Progress in Sons of the Forest doesn’t demand a sprawling, fortified shelter. A single tarpaulin and a stick can carry you through the early stages. Yet the game offers a robust construction system that allows players to erect a proper house and surround it with a fence. This guide explains how to build a house and a gate, how to secure a door, and it highlights the best base-building locations in the game for both the United States and Canada audiences.
Sons of the forest guides
- Walkthrough Sons of the Forest – in what order to inspect the dungeons, how to locate all the beacons, key cards, and gold armor
- Sons of the Forest beginner’s guide – how to manage inventory, where to find food, water, first aid kits, printer and other tips
- How to build a shelter and save progress in Sons of the Forest
- Using Kelvin (satellite) in Sons of the Forest
- How to find a shovel and dig a grave in Sons of the Forest – where to find diving gear and a rope thrower
- Weapons guide in Sons of the Forest – where to find and how to craft a spear, bow, pistol, axe, shocker, shotgun, chainsaw and katana
- How to befriend the Three-Legged Girl (Virginia) in Sons of the Forest and make her a companion
- Co-op in Sons of the Forest – how to play with friends, how to create a server, what features are available in multiplayer mode
- Sons of the Forest won’t start? Crashes with an error? Cannot connect to the server? – Troubleshooting
- Where to find and how to get a flashlight in Sons of the Forest
- Where to find all clothing for Virginia in Sons of the Forest
- Sons of the Forest armor guide – where to find and how to obtain bones, skins, circuit boards and techno cloth
- All Sons of the Forest endings – how to achieve the good, bad, and secret endings
- Tortoise shell in Sons of the Forest – where to get and how to use
How to build a house
Players can opt for ready-made house drawings or design their own home to suit taste. Those who use the drawings start with a guide accessible early in the game. It can be opened with the B key or through the inventory.
If someone chooses to craft a house from scratch, the guide remains available. In crafting mode, every floor, wall, roof, and door construction plan is laid out for reference.
How to build a tree house
The tree house must be built using a completed drawing from the manual. Open the journal, select a finished building or a platform, and begin.
Collect the required logs and secure a rope to climb up. It is wise to avoid involving Kelvin in the construction—there have been instances where the satellite knocked the tree down while building.
How to build a fence (palisade)
Fences can be crafted from standard logs. Start by placing them close together in any sequence. Then swing the axe and aim at the top of a tree trunk. Watch for a red dotted line indicating when the cone appears.
Strike the tree trunk once with the axe to yield a wooden fence.
How to build a door and gate
How to build a door
To craft a regular door, gather seven sturdy logs and three planks. Two planks come from a single trunk. Stack the logs, then use the axe to create a red dotted line over a central log by hovering the cursor. Press LMB to place.
Repeat the process with the rest of the wood blocks except the top and bottom. The result should resemble the pictured configuration.
Next, cut two blocks in half lengthwise. Use the axe and move the cursor over the forest center until a red dotted line appears.
Take the resulting planks and approach the doorway so a white dotted arrow shows. Click LMB to place the planks.
How to build a gate
To build a gate, gather five or six logs and lay them in a straight line as shown. Then place a sturdy piece of wood on a level fence of at least five planks. A white dotted line will appear; click LMB to position the log.
This reinforces the gate on both sides and makes it harder for enemies to breach it.
If desired, multiple gates can be installed. In that case, attackers will likely pivot to other entry points rather than the main entrance.
How to lock a door
Unlike heavy gates, most enemies can open an unlocked regular door. To safeguard the interior, grab a stick and approach the door. When the white dotted arrow appears, click LMB. The hero places a primitive lock that can be secured with the action key if needed.
The best places to build a base in the summer
When the guide mentions the best place, it means the safest spot to stay clear of natives and monsters. Enemies typically appear at the shelter doorstep every few days, including cannibals and mutants. After finishing the storyline, a two-headed monster may also threaten the base, indifferent to typical fence lines and obstacles.
In the summer, one can retreat to a small island in the middle of the lake near the waterfall, located in the map’s northwest corner. Building a base there is easiest in winter, though a summer setup is possible with extra effort.
There are several trees on the island. It’s wise to leave at least one to support a tree house, which can be used to shelter during winter when the lake freezes and cannibals approach less easily.
After arriving on the island, clear it of small trees and shrubs. Two treehouses were planned, so two large trees were left standing from the start of the game.
Logs can be transported by chopping at nearby coasts and tossing firewood toward the island. Once the logs reach the shore, they can be gathered and used for construction. If logs don’t float, jump in to push them and consider fins to ease underwater movement. Without a wetsuit, grabbing logs in the water remains possible but slower, while planks can be moved similarly.
Though the process takes time, summer camps built this way offer genuine safety. Cannibals and monsters may shout from the shore, but they cannot reach the island. If they attempt to, they tend to perish in the water. This has been verified through playtests.
When the house is finished, winter can be used to complete a picket fence. Building in summer is possible but requires more time moving logs through water.
The best places to build a base in winter
For wintering, a location near a waterfall is ideal. Freezing bodies of water make fresh water scarce, so proximity to a reliable water source matters.
Be sure to construct a tree house and enclose the camp with a wooden fence. This buys time against raiders who try to breach the base. If direct combat isn’t possible, retreat to the tree house and wait it out.
A watchtower is also recommended. It can serve as a defensive fortification and be used to target enemies from a height.
Other guides
- Walkthrough Sons of the Forest – in what order to inspect the dungeons, how to find all the beacons, key cards and gold armor
- Weapons guide in Sons of the Forest – where to find and how to craft a spear, bow, pistol, axe, shocker, shotgun, chainsaw and katana
- How to find a shovel and dig a grave in Sons of the Forest – where to find diving equipment and a rope thrower
- How to befriend the Three-Legged Girl (Virginia) in Sons of the Forest and make her a companion
- Sons of the Forest beginner’s guide – how to use inventory, where to find food, water, first aid kits, printer and other tips
- Using Kelvin (satellite) in Sons of the Forest
- Sons of the Forest won’t start? Crashes with an error? Cannot connect to the server? – Troubleshooting
- How to build a shelter and save progress in Sons of the Forest
- Where to find all clothing for Virginia in Sons of the Forest
- Co-op in Sons of the Forest – how to play with friends online, how to create a server, what features are available in multiplayer mode
Source: VG Times