The Last of Us Part II Remastered Walkthrough: Start to Endgame

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 walkthrough takes you from your first session to endgame content. Each phase has specific goals, priorities, and milestones. New to the game? Start with our beginner's guide first.

Quick Progression Summary

Phase	Area	Focus	Role	Duration
1. Start	Jackson	Crafting under pressure basics	Abby	1-2 hours
2. Early	Channel 13	Prone stealth and grass mastery	Abby	3-5 hours
3. Mid	Hillcrest	Listen Mode tracking + gear	Ellie or Abby	5-10 hours
4. Late	The Aquarium	Build optimization	Ellie	5-10 hours
5. Endgame	Santa Barbara	Min-max	Ellie or Manny	Ongoing

See our maps guide for detailed area breakdowns.

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Phase 1: Getting Started (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.

Level/Difficulty: Act 1 Key Rewards: Core skills, the first training manual, the event the rest of the game answers to

What to Do in Jackson

1. Learn 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. Spend your first session getting comfortable with this.
2. Pick Abby as your starting role. See our builds guide for why.
3. 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.
4. Acquire your first weapons upgrade: Bow or whatever's available.
5. Clear all main content before moving on.

Phase 1 Checklist

• Understand Crafting under pressure fundamentals
• Abby selected and functional
• Jackson main content cleared
• Ready for Channel 13

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Phase 2: Early Game (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.

Level/Difficulty: Seattle Day 1, Ellie Key Rewards: Supplies, collectibles, a heavy Infected set piece

What to Do in Channel 13

1. Work on 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. This system becomes critical from here on.
2. Farm for Bow if you haven't already. It's the key upgrade for this phase.
3. 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.
4. Complete all objectives before pushing to Hillcrest.
5. Consider whether Ellie might suit your playstyle better than Abby.

Phase 2 Checklist

• Prone stealth and grass integrated into gameplay
• Bow acquired
• Channel 13 fully cleared
• Ready for Hillcrest

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Phase 3: Mid Game (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.

Level/Difficulty: Seattle Day 2, Ellie Key Rewards: High supply density, the best stealth playground in the campaign

What to Do in Hillcrest

1. Master Listen Mode tracking. Holding Listen Mode outlines nearby enemies through walls after a brief focus. This unlocks a new layer of gameplay.
2. Start working toward Semi-Auto Pistol. It's the best weapon and becomes accessible around now.
3. 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.
4. This area is the main skill check. If you can clear it, you're ready for late game.
5. Start investing in Weapon and skill upgrades for the tactical depth you'll need going forward.

Phase 3 Checklist

• Listen Mode tracking mastered
• Semi-Auto Pistol acquired or in progress
• Hillcrest fully cleared
• Ready for The Aquarium

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Phase 4: Late Game (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.

Level/Difficulty: Seattle Day 1, Abby Key Rewards: Story pivot, quiet exploration, the most loaded space in the game

What to Do in The Aquarium

1. Finalize your build. You should be running Ellie or Abby with optimized gear.
2. Semi-Auto Pistol should be your primary. If you don't have it yet, prioritize getting it.
3. 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.
4. No Return run structure optimization starts here. Small improvements compound into massive advantages.
5. Farm this area for the resources needed to push into Santa Barbara.

Phase 4 Checklist

• Build fully optimized
• Semi-Auto Pistol upgraded to max
• The Aquarium fully cleared
• Ready for Santa Barbara

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Phase 5: Endgame (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.

Level/Difficulty: Act 10 Key Rewards: Final upgrades, the Rattler faction, the ending

What to Do in Santa Barbara

1. Santa Barbara tests everything. Come prepared with your best build and gear.
2. 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.
3. The endgame loop: run Santa Barbara, optimize gear, push harder content.
4. Experiment with Manny for a fresh take once you've mastered the standard builds.
5. This is where No Return run structure mastery separates good players from great ones. See our tips guide for advanced strategies.

Phase 5 Checklist

• Endgame content on farm
• Best-in-slot gear acquired
• Santa Barbara fully cleared
• Ready for challenge content

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Common Progression Mistakes

• 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

Key Tips for Smooth Progression

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.

For more advanced strategies, see our tips & tricks guide.

More The Last of Us Part II Remastered Guides

• The Last of Us Part II Remastered The Last of Us Part II Remastered Overview
• 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 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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