Islands, Biomes, and Labyrinths
The archipelago holds five procedurally generated islands rated 1 to 5 stars for danger, each with its own biomes, enemy roster, and one of the four labyrinths. You sail between them on a raft, which needs a Makeshift Sail from the Mysterious Stranger before it will move. Buy Labyrinth Keys from him too, at 1,500 to 10,000 doubloons, and beat each labyrinth boss to claim a ship part. Collect all four, then repair the wrecked galleon and sail home.
The Survivalists takes place across a procedurally generated archipelago of five islands. Each island shows a danger rating in stars, one through five, under its region names, and each has its own biome mix, enemy roster, and resources. The main arc pushes you outward island by island, clearing labyrinths along the way to collect the four ship parts needed to repair the galleon and escape. You can sail to them in any order once you leave the first, but the Taskmaster chain runs in sequence.
The Five Islands
Islands are numbered by danger. Higher-numbered islands have tougher enemies, rarer resources, and more complex labyrinths.
| Island | Danger | Biomes Present | Key Content |
|---|---|---|---|
| Island 1 | ★ | Beach, Meadows | Starting island. The Mysterious Stranger, first vaults, and Orcling camps |
| Island 2 | ★★ | Beach, Meadows, Badlands | Bat Labyrinth. The Beast Master. Warthogs, wolves, cougars |
| Island 3 | ★★★ | Beach, Badlands, Swamp | Boar Labyrinth. The Survival Gourmand. Spectres, tigers, gold veins |
| Island 4 | ★★★★ | Beach, Badlands, Swamp, Volcanic | Monkey Labyrinth. The Collector. Panthers and elephant birds |
| Island 5 | ★★★★★ | Badlands, Volcanic, Swamp | Big Cat Labyrinth. The Salesman. Red Orclings and the best resources |
Vaults on Islands 4 and 5 will not open without a Rope Ladder, crafted at a Crafting Bench from 4 Hardwood Slats, 6 Rope, and 2 Cane. Carry a couple before you sail to the Volcano.
Island layouts are procedurally generated, so the exact position of biomes, vaults, and labyrinth entrances varies between worlds. The island number and difficulty are consistent, but you will need to explore each one to find specific locations.
Biomes
Each biome has distinct visual characteristics, enemy types, and resources. Knowing what lives in each biome prevents you from wandering into a fight you cannot win.
Beach
The coastal fringe of every island. This is the safest zone and where you will likely build your first base.
- Enemies: Sharks at the edge of shallow water, and Snapping Turtles in pairs near the shore. Nothing else hunts you here.
- Resources: Pebbles, palm trees for Timber and Coconuts, long grass, and Sand if you dig.
- Notes: Loot every Wrecked Raft and Washed-Up Bottle you pass. The bottles carry Treasure Maps and the rafts restock after every raid.
Meadows
Green, grassy areas with light tree coverage. Very common on the starting island and found around swamp lands too.
- Enemies: Rabbits and Deer flee on sight. Stags charge. Boars fight back once provoked. Bats come out of cave mouths at night, and Orcling camps are on this island too, so you meet orcs before you ever build a raft.
- Resources: Berry bushes, flowers (petals), timber, and Mud if you dig.
- Notes: Good for early farming. Dig for Mud here instead of sailing to the Swamp for it, since the Forge needs 8 and it is available in your starting back garden.
Badlands
Dry, rocky terrain with sparse vegetation. Found on Island 2 and above.
- Enemies: Warthogs, Wolves, Cougars, Venus Fly Traps, and Orcling patrols.
- Resources: Ore deposits, rare minerals, pebbles.
- Notes: Wolves roam in packs of three and guard vault entrances. Venus Fly Traps sit still near dinosaur bones and hit hard at close range, so use a spear or bow. Dead trees here drop Charcoal.
Swamp
Dense, dark areas with murky water and twisted trees. Found on Island 3 and above.
- Enemies: Spectres with their Skeleton Corpses, Swamp Bogs, Devil Boars, Tigers, and Snapping Turtles in the water.
- Resources: Gold Veins, the first in the game, plus Fruit trees, Glowing Rocks, and Mud.
