Crafting and Combat

Everything in The Survivalists feeds through the crafting system. Your tools determine what you can gather, your weapons determine what you can kill, your food determines how long you survive, and your structures determine whether your base is still standing after an orc raid. This guide covers the full crafting tree from your first pebble handaxe to legendary elemental weapons, plus combat techniques and raid defense strategies.

Crafting Progression

Crafting follows a tiered progression. Each tier unlocks when you build the required station and discover or purchase the right recipes.

Tier	Station	Materials Used	Items Produced
1 - Handcraft	None (personal menu)	Pebbles, Sticks, Long Grass	Handaxe, basic rope, straw bundles
2 - Basic	Crafting Bench	Timber, Stone, Rope	Wooden tools, weapons, structural pieces, rafts
3 - Cooking	Campfire / Cooking Pot	Raw food, Berries, Coconuts	Cooked meals, advanced food buffs
4 - Metalwork	Forge	Ore, Charcoal, Stone	Metal ingots, metal tools, metal weapons
5 - Legendary	Taskmasters / Mysterious Stranger	Refined Gems, rare drops	Elemental weapons, legendary blueprints

How Recipe Unlocking Works

New recipes appear in your crafting menu when you:

• Craft a prerequisite item. Making a Handaxe unlocks Straw Bundle recipes, which unlock Rope recipes, which unlock the Crafting Bench recipe.
• Build a new station. Placing a Forge reveals all Forge-specific recipes.
• Complete Taskmaster quests. NPCs called Taskmasters give tasks (gather X items, defeat Y enemies) that reward legendary blueprints.
• Buy from the Mysterious Stranger. The balloon merchant sells blueprints for elemental weapons and advanced structures.

Crafting Stations in Detail

Crafting Bench

Your first major station. Build it as soon as you have the materials.

Recipe: 2 Rope, 2 Stone Chunks, 3 Timber

Key recipes unlocked:

Item	Ingredients	Purpose
Wooden Sword	2 Timber, 1 Rope	First real weapon. Replaces handaxe for combat.
Wooden Spear	3 Timber, 1 Rope	Longer reach than sword. Good for kiting enemies.
Wooden Shield	2 Timber, 2 Rope	Blocks incoming damage. Hold block to reduce hits.
Pickaxe	2 Stone Chunks, 1 Timber	Mines rock nodes for stone and ore.
Raft	5 Timber, 3 Rope	Lets you sail between islands.
Wooden Rod	2 Timber	Intermediate crafting component.
Wooden Slat	2 Timber, 1 Rope	Used in structure building.

Campfire

Your primary cooking station for the first half of the game.

Recipe: 6 Pebbles, 1 Timber

Recipe	Ingredients	Hunger Restored
Meat Kebab	1 Meat Chunk or 2 Meat Scraps	Moderate
Charred Fish	1 Fillet, 1 Palm Leaf	Moderate
Fruit Smoothie	2 Berries, 2 Coconuts, 1 Palm Leaf	High
Foul Meal	3 Petals, 3 Long Grass, 1 Timber	N/A (monkey taming)
Charcoal	3 Timber	N/A (Forge fuel, crafting ingredient)

warning

Charcoal is not a passive byproduct of campfire usage. You must actively craft it at a Campfire (3 Timber per Charcoal) or harvest it from dead trees and tree stumps in the Badlands and Volcanic biomes. Without Charcoal, you cannot operate the Forge. Start stockpiling it as soon as you build your first Campfire.

Cooking Pot

An upgraded cooking station for advanced food recipes. These meals restore more hunger and some provide temporary buffs.

Recipe: 12 Pebbles, 1 Bucket (requires Forge to be built first)

Recipe	Ingredients	Effect
Sizzling Steak	2 Steaks, 2 Berries, 1 Palm Leaf	Very high hunger restoration
Mango Curry	1 Makeshift Bowl, 2 Coconuts, 3 Fruits	Very high hunger restoration
Chocolate Bar	1 Cocoa Pod, 1 Sugar	Makes tamed animals fall in love
Gourmet Pie	3 Steak, 2 Pastry	Full health and hunger restoration
Slow Cooked Stew	Advanced recipe	+100 Max Health, +50 Max Stamina buff
Buff Food	Various combinations	Temporary stat boosts (health, stamina, biome resistance)

info

The "Totally Buff" achievement requires having health, stamina, and biome resistance buffs active at the same time. Prepare a Slow Cooked Stew (health and stamina buffs), then immediately consume an Elixir or biome-resistance potion from the Alchemy Bench before the first buff expires.

