LifeAfter Beginner’s Guide (2022 Update): Tips, Tricks & Strategies to Improve Survivability and Make Quick Progress

With so many popular titles under its wide portfolio of games for both Android and iOS platforms, NetEase Games continues to draw in more and more fans with each new game they release. Following the typical downloads by the millions earned by popular titles such as Rules of Survival, Knives Out, and Identity V among other titles, NetEase Games’ LifeAfter has quickly topped charts in several countries and has become one of the top free games.

LifeAfter is an action survival game with a role-playing element rolled into one and with an original story that immerses you heavily into its post-apocalyptic world; the game offers plenty of things to do on top of the usual zombie-themed game.

It’s not all about guns blazing and running around as your objective to survive takes you through various resource-gathering tasks and crafting tools and weapons that you need to increase your chances of survival. The game can be played entirely on your own but having a friend and partner around doubles the thrills and excitement. If you are looking for an action RPG type of survival game that you can spend some hours on by yourself or with a friend, then be sure to check LifeAfter out.

As a survivor following a devastating plague breakout, LifeAfter takes you into an unfamiliar post-apocalyptic world where those infected by the virus lurks around nearly every inch of the world. To survive, you must continuously be on your guard and gather as many of the needed food and supplies you will need to survive through the harsh environment.

Everything from stones to wood, and even hemp becomes vital needs and grabbing everything you can on-the-go is a skill that you need to master. LifeAfter offers a wide variety of weapons, tools, and structures to craft and still leaves plenty of choices for you to make relative to your preferences and play style on how to survive.

As there are some aspects of the game that may be unfamiliar to players who are a little less experienced than others when it comes to action survival RPGs, LifeAfter offers a pretty detailed, yet somewhat longer-than-usual tutorial that takes you through a variety of scenarios to understand how the game works.

It’s a great thing that the tutorial serves as a good way of introducing the story and with some non-linear choices and relative freedom to explore in certain situations; it can give you a good enough feel of what you ought to always prioritize when the game reaches the actual beginning.

Although it is best to absorb as much information as you can during the introductory part of the game, there are information icons on most menus to refresh your memory on how to go about a lot of the basic game mechanics.

If you are totally new to the game and need help finding your way around things or if you are deep into it but still need tips and strategies to become the ultimate survivor, then our LifeAfter Beginner’s Guide will surely come in handy!

1. Choose The Character Type That Best Suits You

LifeAfter was previously comparable to just about any other post-apocalyptic, zombie-themed survival MMORPG in the market. One of its most significant updates, however, introduced the Revenant feature, which allowed players to play as a revenant instead of a human. Revenants stand as a hybrid of humans and zombies, having unique abilities and inhuman powers and choosing to play as one offers unique gameplay mechanics as well as missions from that of a human character.

Before you jump into the exciting and dangerous world of LifeAfter, you will be made to choose between playing a human character or a revenant one. While there are basic information provided to distinguish one from another, a deeper look into each one will help you decide better as to which character type most suitably fits your preference and play style. Although there are ways to change from one character type to another later in your adventure, choosing the better fit to start with can make it more convenient for you to move forward in your quests and missions.

Humans are considerably the more basic choice between the 2 characters and have a familiar enough play style for experienced survival MMORPG players. Humans appear to be the more balanced type of the 2 and can be more suitable for defensive builds relative to their style of survival. Humans use weapons as well as various tools to gather different resources. Humans also rely on bandages and portable medkits for healing. If any, the disadvantage all these brings is having to carry a lot of different items, leaving less free inventory space for loots and other resources.

Revenants are often regarded as the more challenging option to take. Revenants do have superb physical traits and characteristics and can make them excel in offense and their means of survival can center around eliminating enemies first. Revenants can neither use tools for gathering resources nor use basic survival necessities like bandages, antiseptics, and diffusers. However, they do have unique skills that basically enable them to farm as well as perform functions in place of what they miss out on. More offensive strength often means lower defensive capabilities, which means that extra care should be considered on tougher challenges.

Revenants will also have to be concerned about keeping their sanity within manageable levels as an added downside to having zombie genes. Eliminating enemies as a revenant can generate spores, which is a unique resource exclusive for them to gain a variety of effects, from being able to gain recovery abilities as well as different skills. In essence, this mechanic is what gives rise to a relatively more diverse play style for revenants.

Although more players would recommend starting out as a human player given its comparable simplicity in gameplay style, there are no right or wrong choices to make here. Note as well that each character type can be built differently as you progress through your adventure. To some extent, each character type’s weaknesses can be improved as much as each one’s strengths can be further boosted.

Given the firm distinctions between the 2 character types, we highly recommend that you go through the tutorial session, even if you consider yourself as an expert in the genre and most especially if you choose to play as a revenant. Each character type will start as a human but will soon have different paths. It is best to secure a firm grasp of the basics in the tutorial as it will lead to better performance for the succeeding quests and missions you will have.

2. Aim To Complete Quests And Missions

As soon as you step into the game, the initial time you will be spending as you progress the story takes on a series of activities that basically involves moving into certain areas, performing some activites, and interacting with certain people and objects. It’s rather easy to get accustomed to following quest objectives as important objects are highlighted; people you need to speak with have indicators; and there are hard to miss arrows on the ground to guide you on where you have to go most of the time.

You will know that you are past the tutorial once you find more icons on your screen but from then on, for your adventure to progress as fast as possible, you should continue to follow the quest line at the left side of your screen. The quests you will have after the initial tutorial will not be much different from the previous ones you completed. While there is a unique and immersive plot to follow in the main quest story lines, progression through it extends to other aspects of the game.

LifeAfter holds an abundance of content and features that are not readily accessible at the start of your adventure. Locations, resources, as well as the plethora of items you can eventually craft are all tied up to your progress through the main campaign. In essence, therefore, it becomes important to push forward with the main missions early on as having access to more content and features will directly contribute to your character’s growth and efficiency. In most occasions, adhering to the guide and fulfilling objectives will also earn you new dollars, which is a premium currency, and skill points that are very important to enhance your character.

The transition between holding your hand firmly in the tutorial down to leaving you on your own to venture into LifeAfter’s massive world is gradual and very newbie friendly. Even if there are plenty of features to explore and discover and it all seems rather overwhelming early on, the main quests also aid in such a way that it is arranged from simplest to more complex ones, immersing you slowly yet very effectively into every gameplay mechanic and feature.

Learning certainly does not end when you finish the tutorial and, as you will come to discover, there are plenty of first-hand experiences that will personally teach you to become a better survivor with every task you pursue and accomplish. While curiosity may often influence you to deviate from your current quest, push to focus on the mission at hand as latter quests may likely lead you to venture into those same activities.

Keep in mind as well that most quests set you on a journey through the wilderness or other areas with danger potentially lurking from all directions. As a beginner, it becomes very important for you to understand that survival is at the core of your every objective. As such, while quests that give you ample or unlimited time to proceed can be an opportunity to gather additional resources to arm yourself and be ready for the unexpected, extra care and attention to your surroundings should always be your number one priority.

3. Always Prepare Well Before Heading Out

There’s no such thing as being overly prepared in LifeAfter as there are always unexpected dangers lurking about outside of your home. Every time you venture out for quests and missions, the inkling for resource-gathering, regardless of the objective at hand, will always be in mind and you would naturally make a habit of storing some items in your cabinet back at home before you depart.

The basic idea is that the less items you carry with you, the more free space you will have for extra resources you can grab while on the mission. In your first adventure into the wilderness, you will even be notified if you have 5 or less empty spaces in your bag. Survival, however, should always be a priority over extra loot so weapons and basic sustenance and recovery items are a must have in every journey.

Be sure to always have weapons as well as appropriate ammo in your inventory before you head out. Ranged weapons are typically safer but then there will often be situations that require you to resort to melee combat, especially considering the ammo capacity of initial ranged weapons, so be sure to have at least one of each type. Bows and machetes may not be much but they are better than nothing. If you can carry extra weapons and ammo, be sure to take more than what you think you will need.

Related: LifeAfter Food Recipes List: A Complete Guide to Food Recipes

Regardless of your expertise in combat, or your intent to avoid engaging enemies altogether, it is always a possibility to take damage in your adventures. In this sense, bandages as well as extra supplies of hemp to craft them, will always be important. These, along with food items for you and your dog, should always form part of your usual inventory before exiting the door of your home. Even while on quests, be sure to gather these items as you can never truly have enough of them.

When you get to the part of the story where you will have a wine cabinet, as well as the small cabinets, one of the reasons you would want to leave some items in is because items should be safer at home. As such, be sure to place all items you won’t need immediately and leave it there as one of the penalties for dying in LifeAfter is losing some of the items you carry in your backpack. This will leave more space for whatever resources you can gather as you venture through the danger zones and leave a bit less worries if ever you get killed during a mission.

Although you can still get back the items you lost whenever you get killed by an infected, as well as wild animals or other survivors, it may pose as a challenge to get back to the items you lose from your backpack if you lose some after you respawn. As such, take only the items you need for a journey and leave the materials you won’t need in battle back home.

4. Accomplish Event Objectives And Training

On top of the immediate rewards you can get out of completing certain activities, you can earn even more rewards by clearing some objectives on in-game events as well as training. You can see these icons at the top of your screen so be sure to check these icons out regularly and click on them to check the list of objectives you need to accomplish to obtain great rewards.

Though you can actually accomplish some of these objectives just by regularly playing through the game, it will add a great boost to your character’s growth and your game’s progress to exert more effort into achieving as many of them as you can.

Event and training objectives may not necessarily require extra effort on your part as most of the objectives here are aligned to the usual activities you engage in as you make progress on your adventure. It can happen that no special events are active at the time you start your adventure in LifeAfter but always be on the lookout for it through icons at the top of your screen.

Be sure to check out the market tab in the training menu to view some items you may want to purchase after earning enough training medals. Some events may be time-limited but you can always see additional information as to when each will become active again.

5. Pay Attention To Your Status And Map

Aside from the HP Bar which is the easiest to identify compared to the other bars on the upper left side of your screen, your hunger as well as overall health levels are equally important as well. Be sure to always keep a good eye on these status bars to identify your intake needs and click on it to have a more detailed view of your status. You also have a separate bar for your vigor, which is like stamina that gets consumed when you gather resources.

On top of these 3 bars, you should also pay close attention to your stamina whenever you run. If it’s not a “running for your life” scenario, be sure to keep it high and avoid running in extended durations. Your stamina appears as a green icon at the upper left side of your character and replenishes as soon as you stop running. You are likely to get accustomed to dashing whenever you travel long distances by foot but as much as you can, save stamina for more defensive maneuvers, especially on unfamiliar terrain and night time.

In the case of revenants, there is sanity in place of health. Parasitic vitality is consumed when revenants engage in combat and when it is expended, sanity will start to decrease. Instead of med kits or bandages, revenants need calmatives to replenish lost sanity and stay alive, or at least not completely be transformed into a zombie.

You can also click on the mini map at the right side of the screen and identify landmarks as well as important indicators to be able to focus on what you need to do and where you will need to go. The map function in LifeAfter is one of the best tools you need to be well familiar with as early as possible in your survival adventure. The map may seem overwhelming at first glance, but working your way well around it will naturally come after some sessions.

The slider on the right side of the map will be very handy as it makes zooming in and out very convenient. You can also use pinch gesture to do this. Be sure to utilize the icons on the left side of the map as these can give you a lot of information like potential drops in the zone, active common task and assistance locations, as well as specific locations of resources, infrastructure, area operations, and even landmarks.

Tapping on a specific area will mark it for you and you can also delimit the icons you want to see based on your current needs and preferences. Remember that your backpack will have its own icon on the map as well whenever you respawn as a result of being beaten by an infected or any similar unfortunate event.

6. Make Peace, Not War

You will often encounter other survivors on a variety of mission and there are choices you can make on how to engage them. As LifeAfter is an MMORPG, you can expect different players to have different behavior in areas you visit, making absolutely everyone you are not familiar with, unpredictable.

What comes with this gameplay feature is a potential for various cooperative and competitive gameplay and if you are a beginner, especially on a server that has been around for quite some time, it is best to play defensively as much as possible. This is why we recommend taking on the role of a pacifist instead of partaking in needless conflicts, much less being a warmonger.

Although LifeAfter is a survival game above all else, where you are expected to be able to defend yourself given the circumstances in its virtual world, surviving on your own will be a much bigger challenge if you make enemies out of other survivors on top of the plethora of horrors and wild animals that abound across all maps. Learn to share rest areas and help others out whenever you can.

