PEAK - Full Basic Guide

A full guide about PEAK. Find usefull information about PEAK and how it works.

Introduction

Welcome explorers! In this guide you will find usefull information about PEAK and how it works.

Keep in mind that you could find some spoilers here so be advised.

I'll be adding more content as I discover new things ingame or answering questions in the comment section. If you are missing information or something is wrong in this guide let me know in the comments below.

Remember that if you have questions or want to find people to play you can join the Official PEAK Discord:[discord.com]


Remember to rate this guide if it has been useful for you. Thank you!

Customization

To customize your character, you’ll receive an item called the “Passport”. This item is given to you in the lobby and allows you to customize your character’s appearance.



At the beginning of the game, not all items will be available. But don't worry, as you earn badges (achievements), you will unlock new cosmetics.



As a fun detail, these badges are displayed on your scout sash, which is visible to other players.

Basic Mechanics

Basic Mechanics

PEAK is a cooperative climbing game where communication, coordination, and stamina management are key to reaching the PEAK. This are the core mechanics you should know (though you can learn most of the basic things from the guidebook you’ll find on the first map, near the plane):

• Climbing: Hold down the grab button (usually LMB) to cling onto walls. Releasing the grab button causes you to fall, you will also fall if you run out of stamina, so be careful.
  
  
• Grab Teammates:You can assist your teammates by grabbing them with right-click when they are climbing below you. This allows you to pull them up and save them from falling, especially in tough spots or when they’re low on stamina.
  
  
• Stamina: Actions like climbing, sprinting and jumping consume stamina. If you run out of stamina while climbing, you’ll lose grip and fall. Rest at safe spots to recover. Keep in mind that you always have a small boost by pressing Shift, so you can use it to reach upward if you're very close and have run out of stamina.
  
  
• Jumping and Boosting: You can jump between ledges or get a boost from a teammate, to do this, climb onto their head while they’re crouching, then they jump to boost you up, allowing you to reach distant grips.
  
  
• Items and Resources: Collect food to restore stamina, ropes and pitons to assist with climbing, and other interesting items that will be helpful throughout your adventure.
  
  
• Communication: Teamwork is very important in this game. Use voice chat or pings (middle mouse button) to coordinate climbs, set anchor points, and warn others of upcoming dangers. Or simply laugh as you listen to your friend falling into the abyss.
  
  

Energy bar and Status effects

One of the challenges in PEAK, besides reaching the summit, is managing your energy bar effectively. This bar regenerates over time, but its maximum capacity can be reduced by various negative effects you accumulate during your climb.

These status effects can be cured by using certain items, resting, and so on.


As you can see in the image:

• The green bar is your stamina. It's used for climbing, sprinting, jumping, and other actions.
  
• The yellow bar is extra stamina. It depletes when your main (green) stamina runs out and can save you in risky situations. This bar does not regenerate over time.
  
• The brown bar represents your carried weight. The more weight you carry, the more it reduces your maximum stamina.
  
• The light orange bar is your hunger. It gradually increases over time.

Different effects can reduce the bar, as explained below. Their total will reduce it from the right side of the bar.


Bar icons and their effects:

Icon	Name	Type	Fix with
	Brute: Represents physical injuries from falls or hazards. Lowers your max stamina.	Negative	Bandages, First Aid Kit, Red Clusterberry, Medicinal Root, Cure-All.
	Burnt: Caused by lava, fire, or overheated surfaces. Reduces max stamina over time.	Negative	Cure-All, First Aid Kit, Medicinal Root.
	Energy (Extra Stamina): A bonus stamina bar that activates when your main stamina runs out.	Positive	Food, drinks, Big Lollipop, Bugle of Friendship.
	Frost: Caused by exposure to cold environments. Slowly reduces max stamina.	Negative	Heat Pack, hot food, warm drinks, Cure-All.
	Hunger: Increases over time and reduces max stamina point by point.	Negative	Eat food (preferably cooked).
	Poison: Caused by eating toxic food or touching hazards. Deals damage over time.	Negative	Antidote, Medicinal Root, Cure-All, First Aid Kit.
	Sleepiness: Builds up with energy drinks or some berries. Can cause you to pass out.	Negative	Energy Drink, Cure-All.
	Weight: Represents how heavy your load is. High weight reduces max energy.	Passive	Drop items or reduce inventory weight.
	Revival debuff: Obtained after being revived. Slightly reduces your max energy.	Negative	Cure-All.

