If you just follow the tutorial in Scum, you're going to be in for a rough time. While DEENA covers the bare essentials, there's a lot that she leaves out. The sooner you figure out all the important craftable items that you're missing, the better the game is goi𝔉ng to go for you.

If you've just dropped onto the island and🍌 aren't sure what to do, try starting by wo🎃rking toward these goals. You should be able to manage them with a bit of scavenging and some luck... as long as the Puppets and other prisoners don't get to you first.

Stone (Or Metal) Spear

DEENA shows you how to make a wooden spear, the simplest weapon to craft in the game. It's better than nothing, but with ju💞s𓃲t a little more effort you can get yourself a much more formidable means of self-defense.

By gathering some extra rope (either made from Small Sticks or Rag Strips), you can make a proper spearhead, allowing your weapon to inflict much more grievous wounds. Rocks will do just fine for a stone spear, but if you landed near a town you can strip a car for Metal Scrap and make a metal-tipped spear instead.

Tools like axes and hammers also make fine melee weapons, but using a spear saves having to repair or remake them as often as you won't be using up dur🥂ability on enemies.

Stone Axe

If you want to get any sort of base building done, you're going to need an axe. To make one, you need to first make an axe head from stones, t🗹hen combine i🀅t with sticks and rope to complete the tool.

A regular axe head makes a one-handed hatchet, while crafting a larger axe head fr🎐om bigger stones requires rags as well, and makes a hefty two-handed variant.

Axes do everything that a knife can do, and can also cut down trees or chop logs into planks. Planks are necessary for nearly e☂verything you'll need to build at first, so the sooner you can start making them the better.

Hammer

Once you can make planks, the next thing you'll need is a hammer, which most construction recipes require. A basic hammer can be easily constructed with sticks, rope, and a large stone. You may need to scrounge for rocks a bit before you find one of the correct size; you're looking for Stones as opposed to Small Stones, a𒅌nd they only appear roughly half the 🥃time when searching.

Not only are hammers used for construction (and, in a pinch, combat), they can also be used to smash rocks into Stone Tips. This lets you make Stone Arrows instead of the basic wood🌳en ones, increasing the likelihood that you'll drop oncoming enemies without having to switch to melee.

Storage Chest

Scum's inventory management is ruthless; you can only carry what you have the pockets for, so unless you're lucky enough to find a backpack or some decent clothes, you're going to have to be very picky about what you carry. A storage chest lets ꧂yoꦑu stash your valuable finds all in one place.

If you're worried about other players stealing your stuff, you can bury chests by using a shovel.

A basic chest should be all you need, though the tricky part will be finding the nails and bolts required. If you're lucky enough to find two bolts (which is easiest if you s♛earch junk cars), it might𝔍 be worth grabbing some Metal Scrap as well and going for the improved version of the chest.

Tool Box

With your storage problems handled, your next goal should be making a tool box. This will require more bolts and nails, but with your hammer, some planks, and some extra s𝕴crap, you can a🐲ssemble one relatively easily.

The tool box is necessary for intermediate builds like the well (see below), as well as more specialized storage units l𒐪ike the log shed.

Sewing Kit

Making a sewing kit can be a bit luck-based as you need to find thread, which you can't craft on your own, but being able to repair your clothes, especially backpacks, can be a huge help.

Once you have thread in hand, you'll need a needle. You can rarely find one by searching haystacks (very funny, Gamepires), but the easiest way to get a needle is pretty gruesome; kill a Puppet and chop up the body to🍌 get bones, which you can🌠 then carve into needles with a knife.

Fishing Gear

If you're near the coast, or one of the map's many rivers, you can greatly reduce your risk of starving by learning to fish.🔯 Unfortunately, getting all the components of a working fishing rod together takes a lot of scrounging.

Just making a fishing rod and line won't cut it; you also need a hook, floater, and reel, plus some bait. You can find bait easily enough by searching rotten logs for bugs, but the other components require very specific ingredients. The floater and reel each need corks, needles, and nails, while the hook needs to be fashioned from a soda can.

Those are all pretty rare items, so if you find any laying around, protect them like gold. Once you can start fishing, set up a campfire and get cooking.

Well

A bad starting location can see you far from any fresh water, which becomes a problem fast. Eating fruits and vegetables can help stave off dehydration, but securing a watﷺer source is vital.

Plan the location of your well carefully, since it requires full-sized logs. You're limited to walking while carrying them, and can only haul one at a time. Once it's finished, you can drink directly from the well, or use it to refill water bottles.