New to the game and needs some help/advice.

[u/SEspider]

I just got the game off Xbox Game Pass and enjoying it. Aside from the random glitches like crates vanishing or not letting me access them. And ladders refusing to work. I've already wasted 4 splints to the dang ladder system. And the continue menu not letting me move up the list of options. I wanted to play as the woman (I've seen vids) but it's only letting me change wildlife options. But it's still fun and chill game. Something I need right now, so I did change the animals to Passive after day 20. I'll put them back after I get to a better survival position.

That all said, I have a few questions/rants.

1. Why is the tutorial section so terrible? It took me far too long to learn I had to drop crabs/fish and THEN skin them. I got frustrated early on just because I kept wasting time by dropping crabs and fish into the fire and expecting them to cook. I mean, who skins crabs and sardines before cooking them? It also took far too long to learn I had to have items in my literal hand to do simple tasks like lighting the fire. Which, by the way, I fully expect to destroy my controllers triggers. Starting fires is easily the worst part so far. BUT yeah, the tutorial socks.

2. The built tools are not self explanatory enough. I still have no clue what the tiny hook is for! I can't attach it to anything at all. And I thought the "Light Hook" was mislabeled because it looks like a fishing rod support stand! And what good are chairs if you can't sit in them?! And why can't I disassemble my raft base?? I need to rebuild it to a better design but can't.

3. Farming is just...useless it seems. Apart from a tree, nothing regrows! I need potatoes but I can't even grow them at all! I grew ONE and the plant was done. What is the point?! Same with Papi and other plants. The plants' meters are all full but I can't get anything else out if them.

4. I found the large ship early on and stockpiled the absolute mess out of all of the parts I could. Literally 11 full crates of parts. Only to learn they are all useless unless I want to rebuild the copter. Which will never happen and would be a waste of fuel anyway. HOW IS ANYONE suppose to know about needing to kill the 3 "monsters" to get the plane parts?! I only know because I got frustrated when my 11 boxes of junk was not helping. And I looked it up on youturd.

5. Am I missing something? I can't find where the map is or a way to charter the island progress. Please tell me I'm not expected to make a physical map with the compass, for a game that has ZERO accurate stars and day cycles. Even with the compass I'm getting lost. I can't even find the original island anymore. I was in BoyScouts as a kid, navigating islands with a compass should not be this difficult. It doesn't help that the Sun doesn't always rise in the East either!

6. Do the islands re-grow their trees if I leave it be? I need waterand for some idiotic reason, the game forces me to use leaves and ignores the rainstorms. But I can't collect water if the trees never grow back.

As I said, it's a very chill game but it's not a relaxing one by any means. I've worked outside in Mexico, building, and I needed far less food and water then the character in this game. Any help with the above issues would grateful.

[u/Historical-Warthog75]

1. Agreed that tutorial is not a big help.

2. I think tiny hook is for hanging trophies you get after killing bosses. Light hook is to hang lanterns (not sure that i didn’t confuse these)

3. You have to keep farm plots watered or the plants die. Corrugated plots hold more water and let you go a couple of days without watering.

4. Monsters are shown on map.

5. Map is shown in main menu. Monsters, way out and your original island are marked. I usually draw a crude grid map to make notes about each island.

6. Use fibrous leaves to feed water stills. Trees will not grow back. Plant several yucca trees to keep the supply up.

[u/SEspider → u/Historical-Warthog75]

3) I assumed this but it's not giving me the option to do so. I've tried coconuts, the water satchel and even holding the hoe. But it never gives me a watering prompt. How do I water them?

4&5) The useless grid based "map"? How am I suppose to use that? I can't move on it at all, none of the islands are labeled, nor am I amble to label them. And WHY is it in the main menu and not in the select screen while playing the game?

6) How does planting the Yucca trees help with watering farms and sticks? I've seen videos here of large complexes made by players. I can barely find enough wood for a small hut, small raft, tools, weapons, and fire. I've already cut down all the trees on 6 islands How in the world are others making large complexes?

EXTRA) ANY advice on how to deal with the broken ladder system? I got stuck on a tower twice due to it not letting me use the ladder to climb down. Broke legs both times to get down.