Biomes

The game has 5 biomes:

• Shore
  - The first and starting area of the game.
  - A calm coastline with easy rocks to climb and minor hazards like poisonous jellyfish.
  - Perfect for learning the basic mechanics.
  - There's no timer or rush in this area, so you can take your time and look around for luggage and food.
  - You'll find a small guide book that will walk you through the controls and basic mechanics of the game.
  
  
• Tropics
  - The second area of the game.
  - A dense and humid jungle.
  - Introduces new mechanics like vine swinging, plant-based traps, and rain.
  - It rains from time to time, which makes climbing harder. The best thing you can do when it starts raining is wait until it stops.
  - You can also use vines to help you climb, but be careful, they consume stamina too.
  
  
• Alpine
  - The third area of the game.
  - A snowy and dangerous mountain.
  - Ice reduces your grip and increases frost buildup.
  - Strong winds push players around and force you to find sources of warmth. They come from random directions, so move to a safe spot before you freeze.
  - In this area, you can find chains (similar to vines in the Tropics) and random pitons already placed on the walls.
  
  
• Caldera
  - The fourth area of the game.
  - A volcanic region filled with lava.
  - There are lava tides triggered by small eruptions. If you're standing in those areas when it happens, you’ll get burned.
  - Some spots are slightly highlighted in orange, this indicates they’ll ignite soon, so try to avoid them.
  - You can also find chains in this area.
  
  
• Kiln
  - The fifth area of the game.
  - The final level inside the volcano, a brutal vertical ascent surrounded by lava.
  - This is the hardest area in the game. You need to plan your route carefully before climbing, or you’ll get lost.
  - Getting burned is very common here (like in Caldera), so try to save some healing or protective items for this area.
  
  
• PEAK
  - The final zone. The goal, the end, the PEAK.

Backpack

The backpack is an essential item in the game. It allows you to carry 4 additional items, although their weight still counts toward your total load.



To add or remove items from the backpack, you need to place it on the ground, which can be risky if it slips and falls down the mountain. When playing in co-op, you can also open the backpack that other players are carrying on their back.


You can find a backpack at each checkpoint (and in the starting area), except in the final biome.

Bridges

You will encounter these structures for the first time in the Shore biome. They are great for crossing from one side to the other, but they come with a risk.

Bridges can break, when this is about to happen, the bridge will start shaking until it collapses. Usually, a single player won’t cause it to break, but the more players cross at the same time, the higher the chance of collapse.

Revive System

There are two states you can be in: "Unconscious" or "Dead".
If you stay unconscious for too long without a teammate helping you, you'll eventually die.

How to help unconscious friends:

First, you need to find where your friend went down, this can be a bit tricky sometimes.
Once you find them, try to figure out what caused them to fall.

- If they went down due to brute damage or poison, you'll need to use a bandage or a medkit.
- If it was due to hunger or exhaustion, then you'll have to give them food.

If you use a medkit and they don't wake up, try giving them some food instead.

If you carry your unconscious friend on your back, their "death meter" will temporarily stop decreasing. This gives you more time to find help or the right item to revive them.

How to revive dead friends:

If you didn't find your friend in time, their body will turn into a skeleton, and they’ll be able to spectate you as a ghost (they can still talk in ghost form).



To revive them, you have two options:
- Scout Effigy: A rare item found in luggage. Use it to bring one dead teammate back to life.
- Ancient Statue: Found at the end of each biome. Activating it revives all of your dead teammates.

Keep in mind that you’ll have a revival debuff in your energy bar after being revived. It looks like this:



To get rid of this debuff, you’ll need a Cure-All item.

Campfires and Ancient Statues

At the end of each biome, there is a campfire that you must activate to proceed to the next biome. Activating it grants you a morale boost that removes certain debuffs.

At these campfires, you can find a backpack, marshmallows, and a chest with items.

Also, just before reaching the campfire, there is an ancient statue that allows you to revive all dead players or receive a special item if everyone arrives alive.

Badges (Achievements) and Unlockable Cosmetics

This is the list of badges (achievements) available in the game. All of them unlock cosmetics for your character and are also displayed on the sash you wear.

