The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered: No Return beginner tips and tricks

What makes No Return way different from Valhalla is the ability to switch between characters. While this precludes a narrative progression, it also introduces a variety of ways to play the new mode. Whether you want to find your favorite protagonist – they all come with strengths and weaknesses you discover along the way – or just to unlock them all, you should make sure to try each character for a while, and not stick to your first choice.

The Last of Us Part II Remastered: No Return starts with only two unlocked characters: Ellie and Abby. For strictly story-related reasons, our official protagonist here is Ellie, so she seems the obvious choice for a starting character. However, the little girl we raised in the original The Last of Us can feel rather weak, especially when it comes to melee interactions. Meanwhile, Abby has powerful melee attacks that will make your initial approach less traumatic. This helps a lot, especially if you haven’t played the game for a while. In short, for this roguelike mode, we’ll make an exception and start with Abby.

Tommy is a relatively minor character in the story. As Joel’s younger brother, we see him interfere with the main story a couple of times or so, but in No Return, he’s an asset you shouldn’t underestimate. You unlock Tommy by playing characters from Ellie’s faction and he is a pretty far-out upgrade, but once unlocked, you’ll have a lethal sniper at any distance on your side. A huge help against the fearsome infected, especially. Only con: he can’t dodge.

If your character has a gimmick weapon – Lev and his bow, Tommy and his sniper rifle – you should improve your pistol’s capacity. It’s the basic weapon each character starts their No Return run with. That’s because, once on the field, you’ll collect so much ammo for the gun and use so little, that the game will prevent you from getting more. And it’s a real shame when precious bullets go to waste in The Last of Us.

Especially in the beginning, we often found ourselves forgetting to open the precious supply caches at the end of each level. Marked by an icon popping up at the right time on the screen, these caches contain essential ammunition and healing items, allowing you to continue your run. Don’t forget to run for them wherever you are, and don’t underestimate what’s inside, even if you have to open them all at once after killing away every wave…

The resources you collect in a run stay with you at the beginning of the next. This is the most prominent element of continuity between your No Return runs. So gather as many resources as you can, and craft often between waves to free up more space for gathering. Make use of the time between the end of the run and returning to your Hideout to do it, and you’ll ease your way into the next game.

These are not real challenges, but small tasks such as performing a certain number of headshots. The effort required to complete them is relatively low, while the rewards are great, ranging from more supplements for new skills to parts for weapon upgrades. And, in a mode like this, it’s the tiny upgrades that can make all the difference. It goes without saying, but you should also complete the daily challenges that give you extra rewards and allow you to use characters you haven’t unlocked yet.

The Trading Post sometimes allows you to buy parts and supplements, somewhat contradicting its mission - it’s supposed to let you buy weapons, holsters, and healing items. When it happens, don’t worry about saving currency, and buy as many as you can, given how rare and useful this opportunity is. If it doesn’t happen, try buying Trading Post Re-Rolls to shuffle your inventory: they’re cheap (you buy them with currency) and maybe you’ll be luckier next time.

On the Slay the Spire-style Planning Board, you’re free to choose your route, but those involving human factions are undoubtedly easier to approach than the infected. Against human survivors, stealth remains crucial to thin their ranks, especially in modes where they are not immediately aware of your position. This way, you’ll also save ammo for later runs.