How to heal in Alan Wake 2

Screenshot: Remedy Entertainment

Healing in Alan Wake 2 is just as important as finding powerful weapons like the crossbow. When you’re alone in the dark, with no light around, your health resources will be even more important. Thankfully, there are a few ways to heal both Alan Wake and Sage Anderson in Alan Wake 2, and we’ll show how to keep yourself safe. 

Alan Wake 2: How to heal

There are a few ways to heal both characters and can be easy to do provided you find enough health picks ups.

In Alan Wake 2 you can heal each character in the following ways:

• First Aid Kits: These pick-ups can bring up all your health. However, they will take up two slots in your inventory, so keep mindful of that.
• Painkillers: Probably the most common way to heal yourself. They are rare but have a higher chance of appearing than a First-Aid Kit. The pills will give you a small amount of health at the start, but over time, you’ll get a little more.
• Trauma Packs: Not as common as Painkillers, so when you find one use it sparingly. It brings back a medium amount of health, which can be enough when going against harder enemies. 

How to find out how much health you have?

The game is immersive and has a minimal HUD, so you’ll spend most of the time figuring out what each icon means. To locate your health bar, it should be on the bottom right hand. Instead of a bar, your health will be a half circle under the weapon you’re using. 

Because the game does not pause whenever you’re in the Mind Room or inventory, my advice would be to heal up in a safe spot before moving on. Alternatively, find lit areas since the darkness can’t hurt in there.

Perks to heal Saga Anderson

With the addition of the methods above, each character gets perks unique to them. These perks and upgrades can offer you buffs from damage to your health. The following are health perks that Anderson can find. 

• Coffee Mug Charm: When you die, this stops that from happening. Each time you have a coffee mug, it’ll break, so it can’t be used over again. However, you can find more through Alan Wake 2
• Lighthouse Charm: You get this charm from doing Nursery Rhyme in Watery’s Lighthouse. It increases the amount of health you get back whenever you’re in a safe room.
• Saw-off Shotgun Upgrade – Ready For More: Upon finding the shotgun, try this upgrade out. It costs about 18 Manuscript Pages which can be found in most places in Alan Wake 2. Every time you attack and kill an enemy with the shotgun, a bit of health comes back.
• Valhalla Nursing Home Charm: By completing the Nursery Rhyme in Bright Falls, you’ll earn this charm. Equipping it will give you more health when you use Painkillers and Trauama Packs.

Ways to heal Alan Wake

Just like Anderson, Alan also has his way of healing himself on top of the ways above. Instead of charms, he has Words of Power glyphs that give him buffs. They are:

• Words of Aid – ER and Prescription – Painkillers and Trauama Packs give a ton more health than normal.
• Words of Fix – Wellness Retreat, Wheels Within Wheels, and God Rays: Each of these perks increases your health overall. 
• Words of War – Goes Around: When fighting and using the Flare Gun, you’ll get extra health. However, the shots have to land for the perk to take effect. During harder fights, this perk may take time to get going.

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Alan Wake 2 is available now via Epic Game Store.