I remember hunting for a missing teammate under a blood-red sky, heart racing as a flare lit the trees. You clutch a backpack, a map, and a single idea: find them before night swallows the trails. I’ll walk you through every tool so you stop guessing and start solving.
All tools and how they work in Big Walk
On hikes people check their pockets twice—games are no different.
I’ve tested every item and watched strangers on Steam and Discord use them wrong. Some tools are lifesavers; others are situational props. Treat the main equipment as the foundation of your strategy, and the rest as situational multipliers—some are straightforward, others hide tiny rules that trip players up.
What tools do I need to solve puzzles in Big Walk?
Start with the obvious: inventory space and a way to communicate. If you want puzzles finished quickly, carry a Key Cutter and a Ball Lamp for night sections. The Key Cutter turns raw keys into game-ready shapes; the Ball Lamp keeps dark puzzles from spiraling into guesswork.
Inventory
A daypack changes a morning walk into an all-day trip.
| Items | How to Use |
|---|---|
| Waist bag | Allows you to bypass the limit of one item per person. Holds smaller items like radios and walkie-talkie only so it’s not a permanent solution. |
| Backpack | Adds an extra item slot. Instead of one, you can carry two items of all sizes and shapes. |
Carry the backpack when you expect multiple puzzle pieces. The waist bag is a sneaky way to smuggle radios or a paintbrush without losing a major slot.
Communication
Groups that talk avoid a lot of mistakes.
| Items | How to Use |
|---|---|
| Walkie-Talkie | Arguably the most important item when it comes to in-game communication. With this, you can speak with your buddies irrespective of the distance between the two of you. |
| Flare Gun | Useful to pinpoint your location on the map. If someone from your group has got separated, you can shoot a flare to disclose your approximate location. |
| Paintbrush | You can use this to draw markings on the grounds and paint surfaces to leave clues for your teammates. |
| Laser Pointer | Allows you to point at specific directions to your buddies. |
How do I use the walkie-talkie effectively?
Use the walkie-talkie the same way search teams do: short, clear bursts. Call out concise landmarks (tower, red door, pond) and combine that audio with a flare or laser pointer to close the gap. On Steam threads players swear the combo of Walkie-Talkie + Flare Gun is the fastest way to regroup after a split.
Think of your team like a surgeon’s kit: the walkie is the scalpel—precise, necessary, and best in short, practiced exchanges.
Location
Maps sit on every ranger station wall for a reason.
| Items | How to Use |
|---|---|
| Map | There are two maps to find. A big static one can be found in the map room, and you can also find a foldable one. The foldable map allows you to find out specific puzzle locations. |
| Binoculars | Allows you to zoom in on distant areas and find out different puzzle spots. |
| Compass | Shows different directions while you’re moving across the map. You can then call out the directions to your teammates so that you don’t lose your way as a group. |
Use the large map to plan routes and the foldable map to pinpoint puzzle clusters. Binoculars and compass turn vague descriptions into firm coordinates, which is exactly what your team needs to stop hunting blindly.
Puzzle
Lanterns change how you see ruins and codes at night.
| Items | How to Use |
|---|---|
| Ball Lamp | While this item isn’t required to solve a puzzle directly, it’s extremely helpful to light your way in the dark. Without it, solving puzzles at night becomes a nightmare. |
| Key Cutter | Required to shape the keys into a useable version that can be placed to complete the Tower Challenges (Red, Yellow, Blue, and Drawbridge). |
| Sound Shrine | Walk in circles around them to change their pitch to solve audio puzzles. |
| Telescope | Look through the lens to spot hidden targets or puzzle items at a distance. It also lights them up to make it easy for you to find on the map. |
Which items increase inventory space?
Backpack and waist bag are your two options. One adds a full slot; the other skews small-item friendly. Popular guides on Moyens I/O and community posts on Steam debate which to grab first—my pick is backpack for flexibility unless you need to carry both a radio and a paintbrush.
The telescope and sound shrine are puzzle-specific tools; treat them like a lighthouse in fog—visible from afar and incredibly helpful when you can get to them.
I’ve mapped how players misuse these tools and when a simple swap saves minutes and avoids panic on Discord channels. Which item will you refuse to leave behind when the path darkens?