Saber Interactive's RoadCraft, released 20 May 2025, puts you in charge of a disaster recovery contractor working eight maps of roughly four square kilometres each. You clear wreckage, pour sand, pave asphalt, then hand the finished road to AI convoys that haul cargo while you go and build the next one. Terrain deforms permanently under weight, so the shortcut you rushed on trip one is the mud pit that strands a loaded truck on trip three.
This guide covers everything you need: core mechanics, the best builds, equipment worth investing in, location progression, and the tips that actually make a difference.
Core Mechanics
Four stage road building
A finished road wants sand dumped along the line, a dozer pass to flatten the bed, an asphalt paver driven slowly over it, then a roller to compact the surface. Skipping the dozer pass is the most common reason the paver snags and leaves a broken strip behind it.
Terrain deformation
Mud, sand and snow deform under weight and stay deformed for the rest of the map. Ruts cut on an empty first run become the trap that beaches a fully loaded truck later, which is why paving early repays the time.
Logistics routes
Once a path is drivable you draw a point to point route on the map and hand it to AI trucks that run cargo without you. Draw the line down one side of the road rather than the centre, or opposing convoys meet head on and jam.
Scrap recycling
Wood, metal and concrete debris scattered across each map feeds a recycler and comes back as steel beams, pipes and concrete slabs for bridges and buildings. Clearing wreckage is therefore material gathering and objective progress at the same time.
Recovery Tokens
Recovery Tokens are the limited campaign currency for permanent map infrastructure such as sand refill stations and new vehicle spawn points. Placing one near the furthest objective saves far more driving than placing it next to your base.
For a deeper dive into how these systems interact, see our RoadCraft combat guide.
Builds Overview
| Build | Tier | Playstyle | Key Stats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scout | A | Versatile approach | Balanced stats |
| Cargo hauler | A | Versatile approach | Balanced stats |
| Dump truck | A | Versatile approach | Balanced stats |
| Dozer | A | Versatile approach | Balanced stats |
| Mobile crane | A | Versatile approach | Balanced stats |
For full build breakdowns with gear and stat priorities, see our RoadCraft builds guide. For rankings, check the tier list.
Equipment Guide
| Equipment | Why It Matters | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Tayga 6455B | A six wheel drive all terrain dump truck from the Eastern European lineup, originally imagined as a military logistics vehicle. | Delivering sand to a road head across broken ground |
| Kronenwerk L-34 | A dozer that clears debris and, more importantly, grades poured sand into a flat bed. | Flattening sand and shoving wreckage clear of a route |
| DS 135A 'Bunker' | An asphalt paver that lays the surface layer at walking pace. | Laying the actual asphalt once the bed is properly graded |
| Arling Roadworks 750R | An asphalt roller that compacts the fresh surface into a finished road. | Finishing a paved stretch so convoys can use it at full speed |
| Zikz 605E | A heavy equipment transporter that carries other machines on its bed. | Moving dozers, pavers and rollers between distant work sites |
Tayga 6455B: A six wheel drive all terrain dump truck from the Eastern European lineup, originally imagined as a military logistics vehicle. It carries sand into places wheeled haulers cannot reach.
Kronenwerk L-34: A dozer that clears debris and, more importantly, grades poured sand into a flat bed. Most paving failures trace back to not making enough passes with this before the paver goes down.
DS 135A 'Bunker': An asphalt paver that lays the surface layer at walking pace. Road width often needs two or three parallel passes, and any bump left in the sand under it shows up as a defect.
Arling Roadworks 750R: An asphalt roller that compacts the fresh surface into a finished road. Until this passes over it the asphalt is not a real road and trucks will still sink into it.
Zikz 605E: A heavy equipment transporter that carries other machines on its bed. Driving a paver across half a map under its own power wastes far more time than loading it onto this.
Full breakdowns in our RoadCraft weapons guide.
Location Progression
| Location | Level Range | Key Rewards |
|---|---|---|
| Aftermath | Campaign opening | First dozer and paver access, road building tutorial contracts |
| Precipice | Early campaign | Flood control contracts, supply delivery payouts |
| Sojourn | Mid campaign | Gas pipeline objectives, sinkhole repair equipment |
| Sunken | Mid to late campaign | Tracked vehicle unlocks, bridge fabrication contracts |
| Kernel | Late campaign | Logging contracts, long haul convoy routes |
Aftermath: The opening North African map, set in spring after a storm has passed. It teaches the road chain on relatively forgiving terrain with debris blocking most of the useful routes.
