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The Cannibals Are Back!
Sons of the Forest takes place on an entirely new island called Site B, including all the horror and frills of its predecessor The Forest. Only this time, even more, deadly mutants are lurking in the twisting labyrinths below.
Luckily you’ve got me, explorer and mutant butcherer, at your service to help you navigate these grim yet sometimes beautiful caves.
Like its predecessor, the Sons of the Forest will lead you to caves where you must acquire tools and equipment, enabling you to progress through the story. It can be a real pain in the ass to venture into the wrong cave or bunker, as you’ll have to walk back to the surface with your Axe between your legs.
Don’t worry, though; I got your back. I’ve snooped and fished about every nook and cranny of these caves to bring you this Sons of the Forest Caves guide. I felt myself devolving into Gollum, crawling in the dark, so I switched to a faster approach.
Sprinting through caves in real life may not be the safest pastime; however, it’s much easier to run past the creepy crawlies of the caves in Sons of the Forest.
So grab your flashlight and ready your axe. We’ve got some caves to explore!
Key Details Up-Front
Is night fast approaching, and screaming can be heard from the tree line? Then I got your back. Here are all the key details you need to know about the Sons of the Forest caves.
The most important detail about the caves is that they must be explored in the correct order. You’ll waste too much time running back and forth to caves that you get stuck in for not having the correct equipment.
Here is a breakdown of all the caves and the correct order you should explore them:
- Rebreather Cave
- Rope Gun Cave
- Shovel Cave
- Maintenance Bunker A
- Food and Dining Bunker
- Maintenance Bunker B
- Guest Keycard Bunker
- Maintenance Bunker C
- Resident Bunker
- Puffton Bunker
It’s entirely possible to delve into the caves as soon as you crash on Site B. I created a new game to produce this guide and found it a much better strategy, as each cave only gets easier with more equipment and weapons you acquire from within the caves.
In my playthrough, I acquired the 9mm Pistol after completing the Rope Gun Cave, as the Shovel Cave is a big step up in difficulty.
The Stun Baton located outside the Rope Gun Cave will help with crowd control. Finally, digging up the Shotgun after acquiring the Shovel should be your next detour before taking on the bunkers.
Caves and Bunkers Locations
In The Forest, the player had to find all caves by themselves; however, this time, Sons of the Forest includes a GPS Tracker that highlights markers for both Bunkers and caves.
- Bunkers: are marked by pulsating green circles and require a Shovel or Keycard to enter.
- Caves: are marked by a white cave icon and can be freely entered. Some caves are very short, only containing one area that will likely be implemented in future game updates.
- GPS Trackers:Â The GPS Trackers are marked by a purple dot on the map; walking close to the GPS Trackers will cause your GPS to whine the closer your proximity.
Rebreather Cave
- Rebreather
- Stun Gun
- Leather Jacket
The Rebreather Cave is the first cave you should enter after crash landing on Site B. It’s very accessible if you crash on the beach; if not, walk to the northern coast marked by the large river mouth.
The cave is marked, so you should not have trouble finding it. But getting through this cave is another story if you don’t have a sufficient weapon. I recommend bringing a few grenades for the many Fingers and Blind Mutants that can be found here.
In the cave, you’ll find the Rebreather by taking the left path of the cave. However, if you travel right, the path will lead you to the Stun Gun and Leather Jacket, but you will have plenty of resistance from the mutants while it’s possible to run passed many of the enemies to get to the Rebreather.
Due to the narrow path, you will have no option but to confront the mutants along the path. However, this makes tracking the enemies around you easy, so you can kiss jump scares!
The Rebreather is found on the edge of the water. You can equip The Rebreather and descend into the cave further to exit the cave. Just keep an eye out for the shark that lives here. You can feed this fella by kicking an arm or leg into the water.
Rope Gun Cave
- Rope Gun
- Crucifix
The Rope Gun Cave is located right next to the forest helicopter crash site and is the second cave you should visit, as you’ll need the Rope Gun to retrieve the Shovel from the next cave.
The Rope Gun Cave is rather long, and if you were to walk through it cowardly, it would take you ages and be way more dangerous. Theres a lot of mutants in this cave, hard-hitting Fingers, grim Twins, and lots of Blind Mutants that will eat away at your supplies. My strategy for this cave is to run!
The cave barely forks, and when it does, it’s only a short detour to collect items and collectible evidence. If you sprint through this cave, you can avoid most of the mutants by only having to kill one at the end, so let’s talk tactics.
The Rope Gun Cave’s inner entrance has some useful supplies for the run. Don’t worry if you get hit while playing in a single-player you can enter your inventory to pause the mutants, heal and wait for your health to recover fully.
