it's flagged as video-only. Neither the video nor the wiki states a power requirement for the Uploader building, so none is claimed here.
Read next
- Satisfactory Central Storage Guide — Depot upgrades alongside sorted storage
- Satisfactory Exploration & Collectibles Guide — what Mercer Spheres are for and where to find them
- Satisfactory MAM & Hard Drive Guide — the research tree behind this guide
- Satisfactory Drone Transport & Logistics Network Guide — Depot vs drones for cross-map delivery
Frequently asked
How many items per minute does a Dimensional Depot Uploader move?
A single Uploader starts at 15 items/min and doubles with each of four speed research tiers, topping out at 240 items/min once fully upgraded. If you need more throughput on one item, add a second dedicated Uploader rather than waiting for a fifth tier that does not exist.
How many Mercer Spheres does it take to fully upgrade the Dimensional Depot?
The full tech tree costs roughly 97 Mercer Spheres: 46 for the four speed tiers, 46 for the four capacity tiers, and a few more for the Manual Uploader. There are 298 Mercer Spheres total in the world, so maxing the Depot leaves plenty spare for other alien research.
What does the Manual Uploader do and how much does it cost?
The Manual Uploader lets you drag items directly from your inventory into the Depot (and back out) through a five-slot buffer, without needing a belt. It costs 3 Mercer Spheres and 17 Computers, though sources disagree on the SAM Fluctuator cost (29 per the video, 47 per the wiki's cost table) - bring extra to be safe. It only unlocks after you already have a working Depot Uploader.
What should I store in the Dimensional Depot?
Store anything you need repeatedly for crafting or building, not transitional resources. Skip raw ores, empty canisters and DNA Capsules, skip Space Elevator parts once that line is hooked up directly, and avoid stockpiling radioactive items unless you are geared for it.
Where is the best place to put Dimensional Depot Uploaders?
Stack one on every existing storage container for instant access, route factory overflow through a Depot before the AWESOME Sink so surplus gets banked instead of wasted, and build dedicated five-Uploader arrays for your highest-throughput items. Tapping a sushi belt with Smart Splitters works too, but only delivers about half the belt's rate to storage.
Do you need central storage with the Dimensional Depot?
Not strictly, but a Depot Uploader caps at 240 items/min per item and can't be browsed visually the way a labeled container can — see our Central Storage guide for a design that combines both.
Read next
Satisfactory Central Storage 1.2: Sorted Blueprint Design
Satisfactory AWESOME Sink & Coupon Farming Guide: 5 Fast Strategies
The five fastest coupon strategies to unlock every non-producible item in the AWESOME Shop (1,895 coupons total): Somersloop-boosted Alien DNA Capsules, crash site loot runs, AFK farming, disposable blueprint factories on unused nodes, and Somersloop-doubled endgame items.