Character Customization

Personalize your survivor in Stranded Deep. Focus on crafted clothing and starting gender to define your appearance on the harsh islands.

While Stranded Deep focuses heavily on survival mechanics and exploration, there are limited but impactful ways to personalize your survivor. Unlike many RPGs, you won't be tweaking facial features or choosing elaborate hairstyles. Instead, customization primarily revolves around your starting gender and the clothing you acquire and craft throughout your journey. These choices, while seemingly minor, can affect your early game experience and how you visually interact with the harsh island environment, offering subtle benefits that can aid in your long-term survival.

Initial Character Selection

When you first begin a new game, before your plane crashes into the unforgiving ocean, you'll be presented with a crucial choice:

• Male Survivor: This is the default option. Choosing the male survivor will give you a standard male character model.
• Female Survivor: Opting for the female survivor will change your character model to a female.

Strategy: This choice is purely aesthetic and has no impact on gameplay mechanics, stats, or crafting abilities. Select whichever gender you prefer for your immersive survival experience. There are no unique items or advantages tied to either gender, nor are there any gender-locked crafting recipes or interactions.

Clothing and Apparel

As you progress and scavenge, you'll discover various clothing items. These aren't just for looks; some offer minor benefits, though their primary function is visual customization and immersion. Clothing items are typically found in shipwrecks, on larger islands, or occasionally crafted.

Finding Clothing

Clothing items are often found in containers within shipwrecks. Dive deep and explore every compartment of sunken vessels to maximize your chances. Look for:

• Locker Containers: These are frequently found in the crew quarters or common areas of shipwrecks. They often contain several useful items, including clothing.
• Storage Crates: While less common for clothing, some larger crates on shipwrecks or even washed ashore can occasionally yield apparel.
• Washed Ashore Containers: Occasionally, small crates or suitcases will wash up on the beaches of islands, sometimes containing clothing.

Specific Items to Look For:

• T-Shirts: Various colors and styles can be found. These offer basic aesthetic changes.
• Shorts/Pants: Different legwear options are available, from torn jeans to cargo shorts.
• Hats: Often found in lockers, these can add a bit of flair and, in some cases, offer minor sun protection. Common types include baseball caps and beanies.
• Wetsuits: A rare find, wetsuits offer excellent insulation and minor protection against environmental hazards.

Crafting Clothing

Beyond scavenging, you can also craft some basic apparel. This is particularly useful for covering up and adding a touch of personalization when you haven't found much in the wild. Crafted clothing often serves as a good baseline for protection against the elements.

Crafting Steps:

1. Gather Materials: The primary material for basic crafted clothing is Cloth. Cloth can be obtained by harvesting Fibrous Leaves from small plants (e.g., Yucca, Kura) and crafting them into Lashing (2x Fibrous Leaves = 1x Lashing), then combining Lashing to make Cloth (4x Lashing = 1x Cloth). Alternatively, you can find Cloth directly in shipwrecks or by dismantling certain items like sails or tarps.
2. Access the Crafting Menu: Open your crafting menu (default key 'C' on PC).
3. Select Apparel: Navigate to the 'Apparel' section of the crafting menu.
4. Craft Item: Select the clothing item you wish to create.

Specific Crafted Clothing Recipes:

• Cloth Top:
  • Materials: 1x Cloth
  • Crafting Station: None (can be crafted in inventory)
  • Benefits: Minor sun protection (reduces sunburn rate), aesthetic.
  • Description: A simple, sleeveless top made from woven cloth. Ideal for warm climates.
• Cloth Wrap:
  • Materials: 1x Cloth
  • Crafting Station: None (can be crafted in inventory)
  • Benefits: Minor sun protection (reduces sunburn rate), aesthetic.
  • Description: A basic cloth garment that covers the lower body.
• Leather Top:
  • Materials: 2x Cured Leather
  • Crafting Station: Tanning Rack (to cure leather) then Crafting Menu
  • Benefits: Moderate sun protection, minor insulation, minor damage resistance.
  • Description: A more durable top made from cured animal hide, offering better protection.
• Leather Pants:
  • Materials: 3x Cured Leather
  • Crafting Station: Tanning Rack (to cure leather) then Crafting Menu
  • Benefits: Moderate sun protection, minor insulation, minor damage resistance.
  • Description: Sturdy pants crafted from cured leather, providing robust leg coverage.

Strategy: While crafted clothing doesn't offer significant stat bonuses, it allows you to change your appearance and gain subtle environmental advantages without relying solely on luck. Prioritize crafting essential tools and shelters first, but keep an eye out for spare Cloth and animal hides once your basic needs are met, especially if you plan to explore regions with varying climates or dangerous wildlife.

Benefits of Clothing

While not as impactful as armor in other games, clothing in Stranded Deep can offer several minor, yet noticeable, benefits:

• Sun Protection: Many clothing items, especially those covering more skin (e.g., long-sleeved shirts, pants, hats), can slightly reduce the rate at which your character gets sunburned. Sunburn can lead to health and hydration penalties, so any reduction is beneficial.
• Insulation/Warmth: Heavier clothing, such as wetsuits or leather apparel, can offer minor insulation, which might become relevant if future updates introduce more dynamic temperature systems or colder biomes. Currently, its effect is minimal in the tropical environment.
• Aesthetic Value: The primary benefit for many players is simply the ability to customize their survivor's appearance. Changing outfits can break the monotony of survival and allow for a personal touch.
• Minor Damage Resistance: While not explicitly stated, some players report that thicker clothing like leather might offer a very slight, almost imperceptible, reduction in damage from minor environmental hazards or animal attacks. This is not a guaranteed mechanic and should not be relied upon.

Equipping and Changing Apparel

Once you have acquired or crafted clothing, equipping it is straightforward:

1. Open Inventory: Access your inventory (default key 'Tab' on PC).
2. Locate Clothing Item: Find the clothing item you wish to equip in your inventory.
3. Drag and Drop: Drag the item from your inventory slots to the corresponding apparel slot on your character model (e.g., shirt to torso slot, pants to leg slot, hat to head slot).

Note: You can mix and match different pieces of clothing to create your desired look. There are no set bonuses for wearing a full outfit, so feel free to experiment! Clothing items do not degrade or require repair, so once you have them, they are yours to keep and wear indefinitely.

Other Customization Options

Beyond gender selection and clothing, Stranded Deep does not currently feature other forms of character customization such as tattoos, hair styling, or facial feature adjustments. The game's focus remains on the core survival experience and the environment rather than deep character personalization. However, the variety of clothing items found and crafted allows for a decent degree of visual distinction among players, especially in cooperative multiplayer sessions.