As a survival game, Raft's vast open-world is surprisingly relaxing. Something about being alone in the ocean just triggers that sense of composure. Then, reality strikes when players get hungry or thirsty, and it’s time to collect materials and food to survive the cruel waters.
Collecting materials is essential to survive in Raft, especially wood (plank). It’s the most common material in the game, yet everything needs wood to be built or upgraded. Players have to carefully manage their inventory and follow certain methods to quickly gather as much as possible.
How To Get Wood In Raft
There are multiple methods to get wood in Raft. Early on, players can notice that planks are scattered all over the ocean, and they can gather them using their hands or a Plastic Hook. But later, there are easier methods to get wood.
Barrels And Loot Boxes
When collecting the ocean’s floating loot, it’s important to prioritize barrels as they hold four to six random materials inside them. What makes them a priority is having a higher percentage to proc on wood than other materials. Leaving players with at least two pieces of wood on every barrel.
Additionally, when players come across another abandoned Raft, it usually has a loot box, containing multiple materials. Just like barrels, loot boxes have higher percentages of dropping wood instead of the other materials.
Stone And Metal Axes
Once crafting Stone Axes or Metal ones becomes an option, players can cut trees on each island they come across. Usually, small islands have around two to three trees on them, while the big ones have many more. That can be beneficial, considering each chopped tree will grant two to three planks of wood, along with other items like leaves and fruits.
Simple Collection Net
Now here is where it gets interesting. Collection Nets are the best way to gather wood in Raft. They automatically catch floating materials that come through them. They’re not hard to craft, so players can spam them all over their structure.
In the late game, gathering wood in Raft can become tiresome, but having a solid line of Nets will fish all the materials out of the ocean. Therefore, the more the players’ structure covers distance, the more wood it will collect, automatically. Players can find themselves with hundreds of planks, so get bigger storage ready to contain all that wood.
Since the wind changes its direction frequently in Raft, players have to keep an eye out and stay focused. One mistake is enough to drive the raft away from all the materials into a vast ocean of nothingness. This lost time will hurt players, so always ensure the structure is heading towards the waves of floating materials.
In addition to all that, players shouldn’t build the Nets on the edge of the structure. That will make them vulnerable to Sharks' attacks. Instead, build at least one layer of foundation before and after the nets to protect them.
Raft is available on PC