Summary
When night strikes in a survival horror game likeThe Forest, the player must face a multitude of threats. Not only do the mysterious forested peninsula’s cannibal inhabitants strike fiercer at night, but elements such as the cold can kill players if they don’t get nearLight Sourcessuch as Torches.
With almost all Light Sources requiring players to gather specific equipment, it can get challenging to create effective sources of light to aid in their survival. Thankfully, the right analysis of the game’s built-in survival guide can point players to a wide variety of Light Sources they can create from scratch. However, among these available Light Sources, some can outshine the rest in terms of practicality and availability.
Certain Cannibals Have Lights On Their Heads
Description
Certain cannibals wear headdresses that act as a Light Source.Burns until destroyed.
Materials
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When players fight cannibals inThe Forest, they might notice that this enemy can appear with different variants. While some of them can carry torches and other Light Sources, some unique cannibals actually wear headdresses with a Light Source such as a candle. This can be quite an unconventional Light Source for players, especially in squads that settraps against these cannibals.
Essentially, this Light Source will becomeDead Cannibals with Headlights. A player is assigned to carry a dead cannibal with a light for a headdress, illuminating the immediate area. The portability of the corpse won’t be a waste of time for players, as getting this to the base will still give players a decent source of Food courtesy of their limbs.
Light Source And Cannibal Deterrent When Used With The Flare Gun
A stick that releases flares when activated and can be thrown to burn an area. Can be combined with the Flare Gun.Burns for 60 Seconds when thrown and indefinitely when held.
When players explore more of the peninsula in theirThe Forestplaythrough, they might notice a briefcase containingFlares. These orange sticks work in the same way they do in real life, where activating them releases a bright spark and can be thrown to trigger a small cluster of sparks. Playerscan use the Flare as a Light Sourcein the game and even throw it toward enemies to scare them. While players can store up to 10 Flares at a time, a Flare Gun (found in the cockpit in the northeast of the peninsula) can store up to 10,000 Flares as ammunition.
Players are advised to store as many Flares as they can find in the game, which can be marked as Flares respawn in their locations when the game is saved and exited. Players are advised to hold a Flare they want to use as a Light Source, as a held Flare is lit indefinitely. In emergencies, they can throw the Flare toward enemies to scare them off, after which the light lasts for 60 Seconds.
Effective Navigation Source In The Cave
A traditional flashlight that requires batteries to work.Batteries will let the flashlight work for 10 Minutes.
Not everything inThe Forestgameplay involves building things from scratch, as functioning modern tech still exists. One such example is theFlashlight, among the brightest Light Sources in the game. Similar to itsSons of the Forestcounterpart, the Flashlight has a brighter light but only illuminates the direct front of the user and has various animations as its battery life gets lower. Flashlights run on Batteries, which can be found mostly underground or sometimes in suitcases aboveground. While players can only have one Flashlight at a time, spare Batteries are added to the inventory whenever they attempt to get another Flashlight.
The one setback of Flashlights is their 10-minute use time, after which the Battery is depleted. While extra Flashlights (ergo Batteries) do exist in Caves, their locations are fairly random and in sparse quantities. Flashlights are best used when traversing the Caves but not aboveground, where other more efficient Light Sources are accessible.
7Cannibal Club
Easily Acquired, Easily Lit
When players begin encountering various cannibals in theirThe Forestplaythrough, some of them might be recognized for carrying aCannibal Club. Players can acquire the Cannibal Club when killing these cannibals, gettinga rather disturbing weaponcomprised of a stick or a bone decorated with a snake, a skull, and even two hands. While players can create a Crafted Club with just a Stick and a Skull, it only deals 7 Damage compared to the Cannibal Club’s 7.5 Damage per swing.
When combined with a Cloth, the Cannibal Club can be lit on fire to become a Light Source. Doing so will ignite the Cannibal Club for 1 Minute and 50 Seconds. While this burning time is similar to most other blunt weapons in the game, the Cannibal Club (and its Crafted variant)’s accessibility and strength as a weapon make it a more practical choice for players who need a trusty Light Source in the survival horror title.
Fend Off Cannibals While Providing A Light Source
Grotesque combinations of limbs and sticks that seem to scare cannibals when lit on fire.Burns for 10 to 20 Minutes.
3 Rocks + 2 Sticks + X Limbs
Adding tothe survival horror appeal ofThe Forestwould be Effigies - essentially structures made out of rocks, sticks, and limbs of dead bodies. While at first seemingly serving as random decorations, an Effigy is also an effective cannibal deterrent as mutants seem horrified of Effigies when they are burnt. While their status as ordinary items means the Effigy breaks into its component pieces when fully burnt, certain Effigy types are more useful than the rest due to their practical usage.
