Crafting ammo and weapons: workbenches, blueprints and recipes
Crafting turns materials into ammunition, melee weapons, bows and scrap guns. Two things decide what you can make: whether you have the recipe (its blueprint) and whether you are standing at the right station. This guide covers both, then lists every ammunition, arrow and weapon recipe with what it needs, apart from the eight recipes that change the finish of the Wolf W6 Bayonet and Aiden KB Karambit.
The short version
- Place materials in a station's input grid. A recipe works when the grid holds at least the amounts it lists. Exactly those amounts are used up, so spare items stay where they are.
- Each recipe belongs to one kind of station. Ammunition is made at the Crude Ammo Workbench. Weapons, bows and most arrows are made by hand or at the Basic Workbench.
- You need the blueprint first. Some recipes are known from the start, most arrive when you first reach the Safe House, and the rest are earned through research or missions.
- Corrupted items cannot go in. Revert them first, as explained in Corrupted weapons and gear.
Where to craft
| Station | Makes | Input grid | How you get it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Handcraft | Weapons, bows, arrows, bandages and other general recipes | 2×2 | Always available |
| Basic Workbench | The same general recipes as Handcraft | 6×5 | Build it in the Safe House: 3× Wood + Scrap Metal + Metal Component + Simple Toolbox |
| Crude Ammo Workbench | Factory ammunition (the arrows are made elsewhere, see Arrows below) | 6×3 | Build it in the Safe House: 3× Wood + 2× Scrap Metal + 5× Metal Component + Multi-Function Pliers + Small Vise + Metal File + One-Handed Hammer |
| Cooking Station | Cooked food | 3×3 | Build it in the Safe House: Rubber Hose + Match + Pan + PVC Tape + Gas Canister |
| Basic Medical Station | Injectors | 3×4 | Build it in the Safe House: Metal Component + Medical Alcohol + Saline Solution + Medical Toolkit + 3× Syringe |
| Simple Forge | Ingots, steel and charcoal | 4×4 | Build it in the Safe House. The mission Furnace awards the blueprint, a Scorching Core and 5 Steel Rebar. It needs Accordion + 3× Steel Rebar + Scorching Core + 8× Clay + 5× Scrap Metal + 2× Metal Component + 10× Steel |
Handcraft and the Basic Workbench make the same recipes. The Handcraft grid is 2×2 until you learn a talent that widens it to 3×3, and other talents cut material costs. The workbench simply has a much larger grid, which matters when a recipe needs many different materials. The Safe House side of building and research is explained in Safe House progression.
How to get a recipe
| Source | When it happens |
|---|---|
| From the start | Bandages and splints are known on a new character. |
| Arriving at the Safe House | Reaching the Safe House unlocks a large batch at once, including hand-made ammunition, the first melee weapons, the bow, arrows, smelting and the Pure Biomass chain. |
| Research | Finish the matching project at the Research Table. It uses up its materials and needs its named tool installed at the table. Projects appear once you have found their starting item. |
| Mission reward | Completing a mission can award recipes, such as the factory ammunition below. |
Each recipe table below shows which of these unlocks it.
Hand-made ammunition
One bottle of gunpowder makes a large batch of crude ammunition, and nothing else is needed. These recipes are known as soon as you reach the Safe House.
| Ammunition made | You supply |
|---|---|
| 60× Cartouches calibre 12 artisanales | Bottled Gunpowder |
| 120× Crude 5.56mm Ammo | Bottled Gunpowder |
| 120× Crude 7.62mm Ammo | Bottled Gunpowder |
| 200× Crude 9mm Ammo | Bottled Gunpowder |
Compare crude rounds with factory rounds on their ammunition pages before you commit gunpowder to a batch.
Factory ammunition
These rounds add a metal ingot to the gunpowder. Each recipe is earned from a mission, so they unlock as you progress.
Ingots, steel and charcoal
The metals for factory ammunition come from the Simple Forge. All of these recipes are known when you reach the Safe House, but you can only craft them once you have built the Forge.
| Made | You supply |
|---|---|
| Iron Ingot | 3× Iron Ore |
| Copper Ingot | 3× Copper Ore |
| Steel | Low Quality Charcoal + Iron Ingot |
| 5× Low Quality Charcoal | Wood |
Arrows
| Made | You supply | Unlocked by | Craft at |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30× Wooden Arrow | Wood | Arriving at the Safe House | Handcraft or Basic Workbench |
| 30× Feathered Arrow | Wood + 5× Feather | Arriving at the Safe House | Handcraft or Basic Workbench |
| Grenade Arrow | Feathered Arrow + Frag Grenade | Research Table project: Grenade Arrow (what it needs) | Crude Ammo Workbench |
Weapons you can craft
Melee weapons and the bow come with the Safe House. The scrap guns, the Black Hand and the upgraded scopes are earned through research or missions.
Check a weapon's page for its damage, then compare it using Enemy damage types and resistances explained.
Before you craft
- Check that you have the blueprint: it is listed on the recipe's page, and the tables above show where it comes from.
- Use Handcraft for single recipes and a workbench when a recipe needs many different materials.
- Remember that spare items in the grid are not used up, only the amounts the recipe lists.
- Check an item's page to see whether the material is also needed for research or another recipe before you spend it.