As many players have discovered, The Last Of Us Part 2 can be stressful on any difficulty. The most challenging is Survivor difficulty, which makes enemies more aggressive and harder to kill. Whether players have played the game beforehand on a lower difficulty, Survivor mode can still push anyone to their limit.

Sometimes, a game is only as hard as anyone makes it, though. Such is the case with The Last Of Us Part 2. For those who are ready to take on this journey in the hardest way possible (until Grounded mode eventually comes out), here are a few tips to make things a little easier.

Updated on December 7th, 2022 by Jordan Iacobucci:

The Last of Us is only weeks away from its live-action adaptation premiering on HBO Max, with Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey in the main roles. As fans eagerly anticipate the return of this beloved zombie-infested franchise, many are flocking back to the original two games to re-experience their emotional stories. However, for players looking to play through the second game's notorious Survivor Mode, there are a few tips and tricks that they'll need to succeed.

Practice Normal Difficulty First

The Last of Us Part 2's Survivor difficulty will certainly test each player's mettle during its long and intense gameplay. Therefore, it would be wise for players seeking to this challenge to first play through the game on its normal difficulty settings before graduating to a more difficult game mode.

Not only would this strategy help players hone their skills and learn the ins and outs of the game's combat, but it also makes for a better overall experience. Playing on a normal difficulty lets the player experience the story beats of Ellie's pursuit of revenge first before becoming distracted by the near-impossible Survivor Mode.

Try Survivor+ Mode

Survivor Mode is incredibly difficult in The Last of Us Part 2 in part because it is much harder to find supplies, ammunition, and weaponry. An alternate game mode, Survivor +, alleviates some of the challenge by allowing the player to carry over the supplies they gathered in the early portions of the game to the levels after reaching Seattle.

Survivor+ mode makes it less stressful to gather supplies and maintain character upgrades, but does offer much more difficult combat in turn. Therefore, if a player struggles with maintaining their cache more than they do combat, this may be the best game mode for them.

Scavenge Everything You Can Find

While every player knows that scavenging is essential to completing both games in the franchise, this skill is all the more important in Survivor Mode. Players looking to make it to the end of this game mode must not allow a single scavenging opportunity to go by, but should rather wipe each location clean before moving on.

It can be easy for players who have completed the game on normal difficulty to by certain scavenging opportunities, having become used to reaching the maximum capacity of what Ellie can carry. However, this will almost never be the case in Survivor Mode, as resources are much more scarce and players certainly won't want to miss the valuable items each location might offer.

Activate Enhanced Listen Mode In The Accessibility Menu

Given Survivor Mode's limited resources, players need to scour every inch of the game. One way to help make this experience easier is by activating Enhanced Listen Mode in the Accessibility options, which highlights things that Ellie can grab.

While scavenging will still be a somewhat boring chore, Enhanced Listen Mode will at least make the process somewhat quicker and will allow players to find the items they need to progress further in the game.

Save Supplements For The Stealth Training Manual

Stealth is key to this Survivor difficulty. Luckily, the second Training Manual players find in the early hours of the game is all about stealth. Up until that point, players should have a decent amount of Supplements, which they should dedicate to building up their stealth.

All the Stealth Skills are extremely useful to make Ellie as quiet and deadly as possible. Players can craft silencers, or upgrade Ellie's abilities for faster, stealthier kills. The Stealth Training Manual is found during the Capitol Hill Chapter in a gas station, shortly after players first encounter the WLF.

Don't Be Afraid To Kill The Dogs

The Last of Us prides itself on its many difficult enemies seeking to kill the player. This time around, certain enemies use dogs to sniff out their quarry. While some players may find themselves unable to kill the dog enemies in The Last of Us Part 2, it is necessary to keep an edge in a stealth combat scenario.

As lovable as dogs can be, those depicted in this game make it quite difficult to remain hidden when pursued by enemies, which quickly becomes a problem in Survivor Mode. Picking off the scouting canines one by one helps to ensure that the enemy doesn't find the player and initiate a hand-to-hand throwdown.

Be Prepared To Get Caught & Run Away Often

While stealth is crucial for Survivor mode, things can go wrong pretty often. One thing to prepare oneself for is getting caught, especially in this difficulty, where enemies are much more aggressive and react faster.

Luckily, players can get caught but can still find a way back to being hidden. This is going to happen a lot, so gamers should be ready to run away if things get too dicey. The Last Of Us Part 2's stealth is not the cleanest gameplay of its kind, and that's the point, making it easy to slip back into a stealthier combat mode.

Keep Moving As Much As Possible

Getting cornered can easily spell death for a player attempting to make it through Survivor Mode in The Last of Us. In order to keep such an occurrence from coming true, players must ensure that they are constantly moving, especially when attempting to stealthily dispatch their opponent.

Being still means death in The Last of Us universe, opening players up to discovery, either by the dead or the living. So long as there are safe places to keep moving to, players must make sure that they don't remain stagnant for too long, or else risk losing their stealthy approach.

Only Upgrade A Melee Weapon When It’s Close To Breaking

Melee weapons have durability, only allowing a certain number of uses before they break. Players shouldn't immediately craft an Upgrade when they get a melee weapon, however, as they would only be wasting extra hits that could have been used before.

Instead, players must wait until they have only one use left before upgrading a weapon. The Upgrade will bring it back to full durability, allowing future use. This gives players extra hits with each weapon and, though the early hits won't do quite as much damage, every weapon will last a bit longer.

Use Bricks Or Bottles To Stun & Grab

Even in a game that has flamethrowers, crossbows, and shotguns, the bricks and bottles are still the most overpowered weapons at a gamer's disposal. Just like all throwables, bricks and bottles automatically lock on to enemies. Hitting them will stun them, giving players a chance to strike.

When players charge a stunned enemy, they should not use a melee weapon. Instead, grabbing a stunned enemy and performing a stealth kill allows players to dispatch their opponent without consuming any precious ammo or hit points.