- Notes: A Spectre spawns floating over exactly five Skeleton Corpses and cannot hurt you itself. The skeletons do all the damage and the Spectre raises them as fast as you drop them, so it dies first. The reliable opening is to lure one skeleton into open ground, kill it, and jump the Spectre while it stops to raise the body. Swamp Bogs attack only with a toxic cloud, so shoot them or send monkeys with bows. Glowing Rocks are plentiful and near useless, which makes them the best thing to sell for doubloons.
Swamp enemies are a significant difficulty spike from anything on Islands 1 and 2. Spectres in particular can turn a simple encounter into a war of attrition if you do not focus them down first. Bring healing food and armed monkeys before entering swamp biomes.
Volcanic
Harsh, red-toned terrain with lava pools and aggressive wildlife. Found on Islands 4 and 5.
- Enemies: Panthers, Elephant Birds, Volcanic Spitters, Frabbits, and bats.
- Resources: Basalt Rock, volcanic stone, high-tier ores, and Charcoal from dead trees.
- Notes: Panthers first. They are the deadliest creature in the game, they attack twice per cooldown, and they spawn in groups. Do not come here without armed monkeys and good food. Elephant Birds spit three acid rounds and hit hard in melee, so attack from behind. Volcanic Spitters are rooted plants and not roaming enemies, with a low-damage fireball on a short cooldown, and they drop Charcoal and a Burning Seed you can plant in an Orchard as a guard turret. Frabbits flee instead of fighting, but they carry metal and gold ingots, glowing rocks, gem stones, and crystal fragments, so bring a spare weapon and run one down.
Frozen (Frostbite Fortress DLC)
A treacherous frozen land introduced in the Frostbite Fortress expansion on March 12, 2026.
- Enemies: New foes plus Frostbite variants of familiar ones.
- Resources: Team17 promise unique resources tied to the frozen land but have not named them.
- Notes: The biome contains its own labyrinth and is pitched at experienced survivors, so treat it as endgame content and bring your best gear. The DLC also adds a potion brewing mechanic where you mix ingredients for buffs and boosts.
Team17 have published very little about this expansion and no community documentation exists yet. How you reach the frozen biome, what the potions are called, which station brews them, and what the labyrinth holds are all undocumented as of August 2026. Treat any specific claim you find elsewhere as unconfirmed, including the widely repeated one that you build a portal to get there. The base game does have a Teleporter structure, built from 3 Glowing Rock, 1 Gold Frame, and 3 Hardwood Slat, but that is fast travel between places you have already been and is not the same thing.
The Frostbite Fortress expansion is a paid DLC ($3.99/€3.99). Its content is gated on owning it.
Traveling Between Islands
Leaving Island 1 takes two things, and the second one stops most players.
First the raft, a Building-menu blueprint you unlock by crafting the Crafting Bench. Place it on the water at a shoreline and finish it with your multitool. It is made from Wooden Rods and Rope, never raw timber.
Second the Makeshift Sail, and the raft will not move without one. The recipe is a reward from the Mysterious Stranger for delivering him 3 Rope, which is the task you start the game holding. Once you have it, craft the sail at a Crafting Bench from 2 Makeshift Rugs, 3 Makeshift Bed Sheets, and 9 Rope, then drop it on the raft. A Fast Raft (24 Cane, 10 Rope) is the later upgrade, and it needs a sail too.
The ocean is not a safe corridor. Sharks attack both you and the raft itself and can sink it, and Snapping Turtles fire three-shot acid spreads that are hard to dodge on open water. Keep a multitool on your bar, because standing on the raft with it equipped repairs the hull on the spot. Sharks deal the highest damage of any creature in the game, so hit them with a spear or bow instead of letting them close.
When you reach a new island, scout the beach first. Find a safe spot to place a temporary camp before pushing into the interior. You can always sail back to your main base to resupply.
Bring a monkey mule (a monkey carrying a chest) on island expeditions. This gives you mobile storage for loot and materials without needing to build permanent structures on every island.
Vaults
Vaults are small challenge rooms scattered across all islands. They contain combat encounters, puzzle mechanics, and loot chests.
How Vaults Work
- Walk up to a vault entrance (a glowing hole in the ground or a doorway in a cliff) and enter. Wolves often guard the outside.
- Inside you get puzzle rooms and scattered enemies, mostly Orclings, with Spectres and Skeletons deeper in.
