How to Set Up Your First Research Bench

Gathering Materials

Before crafting a Research Bench, you'll need to find initial Scrap and blueprints by looting chests across the world. These early finds give you the foundation to start researching.

Crafting and Placing

Once you've crafted a Research Bench at a regular crafting table, place it in your base. Right-click it to open the interactive tech tree GUI. This is your gateway to weapon progression.

Your First Research

The tech tree shows locked weapon nodes with their Scrap costs. Start with lower-tier weapons that require less Scrap. Spend your collected Scrap on a node to unlock its blueprint permanently. Your character keeps this knowledge even if you die or travel to other dimensions.

Next Steps

As you unlock more weapons, you'll see prerequisite connections—some guns require you to research earlier models first. Follow the branching paths to plan your research route. Use the search and zoom features in the GUI to navigate efficiently. Once a blueprint is learned, head to the matching tier Workbench to craft your new firearm.