The Last of Us Part II Remastered arrived on PC on 3 April 2025, ported by Nixxes and Iron Galaxy from Naughty Dog's 2020 original. Alongside the visual work it carries three things the 2020 release never had: No Return, a roguelike survival mode with twelve playable characters, three unfinished Lost Levels shipped with developer commentary, and Guitar Free Play. The campaign is unchanged at 11 acts and 46 sub chapters, split between Ellie and Abby across the same three days in Seattle.
This guide covers everything you need: core mechanics, the best characters, weapons worth investing in, location progression, and the tips that actually make a difference.
Core Mechanics
Crafting under pressure
Molotovs, shivs, health kits, explosive arrows and trap mines all draw on one shared pool of alcohol, rags, blades, binding and explosives, and crafting runs in real time without pausing. Every health kit you make is a Molotov you did not.
Prone stealth and grass
Part II added going prone, dodging and sliding under vehicles, which turns tall grass into a genuine hiding layer instead of scenery. Human enemies call your last known position to each other, so a broken stealth run becomes a coordinated sweep.
Listen Mode tracking
Holding Listen Mode outlines nearby enemies through walls after a brief focus. Lev's No Return trait improves it, while Grounded strips it out entirely along with most of the HUD.
Weapon and skill upgrades
Parts upgrade guns at workbenches and supplements buy skills, but each skill branch only opens once you find its training manual. Ellie has Survival plus Crafting, Stealth, Precision and Explosives; Abby has Field Tactics plus Covert Ops, Close Quarters, Firearms and Ordnance.
No Return run structure
A run chains randomised encounters of four types, Assault, Hunted, Holdout and Capture, with optional gambits paying bonus currency, and finishes on a boss. Six bosses unlock in sequence from the Arcade Bloater to the Rat King, after which they appear at random.
For a deeper dive into how these systems interact, see our The Last of Us Part II Remastered combat guide.
Characters Overview
| Role | Tier | Playstyle | Key Stats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ellie | A | Versatile approach | Balanced stats |
| Abby | A | Versatile approach | Balanced stats |
| Tommy | A | Versatile approach | Balanced stats |
| Lev | A | Versatile approach | Balanced stats |
| Manny | A | Versatile approach | Balanced stats |
For full build breakdowns with gear and stat priorities, see our The Last of Us Part II Remastered builds guide. For rankings, check the tier list.
Weapons Guide
| Weapon | Why It Matters | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Semi-Auto Pistol | Ellie's default sidearm and the gun she is least likely to run dry on. | The entire early game, and finishing wounded enemies without spending rifle ammunition. |
| Bow | Ellie's silent option, and the only weapon whose ammunition is recoverable from bodies and walls after a kill. | Stealth clears and Grounded runs, where a weapon that pays for itself changes the whole resource economy. |
| Pump Shotgun | Ellie's close range answer, brutal against Clickers and Shamblers and completely wasted on anything past a few metres. | Corridors, Bloater encounters and the moment a stealth plan falls apart. |
| Hunting Pistol | Abby's high calibre scoped sidearm, hitting far harder than her Military Pistol while carrying very little ammunition. | Armoured WLF soldiers and any single target you want removed in one shot. |
| Flamethrower | Picked up by Abby during The Descent on Seattle Day 2. | Infected swarms in the hospital sections, where crowd control beats precision. |
Semi-Auto Pistol: Ellie's default sidearm and the gun she is least likely to run dry on. It upgrades at workbenches for stability, capacity, rate of fire and reload speed.
Bow: Ellie's silent option, and the only weapon whose ammunition is recoverable from bodies and walls after a kill.
Pump Shotgun: Ellie's close range answer, brutal against Clickers and Shamblers and completely wasted on anything past a few metres.
Hunting Pistol: Abby's high calibre scoped sidearm, hitting far harder than her Military Pistol while carrying very little ammunition.
Flamethrower: Picked up by Abby during The Descent on Seattle Day 2. It shreds grouped Infected and keeps burning after contact rather than doing one hit of damage.
Full breakdowns in our The Last of Us Part II Remastered weapons guide.
Location Progression
| Location | Level Range | Key Rewards |
|---|---|---|
| Jackson | Act 1 | Core skills, the first training manual, the event the rest of the game answers to |
| Channel 13 | Seattle Day 1, Ellie | Supplies, collectibles, a heavy Infected set piece |
| Hillcrest | Seattle Day 2, Ellie | High supply density, the best stealth playground in the campaign |
| The Aquarium | Seattle Day 1, Abby | Story pivot, quiet exploration, the most loaded space in the game |
| Santa Barbara | Act 10 | Final upgrades, the Rattler faction, the ending |
Jackson: The opening act, seven sub chapters running Prologue, Waking Up, The Overlook, Patrol, The Horde, The Chalet and Packing Up. It teaches every system in snow and quiet before the story turns.
Channel 13: A flooded television station on Ellie's Seattle Day 1, a tight interior stocked with Infected rather than humans and one of the campaign's most claustrophobic stretches.
Hillcrest: A suburban neighbourhood on Ellie's Seattle Day 2 built as an open combat sandbox, with houses to loop through and WLF patrols backed by dogs that track scent.