Badge	Unlock condition	Reward
	Participation badge: Have a friend escape the island without you.
	Beachcomber badge: Climb past the Shore.
	Trailblazer badge: Climb past the Tropics.
	Alpinist badge: Climb past the Alpines.
	Volcanology badge: Climb past the Caldera
	Peak badge: Reach the peak.
	Cooking badge: Obtained by cooking 20 items at a campfire.
	Happy camper badge: If you are near a campfire with 2 or more people, you receive a morale boost.
	Bouldering Badge Place 10 pitons.
	Toxicology badge: Restore 200 total poison by using items.
	Foraging badge: Eat 5 different berries in one run.
	Esoterica badge: Obtain a mystical item.
	Lone wolf badge: Escape the island in a solo expedition.
	Clutch badge: Revive 3 scouts in a single expedition.
	Ballon badge: Escape the island without taking fall damage.
	Leave no trace badge: Obtained without placing any equipment on the mountain.
	Speed climber badge: Escape the island in under an hour.
	Bing Bong badge: Escape the island with Bing Bong.
	Naturalist badge: Escape the island without eating any packaged food.
	Gourmand badge: Escape the island after cooking and eating the following items: Half coconut, Honeycomb, Yellow Winterberry and Egg.
	Mycology badge: Eat four different non-toxic mushrooms in a single run.
	First Aid badge: Heal your friends for 100 hp points in a single run.
	Survivalist badge: Escape the island without ever losing consciousness.
	Animal serenading badge: Carry the bugle from the plane to the capybara pool in the alpines and play the instrument.
	Arborist badge: Reach the top of a really big tree in the tropics.
	Mentorship badge: Climb at least 200m ahead of your teammates, and wait for them to appear.
	Knot tying badge: Place or deploy 100m of rope in a single run.
	Emergency preparedness badge: Heal an unconscious friend with an item to save them from death.
	High altitude badge: Climb 5,000m in total.
	Plunderer badge: Open 15 luggages in a single run.
	Bookworm badge: Read all of scoutmaster myre's journal entries.
	Endurance badge: Climb 50m upwards without touching the ground.

Myre's Journal Entries

To unlock the Bookworm Badge in PEAK, you need to find all eight journal entries from Scoutmaster Myre. These entries are scattered throughout the different areas of the island: Shore, Tropics, Alpine, and Caldera.

The journal entries are found in specific locations, usually at the top of areas near campfires.

Once you find and inspect all eight entries, you'll earn the Bookworm Badge and the Broken Glasses cosmetic item.

There are 8 pages in total.

Luggages

Scattered across the island, you can find various luggages containing itemsand food that will help you during the climb.

Luggage	Name	Items	Other effect
	Luggage	1-3 non-environmental items. Lowes tier equipment and packaged edibles.
	Big Luggage	1-3 non-environmental items. Better equipment than the Luggage
	Explorer's Luggage	1-3 non-environmental items. Better equipment than the Big Luggage and possibility for mystic equipment.
	Ancient Luggage	Guaranteed mystic item.	Does 7 brute damage when opening.

Equipment

During your adventure, you will find various items that will help you reach the summit. These items can be found inside the luggages scattered across the island.

Image	Item and effect
	Bandages: Heals HP.
	Medkit: Fully heals HP, burn and poison.
	Rope spool: A rop that can be placed on stable surfaces. It has a 12.5m lenght. Stamina consumption is reduced when you climb it.
	Anti-rope spool: Similar to the rope spool but the rope floats upward.
	Piton: Placed on walls to recover stamina by hanging on them.
	Blowgun: Shoot out a dart that cures all negative status but inflicts heavy sleep.
	Rope canon: Shoot a hook attached to a rope to hang from it.
	Anti-rope canon Similar to the rope canon but the rope floats upward.
	Chain canon: Shoots a hook and acts as a vine from user position.
	Shelf shroom: Throw it against walls fo create a small mushroom platform to stand on it.
	Remedy fungus: Throw it to make it explode and heal users.
	Magic bean: Will stick onto any surface to create a tall beanstalk.
	Antidote: Heals poison.
	Lantern: Illuminates dar areas and removes frost from all nearby players.
	Faerie lantern: Slowly heals hp, burn, poison, sleep and frost.
	Portable stove: Temporary stove used to cook food. It also cures frost.
	Heat pack: Removes and negate frost for one minute.
	Bugle: Use with capybaras in Alpine to get the "Animal Serenading badge".
	Bugle of friendship: Gives all players infinite stamina while the bugle is played.
	Scoutmasterbugle: Summons the scoutmaster to "assist" you.
	Compass: It helps you orient yourself.
	Pirate's Compass: Points to the nearest unopened luggage.
	Bing Bong: Found it inside the plane crashed. Carry it to the peak to get the "Bing Bong badge".
	Scroll: Use it to convert it into a torn page. Torn pages are needed to get the "Bookworm badge".
	Scout Effigy: Revives a dead player at the selected position.
	Cursed Skull: Instantly kills the player but removes all negative status effects from all nearby players, revive all players (except the one who used it) and recover full stamina.