The cave’s first chamber is filled with Blind Mutants on the left ledge. Pick up the Skulls if you haven’t crafted a Club yet, and pick up the bones on the ledge below.
Bones can be crafted into Bone Armor by combining them with Duct Tape and Rope. At the back of the cave are more supplies and a Crucifix (an essential item for the late game).
You can dodge the Blind Mutants and proceed further into the cave by taking the path left of the dead workers, a Sluggy (a gruesome wall of mutation and flesh) blocks the path, but you can blow it up easily with a Timed Explosive found on the floor next to it.
The path will lead you to another chamber filled with Blind Mutants and Fingers. If you bear right in the chamber, you will find supplies and items to craft Molotovs and more Meds.
Now sprint through the upcoming areas to avoid the Twins, Babies, and Fingers. You will have to walk through a narrow corridor infested by mutant babies; however, sprinting through is fairly easy.
Eventually, you will come across the final room containing the Rope Gun. I recommend throwing an explosive at the Fingers as an animation plays when you pick up the Rope Gun.
Now you can zipline the hell out of there. Don’t worry about the room behind you. After you land, there is nothing in there but mutants.
Shovel Cave
- 9mm Pistol Flashlight Attachment
- Wetsuit
- Shovel
You will need the Rebreather and Rope Gun to complete the Shovel Cave. Before you enter the cave, pick up the Slingshot from the middle soldier before you shoot yourself along the zipline scale down the rocky ledge to find an air tank for your Rebreather.
You will have to dive down into the cave to get to the next area of the cave. You will need approximately half a tank of air to get through this first area. Ascending from the water, you will be confronted with Blind Mutants, I swam back into the water, and they followed and drowned, so they’re not a threat.
The tunnel will lead you to a massive cave chamber filled with Fingers, Babies, and Twins mutants. I used explosives provided by containers before the chamber and molotovs to clear the area of mutants.
You could run through this area. However, you don’t want to miss out on the Flashlight attachment and supplies in this area.
Proceeding further into the cave, you will find the Wet Suit. This is an essential bit of gear that will make you swim faster while in water.
The final chamber of the cave contains the Shovel. You will find it lying on the dead worker; you can’t miss it with the giant facility in the background.
Now that you own the Shovel, you can access bunkers and acquire the Shotgun! If I were you, I’d head straight to the final missing team member, as the Shotgun will make exploring the next areas a lot easier.
- A bit of advice, if you are low on supplies to craft Time Bombs, use the Shovel to dig the ground. You can sometimes find coins and watches.
Maintenance Bunker A
- Maintenance Keycard
- Laser Sight Attachment
- Firefighter’s Axe
Now that you have the Shovel, you are free to explore the creepy bunkers of the island. Like the caves, there is an optimal order for exploring the bunkers. The Maintenance Bunker A should be your first stop to acquire the Maintenance Keycard to explore the Food and Dining Bunker.
The bunker is marked on your map and is not far from the flashlight spawn. The bunker’s entrance has tripods and golf caddies surrounding the entrance. You will need to dig to gain entry to the bunker.
The bunker is minuscule compared to the labyrinth caves on the island. Inside you will find the Fireman’s Axe, the most powerful axe in the game. You’ll raise hell and send cannibals running in fear! The bunker only has one baby mutant for an enemy, so the bunker poses little threat.
Inside you’ll find a bed, containers of food, a laser sight attachment, and the all-important Maintenance Keycard.
Food and Dining Bunker
- VIP Keycard
- Crossbow
The Food and Dining Bunker is the longest subterranean adventure you’ll go on so far. So make sure to stock plenty of medical supplies and ammo. It’s a good idea also to bring a full set of Tech Armor or even Bone Armor if you can’t afford the resources.
With that out the way, it’s time to take on the Pufftons. Opening the locked door with the maintenance Keycard will lead you into a hydroponics room, along with the Crossbow in the second room. Theres a Fingers mutant up ahead in the next room. I used this opportunity to get accustomed to the Crossbow.
Eventually, you will be led to a flooded hallway which will lead you to a security room containing the VIP Keycard along with videos of what happened with the Pufftons. Bear in mind that you must fight both mutated Barbara and Edward Puffton simultaneously while having to contend with a pack of annoying Blind Mutants.
If you’re struggling to corral the critters up, head back to the flooded corridor and entrance to the dining room, as you’ll be able to control their attacks and funnel the mutants one by one.
Be careful of Barbara. She is a right battleaxe and will perform what I’d only describe as a raging Karen spin kick that will knock you for sparks. Edward will also beat you down to the floor.
Make sure to jump, run, cleave your axe, anything you can do to fight off the Blind Mutants that will swarm you. One word of advice explosives are extremely effective here.
