The Last of Us Part 2 - The Forest: All items and how to explore all areas explained

The Forest follows on from The Last of Us Part 2's Winter Visit flashback.

This sees Abby team up with a new set of characters as their evade infected and Scars to find safety.

On this page:

• Fighting off infected in The Forest
• How to win the Hammer scar fight in The Forest
• How to survive the building infected encounter in The Forest

Looking for help in other areas of the game? See our The Last of Us 2 walkthrough and collectables hub.

Fighting off infected in The Forest

After the cutscene, you have to fight off waves of infected. This will put your dodge (L1) and melee (Square) skills to the test.

These infected require as much dodging as meleeing, so strike once, back off, and let them lunge at you to dodge and repeat the process.

Once clear, follow the pair into the forest.

Once ambushed again, you'll have another wave. There is a finite amount of them, and if you're struggling, there's a brick on the car you can use to get the jump on one assailant.

Continue going until you drop down. There are health packs here to grab, followed by a fence to interact with.

How to win the Hammer scar fight in The Forest

After another cutscene, you'll be one-on-one with a hammer-yielding Scar. This is the toughest melee battle of the game so far, and will take many strikes to go down.

The thing to remember is when they swing, it's rarely the once - usually they attempt go for two or three strikes. Wait until at least two swings - pressing dodge and holding back each time - before going in for a punch, then back away again.

Be patient and chip away at their health. They can also perform a grab, which isn't the end of the world - you'll be pushed to the ground and have a chance to dodge out of the way of an incoming blow.

Keep cool, dodge more than you strike, and the battle will soon be over.

Once done, you get your equipment back. Feel free to grab the Scar's hammer if you need it.

Open the door ahead to enter the Auto Shop.

There's a Workbench in the back left corner, and some supplies to grab elsewhere.

Go into the next room. On the kitchen table is the Failed Truce Artefact.

There is an office area next door, with the Bring Your Own Bullets Training Manual, adding the Firearms upgrade branch.

Go through the kitchen area to the store proper. There are various supplies here on the shelves and behind the counter. When ready, leave through the side to go back outside.

There are some steps here past a news van. Infected will come down as you progress up, before turning left into a building.

Go left as soon as you get in for supplies, then leap across the gap to get a melee weapon on the other side.

You're now forced to drop down, where there are infected. You should be able to surprise at least one with a stealth attack.

Once dealt with, explore the floor then go through the double doors when ready to progress. Abby will help Yara the pair up.

Looking for more help? Our The Last of Us Part 2 walkthrough provides pointers for the later chapters of the game, including Hostile Territory, The Shortcut, The Descent, Ground Zero, The Marina, The Island and The Escape. Meanwhile, we have a complete list of The Last of Us Part 2 Safe Code solutions.

How to survive the building infected encounter in The Forest

While you wait for the door to open, you have to face off waves of infected. After runners, you'll face two clickers, then have a pause before more clickers and, finally, shamblers arrive.

Most infected will gradually squeeze through the walls, giving you time to aim and fire before they come in. It's very easy to get overwhelmed here, so try and kill each infected quickly.

Save your shotgun rounds until the shamblers if you can, and when the first arrives, deal with it as soon as possible - otherwise you'll be up against two in a very confined space, and it'll be hard to survive their acid attacks.

As soon as you are called, run across and climb to escape.

Carrying Yara, now follow Lev until the cutscene and the end of the chapter.

Next is The Coast.

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