I found a hidden cultist stash. I should keep an eye out for more of these things. - ― Saga Anderson
Cult Stashes are a type of Collectibles exclusive to Saga Anderson's story in Alan Wake 2. These stashes were left by the Cult of the Tree to aid their members in their fight against the Taken. Similarly to Chests, Cult Stashes contain weapons, ammunition, upgrades, and other useful items. In order to open a stash, a puzzle must first be solved. There are three types of puzzles:
- Combination Padlock: These locks are opened by entering the correct sequence of symbols or numbers on its discs. The symbols/numbers can be seen found in the immediate surroundings and the note on the chest provides a clue as to which of these symbols must be entered and in what order.
- Keyed Padlock: These locks are opened using their corresponding keys, which are hidden in the surroundings. The note in the chest provides a clue as to where the key can be found.
- Memory Puzzle Padlock: The buttons in the padlock must be pressed in the same order in which they light up.
There is a total of 22 Cult Stashes. Finding and opening all of them is required to gain the Watery Lighthouse Key, with the last one found containing the key.
Locations[]
Some stashes are only accessible once the bolt cutters are obtained in Return 5: Old Gods. Stashes can be found anytime by revisiting an area before the point of no return.
Cauldron Lake[]
| # | Stash | Chapter | Location | Lock Type | Hint | Solution | Contents | Message |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 
|
Return 1: Invitation | Near the mobile home found near the Lake House entrance. | Combination Padlock (Symbols) | “Confused? Follow the steps! Wash hands, take chicken out of fridge, take a nap.” | The note indicates where the necessary symbols are located on the mobile home and in what order they should be entered. The first step refers to the symbol above the bathroom sink, two overlapping triangles facing in opposite directions; the second, to the symbol on the refrigerator, two triangles in a vertical hourglass position; the last one, to the symbol above the mattress in the bedroom, two horizontal triangles facing in opposite directions.
|
Handgun Ammo, Trauma Pad | DON’T TAKE ANYTHING IF YOU AREN’T ONE OF THE TREES |
| 2 | 
|
Return 2: The Heart | Among the branches on the southern side of the Cauldron Lake shore. | Memory Puzzle | — | The buttons must be pressed in the same order as they light up. | Hand Flare, Shotgun Ammo, Propane Tank, Inventory Upgrade | Remember, they look like us but they aren’t. They’re like animals. And it’s our job to hunt em and gut em. |
| 3 | 
|
On the campsite near Witch's Ladle. This stash cannot be reached until the flood recedes, after the Overlap is closed. | Keyed Padlock | A drawing of a lightbulb. | A series of arrows painted with light sensitive paint must be followed to find the Streamside Stash Key. | Hand Flare, Shotgun Ammo, Trauma Pad | THE CULT IS WATCHING RIGHT NOW | |
| 4 | 
|
Below the Private Cabin, next to the creek. | Combination Padlock (Numbers) | “Rock, Rock, Tree. Are you bright enough?” | The note indicates the places in which a series of basic arithmetic operations, painted with light sensitive paint, can be found, the results of which reveal the necessary numbers. The first operation, found on the rock wall behind the stash, is 3+3; the second one, found on a rock across the stream, is 7-2; the last one, on a tree at the left of the stash, is 6+2. The correct answer is 6, 5, 8.
|
Hand Flare, Propane Tank, First Aid Kit | ARE YOU ONE OF US? OR ONE OF THEM? | |
| 5 | 
|
Return 5: Old Gods | Inside the Rental Cabin No. 1. The Bolt Cutters are needed to access the area. | Keyed Padlock | A sequence of drawings: a window, a tornado, a castle with the number 3, a bridge, a cave covered in snow, a hut, the bones of an animal, and a tree with the number 2. | The drawings represent abstract indications that must be followed to find the Lake Cabins Stash Key: Taking a winding path (tornado), go through Rental Cabin No. 3 (castle), pass under a fallen tree (bridge), enter the cabin with the opened fridge (snow covered cave), walk past the gazebo (hut) and the dilapidated vehicle (bones of a dead animal), and find the tree with a number 2 painted with light sensitive paint, where the key is located.