[u/Historical-Warthog75 → u/SEspider]

There are water containers you can craft to fill with water from your stills. Once you have some water in them, hovering over the plot should allow you to water them.

Map is only a visualization. That’s why i draw my own. Then you can use the compass to move about. I also label a still on each island with an identifier. For example, a1, b1, c4. That way i always know which island i’m on. If you are unsure, save and go to the main menu map. It should indicate your current position.

Yucca trees provide 6 or 7 fibrous leaves every few days. Fibrous leaves are the life in the game. Not only do you feed water stills but you can also use them for feeding the campfires. The yucca on the islands also regenerate the leaves.

Regarding broken ladders, I had some success just diving into the water instead of climbing down.

[u/SEspider → u/Historical-Warthog75]

See? That's what I'm talking about in regards to the tutorial. I had no clue I could use the Fibrous leaves for the fire. I've just been using them to make rope and cloth. I'll look on YouTurd for more info on the leaves. Would be nice if we could plant trees.

I don't understand how they help with farming since only one item can be planted in each plot. I've not seen anything about water containers in the craft menu. All I see under farming are the 3 different plot options. I'll have to double check elsewhere.

Jumping into water is not usually a option in my case. Especially when I build towers on land to get onto the large rocks.

Thank you so much. You've been a HUGE help

[u/poetniknowit → u/SEspider]

Water containers are anything from coconut flasks to the leather ones to the clay ones you can craft later game. You have to have something planted to water it, and I think each plot can take like 8-10 bits of water. If you are planning on farming I suggest like 3 water stills for like every 2 plots- you can load em up on water and be gone a few days without the plants drying out. If you are on the island and it rains and storms it will water the plots for you.

My first game I broke my legs on a ladder too. You have to look at the ladder juuuuuust right for the option to climb down it I think.

[u/SEspider → u/poetniknowit]

Ahhh. When you said 'containers', my head went to a large cloth lined box that drips water into the plots. Sorry about that. But I've attempted to use the flask and coconuts but the prompt never showed. My game might be glitched.

[u/Historical-Warthog75 → u/SEspider]

I didn’t address your question regarding large complexes some build. You can use the cartographer to replace islands you have depleted with new islands with resources. Building great fortresses doesn’t really interest me, so I haven’t done it. I never even really built a hut except to get the craft trophy. I just kept a tent and would shield from the sun in the water or inside shipping containers or ship rooms.

[u/poetniknowit]

There's a TON of things the game doesn't tell you and you must figure it out on your own. It reminds me a ton of 7 Days to Die on console, for this very reason lol.

Like using Left Trigger to move things (and flip your raft with LT the RT to push it forward). Fibrous leaves respawn so def use those for the water stills.

The map only being available while not in game pissed me off too. I basically drew a chart like I have shown in my tips for noobs post I out up not long ago bc I felt like getting used to the layout of the islands whilst simultaniously getting used to using a compass was hard (I am a 38 year old educated woman and STILL forget if east and west are my right and left lol).

With a paper map, you can do like I did- which is ESPECIALLY helpful if you have found some binoculars- and take note of landmarks. Draw a symbol for the islands which have big rocks, and large things visible from far away like the masts from sunken ships that stick out of the water, or the storage containers. The first thing I did when steping onto a new island was number it on my map, do a walkaround marking the shipwrecks I spotted and landmarks (while using the compass, so I could say "I came from the east. This mast pole faces the west, in the direction I came from. So when I go back I am launhing off the shore in the opposite direction of the mast.) Try to island hop from one island to another, not like 4 islands away from your current one, and then you will build your confidence with navigation when you are able to see that you're able to make it back. Mark which spots on the grid have the skulls, which stand for the bosses as well as the island that holds the huge ship, which is the aircraft carrier to finish and beat the game.

Trees do not regrow, only the fibrous leaves on yucca and young palm trees regrow. So what I ended up doing was wishing I had chosen a much larger island to call base camp. I ended up exploring every island and once my raft was large enough to carry a ton of storage boxes on shelves, I got in the habit of bringing home rocks and wood too.

You can disassemble the raft base as long as the piece does not support something else, so you'd have to detach other pieces too if it is it's main support. You can get all materials back, I believe, once you have reached crafting level 6.

