Checked on 21 October 2026 against Update 6.0 (build 0.10.0.653173), Steam app 1783560 by Channel37. Forum dates are UTC.

Short answer. Channel37 documents an experimental menu for stuck players. Add the "-ea" launch option in Steam, and the pause menu gains an Early Access entry [S1]. It lists Relocate boat, Relocate character and Unlock skill items [S1]. Channel37 says to back up saves before using each tool [S1]. The support page carries the date 8 September 2026, before Update 6.0 [S1].

Turn on the Early Access menu

Channel37 lists three steps on its support page [S1]:

  1. Add the "-ea" launch option in Steam [S1].
  2. Open the pause menu, where a new option called Early Access appears [S1].
  3. Choose the tool, for example "Relocate boat" [S1].

On the Steam forum (31 August 2026), 888MATThewrayment described the Steam route as Properties, General, then "Launch Options -> type -ea" [S3]. Shevar (2 June 2026), writing about the Council door, advised saving and then removing the launch option, after which "the early access button dissappears in game" [S4]. Jbird (21 June 2026) disagreed: "you can keep the EA menu there in case you ever get fully stuck" [S4]. Jbird added that "having it on doesn't do anything to the gameplay" [S4]. Both are single-player opinions.

What each tool is listed for

ToolWhere Channel37 lists itSource
Relocate boatUnder "Boat is Stuck, Sinking or Flying Away"[S1]
Relocate characterUnder "Caretaker Stuck or Floating"[S1]
Unlock skill itemsFor a skill that is unlocked but does not appear in the build menu: "Use this when a skill is unlocked but not appearing in the build menu."[S1]

The support page marks each of these as an "EXPERIMENTAL TOOL" [S1]. Unlock skill items is not an unstuck tool.

For the Council door and its Relocate character fix, see Council of Humanity and committees.

If your Caretaker is stuck or floating

Channel37 names one cause on the support page: "Exodus is so large that if players try to power the whole site from only one power generation location, when they visit the other areas, the power state can cause issues like Caretaker being stuck or floating" [S1]. The fix it gives is "Exodus should have power generation and power storage in each area" [S1]. Rocket and station details are on Exodus Station and launch.

Players on the Steam forum thread "UNSTUCK?" describe other tricks. Each is one person's report:

  • anrkyuk (5 July 2026) went AFK so the game would auto-save, exited, and loaded back in, then "witnessed myself being forcibly moved to the side" [S2].
  • Novaru (6 July 2026), who was getting stuck in random places on Exodus and was "Not sure if it's the same", wrote that using the photo drone and then exiting "tends to resolve this without having to restart" [S2].
  • S.T.A.L.K.E.R (25 July 2026) wrote "I created a metal beam and lifted it, which freed my character" [S2].
  • Squid (26 July 2026) wrote that exploding one of the small CO2 bombs under yourself "can unstuck you" [S2].

Update 6.0 fixed the character getting stuck after controlling a drone or vehicle from a ladder [S10]. It also fixed places in the Bastion where players could get stuck, including behind the elevator columns and in the Food Sector [S10]. A further line fixed places in the Industrial Sector and the Water Treatment area [S10]. ManofWar (15 October 2026), during the Update 6.0 public beta, reported getting stuck on the top rails in the northern hangar [S16].

If your boat is stuck

The support page gives these causes and fixes for a stuck boat [S1]:

CauseChannel37 fixSource
A loose item interacting poorly with the boat"Find and remove or dismantle the offending item"[S1]
An enemy or NPC interfering with the boat"Find and remove or dismantle the problematic enemy or NPC"[S1]
A built module or modules interfering with the boat"Find and dismantle the offending module or modules"[S1]
The boat is caught in railings at some platform edges"Avoid docking head on with platforms, try anchoring a little way from the platform"[S1]
The same railings cause, if stuck"try using the engines at full throttle and swinging the boat in both directions"[S1]

The table also lists "Recover a previous auto-save and try again" [S1].

For tidiness, the page says loose items can get caught in structures built on the bottom of the hull, and to try removing objects built on the hull if the boat acts strangely [S1]. It also says to store materials in DuraPack, StorTite or FortiHold containers [S1]. Tank and container details are on Storage and tanks.

