JayDax - Icarus Survival Guide

Tech Tier 1: Starter Tools, Crafting Blueprints & Survival Essentials

Icarus Tech Tree Guide: Tier 1

Pressing P opens the Tech Tree—the comprehensive blueprint catalog detailing every item your character can research and craft. Technology is grouped into tiers unlocked by character level: Tier 1 spans Levels 0 to 9, while Level 10 unlocks Tier 2. You start at Level 0 with fundamental survival tools pre-unlocked and 3 Blueprint Points to spend.

Tech Tier 1 Tree Click image to expand and view full blueprint connections

Starter Defaults & Core Tools

Items checked by default upon arrival or unlocked immediately at Level 0–1:

Blueprint Level Priority Craft XP Stack Use & Crafting Recipe
Pre-Unlocked Defaults (Level 0)
Wood Pile 0 Default — 1 Compresses 100 wood into a single deployable pile to clear inventory weight. Can be restacked up to 3 high.
Stone Pile 0 Default — 1 Compresses 100 stone into a single deployable pile to clear inventory weight. Can be restacked up to 3 high.
Stone Axe 0 Default 25 1 Fells trees and harvests wood. Crafted with 10 fiber, 4 sticks, and 6 stone.
Stone Pickaxe 0 Default 30 1 Breaks boulders and surface oxite/sulfur. Crafted with 10 fiber, 4 sticks, and 6 stone.
Fur Stack 0 Default — 1 Compresses 200 raw fur into a single deployable bundle for storage or hauling.
Level 0–1 Unlocks
Wood Rag Torch 0 Essential 10 1 Quick portable light source for caves and night travel (40 fiber, 8 sticks). Flammable if dropped near wood structures.
Wood Hammer 0 Recommended 20 1 Repairs structural shelter damage caused by wind and predators (10 fiber, 20 wood).
Wooden Shovel 0 Situational 25 1 Excavates topsoil for earthen fortifications and fills crop plots (12 wood, 8 fiber).
Wood Spear 0 Skip 20 1 Provides longer melee reach than a knife, but consumes heavy stamina and deals lower single-target critical damage.
Fire Whacker 0 Skip 10 1 Extinguishes building fires from lightning strikes. Rarely useful before wooden walls burn down entirely.
Level Progression

XP thresholds and points gained:

Lvl XP Next Bluep. Talent
02,400+3+1
15,400+3+1
29,000+3+1
313,200+3+1
418,000+3+1
523,400+3+1
629,400+3+1
736,000+3+1
843,200+3+1
951,000+3+1
Lvl 10: Tier 2 Tech
Blueprint points unlock items on the Tech Tree. Reaching Level 10 unlocks the Crafting Bench and Anvil.

Weapons, Archery & Ammunition

Ranged combat allows you to harvest skittish game (deer and rabbits) and engage predators safely from rock perches.

Blueprint Level Priority Craft XP Stack Use & Crafting Recipe
Stone Knife 1 Essential 15 1 Primary melee defense and carcass skinning tool. Crafted with 2 fiber, 2 sticks, 4 stone (craft at least 2).
Bone Sickle 0 Essential 35 1 Doubles fiber and food crop harvesting yields; highly effective for clearing cave bee swarms (2 wood, 2 leather, 20 bone).
Wood Bow 0 Desirable 25 1 Starter ranged weapon (30 fiber, 24 sticks). Stealth sneak shots deal 2.5× critical multiplier damage.
Stone Arrow 0 Desirable 2 50 Standard ammunition for the Wood Bow (1 fiber, 1 stick, 1 stone per 5 arrows). Recoverable after hitting quarry.
Bone Arrow 5 Recommended 3 50 Higher damage output and durability than stone (1 fiber, 1 stick, 5 bone per 5 arrows). Ideal for wolves and juvenile terrenus.
Bone Knife 5 Situational 25 1 Longer durability and slightly higher strike damage than stone (2 wood, 2 leather, 20 bone). Useful if iron smelting is delayed.
Flare Arrow 0 Co-op Only 2 20 Illuminates distant landscape or signals squadmates at night (1 stone arrow, 2 sulfur). Consumed on impact.
Poison Arrow 10 Skip 4 20 Applies poison damage over time (1 stone arrow, 2 poison paste). Non-recoverable and too costly for early game.
Fire Arrow 15 Skip 5 20 Ignites targets and cave floors (1 stone arrow, 2 gunpowder). Non-recoverable; risks forest wildfires.
Hunting Tip

Crouch (Left Ctrl) to activate stealth before drawing your bow. A single headshot on deer, rabbits, or wolves deals massive critical multiplier damage, dropping quarry in one hit.

Weapon Durability

If you rely on arrows for defense, never venture into caves with an arrow supply under 40. Never enter a cave with a knife under 50% durability. Keep loose stones handy for quick hotbar repairs!

Shelter, Building Sets & Storage

Structures protect workbenches, beds, and chests from storm exposure and prevent gear degradation.

