Tools

Overview

Tools are items that are used by a player to enhance or perform a specific action in game. There are currently three main types of tools and four other tools in game: pickaxes, hammers, shovels, IKEA manual, watering can, bucket and wrench. All upgrades for tools improve the efficiency with each upgrade. All tools, with the exception of the wooden pickaxe, wooden spear, and wooden sword require a workbench to craft. It is notable that amethyst tools can destroy all structures, however this is not advised as it is a very slow process.

Pickaxes

Pickaxes are tools that allow the player to obtain mining resources. They are also able to destroy structures of any tier, although much slower than hammers. Pickaxes have five tiers, ranging from wood to amethyst. The pickaxe is arguably the most used tool in starve.io. While upgrading a pickaxe does not affect its speed or size, it does increase the amount harvested every hit. In late game, some players prefer to upgrade it last due to the fact that resources hold a maximum amount of materials and increasing the gather rate does not increase the total gather amount. 

Pickaxe Gathering Rates

Resources	Hand	Wooden pickaxe	Stone pickaxe	Gold pickaxe	Diamond pickaxe	Amethyst pickaxe
Wood	1	2	3	4	5	6
Stone	X	1	2	3	4	5
Gold	X	X	1	2	3	4
Diamond	X	X	X	1	2	3
Amethyst	X	X	X	X	1	2

Hammers

Hammers are tools used for breaking structures. Hammers have five tiers, from stone to the super hammer. Out of all the tools, they cost the most resources to craft. Hammers are useful because most spears and swords are only able to minimally damage wooden structures. An exception is the amethyst tools, which are capable of destroying any structures, but they do this very slowly. Hammers do significantly more damage to structures.

Mineables
Item(s)	Amount per hit
Ground	1
Sand	1
Ice Cube	1

 Shovels

Shovels are tools used to gather ice cubes in the winter, sand on the beach and ground in the forest. They also have a small chance of digging up stone, gold or diamond instead. Starting with stone, shovels can be upgraded up to amethyst tier. The further upgraded the shovel, the more ground resources (Sand, Ground (soil), and Ice Cubes) are obtained with each use. This is useful for making a base in the Winter or Ocean biomes. Out of all of the tools, shovels are the least resource consuming to craft.

IKEA Manual

IKEA Manual, (also referred to as "the book"), makes crafting 3x faster while equipped. This can prove useful when crafting structures, seeds and cooking meat.

The IKEA Manual is required when crafting amethyst tools in order to avoid starving or freezing to death.

 Watering Can

Watering can is a tool used to water plants. Currently, they can water small berry bushes, wheat, pumpkins, and their respective planted seeds. The watering can can be filled with water at water sources, or with ice cubes.

Top: dried Bottom: healthy

A button will appear in the left top corner of the screen just like crafting for players to fill watering cans with water. Once filled, the watering can will not return to its empty state, and will be able to infinitely water plants. It is illogical that you can fill a watering can with saltwater and then water your plants with that same saltwater, but it's still possible.

To water plants, players just need to left click on the plants, as they do for mining. Players cannot harvest with a watering can on hand. Watering plants is necessary, as plants automatically dry up, and they will not be available for harvest when they are dried up.

Wrench

Wrench is a tool which allows players to repair any damaged walls or doors of any material. To do this, players must hold the wrench and hit the structure. This item was added in the My House, My Castle update. The wrench is also known as a spanner.

To repair a wall or door, it must first be damaged which is indicated when a circle is around the structure. Players must walk up to a damaged structure with a wrench equipped and hit the structure. Hitting other items with the wrench will not deal any damage.

Bucket

Bucket is a tool which is currently only used for carriage of water and to fill the well, a player-made source of water. The bucket can only be filled at a lake, or the ocean (in other words, you cannot melt ice cubes into it). Each bucketful in a well equates to 12 bottles worth. This item was added in the Sounds Good update.

More Information

See also:

• Equipment
• Pickaxes
• Hammers
• Shovels
• IKEA Manual
• Watering Can
• Wrench
• Weapons