Survival Mode Complete Guide
Scrap Mechanic's Survival Mode drops you on a farming planet overrun by rogue robots. Gather resources, build vehicles and bases, farm crops, fight bots, and uncover the mystery of why the robots went haywire. The 1.0 Drilling Thunder update overhauled survival with a full story campaign, new mechanics, and an underground world.
The Survival Loop
At its core, Scrap Mechanic Survival follows this cycle:
- Gather — Punch trees, mine rocks, scavenge wreckage for parts
- Craft — Use Craftbots to make tools, blocks, vehicle parts, and weapons
- Build — Construct bases, vehicles, automated farms, and defense systems
- Farm — Grow crops for food and trading, manage raid thresholds
- Explore — Discover ruins, Warehouses, the underground mine, and NPCs
- Defend — Survive bot raids that trigger when your farm value exceeds 10
- Progress — Follow the story quest line, unlock new tech, reach the underground
Health and Food System (1.0 Changes)
The 1.0 Drilling Thunder update significantly changed the survival mechanics. The separate hunger and thirst bars have been replaced with a single health bar. Here's how it works:
- Health only — No more hunger or thirst meters draining constantly
- Food heals — Eating food and drinking tea restores lost health
- No auto-regen — Health does not regenerate on its own; you must eat to heal
- Cooking buffs — Meals from the Cookbot provide temporary buffs (speed, fall damage reduction, faster mining, health regen)
Important: Always carry food or Flower Tea. Since health doesn't regenerate, getting caught without food in a dangerous area can be fatal.
Food Sources
| Source | Healing | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Raw crops (carrot, potato, tomato) | Low | Found in crates, grown on farms |
| Flower Tea | Medium | New in 1.0, found in crates |
| Sunshake | Medium | Made from milk, found early |
| Cooked meals (Cookbot) | High + buff | Requires Cookbot and ingredients |
| Corn (feed Wocs) | — | Feed to Wocs for milk, then craft dairy products |
Day-Night Cycle and Bot Behavior
The 1.0 update introduced a fully dynamic day-night cycle with a moving sun (in Early Access, the sun was stationary and the sky simply darkened). This affects gameplay in important ways:
- Daytime — Safer for exploration and building. Some bots are less aggressive.
- Nighttime — Hostile bots become more active and aggressive. Vision is reduced.
- Dynamic lighting — 100% dynamic lighting system with up to 512 simultaneous light sources, volumetric sunlight, and smooth day-night transitions.
- Weather — New weather system including tornadoes in the desert biome.
Hostile Bot Types
Early Access had only 5 bot types. The 1.0 update more than doubled that number. Here are the bots you'll encounter:
| Bot | Threat | Behavior | Drops |
|---|---|---|---|
| Haybot | Low-Medium | Melee attacker, can climb 3-block walls | Scrap metal, component kits |
| Tapebot | Medium | Ranged attacker, fires tape projectiles | Circuit boards, tape |
| Farmbot | High | Large melee bot, appears during raids | Rare parts, component kits |
| Seeker Bot | Medium | Fast, agile, jumps at players | Scrap, electronics |
| Red Explosive Totebot | Critical | Explodes on contact, prioritize these! | Explosive parts |
| Seed Bot | Passive | New in 1.0, drops seeds when destroyed | All crop seed types |
Farm Raid Mechanic
One of Scrap Mechanic's signature mechanics is the farm raid system. When the total value of your crops exceeds a threshold, robots are alerted and will attack your base.
- Raid threshold — Total farm value of 10 or more triggers "Unauthorized Farming Detected" raids
- Crop values — BeetRoot/Carrot/Tomato = 1, Potato/Cotton = 1.5, Banana/Orange/Blueberry = 2
- Defense — Build walls at least 7 blocks high, with gaps at the 3rd and 5th blocks to shoot through
- Timing — Raids occur at night when your farm value is high
Progression and Tech Tree
Follow the main quest line to unlock new areas and technology:
- Crash Site — Gather initial resources, put out fire, restore power
- First Vehicle — Guided tutorial teaches building, engines, and the connection tool
- Mechanic Station — First major hub, unlocks full crafting, clothing, and quest log
- Stranger Encounter — Meet NPCs, get coordinates for new locations
- Warehouses — High-risk, high-reward dungeons with rare loot
- Underground Mine — Drilling Thunder's new underground world with mining, new bots, and story content
Key Survival Tips
- Build a vehicle early — The quest line guides you through this. Vehicles are essential for exploration.
- Always carry a Portable Craftbot — Place it in your vehicle for on-the-go crafting.
- Keep farm value under 10 early — Avoid triggering raids before you have defenses.
- Use Seed Bots for free seeds — Destroy these passive bots to get all types of crop seeds.
- Prioritize Red Explosive Totebots — They can destroy your vehicle and base in one hit.
- Explore ruins for Schematic Boxes — These rare blue-glowing boxes unlock new crafting recipes.
- Build defenses before farming — Walls, turrets, and spike traps make raids manageable.
- Save at Mechanic Stations — Use the bed to set your spawn point before dangerous expeditions.
Multiplayer Survival
Survival Mode supports online co-op multiplayer. Playing with friends allows you to divide roles — one gathers, one builds, one farms, one fights. Dedicated servers are available for persistent worlds.
See the Multiplayer Guide for server setup and configuration details.