Survival games like The Forest provide a very engaging and challenging experience for the player. The whole point of the game is to try and survive after crash landing on an island out in the middle of nowhere. Players will need to fend off tons of deadly cannibals and mutants as they explore the world around them.
The most important part of survival though is ensuring that the player has access to some of the best items in the game. It takes a while to get to that point though, so the player will want to craft a few different things first to help them on their way. Here are some of the items that players will want to craft as soon as possible in The Forest.
The Forest: What to Craft First
Crafted Bow - Without a doubt, the bow is one of the most useful weapons in the game. Fighting enemies up close and personal is a very bad idea, especially when there are several of them at once. Players should instead craft the bow and some arrows in order to take them out from a distance. Unlike the other main ranged weapon, the spear, the arrows are actually very accurate once the player gets used to aiming them. A flashlight can also be added on to the bow for better aiming at night or in caves, and arrows can also be upgraded with poison or fire for more damage.
Upgraded Spear - While the weak spear is okay for taking out lizards and rabbits, fixing it up into the Upgraded Spear should be done as soon as physically possible. This is because the spear will then do a lot more damage against enemies and animals of all types. This makes the spear into a viable weapon against cannibals and mutants as it will be able to bring most of them down with just a couple of throws. The spear is also capable of dropping a deer with just hit, so its great for when the player needs to go hunting.
Bone Armor - The main character of The Forest spends a lot of time shrugging off attacks from all manner of monstrous enemies, but they will not always be able to handle it. Eventually, the player is going to find themselves up against an enemy much stronger than them and they are going to want a little more padding to take those hits for them. That is where Bone Armor comes in. By collecting bones from enemy effigies (or by burning the meat off the limbs of cannibals) players are then able to combine them with some cloth to create some fairly strong armor. If the player crafts enough of them they won't have to worry about taking damage at all when exploring the caves.
Water Skin - Freshwater is one of the hardest resources for the player to come by in The Forest. Players are unable to drink water from the ocean or from any of the lakes and ponds due to contamination. To get drinkable water the player instead will need to take a pot and boil water over a fire or collect rainwater. The only issue though is that the player can only drink the water if they are right where the collector or pot is. With the water skin though the player fills it full of drinkable water and have enough to keep themselves hydrated for at least a full day or two of traveling. This is a must for anyone about to go trekking through the caves for a considerable amount of time.
Stick Bag - Sticks are one of the most used resources in the game, and luckily they are also one of the most common to find. The downside though is that the player is only able to carry so many of them, and they never know when they might need some to build an emergency campfire, craft some extra arrows, or even some spears when fighting some mutants in the caves. That is why players will want to craft themselves a stick bag as soon as possible. This will considerably increase the number of sticks they are able to carry, which in turn will make sure they don't run out at an inopportune time.
Fire Pit - The fire pit is most likely one of the first things that the player will craft so that they can cook themselves fresh meat, stave off the cold, and ensure that the cannibals don't get too close. Unlike the basic fire, the fire pit will actually last for a quite awhile when created by the player. This means that they won't have to rebuild it anytime soon. On top of this though the fire pit is one of the few ways that the player can obtain fresh water when it isn't raining outside. They will need a pot to boil the water, but it gives them much more reliable access to drinking water.
Water Collector - While the fire pit gives players more reliable access to water if players play their cards right the water collector can be very helpful in the long run. Whenever it rains the collector will collect the rain inside of its basin, which the player can then drink out of to sate their thirst. Where this item is better than the fire pit method though is that the water can then be stored indefinitely, and then the player doesn't have to keep fire lit to collect it. On top of this, the player can also set up several collectors if they want in order to have near-limitless access to water.
Drying Rack - Once players have a drying rack they will never cook their food on the fire ever again. All meat in the game has the potential to spoil if left out for too long even if it has been cooked. Once spoiled the player will be unable to eat the food unless they want to get sick. The drying rack though allows the player to place up to six pieces of meat on it that will eventually become dried and never spoil. This means that the player can hunt a couple of deer or lizards to fill up a few drying racks, and then not have to refill them for several days. This is the best way to keep hunger satiated.
Log Sled - When building a considerably sized home base, it won't take long for the player to completely run out logs, sticks, and rocks. This means that they will need to travel further and further away from their base in order to collect enough materials, which can be a slow process. The best way to make this easier is by crafting a log sled. This allows the player to carry larger amounts of resources incredibly quickly. This will make expanding a base a much easier process for the player.
Deadfall Trap - If the player is crafting any kind of permanent base for themselves then they will want to invest in some traps to impede the progress of incoming enemies. Without a doubt, the deadfall trap is one of the best ones to use because it is cheap to build, easy for the player to avoid triggering, and very deadly when an enemy activates it. Even if the player is facing off against some of the stronger mutants in the game this trap will make short work of them.
The Forest can be played on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.