Far Cry 4’s fictional country of Kyrat resides deep within the Himalayas. It’s a mostly lawless land ruled by warlord Pagan Min, filled with a wide assortment of interesting characters, places to explore and a whole ton of loot to collect. You’ll spend countless hours sightseeing, stuffing your pockets and completing a variety of missions, some that push the story forward and others that yield rewards.
That aside, you’ll quickly run into people and things that can and will kill hero Ajay Ghale. Sometimes the threat is clearly visible, while other times you’ll step on a partially hidden crocodile. Accidents happen, and we’ll help you run damage control with these Far Cry 4 beginners tips, guaranteed to help you survive Kyrat a bit longer.
Liberate and unlock Radio Towers
Pagan Min broadcasts radio signals from these towers, which you’ll discover in hard to reach places; use the grapple hook on strategically placed grapple points. Reach the top and then disable communications. This will make the Radio Tower a semi safe zone that opens up a new portion of the map while also serving as a Fast Travel spot to nearby villages and other key destinations. We say semi safe because eagles can still attack Ajay.
While you’re up there, be on the lookout for extra ammo, health packs and loot chests. If you need to climb down, there’s bound to be at least two zip lines that make descending easier and quicker.
Save often
Death may come when you least expect it. With that in mind, don’t go too long without saving your progress, which you can do as many times as you’d like. We’d hate to see your efforts go to waste. Unfortunately, you cannot save while a mission is in progress.
When you see this guy, stop and talk to him
You’ll occasionally run into the trader near the road, and this man’s a saint. He lets you sell items, unlock weapons and stock up on ammo away from villages, which contain shops. Basically, it’s the perfect opportunity to unload your junk. Don’t worry. He’ll take everything. This leads us to our next survival tip.
Always sell useless items
Despite your own personal desires, you have little use for a tiger statue, condom and maxi pad in Far Cry 4. You’ll quickly amass a collection of silly things, and the game will advise you on what to sell and what to keep for crafting. Ajay can’t carry much at first, which makes selling important so you can grab things that matter.
Treat carnivores with respect, and make smart decisions
Meat eaters don’t mess around in Far Cry 4 and will slaughter Ajay out of pure instinct. Ask yourself, is it a smart idea to let a big cat out of its cage, or mess with a crocodile hanging out in shallow water? Probably not. That is, unless you’re able to do so without putting Ajay’s life at risk. If you can unleash the beast with enemies around, it’s an easy way to take out armed foes without firing a single round.
Just because you release an animal, though, doesn’t mean it will automatically kill all of the bad guys. In one instance, a summoned bear refused to eat the third guy and just wandered around.
Skin animals whenever possible (RIP sweet little monkey)
There are multiple reasons to send cute and cuddly animals to their graves. First, doing so eliminates a potential predator from the vicinity. Second, you can use pelts for crafting, upping the number of weapons, cash and items Ajay can carry. Third, you can use the flesh as bait to attract carnivores.
Equip the meat and then toss it in the desired direction, then watch a bear or some other creature appear. Sit back and let the animal terrorize enemies.
As a rule, try to kill animals using a knife, arrows or bolts. Clean kills yield more skin for crafting.
Crouch to avoid detection, and throw rocks
Here’s more good news: Ajay has an unlimited number of rocks to hurl in whatever direction you please. Throw these suckers to divert a soldier’s attention away from an area, then make your escape.
Similar to other stealth games, crouching makes you less visible. Sometimes it’s best to avoid a fight.
Look at the map
The game’s much easier when you access the map and plot a course using a waypoint. Ajay’s map contains all sorts of useful informaton, including village and vehicle locations, hidden Masks of Yalung you bought the corresponding map, Bell Towers, hunting challenges and loot chests. Stumbling upon something is a lot of fun and we relish that wonderful sense of discovery, but it’s OK to have a peak every once and a while.
These are the good guys
The Golden Path soldiers wear blue and yellow, while Pagan Min’s forces come in red. This lets you easily distinguish between the two unless you’re color blind. That’s a whole other matter. At least on the positive side, friends won’t shoot you.
They will, however, fire blindly into the sky when they’re happy
Stay off the road on foot
Ideally, you want to be far enough away from the road to avoid enemy patrols, but not too deep in the forest to attract a meat eater’s attention. This changes when inside a vehicle, where the road is the easiest way to get around outside of hang gliding or puttering around in a copter.
Use boats instead of swimming
Ajay is an expert swimmer, but you don’t want to be in the water for too long. Otherwise something will eat him. Take a boat instead and make periodic dives to uncover loot chests and other collectibles.
While in the water, swim faster by clickin the left stick while tilting in a direction. Not only will it help avoid predators, it will also decrease the odds Ajay drowning.
Pull out the camera
The camera lets you inspect areas before charging in, and you also have the chance to “paint” targets, including enemies and animals. The resulting red icons will remain visible even behind rocks and other hard surfaces. You literally need to know where threats are at all times.
To use the camera, press Up on the D-pad and use the triggers to zoom, then press Up again to put the camera away.
Pull off silent kills and hide the bodies
Sneak up behind someone and click the right stick to drive Ajay’s blade into the poor guy’s throat. Loot the body and hide it from view. It’s another way to thin enemy numbers without wasting ammo, plus it’s cool to watch.
Don’t make leaps of faith
Ajay will take extreme damage from a fall depending on the height. Unless you know he’ll survive the impact, take the slower and more methodical way down. It’s OK, we’ll wait.
Keep an eye out for collectibles
Resist the urge to quickly run through an area, and instead take the time to examine your surroundings. You’ll find loot chests of course, but also 150 Propaganda Posters scattered throughout Kyrat.
Finally, eagles are jerks
The only good eagle in Far Cry 4 is a dead one. These winged assassins will descend without warning and poke away at Ajay’s health. Stay out of range or blast them from the sky. Harvest the feathers and sell them to a trader.
Get the offical Far Cry 4 Guide . . .
- Achieve 100% Completion
- Find every collectible
- Win every race
- Bag every rare beast
- Escort every convoy (except the ones you blow to pieces)
- DO. EVERY. THING!
