Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus: Complete Guide

How to survive (and enjoy) BJ Blazkowicz's war on Nazi America: the timeline choice, difficulty picks, weapons and upgrades, perks, contraptions, the Übercommander hunt, collectibles, achievements, Mein Leben, the Freedom Chronicles DLC, and PC performance fixes.

Researched September 2026 — current as of the final PC patch (November 19, 2018, NVIDIA Adaptive Shading); the game is complete and no longer updated. Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Quick Start

The prologue asks you to "make the choice" between Fergus and Wyatt. It carries over the choice from The New Order. Fergus's timeline gives you the Laserkraftwerk; Wyatt's gives you the Dieselkraftwerk, and a few story beats differ.
Pick a sensible difficulty. Wolfenstein II hits harder than The New Order. "Bring 'em on!" is the standard experience; drop lower if you want the story, go higher if you know the series.
Health and armour are pickups-first. Do not rely on regeneration; health packs and food keep you alive. You can overcharge health above 100 with extra packs (it decays back down). Armour does not regenerate, so grab every helmet and plate.
Dual wield anything. Any two weapons can be dual-wielded for double damage, at the cost of reloading speed and grenade use.
Hunt commanders first. Officers call reinforcements when alerted. Their position shows on the HUD; kill them silently and the area gets much easier.
Collect upgrade kits. They let you add suppressors, scopes, extended mags, and other modifications. "Tinkerer", "Specialist", and "Gun Nut" track this.
Stealth kills and hatchet throws are your best tools. Silent takedowns keep commanders from raising alarms, and a thrown hatchet one-shots most regular soldiers.
Eva's Hammer is the hub. Talk to crew, find side missions, decode Enigma codes, and play Wolfstone 3D between missions.

Difficulty Levels

Difficulty	Who it is for
Can I play, Daddy?	Story only
Don't hurt me.	Relaxed shooter experience
Bring 'em on!	Default challenge
Do or die!	For shooter veterans
Call me Terror-Billy!	Hard; enemy damage ramps up considerably
I am Death incarnate!	Very hard; practice for Mein Leben
Mein leben!	Unlocks after finishing; permadeath, no saves or checkpoints

The January 30, 2018 patch rebalanced difficulty and made damage-direction indicators more prominent, so older complaints about unfair deaths are less relevant now.

Difficulty achievements: "Bring 'em on!", "Do or die!", "Call me Terror-Billy!", "I am death incarnate!", and "Mein leben" all unlock for beating the game on that difficulty (and higher difficulties pop the lower ones).

Weapons

Weapon	Type	Notes
Pistole	Pistol	Suppressor upgrade makes it your main stealth gun
Maschinenpistole	Submachine gun	Great dual-wield option; upgrades add range and damage
Sturmgewehr	Assault rifle	Accurate mid-range workhorse; scope upgrade helps
Schockhammer	Shotgun	Close range devastation; strong dual-wielded
Kampfpistole	Explosive launcher pistol	Blows up groups, armour, and robots
Laserkraftwerk	Energy weapon (Fergus timeline)	Disintegrates enemies; recharge it at power stations in the levels
Dieselkraftwerk	Grenade launcher (Wyatt timeline)	Sticky diesel charges; excellent vs groups; refill from diesel canisters
Hatchet	Melee and throwable	Silent one-hit kills on regulars; "Hail Mary" needs a 30 m throw kill
Handgranate	Grenade	Cannot throw while dual-wielding

Heavy weapons (Lasergewehr, Dieselgewehr, Hammergewehr) can be ripped off heavy enemies or picked up from mounts. They slow you down and cannot be reloaded; drop them when empty.

Upgrade priority:

Pistole suppressor (stealth all game)
Sturmgewehr or Maschinenpistole damage/ammo upgrades
Schockhammer upgrades for close fights against heavies
Kampfpistole for anti-armour

Perks

Perks are earned by doing things, not by spending points. There are three categories:

Category	Playstyle it rewards
Stealth	Quiet infiltration: takedowns, silent kills, staying undetected
Mayhem	Loud, run-and-gun: dual-wielding, explosives, heavy weapons
Tactical	Precision and control: aimed kills, smart use of equipment

Each perk shows its exact requirement in the menu, and every perk has tiers. Play to your style and they come naturally; "Max a Perk" and "Max all perks" are achievements. To grind a specific one, replay districts during the post-game.

