The Complete Guide to The Last of Us Part 2: TLOU2 100% Completion

Why TLOU2 100% Completion Matters

I still remember the first time I rolled credits on The Last of Us Part 2. I sat there for a solid minute, controller in my lap, just staring at the screen. The story had hit me hard, and for a while I thought that was it. But then I started reading about all the stuff I had missed. The optional conversations. The hidden workbenches. The collectibles that painted a bigger picture of Seattle before the outbreak. That is when I realized finishing the story is one thing, but going for tlou2 100% completion is a completely different experience.

It is not about trophies or bragging rights, though those are nice. It is about seeing everything the developers packed into this world. Every note left behind by a survivor, every safe combination, every upgrade you can squeeze out of the workbench. The game rewards patience and curiosity, and if you are willing to put in the time, you will walk away with a much deeper appreciation for the craft that went into it.

What Counts Toward 100%

Before you start, it helps to know what the game actually tracks. The Last of Us Part 2 does not have a simple percentage meter in the menu, but the game tracks your progress through collectibles, upgrades, and optional encounters. To reach tlou2 100% completion, you need to collect every artifact, trading card, coin, journal entry, and workbench tool. You also need to fully upgrade both Ellie and Abby at their respective workbenches, which means finding every supplement, weapon part, and training manual.

On top of that, there are optional encounters and conversations that do not show up on a checklist but contribute to a sense of completeness. Some of these are easy to miss because they happen during quiet moments between the action. I missed several on my first playthrough simply because I was in a hurry to see what happened next.

Collectibles: The Fun and the Frustration

The collectibles in this game are more than just digital junk. The artifacts and journal entries tell side stories about characters you never meet. One of my favorites is the collection of notes left by a woman named Olga, who was trying to reach her family. Reading those notes in the order they appear adds a layer of tragedy to an already heavy story.

There are 78 collectibles in total across both characters. That sounds like a lot, but the game is generous with checkpoints and the levels are mostly linear. The tricky part is knowing where to look. Some are hidden behind locked doors that require a safe combination you might have found an hour earlier. Others are tucked away in areas that look like dead ends but are actually hiding a small alcove.

My advice is to play through the story once without a guide, just to experience it. Then on a second playthrough, use a checklist. That second run goes faster because you already know the route, and you can focus on the corners you skipped the first time. I did exactly that and it took me about 25 hours to clear everything.

Upgrades and Supplements

Upgrading your characters is straightforward but requires some planning. Ellie and Abby each have their own workbenches, and the supplements you find are specific to each character. Ellie gets upgrades for health, listen mode distance, and crafting speed. Abby gets similar upgrades plus some unique melee enhancements.

The key is to find every supplement pill bottle. There are 13 sets of supplements for each character, and they are scattered throughout the chapters. Missing even one means you cannot max out that character's skill tree. I missed Abby's last supplement on my first playthrough because I assumed the chapter was over and rushed to the next area. It was sitting on a desk in a room I walked right past.

Weapon upgrades work the same way. You need to find every workbench tool, and there are 13 of those as well. Each tool unlocks a new upgrade path at a workbench. The upgrades themselves cost parts, which you find in the world or scavenge from enemies. By the end of a full playthrough you will have more parts than you need, so the real bottleneck is finding the tools.

Optional Conversations and Encounters

Not everything that matters is tracked by a checklist. There are optional conversations between Ellie and Dina, or between Abby and Lev, that expand on their relationships. These happen when you linger in a room after the main action is done. I missed a conversation between Ellie and Jesse in the hospital because I opened a door too quickly and triggered a scripted event.

There are also optional encounters with infected and human enemies that do not advance the story but drop rare resources. These are not required for any trophy, but they make the world feel alive. If you are going for tlou2 100% completion in the truest sense, you will want to clear every area of enemies at least once. It adds maybe two or three hours to the total time, but it also gives you a better sense of how the combat systems work at full power.

Difficulty and New Game Plus

You do not need to play on a specific difficulty level to achieve 100%. Everything can be done on the easiest setting if you want. But there is a New Game Plus mode that carries over your upgrades and collectibles. If you start a new game plus run, you can skip the hunting for supplements and tools and focus only on the story beats you missed.

I recommend doing your collectible cleanup on New Game Plus. It saves time and lets you play through the game with all your weapons and skills from the start, which is a lot of fun. You can also toggle on some accessibility options that make navigation easier, like enhanced listen mode that highlights interactable objects. These do not disable trophies, so use them freely.

A Few Practical Tips

• Use the in-game chapter select after finishing the story. It shows you which collectibles you already found in each chapter, and you can jump directly to the ones you missed.
• Safe combinations are randomized per playthrough, so you cannot memorize them. Write them down or use a screenshot when you find one.
• The workbench tools are often in rooms that require a key or a code. Always backtrack after you find a new key.
• Listen to all optional dialogues before moving through a door. Once the scene changes, that dialogue is gone for the rest of that playthrough.
• Take breaks. The game is emotionally heavy, and rushing through it for completion can burn you out. I spaced my cleanup over two weeks.

The Reward of Seeing Everything

When I finally saw the last collectible pop and the final upgrade slot fill, I felt a quiet satisfaction. Not because of a trophy notification, but because I had seen every corner of a world that the developers spent years building. The Last of Us Part 2 is a game that rewards patience. The more you look, the more you find. And the more you find, the more you understand the characters and the world they are fighting for.

If you are considering going for tlou2 100% completion, I say do it. But do it on your own terms. Play through the story first, let it sink in, and then come back with a fresh perspective. The second time through, you will notice details you missed the first time. The graffiti on the walls. The names of the dead. The small moments of kindness between characters who are otherwise at war with each other. That is the real reward.