The Last of Us 2 Remastered: No Return DLC Trophy Guide & Roadmap

Holdout encounters are unlocked after playing 7 runs (don’t need to complete the runs, can let yourself die in the first encounter). Then the Holdout encounters will spawn in future runs.

Capture encounters are unlocked after playing 9 runs (don’t need to complete the runs, can let yourself die in the first encounter). Then the Capture encounters will spawn in future runs.

There is no way to check in-game with which characters you completed a run. To keep track, write them down and cross them off when you complete them. Otherwise it could get confusing to remember which one you’re missing.

You must first unlock all characters. This is done by playing a few encounters with each character to unlock the next one. Here are all characters and how to unlock them:

1. Ellie (available from the start)
2. Dina (complete 2 Encounters with Ellie)
3. Jesse (complete 3 Encounters with Dina)
4. Tommy (complete 3 Encounters with Jesse)
5. Joel (complete 4 Encounters with Tommy)
6. Abby (available from the start)
7. Lev (complete 2 Encounters with Abby)
8. Yara (complete 3 Encounters with Lev)
9. Mel (complete 3 Encounters with Yara)
10. Manny (complete 4 Encounters with Mel)

There is no way to track in-game which mods you already got and still need. The trophy tracker only shows how many you got in total, but not which specific ones you still need.

It’s highly recommended to keep track manually which mods you have finished. Below is a list of all 26 (sorted alphabetically). Either copy this into a text document and mark which ones you got, or write/print this and cross them off by hand.

The best approach is to first complete a run with each character and complete all challenges. Along the way try to do one of each mod encounter. Keep track manually and note which ones you completed. After you’re done with everything else, start Custom Runs and enable only the mods you still need. It counts the Mods via Custom Run, doesn’t need to be in Standard Runs. Because you can select the available Mods in Custom it’s much easier this way.

All 26 Mods Checklist (sorted alphabetically):

1. Crafting Gives Bonus Parts
2. Decreased Enemy Health
3. Distractions Attract Enemies
4. Enemies Drop Bombs on Death
5. Increased Enemy Health
6. Increased Enemy Speed
7. Invisible Enemies
8. Long Guns Locked
9. Long Shot Damage Bonus
10. Low Health Damage Bonus
11. Melee Attacks Set Enemies On Fire
12. Melee Kills Restore Health
13. Mirror Mode
14. Molotov Rain
15. Mystery Encounter
16. Photo Mode Filters
17. Pustule Rain
18. Reloading Discards Ammo Left
19. Stealth Kills Boost Movement Speed
20. Stuns Restore Melee Durability
21. Temporarily Unlock All Recipes
22. Thick Fog
23. Time Limit
24. Time Slows on Headshots
25. Tripwire Traps
26. Vaulting Boosts Movement Speed

Potential Glitch & Fix: Some players are reporting their trophy counter gets stuck at 25/26 despite having done all mods multiple times. A fix for this is to complete a mystery encounter that also has various other mods. This can be done in a Custom Run, activate all mods and complete a Mystery Encounter and it should unlock the trophy.

More types of gambits unlock gradually based on the total number of gambits you have completed (all are available after completing 15 gambits total). The total available gambits are seen under Challenges > Gambits.

For this trophy you must do 5 gambits IN A SINGLE RUN. During every encounter, pay close attention to the display in the top left corner if there’s a bonus challenge. Always complete this in every encounter. Initially, you may not get a gambit in every encounter. But after you’ve unlocked all gambits you will get them more regularly so this will be easier to do.

All 6 bosses:

1. Arcade Bloater
2. Theater Infestation
3. Rattler Captain
4. Garage Bloater
5. Seraphite Elite
6. Rat King

Ellie:

1. Complete 2 encounters with Ellie
2. Upgrade all Perseverance skills as Ellie – Perseverance is Ellie’s starting skill tree. Press Touchpad > R1 to view the skills. You must buy all 3 skills in her Perseverance skill tree. Play through encounters to get enough Supplements in one run.
3. Kill 4 enemies with Molotovs in one encounter – go into an encounter with 3 Molotovs. Throw them at enemies, ideally 2 close together and then another 2 single enemies. You can also craft Molotovs during encounters as Ellie, she has this ability from the start. Alternatively, can be done with other characters if you buy the Moltov Crafting Recipes from the weapons locker in safe room.
4. Collect every gun in one run as Ellie – for this you must buy every gun IN ONE RUN from the safehouse between encounters as Ellie. You don’t need to collect any melee weapons or craftables (no craftable recipes, special ammo, or throwables/explosvies). In total you must get 6 weapons as Ellie: Semi-Auto Pistol, Revolver, Bow, Pump Shotgun, Bolt-Action Rifle, Silenced Submachine Gun.

