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The Forest
Walkthrough and Guide (PC) by Orgulo
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THE FOREST GUIDE / WALKTHROUGH
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Guide author: Orgulo
Guide version: 1.1 (2024)
Game version: 1.11b
System: PC (Steam)
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 WELCOME
1.1.1 WHAT THIS GUIDE IS
1.1.2 WHAT THIS GUIDE ISN'T
1.2 USING THIS GUIDE
1.3 CONTACT ME
2. MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION
2.1 PLANE CRASH SITES
2.2 CONSTRUCTION
2.2.1 BUILDING A BASE...
2.2.2 ...AND WHY YOU SHOULDN'T BOTHER
2.3 THE SINKHOLE SHORTCUT
2.4 SPEEDRUNS
2.5 MODS
2.6 CACHE LOCATIONS
2.7 PAGE LOCATIONS
2.8 GAME OPTIONS
3. WALKTHROUGH
3.1 THE PLANE CRASH
3.2 THE FIRST DAY
3.3 SETTING UP CAMP
3.4 BEFORE SETTING OUT
3.5 DESTINATION 1: LARGE CANNIBAL VILLAGE
3.6 DESTINATION 2: HANGING CAVE
3.7 DESTINATION 3: SUBMERGED CAVE
3.8 DESTINATION 4: DEAD CAVE
3.9 DESTINATION 5: WET CAVE
3.10 DESTINATION 6: LEDGE CAVE
3.11 DESTINATION 7: WATERFALL CAVE
3.12 DESTINATION 8: LAWYERS CAVE
3.13 DESTINATION 9: CHASM CAVE
3.14 DESTINATION 10: SINKHOLE CAVE
3.15 DESTINATION 11: SAHARA LABORATORY
3.15.1 MEGAN CROSS
3.15.1.1 MEGAN'S MOVEMENT & ATTACKS
3.15.1.2 PREPARATION
3.15.1.3 STRATEGY & MISCELLANEOUS TIPS
3.15.2 ENDING THE GAME
4. CONTRIBUTIONS
5. VERSION HISTORY
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1. INTRODUCTION
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1.1 WELCOME
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Hi, welcome to my guide to The Forest. I didn't see any other guides for it on
GameFAQs, so I'd like this to remain simultaneously both the best and worst FAQ
on the site. Anyway, I loved the game, so I thought I might as well contribute.
You'll notice this guide is very wordy. This is because there's a lot going on
in The Forest, and I have to describe all of it without the help of videos,
pictures or even diagrams. I'm sorry if it seems excessively text-heavy at
times, but I hope that you understand why, and that it's not too off-putting.
I do have something which might help, however: a Map which pinpoints all the
most important locations in the Walkthrough section. You can find it here:
https://ibb.co/0QLrrP4
Still, there will be times where my text descriptions might not be enough,
even with a map. There are lots of other resources available for The Forest, and
I recommend this one in particular:
https://theforest.fandom.com
This site is a database, rather than a walkthrough, and it has tons of details
I don't have. (Thank-you to the authors of this wiki, it helped me out several
times.)
I have tried to arrange the guide so that you can play the main campaign
without having to know or see everything in the game, but I have also noted all
points of interest which are off the beaten path - these are not necessary to
visit, but you might want to know about them anyway. I can't guarantee I've
found every single thing of the slightest note, but I definitely got most of
them.
I've also noted all key or otherwise significant items in CAPS, such as
weapons, tools and various other collectibles.
Thanks for choosing this guide, I hope it helps you out.
1.1.1 WHAT THIS GUIDE IS
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This is mainly meant as a walkthrough to the single player campaign (on Normal
difficulty), taking you from the very start of the game to the very end,
following a linear, efficient path, while also allowing you to discover
everything else in the game on the way past, should you wish to.
By following my walkthrough, you will get to see and collect everything of
significance, find every secret, accomplish all objectives, visit every area,
and complete the game. Furthermore, you will do all of this with a minimum of
backtracking or time wasting, since the guide takes you from one Cave to
another, working from south-east to north-west, equips you to enter the Chasm
and Sinkhole Caves with no need to come back, and ultimately lets you confront
the final boss fight with a full loadout.
1.1.2 WHAT THIS GUIDE ISN'T
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Firstly, while I've tried to be thorough, this is not a guide for
completionists. There are other websites which tell you about every single item
and secret in the game, and how to score all the Steam achievements - this
walkthrough is not quite so detailed.
It's also not really a strategy guide, since I spend almost no time on telling
you how to fight the enemies or how to build impenetrable bases. The less time
you spend fighting in this game, the better, so instead I concentrate on
exploration and inventory management. As I mention at various points in the
walkthrough, fighting is always the poorest option: it's usually better to run
away or otherwise disable the enemies, unless you need to farm materials from
their corpses. Also note that there is no levelling up your character in this
game, so fighting is even more unattractive.
It's not a database, or some sort of amalgamation of lots of other The Forest
resources from the internet. I'm quite proud of not having a single stat in the
whole guide (probably); and apart from getting help with the final boss, with
finding Cache 6 and the Log Coaster Page, and with learning what Creepy Armour
actually did, it's otherwise based on my own experiences in playing the game,
which means mistakes and omissions are my own fault!
Finally, it has absolutely nothing to say about the multiplayer mode. I have
no idea what it's like to play online, and I doubt I ever will. As far as I'm
concerned, The Forest is a single player survival horror game, and I assume
that's why you're reading this in the first place.
1.2 USING THIS GUIDE
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Please, view this guide in a text viewer / editor with a set fixed-width
font, or else it might look a mess.
Use the Find command (CTRL + F) with the numbered contents menu at the start
of the guide, in order to quickly jump to the section you want.
1.3 CONTACT ME
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If you have any questions, suggestions or other feedback on this guide, you
can contact me at:
hayabusa21180@gmail.com
Please, put 'Forest' in the subject line, thanks.
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2. MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION
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This reference section of the guide is for bits and pieces which don't quite
fit into the Walkthrough section, but which you might want to know anyway.
2.1 PLANE CRASH SITES
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The game chooses a random crash site at the start of the game, from a pool of
twelve options (I have a feeling there might be one more, somewhere south-east
of the Sinkhole, but I can't get it to spawn). Anyway, some of these starting
positions are better than others, although you are at least always given some
luggage and plenty of natural resources to get you started.
Here are the sites you can be given (in order of farthest from the south-east
corner of the map to closest), how to identify them when you see them, and then
how to reach the large cannibal village and the Hanging Cave from each point. If
you manage to identify the starting point you are given from my descriptions,
and you don't like it, you can just restart the game in the hope of being given
a better one - this is particularly useful if you're playing on harder
difficulties.
SITE 1:
This crash site is the farthest away from the large cannibal village. The
plane's exit faces almost due east, and slightly south.
If you run directly forward you will very soon arrive at the ledge overlooking
the west side of the geese pond. This therefore means that you're very close to
the Lawyers Cave, the Submerged Cave, and the Waterfall Cave.
Follow the direction the tailfin is pointing and you will reach the west coast
very soon, and from there you can just follow the coast around to the south-east
until you eventually reach the large cannibal village.
Cache 5 is very close to the crash site, in the woods to the south-west.
SITE 2:
Facing north-west, and sitting on a brown area of ground, you can run directly
forwards from this crash site to reach the shore, with the Sahara Shipping
Crates directly ahead.
The tailfin points at the large campsite south of the geese pond, and there
you can save and rest, saving you from having to build a Shelter, etc.
There are plenty of supplies around this crash site, including the campsite;
and there are several Caves nearby.
This is also the best site from which to start a speedrun, since you can just
go due south to find the Submerged Cave's Entrance 1 (SW), thereby getting to
the Rebreather as soon as possible.
SITE 3:
This crash site is far from the large cannibal village, but extremely close to
the Sinkhole. Follow the direction the tailfin is pointing (due east) to find
the Sinkhole on the left. This therefore means that by turning approximately 45
degrees to the right you will definitely be heading towards the south-east
corner of the map.
Alternatively, you can head due west upon exiting the plane to find the geese
pond and the various Caves surrounding it.
SITE 4:
This site faces east and a little north. There are very few luggage cases to
be found, or anything else of use.
The geese pond is to the north-west; and both of the Submerged Cave's southern
Entrances are to the south-west.
Turn slightly to the right upon leaving the plane, then run past the left side
of the single white boulder next to the four slim trees (you are now facing due
east). Continue in that same exact direction and you should soon arrive first at
a pond with two blue tents, and then at the Dead Cave's Entrance 1 (W).
This Entrance has three brown crates in front of it: stand next to the one
farthest away from the rock wall, then line it up in front of you so that the
crate to the right of the Cave Entrance is directly beyond it, in a straight
line down the centre of your screen. This gives you your compass direction to
arrive exactly at the Hanging Cave's Entrance 1 (SE).
SITE 5:
This time the plane exit faces south, and by continuing in that direction you
can quickly find the bay where the Yacht is moored, with all the benefits that
brings.
There is not much luggage around the plane, but there's a lot more on the
beach.
From here you can just follow the shore to the east to find the large cannibal
village.
As with site 2, this crash site is a good roll for speedruns, since the
Submerged Cave's Entrance 2 (SE) is very close by, to the north-west.
SITE 6:
This is a decent roll. The plane faces south and a little west. There is a
nice, flat space outside the plane, with luggage everywhere.
Turn right upon stepping out of the plane to find a little pond with some aloe
next to it.
The large cannibal village is due east: just turn toward the sun.
SITE 7:
This one appears to the south-east of the Sinkhole, and the exit faces north.
There are a few luggage cases on the down-slope at the exit, and a few more to
the north-west, at the foot of a huge tree beside a pool.
By moving in the direction in which the tailfin is pointing, and veering
slightly to the left as you move down the grassy hills and into the south-east
woods, you will arrive at the large cannibal village.
The two cannibal huts on the plateau are nearby, as is the Dead Cave's
Entrance 3 (E), and that means you can collect the Torch, the Katana and lots of
minor supplies very early.
SITE 8:
This one is very close to site 7, and offers basically the same advantages.
The plane exit faces almost due east and a little south.
The two cannibal huts on the plateau are behind you, which puts you in the
south-east of the map.
By walking directly forward, off the ledge, you can go downhill to find the
Dead Cave's Entrance 3 (E).
SITE 9:
This far-south site faces south-east. You can reach the south coast very
quickly, then turn right to reach the Yacht bay.
Cache 1 is close by, to the east; and beyond is of course the large cannibal
village.
SITE 10:
This is quite a recognisable one, since it's the only crash site which won't
let you climb back into the plane without building a platform or something.
The plane faces south-east, so you will quickly find the coast by moving
directly forwards, and from there the large cannibal village is pretty close by,
to the east.
SITE 11:
The plane faces south-east, slightly more south than east. There's a
depression immediately to the east. You will very soon find the south coast by
moving away from the plane's exit.
This is a great roll, since the large cannibal village is due north-east,
extremely close.
The plane exit is perched quite high up, making it more difficult to climb
back in once you leave - you can jump up there, or go up and onto the wing, then
the roof, then drop down inside.
Cache 1 is due east of this crash site, on the cliff edge.
SITE 12:
This is an amazing roll: you have basically landed in the large cannibal
village, and you will be able to see the huts as soon as you leave the plane.
It's just a short run to the Hanging Cave, the Map and the Compass.
The plane's exit faces south-west, and by moving directly forward you should
arrive at the cliff edge where you can find Cache 1.
2.2 CONSTRUCTION
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At least in the single player mode, the main thing which makes The Forest a
sandbox game is the fact that you can build your own base. Obviously, you do
this by collecting raw materials found throughout the game, and using them to
construct buildings, tools and defenses. Nearly all the blueprints for things
you can build are provided in the Survival Guide from the very start of the
game, and you can find a few more macabre and unlikely blueprints later on.
You begin by opening your Survival Guide, and navigating to the page
displaying the thing you want to build. Click on the structure's picture after
checking its resource cost, then place the blueprint using the mouse (you can
rotate it with 'R' before placing it). If you are not happy with how the
blueprint was placed, you can press and hold 'C' to cancel it, then try again.
When it comes to buildings, The Forest is quite generous with what it allows
you to do, but quite restrictive with how much doing it is going to cost. Beyond
the most basic structures, you will probably have to spend quite a bit of time
on chopping down trees and moving logs around, as well as replenishing your
stockpile of sticks and rocks, among other things. The process is easy, but be
prepared to spend time on it.
You've probably glanced through the Survival Guide catalogue and started
wondering how all these things would look on a sun-soaked, petal-speckled,
waterfall-serenaded hillside at noon, so here are some general tips on
construction - what to do and what not to.
2.2.1 BUILDING A BASE...
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THE SITE:
First decide on a building site. Here are some considerations for any
prospective site:
- There's no need to build on flat ground, since the blueprints will generally
level out anyway.
- You'll be needing logs, and that means trees. Note that logs will roll
downhill, so by chopping a tree on a hill above your base you can just let
gravity take over, saving you from having to haul logs around. Try waiting until
you have the Modern Axe, since its superior damage allows you almost to halve
the time you spend chopping trees, when compared to the performance of the Plane
Axe. The Chainsaw is another winner for tree felling, although it's useless
without fuel.
- Unless you have harvested a turtle shell in which you can collect rainwater,
you will want to build near a source of fresh water, like a pond or a stream.
- Look on the Map for the wildlife icons. This generally indicates a good site
for a base, since you are provided with a constant supply of food and hides.
- Building centrally, such as somewhere around the Sinkhole, lets you reach
several Caves very easily; whereas building way off to the side of the map, at
the coast, makes it a lot more time consuming to get to most places, but can
increase the security of your base. The Caves all have a certain number of
respawning resources, so the more Caves you can get to quickly, the better.
- Deep water is a great defensive measure, since no enemy can follow you in
there, but the sea is a poor option, since it's too far from the centre of the
map and cannot be used as a fresh water supply. The areas of water crossing the
centre of the map offer the best compromise: if you can quickly run to the water
(or zipline down there) you are safe.
- Building near the water also lets you build a Raft, with which you can
travel around while being totally safe from enemies.
- Nearly all the action in the game takes place in the south half of the map,
so build there if you can.
- Unless you live on a Raft, it's impossible to keep your base away from
enemies entirely, but at least try to avoid building on a patrol route. The best
way to tell beforehand that your base is going to get a lot of unwanted
attention is by finding huts, fetishes or totems in the vicinity and avoiding
them.
Anyway, once you have found the site of your dreams, the next thing to do is
plan out your base. Create an archive save before you start, so you can rewind
to a point before you made some huge mistake, as a lot of base building in this
game is about trial and error. (I point out a few optimal sites for bases in the
Walkthrough section.)
THE BASICS:
First build a construction yard. This is not a single blueprint, it's a
collection of structures and tools which make building the base itself far
easier. Since the base will likely take multiple days to finish, you will need a
place to save, rest, hide and shelter from the rain, so build a Small Cabin
somewhere off to the side of your site. Build a Wood Bench next to it - running
back and forth with logs is tiring work, and sitting on the Wood Bench for a few
seconds will fully revitalise your energy. A Basic Fire will let you cook the
food you need, and you can refill your waterskin from any nearby fresh water to
keep topping up your thirst. A Log Sled is enormously useful for carting several
logs from the trees to your site; and things like Rock and Stick Holders are
similarly good time savers. You will also want to make sure you have crafted
inventory items such as the Stick Bag and the Rock Bag. Finally, a Tree Platform
will give you a safe hiding place if the cannibals come at you.
Next, flick through the Survival Guide and find the buildings you plan on
using. The game usually gives only vague descriptions, so to truly learn what
each structure is good for the best thing to do is to build one, so you know
what you like. Once you are done experimenting, you can reload from your archive
save and start properly.
Always place multiple blueprints before committing to building any one of
them, so you have a good idea of how your base is going to look and how much
space it will take up, as well as how many total resources it will require; and
always plan out the most important stuff first, such as buildings and platforms
- the smaller stuff can come later. You can always cancel any single blueprint
and then reposition it; also, with building destruction turned on, you can use
any melée weapon to smash anything you don't like to pieces.
PRIMARY BASE COMPONENTS:
Once you're happy with your placement of the main components, it's time to
start gathering the resources needed, mainly the logs. Make use of slopes, the
Log Sled and Log Holders to speed all this up.
NOTE: The Log Sled comes with its own flag, for some reason. This can be
turned off, but if you leave it on and then you accidentally get the Sled
trapped somewhere you can't recover it (such as a pond), it is then stuck there
and you can't turn off the flag. This can be really annoying, but the solution
(thanks to a forum post I read) is to place a Hole Cutter on top of the Log Sled
- this should remove it from the game, along with its flag.
Each tree you chop down leaves a tree stump (you can attack the stump with a
weapon to make it disappear forever), and that tree will not grow back if you
have the option disabled in the Gameplay menu. This means that you are
effectively creating a clearing larger than the one you originally found, and
this has ramifications. One is that you can no longer use any felled tree for
any other purpose, such as Tree Platforms, placing the Cassette Player or
collecting sap. It also makes your base easier to spot from that direction, as
well as making it easier for you to spot enemies in the distance.
NOTE: If you have told trees to regrow, new trees will reappear from tree
stumps after a few game days. If you have previously built something over a
stump the tree will sometimes respawn anyway, meaning that you might have a tree
growing directly through your Cabin or your elevated Garden. Remove tree stumps
before building over them.
---
Based on my own preferences, I recommend first building the following
rudimentary components for any new base. These will provide you with most of the
things you need a base for:
- A Custom Foundation lets you paint an area with a platform with the
dimensions and height of your choice, then it tells you how many logs a platform
of that size will require. This is good because you get to choose an elevated
position far larger than the standard Platform, and you can then build other
things on top of it, as well as using it as a safe vantage point, since enemies
can only get up there via stairs, if you built any.
- The Custom Stairs can also be resized to bridge the gap between a Custom
Platform and the ground. The more sets you build, the more access you have to
your own Platform, but the same goes for the enemies, so by building only one
you can bottleneck them into an area and surround it with traps.
- The Log Cabin is the best option for a large home building. It's costly, but
it has enough space to move around in and place some furniture. Make sure your
Custom Foundation platform is at least twice as big as the Log Cabin.
- A Tree Platform, other than the one you built in your construction yard, is
always useful as an emergency escape hatch, and it comes with its own rope.
Additionally, you can use it as a foolproof entrance to your main base: build a
Tree Platform at a central tree, then surround it by Custom Foundations placed
at a slightly lower elevation. This way you can climb the rope and then drop
down onto the other platforms, and no cannibals can reach you at all. Having
multiple Custom Foundation platforms also lets you compartmentalise your base,
so that if one platform gets destroyed, you don't have to rebuild your entire
base.
SECONDARY BASE COMPONENTS:
These pieces are not crucial, but they will pay off in small ways. As before,
these choices are based on my own playstyle.
- A Wood Bench should be built outside your Cabin, as a convenient spot at
which you can fully recover energy.
- The Water Collector is built by harvesting a turtle shell. It will catch
fresh rainwater, saving you from having to visit a pool nearby.
- The Garden lets you plant seeds which you collect from plants in the forest.
These will then flower and let you harvest them for more curatives, as well as
free food and drink (blueberries).
- The Log Holder speaks for itself. Build several early on and fill them, so
that if you want to make changes later you have the resources already collected.
- By building a Bon Fire you can pretty effectively light up a decent area of
your base at night. It lasts several more burns than any other fire, and while
it's lit enemies can catch fire if they get too close to it. It's a good
defensive option in its own way.
- Build the smaller Standing Fires at chokepoints. They act as light sources
at important spots in your base, and they can also burn enemies passing by. You
will have to keep relighting them.
- The Skull Lamps are great, so long as you have the skulls they require.
Position a Skull Lamp at important navigation points which you know you will
need to find in the dark, such as the bottom of stairs, gaps in the walls,
doorways, ropes, etc. They do not require fuel, and will burn forever (unless
destroyed).
- Defensive Spikes act as a cheap and effective barrier to entry wherever
they're placed, as cannibals can't get over them and must go around them
(obviously they can be destroyed if building destruction is on). The advantage
they have over Defensive Walls is that you can see over them, and also throw
explosives, etc.
- Defensive Walls are just as effective as barriers, but they end up being
more expensive than Spikes. The advantage is that cannibals can't see through
them, so it's possible that they won't spot you hiding and will move on.
- The Free Standing Zip-Line is a lot of fun. Place one end up high, such as
on a high platform at the back of your base, then place the other end down low,
such as some distance outside your base, next to the water. You can then slide
along the rope to make a quick getaway. It also acts as a sort of security lock
to keep cannibals out: build your entire base on a large Custom Foundation at
the base of a cliff, then build the Zip-Line on the cliff edge above it, placing
the other end somewhere on the Custom Foundation's surface. With building
destruction turned off the cannibals can't destroy the Foundation or the
Zip-Line, and cannot access your base at all.
Remember to build the outer limits of your base last, once you're happy with
the inner contents.
2.2.2 ...AND WHY YOU SHOULDN'T BOTHER
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Leaving the 'fun' element aside, the point of all this work is to protect
yourself from the cannibals and mutants on patrol through the forest and the
mountains, as well as provide yourself with a base of operations where you can
store more items and materials than your inventory can hold. It also acts as a
place where you can rest and save, which means that if you're really worried
about being out at night, as long as you can make it back to your base before it
gets dark you should be OK.
