Get started on the right foot with these 10 Tips
Sons Of The Forest is a challenging and involved survival experience that stands proudly among other great survival horror titles. Both the elements and the enemies in this game are a real threat to the player, and it can be difficult for new players unfamiliar with the genre to get accustomed. Even veteran players of Endnight’s first title, The Forest, have expressed difficulty surviving the harsh new environment in Sons Of The Forest.
Whether a veteran survival gamer, a fan of the first game, or a completely new player, these ten tips will help you survive your first nights on the island and help you prepare for the dangers you’ll be facing down in the darkness.
1. Make yourself a ranged weapon
In Sons Of The Forest, melee combat is dangerous and punishing, especially for new players. However, it’s important to note that enemies have very limited ability to fight at range, meaning it is a completely viable strategy to fight from a safe distance.
Almost immediately after landing, the player can craft two useful ranged weapons. Both the Crafted Spear and the Crafted Bow require only simple resources to create but offer a huge advantage in allowing players to fight from a distance.
2. Loot everything
Sons Of The Forest has tons of items that can be found around the world, each with its own use. Anything you can pick up and add to your inventory should be looted. Regardless of where your helicopter crashed, several loot crates will spawn near where you wake up. These crates contain food, crafting materials, ammunition, and even explosives, so be sure to open them up.
There is no penalty for carrying an inventory full of items in Sons Of The Forest, so even if you cannot immediately figure out what an item is used for, you can still pick it up when it becomes useful later.
3. Don’t draw attention
The cannibals on the island will react to your presence. The more enemies you kill and the more noise you make, the more often cannibals will attack your base. Additionally, scouts (those muddy cannibals who crawl around on all fours) who see you or the corpses of dead cannibals will scream to call reinforcements.
Killing scouts before they can scream or escape is best, but you can also reduce your overall presence by burning corpses and hiding in bushes when you hear enemies. Leaving out corpses, cutting down trees, breaking open caves, and attacking cannibal villages will all create “noise” and increase the likelihood of enemies paying you a visit.
4. Armor up as soon as possible
It’s hard to avoid combat completely, and if you aren’t wearing armor when some huge red guy belly-flops on you, you’re going to drop like a rock. Armor acts like a second, sturdier health bar and is almost required if you want to survive dangerous engagements or surprise attacks.
It may be difficult at first to get high-quality armor like tech or creepy armor, but bones can be easily acquired by burning corpses or setting Bonemaker Traps. Even easier, you can craft leaf armor, though it provides little in the way of defense. Animal hides from deer or moose can also be crafted into armor if combined with a cloth.
5. Use the 3D Printer
There are multiple 3D Printers tucked away in bunkers around the map that allow you to turn all that resin you’ve found into useful equipment. Most of these printers will require some work to reach, but one can be accessed as soon as the player lands.
Just downriver from the Crash Site Cave is a point of interest marking the entrance to the Recreation Bunker. You won’t be able to reach the bunker’s interior without at least a Maintenance Keycard, but the 3D Printer is in an office outside the interior. Tools, armor parts, ammunition, and more are all available to be printed here as long as you have enough resin.
6. Build away from roads
You’ve likely noticed the spider web of roads crisscrossing your map. Cannibals use these paths and can be used to predict where their patrols are most likely to travel.
With that in mind, building too close to one of these roads is asking for trouble. Make sure to thoroughly explore an area before you build to search for roads, totems, or cannibal camps. All of these features will signal an increase in the enemy’s presence and will make it more difficult to defend your territory. If you’re looking for potential areas, check out our 7 Best Base Locations guide.
7. Build a tree platform
It’s reasonable to assume that being in a tree won’t keep you safe, seeing how cannibals easily climb trees and leap at you from them. While this is partially true, and cannibals can technically climb the tree, a platform is built in; this still limits the number of enemies you have to just one at a time.
Building a tree platform is quick and can even protect you from mutants. Tree platforms and tree houses are excellent fallback points and are perfect for handling enemies before your defenses are completed. Chopping down adjacent trees can also reduce your vulnerability to climbers.
8. Let Kelvin help you
The AI companion that crashed with you may seem like a burden but don’t be fooled. Kelvin may be useless in combat, but his abilities as both lumberjack and fisherman are unmatched by any man or machine.
As long as there is a water source, Kelvin can procure fish. As long as there is solid ground, Kelvin can procure sticks and rocks. As long as there are trees, he will make logs. Having Kelvin assist you in acquiring resources can significantly ease the burden of daily survival and increase the speed at which you can establish fortifications.
9. Don’t unseal caves until you are ready
It’s tempting when you see a bunch of boards blocking the entrance to something to smash through them and see what’s inside. Basic gamer instinct tells us if it’s sealed away, it’s valuable. While that’s still true here, the caves on this island are sealed for another reason entirely.
Each cave broken open will increase the presence of dangerous mutants in the overworld. That means as soon as the boards are gone, the creepies will start to come out. Make sure your base is defensible, and you are really ready before you unseal those caves because there’s no way to close them back up.
10. Save religiously
Not only is saving important to avoid losing progress if you should happen to meet an untimely demise, but Sons Of The Forest is still an early-access game. That means bugs, crashes, and other unexpected issues are still on the table.
It’s good practice to save every time you sleep before starting a new structure and leaving your base.
Final thoughts
Endnight is well known for creating unique and reactive enemies, and the cannibals and mutants in Sons Of The Forest are great examples. The best advice we can give is to be just as reactive. Pay attention to how enemies respond to your presence, avoid combat where you can, but defend your territory aggressively.
Adaptability is the name of the game when it comes to survival.