Dina:

1. Complete 3 encounters with Dina
2. Kill 4 enemies with trap mines in one encounter – Dina has the ability to craft Trap Mines unlocked from the start. Go into a match with 3 Trap Mines already crafted. Place them on the floor and attract enemies, you can let them spot you and run in the area behind the mine to make them walk into it. Then craft a 4th Trap Mine during the encounter for the last kill.
3. Craft 10 times in a run – craft 10 times total during ONE RUN. This includes all craftables (health kits, ammo, throwables etc). Can be done with other characters.
4. Craft a health kit, Molotov, trap mine, and stun bomb in a run – Dina starts with the crafting recipes for Trap Mine and Stun Bomb. You just need to buy the Molotov Recipe from the weapons locker in the safehouse. Craft one of each with resources you find during encounters. Can be done with other characters too if you buy all 3 recipes from the safehouse.

Jesse:

1. Complete 3 encounters with Jesse
2. Purchase 10 items from the Trading Post in one run – buy 10 items from the weapons locker in safehouse IN ONE RUN. Go for the cheapest ones such as crafting recipes, ammo, health kits. Weapons cost the most so don’t buy too many of those. Play the encounters that give the most currency.
3. Kill 3 enemies with pipe bombs in one encounter – Jesse has the ability to craft pipe bombs from the start. Go into an encounter with 3 pipe bombs already crafted. Throw them directly at enemies to blow them up. You can craft more during the encounter if needed. Can also be done with other characters if you buy the pipe bombs (or recipe) from the weapons locker in safehouse.

Tommy:

1. Complete 4 encounters with Tommy
2. Kill 5 enemies in one encounter while zoomed in with a scope – use Tommy’s sniper rifle (starting weapon), aim with L2 and press X to use the scope to zoom in. Do 5 kills total in a single encounter. Can also be done with other characters (for example, Manny’s Hunting Pistol can be upgraded with a scope too)
3. Complete a run with only your initial gun or guns – don’t buy any weapons from the weapons locker during the whole run. Only use the starting weapon(s). You are allowed to upgrade your weapons. Using throwables/explosives is fine too. You can use bricks, bottles, molotovs, trap mines, pipe bombs, health kits, special ammo. This can be done with any character.
4. Complete an encounter where every kill is a headshot – easiest method is to start a custom run with only Capture type encounters. The first encounter will only have 3-4 enemies total. Headshot all of them. Just take it slow and get close to the enemies for easier headshots.
5. Complete an encounter without missing a single shot – easiest method is to start a custom run with only Capture type encounters. The first encounter will only have 3-4 enemies total. Use a 1-hit kill weapon such as Tommy’s sniper rifle, or Manny’s hunting pistol to kill one enemy with each shot. Don’t miss a shot. Can be done with any character.

Joel:

1. Complete an infected encounter as Joel – can only be done as Joel, must win an encounter with Infected-type enemies (not human enemies)
2. Kill 6 enemies using the same gun without reloading in an encounter – Joel’s custom starting revolver is good for this, it has plenty of enemies. Try to do headshots only, this way you can do 6 kills before needing to reload.
3. Kill 3 enemies with shivs in one encounter – Joel starts with the Shiv crafting recipe. Craft 3 shivs before an encounter. Then grab enemies from behind in stealth with and use the shiv with to stab them. This also works in unarmed melee combat, sometimes when you hit an enemy with your bare hands you get the prompt to grab them and can use the shiv. Can also use shivs when enemies grab you.
4. Hit 5 enemies with a bottle or brick in one run – during encounters search for bottles/bricks and toss them at enemies with R2. Must do this 5 times total in ONE RUN (not one encounter). Works with any character.
5. Complete a bloater boss encounter as Joel – start a custom run, under enemies select the boss “Arcade Bloater” (first boss). Alternatively, Garage Bloater also works. Now win a run from start to end and defeat the Bloater boss as Joel. Only works with Joel.

Abby:

1. Complete 2 encounters with Abby
2. Gain 50 health from melee kills and attacks in one encounter – Abby starts with the unique ability to heal from melee kills. For this, kill all enemies in an encounter with melee as Abby.
3. Upgrade 3 melee weapons in a run – Abby starts with the melee upgrading recipe. Pick up melee weapons from defeated enemies, press touchpad to open the backpack and hold X on the melee upgrade to craft it. Can also be done with other characters if you buy the melee upgrade recipe from the weapons locker.
4. Complete an encounter with all melee kills – kill all enemies in one encounter using only melee. Works with any character. You can use health kits to heal.

