---
title: "Raft: Survival Guide"
game: "Raft"
game_url: "https://qna.gg/games/raft"
author: "Qloud"
author_url: "https://qna.gg/players/Qloud"
topics: ["Builds", "Co-op", "Farming"]
summary: "Everything you need to go from a 2x2 raft and a plastic hook to Utopia: survival basics, raft building, research, navigation, story islands, and co-op tips. Researched September 2026 — current as of Raft 1.1 / Hotfix…"
url: "https://qna.gg/g/raft-survival-guide-5502a96e"
published: "2026-09-27T16:19:52.363Z"
updated: "2026-09-27T16:19:52.363Z"
source: "QnA.GG"
---

# Raft: Survival Guide

Everything you need to go from a 2x2 raft and a plastic hook to Utopia: survival basics, raft building, research, navigation, story islands, and co-op tips.

*Researched September 2026 — current as of Raft 1.1 / Hotfix 1.1.01 (March 2026, cross-play on the default branch). Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.*

> **Status:** Raft left early access with "The Final Chapter" on June 20, 2022, so the story is complete. PS5 and Xbox Series X|S versions launched December 4, 2024. Version 1.1 moved cross-play, full controller support, and in-game voice chat to the PC default branch in March 2026. If an old mod breaks, Redbeet left a fallback to v1.09 in Steam betas.

## Quick Start

1. **Hook everything.** Plastic, planks, and palm leaves (thatch) float past constantly. Hook and swim for barrels, which carry the best early loot.
2. **Water before food.** Build a **Simple Purifier** and a cup early. Thirst kills faster than hunger.
3. **Build a Simple Grill and fish.** A fishing rod plus a grill is a reliable early food loop. Plant a **Small Crop Plot** with potatoes or beets you find in barrels or on islands.
4. **Bruce the shark bites your foundations.** Keep a spear handy. Hit him a few times and he backs off. Later, research reinforced foundations so he can't eat them.
5. **Get a Research Table ASAP.** Most of the game's progression runs through it. Put new materials on it to unlock blueprints.
6. **Anchor and sail.** An anchor lets you stop at islands; a sail lets you steer. Without both you drift past everything good.
7. **Use islands for big jumps.** Islands give dirt, sand, clay, stone, fruit, seeds, and scrap/metal ore. Anchor before swimming off.
8. **Receiver + Antennas unlock the story.** The receiver picks up signals leading to the story islands. That's your main quest.
9. **Build a bed.** Sleeping skips the night, and the bed becomes your respawn point.

## Core Survival Stats

| Stat | Fill it with | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| **Thirst** | Purified water, coconuts, juices | Salt water hurts you. Upgrade to the Advanced Purifier and water tanks later. |
| **Hunger** | Cooked fish, crops, fruit, meat, recipes on the Cooking Pot | Cooked recipes and juices give bigger bonuses. |
| **Health** | Food/water, bandages, healing salve | Raw food and some meats hurt you. |
| **Oxygen** (underwater) | Surface, or craft Oxygen Bottles | Flippers speed up swimming. |

## Early-Game Build Order

| Step | Build | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plastic Hook (starting) and a Wooden Spear | Collect debris, defend against Bruce |
| 2 | Simple Purifier, Cup, Simple Grill | Water and cooked food loop |
| 3 | Small Crop Plot, fishing rod | Stable food |
| 4 | Research Table | Unlocks everything else |
| 5 | Collection Nets | Passive debris collection at the front of the raft |
| 6 | Storage chests, Bed | Organize, save, skip nights |
| 7 | Anchor (stationary), Sail | Control where you go |
| 8 | Smelter, Metal Detector, Axe, Hammer upgrades | Metal ingots, better tools |
| 9 | Receiver + Antennas, Steering Wheel, Engine | Story navigation and powered travel |

**Tip:** place collection nets in a wide line at the front of your raft. They pull in debris passively while you do other things. A raft with a good net wall basically runs itself.

## Resources and Where They Come From

| Resource | Source |
|---|---|
| **Plastic, Planks, Thatch** | Floating debris |
| **Barrels** | Floating debris; random loot including seeds, scrap, nails |
| **Scrap** | Barrels, islands, shipwrecks. Used directly in tool and hook upgrades |
| **Metal ore / Copper ore** | Diving around islands; the metal detector also finds buried treasure |
| **Stone, Clay, Sand** | Islands and the seafloor around them |
| **Seaweed, Sea vines** | Island seafloor |
| **Fruit, Seeds** | Islands (palms, mango, pineapple, watermelon and others) |
| **Feathers, Eggs** | Birds and nests on islands; later from chickens you raise |

Craft **Rope** from thatch; you'll need a lot of it. Use a **Hammer** to build and a **Hook** or **Axe** to gather.

## Navigation and Travel

- **Sail:** interact to raise/lower it and rotate it toward where you want to go. Wind direction matters; multiple sails add speed.
- **Steering Wheel + Engines:** engines run on biofuel (made from organic waste in a biofuel refiner) and let you travel against the wind. Multiple engines speed up a larger raft.
- **Receiver + Antennas:** craft a Receiver and place the required antennas on the raft. Power it and it will show story signals and frequencies you pick up from story islands.
- **Anchors:** a stationary anchor is the easiest way to stop at an island. Raise it before you leave or you'll wonder why you're not moving.

