You can craft a fishing rod here, which is an incredibly useful item to have. It allows you to cast your rod and catch fish when prompted. However, eating these raw fish is inefficient, and you can improve their hunger satisfaction by cooking them. To do so, you need to craft a grill. That is straightforward, and once you have it crafted you can place your fish upon it. However, you can't cook something with the power of sheer willpower alone, you need some fire. Placing planks upon the grill will allow it to cook. Give it time, and your fish will be cooked.
Getting Food and Water
Wood and water are two factors which will determine if you survive. You can get food in two ways, growing it, and fishing.
Getting Fresh Water
Start by crafting a cup, and a purification station. You can collect saltwater from the ocean whilst holding the cup, and place it on the purification station similar to the grill. Also similar to the grill, you must add planks to it to allow it to boil.
Growing your Own Food
To begin growing your own food, you need to craft a planter. Currently, you can only craft a small one. Craft it and place it, and keep an eye out on your inventory each time you collect a barrel. You might get a potato, or a beet. You can plant these two plants in the small planter, and like all plants, they need fresh water (see below). Give the watered plants time, and stay near them, as seagulls will try and eat them. You will get more plants back than you planted, making this a renewable source of food, albeit time consuming.
Infinite Equipment Durability
Step 1: Start with crafting the Oxygen bottle/Flippers.
Step 2: Whenever the Oxygen bottle or the Flippers are used or when the durability of the item has decreased, pull the item out of the equipment slot.
Step 3: When you've pulled the item from the slot, the item will still be damaged. But don't worry, Step 4 is going solve everything.
Step 4: Then you put the item back into one of the equipment slots, and the item will now be restored to full health and in pristine condition.
Strategy Tips
Placing Equipment: If Possible always place equipment over one or more tiles. That way if one gets destroyed the item is still on the other piece so it is still there. You can also put them on roofs and walls which can help making them even safer.
Water Purifier: Remember, unlike the old raft you do not actually put the cup into the purifier you only use it to put water in and take it out. This has lead to confusion among many youtubers and it is likely that other players will also struggle with this is they think it is like the old raft.
Throwable Anchor: The bucket anchor is a one time use so make sure to use it wisely. Only use if for big islands you can reach without needing anymore resources. Otherwise you may not have enough. When you are anchored resources will not float by as the stay in about the same spot. It also helps to throw it close to the island as the raft is dragged that way.
Damage Underwater: If you take damage underwater it is probably the shark eating you and not the plants if your oxygen bar still has oxygen left. If none is left then it is the oxygen bar. (It may also be the eels)
Managing Your Status: We recommend keeping both of your stats high and at about the same level. If you have high water and low food (and vice versa) it will affect your speed and other things. Keeping them high also helps heal quicker and also if you run out of food or water you will have more time to get it before you die.
Research: Research in raft is simple and easy. However we would not recommend starting it before you have decent resources as many things that the research table unlock are for cosmetic or upgraded things that you already have in a lower form. When you do decide to do some research put all the items in for the recipe you want to unlock. (these items will also unlock in other recipes that feature them) then when you have put in all the resources something takes to craft click the learn button that appears. If you get a blueprint you also need to put it in the top of the crafting table to allow that recipe to be unlocked by putting items in. It sounds complicated but in game it is actually very simple.
Building Upwards: While most people will know how this works many won't as it has changed from itch slightly and not everyone has played itch. When building upwards you need supports from the floor below. In the old itch the supports used to need to be massive and in the middle. However in the steam edition of raft the poles are small and can go on the edges (and in the middle depending on how big the floor is) They can hold 2 if they are on the side and 4 if they are positioned in the middle. (pretty sure this is the case)
Seagulls: Seagulls like to eat your crops and can be a very be very irritating however you can do things to stop this. The main way is to build a scarecrow which scares off the seagulls, however they can be damaged by them if you are not careful. A more simple way is to kill them but you need to be quick or they will just fly way. You are rewarded for your efforts with 2 drumsticks and 5 - 8 feathers.
Easy movement of items: Shift + left click to instantly move items to chest or hotbar. (If chest is not open.) Same system that many inventory style games use. This also include middle clicking to split stacks as well as holding right click.
You can wear the shark head if you place it in one of your equipment slots.
Various Steam Achievements
Complete the indicated task to unlock the achievement.
Fishing Tip...