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October 7, 2025: We updated this guide as Alan Wake 2 is included in the PlayStation Plus Monthly Games for October 2025.
Alan Wake 2 Words of Power are very useful things to find, as collecting them will upgrade Alan's ability to fight against the darkness, giving you a better chance of survival when facing the horrors of the Dark Place. The Words of Power fall into several different categories, and each one you find while exploring as Alan will provide access to a small selection of upgradeable perks. This will then allow you to spend these words on perks, such as marking collectible on the map or making Alan's weapons more effective.
Alan Wake 2 Words of Power explained
There are seven types of Words of Power in Alan Wake 2 that act as a sort of skill or perk tree. They appear as circles of words, usually tucked away out of sight, with a trail of arrows that only show up under torchlight to help you find them. All you have to do it look at them just right - you'll feel the pad shake and hear a noise when you're lined up - and you'll claim them and their effects.
Each time you find one you can put a point into one of three options it controls, up to a maximum of three times. Their effects are are fairly indirect, giving you options for things like regaining some health for a certain activity, or a chance to not use a torch charge when burning the darkness off an enemy and so on. They're less about a direct '+1 COMBAT' increase to stats and more about buffs and boosts to certain actions.
Here are all the Words of Power in Alan Wake 2 and what they do:
- Words of Fix - Increases health and health regeneration.
- Words of Gun - Increases ammo and weapon effects.
- Words of War - Increases weapon damage for the revolver, shotgun or flare gun.
- Words of Stuff - Increases Alan's inventory space, reveals nearby resources/items on the map, or adds a charge to Alan's flashlight.
- Words of Aid - Increases effects of flares or healing items.
- Words of Action - Increases damage dealt, lessens damage received or increases stealth.
- Words of Lamp - Health boost, stun or return charge increases when using torch.
Alan Wake 2 Dark Place Words of Power
While your objective is pretty direct in the Dark Place - get to the subway - it's a large area to explore with six Words of Power to find at first . This is also where you can find a character, for the first time, that will mark your map with questions marks indicating anything interesting to find. In this case that's mostly Words of Power. You can find this person up around where number 3 is.
Number 7 you'll be able to find later when you come back to the Dark Place with the goal of heading to the Oceanview Hotel (and will need the Alan Wake 2 Oceanview Hotel door code).
Here are the Dark Place Words of Power you can find:
- Word of Fix
- Word of Lamp
- Word of War
- Word of Gun - Use the Lamp on the taxi to clear a way behind the pillars and defeat the enemies this creates to reach it.
- Word of Action
- Word of Fix
- Word of Lamp
Check the gallery below for shots of where can find all the Dark Place Words of Power if you're having trouble tracking them down or you can't find the arrows that point them out.
Alan Wake 2 Subway Words of Power
There's a few Words of Power to find in the Subway but it's a convoluted place to get through, with a lot going on. So it's easy to miss some as you solve various puzzles to progress (the Alan Wake 2 Subway ritual is a particularly tricky beat). The character that can mark your map also appears here again, found where the yellow arrow is above.
Here are all the Subway Words of Power in Alan Wake 2.
- Word of Aid
- Word of Lamp
- Word of Gun
- Word of War
- Word of Action - shoot the board to expose it
- Word of Fix
- Word of Lamp
- Word of Fix
- Word of Action
- Word of Fix
The gallery below will help you narrow down all the Subway Words of Power shown on the map above.
Alan Wake 2 Oceanview Hotel Words of Power
There are three Words of Power in the Oceanview Hotel, all of which are pretty accessible from the point you unlock each floor. They're just a little more hidden than usual.
- Words of War - Room 224, in the bathroom behind the scaffolding. You'll need to shoot out the panel.
- Word of Stuff - On the ceiling behind the bar in the ballroom.
- Word of War - From the second floor hallway, look through the window above the door and it's on the ceiling in the stairwell.
The gallery below will help you narrow down all the Oceanview Hotel Words of Power shown on the map above.
Alan Wake 2 Poet's Cinema Hotel Words of Power
There are three Words of Power in the Poet's Cinema in Alan Wake 2, all of which can be found while playing through that part of the story, but also all can still be reached if you want to come back later on.
- Word of Fix - Cinema entrance lobby balcony, west end
- Word of Stuff - On the cinema roof near the spotlights, hidden down the side of the building
- Word of Lamp - on the side of the water tower, at a slightly awkward angle so aim with L2
The gallery below will help you better locate all the Poet's Cinema Words of Power shown on the map above.
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