After the prologue finishes, you’re left to fend for yourself in Hope County. While this may seem daunting and overwhelming at first, keep these essential tips in mind.

• Search everywhere, loot everything!
  This cannot be understated enough, there is plenty to loot in Far Cry 5 from backpacks to ammo crates and nearly all of it is useful.

• Check your Challenges screen!
  You obtain Perk points, used to purchase Perks, from completing challenges and Perk Magazines. Thankfully, nearly everything you do is featured in some form as a challenge but make it a habit to check and see what you’re close to completing and focus on it.

• Save up 8 Perk points at the start!
  For the most part, unless the Perk is an upgrade, you’re free to unlock anything provided you have enough points. With that said, try to save up 8 points for your first purchase. The Additional Holster in the Prepper tree is tremondously useful to increase your options in combat such as taking a heavy weapon and the Crossbow for a more quiet aproach.

• Other Useful skills!
  There’s a lot of perks to choose from, most accompanying your preferred playstyle however some are great right from the start. Parachute/Wingsuit from the Renegade tree and Grapple from the Assassin tree all increase your posibilities of getting around easier. The Repair Torch from the Survivalist tree is also good early on as it not only allows you to repair your vehicles but crucially, open the many locked safes.

• Join with friends for an easier time!
  Outside of the immediate enjoyment Coop play offers, there are tangible benefits to joining a friend’s game. Although only the host will progress the missions in their game world, you will still keep any ammo, cash and Perk points you may obtain. This is an effective method of increasing your cash reserves without progressing and can be useful to gather Perks if you’re struggling in your own game.

• Make use of your companions!
  It can’t be stated enough how useful the companions are in Far Cry 5. Always have a Specialist assigned to your squad to help offset the weakness your playstyle might have. For example, it’s good to have a good gunman if things go wrong in a stealth mission.

• Trophy/Achievement hunters beware!
  Although the Trophies/Achievements in Far Cry 5 aren’t overly difficult and feature no missable ones, you can save yourself some time early on. One task involves spending $50000 on vehicles at the garage. That’s a lot of money so it may be wise to save any cash toward purchases there to save yourself time later on in the adventure.

• Switch up your firing modes!
  There are no tutorials in the game with regards to the different firing modes your weapon can have, a crucial piece of information. When selecting a weapon from the weapon wheel, press the [Square/X] button to switch between single rounds, burst and full auto. In general, try to stick with burst firing with assault rifles and you’ll notice a huge improvement with your accuracy.

• Invest in these Perks for better sneaking missions!
  In general, if you intend to take down outposts and other situations without being seen, invest in the Sneaky Sprint, Ghost and Takedown Mastery Perks. The Locksmith Perk will also make getting through outposts a lot more hassle free.