Crafting & tool gating
What each tool opens, which materials matter, and the crafting order that gets you past the early game fastest.
Craft the tool that opens the next material gate, not the sword with the biggest number. The early priority is a weapon, a torch, the pickaxe, then clay-driven camp upgrades. Crafting opens with B; recipes and quantities are shown in-game, and we do not invent them here.
The crafting menu
The official screenshots show “Crafting [B]” in the top-right corner. The menu is where tools, weapons and camp upgrades come from. The crafting screen also reveals recipes as you acquire materials, so the fastest way to learn a recipe is to bring home a new material and open the menu.
Tools and what they open
| Tool | What it is for | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Sword / crude sword | Basic melee combat | Official screenshots |
| Shield | Blocking; the iron shield appears in the hotbar | Official screenshots |
| Bow and arrows | Ranged damage; arrows are a consumable stack | Official screenshots |
| Torch | Light source; one player report questions whether it can burn roots | Screenshot + community review |
| Pickaxe | Mining clay and goo; the early progression gate | Community review |
| Hammer | Breaking metal bars | Community review |
| Backpack | Extra carrying capacity; removes sprint according to a public review | Community review |
The pickaxe, hammer and backpack-sprint details come from public Steam reviews. The sword, shield, bow, arrows and torch are visible in official screenshots. The torch's effect on roots is not confirmed; one reviewer specifically asks why it does not work. Recipes and material quantities are intentionally not listed because we have not verified a complete current set.
Materials you will recognize
The hotbar and inventory in the official screenshots show crude swords, leather, sticks, wood planks, iron rods and rocks. Public reviews add clay and goo as mined materials. That is enough to understand the economy: sticks and stone are the first tier, leather and iron are the next, and clay is the bridge from “surviving” to “upgrading.”
What to craft first
- A weapon. You need to be able to disengage from a bad room, not win every fight.
- A torch. Dark rooms are not optional content; light is a tool.
- The pickaxe. Clay expands camp and upgrades your arsenal, according to a public review. This is the first real power spike.
- Camp upgrades. Spend clay on the base and arsenal before cosmetic comfort.
- Specialized tools. Hammer for metal bars, bow for ranged pulls, backpack for camp moves.
Durability, ammo and the bow
The screenshots show a torch with a percentage (95%) and arrows as a stack (x16), so at least some tools and ammunition are consumable. Plan for replacement, not permanence. One public review reports that arrows from the bow can fly off to the right or behind the player even when the reticle is small; that is a reported bug, not a skill issue. If it happens consistently, switch to melee and check whether a patch has addressed it.
Camp upgrades before gear bling
Your camp is the only place that compounds. A better camp means better cooking, more storage and a shorter loop between expeditions. Public reviews describe using clay to expand the main base and upgrade the arsenal; those two purchases do more for a new player than a slightly better sword.
Crafting habits that save runs
- Craft at the end of a trip, not the start. You will know what you actually need.
- Keep one repair or replacement material at camp. A broken tool mid-run is a wasted trip.
- Do not craft a backpack for every player. It costs sprint; one camp-mover is enough.
- Read the recipe effect text. A tool that opens a route is worth more than a stat stick.
- Check the patch notes. Item and crafting behavior changed in 1.0.47.0.
Related pages
How to get clay covers the first material gate. Inventory & backpack explains why your pack fills so fast. The crafting checklist keeps a session organized.