So, it stands to reason that building a base is pretty much required, as well
as being a lot of fun, right? - at least this is what the game wants you to
think.
There are several problems with this.
- Building the base you are picturing in your head is going to take an
unbelievably long time, primarily because of all the logs it requires. Even with
a Chainsaw and a Log Sled, you will spend ages hacking at trees, collecting
pairs of logs, hauling them back to base, attaching them to scaffolds, running
back to the trees, etc. This not only costs time, it also costs energy which you
keep having to replenish, either with limited consumables or more time.
- It also incurs a lot of risk, since chopping down trees creates noise, and
noise attracts enemies. Every time you get the enemies' attention they
effectively level up (although you get no real time indication of this) and get
more aggressive. Building structures has the same effect, so in other words
building a base increases the need for a better base.
- Assuming you want your base to be as safe as it can be (otherwise what's the
point), you will want to build it somewhere the enemies won't find it. The only
way to identify such a place is to familiarise yourself with the enemy patrol
routes, and this costs a lot more time, if you can even be bothered doing it.
Whereupon you will discover that, near a patrol route or otherwise, there is
nowhere you can build your base where the enemies won't find it. They will come
to the noise, they will come to the light of your fires - and once they find it
they won't forget it.
- This might lead you to believe that the best solution is simply to relocate,
build another base somewhere else. This solves nothing, the same results will
follow, at the cost of even more time.
- If you somehow manage to find a place the enemies can't locate, there is no
point in building loads of buildings and defenses, since with no enemies there
is no danger.
- If you're role playing you probably left the option to make buildings
destructible left on in the Options menu (if you didn't then this point doesn't
matter). Very few buildings you can build cannot be destroyed by enemies, which
means you might spend half an hour constructing a huge Custom Foundation, only
for a group of enemies to appear and raze it within five seconds, later that
night (yes, this happened to me). Additionally, since enemies are persistently
levelling up and increasing in numbers, your base actually gets more
destructible and therefore vulnerable with each day that passes. In other words,
if you spend five days building a mega-base, it ends up being four days more
likely to be removed than a base which would have taken one day, since you gave
the enemies four more days in which to find it and to level up. This becomes
even more true at higher difficulty levels: you might think that with harder
enemies you have a greater need for the protection a base can offer, but the
opposite is true - you now stand an even greater chance of having your time
wasted, and that's even assuming the harder enemies let you build the thing in
peace and quiet in the first place.
- Since you probably don't want to commit the time to building more than one
base, you will likely want the single base you do build to be ideally sited, so
you don't regret not building it somewhere better. You can't know which site is
the best until you have explored all or most of the map, and by the time you
have done this you are close to the end of the game anyway. The closer you get
to completing the game, the less use you have for a base - and in fact once you
enter the Chasm Cave with no intention of coming back, you have no use at all
for one. Therefore, building one anyway at this point represents an even bigger
waste of time than it would have been at any earlier point.
Anyway, I can definitely think of more, but I won't labour the point further.
If you want to spend ages on putting together a screenshot-friendly stronghold,
only for it to be deleted within seconds, that's up to you. I understand that
people love the building aspect of this game, but my point is that, at least in
single player mode, it's not only pointless, it's wasteful. It wastes your time,
it wastes your resources, and it's a worthless project.
If you're still not convinced, here are some counterpoints for you to
consider:
- A Temporary Shelter or a Hunting Shelter will provide you with the
all-important save and rest point, and either one takes about thirty to sixty
seconds max to build.
- A Small Cabin takes a little longer, but it provides you with shelter from
rain (and therefore cold) and from attack (with building destruction off).
- A Tree Platform provides you with total protection from every single enemy
in the game, since none of them can climb ropes or destroy the structure.
- While more expensive, the Tree House and the Alpine Treehouse each provide
you with a save point, a rest point, a hiding place, shelter from the weather,
and a place to build a fire (which is also protected from rain). They also
cannot be reached or destroyed by the enemies. Either of these is basically an
all-purpose mini-base, and I recommend them over any other option except one
(read on). The only downside is that you can't build energy regen furniture up
there, such as the Wood Bench or Bone Chair.
- Your inventory is plenty big enough to hold all the items you need to
explore any Cave, and to complete the game. Nearly all items and resources in
the game respawn, so you will never run out. You don't need more storage, or to
spend days building it.
- Cannibals and mutants die in deep water. This means that water offers better
protection than any wall or trap you can build, and it's totally free. It's a
trap which does not need to be reset. So, as long as you are near any
sufficiently deep water you are more or less invincible.
- Finally, and even better than all the other points: bases are completely
pointless while Caves exist. Because of resource distribution (mainly trees, but
also wildlife and other materials), some sites are far more attractive than
others for building a base at. Since this game is predominantly about exploring
the Caves, all of which are accessed from the forest, and since those Caves are
rich in resources not generally found above ground, it makes sense to build your
base in a centralised location, within sprint distance of as many Caves as you
can find - as mentioned above, just south of the Sinkhole would be ideal. Well,
since you're already hanging around the Caves, you really might as well just go
down into one and find or build a rest / save point in there. There are no logs,
but you don't need any, since the point of building a base is to protect
yourself from roaming cannibal patrols, none of whom will ever enter a Cave or
chase you in there - patrols only operate above ground. No matter how much noise
you make or fires you build, you will never attract a patrol to you in a Cave. A
Cave is effectively an indestructible fortress, hiding place, and often resource
dump, and it already exists for free - you just have to find it.
Want a base which cannot be found, cannot be destroyed, does not have to be
built or maintained, costs no time or resources, comes with its own resources
and escape routes, involves entirely predictable enemy placements and no enemy
movements, allows you to avoid 99% of all enemies in the game, often includes
its own free and indestructible save and rest point, can be discovered and
exploited virtually from the very start of the game, and which you were probably
going to visit anyway? Let me show you our fine selection of Caves.
2.3 THE SINKHOLE SHORTCUT
_________________________
Other than the upper lip of the Sinkhole, there are also two ledges which
allow you not only to look down into it, but actually to access it by dropping
down. Using any of these spots, you can reach the bottom of the Sinkhole without
having to pass through the Chasm Cave, allowing you to bypass most of the game.
- The ledge partway through the Ledge Cave is positioned against the north
side of the Sinkhole. Get there quickly either by entering the Ledge Cave via
its westernmost entrance, or by finding the mossy shelf above and clockwise from
it, on the Sinkhole's upper lip. From that shelf you can drop down to the left
and then the right to land on the Ledge Cave ledge. From there it's quite easy
to drop further down, walking generally clockwise and landing on various rocks,
until you finally reach the bottom.
- There is a similar ledge overlook found via the Dead Cave, by some dynamite
boxes. This ledge is positioned at the south-east side of the Sinkhole, quite a
bit higher up than the Ledge Cave ledge. It is possible to reach this ledge by
dropping off the lip of the Sinkhole, but it's a lot harder than the Ledge Cave
alternative.
Reaching either of these ledges from the top will likely involve some health
loss (although this is not guaranteed). Always try to hug the Sinkhole walls as
you fall, as this gives you the best chance of nicking a surface which will
break your fall.
There are at least two more shortcuts down into the Sinkhole:
- The Glider allows you to float down there with no health lost.
Unfortunately, it takes a while to build the Glider, and once you land it in the
Sinkhole you have lost it, since there's no way to get it out again.
- It's possible to jump from the very top of the Sinkhole and survive the fall
to the bottom. There is a specific edge of a specific rock which can be landed
on at the cost of no health. I won't waste your time by trying to describe
exactly which rock - just look it up on Youtube!
Anyway, if you make it down to the Sinkhole via any of these shortcuts, you
can potentially save yourself a lot of time later on, since you now have the
option of exploring the immediately adjacent Chasm Cave in the wrong direction
(or skipping it entirely). The Obsidian Doors should open from the outside,
without needing to use the Pedestals, and as long as you have one dynamite and
the Climbing Axe (which is not wholly necessary and is found in the Ledge Cave
anyway, another time saver), you will be able to make your way carefully all the
way up and out to the surface once more, collecting all the various items on the
way.
What often happens, especially on first playthroughs, is that you make it all
the way down to the Sinkhole through the Chasm Cave, only to find that you have
used so many supplies on the way down that you'll have to go all the way back up
again if you want to be equipped to take on the Laboratory; then, if you still
don't realise you can drop into the Sinkhole, you might pass through the Chasm
Cave a THIRD time, a massive waste of energy and resources. On top of that, if
you get to the Laboratory and find that you have not collected the Keycard,
that's potentially two more trips, and a lot more time wasted. The shortcut
solves all of this.
Finally, a note about the Ledge Cave ledge. There is a tent immediately inside
the cave, and seven bones spawn on the ledge outside. Because of the fact that
the game respawns all resources in the world every time you reload from a save,
you can collect all the bones, use six of them to make one Bone Armour, save at
the tent, reload from that save, then go outside to find another seven bones.
You can exploit this in order to fully equip yourself with maximum Bone Armours
(you can wear ten at once), then create another ten and store them in your
inventory, then collect another fifteen bones for yet more crafting later on -
all from this same area. I suggest you do this if you're using the Sinkhole
shortcut, since it lets you enter the final boss fight with the maximum possible
Bone Armour, and without ever having to fight a single cannibal.
2.4 SPEEDRUNS
_____________
It is possible to speedrun this game, using only some essential tools, no
small amount of skill, and an enormous quantity of luck. I can suggest some ways
on how to do it, but not being a pro-gamer, and not having looked up any
information on this kind of stuff, I will leave it to you to fill in the
details. This document is almost the opposite of a speedrun guide, but upon
learning you could drop into the Sinkhole I thought it might be fun to include
this little section for anyone interested. I'm sure there will be more
information about speedruns around the internet, and maybe even a small
community - trust them before you trust me!
---
There are some essentials you will need before you begin. The first is a good
crash site spawn. There are two which I believe are most (and equally) conducive
to speedruns, since they both put you as close as possible to the Submerged
Cave, which I suggest should be your first destination. These are Sites 2 & 5
(see section 2.1 for tips on how to identify them when you get them).
NOTE: This strategy does not involve the Map or Compass, since they are far
too far away. You can try an alternative method, whereby you deliberately die
upon leaving the plane, spawn in the Hanging Cave, grab the Map and Compass,
then make your way to the Submerged Cave, but this will inevitably cost you
time. You can avoid having to do this by simply memorising how to get from one
place to another without Map or Compass, and once you're in the Sinkhole these
items are useless anyway.
Next you will need the REBREATHER, since there are two Rebreather tunnels
beyond the Sinkhole Cave which you will not survive without it. There is only
one Rebreather in the game, and it's found in the Submerged Cave, so you want to
go there early. Make sure you equip it when you find it, it won't work
otherwise.
While you're in the Submerged Cave, be sure to pick up the RUSTY AXE. It's
slower than the Modern Axe and it does slightly less damage, but it has a 100%
block value, which will be exceptionally useful against Megan, the only fight
you plan on having. If you have another strategy for beating Megan, such as
spamming projectiles, you can ignore this step.
NOTE: There should be meds and other supplies in this cave, so take them, too
- the time cost is minimal and the benefit will be substantial, especially for
dropping successfully down the Sinkhole walls.
Finally, you require the SAHARA EMPLOYEE KEYCARD. This is in the Lawyers Cave,
and it's mercifully quite near the westernmost entrance. Since the Lawyers Cave
is closer to the Sinkhole than is the Submerged Cave, you should visit the
Lawyers Cave after the Submerged Cave, then go to the Sinkhole.
They're the essentials, but if you can manage to collect certain other things
as you pass them your chances improve. Grab any meds you can see, as well as
snacks and sodas. Hunger builds up way faster than thirst, so you might get away
with not drinking until you reach the Lab, with its coffee machines and water
coolers. You will need to eat, however, so snacks are doubly important. You also
want to enter the Megan fight with maximum energy. Finally, explosives are good
versus Megan. You have no time to build explosives or find their components, but
you can let dynamite do the same job, and you can find some in the cavern
immediately before the Laboratory - grab them from the crates if you have time.
---
So, here are the basic steps:
- Spawn at Plane Crash Site 2 or 5.
- Run to either Entrance 1 (SE) or Entrance 2 (SW) of the Submerged Cave, and
collect the REBREATHER (equip it!) and RUSTY AXE on the bottom level.
- Exit the Submerged Cave via Entrance 2 (SW), run to Entrance 1 (W) of the
Lawyers Cave, and collect the SAHARA EMPLOYEE KEYCARD from the first low cave.
- Exit the Lawyers Cave via Entrance 1 (W), and run east, to the north lip of
the Sinkhole.
- Drop down the rocks until you reach the Sinkhole, jump into the pool and
enter the first Rebreather tunnel.
- Make your way to the Laboratory (collect the dynamite from the crates if you
want to), and open the Door with the Keycard. Collect the various consumables as
you pass, paying special attention to meds.
- Follow the linear path to Timmy, watch the cutscene, equip the Rusty Axe,
beat Megan, use the Keycard on the Door, get to the Observation Level via a
second Rebreather tunnel, and activate the device.
---
I have not playtested this, as I just don't have the patience for speedruns,
but if you try this route and it works for you, please, let me know :)
2.5 MODS
________
There are loads of mods available for The Forest, capable of changing the game
in all sorts of ways. There are far too many for me to playtest, so I've just
listed some of the ones I have enjoyed and which I would recommend trying out
(all these recommendations are based on the single player experience).
Installing mods is fairly easy for this game. First go to:
https://modapi.survivetheforest.net/game/TheForest/
You can browse a huge list of all the mods on the site, or you can use the
list at the bottom of this first page to check some of the most popular (this is
what I did). You then ask the site to create a package for you of all the mods
you have ticked, and you download this package file (which will include the
installer) to your computer. Unpack this folder package into the root
installation Steam directory of The Forest - for me this was:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\The Forest
Open the 'modapi' folder and run 'ModAPI.exe'. This presents you with a list
of the mods you chose to download, and you can tick the ones you want to apply.
Some of them also have a Settings tab where you can configure things like
hotkeys. You then choose Start Game at the bottom right.
---
Anyway, here are the mods I use. Note that when writing this guide I only used
some of the cosmetic ones, not any which changed gameplay from the base game.
Make sure you have cheats enabled (Options > Gameplay > Allow Cheats).
Bigger Backpack:
This increases the amounts of many of the crafting materials your inventory is
capable of holding, reducing the need to scavange for them. It won't allow you
to hold more than the default number of key items, however.
Clarity:
This mod removes the blur effect when underwater, allowing you to clearly see
everything. This helps a lot for spotting Rebreather holes or sharks.
Day 22 Spawn Change:
Using a hotkey which is assigned through the mod menu, you can change the
numbers of enemies which spawn in accordance with the changes the game makes on
Day 22, either to make the game more easy or more difficult.
Easy Building:
This simply halves the construction costs of all items in the Survival Guide,
great for practising building bases or log coasters.
Far LOD:
This is a graphical mod which improves the details at long distances.
Infinite Zipline:
This one is a lot of fun, allowing you to build ziplines of infinite length,
so that you can theoretically zipline across the entire island. Unfortunately,
it still won't let you build a zipline connecting the top of the Sinkhole to the
bottom.
Inventory Mod 2:
This is the one to use when practising or playtesting in The Forest. It allows
you to open a cheat menu with the 'F4' key, and then click on the names of any
and all items which can be found in the game to add them to your inventory.
Light The Way:
Probably my favourite, it vastly improves the beam of the Torch. It also
appears to extend the battery duration.
Long Climbing Rope:
This fixes the fact that climbing ropes in the base game often fail to reach
the ground from a high platform, requiring you to build another, lower platform,
etc.
Longer Days and Nights (Louie):
This is good for exploring and base building, since longer days means more
daylight. Nights are a lot more tense, too.
Map:
This very helpful mod unlocks the entire map and allows you to see all sorts
of interesting things you might otherwise have missed.
More Shortcuts:
This is a must for me, a mod which lets me assign hotkeys to all sorts of
items in order to quickly switch to them or consume them. This is terrific and
saves you from having to contantly open your inventory to do anything.
The Compass can be brought out quickly, which is great (although I later found
out that this can be done anyway with the 'P' key, which is assigned to
Utility); you can assign a key to equip various armours automatically, one at a
time; and there is a really nice toggle key which lets you switch between the
Lighter and the Torch. Unfortunately, it still won't let you assign a hotkey to
the air canister.
No Auto Aggression:
This is a good one for new players, denying the enemies the ability to level
up over time.
No Sleep Cooldown:
This just removes the cooldown on resting.
Repair Tool:
You can use the 'F' key to equip a tool which lets you repair damaged
buildings: pretty cool and probably should have been in the base game; but
needless if you have building destruction turned off.
2.6 CACHE LOCATIONS
___________________
There are eight Caches in the game, each of which contains a unique piece of
the Flintlock Pistol. You will need all eight to build the Pistol, which means
finding and opening all eight Caches. Here are their locations (I mention them
again in the walkthrough, as they appear).
CACHE 1: Head due south of the large cannibal village until you come to the
shore. Don't go downhill to the beach, turn east and follow the cliffs instead,
staying close to the edge. You should soon find a pile of boulders, and
immediately east of this is CACHE 1.
CACHE 2: There is a curved beach in the south, just next to the Yacht bay. On
the hill above this curved beach is a huge tree, under which is CACHE 2.
CACHE 3: Look on the ground inside one of the huts in the small village due
north of the Hanging Cave's Entrance 3 (SW).
CACHE 4: This one is on the beach due east of the fishing huts on the
north-west shore. Look not far from the easternmost hut, in the sand, next to a
whale carcass.
CACHE 5: Stand at the south end of the geese pond, so that the pin on the Map
is placed in the very centre-south of the water. Standing on the cliff edge
above the pond, turn west and head in that direction to find CACHE 5 very close
by, in a clearing, among some boulders.
CACHE 6: Swim out due west of the highest Sahara Shipping Container (on the
west coast), the red one on top of the hill, and you should reach two islands,
separated by a few big coral boulders sticking out of the water. On the south
island you should find CACHE 6.
CACHE 7: This Cache is found at the pond in the north-west, up at the top of a
snowy hill (it's easy to find on the Map). Look for a rise just next to the
pond's south-east edge, around the four o'clock position, among a few trees.
CACHE 8: On the cliffs up above the fishing huts on the north-west shore (see
Cache 4) you can find CACHE 8. Go to the westernmost hut, then climb onto the
cliff immediately behind it. There is a grassy slope leading up to a second,
higher cliff - turn left at the top of this slope and look at the cliff edge
here for the dynamite hole.
2.7 PAGE LOCATIONS
__________________
The game contains some Pages from which you can build special structures which
are otherwise unavailable. These Pages are hidden in three separate Rebreather
caves, all of which are found underwater, off the coast in the west, south-west
and south-east. Here are their locations (I mention them again in the
walkthrough, as they appear).
CHURCH PAGE (1/4): Find the anchor symbol on the south-west corner of the Map.
There is a blue tent nearby, and due south of this you can find a shipwreck out
on the water, next to a small island, with most of the ship underwater. Check
the submerged section of the shipwreck to find a Rebreather hole, marked by a
floating log. Down there you can find the CHURCH PAGE (1/4).
GLIDER PAGE (2/4) & TOWER PAGE (3/4): Turn west from the Lawyers Cave Entrance
2 (E), go down to the beach, and spot the set of small islands off to the west,
over the water. Find the south-easternmost of these, a single, greyish mound,
and face south-west, looking over the sea. Jump into the water and look for the
floating log bobbing on the surface, indicating the Rebreather hole. Inside you
can find the TOWER PAGE (3/4) (on the first ledge upon exiting the water inside)
and the GLIDER PAGE (2/4) (inside the last cave).
LOG COASTER PAGE (4/4): Find the hut at the south of the large cannibal
village, the single one by the cliff edge, with the set of clothes. You should
be able to look out over the water and see four small islands. Swim out to the
southernmost one, the bigger one on the end. Stand on the rock at its highest
point, and turn north (you will need the Compass; or you can just aim at the
left edge of the other large island farther north). Keeping to this direction,
run forward and jump in the water to find the floating log marking the
Rebreather cave, inside which you can find the LOG COASTER PAGE (4/4).
2.8 GAME OPTIONS
________________
Before starting a new game, I recommend you take a look at the following
settings and decide which of them you want to change, as they can all
significantly change your game experience:
Options > Display > Field Of View: The game appears to default to a setting
of 90, which is what produces that horrible narrowing effect. If you don't like
this and want a more traditional perspective, try lowering the FOV all the way
to 60.
Options > Gameplay > Regrowing Trees: This allows the trees to regrow over
time, so that any base you build doesn't end up surrounded by tree stumps.
Options > Gameplay > Allow Cheats: As described.
Options > Gameplay > Allow Building Destruction: With this enabled you can
attack your own structures with melée weapons to remove them, if you have placed
them wrongly or whatever. It also allows the cannibals to destroy anything you
have built and that they can reach.
Options > Gameplay > Show Projectile Reticle: This projects a little circle
on the ground whenever you are aiming a throwable. This is really useful, I
suggest you enable this.
Options > Gameplay > Show Stealth Meter: The eye icon will appear whenever
you are in stealth mode, and the white to grey ratio will indicate how visible
you currently are. There's no reason not to enable this unless you're doing some
sort of hardcore role playing.
