The Last Caretaker Beginner's Survival Guide: 15 Things I Wish I Knew Before Hour 10

You're about to waste your first 5 hours. I did. Every player I talked to on Steam did. This game doesn't hold your hand, doesn't explain its systems, and will absolutely let you screw yourself over with bad skill point choices.

8 days after Early Access launch, the community has figured out the survival curve. Here's everything that matters in your first 10 hours, tested by actual players, no speculation.

Hour 0-1: Sanctuary Dock 37 (Don't Leave Yet)

You wake up at Sanctuary Dock 37. Your battery is at 100%. The game wants you to grab the boat and leave immediately.

Don't.

Spend 60-90 minutes completely gutting the starting area before you touch that boat. This single decision determines whether you're constantly resource-starved or swimming in materials.

What to Dismantle (Priority Order)

The Dismantle Tool is free at Tier 2. Unlock it first. No skill points needed - just level up once by picking up a few items and you're there.

High-value targets (dismantle these first):

• Office furniture: Yields Metal Scraps, Plastic, Fabric
• Tech equipment on desks: Gives Metal, Glass, Tech Components, Wires
• Storage containers: Pure Plastic goldmine
• Light fixtures: Glass + Metal
• Barrels and crates: Plastic bonanza

I pulled 800+ Plastic, 600+ Metal Scraps, 200+ Fabric, and 150+ Tech Components from Sanctuary Dock alone. That's enough materials to skip the early-game resource grind entirely.

Don't dismantle:

• Structural walls/floors (you can't anyway)
• The Fabricator and Recycler (you need these)
• Your boat (obviously)

The Recycling Loop (Your First Money-Maker)

Here's the trick nobody tells you: Recycling gives better returns than raw materials.

The Recycler breaks down items into Scrap Metal (the game's currency for crafting). Office chairs? Recycle them. Broken tools? Recycle them. Random junk? Recycle it.

I spent 30 minutes just running Dismantle Tool → Recycler → Fabricator loops at the dock. Built my first Small Battery, 50 meters of Electric Cable, 10 Cable Extenders, and a LumiLite Solar Panel before I even left.

Starting the game with a renewable power source changes everything.

Understanding Your Battery (The Thing Keeping You Alive)

Your internal battery isn't a backup power source. It's the only power source. Every action drains it:

• Standing still: Slow drain
• Walking: Moderate drain
• Running: Heavy drain
• Swimming: Extreme drain (underwater is the worst)
• Tools/weapons: Varies by tool

When the battery hits 0%, your Vitality starts draining. When Vitality hits 0%, you die. There's no "low battery mode." You just die.

The First Battery Upgrade

Stock Basic Battery: 1,000 Wh capacity

This lasts maybe 2-3 hours of active gameplay if you're careful. Not nearly enough.

Small Battery (Tier 3, costs 1 skill point): Gives you a proper battery with better capacity and efficiency.

Unlock Small Battery as your second or third skill point. Not optional.

Power Management Enhancer (The 50-Point Investment)

Every character level gives you 1 Skill Point (for unlocking items) and 1 Enhancer Point (for passive bonuses).

Power Management Enhancer: -0.5% power consumption per point, max 50 points = -25% total consumption

This is a 50-hour investment. You'll be pumping points into this for your entire playthrough.

I'm at Hour 40 with 20 points in Power Management. The difference is night and day - swimming underwater went from "2 minutes until panic" to "comfortable 5-minute dives."

Start putting points here immediately. Every single level.

Skill Point Traps (Don't Waste Points on These)

There's no respec. Once you spend a skill point, it's gone forever.

Avoid these early:

• Weapons (Tier 3-5): You don't need combat power in the first 10 hours. Skip the Electric Pistol, Bolt Pistol, all of it.
• Fancy tools: The Dismantle Tool is free and does 80% of what you need.
• Decorative items: Save points for survival essentials.

Essential unlocks only:

1. Dismantle Tool (Tier 2, FREE) - First unlock, no-brainer
2. Electric Cable (Tier 2, 1 point) - Required for any power grid
3. Electric Cable Extender (Tier 2, 1 point) - Cables are only 20m, you need extenders
4. Small Battery (Tier 3, 1 point) - Survival essential
5. LumiLite Solar Panel (Tier 2, FREE or 1 point) - Renewable power = freedom

That's 4 skill points for your first 10 hours. Everything else can wait.