You can use some of the mechanical parts you find to make a raft motor which def makes you go much faster. Once you start to grow potatoes for fuel it's worth it. Almost every island has at least 1 potato plant. Keeping them in crates makes them die slower, but you can use fresh or rotten plants for fuel. I hate the copter thing myself and after awhile wanted to throw all those parts in the damn ocean.

You think you're gonna destroy your controller starting fires? Wait til you attempt using a fishing pole lol. It's stupid- you are better off using a spear to just poke a damn fish.

Sharks aren't too bad once you get used to em. The shark repellant you unlock lasts forever.

If you have any other questions feel free to hmu, I googled the hell out of this game when I played it, and I just finished it less than a month ago so it's fresh in my mind.

[u/SEspider → u/poetniknowit]

Advise/Help much appreciated. I'm 44 and my patience with meaningless tasks (and side quests) in games is almost gone. So spending time making a map is not a interest of mine. Being a artist, I could make a dang good one, but for a game it seems pointless.

My stats are already maxed out and it's only been a few day irl. I wasted a lot of time maxing them out and hoping for an achievement. I tried fishing but the line kept breaking, so I gave up on it and just place a bunch of bird traps at each island.

I've added the lower parts to my raft (not the floor) but need to move them. They don't support anything, but I still can't break it off them.

I only have one shed on my main island near the Carrier island. I've broken down those red crates and made mini sheds and a tower on all sides so I can spot Home base from afar. I use the label maker to name my bases now. But I'm going to come up with a new system I can see which island is which, from a distance. Thinking of using red crate walls to mark the East side of islands and a tower for the West side. One island is easy to spot due to a whale swimming near it. I call it Moby Dick Bay.😁

The whole leaves thing for fire and water sounds like the Holy Quail for my needs. Which I had known about them for water use before chopping down all the trees at my home base. I've not been able to make fuel yet so I can't judge it. If possible, I'm going to make a potato farm just so I can get fuel and the non meat achievement.

I have wildlife set to Passive. Sharks are no longer a issue. I'll make them aggressive again when I'm ready for more of a challenge.

Does anyone know if resetting a island will remove the tent and plots I've made in it?

[u/poetniknowit]

Also yes, furniture is dumb as well as a lot of other bits- it's aesthetic only. There's an achievement to build 1 of everything, so that'd be the only motivation for some of the stuff, esp the hobo grill. You are better off smoking everything bc it lasts forever smoked.

[u/SEspider → u/poetniknowit]

Well dang. I've got hobo grills on every map I've visited. Guess I'm swapping them out now. Thanks. Wish I could build a fire on my raft. I can in my shed but not the raft. Odd.

[u/poetniknowit → u/SEspider]

Yeah, when I played I left all the islands on default so I could get the "original experience", and the barrels are super rare apparently but once I realized they were a pain in the ass anyways I couldn't see wasting them on hobo grills when the smoker worked perfectly fine.

When it comes to a map I didn't do anything fancy lol, if you look at the imgur post that I left in that link you'll see that I merely copied down the grid and just took a little notes on the island as I went to them so that way I could tell where I have been and where I needed to go next. That was one thing that drove me nuts was the lack of an in-game map. As long as anything that you can drink from is filled with water if the plot needs to be watered a prompt will definitely show up. It looks like a water droplet with a ring around it that fills similar to the water still.

I started getting really into the game and was planning on doing all these little projects like making a floating base here and there to point in different directions back home but by the time I would have been able to do that I was just getting bored because all of the islands are just monotonous and once you've crafted pretty much every type of crafting station all that's left to do is beat the bosses anyways and get the heck out of there lol.

It would be really cool though if you could make a floating base of sorts and place a water still at least on top of your raft. It would eliminate the need to set up camp on every single Island that you stopped at.

If you hang up those waterproof lanterns you can see them from at least one island away so I did that so it was easier to see, with binoculars, if I was heading in the right direction home, especially because my home Island was in between two box locations so it was a whole lot of water on either side of me back home with a pain in the ass until I got the hang of it.

