Stranded Deepis a realistic, survival game with a steep learning curve. Players will encounter many hazards while they are marooned in the pacific ocean, from man-eating sharks to food poisoning. With so many things to learn, and so many dangers to navigate, staying alive will require both patience and preparation.
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As players explore their island in the early- game they should focus on accomplishing specific goals such as gathering food and water or building a self-sufficient base. Afterlearning how to stay hydratedand healthy, players will eventually be able to venture further out from their starting island as they explore the procedurally generated map.
Updated by Beau Low on July 03, 2025: Six years after its initial release, Stranded Deepcontinues to grow and evolve. Not only have new features been added to the base game, but there is also a wealth offan-made mods that can add new features and mapsto the realistic survival game. To stay alive on their desert island, players will have to learn numerous tricks to find food, water and shelter from storms or dangerous animals. As well as covering the bare essentials for survival, there are also hidden treasures and underwater shipwrecks to be explored and plundered. Now that fans can enjoy this hardcore survival game on the Switch, this article has been updated to include additional tips for new and returning players alike.
14Stay In The Raft At The Start
During the game’s introduction, the main character survives a plane crash that leaves him stranded in the Pacific ocean afloat in a rubber dinghy. Some players may be tempted to leap out of their starting vehicle and swim to shore so they can start gathering materials, leaving their boat to float away — taking a valuable cache of food supplies with it.
While the dinghy is slow, it can still be useful in the early game fortraveling to other nearby islands. It can also be used as alarge bowl for storing loose physics objectssuch as coconuts or potatoes, although it will sink if players attempt to do this in the water.
13Cliffs Are A Great Source Of Eggs
For most players, the first mission inStranded Deepwill be to find food and water. Coconuts can be used to stay hydrated until water stills can be set up; however, finding food can be a little bit trickier.
A reliable source of food at the beginning can be found on cliffs or any tall rock formations. If players can jump to the top of these rocks, they have a good chance offinding bird nests. Nests will often contain eggs that may help a starving player if they can’t find anything else.
12Corpses Won’t Spoil, But Food Will
Stranded Deepttempts to simulate every detail of being marooned on a desert island, where every day is a fight for survival. That said, the game is not perfectly realistic, and there are a few ways that players can exploit the mechanics to give themselves a much-needed edge.
All food, especially meat, will spoil after a set number of days, making it inedible unless players want to risk getting sick. However, thecorpses of slain animals do not degrade in the same way, meaning that if players leave their corpses whole. They can remove pieces of meat from them as necessary, and prevent their food supplies from rotting.
11Storage Containers Make Great Shelters
Upon reaching land, players will likely want to start gathering as many resources as possible. Stones and fibrous leaves are both useful to collect, but hunting for resources in the sweltering pacific heat will quickly begin to take its toll if players aren’t careful.
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Spending too long in direct sunlight will lead to sunstroke, which is a relatively mild debuff that causes dehydration. The easiest way to deal with this is tofind shelter and wait for the effect to wear off. If the player can find a large red shipping container washed up on their island, they will find they can open the doors and use them tohide from the punishing sunlightwhen necessary.
10Craft Multiple Water Stills
Thirst is one of the more difficult variables to control inStranded Deep.Players will find that their character’s water level decreases steadily over time, or rapidly if they become dehydrated. Initially, players will be able tofind enough fluid from coconuts or Quwawa fruit, but eventually, they will need to create a more reliable water supply.
Water stills are relatively easy to craft, but to do so, players will need to find a tarpaulin, which can be located along the shores, sometimes under rocks.Stills will only accumulate water during rainfall, meaning players should always build more than one to ensure they gather enough water to get through long spells of dry weather. After making a basic still, players will also need adrinking vessel such as a coconut flaskor a water skin to carry liquids in their inventory.
9Stay Close To Ship Wrecks During Shark Attacks
Eventually, players will want to leave their starting island to find more resources and discover more of the map. Rafts can be used to travel between islands, but the Pacific Ocean is a hazardous place.
If players go diving or sailing and encounter a shark, they should immediately eitherget out of the water or find a shipwreck.Sharks will not attack the player if their back is to a solid objectsuch as a sunken wreck or rock formation. This tactic is also useful for shark hunting, once players have the harpoon gun.
8Sleep When Needed, Save Often
Once players have decided where they want to set up their base they can start building a shelter. The recipe for this includesa single lash, three sticks, and four palm frondsall of which can be easily obtained on any starting island. A shelter will facilitate sleeping as well as saving the game.
Sleeping reduces food and water, so players shouldavoid resting too often or they will risk becoming dehydrated. On the other hand, it is vital to save as frequently as possible. Many recipes will require hunting for specific resources, and it is easy to lose progress if players die while they are gathering.
7Create Farming Plots To Grow Useful Plants
Some resources will naturally replenish over time, while others are finite. As players build more tools and bigger structures, they will need more materials, some of which can be generated by farming. A basicfarming plot requires 4 sticks and one lashing, which can only be combined in this way if the player has a crude hoe in their inventory.
Farms can be used toproduce edible fruits such as Quwawa or Kura fruits. Alternatively, players can use plotsto grow Yucca trees, a bountiful source of fibrous leaves, or Pipi for creating antidotes to poisons.
6Grow Potatoes For Fuel
One thing that players can use their farming plots for is growing potatoes. These vegetables can be eaten; however, it is better to save them in the early game so they can be replanted later on.
As well as being a steady source of food, potato farms can also be used to make fuel for boat engines, and generators. To turn potatoes into fuel, players will need to build a fuel still andlocate a jerrycan so they can carry their bio-dieselto where it is needed. Making fuel will also require a lot of water to maintain the potato farms.
5Beware The Indigenous Wildlife
The islands inStranded Deepare far from paradise, and hungry sharks lurk in the waters between them as a constant threat to intrepid swimmers.Sharks can kill unsuspecting playersvery quickly, as not only do their attacks do a lot of damage, they also cause lacerating damage.
As well as sharks, there are also a plethora of other dangerous creatures, including poisonous eels and starfish. When wandering along the beach, players should keep their eyes peeled for thepurple Crown of Thorns starfish,which will poison anything that steps on it. Poison will make health decrease steadily over three days, but players can survive if they have enough water andknow how to restore their HP.
