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Far Cry 6 is a large game with a lot of different mechanics happening in the background. While Ubisoft Toronto does its best to explain what it can at the beginning, some things do slip through the cracks. Here, we’ve gathered a few things that will help you get started adventuring in Yara.

Always Follow the Blue

Far Cry 6 makes it clear from the get-go that blue is the color to follow. It’s the pathway to hidden areas, shortcuts and clues to solving puzzles. Looking for a place to climb? Look for blue cloth draped over the ridge. Trying to find a hidden Libertad chest? Just look for blue and follow the color. It’s a simple concept that leads to numerous rewards throughout Yara.

Where to Start First

Far Cry 6 follows in its predecessor’s footsteps by providing three large landmasses for you to liberate in any order you choose. The game recommends starting with the Madrugada area first, however, for story reasons. As the tobacco producing region, Madrugada helps familiarize players with Viviro and the process used for creating it, thus adding more context to the other region’s stories.

If you want to get the Far Cry experience right away, however, we recommend starting with the middle region, Valle De Oro. Of the three regions, Valle De Oro feels the most like traditional Far Cry thanks to its insane and over-the-top characters, drug-induced missions, an engaging set of stories and boss fights that aren’t half-bad. It’s also a great point to start if you’re not ready to mess with tank (El Este) or plane (Madurgada) controls.

Regardless of what order you tackle the areas, the world levels up at specific points in the story. All three areas may start with a Guerrilla Rank of 3, but they won’t stay that way for long. While you can technically go to Esperanza from the get-go, it's not recommended unless you really want a challenge.

The Guerrilla Rank isn’t the Level-Gating mechanic it seems on paper

The fantasy behind the gameplay is the idea of becoming a Resolver Guerrilla. That means leveling up your Guerrilla Rank and acquiring new standard and Resolver Weapons. The fear behind that Guerrilla Rank ahead of the game’s launch was that it was some form of RPG mechanic meant to level-gate players from areas around the island, like recent Assassin’s Creed titles. Thankfully, this isn’t much the case with players able to explore higher-level areas and still find success.

The Guerrilla Rank is primarily used for unlocking new weapons, Resolver Weapons and Supremos at Juan’s stores throughout Yara. You must go out of your way to find enemies that can down you in a few shots. Headshots and takedowns kill all enemies in one hit, a relief after Ubisoft nerfed the Hidden Blade and bow damage in recent Assassin’s Creed titles.

Playing with Ammo

Part of becoming the best Guerrilla is understanding what tools to use in any given situation. Far Cry 6 shakes up its formula with different ammo types that work against different enemies. You can only swap ammo types at Workbenches, so it’s best to try and have as many different types equipped as possible. As infantry is the most common enemy type, you should always run the following:

  • Soft-Target Rounds – Best used against unarmored targets
  • Armor Piercing Rounds – Penetrate helmets and armor

The other three ammo types are more situational and best used within specific missions. You can also get some of the properties of these ammo types by equipping specific standard weapons (i.e. an RPG in place of Blast Rounds) or Resolver Weapons:

  • Poison Rounds – The game’s take on hallucinogenic drugs. Causes damage over time and can turn enemies against each other
  • Blast Rounds – Area-of-Effect rounds that work best against vehicles
  • Incendiary Rounds – Creates fire damage in an area that spreads and deals damage over time

What are all these Chests for?

Like any Ubisoft game, Far Cry 6 has a lot of icons on its map. Of the icons, there are four different chests that all look slightly different and unlock different items. These include new weapons, gear, accessories and customization materials:

  • FND Chest – These chests have the FND arm mark on them on the map and are usually found at Checkpoints or other FND stationed areas. Their coloring is red and black. They contain either a new, unpurchased weapon or materials needed for weapon customization.
  • Libertad Chests – These chests bear the same FND mark, but with a star underneath. These chests are usually hidden behind objects and need to be found. Their coloring is blue and white. They contain either a new piece of gear or materials needed for Resolver Weapons.
  • Weapon Chests – These chests have a gun mark on them. In-game, they’re decorated wooden crates with a wooden crocodile on top. These contain unique weapons that have unique skins and pre-set attachments and modifications.
  • Accessory Chests – These chests are plain and white on the map. In-game, they look like smaller versions of the Weapon Chests. They contain accessories you can put on your weapons.

Distracting Enemies

Far Cry 6’s AI aren’t the smartest, but they have their moments. Every now and again, you’ll come across a cluster of enemies chatting away. In previous games, there’d be a dedicated button for throwing rocks that would distract and disperse enemies. Far Cry 6 doesn’t have that anymore, but there is a way to distract enemies.

Rocks are gone and replaced with baseballs, which are now projectiles. You can equip them at the Workbench, hold L1/LT to bring up your weapon wheel, and then swap projectiles with the D-pad. From there, you can toss baseballs with R1/RT. It’s unknown why Ubisoft made something so simple from the previous games so much more difficult.

Healing is a Nuisance, but it can be made slightly easier

Of all the weird design decisions made in Far Cry 6, perhaps none are as confusing as healing. In past games, players could craft syringes and use them by holding Triangle/Y. When out of syringes, players could still heal, but would have to watch a long animation play out. In Far Cry 6, that animation still plays while hampering your movement speed. Syringes are also in the game but using them is much more complicated.

In Far Cry 6, Syringes are now classified as projectiles that must be unlocked via the Workbench. From there, you’ll need to hold L1/LT to bring up the weapon wheel, and then swap projectiles with the D-pad. From there, just hit the R1/RT button to use them. It’s unknown why Ubisoft made something so simple from the previous games so much more difficult.

The other workaround for healing is the Medico Supremo, which works best in co-op. This Supremo’s special ability allows you to self-revive and increases the speed of health regeneration. It’s good in single player too and will help against some of the tougher encounters. Still, it doesn’t hold a candle to the previous system used in past Far Cry games.

Far Cry 6 is available now on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, PS4, Xbox One and Stadia.