Wire is a component that can carry an electrical current and which is used to connect various Power components in the game to each other and to power-consuming end devices (e.g. Fridge). In order for the wiring process to work correctly, devices must be wired in the same direction as the power flows. Wires must be first pulled out of a power source before they can be attached to a power recipient.
Wires can be crafted or found as loot in Villages. In order to connect electrical components with Wires, the player must have a sufficient number of Wires in the Inventory and a crafted Upgrade Tool. (Note: In Free Build mode the player need not have any Wires to begin with.)
Steps for connecting a wire[]
Wire Placement Tool Tip for Control Panel
Pulled Wire dangles from Control Panel
Ghost image of wire connects to valid destination
Wire pulled to target component
Connected Black Wire
Make sure that you have at least one wire in your inventory.
Equip the Upgrade Tool.
Point the cursor at a Power Component, in this example we will start with the Control Panel.
In the lower right hand corner of the screen the following wire-related instructions will appear:
E Pull Wire and 
to delete wires
For the purpose of connecting a wire, you want to "pull" a wire by hitting the E key. A black wire will appear dangling from the Control Panel.
With the Upgrade Tool still equipped, point the cursor at a valid target power component. The only valid target for a Control Panel to connect to is a Junction Box. A green ghost image of the wire will appear connecting the Control Panel to the Junction Box, indicating that the connection is possible.
The tool tip for the Junction Box will indicate the option to E Pull Wire. Press E to complete the connection to the Junction Box. The black wire end dangling from the Control Panel disappears, and the connected wire takes on a brown and orange striped appearance with the stripes moving in the direction of the power flow (from the Control Panel to the Junction Box). At this point the wire is correctly placed and will be removed from the Inventory.
Note: If you decide you don't want the wire to be placed there after all, you can opt to delete the wire by pressing the as indicated in the tool tip. Doing this returns the wire to your inventory, so you lose no resources.
Once the wire has been correctly connected as described above, it will revert to a solid black wire when you unequip the Upgrade tool (0). If you re-equip the Upgrade tool wires will once again take on the striped appearance indicating the direction of the power flow.
To continue placing wires, equip the Upgrade Tool again (if you have unequipped it) and repeat the above steps, always connecting wires from a power source to a power recipient. For details regarding the directional flow of power, please refer to the Power page.
The recipe for the Wire is found in the Itempedia section of the Recipe Book under Weapons.
Crafting Ingredients[]
The Wire can be crafted on the Advanced Workbench using:
| Ingredient | Amount | Yield |
|---|---|---|
| Copper Ingot Plastic Oil Can |
1 1 1 |
1 |
| Copper Ingot Plastic Oil Can |
5 5 5 |
5 |
Inventory Info[]
| Weight | 0.2 |
| Max stack | 25 |
| Space used | 2x2 |
| Gold Value | 2.30 |
History[]
| v. 11.3 | New wired power system introduced to game. |
| v. 11.3 | Wire added to the game. |