by Reece Merryweather-Brown
The Last of Us is a 2012 survival-action-third person cinematic experience. Aside from that pretty damn long title, when played on the Grounded mode, it’s also one of the hardest triple A titles I’ve ever played (second to Dark Souls but that kind of speaks for itself.) The beauty of The Last of Us however is not down to luck, as it often is in Dark Souls, and nor are your mistakes often derived from clunky movements, or not having the right gear. Instead surviving in The Last of Us is all about knowing the ins and outs; the parts the tutorials leave out. So here we go, the best tips for surviving in The Last of Us. (Some spoilers ahead but come on, this game’s 3 years old)
The Last of Us is a 2012 survival-action-third person cinematic experience. Aside from that pretty damn long title, when played on the Grounded mode, it’s also one of the hardest triple A titles I’ve ever played (second to Dark Souls but that kind of speaks for itself.) The beauty of The Last of Us however is not down to luck, as it often is in Dark Souls, and nor are your mistakes often derived from clunky movements, or not having the right gear. Instead surviving in The Last of Us is all about knowing the ins and outs; the parts the tutorials leave out. So here we go, the best tips for surviving in The Last of Us. (Some spoilers ahead but come on, this game’s 3 years old)
Outrun the Runners
At various points in the game players will be confronted by groups of Runners. These are the most recently infected people who sprint at you and attempt to bite/beat the crap or throat out of you. Unlike their longer infected relatives (the Clickers), these guys are fast and have the glorious gift of sight. However, Runners can’t kill you with a single hit and can be taken down with some punches. For this reason, never shoot a Runner. That ammo will be much more useful when fighting humans (i.e. the guys with guns) or the tougher infected if you can’t sneak past them.
Of course, the thing about Runners is that they’re generally in large groups. Joel, while a powerhouse of a man who can dish out some serious damage, is not a martial artist. He can only really concentrate on one Runner at a time (or two if you’re particularly good at switching targets). So what happens when you find yourself getting overrun? Again, while that revolver might seem like a good idea, don’t use it. The head movements are often too erratic to get a clean head shot. Instead you’ve got two options: either run away to clear some space (this works best if you’ve got AI survivors such as Bill or Henry to take some of the heat off) or if not, head to higher ground. Get on top of a truck if you can, or a car if you must. The benefits of a truck is that generally, you’ll have needed to get on something else first in order to get there, which means the Runners will have to do the same. This creates a sort of bottleneck, where Runners will climb up one at a time, where you can pummel them and be prepared for the next. Of course there are points where there may be too many to handle. In this instance simply jump off, run around, then climb back up. Rinse and repeat. Plus, Joel performs a beautiful Sparta kick after a couple swings.
Of course, the thing about Runners is that they’re generally in large groups. Joel, while a powerhouse of a man who can dish out some serious damage, is not a martial artist. He can only really concentrate on one Runner at a time (or two if you’re particularly good at switching targets). So what happens when you find yourself getting overrun? Again, while that revolver might seem like a good idea, don’t use it. The head movements are often too erratic to get a clean head shot. Instead you’ve got two options: either run away to clear some space (this works best if you’ve got AI survivors such as Bill or Henry to take some of the heat off) or if not, head to higher ground. Get on top of a truck if you can, or a car if you must. The benefits of a truck is that generally, you’ll have needed to get on something else first in order to get there, which means the Runners will have to do the same. This creates a sort of bottleneck, where Runners will climb up one at a time, where you can pummel them and be prepared for the next. Of course there are points where there may be too many to handle. In this instance simply jump off, run around, then climb back up. Rinse and repeat. Plus, Joel performs a beautiful Sparta kick after a couple swings.
Save the Shivs
Shivs are a valuable resource. On normal difficulties the shiv is a great way to quickly end an enemy’s life, so you can escape to the shadows before being seen. On harder difficulties, crafting ingredients are few and far between however, and sometimes it’s best to just strangle your enemies silently.
