Graveyard Keeper 2 Factory Layout Guide: Build Better

Updated 2026-10-24: We added three community factory layouts, credited to their authors, and redid their power math for Update 1.010. Factory power is counted per seated zombie: since 1.010 each zombie on a Carousel gives 10, or 20 with Belt Master (7 and 10 before), and each of the factory's five Carousels seats four. Buildings still cannot be moved as of 1.010.

*Video: Graveyard Keeper 2 launch trailer, tinyBuild official YouTube channel*

Three community factory layouts, with the power redone for 1.010

We have not built these three in our own save. Each comes from a player guide that shows its layout in screenshots or planner images, and the credit goes to those players. Where we give a power or zombie figure that a guide does not state, it is our own arithmetic from the numbers quoted here, and we say so. All three assume you have the zombies to staff them, so check the zombie limit guide for how many you can keep.

First, read Factory power per zombie

Factory power is supplied per seated zombie, not per Carousel. Demico's early factory guide on Reddit counts "a total of 5 carousels in your factory, each carousel can house 4 zombies and each zombie provides 7 power," with Belt Master raising that to 10. After Update 1.010, a player who compared the new game data with 1.009.1 posted that "Each seated zombie now gives 10 power instead of 7, and Belt Master adds 10 instead of 3. With Belt Master five full carousels give 400 instead of 200." Wikily words its +10 (20 with Belt Master) as per Carousel, but read that way Fortigan's 103-power factory below could not run on the 6 Carousel zombies it uses, so we treat it as the per-seat figure. None of this comes from Lazy Bear Games, so check the tooltip in your own save.

Our multiplication of the per-seat figures. The 200 and 400 totals match the 1.010 data comparison quoted above.

On the demand side, every Conveyor Belt, Conveyor Splitter and Supply Station uses 1. Underground Conveyors are disputed: Wikily lists 1, while Fortigan's and Demico's guides both say 2 for a piece that covers 5 tiles, which still makes them the cheapest way across a long gap. Fortigan adds that a station facing forward has a built-in output conveyor that costs 1, while a station rotated sideways costs nothing because it has none. Chests use no power. Our zombie power guide has a piece-count calculator if you are designing your own line.

The three layouts at a glance

Layout 1: Fortigan's Kit Factory, built in three stages

This is the most complete plan we found, and the only one of the three its authors say they updated for Update 1.010. The pitch is "Only 25 Zombies to make all T1 and T2 kits", built in three stages that follow the Town repairs, so you add stations as the story opens them instead of tearing anything down. Raw materials sit in a row of storages along the bottom wall (Marble, Ore, Coal, Clay, Sand, Stone and Log, left to right), and each production column climbs from the storage it draws on. We read the stations below off the guide's stage images.

Stage 1, sketched by us from the guide's image (not to scale):

  Iron Kit 1                                 Building Kit 1
  [Smithy 1 + Hammer]                        [Assembly Bench 1 + Hammer]
                                             Stone Kit
  Iron Ingot              Brick              [Assembly Bench 1]     Wooden Kit 1
  [Smithy 1]              [Smithy 1]                                [Assembly Bench 1 + Hammer]
       ^ belts and chests climb from each storage to its station ^
[Marble] [Ore] [Coal] [Clay] [Sand] [Stone] [Log]    <- storage row on the bottom wall

The finished sheet counts 65 Conveyors, 11 Underground Conveyors, 36 chests and 2 hand-fed chests (Steel and a special wood go in by hand). Its build bill is heavy on parts: 263 Bronze Gear, 132 Bronze Detail and 108 Steel Screws are the largest lines. The comments flag one real limit. A player at Stage 1 found all the coal going to the iron Smithy, and Fortigan replied that "There are more stations that need coal than the output can keep up with", so either let the chests fill for a day or top up the second coal chest by hand.

Layout 2: Mug33k's eight-step Tier 1 line

Mug33k built this around the pre-patch cap: "this design use every bit of the factory power at 112 with 16 zombies at the Carousel". Since 1.010 the same 112 power fits on fewer seats (see the table above), which leaves slack for the mistakes the author warns about. The steps follow the story order, starting once Jack's appreciation unlocks belts, the assembly bench and the Wood Kit I tech (the beginner guide covers the run-up to that point).

