Far Cry 5: 7 Tips For Beginners

Far Cry 5

Released last week, Far Cry 5 is a massive new open-world game that is filled to the brim with stuff to see and do. While the main storyline takes less than twenty hours to beat, you can almost double that if you count all the side-distractions and secrets. Heck, it’s even more if you were to include Arcade.

With such a lot to discover, it can be a bit of an overwhelming experience, especially as it doesn’t always explain everything as well as it should. During my playthrough, I only discovered towards the last few hours how to fish and where the best places to do so were. That could just be me being a total idiot, mind you.

If you’ve started Ubisoft’s cult-killing simulator and want to get on the right path, check out my beginner’s tips.

 

1. Don’t buy stuff right away

Far Cry 5

Here’s a thing: you don’t get a lot of weapons in Far Cry 5 just from picking them up in the environment. Almost all of the cultists use the same assault rifle; they must have been on some kind of deal or something. Don’t worry, though: you can buy new weapons from any vendor using the in-game currency or real-world mon–oh.

It’s a bit of a grind to purchase weapons as the game is very stingy with monetary rewards in its first ten or so hours, so don’t go splashing the cash whenever you have it. Considering how regularly you will find ammo and equipment out in the world, just save your money instead. That being said, as soon as you get the chance to buy an AK, take it — it’s so much easier to handle than the AR-C.

 

2. Unlock all companions ASAP

Far Cry 5 cheeseburger

Far Cry 5 really makes full use of its companions, rather than the useless idiots who accompanied you in previous games and promptly got squished by elephants. They can turn the tide of battle pretty dramatically with different Guns (and Fangs) For Hire better suited to different scenarios.

If you want to get off to a flying start in Far Cry 5, make your way to each companion (highlighted pretty obviously on the map) and do their associated mission. This way, you can be prepared for almost any situation, especially if you unlock the leadership perk to have two allies at once. Maybe don’t go for Hurk and his cousin, though. Those two are bumbling baboons.

 

3. Selectively pick your perks

Far Cry 5

Not all perks are created equal in Far Cry 5. The buffs for Guns For Hire are the biggest letdown of them all, so you may as well swerve them entirely and put the points towards something more useful, such as getting a wingsuit and a parachute almost from the get-go.

There are others that you can just more or less ignore, but you absolutely should increase your health as soon as you can. Unlocking the grappling hook is also almost an essential for ease of transport and hilarity when playing co-op, and it only costs one perk point. Locksmith is an underrated perk as it will not only allow you to open locked doors but also safes with a higher chance of finding silver bars within.

 

4. Complete challenges and prepper stashes

Far Cry 5

You can dust off a great deal of your challenges just by playing the game, but some of them you need to diversify your gameplay. It can be something as inncouous as skinning two bears or staying in co-op for a select amount of time, but they’re all pretty easy ways of getting new perk points.

One of Far Cry 5’s most underrated changes comes from its prepper stashes, which usually require a bit of brainpower to come across. It’s always a varied and rewarding experience trying to track down stashes, so the fact that you will find some perk magazines is just a bonus. I hunted them exclusively for just an hour or two and came away with about twenty perk points.

 

5. Attempt side-missions after you liberate a region

Far Cry 5 characters

As tempting as it may be, you may want to avoid doing most of Far Cry 5’s distractions on the side straight away? When you defeat John, Jacob, and Faith in their respective regions, you get a considerable increase in rewards that can go a long way towards affording that shiny new gun.

For instance, one simple mission gave me $400, which I could then put towards the AK I had been drooling over for ages. Better yet, with one of Seed’s lieutenants dispatched, you can adventure through their region without nearly as much fuss. Saying that, cougars will still probably ruin your day.

 

6. Connect to your Ubisoft Club account

Far Cry 5

No, this isn’t a sneaky bit of advertising for Ubisoft — I can’t even get them to return my emails. Connecting to your Ubisoft Club account (or signing up for one if you haven’t yet) is a really easy way of getting good loot without having to do anything in-game.

Most of the outfits in Far Cry 5, well, they kinda suck. However, as someone who’s spent an outrageous amount of time in Rainbow Six Siege, I was able to equip a special outfit that looked pretty metal, even if I only really saw a glimpse of it when I died. There are also unique weapons and cars only available through the service, so if you’re comfortable with basically selling off some data, knock yourself out.

 

7. Avoid flamethrowers at all costs

Remember that amazing moment in Far Cry 3 when you burn down the weed plantation with a flamethrower? Cherish that memory, because flamethrowers are total nightmares in Far Cry 5 and not worth the hassle. Setting things on fire looks cool, for sure, but it’s really not worth it when it bites you on the ass so often.

When you set a cultist on fire, they have a tendency to rush you in a panic and you just end up causing yourself by damage. You may also want to avoid choosing Sharky as a companion as he has this really endearing habit of using a flamethrower no matter the situation or his surroundings.

Have you been playing Far Cry 5? What do you think? If you haven’t yet, check out my Far Cry 5 review:

“Even with plenty of flaws and questionable design decisions, Far Cry 5 has more than enough fun gameplay to make up for it.”

Want more Far Cry good stuff? Check out why we think Joseph Seed is the best Far Cry villain to date and why, despite being rather familiar, Far Cry 5 is still a mighty amount of fun.

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