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  1. Games
  2. Survival
  3. Sons of the Forest

The Sons of the Forest hotkey system explained

Guides
By Joel Franey Contributions from Leon Hurley last updated 17 April 2023

How to use the Hotkey and quick select system added in Sons of the Forest

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Sons of the forest weapons
(Image credit: Endnight Games)
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A Sons of the Forest hotkey system has been added to the game as part of a post-release update, a highly-demanded feature since release that makes quick selecting and swapping weapons and inventory much easier on the go. Sons of the Forest initial lack of hotkeys meant that going through the inventory rucksack was your only option, but now things are different, and we'll explain how to use the Sons of the Forest hotkey system for quick use here!

How to use hotkeys in Sons of the Forest

Sons of the forest hotkey and inventory options

(Image credit: Newnight)
Sons of the Forest guides

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Sons of the Forest on PS4, PS5, and Xbox
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To hotkey weapons in Sons of the Forest, players simply need to open their inventory, hold the mouse over the weapon, tool or item they want to hotkey, and hit the corresponding number on the keyboard (0-9) to assign that object to that number.

From that point on, you can quickly switch between all those different objects simply by using the assigned number keys! It's a far more expedient system, though for those who want to keep a certain amount of realism that Sons of the Forest is known for, there's a second option: quick slots.

To explain, you can access quick slots in your inventory by holding down i instead of pressing it. That will bring up your backpack instead of laying out your entire inventory on the floor: 

Sons of the forest quick inventory

(Image credit: Endnight Games)

You also have some control about what's in the backpack, as you can select it from the inventory screen and change what in there. Not everything can be put in the backpack for quick selection, but it is basically a lumpy quick menu you can pull out in a pinch.

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Joel Franey
Joel Franey
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Guides Editor, GamesRadar+

Joel Franey is a writer, journalist, podcaster and Very Tired Man with a BA from Brunel University, a Masters from Sussex University and a decade working in games journalism, often focused on guides coverage but also in reviews, features and news. His love of games is strongest when it comes to groundbreaking narratives like Disco Elysium, UnderTale and Baldur's Gate 3, as well as innovative or refined gameplay experiences like XCOM, Sifu, Arkham Asylum or Slay the Spire. He is a firm believer that the vast majority of games would be improved by adding a grappling hook, and if they already have one, they should probably add another just to be safe. You can find old work of his at Eurogamer, Gfinity, USgamer, SFX Magazine, RPS, Dicebreaker, VG247, and more.

With contributions from
  • Leon HurleyManaging editor for guides
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