Blueprint Level Priority Craft XP Stack Use & Crafting Recipe
Wood Building Base Set 0 Essential 15–25 10 Floors, walls, ramps, and doors (approx. 20 wood, 12 fiber per piece). Handles normal winds and mild storms.
Wood Building Advanced Set 5 Essential 15–20 10 Half-walls, half-floors, and stairs. Crucial for creating interior shelving and climbing up cave ledges.
Small Wood Crate 0 Essential 30 5 Provides 10 item slots of sheltered storage (16 fiber, 24 wood). Must be enclosed under a roof.
Medium Wood Crate 5 Recommended 45 5 Holds 20 item slots and can be vertically stacked 2 high (32 fiber, 32 wood). Keeps floor area clear.
Thatch Ladder 0 Situational 10 5 Cheap, lightweight climbing tool (8 sticks, 12 fiber) to scale high cave nodes or ravines.
Wood Beam 0 Situational 15 10 Provides structural integrity support for overhangs and multi-story open-world bases (12 wood, 4 fiber).
Thatch Building Set 0 Skip 5–10 10 Quick to erect (fiber, sticks), but disintegrates in almost any storm event. Avoid wasting points here.
Base Placement

Build cabins slightly back from canyon entrance pathing lines. Wolves path along canyon walls and will attack wooden door frames if they spot movement through windows.

Storm Integrity

Keep a Wood Hammer in a quick-access slot. Hitting storm-damaged walls immediately restores structure health before structural collapse.

Camp, Cooking, Lighting & Agriculture

Managing warmth, light, hydration, and nutrition directly affects your max health and stamina pools.

Blueprint Level Priority Craft XP Stack Use & Crafting Recipe
Bedroll 0 Essential 60 1 Sets permanent respawn point (hold E) and skips night storms (20 fur, 20 fiber, 10 sticks, 10 leather). Requires shelter.
Campfire 0 Essential 40 1 Cooks raw meats/crops, generates charcoal, and provides sleep warmth (24 stone, 8 sticks, 8 fiber). Deploy outdoors.
Stone Firepit 5 Essential 75 1 Enclosed fireplace safe for wooden interiors (100 stone, 25 wood). Fueled by wood, coal, or charcoal.
Wood Crop Plot 5 Recommended 30 5 Cultivates domestic Soybeans, crops, and later coconut trees right at your base (20 wood, 8 fiber, 10 dirt).
Floor Torch 5 Situational 15 5 Fixed ground light source for workstations (16 sticks, 8 fiber, 4 stone, 10 charcoal). Frees up player hands.
Wood Torch 5 Situational 15 1 Weather-resistant handheld torch (40 fiber, 8 sticks, 8 sulfur). Burns noticeably longer than the rag torch.
Oxidizer 1 Low Priority 40 1 Converts raw oxite into gaseous O2 (10 bone, 20 leather, 24 fiber, 8 sticks). Direct oxite consumption from suit is faster.
Basic Water Purifier 10 Skip 30 1 Cleans contaminated pond water (30 sticks, 25 fiber, 4 stone, 10 charcoal). Caves contain pure drinking water.
Safe Indoor Heating

Never light an open Campfire inside a wooden room—it will spark and set the flooring on fire! Save raw stone until Level 5 to craft the enclosed Firepit.

Charcoal Byproduct

Allowing campfires and firepits to burn low-grade wood or spoiled meat produces Charcoal, a vital component for gunpowder and Tier 2 steel bloom.The fastest way to make charcoal is to set up a number of campfires and put 100 sticks as fuel in each. Later you can make sticks from wood by spending two talent points - much quicker than collecting them.

Medical, Tonics & Starter Armor

Buff items and protective gear mitigate melee strikes, poison spit, fractures, and exposure debuffs.

Blueprint Level Priority Craft XP Stack Use & Crafting Recipe
Basic Bandage 0 Essential 80 10 Halts bleeding debuffs inflicted by wolves and predators (40 fiber or 6 wool/silk).
Wood Splint 0 Essential 30 5 Immediately cures sprains and broken legs caused by cliff falls (10 sticks, 4 fiber). Carry at least one.
Health Recovery Concoction 0 Recommended 45 10 Restores 100 health over time (3 oxite, 2 salt, 3 bone). Excellent for rapid recovery after bee swarms.
Bone Armor Set 5 Recommended 20–35 1 Solid defense against physical attacks and minor cold (140 bone, 48 leather full set across 5 pieces).
Suture Kit 5 Situational 35 5 Treats deep wound debuffs that ordinary bandages cannot heal (1 bone needle, 2 fiber).
Cloth Armor Set 5 Skip 10–20 1 Costs 440 fiber for a full set. Provides negligible physical protection and breaks quickly under assault.
Ready for Tier 2? Once you reach Level 10, check out the 31-Step Checklist to build the Crafting Bench, Smelting Furnace, and Masonry Table.
Medical Readiness

Never traverse canyon ravines without a Wood Splint on your hotbar. A broken leg slows character movement to a crawl, leaving you defenseless against wolf attacks.

Skip Cloth, Craft Bone

Save plant fiber for shelter parts and bandages. Bone armor offers substantially higher damage absorption against predator bites.

Open 31-Step Checklist