So you decided to strand yourself on a cannibal infested hellscape for.........reasons.

Again.

Whelp, time to make a base, wander, look for things, and succumb to the cannibal blood lust around you...

Again.


This guide isn't going to go over story beats as much as possible but it will cover some weapons you can find, good armor, stuff to make your workhorse Kelvin do, etc. This is made with the idea that you went into the game blind, and before doing much else decided to get some hawt tips because you walked into a cave first thing and died immediately. Not that I know what that's like...

First things first. Change your keybinds! Don't even bother with the weird buttons they assigned to things. Find what works for you. I personally made the lighter "F", the GPS "Caps Lock" and the backpack inventory "Tab".


Use the number keys for a quick select. You can simply hover over the item you want to assign and press a number to assign it! You'll see it work because a box next to the highlighted item will fill with the assigned number.

Hold the inventory key to access a quick inventory. Holding the key as opposed to just tapping brings up your backpack quick select. By combining items with your backpack in your main inventory you can add and remove things from the quick select. This can be useful in multiplayer, but is completely pointless in single player because, unless you changed a setting or set a custom mode, time effectively stops while in your inventory.


Here are the maximum amounts of some basic items you can have at once in the inventory

• Mushrooms, berries, plants, sticks, and their seeds - 20
  
• Spears - 5
  
• Armor and Tech mesh - 10 of each type
  
• Arrows and Bolts - 20 each
  
• Unique weapons and Attachments - 1 each
  
• Most consumables (MREs, Cans, Drinks, etc) - either 6 or 10
  
• watches and rope - 10
  
• Cloth, tape, leaves, bullets, money, wire - unlimited
  
• BONES IN THE BONE ZONE - 16

The bullet ammo is PER BULLET, not round. It doesn't do as much damage as you would think anyway.

Hover over the cogwheel to see your available recipes. This mechanic returns from the first game.

AI and enemies stop while in the inventory by default but the actual in-game time (accessible via the GPS) does still advance. Not that you would notice unless you were in there for like 5 years.

You can craft a flask by finding a 3D printer. Eventually, you will be able to make different recipes (see Cooking section) that you can store both in a pot and in the flask for easy access.

Some weapons are upgradable, but you need a rail attachment first for the guns so don't bother trying to attach something without it because it won't work and you'll feel dumb.
...don't ask how I know that...

Survival isn't as important as it was in the last game. Unless you're on hard mode heheheheheh


Find a pot and get to it! While cooking isn't necessary, it gives a LOT of benefits depending on what you decide to make. Simply start a fire, and place a pot on the fire using the same menu you would use to add fuel. Then, a symbol should appear near the pot, and holding the indicated button brings up a list of recipes. Add the specified items, and wait because the cooking takes forever.

After cooking, you can put the pot in your inventory for later or use the flask to fill it with the pot's contents. Some recipes will spoil after a certain amount of time.

Greg is the only G-Fuel you'll ever need. Simply add some arms, legs, and a head to get a Greg. There are no problems with this. Greg is good. Greg does not spoil. Greg gives warmth and regen. Greg is Greg. Enjoy.


In normal mode, Survival isn't all that important so it isn't the end of the world if your stats are low. You don't take damage from starvation, dehydration, or lack of sleep, and the main thing it affects is stamina.

Your sleep depletes faster if food and water aren't kept in check. If you are actively hungry or thirsty, it will DRAIN. Sleep seems to be the most important factor when it comes to available stamina.

You are considered hungry/thirsty if the meter is 25% filled or less. The icon will flash red and the game will be like "hEY YeR hUNgrY oR WhATeVEr" in the lower left corner.

Lack of stats may not kill you, but you should still be on top of it since the available stamina with no stats is so small that you can barely swing any weapon once.

Just eat berries if you're low on stuff my man. You can find them all over the island and they regrow (except in winter). As expected, they don't give much food or water but the shear availability of them makes them easy ways to max your stats.

Get fish by stabbing them in the river Bear Grylls style! Also the fish still moves when you eat it, even while cooked or dried. I just find this disturbing honestly...

Make a drying rack because I SWEAR cooked meat spoils (the wiki says it doesn't) after a few days. Cooked meat also spoiled in the first game so dry your meat just in case. If that doesn't work, may God help you because no one else can.

