Pacific Drive Starter Guide - How to Drive to Survive

Our Pacific Drive starter guide will walk you through the stuff you need to know to make your road trip across The Zone as safe as possible, as well as some of the tips and tricks that the game failed to share with you. 

If you enjoy this article, you might want to check out some of our other survival game guides, such as The Raft. We've also covered other driving games, such as our review of EA Sports WRC. 

How to Survive in Pacific Drive

So, you've landed yourself inside The Zone and found yourself a car. Even if you've already dealt with the tutorial, there's a huge amount of stuff that the game doesn't tell you, as well as tips and tricks that will give you the edge over the competition. 

Grab Supplies

Once you've completed your first run or two, you should end up with a car that can store a bunch of stuff in the trunk of your station wagon. You must take certain objects with you when you go, instead of just leaving your inventory empty for new loot pickups. 

If you visit the status monitor (pictured above) then it will tell you everything you need to do bremindving, as well as reminding you of key supplies to bring such as repair putty and road flares.

However, there are a few things beyond the regular supplies that you will need to get your hands on, or at least, should get your hands on. 

Extra Fuel For Days

One of those extra supplies is some spare fuel. The last thing you need is to be stopped in the middle of a deadly radiation storm without any fuel in your tank. Trust me, I speak from experience. 

In your trunk you should find a small jerry can clinging to some goo in the top left corner. Grab this can and place it on the ground near the fuel dispenser in your base so you can fill it up. Replace it in your trunk and you've got some extra fuel reserves for when things get a little hairy out on the road. 

Avoid Those Red Patches (For Now)

Unless you're super hardcore at the game (and if you are, why the hell are you reading a starter guide?) then you should probably avoid putting yourself in unnecessary danger during the early stages of the game. 

It's best to avoid any areas that are extremely volatile until you've unlocked at least some better parts for your car. When your car's armor gets into the red-zone on the readout (pictured above) it will stop protecting you from external radiation damage. With that in mind, better armor is necessary to make it through these more instable zones. 

Don't Forget to Unlock New Stuff

Whenever you get back to your base, you should search through the Dr's Fabrication Station to unlock some new parts and blueprints. Not only is this where you'll unlock the non-basic items needed to repair your car's faults, but it's also where you can get new equipment to use in your base or on your vehicle during runs. 

Turn off the Car (and Put it in Park)

If you're a driver in real life this one probably won't need mentioning, but for everyone else, make sure you turn your car off properly. Leaving the engine running will drain the fuel, and leaving the lights on (internal and external) will drain the battery. If you're out and about when this happens, you could end up draining your entire car and be stranded. 

You also need to apply the parking brake when you get out. Any level of uneven surface will see your vehicle rolling away from you at an alarming speed, so don't forget this step ever. 

Mind Your Head

Pacific Drive is going for a relatively realistic interpretation of car, and human, damage. With that fact in mind, you should make sure you're out of the way of any car doors you open or close. 

If you're too close to the trunk when you open or close it you will get beaned by the door and lose a few points of health. It's not a big knock, but it's worth remembering so you don't embarrass yourself. 

Loot Different Types of Building

When you're out on a run, you should make sure to visit a variety of the different symbols you see on your map, mostly because they can all feature different types of loot. 

You're more likely to find electronics and advanced components in the various research stations, rather than the dilapidated homes and old gas stations. By the same token, you're more likely to find gas at a gas station than you are in the random cars that litter the roads and scientific buildings. 

If you're struggling with this sort of thing, then our Pacific Drive resource guide will show you how to get all of the most important resources in the game. 

That's it for this Pacific Drive guide, but you can find more articles to enjoy below.