I killed my first troll thanks to a raft. A troll had spawned near the coastal line and was attracted when I started building a lighthouse on a rock in shallow waters. I tried to lure him away and both panicked in the reeds (to swim or not to swim?) and didn't anticipate his reach. I built my first raft and returned half naked with a bow and arrows. Shooting from the raft was not easy, but the troll mande the thing easier when he stuck himself at the limit where he couldn't walk anymore. Almost a litteral sitting duck he was, and I abused it.

Later on, I used the raft to explore a little archipelago off my main island (I could see at the very limit of visibility); but only as a way to join both land ends (like a couple of irl mins a trip). I once endured a lightning storm by night while in the straits, Thanks for the game not having strong currents yet, I could stop the raft and just watch the elements roaring without getting sick by the moving vessel. I used this raft to bring hunting and chopping products back to the lighthouse.

I think I will use the raft for easy, coarse exploration around my island, as it is a good eraser for the exploration fog.

Originally posted by HAHAHuH?:

Anyone actually use this for anything other than say emergency body recovery?

I've only used the raft once and that was before i discovered i could build bigger boats, got immediately murdered by a serpent in the middle of the ocean. After that i've avoided it like the preverbial plague, especially given how fast you can get to Bronze and how fast the raft can be destroyed, i personally don't even see it useful at all even at the start.

Which brings me to my main question; curious what you fine viKangz use it for?
Probably the best use i've found is a means to cross a river with heavy ore and kart, that's about it.

I think we can use those as floating pantone bridges by placing several of them.

The way I see it is this.
Rafts are for shoreline use.
Karve is for island hopping short distances.
Long boat is for open ocean.

Originally posted by SiEgE:

Originally posted by HAHAHuH?:

Anyone actually use this for anything other than say emergency body recovery?

I've only used the raft once and that was before i discovered i could build bigger boats, got immediately murdered by a serpent in the middle of the ocean. After that i've avoided it like the preverbial plague, especially given how fast you can get to Bronze and how fast the raft can be destroyed, i personally don't even see it useful at all even at the start.

Which brings me to my main question; curious what you fine viKangz use it for?
Probably the best use i've found is a means to cross a river with heavy ore and kart, that's about it.

I think we can use those as floating pantone bridges by placing several of them.

I.... must try this i shall report back haha

Originally posted by ThirdGen:

With friends to play with, it's not so bad when you have multiple players with bows shooting at the sea creature. You can fight it off that way by yourself also but it's much more difficult, obviously, but it can be done. I'd honestly rather take on a sea monster than a pack of wolves lol. But anyway, try to stay out of open seas if you don't want to cross paths with it, and stick to the shorelines and shortest routes to the other islands (still doesn't guarantee a sea monster won't show up) to at least diminish the chances of an attack.

one mechanic i really do quite love about the serpents is they spawn quite a ways away from you. So you could sail back and forward during storms/night and spawn a few and never see them. Only to run into them later.

Not sure how i feel about them no longer running when severely damaged though tbh, i really enjoyed the chase. Especially if some poor soul solo rafts a serpent and gets to that point and gets charged instead of reprieve lol

I do like that adv though, sticking to the shallows is probably a good idea.
Especially as ocean solo is pretty much suicide on one.
Gonna have to jump on today with my mates and see if we can 5 man raft and hunt one lol

Just prioritize frost arrows and serpents are chumps even with weenie bows. Lets you freeze them when they get close and teach them a lesson they wont soon forget. The frost drakes you need for them will fly down to you once you antagonize them so you dont have to make any thermal underoos to chase them up in the mountains.

Me and some friends used the raft early in game probably close to when we unlocked it. Eventually we made it across the ocean, started building a base , at night, and eventually died in our leather gear.

Never tried it again until we were bronzed out and had a karve.

One night we were sailing the ocean again and heard a loud thud. Someone was like "wtf was that" , then we heard it again , sure enough a serpent rears up. we knew nothing up till that point. Someone said "were going to need a bigger boat, and we all died at sea that night.

Originally posted by Ryzilynt:

One night we were sailing the ocean again and heard a loud thud. Someone was like "wtf was that" , then we heard it again , sure enough a serpent rears up. we knew nothing up till that point. Someone said "were going to need a bigger boat, and we all died at sea that night.

LOL. I thankfully haven't lost a Karve to a serpent yet.... trolls on the other hand

Originally posted by Ryzilynt:

Me and some friends used the raft early in game probably close to when we unlocked it. Eventually we made it across the ocean, started building a base , at night, and eventually died in our leather gear.

I see so many people on these discussion boards with very similar stories about the raft.
Kinda why i made this thread, to hopefully warn some unsuspecting wannabe sea fairer before they decide to go out on a raft, die in the ocean and rage quit.

Fjords are rough and craggy so don't make for easy walking along the shore.
Rafts were better than walking there.

In the game early I tend to use a raft to explore around the main island in safety.. just stay along the shore and you won't get a serpent spawn. Shouldn't run into a plains on the starter island. I've also used on to bring some of the first copper to refine... now I tend to just put a smelter at the copper deposits. Main thing I am looking for with a raft now is a nice copper deposit by the shore.. even better if they are semi close to a swamp area.

Grab carrot seeds and stuff I can easily, even before I tackle the first boss. At that point I am still using a crude bow and low level leather armor. Not great food.

But the boats upgrade as we do so you grow out of that stage pretty quick.

Originally posted by GunsForBucks:

Fjords are rough and craggy so don't make for easy walking along the shore.
Rafts were better than walking there.

In the game early I tend to use a raft to explore around the main island in safety.. just stay along the shore and you won't get a serpent spawn.

2 very excellent uses, the coastal sail is one i didn't even consider. I usually just food up and go for a ye olde jog around the island. But this way sounds far safer for early spawns with the Black Forest.

Originally posted by HAHAHuH?:

raft .... middle of the ocean.

Well there's your problem. The raft is simply an emergency don't drown measure for shallow but wide water in the very early game when you don't have the food or swimming level to safely cross a river.

Originally posted by Mharr:

Originally posted by HAHAHuH?:

raft .... middle of the ocean.

Well there's your problem.

I feel you misunderstood the intention of this thread lol
Its here to be a warning to players to do exactly opposite to taking to the ocean on said raft and to perhaps be a collection of valid uses for it outside of crossing the ocean.

Originally posted by Mharr:

The raft is simply an emergency don't drown measure for shallow but wide water in the very early game when you don't have the food or swimming level to safely cross a river.

this is the kinda stuff!
Seems to be a general consensus, shallows and rivers with occasional heavy ore spotting/transport around the starting island.

We put the dead on it and shoot it with fire arrows so they both get a good funeral. No use wasting bronze or iron nails for that ceremony. You can swim just as fast then just quit and rejoin and you get a full stamina bar so who needs a raft in the first place?

Originally posted by Handbanana:

We put the dead on it and shoot it with fire arrows so they both get a good funeral. No use wasting bronze or iron nails for that ceremony. You can swim just as fast then just quit and rejoin and you get a full stamina bar so who needs a raft in the first place?

... i am so very annoyed at myself i never considered a viking funeral haha 10/10

With friends to play with, it's not so bad when you have multiple players with bows shooting at the sea creature. You can fight it off that way by yourself also but it's much more difficult, obviously, but it can be done. I'd honestly rather take on a sea monster than a pack of wolves lol. But anyway, try to stay out of open seas if you don't want to cross paths with it, and stick to the shorelines and shortest routes to the other islands (still doesn't guarantee a sea monster won't show up) to at least diminish the chances of an attack.