Like many other titles, Days Gone offers its own New Game Plus (NG+) mode that you can play once you complete the original campaign. With it, a new sniper rifle, special ammunition, and unique trophies are unlocked, along with two new difficulty levels.
If you just completed the main story and you’re wondering if starting a new NG+ is a good idea, and if there are any tips that you need to know before going with it, the short answer is yes.
Unfortunately, the biggest problem with new players is that they’re so eager to start over that they forget how important it actually is to unlock a few things before proceeding. Some weapons are absolutely crucial once you start over, especially if you choose to increase the difficulty level.
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With that in mind, you can avoid making the biggest mistake of your life by reading this simple guide, and I promise you, your gameplay will be more enjoyable than ever before.
What is the New Game Plus (NG+) mode?
Let’s start from the very beginning, shall we? The New Game Plus (or NG+, for short) is a feature that the developers add to their games to give players another reason to replay everything, but this time, a little differently.
Basically, once you “enable” the NG+ mode, Days Gone will reset the main story and let you replay it once more. Nothing in the story will change, as the NG+ mode doesn’t alter the original content, but instead, it makes it more fun.
So, what happens when you start the NG+ mode? Some things will be reset while others will remain intact. More specifically:
What resets in NG+ mode?
- The whole story, including the main and side quests.
- The map fog will also be reset, and you’ll have to rediscover the whole map.
- All the camp jobs and side missions.
- All the infestation zones, ambush camps, and hordes.
What carries over in NG+ mode?
- You’ll keep all of your weapons, including the special ones like the Rock Chuck, the MG55, and more.
- All of your skills and NERO injectors (including Health, Stamina, and Focus) will stay intact.
- Your bike customizations will also stay as you’ve left them.
- The trust level and credits for all camps will carry over.
- All trophies and collectibles will stay unlocked, so you can collect them all if you haven’t done that already.
What are the key differences?
- There are some new trophies appearing in-game once you start the NG+ mode, including the One More Ride and Logan’s Shadow. To unlock them all, you’ll have to use special ammo and complete the NG+ mode.
- You’ll unlock the BND-150 sniper rifle, which comes with unique ammo types like explosive and gas darts.
Having all that power in NG+ mode means that you can choose to skip all that grinding and go instantly to the good stuff: shooting and cleaning up hordes. You have all your weapons, skills, and upgrades that make your character extremely more powerful than it was in the beginning, making your gameplay more enjoyable.
One of the best things about the NG+ mode is that your bike customizations will carry over, and you won’t have to replay the whole thing traveling at the speeds of a turtle.
What you need to unlock before playing the New Game+ mode
There are a few very powerful weapons that you need to unlock before starting the NG+ mode, and believe me, you’re gonna need them.
For example, two of my favorite weapons are the Rock Chuck (which comes with a built-in suppressor for stealth killing) and the MG55, which is perfect for even the biggest hordes.
And yes, you can carry both of them at the same time, which, for me, is one of the best in-game weapon combinations.
The best in-game weapons for every case
Having a weapon combo that you really like in Days Gone is the perfect way to enjoy the game even more once you start the New Game Plus mode.
Here are six of the best in-game weapons that you may want to unlock before starting over:
| Weapon | How to Unlock |
|---|---|
| Chicago Chopper | Reach Trust Level 3 at Wizard Island (gain XP from missions and jobs). |
| .50 BFG | Purchase from Wizard Island after story progression (Trust Level 3 required). |
| MG55 | Complete the Horde Killer storyline by clearing all 37 Hordes. |
| Rock Chuck | Finish all Marauder Camp Encounters (100%). |
| Crowdbreaker | Available for purchase after progressing in the Wizard Island storyline. |
| BND-150 | Automatically unlocked at the start of New Game Plus. |
Although it seems fairly easy to unlock them, it’s actually not a “piece of cake”. For example, to unlock the MG55 and the Rock Chuck, you’d first have to complete the Horde Killer and Marauder Camp Encounters quests.
How to complete the Horde Killer quest
Unlock the MG55 machine gun by killing all 37 hordes.
If you want to unlock the MG55, which is the most powerful machine gun that you can carry over and easily handle even the biggest hordes in Days Gone, you’d first have to complete the Horde Killer main quest.
This one is very simple: Kill all the hordes that are visible on your map. Unfortunately, this quest may take lots of your time because some of the hordes may be missing from the spot, and you’ll have to keep searching for them in nearby places.
Depending on the time and whether it’s day or night, the hordes may be spotted in different locations. In the day, they’re usually more sluggish and less active, and most of them can be found inside their nests or caves hibernating.
At night, they are more aggressive, more numerous, and roam farther from their nests, meaning that you’ll have to search for them in nearby places, usually in the “red spots” that can be found on your map.
How to complete the Marauder Camp Encounters quest
Unlock the Rock Chuck assault rifle by clearing all 10 Marauder camps.
