Jump Into Redfall with Beginner Tips & Tricks

Redfall’s a nice town.

It would be a shame if something happened to it.

Welcome to the blood-soaked island of Redfall! The sun is out of commission until further notice, the sea forms a barrier around the island that no ship can breach, and there is the unfortunate matter of the vampire infestation. Thankfully, we have some tips and tricks for vampire hunters that will help you get the upper hand over the bloodsuckers tearing the place apart.

Redfall is available now on Xbox Series X|S and PC. Play it now on Game Pass.

Getting Started

• Getting distracted as you play Redfall is half the fun. The game features Campaign missions, side missions, Safehouse missions, Nests, dynamic vignettes, and one-shot encounters, Rook Storms, as well as random encounters as you cross the city. Additionally, there are environmental storytelling scenes practically everywhere.
• Change difficulty whenever you want. If you’re an advanced player or really into shooters, increase the difficulty and play on Midnight or Eclipse. If the game is a bit too challenging, decrease the difficulty and switch to Daylight, where you’ll typically see fewer Elite or Special enemies spawning.
• This is key: Consider playing (and replaying) in different ways, with different heroes. Solo and co-op are different experiences. Co-op with one other player is different than co-op with a squad of 3 or 4 players. At launch, there are 4 Heroes, each with different skills and powers, and a different narrative feel. Each hero has unique dialog lines and stories, so playing multiple times with different heroes will get your additional story and character information.
• All tutorials can be viewed again in the Archive menu. If you can’t read the tutorial right away, or feel like you missed something, you can revisit the info when you’re in a safe location.

Age Required

Getting Around

• Look up! Look around. Go vertical when you can, along cliffs, rooftops, bridges, etc. You can often sneak past an encounter that way or find an alternate entry or path. There are also plenty of secrets to be found off the beaten path…
• Always look around for alternate pathways: Side streets, back doors, overhead balconies, windows, and rooftops.
• Redfall has tons of secrets to uncover, and some of these secrets are heralded by specific markers in the world, such as columns of smoke, ravens circling overhead, and comms lasers pointed at the clouds. Investigate these and you might just stumble across something interesting.
• As you cross the city, you will find Historical Markers. Activate these for fast travel. (Safehouses also enable fast travel.)
• Consult your map of Redfall often. Place a marker to guide you along. Map icons for any current mission will be highlighted in gold.
• Turn on your flashlight when you need it. Seriously. The vampires have may have blocked out the sun, but that doesn’t mean you have to live in the dark. Using a flashlight can help you spot things you might otherwise miss.
• Use lockpicks to access good old fashioned mechanical locks like doors to buildings and cars and keep a stock of rewire kits for things like alarm systems and electronic safes. Trust us, you do not want to set off any alarms. That will send all the enemies in an area running to your location.

Getting Good

• The Fire Station and Maritime Center serve as places to launch your missions and talk to allies. You can also spend your Support currency there to re-stock ammo, lockpicks, rewire kits, and medical resources. Support currency can be found as you explore, picked up off of enemies, and earned when you break down gear.
• Bellwether operatives have set up UV lights all over the island in their own fight against the vampires. A lot of them have been turned off by cultists, so why don’t you just go ahead and turn them back on to stop any bloodsuckers that wander too close in their tracks.
• Use your powers! Many of your Hero skills are passive, but three of them are active. Use them often to tilt the odds in your favor. Of your three active powers, two of them recharge on a timer. To charge your Hero's ultimate power, you need psychic residue, which is primarily collected by destroying vampires. You can also collect psychic residue in glowing blue bottles, collected up by cultists of the vampire gods.
• Sometimes the smartest thing you can do is… run. Just run. If you’re exploring on your own and get into a situation where you’re overwhelmed, make a strategic retreat and come back when you’re a little stronger or have better gear. Or just when the area is a little clearer.

Age Required

Getting Sneaky

• Our enemies will react if they see or hear you, so stay behind enemies or behind something that blocks their view. (Or if you're playing Jacob, use Cloak often.) Gain an advantage against enemies by sneaking or avoid some encounters altogether.
• Turn your enemies’ defenses against them by hacking their turrets.
• Flare guns can be used to trick enemies into investigating an area. Prioritize distracting the Bullhorn Cultists to separate them from their allies so you can quietly take them out before they call for help.
• Turn the tide in battle with interactive hazards, which are highlighted red when you aim at them. Use fire and electricity to your advantage.
• You get a damage bonus with both your weapons and your melee attacks against unaware enemies.

Go Deeper

Want even more tips and tricks? Check out our Advanced guide for helpful advice on gearing up, uncovering Redfall’s secrets, and slaying vamps with friends.

And be sure to check out our ‘What Is Redfall’ feature for a huge roundup of game details to make sure you’re prepared before you head to the island.