Options > Key Binding: Here you can change your binds. This is well worth
messing around with, since the defaults often don't make much sense.
The save game files for the Forest are located in:
C:\Users\[USERNAME]\AppData\LocalLow\SKS\TheForest
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
3. WALKTHROUGH
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
This is my guide to the single player adventure. Note that it's based on the
experience of playing on Normal difficulty, since this is what most people will
choose, but the same things apply to the higher difficulties, too.
Good luck :)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
3.1 THE PLANE CRASH
___________________
You start in the plane, in a window seat, with your son, Timmy, sleeping
beside you. Note the Toy he's holding to his chest, and the drawings. There are
apparently 43 other passengers on this plane, but you can only see one of them;
you can't see much out of the window either. You can pick up the Survival Guide
from in front of Timmy. You can spot the author's name - yours! - and a
dedication to Timmy. Picking it up begins the game, as the flight attendant
announces that the plane has entered an area of turbulence (which doesn't make
much sense once you learn more about what's happening), and soon the plane
crashes, flying first past mountains and then through the forest.
You wake up first to see a man covered in paint (or blood) taking Timmy away.
When you wake up again you are alone in the plane, with all the passengers
gone, along with the flight crew. Timmy's drawings are on the floor in front of
you, and you are given two objectives.
OBJECTIVE: FIND TIMMY
OBJECTIVE: SET UP CAMP
Finding Timmy is the overarching point of the game, but there's a long way to
go. You are in no fit state to begin finding anyone yet, but luckily the plane
has most of what you need to get back to fighting strength. Eat the meals you
find around, collect all the booze, sodas and meds, and pick up the PASSENGER
MANIFEST from the cupboard door to receive a new objective.
OBJECTIVE: FIND THE MISSING PLANE PASSENGERS
This is completely optional, it treats the other passengers like collectibles,
and there is no benefit to completing it. The game lists 43, and their names and
seat numbers will be checked off as you find their bodies throughout the forest
and caves.
NOTE: Timmy's name is circled on the Manifest. What could it mean? Also, only
three tray tables are left down on the plane: yours, Timmy's, and someone who
was sitting behind you, on the opposite side. Is this significant? Was the red
man there the whole time? Nope.
When you try to leave the plane you automatically collect the PLANE AXE from
the stewardess's corpse. With this, there's nothing left to do in the plane, so
you might as well drop down to the forest floor.
NOTE: Make sure you completely loot the plane before leaving, but know that if
you forget something, or you just want to get back in for shelter, you always
can. The plane crash site is chosen randomly at the start of the game (from a
few preset spots), and at least one of these makes it tricky to jump back inside
(you might have to run up to the wing and then onto the roof, and then drop down
inside).
3.2 THE FIRST DAY
_________________
Building camps is crucial, for the primary reason that certain camping
structures allow you not only to shelter from the weather, but also to save the
game, which you won't have done yet. So, rather than wandering off and
potentially dying by getting squashed or something, you will want to create your
own save point as a matter of priority. This requires either finding one or
building one, and if you want to build one you will have to take inventory.
NOTE: Some of the crash sites are quite near pre-existing save points, but
without a map or a compass you might struggle to find them. See section 2.1 for
more information about the plane crash sites.
You start with the Survival Guide, the Lighter, the Backpack, and the Timmy
Photo. These are all key items, meaning you can't possibly lose, drop, destroy
or run out of fuel for any of them, and it's worth familiarising yourself with
them early on.
- The Lighter is your main source of light for most of the game, mainly in the
caves. It is rubbish and annoying, but still vital, since it has infinite fuel.
As you progress through the game you will find several applications for it. It
can be brought up and put away again with the 'L' key.
- The Backpack is used to assign hotkeys. Before you do this, I suggest you go
into the Key Bindings section of the Options menu and change the four Item Slots
from the Numpad keys to something easier to reach, such as 1, 2, 3, 4. With this
done, right-click on the Backpack to place it on the mat in your inventory. You
then right-click on another equippable or usable item (such as the Weak Spear),
and choose to combine the two. This brings up a small menu on which you can
press your previously assigned keys, whereupon each key is then assigned to each
item. Unfortunately it doesn't work with every inventory item, but it's still a
great quality of life inclusion.
- The Survival Guide is fantastic, as it supplies you with lots of blueprints
from which you can construct buildings and tools, using raw materials. None of
these constructions is useless, but several of them are indulgences, luxuries
only of interest to people who enjoy the sandbox, building element of the game.
(The first time you build the Gazebo, for example, you get a Steam achievement
sarcastically reminding you that you're supposed to be looking for Timmy.)
However, some of the things in the Survival Guide are critically important, and
you will be returning to them a lot throughout the game.
NOTE: You can bring up the Survival Guide by choosing it from your inventory,
or by pressing 'B' - the same button puts it away again. However, opening the
Book does not pause the game (the game is paused on the inventory screen,
though).
Also, from the start of the game you are given a persistent message about
reading the Survival Guide. You can remove this message by reading all three
BASICS OF SURVIVAL pages.
Finally, the inventory screen itself (open it with the 'I' key). This is where
you equip or use certain items you have collected. It's also where you can
combine materials to improve existing items, or even create new ones.
Experimentation is easy, you just right-click any item, and if it is placed on
the central mat you know you can probably do something with it (although perhaps
not at the start of the game). You can then hover your mouse over the cog icon
to see the recipes which contain the item you chose. By placing all the required
items on the mat together, the cog icon should turn fully grey, at which point
you can create the thing you want, which will then be added to your inventory.
This also frees up space to collect more stuff, since anything you use in the
recipe will be consumed (with some exceptions).
However, right now you have almost nothing in your inventory. Luckily the
plane's wreckage is surrounded by luggage, all of which can be smashed open for
minor supplies. This is annoyingly awkward with the Plane Axe, since you have to
be standing close enough and at a certain angle for your axe swing to change
from a lateral swipe to an overhead smash, which is the attack which works on
the cases. This problem persists throughout the game, but an easy way to solve
it is to build a spear. Since the inventory screen provides a recipe for a Weak
Spear, try building that. You can find sticks lying around on the forest floor,
or you can use any weapon to smash saplings to smithereens. Combine two sticks
to create your Weak Spear, then use that to open the luggage.
There are lots of these coloured cases lying about, and by the time you find
them all and grab what's in them your inventory will be nicely stocked with
healing items and other fabrication materials. However, these supplies are not
much use for building structures, so this should be your next job.
NOTE: These coloured cases are found all through the game. Each time you smash
one open and take everything inside, that case will then stay open and will be
useless from then on. However, if you open one and don't take its contents, it
will respawn later as closed and you can try again. You have to open them by
hitting them with a weapon, and only with the correct animation, which is
particularly annoying when the cases are floating in water.
3.3 SETTING UP CAMP
___________________
Try to build your first camp near the plane, even if you have finished looting
it and all the luggage. Being an indestructible shelter, the plane serves as a
nice rally point, no matter where it spawns at the start of the game, and you
can usually retreat in there to avoid the cannibals if they come for you, as
well as shelter from rain. It's also a fixed and quite visible point of
navigation, so by placing any sort of marker there you can use it to orient
yourself, given that you start with neither a map nor a compass. All the plane
crash sites are rich in natural resources, as well as the usual luggage, so you
can find everything you need for a basic camp. The various minor supplies inside
the plane also respawn infinitely (with some time in between, obviously).
You'll be wanting that save point. Open the Survival Guide and go to the
Shelters tab. The first option is a Temporary Shelter, requiring 17 leaves and
14 sticks. These resources are very easy to find (you can have infinite leaves
in your inventory, just by attacking bushes), so this is probably the preferred
choice. Click on the blueprint and move it around the floor (rotate it with
'R'), then click again to place it. You can then press 'E' on the ghostly
template, and anything you are carrying which the template can use will
automatically be added, one by one. Once the Temporary Shelter is complete, it
presents two icons. One allows you to rest and advance time with 'Z', useful for
turning night into day and for healing off afflictions. The other icon, 'C',
allows you to save the game (this does not advance time).
NOTE: Your new Shelter will also have a yellow house icon above it - this
marker remains visible wherever you go (above ground) for orientation purposes,
but you can change it by using 'R' to cycle through colours, or remove it
entirely by cycling to the grey colour. The same applies to certain other
structures, so any time you build one make sure you control the icon above it,
otherwise your HUD ends up covered in unnecessary flags and houses.
The icons of structures built above ground will not show on your HUD when you
are below ground, and vice versa. If you are finished with a building (e.g. a
Stick Marker) and don't need it any more, you can either turn its icon to grey
(which removes it) or smash it apart to remove it (with building destruction
on). Alternatively, you can make use of a temporary blueprint for its HUD icon,
without actually committing to building it: by placing the template on the
ground you mark that place for construction, which displays a yellow hammer
icon. This will remain in place until you either complete or remove your
building, and costs you nothing.
Sometimes the icons all disappear from the HUD after you rest at a Shelter
with 'Z'. This is a bug, and it can afflict any and all aspects of the HUD;
press ESC twice to bring them back.
NOTE: The Temporary Shelter becomes even more important when you're in one of
the Caves and really need somewhere to rest and save. You won't find any logs
down in the Caves, so you must either find a pre-existing save point or build
one yourself. Since the Temporary Shelter requires 17 leaves and 14 sticks, and
since it's possible (once you've built a Stick Bag) to store 20 sticks in your
inventory, you can enter any Cave with the resources you need to build your own
save point in there.
You could also have built a Hunting Shelter with 7 sticks, 6 rocks and 7 logs,
but this would have meant cutting down a couple of trees. By standing next to a
tree trunk and chopping it with your axe you can chop down any tree and produce
several pieces of lumber, a very important building ingredient. You then pick up
the logs (note that you can carry two logs at once), then haul them to the
template. The Hunting Shelter also allows you to save and rest; but, as with the
Temporary Shelter, you can't actually get inside or under it to shelter from
rain or to hide. This means that neither is much help defensively, and which you
build depends on the availability of trees and whether or not you can be
bothered chopping them down. They are both incredibly useful, though, and I
recommend you build one or the other every few minutes as you explore the
forest, since the game will not autosave otherwise.
NOTE: Structures are destructible if you have chosen that option in the
Gameplay menu. You can turn it off to make all buildings permanent, so that
anything you build can't be smashed to pieces by the cannibals. If you do need
to destroy something you've built, just change the option back again.
Also, you don't have to use an axe to bring down trees: the Chainsaw is much
faster, and explosives are even faster than that.
With your Shelter built, I suggest building a few other items from your
Survival Guide.
- The first is a Stick Marker (Custom Building > Utility 1). These are very
cheap to build, and you should have found the cloth required among the luggage.
These should be built all over the place, any time you encounter anything
interesting. You can colour code them as you like (for instance, I place a
purple marker at every cave entrance I find), and, as with the house icons above
shelters, they can be left visible from anywhere above ground. They can also be
built below ground, since the resources they require are so few and commonly
found in caves.
- The second item is a Wood Bench (Furniture 1). This might seem an innocuous
choice, but it turns out Wood Benches are extremely useful. Your stamina and
energy bars are constantly, if slowly, depleting as time passes, and you would
normally have to lift them back up with consumables. However, sitting on a Wood
Bench for just a few seconds replenishes both bars fully. Build a Wood Bench to
go with every shelter, they're really cheap at only 2 logs.
- And the third construction is a Basic Fire, for only 7 leaves and 2 sticks.
This is another extremely important and cheap thing to build, and you can use it
to warm up, cook food, boil water, create a visible light source, scare away
enemies, and even hurt enemies by getting them to run past or into the fire.
Once built, light it with the lighter and use leaves or cash to keep it burning
for longer (this only increases the burn duration, not the strength or light of
the fire). I suggest you use cash for fire fuel, since it has no other use,
whereas leaves are used in construction and weapon upgrades.
NOTE: The Standing Fire might look cheap, too, but don't build it now, since
you cannot cook meat on it. It's more of a beacon and trap, capable of setting
enemies on fire as they pass it.
I want to mention two other useful constructions, the first of which is the
Tree Platform. This provides several bonuses for when you're really worried
about enemy attack. It costs 14 logs and 1 rope (you can craft your own rope
from 7 cloths, which you should have got from the luggage), so it might take a
while to build, but it really pays off. The reason is that enemies can't climb
ropes, so a Tree Platform keeps you entirely safe from any enemies on the ground
(although you are stuck up there until they leave). Also, if you build a fire
under a Tree Platform it will not be doused by rain.
The other one I want to mention is the Skull Lamp, costing 3 sticks, 1 skull
and 5 sap. This is an excellent thing to build, particularly in the caves, since
it provides a permanent source of light. It doesn't even need to be lit, it just
starts burning as soon as it's finished. This is a fantastic help underground,
both for vision and navigation, especially because skulls are so commonly found
in the Caves. You likely have not found a skull yet, but if you can't find any
lying around at any point in the game, just know you can kill and behead a
cannibal and then cook the head to gain a skull. You have to mine sap just by
hacking at tree trunks with any axe, but be sure to build plenty of these things
throughout the game, they're great.
Anyway, at some point during all of this, the game will have given you another
objective.
OBJECTIVE: FIND AND COOK FOOD
The meals and snacks you found up until now will have helped your hunger, and
the sodas your thirst. If you have found any meds they can be used to quickly
restore some health, and booze does the same thing, albeit at the cost of some
energy and stamina. Anyway, unless you plan on eating snacks forever, curing
your hunger means hunting. You might have noticed various animals running around
the forest, and any of these can be killed for food. If you built that Weak
Spear earlier that's your best chance at a kill; or you can also build a Crafted
Bow from your inventory.
NOTE: A Crafted Bow requires 1 cloth, 1 stick and 1 rope. However, you then
have to create arrows, using feathers and sticks, and getting the feathers means
either killing birds or waiting until the feathers drop off as they flutter
around you and land nearby. I recommend you build the Crafted Bow early, and by
all means create some arrows when you have the time and resources, but the
spears do much the same job and are less hassle to create early on. Note that
cannibals die with one single arrow to the head!
The Weak Spear requires no ammo (you can build and store multiple spears once
you craft the Spear Bag), and can kill rabbits, lizards and deer in one strike.
You will have to get good at throwing it, though (unless you can get close
enough for a melée kill, which is unlikely). Make sure you are not holding
anything in your left hand, then bring up your spear by holding down the right
mouse button. Aim it and line up your left hand so that your forefinger is just
very slightly below and to the left of the target, then throw the spear
(practise on a big boulder or something, so you can easily retrieve it each
time). If you get it right your spear will one-shot your meal of choice, and you
can skin the corpse for a hide (useful for crafting), then collect the meat.
Take the meat back to the fire and press 'R' to cycle to it, then 'C' to drop it
on the burning fire. Wait a few seconds, then collect and eat the cooked meat
with 'E'. This should fully sate your hunger, as well as restoring some health,
energy and stamina. You can store more meat in your inventory for later,
although it will spoil after a while. You can also cook multiple pieces of meat
on the same fire, at the same time.
NOTE: When skinning an animal you gain its hide, which will be placed in your
inventory. Different animal hides have different uses, but the most immediately
useful is probably the lizard skin, since you can equip each skin for one point
of armour. You can also combine one lizard skin with 15 leaves to produce
Stealth Armour, which reduces the likelihood you will be detected while
sneaking. To sneak (or crouch) just press your sneak key, which defaults to LEFT
CTRL. You become harder to see and hear, but you are still detectable. When
there are no obstacles around to crouch behind, your next best chance at hiding
successfully is to activate sneak while crouching in a bush. Your visibility
icon should turn completely grey, and enemies will usually walk right past you.
Obviously this does not work in the Caves.
You will also have to drink, and the few sodas you have will run out at some
point. You will have to find some fresh water (such as pools or streams):
approach the edge and press and hold 'E' to drink. Because the water in the
forest is contaminated, you will take slight health loss and may become infected
if you keep drinking it. You can boil away the bacteria by collecting fresh
water in an Old Pot and boiling that over a fire, but you don't have an Old Pot
yet.
Once you've built some structures, the game will likely give you another
objective as night approaches. This objective should also appear when you are
attacked by cannibals for the first time.
OBJECTIVE: SET UP DEFENSES
This is the game encouraging you to build a stronger base, but I suggest you
ignore this, at least for now. I don't actually know how to get the game to
consider it complete, but it's not important.
3.4 BEFORE SETTING OUT
______________________
There are a few other things to know before you begin exploring the forest
around you.
When you got off the plane at first you were likely covered in blood, and the
game would have given you a warning about it. Washing off blood is easy enough:
just stand in rain or get into deep enough water and you will see the blood come
off your arms. If you remain bloody for too long you can become infected, which
reduces your energy and stamina.
You can also become hypothermic if you are cold for too long. This most likely
happens when you submerge yourself in water or get rained on. To dry off and
avoid hypothermia you have to build a fire and stand by it until the cold effect
is removed from your HUD, or you can just stand around in the sun.
Aloe is the best way to actively remove disease and its effects, and it also
acts as an ingredient in natural curatives. You can find aloe beside any of the
plane crash sites (look along the edges of fresh water pools and streams), and
the icon for it is quite recognisable. Try combining it with other herbs in your
inventory to create healing items, for when you have no meds (you can only store
5 meds in your inventory thoughout the game, but you can have more herbs).
There are other weapons to be crafted early on, besides the Weak Spear. The
spear itself can be changed into the Upgraded Spear, but you will need 3 bones
for that recipe. Bones are generated from limbs. Limbs can be found in some of
the larger cannibal fetishes you see standing around in the forest, but you will
have to go looking for these. Alternatively, you can actually attack and kill
the cannibals and then use a melée weapon to hack off their arms and legs, which
you can then collect. Either way, you then light a fire and cook the limbs over
it. They then become edible, and when you eat the meat (which can cause disease,
lower your health slightly, and even lower your sanity) the bone gets added to
your inventory; alternatively you can just let them burn for longer and the
flesh will burn away, letting you pick up the bones. Bones are useful for the
Upgraded Spear, a really good early weapon; and they can also be used to create
the excellent Bone Armour, each layer of which lets you absorb several strikes
with no health loss before it fails. Each time you kill a cannibal or find a
corpse, make sure you harvest the limbs for these purposes. Note that armour
will always protect you from strikes from the usual enemies, but it will not
protect you from fire, fall damage, cold or shark attacks!
NOTE: Sanity is a semi-hidden health bar in this game. You can check what
level it's at from the TODO page of the Survival Guide. Once your sanity drops
lower than 90%, the Effigies page will appear in the Survival Guide, just after
the Signals page. As far as I know, there are no other consequences. Effigies
are decorations you can put up to attempt to scare away cannibals.
NOTE: You can also create the Crafted Axe with 1 stick, 1 rope and 1 rock; and
the Crafted Club for 1 stick and 1 skull. However, neither of these are much use
except for their ability to block attacks, and both are made totally redundant
by the Modern Axe or the Rusty Axe, both of which you can get very early on.
You might wonder what happens when you die, and in fact it's worth finding out
for yourself, because it's not all bad. The game gives you a free 'continue',
effectively, whereby if you are killed on land, either by being attacked or by
falling off a cliff or something like this, you experience a canned cutscene
where you are dragged off by two cannibals. You then reawaken in the Hanging
Cave, and you have to flick on your Lighter, grab the Plane Axe and use it to
free yourself. The upside of this is that you are taken to the very same spot
where the Map and Compass are found, which means that you can get them almost
immediately, so long as you are willing to give up your one free roll. This is
not worth doing once you know how to easily get to the Hanging Cave, so keep
this trump card back for emergencies. Bizarrely, this scripted event happens no
matter where you are, or at what point in the story (with a special exception in
the Laboratory). You can die in the extreme north and respawn in the Hanging
Cave, which is a really bad form of fast travel. You can even jump into the
Sinkhole and splat on the bottom, and still get dragged off. However, if you
drown you will die instantly, with no trip to the Hanging Cave, and it's game
over; the same applies when you die of hunger, thirst, cold or disease.
Finally, it's worth noting that the plane crash site always spawns in the
south, generally somewhere between the Sinkhole and the south coast. You can get
your bearings by checking the position of the sun, which rises due east of
everywhere and sets due west of everywhere. (By facing the sun as it sets, for
example, you can know you are basically facing west, no matter where you are,
and this should make navigation easier, especially if you are following the
shoreline; the same applies to the moon.) This should be enough to give you an
approximate bearing from your crash site. Make sure to build a Stick Marker next
to the crashed plane, so that you always have two fixed points by which to
navigate.
3.5 DESTINATION 1: LARGE CANNIBAL VILLAGE
_________________________________________
Still, since a real compass and a map would be very helpful, collecting them
is the next priority. They are both found in the Hanging Cave, in the vicinity
of the large cannibal village in the south-east corner of the map. You always
spawn to the west, north-west or north of the large cannibal village (unless you
are lucky enough to get one of the two crash sites immediately next to the
village), so to help find it you might want to wait until the sun rises, then
use that position as a guide - face the rising sun and walk towards it, and you
will inevitably be heading roughly towards the village, or at least towards the
east coast of the south half of the island. It's very important to find this
village and the Hanging Cave early on, since there are lots of supplies and lore
to be found early. Also, the sooner you get the Map, the sooner the game will
start giving you the various Explore objectives, which will not appear while the
Map remains uncollected.
