Build an Island Crafting Guide – Mining, Harvesting & More

Build an Island features various resources that you need to get if you want to progress and expand your island. While some resources can be found easily, others will require some grinding as well as revealing new sections of the map. To make the entire process easier, we will give you an in-depth Build an Island crafting guide so that you know what to prioritize.

All Resources in Build an Island

There are tons of resources spread across the map in Build an Island. When you first start the game, only a few will be available, but as you progress, you can unlock new resources. Some materials are easy to harvest while others can take time depending on the level of your tools.

Resource	How to Get
Gold	You can get gold by selling items to the merchant or harvesting gold-colored resources.
Log	Trees can be cut with your axe to give logs.
Stone	Stones are found across the island. You can mine them with your pickaxe.
Plank	Expanding north near the workers' area unlocks a Plank crafting station. You need 3 Logs for 1 Plank.
Brick	Above the workers' area, you can find the Stonecutter, where you need 3 Stones for 1 Brick.
Bamboo	Bamboos are found to the left of the island. You can cut them with your axe to harvest.
Bamboo Plank	The Sawmill is located in the Bamboo field. 5 Bamboos will yield you 1 Bamboo Plank.
Iron Ore	In the quarry above the workers' area, you can find Iron Ore by mining it with your pickaxe.
Iron Bar	The Furnace is next to the Stonecutter. To make 1 iron bar, you need 5 Logs and 10 Iron Ore.
Magma Crystal	Magma Crystals are located in the volcano area. Mining it with your pickaxe will harvest it.
Magmite	In the middle of the Magma Crystals, a Magma Furnace can be found. 1 Magmite requires 5 Magma Crystals and 3 Iron Bars.
Cactus	Found in the desert area on the right side of the island. Cut them with your axe to harvest.
Cactus Fiber	The Cactus Loom is found in the desert. You need 5 Cacti to get 1 Cactus Fiber.
Magma Log	Found in the volcano area. You can cut these red trees with your axe.
Magma Plank	The Magma Plant crafting session is in the middle of the Magma Trees. You need 10 Magma Logs to make 1 Magma Plank.
Obsidian	Near the volcano area, you can mine Obsidian with the pickaxe.
Obsidian Glass	Found where you can mine Obsidian. You need 15 Obsidian and 1 Magma Plank.
Mushroom	Unlock the volcano area and harvest mushrooms from the mushroom trees.
Mushroom Plank	In the volcano area, you can find a Mushroom Mill where you need 15 Mushrooms to get 1 Mushroom plank.
Circuit Press	Can be crafted by using 35 Obsidian Glass and 45 Magmite.

How to Craft Quicker

Crafting can take a long time, especially if you want to get rare items. Since you will need tons of resources, waiting for them to craft will waste a lot of time. However, you can make the entire process quicker by upgrading the Crafting speed stat. This improves the time it takes to finish crafting items and saves you time in the long run.

You can also hire a Crafter (or three) to automatically craft items if you don't want to do it manually every time. Just keep in mind that they will use up all of your resources to craft select items. This is why I suggest hiring them only after you've unlocked a lot of the island and have a good stockpile of resources.

How to Gather Resources Effectively

At first, you will get +1 materials regardless of what resource you harvest. This way, it can take a long time to harvest individual resources. However, if you want to speed up the process, you can upgrade your tools like the axe and pickaxe. This will allow you to get more per hit and gather materials effectively.

Alternatively, you can hire workers to harvest resources for you. I'd prioritize hiring a Lumberjack first, as you'll need plenty of trees and planks to expand the island. When you have more areas unlocked, you can head over to the worker's shack and organize which one of your workers are collecting what. Adjust as you progress and notice if some crafting material is missing.

That's everything you need to know about the Build an Island crafting guide. If you want to become a master farmer, check out our complete farming guide as well.