How to make a fire in Sons of the Forest

You’re hungry.

Guide by Kelsey Raynor Guides Writer

Published on Feb. 24, 2023

As you start out your new life stranded on the luscious island of Sons of the Forest, you’ll find that you require a few basic survival skills near immediately. Not only will you soon need water, but you’re going to need food, too.

Catch the glimpse of the action in Sons of the Forest right here.

While there are berries around the island, and even some snacks, you’re soon enough going to need fire if you want to cook up more adventurous meals and survive. Without further ado, here’s how to make a fire in Sons of the Forest.

How do I make a fire in Sons of the Forest?

To make a fire in Sons of the Forest, you’ll need two basic items; a lighter, and a stick. You’ll find sticks in the forested areas of the island, and the lighter can be retrieved from your emergency survival kit as soon as you crash on the island.

Now, equip the stick, and look at the ground. You’ll have two options presented to you as small white lines in the floor; the circular option will place the stick upright in the ground, while the other option sees you break the stick in half and place the pieces on the floor.

The player looks down at the marker on the floor where sticks will be placed in Sons of the Forest — The marker on the floor should look like this before placing.

When the latter option appears, left-click, which will then see you then break the stick over your knee. You can right-click to alternate between the circular and broken placement of the sticks.

You can start a fire with one stick, but if you’re looking to cook food, make sure to either break and place an additional stick, or have lots of leaves to hand to keep the fire going. To actually start the fire, look down at the sticks and press ‘E’ when a lighter prompt appears.

How do I cook food in Sons of the Forest?

When you’ve managed to ignite your fire in Sons of the Forest, you’ll want to crouch and interact with it again when the fire icon appears. Just be careful to not walk directly into the fire like I did, rather stupidly, during my first attempt at cooking some meat.