You will know the large cannibal village when you see it: a collection of
wooden huts in a sunny clearing. Watch out for cannibals before you start
exploring, as this is a popular spot.
NOTE: The cannibals don't seem to know you are on the island at first, but
sooner or later you will encounter them above ground, and from then on each
encounter after that becomes more dangerous as they take more and more interest
in you. Get in fights, destroy their totems and fetishes, build structures, or
alarm them in any way, and you become more of a problem for them. They start to
set up increasingly heavy patrols, and these routes can take them all around the
island, usually passing through or by their own villages, such as the main one
in the south-east. Take care when exploring, and know that you can escape all
the above ground enemies simply by ducking into a Cave, jumping into deep water,
or climbing a rope or any spot too high for them to reach.
The large cannibal village is full of all sorts of useful early equipment and
crafting materials, including circuit boards, dynamite, and three sets of
clothing.
NOTE: You will find lots of clothing sets throughout the game. These are
purely cosmetic, as far as I know, and the sort you find tends to bear some
relation to where you find them (such as finding a suit near a corpse wearing a
suit, etc.) Unfortunately, finding or changing clothes does not increase your
stealth, and does nothing to remove the effects of cold or wet.
There are more clothes in a single hut by the southern shore; and by following
the path to the north end of the village you can also find a lone hut by the
cliff edge, containing a paint brush and pot of red paint. In the same hut is
the first of Timmy's Drawings, as well as more clothes.
NOTE: Each time you collect paint you cover yourself temporarily in red, which
can effectively disable many cannibals, as they stop attacking and kneel to
worship you instead (remember the man in red?). The same applies for when you
are covered in blood, although, as already mentioned, blood increases your
chances of becoming diseased; and it also affects the beam of the Torch. Paint
and blood will wash off in any water, including rain. The brush does nothing, by
the way.
NOTE: Timmy's Drawings are dotted throughout the game, and they provide clues
as to his whereabouts, or at least to places where he has previously been. Look
carefully at each Drawing and make up your own mind about what Timmy is trying
to tell you about what's happening to him. These Drawings get more and more
sinister as you get deeper into the Forest, but they serve no real purpose.
You can also find the first of the Passengers in the village, dotted around
the huts (4C, 5D, 10B, 10C, 10D, 11C, 11B (7/43)). Look for bodies in white
shirts, tied up or hanging from posts.
NOTE: I already mentioned the Passengers, but I'll briefly do so again. These
are similar to Timmy's Drawings, in that they are pretty much just collectibles,
there to provide some lore and drama. There is no real point in finding them
all, but if you want to check off all 43 this guide will tell you how.
CACHE 1: Head due south of the large village until you come to the shore.
Don't go downhill to the beach, turn east and follow the cliffs instead, staying
close to the edge. You should be at a pile of boulders, and immediately east of
this is CACHE 1.
NOTE: This is the first of the eight Caches in the game. These are burial
sites containing (usually) rope and some Old Gun ammo. Each Cache also reveals a
single, unique piece of the Old Gun (aka the Flintlock Pistol), and by
collecting all eight pieces you can build the Pistol. To open a Cache you bring
out a piece of dynamite from your inventory, light it with the Lighter, then
place it onto the pile of rubble with 'C'. Stand back from the explosion. As
mentioned, you can find dynamite in the large cannibal village to open this
Cache early. Note that you can also use explosives to open the Caches, and you
must place them in the same way.
The Old Gun parts respawn over time (the ammo in the Caches doesn't respawn,
but the ammo found elsewhere will), meaning you can build one Flintlock Pistol
and then collect all eight parts all over again, although there's absolutely no
point.
Each Cache is indicated by an Old Photo, eight of which are meant to be
discovered sprinkled around the map, often below ground. Each Old Photo
corresponds with the number of the Cache it points to, and the number of the Old
Gun part found inside. By looking closely at an Old Photo you can often work out
where you should look; or you can just find the Caches anyway by exploring as
you play. You don't need the Old Photos, so they're really just collectibles.
POINT OF INTEREST: Due west of the westernmost hut of the large cannibal
village, at the south end, you can find a small cluster of cannibal fetishes,
several of which contain limbs which you can collect. These are useful for
farming bones for crafting, so if you need bones but don't want to have to fight
for them, this is a good place to go early on.
POINT OF INTEREST: Find the hut at the south of the cannibal village, the
single one by the cliff edge, with the set of clothes. You should be able to
look out over the water and see four small islands. Swim out to the southernmost
one, the bigger one on the end. Stand on the rock at its highest point, and turn
north (you will need the Compass; or you can just aim at the left edge of the
other large island farther north). Keeping to this direction, run forward and
jump in the water to find a floating log connected to two ropes, at the bottom
of which is the Rebreather cave containing the LOG COASTER PAGE (4/4), as well
as some crossbow bolts and a set of clothes.
This is the first such Page you can find in the game, and there are two
others, all of them found in three separate Rebreather caves at the edges of the
map. These blueprints allow you to build extra constructions from your Survival
Guide (see the new pages after the NOTES section). To reach any of them you will
need the Rebreather and ideally some air canisters, so remember this spot and
you can come back to it later.
3.6 DESTINATION 2: HANGING CAVE
_______________________________
Anyway, the Hanging Cave is next, so find it by looking for am obvious pile of
boulders at the north-western edge of the village, just behind the huts, marked
by a tall totem of skulls.
NOTE: As a matter of good practice, you should generally build a Wood Bench, a
Basic Fire and a Shelter at the entrance to any Cave, so that you can enter with
full health and energy, as well as a convenient save point. This is not always
essential, but it never hurts.
NOTE: Stealth is always a useful resource in the Caves, so consider creating
and equipping some cheap Stealth Armour (15 leaves, 1 lizard skin) and Rabbit
Fur Boots (2 ropes, 3 rabbit hides) before going in.
At some point the game should give you one or two new objectives.
OBJECTIVE: EXPLORE HANGING CAVE
OBJECTIVE: KEEP EXPLORING HANGING CAVE
I don't know how these are triggered, since I entered the Cave, collected the
Map and Compass, and neither of them appeared. No big deal, they don't have to
be there at all, and the same goes for all the other Cave objectives.
Entrances
_________
Entrance 1 (SE) is in the south-east corner of the map, at the west edge of
the large cannibal village, marked by a pile of boulders and some skulls and
totems. This is my recommended entrance, since it puts you at the Map and
Compass immediately.
Entrance 2 (N) is near a small village with four wooden huts, beside a large
pond in the exact x-axis centre of the map, with two white boulders in it. Head
east and slightly north of this small village to find the Cave Entrance. (Stand
with your back to the fire post farthest from the water's edge, look just past
the right side of the hut you are facing, then walk forwards.)
Entrance 3 (SW) is almost due south of Entrance 2 (N). Stand in the small
village with your right side to the water's edge, and your left side to the back
of the hut closest to the water, then just run forwards and find the Entrance at
the side of a large clearing. This is a dangerous Entrance, because it drops you
into the Baby Cave, so I suggest you avoid it as an entrance, and use it as an
exit instead.
Notable Items
_____________
Cassette Player, Cassettes (1, 2, 4), Compass, Map, Modern Axe, 'Teddy On
Yacht' Photograph, Timmy's Toy (1)
Preparation
___________
The Hanging Cave is reasonably dangerous, with several enemies, including
mutants. However, the most dangerous parts of it are also the ones least worth
visiting. Since this is likely your first Cave, there are some things to
consider (these also apply to all the other Caves).
If you need to save in a Cave and can't find a save point, you can create your
own by building a Temporary Shelter. This requires 14 sticks and 17 leaves, but
no logs, which means that you can take those materials into the Cave with you
(you can usually find sticks lying around in Caves anyway, so that you can build
spears, arrows and Temporary Shelters). By building a Stick Bag (1 rabbit skin,
2 ropes, 3 cloths), you get to hold 20 sticks in your inventory.
Molotovs are great in the Caves, since just one can stun or even kill multiple
enemies at once, as well as creating much needed light. They are very cheap and
the materials they require are almost always found in the Caves. Build a few and
assign them a hotkey.
Stick Markers and Skull Lamps are also extremely useful tools for navigation
in the Caves. Any time you come to a significant junction, consider building one
or the other in order to reduce the chances of getting lost. Skull Lamps are
particularly good ways of illuminating dangling ropes, tents, unlit campfires,
etc.
Finally, try to enter any Cave with some armour in your inventory, and at
least one equipped. It's far easier for you to get hit out of nowhere
underground, since visibility is so poor and movement is often curtailed, so
just one armour point can mean the difference between living and dying.
There are no save points in the Hanging Cave.
---
From Entrance 1 (SE), go down the rope and you will arrive in a reasonably
well lit cave. It looks worse than it is, because there are no hostiles in here.
On the other hand, there is some incredibly useful equipment, first among which
is the MAP and COMPASS. They can be found at the corpse of the crushed caver, in
the middle of the room.
NOTE: This very spot is where you will be taken when you die in the game for
the first time. If you're looking to get here in a hurry, kill yourself! Also,
for some reason, the Compass respawns, even though you can only ever have one
and can't lose it - I think it's in case you accidentally knock it across the
floor and miss it the first time.
The Map has two modes: above ground and below ground, and it will update
itself as you move around either zone. Refer to it constantly, and bring it up
and put it away with the 'M' key. The game gives you new objectives each time
you enter a new Cave (e.g. EXPLORE HANGING CAVE), but you can't complete these
objectives until you have the Map. You may also get a variation such as Keep
Exploring Hanging Cave - I'm not sure why, but I listed these anyway. These
objectives are checked off whenever the game decides you've visited enough of
each Cave, but none of them is mission critical.
Also, I suggest you use the 'More Shortcuts' mod to assign a hotkey to the
Compass, or use 'P' if it is already assigned to Utility.
There are two corpses of Passengers hanging from the ceiling (9B, 9C (9/45)).
The 'JEALOUS GOD' NOTE is on the floor, just beyond the Compass.
NOTE: This is your first piece of collectible lore. Usually when you collect
one of these things it will be added to the Notes section of your Survival
Guide, so you can look at it again, but there are some which don't get added
(despite the fact that they are removed from the game when you collect them).
Anyway, by collecting and examining each of these items, you can sort of piece
together an overview of what's happening on the island - this is not my strong
suit, so I'll leave the conjecture up to you.
There are various other minor supplies dotted around, including in four cases
against the north wall, one of which contains your first can of Hairspray.
NOTE: Hairspray might seem like rubbish at first: you can only have one can,
and it can't be used in crafting. It would actually be one of the best weapons
in the game, if only it didn't run out of fuel (the inventory leads you to
believe it has infinite fuel, but it definitely doesn't). To use it as a weapon
you equip it and bring out your Lighter at the same time, then when you spray
the can by holding the left mouse button it acts as a flamethrower which can be
used to light fires (more quickly than the Lighter) and burn enemies, its main
purpose.
The reason it's useful is because in this game you don't necessarily want to
kill enemies, unless you're farming for bones from limbs, or heads for Head
Bombs, etc. You want to stun or disable them, or cause them to flee, buying you
time to do what you want to do. As I already mentioned, each time a cannibal
dies the game gets harder, whereas using the Hairspray flamethrower to clear
them out of the way but keep them alive levels them up far less and costs you
basically nothing, especially because the Lighter never runs out of fuel: you
can keep spraying, it hits multiple enemies at once, and it acts as a shield.
Walking around with the Lighter and Hairspray equipped while exploring caves is
probably your best strategy while you have the fuel, since you can both see and
protect yourself at all times, the two main priorities.
Unfortunately, as well as the limited fuel, it does have other downsides: it
can't block, it does take a second to begin firing, it does nothing to actually
increase the light in a dark area, and it doesn't help with the flickering
Lighter problem which plagues this game.
Head west, past the running water and down a rope, then west again.
NOTE: With the exception of ropes which connect Caves to the outside, most of
the ropes inside the Caves can be skipped, and you can just drop down to the
bottom instead. Just hug the nearby walls and the game should catch you as you
fall. This gets you down quicker, saves all your stamina, and allows you to
remain sneaking and holding a weapon. Some ropes dangle out and away from walls,
so beware trying to drop past those ones.
Turn north to arrive at a hostile junction cave - listen out for cannibals.
The first turn on your right leads east, but before you go down there move past
the turnoff and check the wall a little farther on, to the north-west. Here you
can find a blockage of planks, behind which is some rope and a couple of
(uncollectable) clue photos of the Yacht. (Since smashing these planks often
alerts any nearby cannibals, it's not worth doing for a rope.)
NOTE: This will likely be your first fight opportunity, so if you want to take
it I thought I'd mention a few things about combat. Your Plane Axe is probably
your best weapon at this point - it's fast and it does have some block value. It
does low damage, but these are the most basic enemies, so it will do for now.
Try to focus on one enemy at a time, and back them up so that they get stuck
against a wall. Slash at them until they fall, and note that you can cancel the
follow-through of each swing so that the next one comes quicker - don't just
mash attack, wait instead until your lateral swing has finished and the weapon
is about to come back the other way, then press attack at that point. The same
applies when you are doing overhead smashes to hack off limbs - wait until the
axe is fully down and the sound effect is finished, then click again at that
moment.
You can charge up an attack by holding the mouse button down, but because you
don't get to control when you release it, this is not much use.
Blocking is really important, especially in the Caves, since it's so
hard to see and there are multiple enemies. Note that you can block while doing
other things, such as running, jumping and sneaking, so holding block should be
your default defensive stance.
Since you're already in combat, there is no reason not to bring out your
Lighter in your left hand. Replace it with the Torch once you have it and the
batteries.
Remember that running away is always better than fighting in this game, so
remain aware of your surroundings and escape routes, and know that enemies leash
very quickly in the Caves, so you can often remove yourself from danger just by
running into the next room or dropping down a rope (hanging on a rope lets you
completely avoid danger).
Anyway, go down the passage leading east, under a low ceiling, and you will
arrive in another junction cave, where you can go east or west. In front of you
is a table, and on the floor you can find some snacks and the first piece of
TIMMY'S TOY.
NOTE: Timmy's Toy is yet another collectible in the game, giving you further
indications of where he has been. It is more useful than the other collectibles,
since once you collect all six parts you can build the complete Toy, which can
then be used as a weapon. Not a good one, however, since it can't block, can't
cancel and can't be upgraded.
From here head east and into a large and well populated cave. This place is
very dangerous, and it might be worth throwing a couple of flares to get your
bearings.
NOTE: Flares are fantastic in the Caves - light them by equipping them from
your inventory and right-clicking, then throw them. They will burn red for about
a minute, and they let you put away your Lighter, so that you can use two-handed
weapons. They also act as distractions, as enemies will move towards them to
investigate, allowing you to sneak or run past. Finally, they are also capable
of setting enemies on fire once in a while. You will find loads of them
throughout the game, so always use them while you have them.
Later you might find the Flare Gun, but this is kind of a useless item
up until the final boss, since it only lets you throw flares a bit farther,
which you will never really need in most Caves.
It's hardly crucial to explore this dead end cave, since there's not much in
it, but there is one semi-important item to be found. Hug the left wall and you
will come to a little alcove with some severed limbs at a couple of helmets, as
well as CASSETTE 4; and in a little corner immediately next to this is a set of
clothes in a case.
Continue north to find a deep hole full of water: there is nothing down there
but loads of coins - this is kind of a troll, since you need the Rebreather to
reach the bottom, and you will never need this many coins anyway. Up on the
rocks behind the hole is a rope leading up into a dead end tunnel (this is a
good spot from which to escape the cannibals in the main cave). Keep left up
here to find more clothes in a case, and another Drawing on a candlelit rock
just behind it.
Back at the table where you found the Toy piece, go west and jump-climb up a
big boulder and under a low ceiling. Hug the right wall and you will come to a
gap you can squeeze through. This is a safe dead end, but it will take you up to
a cave where you can find the CASSETTE PLAYER and CASSETTE 1 (if you have not
already found them in the Yacht), some clothes and some other supplies.
NOTE: The Cassette Player is less useless than it seems. By combining the
Player with any Cassette in your inventory, you can then equip the Player and
click to play the music. This has the effect of completely restoring your energy
and stamina, although the sound will draw unfriendly attention. You can also
attach the Player to a tree and have it play constantly, although it will no
longer boost your energy when used like this. If you are somewhere in which you
can't build a Wood Bench (because there are no logs), the Cassette Player is the
next best thing (although it does mean you have to give up holding a weapon).
I realised that if you disable the in-game music you will hear nothing when
the Cassette Player is playing - and neither will the enemies. This means you
get the benefit of the energy regeneration without the problem of attracting
attention.
Back through the gap and turn right again, still hugging the right wall. This
will bring you to another tunnel, this one leading west, past a skull totem and
some sticks on the floor. This tunnel leads out to Entrance 2 (N) of the Hanging
Cave, a good time to rest and recuperate before continuing your explorations.
Also, on a rock immediately to the right of Entrance 2 (N) you can find the
'TEDDY ON YACHT' PHOTOGRAPH, as long as you haven't already found it on the
Yacht.
Back inside, with your back to this tunnel and facing east, hug the right wall
again. You should find a plane seat by a turn to the right, and along this
passage is a long rope leading down, marked by another hanging skull. This spot
is well worth remembering and placing a Stick Marker at (place it near the top
of the rope), because this deep cave is full of useful supplies, including some
paint, clothes, and arrows.
NOTE: Now that you have a lot of arrows, it's well worth building the Crafted
Bow. Until you find the Modern Bow (a long way off), the Crafted Bow will be
your ranged weapon of choice, and it's great at picking off small animals from
mid-distance. A headshot from an arrow can even one-shot any cannibal. You can
retrieve any spent arrows, and they always respawn in the places you find them,
such as this cave.
There is some more Hairspray (in case you missed the first one), there is
plenty of dynamite in the crates; and you can also find the MEDICAL EXAMINER'S
REPORT on the floor. Finally, on top of some boxes, there is the MODERN AXE.
NOTE: The Modern Axe is another terrific weapon, and should be your main
weapon throughout the game. It does great damage, it has great block, and it can
be very strongly upgraded. You can now take on cannibals in melée combat, and
doing so will generate teeth, which can be combined with tree sap to upgrade the
Modern Axe, increasing its damage (ignore upgrading its speed, this is useless).
It does have slow startup, but if you block the first attack or two, then wait
until the enemy moves away a little, you then have time to get into the fight
properly.
Also, it can chop off limbs and heads. This is your main source of bones
throughout the game, and it additionally means you can build Head Bombs. A Head
Bomb is where you combine a severed head with an explosive. Head Bombs are the
most powerful form of explosive in the game. Note that creating a Head Bomb
consumes the head from your inventory, which means you can then collect another
one - this allows you to carry one Head Bomb, plus one waiting to be built.
Finally, the Modern Axe is also far better (faster) at chopping down
trees and bushes than any other axe.
Back up to the top of the rope and turn right, then hug the right wall again
until you find another plane seat on a high rock to your right. Just past this
is a plank board on a rock which you can jump up to, then turn right again to
find another hanging skull. From here you go west, along a tunnel, and squeeze
through a gap to arrive in the Baby Cave.
This is probably the most dangerous area you have visited yet, because there
is a chance that it can be occupied by a Virginia and several babies.
NOTE: These will likely be the first mutants you have encountered in the game.
As you play on you will learn more about where they came from, but for now just
know that they can be extremely dangerous. However, any of the three large
mutant types (armsy, cowman, Virginia) can be skinned to gain Creepy Armour,
assuming you can kill them. (Creepy Armour is twice as effective at defending
against attacks as Bone Armour, although it reduces your stealth capabilities
while worn.) If you must fight mutants, I recommend using explosives wherever
possible - don't get into a melée fight, and don't waste arrows. Even molotovs
are of little use against them, although they are great against the small, weak,
thronging babies.
Luckily, the main cave has little in it of interest: other than loads of
corpses of malformed babies, you can spot a couple of laptops and a copy of the
Financial Times, as well as various magazines (you can't collect any of these
things).
The cave has three sections, and the rope leading up to the Hanging Cave's
Entrance 3 (SW) is in the second one. Climb over a rise in the middle, beyond
the first lot of corpses, and look for two candles high on your right. Walk
between them to find the rope. You can also find it by looking up and seeing a
glimpse of daylight, assuming it's daytime up above. Consider placing a Skull
Lamp here when it's safe.
The final point of interest in the Hanging Cave is the high, third section of
the Baby Cave, up in the extreme west. Up there are lots of useful supplies,
plus CASSETTE 2 at the very top, hidden in the rubble.
That's it for this cave, and for the Hanging Cave generally. The exploration
objectives should have been met by now, so leave via the exit of your choice. I
recommend the nearest one, out of the Baby Cave, the one I've called Entrance 3
(SW).
FOREST
______
POINT OF INTEREST: Due north of Entrance 3 (SW), by a large pond, is a small
village with various supplies, including clothes and an Old Pot.
NOTE: The Old Pot is a useful cooking item, since you can fill it with water,
boil the water over a fire, then drink it without fear of contamination (water
drunk straight out of pools causes slight health loss).
CACHE 3: Look on the ground inside one of the huts in this small village.
