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With four tiers filled with countless technology in Icarus, it can be hard to decide which technologies are the best to unlock. As you level up, you will be able to unlock additional blueprints that you can craft to help you survive the harsh planet.

Related: Icarus: What Are Exotics?

In this guide, we are going to go over some of the best technologies that you can unlock. The technologies mentioned will help you survive and complete prospects. Once you have been playing for a while, you will probably have a lot of blueprints unlocked, so this guide is for those who have just started and aren't fully sure what to unlock yet.

Tools And Weapons

two players hunting for wolves in the snow while holding bows

Tier

Tool Materials

Tier One

  • Stone
  • Wood
  • Bone

Tier Two

  • Iron
  • Steel

Tier Three

  • Platinum
  • Aluminum
  • Carbon

Tier Four

  • Titanium

It may go without saying, but tools and weapons are essential in Icarus. The first blueprints that you should prioritize on any tier are tools and weapons. As you unlock a new tier, you can craft upgraded tools with stronger materials.

Crafting these items when you begin a new prospect will greatly aid in your chances of survival.

Below, you can check out some of the most important tool types to have in your inventory.

  • Axe
  • Pickaxe
  • Bow and Arrows
  • Knife
  • Repair Hammer
  • Sickle
  • Fire Whacker

Campfire

player looking at cooking menu for campfire
Cook a variety of foods at the campfire

Tier: One

Crafting Requirements:

  • 8 Fiber
  • 8 Sticks
  • 24 Stone

Campfires are simple items that provide a heat source and a method to cook raw food, such as meat and fish.

Although you can just eat berries, cooked food will provide additional beneficial status effects.

Having a source of heat should not be underestimated. With heat, you can ward off cold-based status effects that can slow down your health and stamina regeneration. Heat sources also prove to be useful when you are trying to sleep. If you have a bedroll and no nearby heat source, you won't be able to sleep through to the next day.

Bedroll

bedroll blueprint on technology tree

Tier: One

Crafting Requirements:

  • 20 Fiber
  • 10 Sticks
  • 20 Fur
  • 10 Leather

Bedrolls serve as a respawn point if you die, as well as a place to sleep to skip the night. As Icarus players know, respawn points are very valuable if you die.

It's important to always have a bedroll for a respawn point set up; you never know when you might meet your end. Rather than traveling to your base from a random location on the map, set up a bedroll so you can respawn in the safety of your own home.

Oxidizer And Oxygen-Storing Items

oxidizer on a thatch floor, holding 7 out of 10 oxite

Tier: One

Crafting Requirements:

  • Oxidizer
    • 8 Sticks
    • 12 Fiber
    • 20 Leather
    • 10 Bone

Oxygen is incredibly valuable. If you have just created a new character and are in the middle of your first prospect, you will need to rely on oxite ore to replenish your oxygen levels.

As you progress, you will have the chance to unlock the oxidizer. This is an item that allows you to place oxite, turning it into oxygen for you to use.

Oxygen creating and storing items is very useful, allowing you to quickly replenish your air without relying on mined ore.

Bandages And Healing Items

player unconscious on ground after bear attack
via Eveningewlike/Steam

Tier: One

Crafting Requirements:

Healing Item

Materials

Basic Bandage

  • 40 Fiber

Heat Bandage

  • 40 Fiber
  • 4 Oxite Ore
  • 10 Charcoal

Suture Kit

  • 10 Fiber
  • 5 Bone
  • 2 Leather

Splint

  • 2 Wood
  • 8 Sticks
  • 6 Rope

It's impossible to avoid dangerous animals during a prospect. Whether you choose to battle or flee, you may come away from the encounter with some damage.

Because of this, you should unlock bandages, as well as other healing items. The damage you take can vary, ranging from a small amount of blood loss to a broken limb. Fortunately, there are remedies for damage-based status effects.

It's best to preemptively unlock these blueprints, so you won't be lacking the necessary healing items when you do take damage.

Wood Building Construction Materials

player inside wooden house

​​​​​​Tier: One

Crafting Requirements:

  • Varying Amounts of Wood and Fiber

There are several types of construction materials that are available throughout the four tiers. The first tier allows you to build thatch and wood structures, but you should prioritize unlocking the wood variation.

Thatch is incredibly weak, and will easily break during a storm. Although wood may catch on fire, it's sturdier than thatch, and can serve as a decent material to build a shelter out of.

Once you unlock higher tiers, you can also construct stone and concrete structures; both of these materials are very strong and can hold up during a storm.

Waterskins

player near death entering water

Tier: Two

Crafting Requirements:

  • 10 Fiber
  • 12 Leather
  • 4 Bone

Waterskins allow you to collect water and transport it to areas that lack a water source, such as the desert and arctic biomes. Waterskins are prone to leaking, but you can also unlock blueprints for more advanced water-carrying containers, such as the thermos.

Rain Reservoir

rainfall in forest

Tier: Two

Crafting Requirements:

  • 8 Sticks
  • 24 Wood
  • 80 Stone
  • 8 Leather

This is an item that will collect and store rainwater. Although you can easily drink water from a river or stream, you may contract dysentery. Rainwater, on the other hand, will not give you dysentery, making it a safer source of water. Additionally, rain reservoirs are great if you are situated in an area with little to no access to water. It's important to note that these reservoirs will only fill if it is actively raining.

Now, you should know the most important blueprints to unlock in Icarus! Overall, the key items to research are those that aid in your survival. If you come across a blueprint that seems cool but not practical, consider other blueprints first, that may greatly help you on your prospect.

Next: Icarus: How To Kill A Bear