Each step puts one zombie at its station. Added up (our count), that is 94 belt pieces including the splitter, 6 Underground Conveyors, 13 or 14 chests and 8 stations. Two notes from the thread matter before you copy it. On queues, the author replied that "As of version 1.008, you cannot put in the queue two different products to assemble", so the step 1 bench has to finish its Wooden Kits before it starts Stone Kits. And the chests are programmed: the step 4 output chest feeds three lines (Bricks to step 3, Iron Ingots to steps 5 and 6), so put a few materials in each new chest before you set its filters. A revision on 1 October adds a Kitchen at step 2 and saves one power.

Layout 3: Demico's starter blocks

Demico's guide covers "some early layouts for your first 30-40 zombies" and starts smaller. The hand-fed machine is "The most cost efficient setup but requires hand feeding items" at 3 power. The automated Fabric trading line uses 7 and is the one to "Prioritize this first", so you stop carrying supplies to the warehouse a few at a time (the orders and traders guide covers what those supplies earn). A basic resource block then turns stone and logs straight into Stone and Wooden Kits, which skips the polished stone and oiled planks the normal recipes ask for. Since 1.010 the first two blocks fit on a single seated zombie.

Rules all three layouts lean on

These come from Fortigan's "Factory Basics" list; the other two guides agree where they overlap.

• Destroyed buildings in the factory refund their full cost, so experiment underground. Mug33k says the same, and Demico reports it for PC.
• Conveyors pull from any chest they pass, and stations pull whatever touches their input points, regardless of conveyor direction. A station cannot pull from the input end of an Underground Conveyor.
• A chest can replace a splitter in almost every case and uses no power, so alternating chests and conveyors cuts the power bill.
• Logs cannot go in chests, so a log line has to run on conveyors all the way to its station.

Planning tools

• The Graveyard Keeper 2 Factory Planner, a browser layout editor. Mug33k drew the eight-step line in an earlier version, and its author wrote in that thread that it now handles "power calculation, better routing, the full factory floor".
• The community spreadsheet linked from Fortigan's guide, whose builder templates total resource cost, power use and zombie skill as you place pieces.
• Lohres's Underground Factory Planning Editor on Steam.

Screenshot: Graveyard Keeper 2 Steam store page. The technology tree shows whether a station or building tier is unlocked; an old layout list is no substitute for the current menu.

None of these are official, so check each placement against your own build preview before you spend materials. Our pick: Fortigan's Kit Factory if Town repairs are the goal, because it grows in stages and is the only one updated for 1.010. Take Mug33k's line if you also want Fabric, Crates and Supply Iron for orders, and Demico's blocks if you have fewer than ten zombies to spare from Town battles. The automation guide explains how the factory fits into the rest of the game.

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How to add a line without stalling the rest

Every step below comes from the three guides above or the patch notes; none of it is a rule the developers have published.

1. Count the power first. Add 1 for each belt, splitter and Supply Station, 2 for each Underground Conveyor (Fortigan and Demico; Wikily says 1), and 1 for each station that faces forward, since that built-in output conveyor counts too. Then divide by 10 per seated zombie, or 20 with Belt Master. If a line stops the moment you extend it, this is the first number to recheck.

2. Build it underground first. Destroyed factory buildings refund their full cost (Fortigan, and Mug33k agrees), so the factory floor is the place to experiment. Surface stations are another matter; see the refund dispute below.

3. Seed each new chest before you set its filters. Mug33k's chests are programmed: the step 4 output chest feeds three lines (Bricks to step 3, Iron Ingots to steps 5 and 6), so put a few materials in each new chest before you set what it accepts.

4. Give each station its zombie. In Mug33k's line every step puts one zombie at its station, on top of the Carousel seats that make the power.