Two videos add small cases:

  • Durandian, in "Most Common Mistakes Players Make In The Last Caretaker", says to "disconnect the moring" once the ship is pulled in ([17:32]) [S12]. The reason given is that "if the sea is too rocky your ship will get stuck under the platforms" ([17:39]) [S12]. The captions spell it "moring", which reads as the mooring.
  • StormkilGaming, in "A few quick Gyrocopter tips and tricks For The Last Caretaker", says "sometimes you can get stuck in the little space between the helipad and the actual cylinder itself" ([2:14]) [S13]. The player then describes sticking a grabbed item somewhere so that it will "give you enough extra almost like a winch" ([2:42]) [S13]. More on the Salvage Gyro.

On 31 August 2026, in the thread where 888MATThewrayment described the route, Scythan asked whether the tool can handle the character or other objects, because their gyro was stuck in a dead-zone [S3]. The four-post thread has no answer to that question [S3].

Back up before you use any tool

Each tool on the support page carries the same warning to back up saves first [S1]. These are Channel37's backup rules:

  • The SaveGameBackups folder keeps the last 3 auto-saves for each save slot, and manual saves are not backed up there [S1].
  • When a fourth auto-save backup is created for a slot, the oldest is removed [S1].
  • You can manually save to 8 different slots, numbered 0-7 [S1].
  • To restore: copy the backup into the SaveGames folder, remove the date and time from the filename, and click "Yes" when asked to overwrite [S1].
  • If the first backup does not fix it, the page says to try the other auto-save backups for that slot [S1].
  • "nothing beats a manual save at the save station" [S1].

Update 4.0 (13 May 2026) improved save game management, including backup restoration options, import, and export [S11]. Before a beta, the support page says "Always back up your saves before taking part in a beta" [S1].

Conflict on the Linux folder. The support page gives a Linux backup path that begins /opt/steamlib/ [S1]. The pinned Steam thread titled Troubleshooting, posted by Channel37DevTeam with the same support text, begins ~/.local/share/Steam/ [S15]. Both are from Channel37, and neither source says which one applies to your install.

Autosaves can also land at a bad moment, which is one more reason to keep a manual save; player reports of falling through the world after Update 6.0 are on known issues.

Risks and limits

  • JeanDeaux (1 September 2026) replied, after the Relocate boat route was described in that thread, that using it "lost my Photo Drone that was charging up on charge pad", though it fixed the boat [S3]. That is a single report.
  • LegioN (9 October 2026), during the Update 6.0 public beta, listed Relocate boat and Relocate character among many attempts to silence a ship horn that would not turn off, and wrote "None of the above worked" [S5]. Switching to the Default Public Version did, and going back to Update 6.0 brought the horn problem back [S5]. Later that day LegioN wrote that after the boat was thrown around, "I was able to turn the horn off" [S5]. The tools did not reset that glitch for this player. Other fixes players posted for the stuck horn are on known issues.
  • Channel37 says "we can't provide official support for mods or third-party tools" [S1]. The same section says "We fully support modders and modding communities" [S1]. The page also warns that some mods can permanently alter save data and can corrupt it [S1].

What is documented

  • Hotfix 0.5.0.581999 (14 November 2025) improved boat collision handling to prevent getting stuck [S8].
  • Update 3.5 (15 April 2026) fixed stuck spots across the world, including Lazarus vents and Exodus Station [S9].
  • The earliest dated -ea post in the sources read for this page is from Similar (17 May 2026), who described using it at the Council door [S4].
  • On 19 October 2026, the release day of Update 6.0, Thiesen told a player stuck at a Transposium door to add -ea and use the new Early Access button, and wrote "it's a known bug" [S6].

Two Steam reviewers (review dates and names not shown) asked for more. One wrote "no unstuck option nothing" [S14]. Another asked "Would it kill them to put an 'unstuck' function in the menu?" [S14]. Neither review mentions the -ea menu. For the Update 6.0 bug list, see known issues.

Sources and version

Checked on 2026-10-21 against Update 6.0 (build 0.10.0.653173)