Hello, Tourist. Your next adventure awaits in the war-torn, walker-infested streets of New Orleans, with new threats, action-packed combat, and even more walkers. And then there’s the dreaded Axeman hell-bent on retribution.

To help you on your journey, our team at Skydance Interactive has prepared a survival guide for The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners – Chapter 2: Retribution. The game releases on PlayStation VR2 tomorrow, March 21.

Pack for the trip

Tips on surviving The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners – Chapter 2: Retribution on PS VR2

In The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners, you’ve got to prepare for anything and everything. Unending herds of walkers, diabolical individuals plotting your every downfall, and an unrelenting, seemingly unstoppable Axeman, to name a few. You’ll face intense challenges every time you set foot outside of base camp, so you’ll need the right resources.

First, upgrade your inventory size as soon as you can. To do this, you’ll need to upgrade the Gear Station at base camp to Level 6, and from there you can obtain the “Deep Pockets” upgrade. This adds nine inventory slots to your backpack and an extra large slot to carry two-handed weapons (such as the coveted chainsaw). Increasing your inventory size will help you in the long run with crafting healing items, weapons and other necessary upgrades.

In addition, upgrading your armor will help protect you against the walkers and enemies you encounter on your missions. Explore the new catacombs near base camp and you’ll find a new Heaving Plating Armor recipe to craft.

Weapons are a given (more on that below), but the right food will replenish your health and stamina when you need it most. We recommend crafting your own food using the recipes available in-game; while eating a can of beans you found could help you in a pinch, there is the likelihood it’ll make you sick, and you’ll need to craft medicine to undo the effects of eating low quality food. Some of the best recipes you’ll want to try are beignets, gumbo, and jambalaya.

Lastly, pack enough bandages and medicine each time you venture out into the city to heal yourself when you’re caught in a bad spot. The new crafting tables at base camp feature upgrades which can make healing, low stamina and curing sickness a worry of the past.

Know your weaponry

Tips on surviving The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners – Chapter 2: Retribution on PS VR2

You’ll encounter a variety of weapons to help in your battle against walkers, members of the Tower and other dangers lurking around every corner. As powerful as each weapon can be, it’ll be of no use if you don’t know how to use it to your advantage. The most important thing is to take your time with a new weapon, and understand your best way to reload it. Be sure to try it out on a few sparse walkers before you rely on it for a herd.

Tips on surviving The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners – Chapter 2: Retribution on PS VR2

Some of the most powerful weapons have nasty weaknesses for balance reasons, so you’ll need to understand each weapon’s unique features. They may be great for cutting through a herd but horrible against humans, or very good at range but nightmarish in close quarters.

Tips on surviving The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners – Chapter 2: Retribution on PS VR2

Noise and light are also a factor when you are trying to sneak around, so keep that in mind as you arm yourself for a sortie. Lastly, not all weapons are paragons of durability in the harsh climate of post-apocalyptic New Orleans, so my advice is to always pack a spare or two.

Tips on surviving The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners – Chapter 2: Retribution on PS VR2

A few more words should be said about the extra layers of depth in interactions that you will experience moving from PS VR to PS VR2. The new Sense controllers make reloading, healing yourself and revving up a chainsaw extremely precise and tactile, so make sure you are ready for that feedback and finger tracking action.

Tips on surviving The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners – Chapter 2: Retribution on PS VR2

Explore the world

Tips on surviving The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners – Chapter 2: Retribution on PS VR2

It’s crucial to make use of anything you can scavenge in the world, so it pays to explore your surroundings whenever possible.

Tips on surviving The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners – Chapter 2: Retribution on PS VR2

A key way to earn more loot is by completing missions for the Exile trade network. Sonny’s Pawn Shop is a great starting point to take on new missions, which open new options for gathering and crafting essential survival gear.

Tips on surviving The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners – Chapter 2: Retribution on PS VR2

For Tourists who are undaunted by a challenge, clearing walker-infested areas will help you obtain the best gear. Naturally, we know you’d want to avoid walkers as much as possible, but Chapter 2: Retribution is all about high risk, high rewards. One area in this state is Old Town – clearing this area (and others like it) will unlock Exile trade missions and night mode exploration for that area, featuring even better loot.

Befriend the night

Tips on surviving The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners – Chapter 2: Retribution on PS VR2

Exploring at night introduces a different way to play in the world of The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners, and can be beneficial to your survival, as certain resources are more prominent at night. With night mode come new rules for scavenging and exploration, not to mention even more encounters with even larger amounts of walkers. Difficulty is high, but we promise, the reward is well worth it.

Tips on surviving The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners – Chapter 2: Retribution on PS VR2

Your tactical flashlight will be useful here, and switching it to UV will reveal hidden information that will guide you through the darkness, as well as finding items that can only be found at night (such as key ingredients for one of the new crafting benches at base camp). You can also use flares to distract walkers and make your escape.

If you master night mode, you’ll find backpacks full of loot and essential scavenging materials for your crafting station.

In The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners – Chapter 2: Retribution, there are plenty of things in the world out to end you, but an even greater number of methods to survive your way. We hope these tips will help you as you continue your tour through New Orleans on PS VR 2 starting March 21. Good luck, Tourist.

Source: Playstation Blog