Once you’ve ended Virginia’s parents, don’t forget to pick up the Dress to give to Virginia as a makeup gift for killing her parents. You can also pick up Edward and Barbara’s dining cards, although they provide nothing outside of mementos.
It’s finally time to exit the cave, move on to the Resident Bunker, and meet the guys who began it all, way back in 2014 but not before stocking up on some supplies and acquiring the Compound Bow!
Maintenance Bunker B
- Compound Bow
- Silencer
Maintenance Bunker B is almost identical to the last Maintenance Bunker A. However, in here, you will find the Compound Bow and the Silencer for the 9mm Pistol.
At this point, your pistol will look like a GIGN Operator’s sidearm from a Tom Clancy book or Rainbow Six Siege. However, I’m actually not a fan of the Silencer attachment as it lowers the pistol’s damage, and if you’re shooting at a mutant or cannibal, you’ve most likely angered the whole mutant gang.
This bunker serves as an excellent respite from the hardships of Site B island. The bunker has a 3D Printer and a good supply of Printer Resin. At this point, you should have crafted all the essentials, so focus on getting yourself a full set of Tech Armor.
Guest Keycard Bunker
- Guest Keycard
- Guitar
- Chainsaw
In your playthrough, you will probably have visited the Guest Keycard bunker to access the 3D Printer. However, if you were to explore to the very end of the bunker, you would have been met with a locked door. But by this point, you should have acquired the Maintenance Keycard from Maintenance Bunker A.
Now I recommend bringing your Shotgun, explosives, and any other weapons you have found, as there are plenty of mutants to kill in this area. The Crossbow is particularly effective for saving precious ammunition in the gym and VR Boothe area.
Here’s a little optional objective for the achievement hunters out there you can acquire the 1% achievement very easily in this bunker when you reach the bar, as you’ll find plenty of money lying around. In the bar, you will find the guitar melee weapon. In addition, a chainsaw can be found in the cinema room.
Maintenance Bunker C
- Revolver
You will find the Maintenance Bunker C north, far from the big lake east of Site B. The bunker found on the Golf Course is fairly barren, so it should not take long to find.
Theres not a great deal of stuff in Maintenance Bunker C, and its layout is pretty barren. It’s my understanding that this bunker was under construction at the time of Site B’s collapse.
That said, you can get the most powerful handgun in the game from Maintenance Bunker C.
Inside you will find the Revolver, an absolute brute of a weapon. This beauty can one shot kill most enemies in the game if you hit them in the head. Therefore I highly suggest you visit Maintenance Bunker C before venturing into the Resident Bunker.
Residential Bunker
- Katana
- Golden Armor
The Redident bunker is the final bunker before the penultimate cave, which promises an escape from the hellish Site B island. You’ll find the Resident Bunker on the island’s east side beside the giant lake.
While you could have run through most of the caves, you’ll struggle in the tight mutant-infested corridors of this bunker.
However, thanks to my guide, you’ll be well-armed to take on anything the island or hell throws at you, and I’m not just being dramatic literal hell. That’s right; you’ll have to take on a Demon, so ensure you have your Crucifix at hand.
You won’t have to worry about any mutants on entering the bunker as a beautiful cutscene will play the original Forest character, and a grown-up Timmy will defend you from a monstrous Sluggy mutant.
After the cutscene finishes, head towards the end of the corridor to get back to the stairs and descend to level 2 of the bunker; make sure to loot the open rooms on the left-hand side of the corridor.
Be careful, as there are all kinds of mutants in this area, from Blind Mutants, The Twins, Baby mutants, and multiple Fingers. On my first playthrough, I operated the 3D Printer, which alerted every mutant and Demon to my room.
However, they couldn’t find me on my second playthrough, and I found the Demon hanging out in the morgue, as expected.
Some decent items are found in the Resident Bunker, such as the Katana, Shotgun attachments, and even a 9mm Pistol. Make sure to collect the Golden Armor, as this is an essential item to unlock an area in the upcoming Final Bunker.
Once you’ve looted everything, you can move on towards the exit; before you unlock the door to exit the bunker enter the morgue and equip your Cross its the only weapon that can kill a demon, pick up the Gold Mask from the middle body and your free to exit!
Optional Mini Caves
There are some optional mini caves I’ve not seen covered online, probably because they’re not listed on Sons of the Forest Fandom. However, I’m here to bring you every cave, big or small.
Bear in mind that these caves are likely unfinished and will be major caves in the future as Endnight Games updates the game, so these caves include a single chamber with wooden crates and supplies, so feel free to skip these for the major caves and bunkers.
First up, we have the Skeleton Chair cave, there’s probably an explanation or reference here, but it’s lost on me. This cave can be found in the waterfall on the side of the mountain, not too far from the Maintenance B bunker. This is an odd and spooky cave, but it houses some great loot.
