Early Game Guide: Flathill, Food, Pipes, Pocket Watch

The early game sets the pace for your run: secure reliable food and water, collect basic crafting materials, and grab any early-access trinkets or tools that open options later. Efficient early exploration, knowing which portal worlds and locations yield high-impact resources, and simple mobility tricks let you bootstrap into a stable base before midgame tech becomes available.

Priorities and general approach

• Secure a steady source of food and at least one water container you can refill reliably. Cooking stations and water sources in portal worlds can jump-start your needs.
• Loot high-value, recyclable objects: metal scrap, metal pipe, plastic — these feed Crafting Bench advances and basic repairs.
• Acquire one mobility or accessibility item (Pocket Watch, makeshift platforms, or small shelves) as opportunities permit; early vertical access unlocks more loot later.
• Avoid lingering in highly hazardous portal worlds without proper protection; gather what you need and leave if ambient hazards (radiation, poison) are constant.

Best early portal locations and what to take from them

Flathill School — exceptional early-game value

Why go: Flathill offers kitchen infrastructure, abundant recyclable materials, and at least one unique trinket that enables early access to otherwise locked content. What to collect:

• Industrial Stoves: there are 2 stoves with a total of 8 pot/pan slots. Use them for bulk cooking and for boiling or purifying Tainted Water from nearby fountains.
• Water source: a fountain under one stove fills containers with Tainted Water; useful if you need an early refill and can process/boil it.
• Metal Pipes: Flathill contains the earliest and largest concentration of renewable Metal Pipes in the game — found in the Bounty Basket (1), the sewers (2), and on the Arcade roof (4). Metal Pipe is a primary crafting ingredient.
• Metal Scrap: Magazine Stands and Trash Bins are reliable metal-scrap sources. Magazine Stands scrap into 8 Metal Scrap, Trash Bins into 4 Metal Scrap; use a Hammer or a Repair and Salvage Station to convert them.
• Plastic: Office Chairs, Office Stools, and Arcade Stools can be broken down into Plastic, supplying another core crafting material.
• Pocket Watch: this unique item grants early access to the Exquisite Chain and lets you obtain some trinkets earlier than normal. The Pocket Watch can also be scrapped for Silver. Tactics to access Flathill early:
• The main gate is guarded by composers. Use makeshift barricades arranged in a formation (about 10–15) to distract up to two composers long enough to slip past the gate. Place barricades to the right when facing the gate from the play structure so composers focus on dismantling them and do not spot you.
• In multiplayer, distract composers with another player (for example, by moving around in the bathroom area). Caveats:
• Pots and pans left on stoves will be lost during a Portal World Reset; do not rely on leaving items there across resets.
• Some areas remain blocked by invisible walls on later visits; collect what you can the first visit with careful planning.

Far Garden and other risky worlds — quick strikes only

• Far Garden has ambient radiation. Do not build a base there; use it only to loot or fish if you can protect yourself.
• Bring radiation protection (a protective suit or wearable item that grants radiation resistance) when entering Far Garden. If you lack protection, avoid prolonged stays; take side paths to sneak past hostile NPCs (Exor Monks) and gather loot quickly.
• If you absolutely want to spend time there for activities like fishing, use a radiation-protection item — note these items are generally mid/late-game.

Early mobility and access tricks

• Vertical access accelerates early-game progression. If you lack late-game mobility tools, improvised methods like stacked small shelves and makeshift barricades can let you reach roofs and upper areas in a single visit.
• Barricade distraction: composers will attack makeshift barricades if they see them and no higher-priority targets exist. A line of barricades forces them to take time dismantling instead of attacking you.

Early crafting base recommendations

• Prioritize unlocking and crafting a basic Crafting Bench using Metal Pipe and Metal Scrap collected from portal worlds like Flathill.
• Use Industrial Stoves found in portal worlds to cook and purify water early; bring portable containers to collect Tainted Water and boil it immediately.
• Salvage furniture (magazine stands, trash bins, office chairs/stools) into Metal Scrap and Plastic to speed upgrades.

Threat management

• Avoid setting up a permanent base in portal worlds with constant hazards (radiation in Far Garden, heavy ambient threats). Use them for resource runs and exit before prolonged exposure.
• Use stealthy side paths and distractions to bypass patrols (Exor Monks, composers) rather than engaging them unless you are prepared.

Efficiency tips and do-not-do’s

• Do: prioritize clearing Flathill early for stoves, metal pipes, and scrap; take the Pocket Watch if available.
• Do: bring containers to collect fountain water and pots/pans if you plan to cook immediately.
• Don’t: rely on leaving pots or prepared food on portal-world stoves across Portal World Resets.
• Don’t: attempt extended base-building in radiation-heavy worlds; loot and extract instead.

Collect the core materials and early trinkets, use simple mobility tricks to reach rooftops, and avoid overstaying in hazardous worlds — that combination yields the fastest, most reliable early-game progression.