Contraptions

About midway through the story you pick one of three contraptions. The other two can be found later (post-story) in specific locations, and you can upgrade each once.

Contraption	What it does	Best for
Constrictor Harness	Squeeze through narrow pipes and gaps	Stealth players; sneaking into vents behind enemies
Ram Shackles	Smash through weak walls and tackle enemies	Aggressive players; "Bull Rush" needs a tackle on a charging Supersoldat
Battle Walker	Stilts that extend upward to reach high ledges	Vertical players; high vantage points and flanking

Achievements: "Plus Package" (upgrade a contraption), "Complete Package" (all contraptions and upgrades), "Snakebite" (Constrictor Harness takedown), "The Sky is the Limit" (Battle Walker takedown).

Which to pick first? None is wrong. Constrictor Harness pairs best with a stealth build; Ram Shackles is the most fun for Mayhem players. You will get all three in the post-game.

Eva's Hammer and Side Content

The captured U-boat Eva's Hammer is your base.

Enigma Machine: Enigma codes drop from commanders. Decode them at the Enigma Machine ("Puzzler") to reveal the locations of Übercommanders.
Übercommander assassinations: 16 in total, each in a district you revisit. Killing them earns Death Cards; "Terror-Billy" needs all of them.
Districts: story locations you can return to. "Sightseeing", "Coming Back for More", and "Ghost" (finish a district without triggering an alarm) are tied to them. More districts open up as the story progresses, and the Übercommander hunt sends you back to them after the credits.
Killboard: an in-hub board of combat challenges; completing it pops "Across the Board". "They did Nazi that Coming" (10 stealth kills in a row) fits naturally into district revisits.
Wolfstone 3D: a playable arcade cabinet on board ("Retro").
Shooting Range and Killhouse: score challenges ("Make a Point", "First Loser").
Side missions from the crew feed "Sidetracked".

Collectibles

Collectible	Count	Achievement
Max's Toys	15	Toy Collector
Records	10	Audiophile
Gold	50	Golden Boy
Übercommander Death Cards	16	Terror-Billy
Starcards	75	Meet the Cast
Concept Art	50	Art Aficionado
Readables	150	Optional

"Starting a Collection" pops when you find at least one of each type. Collectibles are not permanently missable because districts can be revisited, but it is much faster to grab them on the first pass. The "Hard Headed" achievement needs 1,000 helmets collected. PowerPyx recommends farming it deliberately (pick up helmets in a spot with many, then reload a manual save and repeat) rather than waiting for it to happen. There are also 21 weapon upgrade kits in the campaign.

Missable Achievements

Community trophy roadmaps flag five as missable in the story: "Crippled but Able" (perform a takedown while in the wheelchair, early in the game), "I'm Machine Enough", "Kick It", "Taste of Your own Medicine", and "Ghost". Use a collectibles and trophy guide for the exact moments; most need a chapter reload if you miss them.

Achievement	When
Crippled but Able	The opening wheelchair section: roll up to an enemy and melee
I'm Machine Enough	New Orleans Panzerhund ride: kill no one, on "Bring 'em on!" or higher
Kick It	Venus audition: kick the man on the floor with melee
Taste of Your own Medicine	Final Ausmerzer fight: destroy a Zerstörer with an Übergewehr
Ghost	Clear a district with no alarm; PowerPyx reports it only counts on a first visit, not replays

Mein Leben (Permadeath)

Mein Leben unlocks after beating the game. There are no saves and no checkpoints; one death ends the run.

How to prepare:

Finish a run on "I am Death incarnate!" first, taking notes on the hardest fights.
Learn which fights you can skip with stealth.
Know where every armour and health cache is on your route.
Skip collectibles; they are not worth the risk.
Avoid unnecessary environmental hazards (drops, fire, electricity).
Budget a long, uninterrupted session; expect several attempts.

