Sons Of The Forest: How to Get Flares

Looking to locate Flares in Sons Of The Forest?

In Endnight Games’ Sons Of The Forest, Flares can serve several purposes but function most effectively as a throwable, disposable light source. Much brighter than the lighter or Torch when carried by the player, they can be thrown as a distraction or used to light up caves.

These emergency magnesium models were designed to signal rescuers, but seeing as nobody is coming to save you, there’s no point in saving them for that.

How to get Flares in Sons Of The Forest

To get Flares in Sons Of The Forest, players must scavenge the world looking for orange emergency crates found around helicopter crash sites, in campsites, inside caves, and at other points of interest across the map. Alternatively, you can view their specific spawn points on the Sons Of The Forest interactive map.

They can be easily distinguished from other loot crates by their bright orange coloration, and each typically contains 3-5 in total.

Tips and tricks for using Flares

While equipped, a white line will appear in front of the player to describe its arc and where it will land when thrown. Pressing the attack button (default Left-click) will throw the held Flare, whether or not it has been ignited.

To ignite one, equip it and hold down the block button (default Right-click) to strike it. They will not produce light until they have been struck.

Once struck, they can be carried around or thrown to create a stationary light source. Using them to light up caves leaves the player’s hands free to use weapons without worrying about carrying a flashlight or lighter.

Additionally, they can serve as a functional distraction. Certain enemies sensitive to light, such as Puffies, will be drawn to lit Flares. Tossing a burning one can draw out enemies you may not have seen or gather enemies together to make it easier to wipe them out with a single Grenade or Time Bomb.

How to equip the Flare

Once you have acquired a Flare, you can equip it by:

1. Opening your inventory
2. Panning the mouse above the crafting mat
3. Selecting one by left-clicking on it
4. The inventory will close, and you will have the Flare in hand

How to add the Flare to the quick select bag

Alternatively, if you’ve added the Flare to your backpack, you can access it through the quick-select bag. Briefly hold down the inventory key to pull out the quick-select bag.

This is much faster than having to pan through the inventory screen each time you want to switch between items. If you have one on your quick-select bag, you can find it in one of the four consumable slots.

Flares are considered consumables and can only be added to one of the appropriate slots. All four consumable slots can be found in a row at the bottom of the backpack and hold items such as Grenades, Molotovs, Meds, Food Items, and more.

To add to the quick-select bag:

1. Open the inventory screen
2. Add the backpack to the crafting mat by right-clicking on it
3. If there is an item in all four consumable slots, right-click on one to remove it
4. Right-click on the Flare to add it to the quick-select bag

How to assign a Flare to a hotkey

If you want to switch equipped items faster and have a Flare in hand with a single keystroke, you can assign it to a hotkey by:

1. Open the inventory
2. Mouse over a Flare above the crafting mat
3. With your mouse over it, press one of the ten available number keys (1-0) to assign it to that key
4. Now when you press the assigned key, a Flare will automatically be equipped to your hands

FAQs

Final thoughts on Flares

While they probably won’t get you rescued, Flares have plenty of other uses, especially when dealing with caves and other dark places. We always toss a couple of them into each new chamber in a cave to see if something comes crawling out of the darkness or to cast silhouettes on the walls.

If you need light in Sons Of The Forest, but want your hands free, toss a couple of flares out into the dark to brighten things up.