Like any good crash landing survival adventure, your first order of business in Sons of the Forest is going to be figuring out how to get water along with securing a food source by learning how to fish. You’ve got several options for staying hydrated on the island: drinking right from a convenient stream, using the 3D printer to make a flask, slurping down those energy drinks. Importantly: There is no water collector in Sons of the Forest as of its early access launch.
Here are all the water sources (and other thirst meter refills) you can find:
- Freshwater streams and ponds
- A water flask
- Energy drinks
- Yarrow flowers
How to get water right from a stream
In case you’d managed not to dip your toes in anywhere yet, you should know you can just drink directly from any fresh water source by wading in and holding E. That does include the streams running through caves if you’ve gone exploring, so don’t let yourself go thirsty between combat.
When you’re choosing a location to make your more permanent base, go for a spot that’s close to a stream or pond. You can spot good options pretty easily on your map. If you are in a pinch though, the energy drinks you can loot around the map will refill your energy and thirst meters both.
How to make a water flask
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To keep water with you on the go, you’ll want to create a water flask at the 3D printer. The easier 3D printer to reach is at one of the green pips on your GPS, the same one that will net you one of the three Sons of the Forest keycards (the guest keycard location, specifically) which is closest to the pond fed by several streams on your map. The water flask requires 100mL of printer resin to create, which is just one cartridge that you can find lying around the room.
Importantly, you can only carry one water flask in your inventory, which I found out the hard way by attempting to stock up. Don’t worry though, you can drink from it several times before it needs a refill.
Is there a water collector in Sons of the Forest?
Nope, there is not a water collector in Sons of the Forest as of its early access launch. Lots of players are wondering about how to snag a turtle shell to craft a water collector because that’s how water collectors were created in The Forest. In the sequel though, there is not a water collector available in the crafting survival guide.
You also are not able to place a turtle shell directly on the ground or on top of sticks as some folks have been speculating. Trust me. I’ve tried. It’s either bugged (like the fish traps) or not implemented at launch. Don’t go killing turtles for nothing like I did! At least not until you see some patch notes confirming that water collectors have been added or fixed.