Best Weapons in The Forest and How to Get

In the dangerous wild of The Forest, survival is going to depend on your ability to protect yourself from the dangers all around. This guide goes into detail with the best weapons available, showing their strengths and weaknesses as well as how to obtain them. Whether you enjoy melee attacks that come in swiftly, the precision of ranged attacks, or the explosive force of explosives, knowing the best weapons and how to get them will keep you alive in this harsh world.

Weapons Available in The Forest

Weapons have a dual purpose. First and foremost, they are necessary for self-defense against the various threats that inhabit the Peninsula. Many weapons also serve as valuable tools for resource gathering and hunting. For example, axes help chop down trees for logs, spears help when fishing, and crafted or modern bows are effective hunting tools, and the Flare Gun is a last-resort light source. Most weapons can be upgraded, either permanently to boost their damage or attack speed, or temporarily to make them have fire or poison effects.

Best Melee Weapons

Melee combat involves close-quarters combat using weapons like swords, axes, and clubs. ¹ This style of combat offers several advantages, including the ability to quickly dispatch enemies in close proximity, high damage output, and the potential for crowd control.

Modern Axe

It is the best tool for felling trees and is made of a heavy carbon steel head with a fiberglass shaft. As a weapon, it has a five-bar punch. It swings slightly slower than the Plane Axe, but it knocks down cannibals more often than the Plane Axe does. With a solid nine bars of block, comparable to the Crafted Axe and Crafted Club, it provides excellent protection against most attacks.

The Modern Axe consumes 7.9 stamina points per swing and 23 points for a powerful strike. Upgrades can even make it more damaging than the Katana by a wide margin. Overall, the Modern Axe is considered the most powerful weapon in the game, offering a potent combination of power, durability, and utility.

1. Locate Hanging Cave (Cave 2):

• Access: Enter the cave from the western entrance near the native camp by the lake in the southern part of the map.

2. Navigate the Cave:

• Initial Room: Proceed straight through the cave until you reach a room with two cannibals.
• Water Area: After defeating the cannibals, locate the area within the room that has water on the floor.
• Rope Descent: Follow the right wall and locate a chair on a rock. To the right of the chair, you’ll find a long rope. Descend the rope.

3. Retrieve the Modern Axe:

• Box Room: Continue straight ahead after descending the rope. You’ll enter a room filled with boxes.
• Locate the Axe: The Modern Axe is situated on top of some boxes at the back of the room.
• Additional Loot: This area also contains valuable items such as red paint, a paintbrush, soda cans, modern arrows, medicine, dynamite, ropes, flares, and an autopsy report.

Incendiary Spear

The Incendiary Spear is a special type of Upgraded Spear that can be crafted. It has a unique ability: you can throw it like a projectile, and on impact, it will explode in a burst of flames, dealing fire damage to enemies. Unlike a Molotov Cocktail, you don’t need to light the Incendiary Spear with a lighter before throwing it. Even after being thrown and exploding, the spear itself isn’t destroyed. You can usually recover it from the ground after the explosion. And of course, since it’s still an Upgraded Spear, you can use it normally for melee attacks in close combat. The incendiary spear can be crafted by using upgraded spear, cloth, and booze. 

Best Ranged Weapons

Ranged combat involves attacking enemies from a distance using weapons like bows, guns, and thrown projectiles.  This style of combat offers several advantages, including the ability to engage enemies from a safe distance, reduce the risk of close-quarters encounters, and effectively target multiple enemies simultaneously.

Modern Bow

The Modern Bow is the greatest bow in existence, offering superior power, speed, and accuracy compared to other models. In addition, it can make a wide variety of arrow types, such as incendiary and poisonous ones. The player will be well ahead of the competition with stealth combined with incendiary arrows in almost any combat situation. Easy availability of sticks and feathers means that arrows can be created in ample quantities. Wielding this weapon, along with a full quiver, coupled with a good vantage point, allows the player to rapidly defeat most opponents in the game.

Ensure you have the Rebreather equipped before venturing out to find the Modern Bow.

1. Prepare for your Expedition:

• Gear Up: Bring a Climbing Axe and a Rebreather for the challenging terrain.
• Anticipate Danger: Be prepared to encounter mutants and cannibals within the cave.

2. Locate Cave 7 (Chasm Cave):

• Access: Cross the land bridge leading north into the mountains to reach the cave entrance.

