Sons of the Forest is a brand new game from Endnight studios, taking players through to the sequel of The Forest. Here, players will experience an all-new experience of Forest’s survival Horror, with new and improved features. With plenty of new features and changes coming, we’ve decided to list some tips and tricks, so you’re prepared for the Sons of the Forest.

Sons of the Forest Tips and Tricks:¶

Here are a list of all the tips in order we suggest:

1. Seasons,
2. Ammo conservation
3. Companions
4. AI
5. Medicine
6. Can Opener spot
7. The First Cave to visit
8. Feathers and birds
9. The 3D Printer

Tip 1: Seasons¶

Our first tip for you in the Sons of the Forest is about the seasons. Seasons is for sure one of the brand new features coming to the game, Expect to go through a Spring, summer, Fall and Winter season. In the Spring and Summer, you shall experience the rivers flowing with Salmon for you to catch, and wildlife to traversing all over the world. Even Turtles will come to lay eggs on the beaches in the Summer. However, as the seasons turn, the ground and animals will retreat through the cold. Surviving winter is going to be a challenge akin to that of a survival game.

So, we recommend you get set up with solid campfire in your base for warmth, stockpiling wood to keep them lit, and of course, drying your meat and creating a stockpile. You may want to keep those smoothies and packaged meals alone and stored away until winter, so you have emergency food to eat in case it all goes wrong.

Seasons also affect the movement of the AI as well. Cannibal tribes won’t venture out as far thanks to the cold, and will focus more on surviving the winter. They’ll also wear warm suits, to fight off the cold weather effect. You’ll likely need to adapt your tactics and clothing for winter too. This is confirmed during the unofficial fan Sons of the Forest Youtube Channel.

The Forest one had its own cold and wet statues effects for you to manage, but in this, it will be much more prominent. So, prepare for the winter like any true survival theme should.

Sons of the Forest Tip 2: Ammo and Guns¶

The developers over at Endnight have said there will be more focus on guns in the game and showcasing a stun baton for more controlling pacifist means. So, this likely means you will be using batteries to power your electric weapons, and ammo for your guns. But, we’ve been made aware ammo is a scarce resource. You won’t have a weapons foundry on your island, rather, you’ll rely on scavenging ammo around the map.

In one interview dating back to 2020, the developers spoke to Farket, a Forest YouTuber, and he said his concerns about shotguns in trailers. The devs responded that ammo is indeed scarce, and combat is still going to be largely melee focused still.

So, you’re best using guns in the game as a last resort or in case of emergency. You don’t want to need your gun and then not have ammo for it, as you don’t know when or where you’ll next find ammo as a beginner. If you’ve racked the hours in the game, you’ll likely learn where the ammo is, and so, know have a better idea of how much ammo you can use when, where, and what on. But, until then, it’s better to head caution with weapons, rather than be trigger happy.

Sons of the Forest Tip 3: Companions¶

Another new feature in the game are companions. These companions are Fallout style companions, each with a task and their needs for survival. If you want the true solo experience, you don’t need to use companions, but, if you like the idea of using them, there will be several for you to find.

At the very start of the game, you can encounter a helicopter crash called Kelvin. This fella is like you, a survivor, albeit, unable to speak. But, if you give him orders via a notepad, he shall help you acquire materials to help build the campsite.

But, using Kalvin will require him to rest and eat. If you lose him, he’s likely gone for good, as companion perma-death is a thing. So treat your companions carefully as you play the game.

As you progress, you’ll get more companions. One lady is a very early mutation of the Virginia creature. If you manage to get her as a companion, you’ll find her three arms and legs make her a great companion for combat, as in trailers, she’s shown using a shotgun and a pistol simultaneously. That’s some solid firepower.

