After finishing the prologue there are some important things to know: While you can explore the whole map at daytime and make your first fights, you have to be stealth and patient during the nights - till you gain enough skills to level up and get stronger to fight enemies down. You'll raise up faster when you're playing at difficulty hard (don't start with difficulty nightmare), but if you feel that you're dying to often, change the difficulty to easy or normal. To have fun by playing this game, I'll let you know you some important things.

Actually there is nothing much to say about the prologue. Just follow the script.

Note: Killing enemies before you've learned your first skills will give you no combat XP - so don't waste your weapons and your time.

After you finished the prologue you can start into the game and explore the map. Be aware: you have less health and stamina and also weak weapons and gear. So your first goal should be to raise up your skills (by running, fighting and doing quests) and your health and stamina (by collecting Inhibitors). I would recommend to focus a little bit more on the stamina because you will need it for climbing (when you try to escape or want to activate the windmills) and fighting. Here is a good guide to find them.


Because of to less Inhbitors in the first run you have to decide during the game if you want to max out your stamina or your health to get the achiement "Ironheart" or "Fit as a fiddle". With a total of 126 Inhibitors there are only enough to reach the highest lvl 26 for one, while the other remains on 16. To get the rest of the inhibitors you have to play a NG+ (New Game+) after finishing the main story.

Note: Going to sleep will refresh your health

Loot what you can get - people, chests and even trash cans. You'll need the money and the stuff to craft or repair weapons as well as to upgrade your blueprints. Not to forget the trophies from the virals and special infected. The first you can get, is by looting the killed Virals in front of Cillians home directly after the kill - otherwise a cutscene beginns and you'll loose them.

Getting more stamina and health by using inhabitors, will also raise up your immunity. Running out of it - because you're playing at night or in dark areas - will kill you. So keep an eye of this. As you've even in the beginning less immunity and no immunity-booster, watch out for the blue mushrooms and collect them. Using the mushrooms (on PC press "H") will give you a little bit of the immunity back.

Sometime you see the yellow direction marker, but you have no idea how to proceed. Just look for yellow painted planks or yellow rags to climb up.

After you've finished the prologue you'll also have the first time access to your stash and the blueprints. Owning none BP from buying the ultimate edition or some DLC from the gamestore, you can unlock your first BPs by doing some sidequests in the bazaar. For the quest "Cheers" you'll get the BP for the "Plumbers Hammer" and by doing "The Ball is in Your Court" the BP for the "Engine Bludgeo". To craft, and upgrade weapons visit a craftmaster (marked by crossed tools).

There are two sorts of weapons in the game. One has a square at the left down side with a number (similar to the level of the district you're just staying when you get it), the other has a sign at that place. As weapons with the number will keep the hight of damage, the damage of the one with the sign will raise up with your level. So the same weapon you're crafting at Level 1 will make more and more damage till you reach the highest level 9.

So while a onehanded (1h) level 1 weapon makes around 17 damage, a level 9 can do with maxed out mods around 700+ damage. To craft, repair and upgrade weapons and mods visit a craftmaster (marked by crossed tools).

Note: Each weapon will loose it durability with every hit. Depending from the weapon it's sometimes cheaper to craft a new one, then to repair it

Along the bows, you'll get during playing the main story, you also have access to crossbows. The damage of all will raise up with your level. Beginning with a damage of around 30 (level 1) it will be up to 1154 at level 9.

From the left with a max level-9-damage:

The Crossbow from Shen Xiu: damage 1154, you need access to the central loop and do some bounties for her before you can buy it there. In the Magazine are 6 bolts but as you'll get no BP (blueprint) to craft them, you have to buy them too or complete Xiu's regular misssion. The bolts can also stun special infected.

The PK-Crossbow: damage 954, you have to give 4 facilities to the PKs during the game. In the Magazine are 4 bolts and you'll get BPs to craft mutiple sorts of them

The First Pilgrim Crossbow: damage 954, You can buy it earlier in the game in the Outpost-Armory for 60 Tokens. In the Magazine are 3 bolts which can explode. You'll also get a BP to craft them.

Hakon's Crossbow: damage 945, you can buy it earlier in the game with the "Hakon Bundle" from the ingame store for 600 DLs. In the Magazine are 4 bolts, like in the one of the PKs, but it has a higher fire-rate. You'll also get a BP for normal and fire bolts.

Learn to parry, to dodge and (when you have the skill) the dropkick. And if you're fighting against more than one enemy keep on moving. Don't let them get behind you.

When they notice you, their call will alert Virals and when you've bad luck also Viral Spitters. For more informations about special infected have a look at my other guide.
https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3030745696

Exploring the map yoü'll get some blue square markers with black scratches on it. Ignore them till you have access to the central loop and Shen Xiu's camp (in the south/west of the central loop map) to unlock her bounties. Fighting the enemies down and collect the "Mutation Samples" will not level you up. And by the way - starting in the game (on hard) you're not even able to defeat up to 5 Renegades and a Hag at the same time.

Fear the Nights! Playing at night is completly different to the daytime. Now Volatiles are roaming around - on the streets and roofs. When they notice you (the white square is getting red) they will alert other Volatiles and Virals which will start to chase you.

As one Volatile can kill you with only one or two hits, try to avoid them. In a fight you'll have no chance. So the first thing you have to do during the daytime is to activate the Windmills in Trinity (one is in the east of your starting piont and one in the south of the bazaar) and Quarry End (in the south of the metrostation - that is also part of the main story). So you'll unlock the faction structures with their safe zones. Also activate every Nightrunners-Hideout you can find. They are safe zones too and marked on the map as little houses.
After doing this, you have to plan your route from one safe point to the other. Do not run across the map during the nighttime. Sneak and hide when a Volatile is near. Switch off the flashlight when he notice you and hide in the grass. When his square beginns to turn red try to run to the next safe zone. But be aware: Volatiles are a lot faster than Virals. So don't look back and keep running.

In the beginning of the game it's the only chance to survive and doing some Night-Quests.

You can also unlock Windmills in the nearby areas, but the faction structures will only appear after the powerstations/watertowers in this districts are activated. Till that, the windmills are ony safe zones for you.

Actviate safe zones are also important if you're dying or jut quitt the game. in both cases you'll respawn or start in the nearest safe zone.

If you're playing on difficulty hard, you'll get less money by selling your stuff to a vendor (marked by a bag). Just switch right before in the options to easy and you'll get a lot more.

This is a missable thing. When you don't talk to this guy from the Carriers-Guilde, you'll miss also more then one sidequest and collectible. After talking to Aitor the first time, you'll find him next to the exit door of the metro station.

By raising up your skills and your character level, your stamina and health, you're ready now to strike back. And after reaching Character Rank 9, you're starting in the leveling system of the Legend Levels (LL).

How? Have a look in my other guide:

https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2994543199

As you can get also LP's to level up by doing some of the daily/weekly quests and bounties, just have a look at: https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3030745696 part two:
https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3031829467 and three:
https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3045159095

I'll update this guide permanetly when I get new informations. So stay tuned

Good night, good luck.....




















.... and stay human