Start here
New to Build 42? Read these 8 guides in this order.
Fitness & StrengthLearn what these 2 skills decide before you train anything else.
Melee CombatYour first fights are up close. A blunt weapon is the easy start.
First AidMost survivors die from a wound treated wrong, not from the fight.
ForagingThe safest skill to train on day 1. It also feeds every crafting chain.
CookingGrab the pots on day 1 and freeze food before the power dies.
CarpentryReach level 3 before the water shuts off, then build a rain collector.
AgricultureThe best long-term food. Foraging gives you seeds to start.
Animal CareMilk, wool and eggs forever. Get Carpentry 3 first for troughs and hutches.
All 25 guides
Grouped by what they help you do.
Survival
The Ultimate Hunting Guide
Follow the tracks. Take the shot. Bring home dinner.
The Ultimate Foraging Guide
Slow down. Look at the ground. Find food, medicine and the clay and stone that build everything.
The Ultimate Fishing Guide
Find the ripples. Cast far. Keep the line from snapping.
The Ultimate Trapping Guide
Set it. Bait it. Walk away. Come back to dinner.
The Ultimate First Aid Guide
Stop the bleeding. Clean the wound. Know which infection you can beat.
Food
The Ultimate Cooking Guide
Turn a pile of cans into a hot meal. Keep food from rotting. Never poison yourself.
The Ultimate Agriculture Guide
Plant in the right month. Water just enough. Spot the sickness early.
The Ultimate Animal Care Guide
Fence them. Feed them. Keep them calm. Milk, wool, eggs and meat forever.
The Ultimate Butchering Guide
Hang it, cut it, keep every part. Meat, hides, bones, sinew and more.
Crafting
The Ultimate Tailoring Guide
Patch the holes. Pad the weak spots. Turn rags into armor.
The Ultimate Carving Guide
A knife and a branch become spoons, handles, spears and bone armor.
The Ultimate Knapping Guide
Hit a rock with a rock until it is a knife. Stone tools from nothing.
The Ultimate Pottery Guide
Dig clay. Shape it. Fire it. Crucibles, bricks, jars and molds.
The Ultimate Glassmaking Guide
Sand into windows. Broken bottles into new ones. Jars for the pantry.
Base & Machines
The Ultimate Carpentry Guide
Saw the log. Nail the plank. Raise the wall.
The Ultimate Mechanics Guide
Open the hood. Swap the part. Drive away.
The Ultimate Electrical Guide
Take things apart. Keep the lights on after the grid dies.
The Ultimate Masonry Guide
Stone walls that laugh at hordes. Furnaces and forges from blocks and cement.
The Ultimate Welding Guide
Torch, mask, rods, propane. Metal walls, wire fences and car repairs.
Combat
The Ultimate Firearms Guide
Steady hands. Small circle. Clean shot.
The Ultimate Maintenance Guide
Make your weapons last. Fix them when they crack. Sharpen them when they dull.
The Ultimate Melee Combat Guide
Axe, Long Blunt, Short Blunt, Long Blade, Short Blade and Spear. Pick one. Swing it right.
The Ultimate Reloading Guide
Load faster. Swap magazines faster. Never fumble with a horde at 5 meters.
Body & Movement
How the skills connect
Some skills make the tools and parts that other skills need. Follow the arrows.
- The first skill makes or unlocks something the next one needs.
- The first skill makes the next one stronger.
- These 2 skills work together.
- Dashed box: not on this site yet.
Read the chain as a list
- Foraging → Knapping: flint
- Knapping → Carving: stone knife
- Carving → Blacksmithing: wooden tongs
- Pottery → Glassmaking: blowing pipe, crucibles
- Pottery → Masonry: bricks
- Pottery → Blacksmithing: crucibles
- Animal Care → Butchering: meat, hide, bones
- Butchering → Tailoring: sinew thread
- Mechanics ↔ Electrical: hotwiring needs both
- Fitness & Strength → Melee Combat: damage and knockback
- Knapping → Masonry: stone chisels
- Knapping → Blacksmithing: stone hammer, stone tongs
- Masonry → Glassmaking: furnace
- Masonry → Blacksmithing: furnaces, forges
- Carpentry → Animal Care: troughs, hutches
- Carpentry → Butchering: butcher hook
- Trapping → Butchering: small game
- Trapping → Animal Care: live rabbits
- Firearms ↔ Reloading: train together