A General Guide / Tips (Spoilers)

[LuckyN13]

I wanted to post a few tips that arent readily made apparent in the game, also SPOILER ALERT, dont continue reading if you dont own the game and dont want to get spoiled.

This Guide/tip section is a culmination of a variety of player discoveries to help other players with areas they may be struggling with.

General Tips

-Keep your 3 basic needs high, Sleep, Hunger, Thirst.
--Its best to fulfill these needs first thing in the morning, and continually forage while on the move during the day
--While Sleeping, sleep until your green health bar in the bottom center of the screen stops growing. About the entire 10 hours of night.
---As you progress, the amount of sleep needed will be reduced through genetic unlocks.
--Food can be found everywhere, it can be physically seen using Experience (E), or heard/smelled (Q).
--Water requires 2 free hands to scoop

-Your Health bar in the Botton Center turns from Green (Normal), to Yellow (Tired/Drained), to Red (Permanent Damage, death upon emptying).
--Its best to stop what you are doing and rest when your bar turns Yellow.
--Allowing your bar to turn Red causes permanant health damage. Emptying your Red bar results in Death.
---Injuries that generated Red damage cause permanent health damage
----Permanent Damage cannot be recovered and will require you to change to a healthier ape when the permanent damage becomes too high

-The "Dopamine" in the bottom corner. This should always be high. It will indicate your fight/flight response. Keeping this high and your Ape wont blindy run off into the wilderness when it gets scared.
--EXPLOIT: You could actually use your "Hysteria" flee to quickly get back home. When traveling far from Home, purposely get your Ape so scared they flee home, you will instantly be teleported home
--Higher Dopamine levels results in higher confidence, and increases your sucess rate of completing tasks, counter attacking, and intimidating predators.

-Every vista you discover is a potential home, it has all basic needs

-Skip Cutscenes with "TAB"

-Throw items using the drop key (C) and holding it down.

-Investigate Meteorites before the smoke clears off. If you wait too long you'll lose your chance at finding it easily.

-Blue Precious stones can be found in caves, Green ones near waterfalls, Red ones on cliffs. Once you've found one, you've found them all, they have no real use other than being an indestructible rock.

-Your health has diminishing returns. Like life, as you do damage to yourself and your body, from injuries or over use, you can do permanent damage to yourself. The same goes for your Ape. Playing as the same Ape for a long time you'll notice your health never quite fully refills no matter what. This is normal. Your Ape has been through alot and its taken its toll on it. Eventually you'll need to move onto the next generation, as the damage will be so high, your health bar will be fraction of what it once was.

Experience and Expanding your skills

-Experience is obtained through Neuron Energy, which is generated by doing tasks requiring your Brain while in the presence of Baby Hominids (Apes). The White circle in the bottom right corner shows your level of Neuron energy. You can use this to learn what tasks generate energy, but generally any task that requires an action will generate some energy.
--Always carry 2 babies with you, to maximize Neuron Energy generation
-Inspect everything, leave no stone unturned
--When using "Experience" or "Senses" on an object, it it shows a "?", there is an undiscovered recipe or use.

-Always expand your skill tree, your neuron experience can fill to the max and if its not used unlocking new skills, its wasted.

-Experiment with everything atleast twice, all combinations of items. Doing something new unlocks experience. Even sharpening a stick using a different kind of rock unlocks experience. Do it all twice.
Debranch a stick using your hand, debranch a stick using obsidian, debranch a stick using a meteor rock, etc.
Defend yourself using a stick, a sharp stick, a rock, a precious stone, a grinder, etc. As long as its using a different combination of items, its experience.
--Most tasks you do require you to do them twice to unlock an Evolutionary Feat

-Uncovering new areas and migrating requires you to "Conquer your Fears" you need to investigate new areas then travel to their center (big white circle, opposite of the big blue circle) to unlock the new area.
--Elders can travel further without Conquering their Fears

-Dont just use your "Intelligence" to find things. Smell and hear things out too. This unlocks new branches to your skill tree and progresses your abilities. Its often easier to smell and hear predators and food than to physically see it.

