The Problem

I added one stove and one defense tower, then my lights, fridge, and traps all died at night.

The Solution

The root cause of cascading base power failure is a daisy-chain layout: one battery powering everything. When a Tesla Coil triggers during a raid, every device on that branch competes for the same limited charge pool. The fridge dies. The lights die. The traps die. The fix is a star topology.

What Is a Star Topology? Picture a wheel. The wall socket is the hub. From that hub, a Plug Strip splits into spokes — each spoke has its own battery, and each battery powers only one category of device. If the defense battery drains during a fight, the food battery is untouched. If the food branch runs low, your Crafting Bench (see Crafting Bench upgrades) still has power. No single failure cascades.

How to Build It (Using Verified Numbers) From one wall socket, attach a Plug Strip. The Plug Strip gives three outputs. From each output, run a separate battery:

• Output A → Industrial Battery (100 charge) → Refrigerator. This is your Food Branch. One device, 500-second runtime — nearly double the 270-second night.
• Output B → Makeshift Battery (50 charge) → Crafting Bench + one lamp. This is your Utility Branch. Two devices, 125-second runtime — enough for short crafting sessions at night, not for permanent uptime. Upgrade to Industrial when possible.
• Output C → Carbon Battery (350 charge) → Tesla Coil + Chopinator. This is your Defense Branch. Even with two devices, the runtime is 875 seconds — three full night cycles.

Why Not One Big Battery? A Carbon Battery (350 charge) could theoretically power (see power system) a fridge, bench, two lamps, and a Tesla Coil — 5 devices = 350 seconds of runtime. That seems fine on paper. But here is the catch: when you add one more device (a charger, a second trap, a cooking station), the runtime drops to 291 seconds — barely above the 270-second threshold. One more device and everything dies before sunrise. Star topology means each branch degrades independently. When the defense branch runs low, the food branch keeps humming.

Wiring Rules

1. Socket → Plug Strip → Battery → Devices. The Plug Strip must sit before the batteries, not after.
2. Never chain batteries in series. Each battery gets its own output from the Plug Strip.
3. One battery, one category. Do not mix food devices and defense devices on the same battery.
4. Use Cable Reroute (crafted from Tech Scrap) to extend wires across rooms.

Lever Strategy Place a Lever between each battery and its device group. During the day, flip off nonessential branches to let batteries charge faster. Essential branches (food, Portal Suppression Field) stay on 24/7. This is free runtime optimization — no materials needed, just a habit.

The Portal Suppression Field This is a Crafting Bench upgrade, not a separate device. Once installed, it prevents portal incursions near your bench. It draws power like any device, so count it in your utility branch device tally. Prioritize powering it — a portal spawning inside your undefended base is far worse than a dim lamp.

Labeling System Use colored lights or signs to mark each branch at the Plug Strip:

• Green = Food (do not touch)
• Yellow = Utility (can be toggled)
• Red = Defense (must stay armed)

When you expand the base weeks later, you will not accidentally plug a second fridge into the defense battery.

Step-by-Step

1. Locate a wall socket near the center of your planned base — this becomes the star hub.
2. Craft a Plug Strip (1 Power Supply Unit + 1 Coil + 2 Metal Scrap) and attach it to the socket.
3. From the Plug Strip's three outputs, run separate wires to three battery locations.
4. Branch 1 (Food): Industrial Battery → Refrigerator. Green label. Never turned off.
5. Branch 2 (Utility): Makeshift or Industrial Battery → Crafting Bench + one lamp. Yellow label.
6. Branch 3 (Defense): Carbon Battery → Tesla Coil + Chopinator. Red label. Always armed at night.
7. Add a Lever on the Utility branch to toggle nonessential devices during daytime.
8. Test the full system overnight: apply expected loads on all three branches, sleep, check levels.

Common Mistakes

• Daisy-chaining every device into one battery because "the icon looks full" — one defense spike kills everything.
• Putting the Plug Strip after the battery — all devices on that battery share one charge pool with no isolation.
• Mixing food storage and defense on the same battery — a raid drains the fridge along with the traps.
• Adding a new device to any branch without recalculating: each extra device cuts that branch's runtime in half.
• Skipping the overnight test — one test night costs nothing. Spoiled food from a dead fridge costs hours of farming (see farming guide).