POSTAL 2: Complete Guide

A full POSTAL 2 guide: how the week of errands works, weapons and items, pacifist and violent playstyles, the expansions, and how to get the game running well on a modern PC.

Researched September 2026 — current as of the Steam release (POSTAL 2 with Apocalypse Weekend, Paradise Lost available as DLC); POSTAL 2 Redux and POSTAL 2 VR are separate upcoming games. Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Content note: POSTAL 2 is an adults-only black comedy with extreme violence, crude humor and deliberately offensive satire. The game only gets violent if you make it violent, but the world and its humor are offensive either way.

What's Current (2025–2026)

• POSTAL 2 on Steam is still the Running With Scissors version that has been patched for years. It includes the base week plus the Apocalypse Weekend expansion. A Week in Paradise, originally a fan-made mod that folds the weekend content into the five-day campaign, is available as its own game mode in the Steam version (it has its own achievements). The Paradise Lost DLC (April 2015) is a separate purchase.
• POSTAL 2 Redux is a ground-up remake that moves the original assets from the old Unreal engine to Unity. It is coming to PC and, for the first time, consoles. It was funded through Kickstarter in August 2025 and Wikipedia lists a 2027 target. POSTAL 2 VR is a separate game. Flat2VR and Team Beef are working on both.
• The August 2026 Steam post (the POSTAL comic Kickstarter) says Flesh & Wire is in development and that co-op and bug fixes are coming to POSTAL 4.

None of these change the POSTAL 2 you can play today.

Quick Start

• Check your errand list. Every day from Monday to Friday gives you a list of chores. The day ends once they are all done. How you finish them is up to you.
• Most errands have a peaceful way through. Queue up, pay, talk to people. The tagline is literal: the game "is only as violent as you are."
• Keep your guns away when you can. Walking around with a weapon out scares people and gets the cops' attention.
• Cops arrest you before they shoot. If you get caught, you can escape from jail. If you keep fighting, it gets bloody quickly.
• Carry food and medkits. Food and pickups heal you, and body armor soaks up damage. Stock up whenever you see them.
• Some errands force a fight. Certain chores end up with the Dude attacked by a mob or protesters, whatever you do. Save before starting any new errand.
• Save often in separate slots. The game is old and physics bugs still happen now and then.
• Champ, Krotchy and Uncle Dave are story beats, not side content. Dogs you feed become friendly and follow you around.

How the Week Works

You play the Postal Dude through a week in Paradise, Arizona. Each day loads the town with that day's events and errand list. The store page mentions errands like buying milk, returning an overdue library book and getting Gary Coleman's autograph.

Part | What happens

Monday – Friday | The base game. Each day has a new errand list and new events around town.

Saturday – Sunday | Apocalypse Weekend: a more linear, combat-heavy story that starts with the Dude waking up in a hospital.

Paradise Lost (DLC) | Set years later. The Dude returns to a ruined, post-apocalyptic Paradise to find his missing dog.

Errand tips

• Open the map to see where every errand is. Plan a route through town instead of crossing it several times.
• Queues: Many errands mean waiting in line. Cutting in line or pulling a weapon starts a fight.
• Money: Some errands need cash. Collecting and cashing your paycheck early in the week keeps you from getting stuck.
• Doors and zones: Paradise is split into zones separated by loading screens. The map shows which zone each errand is in.

Controls Cheat Sheet (PC defaults)

Keybinds can be changed in the options, so check there if something does not match.

Action | What it does

Use/interact | Talk to people, pay, pick things up

Fire / alt-fire | Most weapons have a second fire mode, like a thrown shovel or a charged throw

Next/previous weapon | Cycle through your weapons

Inventory next/previous and use | Cycle through and use items (food, medkits, errand items)

Unzip | Equip the "Urethra" (yes, really)

Map | Shows the errand list and the town map

Quick save / quick load | Use them all the time

Weapons and Tools

The arsenal mixes normal guns with ridiculous tools. The classic core:

Weapon | Role / tip

Shovel | Starting melee weapon. A shovel kill at full swing is a quick silent option

Taser | Knocks people down without killing them, which is useful for non-lethal runs

Pistol | Reliable early gun

Shotgun | Strong up close. A cat can be used as a silencer

Machine gun | High fire rate for crowds

Sniper rifle | Long range. The police notice it quickly

Grenades | Area damage; cook before throwing

Molotov cocktails | Fire spreads, including to you

Gasoline can | Pour a trail and light it. Make sure you stand outside the trail

Napalm launcher / rocket launcher | Late-game explosives

Scissors | Thrown weapon

Cow Head | A disease weapon. Infected NPCs spread the plague

Urethra | Puts out fires (including on you), and many NPCs react to it

Apocalypse Weekend and the later Steam updates add more weapons, like the machete, sledgehammer and scythe from the weekend campaign. Paradise Lost adds a whole new set.

The cat silencer

You can pick up cats and put them on the end of your shotgun or machine gun as a silencer. It muffles your shots for a few rounds before the cat runs away. This is the game's most famous joke, and it actually helps keep bystanders calm.

