Days Gone is a long open world game that permits the player to pursue the story at their own pace and on their own time. Even with the advantage of being able to wait to tackle the more difficult missions with the right gear, the game can still be pretty tough, especially in the beginning.
Weapons are weak when tackling spongy enemies like ravagers, there are more freakers in the horde then bullets in your inventory, and with so many things to upgrade it’s easy to feel lost when determining what to focus on. So here are ten basic tips that can make the post-apocalypse of Days Gone a little easier to survive in the beginning.
10 Take Care Of Your Motorcycle
Your motorcycle is your companion throughout the game and easily the most useful tool you’ll ever have. The motorcycle is used for quick saves, fast travel, and can get you out of some very dangerous situations. Life is better when your motorcycle is properly taken care of so it’s best to keep it running properly.
Make sure to top off the gas tank whenever you have a moment and stop by the mechanic before leaving camp. The motorcycle is more than just a means of transportation, it’s more than likely the reason Deacon was able to survive the initial outbreak and how you’ll survive the post-outbreak.
9 Upgrade Your Bike’s Fuel Tank
Perhaps the most important upgrade to focus on when it comes to the motorcycle is the fuel tank capacity. In the beginning your motorcycle guzzles gas with a ferocious appetite forcing you to spend a lot of time and often risking your neck to find gas tanks to refuel it. Having your gas tank at max capacity can make those necessary risks in the beginning a little more optional later.
A bigger tank also makes travel a little more convenient by making that lengthy trip a little less annoying when you know you won’t have to make several stops along the way.
8 Upgrade Your Character’s Fuel Tank
When not on your bike, your character is going to be doing a lot of running around which will drain his stamina. Prioritizing some of those NERO injectors on your stamina can be more valuable than greater health in many cases. Would you rather escape with your life because you could run a little longer or get caught and have the zombies take a few seconds longer to eat you because your health is higher?
Obviously you should be upgrading health and focus ability in addition to stamina, but stamina has much more utility and much more use in the long run.
7 Green Thumb And Butcher
There are a number of different camps in the game that provide useful services, items for sale, and upgrades. Each one has different benefits and gaining their trust is an important use of the player’s time. Unfortunately it can be a grind raising all the camp’s trust levels through missions, turning in bounties, and selling needed supplies.
Getting the Green Thumb and Butcher skills can make the last a little easier as it increases the loot drop of plants and animals respectively. Obtaining more meat per kill means it’ll take fewer kills to get the meat you need to improve trust, so getting these skills early can save a lot of time.
6 Keep Your Inventory Stocked
Crafting plays a strong role in Days Gone and taking the time to ensure you’ve looted everything not nailed down can pay off in dividends. Parts can be used to repair your bike, repair weapons, build new weapons, and so much more, so taking a minute to loot for scrap or stash items for later use is always a good use of time.
A good tip for inventory space management is to go ahead and craft the items you need or think you’ll need right away and then stuff whatever parts you can fit in the remaining spaces. It’s a good idea to leave a little space open for good finds, but you’ll be surprised how quickly that space opens up after a skirmish or two.
5 Remove The Infestations
Freaker nests can be a major hassle to attack and many players might be tempted to opt out of these engagements in the beginning. Unfortunately, many of these nests are part of large infestations zones that can prevent a player from being able to fast travel between important areas and even prevent advancing the plot.
While it might be dangerous in the beginning, taking a moment to chuck a few molotovs or gas cans into nests and dropping the Freakers you find can speed up your efforts later and make traveling much more convenient.
4 Axes Don’t Use Bullets
In the beginning every bullet the player finds is precious and should be reserved for dangerous engagements against humans, powerful freakers, or hordes. A good way to preserve this ammo for later fights is to focus primarily on melee combat in the beginning.
Choosing a couple of skills that’ll allow you to fix and create weapons is very important for fights as your melee weapons will fall apart frequently. Even later in the game when you have powerful guns and a wealth of ammo you’ll still find yourself taking a machete or two to freakers’ heads so making sure Deacon’s melee prowess is up to snuff is important for survival.
3 No Shame In Retreat
Given how weak the player is in the beginning with limited weapons choices, low ammo, and mediocre skills, it’s important to bail from a fight that’s not going your way. This is especially true with hordes that pose a serious threat to a beginning character.
Adhering to the previous tips of keeping the bike fueled, repaired, and upgraded is critical to retreat as well as making sure Deacon’s stamina is high so he can get a way away before getting winded. It may seem cowardly now, but as you survive the first hours of the game and get a little stronger you’ll find yourself retreating less and less.
2 Molotovs As Firewalls
When you are getting mobbed by a horde and find yourself retreating, a useful trick to give yourself some much needed distance from the freakers is to lob a Molotov at the front of the horde. It may be tempting to chuck it in the middle of the group and take down as many enemies as possible, but odds are you wont wipe out the whole horde and it wont do anything for those closest to you.
Taking out the fastest runners and putting up that wall of fire between you and the freakers can give you the needed breathing room to hop on your motorcycle and run or plan your next step.
1 Stealth First, Action Later
Many players might be frustrated by all the sneaking and retreating in the beginning of the game, but it really is the best way to survive. Focusing on going unnoticed is almost always the better option to preserving life and the valuable resources you find.
Once your character gets stronger and you’ve amassed a wealth of supplies then the game shifts a little from a stealth/survival game to a strategic/action adventure. Eventually the player will be able to take down vast hordes single handedly, but in the beginning the name of the game is stealth.
NEXT: Days Gone Review: Don’t Go Outbreaking My Heart