Breeding and Expanding your Clan

-You can only successfully mate with un-related Females/Males and have it result in pregnancy. To initiate this, you must "Form a Couple". Approach the mate and "Groom" it until the couple is formed. Move to a bed, and "Call Mate", when the mate arrives "Mate". An hour will pass, and if it was successful, it will result in a Pregnancy.
--Pregnancies and Births time skip a year.
--You can Mate with Cousins, but not Brother/Sister/Mother/Father
--Females can only have two babies each
---All Babies will be Male and Female, you cannot birth two males/two females.
----Since babies will always result in Male+Female, the optimal way to breed the next generation is to breed this Male+Female pair with its Male+Female cousin pair.
-----Recruit wild/lone Hominids to expand your Clan.

-You can encounter lone Hominids (Ape) in the wild, which can be recruited to join your Clan. Each lone Hominid will have a need that needs to be fulfilled, you'll need to observe it to determine its needs.
--Frightened, looking around, cowering: Comfort it
--Stomach groans: Needs food
--Holding stomach: Poisoned, mushrooms/medicine
--Groaning, banging on its head: Thirsty, bring it a cracked Egg or cracked Coconut
--Sick, Vomiting: Needs fluids, same with being Thirsty, Coconuts work.
---After successfully fulfilling a lone Hominids need, you can bring it back to your home settlement. End your expedition on a bed, and it will initiate a cutscene where you introduce it to your clan.
----Finding lone Hominid Females is the only way to fully expand your Clan, since you cannot have more than 1 female baby per adult female.

-Your clan members will imitate you eating and drinking water, as long as they have 1 free hand.
-- During an expedition, if your followers hands are full, they will not feed/water themselves, and may die, keep and eye on your clans needs and what they are carrying
--If you're at home, and your clan has a free hand, they will feed and water themselves. You can leave them be.
---You can unlock defensive genes for your clan, and keeping them with 1 defensive item in their hands ensures they will defend themselves when you are not around

-Having Babies unlocks random mutations which can be very beneficial.
--The more Babies you have, the more Genes you can lock in
--Progressing through Generation locks in all locked genes for future generations, and locks in all mutated genes that were obtained through the babies. These Mutated Genes will be inactive.
---Progressing through Evolution will activate all inactive Mutated Genes, and will add new Genes obtained through the time skip.

Food, Medicine

-Bleeding can be cured using the bark of a tree found in jungle trees (Kapok Fibers) , or Aloe found in the desert area.
--Bleeding will cause death unless you have unlocked self-healing abilities and/or immunities.
---Clan Members need to be healed by you manually, unless you have unlocked self-healing abilities
--Bleeding can also be cured by refining Horsetail.

-Eat everything, even if it makes you sick. You will build tolerance to new foods.
--When you get food poisoning, dilute it with water. You get experience for this and build a tolerance. Dont be afraid of eating new things, getting sick is GOOD.
---Butcher Dead Carcasses with Rocks (Sharpened Obsidian works best)
---Butchered Carcasses drop Bones, Bones make good Clubs

-Medicinal Plants and Animals can be further refined through Grinding
--Applying Refined Medicines will Progress your Immunity Genetics Tree, allowing you to be more resistant, and able to self-heal.

-Snails, Scorpions, and Mushrooms can be used for medicine along with Food.

Attack and Defense

-Always carry 1 item for defence, preferably a stick, so when you counter attack you do not receive a laceration.

-Counter-Attacking Predators weakens them, and with enough Counter-Attacks, you will deliver a fatal blow. To Counter Attack, Aim Towards the Attacker, holding the action button (Space Bar), wait for the "Ding"
--Stabbing using Sticks is the most effective way of defence, but you will lose your stick.
---Stabbing with Sharpened Sticks is more likely to land a Killing Blow
----Using shorter objects such as Rocks to Defend yourself may lead to receiving damage
-----Bone Clubs make excellent Defence weapons and can be used multiple times

-Purposely put yourself in harms way, purposely get attacked, purposely dodge, and purposely counter attack using different objects. Each new experience is.... new experience. It all progresses your skill trees.

-Predators will stalk you relentlessly when you move to new areas. Kill the Predator that is stalking you and it'll be gone until you move to a new area, or until you initiate a time-skip.
--As you progress your skill trees, you and your clan become "Apex Predators", and will more easily intimidate other Predators.