- Pressure plates require someone, you or a monkey, to stand on them. Some are branded with emote symbols, and standing on those does nothing by itself. You have to hold the matching pose.
- Gears on walls need to be hit repeatedly to open doors. Arrows home in on gears, so you can shoot one from across the room while you deal with something else.
- Multi-step puzzles often need more bodies than you have. Bring at least two monkeys.
- Clear the vault to reach the loot chest at the end.
The emote a switch wants is painted on the wall beside it, so there is no guessing. There are only six poses a monkey can mimic: Dab, Praise, Handstand, Sit, Wave, and Snake. Open the emote menu with V, match the wall, and stand on the plate. For a room with more plates than bodies, stand on one yourself, hold Q, press E over a monkey, then strike the pose. The monkey walks to a plate and holds it.
Every vault ends with at least one Treasure Chest and a caged monkey. The monkey is guaranteed, which makes vaults the most reliable way to grow your crew toward the 20-monkey cap. Clear each vault once and only once, because a reloaded vault keeps neither the chest nor the monkey.
Vault Rewards
| Reward Type | Examples |
|---|---|
| Weapons | Metal swords, spears, higher-tier tools |
| Resources | Refined materials, rare crafting ingredients |
| Monkey rescues | Caged monkeys that join your team when freed |
| Blueprints | Recipes for advanced items and structures |
| Doubloons | Currency for the Mysterious Stranger's shop |
Bring at least two combat monkeys into every vault. Some vaults spawn multiple enemy waves, and fighting alone while solving puzzles gets overwhelming. Position one monkey near a gear mechanism and fight alongside the other.
The Four Labyrinths
Labyrinths are the game's main dungeons. Each one is located on a specific island and contains a boss fight at the end. Defeating the boss rewards you with one of the four ship parts needed to repair the galleon.
Accessing Labyrinths
You need a Labyrinth Key to enter each labyrinth. Buy them from the Mysterious Stranger on Island 1, and buying one puts that labyrinth on your map.
| Key | Cost |
|---|---|
| Bat Key | 1,500 doubloons |
| Boar Key | 5,000 doubloons |
| Monkey Key | 7,500 doubloons |
| Big-Cat Key | 10,000 doubloons |
Budget for the Big-Cat Key early, because 10,000 is a long grind if you leave it to the end.
Labyrinth Overview
| Labyrinth | Island | Boss |
|---|---|---|
| Bat Labyrinth | Island 2 | Giant Bat |
| Boar Labyrinth | Island 3 | Giant Boar |
| Monkey Labyrinth | Island 4 | Tank Bird |
| Big Cat Labyrinth | Island 5 | Giant Cat |
Each labyrinth hands you one of the four ship parts, but which part is randomized per world. Do not plan on getting the Compass from a particular labyrinth. You need all four regardless, so the order only changes which achievement pops when. Labyrinths also drop Tranquiliser blueprints, which are what unlock the taming system.
General Labyrinth Tips
- Prepare before entering. Stock up on cooked food (at least 10 meals), bring your best weapons, and arm your combat monkeys with upgraded gear.
- Bring monkey helpers. Labyrinths contain pressure plate puzzles that require bodies to hold them down. Your monkeys can stand on plates while you handle combat or explore.
- Watch for gear mechanisms. Some doors only open when you or a monkey repeatedly hit a gear on the wall. Arrows home in on gears, so a bow solves most of these alone.
- Pack for spike pits. Cross them with Multipurpose Poles and Wooden Floor Tiles to lay a walkable path, or just roll over them.
- Loot the whole final room. The ship part is the point, but the room also holds a Shiny Golden Chest, the only chest tier that drops gold-grade items and rare blueprints, and a Great Bench that repairs Legendary Weapons using a Labyrinth Gem.
- Walk into the light. After clearing the final room, look for the light and step into it to exit instead of backtracking. In co-op this also matters mechanically, since the labyrinth achievement only fires when you walk out.
Bat Labyrinth (Island 2)
The first labyrinth and the most forgiving. The layout is linear, with bat swarms as the primary enemy. The Giant Bat boss flies around the arena and dive-bombs you.
Boss Strategy:
- The Giant Bat swoops down to attack, then circles back up. Dodge-roll the dive attack, then hit it during the brief landing window.
- Stay mobile. Standing still lets the bat target you with consecutive dives.
