This War of Mine Guide For Beginners [25 Useful Tips Every Beginner Should Know]

This War of Mine Tips
One of the most important things to keep in mind is to do activities with the right characters. This is Katia. She's a good bargainer. Always use her to trade whenever you can.


This article will give you tips to make This War of Mine easier. Beginners who haven’t found their way around this game might have difficulty surviving. But don’t worry, this article is here to help you.

 

25. Loot every corner of your shelter.

On your first day, the very first thing you should do is gather as many supplies from your shelter as possible. These supplies are your lifeline for the first few days. Muster every character to do this to save more time. 

 

24. Don’t bother with a shovel on the first day.

There might be a lot of rubbles in your shelter, and you might be tempted to craft a shovel to clear them faster. But in order to make one, you must build a metal workshop first, which takes some materials. 

At this stage, your resources are still limited. You could have used those materials to build more essential things, like beds. Instead, assign all the survivors to clear the rubbles at the same time. The key is to manage your time well.

 

23. Build at least one bed on your first day.

Beds are probably the most important pieces of furniture in this game. Your characters must sleep at least 5 hours a day to not get tired. Technically, they can sleep without a bed at night, but they will still wake up tired. 

Tiredness can slow their movement and might affect their other states. Also, if someone gets sick, sleeping in bed may speed up their recovery and prevent the illness from getting worse.

 

22. On the first night of scavenging, prioritize gathering materials and parts.

Without materials and parts, you can’t craft anything. That’s why they’re really crucial in your first few days. Basic necessities like food and medicine come second. 

Other than those, don’t take anything else. You have limited inventory, so save more space in your backpack for more important things.

 

21. Build stove and metal workshop as soon as possible.

Canned food is scarce and expensive, and raw food can’t really make the survivors full. The solution? Cook meals using the stove. It saves you a lot of meat and vegetables, too.

Meanwhile, a metal workshop is used to build weapons and tools, such as knives and lockpicks. They will help you a lot during scavenging or guarding your shelter.

 

20. Upgrade your workshops.

Upgrading your workshops allows you to get more useful crafting options. The more stuff you have, the better your living condition is supposed to be.

 

19. Craft a weapon as soon as possible.

Once in a few nights, you’ll get raided. You can’t prevent it. You can only reduce the risk of getting stolen or wounded during the raid by arming yourself. 

One of the first weapons you can craft is a knife. Just craft it if you don’t have any other option. Although It might not do much, it’s still better than nothing at all. 

 

18. Hatchet is your best friend.

But if you’ve upgraded your metal workshop, congrats! Now you can craft other tools and weapons, including a hatchet. 

A hatchet is an all-rounder tool. It works in a similar way as a knife in combat but does more damage. It can even chop down furniture to produce wood and fuel.

 

17. Don’t bother hoarding valuables if you’re not well-guarded.

Medicine and food are some of the things that get stolen most often because they’re valuable. Even if you stock a lot of them, big chance the raiders would steal them, anyway, unless you’re well-guarded. So always put one person on guard with a weapon every night, especially during the outbreak of crime.

 

16. Always rush to board up your walls.

You can do this after upgrading your main workshop. Doing this will improve your house security and help repel the bandits at night.

 

15. Manage your scavenging time really really well.

You only have 8 hours. The nighttime starts from 9 PM to 5 AM. If you fail to run to the exit before 5 AM, the survivor will have a hard time returning home.

Even if they come back later in the day, there’s a chance they got wounded. So always make sure to run to exit before the time’s up.

 

14. Only give your survivors medicine when they’re sick.

A slightly sick character gets better by just sleeping. Rather than wasting your medicine, just build enough beds to let them rest. 

A sick character, however, should take medicine as soon as possible. Otherwise, they might keep getting worse.

 

13. Only give your survivors bandages when they’re wounded.

The same as being slightly sick, your slightly wounded character gets better by resting, so don’t waste your bandages. You should also limit their activity and not let them scavenge or do too much work in the house.  But if their state is wounded, you must bandage them immediately.

 

12. Carry lockpicks instead of a crowbar when scavenging.

Honestly, a crowbar does more job than a lockpick as it can be used multiple times, unlike the self-destructing lockpicks. It saves you a lot of parts, and it’s amazing to use in your shelter. 

The problem is that it will take one slot in your backpack during scavenging. If you have no problem with this, go on carrying it. But if you want to maximize the use of your slots, it’s better to carry lockpicks.

 

11. Prepare in advance for winter.

When it gets really cold, wood and fuel will become scarce. Their price will skyrocket. So is water. That’s why it’s best to keep water and fuels well-stocked.

Also, if you have enough materials and parts, it would be wise to upgrade your heater to save fuel.

 

10. Don’t ignore your survivors’ addictions.

Not providing your characters’ addiction for a long time may make them sad and more prone to depression. Even though coffee and cigarettes are not the most essential commodities, they can maintain survivors’ sanity during this hard time. 

 

9. Do not steal

Never steal unless it’s an emergency. Some characters are so easily affected by heinous acts that they will become sad or even depressed after stealing. 

Not only stealing affects your characters’ mood, but you might also make new enemies. The NPCs you steal from can be hostile toward you after they discover that you’re a thief.

 

8. Do not kill

Like stealing, killing takes a toll on your characters’ mood and morality. Only do it in self-defense or when your opponents are hostile. There are, however, certain events when killing is justified, such as when you’re helping civilians who are being attacked.

 

7. Always help NPCs.

When NPCs knock on your door asking for help or supplies, always say yes. This will result in good karma and can make your characters happier. Maybe the NPCs will even return the favor by giving you more supplies.

 

6. Do activities with the right characters.

Pay attention to their special traits and take advantage of them. If you have Boris in your group, always have him cook food because he uses fewer resources. If you have Katia in your group, she should be the one who does the bargaining all the time. Every character does better than the others in a certain activity.

 

5. Invest in radio.

Radio does many jobs. It informs you of things that are currently happening, such as the rising price of certain commodities. You can use this information to make better trading decisions. 

The radio can even predict such things as winter, the outbreak of crime, and even a ceasefire. As a bonus, it can even improve your characters’ mood.

 

4. Build a reinforced door.

You will have this option after having an advanced workshop. A reinforced door will create an alarm system that notifies your characters whenever someone barges in. 

The best way about this thing? You won’t need someone to guard at night anymore. Each one of your survivors can finally get proper sleep at night.

 

3. Craft cigarettes and moonshine for barter.

Have extra water and sugar sitting around in your inventory? Turn them into moonshine using the moonshine still. It’s a valuable trading item. 

Do you have excess tobacco? Turn it into cigarettes or roll-ups in the herbal workshop. Cigarettes are more valuable than their raw materials. 

Don’t buy tobacco from traders, though. It’s quite expensive. Just pick them up during scavenging.

 

2. Avoid trading with soldiers.

Simply because they give you higher prices. Just trade with Franko, the NPC who comes to your shelter every few days, or with traders in Central Square.

 

1. Self-provide

Lastly, when you’ve gathered sufficient supplies and crafted almost everything, it’s time to self-provide. 

Get your food using traps and the herbal garden. Get your bandages and medicine by crafting them in the herbal workshop. Get your water through the rainwater collector. At this point, you no longer need to scavenge or barter. All that’s left to do is wait for the ceasefire.

 

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Gamer Since: 2012
Currently Playing: This War of Mine
Top 3 Favorite Games:Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, This War of Mine, Assassin's Creed 2


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