Best Strategies to Survive 100 Days at Sea

Surviving in 100 Days at Sea is never simple, and this game will punish you if you don't have a proper plan. Between constant hunger, pirate raids, giant fish, and Kraken attacks, things spiral out of control fast. I've played through this game multiple times now, and I've finally figured out how to complete the game. Here are the best strategies to survive 100 Days at Sea.

1. Get Your Build Order Right From the Start

The first few days in 100 Days at Sea are all about setting up the essentials. You want to craft a Crab Trap before anything else, then follow it up with a Cooking Pot. A cooking pot without a crab trap is basically useless since you won't have ingredients to cook with.

After that, focus on getting your Magnets built as soon as possible. Magnets are the most important thing in the entire game because they pull up metal from the ocean floor, and they cost absolutely nothing to run. You can only build two magnets total, so get them both crafted and keep dropping them into the water every chance you get.

Once you have magnets running, your next priorities should be the Ammo Factory and Log Saw. The ammo factory takes three metal per use, so make sure you're stocking up before you start cranking it. The log saw helps keep your wood supply going, which you'll burn through faster than you think, especially once gas production kicks in.

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2. The Pizza Oven

If I had to pick one single upgrade that makes the biggest difference in 100 Days at Sea, it's the Pizza Oven (225 Coins). Before you get it, food is a constant problem. You're eating raw seagulls, sushi, and chowder just to keep your hunger bar from bottoming out, and none of it fills you up that much.

The pizza oven is a faster version of the cooking pot, and the food it produces is insanely good. One quarter of a pizza fills your hunger bar almost completely. You can throw pretty much anything into it too.

How to Get the Pizza Oven in 100 Days at Sea

You buy the pizza oven recipe from the Traveling Merchant. But buying it doesn't mean you can build it right away. You have to go underwater near your rig and actually unlock it first. Look for a glowing object below your base, swim down, and interact with it. Then you can craft and place the oven on your rig.

3. Stop Rescuing Survivors Too Early

The game gives you quests to rescue survivors, and your first instinct is to go grab them right away. Don't do it.

Survivors use your resources. They eat your food, and if you have automated factories running, they'll turn stuff on and burn through your metal and wood. My rule is to wait until you have two Magnets running and a steady food supply with the pizza oven before you bring anyone back. By that point, even if they mess with your stuff, you'll have enough production to absorb it.

The only exception is if rescuing a survivor is your daily quest and you're close to leveling up. Leveling up unlocks new crafting recipes, so sometimes it's worth the trade-off.

4. Weapons and Combat Tips

You start with a basic knife as a weapon, and let me tell you, it's terrible. Here's the weapon progression you want to follow:

For combat, you can switch to third person for fighting and first person for picking up items. Third person gives you better awareness of enemies around you, but first person makes it way easier to actually grab loot off the ground. Keep swapping between them depending on what you're doing.

5. How to Handle the Cargo Ship

The cargo ship is one of the biggest challenges in 100 Days at Sea, and you need to survive it. It's actually one of the most rewarding things in the game. You get a 25-minute timer when you board it, and you need at least 15 to 20 minutes to clear everything. Don't go in with less than that.

Here's what you need before attempting it:

Once you're on board, you need to find Batteries scattered around the ship and plug them into slots on the walls to open locked doors. The batteries are inside chests and crates, so open everything.

After the final door opens, you grapple up to the top section where the best loot is, including the Revolver, Rifle, and the Lightning Rod blueprint. The lightning rod supercharges production when struck by lightning. Place it near your factories and wait for a storm. When lightning hits, everything nearby produces faster for a while.

The cargo ship also unlocks the Container Shelter, which is one of the quest items you need.

6. Metal Farming and Resource Management

Metal is the bottleneck for everything in 100 Days at Sea. Here's how to keep your supply up:

Magnets Are Your Best Friend

As I said earlier, magnets are free to use and pull up metal constantly. Drop them every single time they come back up. Drop them every single time they come back up.

Junk Engine

When you raid islands and clear the cargo ship, grab every Junk Engine you can find. Each one gives you a big chunk of metal when scrapped. Always prioritize them over other loot if your sack is almost full.

Don't Waste Metal on the Jet Ski

The game will tell you to craft a Jet Ski at some point. I'd skip it. The jet ski only carries one person, so if you're playing co-op, your partner gets left behind. The Dinghy, on the other hand, lets both players travel together and costs less metal. Save that metal for ammo factories and magnets instead.

7. Survive the Night Raids in 100 Days at Sea

Enemy night raids get tougher as you progress. Especially by the later days, raiders show up with Grenade Launchers, so you really need to be prepared.

The Auto Turret is a huge help here. You unlock it after reaching a certain level, and you can buy it from the Traveling Merchant. Once placed, it shoots automatically and doesn't need ammo. Funny enough, it also shoots seagulls out of the sky, which is actually useful for food.

During Kraken attacks, though, you'll still need to use your own guns since the turret doesn't seem to target the Kraken's arms. For the Kraken fight specifically, stock up on ammo beforehand.

8. Radar Towers to Help Survive 100 Days at Sea

You need to visit radar towers to unlock new locations on your map, including the oil rig, the castle, and the outpost. Always prioritize radar towers when you see them. They're how you progress through the game.

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9. Final Push to Survive 100 Days at Sea

Around day 90, you want to play it safe. Don't take unnecessary risks sailing too far-off islands. Keep your food stocked, your ammo topped off, and your health full. Day 99 throws a massive boss fight at you, so make sure you're ready. When you finally survive 100 Days at Sea, you will be picked up by a helicopter and get free!

If you follow all of these best strategies to survive 100 Days at Sea, from crafting magnets, having a pizza oven, and also managing your resources smartly, you will easily make it to day 100 without too much trouble. And once you hit day 100, the game goes into infinite mode, so you can keep on building and exploring as long as you want.

 You can visit our 100 Days at Sea wiki for more game guides, such as Badges, and more.

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