What Are Some Effective Strategies and Tips for Playing This War of Mine?
Effective play in This War of Mine involves smart scavenging, strategic trading, keen observation, and careful management of resources and characters to ensure survival.
This War of Mine is a challenging survival simulation where you guide a group of civilians through the hardships of a besieged city. Success isn't just about managing hunger and injury; it also requires making tough decisions and employing smart tactics based on the situation and the specific challenges you face. Drawing from common player experiences and tips, here are some effective strategies to help your group survive:
Smart Scavenging Techniques
Scavenging for supplies during the night is a critical part of the game. Knowing where to go and what to bring can make a significant difference.
- Always take a Crowbar to the Supermarket. Locations like the Supermarket can contain locked areas, doors, or containers that require tools to access valuable resources hidden within. Bringing a crowbar ensures you can potentially unlock these areas, increasing your haul.
Strategic Trading and Resource Management
Trading is often necessary to acquire resources you cannot scavenge or craft yourself. Knowing who to trade with and what items are valuable can save lives.
- Only Trade for Wood with Franko. Specific traders may offer better prices or be more reliable sources for certain resources. This tip suggests Franko is the most advantageous person to trade with when you need wood.
- Get Tools from Matey Quickly and Cheaply. Similarly, Matey is highlighted as a good source for tools. Acquiring essential tools like shovels, lockpicks, or crafting components early and affordably can accelerate your progress in fortifying the shelter and accessing new areas.
Awareness and Observation
Paying attention to details, both big and small, is vital for anticipating problems and seizing opportunities.
- Pay Attention to Special Events. The game features various events like trading caravans visiting the shelter, outbreaks of crime, or severe weather changes. Recognizing and reacting appropriately to these events can provide necessary supplies, alter scavenging opportunities, or require immediate defensive actions.
- Pay Attention to Little Things. This could refer to subtle cues about characters' moods, environmental details in scavenging locations indicating potential threats or hidden items, or noticing trends in resource depletion.
- Keep Track of Things. Effective survival requires meticulous management of your shelter and survivors. This includes:
- Monitoring inventory levels of food, water, medicine, fuel, and materials.
- Tracking the status of your survivors (hunger, sickness, injury, sadness, and morale).
- Planning shelter upgrades and necessary repairs.
- Being aware of the time cycle and impending threats like winter or increased bandit activity.
Building and Shelter Improvement
Improving your shelter offers better protection, crafting capabilities, and comfort for your survivors.
- Advanced Building. Beyond basic crafting stations and furniture, there are likely more complex or costly building options available later in the game. Focusing on these advanced constructions can provide significant long-term benefits, such as enhanced defenses against raids, more efficient resource processing, or amenities that improve morale.
Difficult Decisions and Morality
Survival often forces difficult choices, and these can have lasting impacts on your group's well-being.
- Never Kill Trader At Specific Locations If They Beg For Mercy. The game incorporates a morality system. Engaging in acts of violence against non-threatening or defenseless individuals, such as killing a trader who is surrendering, can severely damage the morale of your survivors, potentially leading to depression, conflict within the group, or even suicide. Sometimes, walking away is the strategically (and morally) better option.
These strategies provide valuable insights into navigating the harsh world of This War of Mine, focusing on optimizing resource gathering, making smart trades, staying aware of game events and details, managing your shelter effectively, and considering the moral weight of your actions.