Your Boat is Your Mobile Base (Set It Up Right)

The starting boat is bare-bones: a steering wheel, a diesel engine, one storage chest.

You need to turn this into a functional mobile base before you start exploring.

Essential Boat Additions (First 5 Hours)

Power system:

• 2-3 LumiLite Solar Panels on the deck (Tier 2, free/cheap)
• 1 Small Battery in the hold (Tier 3, 1 point)
• Electric Cable connecting everything

This gives you 24/7 renewable power. No more diesel dependency.

Storage:

• Craft 3-4 additional storage chests
• Place them in the cabin (protected from weather)
• One chest = 600kg capacity

Engine upgrade:

• Replace the Basic Diesel Engine Cylinder with Electric Engine Cylinder (Tier 4-5)
• Electric engines are silent, 100% efficient, and pull from your solar grid
• No more fuel runs

I switched to electric at Hour 8. Haven't touched diesel since. My solar panels generate 120-150W average, which is more than enough for cruising at 15 knots plus running tools.

Boat Layout That Actually Works

Keep the deck clear for solar. Put heavy stuff below deck for stability. I learned this after my boat flipped twice from bad weight distribution.

Cable Management 101 (20-Meter Hell)

Electric Cables are exactly 20 meters long. Not 21. Not 19. Exactly 20.

This becomes a massive problem immediately.

Cable Extenders Save Your Life

Electric Cable Extender = 4-port power hub. Place them every 18-20 meters to extend your grid.

Critical mechanics:

• Extenders can attach to walls, floors, boat bottoms
• Extenders work underwater (yes, really)
• Cables "stretch" slightly if you sprint and connect before the pullback

Advanced trick from a 40-hour player: cables maintain connection after initial hookup even if your boat drifts 200m away. Anchor your boat, run cables to shore, connect everything, then you can sail away and back without reconnecting.

How Many Cables Do You Actually Need?

• For a basic boat setup: 5-6 cables, 3-4 extenders
• For Sanctuary Dock full dismantle: 3-4 cables, 2 extenders
• For mid-game facilities: 20+ cables, 10+ extenders

Craft cables in bulk (right-click) for 5 bundles = 25 meters per craft action. Saves time.

The Human Seed Timer (Game-Ending Mistake #1)

Around Hour 15-20, you'll reach the Seed Vault. You'll be tempted to grab all 30 seeds and haul them to the Lazarus Complex.

Do not take more than 4 seeds on your first run.

Human Seeds have a 60-minute real-time countdown from the moment you remove them from the vault. When the timer hits zero, the seed vanishes forever. No recovery. Gone.

Multiple players lost 20+ hour saves by taking all seeds without understanding this.

The timer only pauses when the seed is placed in a powered and watered Lazarus chamber. Just placing it isn't enough - the pod needs electricity AND water flowing or the timer keeps ticking.

Seed Transport Math

With upgraded boat engines (45-46 km/hr): 20 minutes from Seed Vault to Lazarus Complex

That leaves you 40 minutes to:

• Dock the boat
• Carry seeds inside (they're heavy, you move slow)
• Install each seed in a pod
• Verify power and water are flowing
• Confirm timer has paused

First-timers need 30-40 minutes for 4 seeds. Don't risk more until you know the route.

Power vs. Water (Lazarus Complex Starter Kit)

The Lazarus Complex is the mid-game boss. Not a combat boss - a logistics boss.

One pod in idle state needs:

• 28 kW minimum (1 pump + 1 purifier + pod itself)
• 100L water per hour for maintenance level

Most players arrive with 2-3 solar panels and a dream. That's 15-20 kW generation. Not enough.

Working Solution (Verified by Multiple Players)

Power setup for 4 pods:

• 10 Medium Solar Panels (240-300W total)
• 2 Medium Battery Towers (12 kWh each = 24 kWh buffer)
• 3-4 Medium Wind Turbines (backup during storms)

Water setup:

• 1 Salt Water Pump (place near ocean)
• 1 Water Purifier (converts salt → fresh)
• Water Tanks as buffers (important - see below)

The water tank trick: Pumps and purifiers run at full power 24/7 even for tiny water needs. Fill water tanks to capacity, then manually shut off pump/purifier using water connectors. Massive power savings.

What Actually Kills You (The Real Threats)

Hours 2-5: Exploration Loop

You've gutted Sanctuary Dock, upgraded your boat, and have a renewable power grid running. Now what?

