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.
Tips to stay safe from Cannibals
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 need to turn Enemies Off at the bottom of the settings while creating a New Custom game. This option isn’t available once you start the game though.
This will remove all of the Sons of the Forest Cannibals on the island for the most part, allowing you to roam around the island 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, then there are also a few other ways you can keep them away temporarily.
In the initial stages of the game, Cannibals will follow you but will not attack you unless you make the first move. Keeping this in mind, try not to attack any of the for the first few days until you have built a proper base.
Stay next to 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 not only to get a constant supply of water but also to 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
You will find several traps to protect your base in the Guide Book. The most basic trap you can build in the shortest amount of time is the log drop trap. What you have to keep in mind is to get your hands on a lot of Sticks to reset the trap.
There are other, more effective traps as well, each working in a different manner. Try to build a couple of them and spread 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 are building your base, so always watch your back when doing so.
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 also have a few villages that they patrol very often. Try to steer clear of these areas to avoid running into them.
Scare them off
If you ever happen to get attacked by a few of them, there are a couple of things you can do 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 with a gun to one of the Cannibals will also work often, but not every single time. Similarly, you can also attack any of the 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 the distance. Cutting one of the dead Cannibal’s head off and throwing it at them will also scare some of the Cannibals in a few cases.
