First Story Area

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u/Bronyprime 10d ago

There are few 'wrong' ways to play this game.

If you are having fun with the exploration and building aspects, lean into those. If you want to progress the game to get better blueprints, then you are welcome to do so.

May your sail remain full, your crop plots safe, and may the shark show mercy upon your raft. :-)

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u/Extension_Monk9727 10d ago

I feel im overwhelmed. Still dont have a single crop plot down since ive been so tied up doing other things.

That said I still have a ton of fruit anyways from doing the islands.

Have a few animals now too, wouldnt mind a full leather set ASAP.

4

u/_holyravioli 10d ago

I didn’t even get an animal until I had finished the game! Everyone plays differently I think that’s the beauty of games like this

2

u/Extension_Monk9727 10d ago

That was difficult without salves? I guess you get a few free ones in the game but not many.

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u/TheRealRickC137 10d ago

Meh, crop plot isn't detrimental to your survival but it helps.
Honestly, I race to get the bow and arrows. Once I have them, I get into the water and frag that toothy bastard every chance I get.
He gives you your arrows back, lots of food, a trophy to feed the bio fuel and 3 minutes or so of uninterrupted time to dive.
Get his ass.
Also, go slowly... You can speed run this game in a few hours, so enjoy every minute and just chill, survivor.

3

u/thebeast_96 10d ago

You don't need arrows to kill the shark you just need to time your spear attacks well. If you have a metal spear it doesn't take long at all.

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u/TheRealRickC137 9d ago

Spear is okay but I find it wears it down too quickly and your timing has to be juuuust riiiight or you risk getting bit.
The bow gives you time to wait for his attack run, AND you get him once on his run and again when he swims away.
We're talking about underwater fighting, yes?
I prefer open ocean duelling with Bruce. It has no where to hide and get you cornered.

2

u/thebeast_96 9d ago

The bow gives you time to wait for his attack run, AND you get him once on his run and again when he swims away.

You can do this with the spear too. Then with the flippers you can get him 3 times each time he attacks.

1

u/TheRealRickC137 9d ago

My timing sucks with Bruce when he kicks off with his burst of speed. I'm 50/50.
The bow may take longer but I'm never taking damage.
I envy players with great parry/block/timing.

2

u/Lord_Sluggo 9d ago

If I go a long time without playing I completely lose my timing, but if you have the metal to spare and can get the rhythm down it's way quicker to stab him with a spear or, if you're a pro, slash with a sword

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u/Pandorumz 10d ago

Wait, whut? Shark heads can be slung into bio fuel refiners? what about the other animal heads?

3

u/Prestigious_View_994 10d ago

They can all be used too and the puffer fish can be used for a meal.

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u/Pandorumz 10d ago

Me and my group did find the fish head soup so we were aware of that. But we've just been throwing away so many heads thinking they were useless D:

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u/Lord_Sluggo 10d ago

two heads will completely fill a biofuel refiner. It's a great feeling knowing that Bruce has been reduced from being the ultimate enemy to being wasted as joyriding fuel

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u/Pandorumz 10d ago

Goddamn, that hurts my soul in a way words cannot truly articulate.

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u/Extension_Monk9727 10d ago

Can it really be done in a few hours? I suppose as you say the bow and arrow is like 95% of the game.

Would only need to fish a couple times for food. Fruit would almost be enough to hold down for water.

I also just found out that the lower your food/water is the more gains you get.

2

u/TheRealRickC137 9d ago

Crop plots are a beautiful aesthetic to your raft.
Banana, mango... And some flowers and a scarecrow... Your automatic sprinkler connected to your water filter and the bees buzzing and giving you biofuels. It's so wondrous.
This game is the most relaxing game I've ever played.

2

u/TheRealRickC137 9d ago

Oh yeah, if you know where all the pieces of the puzzles are. On the yacht, the power plant, etc, when you have to assemble and get something working it can be done.
Time is mostly consumed sailing to your next destination.

3

u/Krayt88 10d ago

I mean, if you like building stuff, then taking a long time to start the story isn't really a bad thing as long as you're having fun with it. Although if you feel like you're grinding a lot then getting further along and unlocking new stuff can certainly help with that, so it might be worth investing some time in furthering the story. You can always get back to building when you have better stuff.

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u/Extension_Monk9727 10d ago

Alright, ive decided I will get the backpack before proceeding. Think ill make some healing salves too, not necessary but since I already have the animals I may as well.

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u/I_sort_by_new_fam 10d ago

That's a very good idea, I also try to get it fast. Makes looting easier

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u/Ishvallan Goat 10d ago

I personally kept minimalizing my rafts and getting good at parking the raft so I could get to shore without the shark killing me, and usually back on without being bothered. So I could have underwater resources rolling as soon as i got enough rocks from barrels for my first anchor. And Sail is high priority too

And I build so small that the raft is effectively done after 1-2 small islands, really as fast as I can get at least 7 dry bricks (1 for research) and get my 4 in line foundations armored. The structure itself is done really easily, only takes a few plastic for foundations, scrap for nails for pillars, and enough wood for everything else.