You can hold up to 3 turtle shells. Shells are mainly used for rain catchers and must be collected from sea turtles. The smaller land tortoises don't give shells. If it hasn't rained in a bit, you can always cook creek water.

Fun note: You can also make traps and a glider launcher using shells! How do I know this, I hear you ask? ....IT'S ALL IN THE #$@$ING BOOK!

Ok fine maybe you have to find the blueprint for the launcher first but is this really important for a tips guide like come on I mea-

If you haven't seen this yourself yet, there are seasons! Technically its all four, but there really isn't any difference between spring and summer, and fall doesn't change much either. The most important season is winter. Animals and cannibals spawn much less, and the frequency of mutants is higher to compensate, especially around caves. Also your graphics card gets to have a panic attack from all the snow it has to render! yay!

The best thing you can do to defend your base is to build a spiked log wall. This should be your first priority for base building, and building walls is detailed in the book, as well as most other buildable structures, including electric fences! Remember to pick an easily defensible spot.

So ya wanna murder huh?


Every weapon has a charged attack as well as a standard one. As you can imagine, the charged attack does more damage but also uses more stamina.

You have a strength stat that increases when you do 2 things: picking up logs and swinging your weapon at ♥♥♥♥. You can see it in the HUD next to your other stats, like thirst, at any time.

The level of your strength stat affects damage. The xp required for each level is exponential, and your damage increases by 1% each level. Your max level is 100, but good luck reaching that because by the end of the game I had like 20.

Each level of strength also increases your max health. Your speed is also dependent on the clothing you're wearing, though this is hidden. Same for your wetness level.
...what? this isn't relevant to this section? well we were on the topic sooooooooooo.....shut up


One of the main features of this game is the complicated AI, so always be on the lookout because those f-ers will sneak an attack on you every now and then if you're not prepared. I found myself still being surprised by them even in the end game. The complex AI has the added virtue of not hating your guts immediately, but they will eventually be pissed no matter how much you avoid them.

Over time, the cannibals will start to wear armor so watch out! Aim for the unarmored bits if you can.

Headshots definitely matter when it comes to the cannibals, but as far as I can tell the mutants aren't considered to have heads.

Cannibals can't swim. This weakness is carried over from the last game but, essentially, they avoid going into the water at all costs, especially the ocean. They have been known to cross rivers if shallow enough, but many times stop their pursuit completely when faced with sufficient amounts of H2O. I guess they heard about the DANGERS of dihydrogen monoxide...

Slice off their limbs to stun them, giving you a chance to strike. Some weapons have a better stun chance than others, and there is also a base chance that is dependent on your strength level.

Certain cannibals do certain things. This is reflected in the game's code with personalized names for each model. Each one will have different attack methods in addition to the complex AI.

Generally, the big bois like to charge. The skinnier ones tend to dodge and weave, as well as use hit-and-run tactics.

If you don't get it from the title, this section is some general stuff on mutants. There's a separate mutant section that talks about ♥♥♥♥ specific to each mutant if you want to looooook.

Mutants only start spawning on the surface after you break the boards found on each cave entrance. The only exception to this rule is the caterpillar which is only found on the surface. As far as I can tell it doesn't matter which entrance you open since it doesn't affect the type of mutants spawned, only whether or not they'll be there to begin with. The type that spawns depends on the day, and gets worse over time.

They suck a whole bunch, but they are quite predictable. Once you are used to their attacks it's often easier to fight a mutant or two than like 5-10 cannibals. As far as I can tell, most mutants only have a few attacks each.

They are faster than you think. They will charge you, so it's best to keep distance for the most part.
...when isn't it tho am I right or am I- ok I'll leave....

It's worth fighting them for the most part, because you can grab armor from some of them.

Unlike the first game, the mutants in caves respawn. It takes several days for them to do so however, and "bunkers" (which are separate from caves) do not have respawning enemies.

Mutants can't swim even more than the cannibals. They literally just drown once they reach a certain depth. The only problem with this 100% skill based trick is that it becomes difficult/impossible to collect their creepy armor since they are underwater.

Tell me about all the good ♥♥♥♥!


Different weapons have different stats. I know this seems obvious, but just in case you don't know I'll also tell you that you can hover over a weapon to see its stats in the inventory at any time.

Weapons can be upgraded to add a 30% damage boost using a special material called solafite that is very important in the end game.There is a special structure found in caves you use to upgrade it, but using that structure will trigger a "solafite storm" that spawns waves of nonsense you need to deal with while it does its thing.

