Crafting is the skill that enables many of the other ways prospectors pursue their goals on Icarus. While they can gather Food with their bare hands, and can attempt to Hunt with their fists, everything they attempt on the moon's surface is facilitated by crafting.
Character Crafting[]
Crafting on Icarus is simple: the prospector takes some Resources, puts them together, and ends up with some new Item.
Even the greenest prospector will have access to a few crafting recipes when their drop ship touches down on Icarus. Amongst the first blueprints enabled are the Stone Axe and the Stone Pickaxe, and they form the foundation of crafting on Icarus. Many early crafting recipes are made with Stone, Wood and Sticks, supplemented with Fiber and Leather. This early, basic crafting occurs in the prospectors inventory: a variety of items can be made in this way, from the Stone Knife, various early Arrows, and the Bedroll and Campfire, essential to a good night's sleep. After they reach Level 10, prospector can then create the Crafting Bench.
Benches[]
Prospectors who unlock Tier 2 will unlock a broader range of crafting, and will find a number of Deployable Items where they can craft a range of specialized items. The more expertise a prospector earns in a given branch of the Tech Tree, they more powerful and efficient items they can craft.
Starting with the Crafting Bench, they can begin crafting a Stone Furnace to refine and process metallic Minerals, or the Anvil Bench, where they can turn those metal ingots into Tools and Weapons. Prospectors can also create the Cooking Station, which offers a small number of built-in Cooking recipes that are greatly superior in terms of nutrition and their Status Effects than the basic foods like Cooked Meat and Wild Berry.
Specialized Crafting[]
After they attain level 20, prospectors can really focus in on their crafting: they can unlock dedicated benches for Glassworking, the Kitchen Bench and Biofuel Stove, which further expand their cooking capabilities, and the Cement Mixer and Concrete Furnace. The latter two options, combined with the Machining Bench, allow the prospector to create upgraded Building Pieces, as well as new, more powerful Tools and Weapons like the Bolt Action Rifle, Platinum Pickaxe and the Recurve Bow.
Powered Crafting[]
After reaching Tier 4, prospector unlock the most advanced crafting options available on Icarus. They will need to utilize the power of Electricity to fully harness the power of the Fabricator, and the new options can dramatically increase their chances of success on missions, and how comfortable their temporary homes might be. They can use the Biofuel Generator or the Solar Panel to power a whole range of Deployables that not only provide light and climate control, but can also reveal the locations of Exotics!