Why IE Feels Different
Immersive Engineering is the flagship of 'realistic' tech mods: power travels through real copper wires, and every machine is a visible multiblock — you stack the furnace brick by brick and build refineries section by section. That industrial feel is exactly what puts IE alongside Create and Mekanism in the big three. IE is cheaper to feed than AE2 and more grid-planning oriented than Create — perfect for players who love designing power networks.
Early Power: Water Wheels
Your first IE generator is the Water Wheel: a 3x3 multiblock over flowing water outputting ~30 RF/t. Upgrade to Windmills for more. Opening route: ① mine copper for coils; ② chain 2-3 water wheels at a riverside; ③ add a capacitor for buffering. IE uses RF/t; wheels are constant output day and night — better baseline power than solar.
Wires & Voltage Tiers
IE wires come in three tiers: low-voltage copper (short runs), medium-voltage electrum (800 RF/t), and high-voltage steel (4096 RF/t, 32-block spans). To wire: place two connectors, hold the wire item, right-click both ends. Long spans sag and lose power — use HV wire across distance. Transformers convert tiers; wrong voltage burns machines — the #1 rookie mistake.
Mid Game: Multiblocks & Refineries
IE's two signature multiblocks: ① the Improved Blast Furnace / Arc Furnace — steel at multiples of a vanilla furnace, the launchpad of your grid; ② the Refinery — cracks crude oil into diesel/gasoline, and diesel generators (~4k RF/t) carry the mid game. Building tip: the Engineer's Toolbox projects a hologram outline — just follow the frame, no recipes to memorize.