The Last of Us is a tense and unforgiving game, and if you're not aware of your environment and your inventory, you'll quickly become Clicker fodder. We've collected these tips after spending a couple weeks in the post-pandemic world of The Last of Us—use them wisely and you may just be able to keep Joel and Ellie alive and unharmed.
Warning: May contain minor spoilers.
Bottles, and Bricks, and Bears. Oh my!
Okay, so there aren’t any bears. But there are bottles and bricks littered through quite a bit of The Last of Us. Seeing some on the ground should be an indication that shit’s about to go down. Not only do they tend to proceed any sort of action, namely, gunplay, but the can be a valuable tool in your arsenal.
Bottles and bricks are practically interchangeable. Both can be used as a distraction or a tool to lure enemies to another direction or location, by hurling a brick or bottle where you want to direct them. They can also be used—and are maybe more valuable this way—as a one-use melee attack weapon. A few smashes of a brick to the face of an enemy will stop them in their tracks. It’s even more important to do this against a clicker, because attempting to melee one of these mutated monsters without a weapon in-hand will lead to your face being eaten. Mmm, cream of mushroom soup!
Bow down to the bow and arrow.
So Joel’s got a revolver, a shotgun, even a flamethrower, so why then is the best weapon in the game the seemingly weak and useless bow and arrow? Because it’s incredibly diverse in its uses, it’s a silent killer, and often you can pull the arrow out from an unsuspecting victim after taking them down to replenish the arrow you just spent. And due to the distinct lack of ammo in The Last of Us, getting that extra shot can mean life or death.
It’s great in stealth situations when you don’t want to alert other nearby enemies, it’s got great range, and if you are patient, a well-timed headshot can be a one-hit kill. ‘Nuff said.
Supplies!
Surprise! Using supplies is incredibly important. It can save your ass in a pinch by giving you the tools needed to craft health kits, or even nail bombs or Molotov cocktails to take out enemies and bulk. But Joel only carries a tiny backpack, so he’s limited to carry only three of each type of supply. And in your journey, you come across plenty of these supplies. So why leave them be? Instead craft, and craft often, so you’re always replenishing supplies, rather than holding on to raw materials. I promise you, a Molotov is going to be much more effective in battle than having alcohol and a rag in your backpack.
It sounds obvious, but in the midst of all the tension, you can easily forget to do your crafts. Unless you’re a mom or Martha Stewart—then you love crafting, and it’s all you’ll want to do. Too bad fancy napkin holders have no place in The Last of Us.
Stealth to conserve.
Yes, you do come across ample supplies. But not ammo. Ammo is scarce in The Last of Us, and you can easily empty a full clip into just a pair of clickers. Unfortunate for you, there are hundreds of them, yet only handful of clips worth of bullets to be found in the game. This means staying hidden, and performing stealth attacks is vital to conserving precious ammo.
Humans can be choked out from behind if approached quietly enough as to not alert them. However, clickers cannot be, and instead must be shived in the neck from behind. You can craft a shiv out of bandage and a blade. Or, taking my first tip into consideration, you can use a brick or bottle to bash their fibrous, fungal heads into a mash of mushroom paste.
Beat the bloat.
Bloaters are the most difficult enemies you’ll face in The Last of Us, and can kill you in just one quick hit if you allow them to get close enough… so don’t. Keeping your distance can also leave you vulnerable to its spore toss attack, but it’s still the safer option. Keep moving in a zig-zagging fashion, until you’re ready to line-up a headshot using the Hunting Rifle.
But you can also avoid using any of your precious bullets by having Molotov cocktails on hand. Bloaters are weak against flames, so Molotovs, or much later in the game, the Flamethrower, are you best bet to staying alive.
Nail bomb surprise.
Alerting enemies and drawing them to your location is a bad idea most of the time. But if you’ve learned how to craft nail bombs, you can fill an unsuspecting foe with shrapnel before they get a chance to grab Joel or Ellie.
There are a couple way to go about this. If an enemy is already heading toward you, simply dropping bomb will suffice. Or you can place the nail bomb down gently, and lure enemies over with a thrown bottle or brick. When they arrive to investigate, they get nailed. Literally.
Smoke and mirrors.
Want to get the drop on some enemies? Toss a smoke bomb their way and they’ll be unable to see your advances. One caveat, though, don’t bother trying this on Clickers. They’re blind, so it’ll do no good to try and take away their sight. It’s already gone. But both humans and Runners are fair game.
Got any tips of your own? Share 'em in the comments and help keep us survivors alive.
