Although the concept of Cannibals hunting you in Sons of the Forest is pretty thrilling, running into them constantly can soon become annoying. Sometimes you just want to take in the beauty of the surroundings or to build peacefully, but that seems to be impossible with cannibals hiding in every corner of the island.
Sure, you could keep them away from a specific area by building a base, but you are bound to run into them as soon as you step out of it. That said, we all want to find a few ways to keep Cannibals away in Sons of the Forest – if not for good, then for quite a while at least.
Turn Enemies Off
The best method to get rid of cannibals in Sons of the Forest is to eliminate them completely with the settings. Keep in mind that you cannot do this in an already-in-progress world.
To do this, you must turn Enemies Off at the bottom of the settings while creating a New Custom game. However, this option isn’t available once you start the game.
This will remove most of the Sons of the Forest Cannibals from the island, allowing you to roam around freely and enjoy building for however long you want.
If you have already started the game and don’t plan to create a new save, there are also a few other ways to temporarily remove them.
In the initial stages of the game, Cannibals will follow you but will not attack you unless you make the first move. Remember, try not to attack them for the first few days until you have built a proper base.
Stay next to the water
Cannibals in Sons of the Forest cannot swim. You can use that to your advantage and travel along rivers that stretch for miles on end all over the island.
As soon as you encounter any hostile Cannibals, you can jump into the water or swim to the other side to escape them. Additionally, one of the best base locations in this game is next to a river.
You can build your base next to a river to get a constant supply of water and keep the Cannibals at bay. This way, you will only have to defend one side of the base, with the other protected by water – which brings us to the next part.
Build Traps around your base
The Guide Book contains several traps to protect your base. The log drop trap is the most basic trap you can build in the shortest amount of time. Remember to get your hands on a lot of Sticks to reset the trap.
There are also other, more effective traps, each working in a different manner. Try to build and spread a couple of them around your base strategically, leaving no vulnerable spots.
In the prequel, you could build a few Effigies and place them around your traps to lure the Cannibals toward them. Unfortunately, you cannot make Effigies in the early access of Sons of the Forest.
Avoid attracting them
Some of the things you do in this game can attract Cannibals more toward you. Construction is the biggest factor here. You will likely come across many Cannibals as you build your base, so always watch your back.
Lighting a fire during nighttime will also attract more Cannibals than usual, although you cannot do much about that other than staying in your base.
Additionally, the Sons of the Forest Cannibals patrol a few villages very often. Try to steer clear of these areas to avoid running into them. If you try to avoid direct contact with cannibals and do not attack them, then they will not attack you for at least 2 in-game days.
Scare them off
If you ever happen to get attacked by a few of them, you can do a couple of things to scare them off. Killing their group leader is the simplest way to do that, which makes the rest of the Cannibals run away.
A good headshot, either with a bow or a gun, to one of the Cannibals will also often work, but not every single time. Similarly, you can attack any Cannibals with a limb to scare them off sometimes.
You can even wear a mask – which you can make after you get the 3D Printer – to keep the Cannibals at a distance. In a few cases, cutting one of the dead cannibals’ heads off and throwing it at them will also scare some of them.
Another trick you can try out is planting sticks on the ground in the vertical direction and then placing the dead cannibals’ heads over them to scare the rest of them. Some of them may back off upon seeing it, while others may try to attack you, so make sure you don’t solely rely on this method but also be prepared for counterattacks in your defense.
Build at Unreachable Places
Another way to keep the cannibals away is to build in places where enemies do not spawn. There are places in the Sons of the Forest, like mountains, where you can stay safely without fearing enemies.
