Welcome to the rugged world of Garry’s Mod Stranded, where surviving the night is no joke and the first minutes can shape your entire run. Whether you’re completely new to GMod or just diving into this survival-themed game mode for the first time, this noob-friendly guide breaks down everything you need to know to get started and thrive. We’ll go through the basics—shelter, food, water, resources, and inventory management—so you can stay alive and start building your empire.

---

First Steps: Orientation and UI Basics

When you first spawn into Stranded, you’ll find yourself on one of the available maps. There are multiple environments you might start in, but regardless of the terrain, your core goals remain the same: stay alive and gather what you need. As day transitions to night very quickly, time is of the essence.

Start by taking note of the bottom left corner of your screen. You’ll see:

• Health – Your life bar.
• Hunger – How close you are to starvation.
• Thirst – Tracks your hydration levels.
• Fatigue – Monitors how rested you are.

These meters are your lifeline, and ignoring them will quickly get you killed.

---

Hydration: Water Is Priority One

Before doing anything else, hydrate. Approach any body of water, step into it, and press E to drink directly from the source. Your thirst meter will fill up quickly.

Want a portable option? Look at the water and press E again while standing near it. This allows you to bottle the water, giving you valuable water bottles you can use when you’re away from a source. Always carry a few bottles just in case you get caught out while exploring.

---

Building Your First Shelter

Shelter isn’t optional—it’s survival 101. Nightfall comes fast, and without cover, sleeping can kill you by draining your health rapidly.

1. Approach a tree and start punching it to collect wood.
2. Doing this repeatedly will unlock the Lumbering skill.
3. Once you have at least 10 pieces of wood, press and hold Q to bring up the build menu.
4. Choose a wood piece (such as a 2×2 panel) under Props > Wood.
5. Use the Physics Gun (selectable with number keys) to place and freeze the prop above your head.

This elevated plank serves as your roof. You don’t need walls or a bed—just cover over your head. Sleeping beneath a prop will prevent the health drain. It’s a small step that makes a big difference.

---

Managing Hunger: Foraging and Farming

Now that shelter and water are handled, food becomes your next priority. To forage:

• Look at the ground and press E to search for edible resources.
• You may find berries, banana seeds, melon seeds, or orange seeds.
• Your Harvesting skill increases with practice.

Once you’ve collected some seeds:

1. Press and hold Q, go to Commands, and select Plant.
2. Start planting your seeds immediately. They take time to grow.
3. Don’t rely solely on foraging—planting creates a sustainable food supply.

Eating fruit has a small chance to drop more seeds, allowing you to replant and scale up. It’s a feedback loop, and once you start it early, food scarcity becomes much less of an issue.

---

Inventory Management and Storage

At first, your inventory is painfully small—just 25 slots. That’s where the Resource Pack comes in.

• Press and hold Q, go to Structures, and select Resource Pack.
• Place it near your shelter.
• You’ll need 10 Stone and 20 Wood to complete construction.

To gather Stone, punch rocks the same way you punch trees. While it’s slow and the chances of success are lower without tools, it’s doable. Later, when you craft pickaxes, you’ll gain access to Copper and Iron as well.

Once built, the resource pack lets you store items with ease:

• Press E to open the menu.
• Choose Store All, or manually manage which items go in.

Not only does this clean up your inventory, it also protects your gear from being stolen (until players reach higher levels).

---

Rest and Recovery: Handling Fatigue

Your Fatigue meter builds up as you play. To recover:

1. Stand beneath your shelter plank.
2. Press and hold Q, then choose Sleep from the Commands menu.
3. Watch your fatigue restore slowly.

During sleep, your Hunger and Thirst deplete faster—so plan accordingly. When you’re ready to wake up, type wake upin the chat or press F4.

After waking, drink bottled water or go back to the stream. Check your crops—they may be ready to harvest.

---

Skill Progression: Leveling Up

Almost everything you do contributes to your Survival Level:

• Leveling up Lumbering, Harvesting, or other skills gives you 20 points toward your overall survival rating—regardless of your current level.
• Higher survival levels mean bigger inventory caps, new craftable structures, and better efficiency.

So keep doing what you’re doing—chopping wood, planting crops, gathering rocks. It all adds up.

---

Wrap-Up: What You’ve Accomplished

If you’ve followed along, you’ve now tackled the essential early-game goals:

• Hydration: Drinking and bottling water.
• Shelter: A basic overhead cover to sleep under.
• Food: Foraging and planting a sustainable food source.
• Storage: Building a resource pack to expand your inventory space.
• Rest: Sleeping to manage fatigue without health loss.

This guide is your foundation. In the next stage, you’ll dive into crafting tools, harvesting metal, and progressing your build into something even more powerful.

Until then, keep leveling your skills, stay alive, and good luck out there, survivors. This is just the beginning of your GMod Stranded journey.