Best Tools for Every Resource in Coral Island

In the farming/island recovery sim Coral Island, you’ll make use of a lot of different tools to harvest the various raw materials both on and off your farm. But, it can be a practice of trial and error to learn what the best tools are for each resource on the island.

There are a total of 12 tools available in Coral Island — the Axe, the Hoe, the Pickaxe, the Scythe, the Watering Can, the Fishing Pole, the Bug Net, the Insect Trap, the Critter Trap, the Milk Pail, Shears, and an Animal Whistle. Each of these has their own unique purposes and tasks where they’re most useful. 

But then, for most of these tools there are upgrades which can be acquired from the Blacksmith that add enhanced functionality in exchange for money, time, and materials. Let’s go over these tools’ effectiveness and determine what the best tools are for gathering every resource in Coral Island. 

Best Tools for Every Resource in Coral Island

Before we begin, let’s first go over what each tool does:

• To chop down trees / break down stray logs, you’ll need your AXE.
• To clear out grass, weeds, or trash, you’ll need your SCYTHE.
• To break stones apart, you’ll need your PICKAXE. 
• To prepare the land for planting, you’ll need your HOE and WATERING CAN.
• To catch fish/bugs/critters, you’ll need the FISHING POLE, BUG NET, INSECT TRAP, OR CRITTER TRAP.
• To acquire resources such as milk or wool, you’ll need a MILK PAIL and SHEARS. 
• To call your horse, you’ll need an ANIMAL WHISTLE. 

In discussing the best tool for each task, it only makes sense for us to recommend the fully upgraded variant, as its stats will be the highest. But, you aren’t likely to have enough corals to fully upgrade your tools right away, so we’ll be highlighting each step in the upgrade process for each tool. 

It’s worth noting before we begin that each upgrade will not only require corals and time, but each has its own upgrade cost, usually consisting of materials themselves. 

Upgrading the Axe

You will automatically obtain the basic level Axe when you arrive at Coral Island. It’s limited to cutting the stray logs and unwanted trees you’ll find littered around the island, and only has a damage output of 2, and takes 18 hits to cut down a mature tree. Here’s the upgrade path for the Axe:

• Bronze Axe (3 dmg): 1,500 corals / 1 day of waiting time / 1x Axe, 5x Bronze Bars, 20x Wood.
• Silver Axe (5 dmg): 3,000 corals / 2 days of waiting time / 1x Bronze Axe, 5x Silver Bars, 20x Wood.
• Gold Axe (6 dmg): 10,000 corals / 2 days of waiting time / 1x Silver Axe, 3x Gold Bars, 5x Hardwood.
• Osmium Axe (12 dmg): 20,000 corals / 4 days of waiting time / 1x Gold Axe, 3x Osmium Bars, 5x Hardwood. 

Upgrading the Hoe

You will automatically obtain the basic level Hoe when you arrive at Coral Island. It’s limited to preparing 1×1 tile of land for farming, a number which increases the further down the upgrade path you get. Here’s the upgrade path for the Hoe:

• Bronze Hoe (1×3 tiles): 1,500 corals / 1 day of waiting time / 1x Hoe, 5x Bronze Bars, 20x Wood.
• Silver Hoe (3×3 tiles): 3,000 corals / 2 days of waiting time / 1x Bronze Hoe, 5x Silver Bars, 20x Wood.
• Gold Hoe (5×3 tiles): 10,000 corals / 2 days of waiting time / 1x Silver Hoe, 3x Gold Bars, 5x Hardwood.
• Osmium Hoe (5×5 tiles): 20,000 corals / 4 days of waiting time / 1x Gold Hoe, 3x Osmium Bars, 5x Hardwood.