|
Rifle Ammo, Flashbang, Rocket Flare | Okay, this one was actually pretty fun. Much better than the math tests. |
Watery[]
| # | Stash | Chapter | Location | Lock Type | Hint | Solution | Contents | Message |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 
|
Return 3: Local Girl | On a small outcrop near the path to Coffee World, east of the Hunting Shack, past the fallen tree. | Memory Puzzle | — | The buttons must be pressed in the same order as they light up. | Propane Tank, Shotgun Ammo | I found another dead Taken over by the radio tower. Looked like it was bashed to death. There was a lunchbox and some weird knitting by the corpse too. I took care of the body, but that’s the third one this month. Everyone keep your eyes peeled. We need to find this guy and let him know the Cult of the Tree means business. |
| 2 | 
|
Outside the Hunting Shack, on the path to Coffee World. | Combination Padlock (Numbers) | “Hey, If you take the crossbow out put it back in the stash when you're done.PS: I changed the code (as asked).” | The required numbers can be found in the nearby shooting range, marked with crossbow bolts, the amount of which indicate the order in which they must be entered. The correct answer is 5, 2, 7.
|
Hunting Crossbow | IF YOU AREN’T WEARING THE MASK, THIS DOES NOT BELONG TO YOU | |
| 3 | 
|
Next to the Slow Roaster. | Combination Padlock (Numbers) | “Only striped cups.” | The striped coffee cups on the ride have the required numbers; the arrow on the note indicates the order in which they should be entered. The correct answer is 1, 4, 7.
|
Handgun Ammo, Shotgun Ammo | DO NOT TAKE WHAT IS NOT YOURS! | |
| 4 | 
|
Near the Huotari Well. | Keyed Padlock | “What hides behind the smile.” | The Coffee World Stash Key can be found behind the Coffee World mascot statue located near the gazebo.
|
Crossbow Bolts, Handgun Ammo, Shotgun Ammo | M and T were supposed to be on patrol last night but didn’t show. If anyone hears anything from them, let me know. | |
| 5 | 
|
Next to Saga Anderson's trailer. This stash cannot be reached until the flood recedes, after the Overlap is closed. | Keyed Padlock | — | As the emails on the computer in one of the trailers indicate, the Trailer Park Stash Key is located in a spot hard to reach, that being on the pole at right.
|
Crossbow Bolts, Propane Tank, Trauma Pad | THE WOODS WILL SWALLOW YOU WHOLE | |
| 6 | 
|
On the outcrop near the Watery Lighthouse. | Combination Padlock (Symbols) | — | The required symbols and the order in which they should be entered are marked by roman numerals painted with light-sensitive painting. The first symbol, found below the outcrop, are two triangles stacked on top of each other facing down; the second, found on a rock wall to the right of where the stash is located, are two triangles stacked on top of each other facing up. The last, hanging on a tree next to the stash, are two overlapping triangles facing down.
|
Propane Tank, Crossbow Bolts, Handgun Ammo | Getting the Anderson brothers onboard would be a big win for us. So I’m offering a $100 super store gift card plus a year’s worth of free coffee at the Oh Deer Diner to whoever gets those two to join. Let’s get recruiting! | |
| 7 | 
|
On the right pier of the Watery dock. | Combination Padlock (Numbers) | That car one was too easy! Here's mine: ”There are 3 batteries (B1, B2, B3) which have a combined charge of 1600 Amps. B2 has 128 Amps more than B3. B1 has two times as much charge as B3. How many Amps does B2 have?” |
The answer to the math riddle is 496.
|
Shotgun Ammo, Crossbow Bolts, Trauma Pad | Why do I have to take a fucking math test to open a stash? What if I needed to get it fast? I can’t do math in my head! I’m not Ada fucking Lovelace! I missed dinner getting this thing open! It was family pizza night! | |
| 8 | 
|
Return 5: Old Gods | Behind the Kalevala Knights Workshop. The Bolt Cutters are needed to access the area. | Combination Padlock (Numbers) | "Spare parts" Below, there are drawings of a ferris wheel, an Expresso Express wagon, and a Latte Lagoon boat. | The required numbers can be obtained by counting the number of nearby park ride spare parts: 5 Slow Roaster cups, 4 Expresso Express wagons, 2 Latte Lagoon boats.
|
Shotgun Ammo, Rifle Ammo, Hand Flare, Flashbang | I’m putting it in writing here that “Operation Bigger is Better” is simply not possible from an engineering perspective. I know he loves his crazy ideas, but his schematic looks like a damn comic book. Charlie drew it for him, didn’t she? It can’t be done. |
Bright Falls[]
| # | Stash | Chapter | Location | Lock Type | Hint | Solution | Contents | Message |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 
|
Return 5: Old Gods | Northwest of the Bunker Woods Break Room. | Memory Puzzle | — | The buttons must be pressed in the same order as they light up. | Rifle Ammo, First Aid Kit, Hand Flare | THE CULT OF THE TREE SEES EVERYTHING |
| 2 | 
|
In an abandoned pickup truck near the south Bunker Woods bridge. | Combination Padlock (Numbers) | “There are 200 total vehicles in a factory, consisting of bicycles and cars. Each car has four wheels, and each bicycle has 2 wheels. There are a total of 754 wheels in the factory: how many cars are in the factory?” | The answer for the math riddle is 177.