Lev:

1. Complete 3 encounters with Lev
2. Get 7 kills with explosive arrows in one run – As Lev you start with the “Archery” skill tree. Buy the 2nd skill “Craft Explosive Arrows” (touchpad > R1). Now you can craft explosive arrows. Then press  > to swim between regular and explosive arrows. Get 7 kills total with the explosive arrows. Ideally, get some enemies close together to get multikills. If needed you can craft more arrows. This counts across the entire run, doesn’t need to be in one encounter.
3. Craft 20 arrows of any type in one run – As Lev you start with the “Archery” skill tree, allowing you to craft arrows from the start. You can craft more per use by buying Lev’s “Craft More Arrows” skill (touchpad > R1). Just collect resources, shoot your arrows, craft new ones, gather more resources and repeat until you crafted 20 total.
4. Complete an encounter with all bow kills – Use the bow to defeat every enemy in an encounter. Can be done with any character (Lev starts with Bow, other characters must buy it from safehouse).

Yara:

1. Complete 3 encounters with Yara
2. Complete a Seraphite encounter as Yara – Must play as Yara for this. On the encounter board in safehouse it shows what enemy type is present in an encounter. Pick one that says “Seraphites”. You can also create a custom run, enable only Seraphites and disable all other enemies.
3. Defeat 3 Seraphite brutes – Simply defeat the 5th boss “Seraphite Elite” a total of 3 times. The boss with the hammer always counts as a Seraphite Elite. You don’t need to do this with Yara, it counts with any character. Do this in custom runs, disable all other bosses and only enable the Seraphite Elite. This guarantees you get this boss. For other encounters enable only “Capture” to get through it faster. You can also combine this with winning a run with each character.

Mel:

1. Complete 4 encounters with Mel
2. Craft 8 health kits in a run – press touchpad > select Medkit > hold X to craft it. You find plenty of the required resources in encounters, and also in chests. Mel starts with the Healing Upgrade branch, you can buy her ability “Double Health Kits” (touchpad > R1) to craft 2 Health Kits per crafting.
3. Heal 80 health with one health kit – there are two ways to do this: play as Ellie, from her Perseverance skill tree buy the “Improved Health Kits” to heal +50% per use. An alternate method that works with any character is to play an encounter that unlocks the “Survival” skill book, then buy the “Improved Health Kits” from that. Now let your health get very low to the last red segment. This is very risky because you’d die in one more hit. Ideally do this in encounters against humans, let them shoot you from a safe distance, then hide behind cover when reaching the last health segment. Now use the medkit and it will heal over 80 health total. If you have too much health before using the medkit it won’t restore enough health.

Manny:

1. Fully upgrade any gun – buy all upgrades for any gun at the safehouse workbench, play encounters to get enough parts (can also sometimes buy parts from the weapons locker)
2. Kill 5 enemies with incendiary shotgun shells in one run – Manny starts with the “Munitions” skill tree, the third skill is “Craft Incendiary Shells”. You must only buy a shotgun from the weapons locker, then buy this skill (Touchpad > R1). Now craft the incendiary ammo (Touchpad to open backpack and hold X on the incendiary shells). Then switch ammo by pressing > on the shotgun.

The boss encounter at the end of each run almost always gives an S-rank too. Another easy strategy is to play as Abby on ‘Very Light’ and only do melee kills. Melee kills gives bonus points and Abby heals on each melee kill. So even if you take damage the bonus points you get for doing only melee kills makes up for it.

First, you must play 9 runs to unlock Daily Runs. You don’t need to win any runs, just starting the run and dying in the first encounter is enough to count towards the 9 total.

After doing this, go to new Run > Daily Run (must be online connected to PSN Servers). This is a randomized run that changes every 24 hours. You must WIN the daily run. Meaning, you must play it from start to end and defeat the boss. If you die it won’t give the trophy.

It’s best to attempt this after doing a few full runs, then keep trying this daily while working on the other trophies until you finish it. You can play on the lowest difficulty for this, which makes it significantly easier. On the encounter board you will see all upcoming encounters so you can better plan your approach and prepare for the endboss. On the lowest difficulty you have plenty of ammo and resources, just make sure you go into the final boss with full ammo. At the start of the final boss, stun him with a Molotov or Stun Bomb or Pipe Bomb. Then lay 3 traps in the same spot, get away and let him walk into the traps for massive damage (don’t blow up yourself with the traps). Then throw more pipe bombs or molotovs to finish him quickly.

Also see Exploit to remove 1 daily run attempt per day limit.

This is the hardest trophy in the No Return DLC by far. First, you must play 9 runs to unlock Daily Runs. You don’t need to win any runs, just starting the run and dying in the first encounter is enough to count towards the 9 total.

Then you must WIN a Daily Run on the highest difficulty “Grounded” (Custom difficulty doesn’t unlock the trophy). This means you must play it from start to end, defeat the boss at the end to successfully win the run. If you die it won’t give the trophy. Daily Runs can only be started while being online connected to PSN servers.