- Combat monkeys can damage the bat when it lands, but they struggle to hit it in the air. Position them in the center of the arena where the bat tends to land.
Boar Labyrinth (Island 3)
More complex layout with orc enemies mixed in alongside boar packs. The Giant Boar boss charges across the arena.
Boss Strategy:
- The Giant Boar charges in a straight line toward your last position. Sidestep or roll perpendicular to the charge. If it crashes into something it stuns for a few seconds, and you can stun-lock it by staying on it.
- A Sharp Sword does more than enough damage for this fight.
- The labyrinth is packed with ordinary boars and skeletons on the way in, so bring monkeys to hold them off while you work the boss.
Monkey Labyrinth (Island 4)
Stocked with extra Spectres, so the Spectre-first rule from the Swamp section applies the whole way through. Every Spectre you leave standing keeps putting its skeletons back up. The boss is the Tank Bird, the same creature as the Elephant Bird, with both ranged and melee attacks.
Boss Strategy:
- The Tank Bird alternates between melee swipes and ranged acid projectiles. Dodge the projectiles, then close and attack during its melee recovery.
- Keep combat monkeys spread out so one ranged attack does not catch the whole squad.
- It drops the Tank Bird Feather, which is the gate on Sturdy Arrows.
Big Cat Labyrinth (Island 5)
The hardest labyrinth. The halls are full of big cats, which is exactly the fight you are about to have again at the end.
Boss Strategy:
- Do not trade with it. Circle to its flank, land hits while it is turning, and roll clear before it comes round.
- Update 2 made big cat attacks harder to avoid than they once were, so treat every exchange as one hit and out.
- If you have a legendary, bring it. Elemental swords and clubs top out at 300 damage against everything in the game, well clear of the 225 on a Sharp Gold Sword.
- Bring extra food. This fight is long and you will take hits.
The Big Cat Labyrinth is a hard wall for many players. Do not attempt it without metal-tier weapons at minimum, a full squad of armed monkeys, and a large food supply. Its key alone costs 10,000 doubloons, so you will have had plenty of time to prepare.
The Galleon Escape
After collecting all four ship parts (Storm Map, Figurehead, Ship Wheel, Compass), you need to find and repair the galleon.
Finding the Galleon
The galleon is a wrecked ship somewhere in the open ocean, and its position is different in every world. You do not have to hunt for it, though. Complete your first labyrinth and a ship icon appears on your map. The Spy Glass from the Mysterious Stranger will also turn it up from a distance.
Repairing the Galleon
Repair runs through a series of build tiers. The first is by far the heaviest at 80 Wooden Slats and 30 Metal Nails, and the requirements taper instead of escalating. The four ship parts go in last, as the closing tiers, so hold them until the hull work is done.
Across all tiers the galleon needs:
- 120 Wooden Slats
- 50 Metal Nails
- 21 Wooden Rods
- 11 Makeshift Sails
- 45 Rope
- 15 Gold Nails
- 2 Metal Hinges
In raw materials that is roughly 543 Timber, 954 Long Grass, 158 Metal Ingots, 45 Gold Ingots, 99 Palm Leaves, 66 Fur Clumps, and 22 Boar Pelts. Metal Sheets are not part of it. Metal Hinges and both nail types come off the Forge, and Gold Nails smelt straight from Gold Ingots with no sheets involved.
Alone with no helpers the repair is about 25 minutes of crafting, and that is the same whether you use a Flimsy or a Sturdy Multitool.
Several people and monkeys can work the hull at once, so bring building monkeys. Put one crafter on Metal Nails and another on Wooden Slats and the hull tiers take care of themselves. Placing a Teleporter next to the galleon saves a great deal of sailing.
Boarding the repaired galleon rolls the credits and ends the story, then drops you back exactly where you were. Your save survives, so nothing is locked out and you can finish your remaining achievements afterward.
The Mysterious Stranger and Taskmasters
The Mysterious Stranger sits in the middle of Island 1 next to his hot air balloon, and a balloon icon marks him on your map from the start. He never moves and he never visits your other islands, so every purchase means a trip home.
