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. In The Last Caretaker, the route to North Bastion is the Transfer Gate at Lazarus Complex, and Channel37 says "the first route leads to North Bastion" [S1]. Players who tried to sail during the Update 6 public beta report an ice sheet that stops a boat [S2]. One German-language video says you arrive on an outlying island with the first outpost, then cross the ice to the dock [S3].

Start at the gate, not at sea

Channel37's 19 October 2026 announcement says "The arch is a Transfer Gate, and the first route leads to North Bastion" [S1]. It describes North Bastion as "a completely frozen mountain region where the main story continues" [S1]. The same post lists "its own dock, hangar, central spire, facilities, infrastructure, records, loot, enemies, and story" [S1]. Gate power, address and recall have their own page: the gate guide.

What the beta sailing reports say

The rows below were posted during the Update 6 public beta, before the release build.

Player and post dateWhat they wroteSource
Target, 17 October 2026, during the Update 6 public beta"when you get to 45km to go, it starts snowing and your ship freezes over"[S2]
Target, 17 October 2026, during the Update 6 public beta"at 33-37km (ish) to go, you encounter and ice sheet, and can go no further by boat"[S2]
drag1c_, 14 October 2026, during the Update 6 public beta"Moment you go ~ 44km from North Bastion, you will hit ice and you cant cross it"[S4]
Strewth, 16 October 2026, during the Update 6 public beta"I got to the Ice sheet = 37.3km away"[S4]
tersseli, 18 October 2026, during the Update 6 public beta"You can get next to the ice by boat"[S2]

Asked whether heaters on the ship would help, Target answered that "you still cant get any closer due to the ice wall" (18 October 2026, during the Update 6 public beta) [S2].

Other distance figures in the threads also differ, and they measure different things:

  • The thread title by timotervalampi (17 October 2026, during the Update 6 public beta) says "100 km north on the map" [S2].
  • Monty (13 October 2026, during the Update 6 public beta) wrote "it is 90Km from the Rig" and did not define the Rig [S4].
  • Hephaestus92 (21 October 2026, after release) wrote that after jumping to North Bastion the highlighted points of interest "are 110km away" [S5].

Player reports of crossing the ice by jet ski, pushing a boat onto it, and the long trip back after release are on the gate guide, with the map coordinates players posted.

Flying: the Gyrocopter and the cold

Channel37 writes "Cold temperatures can affect rotor performance" and "you can fly through an active Transfer Gate" [S1]. Player reports on the Gyrocopter in the cold are on the Salvage Gyro page, and heater setup is on the cold and heating page.

The arrival island and the outpost

Mynaeos, in a German-language guide video, says that on the other side "you will first arrive on an outlying island" [2:58] and "This is where the first outpost is located" [3:01] [S3]. The island appears in one video among the sources read for this page, so treat it as a single-source report.

Players use "outpost" for a place near the gate. Little Red One (14 October 2026, during the Update 6 public beta) wrote that a steam run "may not work until I get into the small outpost and hook up" [S4]. Iamkirok (11 October 2026, during the Update 6 public beta) wrote "I considered just abandoning the outpost building" and moving the gear up to the Bastion [S10]. Channel37's release candidate notes name the place without a location: "Fixed holes, clipping, ice chunk and lighting issues in the Outpost" and "Loot across Bastion and the Outpost has been reworked" [S9].

From the island to the dock and the order of areas

Mynaeos says "From the portal island, you can reach the large dock of the North Bastion across the ice" [5:47] [S3]. At the end of the dock "you will find a room that you can easily use as a base" [5:51] [S3]. The video adds "You will need to provide electricity and steam again in the back section" [6:34] [S3]. Its stated order is "First the outpost, then your base at the dock, and subsequently the supply of the rear area with the elevator" [6:47] [S3]. The sources read for this page contain one explicit order, and it comes from a single video.

Channel37's release candidate notes name areas, which are not a walking order:

  • RC1, during the Update 6 public beta: "Added a heater and more loot to the North Bastion hangar" [S9].
  • RC1: "A new ventilation tunnel in the Bastion connects the industrial sector to the spire" [S9].
  • RC2: "Fixed terrain and other objects clipping through the starting hangar" [S9].
  • RC3: "Fixed the elevator at the Bastion's north dock" [S9].

On dangers, RC1 says "North Bastion now has more enemies, including a swarm at the dock" and RC4 says "Bastion now has far fewer ice chunks and swarm enemies" [S9].

Players and the notes also mention a vent. RC5 mentions the quest not completing "when you enter through the vent" [S9]. Monty (14 October 2026, during the Update 6 public beta) placed a vent at the start of the base once the first two water pumps run: "You have a vent on your left. That leads outside" [S4]. Tantelman (15 October 2026, during the Update 6 public beta) asked Monty about "the vent opening in the roof of the gym" and the observation room, and wrote "I couldn't find a way into either place" [S4].

What to bring

Advice is split. Monty (12 October 2026, during the Update 6 public beta) posted a list "if you want your life to be easy", including "Everything to make 4 Large Solar Panels", "800 Power" and "400 Gas Conduit", and added "Of course you can walk in with nothing and make it work" [S11]. MartyS (12 October 2026, during the Update 6 public beta) wrote "I did bring too much with me" and wrote that if you build "a few large solar panels, a water purifier, fabricator, and a couple medium heaters" you can set up the initial base [S11]. Wasntme (12 October 2026, during the Update 6 public beta) wrote "I was with an empty inventory next to the gate" and "Did not even have any weapons or ammo going in" [S11]. Melbee (18 October 2026, during the Update 6 public beta) wrote "I managed with zero inventory just fine" [S12].

Mynaeos recommends "at least a medium battery, or better yet, a large one" [1:53], then "power cables, gas hoses, and water pipes" [2:08], and "especially plastic and iron" [2:24] [S3].

Player reports on throwing boxes back through the gate on the return trip conflict; they are on the gate guide.

Mountain top and buoys

Monty (12 October 2026, during the Update 6 public beta) wrote "At the tippy top you will find a satellite dish with materials" [S11]. Little Red One (20 October 2026) wrote "just take a flamer to help keep you warm going back" [S13]. root.s (20 October 2026) found "3-4 crates on the mountaint pass leading to it" and "Couldn't see a way to get inside either" at the glassed building [S13]. Monty (21 October 2026) wrote of the observation area "That is a dead zone" [S13].

On buoys, Channel37 writes "The buoys around Bastion now have loot" in RC5 [S9]. During the Update 6 public beta, SoulKilla (13 October 2026) answered "again, no they dont" [S14]. Tenacitystacks (13 October 2026, during the Update 6 public beta) saw "a resource buoy with a green light" west of the satellite dish, and azrael_cervale (13 October 2026, during the Update 6 public beta) answered "It had some good resources" [S15].

Still unanswered

  • Whether more than one outer island sits on the route: one video names one island [S3].
  • How far the walk from the outpost to the dock is: no distance appears in the video quoted above [S3].
  • Whether a boat can ever dock at North Bastion: the beta reports above reach the ice sheet, and none describes docking [S2].

Sources and version

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