Watery is a large area to explore in Alan Wake 2, and like most places in the game there are hidden items around nearly every corner. Like Bright Falls and Cauldron Lake, the Cult of the Tree has hidden several locked caches throughout the town. By finding them and solving the puzzles required to open them, you can ensure that you have plenty of gear for when the Taken attack.
If you’re running around in circles trying to find a missing stash, or if the cultists’ clues aren’t clicking, never fear – we’ve got all the locations and answers right here.
High Trail
About halfway along the forest trail in Watery, you’ll see a sign with a map. Take the right-hand path; you’ll crawl under some boards and climb up a ledge. At the top, you’ll find a Manuscript Page and a locked box.
Watch the buttons on the lock as they light up, then press them in the same order to access the supplies inside.
Archery Range
The Hunting Lodge on the trail contains a Break Room that you can activate by using the generator outside. Once you’ve saved, look for a large lockbox just outside the shack and to the left.
The lock requires a three-digit combination. Take a look at the archery targets to the left; three of the numbers have crossbow bolts in them. Target five has one bolt, target two has two, and target seven has three. This means that the correct combination is 527.
Inside the box is the Crossbow, a weapon unique to Saga. Once you’ve collected it, you can take the crossbow bolts from the targets to use as ammo. There’s a Taken nearby for you to test your new toy on; you’ll probably hear him muttering as you solve the puzzle.
Behind The Smile
In the Coffee World theme park travel west to the entrance to the Kalevala Knights motorcycle workshop. Face away from the gate and stick to the left side of the area; you’ll find a small clearing with a Cult Stash.
The key to this chest is hidden behind the giant coffee mascot near the park’s southern exit. Approach the statue from the rear left and look carefully at the ground when you’re standing by its arm.
When you open this stash, be sure to collect the note inside the lid, as it’s a piece of evidence for your investigation!
Only Striped Cups
Just to the left of the Ferris wheel called the Slow Roaster in Coffee World, there’s another Cult Stash. This one has an arrow indicating a clockwise rotation and the words, “only striped cups.”
The carts on the Slow Roaster are shaped like coffee cups, with numbers on the side. Cars one, four, and seven are striped, and appear in numerical order when counted clockwise on the wheel.
Use code 147 to open the stash and collect the supplies inside.
Trailer Park
A locked stash is located near the trailer next to Saga’s in the trailer park.. If you break into the nearby trailer using the screwdriver, you can read an email that says the keys are “somewhere a bit harder to reach” so that they can’t be washed away by the flooding that happens so often in the area.
Go outside and look to your right. You’ll see a blue box with a plank that you can use as a ramp. Climb on top of the box to find the key to the stash on top of the power meter.
Yellow Paint
When you reach the Break Room on the climb to the lighthouse, look for a trail to your right. You’ll have to climb up onto a ledge, where you’ll find a large clearing with a Cult Stash at the far end.
If you search the area with your flashlight, you’ll see several symbols in yellow paint that only appears when illuminated. Each is painted next to a Cult symbol made of twigs. There are more symbols than there are dials on the lock, so you’ll need to determine which ones are relevant.
To the right of the stash, you can see the Roman numerals for 2 and 3, but finding the first part of the combination is a bit tricky. Walk to the edge of the cliff across from the stash and shine your flashlight to the area below. The Roman numeral 1 is painted on the ground to the left.
Enter the symbols in the order of the Roman numerals to open the lock and retrieve the supplies from the cache.
Car Batteries
When the flooding recedes in Watery after Return 3, go to the docks at the southeast corner of town. A new Cult Stash will appear behind some large blue containers.
This combination lock is a word problem; given limited information, you need to determine how much power the second of three batteries has.
If we call the batteries A, B, and C, then we know:
- A+B+C = 1600
- C = B-128
- A = 2C
This means we can also write the equation as 2(B-128) + B + (B-128) = 1600. From there, it’s just algebra:
- 3(B-128) = 1600 – B
- 3B – 384 = 1600 – B
- 4B – 384 = 1600
- 4B = 1984
- B = 496
Enter 496 into the combination lock to open the stash!
Spare Parts
Once you have the Bolt Cutters, return to Watery and use them to break into the fenced-off area at the Kalevala Knights workshop. The final Cult Stash in this region is against the back of the building.
Be alert as you approach the stash: a pair of Mirror Taken will spawn to your right, and a Darkness Barrier will block your escape. Hide in the light to the left if you need to recover.
The note on the box has drawings of the rides from Coffee World. Look around the yard and count the number of cars for each ride; there are five for the Slow Roaster, four for the Espresso Express, and two for Latte Lagoon.
Enter combination 542 to open the cache.