Beginner Guide: Tips and Tricks for Getting Started - Raft Guide - IGN (2024)

This page is part of IGN's Raft Wiki guide and details everything you need to know about combating sharks, exploring abandoned ships and islands to gather resources, and general everyday survival tips and tricks needed to survive in the world of Raft successfully.

Essential Tips and Tricks for Getting Started

From crafting your most essential tools first, learning how to distract Bruce the Shark successfully, and general everyday survival tips such as farming Vine Goo and the best places to look when scavenging for supplies.

Listed below are over 25 handy tips and tricks that you'll have you an expert survivor in no time at all.

Quick Tips and Tricks

Collect and save every piece of wood you can find. Wood is essential to your survival as it's used to craft almost every item in the game.

While it's not essential straight off the bat, you'll want to eventually set a goal to save enough resources to craft a bed. Acting almost as a save spot, the bed will serve as a respawn point should you die and will also allow you to skip nights.

Raft is best enjoyed slowly, so don't feel that you have to rush through the early game experience as this is where most of your fun will be had.

• Think twice before removing flooring as any items on the square will instantly disappear upon destroying the floor piece.
• When dropping items, be sure to pick them back up before the one minute and thirty-second timer causes them to de-spawn and disappear forever.
• Took your eyes off the path and lost your way? A Streamer is a must-have tool if you're struggling to navigate the world as it'll help you gauge the direction in which the wind is blowing. To build a streamer, you'll need 6 Planks, 3 Ropes, and 3 Nails.
• Don't be fooled; one sail will produce all the speed you need.
• As tempting as it may be, please do not drink the saltwater as it'll cause your hydration bar to deplete.
• Just drank the last of your fresh water? Be sure to refill your cup, as you'll want your water purifier to always be working on a new batch of water.
• Vine Goo is a popular item that is often used in crafting; however, its rarity makes it hard to come by. Thankfully, you won't have to rely on finding Vine Goo through abandoned rafts and barrels, as you'll be happy to know that you can create Vine Goo by using seaweed in a furnace.
• See a barrel coming towards your raft? Stop what you're doing, and be sure to grab it. With Scrap and other resources being scarce during your early game experience, these barrels and their supplies can be a complete lifesaver.
• Don't feel pressured to stop at every abandoned raft and island that you find. While some will often provide somewhat decent supplies, you'll often find that many lackluster and much more of a waste of time, if anything.
• When moving around your raft, especially when picking up debris and rubbish, it's surprisingly easy to fall into the water. When you're first starting out, falling into the water can be one of the worst possible situations, as your chance of death is significantly higher. Not only will you lack many of the necessary weapons and skills to survive a Shark attack, but there's a good chance you'll also be fatigued due to a lack of water and food consumption. If this is the case, you'll want to get back onto your raft as quickly as possible; otherwise, you'll become shark food.

• The Shark is set to attack the raft every 5 minutes, but should you enter the water, the five-minute timer will be paused until you exit.
• While it's entirely up to you, having space in-between your collection nets is completely fine. Not only does it save you resources, but the actual chance of items slipping between the gap is very unlikely.
• While you may want to explore the islands straight away, we recommend waiting until you've at least crafted an axe and have the ability and means to reach the higher points of the island. One of the only reasons you will want to visit an island early on in the game is to search the shallows along the beach for resources.
• When leaving your raft, always use an anchor, even if it's just for a short period. Not only is it easy to lose track of your Raft should it get swept away by the current, but being left stranded with a circling shark hot on your tail, you'll quickly learn just how vital an anchor can be.

• As you progress through the game, your inventory will quickly begin to fill up with items. Try using the research table to unlock Storage Boxes, as they'll allow you to store anywhere from 8 to 20 items.

The Plastic Hook is the True Hero of Raft

While it may not seem like much, you would be surprised at just how vital your sole tool, the Plastic Hook, is to your survival in Raft as the Plastic Hook is used to start scavenging through the debris and rubbish that can be seen floating past your raft.

This tool can be thrown into the ocean and used to hook multiple pieces of debris at once.

Prioritize These Must-Have Items First

We know all too well just how overwhelming Raft can feel when you're first starting out. Not only are you stranded in the middle, but all your given is a small Plastic Hook.

With only small amounts of resources available to salvage from the incoming rubbish and debris, we have compiled a list that details five must-have items that are crucial to your survival. While it's entirely up to you, it is recommended to craft the following items in the order that they are listed below.

