Metro Exodus: Tips & tricks for fights, sneaking & more

Our beginner's guide to Metro Exodus tells you:

  • How the shooter is structured
  • How you can best proceed
  • Why fighting is not the best choice
  • How to start the DLCs & how long they last

Metro Exodus breaks new ground six years after the second installment in the series. It goes out of the subway shafts of Moscow to the not so polluted surface of the earth. If you only understand the game now, you should stay tuned.

But even those familiar with the series will be treated to an unusual adventure. The new location also means more space. Our tips for a successful start to the game tell you how best to behave.

Metro Exodus: What is it all about?

in 2036, three years after the first part of the series, the story of Metro Exodus begins. In the post-apocalyptic world, people in Moscow live in the shafts of the subway. Outside, it is impossible to live because of radioactive radiation - moreover, numerous animals have mutated into real monsters over the years.

At the beginning of the shooter, protagonist Artyom realizes that they are not alone and there must be life outside Moscow. Together with his friends and his wife, he travels east on the train called Aurora. In the Ural Mountains, the leaders of the people are to create a new world.

How does Metro Exodus play?

In the first two chapters, fans of the series hardly have to get used to anything. You follow the story line and explore the tunnels of the Russian metropolis Moscow. As soon as you stop with the Aurora for the first time, however, this changes abruptly.

Everything you see here you can explore freely - if you don't die first.

The actual levels are open and invite you to explore. You'll always see your main objective marked on your clipboard map. However, you can also visit numerous side locations and even complete side quests for which you'll receive resources or similar. How you proceed is also your choice: quietly and slowly, or quickly and loudly.

Go for stealth!

Although you have a free choice in how to proceed, you should stalk through the levels quietly, and for two good reasons. First, ammunition is scarce. A gunfight also means quickly running out of cartridges, and that can end badly. On the other hand, if you sneak up on human enemies, you can take them out without firing a shot.

It's true that this method is much more time-consuming than shooting, after all, no one is allowed to catch you in the process. But it guarantees good health and saves a lot of precious bullets. By the way: You can even eliminate human mutants this way.

Secondly, you can sneak around and leave whole troops of enemies to your left. You don't always have to take out the enemies - if you're quiet, you'll have no problems avoiding combat in the open levels.

How to sneak properly

When you're quietly fighting your way through the enemy ranks, there are a few things to keep in mind. For one thing, throwing knives your best friend. The projectiles kill quietly and you can collect them again after throwing them - even if you miss once.

You will often find corpses. Search them - you will need every resource you find.

Watch out for light sources when sneaking. Turn off campfires, candles and lamps as soon as possible. There is also a light on your wrist that will let you know if enemies can see you.

Saying opponents: They are not necessarily the brightest. Especially at night, you can easily avoid them by simply dodging the cone of vision of the headlamp. But be careful: Sometimes the enemies will see you anyway. In addition, simply pay attention to a musical

Explore and collect as much as you can

No matter if you sneak or shoot: You should not just follow the main objectives. Because especially if you like to pull the trigger of your shooting pistol more often, you need a lot of resources. With them you can produce new bullets and other weapons and medipacks at workbenches.

Especially the latter are very important and should always be filled - a mutant can appear out of the sky and drop you from a great height. Examine corpses, chests, collect mushrooms and junk wherever possible. You will always need it anyway. How exactly you craft and what you should pay attention to, we will tell you soon in another guide.

Inventory management and infested areas

Unlike many other modern first-person shooters - such as Battlefield 5, or Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 - you'll be carrying around quite a lot in Metro Exodus. Never forget that you'll have a backpack with you and that you'll be able to recreate medipacks and gas mask filters at any time outside of combat - provided you have the necessary resources.

You also need to make sure that your lamp always has enough power. Just hold down the light button and Artjom will bring out his generator. This is especially important indoors and at night.

Beds mean rest and thus full regeneration.

The gas mask also remains an integral part of the series. Instead of the entire surface of the earth, however, only small areas are contaminated every now and then. You can tell when you need the protection by the beeping of your watch and an overlay in the game. Take it off as soon as possible, because every second is precious and creating filters is expensive.

Metro Exodus: Save and recover as often as you can

You can save freely at any time by clicking in the menu - unless you are involved in a fight. Use this function as often as possible. This way you can quickly correct missteps while sneaking, or start a battle all over again.