These little caves are great for making a primitive base; you don’t have to worry about mutants or cannibals attacking you. However, you won’t be able to bring logs in here, so stick structures and Tarp tents only.
Still, setting up bases in all these caves will save your hide from the ever-growing threat of Site B as you progress through each day.
The next cave I shall call the Monk cave, located just up the mountain from the Skeleton chair cave. You’ll find little more than a few basic supplies in this cave; however, it’s a good one to store supplies in if you need to retreat to a cave.
There are three more dead-end caves located on the mountain. The next can be found by two dog sleds and technically is not a cave as you don’t have to load through an entrance. Despite this, it’s still a great area to defend yourself from mutants and cannibals, as the entrance leads to a narrow tunnel and supplies.
Theres one more cave on the mountain that is once again marked by dog sleds and has no loading entrance making it less defendable than the others in this guide.
The final cave is found on the other side of the mountain in between the mountain and a large lake. This cave grants protection from cannibals thanks to its loading entrance. Inside you will find a broken Kayak along with supplies. This is a great cave to prepare for the Resident Bunker.
The Puffton Bunker
The Puffton Bunker is located east and north of the giant lake. You’ll know you are close when you see golf carts and helipads on the beach.
There’s a good chance that you will encounter sprawling cannibal camps on the beach if you travel north from the Resident bunker and big lake, so make sure you have enough equipment, as these camps are very dangerous.
The Final Bunker starts with only one way through to a junction of corridors. I suggest turning right first, as this path will lead you to a cozy bed where you can save your game and sleep, allowing you to reload your save and get both endings of the game.
Traveling further into the bunker will lead you to Puffton’s living quarters; this area has lots of expensive props. This area has some valuable items, such as the Shotgun if you haven’t already picked it up, and lots of ammo. You can find the Pyjamas outfit on the shelf near the entrance of the room to
I’m certain that the Shotgun and ammo belong to Eric Leblanc and Timmy, as we encounter them once again later in the cave.
To progress through to the next area, walk through the destroyed wall in the bathroom and open the gold door. You will need to equip the Gold Armor to access this area.
This is where the bunker gets a tad crazy. The game is about throwing a demon army at you, so equip your Cross. Demons can barely scratch you while wearing the Golden Armor, so keep it on.
You won’t have too much trouble with the demons in the first two chambers, as they can mostly be avoided by running past them. However, the final chamber before the crawl through the cavern can pose a challenge if the Demons can surround you.
Using the Cross, you can knock multiple demons back at a time. I recommend you kill all the demons in this room so you don’t get overwhelmed by the crawl-through, leading to the game’s conclusion.
After the cutscene, you will be given the option to leave the island with Timmy and Eric Leblanc on a helicopter. Kelvin will join you, of course. Or you can choose to stay on the island to fight demons, sealing Kelvin’s fate as a log slave.
FAQs
Question:Â What Happens if You are Killed in the Caves in Sons of the Forest?
Answer:Â The first time you die inside a cave, you will respawn within a nearby fleshy wall where you will be able to cut yourself out and retry the cave again. Don’t forget to pick up your pack before heading through the cave. You will only be granted one extra life per cave.
Question:Â What Does the Gold Mask do in Sons of the Forest?
Answer:Â Dotted across Site B are Cannibal camps. The gold mask-wearing cannibals are the toughest of the tribes and can kill you easily, even if you have full armor. Wearing the Gold Mask in front of cannibals has a high chance of tricking cannibals into not attacking you.
Question:Â How Do I Fix the Bunker Hatch Glitch in Sons of the Forest?
Answer:Â There is a chance in Sons of the Forest that the animation to open bunker hatches will break and as a result, not allow you to open the hatch and enter. You can fix this bug by reloading your save. However, I recommend saving at a nearby shelter before doing so.
End of the Nightmare
So there we have it, every single cave in Sons of the Forest. I’m certain that Endnight Games will introduce new caves into the game as they did with the original game.
While I can’t be a hundred percent certain of their location, the small optional caves I added to the guide, like the Skeleton Chair cave, could be where they begin, so it’s a good idea to build at least a small base around these areas for the future.
There are many survival games out on the market. However, no other game does horror as well as Sons of the Forest. The cannibals are grim and gruesome and send shivers down your spine.
So I recommend visiting each cave and bunker in the order I provided to ensure that you are well-equipped with weapons and supplies.
It took me a week of in-game time to complete every cave and bunker. I didn’t build any bases for this run, only Hunter Shelters and Tents, to save my progress and avoid game crashes. Collecting all the weapons and essential survival items before building a base will make the game much easier in the long term.