Clickers on the other hand, take two revolver head shots to take out, which is loud, hard to do without missing, and more importantly uses ammo. Or, Clickers can be taken down by a single shiv. So if you’re ever in a tight spot, that shiv could well be the difference between continuing on with the game, or watching one of the best characters in video game history get his neck bitten out. Shiv doors also require one fresh shiv to open (a shiv you’ve never used before). While some shiv doors are a tad disappointing, most are a treasure trove of ammo, health items and crafting ingredients, often a mixture of two if not three of these things. You’ll need these doors to get you through the tougher sections of Pittsburgh, Tommy’s Dam, and the Science Building, not to mention David’s cannibalistic clan. Furthermore, any blade and binding you find should almost always be used on shivs. Forget nail bombs and upgraded melee weapons, shivs are the best. While a melee weapon is good as you can use it on a Clicker even in combat, it can’t open a shiv door. Also, if you do find yourself up against a group of runners, you don’t get to use your fists; you’ll have to waste that precious blade piece of a lowly runner, even if there happens to be an immovable Clicker right around the corner.
Clickers on the other hand, take two revolver head shots to take out, which is loud, hard to do without missing, and more importantly uses ammo. Or, Clickers can be taken down by a single shiv. So if you’re ever in a tight spot, that shiv could well be the difference between continuing on with the game, or watching one of the best characters in video game history get his neck bitten out. Shiv doors also require one fresh shiv to open (a shiv you’ve never used before). While some shiv doors are a tad disappointing, most are a treasure trove of ammo, health items and crafting ingredients, often a mixture of two if not three of these things. You’ll need these doors to get you through the tougher sections of Pittsburgh, Tommy’s Dam, and the Science Building, not to mention David’s cannibalistic clan. Furthermore, any blade and binding you find should almost always be used on shivs. Forget nail bombs and upgraded melee weapons, shivs are the best. While a melee weapon is good as you can use it on a Clicker even in combat, it can’t open a shiv door. Also, if you do find yourself up against a group of runners, you don’t get to use your fists; you’ll have to waste that precious blade piece of a lowly runner, even if there happens to be an immovable Clicker right around the corner.
Arrows are Awesome
The bow is a god-send; the only virtually silent ranged weapon in the entire game. The second best thing about it is that arrows can potentially stay intact, meaning that the kill you just scored won’t cost you any ammo and all virtually silently. However, more often than not those precious arrows are going to break, and arrows aren’t all too common in the game.
If an enemy is unaware of you and you score a head shot, there’s around a 90% chance that arrow’s still going to be intact when you go to retrieve it. Why this is isn’t completely obvious. Maybe it’s a cool little factual thing, as an enemy who’s unaware of you is probably facing away from you, where the soft part at the back of their head is on target, meaning less chance of the arrow breaking when it hits the skull. Or maybe it’s just a cool little reward for taking someone down silently and with accuracy. Also, it’s the only ranged weapon you can ever get away with using on a Clicker. From behind, an arrow can take a Clicker out with one shot, with a good chance of the arrow staying intact, as the arrow doesn’t have to break through all that solid fungal stuff on the creature’s face. In any case, don’t ever try and take on an enemy who knows you’re there with a bow. Even if you manage to hit them without being shot in the process, a single arrow often won’t take out an enemy. Furthermore, the arrow is almost guaranteed to break. Even a stealthy body shot has a higher chance of not breaking the arrow than an in-combat head shot. So to re-iterate; the bow is for stealth only. Using it in a firefight is suicide, a waste, or both.
If an enemy is unaware of you and you score a head shot, there’s around a 90% chance that arrow’s still going to be intact when you go to retrieve it. Why this is isn’t completely obvious. Maybe it’s a cool little factual thing, as an enemy who’s unaware of you is probably facing away from you, where the soft part at the back of their head is on target, meaning less chance of the arrow breaking when it hits the skull. Or maybe it’s just a cool little reward for taking someone down silently and with accuracy. Also, it’s the only ranged weapon you can ever get away with using on a Clicker. From behind, an arrow can take a Clicker out with one shot, with a good chance of the arrow staying intact, as the arrow doesn’t have to break through all that solid fungal stuff on the creature’s face. In any case, don’t ever try and take on an enemy who knows you’re there with a bow. Even if you manage to hit them without being shot in the process, a single arrow often won’t take out an enemy. Furthermore, the arrow is almost guaranteed to break. Even a stealthy body shot has a higher chance of not breaking the arrow than an in-combat head shot. So to re-iterate; the bow is for stealth only. Using it in a firefight is suicide, a waste, or both.
Next time!
I'll be continuing my discussion on the single player combat before focusing some more on the multiplayer component of The Last of Us the following week. This game is available for less than twenty quid now at most retailers, and even cheaper for PS3!
See you next time!
See you next time!
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