What it does
The Makeshift Digging Tool is the difference between following the cave and making your own route. At 65 tile damage and 400 uses, it chews through soil, gravel and clay far faster than bare claws. It also carries 10 Hammering and 5 Cutting quality for early crafting.
It is a poor weapon: 32 damage on a 1.15-second cooldown, with only 5.2 tiles of reach. If a shade crawler closes in, switch to a blade or your claws. The tool is for terrain, not for winning fights.
Effects and usage
- 65 tile damage at 0.4s cooldown; about 163 tile DPS.
- 32 enemy damage at 1.15s cooldown; about 28 enemy DPS.
- 400 uses and 1.8u weight.
- 10 Hammering and 5 Cutting quality.
How to get it
Craftable at INT 7; also found in tool crates and life-pods.
The recipe requires INT 7. If you are below that level, the craft can fail or disappear from the menu. See the crafting guide for the exact failure thresholds, or open the crafting calculator to check the ingredients.
Field notes
- Craft it at INT 7 with a Flimsy Knife, Rope, Stick and Bio-chem fluid.
- Dig diagonally downward when you cannot find a natural path.
- Do not exhaust stamina on a tunnel you do not need; check the map first.
- It upgrades into the Pickaxe, so keep it in good condition.
Data note: values reflect Demo 7.0.1 and the public pre-release build. The full game releases on November 9, 2026 and may change item balance. If you spot a discrepancy, use the sources and corrections page to compare references.