General Tool Use

-Refine Grass Reeds into a single Stalk using your open hand "Alter"
--Use this stalk to "Dip" into Beehives, and Anthills.

-Basalt rocks are fragile and have a small window to refine properly.
--Refined Basalt Rocks make the best sharpener, taking 3 strikes to sharpen a stick
-Obsidian rocks and also fragile, but not as much as Basalt, they cant sharpen sticks as quickly as Basalt, but can butcher a carcass instantly. They take 6 strikes to sharpen a stick.
-Granite Stones can be used to Sharpen, and Butcher, but take 15 successful hits to do so. They are the least likely to break under use. They take 15 strikes to sharpen a stick.
--Granite Stones refine into Grinders
---Grinders refine medicine

-Dead Sticks are everywhere and are quick defensive items in a pinch. They can used to build Stick Barriers, and be refined into a Debranched "Stick", or refined further into a "Sharpened Stick"
--Sharp sticks can be used to fish or "poke", you can find insects in holes.
---After successfully "Poking" a Fish or Insect, change hands, and use an open hand "Alter" to remove the food.
--Debranched sticks can flip rocks, where you can find stones or mushrooms
--Stick Barriers may provide predatory protection by acting a deterrent. Placing them sparingly around your camp seems to ward off wandering wildlife
(More testing needed)

-When 2-Handed Carry is unlocked, you can stack all kinds of items on the ground, press X to pick up the stack and carry it with 2 hands.
--Walking around carrying 2-Handed items will quickly unlock Neuron Energy, and will quickly progress your 2-Handed Carry Tree.

Biomes and what you may encounter

-There are new Biomes to discover with advantages and disadvantages you will need to prepare for.

Jungle: Lots of everything, easy escape predators using the cliffs and trees.
Only a few predators here, and lots of caves to explore. A good starting zone to get much of your experiences out of the way.
Eagles can attack high in the trees.
Giant Centipedes can be found in caves, along with Tarantulas than can hurt you for small damage.

Swamps and Lakes: Found in the Jungle, you will find more difficult predators such as frequent Snakes and Crocodiles.

Plains: Less cover, Less Trees, still abundant resources. Finding Kapok Fibers in trees is difficult. You will be introduced into Hyenas and Horses here, along with more difficult Tigers and Snakes

Savanna: Always hot- will be taxing on your stamina. Water is found only at the River, and at Discovery Vistas (Oasis'). Less herbivore food, but more animal meat. Very little cover. No Kapok Fibers, healing is replaced by Aloe, and Horsetail which must be refined before use.
Lots of Hyenas, more difficult Tigers. You will also encounter Gazelles, Buffalo, Elephants, and Rhinos.

Canyon Pass: Dangerous. Jackels, Hyenas, and Tigers frequent here. Its hot and there is NO water. You need to forage berries and eat Snake Eggs to find Water. Not hospitable for camp.
Trying to go over the pass using the mountains may be easier, but you may encounter Eagles.

Desert: Also Hot. This will be the most Hostile and least Hospitable place. No water other than the Vista at the beginning, and end of the desert. Same rules for the Canyon apply, forage berries and eggs. There is very little to forage too.
This Desert pass is a long walk, it will take the entire day to get past it. Ensure you are ready before you set off.

The Ocean: Cools down, there are 3 Vistas with water sources here. The Ocean cannot be traversed and cannot be drunk (seawater). You will encounter Sea Otters and Pelicans at the edge of the water, which can be difficult. Tigers can be found here in low numbers.
Resources are less frequent than the savanna, but more abundant and diverse than the desert.

The Lake: A extremely large lake that serves as the games border, opposite to The Ocean.
Similar temperate as the Jungle and Forest regions, with Crocodiles and Sea Otters along the beach.

[Alizia Kaline]

Originally posted by LuckyN13:

-Your clan members will imitate you eating and drinking water, as long as they have 1 free hand. If you put items in both their hands, they wont eat or drink and may die.

False. Even with a weapon, they will be full every times you sleep, even without eating or drinking.

[LuckyN13]

Originally posted by Alizia Kaline:

Originally posted by LuckyN13:

-Your clan members will imitate you eating and drinking water, as long as they have 1 free hand. If you put items in both their hands, they wont eat or drink and may die.