Edibles - Packaged

We can categorize food into three types: packaged, natural, and mushrooms.

Cooking food increases the amount of hunger it restores by 66%. Cooking it a second time removes the bonus, and cooking it a third time burns it. You need a stove or a fireplace to cook food.

Packaged:

Item	Name	Hunger	Energy	Other effect
	Trail Mix	4	4	-
	Granola Bar	6	8	-
	Scout Cookies	4	4	Has 4 charges.
	Sports Drink	0	12	Cures burn
	Airline Food	16	16	-
	Energy Drink	0	0	Boost speed for 11 seconds. Causes +10 sleep after effect.
	Big Lollipop	2	0	Infinite Stamina for -11 seconds. Causes +12 sleep after effect.

Edibles - Natural

Natural:

Item	Name	Hunger	Poison	Energy	Other effect
	Crispberry	All: 2	Red: 0 Green: 2 Yellow: 0	Red: 0 Green: 0 Yellow: 4
	Coconut	4	0	0	Drop or throw it to break into 2 half-coconuts.
	Marshmallow	8 (14 if cooked)	0	0
	Medicinal Root	2	0	0	Heals 4 brute and 10 poison.
	Scorchberry	2	0	0	Inflicts 8 Burn. If you're affected by Frost, it heals it instead of burning you.
	Kingberries:	12	Purple: 0 Yellow: 10 Green: 2	Purple: 12 Yellow and Green: 0
	Berrynanas	Yellow: 6 Pink: ? Blue: 12 Brown: 6	Pink: 6	Brown: 4	Turns into a peel that you can throw.
	Honeycomb	12 + half of max	0	12 + half of max	You get 4 from breaking a beehive.
	Tick	8	Increases over time.	0	Inflicts growing poison damage as long as it remains on the player.
	Clusterberries	Yellow: 4 Red: 4 Black: 8	0	Yellow: 3	Red: Heals -> 8 brute.
	Winterberries	Orange: 6 Yellow: 12	0	Yellow: 13	Orange: Heals -> 8 burnt. Yellow: Heals -> 4 brute + ? and 8 burnt.
	Napberry	0	0	0	Heals every status effects but put player to sleep.
	Big Egg	0	0	0	Drop or throw to break into an egg.
	Egg	6	0	0
	Cure-All	Max	0	0	Cures ? units of all status effects and recovers max stamina.
	Pandora's Lunchbox	0	0	0	Gives a random amount of hunter and status effects. Has a small chance to full heal + cure.

Edibles - Mushrooms

During our ascent, we’ll come across different types of mushrooms. Some can be eaten and others cannot, we need to pay attention to their appearance to tell them apart.

Mushrooms

Mushroom	Name	Hunger	How to differentiate	Poisonous version	Poison
	Chubby Shroom	4	Always safe
	Cluster Shroom	Normal: 2 Poisonous: 4	Rings on the stems.		16 after delay.
	Bugle Shroom	Normal: 3 Poisonous: 6	Veiny stem		7 after delay.
	Button Shroom	4	Spots on cap.		12 after delay.

Difficulty / Challenge System

As you probably already know, to start the game we need to go to the Gate Kiosk, located at the far right of the map.



From there, we can choose which "plane ticket" we want to take. At the beginning, only two difficulty levels are available:

• Peak: Normal difficulty.
  
