Joel has managed to survive for over 25 years in the Clicker invested world, but even he can learn a few new tricks. He’s already adept with any gun you can get your hands on and can slap together basic materials to make some useful tools, but just about everything you have access to can be made better with the right training. Unfortunately, it’s a little late for Joel and Ellie to enroll in a survival course, so reading up is the next best option.
The Last of Us Part 1 has 12 hidden Training Manuals you can collect that all improve one of your tools in a meaningful way. Some of these are so powerful that you’ll wonder how you managed without them, and yet some are so well hidden that you can go through the game multiple times without finding them all. If you want to become an expert Boy Scout, turn on your Listen Mode and pay close attention to our guide on finding all the Training Manuals in The Last of Us Part 1.
Training Manual 1 — Shiv: Sharpening
Your first Training Manual to grab is in Bill’s Town. You will have a hard time missing it, but after you escape from Bill’s leg snare trap and follow him into the bar, one of the many objects to pick up is the training manual right on the bar itself.
This manual will make it so all your shivs can be used twice instead of just once, except for on shiv doors.
Training Manual 2 — Health: Splinting
Once you’re in Pittsburgh and have survived the initial ambush at the start of the level, you will enter a garage to find a gruesome scene. Among the other items in the room, look for the bare mattress on the floor with this second manual on the corner.
This manual will improve health kits, so they restore 33% more health than normal.
Training Manual 3 — Shiv: Reinforcement
This manual is also in Chapter 5, but it’s much farther on when you enter the old hotel. After getting into the lobby, you will find a safe behind the reception desk on the bottom floor. You can find the code for it by taking the ladder and placing it on the wall behind the destroyed staircase to reach a small ledge you can slide along. This will lead to a suitcase with the code. Bring it back, crack the safe, and collect your manual.
This manual will make it so that all your shivs last either two or three more uses, depending on if you’ve collected the first manual or not. Again, this won’t work on shiv doors.
Training Manual 4 — Melee: Knots
Stick around in Pittsburgh after you’ve escaped the basement and Ellie saves you from a man trying to drown Joel in a puddle. Head up the stairs and go past the bathrooms and a path that dead ends. Just before a blockade of tables you need to mantle over is a desk with the fourth Training Manual on top.
This manual will let you upgrade your weapons so that any modifications you make to them last for one additional hit.
Training Manual 5 — Molotov: Construction
Our last manual in this long Pittsburgh chapter comes after meeting temporary companions Henry and Sam and avoiding the armored car with the turret. Once the introductory scene has ended, leave the bedroom and take a right into the kitchen. This manual, as though it were a cooking recipe, is right on the countertop.
This manual increases your Molotov cocktail explosion radius by 1.5 times.
Training Manual 6 — Bomb: Containment
Finally escaping Chapter 5, we head into The Suburbs in Chapter 6. You will quickly enter the sewers after washing up on the shore. Go forward until you trigger a sound alarm after passing through a door. Move forward, picking up the new Shorty weapon, and keep going forward to a shelving unit against the wall. This manual is on the middle shelf next to some plastic containers.
This oddly-named manual actually does the opposite of what the title implies. It will increase the explosion radius of Nail Bombs by 1.5 times.
Training Manual 7 — Melee: Techniques
Still in Chapter 6, but now in the actual suburbs, head down the neighborhood street until you spot the ice cream truck and go into the house to the left of it. Head to the second floor and pan your camera up so you can spot the cord hanging from the ceiling with a prompt on it to pull open a hatch to the attic. The ladder will break when you try to pull it down, so in order to access the small space, you will need to go downstairs, talk to Ellie, and boost her up to grab the manual for you.
This manual will make your weapon modifications last for either one or two additional hits depending on if you found the first melee manual.
Training Manual 8 — Smoke: Chemistry
Not long into Chapter 7, you will reunite with Joel’s brother Tommy at the dam. He will show you around a bit and take you inside. After passing the dog and going inside, you will find some men looking over some plans. To their left is a workbench, as well as this eighth manual on the adjacent table.
This manual makes the effect of your Smoke Bombs last for 10 seconds longer.
Training Manual 9 — Health: Sterilization
Skipping ahead to Chapter 8, you will come to the fictional University of Eastern Colorado. Go through the level as normal until you reach a large square where you spot a bunch of monkeys running freely. Go to the right side of this square and climb a dumpster onto an awning and into an open window to the second floor. Take a sharp right as you get inside and look for a long desk by the windows. Right next to the computer is this manual.
This manual will increase how much health is restored from Health Kits by 67%.
Training Manual 10 — Molotov: Deployment
Still in Chapter 8, continue into the science building by breaking the gate with the dumpster. Once inside, find room 205, which is locked and requires you to spend a shiv to jimmy it open. One of the many items inside to scoop up is this new Training Manual on the desk.
This manual will increase the radius of your Molotov’s explosions by two times, which stacks with the previous upgrade if you found that manual as well.
Training Manual 11 — Smoke: Shaping
In the dead of winter during Chapter 9, play all the way up until you take control of Joel for the second time. As you are making your way to the lodge, you will pass a gas station on the right side of the street. To the left is a motel you want to detour to. On the other side of it is a wooden shed you need to use a shiv to open. Inside, you will grab your penultimate Training Manual.
This manual will add 20 more seconds to your Smoke Bomb’s duration.
Training Manual 12 — Bomb: Shrapnel
Last but not least, in Chapter 10, we will collect our last Training Manual while underground. After sneaking or fighting your way into the tunnel, look for a big semi-truck in the middle of the tunnel. Climb up on top. Near the back, you will find the manual.
This manual doubles the explosion radius of your Nail Bombs.
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