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Need to learn how to heal in Alan Wake 2? We’ve got you covered. We’ll go over all healing methods to help you survive the horrors that lie ahead on your playthrough.
In Alan Wake 2, you’ll face off against the dark forces of two intertwined worlds as you play as both Alan Wake and Saga Anderson. Moving through both storylines, you’ll need to summon the means to survive the circumstances. This means healing up when necessary. Fortunately, there are several ways to regain health as both characters. You’ll just need to pocket the right items to top off your HP in a pinch, though this is much easier said than done without inventory upgrades. With this in mind, here’s how to heal in Alan Wake 2.
How to Heal in Alan Wake 2
To replenish your HP in Alan Wake 2, you’ll need to find healing consumables on your travels as both Alan and Saga. It will require some searching, but there are a few different items that you can use to get the job done. Be on the lookout for the following health-restoring drops:
- Painkillers – These are the most common healing consumables in the game, though they’re still pretty hard to come by. In the early stages of the game, Painkillers will restore a small amount of HP. As the game goes on, however, you’ll regain a bit more.
- Trauma Packs – These items are a bit tougher to come by than your first option, but they also offer a greater benefit. Consuming Trauma Packs will replenish a solid amount of health to tide you over between battles with stronger enemies. That said, you’ll want to be somewhat stingy with your supply, as you can’t be sure when you’ll find another pack.
- First Aid Kits – These healing items are some of the most useful that you’ll have access to in Alan Wake 2. When consumed, you’ll regain all of the health you’ve lost. There’s just one catch: First Aid Kits take up two inventory slots, which seriously limits your options when it comes to which weapons you can carry in the early game. I advise you to pick up these consumables only when you need them — that is, until you score inventory upgrades with Words of Stuff.
- Intense combat, where it takes more than bullets to banish the darkness
- Weaken ‘The Taken’ with light before finishing them for good
- Use lights in the environment as islands of safety in a world where darkness is deadly
- Find manuscript pages from a novel Wake does not remember writing
- Travel through a visually stunning and terrifying version of the Pacific Northwest, with newly remastered visual fidelity bringing a classic game to new platforms and players
Healing as Alan Wake in Alan Wake 2
Perks unique to Alan can help you regain more HP and remain in better health. In this case, you’ll need to rely on Words of Power, which are glyphs found throughout the game. Depending on which ones you manage to find, you’ll be granted various buffs. The following can help heal you up and stay alive:
- Words of Aid (ER and Prescription) – With this perk, healing consumables like Painkillers and Trauma Packs will grant you much greater HP regeneration.
- Words of Fix (Wellness Retreat, Wheels Within Wheels, and God Rays) – Each of these three perks will increase your existing overall health, allowing you to go longer stretches without healing up.
- Words of War (Goes Around) – With access to this perk, you’ll regain HP when you enter combat using the Flare Gun. However, your attacks will need to make contact in order for the effect to activate. Note that tougher enemies will also cause a delayed effect.
Healing as Saga Anderson in Alan Wake 2
Like Alan, Agent Anderson also has access to a unique set of perks, which are related to Charms. A select few can help you replenish your HP in times of need and outlast your foes. Here’s a rundown of which perks will grant you health buffs:
- Coffee Mug Charm – This perk essentially prevents you from dying once your health bar is depleted. However, its effects aren’t permanent, as each mug breaks after use. As such, you’ll have just one shot at keeping your life until you find another one of these charms, which appear throughout the game.
- Lighthouse Charm – This charm will grant you greater health regains inside a safe room. You can obtain it by completing Nursery Rhyme in Watery’s Lighthouse.
- Valhalla Nursing Home Charm – When equipped, this Charm will replenish a larger amount of health with the use of healing consumables like Painkillers and Trauma Packs. It can be obtained by completing Nursery Rhyme in Bright Falls.
- Saw-Off Shotgun Upgrade – Although not quite the same as a Charm, this upgrade will allow you to regain health when you attack and kill enemies with the shotgun. However, it will cost you 18 Manuscript Pages.
How to Monitor Your Health in Alan Wake 2
Because Alan Wake 2 masterfully pulls you into the narrative, your HUD is far less noticeable than those in other games of its kind. To make matters worse, many players search for a bar indicating their remaining HP, and this is denoted by a slightly different icon altogether.
If you’re unsure how to tell what your health is looking like, take a look at the bottom-right corner of your screen. Just under your active weapon, you’ll see a crescent shape. This is your health bar. Keep an eye on it to stay alive.
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