Collecting

Collecting resources is the most basic gameplay element of The Front. Most resources in the game will need to be collected by **hand** (by grabbing or by hitting) or with **tools**.

Basic resources you've collected can be processed into advanced materials at workbenches, such as the Crafting Table, the Chemist's Bench, the Forging Table, etc. These advanced materials can then be used in crafting structures, equipment, vehicles, defenses and weapons.

## Resources

Below are resource that can be harvested on ground with hands (grab or hit). For better result, Trees can be chopped by Axe/Chainsaw, Rocks by Pickaxe/Jackhammer, Plants by Sickle, Animal corpses by Knife, Crude Oil and Sand by
Shovel. The better the quality the more the harvested quantity :

*Note that quantity depend on tool quality (less with hand best with exotic tool).*

## Collecting

### by Hand

When you're playing with a new character, your Tech level will be relatively low and you won't have many resources. You will also not yet be able to craft and use higher-efficiency tools, so you'll need to start off by collecting resources with your bare hands. This method is relatively primitive, and you will only be able to collect the most basic resources on the ground (see table above). Waste barrels, Abandoned cars and Future supplies are a good amount of free loot. Loot as much as you can.

Advanced resources such as trees and ores will need to be collected with the help of tools. You can punch trees and rocks to get these resources, but you will not be able to collect very many using this method.

### with Tools

As you accumulate resources and level up, you will be able to unlock new tools from the Weapons tab of the Tech interface. Using tools to collect resources is not only more efficient, there are also certain resources that can only be collected using these tools. The Stone Axe and Stone Pickaxe are the most basic collection tools in The Front. After unlocking them, you will be able to craft them from your crafting inventory. Once crafted, they will be placed in your normal inventory. Open your inventory, click and drag the Stone Axe or Stone Pickaxe to your shortcut bar. Press the number keys corresponding to the shortcuts in which you've placed your tool to equip them, then move close to a resource you want to collect and click shortcut key to collect it. Different tools collect different types of resources.

Tools have 6 levels of quality each (Normal, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, Legendary, Exotic) and have 2 mod slots where bonuses can be added for even more efficiency. The Tech tree can also improve your harvesting efficency. See dedicated Tools page.

**AXES & CHAINSAW**

Axes and chainsaw are used to chop Wood and Resin from Trees, Cactus and Palmtrees.

**PICKAXES & JACKHAMMER**

Pickaxes & Jackhammer are used to mine Stone and Ores (Iron, Lead, Copper, Tungsten, Titanium).

**SICKLES**

Sickles are used to harvest Plants (Fruits, Vegetables, Cereals).

**KNIFES & DAGGER**

Knifes are used to harvest Hide, Meat and Bone from animal corpses (not human corpses).

**SHOVELS**

Shovels are used to extract Crude Oil, Clay and Sand.

### with Harvesting Vehicles

Once your character reaches a certain level, you will be able to unlock resource harvesting vehicles from the Vehicles tab of the Tech interface. Such vehicles include Logging Truck, Harvester and Miner. These vehicles are very efficient at collecting resources. Logging Trucks collect Wood, Harvesters collect basic types of Plants, and Miners collect Ores. Drive the vehicle to any place where the corresponding resource is located to start collecting it.

Logging TruckHarvesterMiner

### with Machines

There is 5 machines that can extract resources :

* the Manual Miner is a drill extracting Stone and basic Ores in the ground, but the player has to sit on it (good for AFK session).
* the Simple Mineshaft and Large Mineshaft are extracting Stone and Ores automatically but need power. These are more efficient than the Manual Miner.
* the Simple Oil Well and Large Oil Well are extracting Crude Oil, Clay and Sand automatically but need power.

Manual MinerSimple MineshaftLarge MineshaftSimple Oil WellLarge Oil Well

### with Dedicated Collectors

Dedicated collectors for getting Water, Fish and plants :

Dew CollectorSimple Fish BasketCrop Plots