The most challenging part of Raft – apart from the survival aspect – is to build your perfect starting base. Since you will be spending the majority of your time on your raft, it is only natural that you construct a good one so that you have all the essentials on it. Since your creativity is the limit, it can get pretty overwhelming quickly. However, worry not because we will show you how to build the perfect starter raft!
While you can make a fancy raft that has tons of floors and a lot of floors, we do not suggest that. At the start, we suggest that you keep the raft as compact as possible so that you can easily maneuver it and protect it from shark attacks. Plus, having only the essentials on your starting raft is the best way to go. Once you are comfortable with your raft, you can easily expand it further and add whatever you want. With that said, let’s dive right in and take a look at how to build the perfect starter raft.
Raft: How to Build the Perfect Starter Raft Base
Once you start the game, you’ll be on a 4×4 raft made of planks. You will want to upgrade your planks as soon as you start the game. Keep in mind that you need a few resources to upgrade the foundation so make sure that you go collecting often. Plus, we do not have to upgrade it more than once for now. This is mostly done to give your foundation more HP so that they are not destroyed easily.
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After you have done that, build 2 platforms on each side (a total of 4 foundation blocks). Then, expand your raft further by adding a layer of foundation on the backside. You will have to decide for yourself which is the backside of the raft since the game leaves that to the player.
Once you have done the sides and the back, you’ll want to build just two foundations on the front and expand it along with your raft. After doing that, remove the foundation that is connecting the front of your raft to this expanded part. This is where your collecting nets will be. If you are not aware, the collecting nets will collect various debris from the ocean over time.
While you are traveling somewhere, you will notice that your nets are collecting wood, planks, and other useful items that you can use. Of course, not all of these items are useful, some of them will be useless so you can safely discard that. Having a series of collection nets is essential since it will allow you to gather resources without having to always dive deep down to search for them.
Now that we have a space for our collection nets, we can expand our raft further by 4 platforms. To give your raft some sort of shape and aesthetic, you can use the triangle foundation at the corners. Otherwise, it’ll look extremely dull and boring. Another thing to keep in mind is that you should use the normal foundations because the Solid Foundation will use more wood.
Now, it’s time to expand even further beyond. From your initial center blocks, expand 15 platforms to the sides. Go in a single straight line. Trust me, this will make sense later on. Plus, I know it’s easy to say that you should expand and use more platforms. However, you will need to collect tons of resources from the ocean. Be careful of sharks, though. Plus, you need to manage your hunger, sleep, and water meter as well.
The reason for such a drastic expansion is to maximize your collection net usage. This raft will allow you to collect as much debris as possible from the ocean. You’ll get rare items and much more due to the increased chance of collecting debris. One thing to keep in mind is that protecting such a large raft can be troublesome, especially if you are a new player. So, if you think you’ll have issues protecting it, then I suggest that you do not expand as much sideways. Instead, go only where you are comfortable that you will be able to manage it.
After expanding, start placing your collection nets on your raft. To get them, you need to craft them using the crafting menu. However, if you do not have enough materials to craft so many nets, you can prioritize the center of the raft to connect both platforms from the middle. The things I’m mentioning in this guide are not meant to be done at one time. You will require a lot of time to get the resources to get to this point. So, take your time and expand when you are ready.
Now that we’re done with the main foundation part of our raft, we can start working on the walls and windows. Start placing walls on your initial platform and use the half walls at the corners so that you can use them like windows and see where you are going. Place a small window on the half wall to give it full effect. I suggest that you do not use the Solid Half Wooden Window since it can be difficult to see from it.
After placing your walls, place the stairs as you can see in the image above. This will allow you to build the second floor of your raft. Plus, having the stairs at this place allows you to make a small room where you can place your furnaces.
Your furnace room should look a little something like the image above. This allows you to maximize your space without having to make a whole separate area for this. Next to your stairs, place a couple of pillars so that you can start making the second floor. then, place the foundations and make the second floor of your raft for additional storage area.
Also, make sure that you use half walls and two small gates on the opposite side of the stairs. This will be your landing spot when you want to enter your raft after you come back from exploring. To make a little landing area, put two triangle blocks in front of the two doors.
After making the front and adding the platforms above your stairs, your raft should look a little something like this:
You can add the railings like in the image above for an aesthetic look. Plus, it helps you to avoid falling randomly while walking, so there’s that. However, that is completely up to you, so use whatever you feel like. Now that the main structure of your raft is done, we can move on to adding objects. Place your bed on the platform where the stairs are.
This will give you a safe sleeping spot without any worries. Also, you can add various chests to the right side of the stairs to keep all your precious loot. The area that I mentioned will allow you to stack two chests on top of each other, giving you tons of storage space. Plus, during the early game, you won’t need a lot of storage anyways.
Now, place the radio on top of the second floor where it is open and can receive signals easily. This will give you a good spot to use it without anything getting in the way. Place one antenna to the left of it next to the stairs and the other on the opposite side of the first one. The third one should be opposite the radio tower. This will allow you to operate the device perfectly without any issues.
Plus, you can use the remaining space on the second floor for animals so that you can harvest them later on. This is just the basic structure that I mentioned. You can expand this raft further and continue putting items that you need to use. Since you won’t have everything unlocked during the start, you can place things as you progress through the game. You can place them wherever you want since you have the basic structure. If you want to make another floor, you can place stairs on the entry platform and expand from there as well. You can place your farming stuff there or any other thing that you need.
That about covers everything about how to build the perfect starter raft. This will take quite some time and a lot of resources, so keep at it and you’ll get there. Plus, once you have the main structure built, you can expand it however you see fit. You can continue adding new equipment to your raft to sustain it and continue exploring. Just make sure that you collect the debris from the nets whenever you get the chance and keep an eye out for sharks.
We would love to hear your thoughts about this design and do you think that it’s effective? Let us know about your designs in the comments below as well!
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