A Sons of the Forest GPS locator will pop up on your map as soon as you gather yourself after crash-landing into the horror game, along with a mission quest to ‘Find Team B’. So what are these GPS locators, and just how do you find and use them? After all, it’s not as simple as heading straight to the markers on your map – you’ll need to do some prep work first.
Each GPS locator is represented by a purple marker on your Sons of the Forest map, and your GPS tracker will beep incessantly as you draw nearer to their location in the open-world game. There are three of these purple markers throughout Sons of the Forest, each indicating a member of your team. They’ve all been hit by an untimely demise, but thankfully were also carrying Sons of the Forest weapons or tools that you can repurpose. You’ll need to prepare certain items before you head out to retrieve them though, so here’s everything you need to know about each Sons of the Forest GPS locator and how to use them.
Every Sons of the Forest GPS locator
The three locators are all found in the north-west corner of the map. You can collect the Sons of the Forest GPS locators in any order, but we’ve arranged them from easiest to hardest – and probably their intended order. However, if your crash point is nearer the second than the first, you could always start there.
GPS locator 1: The hanging man
This locator can be obtained early in the game, and all you need is your starter axe, so you can head straight here from your crash site. However, when you get there and listen to the beeping GPS, it can be easy to miss what you’re looking for, making the task seem harder than it actually is.
No, this GPS locator isn’t buried, or hidden in a cave; it’s actually situated on a colleague hanging lifeless on a cliff face. If you’re at the bottom of the sharp drop, look up when you’re at the marker location, and you’ll no doubt see your target. You’ll need to head up above him, which involves a short walk around the rocks as you can’t climb up. Above him, seek out a rock with a rope tied round it. Free your old friend by hitting the rope with your axe, not forgetting to collect the rope, food, and drink nearby before descending back down, and pick up the GPS locator from his corpse. This colleague was carrying a flashlight when he was killed, so grab that and add it to your inventory, too.
GPS locator 2: The pistol and the shark
Another fairly easy GPS locator to collect with no additional tools required, you could also go for this one first if you spawn on the beach nearby. No surprise, then, that this location is also where you can collect the pistol – typically the first and easiest gun to earn in shooters or survival games.
This GPS locator is offshore, so you’ll need to swim out to it. Don’t worry, you won’t need the Sons of the Forest rebreather for this one as you can stick to the water’s surface. From the shore, you can see the red flotation device that is your destination. Remember this, as your GPS tracker will automatically unequip as you swim – technology and water don’t mix, after all. Head to the side of the raft and you can climb up onto it, where you’ll see the corpse of your colleague, and can collect the GPS locator, the pistol, and some ammo and other resources.
You can make it to the raft without any danger, but once you’re there, a shark will begin to circle the buoyancy aid. Our recommendation at this point is to simply wait until the shark moves on, which it will. Take the time to eat, drink, or organise your quick select items, and eventually the shark will swim off – there’s no need to use up any ammo.
GPS locator 3: The grave
This is the most difficult GPS locator to collect as you need to acquire the Sons of the Forest shovel first, and doing that in itself tasks you with having found the rebreather and the rope gun. Once you’ve done that, it’s pretty simple: dig at the Sons of the Forest grave site marked by the third purple marker. Doing so will uncover the third GPS locator and the shotgun.
How to use a GPS locator
Collecting these GPS locators isn’t just about finding your colleagues and their items. Once recovered, you can repurpose a Sons of the Forest GPS locator to mark something else on your map, be it a useful food source, an NPC, or a base.
To use a GPS locator, first, place a stick in the ground. Then equip a GPS locator from the case at the back of your inventory screen, and place it on top of the stick. Cycle through the icons that show on your map by pressing the right mouse button with the GPS locator in your hand. You can always pick up a GPS locator to place it somewhere else, but you’ll only have three at a time. Once you have befriended Virginia, we recommend giving a GPS locator to her.
Now you know where to find each Sons of the Forest GPS locator and what to use them for, you’ll be able to continue your story, find out who that mysterious person was who spared your life, and discover one of the Sons of the Forest endings. On your way, you’ll of course need to defend yourself against the many Sons of the Forest mutants, so don’t let Kelvin die, recruit Virginia – and perhaps some friends in Sons of the Forest multiplayer – equip those new guns, and adventure deeper into one of the best PC games of 2023.