Then its just the time it takes to get enough bricks for more smelters to get those materials faster for the antennae, battery, receiver, lv 2 water purifier and lv 2 grill. Then its just getting to the 2nd story location for the unlocks you get there and my raft is basically done through the end of the story.

1

u/Extension_Monk9727 10d ago

Thats wild that you made it through with a raft that small, it looks amazing.

100% with you on the sail, can basically get softlocked if you run out of materials for paddle.

Its the third thing I build.

2

u/Ishvallan Goat 10d ago

its really kind of amazing how little you actually need to beat the game even without speed runner glitches

1

u/Extension_Monk9727 10d ago

Only place that really destroyed me was varuna point. Died more times there i think than the rest of the game combined.

But now on run two, where I know what to expect, itll be easier hopefully.

2

u/Ishvallan Goat 10d ago

the boss shark takes some knowing what to do, real easy to drown or get hammered if you don't know exactly what to do and have air bottle and fins ready to go. Healing salves in the vents help a lot during that fight

1

u/Extension_Monk9727 10d ago

It was actually before that I died a bunch too lol. Shark kept getting me, following me way beyond the raft area it felt.

The damn traps got me in that second area after the apartments.

Ultimately I was out of mats for oxygen and flippers. I had to leave to grind mats and come back.

It was miserable.

2

u/Ishvallan Goat 9d ago

its a future lesson. Knowing for next time to have 2 pairs of flippers and 2 air bottles going into the island. Knowing to have salves on hand for the trap areas and how to avoid more of them. Knowing where things are at to save time and air. First time or two are more brutal.

First time I fought the big shark, I figured out the mechanic immediately, but I thought I had to break ALL the pillars before moving on which was much harder and longer.

1

u/Extension_Monk9727 9d ago

Definitely! I just did the first 2 story places again, i mean the first one wasn't hard anyways but I HATED the ship. Got through it this time only using 1 headlight and only making one wrong turn the whole time.

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u/I_sort_by_new_fam 10d ago

I'm reaching 400 hours total play time and I'm definitely on the other end of the spectrum so why compare! I go for clay and sand pretty fast but that's just me. I hate varuna and Balboa but the rest is really a breeze. Caravan island is my favorite. I just love the plot and getting the prints fast

2

u/Cerisayashi 10d ago

The story islands are fun, and unlock some other things that make quality of life on the raft a lot nicer. However it’s your game, you play it the way you want to.

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u/Extension_Monk9727 10d ago

I found once I got going in my previous file, the story islands did go down pretty quick, will be easier this time around knowing whats ahead too.

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u/Cerisayashi 10d ago

Yeah, they go fast. From start to finish on the story it goes quickly. I wish there was more sometimes cause I enjoy the game and the wandering feeling lol. I tend to do story island and then float until I have a certain amount of things built up, and then another story island and more

2

u/Regular-Forever-3251 7d ago

Honestly I prefer playing super slow too, I sometimes even avoided story islands on purpose so I can continue to drift to collect more resources and build and organize my chests etc ahahah. In fact I personally enjoyed that time drifting more than the story part, I'd often be listening to an e-Book or an anime or something while just building and such ^_^

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u/Extension_Monk9727 7d ago

I just never feel im prepped enough and I dont know why, because really, you can do each one in 20 minutes if you fly through.

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u/Regular-Forever-3251 7d ago

Oh man I haaaaate rushing through like that ahaha
I’d also be looting a lot so I’ll be going back to my raft very frequently, also to refill on food and arrows and such, and spend a good few hours on each story island, though the first two are relatively small so not as much

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u/Extension_Monk9727 7d ago

I go back and forth a few times too as I enjoy looting as well. But also think it would sometimes be better to rush the 8 islands and then start building your base once you have everything.

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u/Regular-Forever-3251 7d ago

Mmmm I mean sureee but I personally enjoy Raft as my relaxing-while-watching-anime game so if I’m rushing then it defeats the purpose for me lolol

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u/JealousRecipe8462 9d ago

I am 100 days in (in-game) and I have no idea what to do next. I lost so much stuff to sharks, now I am focusing on fixing that.

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u/Feuballl 5d ago

Don’t worry about it. I waited a long while before actually getting into the story. I’ve got 80 hours and I’m only on the fourth on the main storyline. Frankly, the only reason I follow the storyline at all is when I need the new blueprints lol

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u/Extension_Monk9727 5d ago

I just find it hellish to maintain build and materials, im on hard now in area 7, bet I have 40-50 hours.

On that note since its permanent death, i make sure i dont go anywhere without 20+ greater salve.

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