Pacific Drive

• Story missions always put you into a "perpetual stability" zone, where the storm doesn't advance until you either open a gateway or activate the last/only stabilisier in the map. Loot accordingly.

• Maps come in different types, distinguished by the icon on the left side of the junction name. The map type determines which Tier 2 / 3 resources you can find, i.e. you can only find "Salamander Nests" in the mid zone, in a map of type "Marsh".

• Repair kits (Mechanics', Sealing, Electrical, Light Replacement) stack to 3; if possible, don't leave without a stack of 3

• Some anomalies can be led away from where you want to be if they're the kind that move

• Pay attention to the top left of the HUD periodically when walking about since you don't get warned about radiation otherwise normally

• Prioritize replacing broken tools over say building a new set of doors or you might not be able to scrap things for a while

• Pre-plan your exit when you enter an area in case you have to leave suddenly

• The game is legit dark at night and during storms or area anomalies, so be prepared to use some flares when out of the car, if you check wrecked cars frequently you'll have dozens of flares

• Don't leave your car running, it's headlights on, etc unless you need to since that drains gas and battery. It's slowish but can add up quick over longer outings

• Sometimes main missions can send you farther than you plan to go, so try to be extra prepared

• You can't save during a run, rest mode on PS5 can with but otherwise you kinda have to set some time aside from the longer trips

• You can use med kits while driving.

• To use the Transfer Trunk effectively hold it while accessing a container and it'll replace your backpack in the UI, which you can still switch to on that screen, so you can load it up directly which is much handier than what it initially seems to be.

• Yes, you can scrap a trunk panel to get inside rather than pry it open with the pry-bar, however this does in fact destroy some of the trunk's contents, so use the pry-bar first.

• You can change a huge amount of things in the setting, including "how many clicks it takes to install/swap stuff on your vehicle," "what do you lose on mission failure/death," and "does it pause the game when I bring up menus (default: no)"

• The "Tech tree" is pretty overwhelming initially but IMO the critical ones to shoot for early, other than more storage as needed are:
  • Impact Hammer
  • Outfiting Station
  • Matter Regenerator
  • Side Rack
  • Side Storage
  • Steel doors/panels/bumpers
  • Seat Rack
  • Auto-Shifter

• Trap options to avoid early:
  • Large fuel can - This does NOT replace/upgrade the small one in your trunk, it's a separate 2x3 inventory item.
  • Turbolight engine - You will be unable to get the parts until midgame.
  • Liberator - You're better off trying to find one in the field, unless you have the rare resource it requires to craft (5 ThermoSap Crystal)

• Once you unlock it don't forget about the outfitting station! It's more than just a medium backpack giver, each clothing item bought is permanent and passive.

• You can generally leave your car running when hopping out; gas is plentiful in the starting zones. Headlights will drain your battery so use your judgement on keeping that on; consider using your interior dome light if you need a visual beacon instead.

• Most Kits (electrical, mechanical, med, putty) stack to 3 in the same spot, so if you bring one you might as well craft and bring 3 with you instead. Food stacks to 10 and you can eat while driving with the hotkey (v by default).

• There are several garage items that respawn after every expedition including the car wreck outside that you can break down for basic materials.

• You probably want to deconstruct/remake your tools if they're below half, especially the impact hammer which is hard to craft in the field. If you don't have a scrapper, the dumpster will give you one for free, so before you go, grind the wreck, deconstruct your scrapper and talk to the dumpster get a free replacement!

• Even though the tutorial has you use putty to repair, the game actually expects you to re-craft and swap your parts into the repair device once you unlock it. Putty takes chemicals and is moderately valuable so avoid using it on panels and doors; save the putty for your more delicate components.

• If you find a early liberator in the wild, steal offroad tires and armored panels from trucks rather than grinding them for parts. It takes a moment but firing a single shot disconnects any item and offroad tires especially are helpful to have.

• Most items or consumables have an upgraded version, which tends to last longer and only takes up slightly more space but what they do isn't always signposted:
  • Repairing car part durability (including tyres): Repair Putty -> Blowtorch -> Olympium Blowtorch
  • Recharging battery: Battery charger -> Plasma Prod
  • Light Source: Road Flare -> Reignitable Road Flare -> Crude Flashlight/Bioflare -> Biolantern
  • Get resoures: Scrapper -> Plasma Scrapper, Hammer -> Magnet Hammer, Hand Vac -> Thermal Vac. Upgraded resource tools seem to also get better drops (i.e. the magnet hammer gets more plasma from generators)

• You can use the hand vac / thermal vac to suck up any drops, not just the ones its used to harvest. Useful to sweep the area (but beware of sucking up smaller Abnormalities!)