Sons of the Forest Shovel Guide

In our Sons of the Forest Shovel Guide, we’ll go over how to get this essential survival tool and what it can be used for. 

We've got a guide for you if you're just getting started in Sons of the Forest, a full map with every location, and item guides for important items such as the pistol, shovel, and the 3D Printer! We've also got details on how to farm and how to cook!

Where to Find the Shovel in Sons of the Forest

The shovel is located in a cave near the mountains. You can tell you’re at the right place if you can see three corpses on sticks outside — one of these is carrying the Slingshot. The cave entrance is blocked by a few wooden boards which can be removed by using any axe.

Before entering the cave, there are a few key items you need, and some that are nice to have for the dangerous journey inside:

• The Rope Gun.
• The Rebreather.
• The Flashlight — not completely necessary, but it does a good job at lighting up the larger cave area.
• A Pistol — guns are great for taking care of tougher mutants.
• Healing items — Medicine is relatively common from supply crates, and more can be found in the cave itself.

Once you’re ready to enter, break the board and head inside. At the entrance, you can drop down into the hole to grab a couple of spare oxygen tanks for the Rebreather. After that, head back up and cross the zipline — there are also a few pieces of cloth that you can take if needed. The next cave has some items, but you’ll want to head into the water after looting.

Heading through the underwater passage will lead to a linear cave area with some enemies. While this area does contain some more oxygen tanks, you can always run through here quickly to avoid combat. Reaching the end of this area will cause you to slide down a watery incline, before being dropped into the next cave.

Turning around after landing, you’ll be able to see the way forward lit up by a light on the ground, next to some scattered items. Heading further in, you’ll have to deal with a number of enemies. Make use of guns or grenades to thin their numbers, before switching to melee weapons to mop up the rest. From here, you can either head left into a small hidden pool, or right.

Going right will lead to you to a large open cave with many mutants. It’s possible to take out a few quickly with a grenade, though you’ll eventually have to fight the ones that remain. In the center of the cave, there is a body holding a flashlight attachment for guns. After this, move onwards, dealing with a few more mutants as you go. You’ll eventually go through an underwater section, which leads to another linear corridor with even more mutants.

Finally, you’ll reach the end of the cave, revealing a large structure in the background. For now, you won't be able to reach this strange location. Instead, take the shovel from the worker’s corpse before heading back through the cave. Partway through your return back, a large mutant will destroy a wall to the left. Using explosives will get it out of the way, giving you a shortcut out of the cave — you can rush past the few baby mutants on the way out.

What the Shovel is Used For

The shovel can be used in many locations to dig up hidden areas and items. This includes graves, which usually contain crafting materials, and larger patches of dirt by the white dots on the GPS. When you reach a digable area, the ground will show a shovel icon when you look at the ground. Equipping the shovel, you can hold down the left mouse button to dig away. You’ll usually need to dig one spot a few times, before moving slightly to uncover the entire object or entrance.

Despite clearly being made to be two handed, you can use the shovel while holding the GPS or a torch. It can also be used as a weapon if necessary, though it’s worse than your other melee options for the most part.

Thanks for reading our Sons of the Forest Shovel Guide! Make sure to check out more of our guides for the game below.