5. Queue one product per bench. As of 1.008 an Assembly Bench cannot queue two different products, the author replied, so a bench that makes Wooden Kits and Stone Kits finishes one batch before it starts the other.

6. Watch shared inputs. Coal is the one Fortigan's commenters ran short on: a player at Stage 1 found all of it going to the iron Smithy, and Fortigan replied that "There are more stations that need coal than the output can keep up with." Let the chests fill for a day or top up the second coal chest by hand.

Image: "Where Zombies Feel at Home" developer post, Lazy Bear Games (Steam). A staffed station needs room for its worker as well as its inputs.

Moving objects, dismantling, and rebuilds

Community threads keep asking for a Move Buildings feature, and in the meantime players dismantle and rebuild. Their refund reports do not agree (below), which is why this matters more on the surface than in the factory.

The developers have now addressed it. Their 2 October post, "Plans for the future", lists "Already constructed workstations will be movable" among the upcoming changes, and it also says "The number of gears zombies provide for conveyor belts will be increased (both with and without perk)." Update 1.010 (13 October) delivered part of the second promise: on PC, zombies give more gears with the Belt Master perk, and tinyBuild's notes for console patch 1.010.1 say carousel zombies give more gears, with Belt Master adding more on top. Movable workstations are in none of the changelogs through 1.010 (our Graveyard Keeper 2 patch notes tracker follows each build), and the post gives no date. Until it ships, the rule below still applies.

The safe rule is simple: do not place a high-cost station on the assumption that you can slide it one tile later. Preview the footprint, rotate it before confirming, and keep one expansion side open. In the factory, current-build references report full refunds for some factory objects when dismantled, but that is not a safe promise for surface stations, extensions, or every patch. Verify the dismantle result in your own save before committing a rebuild. Players disagree here: in the move-buildings thread, one wrote "Its not 100% refund as far as i can tell. Like 1/3 or 1/2 resource back," while the unofficial graveyardkeeper2.io wiki lists factory pieces such as the Conveyor Belt and Supply Station as returning their full build cost.

The complaints in that thread are mostly about spacing. One player wanted moving "when you mistakenly put crafting tables in the wrong places not leaving room for the toolracks," and another said it's "even more of an issue with GK2 because of all the additions for certain stations and making sure there's enough zombie room." That is the case for reserving extension and walking space up front.

The official patch history reinforces the need for this caution. Version 1.007 fixed a workbench that could get stuck on a hatch, collisions between moving zombies and workstations, chests, and extensions, and a draw-layer issue at the conveyor supplier station. Update 1.009 then cleaned up collisions on conveyor storage, the crematorium, the resurrection table, and the garden and vineyard assistant stations. Those are concrete fixes for concrete placement interactions. They are not evidence that the game supports a general-purpose move command. If you are still deciding whether to buy into the sequel, the Graveyard Keeper 2 review keeps the current game's wider value question separate from this layout advice.

Screenshot: Graveyard Keeper 2 Steam store page. Use the placement preview to reserve occupied tiles and corridors; it is not a promise that an object can be moved later.

Our take

"Best factory layout" now has real community answers. Fortigan's Kit Factory and Mug33k's eight-step line are worked-out blueprints, and Update 1.010 doubled the power a fully staffed factory can reach, from 200 to 400 with Belt Master, so the older designs now run with spare seats. What is still missing is the one feature that would make layout mistakes cheap: moving built workstations is announced but not shipped as of Update 1.010. Copy a blueprint stage by stage, and keep short lanes with open sides where you are improvising.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best factory layout in Graveyard Keeper 2?

Fortigan's three-stage Kit Factory on Steam: 19 stations and 25 zombies make every Tier 1 and Tier 2 Town repair kit, and it is the only one of the three community blueprints its authors updated for Update 1.010. With fewer zombies, start with Demico's starter blocks; for Fabric, Crates and Supply Iron, use Mug33k's eight-step Tier 1 line.

Can you move buildings in Graveyard Keeper 2?

Not yet. Update 1.010 (13 October) still has no move command, but the developers' 2 October post says already constructed workstations will be movable in an upcoming update. Until it ships, treat surface placement as a rebuild decision and rotate objects during the preview.

