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 six other tools in-game: pickaxes, hammers, shovels, IKEA manual, watering can, bucket, wrench, pitchfork and machete. 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. All tools can hit at a rate of 2 hits per second.

## 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. A pickaxe deals 1 more damage every upgrade. Pickaxes have six tiers, ranging from wood to reidite. 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 of materials harvested per 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. You can survive crafting a pickaxe without a IKEA manual, although you shouldn't do this as it wastes a ton of time, and you might die to other things like temperature and players.

**Pickaxe Gathering Rates**

## Hammers

**Hammers** are tools used for breaking structures. Hammers have six 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 and stronger tools, which are capable of destroying any structures, but they do this very slowly. Hammers do significantly more damage to structures.

 Shovels

**Shovels** are tools used to gather ice cubes in the winter, sand on the beach and in the desert and dirt in the forest and in the lava. 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, Lava or Ocean biomes. Out of all of the tools, shovels are the least resource-consuming to craft.

## IKEA Manual

**IKEA Manual,** (also known as "[the] book"), makes crafting 3x faster while equipped. This can prove highly useful when crafting structures, seeds, powerful gear, and cooking meat.

Due to the long time it takes to craft amethyst and higher-tier tools, the IKEA Manual is necessary in avoiding to either starve or freeze to death during the crafting process.

Crafting the IKEA Manual requires 4 Paper, 4 Thread and 4 Wolf Fur.

 Watering Can

**Watering can** is a tool used to water plants. Currently, they can water small berry shrubs, wheat, pumpkins and other crops. The watering can can be filled with water at water sources.

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 that allows players to repair any damaged structure of any type and material, with a few exceptions. 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 by an incomplete circle on 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.

## Pitchfork

**Pitchfork** is a tool that is highly recommended for farming. It costs 100 wood and 50 stone. When equipped, it does not slow you down, but also does not do any damage, so it is useless for PvP (player vs player). It gives you double harvest points and double crop. (does not work on wild berry bushes.) It has longer range than a spear. The item was added in the The Market update. In the Desert update, a second tier of pitchfork called the Golden Pitchfork was added. Note that the Pitchfork Part is required to craft it, which is obtained by completing the right quest.

## Machete

**Machete** is a tool that doubles animal drops. It does zero damage to animals and almost no damage to other players. When a mob is killed its box is dropped, and the machete is used to double the mob's normal drops. For example, instead of a spider dropping 2 thread, it will yield 4 instead.

## More Information

See also:

* **Equipment**
* **Pickaxes**
* **Hammers**
* **Shovels**
* **IKEA Manual**
* **Watering Can**
* **Wrench**
* **Weapons**
* **Machete**