Combat Tips

Crouch-walk into areas. You get a much better look at commanders and patrol routes.
Commanders first, always. Once alerted they call reinforcements until killed.
Supersoldats and heavy robots: strip their armour with explosive or energy weapons, then aim at exposed weak points. The Kampfpistole and diesel charges are ideal.
Rip heavy weapons off dead heavies for a burst of massive firepower, then drop them.
Dual-wield Maschinenpistolen or Schockhammers in close fights; switch to single Sturmgewehr for accuracy at range.
Use sliding. Slide into cover and slide-takedown enemies.
Overcharge before big fights. Stack health packs above 100 right before a known arena.

The Freedom Chronicles DLC

Three standalone episodes, each with a new protagonist. Access them from the "SAS Machine" on the main menu, or from the SAS machine in Eva's Hammer's vault. You must have progressed far enough in the main game to explore the submarine hub freely.

Episode	Released	Protagonist	Style
The Adventures of Gunslinger Joe	December 2017	Joseph Stallion, a football player	Brawling and toughness
The Diaries of Agent Silent Death	January 2018	Jessica Valiant, ex-OSS agent	Stealth assassination
The Deeds of Captain Wilkins	March 2018	Captain Jerry Wilkins	Survival and firepower on Kodiak Island, Alaska

Each episode has "find all readables" and "find all gold" achievements, plus one for beating it on "I am Death Incarnate!" and one for beating it on Mein leben. There are also separate challenge maps (Station Omega, Venus, Sacramento, Hollywood, The Moon, Anchorage, Kodiak Islands, Nightmare, Submerged), each with an achievement for clearing it on "I am Death Incarnate!".

Known issue (Captain Wilkins): at the Kodiak Island super cannons, using the rotation lever during the fire-button animation can control-lock you. Only reloading a save fixes it, so wait for the animation to finish.

PC Performance and Fixes

VRAM warning: the game warns "The video driver has run out of dedicated video memory" if your settings exceed your GPU's VRAM. Turn on "Show Performance Metrics" in Advanced Video options and keep "Heap" below "VRAM". The minimum is a 4 GB GPU.
Reset settings by deleting the config files in C:\Users\[your user]\Saved Games\Wolfenstein II The New Colossus\base.
NVIDIA RTX cards benefit from NVIDIA Adaptive Shading, added in the November 2018 patch.
Laptops and multi-GPU systems: the game now prefers the discrete GPU, but double-check in your driver panel.
Runs on id Tech 6 with Vulkan, so keep GPU drivers current.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Charging into rooms on higher difficulties. Wolfenstein II punishes this much harder than The New Order.
Ignoring armour pickups. Armour does not regenerate and is your main protection.
Letting commanders live. Endless reinforcements drain your ammo.
Hoarding heavy weapons. They are temporary; use them and ditch them.
Skipping upgrade kits. The Pistole suppressor alone changes how the whole game plays.
Starting Mein Leben too early. Practice on "I am Death incarnate!" first.

Advanced Tips

Hatchet throws are silent and fast. Keep hatchets stocked and use them on sentries.
Constrictor Harness routes often put you behind commanders for an easy takedown.
Revisit districts for perks: after the story, district runs are the best place to grind the specific perk kills you are missing.
Stack perk progress with Übercommander hunts to complete "Sidetracked", "Terror-Billy", and perk maxing in one sweep.
Save your timeline weapon for set pieces: the Laserkraftwerk and Dieselkraftwerk both chew through armoured enemies, so do not waste their ammo on regular soldiers.

FAQ

Fergus or Wyatt? Pick whichever you chose in The New Order. Fergus gives the Laserkraftwerk, Wyatt the Dieselkraftwerk. Both are strong; the story differs slightly.

How long is Wolfenstein II? Around 10 hours for the story; 30+ hours for all achievements, depending on Mein Leben attempts.

Can I miss collectibles? Not permanently, since districts can be revisited after the story, but a few achievements are missable in the campaign.

How do I start the DLC? Choose "SAS Machine" from the main menu, or use the SAS machine in Eva's Hammer's vault, after reaching the point where you can freely explore the submarine hub.

Do I need to play The New Order first? Not required, but strongly recommended for the story and the Fergus/Wyatt choice.

Why does my game warn about VRAM? Your settings exceed your GPU's memory. Lower texture streaming and related settings until Heap is below VRAM in the performance metrics.