In addition to the upgrade info above, certain ranged weapons can have attachments. I mentioned this earlier, but to expand a little: the weapons have silencers, flashlight attachments which do not use any batteries, and laser sights. The crossbow, shotgun, and pistol are the upgradable weapons, and only the pistol can have the silencer.

The best melee weapon is the katana found in the residential bunker.

Crossbow is LEGIT. It is probably my personal favorite ranged weapon because of the high DPS, retrievable bolts, upgradablity, and easy-to-use aiming.

You can retrieve your arrows, as well as upgrade to fancy arrows with different effects. Your fancy arrows are also retrievable but they turn into normal arrows after one use. You can switch the type currently in use by looking down and pressing "R".

The shotgun has two different types of ammo: slug and buckshot. Slugs are for mid-range and fire as a single round, and buckshots are your close range spread shot that does a devastating amount of damage. Save for explosives, the buckshot shotgun is the single highest damage weapon.


The tech armor is not worth it except for the achievement. It is not that much more powerful than the next best armor, creepy armor, and by the time you get a full set you will have access to the best armor in the game: solafite armor. This armor is created using a special structure necessary for story completion that you will find in the caves. This structure also triggers a storm, so prepare!

For most of the game, the best armors are the bone and creepy armor. Bones are gained from burning bodies, and creepy armor can be grabbed from some dead mutants. These two armors are the easiest to obtain while still being strong.

There is another type of armor that works uniquely and is necessary for plot completion. This armor is called ancient armor, and instead of negating damage like most armor, it actually decreases damage by 30% for most enemies and by 70% for the demon mutants. This armor needs to be activated by combining it with 12 pieces of solafite to complete the game. This is what that special structure is for, and the creation process does take a while. Don't worry, you'll be preoccupied with some mutants before you know it!

Kelvin and Virginia my beloved


Kelvin can die if you don't help him when he goes down. If he dies it affects the ending cutscene, SO FOR THE LOVE OF GOD PROTECT MY PRECIOUS BABY.

Kelvin can only be injured onscreen, and will not follow you into caves. Don't worry about leaving him alone. In fact, it's probably safer to since he won't be hurt while you're away.

Most of Kelvin's actions are self explanatory except for "maintain base". As you can imagine, he maintains the base.....but what does that mean? It means he will refill any holders with their appropriate items, repair damaged structures, and finish any structures that still need to be built.

Kelvin can't open the large log doors. Make sure to keep your main gate open so he can go pee.


You can befriend her by lowering your weapons when near her and by watching her dance. Over time, she will appear more often, and eventually you will be able to give her a tracker.

Virginia can also die if you don't help her when she's injured. If she dies it affects the ending cutscene, SO FOR THE LOVE OF GOD PROTECT MY PRECIOUS BABY.
...again.

Virginia is also only killable onscreen so don't worry if she wanders. No caves for her either.

You can give her weapons once you've reached a high enough affinity level. She uses them with deadly accuracy and without ammo consumption. At first, she is cautious when it comes to fighting, but she will eventually be a fantastic addition to your team and will shoot everything in sight.

She gives you gifts and follows you once you have a high enough affinity level. She gives aloe, berries, small animals and all sorts of goodies.

This entire section will be spoiler-tagged for all you wacky people who want to be surprised.

Puffies

These aren't even mutants really...

These guys are just blind humanoids. They are the main enemies found in caves, and essentially locate the player using sound and by moving their hands in front of them to feel for you. The standard variant is incredibly easy to deal with. Just run up and slash until they go down. Their attack is just a series of swipes, and overall they are more cannon fodder than anything else. What's not cannon fodder are the blue and spotted variants of these enemies. These versions can be more difficult to deal with than most of the other mutants and are super quick in addition to having some fun new attacks. The variants, especially the spotted ones, do some of the highest damage a single mutant can do so don't slice them like they're any other puffy or you will be got.

Fingers

♥♥♥♥ surprises, I like living

These bois, as you can imagine, are made out of fingers. They are vaguely humanoid except that instead of any sort of facial features, they just have a mouth made out of fingers that goes the length of their spine. They aren't so bad once you get used to them. The only attack they do is this violent swinging from side to side as well as this charge. They are both easily avoidable and honestly by the end game it becomes much easier to deal with these guys as opposed to the cannibals.

