With Pikmin 4, Nintendo is introducing a bunch of new mechanics and collectibles for players to find without telling anyone what they’re used for.
One of these is blue shiny stones (Raw Materials), which are discovered across the map for doing anything, may it be defeating enemies, destroying structures, or finding just a load of them collected in one area. Being a diehard Pikmin 3 player, I thought these were tiles needed to build bridges but turns out they are something else entirely.
As I started to collect them and saw a little tally of the amount I collected in the top right corner of the screen, it slowly dawned on me—what the heck do I even do with these? I have so many but nothing I can use them on.
Raw Materials explained and uses in Pikmin 4
As it turns out, Raw Materials do have a use, but it requires you first to find and rescue a specific Crewmate located in the Last-Frost Cavern cave, which is the first cave you come across in the Sun-Speckled Terrace area. This character is called Russ, who unlocks the ability to use these materials in a multitude of ways.
Once you unlock Russ and end the day, Russ will explain to you that there are two ways to use Raw Materials. The first is to create new abilities and items for yourself at home base which unlock a lot of basic Pikmin game mechanics, such as allowing you to disperse Pikmin or having Pikmin rush at an enemy all at once with a single button press.
The only other use Raw Materials have is the ability to create bridges and repair structures. Once again after saving Russ, when you go into a map or a cave you might come across structures like these bridges. Each bridge or structure will require a specific amount of Raw Materials to rebuild them. If you have enough, you can throw your Pikmin onto them to have them start the repairs.
Of course, there might be other uses for Raw Materials later on in the game, but for now, these are your main uses for all those shiny stones you come across so be sure to collect them all and leave none behind.