Daily Runs are randomly generated and force you to play a specific character. Due to the randomness involved it’s harder. If you die, the run is voided for the day. Normally, you must wait to make a new attempt on the next day (it will completely change the run every 24 hours), but you can get around this by reinstalling the game (see method below). While this isn’t very practical it does make things significantly easier as you can practice the same run over and over again. The only limitation is the time it takes to reinstall the game.

Be sure to activate as many accessibility settings as you like. These are found in Pause Menu > Options > Accessibility. Especially the “Combat Accessibility” can make it easier, turn on all of them. “Invisibility while prone” can be used to sneak up to enemies, do a stealth kill, then sneak to the next one and repeat. If you’re spotted run away and hide until the enemies stop chasing, then it can be used again. Activate Slow Motion while aiming or when swiping touchpad right. Other accessibility settings like “Enemies don’t flank”, “Reduced enemy accuracy” all should be enabled. You can also activate Magnification and Visual Aids > High Contrast Display – this will outline all enemies in red, making them easier to see. If you have accessibility options on it will ask you at the start of the run if you want to disable them, just click “No”.

At the start of the run, check the encounter board and carefully map out your run, picking the easiest encounters that don’t have severely negative modifiers. A lot of it can be completed in stealth. In Hunted encounters you can hide from humans the entire match, and from Infected you can run away the entire time. Everything else can be stealthed. If you are spotted you can run away and hide until the enemies stop looking for you. Easiest method is to stay prone with the “Invisibility while Prone” accessibility enabled, sneak from one enemy to the next, grab them with and do a stealth kill with , or simply turn on Slow Motion by swiping Touchpad right and headshot everyone. For the boss encounter you should play the entire round in slow motion. The main challenge is the boss at the end, depending on which boss you get this can be very hard. Invisibility while prone doesn’t work in boss encounters! You’ll want to go into the final boss fully equipped with full ammo and health. Buy ammo and health kits in the safehouse if available. Remember to upgrade your guns too. A good approach for the boss encounters is to hit them with a throwable right away to stagger them, quickly place 3 Trap Mines in the same spot, let the boss walk into them (run away to not kill yourself with the explosion). Then toss Molotovs and Pipe Bombs at the boss and shoot him with everything you got. For the additional enemies a shotgun is best (randomly bought from weapons locker). If they close in on you, the shotgun will make quick work of any approaching enemies. Use your longer-range weapons to focus fire on the boss, thus you always have the shotgun ready to defend against other enemies.

The easiest boss is “Seraphite Elites”. At the start place 3 trap mines on the ground, quickly get away and let the big guy walk into them. Then hide behind the shelves and use Slow Motion to headshot the remaining enemies with a long distance weapon, and throw molotovs of pipe bombs. This boss encounter has relatively few enemies. The Infected bosses are the hardest and have a lot of health. The Rattler boss is the next easiest, he’s a human boss with low health but unlike Seraphite Elites he uses dogs and has a lot more enemies swarming you.

Exploit to get multiple tries per day:

Method #1 (Using Activity Cards): Start a Daily Run > as soon as you’re in the safehouse, pause the game and “Quit to Main Menu” > back up your Save to PS+ Cloud. If you die, close the game, download your save from PS+ Cloud, click the Activity Card “Bonus Modes – No Return”. By clicking the activity card it will continue where you made the backup save, completely skipping the 1 run per day limit.

You can make a new backup save after EVERY encounter. Each time you finish an encounter you will be back in the safehouse, pause the game, “Quit to Main Menu”, upload save to PS+ Cloud. Then if you die you don’t need to replay the whole run, only the last encounter. Do this especially before the boss encounter. In case this gets patched try the method below.

Method #2 (Reinstall Game): Back up your save in PS+ Cloud BEFORE attempting the daily run > if you fail the run DELETE the game & save from the console > Shut off your PS5 and pull out the power cord for 2 minutes to make the console power cycle > turn PS5 back on > REINSTALL the entire game > download save from PS+ Cloud. Now enter the game and you can start another Daily Run!
Reinstalling the game after power-cycling the console is the trick here, this deletes your “Seed” for the daily run. Even if you already placed on the leaderboards that day it will overwrite your score and you can earn the trophy this way! This is even more efficient if you have 2 x PS5 consoles and the disc version of the game. While one reinstalls you can play the game from the other console, always alternating between consoles (it also gives you 1 try per console each day without reinstall). If your download speed isn’t very fast it’s better to get the disc version for a faster install time. Of course it also works with a single PS5 but will be less efficient as you must wait for the reinstall each time. If you just copy back your save without reinstalling it won’t let you restart the daily run, but if you delete game + power cycle + reinstall + restore save it does work! The method might not be 100% consistent and sometimes it still says you completed that day’s run, if that happens simply repeat the uninstall / power cycle / reinstall. It’s important that you turn off the console and unplug the power cord between each reinstall, otherwise it might still say you completed that day’s run already.