How to Get the Chainsaw – Sons of the Forest

Would it really be a gory survival game without a chainsaw? The noisy, toothy tool has been in countless iconic horror films and zombie video games, and so it only makes sense that it would make an appearance in Sons of the Forest. However, it’s different from weapons like the pistol, where acquiring them is a breeze. No, for this deadly weapon / helpful tool, you’ll need to satisfy several requirements. Then, if that wasn’t enough, you’ll have to brave a spooky bunker crawling with mutants.


The immediate requirement for accessing the location with the chainsaw is having the maintenance keycard. However, acquiring the keycard requires three other important tools:

sons of the forest places for items to get the chainsaw
You basically need to do all the early game caves first

If you haven’t gotten any of these items yet, here’s a quick recap: first, get the rope gun and rebreather from their respective caves; second, use those two items to get the shovel from its cave; third, use the shovel to uncover Maintenance Bunker A where you’ll find the maintenance keycard.

The Entertainment Bunker is where players can pick up the chainsaw, and it is on the western side of the map, marked with a green circle on your GPS tracker (1). It will only show up on the GPS if you downloaded its location from the laptop at the start of the Rebreather Cave. You might have already stumbled across the Entertainment Bunker because it has a 3D printer in a room just after entering it. The entrance can be somewhat difficult to make out; it is a hole in the ground that looks like a cave, right next to a stream and overgrown golf cart (2).

Before going into the details, you should know that the chainsaw is at the very end of the bunker. You will want to be well-prepared before heading in. Luckily, at the start of the bunker is the 3D printer room, where you can save your game at the sleeping bag in the corner. Continue down the hallway, and you’ll find yourself in a corridor with a locked door at the end. Use your maintenance keycard to open it, and you’ll be in the first area – the gym.

Immediately inside the gym, you’ll come into contact with a big mutant. Use the shotgun on it to quickly kill it (1), then pull out your firefighter axe to kill the smaller mutants around the corner. Sometimes another big mutant comes out of the spa while you’re fighting; if it does, shotgun it. After the enemies are dead, you can pick up the tracksuit sitting on a bench where the smaller mutants were (2).

Head into the spa area: you can tell it’s a spa because of all the sensory deprivation capsules. Take an immediate right (1), and you’ll be in a small room in the spa; in the corner is a set of pajamas you can snatch up (2). These are great to put on while resting because they refill your rested meter more.

In the back of the spa, you will see some glass doors with a blood streak going through them (1). This is an unironic warning that a strong enemy is waiting for you past the doors. However, you don’t have to fight this conjoined crawling mutant, and there are no good items in the room; run past it up the stairs to the poolroom (2).

Now that you’re in the poolroom, you’re almost to the end of the bunker. Don’t worry about searching the pool, unless you want some cloth that’s along its left side. Towards the back left corner, there is a locked door – it leads to the chainsaw. To open it, go into the nightclub right next to the door.

sons of the forest club entrance and door to chainsaw

There will be a large mutant here, so use a strong weapon or explosive to kill it. There are quite a few items in this room to grab, like the guitar on the bar to the left (1). Investigate the back right portion of the club with all the tables; one will be surrounded with corpses. On that table, you’ll find your ticket to the chainsaw – the guest keycard (2).

Before running to unlock the door in the poolroom, though, unlock the door in the club that leads to the surveillance room. Here you will find a laptop that gives you the location of Maintenance Bunker B (where you can get the compound bow). There is also some ammo, resources, and a shotgun rail in this room.

sons of the forest entertainment bunker laptop for maintenance b
Bunker B is a ways south from your current location

Now for why you’re here, let’s grab the chainsaw! Exit the club and open the doors on your left; this opens to a corridor with mutants inside. Try to take them on one at a time to avoid being overrun. If you’re desperate, you can lead them back to the pool, where they’ll drown if they fall in.

Past the hallway they’re guarding is a sitting room: in the back left corner is a passageway that has some baby mutants in it (1), which leads to a small movie theater. Sitting on a yellow beanbag chair is a corpse that has the chainsaw protruding from its abdomen (2).

If you got to this point by hightailing it past all the enemies, then you will definitely want to use the exit in the sitting room. It leads out of the bunker through a cave with a couple of baby mutants in it. On the other hand, if you cleared the place of enemies as you went, then just go back the way you came (you won’t miss out on anything).

sons of the forest guest keycard bunker exit to cave
There’s an exit sign, but you won’t notice if you’re running for your life

The chainsaw works as both a tree-felling tool and a weapon. It is a strong choice for dishing out damage, being able to cut off enemy limbs quite easily. However, it is a bit unruly, and doesn’t allow the player to block at all, which are some points against it.

Where the chainsaw really comes in clutch is the lumberjack department; it is the fastest way to bring trees down. To use it, approach a tree and wait for your character to hold the chainsaw sideways, then press the primary action button. There is a downside to the chainsaw: it requires batteries to recharge it after constant use.

sons of the forest using chainsaw on tree
It saves a lot of chopping

If you’re out of batteries, the firefighter’s axe is nearly as effective as the chainsaw in taking down trees, and it doesn’t require any batteries. To see how much charge is left, look at the chainsaw in your inventory; there will be a light blue bar under its icon that indicates how much charge is remaining. You can recharge it by combining the chainsaw with batteries in your inventory.

sons of the forest chainsaw in inventory

Now that you have the helpful chainsaw, you can start your career in construction – making log cabins on the beautiful (but dangerous) island. Did you have any difficulties picking up this item? Is it your favorite mutant slaying weapon? Let us know in the comments!

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Kelson H.
Kelson H.

Kelson is a spud head from out west. He is most happy when holding a milky tea with too much honey and playing a sprawling role playing game or reading a fantasy novel. His video game tastes vary but his main genres are looter shooters, RPGs, and real time strategy games.

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