Sons Of The Forest: How to Get and Use the Katana

Looking to locate the Katana in Sons Of The Forest?

The Katana in Sons Of The Forest is one of the most powerful and fast-attacking melee weapons found in the game. It’s known as a must-have weapon and as a fan-favorite in the first game, The Forest. Wielding it in SOTF will remind you just how awesome dismembering cannibals and mutants can be.

The Katana is a highly effective weapon for close-range combat. Other melee weapons, such as the Modern Axe, can do the trick, but you’ll find yourself opting for the Katana when you realize how fast it slices into your opponent’s limbs.

Let’s dive right into how to locate this fierce weapon and add it to your arsenal.

How to get the Katana in Sons Of The Forest

Players can find the Katana at the Residential Bunker located on the island’s south-eastern side. Inside this bunker, the third apartment on level 2 will house the Katana.

The bunker’s entrance is marked on your GPS tracker as a green circle (point of interest) just east of the snowy mountain and the large lake.

It’s important to note that access to the Residential Bunker requires Maintenance and Guest Keycards.

1. Make your way to the aforementioned green circle and enter the crack in the rock formation
2. You will notice you’re in a cave as soon as you’re inside. Walk through this short cave until you stumble upon an unnatural hole in the ground
3. Go through the hole to enter the bunker/facility
4. You will encounter a set of stairs; take the ones that go down until you encounter a security door
5. Open this door using the Guest Keycard we mentioned earlier
6. Head down another set of stairs and enter through a yellow door
7. Let the incoming cutscene play out so that you can finally get access to Level 1 of this facility
8. Level 1 will have an abundance of mutants and babies that you can either kill or run from
9. The Level 1 worker rooms contain goodies like the Pistol and Pistol Rail Attachment.
10. Go down another set of stairs at the end of level 1 to access level 2 of this bunker
11. Enter level 2 and clear the area so that you can loot the next set of rooms properly
12. The Katana is propped up on a traditional Katanakake in the third accessible room near the end of this level
13. It can be seen on a small table in the middle of the room near the couches

Tips and tricks for using the Katana

Design-wise, this version of the Katana is very similar to the one from the original The Forest. The only difference between the two is that Sons Of The Forest’s version has much more damage upon impact. Its damage stat is comparable to the modern axe, yet it swings much faster. Each swing also has a high chance of dismembering your opponent’s limbs. All of this makes it even more deadly than people expected.

Not even fully-armored cannibals and mutants can stop the Katana’s effectiveness; you’d be wise to target armored cannibals first with it. Its fast and powerful swings will decimate layers of armor in mere seconds, allowing you to dismember even more effectively.

As for defense, the Katana’s biggest weakness is its defense stat and blocking capabilities. Before trying blocking with the Katana, remember you’re better off simply dodging incoming enemy attacks. You can also try strafing around your enemies to avoid attacks. Standing still with the Katana is a mistake you don’t want to make around late-game cannibals.

If you run out of ammo for both your bow and ranged weapon, the Katana should act as your primary melee weapon for any close-quarters combat. There are melee weapons that have a bit more damage. However, the Katana is the only weapon that provides such an intense amount of both damage and speed. It’s safe to say that it came a long way from The Forest.

How to equip the Katana

Getting the Katana will immediately put it in your inventory. Here’s how you can equip it: 

1. Open your inventory by pressing the default I key 
2. Pan to the right of your crafting mat to find the Katana
3. Select the Katana by clicking on it with the default Mouse 1 button
4. Your inventory will close for you, and the Katana will be equipped

How to add the Katana to the quick-select bag

An alternate way to make the process of equipping the Katana faster is to use the quick-select menu in-game. Don’t worry if you don’t know how to use it. Learning how to use the quick-select menu is quite simple, and you only have to hold down the inventory (default I) key for 2 seconds. Doing this will pull up the quick-select bag with weapons/tools that you’ve added. 

To add to the quick-select bag:

1. Open your inventory
2. Select and bring down your backpack by right-clicking on it
3. Find the Katana on the right part of your inventory mat
4. Right-click the Katana to add it to your backpack
5. This will allow you to equip the Katana from the quick-select menu

Keep in mind that the Katana might already be in your quick-select menu if you picked it up with empty quick-select menu slots. 

How to assign the Katana to a hotkey

Although the quick-select menu may be fast, pulling it out in the heat of the moment can be a problem in and of itself. There is also a possibility that you may use up every slot in the quick-select menu. Luckily, hotkey binding is there to help you equip more weapons at an even faster pace. 

Binding a weapon, tool, or item to a hotkey is as simple as pulling out your quick-select bag. Follow these steps to get started: 

1. Open your inventory 
2. Hover over the Katana with your mouse 
3. Press 1 of 10 hotkeys on your keyboard (1-0) to assign it 
4. This will allow you to pull up the Katana by pressing that specific hotkey in-game without needing to enter any menus

FAQs

Final thoughts on the Katana

The Katana is a definite contender for one of the best melee weapons in Sons Of The Forest across the board. We have to remember that it wasn’t as powerful in The Forest, which is why we’re glad it got the upgrade it deserved. We know that getting it won’t be easy, but it will be well worth your time once you start seeing decapitated heads roll.