POINT OF INTEREST: Head due west of Entrance 3 (SW) and veer south to arrive
at the shore, where you will spot the Yacht floating in the water. Go down to
the beach at the bay to find a marked grave north of the Yacht, and on top of
the gravesite is the YACHT PHOTOGRAPH and CASSETTE 5 (this can also be found in
the Dead Cave - maybe it's someone's particular favourite). There are also
supplies to be found in the nearby cases.
Swim over to the Yacht and board it to find the YACHT MAGAZINE on the seats to
your left. Inside you can find some fairly gruesome things, including the
VIRGINIA PHOTOGRAPH, the MILK CARTON, and the 'TEDDY ON YACHT' PHOTOGRAPH
(unless you collected it at the Hanging Cave). You can also find the CASSETTE
PLAYER and CASSETTE 1 if you didn't already pick them up in the Hanging Cave.
There is a locked Door which requires the Gold Keycard (you'll get this way in
the future); and next to it you might note the charming drawing by one Megan
Cross. Finally, there are some pictures of some sort of artifact, and a lovely
severed head. You can save and rest on the Yacht.
POINT OF INTEREST: Swim over to the beach north-west of the Yacht to find more
supplies, including batteries for the Torch you will be finding shortly. Follow
the beach around to the south for more cases.
CACHE 2: On the hill above this curved beach is a huge tree, under which is
CACHE 2. There is a set of clothes here, too.
POINT OF INTEREST: You might have noticed an anchor symbol on the map in this
region, and you can find the anchor by the shore. There is a blue tent nearby at
which you can rest and save, and in front of it is another Old Pot.
POINT OF INTEREST: Due south of this you can find a shipwreck out on the
water, next to a small island, with most of the ship underwater. (Save your game
at the tent before going over there, as there are sharks!) Check the submerged
section of the shipwreck to find a Rebreather hole, marked by a floating log.
Down there you can find the CROSSBOW and some bolts, as well as the CHURCH PAGE
(1/4).
3.7 DESTINATION 3: SUBMERGED CAVE
_________________________________
From the blue tent on the shore, head due east, into the woods. You should
very soon come to a medium sized pond. Turn north-west from here and you should
see a pile of boulders - this is the Submerged Cave's Entrance 1 (SE).
OBJECTIVE: EXPLORE SUBMERGED CAVE
Entrances
_________
Entrance 1 (SE) is north-east of the anchor symbol on the map, by the
south-west coast.
Entrance 2 (SW) is west and a little north of Entrance 1 (SE), another pile of
boulders in the woods. It's easier to find this by actually exploring the Cave
and leaving it via this rope.
Entrance 3 (N) is underwater, in the geese pond. It needs a Rebreather to use.
Notable Items
_____________
'Beneath The Limestone' Book, Bibles (2), Old Photo 3, Rebreather, Rusty Axe,
Timmy's Toy (1), Torch, Virginia Photograph
Preparation
___________
The only preparation needed here is equipping the Rebreather and an air
canister, and only if you are entering via Entrance 3 (N). Since you find the
Rebreather in this Cave, this problem solves itself if you enter from either of
the other Entrances.
There is one save point in the Submerged Cave.
---
Entering via Entrance 1 (SE), go down a long tunnel to the north-west, and
into the first hostile cave. One of the first things you will find is a dangling
rope, just next to some rocks jutting out from the right, at the bottom of the
hill - this leads up to Entrance 2 (SW). Build a Skull Lamp here to help
pinpoint it.
POINT OF INTEREST: If you exit via Entrance 2 (SW) you can head east and down
into a valley to find a small pool in the woods, and then a little farther east
to find another pool at the foot of a cliff wall and a noisy waterfall. Here
there are several cases with minor supplies and a set of clothes. Check
underwater for two more cases.
POINT OF INTEREST: Also due east of Entrance 2 (SW), just south of another
small pool, you can find two sleeping bags in the woods, with an Old Pot in the
campfire between them.
This first part of the Submerged Cave contains various supplies, including
some Hairspray, and another piece of TIMMY'S TOY. You can spot and identify the
Passengers in the room (4A, 7A, 7B, 8C (13/43)) and collect lots of cash and
watches.
At the north end you will find a wall of planks with some crucifixes on it,
and in front of these is another Drawing, this one of the Sinkhole. Bash the
planks away to enter another hostile cave. There is lots of cloth to be found
here, an ever useful crafting material, so grab all you can from the large
cases. You will also find two hanging skulls. Check the one at the back end,
where the water is, to find a TORCH, some batteries and some flares, plus a set
of clothes in a case.
NOTE: Despite its weak gleam, the Torch is one of the more useful items in the
game, and should be collected early on. It requires batteries, but these are
fairly plentiful throughout the game. The Torch can be used while holding a
weapon; it can also be combined with certain two-handed weapons so you can see
and fight at the same time. However, there are only four such weapons in the
game: the Chainsaw, the Flintlock Pistol, and the two Bows. The Chainsaw is
really loud and obnoxious, so combining it with a Torch is useful only if you
plan on using it a lot; and the Flintlock Pistol is a long way off. The Bows are
much better, especially for sniping at enemies in the Caves or for picking off
game at night in the forest.
The Torch respawns in each of the places you can find it, so you can spend one
on upgrading a weapon and then collect another one to use normally. Note that
when you attach a Torch to any weapon it temporarily consumes it, so you can now
only use it when using that weapon; and also Torches attached to weapons cannot
have their batteries recharged as normal - you have to first disassemble the
upgraded weapon to return the Torch, but if you already have another Torch in
your inventory the other one will disappear. Upgrading a Bow with a Torch is
always worth doing when you know you are about to collect another Torch anyway,
but otherwise I recommend keeping the Torch as a single item, making it easy to
replenish its batteries.
The other hanging skull is dangling over a rope leading down (there are no
enemies from this point on). Then comes another rope, and this puts you in a
watery cave in which you can find the REBREATHER and two air canisters.
NOTE: The Rebreather is an essential item in the game, since there are many
flooded caves which cannot otherwise be negotiated, including two in the
Sinkhole Cave & Laboratory. Equip it from your inventory, and click on an air
canister to refill it (this cannot be done while underwater, so always make sure
you have enough air before diving in). The Rebreather comes with its own torch,
and this has infinite fuel, but unfortunately it only comes on automatically
when underwater.
Jump into the water and head north. Stay right and surface halfway along this
tunnel to find an outcropping with various minor supplies, as well as a few
babies. Continue along the water tunnel and you will arrive at another rockpile,
with more air canisters and a flare. More interesting are the OBSIDIAN DOORS,
which must be opened by placing three or more rocks or skulls onto the nearby
PEDESTAL (the rocks and skulls you need are found here).
NOTE: This is the first such Door you have encountered, and each one opens in
the same way: put several rocks or skulls on the nearby Pedestal. It's worth
knowing that Obsidian Doors will open automatically, without having to use the
Pedestal, if it's approached from the other side. This means you can enter the
Submerged Cave from Entrance 3 (N) and climb up into the cave behind the Doors,
at which point they will open for you. Once you open any of these Doors they
stay open from then on.
Inside is a sinister campsite. Aside from the lore, you can find a few
supplies, as well as the RUSTY AXE, the 'BENEATH THE LIMESTONE' BOOK, a VIRGINIA
PHOTOGRAPH, and two BIBLES.
NOTE: If you collect the 'BENEATH THE LIMESTONE' BOOK from here you will not
later find it in the Waterfall Cave.
Also, some of the lore artifacts you can collect in the game (such as these
Bibles) are added neither to your Survival Guide's Notes section nor your
inventory - I don't know why.
Jump in the water and head south to leave this cave, then exit at another rope
leading up. This takes you to another water tunnel, this one leading north
(refill your Rebreather). Exit at a rope leading up, at the top of which you can
find a campfire and OLD PHOTO 3. Check the ceiling at the far end of the next
Rebreather tunnel for the exit up into the geese pond, which also counts as
Entrance 3 (N).
FOREST
______
Swim up and out of the geese pond and onto the shore. Be careful here, as this
is part of a cannibal patrol route, and they can drop onto you from sentry posts
among the trees.
POINT OF INTEREST: Crossbow bolts are hard to come by in the game, so check
the southernmost water tower in the pond to find four of them embedded into the
wooden post at the top.
NOTE: Also, now that you have the Rebreather, you are able to explore the
Rebreather caves I already mentioned.
There are several Cave entrances dotted around the vicinity, including the
Waterfall Cave, the Lawyers Cave and the Ledge Cave. I don't recommend going to
any of them yet, but if you are trying to find them and you have placed a Stick
Marker at the geese pond to mark the Submerged Cave exit, you can come back here
to begin exploring later. I will of course reach all of these spots in the
course of this guide, so finding them now is not essential.
CACHE 5: Stand at the south end of the geese pond, so that the pin on the Map
marking your position is placed in the very centre-south of the water. Standing
on the cliff edge above the pond, turn west and head in that direction to find
CACHE 5 very close by, in a clearing, among some boulders.
POINT OF INTEREST: You can find a large campsite south of the geese pond,
among the trees. Here there are loads of arrows and an Old Pot, as well as a
save and rest point.
POINT OF INTEREST: Climb a rise to the east of this campsite to find several
more cases, with the usual minor supplies.
3.8 DESTINATION 4: DEAD CAVE
____________________________
To find the Dead Cave you'll have to turn from the geese pond and head
south-east. Open your Map and move to where the horizontal fold line across the
south half of the map meets the vertical fold line which runs up the middle of
the map. There is a Cave entrance shown here on the map, but the actual Entrance
1 (W) is directly north of that spot, at the bottom of a rock wall.
OBJECTIVE: EXPLORE DEAD CAVE
POINT OF INTEREST: The heavily wooded area immediately surrounding the Cave's
Entrance 1 (W) contains five more Passenger corpses, arranged in a rough
semi-circle (1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 2A (18/43)).
POINT OF INTEREST: Go due west of the Dead Cave's Entrance 1 (W) for a little
way to find a save point campsite by a small pond, this one with two dark blue
tents and another Old Pot. You can use this as a base to save you from having to
build one outside the Cave Entrance.
Entrances
_________
Entrance 1 (W) is in the heavily wooded depression in the exact horizontal
centre of the map, due south of the very centre of the Sinkhole, which is
another easy way to find it. The other two Entrances are east and a little north
of here.
Entrance 2 (N) is due south of the pair of cannibal huts on the hilltop. The
huts are ringed by boulders: look for the tall, pointed one to the south, then
pass it on its right side to find another pile of boulders among the trees,
marking the Entrance.
Entrance 3 (E) is due east of the cannibal huts. Walk down the hill some
distance and find it tucked under some boulders set into the hillside.
The Dead Cave also allows you to cross to the Ledge Cave (with dynamite) and
to the Wet Cave (with the Climbing Axe).
You can also reach the Sinkhole from the ledge inside the Dead Cave (see
section 2.3); and you can only just reach that same ledge by dropping off the
lip of the Sinkhole and landing on it.
Notable Items
_____________
Artifact Drawing, Cassette 5, Chainsaw, Crucifix, Katana, 'Missing Siblings'
Newspaper Article, Old Photo 8, Timmy's Toy (1), Torch
Preparation
___________
The Dead Cave is arguably the most dangerous of the Caves in The Forest. It's
big, it's complicated, and it's full of enemies.
You will definitely be wanting molotovs and explosives for fending off the
enemies, and armour to deal with the fact that you're always meeting multiple
enemies at once.
Dynamite is an extra valuable explosive for the Dead Cave, since there is a
wall of rubble you might want to blow open. You can find dynamite early in the
Dead Cave.
You will find another Torch in here, so make sure you spend the first one by
attaching it to a Crafted Bow.
There is a climbing wall in here, which is used to access the Wet Cave.
However, you haven't found the Climbing Axe yet.
There is one save point in the Dead Cave.
---
The Dead Cave technically has six Entrances, although two of them come from
other Caves nearby, and another one involves jumping into the Sinkhole. You have
just entered through Entrance 1 (W), the westernmost Entrance, and the others
are in the north and east. Since you are aiming to exit ultimately in the east,
for the sake of efficiency it's best to explore the north first.
Smash the planks behind the head with a camera in his mouth, and pick up the
Drawing on the floor just in front of the planks. Beyond you can find Passenger
5C (19/43) hanging from the ceiling, above some sodas.
From here you can go north or east. Head left / north and down the slope to a
pool with some cases, which contain the usual stuff. Beyond is a dark junction
where you can go north-west or north-east. Consider placing a Stick Marker here
so you can find your way back.
Go north-west and through a long tunnel. Note the three heads on the floor,
the third of which has CASSETTE 5 in its mouth (unless you already collected it
at the grave near the Yacht). Farther on you can find the ARTIFACT DRAWING
beside a beheaded corpse, plus some dynamite. Squeeze through the gap to find
more dynamite, and get a good look down into the Sinkhole!
NOTE: This is the first of two Cave ledges which help you reach the bottom of
the Sinkhole early (see section 2.4).
Back at the junction, go north-east this time, under the hanging skull,
smashing through two plank walls. You can find the CRUCIFIX here, on the floor.
The cave beyond is a dangerous junction cave, usually containing an armsy and at
least one cannibal. It has two other exits, one to the north-east and the other
in the south. Turn right as you enter the cave at the plank walls, and go south
and up a hill to another cave, this one also containing cannibals. There are a
couple of tents here, and in one of them is OLD PHOTO 8.
NOTE: In the version of the game I am using, it's impossible to pick this up,
so I had to take a screenshot of it to make use of it, and also figure out which
Cache it showed by first eliminating all the others. You can try using the
'Inventory Mod' mod to add it (F4 > Other > PhotoCache9), but it still won't
show up in your inventory. This is a bug.
There is a campfire at the top of this cave, some minor supplies, and
Passengers 3D and 4D (21/43) hanging from the ceiling. Also hanging from the
ceiling, nearer the tents, is the rope leading up to Entrance 2 (E). Now would
be a good time to go up there and regather your health, etc.
POINT OF INTEREST: If you do go up to the surface at this point, you can find
two cannibal huts (mentioned in the Entrances section above) on a hilltop
plateau to the south, with some minor supplies, including Chainsaw fuel.
Back down in the Dead Cave, and this time go to the north-east end of that
dangerous cave with the armsy in it. There you will find a long rope leading
down, followed by a squeeze through an easily missed gap, then a run up some
plank boards to arrive in another very large cave, this one full of cannibals,
babies and water. Throw a few flares to get your bearings.
To the north-west are some tents and crates, and this is usually where the
babies are lurking. Nearby is a chest, and inside is the 'MISSING SIBLINGS'
NEWSPAPER ARTICLE, plus some Old Gun ammo. Farther north-west, against the back
wall, you can find a pile of rubble which can be destroyed with dynamite to
reveal a passage through to the Ledge Cave (blow it up, but don't go through
there just now).
Even more interesting is what's hiding at the north-east end of the cave, over
the water. Here in this gruesome dining room you will find the CHAINSAW on a
table to your right, some fuel, and a campfire.
NOTE: The Chainsaw is technically the best melée weapon in the game. It does
require fuel (note the gauge on the Chainsaw itself letting you know how much is
left), but its damage output is ridiculous. Helpfully, you can attach a Torch to
it so that using it in Caves becomes viable; and you will be wanting to use it
in Caves, since you can deal with multiple cannibals at once, just by waving it
around in front of you. Your movement becomes quite curtailed while you're
holding down the fire button, and it does have a bit of startup time on it, but
the damage is worth it. It's also fantastic at felling trees.
Passenger 7C (22/43) is here, too. Farther to the north-east is a rope which
will bring you to another campfire, this one at the bottom of a climbing wall
you cannot yet climb - this takes you up into the Wet Cave (which you will soon
be visiting anyway), and will likely give you a new objective.
OBJECTIVE: FIND WAY TO CLIMB ROCK WALLS
You'll be doing that later. For now, you should go all the way back to where
you found Passenger 5C, just inside Entrance 1 (W).
Back at this first junction, where you previously went north, this time choose
east, across the water and down a long tunnel, to reach another very dangerous
cave. There are five cases in a little corner, which you can find by hugging the
left wall, but otherwise pass east, through this first large section of the
cave, and look out for Passenger 2B (23/43) perched on a rock behind some pieces
of cloth.
Beyond this is a hill of rocks with more plank boards. On the left is a rope
leading down, but skip this for now, and follow the plank boards around the
corner to find a set of clothes in a case. Past this is a little tunnel, and
inside the cave to the south you can a find a campfire and all sorts of useful
items. This is one of the best supply caches in the game, with tons of supplies
and an easy method of access. Among all the minor stuff, you can find three more
Passengers (3A, 3B, 8A (26/43)) and the KATANA (on the back of the kneeling
Passenger).
Check the walls on the east of this cave to find another plank wall, behind
which you can find another TORCH. Make sure you upgrade your Bow or Chainsaw
with the Torch you already have before picking up this one.
Leave this hidden cave and get back to that rope you skipped a little earlier.
Drop down to find two Drawings on the wall behind another piece of TIMMY'S TOY,
plus some cloth lying around. Find the other rope at the back of this area to
exit via Entrance 3 (E).
FOREST
______
This area is a bit bereft of logs, so unless you plan on coming back here
repeatedly to farm minor supplies and Torches, you may as well forget about
building a save point, etc.
You emerge from the Cave to find yourself by a river. The next place you want
to explore is the Wet Cave, and that is found to the north-east. Follow the
riverside north until you can cross more quickly to the east, via the small
island in the middle of the water. From this new shore, follow the river east
until you reach the rotten logs lying across the water.
POINT OF INTEREST: You can cross the river again, this time to the south,
across the logs, to find two more cannibal huts on a hill. All that's here is a
set of clothes in a case, so this might seem like a pretty boring spot - but in
fact it's probably the best site in the game at which to build your base. It has
all the natural resources you could need, as well as defensive properties (high
cliffs, rivers, deep water). Finally, it's also very near the Dead Cave's
Entrance 3 (E), with all of those supplies in the hidden tunnel, and the Hanging
Cave's Entrance 2 (N), with that deep cave where you found the Modern Axe.
Consider placing a Stick Marker here and returning to it later; if you're
bothered about building a base, I recommend this spot strongly.
3.9 DESTINATION 6: WET CAVE
___________________________
You have probably spotted the white tents to the north-east of the cannibal
huts, by the river. This is a very visible marker for the Wet Cave.
OBJECTIVE: EXPLORE WET CAVE
Entrances
_________
Entrance 1 (NE) is beside the four white tents by the river, in the
centre-east of the map.
Entrance 2 (SW) is a Rebreather hole in the river to the south-west.
The Wet Cave also allows you to cross to the Dead Cave (the Climbing Axe is
not needed, you can just drop down).
Notable Items
_____________
Old Photo 7, Timmy's Toy (1)
Preparation
___________
The Wet Cave is tiny and contains no hostiles. There is little to see, and it
really operates as an alternative entrance to the much more important Dead Cave.
There is no point in building a campsite outside, you won't be in there for
long.
---
Don't miss the OLD PHOTO 7 on the rock to the right of Entrance 1 (NE), the
only Entrance above ground.
Inside are two more Passengers (5A, 9D (28/43)) and various supplies, as well
as another piece of TIMMY'S TOY among the white pillows under the hanging
Passengers. This cave also has a pre-built fire for cooking and heat. Explore to
the north-west to find a ledge next to a climbing wall. Without the Climbing Axe
you are forced to drop down there, but since this puts you in the part of the
Dead Cave where you recently found the Chainsaw, there is now no need.
Back in the Wet Cave, there is also a Rebreather pool down the tunnel leading
south, which leads upwards and out to the river above, which I've called
Entrance 2 (SW).
FOREST
______
POINT OF INTEREST: There is a nearby hill overlooking the river, where you can
find several luggage cases. You can find it by climbing up the rocks due north
of the Wet Cave's Entrance 2 (SW) or heading due west of Entrance 1 (NE). There
are several more cases down the slope leading down to the river, immediately to
the west. And the hill immediately west of that has several yellow cases on top
of it, containing arrows and flares.
3.10 DESTINATION 6: LEDGE CAVE
______________________________
Having just left the Wet Cave, go into the woods north of the river,
north-west of either of the Wet Cave's Entrances. You should find a small pond
at the bottom of the first hill, surrounded by trees, and north of this are two
white tents and some boulders, one of which conceals the Ledge Cave's Entrance 1
(E).
OBJECTIVE: EXPLORE LEDGE CAVE
Entrances
_________
Entrance 1 (E) is behind two white tents on the centre horizontal fold of the
map, halfway between the centre of the map and the extreme east edge.
Entrance 2 (W) is found immediately next to a large, white tent on a
hill by the river, at the north-west edge of the Sinkhole.
The Ledge Cave also allows you to cross to the Dead Cave (with dynamite).
You can also access the Sinkhole reasonably safely from the Ledge Cave (see
section 2.3).
Notable Items
_____________
Climbing Axe, 'Great Savings' Chainsaw Advert, Old Photo 1, Old Photo 2,
'Opening The Artifact' Video Tape
Preparation
___________
I suggest you bring a few molotovs or some sort of explosives, since you will
likely encounter at least one cluster of hostiles, all of whom can be taken out
from above.
There is one save point in the Ledge Cave.
---
Entering via Entrance 1 (E), you will go down a long rope and into a large
puddle.
