Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey Guide – How To Unlock New Skills, Keep Warm And Craft Tools

Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey can be a harsh game. One moment you’re traversing the jungle, the next you’re dying to all kinds of elements and wildlife. Forget reaching the point of evolution – it can be a chore just to survive.

Fortunately, there are a number of ways to ensure your survival like unlocking new skills, crafting new tools and much more. Taking on predators will come later though – let’s start with staying warm.

Light My Fire

Look near any water bodies in the Savanna for some red leaves. These are herbs called Khat. Keep an eye out for any “?” items near a river and it should be easy enough to locate. Khat will help in surviving the cold but can be used in two different ways.

You can eat it to fill the cold resistance bar but the effect won’t be as strong. The other method is to grind it into paste using a Granite Grinder and apply it on your body. This will lead to a larger cold resistance bar and uses less of the herb overall.

The Neuronal Chart and Unlocking Skills

The skill tree in Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey, referred to as the Neuronal Chart, doesn’t function like most games. While it can be used to unlock new skills, it can’t be accessed whenever you feel like. Instead, you need to find a spot to sleep and press Y. This brings up the Evolution menu and lets you check the chart.

You’ll need Neuronal Energy for upgrading skills and unlocking new ones. Energy can be earned by doing tasks such as crafting new tools, fighting enemies, exploring new areas and so on. This will all contribute to filling up the Neuronal Energy circle in the chart. Increasing the overall Energy capacity requires evolving into a new species.

Fun fact: Neuronal Energy cannot be accessed when away from a baby. If you find a different place to sleep outside of your home without a baby, the Evolution menu can still be accessed but Neuronal Energy can’t be used for unlocking skills.

One tip to gathering more Neuronal Energy is – no joke – to carry a baby. Press B near a baby to pick them up. This provides a bonus to the amount of Energy earned. Carrying a second child will further increase the bonus. It can be dangerous in the wilderness so exercise caution when taking babies with you – if you die, they’ll need to hide until another clan member can find them.

Skills are dependent on the actions performed in-game. Fight more and combat skills will become available. The game will also let you know when a new skill can be unlocked. To know what a skill does, you have to click on its node to unlock it, which should provide a full description.

Acquire the new ability at the cost of some Energy. Locked skills appear as black nodes – you can hover over them to receive clues on unlocking them. Keep in mind that certain skills require certain actions so focusing more on those should get you closer to unlocking them.

What about skills that require Genetic Mutations? First, you need Mutant Genes to actually appear. They have a chance of popping up after breeding and a baby is born. When a Genetic Mutation happens, they’ll appear as orange nodes on the Neuronal Chart.

You can find out what the Mutation does when the child matures but it will only take effect once your species has evolved. The Mutation nodes will then turn into a normal nodes for unlocking. Be warned – Genetic Mutations will go away if the carrier dies – whether from a wild animal, sickness or old age – before evolution takes place. Try to evolve as soon as a favorable Mutation emerges.

Crafting Tools

There are four main tools – the Sharpened Stick, Granite Grinder, Obsidian Carver and Basalt Chopper – that you should craft. Not only will they serve as weapons but can also provide essential functions like grinding herbs into paste. Let’s take a look at how to craft them below

• Sharpened Stick: Locate some dead branches in the jungle or in trees. Place a branch in your character’s left hand and alter it. Hold the button and go by the instructions provided to strip the branch. You can use this stick for making holes, fishing and lifting rocks. However, for combat, look for a good rock. Place the rock in your right hand and the stick in your left. Press the alter button again and follow the cues. Eventually you’ll have your Sharpened Stick.
• Granite Grinder: Find two rocks of granite – they can be found in a variety of locations in the Savanna. With the two rocks in hand, press the alter button while listening for cues and follow the instructions. Soon enough, you’ll have the Granite Grinder on hand, which is handy for making paste from herbs.
• Obsidian Carver: Look for obsidian in caves and hit a rock or some other tool against it to get an Obsidian Carver. This is useful for sharpening sticks, butchering corpses or even fighting. You can also use it to open coconuts for drinking.
• Basalt Chopper: First, locate two basalt pieces. Though found throughout the Savanna, they aren’t as common as the other materials so keep an eye out. Take the pieces and press the alter button, listening for the audio and going by the instructions as usual. Eventually you’ll get the Basalt Chopper which greatly decreases the time needed to sharpen a stick. It can open coconuts, kill predators and even chop meat effectively.