Sons Of The Forest: 13 Tips And Tricks For Beginners

Sons of the Forest is the second installment of the acclaimed “The Forest” video game. It now comes with new challenges, upgraded graphics and mechanics, and let’s not forget the improved and terrifying AI enemy that are the mutant cannibals. While veterans of the game might know what to do right off the bat, the game can be quite the challenege for those who’re not used to the mechanics of the game. So don’t be discouraged if you find yourself dying in every single gameplay. Follow these beginner tips and improve your survival and the ability to fight back tremendously. Let’s go!

Remember:

The first few days on the island are critical for success.

Loot Everything From the Crash

Like the first game, loot from all the empty containers around the crashed helicopter. Take some time to scour the area for any boxes you might’ve missed. These loot will help get starter on the harder supplies to get later on in the game, as well as some starter items to help you survive. Grab everything and head to the forest. Never set up camp on top of the snowy mountain or by the beach. Resources are scarce, and you might have a tough time establishing a base of operation.

Utilize Kelvin As Much As you Can

While Kelvin doesn’t participate in combat situations, he can definitely provide you with the extra hands to collect resources. Cycle through the commands you can give and put him to work. You can even get him to collect arrows if you’re running out. Sometimes, he would bring back carbon fiber arrows, which are harder to get. Kelvin can help you with collecting resources to ramp up your base building speed. Remember to keep him safe. While Kelvin will run away from active combat, he won’t be able to dodge your attack. So look around before you swing around your weapon!

Spear, the Ultimate Starter Weapon

Out of irritation, you might want to swing your axe around at a pesky cannibal mutant; however, it is best that you keep your distance from them. They are very nimble and might hit you back as they’re retreating. To avoid any unnecessary damage, build a spear. Attack them from a distance and have yourself the opportunity to dodge or run any counterattacks. Explore different long range weapons, such as the bow. Master them so you can deal a good amount of damage from a safe distance before going in to finish them off.

Save up on MRE and Packaged Foods

Being stuck on an island with murderous mutants is a stressful situation. You have to keep your stamina pool. However, try not to use your canned food and MRE packs right away. Instead, forage for berries and hunt for fish. You can easily catch fish in a lake or a stream. These food items can come in handy when you’re exploring for days in the cave and underground facilities. Save them for future long expeditions. You will definitely need them.

Build a Base Near a Fresh Water Source

It’s always a good idea to build your starter base in an area with easy access to resources. Build your base near a fresh water source such as a lake. You’ll have an unlimited supply of clean water and a place to catch fish. Build a simple fish trap and never run out of food while you’re busy trying to survive the first week. You can also start hunting ducks that frequently land on a lake. Ducks are a great source of both meat and feathers.

Build Base Defense and Chokepoints

You don’t want your new shiny treehouse to be easily trampled by a group of cannibal mutants. What you’ll need is a defensive wall, some spikes and maybe throw in a couple of traps. It would do you good to set up a choke point. This is to lure enemies to enter through there, instead of simultaneously breaking through from different points of your wall. You could leave some traps and could use the choke point to throw a couple of Molotov cocktails for maximum damage and to ensure the safety of your base.

Cooked Food for More HP and Stamina Recovery

While you can eat most of the food items in the Sons of The Forest raw, it would be a good idea for you to cook them first. Meat and fish can be cooked, and you’ll quickly notice the amount of recovered HP and stamina is much more significant. Don’t forget to build a drying rack to dry your meat, which also provides more recovery as well as ensuring your meat could last forever. To learn more about what each food type does to your overall HUD meters, check out this handy guide.

Explore Caves and Underground Facilities

Nobody can be forced to explore dark tight spaces in a game about mutant cannibals. And if you played the first installment, you know what awaits you down there is a special kind of horror. However, these locations can be very lucrative in terms of rare and valuable resources. Upgraded weapons, tactical and survival equipment are all up for grabs. While you might die fighting off the special type of mutants living in the caves, the risk is worth it when you walk away with a bunch of items that’ll change your Sons of the Forest experience tremendously. Locate the caves and points of interest using your GPS device.

Revisit Camps and Containers After A Few Days

Here’s a quick tip: once looted, most items will respawn after a few days. So if you’re low on cloth, alcohol or even medicine, take the time to visit these places to replenish these valuable resources. You could also risk visiting the cannibal mutant camps to get other types of resources. So, remember to revisit these locations to replenish your supplies.

Be Friends With Virginia

It’s hard to trust anything that doesn’t look like regular human on this island. While it is a jarring experience where a woman with extra limbs wearing a swimsuit is hanging about your camp, it is best that you make friends with her. She is a friendly mutant that scampers away if you make any sudden movement or attack her. You can be friends with her, and she’ll start bringing you random supplies. She would sometimes guide you to abandoned locations that are filled with supplies. You could also furnish her with a gun, so she could help out in your encounters with the hostiles on the island.

Save your Game Frequently

You could get jumped by a group of mutant cannibals. You might accidentally bump into the special ones. All will result in your impeding doom. Remember to always save your game. You wouldn’t want to lose your progress from running out of luck. Hold the key (“E”) for the save icon whenever you’re near a tent or a bed to ensure that you’ve saved your progress in the game. Always save before sleeping. You never know what kind of mutant is waiting for you right outside your base when you wake up the next day.

One Chance to Respawn

Combat can be brutal in Sons of the Forest the longer you play. If you get thwacked in the head by a skeleton club, you will be knocked down to your knees and will have to wait for your teammates to revive. Remember, you have only one chance to do this, before dying and getting spawned from your last save point. Crawl away from danger to give your friends the safe space to help you up, instead of dying with you. Remember to medicate yourself so that you don’t get one-hit KO-ed. Don’t forget to pick up your backpack after respawning and rejoin the fight!

Set up your Quick Access Inventory

Unlike the older game, Son’s of the Forest has a unique quick access inventory in the form of your backpack. Ensure that you have all the essentials already packed into your backpack. Best things to have are weapons, throwables (grenade, Molotovs), meds and outdoor tools (torch, axe) to help you out in a pinch. Hold on the “I” key to bring out the backpack and quickly select the item you need.

And there you have it. Beginner tips to play Sons of the Forest more efficiently without suffering too many defeats. Fight the mutant cannibals and fight the changing seasons. If you need more tips like this, check out this article to learn about mistakes you should avoid in Sons of the Forest.