If you’ve spent your first few hours in Enshrouded tripping over scattered twigs, struggling to plant enough flax for linen, or wasting time hitting grass with a stone axe, you already know how essential basic utility tools are. I remember wasting almost two in-game days trying to clear a patch for my first farm, only to realize I could have cut the work in half if I’d known how to get Rake in Enshrouded earlier. This guide draws from 40+ hours of early-game play to walk you through every method to get this tool, plus the best ways to use it to speed up your progression.
How to Get Rake in Enshrouded: Core Crafting Requirements
The most reliable way to get your first Rake is to craft it yourself, and you won’t need to venture into high-level Shroud zones to gather the required materials. I unlocked the recipe as soon as I rescued the Farmer NPC from the small vault west of the Springlands starting spawn, so make that rescue a top priority if you haven’t already. The crafting recipe requires three core materials, all easy to find within the first 10 hours of play:
- 6 x Wood Logs: Chop any small or medium trees around the Springlands starting area to collect these, no upgraded axe required.
- 2 x Copper Ingots: Mine copper ore from surface nodes near the Ancient Spire Springlands, then smelt them in a basic furnace.
- 1 x Rope: Crafted from 3 x Plant Fiber, which you can collect by picking tall grass or weeds around your base.
You can craft the Rake at any basic workbench once you have all materials and the Farmer NPC is settled at your base. I made the mistake of skipping the Farmer rescue on my first playthrough, so I ended up going 15 hours without a Rake for no good reason. Don’t make that same call if you plan to build a farm early on.
Alternative Methods to Get a Rake Without Crafting
If you haven’t rescued the Farmer yet, or you just lost your Rake in a Shroud zone and don’t have materials to re-craft immediately, there are two other reliable ways to pick one up for free. First, check loot chests in small, low-level bandit camps scattered across the Springlands. I found my first Rake in a common wooden chest at a camp 200 meters north of my starting base, long before I even knew the crafting recipe existed. These camps only have 2-3 low-level bandits, so you can clear them with a basic stone sword if you’re careful.
The second method is to buy one from wandering traders that spawn near major roadways in the Springlands. They usually sell Rakes for 25 x Shroom Coin, which you can easily earn by selling extra berries or plant fiber to other NPCs. Just note that trader inventory resets every in-game day, so if you don’t see a Rake listed, rest at your bed and check again the next morning. Don’t waste your time looking for Rakes in Shroud zone chests – they only spawn in above-ground, low-level loot pools, so venturing into dangerous areas for this tool is never worth it.
Best Uses for Your Rake to Boost Progression
A lot of new players write off the Rake as a niche farming tool, but it’s far more versatile than you might think, especially in the early game. The most obvious use is for preparing farm plots: using a Rake to till soil cuts the time to prepare a 10-plot farm by 70% compared to using a hoe or axe, and tilled soil gives you a 20% higher crop growth rate for all basic plants like flax, wheat, and corn. It’s also the fastest tool for clearing small debris like twigs, loose rocks, and short grass from your base building area. I used to spend 10 minutes clearing each new building plot with a stone axe, but now I do the same work in 2 minutes flat with a Rake. It can’t clear large tree stumps or solid boulders, so keep your axe and pickaxe handy for those jobs.
Using a Rake to harvest tall grass also gives you 30% more plant fiber per swing than using your bare hands or a basic sword, which is a huge help when you need to craft rope, bandages, or building thatch quickly. I always keep a Rake in my hotbar when I’m gathering base materials, even after I unlock higher tier tools later in the game. It’s also great for cleaning up around your base to make space for decorative items or new crafting stations once you start expanding your settlement.
Common Rake Mistakes to Avoid as a New Player
After playing through Enshrouded three times with different group setups, I’ve noticed a few common mistakes new players make with their first Rake that wastes time or resources. First, don’t waste repair resources upgrading your first Rake to higher rarity. It’s a low-tier utility tool, and you’ll unlock a better Steel Rake once you get to the mid-game Kindlewastes area, so repairing the basic copper version with a single wood log when it breaks is more than enough. Upgrading it to rare or epic quality gives almost no meaningful benefit, so save those upgrade materials for your weapons and armor instead.
Second, don’t bring your Rake into Shroud zones unless you have extra inventory space. It doesn’t deal any meaningful damage to enemies, and if you die and lose it, you’ll have to go out of your way to craft or find a new one when you get back to base. I always leave mine in a storage chest at my base before I head into any dangerous exploration runs. Never use your Rake to hit enemies or hard surfaces like stone walls – it loses durability 3x faster when used for tasks it’s not designed for, and you’ll end up having to repair it every 10 minutes of use. Stick to its intended uses, and one basic Rake can last you 10+ hours of regular farming and base work.
The Rake is one of those underrated early-game tools that makes every part of base building and farming far less tedious, even if it doesn’t seem important at first glance. Whether you craft it yourself after rescuing the Farmer, loot it from a bandit camp, or pick one up from a wandering trader, learning how to get Rake in Enshrouded early will save you hours of unnecessary busy work as you build out your base and progress through the game. Next time you’re planning your early-game to-do list, add grabbing a Rake to the top, right after you unlock your first fast travel point.