Raft is by far my favorite sandbox-survival game. There is so much to do, and you can set the pace of your gameplay however you want.
The First Step is to Make a Water Purifier and Simple Grill.
Simple Grill and Purifier.
You are of no use to yourself when you are dead. So the very first thing you should do is craft a simple grill and a simple purifier.
Steps:
- Make a simple grill with 6 planks, 1 scrap, and 1 rope. The scrap can be found while diving around an island or in a barrel. I normally get a few barrels before I reach any islands, so the first scrap I obtain I use for the grill.
- Make a simple purifier with 6 planks, 6 palm leaves, and 4 plastic. You’ll need 4 more plastic to craft an empty cup. You’ll use this to scoop salt water into your purifier.
You’ll get the occasional beet and potato that you can cook on the grill, but your main food source should be fish.
The Second Step is to Craft a Wooden Spear and a Spare Plastic Hook
Players gathering flotsam with hooks.
The shark is going to attack your raft every 5 minutes, so make sure you have a wooden spear.
Steps:
- Make a wooden spear with 8 planks and 3 rope. When the shark comes to attack your raft, it will take three hits with your wooden spear.
- You will need more material to repair your raft, and your plastic hook’s durability will have gone down quite a bit by now, so be sure to craft a spare plastic hook before your current one breaks. You'll only need 1 plank and 2 pieces of plastic to craft it.
Don’t Lose Your Raft
Player swimming out to the vast blue sea.
Make use of the paddles and anchors to keep your raft near you. If you lose your raft, eventually you’ll die of starvation or thirst and have to respawn on your raft, losing the materials you just gathered. It ruins the durability of the tools you used.
Steps:
- Make a paddle with 4 planks, 6 plastic, and 2 rope. Use the paddle to lodge yourself against an island before leaving your raft.
- Make a throwable anchor 2 planks, 4 rope, and 4 stones. It’s just a one-use anchor, so use it if you don’t think you can lodge yourself against an island.
Make a Fishing Rod the Minute You Can
Player fishing while parked at an island.
Fish will be your main source of food. It'll be good to make a fishing rod as soon as you can.
Steps:
Craft a wooden fishing rod with 6 planks and 8 rope. Use it to catch some fish.
Use your simple grill to cook the fish. You can eat the fish raw as well, but it has a negative effect that depletes your thirst a bit.
If you plan on making shark bait, save your raw pomfret and herring for it and only cook the tilapia and mackerel. Catfish and salmon cannot be cooked on a simple grill, and you will have to craft an advanced grill for them. So keep those big fish in your storage until you can make an advanced grill.
Kill the Shark
Player defending raft from shark attack.
Killing the shark has only positive consequences. For starters, you can collect shark meat for consumption. And second, you will have some time underwater to gather resources before it respawns.
Steps:
Craft shark bait with 2 rope and two raw herring or pomfret. It will distract the shark while you take jabs at it with your spear. The shark bait lasts 1 min and 5 sec on easy/normal mode and 1 min 20 sec on hard mode.
With the wooden spear, the shark takes 30 hits on easy and normal mode to be killed or 38 hits on hard mode.
When killed, the body takes 5 minutes to despawn and 3 minutes for the shark to respawn.
Once looted, the shark’s body disappears, and the 3 minute timer will begin. But if you leave the body there to despawn on its own, you’ll have an extra five minutes to yourself.
If you want more time underwater before it respawns, only take the 4 shark meat it’ll give you and leave the head to keep the shark’s carcass there.
Don’t Stay at Islands Too Long
Randomly generated island and a view of its coral reef.
Don’t spend all your time looting islands. Early-game, resources are scarce, and your tools don’t have a lot of durability. So, only grab what you need and move on. That means you shouldn't collect all that stone from the ocean floor unless absolutely necessary.
Drifting on the ocean is one of the best ways to gather base resources such as planks, palm leaves, and plastic.
Collection Nets
Collection nets on a raft.
Speaking of planks, palm leaves, and plastic, you’ll need a lot of it. Collection nets are extremely useful for passively collecting resources without destroying your hook.
In the beginning of the game, you’ll only be able to craft simple collection nets, but they are so good to have as soon as you can afford them.
Steps:
- Craft a simple collection net with 6 planks, 8 rope and 2 nails.
- Place it around your raft and make as many as you can. You won’t regret it.
A simple collection net holds up to 10 items, and the advanced one holds up to 15.
Sharks will attack the outermost blocks of your raft, so don’t place them on the outside, or fortify the nets when you have metal to spare.
Take Your Time!
Players admiring the sunset.
There is no reason you should be rushing through this game. It’s meant to be a chill adventure, so don’t forget to chill out. Take your time collecting resources and building your raft. I’ll tell you this once, because others will tell you. You can never— and I mean never— have too many planks. I’m on my fourth run of Raft, and I never have enough of it. But then again, I can spend hours collecting resources and building my raft without even thinking about the story.
So please, sit back, relax, and enjoy the beautiful features this game has to offer. There’s no rush. You can take as long as you want.
