Batteries are an essential power source for a lot of devices in Raft. The sprinkler, the juicer, and the plot-essential receiver all need batteries to work, and this list only grows as the story unfolds. That's why it's nice to get the biofuel battery charger from Caravan Town and then the wind turbine from Varuna Point.
However, Raft players may notice that while the wind turbine charges batteries for free, it takes a long time to do so. That's because the turbine has a hidden set of requirements that players might not be meeting, and its efficiency will skyrocket once they place it in just the right spot.
Voltage and Altitude
To build a wind turbine, players need 20 planks, 8 rope, 4 titanium ingots, and an incredible 4 circuit boards. That's twice as many as the receiver needs, and the most circuit boards any craftable item will ever ask for. Players should make sure they have plenty of copper on hand before building the turbine.
When players place the wind turbine, they'll notice a flat board where they can put four batteries. This means the turbine can charge twice as many batteries as a normal battery charger, but then it also fills up four squares instead of one.
The other thing players will see is a voltmeter on the right side of the board. This device is more than just decoration: the dial will go up or down depending on how much of a charge the wind turbine is delivering. The wind speed in the game doesn't change at any point, and the game doesn't check for obstructions that would block wind access, which means the only way to make this dial go up is with altitude.
When players place the wind turbine on the foundation level or one story up, the voltage will be as low as it gets. However, each half story after that the voltage will slowly increase. The voltmeter maxes out once players place it three stories above the foundation, and the turbine will charge batteries three times as fast. At this height, the wind turbine charges batteries even faster than the biofuel model.
Charging Capacity
Another benefit of the wind turbine is that the charging speed doesn't change no matter how many drained batteries players put in it at once. The biofuel battery charger also charges both batteries at the same speed it charges one, but it spends more biofuel to do so.
Overall, the wind turbine can be troublesome to set up thanks to this need for height, especially if players don't already have a spot that's tall and open enough to maximize its voltage. However, the fact that it can recharge batteries with no resource cost makes the turbine worth a little investment.
Raft is available now on PC.