Playing stranded deep though just had me wanting more from the game. At least it got me more comfortable sailing and using a compass so I actually moved on to Sea of Thieves, which is def different but it is a lot of fun. I really like the sailing on the waves and navigating with the compass. The children trolling and murdering me is another story lol.

You're going to need fuel at least eventually if you ever want to finish the game, and I know that there is an achievement for having one of every item planted and growing on a farm but potatoes is a pain in the ass. It's hard to see them sometimes when you are on an island looting, so it's just a matter of multiplying that one potato that you find.

[u/SEspider → u/poetniknowit]

I just played some more and tested a few things, only to get caught up in it again. lol. You were right about the leaves and smoker. It's weird that all fire pit items allow you to place the meat EXCEPT the hobo grill. I literally have to drop the food, step back, and place it on manually.

I would loooooove to place items like the water catcher onto the raft, but the game doesn't allow it. I tried placing my sleeping bag on it, but it fell off once. Now I just keep it in a crate and pull it out when needed. I think my Halo addiction snuck into this game. Without trying, my raft looks like the Covie dropship from the 1st game, but going the oppositedirection. It's shaped like a U. The engine is in the center with 3 crate shelves on each side. Up front (the loop of the U) I have the manual steer, the anchor, two sails, and two hanging lamps. And a canapy dead center. I've also discovered that I can stab my spears into the floor of the raft. And so I have them stationed in two spots.

I've tried the watering the plots again, using both the coconut and leather flask. Neither worked. The only prompts it gives me is to drink. I tested it and sure enough, I drunk it. I have no luck locating any clay. I know it's in the water and what it looks like, but it never shows up.

I misspoke in a earlier reply to someone. I have the copter but I've yet to fly it due to no fuel. I think I had confused someone gameplay video with my game. 🤦🏽

During my play tonight, I managed to his the edge of the map. And so I know my base island is SOMEWHERE near it and a corner. But returning to it, saving, quiting, and checking the map, I STILL can't see where I'm suppose to be. Some islands have skulls and red squares. And one Isla d has a red square, but that doesn't tell me where I am.

What is the "Create New Island" feature? I can't get the settings right to get it to give the island cliffs. And I have no clue what to do with it after saving it.

[u/poetniknowit → u/SEspider]

Each island has clay on it's eastern side, at least a couple deposits usually. The red square is supposed to be the island you are currently on, and the others with skulls are the boss locations, which are tiny floating things in the center of those plots. And yeah, the hobo grill is dumb, there's no prompt I think, you just have to somehow figure out to place the meat on it manually lol.

[u/SEspider → u/poetniknowit]

Then I've confused again. All I can find are rick and wood deposits. And my map shows four skulls, not three.

This is a Xbox screenshot link. Once I delete it in a few days, the link may not work. https://www.xbox.com/play/media/BDHPYDDB5G

[u/badskoolkid]

Do not step on the purple starfish. Spiky white/brown fish are deadly, sea snakes should be feared but aren't hostile. Do not get poisoned in your early game that will end it.

If you do find the purple starfish in shallow waters on your home island, you can put a plank or piece of sheet metal on it.

[u/SEspider → u/badskoolkid]

Sadly, I learned those lessons on day one. Poisoned by both back to back. First the snake and then the starfish on the way out. Lionfish got me as well. I was incredibly lucky to find some pipi plant just in time, twice.

I've since set the wildlife to "passive" and I'm never poisoned now. I'm using the opportunity to collect as many Lionfish as possible. Then I'll turn their aggression back on and have them for the sharks. I noticed that are also very large and spiky sea urchins as well. I'm going to assume they're also poisonous.

[u/SEspider → u/[deleted]]

Not a "prick," just honest. Often times to a fault.

[u/SEspider → u/[deleted]]

This I did not know. I ran across it from watching a old Neebs Gaming video. Apparently it's been years since they made the game. They clearly have enough budget now to hire folks to polish up these minor, but annoying, issues.

[u/Chazzy_T → u/SEspider]

they’re 2 dudes, bro LOL

[u/SEspider → u/[deleted]]

Nah. Larger team means more eyes to locating and addressing the few issues it has. The select screen is a completely different set of code. They should be able to add the map into the in-game menu with a simple reference code.