• Tenderfoot: Easy mode.

To unlock the next difficulty levels, you must first complete the previous one. You will receive a special sash as a reward for completing each level, except Tenderfoot.
Here is the list of difficulty levels and their effects:

Name	Level	Modifiers	Sash
Tenderfoot	Easy Mode	- Climbing takes less stamina. - Hunger grows more slowly. - No time limit.	You won't unlock a sash in this difficulty.
PEAK	Default difficulty	- Normal setup of the game.	You will get the Tadpole Scout sash after completed.
Ascend 1	1	- Fall damage is increased.	You will get the Rabbit Scout sash after completed.
Ascend 2	2	- All Previous modifiers - Hunger grows faster.	You will get the Raccoon Scout sash after completed.
Ascend 3	3	- All Previous modifiers - Items have increased weight (+1 unit)	You will get the Mule Scout sash after completed.
Ascend 4	4	- All Previous modifiers - There are no flares at the PEAK. You will have to bring one from the plane crash.	You will get the Kangaroo Scout sash after completed.
Ascend 5	5	- All Previous modifiers - The night is cold	You will get the Owl Scout sash after completed.
Ascend 6	6	- All Previous modifiers - Climbing takes additional stamina.	You will get the Wolf Scout sash after completed.
Ascend 7	7 - Hardest mode in the game.	- All Previous modifiers - You cannot revive the dead.	You will get the Goat Scout sash after completed.

Guide changelog

Information about the updates in this guide to help you find new information added if you already have read the guide.

Updates:
03/07/25
- Added more information about biomes and basic tips.
- Fixed some images and data.
- Added images and more tips in mechanics section.
04/07/25
- Added revive system explanation. (Thanks to Twelve5oh for the idea).
- Added more info to scorchberry. (Thanks to gunjuice4000 for the info).
06/07/25
- Fixed some typos.
- Added the revival debuff. (Thanks to Twelve5oh for the reminder).
08/07/25
- Fixed some images.
- Added Difficulty / Challenge System
- Added info about carrying teammates to the revive section. (Thanks to Axem for the reminder).

To do:
- Add mire's journal entries images and step by step guide.
- Add full list of "traps" and hazards.
- Add weight and extra stamina recovery to edibles list.

Final note

If you are missing information or something is wrong in this guide let me know in the comments below.

If the guide has been useful, it is appreciated that you rate it. Thank you!

📜 Other guides: https://steamcommunity.com/id/ferniesp/myworkshopfiles/?section=guides

[GrumpLump]

This guide is gud.

Now for the constructive criticism bit:

I think there’s a lot more stuff you could add to this potentially. I mean, you tell us the items, what they do, and what they look like, but if you added tips like “two half coconuts weigh less than a full one” then you could explain the benefit/tradeoff of having multiple items versus the weight distribution, or talk about what situations would be appropriate for it. You could mention how hunger drains constantly at a fixed rate (and if you did any of this and I just missed it then I humbly apologize) and other stuff like that. It’s just what I would personally do if I were to make a guide (and I was going to until I found this one lol) so take it with a grain of salt. I just think more could be added to this, but it’s very good as is.

[cheeseeater]

5 dollars worth of steam points to ya wish i knew this sooner

[namariegaladriel]

DONT EAT POOR TICKKKK

[tristan13m]

how do i make people join my sever

[Cashy]

so when i play i experiance like alot of lag (about 1-5 fps) and ive tried fixing it but i cant any tips to help?

[Tiburón]

is it updated?

[Bubu]

On which button i can change standing postures (?)

[Shuggendo]

@RavenScout I believe you have around 40 units of stamina when fully healthy. So every unit can count as 2.5% total stamina. It would be less confusing if the guide used percentages, but I understand they use units since everything damaging you does damage in fixed increments and it will never not be x/40th of your stamina bar

[Elitryx]

Cursed Skull still works to revive teammates?

[RavenScout]

One thing I would add is an additional column in the status effects section that specifies if a damage type slowly heals over time or not i.e. Brute does not heal, but poison does.

Also at the top of the stamina section, specifying how many points of stamina you have by default would be extremely helpful so people can understand the gravity of 8 hunger or 4 poison. 8 points of hunger means jack if people don't know if they have 10 points or 100 points or somewhere inbetween.