Which weapons can you get?
Permafrost offers early shivs, the Flint Sledgehammer and Crude Bow, with later Simple Bow, Compound Bow, Scrap and Copper options plus the TR-22 RUDI pistol. Craft early gear in your inventory or at a Workbench, then use Blueprints and world recipe papers to unlock later options.
Melee weapons, bows and firearm unlocks
| Weapon or tool | Damage or practical use | How to get it |
|---|---|---|
| Stone Shiv | Knife for skinning animals and breaking simple locks. | Known from the start; craft in your inventory with 1 Stone + 2 Wood. |
| Stone Axe | Gathering tool used to collect Wood. | Known from the start; craft in your inventory with 2 Stone + 4 Wood. |
| Flint Shiv | Damage 14. | Workbench: 1 Flint + 2 Wood. |
| Flint Axe | Damage 14. | Workbench: 2 Flint + 4 Wood. |
| Flint Sledgehammer | Damage 14; power attack 28. | Workbench: 2 Flint + 4 Wood. Skinwalker also stocks it. |
| Refined Flint Axe | Refined Flint tool tier. | Find the recipe note at the hillside camp above your first base in the Woods. Workbench: 1 Flint Axe + 4 Flint + 1 Cloth. |
| Refined Flint Shiv | Refined Flint tool tier. | Learn its recipe from the note in the highest cabin of the Hunter's Glade tower. |
| Scrap Axe | Part of the Scrap Tools Set. | Unlock the Scrap Tools Set for 2 blueprint points in the CRAFTING tree; craft at a Workbench. |
| Scrap Shiv | Part of the Scrap Tools Set. | Unlock the Scrap Tools Set for 2 blueprint points in the CRAFTING tree; craft at a Workbench. |
| Scrap Sledgehammer | Part of the Scrap Tools Set. | Unlock the Scrap Tools Set for 2 blueprint points in the CRAFTING tree; craft at a Workbench. |
| Copper Sledgehammer | Damage 18. | Collect its world recipe paper along House Camp's Lost Connection route. |
| Crude Bow | Damage 60; needs arrows. | Known from the start; inventory recipe: 2 Wood + 1 Rope. Unlock Rope crafting to make the required Rope. |
| Simple Bow | Damage 120. | Unlock its entry in the CRAFTING blueprint tree for 1 point. |
| Compound Bow | Bow whose crafting recipe uses Scrap. | Craft at a Workbench; check its recipe for the full material requirements. |
| TR-22 RUDI pistol | Counts toward the Craft Any Weapon task. | Craft the pistol to satisfy that task. |
| J Pistol MK2 | Pistol with a world recipe unlock. | Find its recipe at the Solar Facility near where you speak to Logan. |
Set up your first weapon crafting route
The Crude Bow recipe is available from the start, but making its Rope is a separate unlock. Open Blueprints with U and learn Rope in the CRAFTING tree for 1 point, then craft Rope in your inventory from 2 Cloth. This gives you a direct route to the bow without needing a crafting station.
- Build a Workbench from the Building menu's Utilities section for 10 Wood. This is the station for Flint tools.
- Mine Flint Boulders with a Stone Pickaxe. Bone Cave and the Woods ravines provide Flint for your Workbench recipes.
- Choose the Flint Shiv, Flint Axe or Flint Sledgehammer recipe at the Workbench. Check the ingredient display and gather any material shown as a shortage before crafting.
- For later upgrades, collect the relevant world recipe note or unlock the blueprint entry. Recipe notes display RECIPE UNLOCKED when you learn them; quest reward chests can also provide recipes.
Gathering tools that support weapon crafting
| Tool | Use or tier | How to get it |
|---|---|---|
| Stone Pickaxe | Mines Stone and Flint. | Inventory: 2 Stone + 4 Wood; known from the start. |
| Refined Stone Pickaxe | Mines Stone and Flint. | Find or buy it. |
| Flint Pickaxe | Mines Sulfur, Copper, Coal, Flint and Stone. | Workbench: 2 Flint + 4 Wood. |
| Refined Flint Pickaxe | Refined Flint tool tier. | Find its recipe note on a crate in Bunker Checkpoint's walled yard. |
| Scrap Pickaxe | Can break Iron and Gold Boulders. | Unlock the Scrap Tools Set for 2 blueprint points; craft at a Workbench. |
Make ammunition before choosing a ranged weapon
The early Wooden Arrow recipe makes 3 arrows from 1 Wood in your inventory and is known from the start. The Crude Bow needs arrows, so prepare ammunition alongside the bow. Keep a reserve before heading out on a hunting trip.
Firearms use weapon-specific ammunition, so check the gun's item information against the ammunition you have. Scrap is used in recipes for .45ACP Ammo, 12 gauge Ammo, 12ga flare ammo, 5.56x45mm Ammo, 9x19mm ammo and 9x39mm Ammo. Choose your gun and ammunition together before committing crafting materials.
Check condition and repair your melee gear
Tools and melee equipment lose durability, and tools show their remaining condition under DURABILITY STATUS. Skinning animals and breaking locks also wear down your knives, with tougher locks consuming more durability. Carry a spare shiv when you plan to hunt or open locked containers.
Restore worn gear at a Repair Bench or the early repair service in Horizon. A Flint Sledgehammer repair consumes 1–2 Flint, while recycling it returns 1 Flint. Compare the repair requirement with the cost of making a replacement before using your materials.
Avoid blueprint and quest equipment mistakes
The Refined Flint Sledgehammer is not available to craft: its blueprint can drop, but it does not unlock anything. Keep using the ordinary Flint Sledgehammer rather than spending time trying to activate that blueprint. Expanded firearm-part crafting is planned for a future update, so use the crafting options already available in your game.
For Craft Any Weapon, crafting the TR-22 RUDI pistol counts toward the objective. Tool tier also matters outside combat: the basic iron pickaxe's description says it can mine moonstone, but you need the quality iron pickaxe. When gathering, a red crossed-out tool icon means your equipped tool cannot harvest that resource; switch to the appropriate tool instead of wasting swings.