Upgrading the Pickaxe

You will automatically obtain the basic level Pickaxe when you arrive at Coral Island. It’s limited to breaking only regular rocks, and deals 1 point of damage. Here’s the upgrade path for the Pickaxe:

• Bronze Pickaxe (2 dmg): 1,500 corals / 1 day of waiting time / 1x Pickaxe, 5x Bronze Bars, 20x Wood.
• Silver Pickaxe (3 dmg): 3,000 corals / 2 days of waiting time / 1x Bronze Pickaxe, 5x Silver Bars, 20x Wood.
• Gold Pickaxe (5 dmg): 10,000 corals / 2 days of waiting time / 1x Silver Pickaxe, 3x Gold Bars, 5x Hardwood.
• Osmium Pickaxe (9 dmg): 20,000 corals / 4 days of waiting time / 1x Gold Pickaxe, 5x Osmium Bars, 5x Hardwood.

Upgrading the Scythe

You will automatically obtain the basic level Scythe when you arrive at Coral Island. The basic Scythe can affect 1×3 tiles of land and provides a damage output of 1. Here’s the upgrade path for the Scythe:

• Bronze Scythe (2 dmg): 1,500 corals / 1 day of waiting time / 1x Scythe, 5x Bronze Bars, 20x Wood.
• Silver Scythe (2 dmg): 3,000 corals / 2 days of waiting time / 1x Bronze Scythe, 5x Silver Bars, 20x Wood.
• Gold Scythe (3 dmg): 10,000 corals / 2 days of waiting time / 1x Silver Scythe, 3x Gold Bars, 5x Hardwood.
• Osmium Scythe (4 dmg): 20,000 corals / 4 days of waiting time / 1x Gold Scythe, 3x Osmium Bars, 5x Hardwood.

Upgrading the Watering Can

You will automatically obtain the basic level Scythe when you arrive at Coral Island. Here’s the upgrade path for the Watering Can:

• Bronze Watering Can: 1,500 corals / 1 day of waiting time / 1x Watering Can, 5x Bronze Bars.
• Silver Watering Can: 3,000 corals / 2 days of waiting time / 1x Bronze Watering Can, 5x Silver Bars.
• Gold Watering Can: 10,000 corals / 2 days of waiting time / 1x Silver Watering Can, 3x Gold Bars, 3x Resin.
• Osmium Watering Can: 20,000 corals / 4 days of waiting time / 1x Gold Watering Can, 3x Osmium Bars, 5x Resin.  

Upgrading the Fishing Pole

You will automatically unlock a mission early in the game to acquire the basic level Fishing Pole when you arrive at Coral Island. The mission in question sends you to Sunny’s Beach Shack. Here is the upgrade path for the Fishing Pole:

• Bronze Fishing Pole: 2,000 corals / 2 days of waiting time / 1x Fishing Pole, 5x Bronze Kelp Essence, 20x Wood.
• Silver Fishing Pole: 5,000 corals / 2 days of waiting time / 1x Bronze Fishing Pole, 5x Silver Kelp Essence, 20x Wood.
• Gold Fishing Pole: 10,000 corals / 2 days of waiting time / 1x Silver Fishing Pole, 5x Gold Kelp Essence, 5x Hardwood.
• Osmium Fishing Pole: 15,000 corals / 4 days of waiting time / 1x Gold Fishing Pole, 5x Osmium Kelp Essence, 5x Hardwood.

Upgrading the Bug Net

You will automatically unlock a mission early in the game to acquire the basic level Bug Net when you arrive at Coral Island. The mission in question sends you to Sunny’s Beach Shack. It should be mentioned that alternatives for the Bug Net, such as the Insect Trap/Critter Trap, do not have upgrades. Here is the upgrade path for the Bug Net:

• Bronze Bug Net: 2,000 corals / 2 days of waiting time / 5x Bronze Kelp Essence, 20x Wood.
• Silver Bug Net: 5,000 corals / 2 days of waiting time / 5x Silver Kelp Essence, 20x Wood.
• Gold Bug Net: 10,000 corals / 2 days of waiting time / 5x Gold Kelp Essence, 5x Hardwood.
• Osmium Bug Net: 15,000 corals / 4 days of waiting time / 5x Osmium Kelp Essence, 5x Hardwood.