Straight answers for Scrap Mechanic's new survival mode — where to dig, what to weld, and how to not die to a Trash Bot on day one. Built for the post-1.0 map, not leftover Early Access notes.
A full subsurface layer replaces the old flat mining. Route-finding and light management matter now.
New tiered mining tool. Power draw and heat behavior aren't obvious from the tooltip alone.
Turns raw ore into refined output — the actual conversion ratios are the first thing people ask about.
A new blueprint/unlock system layered over crafting. Order of unlocks changes your early strategy.
The new headline fight. Almost no attack-pattern breakdowns exist yet.
Old landmark-based routes and resource maps from Early Access no longer apply.
MVP set — the six pages a new 1.0 player actually needs first.
What to grab in the first ten minutes, where to build your first shelter, and the mistakes that get new players killed by nightfall.
Read guide → coreThe Tier 1 → 2 → 3 unlock path, what each tier actually gates, and which upgrades are worth rushing.
Read guide → content gap · new in 1.0How the new mining and refining loop fits together, with real power and output numbers instead of tooltip guesses.
Read guide → content gap · new in 1.0Attack patterns, arena hazards, and a loadout that doesn't rely on twenty failed attempts to figure out.
Read guide → coreWall placement, choke points, and turret logic that actually holds against a raid instead of looking sturdy.
Read guide → coreThe minimum wiring and part list to get something that drives, before you touch logic gates or suspension tuning.
Read guide →Pulled from recurring questions in the community — answered in one place instead of scattered across threads.
Yes — the terrain, mining, and progression systems were substantially reworked for the full release, so even returning players are relearning the early game.
Solo survival is fully viable, especially with adjustable difficulty. Multiplayer mainly changes the pace of raids and building, not what's possible.
Only partially. The terrain and underground systems changed enough in 1.0 that landmark-based directions and old resource maps are unreliable.
PC only, via Steam. There's no console or mobile release at this time.