Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us Part II is already a tense, gritty experience—but crank the difficulty up to Survivor or the soon-to-come Grounded mode, and it becomes a whole new beast. These top-tier challenge modes leave you little room for error, forcing you to adapt with ruthless efficiency. Here’s a breakdown of seven advanced strategies to help you stay alive, conserve resources, and make every move count.

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1. Stealth is Survival

Forget charging in like Rambo. On higher difficulties, the AI is deadly accurate and supplies are minimal. Stealth isn’t just an option—it’s a necessity.

• Take down enemies silently, ideally outdoors, to avoid drawing attention.
• Use bricks and bottles liberally—they’re not just for distractions. These tools can disorient foes, lure stalkers out, or open up glass barriers.
• Flashlights don’t alert infected, but do affect humans and dogs. Use discretion.
• Crouch everywhere in hostile zones—clickers are the only enemy that might hear you crouch-running.
• Headshots with suppressed weapons or arrows maximize silence and conserve ammo. Plus, headshot arrows are recoverable.
• Clickers can be approached head-on unless they scream. That sonar burst will give you away.

If stealth fails, don’t hesitate to restart the encounter. It’s better to replay with a better plan than lose critical supplies.

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2. Engage and Evade

If a stealth approach falls apart, that doesn’t mean you go full guns-blazing. Instead, switch to “engage and evade.”

• Take one or two shots from a distance (ideally from prone), then relocate immediately.
• Use scoped rifles for surgical strikes, then crawl to another position while enemies search for the shot’s origin.
• Lay trap mines or throw distractions to cover your movement.
• Lure dogs and handlers to preset traps if they catch your scent.

This hit-and-run tactic keeps you in control, confuses enemies, and saves ammo.

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3. Bricks and Bottles: Advanced Use

These humble tools are shockingly versatile:

• Lure stalkers out—they often don’t appear in Listen Mode, but will respond to noise.
• Guide enemies into trap zones with well-placed tosses.
• Break glass windows, vending machines, and cabinets to access supplies and loot.

Just make sure the coast is clear—these make noise. Use Listen Mode to verify enemy positions first.

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4. Scavenge Like a Madman

At higher difficulties, resources are scarce. Every bullet, crafting part, and scrap counts.

• Check every room, truck, and cabinet—yes, every single one.
• Use Enhanced Listen Mode from the Accessibility menu to pulse-scan for supplies.
• Collect Training Manuals—they unlock skill trees that grant essential upgrades.

Remember, gathering parts and supplements is how you gain access to stronger gear and better survival skills.

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5. Craft With Purpose

Once you’ve scouted enough materials, smart crafting becomes vital. Focus on:

• Reinforced Melee Weapons – Found in downtown Seattle by the fire truck, this upgrade makes your close-range fallback devastating.
• Silencer Crafting – Unlocked in Capitol Hill’s coffee shop, crucial for stealth kills.
• Trap Mines & Stun Bombs – Also found early. Use them to secure areas or punish followers.

Pro tip: Don’t reinforce melee weapons until they have only one durability bar left—maximize their life.

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6. Prioritize Skills and Weapon Upgrades

With limited supplements and weapon parts, you won’t max everything in one playthrough. That’s fine—focus on what helps most:

• Avoid early skills like Faster Crafting—save your supplements for better ones unlocked through Training Manuals.
• Key skills: More Health, Lethal Blow Survival, and any stealth-enhancing abilities.
• Focus weapon parts on:
  • Pistol Power (especially when silencer is unlocked)
  • Bow upgrades (especially the 4x scope for long-distance takedowns)

Think long-term. Don’t waste parts or supplements on gear you rarely use.

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7. Smash Everything (When It’s Safe)

Don’t underestimate glass.

• Vending machines often contain health
• Glass cabinets and windows hide ammo, collectibles, and parts

Don’t waste bricks—just melee nearby glass when it’s safe. Clear the area or use Listen Mode to make sure it’s quiet before smashing.

Also: use natural health pickups before burning a medkit—save your crafted healing for when you really need it mid-fight.

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Bonus: Prep for Permadeath

With Permadeath mode coming in update 1.08, all of the above strategies become even more critical. Planning ahead, saving supplies, avoiding unnecessary fights—all of this becomes mandatory for survival.

Apply these techniques not just for bragging rights, but for mastering the systems The Last of Us Part II challenges you with. You won’t just survive—you’ll dominate.

See you in the ruins, survivor.