Upgrade Tree & Torn Pages (Scraps of Knowledge)

The Upgrade Tree is where you research skills in three branches – Fishing, Fishboat and Tools – to unlock crafting recipes for baits, rod parts, tools and boat parts. Skills in the Fishboat branch are researched with Scraps of Knowledge. This guide shows all 34 places where you can pick them up on a map, the other ways to get them, which upgrades to research first and what each skill costs.

What the Upgrade Tree is: 3 branches and costs

There are 52 skills across the three branches, and each branch is learned differently:

• Fishboat: each skill costs 2–4. Researching all of them from the start of the game costs 68 in total.
• Costs are amounts of the upgrade resource gained from Scraps of Knowledge, not a number of Scraps of Knowledge.
• Fishing and Tools: no Scraps of Knowledge needed. Apart from the starting skills, they are learned with a blueprint item (see below).
• The in-game description of Scraps of Knowledge reads: “Helps you study blueprints.”

The first time the game sends you to the tree is the main quest “Scraps of Knowledge”. Its objectives:

Open the upgrade tree and research the "Upgraded Engine" blueprint

Open the upgrade tree and research the "Hull Protection" blueprint

How to get Scraps of Knowledge (Torn Pages)

There are three ways to get Scraps of Knowledge:

What John the Fifth says in that conversation:

Here, take these Scraps of Knowledge. Little humans collect them throughout their lives so that something of them might remain after death.

Use them to study the “Weak Hull Protection” and “Upgraded Engine” blueprints. Then use my lathe to craft protective plates for the motorboat.

Map of all 34 Torn Pages locations

Scraps of Knowledge can be picked up at 34 spots on the map. Spots close to each other share a number, so the map shows 16 numbers. For each number, the table lists named characters and objects nearby (names as they appear in the game: people first, then workbenches and other facilities) and the closest fishing spot.

Positions are a guide; the item may not actually be at every spot. Fog, discovered areas and items you have already picked up are not reflected.

Which upgrades to research first

Start with Hull Protection and Upgraded Engine, which the main quests ask for. All 5 upgrades in the recommended order cost 11. The full order, why it works, the parts and materials and what to research next are in Best Upgrades to Research First: Upgrade Order.

Fishboat skills: costs at a glance

All 28 skills in the Fishboat branch, cheapest total first. “Cost” is the skill itself; “Total from start” adds its prerequisites, counted from the start of the game. To get the order for any target skill, use the Upgrade Tree.

Skill	Slot	Cost	Total from start
Standard Engine	Engine	Starting skill	—
Spotlight	Spotlight	Starting skill	—
Old Propeller	Propeller	Starting skill	—
Fuel Tank	Fuel tank	Starting skill	—
Hull Protection	Hull sides	2	2
Upgraded Engine	Engine	2	4
Riveted Fuel Tank	Fuel tank	3	5
Small fish hold	Fish hold	2	6
Upgraded Propeller	Propeller	2	6
Heavy-Duty Engine	Engine	2	6
Small Canister Rack	Side Modules	2	7
Afterburner	Afterburner	2	8
Spotlight	Spotlight	3	9
Advanced Afterburner	Afterburner	2	10
Dual Canister Rack	Side Modules	3	10
Plated Hull Protection	Hull sides	3	11
Balanced Propeller	Propeller	2	13
Medium fish hold	Fish hold	3	14
Reinforced Engine	Engine	3	14
Duralumin Propeller	Propeller	3	16
Precision Engine	Engine	3	17
Deep-Water Propeller	Propeller	3	17
Injector Afterburner	Afterburner	3	17
Large fish hold	Fish hold	4	18
Prototype Engine	Engine	4	21
Prototype Propeller	Propeller	4	21
Prototype Afterburner	Afterburner	4	21
Armored Hull	Hull sides	4	22

Skills that need blueprints and where to get them

Skills in the Fishing and Tools branches (other than the starting ones) are learned with a blueprint item instead of Scraps of Knowledge. Most blueprints are sold by the Vendor, and 3 skills are unlocked as main quest rewards.

Branch	Skill	Blueprint	How to get	Quests that use it
Fishing	Wind-Up Tin	Recipe: Wound Tin	Reward of the main quest “About the debt...”	“The First Lure”
Fishing	Braided Line	Blueprint: Braided Line	Vendor: 300	—
Fishing	Sturdy Earcrawler	Blueprint: Sturdy Earcrawler	Vendor: 60	—
Fishing	Rainbow Fin	Blueprint: Rainbow Fin	Reward of the main quest “Searching for a carburetor”	“Bait for Predatory Fish”
Fishing	Reinforced Rod	Blueprint: Reinforced Rod	Vendor: 450	—
Fishing	Baitcasting Reel	Blueprint: Baitcasting Reel	Vendor: 600	—
Fishing	Clinging Pincer	Blueprint: Deadly Tick	Vendor: 350	—
Fishing	Flaming Belly	Blueprint: Flaming Belly	Vendor: 80	—
Fishing	Sliding fishing line	Blueprint: Armored Fishing Line	Vendor: 800	—
Fishing	Friction reel	Blueprint: Drag Reel	Vendor: 1,700	—
Fishing	Coral fishing rod	Blueprint: Coral Fishing Rod	Vendor: 1,150	—
Fishing	Pipecross	Blueprint: Pipecross	Vendor: 200	—
Tools	Reinforced hook grip	Blueprint: Reinforced Hook	Vendor: 300	—
Tools	Geared hook grip	Blueprint: Geared Hook Grip	Vendor: 500	—
Tools	Serrated axe edge	Blueprint: Serrated Blade	Vendor: 200	“The Rigging Bench”
Tools	Splitting Axe	Blueprint: Cleaver	Vendor: 400	—
Tools	Crude Lockpick	—	Reward of the main quest “Catch a Mutant Fish”	“Craft Lockpicks”
Tools	Lockpick	—	—	—
Tools	Master Lockpick	—	—	—

Starting skills (no blueprint needed): Old Rod, Earthworm, Hook Gun, Axe, Harpoon.

Prices are what you pay the Vendor for one. Quest rewards may change with updates.

Summary and related tools

• Scraps of Knowledge: 34 pickup spots (see the map), sold by the Vendor, and handed over by John the Fifth in “Secrets of the Trade”.
• Research Hull Protection → Upgraded Engine → Small fish hold → Afterburner → Plated Hull Protection first (main quests and their prerequisites): total cost 11.
• Fishing and Tools skills use blueprints, most of them sold by the Vendor.

Tools on this site:

• Best Upgrades to Research First: Upgrade Order: the upgrades to research first, why, and what to research next
• Upgrade Tree: pick a target skill to see the order and the total cost
• Boat Upgrades: ratings and materials of every boat part
• Scraps of Knowledge: sources, price and uses of the item
• Crafting Recipes: materials for the parts and baits you unlock
• Fishing Spots Map: details of the fishing spots in the map table