There is a simple version of this and a complete version, and both are below in that order.

Short answer

In most cases the straightforward approach works. The exceptions are specific and listed below.

  • Revisit after a major patch if the behaviour changes.
  • Try the straightforward approach before the elaborate one.
  • Prefer the in-game option over an external tool when both exist.

There are two Last of Us canons running in parallel now — the games and the HBO series — and they diverge. Nothing here depends on a setting you are unlikely to have. Testing this yourself takes a few minutes and settles it definitively.

When the usual advice fails

If your result differs from what is described here, note what is different first rather than starting over. Edge cases are genuinely rare, which is why the simple answer is usually the correct one. It is worth separating what the game does from what players have concluded it does. The developers have changed their mind about this at least once, which explains the older advice.

The accepted community answer is broadly right and wrong in a specific way that matters here. Most of the disagreement online comes from people describing different versions of The Last of Us. Where something depends on your platform or region, that is called out rather than glossed over.

Why it works this way

The mechanic behind it is simpler than the discussion around it suggests. Do the cheap check before the expensive one — that ordering alone saves most of the frustration. Treat anything stated without a version number as provisional.

  • Note the exception cases — they are specific rather than vague.
  • Test it yourself where testing is cheap.
  • Write down what you changed, so you can undo exactly one thing if it goes sideways.
  • Do not build a routine around an edge case.
  • Check which version any conflicting advice was written for.
  • Read the whole sequence once before doing the first step.

What to do instead

Screenshots age faster than text, which is why this describes rather than shows. There is no hidden trick here that the game is keeping from you. The Last of Us is not shy about hiding useful information two menus deep, so some of this is simply knowing where to look. Half the pages on this topic were written for a build that no longer exists, which is why they stop matching what you see.

Where two approaches both work, the one with fewer moving parts is the one to keep. The awkward part is rarely the step itself, it is knowing which step comes first. What follows assumes you are on a current install and have not modified it.

The practical answer

If a step reads as obvious, do it anyway — the obvious ones are the ones people skip and then wonder about. There is usually a fast way and a reliable way, and it is worth knowing which one you are choosing. The community wisdom on this is roughly half right, and the half that is wrong costs the most time.

Nothing here assumes a particular playstyle beyond wanting the thing to work. Anything that behaves differently on console than on PC is flagged where it matters. The short version is near the top on purpose; the reasoning is there if you want to know why.

Worth knowing alongside this

Everything below is framed around the current state of The Last of Us rather than a launch-week impression. None of this needs a paid tool, a third-party launcher or an account on a site you have never heard of. Most of the disagreement you will find online is two people describing different builds.

Where people go wrong

  • Rushing the last step, which is usually the one with the actual requirement in it.
  • Changing five things at once and then not knowing which one helped.
  • Skipping the prerequisite because it looked optional in someone else's summary.
  • Trusting a video thumbnail that promises a result the video never actually shows.

The Last of Us FAQ

Do I need any mods or third-party tools for this?

No. Everything described here works with the base game on any supported platform.

Does this change between platforms?

The behaviour does not. Where menu paths or prompts differ, that is noted above.

What if none of this works for me?

Then something in your setup differs from the assumption — version, region or platform. Check those three before anything else.

How long does this take?

Minutes if it goes cleanly, an evening if you hit the edge case in the caveats list. Neither is unusual.

Work through it in the order above and hit or flop stops being a question you have to look up again.