At rest huts scattered throughout the levels, you can also use workbenches and rest in beds. This way you'll restore your health at no cost and you can also set the time of day. On the other hand, monsters that have already been defeated may reappear.

This is the best way to fight

Even if you travel quietly, there will always be gun battles. A certain tactic is especially useful against human opponents. Bandits, fanatics and the like are no match for your strong fists, even when you are alert. In concrete terms, this means that if you get close enough to them, you'll simply knock them out.

You can easily stop groups of four to five enemies - you just have to move back and forth quickly. Also, don't stand too far apart, because you can only take a few hits yourself before you die.

You should always try to eliminate human opponents quietly.

Against mutants it looks different. The beasts often attack in packs, and grenades and Molotov cocktails are the best way to deal area damage deal. Since they don't generate any loot, you should try to avoid them anyway. Only fight monsters when there is no other way.

Have as many different weapons with you as possible. For example, a shotgun for close combat, an assault rifle for medium distances and the air rifle known from Last Light for silent shots. We'll tell you more about this in a separate guide shortly.

Day and night in Metro Exodus

The dynamic time of day is not just a nice effect. It directly influences the gameplay. During the day, you'll encounter significantly fewer monsters, but you'll be an easy target for human enemies.

During the day, you'll encounter fewer monsters, but they'll still be extremely dangerous.

At night, on the other hand, it's easier to sneak around because you're almost invisible. On the other hand, there are many more animals roaming the areas. So you always have to think about how you want to proceed. Especially in the beginning you should go out during the day. The human enemies are much easier to take out than the monsters.

How do I start the DLCs?

You won't find the two expansions under "New Game", but you have to go directly to the chapter selection. At the top of the list, select the two DLCs directly and start playing.

You start the DLCs via the chapter selection - not via "New Game".

You should have already completed the main game, though, as "The Two Colones" picks up an alternate strand towards the end of the title and "Sam's Story" takes place after the credits.

How long do the DLCs last?

Depending on how you play, you can experience both expansions fairly quickly, or spend a bit more time with them. If you explore everything and look for all the collectibles in the Metro Exodus DLCs, you'll spend between two to three hours in The Two Colones and around six to seven hours in and Sam's Story.

Sam's Story: Watch out for red cloths!

The first DLC is quite straightforward and should not present you with any problems as a connoisseur of the main games. "Sam's Story", on the other hand, comes as a last big chapter. In other words, you'll again have a fairly large map that you can freely explore between objectives.

Always keep an eye out for the cloths - they always mean loot.

Therefore, all the tips from the main game apply to the second expansion. However, to make your life a little easier, we have a piece of advice for you: Always watch out for the red cloths on shores. You are always on the road with a motorboat and pass many buildings.

Many of them you can not even enter. However, as soon as you see a red piece of cloth, you can go ashore and grab loot or fight enemies.

Sam's Story: Focus on one weapon!

Artjom has sneaked and shot his way through six areas in the course of Metro Exodus. "Sam's Story" only comes up with one new level. Therefore, it is advisable to focus on one weapon in particular - as a rule, a well-built assault rifle is easily enough. Also, put on the cartridge belt to have even more shots with you.

You'll be fine with this weapon - there's no opponent who has anything to counter it with.

Because with it, you'll aim equally well at enemies far away and close by. Moreover, since you'll often hit workbenches, you'll almost never run out of ammunition, unlike in the main game. But be careful: You still have to collect materials diligently, otherwise you'll quickly run out of bullets.

Sam's Story: How to make friends with the captain

The DLC offers two different endings. You'll achieve one by befriending the captain you meet along the way. To achieve this, you'll have to react in a certain way at four different points.

First, you lower your weapon when you first meet the man. Also, when you have to fix the captain's knee a few hours later, you'll give him something to eat. Third, he asks you to restore his traps in the house. There are five places in the rooms, all marked with white paint.

Here you go ashore.

The last task will be done on the way to the fire station. On the map you will see where you have to stop with your boat to find the captain's deceased crew. Continue along the path until you've seen everyone and return to the starting point by zipline. This will allow you to side with your friend at the end.

More guides to Metro Exodus:

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