Balboa Island

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**Balboa Island** is an Environmental Element in Raft. It is the last location of the First Chapter.

## Summary

Balboa Island is the third place the player visits while following the main game Story. You will need to use the engine to go against the water current in order to reach Balboa island. The area resembles a National Park, having features such as trails and Ranger Outposts. It is also heavily covered in flora with few man made structures. Unlike the other Islands, Balboa Island is an Evergreen Island and therefore, home to Bears, and the first boss-level enemy; Mama Bear, both threats to the player, making it the most challenging area of the three in the First Chapter. The Island itself is a huge rock formation with a bending river flowing through it. The river is very narrow, so the player will be required to swim to the Island from their raft, should they follow the river. Birch Trees and Pine Trees can be found aplenty, but only a few are choppable, making Balboa Island a good destination for players looking to restock on Planks. The choppable trees are easily distinguished by their much smaller size than the Pine Trees and the green leaves on the Birch Trees, from orange.

Balboa Island has a Ranger Station as well as three Relay Stations. Johnny, can be found laying on a mattress at the top of Relay Station 6. More story related notes are spread around the Island than previous lore-related locations, making the Balboa Historian achievement slightly harder to achieve compared to the other historian achievements. Hints as to what happened on the Island are revealed in notes, along with some interesting visual hints. There are a lot fewer Quest Items on Balboa Island than Vasagatan, making exploration and traveling the more time-consuming endeavors.

While exploring, the player will also find a number of Blueprints. There are 12 Journal notes in total.

### Main Entrances

There are mainly two ways to enter the island: docking on a beach or swimming towards the center following a river from either of its ends. The beach has lots of rubble that covers the sand out into the sea floor, plotted among barrels and cargo crates (which hold no Materials). Some of the notable features of the area include a torn metal fence and multiple signs warning the player of the presence of Bears.

### Cross Paths

Walking up the main roads of the island will eventually lead the player to a cross paths with signs indicating that there are three Relay Stations, and one Ranger Station. Continuing on any of the roads will eventually lead the player in range of hostile Bears.

### Ranger Station

*Main article:* Ranger Station
To get to the Ranger Station, the player must pass a small parkour course. The area has many large wooden spikes and neatly lined floating objects in what appears to be an Acid Pool. Jumping on the objects will cause them to sink into the fluid, making the parkour course a time-restricted endeavor. The Ranger Station itself has lots of loot, along with a quest to find tools around the island. Completing the quest will lead to a reference of an area in the next update.

### Relay Stations

*Main article:* Relay Stations
The Relay Stations all provide a large Loot Box and are spread out across the island. They contain notes and puzzle items, and require passing a challenge to get to them. Station 2 is located next to the Ranger Station, making it the easiest station to visit. Relay Station 4 requires the player lower a draw bridge by hitting a lever, while Relay Station 6 requires a Machete to cut down vegetation.

## Strategy

Balboa Island is the biggest Island the player will experience in the First Chapter. Therefore it's a good idea to stock up on enough Sustenance and Weapons. The following are the main things to consider before going:

* Go during the day. Since the place is huge, darkness will almost certainly disorient the player. Make several day trips to the island, but go back to the raft during the night.
* Bring several weapons. There are quite a few bears on the Island, and they respawn a few minutes after being killed. Bears can be avoided once the player takes note of their location, but avoiding *all* combat is impossible.
* Use the way signs and follow the roads. Getting lost is easy so when in doubt head to a marker or continue forwards until you reach a landmark.
* Start with luring Mama Bear away from her cave by filling the nearby container with 5 berries and loot what's inside to save time walking.

## Special Places

* Acid Pool
* Bicycle
* Henry's Stuff
* Mama Bear's Cave
* Ranger Station
* Relay Stations
* Draw Bridge
* Triplets' Couch

## Unique Items

The unique items contained on the Island are used to progress in the Story and gain all the achievements.

* Wild Berries - Used to lure away Mama Bear from her cave, in which a Machete and the Blueprint: Machete can be found.
* Brunos Hammer - Necessary to find the note behind the tool rack at the Ranger Station.
* Brunos Saw - Necessary to find the note behind the tool rack at the Ranger Station.
* Brunos Wrench - Necessary to find the note behind the tool rack at the Ranger Station.
* Lightbulb - Needed to complete the Fix Errol! achievement.

**Blueprints**

* Blueprint: Fuel Tank - Found inside Relay Station 6.
* Blueprint: Biofuel Refiner - Found inside the Ranger Station.
* Blueprint: Machete - Found inside a toolbox found inside Mama Bear's cave.
* Blueprint: Fuel Pipe - Found in Relay Station 4.

## Resources

* Mama Bear Head
* Bear Head
* Bee Jar
* Birch Seed
* Cave Mushroom
* Dirt
* Honey
* Honeycomb
* Leather
* Pinecone
* Plank
* Plastic
* Scrap
* Stone

## Notes

* *"SCHEDULE
6 Jun-6 Sep J. CARERA & G. GALLO
7 Sep-6 Dec E. GIL & P. BIANCHI
7 Dec-6 Feb A. CORREA & B. CORREA
7 Feb-8 May L. MUNOX & M. GIMENEZ"*
* **Postcard** (*Quest Reward*)
* *"Three months ago my sister Astrid and I were put in charge of the Ranger Station on Balboa. We handled the bear population and kept the relay towers operational. The next shift was meant to start weeks back. But the replacements never showed up.
HENRY suggested that I start writing things down after Astrid disappeared so that I'm not feeling so lonely anymore.
-BRUNO"*
* *"The kids are fighting. Astrid would have known how to make them stop. I found her wrench out by the clearing. I've been calling out on the radio. Please. I just want to talk, sis.
MIRANDA is screaming outside. I hope her and HENRY makes up soon.
-BRUNO"*
* *"I haven't seen ERROL all night. I asked MIRANDA but she and HENRY won't tell me anything. They're hiding something. Did they figure out there's only space for two of them on the boat? I've decided. I'll leave the TRIPLETS in charge of the remaining relay stations.
BOBBY will take care of the bears. Yes. It's for the best.
So many memories of this place. We'll find you, sis. I promise.
-BRUNO"*
* **Island Map**
* *"BETRAYAL FATHER TRUSTS THE MURDERERS.
~BOBBY"*
* *"HE WOULD LEAVE US BEHIND. WE CANT HAVE THAT.
~N&D&L."*
* *"FATHER HAS TO MAKE A DECISION. I KNOW IT WON'T BE ME, SO I WILL BE SPARED.
-BOBBY"*
* *"NOT ENOUGH BOAT FOR ALL OF US. I'M SORRY, ERROL.
~MIRANDA"*
* *"THE GUILTY LAY RESTLESS. WE MUST BE PUNISHED, IF WE ARE TO REST.
-BOBBY"*
* *"Papa MADE HIS MIND UP A LONG TIME AGO. HES GOING AFTER AUNTY. MIRANDA IS FOLLOWING AS ALWAYS.
-HENRY"*

## Trivia

* With the island's rocky appearance, the name is likely a reference to the main character from the Rocky franchise of films.

## Gallery

* A Bear Sneaking Around
* Acid Pool Found on Balboa Island
* A Relay Station
* Mama Bear's Cave