Identify the loss
| What is missing? | First question | Most useful next step |
|---|---|---|
| Radar | Did you buy/equip it, or did you only receive the boat key? | Re-check the shop/upgrade handoff and the boat inventory before assuming a save bug. |
| Quest item | Did the boss die, but the item handoff never happen? | Return to the quest NPC and verify the item was actually delivered. |
| Weapons or gear | Did they disappear after death, reload, or a crash? | Load the last usable save and compare the inventory before continuing. |
| Whole save/session | Does the server show a blank or fake name? | Stop changing saves; update, restart cleanly, and test a known-good save. |
Save-safe checklist
- Write down the exact loss. Name the item, island, and last action that definitely had it.
- Check the progression handoff. After the Spider Crab, the route gives the boat key and uses radar to find coordinates. Later upgrades are separate from that first unlock.
- Load the last usable save. If the item returns, save normally before doing another risky fight.
- Use normal save actions. In v1.0.6, Manual Save, Main Menu, and Quit save; autosave also runs every minute. A crash no longer saves server/local state according to the official note.
- Do not overwrite the only copy while diagnosing. If the issue repeats, capture the version and the exact sequence.
Important limit: the 1.0.6 patch note describes how saving now behaves; it does not promise that a missing weapon, radar, or quest item can be restored from every damaged save.
Radar and the route
The first route handoff is easy to misread: defeating the Spider Crab is not the same as automatically having every navigation upgrade. Give the required drop to the Lighthouse Keeper, take the boat key, then use the radar to locate the next coordinate. The later progression page maps each boss drop to the next island.
If you are stuck on Island 2 after losing the radar, open the islands-in-order guide and compare the quest state before attempting a recovery.
Current community lead — needs verification: Two separate Steam discussions describe a replacement radar on the Piranha/Island 2 area, leaning near or under the signposts by the shop. Check the signs and ground display before restarting a save, but treat the exact location and availability as a player report until it is reproduced on v1.0.11. Radar discussion 1 ↗ · Radar discussion 2 ↗
What Patch 1.0.12 changes
The official 1.0.12 announcement adds Steam Cloud saves and says item velocity is limited to make dropped items harder to lose. To upload an existing local save, play and exit once on the PC that already holds the wanted campaign, then allow Steam Cloud to sync. Treat this as a safer sync path, not a guarantee that an older missing item or corrupted save can be restored.
What Patch 1.0.11 changes
The official 1.0.11 note says Steam Deck is Verified and GeForce NOW is supported; optional toggles were added for aiming, sprinting, attacking and nametags; save files are checked before loading and receive backups. Dropped weapons now use orange item dots, while dead players use turquoise dots.
What Patch 1.0.10 changes
The official 1.0.10 note says dropped items are saved between sessions, up to 64 total, with priority for weapons, tools, quest items and creatures. It also reports a longer connection window, removal of the confusing radar death marker, and fixes for items falling through the level or appearing far away after equipping. These changes improve recovery odds but do not restore an item already missing from an older save.
Patch 1.0.9 remains relevant for save corruption and weapon-equipping crash reports: it directs players with persistent problems to the Community Discord for removal steps. No file-edit or removal procedure is reproduced here without an official public source.
When to report a save issue
Report the game version, whether the last exit was a crash or a normal Quit/Main Menu, which items disappeared, and whether Load Last Save changed the result. Screenshots of the inventory and the session name are more useful than a generic “items gone” report.