Of all the controversial elements in Metal Gear Survive, the base camp and crafting system stands as one of the most critical, and often grindy, pillars of the experience. At the very heart of this system is the Crafting Station. This isn't just a workbench; it's the central nervous system of your survival operations, the key to progressing from a wormhole-stranded scavenger to a formidable force against the biological hordes of Dite. Upgrading it is not a suggestion—it's an absolute necessity. However, the path to a fully maxed-out Crafting Station is paved with significant resource investment and strategic planning. This guide provides a comprehensive breakdown of the material costs for each upgrade tier and offers strategic advice on efficiently gathering the required resources.
The Importance of Upgrading Your Crafting Station
Before diving into the costs, it's crucial to understand what you're investing in. Each upgrade of the Crafting Station unlocks new tiers of equipment, gadgets, and base facilities, fundamentally expanding your capabilities.
- Upgrade Tier 1: Unlocks basic survival tools, early-game weapons like the Baseball Bat with Nails, and more advanced crafting recipes. This is your first major step up from the absolute basics.
- Upgrade Tier 2: Opens the door to a significant power spike. You gain access to firearms (like the Geist pistols and semi-auto rifles), heavier melee weapons, more durable armor sets (like the Heavy Armor), and advanced base facilities like the Medical Bay and Kuban Energy Processor.
- Upgrade Tier 3: This is the end-game crafting tier. It unlocks the most powerful weapons in the game, including heavy machine guns, advanced sniper rifles, and top-tier armor sets like the Battle Dress. Virtually every recipe becomes available, allowing you to min-max your loadout for the toughest end-game content.
Failing to upgrade your Crafting Station will leave you hopelessly underpowered, making later story missions and base defense sequences nearly impossible.
Crafting Station Upgrade Material Costs
The following breakdown details the material costs for each upgrade tier. These materials must be gathered in the world of Dite and brought to your home base, where the upgrade is performed at the Crafting Station itself.
Upgrade to Tier 1:
- Iron Lumber: 500
- Iron Plate: 500
- Iron Screw: 500
- Iron Gear: 500
- Copper Material: 200
- Dirty Water: 5
Analysis: The Tier 1 upgrade is your introduction to large-scale grinding. The sheer volume of basic Iron materials (Lumber, Plate, Screw, Gear) required is the main hurdle. These are found by scavenging wreckage, containers, and defeated enemies in the first two areas of the map (the Ruins and the Rocky Area). Copper Material begins to appear more frequently in the Rocky Area and the Dust, often from mining specific ore deposits or from higher-tier enemies. The five units of Dirty Water are a trivial cost, easily obtained from puddles or canteens.
Upgrade to Tier 2:
- Iron Lumber: 1000
- Iron Plate: 1000
- Iron Screw: 1000
- Iron Gear: 1000
- Copper Material: 500
- Titanium Alloy: 200
- Clean Water: 5
Analysis: The jump to Tier 2 is substantial. The demand for basic Iron materials doubles, cementing the need for efficient farming routes. Copper Material requirements also increase significantly. The new and primary bottleneck, however, becomes Titanium Alloy. This is a rare resource primarily found in the third area, the Dust. You'll need to venture into this more dangerous zone to loot wreckage, defeat Bomber-type Wanderers, and, most importantly, complete Side Missions and Co-op missions, which offer Titanium Alloy as a common reward. Clean Water, like Dirty Water before it, is a minor requirement.
Upgrade to Tier 3:
- Iron Lumber: 2000
- Iron Plate: 2000
- Iron Screw: 2000
- Iron Gear: 2000
- Copper Material: 1000
- Titanium Alloy: 500
- Tungsten Material: 200
- Purified Water: 5
Analysis: The final upgrade is a true test of your perseverance. The game demands a staggering 2000 units of each basic Iron material. By this point, your entire gameplay loop will revolve around gathering these fundamentals. Copper and Titanium Alloy requirements also see a major increase. The new and ultimate gatekeeper for the end-game is Tungsten Material. This is an extremely rare resource found almost exclusively in the final area, the Famine Sector. It can be mined from specific, glowing blue ore deposits (which require a powerful weapon to break open) and is a guaranteed reward for successfully completing high-difficulty Co-op missions. Purified Water is crafted at your base and is not a major concern.
Strategic Guide for Efficient Farming
Knowing the costs is one thing; gathering them efficiently is another. Here’s how to optimize your grind:
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Unlock and Use the Transport Team: This is the single most important tip. As you rescue survivors, assign them to the Transport Team unit within your Base Camp. The higher the rank of this team, the more raw materials (Iron, Copper) they will automatically gather for you over time. A high-level Transport Team can significantly reduce the manual farming required for the basic 2000-unit piles.
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Farm in the Right Zones:
- Iron Materials: The Ruins and Rocky Area are your best bets. Establish a loop that takes you past all the wreckage and container spawns. Use your Iris scanner constantly.
- Copper Material: The Dust area has a higher concentration of Copper nodes and enemies that drop it.
- Titanium Alloy: Focus on the Dust. Complete every Side Mission that appears here, as they are a reliable source. Play Co-op missions on Normal and Hard difficulty.
- Tungsten Material: You must brave the Famine Sector. Hunt for the distinct blue Tungsten ore deposits. The most efficient method, however, is to repeatedly play Co-op missions on Hard difficulty. The S-Rank reward for these missions almost always includes a sizable amount of Tungsten.
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Develop Your Base Camp: Build and upgrade Kuban Crystals and Farms. A steady supply of food and Kuban energy ensures you can stay out in the field longer without needing to return to base to manage your survival meters.
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Craft and Use Better Gear: It may seem circular, but using better gathering tools directly speeds up the process. Craft the Advanced Pickaxe and Advanced Machete as soon as you can. They harvest more resources from nodes and containers per interaction. Similarly, better weapons and armor allow you to clear areas and defeat resource-dropping enemies much faster.
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Embrace Co-op Play: While you can farm everything solo, Co-op missions are designed to be the most rewarding activities in the game. They provide large quantities of rare materials like Titanium Alloy and Tungsten upon successful completion, especially at higher ranks. Teaming up with other players is the fastest way to overcome the final resource hurdles.
In conclusion, upgrading the Crafting Station in Metal Gear Survive is a marathon, not a sprint. The costs are deliberately high to push players into engaging with all the systems the game has to offer: exploration, base building, team management, and co-op play. By understanding the required investment and employing a strategic approach to gathering, you can systematically dismantle these material barriers and unlock the full arsenal needed to survive the horrors of Dite.