Forge

The metal-tier crafting station. This is the gateway to weapons and tools that can handle Island 3+ enemies.

Recipe: 3 Mud, 6 Stone Chunks

The Forge smelts raw ore into metal ingots. From ingots, you craft metal versions of your tools and weapons.

Item	Ingredients	Improvement Over Wooden
Metal Sword	Metal Ingots, Timber	Higher damage, greater durability
Metal Spear	Metal Ingots, Timber	More reach, better damage
Metal Pickaxe	Metal Ingots, Timber	Mines faster, accesses higher-tier ore nodes
Metal Shield	Metal Ingots, Rope	Better damage reduction, lasts longer

Repair Bench

Found in some vaults or crafted mid-game. The Repair Bench restores broken legendary and elemental weapons using Refined Gems. Without it, a broken Fire Sword is just dead weight in your inventory.

Trinket Bench

The Trinket Bench is a late-game station that requires a Repair Bench to unlock first. It lets you forge gemstone crystals (Quartz, Emerald, Sapphire, Topaz) into wearable trinkets that provide passive combat and gathering bonuses.

Trinket Type	Effect
Harvesting Trinkets	Boost resource yield from gathering
Combat Shield Trinkets	Absorb incoming damage
Ultimate Trinket	Heals 5 HP per hit on enemies (requires 4 Topaz Crystals, 4 Refined Gems, 1 Ornate Orcling Relic)

Trinket recipes are unlocked by completing Taskmaster quest chains. The Ultimate Combo Trinket blueprint randomly drops after defeating the Big Cat Labyrinth boss, but acquiring all four variations requires regenerating your world seed at least three times.

Alchemy Bench

Introduced in the Frostbite Fortress expansion. The Alchemy Bench is a late-game structure unlocked after the Forge, requiring 10 Basalt Rock, 12 Hardwood Slats, and 6 Glass Sheets. It lets you brew potions for elemental resistances and stat boosts, and functions as an advanced resource processor that makes metal, gold, basalt, brimstone, gemstones, and glowstones renewable. See Farming and Alchemy for full details.

Weapon Tiers

Weapons follow a clear power progression. Upgrade as fast as your materials and crafting stations allow.

Tier	Examples	How to Get	Durability
Stone/Wood	Handaxe, Wooden Sword	Hand crafting, Crafting Bench	Low. Breaks quickly.
Metal	Metal Sword, Metal Spear	Forge	Moderate. Reliable for mid-game.
Gold	Gold Sword, Gold Tools	Forge (rare ore)	Higher damage than metal but lower durability.
Legendary/Elemental	Fire Sword, Wind Spear	Taskmasters, Mysterious Stranger	Best damage. Repairable at Repair Bench.

Elemental Weapons

There are eight legendary elemental weapons in the game. Each one deals bonus elemental damage and has a visual effect.

Element	Weapons	Special Effect
Fire	Fire Sword, Fire Spear	Ignites enemies, dealing damage over time
Ice	Ice Sword, Ice Pickaxe	Slows enemies on hit
Earth	Earth Club, Earth Pickaxe	Knockback effect, staggers enemies
Wind	Wind Axe, Wind Spear	Increased attack speed

Elemental weapons are obtained by:

1. Completing Taskmaster quests. Four Taskmasters (Beast Master, Survival Gourmand, The Collector, The Salesman) offer multi-step quest chains. Completing a chain rewards Task Tokens and legendary blueprints.
2. Buying blueprints from the Mysterious Stranger. He sells some elemental blueprints for doubloons.

info

Before Balance Patch 1.1.3, elemental weapons dropped directly from labyrinth boss chests. That loot table was removed. Labyrinths now reward trinket slots instead. The only way to get elemental weapons in the current version is through Taskmasters and the Mysterious Stranger.

warning

A single world seed limits the legendary item pool. Solo players often receive duplicate elemental weapons instead of the full set of eight. To collect all eight for the "It's Elementary!" achievement, you must join multiplayer sessions and trade with other players, or clear labyrinths in a different host's world.

warning

Elemental weapons break after heavy use. When broken, they become a "Broken [Weapon Name]" item. You must repair them at a Repair Bench using Refined Gems. Do not throw away broken legendaries. They are repairable.