Nearby is a tall climbing wall which you are supposed to descend with the
Climbing Axe (which you don't yet have). Clearly, the game expects you to enter
this Cave from somewhere else, but you can do it this way and save a lot of time
by just stepping off the near-right corner of the cliff edge and hugging the
cliff wall as you drop - this way you can land without losing any health. Keep
in mind that you can't climb back up yet, but this is not a problem.
NOTE: The game will usually not let you complete the EXPLORE THE LEDGE CAVE
objective until you have climbed this wall from bottom to top, as well as
explored the rest of the Cave. There is also a chance that climbing this wall
will complete the EXPLORE THE WET CAVE objective, for some reason.
Look for some snacks on the floor farther in, and the third water pool
contains an air canister (note the dead caver hanging above you). You will come
to a large cave and another climbing wall on your left, this one also going
down. That area at the bottom is very dangerous, with some cannibals and babies,
but you can clamber onto the rocks on your right and lob explosives and molotovs
at them to clear them out. You do need to get down there, but, as before, you
can just drop down by hugging the rock wall. Get to where the lit generator is,
because its light is pointing directly at the CLIMBING AXE embedded into the
wall - make sure you grab it. Also look for the 'GREAT SAVINGS' CHAINSAW ADVERT
on the floor.
In this same area you will find a rope leading up, against the wall to the
south. This takes you through a gap to find OLD PHOTO 1 and some Old Gun ammo,
and up two more ropes to the other side of the blockage you (probably) blew up
in the Dead Cave.
Back at the generator area in the Ledge Cave, go around the corner to the
north-west, where you will arrive in a huge, noisy cave where you can only go
right or left. Go right to find Passenger 8B (29/43) dangling over a gap. Drop
into the gap with the lit generator and you will find the 'OPENING THE ARTIFACT'
VIDEO TAPE (though you don't yet have the Camcorder). Climb down the rope or
jump into the water, where there are several cases in the water and on the rocks
on the other side, including a set of clothes. Climb up this other rope, then
make your way back to that gap you fell into. This time jump over it and go down
to where Passenger 9A (30/43) is hanging from the ceiling - be careful, there
are sometimes more cannibals and babies here. Farther on is a rope up to a gap
(you can just jump up the rocks to the side to scale this wall), and squeezing
through the gap takes you to the ledge which gives this Cave its name.
POINT OF INTEREST: This ledge is very interesting, since it operates as a
fantastic shortcut almost to the end of the game. It can also be used to supply
you with maximum Bone Armour for free (see section 2.3).
There are various supplies here, as well as OLD PHOTO 2. Go through the gap at
the other side of the ledge to find a very handy tent lit by generators
(although there may also be more babies here!). Climb the rope behind it (again,
you can just jump up the rocks), then pass through a water tunnel - if you don't
have the Rebreather just stand to the left and aim at the generator in the
water, then swim forward and hug the surface and you should squeeze through.
There's a campfire at the bottom of the next rope, and from here you're just
climbing several ropes until you finally emerge at Entrance 2 (W).
FOREST
______
If the game has not yet given you the appropriate objective, you can find it
by going south-east from the Ledge Cave's Entrance 2 (W), where you get a good
look into the Sinkhole.
OBJECTIVE: FIND A WAY INTO THE SINKHOLE
You're not far off completing this objective, so ignore it for now.
POINT OF INTEREST: By stepping onto the mossy ledge down to your left, on the
north-west edge of the Sinkhole lip, it is possible, with luck, to drop down
from there to your left, to the ledge overlook normally only accessible via the
Ledge Cave, and from there down into the Sinkhole, etc. (see section 2.3).
POINT OF INTEREST: Make your way around the lip of the Sinkhole until your
reach the 5 o'clock position, where you should find a little waterfall filling a
pool just near the edge. By climbing onto the edge to the left / west of this
spot, it is also only just possible to drop down onto the roof of the Dead
Cave's ledge overlook, then down onto the ledge itself, allowing you to access
the Dead Cave this way (and use the Sinkhole shortcut). However, this is very
difficult to judge, and since it's simple to reach that ledge just by entering
the Dead Cave's Entrance 1 (W), I recommend you ignore this possibility.
NOTE: You will be visiting the Sinkhole later anyway, but it's possible to do
some cheeky preparation. Much of the lip of the Sinkhole is surrounded by trees,
which means you can chop them down for logs and then drop the logs into the
Sinkhole. Because logs have a certain degree of persistence in this game, when
you get down there later you will find your logs waiting for you, which means
you can build things in the Sinkhole, from Hunting Shelters to Deadfall Traps;
although I suggest you save the logs for Wood Benches and Hunting Shelters.
POINT OF INTEREST: Downhill to the west of the Ledge Cave's Entrance 2 (W) you
can find several orange tents, some of them next to three cannibal huts. There's
nothing much there, but you can save in the tents, making building a camp here
pointless.
3.11 DESTINATION 7: WATERFALL CAVE
__________________________________
The Waterfall Cave is immediately next to those three cannibal huts mentioned
above.
OBJECTIVE: EXPLORE WATERFALL CAVE
Entrances
_________
Entrance 1 (N) is beside three cannibal huts and five orange tents, due west
of the centre of the map.
Entrance 2 (S) is at the north end of the geese pond, to the south-south-west.
The Waterfall Cave also allows you to cross to the Lawyers Cave (with the
Rebreather).
Notable Items
_____________
Artifact Picture, 'Beneath The Limestone' Book, Cassette 3, 'Dark Haired Man'
Book, 'Don't Be Afraid, Just Believe' Note, Lucky Numbers Slip, 'Lunch With
Megan' Video Tape
Preparation
___________
Because there are tents around the Entrance up top, and more down in the first
cave, there is no point in building a base to prepare for this Cave.
You might want to create and wear some Stealth Armour to help you stay out of
sight of the cowman, as there are a few things to collect in that cave.
Flares are also very useful in there, which is probably why you can find some
at the first campsite.
You need at least two pieces of dynamite to blow up the blockages (two will
suffice, assuming they both reach).
There are two save points in the Waterfall Cave.
---
Entering via Entrance 1 (N), be careful going down the first rope, as it's
very easy to fall off the ledge at the bottom - try looking to your left as you
descend. Down the next very long rope to find a large campsite with a fire, some
snacks, and lots of flares in suitcases, as well as the ARTIFACT PICTURE. The
large pool contains some air canisters and snacks, and there are some circuit
boards on a ledge at the back. Make sure you save at the tents before
progressing, as the next cave is unusually dangerous.
Check the south-east corner for another long rope leading down. Be careful
when you reach the bottom, as there is usually a cowman patrolling in this
spooky cave, often accompanied by at least one cannibal. There are several
things to find in here, so use stealth or distractions while you look for them.
Note that the boat in the middle of the room can offer some protection from the
cannibal, since it often can't hit you while you are standing in it; it seems
pretty useless against the charging cowman, though.
From the bottom of the rope, hug the left wall and clamber over some rocks to
find some crates of flares, behind which is CASSETTE 3 and some ropes.
NOTE: You can also find the 'BENEATH THE LIMESTONE' BOOK in the exact same
place as Cassette 3. Oddly, if you already collected it from the Submerged Cave
it will not spawn here; whereas if you collect this one first you can still find
a second one in the Submerged Cave.
Still hugging the left wall, farther on you will find the 'DON'T BE AFRAID,
JUST BELIEVE' NOTE, and some red paint behind it.
Make your way to the far end of the cave, where there is a narrow gap between
two rocks. The cowman can't get through the gap, so you can just stand there and
hit him until he dies - worth doing, because you can skin his corpse for some
Creepy Armour.
Squeeze through the next gap and climb a rope to find the 'DARK HAIRED MAN'
BOOK on a ledge to the right. There are some cannibals and babies in here, but
you can find a case and some supplies behind some planks on the right, including
a set of clothes. Unless you really need to save, ignore the next set of planks
on the right for now, and instead go through the gap in the south-west.
Climb the hill to another very large cave full of cannibals and usually a
Virginia. There are generators at the top end of this cave, as well as a save
point tent, but actually using this campsite is unlikely unless you first clear
out all the enemies (try jumping in the water and baiting them into following
you). However, other than some arrows and Chainsaw fuel, there's not much else
up here, so unless you're really interested in crossing to the Lawyers Cave via
the water tunnel, I suggest you skip it entirely. (You don't need the
Rebreather, it's a short swim east.)
Go back to the plank wall you didn't go through before, where the babies were,
and smash it open to reveal the 'LUNCH WITH MEGAN' VIDEO TAPE in front of two
severed heads and another campfire. Around the corner you can find the suited
corpse of Passenger 2C (31/43) in front of his briefcase, and past the water is
Passenger 2D (32/43) among some supplies, as well as the LUCKY NUMBERS SLIP.
Climb the rope, then use the Torch to find the next rope, as it can be tricky to
spot. A third rope will take you up and out to Entrance 2 (S), by the geese
pond.
FOREST
______
Before entering the nearby Lawyers Cave, you might want to explore a couple of
places in the vicinity.
POINT OF INTEREST: Head due west from the geese pond and you will arrive at
the coast, from where you should easily be able to see the Sahara Shipping
Crates. This is a good place to find lots of circuit boards, as well as the
SHIPPING MANIFEST. There is some booze on the beach nearby, for building bombs.
POINT OF INTEREST: Follow the beach around to the south and you should find
several cases on the grass above the shoreline.
CACHE 6: Swim out due west of the highest Shipping Container, the red one on
top of the hill, and you should reach two islands, separated by a few big coral
boulders sticking out of the water. On the south island you should find CACHE 6.
3.12 DESTINATION 8: LAWYERS CAVE
________________________________
The Lawyers Cave has two Entrances (unless you also count the Rebreather
tunnel which connects it to the Waterfall Cave). To find Entrance 1 (W), just go
directly west from the Waterfall Cave's Entrance 2 (S), which you should have
just left; or alternatively find the Sahara Shipping Crates and climb the hill
immediately to the east. Entrance 1 (W) is under a typical pile of rocks.
OBJECTIVE: EXPLORE LAWYERS CAVE
Entrances
_________
Entrance 1 (W) is just east of the westernmost coastal point of the south half
of the island, and immediately presents a tent and a campfire once inside. If
you find the Sahara shipping crates on the west coast, just head due east and
uphill.
Entrance 2 (E) is on a rise above the beaches around the centre of the map, in
the west. It's just south-west of the Waterfall Cave's northern entrance - look
for the small cannibal village.
The Lawyers Cave also allows you to cross to the Waterfall Cave (with the
Rebreather).
Notable Items
_____________
Camcorder, 'Megan's Arrival' Video Tape, Sahara Employee Keycard
Preparation
___________
This is probably the most dangerous Cave, after the Dead Cave. However, it is
quite small, and there's not much in here of interest, so you needn't spend much
time in it.
With so many enemies in such a relatively small area, you might like to equip
one or two points of armour.
Don't bother building a campsite at either of the Entrances, as there's a tent
immediately inside each one.
The Rebreather is useful for crossing into the Waterfall Cave, but it's not
required.
You are required to explore a certain very dangerous cave, inside which are
several enemies. You will want molotovs or explosives before going down there,
and flares would help enormously, too.
---
Enter at Entrance 1 (W) to find a tent and a fire, as well the 'MEGAN'S
ARRIVAL' VIDEO TAPE. Farther down you can find a rope on your right, but unless
you need snacks, meds or a new set of clothes, there's little point in exploring
it.
Continue down the main tunnel and down another rope, and land in a hostile
cave. It has two exits, but the one you definitely want to search first is the
one on the right, due south, behind the plank wall. Search the tunnel beyond to
find another rope leading down.
NOTE: It is EXTREMELY important that you explore this southern cave, because
if you don't you literally can't complete the game! I made this mistake in my
first playthrough: not only did I not find the Keycard, I didn't even know I
needed one, so I got all the way to the Laboratory and found myself locked out.
Had to restart the game.
Also, because the Camcorder is down there, the game leads you to believe that
that's the only reason to explore this cave, so once you grab it you will likely
leave again in a hurry (this is what I did). Hiding a mission-critical item
among some corpses in a dark and heavily guarded dead end which already contains
another unique item and which has yet to be signposted in any way is one of the
worst pieces of game design I could think of at the time - but I hadn't met
Megan Cross yet.
I recommend chucking down a flare or two to see what you're dealing with.
There will likely be a Virginia and a bunch of babies squelching around in loads
of corpses. Molotovs and explosives are strong, but if the monsters throng
around the bottom of the rope you stand a good chance of setting yourself on
fire when you try to drop a molotov directly down. I suggest that, rather than
using the rope, you jump down the right and land on the little ledge with the
burning candle, since you can then pick off the enemies from safety, as well as
getting a much better view of the floor. The items you are looking for are the
SAHARA EMPLOYEE KEYCARD (on the floor in the centre of the room, at the edge of
a bunch of corpses), and the CAMCORDER perched on a rock on the left.
Having definitely collected the Keycard, go back up the rope and this time
take the other one, in the south-east corner of the junction cave. This takes
you down to some supplies in cases, including some dynamite, and beyond is
another hostile cave. There are plenty of high perches from which you can lob
stuff at the enemies, or just avoid them, and other than a single case with a
set of clothes, all there is to collect is coins and cash from under the bodies
of the four hanging Passengers (6C, 6D, 7D, 8D (36/43)).
The large water tunnel connects through to the Waterfall Cave - remember
there's a tent in that generator cave, so if you really need to save it's worth
a swim. (You don't need the Rebreather, although it's a deep dive to the east.)
Otherwise you can head north, past the hanging Passengers, and up another tunnel
leading to several ropes (watch out for a few more cannibals and babies). Make
your way up more ropes and tunnels until you arrive at another tent and a fire,
as well as some flares and snacks. The little water hole farther up contains an
air canister, and the tunnel ultimately exits at Entrance 2 (E), with a
beautiful view of the mountain to the north.
FOREST
______
By now you have visited all seven of the Caves accessible from the southern
half of the map (not counting the Sinkhole shortcut), and you have visited all
of the significant parts of the southern forest. Unless you want to build (or
continue building) a base, it's time at least to find where the game wants you
to go next: the Chasm Cave. This is really easy to find, since the Cave entrance
is marked on the map, pretty much due north of the Ledge Cave's Entrance 2 (W)
and the Waterfall Cave's Entrance 1 (N). Once you've found it, decide whether or
not you want to explore the rest of the map, the north half, around the foot of
the mountain. There are some things still to find, at least one of which I
heartily recommend, so I'll list them as follows, from roughly west to east.
POINT OF INTEREST: Upon exiting the Lawyers Cave from Entrance 2 (E) you find
yourself in a large clearing. This is another great spot for a base, with every
possible advantage and resource, as well as ready access to several Caves in the
vicinity, including the Sinkhole itself. There are even some luggage cases
sprinkled around. Just one big downside: it's directly on top of a patrol route
- consider this before you begin building.
POINT OF INTEREST: Turn west from the Lawyers Cave Entrance 2 (E) and go down
to the beach, and spot the set of small islands off to the west, over the water.
Find the south-easternmost of these, a single, greyish mound, and face
south-west, looking over the sea. Jump into the water (preferably in broad
daylight to help you see) and look for the floating log bobbing on the surface,
indicating another Rebreather hole. Inside you can find the TOWER PAGE (3/4) (on
the first ledge upon exiting the water inside) and the GLIDER PAGE (2/4) (inside
the last cave), as well as some crossbow bolts.
NOTE: The Tower is just a big, phallic building from which you can gaze out
across the Forest. The Glider is far more useful, as it's the closest thing this
game has to fast travel. Once built, you equip it by pressing 'E', and it then
attaches itself to your back. It stays there until it falls off, which will
happen when you enter deep water or climb a rope. Any time you jump off a
sufficiently high point with the Glider equipped, it kicks in and you start
gliding. You can glide almost horizontally, and for huge distances, albeit only
from high to low.
POINT OF INTEREST: On the north-west coast, facing south, you can find six
large cannibal fishing huts by the shore. The easternmost one has an Upgraded
Spear leaning against the front-left support strut, but otherwise there's
nothing to be found but rope and some Hairspray. There are some cases on the
beach, at the west end.
CACHE 8: On the cliffs up above these huts you can find CACHE 8. Go to the
westernmost hut, then climb onto the cliff immediately behind it. There is a
grassy slope leading up to a second, higher cliff - turn left at the top of this
slope and look at the cliff edge here for the dynamite hole.
CACHE 4: This one is on the beach due east of the fishing huts on the
north-west shore. Look not far from the easternmost hut, in the sand, next to a
whale carcass.
POINT OF INTEREST: You should be able to see on your Map two streams pouring
down from north to south. Follow them north to where they fork, at the top of a
waterfall, and here is a small cannibal village with various supplies, including
a set of clothes and some Hairspray. There is also a lot of aloe by the water.
CACHE 7: This Cache is found at the pond in the north-west, up at the top of a
snowy hill (it's easy to find on the Map). Look for a rise just next to the
pond's south-east edge, around the four o'clock position, among a few trees.
NOTE: Assuming you have collected all the Caches in the order I listed them,
you should now have all eight parts of the Old Gun, also known as the Flintlock
Pistol. You will also have found quite a few rounds of Old Gun ammo in the
Caches, as well as in some other places. This weapon is worth considering
against Megan Cross (so long as you can avoid getting hit while you try to use
it), being a high damage, instant-hit, ranged weapon. Unfortunately, its
range is really very poor, it has a hideous reload rate, and it can't be
upgraded. The Flintlock Pistol won't win you the game, and there are far better
options in virtually every situation, making it mostly a novelty collectible,
rather than a reliable weapon.
POINT OF INTEREST: There is a large lake in the centre-north of the map, just
above the Sinkhole. On the north shores of this lake is a cannibal fishing
village with various supplies in cases. One of the huts contains an Upgraded
Spear and some red paint. Watch out for alligators around here, but remember
they can be skinned for four lizard skins each, making them great for grinding
armour.
POINT OF INTEREST: There is an orange tent in the extreme north, way up above
the central river. It's just a save point and rest.
POINT OF INTEREST: The plane's cockpit is up in the mountains, roughly halfway
across the north-east half of the map, at the very top of the cliffs. There you
can find the FLARE GUN and the copy of 'DEFINITELY REAL' WEEKLY, as well as a
set of clothes.
NOTE: I highly recommend you visit the cockpit for the sake of collecting the
Flare Gun, it's great versus the final boss.
There are also some fuel cans and arrows among the trees to the north. (This
is also a great spot to sledge from, if you've collected a turtle shell!)
Finally, consider building a Glider here, since it could save you a lot of time
later on (depending on how you choose to end the game).
POINT OF INTEREST: A little way to the north-west of the plane's cockpit, at
the northernmost point of the map, is a little corner containing a few frozen
mountaineers beside an equally frozen tent (although you can still use it to
rest and save). There are some minor supplies here, too.
---
That's about it for the forest and the mountains. It's time to visit the Chasm
Cave.
3.13 DESTINATION 9: CHASM CAVE
______________________________
OBJECTIVE: EXPLORE CHASM CAVE
Entrances
_________
Entrance 1 is due north of the Waterfall Cave Entrance 1 (N), across the rocky
bridge. It is marked by an obvious cave icon on the Map, and is clearly visible
on the grassy hill, behind a few trees.
The Chasm Cave can also be reached via the Sinkhole, by dropping down to the
bottom and then opening the Obsidian Doors from behind.
Notable Items
_____________
Armsy Photograph, 'Chasm Cave Entrance' Photograph, Modern Bow, Old Photo 4,
Old Photo 5, Pedometer, Restraining Order, 'She's Not Dead, She Is Sleeping'
Note, 'Side Effects' Video Tape, Timmy's Toy (2), Torch.
Preparation
___________
If you look at the Notable Items above, you will see that no essential items
are found in the Chasm Cave. There are lots of supplies, but supplies are there
to be used, and by skipping the Chasm Cave entirely you avoid all the situations
which might require that you use those supplies - in other words, the Chasm Cave
is pointless unless you care about collecting all the lore. Keep in mind that
you are not just preparing for the Chasm Cave, but also the Sinkhole Cave and
the Laboratory. Consider taking the Sinkhole shortcut instead.
Preparing for the Laboratory effectively means preparing for the final boss
fight. Since spears, flares (and the Flare Gun), arrows and throwables are all
generally recommended for that encounter, make sure you have as many of them as
possible - they should ideally be upgraded where possible, so try building a few
Incendiary Spears and Incendiary Arrows in addition to the basic versions. Note
that Incendiary Spears cannot be recovered once used, unlike the Upgraded Spear.
Upgrade your Rusty Axe to full damage, using teeth and sap.
You need the Rebreather, it's essential for accessing the Sinkhole Cave, and
generally useful in a couple of other spots. Bring some air canisters, too.
The Climbing Axe is helpful for the Chasm Cave (though not really the Sinkhole
Cave).
The more Torches you have, the better. Consider sticking your Torch to one of
your weapons before collecting the one in the Chasm Cave. You can do this with
the Modern Bow, the Crafted Bow, the Chainsaw or the Flintlock Pistol,
theoretically giving you five times the amount of light you could wring from
just one Torch.
You won't see any more trees beyond the Chasm Cave's entrance, and that means
no more logs (or leaves) and no more Hunting Shelters or Wood Benches. Make sure
you have the maximum number of sticks for those Temporary Shelters (you can find
more sticks within).
