Use a sword to get the first boar leather
Mayday's developer gives a clear route for the early leather bottleneck: travel to Hunting Island and kill a boar with a sword. You do not need to finish the leather-requiring spear first. That is how the documented demo gets you past the apparent loop of needing leather to make the weapon you thought you needed for leather.
Developer Daniel Abdelnur supplied this answer on February 22, 2025, in response to a player asking whether to chase rabbits or craft the spear. It is a specific early progression route, rather than a claim that boars are the only possible leather source in the entire game.
Reach Hunting Island with a sword ready
Continue the raft and island progression until you can reach Hunting Island, the destination named by the developer. Prepare a sword before attempting this first boar kill. The answer specifically directs the player to sword combat, so there is no reason to keep delaying the trip while searching for leather to satisfy the spear recipe.
The demo's raft system uses food to support exploration. In documented player experience, food goes into the raft's food slot before selecting Explore; previously discovered islands can then be revisited without paying another exploration cost. Check your available destinations and current travel prompts rather than assuming every island is accessible at the start.
Bring enough food for your outing as well as a serviceable weapon. That is practical preparation, not a fixed travel-price or damage requirement: the developer's leather answer does not specify a mandatory meal total or an exact number of sword hits.
Kill the boar and check the item you receive
The supported early method is straightforward:
- Arrive at Hunting Island.
- Find a boar and fight it with your sword.
- Collect the resulting material and inspect its item name.
- Return to the recipe that was blocked by the missing leather or hide requirement.
The developer's Hunting Island answer on Steam calls the reward “leather.” If your build labels an animal drop as raw hide, keep that distinction when checking your recipe. A raw material and a processed leather item should not automatically be treated as interchangeable simply because an older explanation uses a broader term.
There is no established fixed drop count or precise boar spawn coordinate in this answer. The useful directions are the named island and the sword route; use the actual drop and recipe information for your next crafting step.
Why the spear recipe isn't the first step
The original player question describes exactly the problem: the hunting spear needs leather, but the player does not yet know how to hunt. The developer resolves it with the sword-and-boar route instead of requiring an already completed spear.
A separate developer explanation also describes the spear's hide requirement as a way to direct progression toward Hunting Island. That makes the requirement a progression clue rather than a reason to assume the recipe is impossible.
Once you have the needed material, revisit the spear recipe and continue the hunting system. You do not have to prove that every animal can be killed the same way before taking that first step.
FAQ
Where should I go for the first boar leather?
Hunting Island, according to the developer's February 22, 2025 answer.
Do I need a spear to kill the first boar?
The developer specifically says to use a sword. This gets around the early spear recipe's leather requirement.
Should I chase rabbits instead?
The developer answered that question by directing the player to a boar on Hunting Island. The reply does not establish rabbits as the solution to this early bottleneck.
How much leather does each boar drop?
The cited developer answer does not provide a quantity. Check the actual drop in your build rather than relying on an assumed guaranteed amount.