Blueprints are how you widen the list of things you can craft and build in Permafrost. Two of them, the Building and Crafting trees, charge blueprint points per node, while a second kind of recipe is simply found in the world or handed out by quests and costs nothing. Spending your first points in the right order saves you from a wasted purchase you cannot take back.
Quick answer: Press U to open Blueprints. The Building and Crafting trees spend points you earn by leveling; buy Rope first, then save 2 points for the Stone Furnace. World Recipes and Quest Recipes cost nothing.
Open Blueprints and read a node
Press U to jump straight to the Blueprints screen, or open the inventory with TAB and pick the BLUEPRINTS tab. The screen splits into four sub-tabs: BUILDING, CRAFTING, WORLD RECIPES, and QUEST RECIPES.
BUILDING and CRAFTING are the trees that cost points. A node with a tick is already known. A locked node shows a number, and that number is its price in blueprint points. Hover over any node to see its description, the “Required elements” (the recipe ingredients) and “Used at”, which tells you where you make the item, such as the Inventory, the Build Menu, or a Workbench.
To buy a node, hold the allocate key on it. A banner reading “RECIPE UNLOCKED” or “BLUEPRINT UNLOCKED” confirms the purchase, and the node switches to a ticked state.
The other two tabs never ask for points. WORLD RECIPES are picked up as “Recipe” notes scattered across the map, and QUEST RECIPES come from finishing quests and opening reward chests.
How you earn blueprint points
Your “Available points” total sits at the top right of the Blueprints screen, with a level bar underneath it. Points arrive as that bar fills, which happens naturally as you play and level up your skills. When points are waiting to be spent, a small note on the HUD reminds you.
Crafting tree costs
You start with a handful of recipes already known: Crude Bow, Wooden Arrow, Makeshift Bandage, Tent, and the Stone Tools Set (Stone Axe, Stone Pickaxe, Stone Shiv). The entries below include known recipes, free recipes and nodes with point costs.
| Node | Points | Ingredients |
|---|---|---|
| Rope | 1 | 2 Cloth |
| Candle | 1 | 3 Animal Fat |
| Rabbit Trap | 1 | 2 Wood + 1 Rope |
| Bandage | 1 | 2 Cloth + 1 Surgical Spirit |
| Low Grade Fuel | 1 | Animal Fat + Processed Plastic (Workbench) |
| Simple Bow | 1 | — |
| Tribal Clothes Set | 2 | Boots, Coat, Gloves, Jacket, Pants |
| Scrap Tools Set | 2 | Scrap Axe, Sledgehammer, Pickaxe, Shiv (Workbench) |
| Components | 2 | — |
The Crude Bow needs Rope to make, and Rope costs 1 point. Only the stone tools, Wooden Arrows and the Makeshift Bandage can be made before you spend anything.
Building tree costs
The Building tree opens with Campfire, Workbench, Small Wooden Chest and Bed already known. The first wooden shelter pieces become available for the “New Home” quest.
| Node | Points | Ingredients / contents |
|---|---|---|
| Wooden Structures Set | — | Foundation, Floor/Roof, Wall, Doorway, Door, Stairs, Window Wall |
| Repair Bench | 1 | 10 Wood + 10 Flint |
| Wall Torch | 1 (or free note) | 2 Cloth + 1 Wood |
| Wooden Chest | 1 (or free note) | 5 Wood |
| Standing Torch | 1 | 2 Cloth + 1 Wood |
| Barrel Brazier | 1 | 2 Scrap |
| Plastic Barrel | 1 | — |
| Wooden Structures Advanced Set | 2 | Decorative beams, balustrades, window wall |
| Stone Furnace | 2 | 40 Stone |
| Furniture Set | 2 | Bedside table, standing shelf, chair, stool, table |
| Tanning Rack | 2 | Wood + Deer Pelt |
| Tin Structures Set | 2 | — |
The “New Home” quest stops at the step “Learn: Stone Furnace Blueprint” until you own the Stone Furnace node, so treat its 2 points as a quest requirement rather than an optional upgrade.
What to unlock first
Points are slow to earn early, so the order below keeps a new survivor moving through the opening quests without buying anything you can find free later.
Skip the Wall Torch and Wooden Chest nodes, since both have free Recipe notes early on, and the Rabbit Trap is not needed for any of the first quests. The Tribal Clothes Set (2 points) only pays off once you also own a Tanning Rack (another 2 points) and have the pelts to feed it, so leave it until later.
Free recipes that cost no points
Several recipes are lying out in the world or come bundled with quest rewards, so there is no reason to pay points for them. Grab these as you reach each spot.
| Recipe | Where to find it |
|---|---|
| Wall Torch | Horizon bunkhouse |
| Survivor’s Boots / Hood / Trousers | Horizon kitchen, trader’s alcove, Robyn’s cabin |
| Wooden Chest | Liam’s favorite spot |
| Moon Cult Jacket | Copper Ingot at Nomad Camp |
| Refined Flint Axe | Hillside camp above the first base |
| Moon Cult Pants / Refined Flint Pickaxe | Bunker Checkpoint |
| Refined Flint Shiv | Hunter’s Glade tower desk |
| Tailoring Bench | Skinwalker’s reward box |
| Survivor’s Gloves / Survivor’s Uniform | Robyn’s reward crate |
Common questions
- Can points be refunded? No refund option is shown, so treat every purchase as permanent.
- How many nodes are there? Both trees scroll well past the nodes above, with tiers like tin structures, components and better bows locked further down.
- Do co-op partners share blueprints? This is not established.
Permafrost is in early access, so recipes, point costs and quest steps can all shift with future updates. Treat the values here as how the system currently works rather than as fixed numbers.