There will also be no more animals, and therefore no more hides. Make sure you
have crafted all the various things involving hides, and stack up as many lizard
skins as you can, so you can create more Stealth Armour later.
No more animals means no more meat to be cooked, unless you feel like eating
some severed limbs. In fact limbs will be your main source of food from now on,
at least until you reach the Lab.
You will have many opportunities to farm bones for Bone Armour, and quite a
few chances to skin some mutants for Creepy Armour. Try to save your better
armour as much as possible, since you want to go into the final boss fight with
a full stack.
With no chance to build any more Benches, the Cassette Player steps up as your
main energy resource. Make sure you have it.
If you're not planning on returning, I recommend you collect all the
electrical tape and wristwatches you can find in the Chasm Cave, and use them to
make explosives when you find them, so you can collect more.
Max out your inventory with healing herbs, so that when the meds run out (and
they will) you can create more, rather than having to scavenge for them.
In fact, max out your inventory with everything: it can't hurt, and that's
what all this exploration has been about. Timmy can wait a bit longer. However,
try to pick as few fights and use as few supplies as possible in the Chasm Cave
- it's designed to challenge you and incite you to waste things you will need
later.
Finally, if you do want to visit the Chasm Cave, the first and last thing you
will want to check, assuming you don't plan on coming back from this point, is
that you have the Sahara Employee Keycard. You should have collected it from the
Lawyers Cave earlier. You can see it in your inventory, tucked between your
Cassette Player and Cassettes. If it's not there, go no further before you find
it.
There are two save points in the Chasm Cave.
---
Sneak along the first tunnel to find three more hanging Passengers (3C, 4B, 5B
(39/43)).
The first cave is well guarded by an armsy and some cannibals, and this
problem is made worse by having to smash down two walls of planks at the back. I
suggest you light some dynamite at the top of the rope, drop down to the small
outcroppings to your left, then throw the dynamite along the cave so that it
explodes both plank walls at once, at which point you can just sprint through.
Far better than fighting these enemies is baiting them into following you along
the left ledge - you can use the nearby rope down to escape, and ideally they
will fall off chasing you. If the armsy falls off and dies, you can then skin
him for some free Creepy Armour.
At the far corner of that long ledge overlook, just past the rope, you will
find a piece of TIMMY'S TOY.
NOTE: Beyond is a cave full of babies and various minor supplies, such as rope
and cloth - this cave is not worth visiting unless you really need any of those
things.
Climb down the single rope to find a ledge containing various items, including
a paintbrush and red paint, as well as the RESTRAINING ORDER. You can also find
some find some meds, and another TORCH.
NOTE: This is the last spot in the game where you can find a Torch, so if you
already have one, make sure you combine it with a weapon, so you can pick this
new one up, too.
Go down the next rope to another ledge, and here you can find OLD PHOTO 5.
There's another rope leading down, but ignore this for now, and instead run
along the narrow ledge at the far end of this platform. You should come to a gap
which you can cross with a running jump, and then a climb up another rope. This
takes you to a climbing wall. Up on your left is that cave full of minor
supplies, guarded by the babies, so unless you really need the supplies you
might as well ignore it. Climb or drop down the climbing wall to find the ARMSY
PHOTOGRAPH.
You can climb down the remainder of the wall from here, or just jump / drop
down, at the risk of some health loss. You should be facing north, and you can
go down a slope to a large junction cave littered with tennis balls. You will
arrive at a pool, where you can find Passengers 11E (in the water) and 11D (on a
rock nearby) (41/43) - note that 11E has a PEDOMETER you can pick up.
NOTE: The Pedometer measures the steps you have taken, but it also seems able
to record the steps you took even before you found it! This is an interesting
way of measuring a speedrun, although no speedrun would actually pass this way,
making it a completely pointless item.
Farther north-east you can explore a dead end cave full of monsters. It's
dangerous but, regardless of the few cases and the little campfire at the back
end, it's also well worth doing if you care about achievements, since you only
have two more Passengers to find, and they're both in there: 10A and 11A
(43/43).
NOTE: This completes the FIND THE MISSING PLANE PASSENGERS objective, for
which you get nothing other than a Steam achievement called 'Get Closure'.
You should also receive another objective somewhere around here.
OBJECTIVE: EXPLORE SINKHOLE CAVE
Go west to this large cave's other exit, find the rope and ride it down. At
this point the game gives you a choice between crossing a climbing wall to
another ledge, where there is a rope leading up, or going down another rope on
the near side. The rope across the way leads back up to the ledge where you
found Old Photo 5, so ignore it and go down the rope next to you instead. This
puts you on another ledge, where a lit generator shines across the gap bridged
by the climbing wall. (As with the gap above you, you can cross this one with a
running jump.) The rope on the same ledge as the generator just leads to a dead
end, so cross the gap and go down the other rope to the bottom of the Chasm
Cave.
NOTE: This bottom area has a pool of water deep enough to submerge yourself
in, which means you can wash off blood. Better than that, it means that you can
fall into it from above, and this technically allows you to skip this entire
cavern by jumping from anywhere, including the very top, and landing safely in
the water, although this is pretty hard to do.
Also, be very careful with the enemies in this bottom area, and the
terrain generally. I killed them all and then stood on one of the big door
pieces while I was reading the Survival Guide. The next thing I knew was that I
was dead. I have no idea what killed me, but I think it was a bug, since it was
a one-shot kill from full health and several pieces of armour, and no enemy
noise. Maybe the roof collapsed or something!
Since there's nothing in this last cave but enemies, you can and should just
sprint down to the south-east end and squeeze through the gap, where they can't
reach you.
The next area has a hole you can fall into - don't do that, be careful - and a
narrow ledge leads to a hole in the wall, behind a sketch of a child scratched
into a rock. The game leads you to believe that you can blow the hole up with
dynamite, but you can't, making this another piece of bad design - you might
waste a lot of dynamite trying and failing, and you really need dynamite for
what's coming up. It doesn't matter, since you will get to the other side of
that hole soon. Anyway, don't miss the OLD PHOTO 4 on the floor just in front of
the hole.
NOTE: At this point you likely have only six of the eight Old Photos in your
inventory. There are reasons for this: Old Photo 8 cannot be picked up (in the
current version) and no-one knows where Old Photo 6 is found in the game. Unlike
Old Photo 8, you can at least add Old Photo 6 to your inventory using the
'Inventory Mod' mod (F4 > Other > PhotoCache6).
Look for the air canister by the nearby rope, and at the bottom you can find
some booze in the water, useful for bomb making. The tunnel leads to a much
needed tent and campfire, and in the tent you can find the superfluous 'CHASM
CAVE ENTRANCE' PHOTOGRAPH. Upon arriving at this tent, and assuming you have
explored all the areas I described above, the game should tell you you have
completed the EXPLORE THE CHASM CAVE objective.
NOTE: Despite the game wanting to transition to the Sinkhole Cave at this
point, I will continue to treat everything before the last Obsidian Door into
the Sinkhole as the Chasm Cave, since the Sinkhole itself is such an obvious
border between the two zones (the Chasm Cave is mappable, everything beyond the
Sinkhole isn't).
Also, the game inserts a lot of cannibals from here on in (as well as some
mutants). Since there are no animals to harvest for food, the game expects you
to be harvesting these guys for their limbs, both to eat and to gather bones for
Bone Armour. I suggest you do the former if you need to, but skip the latter,
since there is a much more optimal spot at which to farm bones later on.
Farther up this tunnel some cannibals are guarding some meds and snacks, then
around the next corner you can find a plank wall to smash down, beyond which are
yet more cannibals. This is a good time to start using your Chainsaw, if you
haven't already.
You will come to some shallow water marking the entrance to a large junction
cavern. There are usually two Virginias patrolling in here, alongside some
cannibals and babies. Hug the right wall and sneak your way around to the north,
where you will find a Rebreather pool with a lit generator floating in it. (Note
that you can bait the Virginias into following you into the water, whereupon
they will sink and die, although you cannot then harvest Creepy Armour from
them.) Swim down to find another lit generator, then swim north-west to find
another large campsite, again nicely lit up. Here there are loads of supplies
(including two lots of Old Gun ammo), a save point and a campfire, as well as
the MODERN BOW. Unless you create your own, the next save point is some way
away, and there's a lot of darkness and danger in between, so make an archive
save here.
Back in the junction cave, continue in an anti-clockwise direction to find
another tunnel in the south-west. This takes you past a short, dead end
Rebreather tunnel, at the end of which you can find some air canisters, sodas
and meds. Farther up the main tunnel, several more cannibals are guarding a lore
cave, where you can find a painting of the man in red (remember him from the
plane?) leading two kids away. There is some red paint in front of this wall,
plus the 'SHE'S NOT DEAD, SHE IS SLEEPING' NOTE. One of the crates contains a
few pieces of dynamite (you will need at least one in your inventory, so here's
where to find some), otherwise this cave would not be worth visiting unless you
were trying to collect all the lore or harvest more bones. By sprinting to the
red paint in this cave you can effectively disable all the cannibals, saving you
from a fight.
Go back to where you entered this dead end cave, to the junction cave, and
turn right. Immediately to the right is the exit you are looking for, past some
fetishes, leading to another plank wall, behind which are more cannibals. Run
past them and jump in the water, and follow it north-east to find the 'SIDE
EFFECTS' VIDEO TAPE among some papers, suggesting you are getting closer to some
sort of Umbrella Corp. base or something. Blow up the dynamite wall behind it to
reveal another cave, a very dangerous one. If you can bait the enemies into
falling down past the climbing wall to get to you, you can just jump up the
ledge and they can't follow. You are not going to want to spend much time in
here, since there's only another set of clothes up in the north, beside the
other side of that hole in the wall you encountered earlier, so run through and
quickly find the PEDESTAL to the east (next to the handy bunch of rocks on the
floor). Place four rocks / skulls on it and jump through the OBSIDIAN DOORS as
they open. Do the same again with the next set of OBSIDIAN DOORS, these guarded
by some cannibals.
You should be in a large, flooded cavern with a bridge spanning it. The only
thing of interest in here is the piece of TIMMY'S TOY halfway along the bridge.
NOTE: By now you pretty certainly have enough pieces to build the Toy by
combining all the pieces in the inventory. It works as a weapon, although it
won't block and cannot be cancelled or upgraded.
Squeeze through another gap at the far end of the bridge and you will come to
a third and final set of OBSIDIAN DOORS. Open the Doors and go through to arrive
in the long-awaited Sinkhole! The game will likely tell you that the FIND A WAY
INTO THE SINKHOLE objective is now complete, along with the EXPLORE SINKHOLE
CAVE objective.
3.14 DESTINATION 10: SINKHOLE CAVE
__________________________________
OBJECTIVE: EXPLORE SINKHOLE CAVE
Entrances
_________
You can reach the Sinkhole via the Chasm Cave, or simply by dropping down into
it (see section 2.3).
Notable Items
_____________
'Armsy Breakout' Video Tape, Keycard Photo, Machete
Preparation
___________
The Sinkhole Cave is pretty small and not that dangerous, despite the presence
of several cannibals. You already prepared for it before entering the Chasm Cave
(I hope), so not much has changed since then. Ideally you have a full inventory,
especially armour and throwables.
You need the Rebreather, both for the first tunnel and another one, at the end
of the Sahara Laboratory.
There is one save point in the Sinkhole Cave, the last save point in the game.
---
From here the game is unmappable, although that doesn't matter, since the path
is very straightforward.
There are several enemies spread out around here, around the clockwise path.
You should be far enough away from them to get away with building a Temporary
Shelter here, with enough sticks and leaves: this gives you a save point and a
rest if you need it, and is worth doing if you're really worried about your
health. Otherwise you're going left, towards the crashed chopper. In front of it
you can find the MACHETE, and a set of clothes in a case on the other side. You
can jump into the chopper if you're under attack, and it will protect you. In
fact you can skip this entire area just by jumping up onto the rocks and making
your way around to the pool, and unless you're interested in collecting a few
flares or circuit boards, or maybe trying to farm some Creepy Armour from the
cowmen and armsies, it's best to do exactly that. Refill your Rebreather with an
air canister first, then jump into the pool and down the hole.
This Rebreather tunnel exits into a new cave, and you should find Timmy's
Drawing of him having to use the Rebreather farther on, indicating that he had
to come this way, too; next you should come to the ultimate troll, the KEYCARD
PHOTO which tells you (not really) where to find the Keycard you didn't know you
needed (watch out for the cannibals who can jump you while you examine it); and
then you will find the 'ARMSY BREAKOUT' VIDEO TAPE at the top of a ledge, beside
some bones you might like to collect. Climb down the rope to find a climbing
wall, although note that you can get to the top just by jumping up the nearby
rocks, meaning there is no need to bring the Climbing Axe if you got here via
the drop shortcut, avoiding the need to explore the Ledge Cave when
speedrunning.
Eventually you will come to a very large cavern full of cannibals - they may
be sleeping, they may not be. There are some crates in this cave: the ones in
the west half have sodas, and the east half has dynamite, well worth stocking up
on before you go any farther - make sure you have all five. Either way you
should go south to find a tent at which you can save and rest. Take the tunnel
behind the tent and you will find another horrible Drawing on the floor, and
then you will finally arrive at the LABORATORY DOOR.
NOTE: There is no need to build a fire here to remove the effects of cold,
since the game will magically cure you of the cold status as you approach the
Lab. You might be tempted to put on the Warmsuit to remove the cold status, but
never do this if you are wearing armour, as all the armour you are wearing gets
destroyed when the Warmsuit goes on, and you can't get it back again!
Next, you cannot build anything in the Lab, not even a Stick Marker, and
so this spot is your last opportunity to build anything at all. Building a fire
is therefore recommended, especially since you can cook the limbs of the nearby
cannibals for a lot more bones. Make sure you fully recover all your various
health gauges, but don't spend any of your armour. Finally, definitely make an
archive save here, as this is literally the last place in the game at which you
get to manually save.
Also, because of the way enemy respawns work in this game, you can kill all
the cannibals and farm their bones, save at the tent, then reload to find the
cannibals have all respawned, allowing you to farm them all over again. This is
one of the two most efficient ways to fill out your inventory with Bone Armour
(see section 2.3 for the other one); I STRONGLY recommend you do this if you're
low on Bone Armour at this point.
Whip out the SAHARA EMPLOYEE KEYCARD, click on the CONTROL PANEL on the right,
and open the LABORATORY DOOR.
3.15 DESTINATION 11: SAHARA LABORATORY
______________________________________
A couple of things to note about the Laboratory before you go in. Firstly, if
you die in here at any point before reaching the final boss fight (assuming you
still have your free 'continue'), it's all the way back to the Hanging Cave (no,
seriously). Secondly, you are not allowed to build anything in here, which means
you can't save, rest or do anything the Lab doesn't want you to.
The Laboratory is mostly a big lore dump. So far the game has been
drip-feeding you little clues as to what's going on, but here is where it all
starts to make sense through environmental story telling. It does have its
dangers, though, so be careful as you explore, since the farther in you are when
you die, the longer it takes to get back from the Sinkhole Cave tent save point.
Entrances
_________
The Laboratory is only accessible via the Sinkhole Cave.
Notable Items
_____________
Artifact, Artifact Chamber Sketch, Artifact Key (Yacht), Employee Termination
Memo, 'Ethical Scientist' Magazine, Daddy Drawing, Flowers Drawing, Gold
Keycard, 'Megan Cross' File, Megan's Crayons, Plane Memo, 'Second Artifact Test'
Video Tape
Preparation
___________
Since the whole game has been about reaching this place, you'll ideally want
to be as well equipped as possible. However, certain items are basically
required, namely a melée weapon with good block (the Modern or Rusty Axe), and
as many throwables (molotovs, dynamite, explosives, head bomb) as you can find
or make. The Lab will give you some circuit boards, booze and coins, but not the
electrical tape or wristwatches for explosives.
Armour is very important, too. If you can go in with the maximum of every type
of armour it will make a huge difference. You will be supplied with more bones
and cloth to make Bone Armour, and I suggest you do so.
I also recommend maximum healing items, including both meds and herbs.
There is a Rebreather tunnel at the end of the Lab, so keep the Rebreather
equipped and make sure the air is topped up.
Finally, you might want to watch the various Video Tapes you've been picking
up, in order to give the Laboratory a bit more context.
---
You can find some red paint at the end of the first corridor. Use it and then
climb the rope to find some bones and meds at the back of this tunnel. Follow
the tunnel to a hole in its floor - this is the point of no return, so if
there's anything you want to go back for, now is the time.
NOTE: As always, the red paint offers some protection against the cannibals, a
few of whom can be found in the Lab, making it easier to avoid them. I suggest
you avoid getting into unnecessary fights with them, as there is not much upside
to doing so - you can't farm them for bones (since you can't build a fire), and
you might end up covered in blood which can no longer be washed off. However,
you can still get teeth out of them if you want to upgrade your weapon, and if
you need another head to make a head bomb, this is where you'll find it - this
is the main reason to fight them at all.
The nitrogen tank at the door can be attacked to make it explode, worth
remembering. You can find the 'MEGAN CROSS' FILE next to two more nitrogen
tanks, before another drop into some floor vents. Go left to find some lore by
some bones and meds - did Timmy hide here?
Find the next rope and climb up into the Cafeteria. This is a good recovery
point, since you can eat the meals off the tables, drink from the coffee
machines and water cooler, and spend coins on snacks and sodas at the vending
machines.
NOTE: The Lab's vending machines all take coins (not cash notes). Each snack
or soda costs 100 coins, insanely, which means you can eventually run out of
money and therefore food. This can become a serious problem if you really can't
beat the final boss, so collect all the coins you can find in the Lab.
You can find some circuit boards and booze in here, too. Note that you can sit
on the chairs to recover energy and stamina; also, when seated you are
invulnerable to attack, so keep that in mind for later.
Jump into the roof vent via the broken pipes, then drop down the next hole
(land on the pipe to break your fall) to arrive in the Observation Centre. Other
than the copy of 'ETHICAL SCIENTIST' MAGAZINE you can find nearby, there is lots
of lore in here, including a 'When I Grow Up I Want To Be A Game Developer'
Book, but none of it collectible. Before moving through the red door at the far
end, I recommend you equip one or two points of your cheapest armour, and get
out any melée weapon capable of blocking. There are some babies beyond (three in
my game), and they are extra dangerous, given that they can now one-shot you out
of nowhere. Block and move forward carefully, or inch forward and pick them off
with arrows - watch out for the one camping in the corridor to your right.
Things have clearly gone badly wrong with the inmates. There are two armsies
down around the far end: the first is dead, but the second is lurking at the end
of the second half of Observation. He seems scripted to make him easy to sneak
past, so go into sneak mode and creep by him on the left side, then when he
turns away and swipes at the wall, sneak again and into the next room. Here you
can climb up into the vents once more, collecting MEGAN'S CRAYONS on the way,
and the FLOWERS DRAWING farther in. Drop through another hole and into
Orientation - this is another point of no return.
Check out the slideshow for your first real bit of information about the
Jarius Project; or else duck out into the corridor to find another water cooler.
The room next door contains the ARTIFACT DRAWING (it's all going a bit Dead
Space 2). Cross the hall to find the EMPLOYEE TERMINATION MEMO in the
photocopier, with a free meal nearby - don't eat this now if you don't have to,
you might prefer to come back to it later.
NOTE: There are wall maps around here which let you know you are on Level G,
far below the forest floor. They also indicate an Observation Level which you
have not yet visited.
There is a cannibal camping in the corridor beyond, but if you're wearing the
red paint from earlier he is more likely to kneel down in front of you than
attack you. You can't get into the other rooms here, but you can spot a pile of
bodies, and a dead scientist hanging from the ceiling. Go through the sliding
doors (the cannibals don't activate them, so he can't follow you once they close
behind you), and bring out your blocking melée weapon again - more babies in
here! Take them out carefully and then move through the room they were in. You
can find more booze, cloth and meds in here, so once you've got them move past
the gurney at the back of the room, and into the other half of the corridor. Go
through the door beyond to find the Artifact Chamber.
Here is where Mathew Cross was attempting to cure his daughter, and in the
room on the back-left you can find his body, having been stabbed to death by
Megan herself (note the crayons, the smoking gun). There are two paint pots in
here, as well as the PLANE MEMO, and the 'SECOND ARTIFACT TEST' VIDEO TAPE,
which I suggest you watch now. You can find some booze in the room on the other
side of the main room (near a non-collectible 'When I Grow Up I Want To Be A
Lawyer' Book). Another door (currently locked) leads to the Second Artifact; and
there is another of Megan's Drawings on the floor.
Other than all this, there is the bed in the main room, and the Resurrection
Chamber next to it. Open it to find Timmy!
NOTE: Even though you put the Toy in Timmy's arms, it also remains in your
inventory.
The FIND TIMMY objective is now complete. After the cutscene, the game tells
you that a new sample is required, and wants you to follow Megan's bloody
footsteps farther into the Lab. You have another objective.
OBJECTIVE: FIND A NEW SACRIFICE
Apply some of the paint, then follow the footprints on the floor. This takes
you to a new area where two more cannibals are prowling around: just avoid them
and use the sliding doors to keep them at bay.
There is a side room against the north wall, a storage closet containing meds,
cloth and circuit boards, all materials which will be useful for the imminent
boss fight.