The Marauder Camp Hunter looks pretty easy, but the truth is far from it. To complete this quest, you’ll first have to find all the camps, kill all the enemies, and locate the banker in every single one of them.
There are a few ways that you can find all the Marauder camps. If you choose to play it as the game intends to, you’ll have to open your map, find all the places that are fogged and you haven’t discovered yet, and search there. Usually, you can spot those camps by looking for smoke.
If you want to make your life easier, open your map, note all the camps that you have already discovered, and visit the Interactive Map by Map Genie, and from the left sidebar, hide everything and only enable the “Ambush Camps“.
Check which ones you’re missing from your own map, and travel across the map to find them all.
Why you should change the difficulty in NG+
Once you complete the storyline and start the New Game Plus mode, two new difficulty modes will appear: Hard II and Survival II.
Although it is fair to quickly judge by their names and guess which one is harder, they have a few key differences you need to know about:
| Description | Hard II | Survival II |
|---|---|---|
| Combat Difficulty: | Enemies hit harder, they’re stronger to kill, and bullets may sponge. | Enemy toughness is pretty much the same as Hard II, but with added realism. |
| Resources: | Although close to Normal and Hard, the resources are fewer. | Even more limited resources, including ammo and supplies. |
| HUD & Navigation: | Available (including the minimap and waypoints). | Minimap and waypoints are disabled, and you’ll have to rely on environmental cues. |
| Fast Travel: | Enabled. | Disabled. |
| Survivor Vision: | Enabled. | You can’t see through walls. |
The Hard II is perfect if you want to enjoy the game, but in higher difficulty now that you have everything unlocked, or in Survival mode if you’re looking for bigger challenges, limited resources, and more realism added in every single aspect.
Probably the hardest thing about the Survival II mode is that you don’t have a minimap and waypoints, meaning that you’ll have to listen to every single word the characters say whenever they talk, because that will be your key clue on where to go. This is the perfect way to learn the whole map like you were the one who designed it.
FAQ
In case you have more questions about Days Gone’s NG+ mode, here are the answers to some of the most common questions:
If I start a NG+ mode, will it overwrite my completed save file, or will it save it as a new one?
Days Gone gives you multiple slots that you can use to save your game progress. This means that you can save your original game, start over with the NG+ mode, and have it saved on another slot.
How difficult is the Survivor II mode really?
The Survivor II focuses on adding more realism by significantly reducing all in-game resources like ammunition, items used for crafting, and fuel (although it can be purchased). Enemies are harder to kill, and some big hordes feel impossible to clean.
No minimap and waypoints means you’ll have to focus more on the dialogs, and rely on the environmental clues. It’s a great solution for hardcore gamers who want more realism and difficult challenges.
What carries over into NG+ mode?
All your weapons, bike upgrades, skills, crafting recipes, NERO injectors (Health, Stamina, Focus), trust levels and credits in camps, and trophy progress and collectibles will carry over.
What resets in NG+ mode?
Your story progress, mission, completion, map frog and fast travel points, infestation zones, absush camps, hordes, camp jobs, NERO checkpoints will all be reset.
Are there any exclusive items in NG+ mode?
Once you start the NG+ mode, you’ll automatically unlock the BND-150 sniper rifle with special ammo types such as explosive, gas, and EDT dart. There are also new trophies, including the likes of One More Ride (unlocks after completing the NG+ mode), 2 Days 2 Gone (completing the NG+ on Hard II or Survival II mode), and Logan’s Shadow (killing enemies by using all the ammo types that you get with the BND-150 sniper rifle).
Do I need to do anything before starting the NG+ mode?
First, make sure that you’ve kept at least one save of the original game in case some day, you may want to go back to it. Apart from that, make sure that you have unlocked both the MG55 machine gun and the Rock Chuck assault rifle to make your NG+ gameplay even easier and more enjoyable. Other than that, you’re good to go.
Is it worth starting over with the NG+ mode?
Depends, really. If you want a reason to replay the whole campaign and finish once again all the main quests, side missions, and what’s more, then it’s the perfect way to do it with everything unlocked.
Days Gone gives you the option not only to replay the whole thing, but to get some more trophies, unlock a new sniper rifle, and either increase the difficulty level a bit, or even go crazy and start over with the Survival II mode.
For me, the story was so good that I wanted to re-live it again, and so I did. Unlocking the MG55 was the best decision ever, and made cleaning up all the hordes easier than ever before.
The Rock Chuck assault rifle is the perfect way to go stealthier and kill enemies one by one from afar without being noticed. It’s also a great weapon against hordes if your MG55 runs out of bullets.
Have you started the game over with NG+ mode? And if so, which modes did you choose to replay the campaign, and what’s your experience as of now? If you haven’t, what’s keeping you from starting? Let me know in the comments down below!
