99 Nights in the Forest quickly rose in popularity due to its addicting gameplay loop and constant updates, but whenever you log in to the lobby, the vast majority of players still only have a few ingame days in their record.
If you need some help reaching the 99-day goal and beyond, especially solo, I’ve got a bunch of tips for you as somebody who easily did it when the game first came out. It’s actually incredibly easy, as long as you’re patient and avoid unnecessary risks.
Don’t believe me? I’m writing this as I’m sitting semi-AFK in the game after following my own advice:
Need some more advanced tips? I’ve got the perfect video for you:
TIP #1. Hoard Wood Early & Frequently
As soon as the game loads in, chop nearby trees and keep all of the saplings and logs that you get. Don’t put them in the fire yet, just dump them in your camp and focus on getting at least five or more trees worth of wood first.
Start your fire once night is approaching, but leave plenty of wood for your crafting bench. In one corner of your camp, plant all of the saplings in a single clump. When these grow, you can chop most of them down at the same time, saving you a lot of time no matter what axe you’re using.
This will be your main source of wood for the foreseeable future, as you can keep replanting them as long as they drop saplings. Add a few more saplings every day until you’re completely satisfied with your supply.
Speaking of wood…
TIP #2. Use the Lumberjack Class
The lumberjack class is an amazing choice for rushing early game progress, especially when you’re solo. I know the weapons and buffs from the other ones look more exciting, but if you’re just trying to “win”, this is the best one.
This class starts you off with the good axe and a chance to get more logs and/or saplings. By the time you end day one or two, you’ll already have a level 3 or 4 campfire if you’ve been following my first tip, and this opens up the map a lot.
So yeah, spend your diamonds on this class first if you’re still struggling with the game. You can focus on getting a better sack and an actual weapon when the pelt trader first shows up, since you already have a good axe.
Looking for my thoughts on the other classes? Check out my 99 Nights in the Forest class tier list too!
TIP #3. Learn to Rapidly Fire Guns
Did you know that you can kinda fire your weapons rapidly? For example, if you have a revolver and a rifle, you can bypass the attack delay by swapping to the other immediately after firing.
This works with any weapon, be it melee or ranged. All you need to do is swap to another weapon as soon as you attack with one, and then immediately attacking again. My favorite combo, which kills most things immediately, goes like this: Revolver -> Rifle -> Revolver.
If done right, your target will die or have barely any health left before they can even move an inch. This is great for clearing the stronghold quickly or taking out bears later on.
TIP #4. Rush the Ammo Crate
If you’re new and still pushing for your first 99 days, I highly recommend getting the ammo crate as soon as possible. It requires a level four crafting bench, and it’s a huge game changer that makes the rest of your run extremely easy.
It lets you make a box of bullets for the revolver or rifle at the cost of just three scrap each. Skip the rain storage, shelves, bear traps, and the crock pot. Just focus all of your resources on getting an ammo crate and you’re guaranteed to reach the finish line.
To help with this, make sure that you explore the map and kill cultists wherever you find them. This will speed up the process of farming cultist gems, because it’ll take you a relatively long time if your only source of these is from attacks on your camp.
TIP #5. Don’t Take Unnecessary Risks
I already said this in my intro, but it really needs to be emphasized. Do. Not. Take. Unnecessary. Risks! Let’s quickly go over some examples of “risky” behavior, and I’m sure you can figure out the rest from there.
The Deer Monster
Obviously, the deer monster is a massive problem at night, as it can kill you in just a few hits and is completely invulnerable (as of writing this).
It’s barely active in the first couple of nights, so you are pretty safe and should focus on gathering resources during these times. After that, every night should be treated with extreme caution. Spend the nights crafting, chopping the trees you planted beside camp, or planning out the next day.
Unless you can comfortably flick your flashlight to stun it, if you even have one, it’s just not worth running out in the dark. This is especially true if it’s hungry, as it’ll gain a massive speed boost.
Melee Combat
Melee in the game is pretty unreliable, and you’re bound to get hit eventually even if you think you’re kiting stuff properly. Use guns to soften enemies up first, and then finish them off once they’re low enough to die in one strike.
This saves you a bit of ammo in the long run, especially if you manage to get a morningstar from a chest. If you’re facing a large group of enemies, like those in the stronghold, definitely stick to ranged combat. You’re going to get shredded if a clump of enemies touches you, even if you’re wearing armor.
With all of these in mind, you’re bound to reach your first 99 days. Heck, you can push it all the way up to the hundreds if you really want to and have the time to do so.
Just remember that your camp gets attacked every few days, so you can’t fully leave it AFK. You’ll obviously need to keep feeding your character every now and then too, but that’s an easy problem to solve, especially if you have farming plots ready.
If you are looking for a way to kinda AFK the game to hopefully reach hundreds of days or more, then check out my OP base guide for the 500-day badge!
There’s a video version of this guide now too, by the way: