The Outskirts (Chapter 3)

The walkthrough for The Last of Us' third chapter, The Outskirts, will take you all the way to the Capitol Building, giving you tips and tricks for beating every combat encounter, solving every puzzle, and most importantly, surviving every harrowing Clicker segment.

In total, The Outskirts has 9 Artifacts, 4 Firefly Pendants and 3 Optional Conversations. We'll run through each of their locations as we go. If you're just looking for secrets and trinkets, you can head over to our Collectibles page for a full list of each collectible type and their locations.

Looking for a specific section of the chapter? Click through each main segment using the links below:

The chapter will start with a cutscene, as Joel wakes up to find Ellie curiously scanning the rainy landscape outside. The two will share a few words before Tess enters the room.

After another short conversation, it's time to get moving. When you regain control, you'll immediately be faced with the first two collectibles of the chapter.

As soon as the chapter starts, you can initiate an Optional Conversation by walking over to Tess as she looks out the window.

The pair will briefly chat about Marlene, with Joel wondering why she sent them to smuggle Ellie instead of going herself. Once the chat's done, Tess will head over to the bookshelf and reveal a hidden passageway.

Don't follow Tess just yet. Instead, turn around and look in the other room of the apartment. On the table next to the lamp Joel lit earlier, you'll find a note.

Grab it. It's a list of supplies Tess needs. Once it's in your inventory, you can follow Tess through the secret passage and progress with the mission.

After heading through the passage, you'll come across an elevator. You can start it by powering up the red generator to your left. When interacting with the generator, you'll have to play a mini-game. When the white dot hits the TRIANGLE prompt, press TRIANGLE. Do this three times and the generator will start up.

Now, stand on the elevator and press the green button to descend. You'll cue a short cutscene, with Tess telling Ellie to listen to her and Joel.

When you reach the bottom of the elevator shaft, look to your right. You'll find a note on the floor.

That's the Patrol Routes Map and another artifact to add to our collection. Once you've grabbed it, Joel will add it to his backpack.

After you've grabbed the map, crouch walk through the hole on the left-hand side of the room and follow the passage until you reach a ladder leading upwards.

Scale the ladder and press TRIANGLE to lift the wooden palette above you. After a short cutscene, you'll regain control outside. Follow the path ahead until you see truck. Jump into the back of the truck and use it to reach the bank above. As you exit the other side, you'll be ambushed, initiating a lengthy cutscene that offers some much-needed answers regarding Ellie and her importance to the Fireflies.

Once the scene is over, we'll find ourselves hiding from the soldiers patrolling the area. Follow Tess beneath the tanker and behind the cover on the other side. Tess will take charge here, telling us when to move. Wait for Tess to say "run" and then head for the truck to your left.

From here, drop down from the bank on the left. There are spotlights here that will alert the nearby soldiers if they spot you, so stay out of the light and follow Tess.

You'll eventually reach an open doorway where Tess will tell Ellie that they'll have to run to make it past the soldiers. When she moves, follow behind her into the open pipe ahead. When you emerge, two soldiers will appear, patrolling the bank above. Get behind the wall where Tess is stood and then follow it left.

A soldier will be watching from above. Wait for him to look the opposite way and then sneak over to the wall below him. When he looks away again, sneak over to the pipe northeast of you. Head through it and exit via the opposite side, then press yourself against the wall to your left. Two more soldiers will be looking down from the bank above here. Carefully follow the left wall until you find a second pipe, pausing if the soldiers begin aiming where you need to go.

Enter the pipe and cross back to the other side of the area. Now, wait for the soldiers to look away, and head right, following the path until you drop into a pool of water. Climb up the terrain to your left and then enter the room to your right, looting blades and some tape from the nearby lockers. Now, leave the room and ascend the hill in front of you.

When you reach the top, a soldier will begin patrolling the walkway behind you. Follow Tess to nearby cover and wait for him to leave. When Tess gives you the all-clear, head left, go up the stairs and then drop down to the floor below.

Follow the path until you find a gate. Before opening the gate, hop through the windows to your right and look for a desk with an interactive drawer. Open it to find some tape. When you're ready, head back and open the gate.

On the other side, you'll find yourself at the end of a long street. On the opposite side is a squad soldiers moving towards you. Follow Tess, using the nearby car and tank to hide from your enemies. Tess will eventually lead you into a dilapidated building. Grab any supplies you find and try not to be spotted, darting behind cover whenever enemies begin to notice you.

The soldiers will eventually infiltrate the building in search of you. It can be tricky to maintain stealth here, mainly as the soldiers will enter the building from different entry points, unintentionally flanking you. Your best bet is to create a distraction. Throw a bottle or a brick outside the building, and hide while the soldiers investigate. When they're gone, follow the right wall until you come across a broken-down truck. Use it to leave the combat arena.

If you're struggling to get the soldiers to leave, you're best taking them down. Try using the distraction to grab one of the guards, choking him out and giving you some leeway to escape unseen.

Once you're through the truck and on the other side, follow the road ahead and drop down to the bottom of the hole below. On the right-hand side of this area is a sewer pipe. Sneak through it to reach a basement. Climb the stairs and then look for a hole in the wall southwest of you. Sneak through it.

On the other side, you'll see a group of soldiers searching from the roof above. Crouch behind the vent ahead and wait for them to leave. Once they're gone push ahead. At the end of the path, you'll see two routes. One through a set of double doors on the left and the other down a long passage on the right.

Head left first. You'll enter a room with several lockers. Loot the locker to your left when entering for a blade and some ammo, then head to the desk on your right for some scrap. With all the supplies looted, leave the room and take the other path. You'll enter a sewer. Keep following the route until you enter a room with a grating above you. A truck will drive over the grate but it won't be able to spot you. Push forward until you reach the metal door on the other side.

After you escape through the sewers, the soldiers will leave. A cutscene will follow, with Joel and Tess talking about Ellie's secret and whether they should continue the mission. Ultimately, they decide to stick to the plan, meaning it's time to explore downtown.

Once the scene concludes, follow Tess until she climbs onto the remnants of the road above. Before we join her, quickly head through the gap beneath the rubble on your left. On the opposite side of the rubble, you'll find some supplements on your left. They look like blue flowers. Once you've grabbed them, return to Tess and Ellie.

Once you regroup with the pair, you'll find yourself on a street beneath towering skyscrapers. On your right, you'll find a note next to a nearby trash can.

Pick it up to score Artifact 11: Evacuation Leaflet. Joel will put it in his rucksack and that'll tick off another artifact.

Continue following Ellie and Tess until you reach a ramp. Before going up it, take a left into the truck next to you. Inside, you'll find 5 scrap. Return to the ramp and push ahead.

At the top of the ramp, you'll come to a ledge, with Ellie and Tess noting that it's a big drop. Take a right and head through the rubble. On the opposite side, you'll find a new path. It'll lead you to the base of a tall skyscraper known as The Goldstone Building.

When reaching The Goldstone Building, don't enter straight away. Instead, take a right and head towards the grassy area with the benches next to the entrance. The tree closest to the doorway has a Firefly Pendant on one of its lower branches.

To get it down, you can shoot it, although the better option is to use a brick or bottle to knock it down. You can find one of each in the nearby area. If you're struggling to see the pendant, turn on your flashlight. Light reflects off the pendant, making it easier to spot.

Now, return to the entrance to the Goldstone Building and go inside. When you reach the top of the ramp, take a left through the doorway.

You'll come across a dead soldier on your right. After looking at the body, an Optional Conversation prompt will appear above the corpse.

Hit TRIANGLE and Ellie, Joel and Tess will talk about it, summarising that something sinister is lurking in the building.

Once you've discussed the soldier, head through the doorway next to him and then open the door opposite you. Inside, you'll find some scrap. Grab it and then leave the room. On your left while exiting, you'll see a staircase leading upwards. Ascend it.

Midway up the stairs, you'll find a second corpse. Alongside some bullets, our next artifact can also be picked up next to the body.

To the right of the corpse, you'll find the Field Ops Log. Joel will comment on it and throw it in his rucksack.

With the artifact in hand, climb the remaining stairs. We want to go left to continue the story, but first climb to the top floor and loot the supplies you find on your right. Once you're done, return to the second floor and head through the doorway.

Here, we'll get our first look at The Last of Us' most iconic (and horrifying) enemy. Glued to the doorway ahead is a dead clicker. These blind, late-stage infected will play a prominent part in this chapter, but this one is just a corpse. Interact it with by pressing TRIANGLE and then repeatedly press TRIANGLE to pry it loose. Once it's gone, interact with the door and repeatedly mash SQUARE to bash through it.

The next room contains a host of supplies, including a blade and some supplements. Grab them and then follow the path, ducking beneath a filing cabinet and entering an office. Before opening the white door north of Joel, make your way to the opposite side of the room, grabbing a blade and some tape from a nearby desk.

When you're ready, push on through the white door. As soon as you reach the opposite side, Joel and Tess will accidentally knock a filing cabinet down the stairs, prompting a clicker to emerge from a nearby room and attack Joel. Mash SQUARE to fend it off and eventually Tess will gun it down. Get used to the stress of running into one of these eldritch mushroom monstrosities, cause you're going to be battling them frequently.

When you regain control, head into the room to your right. You'll find the ingredients to make a medkit (and be taught how to construct one). Head into your inventory and craft one, then use it. Don't head back into the hallway just yet. Instead, continue heading through the side rooms until you find a locked door. This is our first shiv door. If you still have shivs left over from earlier in the game, you can sacrifice one to pry the door open and grab the bundle of useful supplies located within.

If you have one and are willing to use it, you can find a bunch of supplements, ammo, scrap and resources inside, so it's well worth your while. Whatever you choose, let's now head back to the hallway where the clicker attacked us. Proceed down the hallway and look for a room to your left. Head inside and, northeast of where you entered, you'll find a wall you can boost Tess over. Do so and have her hoist you up.

As soon as you reach the next floor, you'll cue a cutscene where Joel, Tess and Ellie encounter a clicker. Once it's over, you'll be trapped in a room with the terrifying monster.

The goal here is to evade the clicker and hop over the wooden scaffolding north of where the encounter begins. However, you can take the clicker down if you're up for a fight. If you do want to fight, aim for the head. Hitting it in the brain once will stun it and hitting twice will kill it. Just note that if a clicker gets its hands on you and you have no shivs on hand, it's a one-hit kill.

Assuming you intend to evade it, circle around the tables to your left, crouch walking to prevent noise. Once you reach the back of the room, use one of the bottles found throughout the environment to distract the clicker, giving you ample time to scramble over the scaffolding and escape.

It shouldn't be too tricky. Just remember that clickers are sensitive to noise but are blind, so although it's not wise (they can echolocate you if given the chance), you can walk in front of one undetected if you're staying quiet. You can take the clicker down silently if you want, but it'll require a shiv. It's best to leave the shivs for later encounters where the game mixes clickers in with standard enemy types.

Once you're over the scaffolding, grab the medkit next to the dead soldier ahead and then jump the railing to your left. Pull the chest of drawers out from the stairwell and let Ellie and Tess drop to the floor below. When they're dropped down, join them. Tess will lead you and Ellie out of the window and onto the scaffolding outside. Stick to the wall to your left and loop around, dropping back into the building. When inside, descend the stairs and head into the room on your right.

When you enter, you'll find a corpse ahead carrying a revolver. Hit TRIANGLE to pick it up when prompted, adding a new gun to our arsenal. You can also find a 2x4 in the room to your right.

Now, the next section can be tricky. We'll have to drop down to the floor below via a hole to the right of Tess and Ellie. The problem is the area's swarming with infected. Four runners and a clicker are patrolling the room, all of which we'll need to clear to move on. The easiest way to tackle this section is to play it stealthily.

Once you drop down, hang right, grab the pipe melee weapon from the floor (it's better than the 2x4) and then choke out the runner you see ahead. Once he's down, two other runners will likely approach you. Hide from them and wait for them to return to the opposite side of the room.

Now, the idea here is to divide and conquer. If an infected walks into a room on their own, follow closely behind and take them out. You don't have to worry about leaving bodies behind (it's hard to really care about dead bodies when you're a zombie and you're entire existence revolves around being, you know, undead), but you want to make sure you aren't caught mid-kill-animation by a wandering runner.

Rely on distractions too. There are plenty of bottles and bricks lying around to use against your enemies, so make sure to play it smart and bait runners into corners where you can silently dispatch them. Leave the clicker for last unless you're willing to waste a shiv taking it down silently. We're just going to gun the clicker down, so it's best to make sure no runners ambush us while we finish it off.

When all the runners are dead, lure the clicker to a spot with plenty of distance between yourself and it. Then, aim for the head and fire away. A clean shot to the head should stun it, allowing you to take it down quickly. Be precise and take your time, running away and hiding if things go pear-shaped. If all goes to plan, Tess and Ellie will join you after it's dead. Rummage around the area for supplies (most of the infected should drop revolver ammo) and then head to the north side of the area.

You'll see a small, elevated ramp leading up to another floor. Climb it, grab the revolver ammo to your left and move the cabinet away from the nearby door. Climb through to the room on the opposite side and loot the resources found on the sofa and desk. When you've grabbed everything, follow Tess and Ellie through the door to your left.

When entering the next room, take the path left of you and follow the route, descending floors and crawling through confined passages until you wind up in the subway tunnels beneath the building. After dropping into the tunnels, look ahead to find a dead body. Next to the corpse is a Molotov Cocktail.

Pick up the Molotov. Joel will examine the projectile, teaching us how to craft them in the process. Grab the supplies around the weapon.

Just north of the dead Firefly with the molotov, you'll find a second body up a flight of stairs. Head towards it.

To the right of the body, you'll find the Firefly Map. After you've looked at it, Joel will pocket the map, adding another artifact to our collection.

After you've nabbed the map, head southeast of the body and you'll find some rubble Joel can duck under. Head beneath it and continue following the path. You'll cue a cutscene, with the trio entering a large area filled with clickers. We're going to have to navigate through this horde of monsters.

If you aren't interested in any of the additional secrets in this section, you can make a beeline straight for the exit. Just head north of where Joel enters the area and look for a ladder you can boost Tess up to. However, there's an artifact hidden here and a safe we can crack with some useful items stuck inside. Assuming you're down to find some extra items, let's run through finding the artifact and cracking the safe. Before we do anything, loot the lockers on your left. You'll find a shiv and some pistol ammo.

To grab Artifact 14, we'll have to head left when entering the room of clickers. Using listen, make sure the coast is clear and then quickly head to the left-hand side of the area, staying close to the walls and keeping your flashlight on.

There will be a runner here feasting on a corpse. Silently choke him out as quickly as possible, using a distraction to lure a clicker away if it's close enough to notice. When you're done with the runner, head inside the shop to your left. In the drawer behind the counter, you'll find pistol ammo and the Note to Derek. Grab them both and memorise the code to the safe (It's 3-43-78).

Now, let's head to the right side of the room to find the safe. Leave the shop and bank right, moving back towards where we entered the combat encounter. From here, we're going to mimic the exact same method we used to reach the shop with the note in, although this time it's going to be trickier.

We'll have to head through the central seating area to get to the shop. Push forward and, when there are no clickers in the near vicinity, hop through the window and immediately head right. Wait for the coast to be clear in the corridor ahead, and then enter the first shop on the right-hand side. Another runner will be in here. Approach him slowly and choke him out for a stealthy kill.

Once he's dead, look for the safe behind the counter. Enter 3-43-78 and grab the scrap inside. Now it's time to escape. There's likely to be a clicker patrolling the corridor, blocking you from progressing towards the exit.

Use a distraction and aim it towards the left-hand side of the area, moving the clickers away from you. From there, it should be a straight shot north. When you arrive, look up for a ladder and boost Tess to it. Wait for her and Ellie to go up, and then join them. Walk through the hole in the wall ahead and you'll drop into a new area. Take a left and you'll emerge on the street, kickstarting the next part of the mission.

After you've climbed out of the subway, follow Tess. She'll note that the route to the Capitol Building is blocked by a truck, meaning they'll have to find another way around. Take a left from the truck and into the building beside you.

Be careful, there are three runners hanging around in here in a tight cluster. Take them out carefully and quietly. If it devolves into a battle, use melee. We'll need our ammo a little bit later.

Once they're all down, interact with the wheelable chest of drawers in the centre of the room, taking it outside and positioning it against the truck Tess was talking about earlier.

Climb onto the truck using the drawers and then drop down onto the other side. Before you leave, however, turn around. You'll see an open doorway leading inside the truck.

Inside you'll find a 2x4 and a Medical Pamphlet. That's Artifact 15, and another fine addition to our collection.

With the pamphlet grabbed, leave the truck and follow the path ahead. On your left, you'll see a fence. Pull the chain to open it, cueing an intense cutscene. Once it concludes, you'll be on the other side of the door.

This room has our first workbench and some other supplies to grab. First, raid the truck and grab the supplements and other resources hidden inside. Then, make your way to the workbench on the left-hand side of the room. Upgrade your weapons however you see fit.

When you're ready, head through the door to the right of the workbench. You'll find yourself on the ground floor of a museum. This floor (which includes the room you're in now, a side room north of where you entered and a larger exhibition room to your left) has some good resources to loot, including revolver ammo, blades and bandages. Grab everything you can and then head up the ramp in the exhibition room to your left.

As you reach the top of the ramp in the exhibition room, climb onto the remains of the broken walkway on your left. Joel will begin to shimmy across the unstable path.

At the end of the route, you'll find Kiper's Firefly Pendant in a display case. Pocket it, shimmy back and continue on with your adventure.

When you're ready, head through the museum's upper floor and look for a crawl space on the upper-right-hand side of the area. Sneak through it until you reach a beam blocking your path. Lift it, cueing a short cutscene where Tess and Ellie make it through but the beam breaks, isolating Joel. When you regain control, head through another path to your right.

You'll emerge in a combat encounter with three clickers. Feel free to take one or two down with shivs if you have some spare. Otherwise, find a good vantage point and gun them down, The museum is a pretty spacious arena, so you should be able to find room to manoeuvre. When they're all dead, scrounge the nearby area for resources.

When you're ready to move on, find the set of white double doors at the end of the central corridor and open them. Ascend the staircase on the other side, and you'll hear Ellie and Tess fighting runners. Reach the top of the stairs and take a right, opening another set of white double doors.

In the room ahead, you'll find a runner banging at a door. Kill him and enter the door to cue a cutscene. When it's finished, you'll have to save Ellie from a runner. Kill it and then proceed to take down the rest of the infected in the area. A melee weapon is the best tactic here due to how dark and confined the space is. Don't waste your bullets; swing for the fences.

When they're all down, heal up, grab any stray supplies and head for the open window on the northeast side of the room.

When you reach the windows leading out of the museum, you'll initiate two Optional Conversations. The first will be with Tess. When she leans against the window, the prompt will appear above her head.

After you've chatted, an optional conversation prompt will immediately appear for Ellie. Speak to her and you'll have netted two more Optional Conversations.

When both Optional Conversations are done, hop through the window and follow Tess to the roof. She'll note that they need a way to cross to the building opposite them. Find a plank on the floor nearby and position it so Joel is stood looking at the railing at the top of the fire escape. Once you place it, a cutscene will begin.

When we regain control, we'll be just around the corner from the Capitol Building. Descend the stairs ahead of you and follow Tess.

When you reach the bottom, look to the left of the staircase to find a dead Firefly leaning against the wall.

At the Firefly's feet, you'll find revolver ammo, while next to him you'll come across a note containing the Firefly Orders.

Pocket them and Ellie will talk to Tess about the Fireflies, wondering whether they'll all be dead by the time the trio arrives.

When you have the note, look for a bin to the right of the staircase. Move it so it's below the scaffolding perched above the gate southwest of the bin. When it's in place, release the bin, climb on it, reach the scaffolding and drop to the other side.

The Capitol Building will be in view now. Push forwards down the path ahead and into the body of water developing in front of it.

When in the body of water in front of the Capitol Building, look for the stone gazebo to the left. Wade over to it and head to the centre.

Beneath the water, you should find another Firefly Pendant, with this trinket belonging to Melinda Davidson. Pocket it and then follow Tess up the stairs.

When you reach the top of the stairs, open the door to the Capitol Building. You'll cue a pretty lengthy cutscene that changes the stakes of the story dramatically.

Once you regain control, we'll have one goal: escape. Grab the alcohol and bandages off the table to your right and then climb the stairs to your left.

Follow the path ahead until you reach a balcony overlooking the Capitol Building lobby. You'll see a grisly sight, but remember to keep low so the enemy soldiers don't spot you.

Head through the door to your right and jump through the hole in the wall to the building across from you. Perched against a wall by the exit to this room is a dead soldier with a rifle. Take the rifle and Joel will add it to his arsenal. When you're ready, push through the doors ahead.

Be careful in this next section, as we'll have company. Four soldiers will drop down into the area, searching for Joel and Ellie. You can play this loud and violent or quiet and stealthy, it's your choice. If you're opting to go in stealthy, the best bet is to use the corridor on your left and lure in soldiers using distractions.

If you get caught, there's also a good amount of places to hide and return to stealth. Be warned that the final soldier will stand and guard the exit. While that means he won't get involved if things get hairy, it also means you'll likely have to break stealth to take him down.

When all four are dispatched, head through the doorway opposite where we entered the combat encounter. Descend the stairs and you'll enter a second combat encounter, this time against a significantly larger squad of soldiers. The easiest way out of this section is to play completely non-lethally.

As soon as you enter this area, head to the very end of the hallway on the far left and hide behind the table. A group of soldiers will move through the area, looking for Joel and Ellie. Wait for them to move on, and then head through the archway to your left.

Use the various tables, boxes and podiums to hide from the remaining soldiers in this final room and keep pushing left, You'll eventually head through the doors at the back of the area and emerge outside.

Once you leave, the soldiers will immediately be alerted, so sprint down the steps and cross to the subway tunnel northeast of you. Once you enter, a short cutscene will cue. When it's over, sprint out of view and then give yourself a moment to breathe.

When you're ready, follow Ellie through the tunnels, using your torch to guide the way. You'll eventually emerge into a subway station, with Ellie grabbing you and pulling you behind cover as two soldiers appear. After Ellie and Joel's exchange, wait for one of the soldiers to approach you.

Take him down and then finish off his friend. After they're dead, take the route to the right of the nearby subway train. Follow it to the end and you'll wind up in a large pool of water. The only problem is Ellie can't swim.

Leave Ellie momentarily and swim north, using CIRCLE to go underwater when a train is obstructing your path. Eventually, you'll reach a large tunnel. Ellie will manage to reach the same spot as you through a separate path on the left.

Swim over to where Ellie is currently standing and climb out of the water. You'll see a skeletal corpse to her right, with Ellie picking up its flashlight.

Next to the corpse, you'll also find the Smuggler Note. That's an artifact, so add it to the collection.

We can also grab another collectible in this area. To the left of the corpse we found the Smuggler Note on is a short tunnel. Swim underneath the wreckage obstructing the tunnel and you'll find a submerged work area.

Climb onto the nearby platform to find some supplements, then swim beneath the platform. On top of the drawers in the centre is some scrap, while you'll find Jirang's Firefly Pendant on a shelf to your left. Grab it and then return to Ellie.

Now you've returned to Ellie, we'll have to figure out how to get her across to the other side of the submerged tunnel. Jump back into the water and head left. You'll eventually come across a wooden palette floating in the water next to a sunken 4K TV advertisement.

Grab it with TRIANGLE and bring it back to Ellie. She'll jump on it, allowing you to move her to the opposite side of the tunnel. When she's there, she'll lower a nearby ladder for you. Climb up and join her. Now, follow the subway tunnel up and outside to cue one final cutscene for the chapter. The Outskirts is now complete, meaning it's time to head to Bill's Town.