The gurney next to the last door (where the footprints lead) allows you to
rest, but not save. However, it will save your progress in a hidden kind of way,
since if you die to the boss you will respawn here, with hardly any health,
energy or stamina.
NOTE: In the two central rooms in this area you can find booze, coffee
machines and coins. There is a vending machine off to one side, as well as more
seats where you can recover your energy and stamina. This means that, so long as
you have coins, you can rest, drink, and buy plenty of food. The only other
consideration is health. Food works as a (very minor) health curative, as does
booze. These items normally respawn, as do coins, but since you can't reload
from a save in here that won't work (resting doesn't respawn them either). You
will eventually run out of food if you are taking too long to beat the boss,
since coins are not infinite, and with no fires you can't farm the cannibals for
their limbs.
When you're ready, collect the DADDY DRAWING beside the door and go on in. You
will arrive in a vast chamber, at the far end of which you will find Megan
Cross, sitting on the floor, among more of her spooky drawings. Here is the new
sample you require, but she won't come easily.
3.15.1 MEGAN CROSS
__________________
In a previous draft I had a huge section detailing all the ways in which this
fight is broken and terrible, but I took it out. It's still an awful fight and a
really poor way to end the game, but you have no choice about it, so here are
some notes and suggestions on beating Megan.
NOTE: I previously said that if you die in the boss fight you will respawn at
the gurney, but this is not entirely true. If Megan kills you you will revive at
the gurney, but if you die in any other way, including babies, nitrogen tank
explosions, or blowing yourself up, you're headed back to the Hanging Cave,
which is obviously ludicrous. Make sure you are wearing armour and that all the
babies are dead before scooping up Megan: I killed her and tried to harvest the
corpse, whereupon a single surviving baby one-shotted me before the animation
ended... and I respawned in the Hanging Cave.
3.15.1.1 MEGAN'S MOVEMENT & ATTACKS
___________________________________
Movement:
Megan's movement is better than yours at all times. You can't outrun her and
you can't really dodge her unless you time it correctly. Her walk is comparable
to your run, and her run is far too fast for you to escape. On top of that she
has jumps, forward and backward. She will use her forward jump (and attack) to
close distance quickly, often when you're busy trying to reload or heal; and her
back jump is there to get her away from whatever you're trying to hit her with,
which often means you waste whatever it was. Because she's broken, she also gets
to jump around corners with amazing air control. Finally, she has a charge move,
which I'll get to in a bit.
She can very briefly be stunned, but never really stunlocked, and so she can
be constantly moving. She has the freedom of the entire boss arena, although she
can't get through the sliding doors at the entrance.
Attacks:
She has several attacks, most of which can be dealt with by simply blocking.
Her lateral swipes can be done singly or in pairs, and they have pretty good
range. They hurt when they hit, but on block you take no damage and don't get
knocked down. It's hard to react to the first one because she can use that one
to bait you into thinking the second one is coming, so that you then do
something she can punish. If you see her doing this it's best to wait and see if
the second one comes out, then reposition or something while it whiffs.
She has close range stomps which can hit you from above. She tends to do these
only when you're very close, obviously because they can't hit otherwise. These
also really hurt: they can be blocked, but at close range you can often find
yourself underneath her, meaning one of her legs can land and hit you from
behind, which is not blockable. This is really annoying and ruins your armour,
so it's generally best never to let her get this close.
Her overhead attack is a slow smash, easy to see coming. If you learn the
range at which this can be baited, it's easy enough to make it whiff just by
moving backwards and blocking, or by circle strafing to either side. You can
then dart in for a quick punish; or if you have a lit molotov in your hand this
is a great time to throw it, since the overhead has probably the second longest
recovery of any of her moves, and also extends her horizontal hurtbox.
Her charge move works similarly to the move the cowmen have, and its startup
is far too fast, meaning she can just do it out of nowhere and you're parked on
your backside. The charge is blockable, but blocking it won't save you from the
knockdown, only from the additional damage you would have taken had you not
blocked. It's also dodgeable, but you have to bait it and get a bit lucky by
only just strafing out of the way. On top of all this, it's not really
punishable, since she recovers a bit too quickly and often ends up at
mid-distance anyway. Don't play around with this move - either be too close or
too far away for her to choose it. Note that if she does knock you down with any
move, she also gets to hit you as you get back up, before you have a chance to
block, which is lovely.
She has a fullscreen jump attack with which she gets to land on your head from
a long way away. This is easy to see coming, but if it hits it will do good
damage and knock you down, and it's quite hard to dodge because of its speed and
wide hitbox. If you are fighting her at mid-distance (which you should), expect
to see this move a lot. You counter it by circle strafing and letting her land
next to you, another opportunity for a lit molly. Note that because she tends to
do it from a distance where it will hit (since the jump distance is not
variable), it is easily baitable; but if you fail to dodge it and she lands on
top of you or behind you, you may take extra damage from the hitbox you didn't
block.
Next comes her worst attack: the spinning lariat. This is complete and utter
bullsh*t, as it's effectively a one-shot kill. Its main purpose is to shred
multiple layers of armour in one attack, which wouldn't normally be possible,
except that she can hit up to eight times with this one move. So, if you go in
with five layers of lower strength armour and she comes out with this move, kiss
your armour goodbye within about two seconds - and then get hit anyway. The
lariat should have been designed to knock down with any single hit, but it
wasn't, resulting in it being ultra-cheap. She will do this occasionally around
melée range, but at least you can block all the hits and lose no health or
armour; this move is therefore the main argument for defaulting to blocking with
the Rusty Axe whenever you are not doing anything else.
Finally, she gets to spawn in some babies, Virginia-style. This is the move
you want her to do, because, despite how annoying the adds can be, it has huge
startup time and is very punishable with all your best weapons, assuming you
manage to see it in time. She lifts a leg and squats down, and by learning this
animation you can react by opening your inventory immediately and equipping a
Head Bomb or some other high damage throwable, then tossing it at the puddle of
babies. Even if it doesn't hit Megan because she recovered in time and moved
away, it will still always kill all or most of the summons. This is important
because, once several of the babies in the arena have been killed, Megan
recovers the ability to do the same move again, adding more. I don't know how
many babies have to die before she is allowed to add more, but I do know that by
killing some of them you can incite her to do the same thing again, which is of
course another opportunity for another explosive.
Megan only does this move at long distance, when she is confident she is
far enough away from the player. If you see her retreating insistently, this is
probably what she has in mind, so be ready with the 'I' key. Note that you can
hit her out of the startup of her spawn move by attacking any of her limbs with
a melée weapon; if you are fast enough no babies will come out, although this
will go down as a missed opportunity to do far bigger damage.
3.15.1.2 PREPARATION
____________________
Consider assigning hotkeys to anything you plan on using, as it's a lot easier
to switch between things on the fly than it is to open your inventory each time.
The 'More Shortcuts' mod will let you use more hotkeys than the usual four (see
section 2.4).
Try to enter the room with full health and energy, and at least one point of
armour equipped. Equip your best blocking melée weapon and block as the cutscene
ends.
If you do keep dying and respawning, and you are running low on meds, remember
that you can run a little way back into the Lab to that room containing more
meds, if you didn't already collect them.
Armour:
Your most important defensive resource is armour. It's actually far more
important than health, since armour can absorb attacks with no health lost, its
effects are applied immediately (unlike healing), and you can carry far more of
it than you can curatives.
Creepy Armour is obviously the best, and should be worn as a priority,
preferably after Megan has summoned some babies into the fight. Bone Armour is
your armour of choice generally, since it's much easier to come by than Creepy
Armour. Either can absorb several hits per point, and since you will likely get
hit a lot it will repay the effort you put into creating it. Even a single point
of Lizard Armour is worth its weight in gold when you consider that if you get
killed by a baby or by a nitrogen explosion you will respawn in the Hanging Cave
and will be forced to reload all the way back to the start of the Laboratory.
Never go into the fight against Megan with full armour equipped unless you
previously farmed maximum armour and are still wearing all or most of it. That's
fine, but remember that her spinning lariat move can delete it all very quickly,
and the more armour you are wearing, the more likely she is to try this. If you
are using several layers of armour, keep it safe by blocking a lot with your
Axe. Keep in mind the ruleset: Block > Armour > Health. It's preferable to
always wear only one or two pieces of any armour, rather than lots at once, and
then replenish it with hotkeys whenever it gets taken down. So long as you know
how to block the lariat move, there are not really any other situations where
you might lose multiple layers in one instance.
Note that armour protects you from explosions, including the blasts from your
own explosive weapons. This allows you to drop explosives at your feet as Megan
approaches, and take no health loss from the blast or the knockdown - whereas
Megan might take the full brunt of it, since she can't block. This is worth
spending a point of armour on.
Health:
To state the obvious, health is your main problem, since it's the one thing
you can't afford to lose. You can and should enter this fight with max meds and
healing mixtures (from herbs), but at some point those will probably run out
(although you should be protecting your health via armour). Once you have no
more curatives and no more ingredients to create them, you may be forced to face
Megan with almost no health from a respawn at the gurney.
Make sure you assign a hotkey to your meds. Wherever possible, always heal
behind at least one point of armour. This is because if you get hit while your
health bar is climbing from the cure, you won't get hit out of it and lose the
benefit - the armour will absorb it instead, and the curative will not be
wasted.
Energy:
You can always refill your energy and stamina to maximum before the fight,
just by resting on one of the seats. The water cooler and coffee machines will
top up your thirst. Since Megan can always outrun you, and since you never have
any need to run towards her (unless it's to chuck a bomb while she tries her
spawn move), you should not be using much energy anyway. Try not to use any food
during the fight - always save it until you are in danger of dying from hunger.
Remember that you can always refill your energy with the Cassette Player, and
you can use it safely from behind the doors.
3.15.1.3 STRATEGY & MISCELLANEOUS TIPS
______________________________________
Arena:
You can use certain parts of the arena to your advantage.
The doors through which you enter the arena are not locked when the fight
starts; you can go back through them to recover energy with the Cassette Player,
or to heal or rummage around in your inventory. Megan can't reach you if you're
on the stairs, but note that some of her attacks can hit you through the walls.
It's also hard for you to hit her from in here, although it is possible to tag
her limbs with melée weapons. This is not a consistent strategy, though, because
you can't see what she is doing very well, and anyway she will likely retreat
very soon to her starting point, all the way at the back of the arena.
There is a sunken area at the back-left, where you can drop down and more
easily control Megan. Unless she comes down in there with you, her only attack
which can hit you from where she is, above you, is the overhead smash -
everything else whiffs over the fence, as she is too high up. You can't really
hit her from down here either, but one way to manage this fight is to climb the
ramp and drop down, wait until she joins you (and ideally the babies, too),
chuck an explosive on the floor, and run out the other end. Rinse and repeat
this circuit to make her movements much more predictable and curtailed. This is
your best chance at bottlenecking her.
If you can bait her into dropping down there without doing the same yourself,
you can easily lob throwables over the fence. Her pathfinding sometimes delays
her ability to escape.
The crates against the back wall are not good for climbing on, since Megan can
easily hit you. There is also a weird bug where she can hit you and send you
flying way up the back wall, and when you land you take massive damage (armour
doesn't protect against fall damage). The crate does give you a vantage point to
more easily throw explosives at the floor, or to snipe with your projectiles.
There is a panel on the floor which you can get stuck on, but Megan also seems
to get stuck on it, too; so by fighting her around here there is a good chance
she will get stuck for a few moments around that spot, making it a good time for
some explosions.
Explosives:
As your highest damage option, explosives are your best shot at taking down
Megan, at least on paper. Not only will any explosive do far more damage than
anything else you have, if it scores a direct hit Megan may be knocked down and
temporarily stunned, allowing you some free damage, which you should exploit by
tossing another explosive at her - if this hits it will not knockdown again, but
it will still hurt her as much as the first one.
Unfortunately, actually getting them to hit her can be a problem, since she
has such good and unpredictable movement. Often you will throw something and
before it can explode she will move out of its range, meaning it's wasted. Since
you can't carry many of them, and have limited ability to create more, all
explosives become exponentially far more valuable.
There are ways to make scoring a hit more likely, however. First, exploit her
spawn move, since it has the most recovery. Second, try to get her stuck
somewhere where her movement is curtailed, such as in a corner of the pit, or
next to the crates against the back wall. Third, you can stun her a little by
using the Flare Gun, which might help your next explosive to reach her.
The arena has several nitrogen tanks in it. These will explode (with a delayed
reaction, like all other explosives) and do high damage to anything caught in
the blast, including Megan. It's very hard to get this to happen, but it can if
you're lucky - just hit them with anything and they should start hissing.
Megan's attacks will not damage them, however.
You only get to throw two Head Bombs per fight. Try to use these first, so
that if you do die you have the option of making more (you can get another
couple of heads from the cannibals). The Head Bomb is your highest damage
option, and just getting one to hit can make a serious difference in this fight.
Dynamite is also fantastic, although it has startup which the other explosives
don't, since you have to light it. Don't bring out the dynamite until Megan is
too far away even to use her jump attack, and don't advance on her until it's
actually lit.
The molotov is the lowest damage option, but it's not useless. Fire is
generally good against Megan, and it's easy to make more molotovs, since you can
find booze in the rooms before the boss fight, and you can carry unlimited
cloth. Again, light it from safety; and always try to throw it at the ground
around her feet, otherwise it can whiff over her and be wasted.
Finally, try not to throw one explosive on top of another before the first one
has exploded. The first one will destroy the second one before it can do damage,
wasting it entirely.
Weapons:
When not using explosives, there are other strong weapons against Megan.
Melée weapons are not at all useless against Megan, but they are a poor
offensive option. The problem is they either take far too long to startup (by
which point she's moved away) or their block ability is low (like the Katana).
The damage is relatively weak, too, and so their main utility is their ability
to block. This is why you run around with the Rusty Axe in this fight. Don't
rely on melée here, but if you can sneak in a quick swipe against Megan's
bizarre and incomprehensible hurtboxes, it's always worth doing while you have
armour on.
Thrown spears do surprisingly high damage, assuming you manage to hit her. Aim
for her body, the white part suspended in the middle, and even Weak Spears will
be effective when thrown. Set this up by hovering at mid-distance and baiting
her into one of her pokes (ideally the swipes), then line up your shot during
her recovery. Incendiary Spears are even better, since as well as the raw damage
they also do additional fire damage. You will have to have created a Spear Bag
before you can store multiple spears.
The Flare Gun is another good option (hopefully you collected it from the
plane's cockpit). You do have to reload it with every few shots, but it not only
sets her on fire, it also stunlocks her momentarily. You don't need nearly the
accuracy that you do with the bows, and I suggest that this should be your
weapon of choice at mid-distance, and when you're confident she isn't about to
charge or jump.
You don't need the Flare Gun for the Flares to be effective, by the way: toss
one on the ground and it will light after a second or two, damaging anything
that touches its fire, like a trap. Because they burn for a long time, you can
pepper tight corners with the Flares and it will be next to impossible for Megan
to avoid them. Flares used in this way will not hurt you if you walk over them.
Bows and arrows and the Crossbow are very effective, too, so long as you
actually hit her. Megan's hurtboxes are so unreasonable, and her movement so
fast and unpredictable, that this can be a problem. Your best chance is to back
away to mid-distance, so that she is most likely just to lurch directly towards
you, making it easier to line up your shots. As before, aim for her body, not
her limbs. Incendiary Arrows are better than basic ones; and the Modern Bow is
better than the Crafted Bow. Arrows and bolts do very high damage if you
'headshot' Megan, but you are giving up the ability to block, so be careful.
The Hairspray is not useless, but it's not amazing either. It certainly sets
her on fire, so that's something, but it does have some startup. This is a last
resort type option.
I'd like to steer you away from the Chainsaw and the Flintlock Pistol.
The Chainsaw does huge damage, of course, but you have to be at point
blank range to use it (try using it from directly underneath her, and aim
upwards at her body), it greatly lowers your mobility while attacking, and it
can't block. Additionally, its startup is so long that Megan can actually
recover in time to dodge it even when you have set up a whiff punish
opportunity. That being said, keep it in mind for when you knock her down with
an explosive!
The Flintlock Pistol also does big damage, but it takes years to reload, is
quite inaccurate, has no target reticle, and can't block either.
If you find these weapons useful that's great, but for me they were both
liabilities.
---
Megan has no health bar and no stages, so it's hard to know how much damage
you have done (or sometimes if you're doing any at all). Every time you hit her
she does take damage, and as the fight goes on her skin will become flayed and
bloody, letting you know you're making some progress. Note that if she does kill
you and you respawn at the gurney, the damage you have done to her remains in
effect - she doesn't refill her health or anything.
Try to land as many high damage attacks as you can, and always stay protected
with armour and by using the arena, and you should eventually bring her down.
You'll know it when you see it, because her body will collapse and shatter into
pieces, leaving her original body on the floor, where you are able to collect
her.
NOTE: I said it before, but I'll say it again: DO NOT attempt to pick Megan's
body up while there are still babies in the arena - they don't die with her.
Find them and kill them first - it costs nothing and is very important! Assuming
you have any left, the safest and best thing to do as soon as you see Megan
finally fall is to equip a point of armour immediately, as it will potentially
be the difference between success and infuriating failure.
If you do die and leave Megan's body on the floor, she doesn't respawn so that
you have to fight her again - but you will have to make it all the way back to
her from the Hanging Cave.
3.15.2 ENDING THE GAME
______________________
With Megan dead, you can scoop up her body and take it back to the
Resurrection Chamber, whereupon you learn that this still isn't good enough.
OBJECTIVE: FIND LIVE SACRIFICE
Collect the GOLD KEYCARD from in front of the Chamber, and use it on the
locked DOOR to your right, the one leading to the Second Artifact.
Climb the rocks on the right of this hallway, squeeze through the gap, and
follow the path past a climbing wall, a Rebreather tunnel, and another set of
OBSIDIAN DOORS, to find yourself in a huge cave, presumably the place where the
Resurrection Chamber was first discovered. There's nothing in here, so run to
the far side to the exit. From here you are following a linear path through
another, even more gruesome section of the Lab, at the end of which is an
ELEVATOR - ride it up to the Observation Level.
NOTE: Look up as you approach the far end of the hallway, and you will see a
churning Artifact (presumably the Second one), far larger than the one you can
soon collect and use. It's blue, so I guess this is what's keeping the majority
of the cannibals away from the Lab.
Up here you can choose how to end the game.
NOTE: If you choose to activate the device from the central control panel, you
will release a huge shockwave from the Artifact above you, which will bring down
a plane carrying three live specimens. Keep watching to find out whether Timmy
survives, or whether anyone gets a happy ending.
You might instead choose to shut down the device, using the EMERGENCY SHUTDOWN
console in the corner to the right of the central control panel. This ending
allows you to continue playing, but you give up Timmy forever.
Having chosen this option, ride the other ELEVATOR down to the bottom, and
follow another linear path (the water is not a Rebreather tunnel, just turn left
and swim up again). You will soon arrive in a junction cave, where you can find
some ropes leading down on the right. Don't bother going down there now, it's
pointless. Instead move forward, look for some minor supplies under a rock, on
the left; and follow the path to the dynamite crates. Blow up the rubble with
the dynamite and squeeze through the crack which leads outside, just north of
the plane cockpit.
NOTE: You can't enter this cave from the outside before you reach this point,
the passage is blocked.
FOREST
______
Once Timmy's Photo has been burned, you can keep playing, although there are
one or two more things to do before the game can be considered complete.
I previously mentioned you might want to build a Glider up at the plane
cockpit, and the reason was because you now need to take the Gold Keycard to the
Yacht, and use it on the LOCKED DOOR. The Glider will let you float all the way
there and land on the deck.
Anyway, once aboard the Yacht, use the Keycard to access MEGAN'S ROOM, where
you can find some more lore and, more importantly, the ARTIFACT KEY. Take this
all the way back to the cave you left, north of the plane cockpit, and climb
down the ropes to find an excavation site, apparently an unsuccessful one. You
no longer have much use for the various supplies down here, but you can use the
ARTIFACT KEY on the PEDESTAL to open the OBSIDIAN DOORS, beyond which you can
find the ARTIFACT.
NOTE: This pseudo-weapon allows you to control the enemies on the island, to a
certain extent. By holding it and spinning it one way or the other, you can then
plant it in the ground, where it acts like a beacon.
The blue colour seems to cause the cannibals to avoid the area completely and
become very non-aggressive, meaning that if you plant it at your base and keep
it spinning they will leave the base alone entirely.
The red colour seems to have the reverse effect: the cannibals will flock to
the Artifact and become extremely aggressive. Their numbers will also increase
beyond the usual limits. You can theoretically load up with explosives and other
projectile weapons, trigger the red colour, then climb into a Tree House or to
some other high vantage point, then take out large groups of enemies at once
from safety, allowing you to farm their corpses for materials. However, since
you have already completed the game this seems pointless.
---
Anyway, congratulations on completing The Forest, however you chose to do it.
And thanks for reading this guide :)
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4. CONTRIBUTIONS
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Version 1.0 - N/A
Version 1.1 - N/A
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5. VERSION HISTORY
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Version 1.0 completion - August 2023
Version 1.1 completion - September 2024
Minor corrections
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This guide was written and formatted with the excellent Metapad:
http://www.liquidninja.com/metapad/
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