Combat Mechanics

Combat is real-time and action-based. Understanding the core mechanics is the difference between clearing a labyrinth and losing your entire monkey squad.

Basic Controls

Action	Default Key (PC)	Notes
Attack	Left Click	Hold for charged attack (more damage, slower)
Block	Right Click (with shield)	Reduces incoming damage. Shield durability depletes.
Dodge Roll	Space	Grants invincibility frames. Core defensive tool.
Sprint	Shift	Drains stamina. Faster than walking but leaves you vulnerable.

Dodge Rolling

The dodge roll is your most important combat tool. When you press the roll button, your character becomes invulnerable for a brief window during the roll animation. Timing the roll to coincide with an enemy's attack negates all damage from that hit.

Key tips:

• Roll toward or perpendicular to the attacker, not directly away. Rolling away keeps you in the enemy's attack range for the next swing.
• Each roll costs stamina. Do not spam rolls or you will run out of stamina and be unable to dodge the next attack.
• Practice timing against boars and small predators on Island 1 before fighting orcs or labyrinth bosses.

Stamina Management

Stamina drains from sprinting, attacking, and dodge-rolling. It regenerates on its own when you are not performing stamina-consuming actions. Running out of stamina in a fight means you cannot dodge, attack, or sprint away.

• Do not sprint into a fight. Walk to the engagement so you have full stamina for combat.
• After two or three attacks, back off and let stamina recharge before attacking again.
• Buff foods from the Cooking Pot temporarily increase your stamina pool and regen rate.

Enemy Priority

Not all enemies are worth fighting. Some are resource drains that eat your food and damage your weapons without giving meaningful rewards.

Enemy	Threat Level	Worth Fighting?
Rabbits, Deer	None	Kill for meat. Easy resources.
Boars	Low	Aggressive when provoked. Good meat source.
Cougars	Moderate	Dangerous alone. Worth the pelt materials.
Orcs	High	Fight to defend base. Avoid in the open unless well-armed.
Spectres	High	Always kill first in swamp encounters. Revives skeletons.
Elephant Birds	Very High	Avoid unless you have metal weapons and combat monkeys.
Sharks	Moderate	Use ranged weapons from shore. Do not fight in water.

Orc Raids

After you encounter orcs for the first time (usually on Island 2), they begin raiding your base. Raids spawn groups of orc attackers near your camp. They target your structures, crafting stations, storage chests, and bed.

Raid Preparation

Raids are inevitable. Prepare for them before they happen.

1. Wall off your base. Four walls around your critical structures (bed, crafting bench, storage chests) force orcs to break through rather than walk in.
2. Place traps. Wooden and bone traps placed outside your walls damage orcs as they approach. Funnel raiders into narrow passages lined with traps.
3. Arm your monkeys. Keep combat monkeys stationed near your base at all times. Give them the best weapons you have.
4. Stockpile weapons. Keep a chest of spare weapons near your base. Monkey weapons break during fights. You need replacements ready.
5. Protect your bed. Surround your bed with an inner wall. If orcs destroy it, you lose your spawn point.

During a Raid

• Stay near your base and fight alongside your combat monkeys.
• Focus on orcs that are attacking your structures rather than chasing ones at the edge of the fight.
• Eat food between waves if your health drops. Do not wait until you are nearly dead.
• If you are overwhelmed, retreat to your raft. Orcs cannot follow you into deep water.

After a Raid

• Assign repair monkeys (equipped with multitools) to fix damaged walls and structures.
• Replace any monkey weapons that broke during the fight.
• Check your storage chests. Orcs sometimes steal or destroy items.
• Reinforce any wall sections that were breached.

tip

Relocate your base to a coastal spot with water on at least two sides. This cuts the number of directions orcs can approach from, making your walls and traps more effective.

Fishing

Fishing provides a steady food source without risk. Craft a fishing spear and stand near the water's edge. When you see a fish swimming by, throw the spear to catch it.

• Speared fish drop as raw fillets. Cook them at a Campfire for Charred Fish.
• Fishing is safer than hunting because there is no combat involved (unless a shark shows up).
• The "Got Any Chips?" achievement unlocks the first time you spear a fish.