Shelter 2 Normal and Survival mode guide

Overview

hi this is my first guide, i’ve only lost like two cubs through all of my thousands of families but its really not that impressive. this is finished, but i will probably be updating it if something looks unfunky

How to activate Survival

You can either play the game normally or play with Survival mode, if you want to activate Survival, go into settings from the main screen and it will have some fur patterns. Press the text that says “survival mode” and the game will ask you if you want to play in survival ok you already know where this is going if you want to then say yeah

Normal mode Walkthrough

I will get into threats and prey later but what you’ll want to do in normal and have all your cubs survive is just to stay in the main area. You can venture into other places if you’d like, which is what I like to do. Anyways, when hunting to feed your cubs, you must feed them three rabbits when they’re in the den. When they start following you, you should always get two rabbits, and if you only catch one, wait until another group spawns so you can catch another or just eat it yourself for energy, mother lynx doesn’t have to eat though. This should guarantee all of your cubs surviving.

Survival mode Walkthrough

Survival has basically the same advice as Normal, but there isn’t as much prey in Survival mode. You now have to press Ctrl to crouch. Scent view takes away stamina, and prey are harder to catch. When in survival, the Mountains is the place to avoid, in autumn and winter, there is absolutely nothing there, you wont find any prey in the Mountains.

During winter in survival, rabbits will spawn in this area.

This may sound incredibly stupid, but I’ve only played Survival one time. But because I was so paranoid about something happening, I turned off the DLC. I managed to have all of my cubs survive though. I don’t have much experience on where prey is in Survival, but I know to not go into the Tundra when your cubs are small. In winter, it’s best to be near the dry forest close to the entrance to the Tundra in the main area, rabbits will usually spawn there. Another tip is to catch as much food as you can for your cubs, which is obvious but it does help a lot when you suddenly can’t find any food.

Threats

You will encounter at least one threat throughout a gameplay session. And there are a lot of threats. I’ll explain them all:

The Lonesome Fog

The Lonesome Fog looks like this big brown blob that creeps over the landscape. It appears in the main area, the Lake, and possibly the Mountains, though an encounter is super rare in the Mountains. A cub will get scared and will not follow you until you pick it up, wait for it to get back up once you’ve dropped it back down. For some reason, if you have the Mountains DLC on, the Lonesome Fog will not spawn unless you’re in the Lake region. When dealing with the Fog, stay near your den or the entrance back to the Den area, if you want to venture into the Fog, DO NOT RUN. Running will leave a cub behind, and a creature will take it.
This threat was confirmed by the creators to be The Lonesome Fog.
The Lonesome Fog CAN appear again once the cubs grow up and you’re in the Lake.

Occurs when cubs are larger: Yes
Occurs when cubs are gone: No

Wolves

Wolves only appear in the Tundra randomly. Like The Lonesome Fog, they only appear once per session. After that they will not come back unless you reload the game. Ways to tell wolves are coming is music changing, wolves howling, and the sky darkening. You can outrun wolves, but they won’t stop chasing you. If you are in Normal mode, there are two ways of getting rid of them. One is by climbing on one of the ledges near you, they should look like little plateaus.

Another way of getting rid of them is to offer prey, leave a rabbit for them. Do not go near your offer when they’re close to you, stay on the opposite side of the white wolf, or the alpha. Let them eat the rabbit and they’ll leave. In Survival, cubs cannot jump onto a ledge until they’re bigger, so you’ll have to resort to offering prey if they are small.

Occurs when cubs are larger: Yes
Occurs when cubs are gone: Yes

Bears

(MOUNTAINS DLC) Bears appear in the Tundra, in the Mountains, and in the Lake. In the Tundra, bears will be white and will spawn near the Sabertooth Skull cave, and sometimes near the second glacier in the Tundra during autumn and winter. In the Mountains, bears spawn in the forest near the entrance from the main area, near the snake skeleton, and in the middle section on the other side of the river near the Tundra entrance. In the Lake, bears will spawn near the waterfall and near the eagle feather collectible.

One way you can tell if a bear is near is a change in music, and if you hear a bear growling and then roaring, it has started the chase. The screen also shakes, which scares the ♥♥♥♥ out of me every time. Ways of avoiding the bear is just staying far from it obviously, jumping onto ledges, or running until the bear gives up. You can outrun the bear. If the bear catches you, there is a chance that one of the cubs will be dead, there is also a chance that nothing will happen. Most of the time, though, one of your cubs will be starved. So grab food right after a bear catches you, if you have cubs. And from what I’ve heard, bears detect you faster if you are carrying food. So it’s best to stay away from bears.

Occurs when cubs are larger: Yes
Occurs when cubs are gone: Yes

Fire

(MOUNTAINS DLC) Fire is pretty avoidable, it appears in the main area, the Lake, and the Mountains. In the main area, they spawn in the forested pond near the entrance to the Lake. In the Lake, it spawns in the deeper forest to your right when you enter the Lake.

In the Mountains, they spawn in the area over the swamp, in the left highland area on the other side of the river, and in the region where the seashell is located, I am unsure of any other places for fires, if you know any other places that fire spawns in, please let me know.
If you are trapped by fire with cubs, do not go near the fire, and do not try to jump into the fire. If you jump into the fire, it will make you pass out and one of your cubs will be gone once you wake up. When a fire starts, the sky will become tinted orange, you will hear thunder, and then lightning will strike in your area. When you hear thunder or see the sky tint, run out of the area as quickly as possible so you will have more time to escape if you were/are in the middle of the fire. When fire starts forming, DO NOT RUN. If you run, one of your cubs will cry out and will be lost. I’ve had this experience before and I felt horrible when I lost one of my cubs. Once a cub dies, the fire will stop. You can also avoid fires by getting onto ledges, and staying near water if water is near, but trying to escape is the best option if you are in Survival with young cubs. And a little fact, the music that plays is from the original Shelter game during the fire section.