Precipice: A desert map where the job is delivering supplies while holding back flooding. Sand is everywhere but stable ground is not, and the water keeps changing which routes still work.
Sojourn: Another desert map built around rerouting a gas line while sinkholes open under the terrain. Routes need rechecking constantly because the ground itself is the hazard here.
Sunken: An Eastern European summer map dominated by standing water and soft ground. Wheeled vehicles struggle badly, which makes tracked machines and early paving far more valuable than usual.
Kernel: The Scandinavian summer map, with forest, rock and long distances between sites. Logging equipment and the heavy transporter matter more here than on any of the desert maps.
See our maps & locations guide for detailed area breakdowns and our walkthrough for the optimal progression path.
Tips That Actually Matter
- Pour sand, then make at least two full dozer passes over it before the paver touches it. The paver follows the surface it is given, so a lumpy sand bed produces a road with gaps that trucks will get caught on for the rest of the map.
- Drive every logistics route manually once before you assign AI trucks to it. Automated convoys have no judgement about mud, fallen trees or a half finished bridge, and a jammed convoy blocks the road for everyone including you.
- Draw route lines down one side of the carriageway rather than the middle. Convoys running in opposite directions along a centre line will meet nose to nose and neither will back up, which costs more time than the detour ever would.
- Recycle wreckage rather than bulldozing it out of the way. Large objects break down into more steel beams, pipes and concrete slabs than small ones, and those materials are exactly what the bridge and building contracts later demand.
- Spend Recovery Tokens on sand refill stations near the far end of a map, not near the garage. The whole point of the token is to cut a long empty return trip, and there is usually already a supply near your starting area.
- Load pavers, rollers and dozers onto the Zikz 605E transporter when moving between sites. These machines have terrible top speeds and worse hill climbing, and driving one across two kilometres of broken ground is a genuine waste of an evening.
- Keep the winch in mind before you get stuck rather than after. Anchoring to a tree or another vehicle while you still have some traction usually recovers a truck, whereas a fully bogged load often needs a second vehicle brought in.
- Build the trunk road between quarry, asphalt plant and base first, even when contracts are pointing elsewhere. Every later job in the map runs along that spine, so the hour spent paving it is repaid several times over.
- In four player co-op, split the road chain by stage rather than by area. One player hauling sand, one dozing, one paving and one rolling on the same stretch finishes a road several times faster than four people building separate ones.
- Check tyre and drive settings before committing to soft ground. Low gear with all wheel drive and differential lock costs speed but keeps you moving through mud that would otherwise dig a rut deep enough to strand the next truck through.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Paving over sand that was never flattened.
- Automating a convoy route you have not driven yourself.
- Bulldozing debris aside instead of recycling it.
- Driving pavers and rollers long distances under their own power.
- Spending Recovery Tokens near the garage where supply already exists.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you build a road properly in RoadCraft?
Dump sand along the route, grade it flat with a dozer, drive the asphalt paver slowly over the graded bed, then compact the surface with a roller. Wide roads need parallel passes with the paver, and the dozer stage is the one people skip and regret.
Is RoadCraft the same as SnowRunner?
Same studio and the same terrain deformation lineage, but a different loop. SnowRunner is about surviving terrain with a single truck, while RoadCraft is about permanently changing that terrain and then automating traffic across it with a fleet.
Does RoadCraft have co-op?
Yes, up to four players online. Progress is shared and the road building chain splits neatly across four people, which makes co-op meaningfully faster rather than just more social.
What are Recovery Tokens for?
They buy permanent map infrastructure such as sand refill stations and additional vehicle spawn points. They are limited per map, so the value comes from placing them where the driving distance is worst rather than where it is convenient.
How many maps does RoadCraft have?
The base game ships eight maps of roughly four square kilometres each across North Africa, Eastern Europe and Scandinavia, including Aftermath, Precipice, Sojourn, Sandswept, Deluge, Incommunicado, Sunken and Kernel. Expansions have added more since launch.
More RoadCraft Guides
- RoadCraft Best Builds
- RoadCraft Tier List
- RoadCraft Walkthrough
- RoadCraft Beginner's Guide
- RoadCraft Tips & Tricks
- RoadCraft Weapons Guide
- RoadCraft Combat Guide
- RoadCraft Boss Guide
- RoadCraft Maps & Locations
- RoadCraft Crafting Guide
- RoadCraft Classes & Characters
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