|
Hand Flare, Propane Tank, Shotgun Ammo | We need to go BIGGER. More stick symbols, more graffiti. I want people pissing their pants when they think about going in the woods. Spread the word! | |
| 3 | 
|
In the Bunker Woods, south of the Valhalla Nursing Home. It can be found by following the arrows painted with light sensitive painting. | Keyed Padlock | — | The Bunker Woods Stash Key can be found by following the blue arrows. | Shotgun Ammo, Rocket Flare | YOU CAN’T HIDE FROM THE TREES WE ARE WATCHING | |
| 4 | 
|
Between the south Bunker Woods Break Room and the Ranger Station. | Combination Padlock (Symbols) | A drawing of a lightbulb. | The required symbols can be found by following the arrows painted with light sensitive painting. The first symbol are two horizontal triangles facing in opposite directions; the second one are two overlapping triangles facing downwards; the last one are two triangles in a vertical hourglass position.
|
Rocket Flare, Flashbang, Rifle Ammo | We just got word that the feds have Alan Wake in custody. He came out of the lake. He’s dangerous. Everyone be on high alert. We need to take the writer out. Spread the word. | |
| 5 | 
|
On the ridge in front of the Ranger Station. | Keyed Padlock | A picture of Santa Claus entering through a chimney. An arrow points at the chimney. | The Ranger Station Stash Key can be found outside the Ranger Station, next to its chimney
|
Rifle Ammo, Flashbang, Rocket Flare | It took forever to figure out the hint wasn’t Santa’s butt! Why are we making these so complicated? Just give us normal fucking keys! | |
| 6 | 
|
Return 1: Invitation | Outside the Elderwood Palace Lodge, next to the parked truck. | Memory Puzzle | — | The buttons must be pressed in the same order as they light up. | Handgun Ammo, Trauma Pad, Shotgun Ammo | FEAR THE DARK FEAR THE WOODS |
| 7 | 
|
Return 5: Old Gods | In the small storage shed in the Bright Falls docks. The Bolt Cutters are needed to access the area. | Combination Padlock (Numbers) | A drawing of a wooden pole with numbers on it. | The required numbers can be found on the wooden poles resting in the water. The numbers are 6, 9, 7.
|
Inventory Upgrade | IF YOU STEAL FROM THE CULT OF THE TREE, THEN THE CULT WILL COME FOR YOU |
| 8 | 
|
On the empty lot behind the Wahlberg warehouse. The Bolt Cutters are needed to access the area. | Combination Padlock (Symbols) | WORK LOG 01 Jan Overprivileged townhall folks complaining about poor TV reception. Hopefully not due to the paint job. 17 Jan Took a photo with the giant moose statue in the park. Great memento! 02 Feb Damn dogs keep digging up the flowers. 31 Feb Park's trash can needed fresh coat of paint. Painted an extra layer. 03 Mar Tried painting the large tree in the park but the weather was too hot. Cooled down on a bench in the sheltered area and had an epiphany. 26 Mar Replaced a screw on the purple park bench. |
The symbols, painted with light sensitive painting, can be found on the locations mentioned in the work log; the dates matching with the first three natural numbers are where the required symbols can be found, and also provide the order in which they should be entered: the first symbol, found on a satellite dish, are two overlapping triangles facing upwards; the second, found next the flowers near the entrance, are two horizontal triangles facing in opposite directions; the last, found on the gazebo, are two triangles stacked on top of each other facing upwards.
|
Rocket Flare, Flashbang | MONSTERS LIVE IN THE WOODS | |
| 9 | 
|
Return 7: Scratch | In the evidence room of the Bright Falls Sheriff Station. The Bolt Cutters are needed to access the area. | Combination Padlock (Numbers) | A drawing depicting a line with the number 1, a triangle with a line on the middle, and a hexagon. | The required numbers correspond with the amount of lines in each shape. The correct answer is 1, 4, 6.
|
Flashbang, Hand Flare, Shotgun Ammo, Rifle Ammo, | BEWARE THE CULT OF THE TREE |
Notes[]
- During Return 3: Local Girl, a map showing all locations of Cult Stashes can be found in the back room of the Kalevala Knights Workshop. This will mark all Cult Stash locations on Saga's maps.
Gallery[]
Lock Types[]
.png "Combo Padlock (Numbers).png (537 KB)")
.png "Combo Padlock (Symbols).png (383 KB)")
