Snowed Under Scrap and shovel upgrades
How junk in the snow becomes digging power, stamina, and fewer walks home.
Scrap is the reason you keep returning to Kai. The store page says you use materials found under the snow to upgrade the shovel and digging efficiency. Automaton West’s preview added stamina and carry capacity as other sinks. Steam achievements then prove a ladder: A Better Tool (first shovel upgrade), Fully Equipped (final shovel upgrade), Lucky Upgrade (gacha), Scrap Collector (50), Leave Nothing Behind (100).
This page is the item view of the same loop taught in How to Dig. Spend advice is duplicated in the upgrade planner as a short tool. Food is separate on food and supplies.
Where scrap lives
- Open snow near the hub (soft, fast).
- Far snow (hard, slow until the shovel is upgraded).
- Building interiors and locked boxes opened with keys.
- Residual junk after you already “finished” a room. Completionists keep sweeping.
Patch 1.05 adjusted scrap counts on the map and added missing snow effects on shovels. If a guide from the Patreon beta disagrees, ignore the beta numbers.
Dump at base camp or the upgrade will not count. Walking around with 30 scrap in your arms is not the same as banking it.
The three upgrades players describe
Digging power. First purchase should be this. Distant snow is harder. A weak shovel turns the midgame into finger pain, which Chinese and Japanese reviews both described. A Better Tool is the onboarding pop. Fully Equipped is the last shovel tier. Negative reviews say the last tiers delete the claustrophobic tunnels and leave a low-res field. That is a taste warning, not a reason to skip upgrades. You cannot reach the steel tower on tutorial swings.
Stamina. Lets you swing and walk longer so you can retreat from wolves or night. Pairs with cans. If you collapse every trip, you are buying the wrong stat second.
Carry capacity. Directly cuts the infamous 50–100 round trips. Buy it once digging no longer feels like concrete. Buying pockets first just means you haul more snow-time per trip on a bad tool.
Lucky Upgrade and coins
Lucky Upgrade: obtain an upgrade from the coin gacha. Keep coins when you see them. Do not reset the save over a bad roll. It is a bonus track, not the only way to Fully Equipped.
How many scraps you need
Story endings do not list a scrap quota. 50 and 100 are achievement numbers. If you hate the loop, stop at the shovel you need for the tower and live with Mixed-review fatigue. If you want Leave Nothing Behind, you will flatten more of the landmarks than a story runner.
A review complained that late scrap overflows and exploring buildings feels pointless. That happens when Fully Equipped is already done. After that, loot for documents, charms, and No Shelter Left Unseen, not for more metal.
Related pages
New players should still read Getting Started so they save after dumps. Survival players should eat on the supplies page rather than dumping cans like trash. Achievement hunters should tick boxes on achievements.
A last field note: scrap on the ground does not count until it is in the shelter economy. If Steam withholds Scrap Collector after a huge outdoor pile, you walked past the dump prompt. Return, bank, then check 1.06 triggers. Do not start a new file over a counter that never saw the fire.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the most common questions.
What does scrap upgrade?
Players and previews list shovel digging power, stamina, and carry capacity. Bank scrap at the shelter before you buy.
Is Lucky Upgrade required?
No. It is a gacha bonus achievement. Normal upgrades still come from dumped scrap.
Why did scrap amounts change?
Update 1.05 adjusted scrap counts on the map. Live numbers beat beta memory.
Should I max the shovel?
Yes if you want the tower comfortably and Fully Equipped. Be aware late chunks erase tight tunnels.