Cult Stash locations and puzzle solutions in Alan Wake 2

Every Cult Stash you open in Alan Wake 2 will grant you helpful rewards. Like Lunch Boxes and Nursery Rhymes, finding Cult Stashes is an optional pursuit while you’re in control of Saga around Bright Falls and the surrounding areas as she investigates the Cult of the Tree.

In this Alan Wake 2 guide, we’ll show you where you can find Cult Stash locations, how to solve every Cult Stash you find, and what rewards you’ll get from every Cult Stash you open.

Note: This guide is in progress. We’ll add more Cult Stashes as we find them.

Cult Stash locations in Cauldron Lake

There are a total of five Cult Stash locations in the Cauldron Lake area, but you’ll only be able to get four of them during your first adventure in the area. These Cult Stashes come with a variety of supplies, but one of them in the Cauldron Lake area comes with an inventory expansion, which is definitely something you’ll want to have sooner rather than later.

If you miss any of these stashes on your first trip, you will be able to grab them later on in the game.

Cauldron Lake Cult Stash #1 (“Confused? Follow the Steps”)

Image: Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing via Polygon

The first cult stash is just south of the Murder Site and general store (where you get the shotgun) on the map. In front of the long, rectangular trailer, you’ll find a heavy box with a lock on it.

Image: Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing via Polygon

On top of the box, you’ll find a taped piece of paper, which reads: “Confused? Follow the steps! Wash hands, take chicken out of fridge, take a nap.”

The note is directing you toward the trailer. If you go inside the trailer and look at the bathroom sink, the fridge, and then the bed in the bedroom, you’ll see three symbols in order:

1. Two triangles with their points touching at an angle
2. Two triangles with their points touching that are vertical
3. Horizontal elevator “open door” buttons

(These symbols don’t have names, so if our descriptions are tough to follow, run through the house in the order we listed above to check for yourself.)

Head to the lock on the chest and input the three symbols we’ve listed above. Once in the right order, the chest will pop open and you’ll be rewarded with some handgun ammo and a trauma pad.

Cauldron Lake Cult Stash #2

Image: Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing via Polygon

You won’t be able to access this Cult Stash until after you’ve defeated Nightingale — the game’s first boss — and woken up on the shore with a mysterious companion.

Once you’re headed back toward the Witch’s Sign and the Overlap, hang to your right and you’ll find a ton of gnarly tree limbs scattered along a shore area. It doesn’t really look like you can adventure any further, but if you walk up to the biggest tree blocking your way, Saga will climb under it.

Image: Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing via Polygon

Once on the other side of the big tree, make your way through the narrow path until you reach another Cult Stash. This lock is the simplest to open by far. Activate it and some lights will flash in an order. Hit the buttons in the same order that the lock just showed you — like Simon Says — and it’ll pop open.

This is a pretty great stash to find, as it includes some shotgun ammo, a propane tank, a hand flare, and most importantly, an inventory expansion.

Cauldron Lake Cult Stash #3 (“Rock Rock Tree”)

Image: Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing via Polygon

Once you’ve removed the flooding from Cauldron Lake and you’re able to get down by the river, you’ll find another Cult Stash just south of the Private Cabin, in a little ravine that leads out to the lake itself.

The Cult Stash is on a shelf next to the cabin, and simply says “Rock, Rock, Tree. Are you bright enough?”

Image: Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing via Polygon

This one is a little tricky, as you’ll need to do some minor math and hunt around for the code. If you’re just looking for the code, here you go: 658.

The gist is that there are two numbers written on a rock down by the river (to the south) that say 7 and -2. Then there’s a tree to the left of the box with a 6 and a +2 on it. And then there’s another rock to the right of the box with 3 and +3. If you do the math on this, that means you’re dealing with 5, 6, and 8.

The cache doesn’t specify which rock is first, so we just had to try both to figure out the order.

You’ll get a propane tank and a first aid kit for your trouble.

Cauldron Lake Cult Stash #4

Image: Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing via Polygon

Just west of the Witch Sign, next to the tent icon in the Crow’s Foot Hills on the map, you’ll find another stash. Depending on how you approach it, you’ll likely see the golden arrows before you see the box itself.

Image: Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing via Polygon

The box just has a picture of a lightbulb on it. If you look at the trees from the west (looking east, toward where your car and the parking lot is) with your flashlight, you’ll see a bunch of arrows leading you to the right (or south, on the map). Follow these arrows and you’ll eventually find some keys on a mound of dirt.

Pick up the Streamside Stash Key and bring it back to the stash to unlock it and earn a hand flare, some shotgun ammo, and a trauma pad.

More Cult Stashes coming soon!