Pacific Drive Tips And Secrets
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You're bound to encounter a lot of car problems in Pacific Drive. Actually, car problems will probably lead to your character's untimely demise, and a quick respawn back at the auto shop. Still, there are ways to prolong your run if you're careful enough. Here's our Pacific Drive beginner's guide with several tips to help you survive your journey.
Make sure your car is parked if you're on foot
We can't stress this enough: You should always put the car in park whenever you're going on foot. The reason for this is simple: The wilderness is full of uneven roads and sloping paths. Not leaving your car parked can cause it to careen all the way down, likely hitting an obstacle or anomaly.
Use the Scanning Antenna to reveal potential hazards
You repair the Scanning Antenna early in the campaign. Later, you are able to unlock additional upgrades for it via the Fabrication Station. By scanning a destination, you're made aware of certain dangers, including weather effects, anomaly encounters, types of abandoned vehicles, and landmarks. You'll also see how many hours it takes to travel to a particular destination, which gives you an idea as to the time of day that you'll be traversing that junction.
The roads aren't randomized, but almost everything else is
Pacific Drive uses mixed procedural generation. Simply put: The roads in each junction remain the same regardless of how many times you visit that zone. What changes are the placements of landmarks, buildings (i.e. cabins and houses), anomalies, resources/loot, and potential exits. Knowing where you ought to go should lessen any confusion, especially if you're returning to the same locations numerous times.
Scan first before you craft or repair car parts
Before you start using consumable items, it's a good idea to scan a damaged car part first. Scanning allows you to see what kind of damage was incurred, and what sort of item is needed to fix it. In case there's no available fix, it might be because you've yet to unlock that particular item. You can learn more in our car repair guide.
Bring extra headlights, flares, tires, and fuel
It's imperative that you're well-prepared before you set out on your journey in Pacific Drive. The simple concept of having a specific item or resource, as opposed to lacking it, can spell the difference between a successful run and a failed one. We recommend bringing extra headlights and flares, primarily because there will be instances when you need to travel at night.
Having spare tires in your trunk is also a great idea, since busted tires will greatly affect your car's mobility. Of course, it's also important to fill up your vehicle's gas tank, and to bring along extra fuel. Otherwise, it's going to be tough if you have to look for abandoned vehicles in the middle of nowhere.
Enable the Loot Highlight and High Visibility Loot settings
We suggest going to the Accessibility options and enabling both the Loot Highlight and High Visibility Loot settings. This will cause containers and items to have a bright glow, which can even be seen from behind obstacles and within buildings. Although doing this lessens immersion, we feel that this makes the whole endeavor a lot easier. After all, if you're trekking into the unknown to scavenge stuff, it's better to know and see where the loot might be.
Manage your inventory and always have extra space
We've included more details in our inventory management guide. Sufficed to say, you should always have enough space in your character's personal inventory (i.e. backpack) and car inventory (i.e. trunk). This is to ensure that you always return to your base with as much loot as possible. Naturally, that means creating additional lockers so you can store all those materials. Note that you can also rotate items from vertical or horizontal alignment, and vice versa, in case there's not enough space to fit.
Beware of anomalies
It goes without saying that you should always be careful when you see countless anomalies in Pacific Drive. These range from stationary hazards that are actually traps to creatures that will try to chase you down. The most common denominator is that they will all damage your car, and a damaged car adversely affects your chances of surviving your run. You can learn more about these strange contraptions and creatures in our anomalies and enemies guide.
Sometimes, it might be better to recycle parts and rely on the Friendly Dumpster
Picture this: You just came back from your latest run, and your vehicle is almost demolished. True, you still have a few car doors and panels attached, but they're all heavily damaged. If this is the case, then it's probably not a good idea to craft consumable items to repair these parts.
Instead, we recommend using the Matter Deconstructor to turn these into scrap and other materials. Since you've just destroyed those objects, there's a decent chance that the Friendly Dumpster will belch fully crafted parts to help you out. Although some parts might not have 100% durability, that's still better than having to waste several Sealing Kits, Electrician's Kits, or Repair Putties.
Alternatively, if you've unlocked the Matter Regenerator, then you can use that to passively repair parts. This process happens while you're out on a drive, too.
Use Vargas' Auto-Vac in case you lose something in the shop
Yes, there will be moments when you may have dropped an item or you forgot where it was placed. That's where Vargas' Auto-Vac comes in. This machine, which is right next to the Fabrication Station, funnels in all items, including the Transfer Trunk. This makes objects easier to spot and pick up.
Plan your escape when collecting Arc Energy from Anchors
There are two ways to escape junctions and return to your base in Pacific Drive:
- In maps where there are Stabilizer Towers, you need to activate all of them.
- In most other locations, you have to gather enough Arc Energy from Anchors. Then, you have to activate the Gateway. Note that Gateways can only be activated if you're some distance away.
Once a Gateway is up and running, the junction will become destabilized. A Fortnite-esque irradiated aura will then gradually shrink, and getting caught outside the safe zone will cause your HP to get depleted constantly. As such, you have to drive like hell if you want to escape successfully.
Given these concepts, you should plan your escape properly. Make sure that you've collected all the materials you need, and that you've acquired as much Arc Energy from the zone. Then, drive toward a Gateway exit and see the minimum distance you have to successfully activate it. The closer you are to the exit once it appears, the better your chance of escaping without issues.
Go on Anchor Energy runs and grab those upgrades
Let's say you've managed to have multiple successful runs where you were able to return safely to the auto shop hub. That means you've also amassed enough Stable Energy from Anchors. Use the resource you've acquired to select Fabrication Station upgrades, which allow you to keep up with gradual progression and difficulty increases. For instance, it's often a good idea to get fuel upgrades, extra storage, and more durable parts.
Take note that Stable Energy, which comes from Anchors in the Outer Zone, is just the first of three types. Others, such as Unstable Energy and Corrupt Energy, come from the Mid-Zone and Deep Zone, respectively. Plan the upgrades that you'll obtain down the line to make the most out of your resources.
In any case, that does it for our Pacific Drive beginner's guide and survival tips. Hopefully, you have a smoother journey ahead. We also encourage you to take a look at our anomalies and enemies guide so you can prepare for potential threats.
Pacific Drive takes you on a harrowing journey through the northwestern United States, where eerie forests, fetid marshes, and deadly anomalies await. If you want to survive for as long as possible, we encourage you to check out our guides hub.