Your main priority in This War of Mine is to survive as long as you can. In The Little Ones expansion, you have kids who can help you cope with hard times in a much better way. However, approaching this task still requires some preliminary knowledge.
This guide will give you basic tips on how to manage all the important aspects of the game that are necessary for survival; such as crafting, trading, scavenging, combat and other useful tricks.
You start playing the game by refining your shelter. You can find out everything about the proper shelter management in this guide to This War of Mine: The Little Ones. After you are all set and ready to move on with your game, follow these simple instructions.
Crafting tips and tricks
There are things that need to be crafted as soon as possible in the game – they are essential for the survival of your group.
- Craft some beds. The more characters you have in your shelter, the more beds you’ll need. They will allow your people to take a rest after a long day of working or a long night of guarding. Resting also helps healing wounds.
- A metal workshop is necessary for crafting important tools like crowbar, knife and some other weapons.
- Make a stove. Cooked food is much better for your people’s health than anything else. So, get a cooking stove and be sure to have Bruno, the game’s chef, in your rotation.
- A rainwater collector is another essential workshop you should build. Your need for water will grow every day, so as soon as you can make another one – go for it.
The following items are not particularly necessary for survival, but they can have a significant impact on your gameplay experience.
- If you have a child in your story, then be sure to make a few toys. They will keep them busy and happy.
- Craft a radio. This little thing will give you all the necessary information about the weather, military fights, raids, etc.
- A vegetable garden is a great addition to your nutritional needs. One such garden can provide enough raw food for at least four survivors.
- An alcohol distiller can be used for making medications that will cure your characters in the case of sicknesses.
Trading tips and tricks
You can always find traders by locating their position on the map. Also, a travelling trader named Franko will visit your shelter time from time. You need to know which things to buy from traders and which to scavenge.
- You should always trade for components, parts and wood.
- You can make great deals by buying bandages and medications at the Central Square and then selling them for a higher price at the Garage.
- Also, if you need tools, you can always trade for them at the Garage as well.
- Use Katia to bargain with soldiers, she always gets good deals.
- If you need weapons, use Franko and Viktor for trading, as they have the best rates for weapons.
- If you already have a radio at your shelter, you can catch the news about deals on the black market. There you can buy stuff like cigarettes, alcohol and coffee.
Scavenging tips and tricks
The rule of the thumb here is to never leave your shelter without valuable items that could be scavenged by the raiders at night. Then, you don’t have to worry about losing something important.
Now, if you go scavenging with your group, follow these simple steps:
- After you find a suitable location for scavenging, always plan to visit it multiple times. Usually, you will not have enough space in your inventory to be able to carry everything with you in one night.
- Before looting try, to clear as much debris as you can using your shovel and crowbar. In this way, you can obtain more resources.
- You can hide valuable items inside crates, come back for them next day and collect everything without wasting any time.
- If you have party members with high moral values (see our character guide for This War of Mine), then try not to steal any owned items (they will be indicated by the special icon in the game).
- Also, some traders will not buy stolen items from you and can even become hostile, so keep this in mind.
Combat tips and tricks
Some of you characters, such as Boris and Roman may be very good in combat due to their strength and agility. However, other group members may not be suited for combat, so choose your fighters carefully.
- In the case mentioned above, when you need to fight a hostile trader, try not to kill him, just fight until he begs for mercy – traders are still very valuable in this game.
- The most effective type of kill is a stealth kill, as you make the least amount of noise and waste less time in this way. The best characters for this type of kill are Marko and Roman.
- If you want to clear out a lot of enemies quickly and effectively, then look for the ladder, go up top, lure all the enemies to go after you and shoot them from the top.
Other tips and tricks
- Always pay attention to a child in your group and try to teach him or her some useful things — like crafting or water distilling.
- Some of your characters may have harmful addictions, such as coffee or cigarettes. It’s important to satisfy their addictions in time, or they may fall into depression and commit suicide, which you obviously don’t want to happen.
- Always prepare more food than needed and leave the rest for the next time – in this way your chef will spend fewer resources on cooking.
- Also, don’t touch canned food before the winter, when raw vegetables become hard to come by.
This is basically everything you need to know about the game. In time, you will understand many other smaller details that will make your gameplay more enjoyable. But that’s up for you to discover.
Tell us about your thoughts on This War of Mine: The Little Ones in the comments section below!