The Aquarium: Abby's base on Seattle Day 1 and the location the back half of the story orbits. Ellie reaches it herself at the end of her Day 3, which is the point the two timelines collide.
Santa Barbara: The tenth act, four sub chapters running 2425 Constance, Pushing Inland, The Resort and The Beach, where the Rattlers replace the WLF and Seraphites as the human threat.
See our maps & locations guide for detailed area breakdowns and our walkthrough for the optimal progression path.
Tips That Actually Matter
- Crafting draws on one shared pool, so a health kit and a Molotov compete for the same alcohol and rags. On Survivor and Grounded most players over craft health kits early and then have nothing to throw when a Bloater arrives.
- Skill branches open by finding training manuals, not by spending supplements. Ellie's Crafting, Stealth, Precision and Explosives and Abby's Covert Ops, Close Quarters, Firearms and Ordnance each need their manual first, so exploring directly widens your build.
- Going prone is new to Part II and it is the biggest stealth upgrade in the game. Tall grass conceals a prone character properly, and sliding under vehicles breaks line of sight in a way enemy search patterns handle badly.
- WLF patrols bring dogs that follow scent rather than sight. Breaking line of sight achieves nothing against them, moving continuously does, and killing the handler will not call the dog off.
- Arrows are recoverable from corpses and from the walls they stick in. The bow is the only weapon that can leave an encounter carrying roughly what it started with, which is why Grounded runs lean on it so hard.
- Abby's Flamethrower arrives in The Descent on Seattle Day 2 and it trivialises grouped Infected. Save the fuel for the hospital basement instead of burning it on the first pair of Runners you meet.
- In No Return every character is effectively a class. Tommy starts with a sniper rifle but cannot dodge, Mel starts with two health kits and gains speed from healing, Manny carries 50 percent more parts and 150 percent maximum health, and Bill trades dodging for doubled drop rewards.
- No Return bosses unlock in a fixed order: Arcade Bloater, Theater Infestation, Rattler Captain, Garage Bloater, Seraphite Elite, then the Rat King. Once the Rat King is cleared they start appearing at random, which is when runs get genuinely unpredictable.
- Gambits are optional objectives inside a No Return encounter, things like three kills from prone or a full stealth clear, and they pay currency for the Safe House Trading Post. Taking the easy ones costs nothing and funds a better loadout for the boss.
- Permadeath can be set per chapter, per act or across the whole game. Per chapter is the version most people actually finish, because one death in Abby's Seattle Day 2 does not erase the previous fifteen hours.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Hoarding supplements while never picking up the training manual that would open the branch you want to spend them in.
- Crouching in tall grass rather than going prone, which is the exact habit Part II added prone to defeat.
- Trying to break line of sight from WLF dogs, which track scent and will find you anyway.
- Burning Abby's Flamethrower fuel on scattered Runners instead of saving it for grouped Infected.
- Choosing Tommy or Bill in No Return without noticing that neither of them can dodge.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the Remastered version add over the 2020 game?
No Return with twelve playable characters, three Lost Levels with developer commentary called Jackson Party, Sewers and Boar Hunt, Guitar Free Play, a speedrun mode, full developer commentary, and accessibility work including Descriptive Audio and Speech to Vibrations. The campaign story itself is unchanged.
How do I unlock the other No Return characters?
Ellie and Abby are available immediately. The rest unlock by completing encounters as the previous character: two Ellie encounters for Dina, three Dina for Jesse, three Jesse for Tommy and four Tommy for Joel, with a parallel Abby chain running Lev, Yara, Mel and Manny. Bill and Marlene came with the PC update.
What are the Lost Levels?
Three levels cut during development and restored in unfinished form with commentary: Jackson Party, Sewers and Boar Hunt. Each runs about ten minutes, with grey box geometry and missing audio deliberately left visible.
How does the PC version run?
It supports DLSS 3 and FSR 3.1 upscaling with frame generation, DirectStorage, uncapped framerate, ultrawide at 21:9, 32:9 and 48:9 plus triple monitor setups, full keyboard and mouse remapping, and DualSense haptics. Nixxes and Iron Galaxy handled the port.
Which difficulty should I start on?
Seven are offered: Very Light, Light, Moderate, Hard, Survivor, Grounded and Custom. Survivor removes most of the safety net without turning combat into a resource puzzle, while Grounded strips Listen Mode and most of the HUD and works far better as a second playthrough.
More The Last of Us Part II Remastered Guides
- The Last of Us Part II Remastered Best Builds
- The Last of Us Part II Remastered Tier List
- The Last of Us Part II Remastered Walkthrough
- The Last of Us Part II Remastered Beginner's Guide
- The Last of Us Part II Remastered Tips & Tricks
- The Last of Us Part II Remastered Weapons Guide
- The Last of Us Part II Remastered Combat Guide
- The Last of Us Part II Remastered Boss Guide
- The Last of Us Part II Remastered Maps & Locations
- The Last of Us Part II Remastered Crafting Guide
- The Last of Us Part II Remastered Classes & Characters
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