Your Sons of the Forest water flask will help you carry water with you into area where you can't cure thirst, and serves as a water collector - at least until one gets added at some point. Sons of the Forest thirst mechanics can be pretty punishing if you don't have an easy water supply, and we'll go through all the best options for obtaining water below, including a flask, island resources, and Yarrow plants. Read on to find out how to get water in Sons of the Forest below, and how you can keep it on you for later.
How to get Water in Sons of the Forest
There's several ways to get water in Sons of the Forest:
- Drinking directly from streams or lakes (face the water and press the button prompt)
- Eating certain natural foods, such as Yarrow
- Drinking from a full Flask
All of these will serve to restore your thirst meter, the little drop icon above your map. Thirst itself is also linked to stamina, and depleted thirst can have negative effects on your character. We'll cover all the methods you can use below and how they function.
Finding water
Drinkable water is obtained from streams and lakes, but certain water sources can make you sick. Do not drink seawater! Either in real life or in the game, as it has negative effects on your character. To find water of any kind, simply pull out your GPS map and look for blue. We recommend looking for blue lines specifically; a stream is a supply of flowing, fresh water and shouldn't make you sick.
To actually drink, simply stand in the water, face it, and press E to drink when the waterdrop icon comes up. Your character will drink, restoring their thirst.
Yarrow and water-restoring food
Yarrow - portrayed in-game as a little bushel of white flowers - can serve to restore some thirst when eaten, and we suspect that there will either be other foods either yet to be discovered or added in future updates that will serve the same effect. Yarrow usually grows in thick bunches in forested areas, so if you find one plant, you'll likely find more nearby. Eating it will serve to hydrate you in a pinch.
Sons of the Forest Flask location
A way to store water on you is to use the flask, or water collector. This is actually very easy to find, once you know where to look.
- From the original helicopter crash site use your GPS map to head to the nearest marked point of interest to the South East (shown above)
- Here you'll find a little electric cart, overgrown with plants, and a stone staircase going underground.
- Go down the steps and squeeze through the gap. Follow the tunnel into a room.
- Here you'll find a 3D Printer. Though it requires Resin to use, it should have some already.
- Use the laptop next to the printer to cycle through the options to the flask, then press E to start printing it.
- Wait a few seconds, then collect your new flask from the device!
The flask will start empty, but just go to a water source like a river with it equipped in your hand, and press E as if you were drinking - this will fill the flask. You can drink from it simply by using it like any other item, and refill it again when it depletes. You can even print other flasks to increase how much water you want to carry on you!
Is there a Water collector?
No, there is no official water collector in Sons of the Forest at time of writing, akin to the one that existed in the previous game. The Water Collector was an item that constantly, passively collected water, made from sticks and a large turtle shell. Those pieces still exist in Sons of the Forest, but right now there's no way to turn them into a Water Collector - the item doesn't exist yet. Still, it's entirely possible it'll be included in a future update, considering that all the components for it made it to the sequel.
Why can't I drink water?
You can't drink water from a stream or other water source if you're holding an item or weapon! You need to have empty hands to drink, so make sure you put down whatever you're holding by pressing G (or whatever key you have set to de-equip). Once you're empty-handed, you can chug water to your heart's content.
© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission
