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Aloft is a survival exploration game where you travel between floating islands in the sky, discovering their mysteries. Your goal is to find a way to cleanse the world of corruption. I’ve prepared some tips to help you start and progress more easily.
Use the “Learn Only” Option
When mixing materials on a workbench, you can craft the item immediately or press “Learn Only” to simply unlock the recipe. This is important because some materials, such as Windstone Crystals, Paper, or Hardstone, are quite rare, and you don’t want to waste them crafting something you don’t really need.
Sleep in the Bed to Heal Yourself and Skip Time
The bed is one of the first formulas you unlock by interacting with Knowledge Stones in the world. When you sleep in it, you skip daytime or nighttime. However, this sleep time does not speed up crop growth, according to my tests, which I’ve detailed in a separate farming guide. While sleeping in the bed, you can wake up faster by pressing “W.”
Easy Ropes and Wool
This mechanic is more of a bug than a feature. Every time you leave the world (for instance, by quitting to the main menu) and re-enter it, wool on sheep magically reappears, and ropes respawn in their original locations in the world. All you need to do is re-enter the world and gather wool or ropes. This is important because crafting ropes requires Mykter Fibers, which can only be obtained on corrupted islands and are rare at the beginning.
The best spot for farming ropes is one of the starting islands, which I’ve marked on the map above. Bunches of ropes lie on the ground there and respawn every time you re-enter the world.
Easy Unlocking of Formulas
You can easily unlock formulas for new facilities by switching worlds. Formulas are not linked to specific Knowledge Stones or Lost Anchors (though some are linked to frescos). The starting island has as many as three Knowledge Stones: one in the starting cave, one on a small floating island in front of the waterfall, and one more inside the cave behind the waterfall.
All you need to do is create a new world from the game menu, enter it using your character, interact with these stones to collect knowledge (you can also interact with Knowledge Stones and Lost Anchors on other starting islands if you like), then return to the game menu and repeat the process. I’ve shown how this works in a video, so be sure to check it out.
Easy Windstone Crystal Farming
Using the principle from the previous tip (world switching), you can easily farm Windstone Crystals. There’s a cave with them on one of the starting islands, which I’ve marked on the map.
Such crystals are quite rare in the wilderness, but you can mine as many as you need by creating new worlds from the main game menu and visiting them. The island with Windstone Crystals is very close to the starting one, so it takes about a minute to get there.
Build a Nice Ship on a Small Island
I wouldn’t recommend making your ship (and home) on a large island in the very beginning. The larger your island, the harder it is to move: you’ll need more sails, more floaters, and more rudders.
In Aloft, you need to travel constantly, so your ship should be as fast as possible. That’s why it’s better to start small. Choose a tiny island and build a decent vessel. I built a classic sailing ship, for example. At the beginning of the game, a ship like this is more than enough.
Collect Paper Wherever You Can and Sketch Everything
Paper is quite rare in Aloft, so you should collect it whenever possible. You’ll never have “too much” of it. Paper is needed for sketching objects and unlocking their formulas. To do this, craft the Sketchbook (2 Wood, 1 Paper, 1 Charcoal).
With the Sketchbook in hand, hold RMB to enter sketch mode and aim at an object. If the object can be sketched, you’ll see the cost: 1 Paper and 1 Charcoal. Press LMB to sketch the object, and you’ll unlock its formula.
Do this every time you find ruins of abandoned structures on islands. This way, you’ll unlock many new construction parts, furniture, and decorations. It requires quite a lot of paper, though.
Thoroughly Explore Every Island
Even small islands might contain something valuable: Ancient Keys (to open special doors and Intricate Chests), various treasure chests, rare plants and ores, animals, hidden Knowledge Stones, and Lost Anchors. Strive to collect everything you can — you’ll definitely need it in the near future.
Collect All Animals and Bugs You Meet
Animals and bugs are incredibly important for your progress. Sometimes you’ll find an island with something valuable, but you can’t interact with it because its ecosystem is “unhealthy.” To make it “healthy,” you might need to bring a certain number of animals, bugs, or plants to the island. Plants are relatively easy, but when an island demands five animals, this can be a challenge. Also, animals produce unique resources, such as wool. For these reasons, make sure you collect as many animals as possible.
First, craft some Hay on a Workbench (3 Small Plants, 1 Rope). It’s needed to feed animals. When you find animals in the wilderness, feed them with Hay (it must be in your inventory), then pick them up and send them home by holding the “E” key. The animal will be teleported to your island-ship.
As for bugs, you can find them on stumps. At the very beginning, there are two types of bugs to collect: Ladybugs and Blue Beetles.
Use Food to Increase Your Stats
This advice might not be obvious for most beginners in Aloft. You can use several types of food at the same time to increase your HP two or even three times. This is important because the further you progress, the more aggressive mobs you’ll encounter on corrupted islands.
To unlock the ability to cook food, first unlock a Campfire and Cooking Plate. You can easily do this by farming Knowledge Stones, as I explained above. Also, check out the separate farming guide to learn how to grow crops on your island. What’s important – even when the food effects will end, you will still have increased HP until you lose it in combat.