Twins

You know, starting to rethink the whole "like living" thing

This is a crawling mutant that is basically 2 people fused together at the hip. They use both sets of hands to move, and they can climb onto the ceiling. They sound bad at first but once you know what's up then they aren't the worst. Their attacks are a basic swipe with their hands and a jumping attack that can be easily dodged.

Legsy

Or as I like to call them: ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ crab demons.

They are THE WORST. They are fast, they climb walls, and they are extremely difficult to run away from. This ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ is just a blob with deformed finger-hand-things that it uses to SPRINT at you, and it has 2 legs that just flail in the air and occasionally attack. The first attack this does is a sweep with its legs that will do a disgusting amount of damage, and it also leaps like the Twins, except worse. It will knock you down over and over, and you can melee if you're feeling brave but why not just blow it to smithereens?

Caterpillar

ew.

These are the only mutants that spawn exclusively on the surface, and they can be tough to deal with at first. They are a double-headed mutant that looks exactly like how you would imagine a thing called "caterpillar" would look. These things are probably the most agile of the bunch, and they attack by either swinging or slamming the first half of their body at the player. They also do this tire formation to charge you and your structures, but it isn't as devastating as one would think. In addition, despite being the most agile of the bunch, they can be easy to avoid due to their slow turns.

Holey

Yeah I don't like living anymore.

This THING is just a massive blob made especially for all the trypophobes out there. It's literally just a mass with an ungodly amount of holes, and is surprisingly quick despite its size. Stick to ranged attacks. Don't even try. Just run when it charges.

Demons

to me they look like they have horrible squirrel faces

These are special. They sort of look like a mutated cat with arched backs. They attack using their front legs and claws, and are easily dispatched with the cross. Figures. The armor mentioned in other spoiler sections decreases the damage dealt by 70% and trivializes all encounters that were already trivial because of the cross. This is the only use for the cross.

Other Twits

There are a few other mutants in the game that I thought were either not important enough to mention because of the lack of danger or because they are only unlocked after finishing the game.

Of course, you can just look this up, so I tried to make even the spoiler section relatively spoiler-free. Good luck.

This is literally just a map that shows you where to go and when. Now, since I'm being spoiler free the map will not have any items labelled (since you can just look that up anyway) so it will just show you which caves to complete in which order. Honestly, the game sorta guides you on what to do next for plot progression, but that doesn't stop your (my) ADHD brain from forgetting it!


This is also spoiler-tagged just in case.

This is just anything that I didn't think would fit in the other categories. Enjoy!

Running things over does not do as much as you would think so don't try to ram into enemies.
Run them over with what you say? Why a golf cart of course!

Other things that don't do much damage include the chainsaw. Its made for chopping trees. Somehow, a chainsaw with a motor that's slicing through ♥♥♥♥ 100+ times a second..... is less powerful than a PR guy with a big knife.

READ THE $#%@ING BOOK. You think it's useless, don't you??? Only use the one mode and never the other, right? WRONG! There's a reason I didn't have a building section....

......it's because it's ALL IN THE $#%@ING BOOK!

You can destroy radios and laptops to get circuit boards. Some seem to explode though as of the most recent update, but the amount of damage they do is minor.

MONEY IS FOR THE WEAK. Burn! Burn the money!!! It doesn't do jack.

Make sure the explosives don't kill if you intend to collect creepy armor. Death by explosive makes the whole boi blow up (as you can imagine) and then you can't get his m e a t .

"Grottos" are separate from caves but look the same on the map. Every grotto is near or on the mountain, and they are just loot spots that don't have any enemies.

Don't be afraid to use a tarp to set up a save spot. You can have a max of 5 and they can be found around the map in all sorts of places, even just hanging on tree trunks. Saving is gud. Remember to saaave.

There are several keycards you will unlock throughout the game that are needed to progress through the story and unlock the various bunkers. There are 3 total: the maintenance keycard (in Maintenance A), the guest keycard (Entertainment), and the V.I.P. keycard (Food & Dining). You can tell which you need by the color of the door.

Welcome to the obligatory thank you section. This is my first guide. Be merciful.


Seriously though, thank you for looking over this and if this helps even one random dude then I did what I wanted to do. Good luck with the cannibals. stay in school, don't do drugs, something something something BYEEEEEEEE!