The Sinking City 2 Tips: Survival Tricks That Work

What Are the Best The Sinking City 2 Tips?

The best The Sinking City 2 tips all come back to one idea: survive on fewer resources. The game is deliberately resource-lean, so players who manage ammo and medicine carefully have a dramatically easier time than players who fight everything head-on. This page collects the tips that appear again and again in verified walkthroughs and guides.

Start with the basics below, then move on to the advanced tricks. Every tip here is grounded in community-tested guides rather than rumor, and anything that is not fully confirmed is marked 待确认.

Manage Ammo and Medicine Like a Budget

Bullets and bandages are scarce, so treat them like money. Before every outing, check your inventory, stash what you do not need, and re-equip for the mission ahead. The safe room is there for exactly this purpose.

The #1 beginner mistake is wasting resources on avoidable fights. If an enemy does not block a critical path, consider retreating. Disengaging, rearming, and returning better prepared is almost always cheaper than fighting with an empty magazine.

Aim for the Red Glowing Spots

Enemies take far more damage from the red weak points on their bodies. TheGamer's walkthrough highlights this as the core combat tip: wait for a clean shot and focus fire on the red area instead of spraying the body.

This single habit multiplies your ammo efficiency. Against the Slither, Deep Ones, and Shadows, clean shots at weak points are the difference between one magazine per enemy and one magazine per group.

Do Every Optional Investigation

Optional cases never gate progress, but they unlock safer routes, hard supplies, and upgrades that change how you survive. The official Steam description confirms this design: optional investigations are the main source of route and weapon improvements.

Because some areas lock once you move forward, treat optional cases as part of the main path. A district is only "done" when its cases and collectibles are done.

Read Every Note and Codex Entry

Safe codes and puzzle answers are hidden in documents, journals, and codex entries. If you are stuck, the solution is almost certainly written down nearby. The investigation menu exists to connect those clues.

Do not guess combinations. Investigate first — the game is designed so that reading beats brute force, and brute force just wastes time and ammo.

Unlock Shortcuts and Use the Skiff

Arkham is flooded, and travel time is a real cost. Unlock shortcuts behind collapsed seawalls whenever you find them, and use the skiff to cross open water. Both save time and keep you out of ambush zones.

The flooded-city traversal is one of the game's defining mechanics: routes by foot and skiff, shortcuts, and secrets tucked into boarded parlors. Use the environment as much as you fight in it.

Save Scumming Is Legitimate

The card order, loot, and puzzle layouts are seeded per session. If you hit a bad draw or a trap, quitting and reloading resets the day with the same seed. This lets you memorize patterns and replay them perfectly.

For a single-player game like The Sinking City 2, this is a legitimate tactic, not a cheat. Save before risky fights, and reload when a bad outcome costs more than the fight is worth.

Plan for New Game Plus

Two achievements require a New Game Plus run, so your first playthrough has a second purpose. Keep your favorite weapon and talent build in mind as you progress — the second run is faster but tougher.

Desercik's trophy roadmap estimates the full 23-trophy completion at about 20 hours across two full playthroughs plus part of a third. The extra time is mostly the NG+ run, not extra grinding.

Advanced Tips

Once the basics are automatic, add these advanced tricks: always know the nearest safe room before a fight, use heavy ammo only on elites and bosses, and carry one cheap weapon for trash enemies. Match weapon and ammo types instead of carrying five guns.

Community guides also recommend sweeping districts for ERC Crates and evidence before advancing, because later areas lock. The Wiki Hub location lists make this systematic.

What to Avoid

The fastest way to make the game harder is to fight everything. Enemies respawn pressure and ammo is finite, so every fight you start should have a purpose: a locked route, a collectible, or a required boss.

Also avoid skipping notes and codex entries. Players who ignore them spend ammo guessing safe codes, and players who read them solve the same puzzles in seconds. Avoid hoarding an unorganized inventory — a full grid at a bad moment costs you healing items.

First Run Checklist

Before you start your first run, set three habits: return to the safe room after every major loot run, always carry at least one healing item, and read everything you find. These three habits prevent the most common death spirals.

During the run, complete optional cases before leaving a district, unlock every shortcut you pass, and sweep for ERC Crates. The first Inventory Pack in Chapter 2 should be a top priority.

When to Save

Save before boss fights, before risky puzzle chains, and before entering new districts. The game's seeded layouts mean a reload can change the outcome of a bad draw.

Community guides recommend keeping a rolling set of saves rather than one file. That way, a missed collectible or a bad decision never forces a full restart.

Tips FAQ

What is the most common beginner mistake? Wasting resources on avoidable fights and skipping optional investigations.

Is save scumming allowed? Yes — it is a single-player tactic that community guides openly recommend.

Are there any unconfirmed tips here? 待确认: anything outside official sources and at least two matching community guides is marked and never stated as fact.

Should I fight every enemy? No — resource-lean combat means disengaging is often the smarter play.