Your first task in a new game is to bring him 3 Rope. He pays with a Spy Glass, which reveals big stretches of map from a distance, and the Makeshift Sail recipe, which is the thing that actually lets you leave Island 1. After that his shop opens.
| Shop | Currency | Stock |
|---|---|---|
| For Sale | Doubloons | Labyrinth Keys, the Mysterious Chest at 500, and everyday goods: Rope, Coconut, Fruit, Palm Leaf, Boar Pelt, Fur Clump |
| Token Shop | Task Tokens | Legendary weapon and tool blueprints, trinket recipes, backpack upgrades |
Doubloons come from four places. Kill Orclings, which drop them from every camp, plus Spectres. Finish the six monkey Tutorials, worth 100 doubloons each. Loot Treasure Chests, which Totems and treasure maps both lead you to. And sell to any Taskmaster, where Glowing Rocks are the standout, plentiful and close to useless otherwise.
The Four Taskmasters
Four Taskmaster NPCs live on Islands 2 through 5, one each, and they hand out the multi-step chains that unlock trinket recipes and legendary weapon blueprints. The Mysterious Stranger is not one of them, but he starts the sequence: finding him unlocks the task to find the Beast Master, and each Taskmaster you complete points you at the next.
- Beast Master (Island 2) - hunting and taming tasks. Rewards the Bomb blueprint, and unlocks the Wind Spear and Fire Spear.
- Survival Gourmand (Island 3) - deliver cooked meals, fifteen tasks deep. Unlocks the Ice Pickaxe and Wind Axe.
- The Collector (Island 4) - deliver collectibles: shells, insects, dinosaur bones, relics. Unlocks the Earth Club and Earth Pickaxe.
- The Salesman (Island 5) - build things to order, from a straw condo up to a mansion. Unlocks the Fire Sword and Ice Sword.
The Taskmaster chain is sequential even though island travel is not. You can sail to Island 3 whenever you like, but the Survival Gourmand has nothing to offer until you have found the Beast Master first. He does not move and he does not fail to spawn, and people still think he is missing. Look for the cooking pot icon on your map, in the middle of Island 3 beside a large cooking pot. If he is silent, go back and find the Beast Master.
Balance Patch 1.1.3 pulled legendary weapons out of labyrinth loot tables and gave you a trinket slot instead, so Taskmasters are the only route now. Finishing a Taskmaster's final task unlocks their two legendary blueprints in the Token Shop, and you buy them with Task Tokens and not doubloons. The game holds exactly 29 Task Tokens against 29 purchasable items, so never buy the same blueprint twice. A known bug lets blueprints you already own reappear in the shop after a world replenishment.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you get into a labyrinth in The Survivalists?
You need a Labyrinth Key for each one, bought from the Mysterious Stranger in the middle of Island 1. They run 1,500 doubloons for the Bat, 5,000 for the Boar, 7,500 for the Monkey, and 10,000 for the Big-Cat. Buying one puts that labyrinth on your map.
Where do you find the four ship parts?
Every labyrinth drops one of the four, but the game assigns them at random in each world, so there is no fixed pairing. Clear all four labyrinths and you will end up with the Storm Map, Figurehead, Ship Wheel, and Compass in some order.
Why will the vault door not open?
Some pressure plates are branded with emote symbols, and standing on them does nothing by itself. The emote you need is painted on the wall beside the switch, so match it instead of guessing. Open the emote menu with V. If the room has more plates than bodies, put a monkey on the spare ones through Mimic Mode.
Why will my raft not sail?
It needs a Makeshift Sail, and the recipe is a reward from the Mysterious Stranger for delivering him 3 Rope. Craft the sail at a Crafting Bench from 2 Makeshift Rugs, 3 Makeshift Bed Sheets, and 9 Rope, then place it on the raft. This is the step that strands most new players on the first island.
How do you beat the Giant Cat boss?
Do not trade blows with it. Circle to its flank, land hits while it turns, and roll clear before it comes round. Bring metal-tier weapons at minimum, a full squad of armed monkeys, and plenty of food. If you have a legendary, use it, since elemental weapons hit for 300 against everything in the game.
What to Read Next
- Crafting and Combat. Gear tiers each labyrinth expects.
- Monkey Training and Automation. Bringing combat monkeys along.
- Farming and Alchemy. Potions that make vaults survivable.
- Achievement Guide. Exploration and ending achievements.
- Tips and Tricks. Vault emote switches and the monkey waiting at the end of each one.