Related: LifeAfter Guide: 10 Tips & Strategies to Collect More Resources, Craft Better Items and Earn Rewards

Just below the quest icon at the left side of your screen is the team party. Clicking on it will allow you to create your own team or join an existing one. If you enjoy time spend with the team, then you can always send them a friend invite. This is most especially important when you don’t have friends in real life that can join you in LifeAfter as all missions and explorations become a lot easier when you are doing it with other people. If you always show a helpful, non-violent image to everyone you meet, it will be a lot easier to acquire new friends you can go on an adventure with.

Keep in mind as well that there are some resources that are difficult or impossible to earn on your own and as new areas become available for you to explore, the bigger challenges that lie ahead will be folds easier with a full team of people to travel along with.

7. Join A Camp As Soon As Possible

LifeAfter certainly is a survival adventure you can revel in all on your own and the rate of your growth and progression can be as fast as you want it to be, provided you are active and adherent to the basic strategies we discussed. However, even the best survivors will have a limit as to how fast they can grow, especially if they choose to play solo in a post-apocalyptic, zombie-infested world.

As we mentioned earlier, friends are very important to have in LifeAfter and along with friends, it is essential to become a member of a camp as well. Even if you have not played any MMORPGs before, we’re betting that you have at least seen a zombie flick or two and in these types of movies the idea of banding together with people is always key to survival. Much like clans, factions, guilds, or alliances in other online games, aligning yourself with a player group has become an essential rather than an optional activity.

You can access the camp feature by tapping on your portrait and clicking on the camp icon. You can choose to start your very own camp but as a beginner, we strongly recommend that you join an existing one first. The camp system in LifeAfter has extensive features on its own and it is best to secure a firm grasp of how it works before you venture into creating and leading your very own camp. Some camps require approval while there will be some that will instantly accept your application.

The camp in LifeAfter holds a plethora of unique perks and activities you can partake in for extra rewards. Most of these are available to you as soon as you sign up so be sure to explore every nook and cranny of the camp once you have become a member. Be sure to scroll through the different modes you can earn special rewards from. Note that some of the activities are only available on specific time periods within the day so be sure to keep track of each one and stay as active as possible within your camp. Remember to visit the camp vault as well and donate whatever resources you can afford to.

As soon as you become a member of a camp, you can already relocate your home inside of the camp. Naturally, it is best to do this sooner than later as having your cottage instantly moved inside of the camp gives you better protection and closer to the daily activities you will engage in the camp. Once you become a camp member, there will be quests designed to increase your familiarity with its numerous features so do not let the seemingly overwhelming amount of information get the best of you.

8. Take Care Of Your Pet

One of the more common features present in almost every MMORPG is the pet system that every player will certainly appreciate. In the absence of other survivors to join you on some undertakings, pets serve as your loyal companion and comes with its own set of perks as well as needs. While pets are typically introduced through gacha systems in other games, you will basically start your adventure in LifeAfter after choosing 1 of 3 pets that most suit your taste.

You can choose a Labrador, Black Back, or a Doberman as your companion and each one is provided specific features to begin with. A Labrador comes with extra slots in its pack, making it a suitable Pack Dog for carrying extra resources. A Black Back tends to be more suitable as a Search Dog, able to find more items from time to time. A Doberman tends to most suitably fit the role of a Guard Dog and can protect you and your home. Dogs can be trained to take on specific roles that may differ from their supposed natures but each one can excel in specific roles.

Your dog isn’t there with you just to follow you around. You can actually keep it on guard back home and give it such other commands later on. Other than an actual guard dog being left at home, however, there are hardly benefits to doing so. Likewise, even guard dogs should still spend time with you to improve its behavior. Pet companions need affection as much as food, after all.

To ensure that your buddy’s stats are at peak and make him more obedient to your commands, remember to feed him occasionally. There are various food items as well as materials you can gather from animals that you hunt which can be fed to your dog. Dogs have packs to so feel free to check your pet’s status as well as other information by clicking on its icon just beside your status bars.

Your dog can be trained up to 5 times per day but only the first 3 are free. There are 4 training choices and these sessions can influence 4 of the 6 different stats your dog has. To initiate a training session, click on the dog icon just beside your health bar at the top left side of the screen and then choose “training”. Select the training type you want and the training button below it to train your dog.

Training dogs to act cute increases Jolliness but reduces Intelligence while teaching it Math works the opposite way. A Pouncing Training makes your buddy feistier and less clingy while a simple handshake serves as its counterpart. As for the 2 other stats indicating levels of timidity or rebelliousness, these are affected based on how good of a relationship you have with your dog. The more time you spend with your buddy and the more often you feed him, the more obedient he becomes.