The core loop:

1. Sail to a new location (crashed ships, storage depots, industrial facilities)
2. Anchor boat
3. Dismantle everything not nailed down
4. Recycle materials
5. Craft needed items
6. Return to boat
7. Repeat

Best early locations (based on material density):

• Crashed cargo ships: Plastic, Rubber, Metal in massive quantities
• Storage depots: Concentrated material spawns
• Abandoned platforms: Tech Components, Wires

Pro tip: The fishing net on your boat (starboard aft, deploy lever) auto-collects materials floating in the water. 14.9kg capacity. It's passive income while you sail.

Hours 5-10: Setting Up Your First Real Base

You can live on your boat forever, but you'll want a land base eventually.

Why?

• Boat storage is limited (even with 6 chests)
• Sabatier Reactor and some machines cause boat physics bugs (flipping, spinning)
• Respawn points work better on stable land

Where to build:

Pick a location with:

• Flat land for building
• Ocean access for your boat
• Resources nearby (material deposits, wrecks)
• Not too far from Lazarus Complex (you'll be traveling there often)

Starter base essentials:

• 2-3 Fabricators (for parallel crafting)
• 2-3 Recyclers
• Large Battery or Battery Tower (5-12 kWh)
• 6-8 Medium Solar Panels + 4 Wind Turbines (renewable grid)
• 10-15 storage chests

This setup lets you mass-produce components without boat trips.

Combat (You Can Ignore It Until Hour 15+)

Sharks exist. Hostile machines exist. You can avoid 90% of combat in the first 10 hours.

When you do fight:

• Electric Pistol (Tier 3): Costs power instead of ammo, trash DPS
• Bolt Pistol (Tier 5): Uses bolt ammo, much better
• Electric Rifle (Tier 8+): Late game, overkill for early content

My advice: Skip combat skills entirely until Hour 15+. Spend those points on Power Management and utility unlocks. You can outrun most threats, and the ones you can't (sharks while diving) die to 2-3 Bolt Pistol shots.

Common Beginner Mistakes (That Cost Hours)

• Leaving Sanctuary Dock immediately: You're throwing away 1000+ materials. Spend the first hour there.
• Not unlocking Electric Cable + Extenders early: You'll hit power grid problems at Hour 3 and waste time backtracking.
• Taking all 30 Human Seeds at once: 60-minute timer per seed. First-timers need multiple trips.
• Putting points into weapons before Tier 8: You don't need combat power early. Those points should go into Power Management.
• Using diesel when solar is available: Diesel is expensive, loud, and needs refueling. Solar is free forever.
• Not carrying Consumable Batteries: You will run out of power far from your boat. It will happen. Carry 2-3 emergency batteries.
• Installing Sabatier Reactor on boat: It causes physics bugs. Your boat will flip. Build it on land.

The 10-Hour Checkpoint (Are You On Track?)

By Hour 10, you should have:

If you're missing any of these, you're behind the curve. Not game-ending, but you'll struggle in the next 10 hours.

What Comes After Hour 10

You're past the tutorial phase. The game opens up:

• Lazarus Complex full power setup (prepare for pain)
• Human Seed management (30 seeds, 60-minute timers, pure logistics)
• Advanced crafting (Tier 8+ items need rare materials)
• Base building (automated systems, large-scale production)
• Exploration (map is huge, many secrets)

But that's a different guide. This one gets you through the brutal first 10 hours where most people quit.

Final Survival Checklist

Before you close this guide, make sure you:

• ✅ Spent 60-90 minutes dismantling Sanctuary Dock
• ✅ Unlocked Dismantle Tool (free, Tier 2)
• ✅ Unlocked Electric Cable + Extender (1 point each)
• ✅ Unlocked Small Battery (1 point, Tier 3)
• ✅ Built solar panels on your boat (renewable power)
• ✅ Started investing in Power Management Enhancer
• ✅ Understand the 60-minute Human Seed timer
• ✅ Carry Consumable Batteries for emergencies
• ✅ Avoided wasting points on weapons/decorations

Do these things, and you'll hit Hour 20 with a functional base, renewable power, and enough materials to tackle the Lazarus Complex.

Skip them, and you'll be grinding for scraps while your battery dies in the middle of the ocean.

Good luck, Caretaker. The ocean is brutal, but the solar panels are free.

Pro Tips: Quick Wins for Your First 10 Hours

Tested on Early Access version 0.5.0.581804 (November 2025). Game mechanics may change with updates. Check the Patch Notes for latest changes.