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

Short answer

The direct answer is above the fold; the reasoning underneath is there for when the direct answer does not fit your situation.

  • Note the exception cases — they are specific rather than vague.
  • Try the straightforward approach before the elaborate one.
  • Keep a save or backup from before you start — it costs nothing and occasionally saves an evening.

There are two Last of Us canons running in parallel now — the games and the HBO series — and they diverge. Most of the disagreement online comes from people describing different versions of The Last of Us. It is worth separating what the game does from what players have concluded it does.

Why it works this way

Treat anything stated without a version number as provisional. Testing this yourself takes a few minutes and settles it definitively. Edge cases are genuinely rare, which is why the simple answer is usually the correct one. The Last of Us is not shy about hiding useful information two menus deep, so some of this is simply knowing where to look.

The accepted community answer is broadly right and wrong in a specific way that matters here. Nothing here depends on a setting you are unlikely to have. The short version is near the top on purpose; the reasoning is there if you want to know why.

What to do instead

The mechanic behind it is simpler than the discussion around it suggests. A single check up front replaces a lot of guessing later. Do the cheap check before the expensive one — that ordering alone saves most of the frustration.

  • Check which version any conflicting advice was written for.
  • Test it yourself where testing is cheap.
  • If a menu path does not exist for you, your build is older or newer than the one described.
  • Revisit after a major patch if the behaviour changes.

Worth knowing alongside this

Anything that behaves differently on console than on PC is flagged where it matters. None of this needs a paid tool, a third-party launcher or an account on a site you have never heard of. The awkward part is rarely the step itself, it is knowing which step comes first. Half the pages on this topic were written for a build that no longer exists, which is why they stop matching what you see.

The developers have changed their mind about this at least once, which explains the older advice. If a step reads as obvious, do it anyway — the obvious ones are the ones people skip and then wonder about. There is no hidden trick here that the game is keeping from you.

The practical answer

Patch notes move numbers around constantly; the shape of the answer holds even when a specific value shifts. Everything below is framed around the current state of The Last of Us rather than a launch-week impression. Where something depends on your platform or region, that is called out rather than glossed over.

If you are coming to this after a long break, the terminology has probably moved on. 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.

When the usual advice fails

Where two approaches both work, the one with fewer moving parts is the one to keep. Nothing here assumes a particular playstyle beyond wanting the thing to work. If your result differs from what is described here, note what is different first rather than starting over.

Where people go wrong

  • Treating a rare edge case as the normal behaviour and planning around it.
  • Assuming a guide from an older season still describes the current version.
  • Copying a setup wholesale from a streamer without understanding what each part does.

The Last of Us FAQ

Is there a faster method?

Sometimes, at the cost of reliability. Where that trade exists it is described rather than recommended blindly.

Does this work the same on console and PC?

The logic is identical. Menu paths and button prompts differ, and any real difference is flagged above.

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.

That is the whole of it — if something here stops matching The Last of Us, the game changed, not the method.