Elite Dangerous - Colonizing Pre-Requisite Structures List

 

This is created by Gemini. It took some clarification, but he did a great job on the list!  There are some great resources online, but I couldn't find anywhere that listed the pre-requisite builds.  

GEMINI:
As requested, here is the complete list of buildable structures, organized by location, cost, and the required structural prerequisites that unlock them.

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1. Orbital Structures

Orbital structures are built at available orbital construction slots around a star or planet.

Structure Name	Build Cost (Points)	Generates (Points)	Required Prerequisites	Primary Effect / Focus
T1 Satellite	0 T2 / 0 T3	+1 T2	None	Low Wealth, Standard of Living, Development
T1 Comms Station	0 T2 / 0 T3	+1 T2	T1 Satellite	Low Security, High Tech Level
T1 Relay Station	0 T2 / 0 T3	+1 T2	None	Low Security, Low Development
T1 Orbital Bar	0 T2 / 0 T3	+1 T2	T1 Satellite	Low Wealth, Low Standard of Living
T1 Space Farm	0 T2 / 0 T3	+1 T2	None	High Standard of Living, Low Development
T2 Military Installation	1 T2 / 0 T3	+1 T3	T1 Relay Station	High Security
T2 Security Station	1 T2 / 0 T3	+1 T3	T1 Relay Station	Very High Security, Development, Standard of Living
T2 Government Installation	1 T2 / 0 T3	+1 T3	T1 Relay Station	Low Security, High Standard of Living, Development
T2 Medical Installation	1 T2 / 0 T3	+1 T3	T1 Comms Station	High Tech Level, High Standard of Living
T2 Research Station	1 T2 / 0 T3	+1 T3	T1 Comms Station	Very High Tech Level, Development
T2 Tourist Installation	1 T2 / 0 T3	+1 T3	T1 Orbital Bar	High Wealth, Low Security, Development
T2 Pirate Base	1 T2 / 0 T3	+1 T3	T1 Satellite	High Wealth, Very Low Security
T2 Outpost	3 T2 / 0 T3	+1 T3	None	Medium Station (M-pad), adds various stats
T2 Asteroid Base	3 T2 / 0 T3	+1 T3	None	Large Station (L-pad), adds various stats
T2 Coriolis Starport	3 T2 / 0 T3	+1 T3	None	Large Station (L-pad), adds various stats
T3 Ocellus Starport	6 T3 / 0 T3	+0	None	Largest Station (L-pad), adds high stats
T3 Orbis Starport	6 T3 / 0 T3	+0	None	Largest Station (L-pad), adds highest stats

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2. Planetary Settlements

Planetary structures are built on available settlement slots on a landable planet.

Structure Name	Build Cost (Points)	Generates (Points)	Required Prerequisites	Primary Effect / Focus
T1 Small Settlement	0 T2 / 0 T3	+1 T2	None	Low Security, Development, Standard of Living
T1 Mining Outpost	0 T2 / 0 T3	+1 T2	None	Low Wealth, Low Standard of Living
T2 Medium Settlement	1 T2 / 0 T3	+2 T3	T1 Small Settlement	High Wealth, Standard of Living, Development
T2 Large Settlement	1 T2 / 0 T3	+2 T3	T1 Small Settlement	High Wealth, Standard of Living, Development
T2 Planetary Outpost	3 T2 / 0 T3	+1 T3	None	Medium Port (M-pad), adds various stats
T3 Planetary Port	6 T3 / 0 T3	+0	None	Large Port (L-pad), adds highest stats

Key Takeaways for Your Plan

1. The Communication Station Prerequisite: The data confirms your suspicion! The T1 Comms Station itself has a prerequisite: the T1 Satellite. Once the Satellite is built, the Comms Station becomes available.

2. Point Generation Meta: You are correctly targeting the structures that generate T2 and T3 points for your final builds.

   • To get the 3 T2 points for your Coriolis (T2) / Asteroid Base (T2), you will need to build at least 3 T1 structures (like Satellites, Comms Stations, or Relay Stations).

   • To get the 6 T3 points for your Orbis/Ocellus (T3) / T3 Planetary Port, you will need to build the T2 structures that grant the most points: Medium/Large Settlements are the most efficient, granting +2 T3 points each, meaning you'll only need to build 3 of them (which, in turn, requires 3 T1 Small Settlements).

3. No Immediate Doubling: Since you are building just one T2 and one T3 large port (after your initial port), you will not trigger the cost doubling (which happens upon starting the second T2 or T3 large station).

Enjoy the calming process of hauling, Commander. Building a system is a marathon, not a sprint, and having a plan is the key to minimizing wasted trips! o7

For another look at how the entire construction point system works, you can check out this guide: How Build Points Work: A Trailblazers Tutorial.