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How to get the shovel in Sons of the Forest

Dig your way out of this eerie place.

It might not look like much, but the shovel in Sons of the Forest is one of the most important items in the game.

Although surviving is your main goal, you will have to explore the island searching for ways of completing the game’s main quest. Part of the process of progressing in the story is tied to finding certain pieces of equipment which allow you to explore different areas on the island.

And to help you to finish the game, we’ve detailed in this article how to get the shovel in Sons of the Forest.

On this page:

The shovel in Sons of the Forest explained

In Sons of the Forest, guns and bullets are extremely important to help you survive, but without certain items such as the shovel you won’t progress in the game. Having the shovel allows you to find not only consumables or coins, but also the entrance to some caverns or installations that can’t be accessed without it.

More specifically, in case you are looking for the Maintenance keycard, you will need to get the shovel first. There are a total of three keycards in the game that are needed to finish Sons of the Forest. The facility where the Maintenance keycard can only be found with the shovel.

How to get the Rope Gun and Rebreather in Sons of the Forest

Now, before jumping straight into getting the shovel, there are a couple of places you must visit in order to find the Rope Gun and the Rebreather. You won’t be able to access the location where the shovel is without both items.

First, the Rope Gun is in a cave west of the central snowy region. Although it’s quite difficult to get lost in this cavern, you will have to deal with a considerable amount of mutants in your way. Once you pass a Sluggy that is blocking your path, keep going straight until you’re in a narrow tunnel that leads you to a steep path that will eventually end up forking. Follow the left path and keep forward to find the Rope Gun in a black box.

Your next step is to go look for the Rebreather. Go north from where you found the Rope Gun. The entrance to the cave you are looking for is close to the beach. Just like the previous place, getting lost in it is pretty unlikely, since most of the time you are just walking straight ahead.

Keep going forward until you are in an area with many mutants and a light source pointing to a path on the right. At this moment, go left where there is a trail of orange jackets. If you keep going straight, you will eventually find a room with a big water area where there is a shark. The Rebreather is at the end of this room.

How to get the shovel in Sons of the Forest

Now, with both the Rope Gun and the Rebreather, you’re ready to go for the shovel. The cave where you will find it is east of the Rope Gun one, at the intersection of three streams. It’s easy to spot the place because there are three bodies in front of it.

Once you’re inside, you must interact with the rope on the left to slide down to a lower part of the cavern. In the place you land, on your left side, there is a pool of water where you must dive in using the rebreather. This section is pretty simple, you just need to keep swimming down through the small spaces you find.

When you get out of the water, you will find yourself in a steep section with some mutants around. Follow this path and eventually, there is a slope where you can slide down and fall into a small pool of water. Close to you, there are three red cases.

The next section is a large room where there are a couple of mutants. Stick to the right side to find the path that will take you to another large area with two light sources and some bodies on the ground. By sticking to the left side of the room, you can find a new path that leads to another pool of water where you must dive in again.

After exiting the water, you just need to go straight ahead to find, in a body at the end of this section, the shovel.

And that’s all you need to do to get the shovel in Sons of the Forest.

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