3. Navigate the Cave:

• Initial Descent: Enter the cave and proceed straight until you reach a large chamber with a waterfall.
• Lower Levels: Jump down to the lower level and follow the path to the left.
• Rope Descent: Continue descending using the yellow ropes as guides.
• Open Cavern: You’ll eventually arrive in a wide-open cavern with water and mutant inhabitants.

4. Underwater Journey:

• Dive In: Head towards the body of water on the right and equip your Rebreather.
• Underwater Tunnel: Dive and swim straight through the underwater tunnel.
• Surface: Look for an opening in the ceiling and swim towards it.

5. Retrieve the Modern Bow:

• Campsite Remains: Climb out of the water and locate the remains of a campsite nearby.
• Locate the Bow: The Modern Bow will be resting on top of a crate within a stack of crates near the campsite.

Crossbow

The crossbow is a powerful, non-craftable ranged weapon known for its accuracy and high damage output. It typically takes two body shots or a single headshot to eliminate cannibals. The crossbow relies on specialized bolts as ammunition. You can find a limited supply of bolts within the same cave where you discover the crossbow. You might also find scattered bolts lodged in the side of a smashed ship on the island nearby or at the top of some cannibal tower in an otherwise small village next to a pond.

However, your bolt stock is limited to 10. Like real-world projectiles, crossbow bolts respond to gravity. This means that hitting targets in the distance requires adjusting slightly for the downward pull. It’s important to note that there’s a 33.34% chance of a bolt disappearing after being fired, making it difficult to recover and reuse them. The crossbow is a powerful, non-craftable ranged weapon that deals significant damage. It typically requires two shots to the body or a single headshot to eliminate cannibals.

The crossbow uses special non-craftable bolts as ammunition. You can find some bolts in the same cave where you discover the crossbow. Additionally, you might find it lodged in the side of a wrecked ship on a nearby island or at the top of a cannibal tower in a small village. Keep in mind that you can only carry a maximum of 10 bolts at a time. The crossbow can be found in the Shipwreck Cave. Look for it underneath the Ship Drawing, right next to the first schematic you’ll encounter.

Best Explosives

Explosives, while limited in availability, play a crucial role in certain situations. Common types include grenades, dynamite, and landmines. These can be used to clear obstacles, damage structures, and inflict significant damage to groups of enemies. However, their use requires careful consideration due to the potential for self-inflicted harm and environmental impact.

Molotov Cocktails

The Molotov Cocktail is a flammable weapon that requires a lighter to ignite. Once lit, you can throw it at your target.

• Impact on Objects: When thrown at a solid surface, it explodes and creates a small area of fire for a brief period.
• Impact on Enemies: If thrown at an enemy or animal, it inflicts burning damage.
• Impact on Flora: It can ignite bushes, small trees, and even larger trees. Burned flora turn to ashes, rendering them useless for gathering sticks or logs.

Molotov Cocktails are effective against a wide range of enemies, including mutants and hostile wildlife. The Moltov can be crafted by using cloth and booze. 

Dynamite

Dynamite is a powerful explosive that requires a lighter to ignite. Similar to bombs, it can be used to destroy a variety of objects.

As a Weapon: Dynamite is highly effective against enemies, including cannibals and mutants. It can also be used to destroy rock walls blocking passages in caves and to open secret caches containing valuable items like Flintlock Pistol parts.

Gathering Resources: Throwing Dynamite near trees will cause them to collapse, yielding a large amount of logs. This method is particularly effective for gathering wood quickly, especially when multiple trees are close together.

Limitations:

• Players can only carry a maximum of 5 Dynamite sticks in their inventory.
• Thrown Dynamite tends to roll unpredictably, making it difficult to hit precise targets. It’s often more effective to simply drop the lit Dynamite at the desired location.
• Dynamite can cause significant damage to player-built structures, so it must be used with caution around your base.
• The lit fuse burns for 3 seconds before the Dynamite explodes. However, the fuse will continue to burn indefinitely while the Dynamite is held in the player’s hand.

Overall, Dynamite is a potent tool with both offensive and resource-gathering capabilities, but it requires careful handling to avoid unintended consequences.

Dynamite sticks are commonly found in caves. You can also find them in some cannibal villages on the surface world. They can be found individually or in Explosive Crates, which typically contain 3-5 sticks.

In the Hanging Cave (Cave 2), right next to the powerful Modern Axe, there’s always a large crate filled with a significant number of Dynamite sticks. Additionally, you’ll always find a crate containing Dynamite sticks in the main cannibal village.