False. Even with a weapon, they will be full every times you sleep, even without eating or drinking.

Not false, because Ive observed this happening. If you occupy both their hands they dont feed/water themselves.

Give one ape items in both their hands, then go to the nearby water and drink. Watch every single ape but the one with the 2 items follow you to the water.

[Alizia Kaline]

Yes, but they no care. Look their life, it don't decrease at all. They don't need eat/drink.

[Cougarific]

I think you're both right - it will stop them from drinking, but it doesn't matter in terms of their overall wellness.

[Lvl 10]

Great tips.
Make sure to post them on the guide section on Epic Forums.

[Cougarific]

Ha ha it's funny because Epic doesn't have a Guides section!

Very clever - keep 'em coming, these are brilliant!

[LuckyN13]

Discovered a few new things I'm adding.

[Cougarific]

Originally posted by LuckyN13:

Sharp sticks can be used to fish or "poke", you can find insects in holes.

Also snails - which are good anti-venom for snake bites.

Including so anybody searching "snails" can find this thread.

[Cougarific]

Lucky do you want to add beehive info?

[LuckyN13]

Originally posted by Cougarific:

Lucky do you want to add beehive info?

Ah right, I should add that!

[Cougarific]

Yes because honey is delicious (and good for snake bites).

[Drexar]

Just some additional info, more spoilers etc (topic has it in description so i guess it should be fine).

Not sure if this was mentioned, but all the crafting (stone bashing, stick sharpening etc) has an audible click sound, indicating when you should release the button. Same goes for counter attacking/dodging. Fishing/poking and turning rocks seem to have a slightly different chime sound instead. If you overshoot the sound, or you dont hear any sound, you can cancel the bashing or whatever by moving before you release the button.

The big bones you get from butchering stuff seem to work just as well as a sharpened stick but unlike the sticks you can keep bashing stuff with it since it wont break (so far at least). I have not tried it on snakes though, usually i one-shot those with the spear and it just feels like the club might be worse there (someone let me know if you try). Works fine against cats/warthogs at least.

For keyboard users: During an attack (slowmo scene), press and hold down spacebar and a directional key (W to counter attack if you are looking at target, A, S or D to doge away) and release space when you hear the click sound. Took me a few tries to figure it out since the game tells me to press A even though i got keyboard chosen as my input device. Once you unlock a bunch of fighting genes it gets really easy.

Exploit: ALT-F4 the game if you accidentally jump to your death or get eaten by a tiger or whatever, just make sure to do it pretty quick so it doesnt have time to save..

And, its already mentioned but needs to be mentioned again, TAB to skip having to sit and wait through 6 births every new generation. I was about to give up before i figured that out.


Questions: Do they starve themselves while your are away? Second time now ive been on a ~3-day exploration trip with a buddy and when i finally come back to camp i get a death message. First time it was an oldie and tbh i cant be sure he wasnt bleeding cause i still hadnt figured out much of the game, but second time i know there were no bleeding apes and it was an adult who died. The rest didnt look any worse for wear though, no one had bad stamina/health etc. I guess maybe it could be an animal attack, but cats were dead and my two hog pals who like to drink my water are fenced off, and they all had spears.

Is there any way to remove a stick barrier? I placed one by mistake while making spears, couldnt figure out how to remove the barrier building-pile on the ground so i ended up building it as far off as possible, but it still irks me. :/

[Alizia Kaline]

I don't think there is a way to remove barrier... Even creature seem not able to destroy them. They just ignore and run stupidly on them.

[LuckyN13]

I set up camp at Pride Rock (I call it that because it looks like Pride Rock and is in the middle of the savanna)

This whole area is a breeding ground for hyenas. I was struggling with the endless attacks. I surrounded my base in randomly placed stick barriers and I havent been attacked since. I'm not sure if they're a deterrent or something happened to cancel the hyena spawning. Will try to test this further.

I dont think they can be taken down.

I also found that you dont even have to ALT-F4, if you make a mistake, just press ESC and go to the menu, reload from there, but like you said dont wait too long, do it during the death cinematic. The game will be last saved at your most recent discovery/sleep.

[Hannsgruber]

Thanks guys great tips, I still haven’t left the first jungle camp it’s too scary too many predators about