• Simple Purifier
  • x6 Plank
  • x6 Palm Leaf
  • x4 Plastic

• Simple Grill
  • x6 Plank
  • x1 Scrap
  • x3 Rope

• Wooden Spear
  • x8 Plank
  • x3 Rope

• Wooden Fishing Rod
  • x6 Plank
  • x8 Rope

• Empty Cup
  • x4 Plastic

Avoid Building on the Edge of Your Raft

While you may be tempted to place items around the edge of your raft, we highly advise that you build all of your items as close to the middle of the raft as possible. The reason for this is that the roaming shark will often attempt to attack your raft as it latches on to an edge piece.

If you're quick enough, you'll be able to use your spear to attack the shark. Once you deal at least three damage to the shark, it will let go of the raft and swim away. While the raft may remain damaged, you can use your hammer to repair the damaged piece for just two planks - which is much better than having to replace an entire part that requires full resources.

Fishing, Purifying water, and Cooking Are Among Your Top Priorities

Fishing and cooking are arguably the most critical aspects of Raft as they play a crucial part in ensuring your survival as you'll be required to eat and drink on a regular basis.

As we mentioned above, to stay alive, you will want to make sure that a Simple Purifier and Simple Grill are among the first items that you craft when starting the game.

While the Simple Grill is unable to cook recipes and other larger food items, here's everything that it will be able to cook:

• Raw Beet

• Raw Potato

• Raw Herring

• Raw Pomfret

• Raw Mackerel

• Raw Tilapia

• Raw Shark Meat

• Raw Meat

• Raw Drumstick

As you begin to find and unlock more advanced recipes, you'll want to eventually make the upgrade to the more advanced cooking station, a Cooking Pot.

When it comes to staying hydrated, it's vital that you also craft an Empty Cup to hold and transport your water. Unfortunately, you'll need to ensure that you are constantly refilling the cup, as it only has the capability of holding one unit of water.

Use Shark Bait to Distract Bruce

Need to get in water but scared you'll run into Bruce, the Shark? Well, look no further than Shark Bait, as the meaty distraction will allow you to explore underwater without any distractions for a short period.

With up to 1,000 health points, you can expect the Shark Bait to last the following duration.

• Game Mode: Easy & Normal

• • Health: 800

• • Time: 1 Minute and 5 Seconds

• Game Mode: Hard

• • Health: 1,000

• • Time: 1 Minute and 20 Seconds

So if you're looking to create a Shark Bait distraction, you'll need 2 Rope, 2 Raw Herring, and 1 Raw Pomfret.

It's important to remember to time your dives, as you, the baits are only a temporary distraction, and you do not want to get caught off guard.

Alternatively, if you're playing with friends, you can always have them store their items and distract the shark for you while you attempt to gather the underwood resources.

When it comes to diving, it's important to remember that shallow water near the shore of islands is always the most prepared diving in the shallow water near shore, instead of the ocean's deep, dark depths.

Search the Seas for Abandoned Rafts and Debris

As you're exploring the vast ocean, you'll often come across abandoned rafts. If you happen to come across the debris/rubbish streams when sailing, try throwing your Plastic Hook out to collect it. This will be one of your primary methods for collecting resources when first starting.

Furthermore, if you stumble across an abandoned raft, you may just be lucky enough to find a loot box. Loot boxes often contain high-value items that are sometimes hard to come by, such as Scrap, Vine Goo, Glass, and Metal Ore.

So you're probably wondering, what are the drop chances when opening the loot boxes you find abandoned rafts? Well, here's a complete breakdown of each item and the percentage chance at receiving each potential reward.

Underwater Exploration Houses Tons of Resources

As scary as it may be, underwater exploration is a must as it yields some of the best resources you can find in the game. You'll have the chance to collect resources such as Clay, Sand, Scrap, and Seaweed.

Old Boots Are More Useful Than You Think

Before you go throwing away any old boots that you may have found while fishing or scavenging for loot, you'll be surprised to know that the old boot has a purpose - you can plant potatoes inside!

That's right, you can plant raw potatoes inside of old boots, and with the help of the plastic water bottle, you'll be able to water the plant. Better yet, every time that you harvest the potato, you will yield a total of two.

Alternatively, if you have the supplies to spare, crafting Crop Plots will be a great way to create a stable and consistent food source.

What Happens When You Die In Raft

Let's be honest; death happens to even the best of us, as sometimes there is just no avoiding it. So if you do happen to die while playing solo, you will respawn, but all of your items on your character will be lost forever.

If you died while playing multiplayer with friends, they would be able to carry your body to a bed or hammock. This would cause you to wake up, but your stats health, water, and food stats will be very low.