## Story Islands (Order)

The story follows a trail of notes left by survivors. Each story island gives you coordinates or a frequency for the next.

| # | Location | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | **Radio Tower** | First story stop. Climb the tower and find the notes that set up the rest of the game |
| 2 | **Vasagatan** | A stranded luxury ship; explore decks and learn about the survivors |
| 3 | **Balboa Island** | A large island with puzzles and hostile wildlife |
| 4 | **Caravan Town** | A rope-linked town over the water |
| 5 | **Tangaroa** | A floating city with multiple districts |
| 6 | **Varuna Point** | A new chapter location with more puzzles |
| 7 | **Temperance** | A cold, snowy settlement |
| 8 | **Utopia** | Final destination: the city where Olof Wilkstrom, a former military general, has imposed martial law. The story ends here |

Each story island has key items, notes, and blueprints to unlock. Many give **new blueprints** that are hard to get any other way, so explore thoroughly. Several also have boss creatures; bring plenty of healing, a metal or machete-level weapon, and bows/arrows.

## Farming and Food

- **Crop Plots:** Small Plot early, Medium/Large later. Water them with a watering can or later a **Sprinkler**.
- **Scarecrows** keep birds away from crops.
- **Animals:** capture chickens, goats, and llamas with the right tools and pens for eggs, milk, and wool.
- **Cooking Pot:** combine ingredients into recipes for bigger bonuses than raw fish.
- **Juicer:** blends fruit into juices that restore thirst and hunger at the same time; some juices give special bonuses.

## Threats

- **Bruce the shark** — attacks your foundations and swimmers. Kill him for shark meat (he respawns). Reinforce foundations and raft edges.
- **Pufferfish** — explode near you. Kill them from range or avoid.
- **Birds** — seagulls land on your crop plots and eat them (scarecrows keep them off), and hostile birds on islands attack you directly. Use a bow or build protection.
- **Wildlife on islands** — boars, bears, and other creatures appear on larger islands and story islands. Carry a good weapon.
- **Story bosses** — prepare with healing food, spare weapons, and arrows.

## Difficulty

| Mode | What changes |
|---|---|
| **Peaceful** | Lowest pressure: hunger and thirst still apply, but threats are largely switched off |
| **Easy** | Less damage taken and slower hunger/thirst |
| **Normal** | Standard survival |
| **Hard** | More damage taken and faster hunger/thirst |
| **Creative** | Unlimited health and resources; build freely |

The difficulty modes change how much damage enemies deal and how fast hunger and thirst drain.

## Common Mistakes to Avoid

- **Leaving without raising the anchor** or **leaving the raft without anchoring** at an island.
- **Building too wide with no foundation protection.** Bruce loves edges. Reinforce, and keep a spear on hand.
- **Letting food rot.** Raw fish and some foods spoil; cook and store what you need.
- **Ignoring the research table.** New materials unlock dozens of blueprints only after you research them.
- **Forgetting to fuel engines.** No biofuel, no power.
- **Skipping the story islands.** Many key blueprints only come from story locations.
- **Going deep without oxygen or flippers.** Carry oxygen bottles for island dives.
- **Tying everything to one chest.** Label or organize storage; your raft will balloon.

## Advanced Tips

- **Net wall for passive farming.** A wide line of nets across the bow pulls in huge amounts of debris.
- **Automate water and food.** Advanced purifiers, water tanks, and sprinklers let the raft run itself during long trips.
- **Engine and sail combo.** Use a sail when wind is favorable to save fuel; switch to engines when you need to go upwind.
- **Metal detector and island dives.** Buried treasure and metal/copper ore make up most of the early metal economy.
- **Loot barrels while waiting.** Don't sit idle while traveling; hook and swim for debris.
- **Ziplines on story islands.** Several story locations are built around ziplines; craft the zipline tool once you have the blueprint and keep it in your hotbar.
- **Co-op roles.** One player navigates and builds, another farms and cooks, another loots islands. Raft supports up to ten players, and v1.1 added cross-play between PC and console.

## FAQ

**Is Raft finished?**
Yes. The Final Chapter released June 20, 2022; post-launch updates have focused on consoles, cross-play, controller support, voice chat, and fixes.

**Does Raft have cross-play?**
Yes. Version 1.1 moved cross-play between PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S to the Steam default branch in March 2026.

**How many players can play together?**
Up to ten.

**How do I stop the shark from eating my raft?**
Research and build reinforced foundations, and hit Bruce with a spear when he attacks.

**How do I find the story islands?**
Build a Receiver and the required antennas, power it, and follow the signals. Each story island points you to the next.

**What happened to my voice chat?**
Hotfix 1.1.01 turned PlayFab voice chat off by default for new users. Enable it in settings if you want it.

**Can I play offline?**
Yes, single-player works offline.

## Sources

- [Raft on Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raft_(video_game))
- [Raft Steam news feed (1.1 cross-play, Hotfix 1.1.01, console launch)](https://api.steampowered.com/ISteamNews/GetNewsForApp/v2/?appid=648800&count=8&feeds=steam_community_announcements)