"Keep Off The Sand!" Achievement

A picture guide on how to earn the Half-Life 2 achievement "Keep Off The Sand!"

Made by me, Fish.

Additional contributions by: JimBombYolo, acanterelle, Dr. Professor M.D., MRFYPTS, Dʀ.Gɪɢɢʟᴇs

Notes

• Some parts of this level are steep and slippery, so be careful when jumping around or moving objects.

• If you hear or see any rumbling, it usually means you touched the sand. If you are moving an object, however, it could start some quick rumbling.

• Remember to save regularly just in case, you probably don't want to respawn far back if you don't have to.

• If there are any typos, unclear words, not enough information, or a better way to solve the achievement; type it into the comment section below, it would be greatly appreciated.

• Although sprint-jumping isn't always necessary, it is the best way to move to rocks.

• Never go into the water, you will die - advice thanks to JimBombYolo

• Additional contributions are the names of the profile when I recieved the information.

• Remember to Like, Dislike, Favourite, Share, Report, or comment; I want to know how I'm doing.

• Cheating won't work, as it disables the Steam achievements. - advice thanks to MRFYPTS

• Drop down every ledge before you fight the giant antlion. -advice thanks to Dʀ.Gɪɢɢʟᴇs

• I am aware that you can use console commands, thank you.

On Your Way To The Sandtraps

After Your encounter at Lighthouse Village, follow the soldier to the secret exit at the basement of the lighthouse.

Grab two of the large boxes and put them through the door before you completely exit the building:


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Exit the building, save, then gently place stack the boxes on to the ledge below:


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Kill the combine soldier that appears at the top of the cliff, make sure he doesn't shoot the boxes too much:


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Place both boxes at the edge of the ledge. Then grab one of the boxes and jump down, leaving the other box where you can grab it, and set them both down gently on your new ledge:


Then set them both down in front of the tree, and save.
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Grab one box, jump on the other box and then jump to the other ledge:



Set the box down, then grab the other box and set that one down.


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Repeat that process until you get to the cave, keeping them close until after you go through the loading screen, then bring them over to where Lazlo and his friend are waiting.

Where The Achievement Starts

This area with Lazlo is where the achievement starts:

After Lazlo's Death

Starting after the great mind, Lazlo, dies (it does not matter if the other guy dies), Place the boxes in between the rocks and make your way over the sand, make sure to not get to close to the edge of the rocks:


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When you get to the area with the longer expanse of and, place a box on the sand, jump on it, then bring the other box in front of the one your on until you clear the area:


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Place the boxes between each rock towards the wooden beams until you reach a ledge:



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When you reach the ledge area, jump onto the adjacent ledge, then jump towards the beams:



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Solve the wooden puzzle by taking the large boxes and putting them on the side near you:



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Be careful to not touch the lowest point or to slip off.

After The Wooden Puzzle

Credits to acanterelle for the tip about the double boxes
Additional credits to Dr. Professor M.D. for the tip about putting the boxes so you can just walk
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Grab the double boxes from the puzzle and take them with you:





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Jump across the ledges towards the first shack and grab the long wooden plank. Then place the plank across the gap using the smaller ledge under yours:





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Take the wood plank with you, then use it to make a ramp on to the patio of the next shack:



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Put one of the double boxes in between your shack and the small house, then jump across:



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Disclaimer: Do not attempt to turn on the thumper, it will cancel the achievement even if no antlions come up.
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Take another one of the double boxesand place the box between the small house and the rock path in front of the house, then jump across:
*Be careful not to fall of the ledge or antlions will come, as seen here.


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Take the boxes with you towards the rock island and then get on to the large rock island.

The Last Part

This is the hardest of the parts, I recommend saving here.
The actual solution may vary depending on the areas you place the boxes, but the concept is the same.

There is area to the right of the large rock where the slopes converge that is easier to get across:

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Drop the boxes onto the large rock below, and place them in front of the rock within jumping distance towards the ledge on the other side:


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Remove any props that may block your path.
Then place another box close to the other box so you can walk across (There can be a small gap between the boxes):


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Walk across the boxes, turn around on the box you're on, and place the other box a close distance away from the box you're on until you reach the ledge:






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Then simply jump onto the ledge:



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Touching the sand that is in the next area does not take away the achievement. Drop down every ledge before you fight the giant antlion. The achievement should be in your possesion when you get down there.

The Achievement

You are now the proud owner of the achievement "Keep Off The Sand!" Thank you for using my guide to help you in your endeavor!

[visalius.500]

Thanks a lot! Your guide is tops!

[ballistickgamer | Idiot]

looked at the replay junk it took me around 4 hours to get the achievement before I decide to reload (probably less then that by around 30-60 min as i had to do something else for a while)

[ballistickgamer | Idiot]

based on my experience if you go on the beach to grab items by a boat before you get to the light house you can't get the achievement, after getting annoyed for awhile I reloaded a save before the lighthouse and just ignored all of that stuff and I got the achievement first try.

[sniper]

i used this with a smg grenade

[pingus]

so glad you don't have to avoid the sand while fighting the antlion guards lol. also great guide, thank you!

[stevenhorbury622]

To be honest a save file would be better, cheating in this game is actually acceptable

[FrozenFish37]

Thank you, I'm glad this guide is still relevant and helping after, like, 8 years.

[Dragonis Gardia]

Thx dude. I am using my steam deck purchase to finally try out the half life franchise and really were angry with this achievement but the box trick did help 🫶

[jason soup]

was kind of jumpscared when i got the achievement cause i thought you had to go the rest of the chapter without touching sand

[Leaf Lover]

Some advice: The wooden pelletes are really good for this, you can get one on the level with the lighthouse and bring it with you. Shortly after the first encounter you can get 2 more full ones and a partially broken one, this speeds it up a lot and they are easier to move around than the boxes you suggest.

You will need one other object at the start though, and the boxes are the best I have found but can be awkward with the pellete in some cases, in I grabbed a dresser and it worked fine for me.