Sons of the Forest Tip 4: Respect the new AI¶

The Sons of the Forest AI is much improved over the first game. The developers have said that the AI will be much better, thanks to their V.I.A.L technology. This tool supposedly allows for the AI and NPCs to feel extremely complex behavior, and characters can now become afraid, tired, angry, hungry, thirsty, bored, etc., and these feelings influence their decisions. You’ll see this in their behavior, and, therefore, their strategy when encountering you.

In one trailer, we saw that the mutants came out to play, and certain cannibal tribes attacked the mutants, despite your presence in the fight. Meanwhile, some of the cannibals raid your base, sometimes to deliberately destroy it and send you on your way, or to raid it for resources. The AI is going to come with you with a game plan. You’ll have to learn to interact with the island’s residents a little differently here and expect the unexpected sometimes.

Another thing mentioned in the first Farket interview is that AI will use technology against you as well. Some AI will use ziplines, and fast attack raids over your defenses to get into your village. If you have a zipline, you may want to consider defending the landing spot. Others may learn your weak points and exploit those areas of your defenses, or may send in support to deal with the traps before the real wave of attackers comes.

Tip 5: Healing is scarce¶

Healing items are fairly rare at the start of the game. You will find meds in caves, boxes and other storages, but they can come with risks thanks to the tribes. The other issue you have is that Aloe Vera is fairly rare, but, it does grow around in-land water sources and rivers. You will also need Marrow for the basic med, or Horsetail, and Firweed to make the healing + recipe. These items tend to spawn in different areas of the maps in huge patches. If you can find the area near the crashed plane just below the mountains, then there’s plenty of those types of items around there. Two early game Aloe Vera sources are around the viney helicopter site by a small pond directly below the main stream flowing area in the image above.

If you need more help on healing, we have a dedicated page to help you learn more about dedicated healing items and herbs, and where to find them early on.

Tip 6: The Can Opener¶

When you first start a save, your helicopter crash can happen in the mountain. If you look up the mountain and follow that small stream, it will bring you to a frozen lake. Look around the lake, and you will find some things to loot around the lake and in the small ice cave. One of them is a can opener, which will allow you to open tinned cat food, which is commonly found in boxes, cases and other areas of interest. This will help your early game food issue, and your winter food storage.

If you spawn on the beach, then you need to look for the Slingshot Cave then head up the mountain. We have a better guide for getting the Can Opener here if you’re interested.

Tip 7: The first cave you should visit is the Miners Cave.¶

You can find a Miner’s Cave near the lake to the side of the rivers flowing down the mountain near the start of the game. Head left when you’re facing the helicopter crash, then go to the large reservoir area, then go down the left river, and keep to the left of the bank till the cave flares up on your GPS. (If the GPS had coordinates or a compass this would be easier to describe). You will also get the Rope Gun at the end of the cave. This should set you on your way to exploring even more of the caves. Do be warned its guarded by some of the faceless enemies, the Sluggy, babies, and the new crawling mutant.

Tip 8: Birds and Feathers¶

If you’re in desperate need of feathers and bird meat early on, there’s a few tips for you. If you head down to the beach, you will find seagulls on the corpses. There’s also a crashed plane near the mountain cave by the large lake. Go down the hill, and on the map, you’ll notice the green goes slightly lighter. This is relatively flat land, compared to the hills. There’s a caddy that bluebirds gravitate towards you can chop away at for some easy feather collection.

Tip 9: The 3D Printer¶

The 3D printer is a brand new way to craft important items in Sons of the Forest. The good news, you can find this early. Simply go to one of the Green POIs on your GPS Tracker, one south of the large lake below the mountains several closely found flowing streams. It will being you to a cave near a small stream. You can look at the location of this on the map.

The reason why you want to visit this is down to the items you can make. One of the items you can craft is a Flask, which will make collecting water for your travels so much better. There’s other items there too, which you might want to make for your journeys. But the flask is definitely important.

These conclude our big Sons of the Forest tips we have for you. Good luck surviving in the latest Lost simulator with added mutants and cannibals.