9. Be Active As Much As Possible

The main campaign quests in LifeAfter are sure to provide you hours after hours of adventure and the exploration of different areas as well as new features you unlock along the way further stretches the amount of active time you need to invest for continuous progression. At some point, some of the main quests and missions may become a little more challenging to accomplish, leaving you to venture on your own to further strengthen your character or explore further to increase your familiarity with everything its world has to offer.

Beyond the usual quests you take on early in your adventure, though, there are also daily targets you can pursue for additional rewards. These activities can be found under the schedule icon at the top of your screen and will sooner than later form part of your daily routine. Before you proceed on your own hunting adventures or gathering journeys, aim to accomplish these for the added incentives they provide.

Map Affairs stand as the most basic set of daily quests to take on. You will actually be introduced to Map Assistance Requests within the tutorial and these quests, in general, are like quick and simple errands that take only a couple of minutes to complete. There are limited-time event quests as well and Camp Affairs to partake in if you are a member of one. Be sure to look into each one and accomplish as many as you can within the day.

Some of these daily activities will only be available within specific time periods of the day. Make an effort to be available for these events especially if you need the resources you can earn by completing them. Note that points are earned based on your accomplishment of targets and extra rewards can be claimed from the treasure chests at the bottom of the page.

Every bit of action you do like farming, crafting, and killing the infected earns you experience points that can make your character a lot more formidable and efficient. If you are not up to pursuing a quest and just want to relax a little more and enjoy the scenery, you can do so while continuously gathering nearby resources or even hunting infected that are not in large groups. There are hardly any in-game limitations as to how much time you can spend in LifeAfter’s world and the more active you are, the faster you can become stronger to pursue more challenging quests and acquire better returns.

Remember to check on the home icon at the upper left side of your screen and click on the abilities tab to upgrade your gathering, crafting, and combat skills. Although there will be a lot of choices on which to upgrade first, there truly is no such thing as a right path and you should choose which skills you feel you should strengthen more over the others. Just be sure to read through each and every one of the available upgrade options and don’t rush into deciding immediately. As it will take a lot longer to obtain points as you grow stronger, prioritization will be very important.

10. Know When To Engage And When To Run

Except for instances of hordes out to attack your home, there are many situations where you can choose to engage the infected or wild animals or opt to flee. These decisions are dependent on a lot of factors but, for starters, go for a more defensive approach. Having a guard dog with you can provide an extra layer of warning if there are hostiles nearby. Adventures are likewise considerably safer when you are traveling with a group or party. If you are travelling outside of a group and with a pack dog or a search dog for a companion, then you should especially consider playing defensively.

Some animals are prey and some are predators, and even encountering them for the first time in the game should somehow give you an idea if you can take them on with the weapons you have. This will be more critical when there are infected in the area which you may notice on the mini map on the upper right side of your screen. Despite being well conscious of your surroundings, some enemies may simply spawn close to where you are.

Related: LifeAfter Walkthrough: A Complete Walkthrough for Chapter 1 (Survival in the Wilderness)

Additionally, you should also consider the number of healing items you have on your inventory as well as the amount of materials you have to craft additional ones. Considering weather will be a huge factor as well since heavy rains that limit visibility can also negatively impact your health. Lastly, chances of success through some encounters can also depend on your actual combat skill levels, weapons, and sense of precision. While you can always attempt to try and down any approaching enemy, the ratio of damage each hit you inflict on it should very much be your determinant on whether to continue fighting or not.

Be sure to remember all these factors whenever there are fight or flee scenarios that come your way as assessing the situation forms part of the basic necessities you need to be good at to increase your chances of survival. Again, LifeAfter is a survival game and nothing is more important than ensuring that you keep yourself alive. Choosing to flee when disadvantaged as well as choosing not to engage can sometimes be the smarter decision.

LifeAfter has tremendously grown since its launch back in 2018 and while we covered all the basics in this guide, there are most certainly a lot more we left for you to discover on your own. In any case, we have plenty of other guides that dive deeper into specific aspects of LifeAfter and you should check each one out if you haven’t.

This ends our beginner’s guide for LifeAfter and we hope that you were able to pick up a lot of useful tips and strategies from the ones we shared and also enjoyed reading it. If you are aware of additional tips or tricks and would like to share them with us, don’t hesitate to do so through the comment section!