Occurs when cubs are larger: Yes
Occurs when cubs are gone: Yes

Eagles/Hawks

(MOUNTAINS DLC) I’ll just call them eagles I don’t even care. Eagles spawn randomly, and spawn anywhere. Eagles are pretty easy to deal with, from what I’ve heard, standing still sometimes works, it has a 1/3 chance of working. If you encounter an eagle, it will screech and intense music will play. Then it’ll swoop after your cub, when this happens, you have to grab the eagle, and it gives you plenty of time to save your cub. Jump at the eagle to kill it, then boom you good now. Multiple eagles can spawn in a single session.

Occurs when cubs are larger: No
Occurs when cubs are gone: No

Fox

(MOUNTAINS DLC) Foxes spawn anywhere, and like eagles, they also spawn randomly and multiple can spawn during a session. They are white in the Tundra.

When a fox spawns, it will make noise, it can make a stick breaking noise, or make rustling sounds. You can either scare it away 3 times to get rid of it, wait until it gets close enough for you to kill it when you look away, or wait until it grabs a cub so it’s easier to kill. When a fox grabs a cub, it slows down a lot, giving you time to save the cub. You can also leave a rabbit down and walk away, unless your greedy cubs go for it. The fox will go after it, and will be distracted and give you the chance to kill it while it’s eating.

Occurs when cubs are larger: No
Occurs when cubs are gone: No

Rare Threats

The Mist

This threat appears in the Mountains only, usually only appearing during summer and is very rare to come across, it can happen when you first enter the Mountains through the main area. When it starts, the sky turns purple, and the mist is more pronounced. A cub will get scared. So far all I know is that it’s harmless and will go away, it acts like the Lonesome Fog.

Occurs when cubs are older: ???
Occurs when cubs are gone: ???

i dont even know what to call this one

This threat is most likely a glitch, and it appeared in the Tundra. It acts like the Lonesome Fog. I tried to wait it out but I thought it was taking a while, so I just reloaded the game. The wolves did not come that entire session.

Occurs when cubs are older: ???
Occurs when cubs are gone: ???

Prey

There is a lot of prey in the game, and I’ll try to get them all:

Rabbits

Rabbits are the main prey you will go after, because of their frequency. When your cubs are first born, you have to catch three for them. They will juke you out a lot, usually going in the direction of the opposite of you when the chase starts, then going to the left of your screen unless it’s blocked by something. Some people say to corner them, like birds, but for me it only makes things harder and frustrating.

Colors: brown, white, black/gray and white
Feeds: 4 cubs at start, then 2 cubs

Pheasants, Grouses

Pheasants and grouses can spawn in any area. Grouses are a part of the Mountains DLC. They are both very similar though. Grouses and pheasants are better at detecting you, so sneaking up from behind is better. Once your target starts running, you’ll have to catch up to it as quick as possible, if it flies and you were close enough to catch it, jump and you’ll catch it midair. I believe the game takes place in Russia, so I will use their real names for their colors.

Colors/types: Ring-necked pheasant, Black grouse, Hazel grouse (I think, Hazel grouse has the closest resemblance)
Feeds: 3 cubs

Frogs

Frogs are kind of rare, not really they just don’t spawn everywhere. They spawn at the waterfall in the Mountains, the swamp section of the Lake, and in the swamp at the main area. Frogs don’t show up as red in scent view.

Colors: green
Feeds: 1 cub

Voles

Voles are probably the easiest prey to catch, their detection range is small, and they don’t move very fast and slide around a lot. Sometimes they just run into your mouth. Voles are funny haha

Colors: brown
Feeds: 1 cub

Eggs

Eggs are pretty easy to find in spring and summer, they spawn in places pheasants and grouses spawn, and they also spawn near lakes, in swamps, and in trees owls nest in. The game shows you how to get to owl eggs. There is also an eagle nest in the Lake, with a rare collectible eagle feather.

Types: owl, pheasant/grouse, duck, eagle
Feeds: 4 cubs

Deer

Deer are annoying, they’re faster than all prey and sometimes they freak out and spin in a circle before running in a random direction. It’s best to approach them from behind and when they’re grazing. Sometimes they won’t even notice you’re there until you pounce at them. There are three types of deer. Siberian musk deer, which spawn in the Lake region, Red deer, which spawn in the Tundra and Mountains, and Chamois, which spawn in the northern region of the Tundra, and in the highland area in the Mountains where the seashell is located. Chamois are not a deer, but a goat.

Feeds: 4 cubs, also you

Foxes and Eagles/Hawks

(MOUNTAINS DLC) Foxes and Eagles/hawks are threats, but when killed are food. Refer to threats for information on this prey.

Feeds: 4 cubs

Other

From what I’ve heard, do not drink the water with the bones in the swamp that’s in the main area. I did this but literally nothing happened, something might only happen if you have cubs but I don’t want to test it out.

In the main area, there is a waterfall you can get behind.

In the Lake, there is a dry, dead grass fence you can get behind, there is something about it in the Complete Collectible Hoarder Guide that someone else made.

In the Tundra, there is a way to get onto the mountains and onto the glaciers, I have tried to get over the second glacier but I just ended up falling through the map. There are videos on this.

In the Lake and Tundra, there are catnip fields, if you use scent in one of these, your game will have a great time.