Health, Armor and Items

• Food (fast food, donuts, and so on) heals you a little.
• Medkits heal a lot. Save them for boss fights and forced battles.
• Body armor absorbs damage. Pick it up whenever you find it.
• Crack pipes push your health past the normal maximum, but you get hooked. If you do not keep using them you start losing health, so use them carefully.
• Dog treats turn stray dogs into allies. Well-fed dogs follow you and bite your attackers.
• Errand items (milk, the library book and so on) sit in your inventory until you hand them over.

Pacifist vs. Violent Playthroughs

Pacifist

• Complete errands by paying, waiting and talking.
• Use the taser or just run away when trouble starts.
• The police stay friendly as long as you keep your weapons away.
• Forced fights still happen. Use non-lethal tools and move through quickly.
• If you are going for achievements, check the Steam list before your run, since some depend on how you play.

Violent

• The town fights back. Armed NPCs, police and later SWAT-style units escalate your wanted level.
• Fire and explosives are the best crowd control, and also the quickest way to kill yourself.
• Keep armor and medkits stocked before starting a massacre, because the backup that responds can overwhelm you.

Difficulty Settings

POSTAL 2 has an unusually large set of difficulty options. Beyond the standard levels there are special modes that change how the town behaves. Liebermode takes guns away from most NPCs. Hestonworld arms everyone. Insane-o, They Hate Me and POSTAL escalate further, up to a town that is armed and hostile to you. The Steam achievements reference Hestonworld and POSTAL difficulty specifically (for example, finishing any mode on Hestonworld). Pick a normal difficulty for your first playthrough. The special modes are best for replays.

Apocalypse Weekend Tips

• It is a straight run through combat levels, with no errand freedom.
• Zombies and other enemies show up in large numbers, so conserve ammo and use melee on weak enemies.
• New melee weapons like the machete, sledgehammer and scythe come in handy.
• Explosives and fire clear big groups. Use them at chokepoints.

Paradise Lost (DLC) Tips

• It is a separate campaign in a ruined, post-apocalyptic Paradise.
• It has new weapons, factions and areas. Explore to find gear before the heavy fights.
• Knowing where things were in the original Paradise helps you get around, even though much of it has changed.

Running It on a Modern PC

• The Steam version has been patched for modern systems, with widescreen resolutions and Workshop support.
• If you get stutters or crashes, try windowed or borderless mode and lower the physics and ragdoll settings.
• Keep several save slots. Physics glitches (like NPCs stuck in walls or doors not opening) are easiest to fix by loading an earlier save.
• Workshop mods are easy to install. Eternal Damnation, a standalone horror mod built on POSTAL 2, is also available.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Carrying a gun everywhere. It starts fights you did not plan for.
• Pouring gasoline and standing in it. Fire does not care who lit it.
• Getting hooked on crack pipes before a big fight. Once your health starts draining you have to keep using them.
• Starting an errand without saving. Some errands turn into forced fights.
• Wasting ammo on crowds. Save rockets and napalm for tougher groups and the weekend fights.
• Assuming the police will ignore you. Being seen with a drawn weapon counts as a threat.

Advanced Tips

• Use the jail escape. If you get arrested, you can often break out and keep going instead of reloading.
• Build a dog pack. Several fed dogs make a strong escort in the weekend fights.
• Stun instead of kill. The taser and melee knockdowns deal with threats without raising your wanted level as much.
• Plan your route. Group errands by zone to cut down on loading screens and random fights.
• Try the difficulty modes. Hestonworld and similar settings make the base week feel like a different game.
• Explore the Workshop. The mod community for this game is big.

FAQ

Can you finish POSTAL 2 without killing anyone? Yes. There is even a Steam achievement, Anustart!, for completing the "POSTAL 2" game mode with no kills (and My Name is Jesus for Paradise Lost). Forced fights and protest events still push you into combat, so rely on the taser, running away and dogs rather than lethal weapons.

Is Apocalypse Weekend included? Yes. The current Steam version includes the weekend. Paradise Lost is a separate DLC.

What is POSTAL 2 Redux? A full remake in Unity by Running With Scissors with Flat2VR and Team Beef, coming to PC and consoles. It is separate from POSTAL 2 VR. The Kickstarter ran in August 2025 and Wikipedia lists a 2027 target.

Does multiplayer still work? The old "Share the Pain" multiplayer servers were shut down in September 2015. Treat POSTAL 2 as a single-player game.

Where is Uncle Dave's compound? Visiting Uncle Dave's cult compound is a story event, and it turns into a siege. Stock up on health and ammo before you go.

How do I use a cat as a silencer? Pick up a cat as an inventory item, then use it while holding a shotgun or machine gun.

Sources

• Steam: POSTAL 2 store page and announcements (App 223470)
• Steam announcement: POSTAL comic book Kickstarter (August 12, 2026)
• Steam announcement: POSTAL 2 Redux coming to Kickstarter (June 15, 2025)
• Steam: POSTAL 2 global achievements (difficulty and no-kill achievements)
• Wikipedia: Postal 2