Is there a factory planner for Graveyard Keeper 2?

Yes, community-made ones: the browser-based Graveyard Keeper 2 Factory Planner at graveyard-factory.runoverlabs.dev, the spreadsheet templates linked from Fortigan's Steam guide, and Lohres's Underground Factory Planning Editor. None are official, so confirm each placement in the game's own build preview, which shows occupied tiles, rotation and blocked areas.

Related Reading

• Graveyard Keeper 2 automation guide: Start here for the sequel's broader factory and zombie-army loop.
• Graveyard Keeper 2 review: See how Town restoration, production, and combat fit the full game.
• Shapez 2 advanced automation guide: Compare detailed belt routing and splitter planning in a logistics-first game.
• Valheim base-building guide: Borrow the useful habit of reserving access and expansion space.
• Romestead trading post logistics guide: Follow a separate production-to-delivery loop with explicit handoffs.
• Graveyard Keeper 2 zombie power guide: How Carousels, perks, and conveyor pieces add up on the Factory power budget.
• Graveyard Keeper 2 PR Machine: Upgrades, Costs and Unlock: Another Town-facing machine whose placement and run time affect your production days.
• Graveyard Keeper 2 beginner guide: The early-game priorities to sort out before you build a factory at all.
• Graveyard Keeper 2 Complete Guide: the hub linking every Graveyard Keeper 2 guide, from release facts to battles and Town reputation.

References

• Graveyard Keeper 2 on Steam confirms the Town, automation, factory, and undead-army premise.
• Lazy Bear Games: Graveyard Keeper 2 lists machinery, automation, Town restoration, and zombie troops.
• Official Steam Changelog 1.007 names the conveyor supplier station and records fixes for workstations, chests, extensions, moving zombies, and the PR machine.
• Official Steam post, Where Zombies Feel at Home describes zombies operating semi-automatic machines in underground factories.
• Factory layout reference describes directional belts and marks several layout details as community observations or unknowns.
• Wikily: Zombie Carousel, Conveyor Belt, Conveyor Splitter, Underground Conveyor, and Supply Station list Factory power supplied (+10, 20 with Belt Master, since Update 1.010; +7 and 10 before it; worded per Carousel, read here per seated zombie) and used (1 per piece). Community reference, not a developer specification.
• Fortigan and FreakyAt: Factory Basics, Efficient Designs, and Builder Template (Steam guide, updated for 1.010) is the source of the three-stage Kit Factory, its counts and the factory rules quoted above.
• Mug33k: GK2, A Guide to the Factory (Reddit) is the source of the eight-step Tier 1 line.
• Demico: A dummies guide to early factory automation (Reddit) gives the Carousel seats, the pre-1.010 power per zombie and the starter blocks.
• Update 1.010 data comparison (Reddit comment) gives the 1.010 per-seat power: 10, and 20 with Belt Master.
• Graveyard Keeper 2 Factory Planner and Underground Factory Planning Editor are community planning tools.
• graveyardkeeper2.io Conveyor Belt and Supply Station list build costs and demolish returns. It labels itself an unofficial fan wiki.
• Official Steam post, Plans for the future announces movable workstations and changes to zombie conveyor gears (2 October).
• Official Steam Update 1.008, Update 1.009 (6 October) and Update 1.010 (13 October) contain no move command; 1.009 cleans up collisions on conveyor storage, and 1.010 gives zombies more gears with the Belt Master perk.
• tinyBuild support: Graveyard Keeper 2 patch notes lists console patch 1.010.1 (16 October on PlayStation and Xbox, 21 October on Switch): carousel zombies give more gears, and Belt Master adds more.
• Graveyard Keeper 2 launch trailer (tinyBuild official YouTube channel).
• Workshop layout discussion shows players planning around station extensions and omitted footprints.
• Move-buildings discussion records the community's lack of a dedicated move workflow and conflicting refund reports.
• Graveyard Keeper 2 Steam key on Eneba: Global key, compare with the Steam price.