Among Effigies, theCustom Effigyis the most practical to learn due to its simplicity. At its core, a Custom Effigy needs 3 Rocks and 2 Sticks for the basic structure. When created and lit on fire, a base Custom Effigy burns for 10 minutes. However, each limb (Bone, Arm, Head, Leg, Skull) added can increase its burning time by 65 seconds - up to 20 minutes. The most sustainable version of an effigy that still burns for 20 minutes is comprised of 10 Skulls or Bones.
Stationary Light Source That Does Not Need To Be Relit
A stationary stick with a skull for a top that has a candle on top.Burns indefinitely.
5 Saps + 3 Sticks +1 Skull
Environmental effects inThe Forestgameplay, such as rain, can make most Light Sources moot, especially since they are mostly made of fire. However, theSkull Lampis impervious to such hazards. When built, a Skull Lamp is a stationary Light Source that can serve as effective illumination around a base or even underground. Since the Skull Lamp is effectively inextinguishable, players have an infinite Light Source to rely on when navigating the game.
However, the Skull Lamp has some downsides, the most obvious of which is its stationary nature. Not being able to move the Skull Lamp means players need to position it carefully to maximize illumination in a location, such asa room with storage items. Additionally, Skull Lamps can’t be used to cook food, unlike typical Fires. Lastly, placing too many Skull Lamps in a given area can affect the game’s overall performance.
Light Source For Cooking And Warmth
A sturdier version of the Basic Fire, this time with better longevity.Burns until extinguished with water, destroyed.
7 Leaves + 7 Rocks + 4 Sticks
When it comes to basic Light Sources inThe Forestbase-building gameplay, players will likely get used to making a Basic Fire. It only needs 7 Leaves and 2 Sticks, but it has a lot of benefits: it provides light and warmth, and it can cook food and boil polluted water. However, theFire Pitis a more sustainable option if players want their base to have a more reliable Light Source for their playthrough.
Granted, the Fire Pit’s 7 Leaves, 7 Rocks, and 4 Sticks cost can seem too much compared to having the same effect as the more affordable Basic Fire. However, the Fire Pit is perhaps the most useful among the Fire category of items due to its position as a jack of all trades. For instance, the sturdier Bonfire does provide brighter flames, and the Standing Fire can create fire arrows, but neither can cook food. Meanwhile, the Basic Fire does cook food, but its fragile nature means players have to remake it repeatedly compared to the more durable Fire Pit.
Sole Purpose Of An Upgraded Stick
A sturdier Stick that can be combined with a Cloth to become flammable. Burns for4 Minutes.
1 Stick + 1 Stick + 1 Cloth
Sticks are among the easiest items to obtain in a player’sThe Forestplaythrough, which makes the Upgraded Stick among the first new Weapons for players to craft. However, while the Upgraded Stick underperforms in terms of overall damage, its best use is when it’s transformed into theTorchby combining two Sticks and a Cloth. The process creates an Upgraded Stick that is essentially flammable, allowing players to make a makeshift torch using a lighter. In combat, the torch swings fast and can be used for defense and setting enemies on fire. As a Light Source, the Torch can burn for as long as 4 minutes.
Basic Fire Upgrade With An Indestructible Weapon
A Weapon and Tool that players can acquire before leaving the crash site.Burns for 50 Seconds.
Plane Axe + 1 Cloth
Similar to the Lighter, players can obtain the Plane Axe before leaving the crashed plane in theirThe Forestplaythrough. The Plane Axe will serve asthe player’s basic Weapon and Tool of choice, allowing them to kill cannibals, hunt animals, and cut various items such as trees.
While the game does allow weapons to light up almost any kind of weapon, thePlane Axe with Clothis likely the most practical application of the concept. The indestructible nature of the Plane Axe, combined with the frequency of the Cloth’s appearance, can make this weapon rather sustainable. When lit, the Plane Axe burns for 50 Seconds.
A hand-carried Lighter immediately available as a Tool
When players start aThe Forestplaythrough, their character will always come equipped with aLighter. This is both a Tool and a Light Source, allowing playersto light the immediate surroundings- be it underground or by night. Its nature as a fire source allows players to set fire to various things, such as Fires and even Effigies.
Unlike other Light Sources, the Lighter is perhaps the most useful due to its indestructible and infinite nature. While the fire it creates can be doused by water, the Lighter can constantly recreate the same fire to restart Fires, light up Weapons, and create light with objects generally unable to do so on their own.
